[371] The Steel Gate (1)
It was the first day of term at the Magic Academy.
Shirone woke before dawn, folded his futon, and packed his things.
The Kubric came in handy even in everyday life. He spread odds and ends across six slots and put Armand in a separate one—just in case.
When he left his room and went down the stairs, Olina greeted him with a smile.
"Are you all set? Oh—where's your bag?"
"I packed it. It's here."
Shirone held out his palm and showed the ring.
Olina, who had been staring at her son's mischievous face, turned away without asking a single question.
Since the Kazra incident, she had known her son was a mage.
"Hurry and come eat. You'll be late."
Shirone watched Olina's back for a long moment. She was his one and only mother in the world.
"I love you, Mom. And thank you."
When Shirone hugged her waist, Olina's hand hesitated.
At home he was a spoiled only child, of course. Still, a mother's instincts sensed the heavy fate in her son's voice.
'There must be something this time too… God, please protect this child.'
Regaining her cheer, Olina spun around and gave Shirone's head a sharp, affectionate smack.
"There now."
"Ow!"
"Stop acting like a baby now that you're grown. And you don't go touching a lady's belly without permission."
Vincent, finished washing his face, dried himself with a towel and spoke up.
"All right, all right! I'll never give up on Mom, Shirone. So you better look after Amy at school—!"
"Cut the theatrics and just eat."
"Yessir."
Vincent marched to the table in a soldier's stride. Shirone's laugh brightened the kitchen. He wished this happiness would last forever.
* * *
They rode the Ozent family carriage to the school, and the front gate was packed with people.
It was the start of a new term; parents were stooping to their undersized children and laying on the scolding.
When an announcement said the opening ceremony would begin soon, a tide of students surged past Shirone.
But he wasn't worried. The senior-year event was at two o'clock at the Steel Gate, his dorm had already been moved, and he planned to drop by the clubroom to kill time with his friends.
"Hey."
Amy's voice reached him and he turned with a smile. The smile vanished almost at once and his eyes widened.
"Uh, uuh?"
"Why the shock? You look like you've never seen a red-haired girl before."
Amy's red hair had been cut to shoulder length. It brushed her cheeks and her bangs were trimmed into an asymmetrical straight line—she looked like a completely different person, not just unfamiliar.
Amy twisted her lips as if holding back a laugh and flicked her hair back with her hand.
"How do I look?"
"Huh? Um… pretty."
Shirone gave a bashful tap to her shoulder; she stamped her foot and laughed.
"What's that supposed to mean? I feel something different besides your looks."
"Oh—right. Well… it's like you seem a bit sharper?"
"Hmm, really?"
Amy looked pleased and drifted into her own thoughts for a moment before coming back.
"By the way, how did it go? Did your business with the Association finish all right?"
"Yeah. I asked about Heaven, took a look around, stuff like that."
Shirone hedged the truth where necessary. Even the dearest friend couldn't be trusted with secrets he couldn't reveal.
Amy only let out a faint smile and didn't press.
They hadn't seen each other in two months; she was definitely more confident now.
"It suits you, but why cut your hair?"
"Just—less hassle for training. I wanted a fresh start."
Amy had climbed as high as fifth in last year's senior rankings—one of the likely graduate candidates. To escape the two-year jinx, she seemed to have decided to start over from scratch.
"You came early, huh? The event isn't until two. You going to find that fool duo?"
"Yeah. I'm meeting Iruki and Nade and we'll go up together. How about you?"
Amy pointed with her thumb toward a distant uphill path.
"I'm headed to the Steel Gate. I need to get things ready to welcome you all. Oh—later, whatever happens, you have to call me 'me'."
"'Me'?"
Shirone pointed to himself and asked, and Amy shook her head.
"No, not you—me. Got it? Just say 'me' no matter what."
"What does that mean?"
"Heh. You'll see at the event. You'll be really grateful to me. See you at two at the Steel Gate."
Amy scrunched her nose and smiled, then turned away. With her new haircut, her personality seemed brighter than before, though Shirone still hadn't fully adjusted.
She clasped her hands behind her back, spun once, and said,
"Welcome to Hell."
"Haha! Yeah—thanks a lot."
Amy giggled and walked off.
Shirone shook his head as if she were hopeless, but a smile lingered on his lips.
'Yeah—finally we're standing in the same place.'
He began to understand why Amy was so upbeat.
* * *
The Supernatural Psychoscience Club.
Iruki stared at the chalkboard covered in formulas, lost in thought.
He'd finally made it into his senior year. But to be honest, he'd kind of drifted here by accident.
"Become a mage? Me?"
It was a place he could have come to whenever he wanted. At least, that's what Iruki had thought.
What had frozen him in place was the fear of how a monstrous mind like his would be used in the world.
'In the end, I followed Shirone here.'
It didn't feel bad. The reason he could stay calm with the graduation exam a year away was probably because Shirone acted like a huge control mechanism wired into his brain.
"Yeah, Shirone was born to be a mage. I wonder if he's getting ready."
