How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 256

[Side Story] Wind Flower (6)

The shape of the valley that runs all the way along the ridge of the Pulan region looks like claw marks when viewed from above in the distant sky.

Looking at the valleys that occasionally appear between the wide-open mountain ranges, people say that the mountains have scars. Of course, the terrain in question was actually the traces of a blow from a giant bear in the distant past.

Just imagining the majesty of the Supreme Spirit, who scraped the mountain and created five valleys, is jaw-dropping. It is an unbelievable grandiose sight that only recently has the relationship been properly studied and reported to academic societies.

“It was called the disaster of the mountain. Some parts are exaggerated and some parts are reduced while being handed down by word of mouth… It is said that the shadow of that huge bear, which occasionally appeared in the clouds that stretched across the sky, was truly magnificent.”

“How old is that, roughly?”

“It’s hard to say exactly because it’s a story that has been handed down orally. you know As it is a mountain village like this, there are not many things that are systematically recorded or actively interacted with the center of the continent.”

Even if it is a pastoral village stuck in a corner among the corners of the mountain, even if you witnessed an incident of that scale, all the stories passed down by word of mouth… .

No matter how I looked at it, I thought that Toren Village was somewhat like a different world separated from the world.

“Well, it must have happened in an instant at the time, so our ancestors probably thought that God was angry or that a great natural disaster had occurred.”

“It’s not an event on such a grand scale. It’s so funny that it’s finally revealed.”

“As you know, here in Pulan is completely closed, and in the era when that great event happened, long-distance transportation and news distribution systems would not have been in place. In the end, only the result of that disaster remains naturally and exists as a landscape like this.”

Village Chief Glems looked at the secluded and idyllic mountain scenery and talked.

It was barely time to call it morning, and the village was already lively. Ranchers and laborers hauling fodder whimpered, and I heard the purring of boys pulling mules, shepherds leading sheep to the pasture, and women carrying laundry to the cloth.

There is a scent that can only be felt in the countryside.

It is a different feeling from the Roth Taylor home, which always has to think about dignity and authority, or the Sylvania Academy, which is filled with students who are full of enthusiasm for learning.

For a long time, I was in the middle of a busy life going back and forth between them, so I felt rather softened by this secluded rural landscape.

“It has been less than 30 years since our village started a large-scale ascending route with the central part of the continent in earnest. It would not have been easy for the imperial family to manage such a mountain range by example, so in a way, it was only natural.”

“Is that so.”

“yes. Well, the villagers all seem to be adapting well, so as the village headman, I’m just deeply moved. By the way, Yenika, what are you doing in the corner?”

Village Chief Glems asked Jenika, who was sitting on a bench in the corner with her head bowed while shaking off her maroon cowhide coat.

As for Yenica, her condition has not yet been restored. It was so-called wise time, but he belatedly remembered what he had done last night and fell into shame.

As if it was too embarrassing to see everything she couldn’t see because she was drunk with the atmosphere, Yenika couldn’t even make eye contact and was gasping for breath. In her head, it was obvious what she was thinking. I’m crazy, why did I do that? It’s an obvious repertoire.

His demeanor is so ugly that it is hard to believe that he is a person with a title of nobility.

Her light pink hair was loosely braided, with tiny hairs sticking out here and there, her eyes wide open, and her lips quivering.

I tried to get myself up using a large lightning rod for support, but then I fell back on the bench with a groan.

“Huh, my back… .”

Looking at Yenika like that, I hardened my expression for a moment.

Yenika, who seemed fine until yesterday, wakes up after a night’s sleep and complains of back pain looking like she is dead.

I don’t know if there are people who will overlook it, but in the eyes of the village chief Glems, who has been through all the mountain battles, the situation will be roughly drawn.

Village Chief Glems laughed heartily, then sneaked up to me and spoke in a whisper.

“Indeed, it seems that strength is a trader, as I have heard.”

I was trying to answer something.

There is no need to go around telling everyone that we slept together.

I thought I might give Yenika some attention later, but I had a complicated feeling as I fully imagined how Yenika would blush after finding out the truth.

It is truly Yenika-like that she has no discernment in this aspect.

