Three Springs (1)

《May 1, 1892》

Lilian Bennett

《Teacher, how are you?

I am now in the capital as a freshman at the Capital Defense Forces School. When I was at Queen Isolt Girls’ School, I wasn’t an exceptional student, so I was surprised to get in! I still feel stupid, like it was some miracle that I became a student of the 979th class here. My father said that if you’re a girl, you can go to a school to learn sewing and housework, but you don’t have to go to a school of higher learning. Probably, if the demon didn’t come out of our territory, you would’ve opposed my progress until the end. I can’t say anything to anyone, but I am grateful, even to the spider demons crawling out of the shadows of that old tree.

It was the tree where I always prayed to the goddess to be sent here. As if the goddess had granted that wish, my ether sensitivity manifested on the day when the evil spirits showed up in that small town with no knights or wizards. That ether barely formed on my fingers, but I was able to pass it into those pruning scissors. When I struck with all my might, those thin-legged spiders disappeared, leaving black crystals the size of a fingernail. My father could no longer hold me back with that. He’s the police chief of the village, but he doesn’t have any ether sensitivity.

It was through the newspaper that I first learned of the Capital Defense School and ether sensitivity. The newspaper I used to read to learn grammar wasn’t always very fun, but one day last spring was different.

-The magic of a new age, the hope of a new generation! ― A 17-year-old boy defeats the demon-

At the very back of my diary is still a scrap of that newspaper article about Asel, who caught the demon that day. Newspapers have become more interesting since reading that article, and my reading skills have improved significantly. How interesting was Professor Maria Gentile’s writing in -Presentia-?! I waited for the cheap version to come out and bought it with my pocket money. -The Magic Tale by Professor Maria- was a really kind book. I’m able to do ether cycling now just from reading it, really! Probably, any student taking the exam this year will have bought it! It’s a best-seller, with a Brunnen and Carolinger version being made.

Anyway, my cover of the cheap edition of -The Mage Tale- is now ragged and worn at the corners from overuse. My hunger for magic and ether has only grown stronger, however, so I’ve been buying magazines and books with my pocket money. Then, I learned about the third place, the strong swordsman with red hair, the courageous warrior with blue hair, and the brave Angellium twins. The ‘Golden 977’ members! Those seniors are now in their third year, but they have nothing more to learn about magic, and they surpass the skill of even knights when it comes to their swordsmanship.

They saved the opera singer, destroyed the Remembered World twice, and fought bravely in the far northern territories. The competitive rate for the entrance exams has been rising every year, but now I’m wearing the same uniform as them. Would you believe if this were better made than the dress your nanny made for your socialite debut? When the uniform arrived, my father grew angry again. Isn’t the skirt too short? But what can be done? My dad can’t follow the capital’s fashion!

I acted like a girl in love when I left for the entrance ceremony. The day has come for me to meet the prince, who is called the second coming of the conquering king, and the dignified senior Asel. How sweet it is to be able to call them seniors! When I said that, the servant who helped me move my luggage had a strange expression. Is it because of my country appearance? However, the expectation that I would see them from a distance was shattered the day after the entrance ceremony. Those seniors were practicing military command in the Southwest Defensive Army, so they wouldn’t be returning to school for a month even after the new semester started.

-Tiamat appears in the southwestern sea!-

-Intensive quest for the golden child of the Capital Defense Force who defeated the sea serpent Tiamat-

-Magic Paradigm Shift: Are Attack Skills Exclusive to Knights?-

Magazines and newspapers are piling up in my bedroom. I bought anything that had articles about them.

And, finally, the opportunity came! Today, due to a strike, trams, wagons, and even the trains all over Lundane have stopped operating. So I, a first-year, was asked to deliver a memo from Professor Zebedee to the lab of Senior Asel, who returned to school last night from the military camp! I was thrilled to be able to go to his rumored lab, but I couldn’t find it at all. I heard there was a shortcut to go through the forest after leaving the first-year lecture building but… for some reason, the forest kept going on. The trees were growing thicker and darker, even though it was midday. The small envelope I carried started to feel heavier and heavier. When I thought I was lost…

I tripped over myself and slipped on the ground! It was at that moment a bike had, unfortunately, approached me with tremendous speed.

Ah! Thud!

What had happened? Who in the world was riding their bicycle laden with luggage on a school trail in the forest? I nearly broke my legs when I fell forward! I wanted to cry, but I’m a student of the Defense Force now, so I managed to endure it. I raised my head to dirty boots with worn-out soles, finally noticing the person who had hurriedly twisted their bike so as not to hit me. The bicycle had hit a tree on the side of the path, messing up the steering wheel and chain. The man riding it was much taller than me, with wide shoulders. He held a hand out to me, holding the bicycle with a large wooden box with his other.

“Are you okay? Can you get up?”

I couldn’t say anything. The man seemed as comfortable as if he were holding a piece of paper with that heavy box and bicycle. His boots were covered in dirt; his clothes marked him as a scavenger, his blonde hair and beard were a mess… I was a little scared, especially of the sword he had around his waist. The forest road was rarely traversed. As I was growing scared, a weak voice came from behind him.

“You have to be careful.”

“Hey, don’t open like that, young master. There were some unavoidable circumstances, but the cargo is fine!”

…A student? This was his escort?

“That still? Is that roleplay fun?”

“Thanks to my improvisation, I managed to get off the path, but you can’t say thank you?”

“Are you entitled to hear that? I didn’t tell you to do that, but now you’re pretending to be some big shot.”

It was difficult to understand the two’s conversation, but I was relieved they weren’t some random scavengers with swords in that dark forest. Unfortunately, as I relaxed, my hiccups started.

Hiccup.

“You okay? You fell. Are you hurt? Oh, your head and knees. Let me treat that.”

The man looked at me with jewel-like turquoise eyes. He didn’t look like a bad person.

“Ah, ah, ah… I’m okay… oh.”

Only then did the second young man who found me step forward. He was a very friendly person, though he was someone my father would say wasn’t manly. His fading and fine brown hair cast a shadow over his fast, his cheekbones were high, and his face was pale. He seemed fatigued, too, with dark under his eyes. Though he was as tall as the blonde man, he didn’t give off a feeling of overwhelming.

But is it weird? That person, who seemed like he would be shaken by the gentle wind of May, slowly turned to me. Contrary to his delicate appearance, his expression didn’t read as having any emotion. I got goosebumps.

“It doesn’t look good. Are you a first-year?”

“I’ll cry. Heal us quickly.”

“It’s going to happen even if you don’t ask.”

The young man pulled out a wand from his jacket.

‘Wizard?!’

I almost stopped breathing in shock. The branches and leaves of the forest began to flutter fiercely. Not because of the wind, but because of his ether. I was surrounded by the magical formula [Heal] and [Hemostasis], which felt like hot metal that had been just pulled from the forge.

“[Let the leak of life stop].”

My eyes hurt from the light. I knew the two formulas, and I knew that mantra. It was the one Professor Zebedee, the royal magician, wrote when he was twenty. It was the mantra that had healed a hundred soldiers at once in the era of queen Carmela. Only a disciple could inherit a mantra, and Professor Zebedee only had one disciple.

Kleio Asel, the youngest level 5 wizard and youngest knight in history. I almost ended up crying.

‘What?! He looks completely different from the newspaper illustration!’

Only then did I remember the teachings you gave me in school, saying that you shouldn’t believe everything you read. So, I sent you a letter. Please stay healthy.

《With respect and gratitude. Lilian Bennett. 》