“And then, after your childhood friend dumped you, you holed up at home until your dad kicked you out and forced you to enroll in Lykeion Magic Academy, right? Jeez, how many times have you told me this story? Must be over a dozen by now.”
“Shut up, Claude. A hero like you will never go through what I did. The least you can do is listen.”
Currently, I was attending Lykeion Magic Academy as a student in its General Education program. The academy was the best school on the Southern Continent. Both its courses and its students were of the highest caliber. I had been moping around at home when my father literally knocked some sense into me and all but tossed me here. Few of the students knew about my past, so I’d once again learned to enjoy my school life. Though I thought my father could’ve used a gentler hand, I had nothing but gratitude toward him.
The person walking beside me was Claude Percival, a student in the academy’s Hero Course. He possessed an ability of five colors, and his job was a Hero-in-Training. He was the best of the best. In contrast, my jobs were Healing Mage and Barrier Mage. I only possessed white mana, so these were the only two jobs available to me. My lifetime earnings would be a hundredth of his. Things were really rough. It was almost enough to bring a tear to my eye.
“Your childhood friend is Princess Airi, right? I hear she’s joined the Heavenly Knights, the top warriors in the empire.”
I clicked my tongue. “Yeah, that’s right. And she’s dating one of her fellow knights too.”
Lykeion Magic Academy was in a far and foreign land, but given Airi’s fame, rumors of her still reached our ears. Apparently, that arranged marriage with some country’s second prince had fallen through. But I heard that she was now in a relationship with a young and elite imperial general—that my childhood friend had completely forgotten me and was having a grand old time with her new lover. Infuriating.
Perhaps my expression gave away the direction my thoughts were headed in; Claude hastened to express his sympathies. “Oh, but you’re the only one I can trust with my wyvern, Eugene. Thanks for always taking care of my partner.”
“Well, yeah, I’m a member of the Biology Club. I’m just doing my job.”
Many of the students in the academy were members of clubs, institutions similar to the unions we would be able to join when we entered society. Our classes taught us quintessential magic and battle techniques as well as general knowledge. Meanwhile, our clubs taught us about the hierarchy that existed between juniors and seniors. Many students joined to make connections with students from other years.
I belonged to the Biology Club. Under normal circumstances, students could choose which clubs they joined of their own volition. In my case, though, the headmaster was the one who had picked the Biology Club for me. But in return, he’d exempted me from paying tuition. That being said, I had to perform so many annoying tasks and odd jobs as part of the Biology Club that it didn’t feel like a fair trade.
Claude and I stopped in front of a large cage and undid the massive lock that kept the door closed. The lock, like the cage itself, was a custom-built magic item.
“Hey, partner!” Claude said as we stepped inside the cage and a wyvern covered in gorgeous ultramarine scales landed near us. It growled low in its throat to express its joy as Claude ran his hand over it. “How’ve you been?”
As Claude hung out with his wyvern, I filled up its feed before saying, “Claude, I’m finished up here.”
“Grrr...grrr...” The wyvern leaned toward me, so I rewarded it with a few pats. Apparently, this one had a rather ornery disposition. I’d earned its trust after using my magic to heal some injuries it had suffered.
“Partner, we’ve got an expedition tomorrow. Let’s take to the heavens together, you and I,” Claude said with a bright smile at the wyvern.
He was a pompous guy. Not to mention, he was popular with the girls. But that was hardly a surprise. He was a hero, after all.
I left the cage and headed across the grounds. For some reason, Claude followed me the entire time.
“Is there something else you want from me?” I asked.
“Eugene, you’re about to head to that cage, right? I’ll go with you,” he replied.
I paused for a moment before saying, “Weirdo. I don’t mind if you come with, but don’t push yourself, okay?”
The grounds that Lykeion Magic Academy gave to the Biology Club were expansive. This was because the headmaster loved oddities and kept many rare and unusual magical beings in captivity. Some of them were so dangerous that they were “designated calamities.” These were confined in the Sealed Area, which became more dangerous the deeper you went in.
When we entered the Sealed Area, the air was stagnant, and the more steps we took, the thicker the miasma became. A normal person would have had difficulty breathing here. As a Barrier Mage, I didn’t have any problems, but...
I glanced to my side out of concern for Claude and saw that he had turned pale. I knew it...
“Claude, I told you not to push yourself,” I said.
“I-I’m still okay,” he replied.
I slowed my pace to match his. Eventually, we reached a gargantuan gate crafted from black metal. This was the taboo Seventh Sealed Prison. Beyond it roamed mythological creatures, the most dangerous specimens in the academy’s menagerie. I’d heard that even meeting their eyes was enough to drive a normal person crazy. Taking care of them was part of the Biology Club’s duties, but this was also an undesirable task that only a Barrier Mage could handle. It made sense that no one was keen to volunteer.
“S-Sorry, Eugene. I can’t go any farther,” Claude said, stopping in his tracks. Cold sweat beaded his brow.
“You made it pretty far today,” I said.
“Yeah, I did. I’d sure love to meet the legendary Demon Queen one day, but I can’t tolerate this thick miasma yet.”
“Don’t get too reckless. See you later.” I pushed open the heavy sealed gate, and the miasma that had been building up inside poured out in a rush. Claude fell to his knees with a pained grunt. “Here—Mind Heal,” I said.
When I’d cast the spell on him, Claude staggered to his feet, his legs still wobbly. “Hey, Eugene, I’ve been wondering this for a while now, but how is this miasma not affecting you? I’m a Hero-in-Training and I can’t even stand it.”
“How many times are you gonna ask me that? It’s because I’m a Barrier Mage.”
“There’s a Sage on my team who can use Barrier Magic, but he passed out some distance away from the black gate of the Seventh Sealed Prison.”
“That’s because he’s been slacking on his training.”
“I really don’t think that’s it...”
“See you.” I waved at him before closing the gate from the inside.
But right before it slammed shut, I heard Claude mutter, “There’s something seriously wrong with you.”
What could possibly be wrong with me?