“Yenika.”

However, Village Chief Glems is also a person from this Pulan after all. Directly plugging it into Jenika without saying anything,

“Don’t tell Ortérand Seila. If possible, feed Yenika a lot of food that gives her strength.”

With a warm face, he said it casually.

Yenika laughed awkwardly and wandered about, then suddenly understood the meaning of the words and blushed again.

“What, what are you talking about!”

“hmm? Literally?

“… That’s right! Powerful food! Eat a lot of strong food! I have to do research work, and when I go back to the baron’s house, I have to manage the estate! We must persevere! strength!”

It is pitiful to see him smiling with his lips trembling as he presses his fist against his knee.

After I told Chief Glems to leave it at that, I turned my head again and saw the wide open ridge.

“In short, Master Ed believes that those large traces are the result of Tyr’calax, the highest wind spirit.”

“yes. It hasn’t been long since reports on land surveying and topographical research in the Pulan region have been uploaded… No matter how much I think about it, that is the only possibility.”

“Then, why did the wind spirit of the distant past run wild? And, if a being so powerful ran rampant, who would have stopped and subdued it?”

Village Chief Glems asked an obvious and reasonable question.

If Tyr’calax, the highest wind spirit, had gone on a rampage in anger, he would have razed the entire Pulan region to the ground.

However, the huge bear was suppressed by someone and disappeared, leaving only the marks of its claws in this mountain range.

“Even the legendary great wizard Glockt Elderbane said that he struggled to subdue the highest spirits, but who the hell prevented such a huge disaster in this rural mountain range where there was almost no talent?”

Glems said that and then kept his mouth shut. It is a question that cannot be answered in the first place. Because it is a story from a long time ago.

However, I felt like I knew the answer roughly. There is no clear evidence, but if you look at the context, there is a rough picture. He is one of the few people on this continent who can subdue the highest level of spirits.

The story of Tyrcalax, the highest wind spirit who descended from this distant land of Pulan.

How does Merylda, who has lived for hundreds of years on the remote island of Aken, know the story of the giant bear?

If you look at the facts, there is only one conclusion that can be drawn in the end.

“The Great Sage Sylvania.”

It was the great sage during his lifetime who subdued Tyrcalax, who had descended to the Pulan region.

* * *

“Oh, Master Ed! When you arrived at Toren Village, I should have rushed out first, but I’m really sorry! I was in the middle of going out to the ridge to check the cows that had been grazing… !”

I was about to go around the village to gather information about the time of Tyrcalax’s descent.

When I arrived at the Pale Rover Ranch, one of the most famous ranches in Toren Village, a rather friendly face popped out and I lowered my back.

The owner of Failover Ranch, Orte Failover. He was an attractive middle-aged man with bulging muscles and a lively laugh.

Since he had already seen his face once on Aken Island, he did not need a full name.

“It seems that you are very busy with ranch work.”

“Oh. On top of that, if you’re going to check the cows that are scattered all over the pasture one by one, you’ll end up having to bring your camping gear and sleep in the vicinity. Anyway, thank you for your hard work. Eat it at home! Come on, Yenika, you too!”

“Yes!”

When Jenika returned home, her expression relaxed to some extent. She seemed to be relieved a lot of tension because it was a comfortable environment.

Upon entering the house, Seila Failover, who was preparing a lot of food, bowed her head and said hello. Perhaps she had heard in advance that I might be coming, and she had prepared a delicacy.

Apparently, it seems that the person who kicked Yenika into my room last night was Seila Failover, but when she looked at Yenika’s strangely hesitant face, a smile spread all over her face.

“Oh, Master Ed. To such a shabby place… !”

As soon as I took off my coat and sat down at the table, Yenika followed me and sat down with me.

It is definitely Yenika’s house, but the reason Yenika looks the most awkward is probably because of her parents’ expressions, which have been full of meaningful smiles since earlier.

Actually, it was obvious what had happened last night, so I didn’t feel very comfortable either.

‘Ed… .’

‘why… ?’

‘I’m not sure what Ed will think if I say this, but I feel ashamed to death… .’

‘… get used to it… .’

