༺ Bet – Interlude ༻
It seemed like today’s events were vividly etched in my memory.
While feeling tense, I had difficulty understanding Alice Carroll’s intentions. It was quite exhausting.
I parted with Alice without any issues. She didn’t seem to have any tricks up her sleeve for me, nor did she subtly interrogate me.
‘Is it build-up?’
Could it be a process of building a foundation to corner me?
For now… I knew too little about Alice.
Perhaps because she was an enemy to fight against the player, it felt like her portrayal in the game was restrained.
Dorothy, who sacrificed herself using the 9-star spell [Last Light of a Dying Star] in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
At least from the beginning, she gave hints of “I’m going to die”, allowing us to glimpse fragments of her mind.
For example,
Dorothy’s empty room… It indirectly allowed the player to understand her gradual acceptance of death.
On the other hand,
‘There was no implication that Alice would commit suicide.’
Alice, unlike Dorothy, was a character who never exposed her heart at all.
Because of that, I had no clue how to approach her.
I couldn’t fathom what was truly in Alice’s heart, from start to finish.
Does she also want to travel to beautiful places?
Does she want to experience love?
Does she have dreams?
“…”
I shook my head.
Such thoughts were a luxury.
Anyway, Alice desired the death of Ian Fairytale, the being who posed the greatest threat to the Evil God.
Regardless of her circumstances, that fact remained unchanged.
As for me,
In order to defeat the Evil God in my third year, I just needed to extract whatever benefits I could from her.
In that context, it was necessary to delve into Alice’s personal affairs, as they could also be beneficial to me. Of course, I was also genuinely curious.
The sky was glowing with the hue of sunset. It was evening.
In a corner of the Hydrangea Garden.
While I was sitting on a stump, lost in thought, Princess Snow White and her escort knight, Merlin Astrea, arrived.
I stood up to greet them.
“Hello, Whi-“
“Senior Isaac!!”
“Hmm?”
What’s this all of a sudden? Why the sudden shouting?
White came running over with a surprised face.
“Puhah!”
Then, White fell forcefully in front of me, collapsing to the ground.
That must have hurt.
“Princess White!”
“Ugh…”
Merlin rushed over, and White groaned in pain as she slowly raised her upper body.
I bent over and reached out my hand to White.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay… sniffle.”
I helped White up and brushed off the dirt on her pure white hair and uniform.
She tried to act okay, but tears welled up in White’s eyes.
She seemed to be in a lot of pain.
Merlin scolded, “Please be careful! You’ll hurt yourself!” but…
White just apologized, saying, “I’m sorry…”
Her voice was faltering due to her sniffles.
“More importantly, Senior Isaac! I heard that you joined the student council?!”
The rumor had even reached the first years.
‘That makes sense.’
Erin called me out too noticeably in the middle of the corridor of Orphin Hall.
And since I was seen walking around academy grounds with Alice Carroll… It would have been odd if rumors didn’t spread.
Moreover, through the mouths of the students, the news of me being summoned by the Student Council President turned into false information that “Isaac joined the student council”.
“Also, an elite member of the Black Tiger? I heard such a strong person came looking for you, Senior Isaac!”
An elite member of the Black Tiger?
The only Black Tiger I was involved with was Verga Rayphelt. Did he come looking for me?
“That person was shouting in Orphin Hall, calling for you, Senior Isaac, to come out for a duel…! Then, I heard he got defeated by a second-year senior! I wonder what happened?”
“…?”
‘There’s nothing like this in the game.’
…However, that didn’t surprise me.
The content of the game I knew was merely for reference.
With the variable “me” involved, it was not strange for unexpected situations to occur and for things to go awry.
But, Verga was defeated?
“This is the first I’ve heard of it. Explain in detail.”
“I don’t know the details either. I only heard bits and pieces. I didn’t expect you, Senior Isaac, to not know about it either…”
“…Alright. I’ll ask someone I know later.”
