Petebugens, the Imperial University's Mage Tower
In the imperial capital stood Petebugens, the Imperial University's Mage Tower.
In the ancient language, Petebugens meant “Follower of Truth.” The tower had been built by Rioveda, the first great wizard, who had called himself a seeker of magic. It had originally risen only fifteen stories, but generation after generation of additions had brought it to a formidable forty-eight.
Student dormitories stood around it, along with facilities for magical practice and academic research, a school for training military mages who hoped to enter imperial service, and all manner of shops operating with imperial permission. Together, they formed Rioveda Street.
The tower occupied a high plateau, in keeping with the belief that mana grew stronger the nearer one came to the sky. The climb was inconvenient, yet the district prospered. The Mage Tower was a landmark of the capital in its own right, and no tour of the city was considered complete without a visit.
“Hah…”
When I stepped down from the carriage and raised my eyes to the tower, I could only stare.
Even craning my neck, I couldn't see where the enormous structure ended. Light poured from the tower itself, illuminating the surrounding streets despite the late hour.
No wonder His Majesty called the Mage Tower the jewel of the capital.
I had visited the city with my father when I was young, but we'd seen the tower only from afar. Up close, its magnificence was something else entirely.
But… how am I supposed to get inside a tower without a door?
Strictly speaking, it had an entrance. The trouble was that the entrance floated about three meters above the ground.
Witches passed through it on broomsticks. Wizards rose and descended by levitation magic, as though the empty air were a staircase.
Levitation…
Any wizard who had received a proper education could use it as a matter of course. I couldn't.
I knew some everyday magic, but I'd never studied other branches formally. Books had taught me a great deal of theory; actually casting a spell was another matter. Intuition, talent, one's supply of mana, and an understanding of theory all had to work together.
I was thoroughly lacking in the first three. I could scarcely manage telekinesis, much less lift myself into the air.
I can't humiliate myself by failing to get through the front door…
I searched the entrance in growing distress. Then I noticed people walking upward without flying at all.
Stepping-stones?
A line of stone slabs hung in the air between the ground and the entrance. They appeared to have been cut from floating stone, a thoughtful accommodation for those of us who couldn't cast levitation spells.
As expected of the Imperial University's Mage Tower.
Relieved, I started toward the steps—only for someone to catch my sleeve.
It was the elf. The color had returned to her face, and some of her earlier anger had subsided, but she still looked displeased.
“…What is it?”
She sighed.
“You were invited here as a special guest lecturer, weren't you?”
“Yes.”
“What will everyone think if a lecturer the president himself expects to meet comes shuffling in on the steps because he can't use levitation?”
“They'll have doubts. But what else can I do? I can't levitate.”
“Don't let go.”
She seized my hand and pulled. Before I could finish the question, my body became as light as a feather and my vision lurched.
“How many times must I explain this?”
The hall of the Mage Tower bustled with wizards and witches. At the information desk, Alina, one of the clerks, suppressed a sigh.
The richly adorned merchant standing before her was once again demanding the full return of his son's entrance fee.
It was far from his first complaint. Alina fought the headache forming between her brows and drew out the relevant paperwork.
“As these records show, your son completed three months of instruction at the Mage Tower. The fee to be returned has been calculated after deducting the cost of that course.”
“Are you listening? My son says he learned nothing here! Why should I pay a tower that didn't teach him a thing?”
Perhaps your son simply couldn't learn it.
Alina swallowed the response and put on her most patient smile.
“I'm sorry you're dissatisfied with his progress, but the student-management rules are clear. Even if you petition the admissions office again, no precedent allows a full refund after three months of instruction.”
“So you're refusing to give me my money back?”
“I'm afraid a full refund isn't possible. These are also the president's instructions—”
“You bitch!”
His shout drew the notice of nearby staff.
“How dare you answer me like that! Do you even know that I lead the Favila Merchant Guild? If I decide to, I can turn this entire Mage Tower upside down!”
