[640] Those Who Leave (3)
Nade could hardly believe his eyes.
No matter how he thought about it, Lize—who ought to have been at the capital armory—had no reason to be here.
Of course that was only Nade's emotional reaction; Shirone coldly assessed the situation.
"Uh, then shall we have another drink?"
"Wait a moment. There's something we need to go over. Do you remember how much trouble we went through that time—!"
When Iruki waved a finger with wide eyes, Shirone shoved him inside as if tackling him and shouted,
"Then go tell them!"
Bang! Only after the door shut did Nade finally accept reality.
"Why is Senior Lize here?"
There was only one reason she would have come, but if asked why, she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.
"Well… it's like this."
As expected, there was no warm welcome; her thoughts knotted, and she blurted out whatever came to mind.
"You left like that back then. I came to tell you congratulations. Congratulations on passing the graduation exam."
She forced a smile, but her expression and movements were painfully awkward.
"Thank you."
Maybe a new future might open up, she thought, but her wounded heart wouldn't open easily.
Standing before Nade's closed door, Lize realized there was nothing more she could do.
How long had it been since she parted from Oscar to come knocking at Nade's door?
"Then… be well."
As Lize climbed the stairs, Nade grabbed her wrist.
"What are you doing leaving like that?"
On the verge of tears, Lize twisted her wrist free.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have come. I'll go."
"Ah, really!"
When Nade still wouldn't let go, Lize's heel caught on the step and she toppled backward.
"Ugh!"
At the same time, the stumble shoved Nade, and he slammed his back against the basement wall. Lize spun around in alarm and checked him over.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Without answering, Nade stared for a long time at Lize's damp, glistening eyes.
"Can't you stay?"
Lize snapped her head up and, unable to hold back the tears, buried her face in Nade's chest.
"I'm a really bad person, aren't I?"
"You're not. Oscar was the one who betrayed you first."
"Still… even so, this is strange."
"It is strange."
Nade took Lize by the shoulders and gently pushed her back.
"Then be strange this once. I won't let you be a strange woman again."
Relief washed over Lize like the end of a war, and she broke into helpless, full sobs.
"Sorry! I'm sorry, Nade."
Sabina, who had been watching Nade pat Lize's back from the first floor, turned away with a sad look.
"Let's go. Training starts again tomorrow."
"Right. Let's fight until we drop."
As Klozer followed behind Sabina, he rested a firm hand on her shoulder.
The graduation party had run past midnight and only began to wind down around four in the morning.
Most people had collapsed face-first onto the tables; Shirone's group staggered out of the hall pleasantly drunk.
Nade, holding Lize's hand as he left the crowd, looked back at his friends.
"I'll take Senior Lize home. You all go on inside."
Everyone knew he wouldn't be coming back tonight, but no one said it aloud.
The graduation exam was over; they could do whatever they liked now.
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
After Nade and Lize left, Seriel—who seemed to have realized something—tapped Amy on the back.
"Then I'll head to my inn."
Seriel had booked lodgings in the city.
"At this hour? Don't. Sleep in my room."
'Always so loyal…'
It was endearing, but at least tonight she should give them space as a friend.
"I can't. I have to go up early tomorrow. We'll see each other at the ceremony anyway."
"Still, it's dangerous to be alone—"
Though saying the night was dangerous for a licensed mage sounded odd, emotionally it was a different matter.
"I'll see her home."
Sober now, Iruki volunteered, and Seriel nodded.
"That'll do. If it's Iruki, I'll feel safe."
"…what do you mean by that?"
"Ah, ah, never mind! It's late, let's go."
Seriel nudged Iruki's back as they walked away, then suddenly turned and winked.
"Amy, congratulations."
Amy blushed, understanding the meaning behind the wink, but it was too late for retorts.
With the friends gone and just the two of them left, the atmosphere turned awkward fast.
"Shall we walk a bit? It'll help sober us up."
As expected, Shirone didn't suggest going straight in, and Amy nodded tensely.
"Shall we?"
They strolled through the garden lost in their own thoughts and sat side by side on a bench lit by a crystal lamp.
"Sigh, this is the last time we'll walk here."
"Yeah. We ran toward this day, but honestly I never thought it would come."
Amy turned and asked, "What will you do?"
"Hm? Do what?"
"I think you pushed yourself too far. Scouts from countries around the world will probably offer. Will you leave for the Kingdom of Tormia?"
Choices hinge on future prospects, but what Amy really wanted to hear was about their future together.
Knowing it wasn't an easy question, she opened the way first.
"I think I'll stay in Tormia. I'll spend a year getting licensed and then apply to enlist in a magic unit."
The Carmis family was a first-rank noble house of Tormia; from that position, accepting an offer from another country would be difficult.
"But Shirone, I want you to do what you want. Even if you go to another country, we—"
"I'm not going."
"Huh?"
Scouts couldn't read a person's heart, but Shirone had to be honest with Amy.
"If you stay in the kingdom, I'll stay too."
"Y—you idiot. You can't make that decision so easily—"
"Because I love you, Amy."
Amy's heart began to race wildly.
