Chapter 33: Something Is Wrong

Eternal Arcana Academy, an academy where talents and exceptional kids study and train for the future.

Eternal Arcana is a neutral academy. It doesn’t care about a student’s background, because all it cares about is a student’s ability.

Even so, most of the students at Eternal Arcana are children of nobles or important figures, such as the Saintess Candidate, Clara, and the imperial prince.

One of the reasons most of the academy’s students are noble children is that the class gap between commoners and nobles creates such a huge distance that bullying ends up happening.

’Such a cliché thing in stories and games.’

The second reason is economic hardship. Sometimes commoners who stay in the academy for too long give up and choose to drop out because they don’t have the money to stay any longer.

Even though there’s a system where you complete quests to earn ’Coins’, those with only average ability could never cover their daily needs just by completing trivial quests.

"By completing quests, you’ll earn ’Coins’, which are the currency there. If you have enough coins, you can live a lot more comfortably inside the academy.

And quests aren’t the only way to earn them. You can get a huge amount of Coins instantly if you earn an achievement. Not just coins, either. You can also get special privileges and use the academy’s resources to become stronger."

Seraphina then glanced at Elias out of the corner of her eye before poking his chest with her index finger.

*Poke, poke

"And with your ability, a few coins would be a piece of cake. So don’t go thinking you’re weak, Elias."

"W-well... I am weak, though. And I don’t feel like I have any talent at all."

"Huh?! Is there really a ’weak person’ who can’t use Arcana and ’has no talent’ but can withstand Grade D sword energy or higher?"

"I know you’re being sarcastic. I’m not mad or anything, because I really don’t have any talent..."

Elias then lowered his head and looked at his palms, which were covered in calluses and cuts.

"The reason I’m this strong... is because I always train. In the morning, afternoon, and evening, I take care of Lady Evelyn and Elysia. Then at night I practice swinging my sword, use magic even though I can’t, and make potions even though they sometimes blow up.

Everything I have today... is all the result of my own hard work."

Elias then clenched the fist he’d been staring at and looked up at Seraphina.

"Besides, if I really were talented, I’d already be stronger than Evelyn, Elysia, and you.

When I learn something new, if I were talented, I’d get it right away within a few tries."

"You’re comparing yourself to us, who have resources and education! That’s obviously impossible!"

Elias just responded calmly while Seraphina raised her voice.

"Yup! That might be one of the factors. But still, recognizing your own weakness is a good thing. With it, you can avoid death a few times over."

"You... are afraid of dying?"

Elias could only laugh at her question.

"Hahaha... Sorry. Of course, almost everyone’s afraid of dying. Me included."

Seraphina fell silent, unable to say a word. With her brain as it was right now, she still couldn’t grasp the way Elias thought, admitting he was weak and afraid of dying.

Born into a family where everything was, you could say, abundant, she couldn’t understand what it meant to survive in a place where some things had to be earned on your own: risking your life while hunting, feeling terrible stomach pain from tasting potions, sweating, feeling the sting of scraped hands and the soreness of being hit by a wooden sword. Elias had felt all of it since he was a kid.

"Well... I don’t really get it. Anyway, with your ability, that’s more than enough to get into the academy!"

"Good grief... Why are you so insistent on getting me into the academy?"

Seraphina just stared at Elias with a blank expression while holding her chin.

’...Huh, now that you mention it.’

She had only just realized something rather odd. This whole time, she’d been telling Elias to enter the academy, even though she herself didn’t know why she wanted him to so badly.

"Why am I getting confused myself..."

Elias tilted his head.

"So you don’t know either?"

"Yup."

"..."

Elias just stared at Seraphina with a flat expression. He didn’t know what to say after hearing that answer. For a few seconds he simply looked at her, as if trying to understand what was actually going on inside her head.

’...Is she dumb or something?’

Elias finally let out a small sigh while shaking his head.

"Forget it..."

Seeing Elias sigh and shake his head made Seraphina smile wryly.

"For some reason, I feel like I look like an idiot in your eyes."

"Not at all."

Elias was a little startled inside when Seraphina guessed what he was thinking. Luckily, though, he managed to keep his expression under control. If he’d shown any surprise, that girl would’ve definitely done something to him.

Before Seraphina could say anything else, the sound of hurried footsteps came echoing down the hallway.

*BANG!

Elias and Seraphina turned at once as the door flew open.

Alistair stood in the doorway, out of breath. His face was pale and his hair was slightly disheveled, something Elias rarely saw from him.

"Head Butler? Why are you here? Missed me so much you had to come all this way?"

"Elias. Come with me, now."

"Eh?"

Before Elias could even ask, Alistair had already turned around.

"What’s going on?"

"There’s no time to explain! We have to return to Nocturne immediately!"

Alistair’s tone sounded far more panicked than usual.

"We have to go right now!"

Alistair strode swiftly out of the room. Elias, still confused, followed after him.

"Seraphina! I’m off!"

"Eh? Wait! What’s actually going on?"

But Elias was already too far away to answer. Seraphina could only stare at his back with a bewildered, worried look.

As soon as he stepped out of the mansion, Elias saw a carriage already waiting in the courtyard. Alistair was even sitting in the driver’s seat already, gripping the reins.

"Get in, quick!"

Elias had no time to argue. He climbed into the carriage and found Evelyn and Elysia already inside.

He sat across from them, then looked at the two girls.

Something was different.

Evelyn was still trying to keep a calm face, but the smile that was usually always there had vanished. Her hands were clasped together on her lap, while her gaze stared blankly out of the carriage.

Elysia looked far more restless. She had her head down, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly. Her fingers trembled slightly, and even when Elias sat down in front of her, she only managed to lift her face for a moment before dropping it again.

Elias frowned.

’...What’s actually going on?’

Alistair pulled the reins hard.

"We’re off!"

*CLACK!

The horses broke into a run at once, leaving the Aurelle courtyard behind.

Elias, caught off guard by the sudden motion, had to grab the edge of his seat to keep his balance.

He wanted to ask right away, but seeing the state of the two girls in front of him made the question stick in his throat.

But the longer he stayed silent, the more his mind filled with possibilities.

Finally, Elias couldn’t take it anymore.

"Lady... what happened?"

"..."

Evelyn only turned her gaze to Elias. Her look was heavy, but she said nothing before turning back to look outside the carriage.

Elysia didn’t even lift her head.

Both of her hands were still gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.

"..."

Elias slowly lowered his head.

’Damn it!’

For some reason, seeing them like this made his chest feel uneasy.

Just a few days ago, he’d seen Elysia laugh again and Evelyn go back to acting like her usual self. Now, the two girls once again looked like they were carrying something he couldn’t understand.

Elias hated that feeling.

He wanted to do something, but he didn’t even know what was really going on.

’If only they’d explain it...’

He tried to recall every event from the game that he knew about. But it was no use.

The main story of Eternal Arcana only began once Evelyn and Elysia entered the academy. What happened to them before that was hardly ever covered.

Elias had no idea what was happening and for the first time in a long while, he truly didn’t know what to do.

All the way to Nocturne Territory, Elias could only sit there staring at the floor of the carriage. His mind was crowded with possibilities, while cold sweat slowly soaked his forehead.

* * *