Prepare (6)

[End of Test]

Krrrzzzzz!

The capsules lid opened.

?

I looked around from inside the capsule. Everything was dark.

Is it all over?

There was no response. Even the air felt heavy and silent.

What

As I crawled out, I surveyed the capsules. All were empty.

Am I the last one?

What on earth happened? If the ranking is determined by who finishes first, does that mean I cant go to the Knight Academy?

Ah, Im stiff.

I stretched first. I checked the time on my smartphone in my pocket.

8 PM.

I had been in this capsule for almost half a day.

Hello? Excuse me?

I waved my hands towards the glass observation room on the second floor. I even jumped up and down, but there was no response.

Even if Im the last one, shouldnt at least one person wait?

I walked towards the exit. But there was no handle.

How do you open this-

Krrrzzzzz!

It opened automatically. It was an automatic door.

Oh, that startled me.

I took a step back in surprise. There was a person in the darkness beyond the corridor. She walked towards me, her heels clicking.

Theia Esil. Holding a tablet PC in one hand, she approached and spoke.

Shion Ascal, you scored 9 points.

Out of 100?

Out of 10.

Oh, thats a relief.

Theia was busy operating her tablet with her long fingers. I just watched her silently.

Your subconscious was excellent in many ways, but

Thump-.

Theia closed her tablet. Her sharp gaze swept over me.

You should focus more on yourself.

Pardon?

Devote the time you spend admiring others to your own development, and make yourself the purpose of your life.

She rubbed her eyebrows with a rather tired expression.

It would be better for you as well.

As Theia turned around, she was the very image of a professor. Her attitude towards undergraduates was the same.

Perhaps, this means Ive passed.

In fact, she was like this during our first meeting before the regression.

She always wears a mask.

When she kills a person, when she deals with a person, when she handles animals, when she deals with a case, when she focuses on her work, she switches her behavioral principles with different masks.

Switch.

That is her Spectrum, her defense mechanism to hide herself, and the reason she is called a sociopath.

Click

Theias footsteps stopped. She only slightly turned her profile.

Do you remember?

Pardon?

The contents of your subconscious.

Uh Its vague.

I scratched my jaw.

I think I wasnt alone.

Im sure I was with someone.

The existence of that person is vaguely remembered, but the rest is blurry.

Im not sure. I cant remember well.

This is the first time Ive had an experience where something doesnt come to mind since the regression. I wonder if things that happen in the subconscious escape the influence of the Notepad.

Its an afterimage. Its a phenomenon close to an echo. Youll forget it in a week at the latest.

Ah. Yes.

Leaving such a business-like comment, Professor Theia left me.

.

A dark night.

Theia Esil sat alone in her office. Resting her hand on her chin, she closed her eyes in silence, retracing the afterglow of the subconscious.

Im on borrowed time.

His calm confession that he wouldnt live long, his words wouldnt be a lie. Because the subconscious cannot lie.

Theia didnt ask him what kind of disease it was.

Even she, who doesnt deeply ponder others psychology, found the situation pitiable enough.

His words, that he wouldnt live past his 30s, were hard to fathom even for her, who was always analytical.

A stalker no. I was just a fan.

Moreover, Shion said he was a fan of Theia.

Fan: A person who is passionately fond of sports games, players, or theater, movies, music, actors, singers, etc.

It was understandable.

Theia had been a star since she was young. She grew up envied by all her peers, and the media observed her every move.

A genius who stirred the jealousy of nobles with her talent alone.

A hero of the common people.

Wait a minute. Ascal?

Suddenly, Theia repeated his surname.

It seemed like a name she had heard somewhere before.

Did I meet his clan at some point?

She couldnt remember clearly anyway.

Now, she had other work to do.

Who the hell were the ones who infiltrated the test? And what information did they steal?

She had to trace them back, catch them, and tear them apart.

Tadadadadak.

She drummed on the server computers keyboard like a piano.

* * *

The next day.

Edsilla, Section 0 of the Aerial Garden.

Hmm.

Jade, the second son of Libra, was reading the [Unconscious Dialogue] in his office.

I wonder if I should praise him at times like this.

He spoke with a neutral expression.

He even does unconscious censorship for us.

Yes. Youre right.

His secretary chimed in.

