In Magenta Hall, where laboratories primarily focused on analysis were clustered, the top floor was home to Professor Reynold’s lab.
Now, without Professor Reynold’s name, room 505 displayed a plaque and remained brightly illuminated, even in the dead of night.
Though it’s daytime, the lab’s activity was as intense as during the night. The lab members appeared worn out. Orphans, freedmen, and serfs gathered at the end of the table; their motivations for pursuing academia were as varied as their backgrounds and statuses.
One, having endured 200 years of slavery to become a freedman, sought purpose in his sole life. Whether for recognition or not to be overlooked, even a bastard son desired acknowledgment from his father, a noble from the House of Rien.
Hence, no two individuals in the lab shared the same background or reason for their presence.
All of this was orchestrated by Varian, the senior teaching assistant of room 505.
Teleportation, a magic on the brink of being forgotten by history.
Once the research was completed, it promised not only wealth but also immense honor. His name would be inscribed at the base of the monument on the central victory road, one of the highest accolades one could receive.
For this reason, room 505 continued its operations as usual, even without a professor to lead the research. Upon closer examination, it seemed even busier than before.
“Mr. Varian, I’ve just finished sorting out what we received this morning. I’ll leave it on table 2.”“Thank you, Rachel.”
Varian, the driving force behind the lab and the senior teaching assistant, picked up the stack of papers with a detached touch.
Flap-
It had been nearly a month since Professor Reynold was attacked by an assailant. It was time to appoint a new professor, but no suitable candidates met Varian’s approval, leaving a bitter smile on his face.
‘An 8-star magician from a prestigious military family… When will we find someone like that again?’
Professor Reynold Dras was a rare breed, not just in Magenta Hall but across the academy. He came from a good family, had a pleasant personality, and his notable personal magical achievements had raised Varian’s expectations. Unfortunately, he was unable to withstand the grand currents and ended up broken.
Varian turned the pages with a dry touch. Rustle- Rustle- His movements carried the experience of age, exuding the air of a leisurely raised noble.
Unaware of what the future held, Varian sighed deeply, a moment uncharacteristic of him.
Blink-
The ether lamps hanging in the battlefield swayed as if encountering a strange current.
Did someone open a window? One of the researchers thought so and looked towards the window, but only a firmly shut window met their focused gaze.
Blink- Blink-
“Why is it like that?”
“Who turned on the ventilator?”
“…Is someone playing a prank? We’re busy enough as it is.”
Thus, the lab members stopped their work and looked up at the dangling ether lamps. There was no wind, nor was anyone using telekinetic magic for a prank; what kind of ghostly act was this?
“Mr. Varian! It seems I need to head over to the administration building.”
Rachel, with her blonde hair clumsily arranged and looking quite plain, felt something needed to be done and stared at Varian’s seat.
“Shall I vacate the seat…?”
However, in the direction she looked, deep inside the lab, there was no one to be found.
“Mr. Varian?”
Rachel swallowed nervously and set out to find the person who had just been perusing the documents. The chair he had been sitting in still held his warmth, and the stack of papers he had been handed was neatly arranged on the table.
Kwaah-
The sound of the wind beating against his ears.
Crunch- Crunch-
The chilling sound of being constricted with every struggle.
It felt as though a cloth was tightly wrapped around his head, completely blocking his sight, and something damp, presumably used as a gag, was stuffed into his mouth, rendering him unable to speak properly.
But now, Varian could fully comprehend one fact.
‘I’ve been kidnapped…’
Varian tried to calm his queasy stomach and clear his confused mind. Now that he had realized he was kidnapped, the next steps were to figure out the identity of the person carrying him like baggage and where they were taking him.
Having been kidnapped once before, he quickly came to terms with his situation. However, theory and practice seemed to differ, as he could not even guess where he was being transported.
‘No, am I actually moving?’
Although the sound of the noisy wind continued, strangely, there were no footsteps to be heard. Nor did it seem they were traveling by carriage, as there were no sounds of horse hooves or wheels.
Moreover, what was this occasional queasiness? From top to bottom, from bottom to top. A floating sensation briefly came over him, enough to make his mind go numb with seasickness.
