Chapter 61:
Why Are You There?
Then he met Riche.
“…….”
Riche, whom he met after six years, had grown much taller and more beautiful than before. Yet, she was still Riche. He wanted to keep looking at her and stay by her side.
Riche, it’s me. I’m Ian.
A whirlwind of emotions surged within Ian, torn between wanting to confess his identity and knowing he shouldn’t.
However, Ian knew what the right thing to do was.
The end of his lifespan as told by Hikenka: the spring of his sixteenth year.
The head of the Udik Academy had told Ian,
“Go to Kselphon and win. You must repay the favor of being raised.”
From that moment, death began to threaten Ian.
It was something he had been prepared for since he was eleven. He became stronger to survive and overcame numerous obstacles. It became normal for him.
Seventeen-year-old Iandwain Gerwer, outwardly known as sixteen-year-old Morgan Dayle.
The hard years had even changed Ian’s demeanor. No one would think Morgan and the eleven-year-old Iandwain were the same person now.
‘Even Riche didn’t recognize me.’
Ian fiddled with the decoration on his sword’s scabbard.
The glass in the decoration was a piece of the shattered mirror from Duke Gerwer’s mansion.
In the days when neither Riche nor Ian knew each other’s faces, it had connected them.
“I will make everything in the Gerwer estate disappear. If you need time to sort things out before then, let me know.”
“Can you wait for about two weeks?”
“Sure.”
After asking Hikenka for time, Ian dismissed all the employees. The head maid, refusing her severance pay, begged Ian not to throw her out, claiming she had nowhere to go. She was the one who used to hand him his daily medicine as a child.
Her true motive, reflected in Ian’s golden eyes, was greed. She coveted the frozen assets of the Gerwer family.
“Then stay in the mansion.”
“Th-thank you! Young Master…!”
After that, Ian locked himself in his room for three days and nights, piecing together the shattered mirror. He couldn’t fully restore it, but it was enough to reminisce.
Ian took the mirror and headed to the capital.
Leaving behind the frozen Duke Gerwer and the head maid in the estate mansion, unaware of their fate, the head maid laughed, lost in a summer night’s dream.
On the day of his departure for the continent of Pan,
Ian carried two small mirror pieces. He would occasionally take them out.
When he wanted to give up due to grueling training, when loneliness pierced him on dark nights, when living seemed harder than dying…
That’s how he endured and survived. The pieces were worn and cracked.
‘Just three more years to endure.’
As always, warmth filled Ian’s eyes as he looked at the mirror pieces.
He smiled slightly.
I will live for you, Riche.
* * *
That afternoon.
Three academies that had entered the city gathered at the competition hall.
The qualification assessment involved performing tasks assigned by each department and passing a combat test with an exam instructor.
“Tra Riche Lodwik. Task completed.”
The exam instructor looked at the pile of ashes 50 meters away and spoke. It had been a wooden scarecrow, but Riche’s fire magic had obliterated it.
Scarecrows, charred near their bodies, stood awkwardly on both sides. They belonged to students who had completed their tasks.
‘They weren’t wrong about her being a genius.’
The instructor was inwardly impressed by Riche’s outstanding skill. The power and size of the fire magic that incinerated the scarecrow in an instant were remarkable.
Meanwhile, Riche clenched her fist in triumph.
‘Yes!’
[You’ve improved a lot! If it were the old days, you’d have burned everything down. Not bad, contractor.]
Python, hidden in Riche’s pocket, admired its contractor.
A contractor who couldn’t even control her power and only caused destruction had grown so much.
‘What would I have done if I hadn’t found the star fragment in the library? I’d have been thrown out after destroying everything and ended up on the streets.’
This is all thanks to my greatness.
Python hummed softly, fiddling with the ring in the pocket.
‘It’s good to have a strong star fragment, but what exactly is its property? Black stars are always troublesome.’
Python recalled the unique properties of the stars that had turned into black star fragments.
Soul summoning, curses, invisibility… gloomy and not very useful.
“Those who passed the task, please proceed to the judging hall building and wait.”
While Python was pondering, Riche moved to the designated place.
It was a low, wide building with two floors.
The first floor had a wide, low stage for combat, and the second floor had spectator seats protruding on three sides.
“Tra Riche!”
Someone called out to Riche from the second floor as she stood on the first floor after passing through the entrance.
It was a student from the Magic Department of the Royal Academy, who had passed the task earlier.
“The first round is the Swordsmanship Department, so other department students should go upstairs and wait!”
“Okay.”
Riche nodded and retraced her steps.
The stairs leading to the second floor were beside the entrance. She then encountered Morgan, who was just entering the judging hall.
“Oh, Tra Riche. Finished with your task?”
“……”
Morgan warmly greeted her, but Riche looked up at him without replying.
‘What’s wrong?’
He was happy to see Riche in front of him, but being stared at like this felt…
‘A bit strange.’
It felt as if the area behind his ears was heating up.
He used to be able to make eye contact with Riche without any issue.
