10. A Nightmare of Old Memories (1)
“…It doesn’t seem to be just a feeling. That girl, she’s more sensitive than she looks. It doesn’t seem like she’s noticed us, but she might have sensed that we’re here.”
“Isn’t that being too cautious?”
The man said something, and the woman questioned back.
It could’ve been a coincidence—after all, we’re cloaked with the Invisibility Spell.
“Some say that caution, no matter how excessive, is never overdone. Besides, that girl is also of Cascata’s bloodline. It’d be wise to tread carefully.”
“Well, does it matter?”
The woman shrugged, speaking nonchalantly.
Truthfully, the woman didn’t quite understand why the man was so worried.
It’s true that caution is necessary, especially when operating in the heart of the Empire like this. Still, is it really necessary to be this cautious?
“Anyway, she’s not our target, right? Our Lord never mentioned her either. All we have to do is take care of the target. Since the target lives in the dormitory, we’ll have to carry out the task here somehow.”
“…Hmph.”
While the man was lost in thought, the woman chuckled softly.
This is worrying too much—she thought.
“Is it because there’s the Cascata girl that you’re hesitant to act within the Academy?”
“…She has ties to the Lord as well. Moreover, using more advanced magic than the Invisibility Spell within the Academy is banned even by the Council. Don’t have any unnecessary thoughts.”
“These aren’t unnecessary thoughts. We just need to make sure the target steps outside the Academy grounds. Leave it to me, and I’ll handle it properly.”
The woman didn’t wait for the man’s answer as she lightly leaped down from beneath the bell tower.
The man watched her retreating figure silently without raising any objections.
‘I still couldn’t get closer to Karla again today. I wish we could go back to the way things used to be…’
After parting ways with Karla, Ivan thought as he headed back to the dormitory.
They used to be so close 10 years ago. Honestly, he couldn’t understand why Karla—or rather Karlo—hated and disliked him so much. But he had come to realize Karla’s purpose, so one could say he’d made some progress in understanding her.
‘Even if I give her a chance to defeat me later on, she might still get angry about it. And if I win legitimately in a fight, she’s likely to get angry again, thinking it’s the same old story.’
As much as he felt apologetic toward Karla, Ivan didn’t think he’d lose to her.
After all, magic isn’t just about brute magical power. Magic is ultimately about how efficiently one uses their limited magical power in the right moment. It all comes down to the user’s skill, and Ivan believed he far surpassed Karla in that regard.
‘And if I lose on purpose, I’ll disappoint Her greatly.’
That would be troublesome.
But staying as they are now is also problematic.
‘What should I do? Should I deliberately lose without it being obvious? That seems kind of tricky as well…’
At that moment, a distant scream-like sound caught his attention.
Lost in thought as he was walking, Ivan immediately turned toward the sound and, sure enough, saw thick black smoke rising.
“Fire… Is it a fire?!”
Ivan started running immediately.
The smoke seemed to be coming from the direction of the dormitory where he stayed. When he arrived, he saw that the other students had already evacuated and were anxiously pacing outside.
“Regina, what happened?”
He approached the silver-haired girl and asked, but when Regina turned to him, she quickly grabbed his hand.
“Ivan! Thank goodness you weren’t in your room yet?”
“Yeah, I’m just heading back. What’s the matter?”
“Uh, there’s a fire in your room! I was just looking for you!”
“Ivan!”
Emil approached him, followed soon by Liam. The worry that had clouded their faces quickly disappeared upon confirming Ivan was safe, but Ivan still stared at his dormitory window, shrouded in smoke, and sighed.
“Ivan.”
When he turned to the voice calling from behind, it was the dorm supervisor.
The nervous-looking woman clutched her head, speaking with concern.
“It’s fortunate the fire started while you were out. The janitor accidentally knocked over a lamp while cleaning your room.”
“Oh, I see…”
“It’s lucky it happened before the end of school hours. We came close to a serious incident.”
“That’s true…”
“She will be here soon to apologize. That…”
When Ivan noticed the supervisor hesitating, he understood what she was trying to say.
After all, it wasn’t as if they had started the fire on purpose.
Moreover, there wasn’t anything truly valuable in his room, so the fire wouldn’t have caused much damage.
“Yes, it’s fine. As long as no one is injured, that’s all that matters. It doesn’t seem like anyone started the fire intentionally either.”
“…Thank you for your understanding.”
With that, the supervisor left to deal with the aftermath. Ivan watched her go, then glanced at his smoke-filled window once more.
“You over there, isn’t that a fire? It seems to be from the co-ed dormitory side?”
Lately, too many people are looking for me.
When Ivan turned around, a black-haired female student was looking at him with a perplexed expression.
“Is it Emil’s room…no, Emil’s room?”
“No, it’s my room.”
“Ah, is that so? What a pity. Such a situation.”
“Do you know Emil?”
She nodded.
“My name is Ivan. Ivan Kontadino. Didn’t we meet earlier today?”
“Yeah, I’m Kiara.”
“Alright, Kiara. All’s well as long as everyone’s safe… Hmm?”
While conversing with Kiara, Ivan suddenly noticed a faint noise beside him.
There had definitely been some sort of movement, or rather, something—or someone—felt nearby…
But there was nothing there when he looked.
“Good… I’m very satisfied. I absolutely love it.”
Under the cold shower, Karla clenched her fists with a pleased smile.
This endless wave of mana rushing through her body—
It perfectly harmonized with her Electromancy, a powerful and devastating magic. Truly, it was a gift worthy of being called perfect.
Even after the classes ended, Karla remained at the training ground, practicing relentlessly.
Electromancy is an incredibly powerful and destructive form of magic, yet there are few who can wield it because of its ferocity.
