Episode 100. Entrance Ceremony (1)
The evening three days before the entrance ceremony.
Rubin stood by the window and watched the fireworks exploding above the park.
Boom! Boom!
The order of the colors of the fireworks exploding in succession indicated the time and place of contact.
‘I think you’re ready.’
Early the next morning, Rosetta was already waiting at Kuze’s bookstore.
Since it wasn’t opening time yet, the two were able to have a comfortable conversation inside the dark bookstore.
“Rosenthaler, did you bring what I asked you to prepare?”
At those words, Rosenthaler handed over the clothes lying next to him. They were ball gowns. The entrance ceremony was held while wearing wizard robes, but for the following ball, each person had to change into the costumes they had prepared.
Rubin glanced down at the ball gown and nodded.
“It’s just right.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if it was a little more flashy?”
The ball gown Rubin requested was plain and inconspicuous, which is why it would blend in well with the attire of most common cadets.
“Have you chosen a partner?”
“No. I have no intention of dancing.”
“Oh, what a pity. I was just going to take this opportunity to see the dancing skills of the young master of the Assassination Swordsman.”
“Does that mean you’ll be attending the banquet too?”
As usual, Rosenthaler, who had no connection to magic, was not allowed to attend the banquet at the magic school.
“Only for the entrance ceremony and banquet. But since I’m only an outsider and have a fake identity, I can’t do much. It looks like I’ve missed your dancing.”
“I see how you got in and out. It’s because of the Witherspoons, right?”
Rosenthaler nodded.
The Witherspoons’ arrival changed the situation. The scale of the event grew and the number of VIPs increased, giving Rosenthaler a chance to get in.
“Did the imperial decree know this before?”
“what?”
“The youngest daughter of the Witherspoon family is coming here. She’s an exchange student.”
Rubin’s agitated attitude was evident as he spoke like that. Rosenthaler’s expression became serious as he asked why he didn’t tell her if he knew. It meant that he didn’t notice Rubin’s acting.
“You told me that this year’s incoming class was incredibly talented. Chloe was one of them, right?”
“You misunderstood. This is something that even the Imperial Order didn’t know about. Well, the Ministry of Magic may have known about it in advance.”
“okay?”
“Anyway, there are no authors as cunning as wizards. Isn’t that right? The same goes for the Capotini principal and the Witherspoon family. I wonder what their intentions are.”
Rubin slowly began to lighten the mood.
“… I thought the Witherspoon family was part of the reason I was sent to magic school.”
“No, that’s a huge miss.”
Although Rosenthaler answered like that, in fact he himself was not sure about either option.
‘It was the will of the head of the Imperial Order, Rulfo, to have Rubin enter the Magic School, but the Witherspoon family was a force outside the Imperial Order’s sphere of influence.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Rosenthaler was frustrated. Even though two years had passed since he had been assigned to Capotini under Rulfo’s direction, he still had no idea what “Operation Capotini” was all about.
Operation Capotini.
Rulfo sent Rosenthaler away, saying only that ‘in five years something will happen that will shake up the wizarding community, and it will happen in Capotini.’
And when that time comes, the force that must lead the situation must be our Imperial Commission. Only when that is achieved will Rosenthaler’s position be restored and he will be able to return to the center of the Imperial Commission.
Rosenthaler took out a cigarette and puffed on it. The acrid smoke enveloped them both. Rubin’s expression crumpled slightly.
“Here, this.”
Rubin handed over a rolled up piece of paper to the desk.
“This is the layout of the Rhapsody Hall. Hmm, so it looks like the cadets’ rooms are connected to each other.”
“The only place I haven’t been is the principal’s office. Other than that, there’s nothing special.”
A natural lie.
There were quite a few places in the dorm that Rubin had not yet figured out. There were even hallways that had “No Entry” signs. The only place he had not been to was the principal’s office, which he had visited on his first day.
Rosenthaler had no doubts. After all, the information about the dormitory was trivial compared to the directives that would follow.
After that, Rubin didn’t delay. He had finished his business, so there was no need to stay here.
