NOVPUBLudger hadn’t expected to see Rine here, of all places, and it threw him off more than he liked.
“Rine. What are you doing here?”
“Uh, well...”
Rine hesitated, wondering if she should even say it—but there was no point hiding it, really, so she decided to just be honest.
“It’s a part-time job.”
“Part-time?”
“Yes. They needed servers for this event, and a senior I know recommended me. The pay’s good for the time, so...”
“A part-time job, huh.”
It didn’t seem like something they should leave to Seorn students, but surprisingly, this kind of thing wasn’t rare.
The city of Rederbelk had a standing agreement with Seorn.
They hired Seorn students for various local needs—simple work, nothing too difficult—giving them a chance to earn some cash.
In return, Rederbelk got to meet potential future mages, build goodwill, and polish its image.
So even at events like this banquet, it wasn’t unheard of for a few students to show up working part-time.
“There are a few more from Seorn here too, not just me. So don’t worry, it’s fine.”
Rine smiled nervously, trying to reassure him.
Honestly, she hadn’t expected this kind of job either.
Her senior had said it’d be easy work—just passing time—but no one mentioned it’d be a banquet full of teachers and big shots.
“...Alright. Got it.”
“Oh, um—would you like a drink?”
“Sure.”
Ludger took a glass from her tray and took a sip.
Seeing Rine here was unexpected, but it wasn’t really a problem.
He was just... surprised, that’s all.
Nothing to worry about.
‘Still...’
Every time he looked at her, something from the past crept into his mind.
Especially now, seeing her standing there quietly, watching him with those shining eyes as he drank.
She looked just like her.
The memory wouldn’t leave him.
“Rine, you...”
“Yes? What is it?”
Ludger opened his mouth to say something, but the words didn’t come.
“No... never mind. It’s nothing.”
He couldn’t tell her. That was part of the ‘deal’ from the start.
There was no way he could.
The book he gave her—that was all he could offer.
“Don’t overwork yourself. Head back early.”
All he could give her was a small, worried piece of advice.
“Oh, okay. Thank you. I’ll get going now.”
“Alright.”
Rine gave a quick bow and walked off, and as she did, Selina, who had noticed her, approached Ludger.
“Huh? That was Rine, wasn’t it?”
“You know her? I didn’t think she was in your class.”
“Yeah, I met her before. But what’s she doing here?”
“She said she’s working part-time.”
Selina clapped her hands together.
“Oh, right. I’ve heard that some students who don’t get scholarships pick up work on the side. I thought it was odd to see one of my assistants here too.”
“An assistant?”
At that, Ludger remembered the Spirit Studies exam, when Selina had brought along some aides.
She had three assistants at the time.
“Which one?”
“That girl over there.”
Selina raised her hand and pointed.
Standing nearby was a girl with long, dark brown hair braided over one shoulder.
She wore large glasses that covered much of her face, but Ludger recognized her immediately.
She’d been one of the three assistants he saw back then.
“Her name’s Joanna Lovett. A first-year, just started at Seorn. She’s pretty skilled in Spirit Studies, so I took her on as an assistant.”
“I see.”
Joanna Lovett.
Not one of his students, so this was the first time he’d heard her name.
Ludger watched her carefully, making sure no one noticed.
She was just standing there, holding an empty tray, looking like any other student working the banquet.
‘Huh. Come to think of it, I didn’t really pay much attention to the assistants back then.’
Someone who could control a high-level fire spirit—he’d assumed it had to be a teacher at least.
Maybe that was a mistake.
Not knowing Esmeralda’s true identity meant he couldn’t rule out Joanna Lovett as a suspect either.
Just as he was thinking this, Joanna began to move.
‘What’s she doing now?’
Ludger tracked her every step.
She glanced around, careful not to draw attention.
No one else noticed, but Ludger could tell.
Joanna approached the banquet’s central table and quietly set her silver tray down.
‘Where’s she going?’
