59 – synchronous

On the way to the mansion after finishing training that wasn’t like training, Silverin stopped the wagon in front of a certain hill.

She got out of the carriage and motioned for me to follow.

Then he left the carriage road and entered the forest road.

Silverin said to me as she continued her steps.

“Remember this location. Because I have to come again.”

The place we arrived at was a public cemetery with dozens of tombstones. A dense forest blocks the view around the site, and the tombstone is full of weeds and moss as if it had not been maintained for a long time.

“When you enter Eternia, you will be assigned two dormitories. On top of that, to my mansion, you have to go back and forth between the three places as needed.”

She stood in front of the tombstone in the middle and continued.

“And there will come a time when you have to stop by my mansion wearing a mask. If you walk in and out the front door looking like that, you’d be better off getting suspicious. This is the place for those occasions.”

Silverin beckoned me closer.

“Put your hand on this tombstone and shout. ‘My body to the earth, my soul to the Archmage.’”

I raised my hand and shouted as she said.

“My body to the earth, my soul to the Archmage.”

Soon after, the floor behind the tombstone vibrated and opened, slowly revealing a hidden passage.

Silverin entered the stairs leading down to the basement first.

I also followed her down.

In the basement, there was a stone cave that continued in a straight line.

When Silverin and I were completely inside, the entrance closed by itself.

Every time our feet touched, the tiles made of magic stone illuminated the path with a blue light.

After about ten minutes, two stone gates blocked the way.

Silverin led me to the door and said,

“Push it.”

The thick stone gate was easily pushed out with little force.

Beyond the door, a familiar space awaited us.

It was the cellar of the mansion, lined with dozens of oak barrels full of wine.

“Come through this passage while wearing a mask.”

“All right.”

“And when the semester starts, I will be away more often. If I am absent, you are the owner of this mansion.”

“… me?”

“yes.”

“then… What will be different?”

“You have to manage the mansion and receive my guests instead.”

Silverin’s guest. I don’t know if I can afford it.

“Every little thing will be taken care of by the butler. However, you have to directly intervene in critical matters and make your own decisions.”

“If it’s a major ambassador… .”

“The seriousness of the work is also something you have to judge on your own.”

I wonder if I’m taking a heavy responsibility that doesn’t fit my fountain.

“… What if I sell the mansion?”

“If you think it is the right decision, do it. I will praise you for good things and scold you for bad things. I’m not asking for perfection. It’s okay to make mistakes, so use it according to your needs.”

She really wants to give me full power.

It’s not like I throw a party every day like a dissolute aristocrat. In fact, there shouldn’t be a problem if you greet the occasional guest well.

“All right.”

“It is true that authority passes to you in the hierarchy. In fact, you are the number one in inheriting my property.”

Silverine said nonchalantly and brushed my hair.

“… .”

Reflexively, I barely suppressed the words that almost came out.

I was simply taken as a disciple. Even Silverin’s magical ability or knowledge cannot be inherited and passed on to future generations.

But what about inheritance?

I wasn’t in that position. It seemed that Sylverin didn’t spill her words with the intention of having a serious discussion.

Rather than designating me as the highest priority for inheritance, it was more like the meaning that Sylverin had no blood relatives left.

***

Bertan opened his deck of cards and said.

“When is he coming?”

“who?”

“That blonde girl.”

I was referring to Trisha, who worked as a team during the entrance exam.

Cecil narrowed her eyes. It was obvious that Bertan was trying his best to pretend he wasn’t interested.

Cecile shook her head and said.

“Give up. He already has an owner.”

said Bertan, flinching.

“What… Is it a sound?”

Elias, who was playing a card game next to him, hit Bertan hard on the back.

A crackling sound echoed from Bertan’s thick flesh.

“Ouch!”

Elias said teasingly.

“Hey, he says he won’t come because you’re burdened.”

“… No, what did I do?”

Cecile helped out and teased Bertan.

“I guess it was a little uncomfortable that you kept taking care of this and that.”

“I’ll turn, no, I was just helping. Why are you so misunderstood?”

As Bertan looked at his deck of cards, his legs trembled nervously under the table.

“But what do you mean when you say that there is an owner?”

“do not know. you’re still young You say you have a partner of destiny or something.”

“It is a fateful opponent. I want this.”

Bertan bit his lip and put down his card in despair.

“I die.”

Cecile also threw the card on the table.

“I’m here too.”

said Elias, taking the stake.

“Hey, Bertan. I’m going to cry in bed today.”

Bertan asked harshly.

“What do you think you know?”

“I knew it from the look on your face when you said that you have Trisha.”

Bertan rolled his eyes in confusion for a moment.

“My table… What is Jeong?”

At this, Cecile crossed her arms and calmly threw the dagger.

“Bertang isn’t the type to be popular with women.”

“No, am I not good enough? An Eternia passed student, intelligent enough to handle alchemy… .”

Elias shook his head in disgust.

“If you’re popular with women because you’re good at alchemy, then the alchemist should hold on tight to the social world.”

Alchemists, with their many single-mindedness and strong eccentric temperament and self-consciousness, were the first targets to be avoided in social circles.

“And you’re a bit older… .”

“I’ve been hearing from my parents and ladies-in-waiting that I’m good-looking all the time, right?”

“This is an endemic disease of young children who grew up listening only to praise in a wealthy aristocratic family. look at you If you were really handsome, your name would already be on Rigbed.”

“If I catch it on the street and ask, how many people will know?”

“You’re not serious, are you? Do you think you’ll be up against guys like Hubert, Jordi, and Damian?”

“Who are they?”

