“We can manage without you for a little while.”
“Go talk to them. This is a perfect opportunity.”
“Sounds like an easy mark… I mean, we upperclassmen should be kind to new students who haven’t found their footing. That’s right; it’s our duty as upperclassmen.”
Without hesitation, they all encouraged her to talk to the first-year. Kunon was impressed by their kindness.
“A new student… Huh… You said they don’t understand the appeal of earth magic? Hmm…”
Elva’s beautiful face took on the look of a majestic carnivore that had just spotted some prey. It made her even more alluring.
“Are you sure I’m the right girl for the job?” she asked. “I have to warn you: Once this first-year awakens to the appeal of earth magic, there will be no going back. Is that really okay?”
Kunon laughed.
The pair’s seemingly innocent demeanor was characteristic of sorcerers.
“Of course,” he said. “Earth magic isn’t unique in that regard; no one can be exposed to the appeal of magic without being seduced by it.” Kunon had no ill will as he spoke. Perhaps that made it worse.
“Yeah. One can say whatever they want, but the body doesn’t lie,” Elva said.
“She might fight you at first, but you just have to keep banging her with the appeal of magic until she gives in.”
“I like it when they’re a little resistant. That makes it more fun.”
They both smiled wickedly.
Their conversation sounded more than a little disturbing, but that wasn’t a problem. Not in the slightest. All the other students in the storehouse were wearing the exact same smile.
There was no one in the Advanced class who hadn’t been seduced by magic.
Kunon quickly discussed plans with Elva, then he left the tower.
All in all, it had taken much less time than he’d expected.
But shortly after walking outside, he encountered a sight that jettisoned all else from his mind.
“Huh? What’s this?”
When Kunon arrived at the tower, Hank and the rest of his group had been by the entrance. He’d realized they were doing something, but he hadn’t asked for specifics.
What was this thing?
“Did you get what you needed?” Hank asked after spotting him.
“What is this, Hank?” Kunon replied without answering.
He wasn’t even sure how to describe the object before him. It was a large metal…thing.
“Wow, not even you know what this is?”
Kunon did not. And that was exactly what had him so excited.
“It’s a flying vehicle called a magic airship.”
A magic airship. Now that Kunon thought about it, it was shaped like a ship, but without cabins or a mast. It looked like a metal zucchini.
“Wow, really?! I’ve heard about this!”
He couldn’t remember when, but Zeonly had once told him about such a thing.
I’ve made really large magic tools as well. I once lent my genius intellect to help craft an airship.
He’d explained that it was literally what it sounded like: a ship that flew through the air.
At the time, Kunon was too focused on the idea of a flying ship to ask where it was or what it was being used for.
Now he had the answer. It was right there. He wondered what circumstances had led to its construction.
He’d found yet another mark his instructor had left during his days as a student at the school.
“That’s my teacher for you,” Kunon said. He was awestruck.
Hank allowed Kunon to inspect the interior of the magic airship. It was a mostly empty space, constructed of uncovered metal like the outside. The hollow’s purpose was to provide room for cargo and passengers. The magic airship was essentially being used as a freighter. The designers had probably minimized the number of parts as well, since assembly was required.
The airship had no chairs. That was to maximize cargo space, which was clearly the priority over human comfort. The only furnishings were hooks for keeping freight in place. There was nothing in the way of decoration.
“Hank, is the floor removable?” asked Kunon.
“You mean the tiles?”
“There must be a magic circle, right? I want to see it.”
“I had a feeling this would catch your interest.”
At Kunon’s request, Hank removed one of the metal tiles on the floor. There was indeed a magic circle underneath. This ship was made like a typical magic tool.
The structure was quite big, but…
“…It’s surprisingly simple.”
Making such efficient technology was an artform. The ship looked complex at first glance, but it actually wasn’t. That was what made it tasteful. All unnecessary elements had been stripped away so that every part served a purpose. It was elegant in its simplicity.
Zeonly had made this when he was about Kunon’s age. There was a reason everyone called him a genius, including the man himself.