It’s ironic to see them looking at their parents like a time bomb. It was a situation where I didn’t know what to say right away, so I decided to strike first.

“I was just wandering around town because I had a lot of things I wanted to ask for academic research.”

“Are you talking about academic research?”

“The story of a bear-shaped monster that was so huge that it filled the sky in the old days, which has been handed down here around the Toren region.”

At those words, there seemed to be silence for a moment.

I wonder if I know something, but I feel like I don’t know anything… Anyway, it was an ambiguous response.

“Did the village chief say anything?”

“He told me roughly, but it seemed like he was avoiding mentioning something specific.”

“… It deserves it. Even in Toren Village, it’s a story that only older people would know, and it’s something that people talk about.”

“Is that so?”

“Actually, he must have decided that it would be better to listen directly to the villagers rather than the village chief telling them.”

In front of a table piled high with various salads and meat dishes, Jenika tilted her head.

“Uh, huh? I’m hearing this for the first time… .”

“Of course not, Yenika. It’s a story that I have no reason to tell you.”

As Orté sat down at the table, he started talking with a heavy expression on his face.

“In fact, at first we were against Yenika’s admission to Sylvania.”

Suddenly, the story jumped to Yenika. I thought there must be a reason, so I listened quietly.

“I knew that Yenika had a talent for spirit magic, but it is in line with the reason why I had to keep quiet.”

“What is the reason?”

“It’s a story from the distant past that can only be passed down now by word of mouth, but in fact, in the distant past, there was another Elementalist from Toren Village.”

Yenica was making an expression that she had never heard of. Is it really a story passed down only among the old generations of Toren Village?

Jenika had no choice but to listen to the old story that she kept quiet and avoided mentioning.

“I don’t know if you know, but it is said that old spirits that have accumulated magic beyond a certain level can manifest into the world in human form.”

yea of ​​course i know It is a position that I always have a guy who can be cited as an example right away.

“And so, the story of the Elementalist who fell in love with the manifested Tyrcalax… Have you heard?”

“… … .”

Seila quietly lowered her head, and Orté continued to speak.

Maybe Chief Glems wanted to hear this story directly from Orte himself. He seems to have thought that it was not a matter for him to speak directly.

If that’s the reason, maybe… .

“Her name is Caitine Failover.”

Maybe it’s because it’s someone else’s family business.

Is the spirit response also an inherited talent after all? If we were to find the source of Yenica’s extraordinary spiritual magic, it would have been influenced by her lineage.

That may not have been the only reason, given that the parents, Ortez and Seila, seem to have no talent in that direction at all.

“… He is our distant ancestor.”

“Is that so… .”

After saying that, Orté was silent for a moment. Looking at Yenika’s expression, it was a completely new face.

What I didn’t tell even to my daughter, Jenika… It must be because there is a good reason for that.

“I guess her words weren’t very good.”

“This story is a secret that only a few of the villagers know.”

Orté put down his fork and looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

“She was forced to make a contract with Tir’calax, but died due to an overabundance of responsive mana. I heard she had a backflow of blood.”

“… … .”

“It is true that I also heard from my grandfather. At first, he had no talent for spiritism, but at some point he signed a contract with a high-ranking spirit… In the end, it is said that he ended his life in a fit of anger when he forced himself into a contract with Tyr Kalax. However, it is a rare thing.”

At some point, Yenika was also listening to Orte completely. The family she had lived with all her life, but it was the first time she was talking about it.

“Isn’t the highest level spirit being a celestial being that is evaluated as a great achievement just by summoning it once? It would have been enough to force him to manifest for a moment, but why did he try to sign a contract directly… I heard that such questions remain.”

“What do you think, Mr. Orte?”

“well… . It’s a story from the very distant past. In fact, it’s not a story worth leaving any impression on, and I’m not in a position to do so.”

For Orté, it was nothing more than a legendary story told by his grandfather in the distant past.

However, the meaning must have changed completely when the one and only pretty daughter started to show proficiency in spiritism.

“That’s why, when Yenika made the spirit contract and said she wanted to enter Sylvania, I thought my heart was pounding. She is now. She is our proud daughter, but… She was, frankly, very worried.”