"I'll join the Tormia Kingdom Magic Association. And I'll be with you—"
Shirone smiled, thinking it was too soon to talk about a more distant future, and asked,
"What do you think? If I stayed in Tormia to be with you?"
"You fool! Of course I—!"
Faced with so many possibilities, it seemed absurd to limit the future for love, but today her heart won over her head.
"All right. I love you too, Shirone."
When she consented, a thrilling elation washed over them.
"Amy—"
Amy squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bear watching Shirone approach slowly.
Their feelings were tentative, like walking on thin ice, but the contact of their lips was sudden and electrifying.
Silence. Then silence again.
The night that felt like it would never end kept stretching on.
* * *
Data from the graduation exams held simultaneously at Red Line's affiliated magic schools spread through the world's magic associations at terrifying speed.
The Red Line's national infrastructure wrapped the planet like a web; on graduation day even the Black Line and the White Line were on alert.
Some students might choose the Black Line, but entering the White Line was not a matter of choice.
It was literally the hall of intellect where the world's greatest mages gathered, and the rulers of the magical world paid no heed to mere geniuses.
Above the border between the Kashaon Empire and the Gustav Empire lay a frozen region reached by crossing an ice sea.
People called it the Arctic, and in this cold place—as frigid as intellect itself—the Ivory Tower, the pinnacle of magic, stood.
No matter where on the planet you started, it felt like the furthest place on Earth. Yet Red Line graduation data reached the tower in only half a day.
"Hmm, this is interesting."
An old man walked down the center of a corridor so wide you could tell there was a wall only because it was visible far ahead.
Araka, chief of internal affairs at the Ivory Tower.
At 117 years old this year, he'd been a resident of the tower since age sixteen and had never once gone outside.
Though the Ivory Tower was home to so many people it could be called a city, only a few could leave. Within the tower these people were called Stars, and formal protocol attached the title Star to their full names. Exceptionally, some took temporary posts under special agreements.
A famous example was Armin of Coastal Light; given his unparalleled magic, cases like his were practically unprecedented.
Thus the title Star signified the trust of the entire Ivory Tower's residents—and a shackle meant to keep them within the cycle of intellect.
Currently, twenty-seven people held the title of Star in the Tower. Together with their attendants, called Satellites, they traveled the world solving superhuman problems.
The power of a single tower earned the deference of kingdoms and empires because every resident was a cutting-edge mage.
Today, in Araka's hand was a list of candidates to become the next Star of the Ivory Tower.
"Great Star, I have a report."
When Araka raised his voice on the landing platform, light enveloped him and lifted him skyward.
The Great Star resided at the top of the tower, which itself was an artificial satellite rotating like a planet outside the atmosphere.
Through its windows space unfurled, and looking down the continents sprawled like a map.
A newcomer might be awed by the scale alone, but Araka looked straight ahead without turning his head.
Arriving at the Great Hall, a gaunt man sat cross-legged, floating in midair.
"Long time no see, Araka. It's been 1,273 days. Has a new Star begun to rise?"
He was Maha Garuta, one of the Tower's five brightest Stars, known as the Five Great Stars.
"Radiant Great Star, candidates for Stars have appeared after a long time. Is the Great Star within?"
"I cannot say. But if the heavens permit, why not enter and see?"
Light speared from Maha Garuta's suddenly bright eyes and wrapped the scene, instantly transforming the view.
The Great Hall.
Surrounded by hemispherical glass, watching space from here made one forget that the Ivory Tower had any roots in humanity.
"Why have you come, Araka?"
Although the Great Star's form was not visible, Araka bowed toward her voice.
"I have received data from the graduates of magic schools worldwide. I have selected ten candidates worthy of the Star title. Please review them."
"Them? They are unripe; what use are they? Bestow the Star title upon the most outstanding one and be done with it. You come to me for something as trivial as this?"
The Ivory Tower selected only the world's number-one prospects, and its strict standards ignored everything but potential.
"Great Star, this time it is a little different."
"Oh?"
Araka raised his head and spoke.
"For the first time in human history, over ninety percent of the graduates have reached this level."
A wind picked up, air gathered, and a woman in robes as white as snow appeared.
"Ninety percent, huh."
Her voice, projected through the hall, was clear as a bell.
Araka went to his knees and presented the list.
"Please see and evaluate them directly."
It was a list of the world's ten most outstanding prospects.
1st. Ra Enemi (19): 98.7 percent.
Notes: Incarnation — reincarnation.
2nd. Dalia Nane (17): 89.4 percent.
Notes: None.
3rd. Jin Seongeum (20): 89.2 percent.
Notes: Unlocker — Aether Wave.
4th. Shirone Arian (19): 88.9 percent.
Notes: Unlocker — Divine Particle.
5th. Tona Zett (18): 84.3 percent.
Notes: None.
6th. Wena Wizard (4): 79.1 percent.
Notes: Born awakened.
7th. Galmun Claude (25): 78.8 percent.
Notes: Irregular.
8th. Revan Priya (22): 78.6 percent.
Notes: None.
9th. Sky Wigo (20): 78.5 percent.
Notes: Unlocker — Scale.
10th. Mutal Trimone (19): 74.2 percent.
Notes: None.