But she didn’t go anywhere.
After placing the tray, she simply returned to her spot and stood still, just as before.
‘So... she just put down an empty tray?’
Maybe he was being too paranoid.
Ludger looked away from Joanna and scanned the room.
Bits of conversation reached his ears.
“Have you heard the news?”
“What news?”
“They say the slum rats have been acting strange lately.”
“Ha! The lowborns? Isn’t that always the case?”
“If it were, I wouldn’t care. But this time, it’s different.”
“Different how?”
The middle-aged man cleared his throat dramatically.
“They’re talking about... starting a business.”
Pfft.
Everyone in the hall was chatting, so the laugh didn’t stand out—but Ludger heard it clearly.
A sharp, mocking laugh.
“Ha! The lowborns starting a business? You must be joking.”
“I haven’t seen it myself, just rumors, but it doesn’t seem like nonsense.”
“Not nonsense?”
“Something’s going on in the slums. Apparently, the ones who used to fight daily are working together now.”
The man began listing off what he knew.
“They’ve cleaned up parts of the slums. Registered an unused building as an office. And I’ve heard they’ve brought in a huge shipment of fabric.”
“What the hell are they up to?”
“Looks like they’re trying to get into textiles, but really, what chance do they have?”
“Right, with the high-end shops owning the market, what can a bunch of slum rats do?”
Listening to this, Ludger realized things were progressing well.
‘They’re moving faster than I thought. If people are starting to notice, it means it’s been in motion for a while.’
They pretended to brush it off, but they were desperate.
The strategy Ludger had given them wasn’t just effective—it was too effective.
People who’d spent their lives groveling in filth had tasted hope.
For the first time, those stuck at the bottom believed they might rise.
How could they possibly sit still?
That kind of fierce will—that was a wave no one could stop.
But these fools clearly thought differently.
“No matter what the lowborns do, it won’t change anything.”
“Exactly. Where’d they even get the money? A bunch of beggars and whores won’t change [N O V E L I G H T] a thing.”
“Hard to believe someone funded them. With their credit? No way they got loans.”
“This is all because the Imperial Court keeps pushing their stupid support policies for commoners. Now they think they can rise above their station.”
“Ridiculous. They should be happy with scraps from the table, not dreaming of riches.”
“Don’t get so worked up. We don’t need to stomp them out ourselves. Let them self-destruct. We’ll just sit back and enjoy the show with a glass of wine.”
Hahaha.
They couldn’t hold back their laughter any longer.
Idiots.
Ludger shook his head.
Sure, they could laugh at it now. But would they be laughing later?
It was normal for individuals to miss the signs of change.
The world was too vast, and people’s lives too small.
What you see, what you know, what’s marked on a map—those are just fragments.
The real world, from their narrow view, seemed frozen in place.
But the world wasn’t standing still.
‘The world is always moving—pushing toward the future.’
History, viewed from afar, proved that much.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Even if it seemed like nothing happened in just a day or two, after a year or two, you’d look back and realize everything had changed.
The air everyone breathed right now—
That fleeting time of one minute, one second—
Every single moment was shifting, reshaping itself.
‘They’ll realize it soon enough. Them, and everyone else.’
Just as Ludger reached that thought, he suddenly staggered.
“Ludger? Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing. The floor’s just a little slippery.”
Selina looked at him with concern, but as Ludger brushed her off, a loud ringing in his head made it hard to focus.
“You don’t look well... Should I—”
“I’ll just get some air.”
The voices around him started to fade into static.
Ludger steadied his breath and quickly left his seat.
Selina seemed worried, but when he insisted, she didn’t follow.
He stepped out onto the balcony. The banquet was in full swing, so no one else was there.
“Haah...”
Zzzzznnnnnng.
A sharp, needle-like pain stabbed from his forehead to his temples, ringing in his skull like someone was drilling into his brain. Ludger gripped the marble railing.
The noise that had clouded his hearing started to take shape—forming words.
