[256] Another Sky (6)
"Competition isn't just a system to determine first place. It's a process of clashing with countless philosophies and finding what's yours. Obsessing over ranks is foolish."
Olivia regarded Dante with pity.
There was nothing false in Shirone's words. Changing the world was on a completely different scale from taking first at the Magic Academy.
McClain Goffin, called the most powerful mage in human history despite there being no way to verify his existence.
And the successor he chose, Adrias Miro.
Even they had had to pay enormous sacrifices to protect this world.
"Do you think Dante could become as strong as Shirone?"
"Everyone will become strong. Every student here will."
Olivia closed her eyes.
With that, the duel was over. And her long, tangled ties with Alpheas came to their end here as well.
"I lost. I'll step down from the principalship and leave the school."
Alpheas smiled ingratiatingly.
"Would you mind staying on a while?"
"What are you talking about? My term's almost over anyway."
"Stay at the school and help me out. I'm getting old; I can't handle everything alone. Think of it as being the vice-principal."
Olivia's eyes narrowed.
To ask someone who'd once been principal of the Royal Magic School to be vice-principal—under Alpheas, of all people—was unbearable.
She had thought to bury it. No matter what she did, she couldn't beat this slippery man; she would try to forget and get on with her life.
But Alpheas seemed unable to resist tormenting her one last time.
Of course she could guess his motive. If Olivia were vice-principal, the school's prestige would shoot up overnight. Besides, Alpheas had implemented no small amount of innovation while remaining here.
That was exactly why she had to refuse.
She wouldn't fall for Alpheas's ploy to seize both fame and authority at once.
"Vice-principal? Are you insane? Why would I help you do that?"
Without hesitation Alpheas drew his trump card.
"That night… when you came to see me…."
"Stop! Please!"
Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
Was there anyone so cruel? What grudge did he hold against her?
When a man who hadn't contacted her for over ten years suddenly appeared, she'd at first thought it a chance for revenge.
But now her one eternal regret was that she hadn't sent him away coldly the day he came.
Tears gathered at the corners of Olivia's eyes.
"You're… truly selfish."
Alpheas dropped the jokes and spoke seriously.
"Don't go. Stay. When we have free time we can have tea together, tend the flowerbeds. And… greet Erina."
A hot resentment swelled in Olivia's eyes. He knew her feelings perfectly well, and yet he expected her to greet the wife he'd lost.
Why should she be forced to endure that humiliation?
She had simply loved him. What had she done wrong to deserve him dragging her down to the ends of hell?
"You really…!"
Olivia stopped herself from shouting when she saw the look in Alpheas's eyes. There was an emotion there she hadn't seen before.
"You don't mean…."
Alpheas shook his head. He knew Olivia would be disappointed, but he couldn't wound her again.
Still, thirty years had changed things. Perhaps that was true.
"Don't misunderstand. Yes, I know what you think I'm thinking, but honestly, I'm not confident. I might never be able to let Erina go, even to my dying day. I can't promise you anything."
Olivia's gaze cooled a little, though not as sharply as before.
"Then why do this? With your dead wife lodged in your heart, what do you expect to get from me? A body? Is it because loneliness gnaws at you with age?"
Alpheas looked up at the sky.
"Maybe. It wasn't a rational conclusion. I just felt if not now, I'd never get another chance. That's all."
Olivia stared blankly. Alpheas gave an awkward laugh — even he admitted how absurd it sounded.
"Isn't this selfish?"
Olivia shook her head.
"No. Do you know what real selfishness is? This is the first time you've ever spoken honestly about your feelings."
"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. Back then I couldn't. You know that — I couldn't help it."
Olivia exhaled and thought for a long moment.
"So what exactly are you asking me to do? Beg you again at my age? And because you tried, I might accept?"
"I don't even know my own heart yet. No matter how long I live, there are some things I just don't understand. But I'll try."
Olivia forced the tears back.
She ought to have been angry at so selfish a proposal, but the moment he said he'd try, her anger drained away. She felt pathetic and miserable for it.
She sighed. Alpheas's words made a certain kind of sense. Truthfully, she didn't want to keep living by calculation.
A second-rank great mage. Having achieved everything she could, what was there left to fear in life?
She could let her feelings move her and go with the flow of time. At her age, it felt permissible.
"Show me the library stacks. But first, let's have tea."
Alpheas looked surprised. The library was where his wife 'lived' — the portrait and the memories were there. He knew Erina had been foolish in her own way, but he hadn't expected Olivia to lay everything down so readily.
Olivia saw his expression and waved a finger.
"Don't get the wrong idea. That doesn't mean I accepted your proposal."
"Then why the library?"
Olivia recalled events long past. The memory of defacing Erina's portrait in front of Alpheas still haunted her like a nightmare.
"There are… things I should apologize to Erina for."
At last a smile spread across Alpheas's face.
