“What?! Really?!”
“Mm-hmm. I can’t do it right now, but when I was young, my entire body would glow like this. Right, dearest?” Ferd spread his arms to show how wide the light would be.
“Yes, that’s right, honey. It was so long ago that I’d forgotten.”
“Wow!”
“I’m really sorry. Come on, let’s go. Say goodbye to the nice man,” the boy’s mother said.
“Huh? Goodbye.”
“Ha ha ha. Goodbye.”
The boy’s mother thought that the elderly man was just playing along with her son and bowed as she left with him. The elderly man hadn’t been lying, but not even a child could have imagined that his body could shine bright enough to drive away the darkness that had covered the world.
“Now, where should we stay the night?” Besides, Ferd wasn’t the Hero anymore, but just an old man quietly continuing his journey.
“This inn district is thriving, isn’t it, honey?”
“It certainly is, dearest.”
Some time later, Elrica and Ferd looked over the district as they toddled like usual, smiling fondly at the bustling view around them. There were merchants eagerly trying to peddle their wares to travelers and hunters trying to sell the prey they captured along their journeys. This was the time when guests arrived in droves, so the inn staff were busy coming and going from their establishments. Young people were complaining that they were tired from their journey, and guards were on patrol. The inn district was full of all kinds of people making all kinds of noise. However, perhaps because this place was on the way to Greer, the Academic City-State, where Ferd and the rest were headed, there was a group of people you didn’t often see in other inn districts.
“Are those...students?”
“It looks like it.”
Ferd and Elrica were looking at a group of young people who had glasses, books, and accessories imbued with mana. They also had an intellectual air about them, making them look like they really belonged in a school.
“They were probably visiting home,” Lara said as she glanced at the young group.
“I see.” Ferd nodded. I’d like to try asking them what they’re taught about Lara, but I can’t because magic would come flying at my head. He imagined that a ray of destruction or something would be fired his way.
Not only had Lara defeated the Great Demon King, but she’d also trained many high-ranking disciples and reached unprecedented heights herself. Lara, the Witch of Annihilation, was no doubt a legend among legends whose name would continue to be passed down as long as the world of man persisted. Moreover, she’d helped rebuild the Magic Academy these students likely belonged to, making her something like an honorary dean. There was no need to expressly ask what the students were taught about her.
“Have you never taught there?” Out of pure curiosity, Max asked Lara about her connection with the Academic City-State.
“Never. At most, I took on disciples that the academy couldn’t handle.”
“Oh, that’s the kind of relationship you have with them.”
“When it comes to magic, my common sense is a little different from the rest of the world, so I would actually hinder the students if I were to teach them. My disciples are all oddballs, you know.”
“Hmph.” Stein wanted to object that this wasn’t the only place where her common sense differed, but he wisely held himself back, just sighing. It was true that she was sensible in comparison to the rest of the Hero’s party, but in the end, this was a group of outrageous people, so Stein knew that her aforementioned common sense was dubious in places.
In any case, Lara’s magic really was incomprehensible to ordinary people, so regular students couldn’t keep up with it, and with the exception of Aldrick, who’d miraculously turned out normal, most of her disciples were oddballs. But at the same time, they were still no match for her.
The members of the Hero’s party each walked their own path entirely, making them impossible to reproduce.
Sazaki had implemented his childish, absurd theory.
Lara had reached the Abyssal layer of magic where even stepping inside could make one’s mind crumble.
Stein followed an aimless path of neither life nor death that ordinary people couldn’t tread.
Max had his special bloodline’s awakening and talent.
Elrica was a murderous work of art whom religious forces had devoted all of their power to create.
And Ferd naturally possessed an abnormal light.
With such a unique lineup, it was difficult to train anyone similar.
“Is there an entrance examination?” Stein asked Lara, again out of curiosity.
“Yes, to isolate dangerous people.” Lara’s answer was strange, though.
“What do you mean?”
“Many mages are eccentric, but talented children taught by the most eccentric ones are in various kinds of danger. In short, they do stuff like using huge spells without considering the location or their skill level, or using spells that pierce magical barriers and fly into the school building because their mentors told them it was ordinary magic. Therefore, each one is tested individually to make sure, before there are any casualties.”
“What happens to those children?”
“They bar them from using magic and instruct them in common sense. If they still don’t improve, their magic might be forcibly sealed. And the mentors who were responsible for those dangerous children might also be arrested.”
“It feels strangely plausible.”
“It was actually done in a different country by a generation much older than ours. There were many more eccentric mages than now back then, so they only taught their disciples magic without caring about what happened next. The result was even a prodigy who thought extermination magic was basic.”
“What happened?”
“He was asked to demonstrate some basic magic, so he fired off the extermination magic he was convinced was basic, killing thirty people. Apparently, he thought this was a basic magic, one which the people around could easily block. According to the records, he was executed, and his mentor was imprisoned.”
“I see.” Although Stein had merely heard about the exam, he rubbed his chin after learning about the unexpected inside story.
“Was he really executed?” Sazaki asked, interested in a different part of the story.
“Well, it’s pretty doubtful,” Lara replied.
In the era before the Great Demon King had taken action, the world had been filled with war. There was no way a kingdom would have ignored a mage who could use extermination magic during such times. Especially if he was a criminal, it was very much possible that they would try to use him for their own convenience by using promises of amnesty as bait.
“Sounds like it was an era with many things going on.” As Ferd recalled the reason behind the one he called a giant moron losing his temper, he squinted and turned his eyes to the sky like he was looking at a generation and era far before their own.
Demons weren’t the source of all evil. In fact, mortals were more often the source.
Though this elderly group was on a carefree journey, the important institutions of this world never rested. The Magic Council in Greer, the Academic City-State, was a rather unique institution. It had a militant side that supported the world order in all aspects of magic and purged disturbing elements, but it also had a side devoted to educating the next generation. The ten or so people selected as members of this council were some of the most powerful mages in the world—a group of monsters who could take down a small country on their own.