Alina sighed inwardly. What could a merchant guild do against the institution that trained the Empire's finest magical talent? Still, she wanted to resolve the matter without making a scene.
She was just summoning another courteous answer when—
BANG!
A wave of pressure tore through the hall. Wind swept over the counter, and Alina grabbed her papers before they could scatter.
The furious merchant fell silent. Wizards and witches throughout the hall turned toward the source of the disturbance.
At its center stood a man and his maid.
The man's old-fashioned but immaculate clothes, carefully combed black hair, and bearing suggested the head of a noble household. His light-brown eyes moved coldly over the hall. He looked as though nothing in the world could trouble him.
Inside, Theorad Deharem was nearly beside himself.
The room is spinning…
He had never imagined that the elf would use teleportation. One instant she'd taken his hand outside; the next, they were standing in the middle of the hall with everyone staring.
Is this her revenge?
Perhaps she was still angry because he'd returned late to the carriage. If this was a deliberate prank, it was a particularly cruel one.
He glanced down at her.
The elf turned, rose on her toes, and whispered into his ear.
“Don't answer. Just listen. While we're here, Master, you must behave arrogantly at all times. I'll take care of the rest and dispel the president's suspicions.”
Arrogantly? Even though I ought to show humility?
It made little sense. But they'd already arrived, and she seemed certain of herself.
Besides, he had played the heartless nobleman before. With a tiny nod, Theorad summoned the expression of a cold-blooded tyrant and strode toward the desk.
W-what…?
Alina watched him approach, swallowing hard.
Teleportation was exceedingly difficult even among experienced wizards and witches. Manipulating gravity was demanding enough; teleportation required a caster to distort an entire volume of space in an instant while controlling the forces involved. Though formally classified as intermediate magic, prudent mages treated it as something closer to a high-level spell.
Yet this stranger had appeared without the least visible effort—and he'd brought another person with him.
Who is he?
Someone that skilled ought to have been famous. Alina had never seen his face at the tower before.
“What are you doing?”
The man had already reached the desk. His icy gaze fell on the merchant blocking his way.
He was tall rather than imposing in build, but his expression alone was enough to make the merchant shrink. Having just witnessed that astonishing display of magic, the merchant could hardly speak.
Theorad frowned.
“Move.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
The merchant bowed and hurried across the hall. The man who had threatened to overturn the Mage Tower only moments ago now fled without another word.
Alina might have been relieved if she hadn't realized who would receive that cold stare next.
Theorad's footsteps rang across the hall.
She drew a careful breath, raised her head, and smiled.
“W-welcome to the Mage Tower. How may I help you?”
He stared down at her for several long moments.
“Theorad Deharem.”
“Pardon?”
“My name is Theorad Deharem.”
The low voice was so chilling that Alina felt as if her life depended on recognizing it. She repeated the name silently until a memory surfaced: the president had informed the desk that morning.
“Oh! You're the one who completed the artificial rain spell! The president invited you as a special guest lecturer, didn't he?”
“You caught on quickly.”
“My apologies. We were given little information beyond your name. In any case, I'll take you up at once.”
With an awkward laugh, Alina held out her hands.
What does she want?
Theorad hesitated. Then he took a silver coin from his clothing and placed it in her palm.
Alina was even more perplexed than he was.
“Um… I wasn't asking for money. Before I escort you to the president upstairs, you're supposed to leave your wand here in the hall.”
“Ah. I see. Then let's go.”
“But as I just said, your wand…”
“I don't have one.”
Silence spread around the desk. Alina was not the only person who had heard him.
No wand?
Did that mean he'd just performed teleportation with his bare hands—and taken a second person along?
While she struggled to process the thought, Theorad spoke again.
“Is there a problem?”
“N-none at all!”
Alina drew herself up so quickly her chair nearly scraped the floor.
“Please, come this way! I'll escort you myself!”
Clearly, an extraordinary mage had come to visit. Alina couldn't help wondering why he had chosen to appear on her shift.