Ch. 137 - Summer Vacation (2)

Chapter 137: Summer Vacation (2)

Anyone who visited Stella Academy for the first time was bound to be overwhelmed by its sheer size.

It was said that its average size was equivalent to three or more royal castles of a decent country.

“Wow…”

It was no exception for the dark mage, Anella.

“Anella di Polanche. You are attending Hanaleya Magic Academy in the Sevelon Kingdom, right?”

“Ah, yes!”

Anella responded quickly to the Stella staff's question. She had prepared a false identity, including a discarded name and fake background, to infiltrate Stella today. There could be no mistakes.

“Good. Let’s do well during the summer semester. Although Ms. Anella is an exchange student, you have the same status as the enrolled students during the semester, so you don’t need to be afraid.”

“Yes …”

With the advice of the staff, Anella was able to enter Stella with a luggage bag as heavy as her body.

'I can’t believe I infiltrated so easily. I knew I had a contract with a perfect identity disguise company that could even fool Stella, but I was not sure if I could really get in.’

Of course, she had to seal away all her dark magic powers in exchange, but her true abilities remained intact, so she wasn't worried.

“Hoo…”

Walking from the Stella toll gate to the main building’s entrance would be impossible. If one insisted on walking, it would take at least half a day.

Anella, who boarded the campus shuttle bus, looked around various buildings, gardens, artistic statues, etc. in the academy branch.

There was truly nothing lacking.

Everything from shops to restaurants and entertainment facilities was available, so there was no reason to go out.

Stella Academy had about three thousand students in the Magic Combat Department, and more than ten thousand students in total, including those in alchemy, diplomacy, law, magic research, and other fields.

Stella was splendid and abundant.

It accommodated all those students and more.

It was dazzling and brilliant.

It was so overwhelming that it was hard to believe that there was such a place in the world.

‘Is this even on the Aether World…’

The place where she stayed previously was an abandoned building full of holes, and appeared on the verge of collapse.

All she could do was make a tent, and barely survive through each day, so this place felt like a different world to her.

‘… I wonder if I could have gone to this academy if I was born a noble.’

She forgot her human days.

She forced herself to forget.

There were nothing but painful memories.

She didn’t have a single good memory.

But seeing this place, she couldn’t help but think that.

‘If I was in my human days… if I was born with better talent and better environment, maybe I could have lived in this beautiful and dreamlike place.’

‘Sigh~ What am I thinking?’

She clenched the hem of her uniform. She couldn’t become a real student just by wearing a uniform and feeling sentimental.

As they approached the entrance of Stella’s main building, they saw a huge crowd of people in the distance.

‘What’s that.’

As Anella stared blankly at the crowd, the other exchange students on the same bus murmured.

“What’s all that…?”

“Maybe they’re the people who came to meet the students who presented this time?”

“Ah, yeah. That must be it.”

Among them, there were mages and people who appeared like reporters. They all came to meet the four students who gave excellent presentations at the Aslan Seminar this time.

It was amazing that such a crowd came here to meet a few students who hadn’t even lived for 20 years, but Anella only looked down on them.

Human society lived under the influence of the media, and the hot topics were one of the mysteries that she couldn’t understand even when she was human.

“This is the dormitory where you will stay for a month.”

After getting off the bus, Anella followed the guide and headed straight to the dormitory assigned to her.

The dormitory was not as luxurious as the one for Stella students, but it was enough for Anella, who had been living in a pile of garbage at the verge of falling apart.

“Wow…”

‘This soft bed; the cloud-like blanket which embraces your skin gently, and the temperature control device that reminds me of my mother’s embrace.’

‘There is no other heaven.’

“Oops.”

Then, Anella came to her senses and hurriedly got up from the bed.

She was currently on a huge mission.

Hadn’t she infiltrated the ‘Stella Academy’?

Many dark mages had secretly sneaked into Stella, but they belonged to the Dark Mage Alliance.

There was no case like hers.

‘Get a grip! This is an opportunity for success!’

The right arm of the Dark King trusted her and gave her a great task.

She would definitely complete this mission successfully and move on to a better workplace.

Although it was her first time coming to Stella, she had a considerable reputation for the infiltration mission itself.

The first element of infiltration!

Blend in naturally with the humans on the scene.

She was currently a high school student.

She acted more like a high school student than anyone else, and her first goal was to get close to the students and dig out information.

As Anella was wandering around the dormitory corridor, she spotted three girls and quickly approached them.

The way to get along with the students was simple.

That was to stay updated with new trends!

Teenagers felt close and quickly got along with each other through it.

‘I know recent trends well!’

She greeted the girls very skillfully using her knowledge.

“Hey, hi! Nice to meet you!”

Then.

The three girls opened their eyes wide, looked at each other for a moment, and then…

“LOL! What is that!”

“Isn’t that a vintage slang from 30 years ago?”

“You, what are you? A kid? Oh, you're a first-year exchange student like us?"

“Hey there, nice to meet you! This is really hilarious.”

‘Huh?’

What’s wrong?

What’s the problem here?

As Anella hesitated and tried to step back, the girls grabbed her shoulders.

"Where are you from? First-year, right?"

"Um, yeah."

"Look at the reaction. So adorable."

"Are you really a first-year? Look at her pigtails. What should we do? She looks like a little sister."

"Want to go get some Éclair Chocolat shaved ice with us? They say you can only get it at Stella."

"E-Éclair?"

"Don't you know? It's a trend these days."

Anella, sensitive to the word "trend," nodded energetically, even though she had no idea what Éclair Chocolat was.

"I know exactly! I really like it!"

"Let's go, let's go."

"We'll treat you!"

That way, Anella was able to successfully integrate into the group of students using the newly coined term.

