[602] A Rootless Tree (4)
* * *
When Shirone and Nade arrived at the school, they headed straight for the Institute of Supernatural Psychical Science.
Shirone sank onto the sofa and narrowed his eyes.
"You said you'd never come here."
Hearing that Liz would visit the school must have changed his mind in an instant.
"Me? What—no. I just felt like I should apologize to the others, so I came. Want me to go back?"
In any case, getting Nade to come was a win.
"Enough. You should rest too. You've been living up in the mountains—you must be exhausted."
Nade, lying on the opposite sofa with an arm propped behind his head, went over again the things Shirone had told him on the way.
'You must've had a hard time too, Shirone.'
Lost in thought, they both jumped to their feet when someone knocked on the door.
"Who is it?"
The Scramble Royal had only just ended; it was natural to be wary of an unexpected visitor.
"It's Richard."
Richard the alchemist—one of Geumhwaryun's members.
Nade hesitated at the sight of someone so out of place here, but Shirone answered.
"Come in."
He was curious about the results for Fermi and Raiken.
The door opened slowly. Richard walked in, a faint afterimage of red eyes trailing behind him.
A solid frame and a determined jaw—he looked human at a glance, but beneath the artificial skin his muscles and bones had been replaced by alchemical machinery.
"What brings you here? A message from Geumhwaryun?"
"No. It's a personal request from Fermi. Geumhwaryun was disbanded as of yesterday."
"What?"
The news hit them like a shock.
"Why?"
"I don't know the exact reason. Fermi and Raiken had a falling-out."
It sounded like neither of them had died.
'Well, Fermi was badly wounded back then,' Nade thought.
"What about the other members?"
"Kaden is missing. Hershi is furious about being used in the Scramble Royal."
That was believable.
"And you? Why did you leave Fermi?"
Most of the members had gathered for profit more than loyalty.
That made this decision all the more surprising.
"Fermi didn't lose value, did he?"
"No. But Fermi was the one who put forward the proposal. He said, 'If Geumhwaryun doesn't disband, two members of your team will have to be lent assistance during the graduation exam.'"
"Ah…"
If Geumhwaryun itself ceased to exist, the promised compensation—assisting two people—would be null and void.
"So he planned this from the start."
If he intended to dissolve Geumhwaryun anyway, he could make empty promises in negotiations and never follow through.
"Probably. Fermi never makes a deal where he takes a loss. I don't know exactly what happened, but he seemed satisfied."
Shirone pictured the last scene between Fermi and Yolga.
"I came to tell you that. Geumhwaryun is disbanded. So we're not interested in any needless trouble."
"Is Fermi planning to graduate this time?"
"Yes. It might actually be for the best for you. I left after getting paid—consider it severance."
With that, Richard left the research club.
At first they felt like they'd been blindsided, but thinking from Fermi's perspective, everything fit together.
"We got completely played. We should've seen it coming."
"That's impossible to see until it happens—so Fermi struck first."
"Sigh. I'll tell the others."
Two hours later, Amy and Iruki finished their evaluations and came into the research club.
"Nade! What happened to you?"
Amy cried out at the scars on Nade's face.
"Sorry. I messed up. I've got nothing to say—even if I had ten mouths, I couldn't explain."
Iruki said, "It's fine. We won, after all. From now on, you should try to raise your rank. The graduation exam really isn't far off."
"Oh—speaking of which…"
Shirone told them Geumhwaryun had been disbanded, and the two reacted with the same shock he'd felt.
"Fermi, you coward! Pulling tricks until the end?"
"Let's look at the bright side. The split in the distribution could've sparked internal conflict. The other members will understand."
He had prepared for over ten years to meet Yolga; in this case, they had little choice but to concede.
After a brief welcome for Nade, Shirone and the others returned to their lodgings to prepare for the next day.
"Iruki."
Shirone called from Iruki's doorway.
"Do you know a senior named Liz?"
"Liz?"
Iruki looked surprised—uncharacteristic of her.
"How do you know that senior's name?"
"I, uh, met her this morning. With Nade."
"I see."
Iruki glanced around Nade's room.
"No wonder he seemed so down. Did you talk at all?"
"Yeah. She even bought me a meal. That senior Liz—she's someone important to Nade, right?"
"She probably is. She's the one who got that monster to straighten up and live."
"What was she like?"
"Hmm, how to put it…"
Iruki remembered Liz and summed her up briefly.
"She was exactly like Nade is now."
* * *
Four years earlier, when Nade was fifteen.
Back then his aura was so fierce that a single look could make people uneasy.
He'd only exchanged a few words with Iruki and hardly spoke to anyone else; his lone behavior was most obvious at lunchtime.
When Nade took his tray and turned, the students who had been stealing glances at his back hurriedly looked away.
They were afraid he might sit next to them.
"Hmph."
He snorted and scanned the area. Iruki, too, had one table all to herself.
They acknowledged each other's skills, but it was almost comical that students who'd been pushed aside by others ended up eating together, so Nade chose a corner table.
That was when Liz approached.
"Hi."
Nade looked up at Liz's smiling face and heard the whispering of students behind her.
