Three Springs (5)

His third spring was here, and Kleio now experienced all the seasons of Albion.

In summer, the sun rose early and didn’t set until nine o’clock in the evening. In winter, the night started around about three or four in the afternoon. Heavy snow and rain were rare, but the dark, gray weather continued for a long time. Messages about the degree of narrative involvement only arrived occasionally as his rate exceeded 50%. Promise didn’t intrude into his life as often as before.

He no longer regarded Kleio Asel as some third party. Rather, he had come to accept his new name. People were thrown into worlds where they never petitioned for birth, made to live under conditions they didn’t choose. Whether that world had a God or not, that point was the same. Kleio, unable to remain only as a reviser and observer of this world, accepted it. Now his task wasn’t to read it but to live in it.

‘As long as I have Promise, it may not generally be the same as living but… anyway.’

The mind was a subordinate element to the body, and ideas were weaker than matter. He had long grown accustomed to friendly voices calling him Kleio. Albion was now his home, a temporary place given to someone who had never belonged anywhere. Aslan would wreak havoc on the prince in a more brutal way than before, and Melchior would run the trained Tristein knights without mercy, but all of them belonged to a future that wasn’t here yet.

If you knew the future, could you live differently? It does not seem that way. Look at the three brothers of the royal family; even their eight repetitions couldn’t completely change the journey of their lives.

Kleio recalled a novel about time travel he read a long time ago. A story of a protagonist who went to the past to prevent the tragedy of the present. In the end, the protagonist decided not to prevent the catastrophe that would happen but instead decided to enjoy the moments of his life fully. He couldn’t understand that choice then, but now he could.

‘I can’t make fun of that story now. Besides, at least for Melchior, I have some cards to play.’

Kleio decided not to worry about what was to come while he prepared as much as possible. That was the only thing he wanted. Arthur, Isiel, Dione, Cel, the twins, and Fran should enjoy as much serenity and happiness as they could for now. It was an odd feeling, as he hoped that these full spring days would last for a long time.

He wanted these spring days to be eternal.

***

A week later. The good weather from last week had vanished, and today was full of wind and rain. Coincidentally, it was also the day for the midterm major practical exams.

Kleio, dressed in his coat, looked around the bed and noticed Behemoth practically melting atop the heating pad.

‘It’s good, but it’s a shame that we can’t control its temperature yet. If the time comes, I’ll have to modify the tiplaum connection circuit so it can be adjustable.’

He had made it for himself, but it seemed that Behemoth was the one enjoying it. Even with [Cleaning] and [Separating] magic applied to the device, the flannel cloth over it had become a darker gray color from Behemoth’s black fur.

“No, aren’t you going to attend the test today?”

“Please take the test alone. This cat cannot act as your parent, coming with you to every test.”

Behemoth held no desire to move.

“I understand. You’re like an old man resting his back.”

“Who’s an old man?! If you’re going to say that, you best be careful!”

“Ahaha.”

Kleio teased Behemoth but was quick to leave the room before the cat could retaliate. It still looked like the middle of the night outside the dim window. Kleio decided to make some more adjustments to his formula to be used in the practical exam.

‘Should I add more effects?’

Kleio shouted out his mantra in the middle of the parade grounds.

“The heartbreak may rule the night; I will bring back the joy!”

[Reduction], [Fever], [Tracking], [Purification], and [Light Source] were loaded into his magic slots. Most of Kleio’s magic was for attacking, so he had to come up with something flashy to show off to others in the test. At this point, Kleio’s practical exam had become a 4D effect attraction for both students and staff alike. All of the students looking around the edge of the grounds were wrapped in Kleio’s brilliant circle. His circle had grown wider because of his increased ether, and he filled it with heat and light. Even the rain seemed to defy the demands of gravity as it bent out of the circle. The magic brought forth the warmth of the early summer as it glowed around its summoner, moving like a large firefly as it followed his movements.

“Look at it; the light is following his hands!”

“Pretty…”

“It’s warm.”

The children put their hands closer to warm them from the cold rain.

“Wow! Awesome!”

