CH 107

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Dylan, 4th year student, Percival’s childhood friend

In ancient times.

The children of the goddess lived in this world we live in.

The children of the goddess, who lived peacefully without any conflicts, created sophisticated magic tools with rich magical powers equal to the goddess, but gradually disappeared from the world.

They lived a peaceful and prosperous life and were promised prosperity, but they may have been so content that they did not even think that they would perish. And the goddess probably just watched her children disappear.

Goddesses seek entertainment, but they do not intervene. Instead, she throws people like me into the world and enjoys the little ripples that occur. I don’t know what the fun is in just watching, but there is no way that people can understand what a god thinks.

The ruins that are now scattered across the continent were left by the children of that goddess. The ruins, with their magical tools and arcane devices that we cannot create, could not have been built without the wisdom of the goddesses. Many adventurers dive into the ruins to obtain the blessings of the goddess, but it is extremely difficult to conquer them. After all, the ruins are beyond human knowledge. The ruins are filled with all sorts of difficulties, such as monsters that are unthinkable by our common sense, like the living dead, hiding here and there, and labyrinths that you can never get out of if you get lost. That’s what makes them so fascinating for adventurers.

So I think that Insania Metus, the Black Flame Dragon of Calamity, may have come out of those ruins. Such a nasty thing has come out of the ruins, either by accident or intentionally. I don’t know in what form it was sleeping inside the ruins. However, such outrageous things are still hidden in the ruins.

Her children, who probably did not have the fence of the goddess’s law, had the power to create all kinds of things as they wished, whether they had a soul or not. The creatures they created as they went along were the things that stirred in the ruins. In any case, they were created by people close to the goddesses, so there is no way we can handle them.

Even though I know that, I’m thrilled to think that there are many hidden things that no one knows about yet. I want to become an adventurer as soon as possible and travel around the ruins.

Anyway, I think the scales of Insania Metus found this time are probably from the ones I defeated. The scales, which were jet black, had lost half their colour. That must be due to age. Even after 150 years, the scales alone still have the power to generate an abnormal amount of magical beasts, making them an extraordinary item.

That suspicious person had it and threw it into the abyss with some intention.

……Whoever thought of this, there should be something behind it right?

“Sapphiras, are you thinking of something bad?”

Percival, who had gone to get me a cup of tea, said as soon as he sat down.

“No, I don’t think it’s bad.”

This time, is there someone’s ideas in this and that? I thought.

“Is that so? Then that’s fine. I understand your concern, but it’s better to leave the matter of the dragon scales to the Order of Magicians and the Order of Knights.”

“It’ll be fine. You know that it’s not okay for a mere student to get involved in this.”　

I closed the mythology book I brought from the library with a snap, and sipped my tea.

I’m just Sapphiras, not the Great Magician of No Incantations, Fortis. If I don’t have to get involved, there’s nothing better than that.

“I’ve decided that from now on I’m going to live a peaceful academy life. I’ve got my attainment exams coming up soon.”

“Yes, that’s true. Besides, Sapphiras should work a little harder on his art.”

“Nggg……!”

I almost spewed out my tea, but I swallowed it in spite of myself.

A lot has happened recently, so the illustrated book is covered with dust on the desk in the room. To be honest, even if I tried to remember it now, it would be impossible, so I consciously tried to keep it out of my sight as something completely non-existent.

“……By the way, if you don’t get a score in art, it’s a supplementary exam in any case.”

“Aah, until I get a passing grade, I’ll probably have to take a supplementary exam. If that happened, the Duke of Bloomfield, who gave me the illustrated book, would be very disappointed.”

“Ah~, that’s right……”

I get down on the table without a second thought. I don’t want to disappoint the Duke, but I’m not at all confident this time. I’ll do my best in other subjects, so can I be exempted from art?

“But you know, don’t you think that if you think a painting is good, it doesn’t matter who painted it and when it was done……?”

“Yes, I think Sapphiras is right.”

He readily agreed, so when I looked up, I met Percival, who had a loving smile on his face as if he were looking at a young child. It’s the face of a mother when she talks to a child who doesn’t listen.

Ehhhh……even with this, I’m a good adult on the inside……

But although it makes my back itch, I don’t feel bad. If this was the redhead, I’d definitely be sinking my fist into that face.

