“Lord Bernaba.”
“You look exhausted. Did something happen yesterday?”
“No, my lord. Did you just come back from meeting the Lord?”
Bernaba pulled a transparent crystal orb from his pocket.
Inside it, there was a ring emitting a dark, wavering mana.
“When the Lord lifted the spell, it turned into this form. Since dark mana is dangerous to humans, I took precautions.”
“…Is this black magic?”
Bernaba replied.
“It could be, or it might not,”
As the two tilted their heads in confusion, Bernaba placed the crystal orb on the table.
“Do you know the origin of magic?”
Ian answered,
“Mana.”
Bernaba raised an eyebrow, surprised.
“You know it well.”
Ian smiled, recalling the constellation that loved him unconditionally.
“The origin of magic is mana. Then what do you think is the origin of mana?”
This time, Ian couldn’t answer.
“God. Everything in this world was created by God, even the air we breathe.”
Bernaba’s small hands moved through the air.
A silver ring appeared in the empty space.
“When God created the world, everything was designed to circulate,”
A red light formed inside the ring and began spinning around it.
“The mana dispersed in the air allows humans to breathe. The breath humans exhale gives life to nature. Nature’s exhalation becomes mana again, enabling humans to breathe once more. This harmonious cycle is the most ideal state. However, it inevitably breaks at some point.”
The ring, which had been spinning rapidly, suddenly shattered.
“Why does it break?”
Bernaba responded to Edelmar’s question.
“Because of humans. Human greed is like an uncontrollable wheel. To satisfy their desires, they strip nature bare. Even if a lack of mana means they can’t breathe, they won’t care. The first to perish will be the powerless humans.”
Having experienced a similar situation on Earth, Ian nodded in agreement.
Earth lacked mana but had oxygen. Yet, reckless deforestation and industrialization gradually destroyed nature.
The ozone layer was damaged, and Earth’s temperature rose.
By the time people felt a sense of crisis, it was already too late to take action.
In their desperate struggle to survive, what appeared before them were monsters and constellations.
The constellations wanted to save Earth and chose prodigies to hunt down the monsters.
The corpses of the monsters were used as alternative energy sources, which slowed down the destruction of nature.
With less damage, nature, which had excellent self-regeneration capabilities, recovered faster than humans could intervene.
Even the already destroyed parts were repaired through scientific efforts.
If it weren’t for the monsters and the constellations, the balance would have been broken, and Earth would have become a dead world, just as Bernaba had described.
“And so, God thought: What can be done to maintain balance?”
Bernaba created another ring and stretched it slightly, giving it a twist.
“A Möbius strip.”
The newly formed red light began to circle around the Möbius strip, moving flawlessly from inside to outside and back, ensuring no part was neglected.
“Just as there is light where there is darkness, everything has been designed to be interconnected.”
“………”
“Returning to the story of mana, originally, there were two types of mana: white mana and black mana. White mana was for all living things on the surface of the earth, while black mana was for those dwelling underground.”
“Underground?”
“…The demon realm,”
Bernaba nodded.
“That’s correct. The power of the demon realm. Just as God created beings to oppose humans, those beings were given black mana. What you call black mages are individuals who use power obtained from the demon race.”
Ian looked at the dark mana within the crystal orb and asked,
“But why did you say it might or might not be black mana?”
“The reason I explained the origin of mana is this: both black mana and white mana are creations of God.”
Ian nodded in understanding.
“Dragons are God’s creations and beings closest to God. As I’ve said, I cannot be unaware of God’s traces.”
“Yes,”
“But this black mana lacks any trace of God’s touch. That’s why I showed it to the Lord, thinking I might have been mistaken, but the Lord had the same opinion.”
Bernaba held the crystal orb tightly in his hand.
“It’s possible that the black mages have far greater backing than we imagine.”
Ian’s expression darkened.
His dream had been a simple one.
He wanted Rose to grow up safely and happily.
At the start of his possession, everything had been progressing smoothly.
But then black mages suddenly appeared, and to make matters worse, the female protagonist learned about the flow of events and used black magic.
Ian thought it was all over when he stormed the scene. However, it turned out the protagonist was just a small fry, with massive forces supporting her in the background.
Edelmar, who had been quietly listening, asked,
“Is the ‘Flow’ truly one strand of the future?”
“Yes,”
“But there are parts I don’t understand,”
Edelmar continued. He recounted a condensed version of his conversation with Ian from the day before.
Crossing his arms, Bernaba finally spoke.
“It might not even be the ‘Flow.’”
“What do you mean it might not be the ‘Flow’?”
