NOVPUBThe day after the public sparring match.
“Uuugh. I’m so tired.”
Aidan trudged down the corridor like a zombie, his steps unsteady and sluggish.
Even now, the moment class ended, a group of students had rushed up to him to strike up a conversation or pretend to be friendly.
The excessive attention from his peers felt overwhelming to Aidan—to the point it gave him a stomachache.
“Ugh. How did things end up like this?”
“Well, you showed off in front of everyone, didn’t you? Are you dumb?”
Leo, having overheard Aidan's mumbling, shot him a look of disbelief and snapped back.
“Really?”
“Geez. You really have no self-awareness when it comes to stuff like this.”
Realizing Aidan was being sincere, Leo let out a sigh. Aidan scratched his head awkwardly.
Aidan was never the type who liked to flaunt himself.
He hadn’t enrolled at Seorn with dreams of becoming a successful mage. He simply loved magic—plain and simple.
How many others at Seorn were like that? Probably not many.
“Not only did you beat a noble in a magic duel, but you even used some bizarre magic that erased spells. Of course people are going to be interested. It’d be weird if they weren’t.”
“R-Right, I guess?”
“Aidan. More importantly—what was that magic you used back then?”
Taishy, walking one step closer than usual beside Aidan, couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer.
Her eyes glinted with fierce determination—as if she were absolutely set on uncovering the secret behind the magic Aidan had used.
Aidan hesitated under the weight of that stare.
“Uh, well. It’s just... something I learned «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» when I was a kid. Nothing special.”
“‘Nothing special’? Hey, if that’s nothing, what does that make the rest of us?”
“Yeah. Magic that erases magic? I’ve never even heard of that before. Stop dodging and just tell us already.”
“Mmm...”
Aidan wavered.
His mentor had given him strict instructions not to reveal that magic carelessly.
That was why, no matter how persistent the other students’ questions had been, he had desperately avoided giving them an answer.
He had been told that it was okay to share it with people he could truly trust, but—
‘Is it really okay...?’
Aidan hesitated for a moment.
Taishy and Leo. They were dear friends he’d made here at Seorn.
They had become close even before he used anti-magic, so he didn’t feel like their friendship was based on political maneuvering.
Suddenly, a memory of his mentor’s words surfaced.
—In life, you’ll always come to a point where you have to choose something. When that time comes, just follow where your heart flows.
Follow where your heart flows.
His mentor had said it lightly, but Aidan had never forgotten that lesson.
Aidan made his decision.
“Alright. I’ll tell you.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
Taishy was taken aback by Aidan’s sudden sincerity.
She had pressed him firmly out of curiosity, but after watching him keep his lips sealed even under the barrage of questions from other students, she hadn’t really expected him to answer.
She figured there must be some reason he couldn’t talk about it—and just threw the question out there on a whim. But now...
“Let’s go somewhere quieter first.”
The three of them headed toward the Rose Garden, where students rarely went.
* * *
Under the radiant sunlight, the Rose Garden was filled with a gentle, fragrant breeze.
Aidan sat on a secluded bench surrounded by vibrant roses in full bloom, struggling to decide how to begin.
“Hmm. Where should I start...”
Eventually, he decided it’d be best to start from the beginning and opened his mouth.
“The magic I used is called anti-magic. It’s a type of magic that erases other magic.”
“Yeah, we figured that much.”
“So that’s what it’s called—anti-magic, huh.”
Taishy and Leo had contrasting reactions.
Aidan gave an embarrassed smile and continued.
“Umm... And the one who taught me that magic was my mentor, a wandering mage. Apparently, I’m the only one left who can actually use anti-magic now.”
“What? Why?”
“He said only people with a special constitution can use it. I didn’t know either, but apparently I have it.”
“You need a special constitution to use it...?”
“So who is this mentor of yours?”
What Taishy and Leo were most curious about was Aidan’s mentor.
Who on earth would teach anti-magic? A mage capable of that should be famous anywhere they go.
Aidan scratched his cheek with his index finger and replied.
“I don’t know.”
“...What?!”
“You call that an answer?”
Under Taishy and Leo’s sharp glares, Aidan held up his hands and rushed to explain.
“No, really! It’s true! When I met my mentor, I was only eight years old. That was over ten years ago!”
“Ten years...”
“Besides, he was really free-spirited and hard to pin down. Even now, I don’t know where he is or what he’s doing. We lost contact. He disappeared like the wind, and I never even got the chance to ask his name.”
