“It didn’t turn into a forest, exactly,” Kunon corrected him. “Large trees grew from inside it and tore it apart.”
Gioelion was a member of the Second Level class. The Building 11 Forestation Incident only concerned the Advanced class, so he hadn’t known the details.
Rumors had spread when the forest first appeared, but most students didn’t take it seriously. However, when the teachers said, “These things happen at magic school every once in a while,” everyone quickly accepted it. A few small incidents occurred every day, so it wasn’t hard to believe large incidents were normal as well.
The true culprit was the uncontrolled growth of the Sacred Tree, Kira Vera. Due to certain circumstances, Kunon had learned this before the others; the rest of the student body was still in the dark.
The newly reconstructed School Building 11 had been built in a new location, but the interior and layout were almost exactly the same, so its previous occupants had little trouble adapting.
The Saint had told Kunon only the day before how excited she was to start growing new plants. Not that it showed on her expressionless face, of course. She’d lost all the vegetation in her laboratory in the incident, but it seemed she had already overcome her pain.
In fact, her plants weren’t really lost; they had likely escaped their pots and begun growing wildly in the newly sprouted forest.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” Gioelion said, his gaze drifting thoughtfully. “I went to look at it once and could tell it was no ordinary forest. I believe it spawned magically. It was a mystery to me otherwise, though.”
He really is sharp, Kunon thought.
The vegetation wasn’t summoned with a spell—the forest itself was magical.
It wasn’t surprising that Gioelion had arrived at that conclusion, if only vaguely. At the center of the forest was a Sacred Tree—a body of supernatural matter, or something very similar.
The forest was still off limits, but if Gioelion was able to investigate it up close, he would surely be able to confirm his theory.
“I am curious about how that forest spawned,” he said. “If those trees truly grew in one night, they could hold the key to revolutionizing the world’s food supply.”
Spoken like a true prince, thought Kunon.
“Yeah, good point…”
Kunon had been thinking along similar lines. He wouldn’t have to worry about it until after he graduated and returned to Hughlia, but it had been decided that he would be given some territory. He would have to provide food for his people, cultivate land, fend off invaders, and deal with weather and disease. He would likely also need to investigate the land and water quality.
Kunon wished he could focus solely on magic, but he also had to consider how he could apply the magic he learned. It would be a good idea to study spells that would be helpful for managing his territory.
Kunon was a sorcerer, and he wanted to take advantage of that. He still had much to learn.
“Your imperial etiquette is perfect,” said Gioelion.
Please, don’t be so formal.
You don’t have to worry about manners.
That was what Kunon had been told when he was first invited there for dinner. However, he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Gioelion. For that reason, he had been studying imperial table manners.
“Your praise honors me,” Kunon replied.
He knew Gioelion wasn’t fussy about such things. The prince had invited him back multiple times, after all. Even so, Kunon always asked Garth a question right before he left: How were my table manners?
Garth would respond by giving him advice, and after repeating that process enough times, Kunon had improved his etiquette quite significantly. Given what Gioelion just said, it seemed he didn’t need to ask that question anymore.
The magic city of Dirashik was a place where no one cared about social standing. At this table, however, they weren’t in Dirashik—they were in the Arcion Empire.
Dessert was served next, and conversation flourished. They enjoyed delicious black tea and baked confectioneries that weren’t too sweet.
Gioelion had plans later that night, so Kunon was going to leave as soon as they finished eating. Not wanting to waste any of their time together, the two immersed themselves in discussing magic.
They were having just as much fun as always until—
“Master Gio, are you sure you don’t want to talk about Lady Serra?”
—Garth abruptly interrupted them.
“It’s not like I’d forgotten,” Gioelion said.
He and Kunon had been excitedly discussing giant flying mice—which took to the air by flapping their ears—so there was a little annoyance in his voice when he spoke. However, he then realized they had been talking for so long their tea had grown cold. It was almost time to wrap things up.
“Kunon. A relative of mine has enrolled in the Advanced class.”
“Really?”
Kunon was surprised—even more surprised than he’d been when Gioelion almost started another schism in his consumer base by suggesting giant hairless rats with large ears.
“By ‘relative,’ do you mean a member of the imperial royal family?” asked Kunon.
“No. She’s a relative of my mother, who married into the family. She’s my cousin.”
Huh. A cousin.
“So that’s why she won’t be in Second Level like you.”
“Exactly.”
The Arcion Empire apparently forbade members of its royal family from entering the Advanced class to ensure they had plenty of time to study for their imperial duties.
“I could not be more jealous of her. I would have entered the Advanced class if I was allowed.”
“I also wish you could’ve been in the Advanced class… Anyway, thank you for the meal.”
Kunon stood up from his seat. Gioelion had plans, and he didn’t want to take up any more of his time. The prince was so busy that the only chance they had to converse was during dinner.
“I’m assuming you want me to watch over this fair lady cousin of yours?”
“She’s too young to be considered a ‘fair lady,’ I’m afraid. And yes, I would appreciate it if you looked after her—but only as much as you are able. I would especially like you to make sure she devotes herself to her magic studies.”
The final part of the prince’s request got Kunon’s attention.
“Is she not passionate about magic?” he asked.
“Not that I’ve seen.”
“Wow… Hmm.”
Kunon laughed. She had the knowledge and magical ability to make it into the Advanced class, yet she didn’t care about magic. That meant she had to be blessed with natural talent. If she started taking magic seriously, just how incredible a sorcerer would she become?
“I’d be excited to meet her even if she wasn’t your cousin!” Kunon said.
His first encounter with Serraphila Quartz, Gioelion’s cousin, would come a few days later.
On the way to school, Kunon encountered the Saint stepping out of Building 11, wearing her usual dazzling white robe. She had a large shovel in her left hand, a basket on her right arm, and a straw hat on her head. Her divine appearance made an ordinary shovel and basket look like holy relics.
When she saw Kunon, she said, “I’m going to the forest to find and retrieve my sacred herbs.”
She could only mean one forest: the one growing around the Sacred Tree, Kira Vera. The collection of seeds and plants from her former classroom were likely growing among the trees, and the sacred herbs were no exception.
“Oh, I wanna go, too,” Kunon said immediately. That sounded like so much fun he wanted to cancel all his plans for the day and accompany her.
The forest was still off-limits. Not even Advanced class students were allowed to enter it, so the Saint would be accompanied by members of the faculty.
“Wait, wasn’t the shi-shilla already recovered?”
“Yes, it was.”
Kunon had walked all the way to the newly built Building 11, but he ended up accompanying the Saint instead of going inside. He needed a teacher’s permission to enter the forest, however, so Reyes couldn’t approve his entry herself. He’d just have to discuss it with the faculty directly when they arrived.
“It seems there was some trouble with my home country over the summer,” the Saint said.
According to her, the Holy Kingdom had aggressively contacted the magic school over the long break, saying things such as “The Kira Vera belongs to our country, so give it to us,” and “We want to confirm it’s the genuine article, so we demand you let an expert from our country investigate the site.” It had been a constant barrage. Reyes hadn’t heard any of this until she returned to school, despite having been at home during the break.
Kunon had expected as much from the Holy Kingdom, but it seemed that was only the beginning.