Chapter 32

Chapter 32

“Ughhh……”

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah. I’m fine. You saved me.”

Kara sat down on the ground, breathing heavily.

Then, she began to cast a spell.

“Uh, student? What’s your name?”

“Gideon Kyrgram.”

“Kyrgram? Ah, you’re that new Disciplinary Committee member. Anyway, Gideon. Come here.”

As I approached Kara, a small magic circle appeared on her palm.

Then, the soaked clothes began to dry rapidly.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. You only got wet because of me in the first place… Hm, wait a second. Why did I fall into the water again?”

Kara suddenly began pondering to herself.

“I saw a Scopster in the middle of the pond… but I was crossing the pond to get closer to it, so……”

Kara narrowed her eyes at me.

“It was your fault! I fell into the water because of you!”

“How on earth did you come to that conclusion?”

“If you hadn’t shown up here, neither of us would’ve fallen into the water in the first place.”

“…That’s technically true, but your logic seems a bit… off.”

I couldn’t help but laugh dryly at the absurdity.

I waited for Kara to calm down and catch her breath.

“Are you feeling a bit clearer now?”

“My mind was clear from the start.”

“Then can you think logically now?”

“I-I don’t know what you mean. I’ve always been a logical genius magician.”

It seemed even Kara realized how strange her own reasoning sounded, as a flicker of embarrassment crossed her face.

“Sure. Let’s go with that.”

“Change that ‘I don’t believe a word you’re saying’ look right now.”

Kara pretended to strike me in mock anger, but it didn’t look the least bit intimidating.

She must have realized that herself, as she let out a small sigh.

“Anyway, what brings you here?”

“I wanted to speak with you privately.”

“And how did you even know I was here?”

“I heard you come to this forest pond every lunch break.”

“When did that rumor start spreading again?”

In truth, there was no such rumor.

I had simply made up an excuse.

It wasn’t like I could tell her that I knew she came here every lunch break because of the game.

“Well, let’s set that aside for now… Why did you really come? Why did you want to see me?”

“I came because I want to learn magic.”

“…Student, if you want to learn magic, go to the Student Management Team and change your curriculum to the Magic Department…”

“Let me rephrase. I came because I want to learn magic from you, Professor.”

“You want private tutoring? Ha, you’ve got quite the nerve.”

Kara grinned, tilting her head with an air of pride.

“Do you realize how expensive private tutoring from a genius magician like me would be? I occasionally give lectures at the Imperial Palace, you know. Giving personal lessons to just one student would be…”

“Do you know Serenus?”

“Serenus? Of course. It’s famous as the Interracial Protection Zone.”

“You’ve never actually been inside that zone, have you?”

“No one can enter there in the first place.”

Kara looked at me as if I were speaking nonsense.

“To go in, you need to be accompanied by the noble family in charge of Serenus. But that noble has completely disappeared—no one’s seen even a trace of them. A few years back, I even went to the mansion in Serenus, but it was abandoned, so I just came back.”

“Do you know the name of the noble family in charge of Serenus?”

“Hmm? What was it again? I know they were barons. I once looked into it with some folks from the Interracial Research Association… Hmm, Kyrg… something?”

“Kyrgram, perhaps?”

“Ah, right, right! Kyrgram. I was supposed to meet Baron Kyrgram.”

“Yes.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“……”

“…Ah.”

Kara’s eyes widened as if she had just made a great discovery.

“W-w-wait a second! Your name was Gideon… Gideon Kyrgram, right?!”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“T-then you’re… the noble in charge of the Serenus Interracial Protection Zone?”

“Well, technically, yes.”

“In that case……”

From this point on, I had to be very careful with my words.

The Serenus Interracial Protection Zone was a place I’d only visited in the game—and even then, only occasionally. I had never been there in reality.

“Then… could you take me inside the Interracial Protection Zone?”

“Possible, yes, but…”

“Then take me there! Private lessons? Sure, I’ll do it. I’ll teach you as much as you want—just let me meet the Interracial Species even once…!”

“Professor, please calm down first…”

I waited until Kara calmed down to a reasonable degree.

“Alright, let’s go over this again. You’re saying you’re currently the only heir and head of the Kyrgram Family, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I’ve got a mountain of questions for you.”

Kara still looked too worked up to relax.

“First, this might be a sensitive question, but… what happened to your family and your house?”

“I’m not sure of the details, but our downfall began when I was still very young. My parents both disappeared when I was a child.”

I gave a deliberately vague answer.

After all, I didn’t know much about it myself.

“I visited Serenus five years ago, and there was no one at the Kyrgram mansion. Where were you then?”

“I was traveling.”

“I see… That sword of yours—it’s not an Imperial blade. It’s made in the eastern part of the continent. You must’ve traveled quite far. No, wait, that’s not the point right now…”

Kara began pacing in circles, visibly overwhelmed.