“But if I don’t have to take a supplementary exam, what’s the point? After exams, it’s a long holiday. It’s hard to go on holiday if you’re forever taking supplementary exams.”

“……Yeah, well. That’s right.”

With Percival’s gentle admonishment, I forgot about my art, and when I calmed down and relaxed, a high-pitched scream suddenly echoed to disperse the loose air.

“What is it?”

I rushed to get up. The students in the cafeteria were also looking out at once to see what was going on.

A large, dark red shadow crosses outside the window, and at the same time, yells and screams erupt.

I rushed to the window and looked out to see a dozen or so wyverns circling in the sky above, as if stalking their prey. Below them, a number of academy students were relaxing outside for the afternoon.

“Why is something like that here?”

Wyverns are originally found around the top of Mount Paluum and don’t come down to these lowlands.

“Sapphiras, that’s for later! Everyone! Get away from the windows and go to the back!”

Percival gives the order to the students in the cafeteria to evacuate and then jumps out of the window. I quickly followed suit.

The knights stationed at the academy are guiding the students outside to evacuate inside the building, but those who have never seen a wyvern are so confused by fear that they do not hear the evacuation instructions.

In her haste to flee, a young lady ran in the opposite direction to the school building, tangled her feet and fell down with a flourish. Everyone was running for cover and no one was there to help her up.

“That’s not good.”

Living on a mountaintop where prey is scarce, wyverns do not miss food that is sure to be caught. Sure enough, the wyvern swooped down, perhaps having decided that the fallen Lady was its prey. The knight, who has noticed, is trying to run to her, but he won’t make it in time.

“He-help!”

I pull out my wand and fire a ball of fire at the wyvern. The pale, hot flames burn the wyvern in an instant. It would be easier to clean up after burning it all. 

Wyverns are not magical beasts and they can be eaten, but their flesh is hard and tasteless. Aside from when you’re starving, there’s no need to go to the trouble of leaving wyvern meat when you can have delicious meat every day.

“Leave this to us, you all evacuate the students!”

“Sorry!”

The knight took the young lady in his arms and quickly ran to the school building.

A senior student who heard the commotion rushed to meet the Wyvern. He didn’t seem to flinch, and is probably a student aiming to join the Order of Knights or the Order of Magicians in the future. If you have a reasonable ability, you can do it, so I judge that he doesn’t need assistance.

Speaking of which, Percival ran out unarmed, but is he okay?

A quick look around reveals Percival using a cleaning broom to keep the wyverns in check and attacking them with magic. He was not moving as fast as he should have, probably because he was protecting a student who was stuck in fear. I immediately transferred to Percival’s side, and fortified the perimeter with barrier defence magic.

“Thank you, Sapphiras.”

“You’re welcome. There aren’t that many of them, so I’ll burn them all at once.”

Aiming at the wyvern flying in the sky, I hit them with a thumping fireball. They’re troublesome just because they fly around, but they are not very powerful dragons. At this level, it can be wiped out while the tea is being brewed. Some embers will fall, but it’s better than leaving a large corpse behind.

All the wyverns flying above are reduced to soot, and one of the students snaps off the head of the last wyvern. A brilliant sword stroke with no hesitation.

The crowd cheered. The person who turned around, brushing off the blood on his sword, was a familiar face.

“Dylan-san!”

“Hey, Sapphiras and Percival, thank you for your hard work. Anyway, I’ve heard about it, but Sapphiras’ magic is amazing to burn out a wyvern in an instant.”

“You too, Dylan-san! Isn’t that some splendid swordsman!”

He’s a relative of Percival, and he wins the swordsmanship tournament every year, so I thought he had some skill. If it’s Dylan-san, I’m sure that even if he joins the Order of Knights right now, he’ll be an immediate fighting force. 

“It’s an honour to be praised by the beautiful magician-sama!……But why did wyverns appear here?”

I looked at Percival and shook my head.

There’s all sorts of strange things going on, but I have a feeling that they’re all connected behind the scenes. However, there will be an attainment exam soon, and as a first-year student, I decided not to poke my head into it.

melon: Dylan was introduced as Percival’s childhood friend (I went back to check and double-checked with the raws), but here it says he’s Percival’s relative. I also somehow remember him being Percival’s cousin…maybe it’ll be revealed in future