“Is this senior Kleio’s practical test?”

“This is amazing – no doubt!”

Zebedee and Maria had a brief conversation. Soon, the assistant raised the loudspeaker magic tool to announce the score.

“Third-year Kleio Asel, perfect score.”

It was a result that no one was surprised to hear. Since 1890, Kleio had been first place in the introduction to magic and practice subjects. Kleio had even heard from Zebedee that he didn’t know why he was even taking the class. In the third-year magic class, five of his classmates were still only at the 2nd level, and only two were at the 3rd level. Kleio was functionally a being on another level.

“Our junior excels like usual!”

In the meantime, a familiar figure with white hair jumped up and ran to Kleio. Ezra Sergey, the vice-captain of the Defense Force’s magic team and a powerful 6th level wizard, was also a passionate fan of the mysterious magic that Kleio revealed.

“…The midterms usually don’t have visitors, but you came anyway.”

“Yeah, I’m a graduate, but I can’t get a seat among the on-lookers~.”

Ezra usually said he was a dropout. Only in times like this did he claim to be a good graduate. The two headed to the far end of the third-floor classroom, conversing as they went. Now, this was the place where Kleio usually sat so he could watch the other practical exams. The heater was still out of order, which meant other students usually didn’t mill about here. Well, that, and this was now considered a hangout for Arthur and his friends. He left Ezra by the window and opened a small refrigerator made with a mana stone sapphire. In this world, refrigerators had already been invented, but to have one that didn’t make noise or use chemicals, you needed a mana stone.

‘It’s expensive, but oh, could I live without this?’

Kleio didn’t spare any expense for his drinking, a fact both Behemoth and Arthur enjoyed. He poured a quarter of a bottle of Prosecco into a glass, mixing it with ice, lemon juice, and bitter vermouth. A citrus scent spread into the air, refreshing Kleio’s mood. It was the perfect drink to overcome this harsh weather.

For Ezra, he handed him some orange flower tea that Isiel had stored in the fridge.

“Oh, my junior is doing some day drinking again?”

“It’s just a normal drink for cold weather like this.”

“Wow~! When you say that, my junior sounds like an uncle. What kind of taste do you have to drink alcohol like water? Just watching hurts my head.”

Ezra didn’t drink even a single drop of alcohol. Underneath his usually calm expression, Kleio’s rating of Ezra had lowered from -35 to -40.

“Each person has different tastes. Oh, Arthur and Cel are out. Let’s watch this.”

“Oooh!”

The magic class test results went as predicted; now only Cel, Arthur, Isiel, and the twins remained. This time, Arthur and Cel went out together with training swords readied. After the battle between Pierce Klagen and Arthur two years ago, the use of combat-ready weapons was banned at the academy, thanks to Zebedee’s efforts.

‘The armor provided is pretty good too.’

Kleio noted the armaments they had. Of course, Isiel had the sword of Melamide, which her family passed down, and Arthur had Beg’s sword. Cel was impressed by Lysa and had started to use a bastard sword herself, crafted with first-class iron ore with a pattern inscribed into it. The Angellium twins had inherited the paired estoc, but Grayer commissioned the shortswords with a citrine embedded in the pommel. A pair of tiplaum gauntlets had also been made for them, into which Kleio had directly applied [Defense], [Amplify], and [Reduce]. Recently, a processing complex had been built in the Selva province, and a certain amount of tiplaum had been distributed to the private sector. Kleio had taken a few pieces for himself with the excuse that he needed them for his experiments.

Klang!

Cel and Arthur, who had grown tremendously over the course of the year, showed comparable skill during the first few clashes despite the level difference.

‘They’re moving so fast… each swing is almost like firing a gun.’

Ezra, whose own eyesight was incredibly good, kept up with the game with his naked eye.

“That handsome girl with the blue hair is using some feints.”

She lowered her posture and moved to attack up but then suddenly jumped forward with a smile. She was a belligerent battle fanatic.

“Handsome girl?”

“No, I just said~.”

Ezra looked like he was surprised by what just popped out of his mouth, too.