Liz was among the top ranks of Class Four.
Nade couldn't understand why a senior with no connection to him would come over like this.
"What do you want?"
Back then Nade wouldn't bow to any senior.
"To answer 'hi' with 'what do you want'—isn't that taking it a bit far?"
"If you don't have business, leave. You're ruining my appetite."
"Eating alone tastes better? Don't be like that. Let's eat together. It's nice when seniors and juniors get along."
Liz couldn't bear to see someone excluded.
"I don't want to. Go away."
Nade's coldness angered Liz's friends instead.
"What a rude kid. We're cutting him slack because he's young; he really thinks he's something."
"Liz, just come. Best not get involved with that psycho."
Still, because she was a senior, Liz held her tongue once.
"Why don't you go? Your friends are calling."
"All right. If you're honest, I'll go."
"What?"
"Aren't you lonely?"
Bang!
He slammed his hand on the table. Every student turned; Liz froze, eyes wide and shoulders trembling.
In that cold silence, Nade rose, taking in everyone's gaze, and gripped Liz's shoulder.
"Don't act up in front of me again. You could end up getting beaten to death."
Liz's face went a little pale, but she still stuck her tongue out playfully.
After Nade left, her friends gathered around.
"Liz, are you okay?"
"What kind of person is that? Want me to call him out after class?"
"I'll set him straight. People like that don't belong in a magic school."
Liz, still flushed, finally exhaled and seemed to collect herself.
"Wow, he's no joke. He's even pricklier than people said."
"Why did you even talk to him? He skips class, and I heard he hangs out with bad crowds outside school."
"Hmm."
Despite her friends' worried words, Liz watched Nade's retreating back with a curious interest.
"Cheh!"
Back in his room after parting from company, Nade curled up on his bed and replayed the moment.
If she hadn't come to him in the first place, he wouldn't have had to suffer this.
But he couldn't blame her—the life she'd left behind had become too precious to him.
'Engaged?'
Heat rose in Nade's head and he buried his face in the pillow.
"Ugh! What am I supposed to do about this?!"
* * *
A few days later, Liz brought Oscar to Alpheas School of Magic.
"Do I really have to come too? This isn't even my school."
Oscar made no effort to hide his reluctance.
"But he's my mentor. We should at least greet him. And I have to tell him about the engagement."
That was the reason.
"Liz, I need to talk for a minute."
Oscar stopped in the hallway outside the headmaster's office.
"Why so urgent? We can talk about the engagement later."
"Who said I'm in a hurry? What's wrong with talking about it while we're here?"
"This is complicated. You have to think about your job. If I'm assigned here, what happens to the armory?"
"Yes, I know. But Oscar, I'm not rushing you. It's just..."
After hesitating, Liz confessed.
"Aren't we in love?"
Liz was a striking woman; that was why Oscar had fallen for her at first sight.
She honestly didn't want to lose him.
'Love. If love were everything...'
When Oscar hesitated, panic rose in Liz, and, as always, she yielded.
"All right. Maybe an engagement is premature. Let's just go say hello."
"Sorry. I've got a lot to think about too. Joining the Association is a huge opportunity, as you know..."
"Hoho! I know. Now, relax and let's go!"
Liz calmed him and knocked, then entered the headmaster's office. Alpheas, who'd been notified, greeted them with a smile.
"It's been a while, Liz."
"Hello, Headmaster! You still look so young!"
"Ha ha! That joke was fun a year ago. Sit down."
Alpheas motioned to a seat and poured tea.
"And who is this handsome man?"
Oscar bowed politely.
"Hello. I am Cleed Oscar, a certified eighth-class mage."
"He's my boyfriend. He's likely being posted to the Creas Magic Association."
"I see. He looks dependable."
After some small talk, Liz asked, "Earlier you sounded worried. Is something wrong?"
Alpheas shook his head as if exhausted.
"Don't mention it. I've aged a lot in a year. The graduating class has so many troublemakers."
"Someone said they saw Nade recently. He's at the bottom of the rankings now."
"Rankings don't mean much for some of these kids. I heard that from the research club's juniors."
"Heh."
Liz took it as a compliment.
"But that's not the only reason. This year's graduating class is truly exceptional. There hasn't been this level of competition in the school's history."
"Oh my, really?"
"Yes. The students' average ability is 3.8 times higher than other schools'."
Oscar couldn't quite grasp it.
"An average that's 3.8 times?"
"Yes. You can't even estimate the gap between the top and bottom. It wouldn't be wrong to say hierarchy barely applies."
Liz stared blankly.
"That's incredible. The headmaster must be under a lot of pressure."
He would have wanted to graduate them all if he could.
"Yes. But it's all part of the process. It's hard now, but the students graduating this year will grow into mages who'll bring glory to the kingdom faster than anyone."
Mages like that were needed in troubled times.
"And Nade...?"
Reading her thoughts, Alpheas said, "Don't worry. The kids from the Institute of Supernatural Psychical Science are no less than the top competitors. They're holding their own."
Kind-hearted but never one to flatter, Alpheas' words made Liz smile.
"Of course. He's my junior, after all."