Eps 256 Another Sky (5)
|Note
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"Competition isn't just a system to determine who gets first place. It's a process of finding yourself through clashes with various philosophies. It is foolish to be obsessed with rankings.”
Olivia looked at Dante with pity.
There is no lie in what Shirone says. Changing the world is on a completely different level from being number one in a magic academy.
McClaine Gorphin, who was said to be the most powerful mage in human history, despite not being able to confirm even his existence.
And his chosen successor, Adrias Miro.
Even they had to make tremendous sacrifices to protect the world.
"Can Dante become as strong as Shirone?"
"Everyone will become stronger. Every student here will."
Olivia closed her eyes.
With this, the match ended. And her long-standing relationship with Alpheas had reached its end.
"I've lost. I'll step down as principal and leave the academy."
Alpheas smiled slyly as he responded.
“Wouldn’t it be good to stay here?”
"What are you talking about? My term is ending soon anyway."
“Please stay at the academy and help me out. I'm getting old, and it's hard to do everything by myself. In other words, I'm asking you to become the vice-principal of this academy."
Olivia's eyes narrowed.
She, who had once served as the principal of the Royal Magic Academy, was now being asked to serve as vice-principal. And that too under Alpheas she terribly hated.
She was going to bury it all here. No matter what she did, she couldn't defeat this cunning snake, so she tried to forget about it and just live on.
But it seemed Alpheas couldn't bear to stop tormenting her, even until the end.
Of course, the intention of this proposal was understandable. If Jerome Olivia is the vice-principal, the reputation of the academy will rise in an instant. Not to mention the many innovations she had brought during her time here.
That’s why she had to refuse even more.
She couldn't fall for Alpheas's trick of trying to catch two rabbits at the same time: fame and ability.
"Vice-principal? Have I lost my mind? Why on earth would I help you with that?"
Alpheas took out his trump card without hesitation.
"That night... when you came to see me..."
“Stop! Please!”
Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
Could there be a more cruel person in the world? What had she done to make him hold such a grudge?
When he suddenly came to see her after over ten years without contact, she thought it might finally be her chance for revenge.
But now, it was a deep regret that she could not send him back that day when he came to find her.
Tears welled up in Olivia's eyes.
"You're... truly selfish."
Alpheas stopped joking and spoke sincerely.
"Don't be like that. Stay. When we have free time, let's drink tea together, tend the garden... and maybe pay a visit to Erina."
Murderous intent flared in Olivia's eyes. For him to tell her to greet his late wife, fully aware of her feelings...
Why should she endure such humiliation?
She had only liked him. What had she done wrong to make this man drag her to the depths of hell?
“You really…!”
Just as Olivia was about to raise her voice, she saw something different in Alpheas' eyes and stopped. His gaze held a different emotion than before.
“You, surely….”
Alpheas shook his head. He knew Olivia would be disappointed, but he couldn't bear to hurt her a second time.
Still, things were undeniably different from thirty years ago. Perhaps he had changed.
"Don't misunderstand. Yes, I know what you're thinking, but honestly, I can't promise anything. I might never let go of Erina, even until I die. I can't guarantee you anything."
Olivia’s eyes grew a bit colder, but not as much as before.
"Then why are you doing this? What could you possibly get from me while still holding onto your dead wife in your heart? What, is it just about physical needs? Feeling lonely now that you're older, and it aches to your bones?"
Alpheas looked up at the sky.
“Perhaps so. It wasn’t a rational decision. I just felt like if I didn’t do it now, I wouldn’t have another chance. That’s all.”
Olivia’s expression became blank. Alpheas awkwardly smiled. Even to him, what he was saying didn’t make much sense.
"Is this selfish?"
Olivia shook her head.
"No. Do you know what’s really selfish? This is the first time you've ever honestly expressed your feelings."
"I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. Back then, it was just how things were. You know that—I couldn’t do anything about it."
Olivia let out a long sigh, lost in thought.
"So what do you want me to do now? Throw myself at you again at this age? In hopes that maybe, just maybe, you'll accept me?"
"I don’t even fully know how I feel yet. No matter how long you live in this world, you can’t figure things like this out. But I’ll try."
Olivia fought back the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes.
She should be angry at his selfish proposal, but the moment he said he’d try, she felt all her pent-up anger melt away. It made her feel pathetic and miserable.
Olivia let out a deep sigh. She understood Alpheas' words a little. Honestly, she didn’t want to live so calculated anymore either.
A second-rank archmage. What is there to fear in life when she have achieved everything she wanted to achieve?
All that was left was to follow her emotions, to go with the flow of time. She felt like she was at the age where that was okay.
“Show me your study. Let us have some tea first.”
Alpheas, this time, looked surprised. His wife still lived in his study. He knew Olivia was a foolish woman, but he didn’t expect her to lay everything down again.
Olivia, who had read Alpheas's thoughts, waved her finger.
"Don’t get the wrong idea. It doesn’t mean I’ve accepted your proposal."
"Then why the study?"
Olivia recalled an incident from long ago. The memory of defacing Erina’s portrait in front of Alpheas was a nightmare that still haunted her.
"To erina… I have something to apologize for."
A smile finally spread across Alpheas' face.
"Of course. Shall we go, then?"
When Alpheas left first, Olivia glanced at the other teachers, cleared his throat, and followed him.
The teachers were absolutely astonished.
They hadn’t overheard the details of their conversation, but after the match, they expected one of the two to meet a dire fate.