Thinking about the terrible end of the ancestor spirits, how did you feel when Jenika, who was born with the same blood, said that she would walk the path of the spirits in the same way?

“Dad… That’s why you objected.”

“Well, after seeing Yenika’s strong will, I immediately agreed to it again. So, Yenika, how did you feel when you failed to summon Glaskan and made a fuss?”

Ortez and Seila must have felt as if the sky had collapsed.

It is fortunate that the person who had been told the story of a person who died while trying to bring down the highest rank spirit didn’t faint right away when he heard the news that my daughter had run amok with the highest rank spirit.

“I am very happy to see you now becoming a full-fledged elemental sage, but there are times when I feel uneasy from time to time. It can’t be helped.”

Sayla, who had been listening quietly, also helped.

Caitene Failover.

An elemental spirit who died trying to make a contract with Tyrcalax, the highest ranking wind spirit.

I feel uncomfortable about something, but I felt I needed to remember it anyway.

* * *

As the morning is early, the night is also early. Is that what rural life is all about?

By the time the sun goes down, the people of Toren Village have already finished their day’s work, and when the moon comes out, they prepare to go to sleep right away.

Early to bed and early to rise life. It’s a desirable thing, of course, but it’s too out of sync with my life of researching and working until late at night.

It was the same for Yenika, so I came out to see my condition smoking a cigarette in front of the dorm.

It is late summer. It also means that autumn is near.

At Aken Island, it was muggy even at night, but it was already quite chilly, probably because it was an alpine area.

“Ed.”

“Why are you in the room?”

Yenika was also wearing loose pajamas and a long light gray shawl, probably accustomed to the early chilly weather here.

Looking at the shawl that has crossed the shoulder line and come down to the waist line, tightly wrapped in the hand, it seems that there is a person hiding behind the curtain.

“That, that… Something is not calming down… .”

Then they come and sit side by side next to me, who is leaning against the outside wall of the town hall.

Sitting on a wooden stump roughly placed on the dirt floor, the posture is very low. Yenica came over and sat down next to me without showing any sign of concern, and talked with difficulty through his breath.

“Well, what can I say… Because I’m alone in my room… Maybe my thoughts aren’t well organized… .”

“I guess so. I suddenly heard the story of your ancestors. I heard your parents were hiding it at all?”

“huh? uh yes! yes! There is also… .”

“That too’… ?”

“… … .”

“… … .”

When I stare at her, Jenika says as if surrendering.

“Ah, I’m still not used to sleeping in the same room… .”

“yet… do… ? You made such a fuss yesterday, do you still have something like that?”

“Gu, let’s not bother talking about yesterday because I can’t get used to it yet.”

“You, too, are terribly adaptable in this area.”

“Hey, it’s my first time, what should I do! If you’re good at it from the start, that’s even weirder… ! that just… .”

Jenika hugged her lap and then leaned her head on my shoulder.

“I never thought I would experience something like this in my life.”

“That is too much fuss. It’s something everyone goes through.”

“That too… just… It can’t be helped that your thoughts get complicated.”

Yenica leaned her shoulders like that for a while, then looked up at the moon in the mid-heaven.

The Moon of Pulan symbolizes stillness.

Perhaps because of the lives of the people of Pulan, who go to bed early when the moon rises, Toren Village bathed in moonlight must have always been locked in silence.

“It’s been a while since I saw the moon in my hometown.”

Most of the landscapes of Pulan that Yenica remembers are also of livestock grazing under the bright sun.

In Toren Village, which was quietly sleeping, there was a strange feeling as if only the two of them were awake.

Even though I wondered if the time in the world had stopped, I was able to realize that time was still passing because of the sound of grass insects that had subsided or wild beasts rustling through the grass once in a while.

“It must have been hard walking around all day, but go to bed early. You have to get rid of it with blood.”

“no. To put it bluntly, I’m getting tired right now.”

“okay?”

“huh.”

With her head buried, Yenika speaks quietly.

“Shall I tell you a very strange story? In the past… To be specific, when I saw Ed for the first time, was he very uncomfortable?”

