Chapter 2, Part 6:
It was said that you could tell a person’s personality from their voice.
Some were kind and calm, others were cold and harsh. Multiple factors combined, forming someone’s personality. Voices were the same.
If that was the case, then.
“…How surprising.”
The voice that spoke then was probably an exception.
From the world themselves, it seemed as if he was surprised. However, his voice did not contain a trace of emotion, like a cask of wine that had been left to age for too long, causing its colors to be over-complex and to blend into a monotonous black.
It was Zepia.
He slowly turned.
“You two were tampering with the parameters of the reenactment just then, yes?”
The two people in question were, of course, the two teenagers.
Flat and Svin. The twin juggernauts of the El-Melloi Classroom. The blond-and-blue-eyed duo.
The two of them were currently in the mysterious space, watching the reenactment with Zepia. Just then, the image of Gray and the others being swallowed by the flood had been displayed through the floating crystal balls.
“—Haha, cat’s out of the bag, huh?”
One of the two, Flat, smiled innocently.
“Think about it, the village’s right next to the swamp, so there’s got to be a water source. And just at that moment, the foundations decided to collapse because it couldn’t withstand the impact of the battle, and a flood happened… In theory, [there’s nothing out of the ordinary about that kind of coincidence], is there? The structure of that place is pretty unnatural anyway… Let me think, that means that we can use this method to mess with this place that looks like the past, right?”
“…Indeed,” admitted Zepia.
“However, you must first find out the coordinates and precise time the Logos ReAct is operating on for that. Even if you are the abnormalities who can hack into the technology of the Atlas Institute, it is not that easy to discover(calculate) these parameters. My calculations are done by my brain alone, because nothing here can assist you in that.”
Zepia shifted his gaze to the many crystal balls that floated in the air around him.
“All the crystal balls here are connected to that stage. Even in the present moment, the ways in which they are connected are constantly changing. Causes and effects form links with different parameters, and increases to infinity. If you wanted to, in your words, ‘hack’ into it, you must find possible times, causes, and effects, and connect them together. It’s comparable to looking for a single gemstone in an endless desert.”
Perhaps it could also be compared to an endless amount of keyholes.
Many keys were in the space, and though Flat had the ability to forge the key, only one keyhole was correct. There was no way to explain how they found this keyhole through Flat’s talents alone.
That was what Zepia wanted to ask about.
“However, you succeeded. How?”
“I just smelled it,” said Svin in a provocative tone.
Since they had already been found out, there was no point in continuing to hide it.
They had started setting up this spell just then. If Zepia really wanted to know, he would probably easily be able to tell what they were up to. Instead of that, he’d much rather stand proudly and proclaim it himself. He might even get more information that way.
“Though you say they must be calculated, I can smell anything, even weaknesses and flaws. I don’t know if it’s because it’s not meant to be perceived that way, but scent is the magecraft that my family has developed for generations. And I am the result of their work.”
To tell the truth, though, Svin didn’t like this about himself.
He silently recalled what had happened when he first met Flat. It wasn’t a pleasant memory at all, because both of them saw at once that the other was just as defective and inferior as they were themselves.
—“Sir, this guy smells like an absolute mess! Can I get rid of him?”
That was the first thing that [Svin] had said.
Back then, he had just gotten used to the classroom, and he had thought that this person would probably endanger his teacher, Lord El-Melloi II. It was inevitable that he would think about obliterating him, as he had just arrived at the Clock Tower. Perhaps you could say that it was a perfectly normal thought for a mage. From this angle, he had degraded quite a bit.
Ah, even now, he still did not believe that his original presumptions were wrong. Flat Escardos was an outstanding troublemaker, even among the students of the El-Melloi classroom. His extraordinary talents and personality could not be controlled by anyone.
Svin didn’t even know how many problems Flat had caused since then. It went without saying that he was a problem for his teacher, but the other students, including Svin, had all suffered significantly to clean up his problems.
—However, thought Svin.
“…Basically, you’re saying that the two of you cooperated to achieve this?” Said Zepia slowly.
“Exactly. I was the one who found the weak point.”
“And I did the intervention! Haha, Svin-kun’s pretty cool, isn’t he? He was also the one who told me that Sir Kay had the ability to hold his breath underwater for days on end!”
Flat raised his hand, and patted his classmate(Svin)’s shoulder vigorously.
He said it as if he was cheering someone on in a sports competition. It was impossible to imagine that the person who said that was actually facing— or perhaps was in the midst of a life-or-death situation. Though mages constantly found themselves in extraordinary situations, perhaps it was because of that that they were unusually sensitive about their own lives.
Just like Svin had once judged, Flat was an extremely twisted person.
At first glance, he just looked like someone who lacked empathy.
For a mage, who was outside the norm by default, perhaps he might even be called a pacifist. However, this teenager could not be summed up in such a mild way. Just in terms of history, the Escardos family, which Flat belonged to, was said to have existed for at least eighteen hundred years. It was impossible for a bloodline that predated even many of the Lord families to produce normal, carefree children.
Even after long years of study in the El-Melloi classroom and a large amount of contact with others, such a deep and fatal deficiency was hard to erase.
—However, thought the two of them.
“…How incredible,” said Zepia, as he looked towards them.
“Please excuse my directness, but the two of you are still far from the rank of Brand. However, finding my weaknesses would be difficult for even a Lord of the Clock Tower.”
He definitely did not underestimate them.
The conclusion made by the director of the Atlas Institute was the result of a precise evaluation of their abilities. Even though they were the prodigies of the El-Melloi classroom, the Mages’ Association was a place where geniuses were gathered through generations of cooperation and inhumane selection methods. There was no way to compete with truly high-ranking figures like the Lords of the three great(TN: alternatively, noble) families with incredible talent and an efficient education alone.
“However, if the two of you cooperate, everything becomes different. It is not as simple as addition or multiplication. The way of being itself transforms.”
Zepia slowly steepled his fingers. His hands were as still as a butterfly’s wings, and he closed his eyes. He seemed to be evaluating the teenagers once more.
Flat elbowed his classmate, and smiled.
“After all.”
“We don’t plan on losing again, not even against a Grand puppeteer,” Svin said firmly.
Those words were incredibly arrogant. However, they were well-supported.
Actually, it was only because of their crushing defeat at the Twin Towers of Ilsema, that they had been able to advance further. If this change was not acknowledged, was there any purpose of improving at all, as mages of extraordinary talent?
—And then.
For that reason, Zepia mused.
“Confident, aren’t you?” The Dead Apostle’s lips showed the vaguest hint of emotion.
“If that is the case, I was mistaken. The past is a stage, they are the actors, and I thought that I was the playwright that was here to simply observe the play. Ah, yes, there are often many playwrights in a troupe. Only through mutual consultation can the story truly soar to a realm beyond what a single person can achieve. To think that I forgot this kind of common sense.”
A strange color began to spread on Zepia’s face.
Zepia slowly pondered his “color”, which had finally returned to him after decades, or perhaps centuries, and shifted his gaze back to the teenagers.
He straightened his posture, as if he was a grandmaster who had realized that his opponent was more than a neophyte after multiple chess moves.
“Come on, my foes. Who shall this story be composed by?”
The teenagers who had just been named as foes swallowed at the same time.
-End of Part 6 of Chapter 2 of Book 7-
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Originally Posted by Comun
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