“Kids famous for one face.”

“Are you comparing the reports yourself?”

“Yeah, I saw Hubert a while ago.”

“Hubert?”

Elias often attended small gatherings of incoming students who became acquainted in the entrance exam.

The main job of the meeting was to discuss who was handsome or who was the head of the group.

And Hubert was a name that often came up in discussions about who was the most handsome among the incoming students.

Hubert Colgrim.

Dwarf blood was mixed in distant ancestors, so the traits were passed down externally. Only Hubert in the Colgrim family was born with a beautiful appearance without the traits of a dwarf, and was called ‘Mutant Hubert’.

“Where did you see it?”

“Not too long ago, I was wandering around the Rigbed Herb Market. I was with my family.”

Contrary to Elias’ expectations, Cecile’s expression was sullen.

“It definitely stood out. But I can see why Hubert isn’t the best. I saw him at the market too. Damian.”

“… Damian?”

Cecil showed interest by asking in response. It wasn’t because of curiosity about appearance. Damian was a person with a lot of questions because he had the biggest background among those who received letters of recommendation and was the least active.

Bertan intervened and made a fuss.

“How do you know who he is? Have you ever walked a horse?”

“no. But I got it. I thought those rumors were just a fuss. Just look. Ah, that’s him, I can tell right away.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Something… So once you see it, it looks unforgettable.”

Bertan tripped again and fell.

“It could just be a smooth-looking passerby.”

“I hear Professor Eternia is riding in the carriage?”

“… .”

He became quiet for a while at the word Professor Eternia. If Elias was right, it meant the archmage’s carriage.

Even the fact that a great wizard like the Archmage was staying near Rigbed felt strange to them.

And it was hard to imagine being a disciple of such a person.

“Hey, is it true that he is the archmage’s apprentice?”

“yes. Wigel? Wiesel? Your kids told me.”

said Bertan.

“I don’t know anything else, but I can’t believe that Damian is his disciple. What did you do to get under it?”

A name you can’t recognize if you’re even a little interested in magic. There were numerous nobles and wizards who would be willing to pay a fortune if they could spend even an hour alone with her, and a considerable number of people applied to Eternia to take her lessons.

Damian seemed to be monopolizing the position that wizards dreamed of and longed for.

Elias smiled and said.

“Isn’t the face a big part of it? Even if you’re like me, as soon as you see it, you’ll want to put on a leash first.”

“Hey, if you’re a great wizard, you could pick out the best boys on the continent one by one and take them with you to build a village. What’s wrong with that?”

“I’m already building a village, and it could be that I’ve made the most exceptional boy as a disciple, right?”

“Crazy. It is blasphemy and blasphemy.”

Elias shrugged.

Bertan tightly shut his mouth and shook his head as if he would not stop talking nonsense.

Cecile spoke softly, lost in her thoughts.

“More than that… Damian is a bit suspicious.”

“what?”

Cecil hesitated to answer Elias’ question.

Taking advantage of that gap, Bertan struck first.

“Me too. Isn’t it a little strange that the archmage’s apprentice is a combat club? In addition, this year’s combat department is at an unusual level, so it seems that the level has fallen.”

I had already confirmed during the entrance exam that there was one more entranced student in the same class as Shion and Gale.

It was difficult to attract attention with decent skills because there were only three talents in the combat team this year that I would like to have one in three or four years.

Cecil put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it. She was still lost in her thoughts without saying anything.

It wasn’t because of his unique background or unclear skills that she was suspicious of Damian.

Cecil blew smoke and said.

“Tricia has a lot of interest in Damian. We have no contact with each other.”

For a moment, Bertan’s expression contorted.

“… what?”

***

Lillia knocked on Damian’s room with a basket full of letters.

“Come on in.”

She entered his room cautiously, not making the sound of footsteps.

Damian saw that Lyria had brought it and said.

“Ah, thank you.”

“These are the letters piled up since I was away during the entrance exam.”

“Are there that many?”

“Yes… .”

Lillia put the basket on Damian’s desk and took out the most important letter from within and handed it to her.

“And this too.”

The letter she had taken and handed over was adorned with a golden ribbon and stamped with the seal of Eternia.

Seeing this, Damian’s eyes widened slightly.

He hurriedly unsealed the letter and opened it.

“… .”

When Damian finished reading, he sighed heavily.

Lilia hesitated and asked.

“there… .”

Damian put the letter from Eternia aside and stood up to pick up the basket of letters.

“Yes. why?”

“When Damian enters Eternia… Are you going to the dormitory?”

“Right. What I just read was the dormitory assignment notice.”

Then it meant that we had to stay apart during the semester. Lillia’s face darkened.

Damian stood in front of the fireplace and checked the senders of the letters in the basket one by one. Then, without checking the contents, he quickly threw it into the flames.

“Then during the semester… oh, no!”

Lillia stopped asking questions and stopped Damian in surprise.

The behavior of the teacher and the disciple was becoming more and more similar.

“Demian seems to have a lot of affection, but sometimes he’s really, really cold.”

On the other hand, I was upset because I thought that if Lilia sent a letter to Damian’s dormitory, she would be burned at the stake the same way.

She took the basket and grabbed it and said,

“I’ll keep this in case you don’t know.”

“… You don’t have to. So what were you trying to ask?”

“ah. So you don’t come to the mansion during the semester?”

“Nope. The professor entrusted the management of the mansion to me, so I will visit often. And I’m sorry, but I think I’ll be indebted to Lilia during the semester.”

Lyria’s face straightened again. She shook her head and replied bravely.

“Nope. I’m fine! come often please!”