“Rubin, are you leaving already? I’ll see you at the banquet next time.”
Without responding to Rosenthaler’s words, Rubin packed her ball gown and headed straight back to the dormitory.
“… … .”
Inside the dorm room. Oscar was seen sleeping through the transparent ceiling, wrapped in a blanket. He had been practicing dancing with Srehim’s animals as his partners until the previous evening.
Swish.
Rubin lowered the veil on the ceiling. Without Oscar knowing, there was something he wanted to examine.
First, I put on my ball gown. If Oscar asked me later, I planned to tell him that I had taken down my veil to change.
“Hmm.”
A blue orb was placed on the desk. It was the ‘Heart of the Griffin.’ Rubin looked inside quietly.
Two months had passed since he had obtained it from Professor Benitez, but the griffon’s heart was still the same as before. It was so special that it was no wonder the wizard professor mistook it for a mere souvenir.
‘I keep carrying it around but there’s no reaction.’
Since becoming extinct a thousand years ago, griffons have become legendary creatures, often used as material for fairy tales.
The griffon in the fairy tale was originally in hibernation. Then, when the main character of the fairy tale entered a place he was not supposed to enter, it became a key and the griffon woke up.
At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Rubin’s mind.
‘Could this be a key too?’
It’s like the core of a golem. There’s a separate main body that’s in hibernation, and if you put this orb inside that main body, it might start moving.
-Tina, can you come here for a minute?
Rubin called Tina. Roynecrou, who had a secret connection with the assassin, was immediately alerted to the call of his colleague.
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Soon, a crow was seen flying far outside the window. Only now, it was not in the form of a Roinecrow, but a regular crow.
Caw.
The crow continued to glide near Rubin’s window, landing gently on the windowsill.
The reason Tina was so cautious was because of the thread. Even though she was a bloodthirsty person, if she ran into the warden or his animals, things could get complicated.
-Why did you call?
Tina’s voice continued.
-Oh, what’s that? Oh, look at that bright blue light! Oh… That’s the prize I got from that professor last time?
-You can’t use this as a magic ingredient.
-Hey, when did I say I wanted it?
Tina was whining about what was so unfair. Rubin said that it was the heart of the griffon, but it would only cause a headache, so he gave a vague explanation. Then he brought up the reason why he had called her.
-Because I want to learn about the Hwanhyeol tribe again.
-Hwanhyeoljok? Tell me first. But I’m really curious, so I’m asking… If I tell you, will you give me the bead?
-… … .
-Oh, I’m joking, I’m joking! Why are you looking like that? Oh my. Anyway, you’re serious!
No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like a joke, so Rubin continued speaking without letting his guard down.
-You said that last time. The Hwanhyeol tribe can only transform into existing life forms.
It’s been quite some time since last time. It’s been four years since I went to Gilliefield Arboretum with Tina.
-That’s right. It has to be a living thing. Not something like a golem.
-Does that mean any living thing will do?
-Why? Is there something bothering you?
-Rather than saying it’s difficult, I’m just curious about what the limits are.
Then Tina flapped her black wings and boasted.
– Any living, breathing creature in this world can transform. Even if it’s just one individual. But!
-step?
-I must have actually seen it.
Rubin bit his lower lip. This was something he hadn’t thought of.
‘There’s no way Tina has ever seen a living griffon.’
Then transformation would also be impossible. Even if a griffon exists somewhere in this world, Tina would have to see it in person to be able to transform.
-Are you done with your business? Then I’ll go!
Caaaak.
Soon, Tina flew into the sky and away from the dormitory. Watching Tina getting smaller and smaller, Rubin placed the griffon’s heart on the desk.
‘I guess I’ll have to try something like this.’
He placed his hand on the blue bead.
The only person who could unlock the secret of the griffon’s heart was Per, but right now I wasn’t even sure if he was at school.
So, if there’s anything you can try, you have to try it.
Jiiing.
Rubin released a cloud of smoke with his fingertips.