Kascatas have traditionally mastered Electromancy, giving them an edge over other mages, but even for them, it often defies their will.
Therefore, consistent practice is the only way to improve with Electromancy, and Karla never slacked off in this regard, devoting herself fully to training.
After finishing her practice, she went to the showers attached to the training grounds, changed her clothes, and left the area.
It was about time she headed home, so she walked toward the carriage waiting area.
‘What should I do with this hair?’
There are quite a few inconveniences.
Even though she showers just like everyone else, her hair takes several times longer to dry. She feels a chill in the night air, and her steps feel different too. The sensation of her chest swinging with every movement is irritating, and her shoulders feel a little stiff.
‘Since my mana has grown stronger, maybe I should accept the minor annoyances. Hmm?’
Karla’s eyes narrowed as she recognized a familiar figure.
‘Isn’t that Ivan?’
What’s he doing boarding an Academy carriage?
Her curiosity was sparked, but Karla quickly shrugged it off.
Why should she care about someone like this mere commoner?
Given how talented he is, someone must’ve called him over. She decided to think of it that way.
As Karla climbed into the Kascata carriage, passing the Academy carriage, she caught Ivan’s gaze. He was about to say something, but Karla ignored him entirely.
“Young lady, we will depart.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
The moment Karla lounged on the sofa and closed her eyes, the carriage started moving silently. She wanted to rest for a moment but couldn’t fall asleep for long.
After some time—it’s unclear how long exactly—Karla suddenly opened her eyes.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, young lady.”
“Our rear… Isn’t the Academy carriage following us?”
The coachman hesitated as he glanced behind a few times before carefully nodding.
“It seems so. They might be heading for the Kascata estate…”
“That stupid—”
Karla gritted her teeth, then violently pushed open the carriage window and stuck her head out.
“Hey! Ivan! Stop following me!”
Her shouts were soon met with a response from the Academy carriage’s driver.
“W-we aren’t following! It’s just that Master Ivan’s dormitory was damaged by fire…we’re not following! We’re going outside the Academy’s premises!”
‘Fire?’
For some reason, a brief concern for Ivan’s wellbeing crossed her mind. If he were hurt, she wouldn’t be able to properly challenge him—though Ivan had appeared fine earlier.
“…Hmph.”
Karla snorted at her own thoughts—her unnecessary concern for Ivan—and was about to close the carriage window when—
Bang!
There was an explosion near the wheel of the Academy carriage Ivan was riding.
The side of the carriage blew off, the horses broke free from their reins and collapsed, causing the carriage to overturn.
The slow-motion images of those events came clearly to Karla’s mind.
“Stop, halt! Pull over the carriage!”
As soon as her command reached the coachman, Karla jumped out as the carriage skidded to a stop.
The coachman had disappeared somewhere, while in the distance, the two horses struggled helplessly to rise.
“Ivan! IVAN!”
As Karla rushed toward the Academy carriage, she froze upon seeing two figures emerge from in front of the carriage.
They clearly didn’t have good intentions.
After all, people with good intentions don’t blow up carriages.
Moreover, one had a single eye, and the other had unnaturally bright red eyes—no matter how one looked at it, they weren’t here to help.
“…You two.”
Their faces are familiar.
Karla recognized the two individuals she saw loitering on the tower earlier in the day. Fixing them with a cold glare, she clenched her fists.
“You were the ones hanging around on the tower earlier. I knew I wasn’t mistaken.”
The one-eyed man chuckled lightly.
“So you did notice us then? Impressive senses. Indeed, you’re a Kascata.”
“And even knowing I’m a Kascata, you’re still doing this in front of me?”
“Does it matter? You haven’t been harmed yet, and the Kascata family has no reason to concern themselves over a mere commoner.”
That’s true.
They hadn’t harmed her, and it was evident their business was with Ivan.
“We don’t intend to harm the Kascata family. If you simply pretend you didn’t see any of this, it’d be appreciated.”
While the man spoke, Karla didn’t respond.
“It’s quite amusing, isn’t it, for the great Kascata family to concern themselves over a commoner. So, please, just look away.”
The man seemed to think Karla would comply.
In reality, Karla didn’t make any movements.
“Surprisingly, that guy took quite the beating but seems tougher than expected.”
The red-eyed woman grinned strangely as she pulled Ivan out from the carriage. Ivan, completely unconscious, didn’t react even as she grabbed him by the collar.
“Come now, this guy’s dangerous, so we should subdue him. [Restriction].”
Even as the man chanted his incantation, Karla remained motionless.
Ivan, Ivan Kontadino.
A commoner and someone with quite a history of bad blood with Karla.
Should anything happen to him, surely it’s none of her concern—
Right?
“Nope. Seems I can’t let this be. I have to be the one to take him down.”
“Huh?”
“That guy needs to let go and leave. I don’t know what they’re up to…”
Karla’s words, filled with hostility, didn’t phase the man much.
His single visible eye under his long hair narrowed as he stared at her.
“Hmm. A naÏve young lady, are we? Do you not recognize the Restriction magic? Since you’re a Kascata, I’ll enlighten you. It’s a type of Restriction Magic that prevents a mage from manifesting mana outside their body. To mages, it’s quite crippling. Thus, you should just turn back. We’ll let him go unharmed.”
“Should I say I’ll fight you to get him back?”
She clenched her fist.
Hardly suppressing a laugh, she forced herself.
“You can’t do that, not knowing about Restriction magic. How did you even enter the Academy…”
At that moment, Karla disappeared.
Next, she reappeared behind the one-eyed man, grabbing his head.
“Sorry, but I’ve always lived in this state.”
Karla’s smile deepened.
In truth, restriction? Merely trivial nonsense to her.