“Hmm… I’ll need to discuss this with the Lord before I can say more. It’s not something I can speak of recklessly.”
Bernaba, who always gave clear answers, avoided responding this time, which made Ian feel very uneasy.
“…Is it something serious?”
Bernaba sighed.
“It’s difficult to explain right now. First, I need to consult the Lord about your story. Ian, you’ll need to tell me everything you’ve been keeping hidden.”
“I haven’t hidden anything.”
“Not revealing it is the same as hiding it.”
Bernaba turned to Edelmar.
“Keep an eye on Rose for me.”
Edelmar’s eyebrow twitched.
“I want to hear the discussion too.”
“No, you look after the child.”
With a snap of Bernaba’s fingers, Edelmar disappeared.
“Well, now that he’s gone, let’s talk.”
“He’ll probably come back.”
Just then, the door rattled.
“No matter what he does, it won’t open. So, let’s begin. Start from the life you lived in your original world.”
Ian sighed deeply and began recounting his earliest memories from Earth.
Since most of the story about the Flow had already been shared, the tale was both long and short.
As Ian licked his dry lips, Bernaba stood up from his seat.
“I’ll go speak with the Lord.”
“…Thank you.”
Ian sincerely appreciated Bernaba’s help.
Bernaba had once claimed not to meddle in human affairs.
Yet, every time something happened, he stepped in to assist Ian without hesitation.
The help Bernaba provided exceeded what could be considered compensation for his scales.
“I haven’t found anything yet, so it’s too early to thank me,”
Bernaba said, waving his hand dismissively, and then vanished.
At the same moment, the door burst open.
It seemed Edelmar had been trying to open it the entire time.
His piercing gaze scanned the room, and he scowled deeply.
“Have you finished talking already?”
“Yes, he went to speak with the Lord.”
Grinding his teeth, Edelmar approached Ian with a threatening look.
“What did you talk about?”
“I told him about my past.”
“Your past? What kind of past?”
“I talked about when I was born, how I was confined to my room, and the schemes of Count Kale from the branch family…”
Edelmar squinted at Ian, who was recounting his story nonstop.
The things Ian was saying were all easy to find out with a little investigation.
There was no way Bernaba would be curious about such trivial matters.
“Is that really all?”
“Yes.”
Ian’s wide-eyed response seemed both sincere and full of deceit.
If Edelmar hadn’t known Ian was hiding something, he might have been completely fooled.
“Fine,”
Edelmar muttered, turning around and heading back to the room.
“Yan.”
Back in the room, Edelmar called out to his subordinate.
“Yes, my lord?”
“From now on, keep a close eye on Ian. Observe everything—what he does, what he eats, how he spends time with Rose, and every word he says.”
“As you command.”
Edelmar slumped onto the bed with a sly grin.
If someone asked whether he was disappointed that Ian hadn’t told him everything, the answer would be a firm no.
The bigger the obstacle, the more thrilling the challenge; just like fruits grow sweeter as they ripen, secrets become more satisfying to uncover the more tightly they are kept.
“I’ll figure it out one way or another,”
Edelmar declared, fired up.
***
“Duke, here’s the list of teachers,”
Fred said, handing Ian the document. Ian furrowed his brow as he scanned the list.
“There aren’t enough.”
Illiteracy was common among the commoners, and without academies to attend, the situation was inevitable.
That’s why the most important element when establishing an academy was the teachers. Buildings could be erected with enough money, but finding suitable teachers was another matter.
Fred gave a strained smile.
“…It’s because the task involves teaching commoners.”
“Tsk.”
Ian had set one main requirement for hiring teachers: they must be commoners themselves.
While it was unlikely for nobles to teach at a commoner’s academy, Ian wanted to prevent any situation where students might be looked down upon or forced to abandon their education.
But now, even commoners were reluctant to take up the role?
“You must be joking,”
Ian said, slamming the list onto the table.
In his past life on Earth, Ian had seen white-collar workers look down on blue-collar workers. While that was an unfortunate byproduct of a capitalist society, this was a hierarchical one.
It was absurd that people within the same class would look down on one another.
Seeing Ian’s growing frustration, Fred hurriedly explained,
“We haven’t received all the responses yet. Once my mentor replies, the number of candidates will increase.”
Ian sighed.
“There’s no guarantee that the people your mentor recommends will come to our academy.”
“I’ve specifically asked my mentor to recommend those willing to work here.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Despite Fred’s hopeful words, Ian’s mood didn’t improve, leaving Fred restless.
Just then, there was a small knock, and the door opened.
“Uncle!”
It was Rose, the joy of the duke’s life, making her entrance.