It was the ‘shadow field’ that Kuze had created. He intended to create a field of zero gravity around the griffon’s heart and observe its reaction.
‘Huh?’
Rubin’s eyes, which he hadn’t expected, lit up. As the vacuum became formed, the blue orb that had floated slightly above the desk began to shake.
Kkudduk! Kkudduk!
A sound like the gnashing of teeth rang out. Rubin swallowed.
‘It’s almost like screaming.’
Contrary to expectations, the atmosphere was rough and uneasy.
At that moment, the surface of the blue orb began to turn ashen. It felt like it was rapidly decaying. It felt as if the griffon’s heart was stopping unsteadily.
In the end, there was no choice but to quickly stop the shadow field.
bang.
The blue marble came down to the desk again. As the dark smoke that had surrounded it disappeared, the blue marble finally seemed to have escaped its dangerous situation.
Like someone who has been strangled and then released, it is slowly returning to its original color.
‘What is it? It felt like resisting darkness.’
That’s when Rubin began to hear a thump, thump, thump sound in his ears.
Rubin, who realized where the sound was coming from, turned his gaze toward the ceiling. It was echoing beyond the transparent ceiling covered with a black veil.
It was the sound of the ball Oscar threw.
If you draw a veil in one room, Managu will not pass through the ceiling and will bounce off the wall as if it had hit it. Just like now.
“Luden! What are you doing? Are you sleeping?”
Rubin put the blue beads in his ball gown pocket. He quickly adjusted his attire and prepared to face Oscar.
Beyond the veil, the sound of Oscar’s throw grew louder. Every time the mana ball hit the ceiling and returned, it was drawing more and more of Oscar’s mana.
Clang.
As Rubin opened the veil that had been covering him, almost simultaneously, Oscar’s mana ball passed through the transparent ceiling and fell on Rubin’s head.
Pfft!
I took it reflexively, but my hands were freezing because of how thick the mana was. It was powerful enough to vibrate the mana ring inside my body.
“… … !”
Rubin, startled by the sudden surge of power, hurriedly lowered his head so that Oscar could not see his expression.
Peeeeeing. Peeeeeing.
‘what?’
It was a strange thing. The griffon’s heart seemed to be screaming desperately as it faced death in front of the dark clouds.
But now it was emitting the exact opposite energy. The exact opposite of death. In other words, it was the energy of life.
‘Is Mana the key?’
I feel resistance to darkness, but I respond to mana.
It was a plausible principle. If this were true, it would probably require mana similar to that of Chloe or Celesne, or even the professors of Capotini.
‘And to say it again… … .’
The moment Oscar’s mana ball was received, the blue orb reacted, so it must mean that Oscar is at least at that level.
“Huh? Look at that? Luden! When did you prepare your ball gown? And you hid it from me? Just wait! I’ll be there right now.”
I saw Oscar open the door and go out with his hair still disheveled.
Rubin felt the griffon’s heart return to nothingness once again. Before he knew it, both the energy of life and the energy of death had disappeared.
Almost at the same time, Oscar flung open the door.
“Hey, isn’t this a bit… a bit too plain?”
This was Oscar’s honest impression after looking at Rubin’s ball gown from all angles.
“If you do this, there’ll be no use asking the noble lady to dance.”
“Is it too plain? I can’t help it. Did you get a ball gown?”
“Me? Ha, I should have brought it. I searched every nook and cranny of the market yesterday and got it. Just wait.”
Oscar ran back to his room. After a long time climbing the stairs, he appeared, breathing heavily and hurriedly changing into his ball gown.
“how is it?”
Oscar’s expression was the very definition of triumph. But in every way, it was an over-the-top ball gown. Too much decoration, too many patterns.
Besides, I know it’s Oscar’s favorite color, but there was so much blue, the color scheme was a mess.
“… It’s okay.”
“I see. You know a thing or two. Chief Srehim said that this blue color looked like a twisted branch.”
“hmm.”
“Oh my. I learned noble dancing from such an ill-informed person!”
Rubin didn’t say anything to Oscar’s chattering. He just nodded in agreement.