It was a waste of time to pry for details from someone who didn’t know much.
I decided to ask a friend later. Since the situation seemed to have been resolved without my knowledge, there was no need to dwell on it too much.
“And no, I didn’t join the student council. I was just called by the Student Council President.”
“Ah. Then why were you called?”
I briefly explained to White that I was proposed to become an “Honorary Student Council Member”.
“Honorary Student Council Member… I didn’t know that existed. But Senior Isaac, you totally deserve such an offer. You are really capable!”
White seemed relieved after hearing my story.
“I was worried when I heard that you joined the student council… I wondered what would happen.”
“Why?”
“If you become busy, we won’t be able to see each other as often…”
I was White’s ideal mentor. It made sense that she didn’t want to lose me.
Of course, it was not just about calculating benefits. White was attached to me. She considered me the most trustworthy person in this academy.
Well, hearing her say that made me feel good.
“Is that so.”
When I smiled broadly, White also smiled faintly.
That’s it for now.
I quickly shifted my expression as I lifted my round glasses, a dramatic change based on my acting skills.
“By the way, about the assignment I gave you before? The five types of [Wind Sword] magic circles you were supposed to memorize.”
“Uh… heh… heh…”
An awkward laugh.
Lacking confidence, White avoided my gaze and broke into a cold sweat.
“…Let’s see it.”
White hesitated, then began to display light green magic circles one by one in the air.
…Three of them were quite decent, but the construction of the remaining two took a long time, and their lines were a mess.
“Haa.”
White withdrew the magic circles and hung her head in apparent shame.
“You didn’t memorize them all. I thought I gave you enough time.”
I narrowed my eyes and glared at White.
“White.”
“Yes, yes, Senior Isaac…!”
“I’ve told you time and time again how important it is to know how to add and adjust lines on basic magic circles, as it expands the range of tactics. Among them, [Wind Sword] is one of the most versatile, and it’s closely related to the 5-star magic, [Gale Fang]. Memorizing the shapes of magic circles is a fundamental skill. The application of them comes later. That’s why I asked you to memorize the five most useful primary shapes first…”
“I-I’m so sorry!”
After my long reprimand, White quickly bowed her upper body in a hasty apology.
“Explain. Why didn’t you memorize them all?”
“I was too sleepy yesterday! I think I ate… a bit too much for dinner and dessert…”
She was honest.
Smart. Lying in front of me would be immediately noticeable. It seems White had learned from past experiences.
“Alright. Since you didn’t complete the assignment properly, as promised, I’m moving up the due date of the debt.”
“What? Then…?”
“You have one month left.”
“…!”
White looked up at me, her face filled with shock.
“Let me reiterate, if you don’t pay off the debt by the due date, regardless of your promise to take responsibility, I will end the mentoring. If you work hard, you can earn enough gels to pay off the debt by then. If you can’t, it’s only because you’ve been negligent. There’d be no reason for me to continue teaching you.”
“…”
It’s obviously a lie.
Whether White paid her debt or not, I intended to continue mentoring her anyway. I just wanted to prevent her from being lazy and to maintain a sense of urgency.
“So, if you want to continue with me, work harder…”
Uh… Is she about to cry?
“Senior Isaac…”
Her voice was on the verge of tears.
I was flustered.
“Wait, White?”
“I’ll pay off all the debt, so please don’t leave…! I like you a lot, Senior Isaac…! Waaah…”
“Ah, no… I was too harsh. Sorry…!”
…I needed to cultivate more empathy.
* * *
[Why did you make such a bet with Isaac, Alice?]
The sunset light from outside the window penetrated the student council room.
Alice Carroll sat in the Student Council President’s chair, gazing at the distant sky, feeling the cool breeze coming through the open window. She held a teacup filled with black tea in her hands.
The plump cat magic beast with a small fedora, Phantom Cat Cheshire, sat on the sofa, looking at Alice with a smiling face.