——-

"Éclair Chocolat shaved ice is ready."

Stella Sky Café Terrace.

This café had a very aristocratic design which was also very comfortable for students. It even had a VIP room, and it was called sky terrace because it hovered in the air.

There were three girls gathered there who didn’t seem to fit the aristocratic setting.

Flame, Hong Bi-Yeon, and Eisel.

“Ugh, I really wanted to eat this.”

Pointing at a dessert magazine, Flame confidently held a fork with any sign of awkwardness. Despite being with those awkward girls, it didn’t bother her.

On the other hand, Eisel appeared visibly uncomfortable and glanced around, while Hong Bi-Yeon seemed indifferent, and crossed her legs with no intention to pick up a fork.

As Flame enjoyed the shaved ice alone, she sneakily glanced at the girls.

“Aren't you eating? Are you just going to eat alone?”

Eisel silently bowed her head, and Hong Bi-yeon cut in abruptly.

“I don't feel like eating that kind of thing.”

"Ah, you have such a tough personality."

Unable to help it, Flame put her fork down, finally creating an atmosphere fit for conversation.

Hong Bi-Yeon asked Eisel, as if she thought the time was right.

“Now tell us. Why do you need us?”

Eisel glanced at them alternately, and carefully parted her lips.

"I can't tell you in detail right now... but... I saw the end of the world in the Star Archives.”

"..."

At that statement, Hong Bi-Yeon frowned, and Flame appeared bewildered.

Having already known the ending of this world through the original novel, Flame could vaguely predict what Eisel had seen.

'Did she see the scene where Ma Yu-Seong fights alone at the end of the world...?'

The ultimate goal of the dark mages: To turn the entire Aether World into the Underworld.

The dark mages succeeded in the original, and ultimately, the world was destroyed.

The trashiest of trash endings was fed to the readers. It attracted a truckload of criticism as a result.

However, it wasn't just the end of a simple story; it was also Flame’s own destiny, so it was quite a matter to be taken seriously.

"The end of the world. Our ancestors must have had a good reason to forbid Star Archives. What was your reason for daring to see it?"

"I wanted to save Baek Yu-Seol."

"What? What do you mean… Saving that old man?"

"Ah, that's..."

Eisel hesitated. She realized that Flame didn’t know about Baek Yu-Seol’s impending death.

Hong Bi-Yeon said sharply, "That commoner, he'll die soon. He wouldn't live past twenty."

“… What? That doesn't make any sense."

If Flame’s prediction was correct, Baek Yu-Seol would survive for at least another ten years.

It wasn't in the original novel, but presumably, Baek Yu-Seol also experienced the 'end of the world,' which might have caused time to rewind.

"But it's true. 'Mana Leakage Disorder,' you must have heard of it, right?"

"No way... You mean that man has 'Mana Leakage Disorder’?"

"Yeah. I thought you'd already know."

"I had no idea..."

Because it was such a sudden reveal, Flame’s pupils shook in confusion.

"That can't be true... He can't die at twenty..."

However.

Clearly, Baek Yu-Seol would still be alive in the future.

The person who supported Flame’s thoughts was Eisel.

"That's right. Baek Yu-Seol undoubtedly has a Mana Leakage Disorder, and it’s said he wouldn't live for more than three years. That's why I checked Star Archives too."

However.

"I saw it in the Star Archives. Perhaps around ten years from now, the person standing at the end of the world... is ultimately Baek Yu-Seol. He was alone."

"What?"

"What did you say...?"

Both of them could only be surprised by Eisel’s words.

'Not Ma Yu-Seong, but Baek Yu-Seol...?’

'He survived until ten years later...?'

At that moment, a piercing ringing echoed in her head. It compelled Hong Bi-Yeon to tightly shut her eyes and endure the pain.

"Ugh..."

"Are you, are you okay?"

"... I'm fine."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked about Star Archives.'"

She mentioned celestial secrets.

She was even warned never to speak of what happened in 'Star Archives.'

However, since only a small part of it was revealed, Hong Bi-Yeon and Flame suffered...

… Huh?

But for some reason, unlike Hong Bi-Yeon, Flame appeared completely unaffected. She blinked her eyes with a normal expression.

"Are you... are you okay?"

"Huh? Uh... Well, I have some immunity in this regard."

Knowing the part she was worried about, Flame hurriedly reassured her.

Perhaps since she knew about the 'original novel,' it seemed like she didn't feel pain even if the content of Star Archives leaked.

"Phew... Anyway, getting back to the point, just because it's like that doesn't mean we can leave him alone. As the Principal said, the future is ever changing."

Agreeing deeply with her words, Flame nodded.

"Maybe in the future, he'll find a way to overcome his deadline on his own... or maybe someone will find that solution for him, allowing him to survive until then."

Eisel extended two fingers.

"There are two goals. One is to find out what really happened at the end of the world, and how it was destroyed. The other is to find a way to save Baek Yu-Seol."

Simple yet difficult.

"Initially... when I alone accessed Star Archives I could only see a very small portion of information. That's why I need your help. If we gather our strength, surely we can access more information."

It was not certain.

Could mere Class 4 mages gain so much more information only if the numbers were increased?

But it must be done.

"We only have this summer vacation as an opportunity. The day when the third full moon, 'Charlier Moon’ rises; when the moonlight shines the most on the Canyon of Kallansar and the Moonlight Temple, that day is the perfect timing to contact 'Constellation Project'."

They looked at each other with earnest eyes.

Despite different backgrounds, personalities, statuses, tendencies, beliefs, and even magic and thoughts, they were all the same here.

What would happen in the future?

What did Baek Yu-Seol see at the end of the world?

… Why did he decide to turn back time?

They had to find out, without fail.

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