However, after making their students fight to the brink, the two were now walking side by side to the study, leaving everyone speechless.
Meanwhile, Killain, who had been riding high on Dante's interviews, was in despair. While the birth of a new star, Shirone, was exciting, it posed a problem for her own future.
Until now, she had monopolized coverage of the star that was Dante. But now that he had fallen, it was Shirone’s world.
Soon, countless reporters would be vying for Shirone's attention, and the competition would be fierce.
And the first person they'd target to remove was, of course, her.
Killain’s eyes sparkled as she thought through her options. At this point, her best move was to make one big gamble and lay the groundwork for future opportunities.
While everyone else was scrambling to secure Shirone, she would bet the other way and aim for an exclusive scoop.
Killain walked over to the video recorder, but when she arrived, she found the recording device lying on the floor.
She, who had been watching in bewilderment, asked with cold eyes.
“What happened? Why is this thing lying down?”
"Well, um… all the bracelets broke, right? The video recorder is synced with them. That's how it records the battle. Then, at the end, it just went boom and toppled over.”
The video operator shrugged, indicating it was out of his control.
Killain was about to hurl a string of curses but took a deep breath and calmed herself.
Obscura was a sensitive piece of equipment that could be damaged by even a slight shock.
"Check Obscura immediately! Without it, we can’t publish anything."
"Ah, yes, understood."
The video operator opened the main unit and examined the inside.
After rummaging around for a while, he finally sighed in relief and turned back to her.
"It’s fine. Obscura is intact."
Killain’s heartbeat finally returned to normal.
“Phew, that’s a relief.”
Sienna, who had safely sent the students back, approached them after completing her task.
"Is something wrong? Any issues?"
The video operator burst into laughter.
"Ahaha, well..."
Killain suddenly shouted.
“This can’t be!”
It was an instinctive reaction from a seasoned reporter.
When the video operator and Sienna looked back with a puzzled expression, she pretended to have a sad expression.
"Obscura has a crack. A damaged Obscura can’t play any footage. In the end, we weren’t able to capture anything."
Sienna sighed in regret. The match today had been so high-level that it could have served as valuable educational material for countless students.
The fact that Obscura, which held the entire battle between Shirone and Dante, was broken was not just a personal regret—it was a loss for the entire kingdom.
But on the other hand, she also felt a sense of relief.
She heard that Principal Alpheas ordered Thad to destroy the black box.
Of course, what was contained in Obscura was just a simple video, but now that things had turned out this way, it seemed best to handle it thoroughly.
“Oh, such a shame. That's unfortunate.”
Sienna left, offering words of comfort that were half sincere and half false.
As she walked away, the video operator looked back at Killain as if asking what was going on.
But nothing entered her eyes. Only one thought filled her head.
The best reporter for Teachers' Association will always be her.
'Huhuhuhu! Scoop, it’s scoop!'
The Revealed Truth (1)
A week had passed since Shirone and Dante's match.
Olivia was still serving as interim principal, and rumors were going around that she would return as vice-principal starting next semester.
This was shocking news to the students.
Olivia was a second-rank archmage.
If she were to return to the Royal Magic Academy, it would be understandable, but no one had imagined her working under Alpheas at Alpheas Magic Academy.
However, if the rumors were true, it was truly exciting news.
If Olivia, the best teacher in the kingdom, joins the academy, along with the respected Alpheas, the academy's reputation will skyrocket.
Perhaps because of this, even during the chaotic time when there was only one month left in the semester, the students' study atmosphere was good.
Olivia often went for walks with Alpheas.
Although the two still had differences of opinion, like fire and water, the students never saw it escalate into a big fight.
Olivia would argue passionately like fire, but the moment Alpheas said something, it was like cold water doused her, and she would fall silent.
Because of this, the teachers and students speculated that Olivia must have some secret or weakness that Alpheas was holding over her.
Today, Olivia spent her leisurely time walking around the academy with Alpheas.
Since most of the curriculum had been revised during the semester, it was only the teachers who were still busy.
“I’m going to plant roses here.”
Olivia said, stretching her arms wide as if measuring the width of the flower bed.
Passing students greeted her as they walked by.
“Hello, Principal Olivia!”
Olivia greeted them with a warm smile.
"Hello! Are your classes finished?"
"Yes. We're heading to the library now."
"I see. But aren’t you supposed to be training during practice period? Shouldn’t you be at the training ground?"
"Ah, today we had a lesson with Heaven’s Trial, so we're managing our condition. We didn’t realize it before, but now that Heaven’s Trial has been introduced, it seems to overlap with practice periods, which makes things a bit tough."
"That makes sense. I'll bring it up at the teacher’s meeting."
“Huh? Really? Thank you so much!"
The students ran away to the library, jumping in joy.
Olivia's teaching philosophy was not to cling to grand ideals but to respond swiftly for the sake of efficiency.
“Principal!”
Thad came running from afar, shouting. Judging from his expression, it seemed like something big had happened.
However, Alpheus and Olivia, who had been through a lot, were not worried in advance.
“What’s wrong, Teacher Thad?”
Thad swallowed hard, panting, then pulled out the magazine he had tucked behind his back.
It was a magazine called <Spirit> published by Teachers' Association.
Olivia realized the situation too late.
Well, considering that an unknown student had defeated the kingdom’s greatest, Dante, she could already imagine the exaggerations without even looking at the magazine.
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|Fun Fact
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