Then she let out a deep sigh before continuing.

“So… five years ago, I wanted to visit the Interracial Protection Zone, but I couldn’t find anyone from the Kyrgram Family. So I petitioned the Imperial Palace to appoint a new noble to take charge of the zone since the Kyrgrams were ‘missing.’ The Empire sent an investigator, but…”

She gave me a sideways glance, recalling that time.

“The Interracial Species insisted that only a member of the Kyrgram Family—or someone accompanied by them—could enter their zone. Because of that stubbornness, the Imperial Palace eventually lost interest, and scholars like me who studied them never got to go inside.”

Kara muttered quickly, and I nodded as I listened.

It was new information about Serenus.

“Seems like the Empire doesn’t care much about the Interracial Species.”

“Not just the Empire—most people don’t. Seven hundred years ago, the Interracial Species lost to humans, and after that, there was no reason for anyone to care about them anymore.”

“Right. Their technology and magic were all taken by humans, and the few surviving ones barely managed to continue their lineage inside the protection zones.”

I’d read that in the game’s story setting.

Long ago, countless races had lived on the continent, but they were defeated and driven away by humans.

Only a few intelligent ones survived, while the rest lost their sentience and became monsters.

“The Empire’s indifference is why no one’s replaced the absent noble in charge of the protection zone.”

“You seem very interested in the Interracial Species, Professor.”

“I am. But it’s such a minor field of study that there aren’t many like me.”

“I see. So you’ve never actually been inside the protection zone?”

“Yeah, never. I tried sneaking in a few times, but the Interracial Species always caught me and kicked me out.”

Kara sighed and looked at me.

“At the time, I couldn’t understand what they meant. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find anyone from the Kyrgram Family, and now… one’s standing right in front of me.”

Kara placed a desperate hand on my shoulder.

“Can you take me into the protection zone? If you promise that, I’ll teach you all the magic you want.”

“I’ll look into it when I return home during the break. To be honest, I’ve never entered the protection zone myself, so I’ll need to confirm whether I can even get in.”

“During the break, huh… Honestly, I’d like to go with you to Serenus right now, but it’s so far that even with teleportation magic, it’d take several days.”

Kara paused in thought, then spoke again.

“Let’s do this. I’ll accompany you to Serenus during the break, and I’ll teach you magic the entire time. How about that?”

“Pardon? That’s… quite a lot…”

“In return, let me enter the protection zone. That’s the deal I’m offering.”

Not a bad deal.

Actually, it was better than I expected.

Being able to learn magic from Kara throughout the entire break was an opportunity most could only dream of.

In the game, when I trained as a magician, I had to jump through countless hoops just to earn a one-hour tutoring session as a reward.

Considering that, I was lucky her interest in the Interracial Species was this strong.

“That’s a deal I’m satisfied with. But, Professor—if you don’t mind my asking, why are you so interested in the Interracial Species?”

“There’s no special reason. I’ve just always been fascinated by life forms other than humans since I was a child. I’ve spent my life studying monsters, but… I’ve never once met a true Interracial Species.”

“I see. Well, alright then. I’ll look into the protection zone access by the end of the semester.”

“Good. Let’s do that.”

Kara looked utterly pleased.

Of course—she had finally secured a definite chance to meet the beings she’d dreamed of seeing.

“Once you’ve confirmed it, summon me to your territory during the break. I’ll come personally and teach you magic.”

“Understood. But, Professor—as I said before, I’ve never been inside the protection zone. It’s possible I might not be allowed in either…”

“No, you’ll be able to.”

Kara cut me off firmly.

“Every time they kicked me out, they kept saying to come back with someone of Kyrgram blood. The Interracial Species… must have some kind of connection with the Kyrgram Family. And if you truly are of Kyrgram blood, you’ll definitely be able to enter.”

“In that case, we’ll go together during the break.”

“Good, good. So I’ll finally get to step inside the protection zone? I’ve never looked forward to a break this much.”

Kara murmured in excitement, her face bright with anticipation.

As I watched her enthusiasm, she glanced at me again.

“Anyway, I’ll be teaching you magic during the break, but… have you ever taken a magic aptitude test?”

“No. But I assumed I didn’t have any aptitude—that’s why I came to you. Rumor has it you can teach magic even to those without aptitude.”

“That rumor’s going around too?”

Kara looked mildly displeased.

“Well, it’s true. It’s a sort of workaround that uses ambient mana instead of internal mana, but it can be taught. Still… I don’t think you’ll need that method.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I can sense mana inside you.”

Kara stepped closer and placed her hand over my chest.

She closed her eyes, staying silent for a few minutes, then opened them again.

“Mm. I can feel it. It’s faint, but it’s definitely there.”

“Professor, does that mean I…”

“That’s right. You do have a magic aptitude. It’s faint, but without a doubt, it exists.”