[615] The Hottest Place (4)
Arian Shirone.
The name, already etched into every student's mind, flashed like a beacon.
He'd been appearing in Spirit magazine ever since beating Dante in the Two-Thousand Duel. When such a hot prospect suddenly gave up on the graduation evaluation, schools across the country had buzzed about it.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Iruki and Naid stepped closer at Shirone's question.
"Where were you? We've been waiting all day."
"Sorry. The Association President summoned me, so I went to meet him. That's why I'm late…."
"The Association President?"
A murmur spread through the students.
So he'd been having a private meeting with the Association President all this time?
Being the only one called out from a gathering of 150 people was hardly something to be pleased about.
Still, as Elizabeth had said, thinking a meeting with the Association President was a special favor meant no future as a mage.
"Why would the Association President call you?"
Curtis moved forward to speak for the students.
His eyes were full of displeasure; the casual expression he'd worn a moment ago was gone.
"Why do I have to tell you that?"
It was a private matter, and he'd already refused the Association President's proposal, so there was nothing to feel guilty about.
"Hmph. Since when did Alpheas School of Magic get so arrogant? You think you're hot stuff because you trust the vice‑principal?"
Hearing Curtis, Shirone finally grasped the room's mood.
"Whatever it is, don't fight. We all have important exams coming up—there's nothing to gain by wasting energy."
It was a reasonable point, but the Royal Magic Academy, already put out, couldn't help feeling slighted.
-Announcement to the students.
Lupist's voice came over the ceiling speakers.
'So it's begun.'
Only Fermi smiled meaningfully as the broadcast continued.
-As Association President, it pleases me to see you—those who will bear the kingdom's future—enjoying yourselves.
The students glanced at the video recorders planted around the room.
They knew the devices were for security, but they'd never imagined the Association President would actually be watching.
'And he's pleased?'
That meant he'd expected a clash.
-In that spirit, I've prepared a special event.
Everyone waited on edge.
-In the area where you are gathered, one official mage license is hidden.
Dozens of eyes swept the hall.
-Of course, the name is not written. Whoever possesses it is the owner.
Shirone's gaze sharpened.
Only he knew the event hadn't been prepared from the start—that it was the same proposal the Association President had offered him.
'It's an event set up to target me.'
-Anyone who obtains the official license should go to the Registration Office on the Association's seventh floor. From that moment, the student will be an official mage and an employee of the Magic Association.
"An Association employee?"
An 'event' like that felt excessive.
-Enjoy your time. That's all.
Between the urge to crawl across the floor and snatch the license and the thought that he didn't need to degrade himself like that, someone muttered.
"Well, let's just enjoy the party. No need to hunt for it like maniacs, right?"
"Right. Whoever stumbles on it gets lucky. It's just an event—a prize drawing."
Thinking like that made it seem trivial, but the phrase "official mage license" had already lodged itself in everyone's heads.
As the students scattered, Iruki nudged Shirone's side.
"What happened? You can tell us."
"Exactly what you think. The event—he actually proposed it to me. I refused."
"Hmm. Grudge or consideration? That's complicated."
Naid asked, "What should we do? Others are already searching everywhere like nothing's wrong. Should we look too?"
"Do whatever you decide. But I won't."
The kind of mage Shirone wanted to be wasn't one who scrambled for favors.
"I'll watch for now. They won't have made it easy to find."
The strange mood of the event deepened.
Only a few searched openly, but many pretended to enjoy the feast while lifting plates or faking a pickup just to peer under tables.
'It's not here. Where is it?'
Even though the annex was large, so many people meant visible spots were checked in an instant.
"As expected, they can't find it."
Iruki said.
"If the event wasn't planned from the start, the license must have been hidden after students arrived. That suggests two possibilities. One: it was hidden by magic. Two: it was hidden by outside staff."
Nearby students stiffened and hovered at a cautious distance.
They weren't oblivious. Naid wasn't the sort to miss such cues, but he didn't press it.
"If it's a servant, you could remember the routes of the outside staff."
There were twenty‑three staff members assisting the party.
"From memory, none of the staff did anything like hiding something. Of course, I can't confirm movement in blind spots."
"Maybe the staff have it?"
"Can't rule that out."
'Staff!'
Students fanned out and began questioning the outside staff.
"Do you have the license? Did someone give you something? Be honest!"
The staff shook their heads in confusion, but the interrogation grew insistent.
"At least give us a hint! Is there a code? Just tell us a keyword!"
Watching the commotion, Iruki murmured, "This Association President isn't right either."
If there was one thing that could drive the country's top students to emotional frenzy, it was a mage license.
"He wouldn't trust outside staff with it. It's hidden by magic."
From then on Shirone's voice dropped; Iruki and Naid grew more alert to their surroundings.
"Right. The staff haven't left the annex, and no one was swapped in."
Naid asked, "Any blind spots?"