“What the—so you don’t even know if he’s alive or dead?”
“Mm. Even so, thinking about how skilled he is, I believe he’s doing fine somewhere. That’s how I see it.”
To be so carefree about someone who taught him such an outrageous magic like anti-magic...
Taishy opened her mouth to say something—but then shut it tight.
Because it was Aidan, she found herself somehow accepting it without protest.
She felt a wave of frustration wash over her.
‘I wanted to know more about Aidan...’
Suddenly, she realized just how much attention she’d been giving him.
‘Aaaaah! No! What do you mean “interested”?! The only thing that matters to me is reviving my family!’
She immediately shook her head hard, trying to dispel the thought.
Her twin-tailed red hair bounced with the motion.
‘It’s just curiosity. Just simple curiosity. That’s all it is.’
While Taishy was struggling with her inner turmoil, Leo, who had been listening quietly, raised a question.
“But it’s weird. Even if it was ten years ago, how come no one seems to know about anti-magic?”
“Mmm. Maybe it’s just that rare?”
“The rarer magic is, the more famous it tends to become—because people get curious. Especially something like that, which erases other magic.”
It was true that anti-magic had no direct offensive power.
Compared to other mages, someone who used anti-magic probably had fewer options in a typical situation.
But when facing another mage? Anti-magic was absurdly powerful all on its own.
“Aidan. That anti-magic—does it work regardless of the spell’s tier?”
“Uh... I’m not really sure. Honestly, this was the first time I’d used it properly. I’d never had a reason to until now.”
“Did your mentor not explain that kind of stuff?”
“He never really got into that level of detail. He wasn’t that kind of person. Plus, back then, I just loved the idea of learning magic so much that I didn’t really question anything.”
“Ugh...”
Leo sighed deeply at Aidan’s response.
It was the perfect combination of an irresponsible, secretive mentor and a naive countryside kid who thought learning magic was good enough no matter how it came.
“But Leo, why are you asking all this?”
“No reason. I just thought I vaguely heard something a long time ago.”
“Heard something?”
“Your mentor—you still don’t know his name, right?”
“Uh, yeah? I never asked... Maybe he told me and I just forgot...”
“I doubt it. He probably never told you on purpose. And the fact that there’s been zero news of him for ten years... that’s bothering me. A mage that powerful should’ve made headlines by now.”
“R-Really?”
Aidan couldn’t give a proper answer—this wasn’t his area of expertise.
“I don’t think you realize it yet, but anti-magic is the kind of thing that would cause a huge stir just by existing. Especially in the entire magic world.”
“But judging by the other students, it didn’t seem like anyone recognized it.”
“Which just means it’s been kept that secret. So secret that current students don’t even know it exists.”
Then Taishy, who had been listening, joined in.
“But even so, didn’t the instructors know about it? If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have just let Aidan be.”
“Some of the instructors looked really surprised. I could see it in their eyes. They knew what anti-magic was—but seeing someone actually use it? That was clearly a first for them.”
“You even picked up on that?”
Leo nodded.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
When everyone in the audience had sat frozen, staring blankly at Aidan after he used anti-magic, Leo had instead focused intently on their reactions.
Among them, there were a few who responded as though they had expected this outcome all along.
People who clearly knew about anti-magic, knew Aidan could use it, and weren’t the least bit surprised when it unfolded right in front of them.
“First off, the Headmaster.”
“The Headmaster? Well, she’s an exceptional person, so it makes sense she’d know. Anyone else?”
“Professor Hugo, who seems to have been in the faculty for quite a while, and Professor Marie Ross were the other ones. The rest of the new instructors seemed completely unaware. But...”
“But?”
“Professor Ludger Cherish was different.”
“Professor Ludger...?”
“Yeah. He reacted as if he already knew about Aidan’s anti-magic from the start.”
Aidan suddenly recalled Ludger’s expression that day.
He hadn’t thought much of it at the time—Ludger was always calm and consistent—but looking back now, his unshaken demeanor even after witnessing anti-magic was strangely out of place.
“Maybe Professor Ludger already had some idea about the anti-magic Aidan used.”
“He knew? If so, just how much?”
“There’s no way to be sure. But if I had to guess... he might have had some connection to Aidan’s mentor.”
At that, Taishy jumped in to object.