Having lived in Rien for hundreds of years, Varian had neither seen nor heard of any road connected to the academy that could induce such sensations.
Had he been feeling seasick for a while? At some point, Varian realized that the sensation of moving had stopped.
And then, the cloth covering Varian’s head was removed.
“Ugh!”
Varian squinted painfully at the dazzling light. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he made eye contact with the person staring intently at him.
“Are you conscious?”
It was a tall human. Due to the bright light, Varian couldn’t see his features clearly, but he was sure the man was wearing a mischievous smile.
“Who are you… Why are you doing this to me?”
“It seems you haven’t grasped the situation yet.”
Shiron pulled up a chair and sat down, staring intently at Varian.
“You’ve been kidnapped.”
“Why, why would you kidnap me? I’m just a penniless researcher. What could you possibly gain from going to such lengths to kidnap me…?”
Varian acted thoroughly terrified in front of his kidnapper, Shiron. Having been kidnapped before, the situation itself did not instill great fear in him.
However, he knew it was wise to remain as submissive as possible, whatever the kidnapper might demand. Varian firmly believed, as he had 50 years ago, that a patron would come to save him and thus tried to buy time.
Was it while his mind was racing? A short shadow popped out from behind the tall man.
“Why would there be nothing to gain?”
“…What?”
It was a voice he had heard somewhere before. The clear, resonant voice echoing in the chamber, and the golden eyes shining in the backlight, naturally reminded him of someone.
“Lucia? Why are you here?”
“Why else? I’m here to meet the damned patron you mentioned.”
Lucia rattled the Fairy’s Longsword at her waist, growling like a beast.
Varian swallowed hard, trying to steady his dizzy mind. Perhaps due to the tension, his mouth was dry, making it difficult to swallow, but he felt he needed to warn the foolish student quickly.
“Stop it, Lucia. You might end up getting killed.”
“Really? Who will die first, I wonder? Me or your precious patron?”
Lucia gripped the Fairy’s Longsword tightly and turned her head away from Varian.
“Are you leaving already?”
Shiron, who had been making rice porridge in a corner of the chamber, called out to Lucia.
“Something’s off upstairs.”
Lucia pulled out a pocket watch from her clothing and replied while looking at it. Inside the tunnel made for magic training, the sense of time dulled, so she had to check the time whenever she could.
“Lucia, where exactly are you going? And what place is this?”
“You don’t need to know. Just open your mouth.”
Shiron clasped Varian’s mouth and spooned the rice porridge into it. There was some resistance, but soon Varian began swallowing the gruel without complaint.
‘…What is this?’
Varian was startled by a strange sensation filling the emptiness inside him but did not stop chewing the rice porridge. He realized it was significant thirst and hunger.
Having swallowed the rice porridge in a gulp, Varian couldn’t understand why he was acting this way.
Sweat ran down his spine. His bound body felt stiff.
An utterly mysterious situation.
Despite his resolve to act thoroughly terrified, physiological reactions were a clear indicator that he was indeed feeling fear.
“I’ll be back.”
“Ah, bring Seira back with you on your way. This guy stinks. He must have soiled himself earlier.”
“…Okay.”
“…Did I soil myself?”
“Yes.”
Lucia glanced briefly at Varian before gripping the doorknob and stepping outside.
She had no intention of concealing her identity. She had repeated the same conversation hundreds of times and knew from hundreds of previous conversations that wearing a mask revealed nothing.
It had been over a month since Varian was brought to an open area on the mansion grounds. Only by revealing faces could Varian be spurred into empathy to obtain even a fragment of information.
It was just like the story he had told earlier, about what had happened during his first kidnapping.
Lucia emerged from the underground space and looked up at the sky. Her sensitive senses, sharper than anyone’s even in a tunnel tens of meters deep, could approximately detect some threat occurring on the surface.
“…Was it called a gate?”
Lucia muttered, looking at a doughnut-shaped cloud hanging in the sky. Shiron had called it the power of an apostle and added that this was phase four.
Thump-! Thump, thump, thump!
Knights clad in blue armor fell from the sky.
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