[Accept...]
[Our... power...]
[You are... chosen...]
“Shut up.”
Ludger growled at the voice and pulled out a vial of pills from his coat.
Unlike his usual careful two or three, this time he dumped them into his mouth without counting.
As the powerful mana surged through him, mixed with the painkillers, the headache began to subside.
At the same time, the voice that had been growing clearer now faded again, like mist being swept away.
The noise dwindled and disappeared like an echo vanishing beyond the mountains.
“...Haa.”
Ludger exhaled in relief, looking out at the nightscape of Rederbelk spread before him.
The city glowed, brilliant even in the dark, with lights scattered across its streets.
He let the warm night breeze wash over him.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he thought.
What he needed to do next. What he could do next.
The answer had always been clear in his mind.
* * *
‘Ludger Cherish?’
Chris Bennimore, who had stepped outside for a break, froze and hid behind a wall when he spotted Ludger alone on the balcony.
‘What’s he doing out here?’
It had only been thirty minutes since Ludger knocked out one of Luk Corp’s mages right in front of everyone.
Chris had watched the whole duel.
He’d hoped Ludger would lose, embarrass himself.
But instead, Ludger crushed his opponent with overwhelming force.
The speed of his spellcasting—instantaneous. Chris recognized it immediately: [Source Code] magic.
Not someone to take lightly. That fact gnawed at Chris, feeding his inferiority complex.
‘He should be surrounded by people right now, basking in flattery.’
Yet here he was.
And Chris had caught him doing something suspicious.
‘He’s... taking something?’
Ludger, usually stone-faced, looked visibly drained.
Chris saw him pull something from his coat and toss it into his mouth.
‘Pills?’
The urgency with which he took them—it had to be something he used often. A chronic condition?
Or maybe...
Chris’s mind raced, leaping to a conclusion.
‘No one overdoses on pills like that... unless they’re magic-recovery drugs.’
There was one kind of pill that didn’t harm you no matter how many you took.
Mana-replenishing drugs.
‘There are mana-restoration pills out there. Rare, but they exist. If he’s using them, then... he’s running low on mana.’
But why?
Chris’s mind spun.
‘It’s because of that duel.’
Ludger had used multiple spells in front of everyone, flashy and consecutive.
They weren’t high-tier spells—mostly 2nd or 3rd Circle—but Chris saw it.
Ludger was running on empty.
Chris Bennimore had just uncovered Ludger’s hidden weakness.
‘That’s why he ended the duel so fast.’
The hidden truth no one else knew.
Ludger Cherish had very little mana.
Whether it was something he was born with or due to some incident didn’t matter—the result was the same.
He’d been secretly taking mana-recovery pills to keep it from being exposed.
Chris couldn’t stop the sly grin from spreading on his face.
He’d found it—the chink in Ludger’s armor.
Now, all that was left was to figure out how to use it.
‘The upcoming Magic Festival. That’s where I’ll do it.’
Chris, worried Ludger might notice him, slipped away before Ludger fully recovered.
* * *
‘Finally over.’
That duel had drained more mana than Ludger realized.
He’d thought he was fine, but the time spent talking with others afterward had pushed him too far.
‘I’ve gotten careless.’
He should’ve been taking his pills more regularly—like always.
But he’d slipped. Too many other things pulling at his attention.
‘Anyway, I’ve narrowed down the suspects for Esmeralda.’
Just as he turned to head back inside—
Screams erupted from all around.
“Kyahhh!”
“A m-monster!”
Voices shrieked in terror, all at once.
Ludger, just stepping into the hall, saw it too.
At the center of the banquet.
Standing on the table.
A colossal giant, wreathed in roaring flames.
The blazing eyes of the fire giant swept across the room, its head nearly touching the tall ceiling of the grand hall.
‘Esmeralda!’
Ludger instantly knew who was behind it.
The First Order of Black Dawn—Esmeralda—had summoned a spirit.