“Oh, come on. Don’t you think you’re taking this too far? Ever consider that Professor Ludger might’ve known and just didn’t show it?”
“No, Taishy. The one who’s missing something here is you.”
“What?!”
“Think about it. Why would Professor Ludger go out of his way to be so kind to Aidan?”
“What do you mean, ‘kind’?”
Taishy frowned at Leo’s words.
“Did you forget? During the lecture on elemental manifestation, Professor Ludger complimented Aidan.”
“Well, that’s because Aidan did a good job—”
“That cold-hearted professor? Didn’t you see how he treated Flora Lumos? He didn’t hold back even with that genius prodigy.”
Now that she thought about it... he had.
“And more importantly—do you remember the bet between Professor Ludger and Professor Chris?”
“Of course.”
“Professor Ludger bet on Aidan’s victory. Without the slightest hesitation. Doesn’t that strike you as strange? Aidan wasn’t exactly a well-known student before then.”
“Well...”
“What did Ludger see in Aidan to make him so confident he’d beat a noble student? And why would he use his personal time to teach him something like a mobility technique?”
The more Leo spoke, the quieter Taishy became.
Because when she really thought about it... Leo had a point.
“I looked into it—mobility techniques are real-world battle skills used only by special forces in the military.”
“Didn’t they say Professor Ludger used to be a military officer?”
“Exactly. That’s where it all starts to line up. Military teachings. Officer background. A certain familiarity with anti-magic. I see the connections.”
“Which are...?” Taishy asked, and Aidan, too, leaned in with growing curiosity.
Leo went on.
“Aidan, what if Professor Ludger knows about your mentor?”
“Professor Ludger? But how would he?”
“I don’t know the details. It’s just a theory. But maybe... he met your mentor while serving in the military. That would explain a lot. If your mentor had that kind of skill but wasn’t famous, it might be because he belonged to a secret unit that wasn’t meant to be known.”
Leo was increasingly confident in his own theory.
Aidan, hearing this, felt a little uncertain.
The military types he knew were always rigid and disciplined—in other words, people like Ludger.
But his mentor, at least in Aidan’s memories, had been more like a free-spirited wanderer... like the wind.
‘Then again, if he was in a secret unit, maybe he was different from ordinary soldiers...’
Now that he thought about it, Leo’s theory didn’t sound completely impossible.
“Do you think Professor Ludger really knows about my mentor?”
“Considering the way he’s treated you? I think it’s entirely possible. Otherwise, why would he go out of his way to help you? Maybe the two of them were even close.”
There was also the way he accepted the existence of anti-magic so naturally, and the fact that someone like Ludger—who rarely took personal interest in anyone—had spent his own time to teach Aidan a combat technique.
Leo’s argument did make a lot of sense.
“Then... if I asked Professor Ludger, do you think he’d tell me something about my mentor?”
At Taishy’s question, Aidan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
“No. Not yet. I’m still not sure. Besides, I don’t want to bother the professor for no reason. He’s already helped me more than enough.”
“...Well, if that’s how you feel.”
Just as the conversation was settling into a thoughtful lull, Taishy suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, right. Did you guys hear the rumor?”
“A rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“Well...”
* * *
Right now, I was having lunch with the other newly hired instructors—my fellow batchmates.
We had all joined at the same time, and even for someone like me, maintaining a minimal network was necessary.
It wasn’t all a nuisance, either.
If I just sat there quietly eating, the other teachers would trade all the latest gossip and updates among themselves without me needing to do anything.
In particular, Professor Selina loved to chatter. She didn’t stop talking even while eating.
Not that I found it annoying or anything.
In fact, her chatter helped lighten the atmosphere in this kind of gathering.
Still, most of what she brought up was completely useless. Out of ten things she shared, maybe one was worth hearing. Barely a 10% hit rate, so I rarely paid much attention.
But—
“Oh right! Professor Ludger, are you really not doing that?”
This time, what she said was a grand slam right into my strike zone.
I turned to her and asked,
“By ‘that,’ what exactly do you mean?”
“You’ve been doing everything alone up until now, haven’t you? Research, organizing your teaching materials, grading assignments. All of it. Right?”
“That’s correct.”
I mean, isn’t that what a teacher’s supposed to do?
While I was thinking that, Selina asked me with the most innocent face imaginable.
“Why don’t you have an assistant instructor, Professor Ludger?”
“......”
...Wait, that’s a thing?
