“I see now.” Aldrick continued nodding in understanding.
If Ferd were here, he’d have denied this, saying something like “No, that’s not really true...” However, the people currently here were Derry, who—albeit from afar—had directly witnessed the Hero in action, and Aldrick, a passionate fan of the Hero. And because Agnes had no interest in participating in the men’s intense conversation, things were getting out of hand.
“Well, if you think about it logically, it’s doubtful that a sword he only held once seventy years ago would retain such power, but the Hero was an exception in all kinds of ways... I remember that a long time ago, Mr. Sazaki warned me not to touch his own sword, because if someone that it didn’t like held it, it would fly straight at their neck. I got spooked and wondered why he would carry such a weapon.” Derry had a distant look in his eyes when he remembered what Sazaki had told him.
“Ha ha ha, I also remember that.” Aldrick laughed awkwardly at a similar experience.
“Same here.” Agnes also had a strained smile.
“Whew... And it’s not just Miss Lara and Mr. Sazaki. Almost the entire Hero’s party will be coming... Man, I’m getting really nervous,” Derry finally muttered, fidgeting.
A few hours later, Agnes left Derry’s office and headed straight for Greer’s Magic Academy. The council members typically took turns checking up on the academy every so often, and it just happened to be Agnes’s turn. Of course, since it was necessary to also examine the academy’s more secret sectors, the council members would sometimes visit the academy incognito, but since this was an official, scheduled visit, a staff member welcomed Agnes.
“Welcome, Lady Agnes.”
“Thank you for having me.” Agnes, who was putting up a facade according to Derry and Aldrick, walked into the academy grounds with a refined dignity.
This was a large and strange institution. Because of the patchwork nature of all the extensions and renovations of the building, the walls were different colors from place to place, and bizarre, twisted chimneys towered everywhere. The school hadn’t always looked like this; the population boom after the war had resulted in more students than originally expected, which was also an indirect sign of peace.
But at the very least, the school’s current state was far preferable to the times when the students who were supposed to be enrolling were killed by the demon army and the entire school had been draped in darkness. Greer, the Academic City-State, had become a fortress against the invading demon army, with the academy being the last line of defense, the students barricading themselves inside it. The names of all those who’d died back then, including students, academy staff, and merchants who came and went to the academy, were engraved in a memorial at the academy’s entrance.
“The young ones are so energetic.” Agnes smiled fondly as she looked not at the school building but at the students running around it.
“Yes, they are.”
“Simply being smart isn’t everything,” Agnes muttered.
To assume that, as this was the Magic Academy, intellect and magic reigned supreme here, was in fact an antiquated way of thinking; Agnes’s statement was actually the mainstream philosophy at the academy these days. Before the academy was rebuilt, it had been filled with the typical academic-type mages, and many were physically frail. However, the weaknesses of said academic mages came to light during the great war.
“‘What good is being smart if you’ve forgotten how to walk? That’s one of the first things you learn, ain’t it?’ These words were a much-needed wake-up call.” Agnes shared something like an adage that had been passed down after the war.
“Indeed.” The academy staff member nodded vigorously.
Those words had been said by a completely uneducated soldier to a high-ranking mage participating in the war—to someone who was even called a sage. The sage had been unable to offer a rebuttal, so he’d passed the statement on to the other mages as a warning. Many high-ranking mages during the early stages of the war had lacked stamina. In the most extreme cases, they hadn’t even had the endurance needed to march, let alone fight in battle, and on the front lines, their lack of physical ability had made them a burden when it came to mobile combat. As a result, while many mages had excelled as immobile artillery in defensive battles, it had been difficult to use them in other situations.
Naturally, this had been a cause of concern for leaders during the war. They’d understood that different people were cut out for different things, but there was no point in someone being able to use powerful magic but being unable to go to the battlefield because they lacked stamina. In the end, the problem had somehow been offset using carriages or boats, but no fundamental solution had been found before the end of the war.
The high-ranking mages who’d rebuilt the academy were the ones who’d decided to do something to solve the issue, as they’d remained very conscious of preparing for the possibility of the demon army’s return even after the war. They established a policy to train not only the mind but the body, hoping to produce excellent mages who excelled at intellect, technique, and physical strength, advance the civilization and learning of mortals...and also prevent the end of the world, should the dangers of the past return.
If the demon army had been one or two steps ahead before Ferd and his companions had grown enough, the great war would have led to the end of the world. For all the survivors, the death and despair spread around by the Great Demon King had been truly traumatic. Ironically, the fear and caution against the demon army had brought a sense of unity to all mortals.
“Now then...” Just as Agnes was about to enter the school building, a man in his seventies who’d been running among the students approached her.
“Oh, did you just arrive, Agnes?” he asked.
He was a tall man with distinctive, gemlike, deep-red eyes. Compared to his white hair, his skin was a bit dark. He had many wrinkles, as was expected of his age, but his looks made it easy to imagine that he’d been a huge hit with women in his younger days. Even through his clothes, it was possible to see that he had a sturdy, reliable body. But a careful observer would comment that he looked exactly like a certain drunkard from twenty years ago, or perhaps that he bore a resemblance to a certain Witch.
“Falke. Yes, I only just arrived.”
“I forgot to tell you this morning. I’m going to buy some alcohol for my father after work, so I might be home late.”
“Understood.”
While Agnes was currently putting up her facade, not only did this man named Falke know her true nature, he knew her more intimately than anyone else, as he was her husband. Finally, he was also a teacher at the Magic Academy, as well as...the son of Sazaki, the Lightspeed Blademaster, and Lara, the Witch of Annihilation. He was the only magic swordsman in history to have mastered both magic of the Deep layer and the sword.
Falke’s parents, along with their companions who were like family to him, would arrive a few days later.
✦ ✦ ✦
The Battle of Greer, the Academic City-State
Merely a gathering of researchers. Merely a gathering of students. Merely a school. What a fool. If he was driven back by what he assumed was “merely” that, he was truly beyond help. That was why he’d ended up having his skull cracked open by a boy from some deserted village. In the end, the Great Demon King had looked down on mortals up until the final battle.