‘Is it because it’s been a long time since we met?’
Morgan hid his blush behind a cheerful smile and asked Riche,
“Is there something on my face?”
“No.”
Riche also gave a gentle smile, following Morgan’s lead.
Don’t let your guard down just because he resembles Ian.
‘Morgan is the enemy.’
While one was cautious, the other was nervous.
Students watching from a distance murmured as they observed the two, behaving similarly but with different internal thoughts.
“Tra Riche Lodwik and Morgan Dayle know each other?”
“Seeing them talk and laugh, they must be close. …They actually look pretty good together.”
“How could they not? Look at their appearances. It’s hard to become a genius these days. You need to have a good face too.”
Whatever their individual situations were, they looked good together, making them a sight to behold from afar. Feeling the students’ gazes, Riche offered Morgan an encouraging word before moving on.
“They say the Swordsmanship Department is first up for the judging. Do well, Morgan.”
“Thanks.”
Shortly after, when all the participants who passed the task gathered, the qualification assessment against the exam instructors began.
“Each department will have an exam instructor. After a one-on-one match with the applicants, the instructor will decide if you pass. You can pass regardless of winning or losing if you meet the instructor’s standards, so show your full capabilities.”
You could pass regardless of winning or losing.
At that, voices of relief came from the students.
“Looks like the test is the same as last year. I was worried it might change.”
They said this knowing how meticulously Kselphon selected the exam instructors. Only the strongest could secure the position.
Even the instructor who assessed Riche’s task earlier was the deputy commander of the most renowned mercenary group on the continent of Pan.
Riche sat at the front of the second-floor spectator area, looking down at the first floor.
The host on the first floor spoke to the swordsmanship students lined up against the wall.
“Students called by name, please step onto the stage. First, Morgan Dayle.”
At that, the students murmured again.
“Morgan Dayle is up first?”
“What about the kids at the back? They face a tough time before even the preliminaries.”
“Why is it tough?”
“If the champion goes first, the pass standard will be higher.”
“Who’s the exam instructor? Oh, that person entering….”
A door on the opposite side of the entrance opened, and the exam instructor entered.
Immediately, the seats where the Imperial Academy students sat erupted into commotion.
“De-De-De…!”
“Derkedeon senior?!”
Even calling him a senior felt cautious now. His status, unlike theirs, was too high.
Derkedeon Lodwik. The legitimate heir of the Lodwik Ducal House.
With jet-black hair and vivid red eyes, his unique aura overwhelmed the room.
Amid the astonished gazes, Deron walked onto the stage with a blank expression and muttered quietly.
“…Smell.”
His narrowed brows showed displeasure.
“T-Tra Riche…”
The student next to Riche, eyes fixed on Deron, called her name, but her seat was already empty.
As soon as she saw Deron, Riche had jumped up and run to the railing.
Clinging to the railing, she looked down.
It was hard to believe, but seeing that face and the aura around his chest…
“Brother?!”
It was definitely Deon. Why is our eldest brother there?
Riche’s startled exclamation was drowned out by the murmuring of the students. Still, Deon would have surely heard her voice.
“……”
“Quiet down, everyone. Quiet on the second floor as well.”
Deon stood still without glancing upwards, while the exam instructor tried to calm the excited atmosphere.
[What’s going on? Is that really your brother?]
‘Yes.’
Riche answered Python anxiously.
She wanted to rush down to the first floor immediately, but the exam had already started.
“Morgan Dayle, get ready.”
Deon stood a quarter of the stage length away. Morgan also stood at a certain distance on the opposite side.
When the guide blew the whistle in his hand, Morgan kicked off and dashed forward. His sword aimed accurately at Deon’s head at high speed.
‘Fast.’
‘Accurate without any excess.’
It was indeed the swordsmanship of last year’s champion. No matter how skilled the exam instructor was, it would be hard to fully block Morgan’s attack.
The instructor showed no sign of countering, even as Morgan charged. Such carelessness might lead to injury.
…This was what the swordsmanship students of Udik Academy and Planchet Academy thought.
The students of the Roksha Empire’s Royal Academy thought differently.
“Is last year’s champion going to die here…?”
“We should worry about our own lives. We’re up next after Morgan Dayle…”
Deon moved the hand holding his sword. With a simple motion, he deflected Morgan’s sword and immediately launched an attack. Morgan quickly blocked Deon’s sword.
After several exchanges, which even the experts had difficulty following with their eyes, Morgan knelt before Deon, having moved only half a step from their starting positions.
Morgan’s sword had flown far away, clattering to the ground.
“……”
Silence fell over the assessment hall. The sound of heavy breathing could be heard from various corners.
In that brief time, the intensity of their duel had left everyone breathless.
The swordsmanship students held their breaths, waiting for the instructor’s verdict.
Although Morgan Dayle had lost, with his level of skill, he should pass.
No, he had to pass. None of them believed they could outperform Morgan.
Deon’s cold red eyes looked at Morgan.
“Failed.”