The [Unconscious Test] is legally permitted only to national universities. The very reason being the security of institutions operated with the nations taxes.

Therefore, although unconscious data is immediately discarded after the test, if its stolen before that, its fair game. Libra has the manpower for that.

Zia.

Jade called Zia.

Yes?

He was buried under all sorts of dialogues on the sofa. Most of them were records of Shion Ascal.

What part are you reading?

Libra The part where he talks about Libra

She showed him the dialogue.

[Tei: Professor Theia hates Libra, doesnt she?

Shion: Yes. So, shell probably become my enemy someday.

Tei: .

Shion: It cant be helped. Her methods are wrong.

Tei: Im sleepy. Lets go to sleep.

Shion: Yeah. Sleep well.]

A section where Shions unconscious loyalty can be seen.

Jade chuckled.

I also liked that part.

Um But Is there nothing next?

Next?

Jade looked at his secretary. The secretary asked with a tense face.

What next are you talking about?

The secret that Shion Ascal said he would reveal Its not there.

Ah Thats because Professor Theia reset the programming and traced back as soon as she came out of the unconscious, so there wasnt enough time. The download was cut off in the middle.

Libra, or more precisely, the insider of the university that receives Libras orders, put Professor Theia into the unconscious.

Of course, it was pure coincidence that the unconscious was Shion Ascal, but the insider installed a program on the server to transmit [Unconscious Information] to Libra while the professor was trapped, but Theia discovered it in just 10 minutes.

Thats why the information is sporadically cut off.

.

Zia looked disappointed, but Jade twisted his lips in a smirk.

What secret could there be? It must be love.

Love?

Actually, Ive come to like you, Tei. Something dramatic like that.

Jade. He surprisingly believes in love. Perhaps because love has come to him as well.

Dont try to dig out secrets.

Jade rose from his office chair. He looked out the window.

Every person has at least one secret related to love.

As he muttered this, a soft sigh flowed. A pale memory flickered in his eyes that followed the void.

He might be reminiscing about his old love.

Well then. Ill be going.

His secretary quickly vacated the spot.

Jade silently looked at his own palm.

Aaaaaaaah!

A scream from a certain moment reverberates like a hallucination. The illusion of blood and flesh splattering induces a headache.

This is the only pain that can torment him.

Thus, Jade believes in love.

Even if its a love he himself shattered.

Zia.

Jade looked at Zia reflected in the window.

Read the documents here. Do not take them outside, and burn them after reading.

Yes.

I have some business to attend to.

He briskly left his office.

* * *

[Under Construction]

Near Edsilla. A completely empty shop not far from the national university.

I smirked at the construction sign hanging there.

What.

This is the right place for todays meeting.

What do you mean what? Its a game room.

Someone sneakily appeared and stood next to me.

Is it Elise or not?

Who are you?

Its Elise. Im in disguise, so shush.

She was disguised like some private detective. A burberry coat, sunglasses as big as a fist, even a pipe.

Why the sudden disguise?

You dont read the news at all, do you?

Ah~ That love affair? Does anyone believe that?

What?

Then Elise let out a faint sigh.

You might think that way. No, everyone might think that way. But for me, the fact that such a love affair rumor is spreading Anyway. Did you bring the game console?

Yeah.

For some reason, Elise had reserved a space for gaming herself.

Its safer to gather in one place or something.

I took out the game console and Grawl from my bag.

Meow Meow

As soon as he came out, he rubbed his face against Elises ankle.

A cat, huh.

Elise blinked her eyes.

I brought him to serve as a guard while we play. Oh, right. Hey. I intentionally invited Soliette late.

What?

Elises shoulders flinched. She fiddled with her sunglasses and asked while biting her lips.

Why Why did you do that? Did you want to have some time, just the two of us?

What are you talking about.

I opened the door. Contrary to the construction sign, the interior was neat.

There was a sofa, several monitors, game console stands, even a conference table

What the. Its neat?

Its my building.

Elise shrugged her shoulders a bit proudly.

Your building?

Yeah. Officially, its the first real estate under my name. A gift for entering university.

But the admission announcement hasnt been made yet?

Hmph.

She crossed her arms as if amused.

I heard in advance. By the way, you also passed.

I did?

My eyes widened slightly.

Admission to the Department of Knight Studies?

