Lucia looked at Merlin, and her mind drifted back to that morning.
“This matter started because of me, so I want to help you increase your chances of winning as much as I can.”
Mary, who was tending to Merlin by her side, added her own thoughts.
“That is true. Princess Lucia cannot leave the academy until the exams are over. Now she is confined just like Princess Merlin; the two of you truly are kindred spirits.”
Lucia waved her hand at Mary as if shooing away a noisy little bird.
“Enough, stop talking.”
“That was likely the most ruthless you have ever been in a fight. That boy had to seek treatment from a priest immediately. Although he is healed, the psychological trauma will surely linger.”
“Hmph, let us not talk about that.”
Lucia looked up at the blue sky, avoiding the subject, before remembering something else.
“Merlin Lilia, do you want to join the Swordsmanship Department?”
Merlin raised her head, which had been hanging low, a hint of confusion flashing in her blue eyes. She had not expected Lucia to suddenly suggest this.
“Why?”
“You said you had no magic power before, right? But now you have a little. Whether it is physical reinforcement or your water and ice attributes as a magic swordsman, it should suit you very well.”
Seeing that Merlin did not answer, Lucia continued to add.
“Your physical condition is also quite good. Strength can be trained, but what matters is your reflexes and awareness. Even though your swordsmanship is lacking, your strikes always aim for vital points with a killing intent. That alone far exceeds the other students in this school.”
Merlin took a deep breath; the air carried the fresh scent of grass and trees.
“No, I want to stay in the Alchemy Department.”
Merlin still refused.
“Why?”
Merlin’s voice paused for a moment, as if she were organizing her words or perhaps recalling something precious.
Merlin’s gaze drifted into the distance, seeming to pierce through the academy’s exquisite walls to see that junkyard filled with scrap metal and rusted iron.
“I have been studying alchemy for as long as I can remember. I can say with certainty that I love alchemy.”
From the moment Merlin found her first alchemy book in the junkyard, she had fallen in love with it.
“But isn’t the Swordsmanship Department better? I can guarantee your talent with a blade. Now that you have magic power, wouldn’t it be better to utilize it properly so you can defeat Mahina?”
Mahina.
That name was like a needle, stinging Merlin.
Even if she had to defeat her, Merlin did not want to take that path.
“I don’t want to be the kind of person who changes their mind as soon as something better comes along…”
Merlin’s voice suddenly became hoarse, and an uncontrollable sob escaped her throat. She abruptly lowered her head, her long bangs concealing her expression, leaving only her tightly clenched, trembling fists visible.
“Must I choose the Alchemy Department only because I lacked magic power? And then jump to the Swordsmanship Department the moment I have a little? If I had a massive amount of magic power from the start, would I have been expected to choose the Magic Department instead?”
Merlin took a deep breath, inhaling the dust-filled air and then exhaling it all at once. She quickly raised her head again, and though the rims of her eyes were red, her gaze was exceptionally stubborn.
“If I did that, wouldn’t I be just like Mahina? Stepping over others to climb higher whenever better conditions appear? I… I don’t want to become that kind of person.”
Merlin pursed her lips as if enduring something.
Mary sat down beside her, gently patting her back to comfort her.
“I truly love alchemy, and I love everyone in the Alchemy Department. Even with magic power, I will continue to stay there. I don’t want to be someone who is half-hearted.”
Mary took out a fresh handkerchief and began to dab at the corners of Merlin’s eyes. Like treating fragile porcelain, she pressed gently to absorb the moisture.
“Even if I have the aptitude to be a magic swordsman, it doesn’t mean I have to learn it now. I will graduate from this academy as a student of the Alchemy Department. I will prove the worth of alchemy to everyone.”
“Isn’t that fine too?”
The urgency was gone from Lucia’s voice, replaced by a smile of realization.
She also moved over and sat on Merlin’s other side. She spread her arms casually across the back of the bench, appearing lazy and relaxed as she quietly watched the sky.
“I also have quite a massive amount of magic power, yet didn’t I choose the Swordsmanship Department? It is because I hate these two types of magic power that have tormented me since birth. Every time I use them, my head starts ringing. I didn’t want to stay in the Magic Department, and I am doing just fine here.”
“So that was the reason…”
Merlin had previously wondered why Lucia was not in the Magic Department.
Lucia patted Merlin’s head.
“So, I will be rooting for you.”
“Thank you.”
Lucia sighed and withdrew her gaze. She boredly toyed with a lock of silver hair hanging over her chest, twirling the ends around her fingertip in a languid manner.
“Should I call it a chain reaction? Because of that boring prophecy, the academy decided to increase the intensity of student training. This time, for the Comprehensive Grand Exam, they are going to throw the students into the wilderness.”
“What prophecy?”
“Hasn’t Ophelia told you yet? Though, it doesn’t really matter whether you know or not; it is just something with no basis.”
“That is still better than knowing nothing at all.”
“Hmm…”
Lucia tilted her head, her gaze falling on the mottled shadows of the old tree in the courtyard. She seemed to be struggling to pick up the pieces of memories she had casually discarded in the corners of her mind.
She wasn’t trying to be mysterious; she truly did not care, so it took some time to piece together the phrases she had heard and immediately forgotten.
“To put it simply, it basically says some kind of disaster is coming.”
Lucia spoke in a light tone, as if she were talking about tomorrow’s weather.
This was because she did not want Merlin to worry too much about such things.
“Though the magical beasts on the surface have indeed become stronger lately, and labyrinths are appearing more frequently—there have even been cases of entrances appearing in residential areas. And… there was that beast tide a few years ago.”
The beast tide… Merlin knew it well. She had been bitterly waiting for Mahina to return when the beast tide broke out.
“Don’t worry too much. These things are cyclical by nature. This prophecy is more like predicting a peak period for the number of magical beasts.”
Mary chimed in.
“Princess Lucia, please explain in more detail. Princess Merlin has never heard of this before.”
“Just like how animals have periodic breeding seasons, the prophecy says that in a few years, we will reach a peak for magical beasts. After a period of unrest, their numbers will plummet again. It isn’t something like the end of the world.”
“I see.”
Lucia curled her lip in disdain.
She was likely thinking of a certain woman from the Theocracy. How boring.
“But those fellows in the Holy Kingdom… even though a century has passed, they talk about it like it’s the apocalypse. I can’t stand them. Don’t take it too seriously.”
Merlin nodded.
“Is that why the academy wants to increase the training intensity for the students? So, what is the chain reaction?”
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