“I did. Because when I told my name at the bachelor’s school, everyone hated it. In the meantime, you were the only one who didn’t make an uncomfortable tee. Now that I think about it, that’s a big deal.”

“Well, even if it was uncomfortable, it wasn’t the kind of unpleasant feeling Ed thought, it was just… I don’t know how to deal with it, and I can’t predict what Ed will do… That feeling was stronger. So Ed has always been an uncomfortable opponent.”

Jenika put her cheek on her shoulder and quietly raised her eyes to meet mine. She seemed to have regained her composure, judging by the playful smile in her eyes.

“But now, with my head leaning on Ed’s shoulder like this, I feel very relieved and comfortable. When I’m sitting in my room alone, I get restless and nervous for no reason.”

“… … .”

“It’s a strange thing. Ed was so awkward and difficult for me, but since when did he become such a comfortable and reassuring partner? I can’t pinpoint exactly when, but it must be the human mind that changes so slowly, like getting wet in a drizzle. In terms of results, it turned out to be the complete opposite.”

I raised my arm and wrapped it around Yenika’s other shoulder. If you tell me that you are comfortable, I have no intention of throwing you out. Above all, I received a lot of emotional salvation from Jenika in many ways.

My school days, when I had to run away from the fear of death every day, this shy and timid elementalist changed a lot in many ways.

It may not have been a great change enough to be called a cataclysm, but the little twisted changes gradually accumulate and change the landscape itself at some point.

Just as Pulan with the rising sun and Pulan with the moon feel like opposites of a mirror. The scenery of the camp where Yenika exists was the bright side of my survival life.

I didn’t even have to explain in words how much of a psychological relief it was.

“So, since I’m in a state where I’m mentally stable… . The inner voice or sincerity may leak out without me knowing. Can you take it in moderation?”

“What?”

“… From now on, you can just pretend you didn’t hear what I said.”

Yenika whispered as she buried her face in her shoulder.

“When I heard about my ancestor named Caiten Failover, that’s what I thought. The person who loved the supreme spirit, a far-away existence with a completely different hierarchy, birth, power, and everything far beyond… What was it like?”

“well… . It’s not easy to have that kind of experience.”

“To me, Ed is that kind of person.”

I couldn’t help but be speechless there. I needed to organize my thoughts a bit to come up with an appropriate answer right away.

To be honest, I had anticipated to some extent what Yenika was thinking, so I wasn’t taken aback.

“Can I tell you a very strange story? It’s so obvious and new that I don’t know if you laugh at it.”

Yenika laughs and talks.

It was as if time had stopped for a moment, or rather, time had sped up too fast. The tossed words pierce my ears.

“I must love Ed.”

I hugged Jenika’s shoulders tightly and put my head on top of her head.

At times like this, it was better to listen quietly rather than trying to say something grandiose with your mouth.

A person’s mind is of a strange nature, strangely changed and blurred the moment they try to express it out of their mouth.

So, people do something called communion. The strange thing about people is that they can communicate with each other just by leaning on each other without having to exchange words.

“So tell me… I really want to know the fate of the person named Caiten Failover. This way, rather than being told that it might have been.”

Yenika’s words carry weight.

“According to what I’ve heard, it wasn’t a very good ending… Doesn’t it only leave a bitter aftertaste if you dig deeper?”

“Still, something I want to see with my own two eyes.”

“I see… What if the story is far more horrific and bitter than you thought? like… .”

I got a sense of what Yenika was worried about. It pierces that part right away.

“If it’s so terrible that it feels like your future… ?”

“That’s why I want to check. Still, I wondered if I could ever love Ed.”

You don’t have to go that far. Katen Failover and Jenika Failover are completely different people.

The situation I am in and my abilities are completely different, and above all, I am not the kind of person who would neglect Jenika.

Even so, being sure in your heart is completely your own problem.

“okay. I can confirm it.”

That’s why I made it clear once.

I came all the way to Pulan for academic research. Of course, some preparations have been made for him.

Above all, I can use Aspect Magic. If the environment and medium are well equipped, it is possible to peek into the distant past. It’s not easy, though.

“Let’s take out the magic engineering supplies we brought in the wagon tomorrow.”