Yeah. You passed. Youre in the top 120 nationwide. Congratulations? You survived.

Ahem.

I coughed awkwardly.

I thought she only knew how to say annoying things, but that wasnt the case.

More importantly, Elise. Sit here. In front of me.

I said, sitting at the conference table. Elise asked with a somewhat suspicious tone.

Why are you asking me to do that?

Her face was slightly flushed. Whats with the blush? Did she catch a cold?

You know the Protection formula, right?

Protection?

Yeah. Can you teach me that quickly?

.

Then Elise bit her lips tightly. She was like a sulky bulldog.

You. Do you know how much my tutoring fee is? Youre always asking me to-

Ive helped you too.

Haah. We dont have much time.

She shook her head and put something on the table. Most of it was academic journals, but one thing bothered me.

Hey. Wait. Whats that?

It was the Magic SpellDelivery Box.

Why do you have that?

Its the formula I submitted. Why does Elise have it?

Ah~ this?

Elise chuckled. She proudly waved her hand. It was a gesture of a somewhat elegant noble.

A mage should always follow the trend. This is a formula released in Trick City three days ago, it was quite hot. I brought it right away to study.

Is that so?

It was released three days ago.

Literally, its a Delivery Box. If you put a mana stone in this formula and complete it, a box is assembled. If you set the coordinates, it delivers to the desired place.

Elise recited the details related to the Delivery Box with an excited face.

So, is Trick City full of flying boxes now?

Soon? It will probably be like that soon. This formula is not only academically valuable, but its also very practical and versatile.

Is that so?

Yes. These days, even the Magic Tower is showing interest in this mage named Dale Kal. There are rumors that hes an exiled mage. And.

Elise chattered tremendously about the rumors about a mage named Dale Kal circulating in the Magic Tower.

Anyway. Im curious about who he is too. Hes probably someone who isnt bound by rules? He must have left for Trick City because he didnt like the procedures of the Magic Tower.

Hes right in front of your eyes.

-Of course, I swallowed those words.

Okay then. Now teach me the Protection formula.

Sigh. I guess I shouldnt have offered to teach.

Elise sighed.

What did you say?

Never mind, just watch. Protection is a bit different from Barrier. If Barrier forms a shield of magic, Protection is a concept of putting a glove on an object

* * *

The National Magic Universitys Records Room.

Theia Esil stood in front of a bookshelf, flipping through some confidential documents, when she suddenly froze. Her fingers tightened on the page.

Dale Ascal.

She laid her finger on a page with various names.

[123. Villanova Tineer

124. Dale Ascal

125. Velukan Skindor]

Dale Ascal.

The name Ascal.

She remembered seeing it somewhere, in an operation document from about ten years ago.

Am I some kind of unbelievable genius?

A name that seemed vaguely familiar.

But she had actually met him. They must have crossed paths at the operation site at least once.

She couldnt recall his face, but what level was this momentary memory?

Swallowing a hollow laugh, Theia gathered the documents. She stepped out of the records room-

Excuse me, Professor.

An assistant professor suddenly appeared at the door.

What is it?

Theia frowned. Had he been waiting for her to come out all this time?

Well its about the magic formulation experiment you assigned.

The red-haired assistant professor kept rubbing the back of his neck, his head bowed low.

There was a bit of a mistake.

What kind of mistake?

Theia asked first.

Well we ended up using external magic.

However, she couldnt stand the assistant professors next words. A vein popped on her temple.

Ive told you countless times to induce magic purely scientifically during experiments-

Im sorry. Im sorry.

If all he can say is sorry, whats the point of his existence?

If he cant even conduct such a simple experiment properly, whats the point of living?

As Theia Esil was pondering these thoughts

-Why bother creating enemies? Its the same with superiors or subordinates. Just say, I understand, turn around and leave. Dont tire people out by pointing out every single mistake.

Someones voice came to mind.

Ebert of the Snow Mountain, from Shion Ascals unconscious the harsh words that no one else dared to say to her.

Understood. Just dont make the same mistake next time.

Thats all Theia said.

Im sorry Pardon?

I said, dont make the same mistake. Do I need to repeat myself?

No, no. Im sorry. I wont make the same mistake next time.

Theres no need to pay attention to this stupid assistant professor who just stands there blinking.

Theia Esil quickly made her way to her office.