Honestly, there was nothing to worry about with Shirone. With a clear goal, he would never stop.
'On the other hand, Nade…'
He'd probably done nothing again.
Most likely holed up in a storeroom tinkering with weird devices all day, then showing up late. It was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done—Nade didn't want to be a mage.
'Has it already been six years?'
Six years ago, Iruki had been expelled from the Royal Magic School and transferred to Alpheas School of Magic.
His temper was still prickly, so no one wanted to be around him.
Iruki himself wasn't interested in social ties. The one person who caught his eye was Nade.
A boy who always sat in the back row and stared at the board with a deadly glare.
'Huh, what an odd one.'
After watching Nade for several days, Iruki used his characteristic brazenness to ask around his classmates.
"Nade? I don't really know him. Doesn't talk. Seems to get decent grades, though."
"I don't like Nade. Kind of gloomy? Maybe a pervert."
"Why are you curious about Nade? Better leave him alone. His stare's scary."
From those answers Iruki got a rough idea of Nade's school life.
Then one day, Nade came up to Iruki's desk. His eyes were as cold as ice.
Iruki raised his hand casually.
"Hello? What's up?"
"Are you the one snooping into my background?"
When a tail grows long it gets stepped on. Word had spread that Iruki had been asking about Nade, and the man himself had come to confront him.
"Snooping? Why would I snoop on your—?"
A muffled laugh burst somewhere. At that moment, Nade's fist slammed into Iruki's jaw.
Iruki toppled from his chair and lay on the floor, unable to move.
"Answer me. Are you the one snooping into my background?"
"Pft."
Iruki spat blood-tinged saliva and slowly got back to his feet.
But it was a feint. He lunged and tried to gouge Nade's eyes with two fingers.
"Eek!"
Iruki's arm shot out. His fingers stopped just in front of Nade's eyes as Nade leaned back.
Nade's expression didn't change, not even a twitch.
"...."
Withdrawing his arm, Iruki shifted into a snake-like stance, ready to fight.
The air chilled and the lower-class students went pale.
"Huu."
Nade exhaled slowly as he watched Iruki's ridiculous posture.
How such an idiot had gotten into the magic school was a mystery, and the safest move was to avoid him.
"I'm warning you—don't take an interest in me again. Next time I won't hold back."
"I wouldn't want to. Why should I listen to you?"
A savage glint flashed in Nade's eyes.
"You… will truly die."
"I know. I'm human too; I'll die someday. Are you stupid?"
Nade heard reason crack. The only thing stopping him from punching Iruki then and there was the risk of killing him.
"See me after class. Come to the place I told you."
"Oho, the fabled after-school duel, huh? Think that's wise? I'm pretty strong."
Nade didn't answer and turned away.
If Iruki chickened out, that would be fine.
But if he showed up… Iruki might not be able to attend school starting tomorrow.
"Ow, that hit hard."
Iruki righted his chair, sat, and smoothed his lip.
Class started, but Nade didn't come in.
The weather grew gloomy, and by the time class ended the sky was blanketed in gray clouds.
Iruki rubbed his swollen cheek and stared out at the sky.
'It's going to rain.'
Lightning flashed and thunder followed, tearing the world apart.
In a downpour that made it impossible to see a foot ahead, bolts and explosions chased one another without pause.
"Hah, hah."
Iruki dropped his chin and breathed hard. The rain drumming the crown of his head soon grew warm, and water trickled from his soaked hair.
Only his gaze remained alive. His focus still pierced the darkness through the sheets of rain.
Beyond that curtain, Nade's silhouette appeared.
Each time a bolt writhed like an eel, part of the silhouette regained color, but the monstrous face Iruki had first seen never fully revealed itself.
'This is serious.'
Iruki had to admit his calculations had been off.
He'd thought Nade was unusual, and he was. But this went far beyond normal.
Iruki's voice cut through the rain.
"You… how did you end up like that?"
Nade approached, splashing through puddles. Where a terrible expression had once been, now only a sense of awkwardness remained.
"What the hell is this? Why are you interested in me?"
"It's not interest. It's reconnaissance. I've been searching for something lately."
"Searching? For what?"
"As you can see, I'm a genius. A truly exceptional genius. Depending on how my ability is used, it could be a disaster. It might kill a lot of people. So I need someone who can control me."
Nade didn't sneer or take it lightly.
"Kill a lot of people?"
"Someone like you would understand. My ability could easily make that possible."
"That's absurd."
Nade said coldly.
"You. Have you ever killed anyone?"
A tremendous clap of thunder pressed down on the world.
Iruki turned away from the chalkboard with a bitter smile.
An opponent he had fought to the brink of death had become a close friend.
Of course Nade's personality had softened only after that incident and some time had passed.
But from then on at least, he had accepted Iruki as a friend.
"Hey, comrade. How long has it been since we last met?"
Nade burst through the door, straightened, and saluted. The memory from six years ago made Iruki give a hollow laugh.
(End of Volume 15)