Silfier Pelleneas
Though there were many complicated matters, the trouble with Young Master Bismarck was resolved…
[Th-thank you very much…!! I-I will never forget this kindness…!!]
“Thank this guy, not me. I didn’t do anything.”
Speaking in a voice mixed with mechanical sounds, Silfier bowed her head repeatedly.
At her reaction, Leje looked at Rudell bluntly.
If you think about it, all she did was judge the duel, so it was a natural reaction.
[Th-thank you very much… Young Master Weinstein…!! F-for someone like me…]
“Don’t say that, we’re classmates.”
At her words, Silfier began to bow her head towards Rudell as well, and Rudell waved his hand, acting nonchalant.
He helped her not only as a member of the Disciplinary Committee but also for his own personal reasons.
‘If I make a good impression, I can get closer to her a little faster…’
Recruiting her was essential to prepare for future events.
If these kinds of incidents piled up one by one, it would eventually become easier to recruit her.
In any case, from Rudell’s point of view, helping her was something that wouldn’t hurt him at all.
[I-if there’s anything I can help you with regarding machines or alchemy, please feel free to c-come find me…!! I’ll help you as much as I can…!!]
“Thanks for saying that. See you later then.”
Silfier, with her head bowed, moved her steps, and the people who had gathered around also began to disperse one by one.
A moment later, Rudell and Leje also left…
“Haaaam… Today is over too…”
It was then that Rudell stretched out, tired, looking up at the sky that was beginning to darken.
“By the way, was that kid a girl?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you know?”
“Of course I didn’t know. She’s always wrapped up in that armor, and she always writes on paper when she talks.”
“Well… I guess that’s true.”
In fact, if it weren’t for the knowledge of the original story, Rudell would have mistaken her for a boy.
“But how did you know that child was a girl?”
At his words, Leje asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Huh? Th-that’s… I guess you could call it a hunch.”
I know because I read the original story.
Since he couldn’t say that, Rudell trailed off, answering vaguely.
“Hmm… Is that so?”
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Rudell looked at her with a bewildered face at Leje’s low groan…
“It’s nothing.”
“…?”
Following that, she shook her head as if it were nothing and began to walk away.
Rudell, puzzled by Leje’s inexplicable reaction, followed her with a dubious expression.
Unaware that Silfier had been labeled a dangerous person in Leje’s mind.
* * *
That night. 1st year dormitory.
-Creak, creak, creak.
In a space more suited to be called a storage room than a dormitory, a girl was cleaning a large suit of armor.
A physique noticeably smaller than others, and skin as white as snow from barely seeing the sunlight.
Dark circles were settled under her dark black eyes and dull black hair.
Her name was Silfier Pelleneas.
A student in the A-1 Class and a girl whose appearance was unknown to anyone in the academy.
“Phew…”
With a short sigh, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Assembling loose gears, oiling them, and recharging the fuel.
It was an important task that she never missed every day.
However…
-Creak! Pssshhh!!
“Eek!?”
With the sound of air escaping, white steam erupted, and the startled girl quickly assembled the pipe.
However, the steam that erupted from the pipe instantly filled the room.
Unable to see in front of her due to the thick steam, the girl fumbled her way to the window and opened it.
The steam that had filled the room escaped through the window…
“Sigh…”
A short sigh escaped the girl’s lips as she watched the scene.
It was strange.
If it were usual, she would have already finished her inspection and gone to bed for the next day.
But she still hadn’t finished her inspection.
“Is it because of that…”
Thinking that, the girl muttered as she recalled what had happened earlier.
The Young Master of the Bismarck Marquisate, who had shouted at her to get down.
But she couldn’t.
It felt like she would faint if she took off her armor.
As she was in a dilemma, unable to do this or that, a boy reached out to her.
“Why would he help someone like me…”
Most people’s reactions when they saw her were largely divided into two categories.
They would either avoid her in fear or find her curious, say a few words, and then lose interest in her monotonous attitude.
But…
[Don’t say that, we’re classmates.]
The words spoken by the harmless-looking boy with light brown hair and sparkling green eyes.
“Classmates…”
As if possessed by something, the girl muttered the word and let out a short sigh.
To be honest, she didn’t feel a sense of belonging in the A-1 Class.
Naturally, no one spoke to her first, and she herself didn’t feel the need to approach others.
Existing as if not existing.
Living like air.
That was what she wanted, but…
Strangely, at this moment, that fact felt so frustrating.
-Why are you like that!?
-Stop doing such useless things and study etiquette more!
“Ugh…!!”
At the same time, unpleasant memories began to surface in her mind.
Shaking her head vigorously to shake off her thoughts, she got up from her seat and sat down on the old bed.
“Sigh…”
After staring blankly into the air for a moment, another short sigh escaped her lips.
Why was she acting like this?
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come to a conclusion.
She had never felt this way before.
Equations and machines always produced definite results.
“Rudellheit… Weinstein…”
With an indescribable feeling, she muttered his name blankly.
* * *
The North Tower of the academy.
The strangely shaped tower, whose area widened as it went up, was often called the ‘Mage Tower’ by people.
Indeed, the subjects taught in the North Tower were magic, magic engineering, and alchemy, so it was a fitting name.
And at the top of the tower, the department head’s office.
“Huh…”
An elderly man let out an annoyed sigh and put down the document he was reading.
Cloudy gray eyes and a sharp impression.
His dark gray hair and beard, and the wrinkles that filled the back of his hands, testified to the fact that he had lived a long life.
“What in the world is going on…”
The contents written in the documents were all the same.
The organizations he had created outside the academy had all lost contact in the past few days.
“Could it be that the Kingdom noticed…”
He gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound.
“No, that can’t be…”
But no matter how much he thought about it, it was hard to believe that the Kingdom had noticed.
If the Kingdom had noticed, the situation wouldn’t be this quiet.
If that were true, the Security Guard, the Capital Guard, and the Royal Guard would be scouring the entire Royal Capital.
However, there was no information from anywhere that they were moving.
“Who in the world…”
Then there was only one conclusion.
Someone was attacking them with a purpose.
“How dare they…”
He clenched his fist, speaking in an angry voice.
It had already been ten years since he was pushed into the cold position of an academy professor due to a power struggle.
How long had he endured to get revenge on the bastards who had put him in this place?
It was unacceptable to be interrupted by someone he didn’t even know just as he was about to see the fruits of his labor.
“I have no choice but to take it out…”
Muttering so, the man got up from his seat and waved his hand in the air.
At the same time, space seemed to split open, and a shimmering void appeared.
Slowly, the man stepped into it…
“I won’t let anyone get in my way…”
Arriving in a certain space, he said so and looked around.
A dark space, unknown where it was.
Thick and thin cables were stretched out along the floor, and large water tanks were lined up along those cables.
And inside them, creatures that were difficult to describe were huddled.
Creatures that looked like a mixture of various creatures’ characteristics.
Anyone could easily guess that they were not normal living beings.
“I will not let anyone interfere with me…”
An ominous smile began to spread across the man’s lips as he watched the scene…
A laughter filled with madness echoed through the dark space.
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