"Of course not. I've watched the whole time."
If anyone could say that, it was Iruki.
"But how could it be hidden by magic? The mana control device is active."
Shirone said.
"That's the clue. Lupist is testing us."
"This bastard! Get out of the way! This spot's mine!"
"I was here first!"
Voices rose from all sides.
"At first you might shrug it off," Iruki told them. "But when you see competitors moving, you get nervous. What if that guy finds the license? Even though it's one in a hundred fifty, it feels like someone's stealing what's yours."
Naid added, "One of humanity's pleasure centers responds more strongly to others' failure than to their own success."
"It's a crowd‑control tactic politicians use. Once numbers swell, it becomes unstoppable. Individual will is swept away and only the desire not to let someone else succeed remains."
The value of the part is absorbed into the whole.
"I don't like this."
Shirone glared at a recorder in the corner.
It felt like it was saying they were nothing but slaves of the system.
"Ugh, irritating from a provincial like you!"
Fists flew in the end.
"You bastard! You started it!"
The school skirmish escalated and the party dissolved into chaos.
"Heh heh. Heh heh heh."
Fermi, leaning against the wall watching, split his lips into a grin.
"What a beautiful night."
Those who understood and exploited the system.
"The license is mine!"
"Shut up! Either way, I'm getting into the Association!"
Those swallowed by the system.
"Stop it."
Shirone clenched his fists.
"I said stop!"
Those who resisted the system.
-Without even knowing who offered the red and the blue.
And the meta‑system that reigned above it all.
'We have to stop this somehow.'
Lupist's intent no longer lingered in the fighters' heads.
Shirone concentrated to enter the Spirit Zone and shook his head.
'As expected, it won't work.'
The mana control device bypassed certain brainwaves associated with human concentration, scattering focus. So even though thought was possible, entering the Spirit Zone became bizarrely impossible.
Faced with technology that reduced mages to ordinary people, Shirone opened his eyes wide and took in the scene.
'Jikji!'
When the Ultima System activated, the mana control device's data decomposed into minimal units and seeped in.
'Wow…'
It felt like standing at the center of a world where an endless melody of information vibrated like a skipping rope.
Letting his consciousness ride the shifting seams in real time, Shirone finally reached a point of focus.
"Everyone, close your eyes!"
A sphere of light compressed at terrifying speed above Shirone's head. Those who'd experienced it before squeezed their eyes shut.
'Shining Impact!'
When the brilliant white blew, the annex's scenery washed out as if erased.
"Oh?"
Light burst from every monitor lighting the annex, and Lupist, who had been propping his chin, lifted the corners of his mouth.
"A Gaia‑type…"
The monitors went dark at once, capturing the students' startled faces.
"W-what is that?"
One by one, the fighting students turned toward Shirone.
"Stop. What do you think you'll prove by fighting among ourselves? We can get the license by our own strength."
Rational words shamed the emotional, and those words were quickly rationalized away into anger.
"Who do you think you are, bossing us around? You act like you're some noble!"
"Yeah! You think we're fighting over nothing but a license? It's our chance to get into the Association!"
Shirone opened his palm.
'Photon Cannon!'
Photons with mass formed and vibrated fiercely; the students' faces drained of color.
"H-how did you cast magic?"
Those who confirmed the mana control device was still active could only stare in horror.
"Could he have bypassed it?"
Curtis—ranked first at the Royal Magic Academy—muttered, stunned.
They'd thought of trying when the fight started, but the idea of a mere student breaching the Association's security was absurd.
'Impossible! He cheated somehow. Otherwise…'
There couldn't be such a gap.
With the Photon Cannon still hovering, Shirone stepped toward Curtis.
"Move."
"Ugh!"
Curtis staggered back; now reduced to a civilian, he had no choice.
As Curtis backed away, Shirone's gaze dropped and pierced the floor.
'It's here.'
Through Jikji he sensed a box someone had magically moved.
'Break the security devices the Association set.'
That was the minimum condition to obtain the official mage license.
'This is maddening!'
Shirone ground his teeth and slammed the Photon Cannon into the floor. The impact shattered the ground with a deafening roar.
"He really destroyed it with light."
They were seeing, with their own eyes, the divine particles they'd only read about in magazines.
The space beneath the floor was empty. Shirone plunged his hand in, opened the box, and pulled out the license.
"Ah…"
Students stared at it with envy and burning longing.
'I want it—the official mage license.'
And this one guaranteed appointment to the Magic Association.
'Lupist, this is my answer.'
Holding the license up toward the recorder, Shirone used Elysion to unleash a multi‑light barrage.
Paf paf paf paf!
Three small light detonations struck the object in the middle; the license twisted and snapped into pieces.
"What…!"
Students stood dumbstruck at the absurd sight as Shirone glared at Lupist and scattered the shards of the license into the air.
The video recorder watched impassively.