After receiving the vague results of the investigation, the students gathered in front of the forest were divided into two groups—a group of nine and a group of one.
Kunon alone was led away from the rest. Reyes and the others were left in Professor Keevan’s care.
“Sit wherever you’d like,” said Professor Clavis.
He’d brought Kunon—and only Kunon—to another school building. They were in what appeared to be an empty classroom, with desks and chairs arranged in rows.
“……”
Obediently, Kunon lowered himself into a suitable seat.
He was nervous.
Since coming to Dirashik, he must have seen hundreds of ordinary people and sorcerers alike, but this was his first time seeing someone with nothing at all on or around them.
The things around sorcerers were particularly striking, but even people who couldn’t do magic had something easy to spot, like horns or wings sprouting out of their bodies.
But here, standing right in front of Kunon, was Clavis—an exception to both of those categories.
The man was very clearly a sorcerer. Kunon could feel his power even more distinctly now that they were facing each other one-on-one. It was vast and serene, like the placid surface of a lake. But the more Kunon probed into it, the more bottomless it felt, and the more he sensed something mysterious lurking in its depths.
It was puzzling. And, faced with this mysterious being, Kunon’s curiosity started to overtake his nerves.
“Are you a three-star, Professor?” he asked, unable to stop himself.
It was probably fine. Clavis had introduced himself as a teacher, and that meant a student like Kunon was free to ask questions.
According to Kunon’s experience, Clavis had to be a three-star. No one with that amount of magic power could be anything less…
“No. I’m a two-star.”
“Ah.”
A lie.
This enigmatic person with nothing around them had just lied to Kunon.
“I thought two-stars didn’t have that much magic power,” he said.
“Ha-ha-ha, people often think that’s the case. But I’m telling the truth. I took a long time to develop my power through training.”
When he put it like that, however, Kunon began to feel he was telling the truth.
It was just as Clavis said. Kunon couldn’t prove he hadn’t increased his magic power through training.
Some people insisted the increases were minuscule or that they were within the margin of error, but such increases had been confirmed. Even if other people’s gains were quite small, it was always possible that Clavis had uniquely grown his power by leaps and bounds.
“I hear you’re on good terms with the Saint,” Clavis said.
“Yes.” Kunon nodded. “We’re classmates and very good friends. I think she’s a fantastic woman.”
It had been nearly a year since they met. Perhaps it would have been a different story back when they first began school, but Kunon felt confident Reyes wouldn’t deny their friendship now.
“I see. All saints are a bit sheltered, no matter which generation, so I’m sure it’s not always easy. But please do continue to be kind to her.”
“That’s no matter. I also have a reputation for being ignorant of the ways of the world.”
“Is that so? Well, that’s a relief, then.”
This information hardly seemed reassuring, but there was no one present willing to point that out.
Kunon and Clavis were idly chatting away when…
“Hey. Sorry to keep you.”
“…?!”
…all of a sudden, a rectangular shadow was standing next to Clavis.
Kunon was truly surprised. He couldn’t sense anything. But how was that possible?
Though it was little consolation, Kunon’s lack of sight had made his other senses especially perceptive. He could feel the presence of others and was highly attuned to the flow of air against his skin.
Uneven terrain and slopes weren’t his strong suit, but not being able to see didn’t inconvenience him much anymore. And yet…when the shadow appeared, he hadn’t noticed.
It wasn’t until he heard a voice that he realized something was there—a shadow he couldn’t see using his magical perception.
Through the Glass Eye, he could see it, but looking at it didn’t help much. It was still just a rectangular shadow, after all. There wasn’t anyone standing there.
“Clavis, where are you in the conversation?” The shadow was speaking in the voice of a young woman.
“It hasn’t started yet. I was waiting for you.”
Clavis seemed utterly unfazed, but Kunon was on edge.
Now there were two puzzling beings. There was nothing visible behind either of them. Not to mention one of them was just an oblong shadow and not humanoid at all. It was just a shadow shaped like a casket.
Looking at the two of them had Kunon’s heart pounding away in his chest.
“Little boy.”
That must be me, Kunon thought. The one addressing him was the shadow, so he couldn’t tell that she’d turned to him or feel her gaze.
“Tell me about that box. What was your intention and purpose in developing—? …What?”
The reason for the shadow’s confusion was that, at that very moment, a hesitant Kunon had stood up and cautiously stuck out his left hand—right into the rectangular shadow.
Kunon was shocked.
“What…?! This— What is this?!”
He didn’t feel a thing.
There was no one inside the shadow. He felt no change in temperature around his hand—it was neither cold nor warm. He didn’t sense any sort of spell comprising the shadow’s structure, either.
By all appearances, it could only have been a magically operated presence, and yet he couldn’t even feel any magic power.
It would be best described as a patch of black air. But then what about the voice?
Where did the voice coming from the shadow originate?
“Whoa now. Hey, Clavis. This is the first time anyone has ever touched me so presumptuously.”
“Please don’t say that like you’re enjoying it. Kunon—you shouldn’t touch the body of a woman you’ve just met without warning like that.”
This revelation was even more shocking.
“This is a woman?! She’s nothing like any woman I know…! Wait, this is her body?!”
Despite what he’d heard, Kunon couldn’t make heads or tails of the information.
The shadow was such a mystery that if someone had told him it was the abyss of magic itself, he would have believed them.
Still just a novice, he didn’t understand a thing.
Was he lacking in knowledge? Did he simply not understand enough about magic?