Over the last year, Kunon had found various traces of Zeonly’s troublemaking at the magic school, but he had discovered many of his great accomplishments as well. The man was clearly a standout student in more ways than one. It all seemed very like him.
“I don’t know much about magic tools,” said Hank, “but the size of this thing is really impressive.”
Hank shared what he had learned about the machine. According to him, it was made a number of years ago in a joint effort by the entire Harmony Faction. Multiple prototypes were constructed, and this was deemed the most complete.
It was a magic tool that allowed people to fly through the sky like birds, regardless of their attribute. All one needed to power it was magic. The appeal of the concept was obvious. No small number of Advanced class students and teachers must have dreamed of making such a device. That was how it had come to be.
It had impressive loading capacity, speed, and safety. The exterior made it look like a crude fishing boat, but it was capable of so much more than that. It clearly boasted a higher degree of perfection than any flying magic tool made before it. It put all prior airships to shame.
“The Advanced class is amazing,” Kunon said.
Now that he thought about it, this magic airship was far from the only incredible thing this school’s students had built. The bases used by each of the factions were marvelous achievements as well.
The Ability Faction had a recreation of an ancient castle from a fallen country. It was so massive that exploring every nook and cranny of the building would take a whole day.
Rationality used an underground facility leftover from an attempt by past students to make an artificial dungeon. It extended so far underground that nobody knew how many floors it had.
As for Harmony’s squat tower… Kunon didn’t know much about it, but he figured it was the work of the Advanced class, too.
“You’ve got that right,” Hank agreed. “I wasted ages working as a teacher’s assistant because I was determined to join the Harmony Faction. And I knew I couldn’t do that unless I made it into the Advanced class.”
Hank’s cautious nature had led him to put off taking the entrance exam for years. As a result, he hadn’t officially enrolled until he was eighteen. He was already an adult.
“I don’t think those years were a waste. You ended up getting in, after all,” Kunon said. Age was irrelevant for sorcerers. Kunon didn’t care that Hank was eighteen, but… “Since we’re classmates, you’d better not expect me to treat you like an upperclassman.”
“That’s fine with me.”
Hank wasn’t aware Kunon had ever considered their age gap. The younger boy had spoken to him as a friend from the moment they met.
“I will definitely not be calling you ‘Mr. Hank.’”
“Why’re we having this conversation now?”
They were already in their second year. There was no use worrying about how they spoke to each other at this point.
After sufficiently admiring his instructor’s work, Kunon left the ship and found Shilto—the Harmony Faction representative—standing outside it. She must have been helping with the preparation, too.
“Are you coming along?” she asked after Kunon greeted her.
“I would love to, but it’s all a little sudden…” Kunon looked pained.
He wanted to ride the airship, and the trip itself sounded like a blast. It would certainly be an interesting experience.
But the new school year had just started. It would be one thing if the trip were only one or two days, but knowing it would take around two weeks made him hesitant. He felt like there were other things he should be doing with his time. If he had been given at least a week of warning, he might have gone. Or if the trip had been a month later. That would have given him time to get ready.
“You’re leaving tomorrow, right?” he asked.
“Yep. Tomorrow morning… Sounds like you can’t go, huh?”
“It would be a little difficult. I wish I could, though.”
“I understand. It was short notice.”
Crying in his heart, Kunon decided not to go on the expedition.
One day later…
“Delivery!”
…a letter arrived at Kunon’s classroom.
“Thank you.”
He took it from the messenger, looked at the sender’s name, and immediately set about opening it.
The letter was from Elva Daglight, the girl he’d spoken to the day before.
Could it be an invitation for a date? Or perhaps something to do with Serraphila?
Elva should have left with the expedition that morning. Did she write this just before her departure, or had she written it yesterday?
Kunon supposed that hardly mattered. He was curious about the letter’s contents, so he set down his book, opened the envelope, and read it.
“…That was fast,” he muttered.
The letter was brief. It said simply, “I’m taking Serraphila with me on the expedition.”
In less than a day, Elva had taken Serraphila under her wing.
I’m sure she’ll be seduced by the time she returns, Kunon thought.