[You wouldn’t have suddenly developed an interest in romance. Could you tell me what you’re thinking?]
Phantom Cat Cheshire asked in a strange voice.
“Indeed. Want to take a guess?”
Alice replied playfully and took a sip of her tea.
Cheshire paused with a, “Huh?”
It then let out a strange, eerie laugh.
[A riddle! That sounds interesting!]
Caught off-guard by the unexpected riddle, Cheshire grinned broadly, lost in thought. It found the idea of guessing the answer quite entertaining.
Alice, ignoring the foolish familiar, took another sip of her tea.
[Ah!]
Eventually, Cheshire laughed as if it had an epiphany.
[So you can keep a closer eye on Isaac?]
“Close enough.”
[I’m a genius!]
Cheshire wobbled its protruding belly, dancing with joy.
[But Alice, what if you develop affection for Isaac?]
“That’s a pointless question.”
[I think it’s an interesting question. What if you really fall for Isaac, and he turns out to be the Black Monster, and you have the perfect opportunity to kill him…! What will you do? How will you kill him?]
“…”
[Will you cut his throat? Pierce his heart? Kill him with as little pain as possible? Or just leave him barely alive so he won’t be a nuisance…? No, you have to kill him. Yes, you should. It’s right to kill him. Then will you cry? Grieve? Laugh in resignation? Will you answer me, Alice?]
Alice, almost unconsciously, gently fiddled with the black choker around her neck.
Due to endlessly scratching at it, the soft choker now felt slightly rough to the touch.
“…Well, who knows.”
Alice uttered that one sentence, mixed with her breath, and then quietly removed her hand from the choker.
* * *
I had a conversation with the subordinates of Mateo, whom I was close to.
Verga Rayphelt appeared in Orphin Hall looking for me but apparently got severely beaten by Tristan Humphrey. The fight broke out because Tristan took issue with Verga messing with his subordinates.
Unexpectedly, Tristan scored an overwhelming victory over Verga.
‘Was he really at that level?’
Tristan was known to be a hard worker with exceptional skills, but it felt odd to hear that he could already overpower Verga.
Anyway,
Fighting outside the sparring arena was a clear violation of academy rules, but Tristan and Verga did not receive severe punishment.
Students who witnessed the situation defended Tristan by submitting petitions.
The incident was lightly concluded with a few penalty points since Tristan and Verga reconciled and settled the matter amicably.
Of course, that reconciliation was probably not sincere on either part.
It was said that Verga was disheartened for some reason, leading to a smooth resolution.
Due to the few penalty points, Tristan looked sour all day, his face was filled with dissatisfaction and regret.
Trying to make up for the penalty points, he volunteered first when a professor needed help, driven by an obsession to achieve good grades.
Since his current goal was me, he didn’t want to fall behind.
“Haa.”
Anyway, let’s set that aside.
In a corner of the Butterfly Garden, I pulled up all my mana and shot a cold pale blue blast into the sky, which blossomed beautifully.
With the use of defrost, my ice magic crumbled into powder, falling like snowflakes.
In the cold breeze caused by the ice mana, my sigh turned into a white smoke-like cloud, flowing out from my mouth.
“Wow…!”
In front of the oak tree,
Dorothy, a girl with light purple hair wearing a witch’s hat, cheered.
I felt a surge of accomplishment and excitement. I wanted to satisfy my desire to show off. Luckily, there was someone there to witness it.
I grinned and gave Dorothy a “V” sign with my index and middle finger, a sign of achievement.
“Did you see that clearly? Now I can handle 6-star spells with ease.”
“Hehehe. Yes, I saw it clearly! Well done, President!”
Dorothy cheered me on, giving a thumbs-up.
6-star ice spell, [Frost Glitter].
6-star ice spell, [Frost Wave].
I had finally reached the level where I could properly utilize these spells.
Only two days were left until my duel with Miya.