"Apologize all you like. Shall we go?"
Alpheas rose first. Olivia checked the teachers' gazes, cleared her throat once, and followed.
The teachers were utterly bewildered.
They hadn't heard the whole conversation, but with the duel over they'd expected one of the two to be ruined.
Yet the pair walked side by side toward the library — after all those times of driving students to fight to the death, this was baffling.
Meanwhile, Killain, who had ridden Dante's interviews to success, was in despair. A new star had been born, true, but the problem was her own future.
She had monopolized Dante as her star. But Dante had fallen, and Shirone's world had arrived.
Reporters would swarm Shirone, and competition would be fierce. And of course their first target to eliminate would be Killain.
As she schemed, Killain's eyes flashed. Since things had turned out this way, she'd have to make one big play to lay groundwork for the future.
While everyone chased Shirone, she would bet the other way and hunt for a scoop.
Killain walked over to the videographer. When she arrived, the recording unit was lying on the floor.
She stared in disbelief and asked coldly, "What happened? Why is this knocked over?"
"Well… the bracelets all broke. The recorder links to them, you see. It has to, to capture the fight. Then it just popped and fell at the end."
The videographer shrugged as if it were unavoidable.
Killain wanted to curse, but she took a deep breath to calm herself.
The Obscura was delicate and could be damaged by a small shock.
"Check it quickly! The Obscura. Without it we can't publish anything."
"All right."
The videographer opened the unit and inspected the interior.
After rummaging for a long time, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned.
"It's fine. The Obscura is intact."
Killain's heartbeat finally steadied.
"Phew, that's a relief."
Shiina, who had safely escorted the students away, finished her duty and came over.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
The videographer laughed awkwardly, "Ahaha, well…"
Suddenly Killain shouted.
"No way!"
It was the instinct of a special correspondent.
The videographer and Shiina turned confusedly, and Killain put on a mournful expression.
"There's a crack in the Obscura. A damaged Obscura can't play back footage. In the end, it captured nothing."
Shiina sighed in regret. Today's duel had been of such a high level it could have served as teaching material for many students.
That the Obscura containing Shirone and Dante's fight had been damaged was a loss not just for them personally but for the entire kingdom.
But in another way it was fortunate.
She'd heard Principal Alpheas had ordered Sade to destroy the black box.
Granted, what had been in the Obscura was just footage, but now that it had come to this, it was better to clamp down decisively.
"How unfortunate. That's a shame."
Shiina offered a half-hearted condolence and walked away.
As she left, the videographer looked to Killain as if to ask what she'd been doing, but Killain's eyes were fixed on a single thought.
The school's top correspondent would always be her.
"Heh heh heh! A scoop, a scoop!"
Revealed Truth (1)
A week had passed since Shirone and Dante's duel.
Olivia was still serving as interim principal, and rumors whispered she'd return as vice-principal next term.
The news shocked the students.
Olivia was a second-rank great mage.
Unless she were returning to the Royal Magic Academy, no one could have imagined her working under Alpheas.
But if the rumor were true, it was exciting.
With a man of integrity like Alpheas leading the faculty and Olivia — the kingdom's best teacher — joining the school, its reputation would soar.
Perhaps that was why, with only a month left in term and a typically chaotic time, the students' studious atmosphere was unusually good.
Olivia often took walks with Alpheas.
They still clashed like fire and water, but their arguments never escalated into full-blown fights.
Olivia would snap like flame, then fell silent as if doused when Alpheas opened his mouth.
From that, teachers and students concluded Olivia must have some weakness Alpheas knew about.
Today too, Olivia and Alpheas strolled the campus, enjoying a leisurely hour.
Most of the curriculum had been revised during the term, so only the teachers were busy.
"We'll plant roses here."
Olivia spread her arms, measuring the width of a flowerbed as she spoke.
Passing students greeted her.
"Hello, Principal Olivia!"
Olivia returned their greeting with a warm smile.
"All done with class?"
"Yes. We're heading to the library now."
"I see. But it's practice period — don't you need to go to the training grounds?"
"Oh, we had Lesson 2000 today. We're pacing ourselves. I didn't notice before, but now that Lesson 2000's been introduced, it overlaps with practice period and makes things harder."
"That might be so. I'll bring it up at the next teachers' meeting."
"Really? Thank you!"
The students, thrilled, hurried toward the library.
Olivia's educational policy favored prompt, practical responses to improve efficiency rather than clinging to lofty philosophy.
"Principal!"
Sade shouted from afar and ran over, looking as if something serious had happened.
But the veterans Alpheas and Olivia weren't worried.
"What is it, Teacher Sade?"
Sade panted, swallowed, and pulled a magazine from her back — the teachers' association's magazine, Spirit.
Olivia immediately guessed why.
After all, the kingdom's greatest, Dante, had been defeated by an unknown student. She could imagine how sensational they'd made it without even opening the pages.