Chapter 5: Chapter 5

– Editor’s Authority (1) –

While the cat was focused on food, he began rummaging through his bedroom in case there were any other clues. Kleio hardly had any possessions. Besides textbooks, writing utensils, and the uniforms, all he had were pajamas and several pieces of everyday clothes.

‘So that’s why it felt even more like a hotel room, huh.’

There were just a student notebook and one checkbook issued from Planta Bank in the otherwise empty desk drawer.

‘It’s basically like sending off a kid who can’t even meet other people’s eyes without anything but a debit card.’

Thinking about it again, the state of Kleio’s family was as he thought. But judging from the circumstances, the connected account should have a considerable amount of money. If he emptied the account, would he be able to see the face of that impressive rich man known as Baronet Asel?

‘I should drop by the bank like the dorm supervisor Reuba said.’

Checking the torn parts on the left side of the checkbook, it seemed one or two sheets had been used before. He lightly shaded in over the signed parts with a pencil, and soon, the impressions from the pressing pen were revealed. He thought he would be able to copy the signature well enough.

‘Let’s use this for now.’

Kleio put the checkbook into the jacket’s inner pocket and opened the student notebook.

Kleio Asel

Dernier Calendar Year 1873

Royal Capital Defense Corps School Year 1 Student

Prospective Group 2 Mage

Ether Level: 1

Behemoth, having just cleaned off his bowl, winded around his legs as he examined the notebook.

“Hey, non-Kleio Kleio.”

“Just call me Kleio. What?”

“Chicken isn’t that bad, but I want to eat steak. Medium rare with Madeira sauce and some wine to complement it.”

“What’s with this cat? Cats can’t drink alcohol.”

“Do you think I am the same as other cats? Huh? I’ve tolerated you a lot today, so you better repay me tomorrow with blood-red Budigala wine and veal.”

When Kleio tried to ignore the fussy demand for meat and wine, Behemoth kicked his shin with its back legs. It hurt as well.

‘If I tussled with him right now, I’d probably lose to a cat.’

.

.

.

Behemoth, who had displayed the behavior of a kitty thug just thirty minutes ago, was cutely licking his paws as he coiled up on top of Isiel Kision’s lap.

‘This deceptive little punk cat.’

They were in a lit living room, with a pretty girl sitting in an armchair. The cat was purring on her lap.

‘Back then, I didn’t have the time to notice, but she really is pretty.’

Her cheeks were lightly tanned to a wheat color, probably from training her swordsmanship under the sun. It also looked smooth and flawless. Her curly hair at neck length was red like a summer rose, and she had green eyes that were clear like emeralds. Added to that were a slender chin and a high nose bridge, as well as the small lips pressed firmly together. She looked so beautiful caressing the cat on her lap that it was like looking at a picture. If only the cat wasn’t a century-old thug, and the young girl touching it hadn’t come to interrogate Kleio…

“Don’t you dare think of evading, Kleio Asel. Considering the range of the circle, it’s clear that your ether level should be two or more. Why did you hide that fact?!”

“I really don’t know. I said I don’t remember what happened after I fell in the river.”

‘Ahh, I thought I would get to rest, but why was there a hearing all of a sudden?’

Isiel, who had burst into Kleio’s room just a little while ago, paused at the cat coming over to lay down in her lap, but soon she returned to her original purpose.

“Then are you saying that you opened a circle unconsciously?”

“I guess you can’t rule that possibility out completely.”

It was the first time in Kleio’s life that he’d ever spoken with such a pretty girl, but his slightly stirring heart had completely withered before her fierce interrogation. Isiel continued to disturb the comfortable life of a rich household’s stupid son that Kleio had in mind.

Isiel, with a stern expression, placed the cat down and stood up. She coldly looked down at the sitting Kleio.

“It’s peculiar. Today, you haven’t been pushed back by my presence for a single second, despite me being a swordsman.”

Isiel Kision thought back on the assessment about Kleio Asel that had been known up until now. The news that the capable Baronet Asel’s second son would enter the school as a peer had spread throughout the school in an instant, but he had merely been a timid and shy, as well as unfairly admitted, student.

But what about the boy here right now? He still had a skinny and weak body, but his eyes and posture had become completely different. His eyes were composed. His gaze met her straight on, and his attitude toward her, who was at the same grade as him, was as if she was a lot younger than he was.

‘This person is Kleio Asel?’

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but because of the shock from falling into the river, my memory became a mess…”

“Can a person change this much just from that?”

Even from Kleio’s point of view, it was something crazy. He knew well enough now that Kleio Asel was an extremely timid boy with a depressive personality. But he, who had never even considered being an actor, couldn’t copy an already dead child’s personality.

‘I can’t become someone that isn’t me. But to think that she’s already picking a fight over that…’

Well, there was a reason why she was acting that oversensitive. Isiel held suspicions that the installation incident of the unidentifiable magic formula could be a plot from the other princes to harm the third prince, Arthur. Of course, it wasn’t. It had just happened when students who found a piece of an ancient document tried to use it to attempt summoning magic secretly without the teachers’ knowledge. For now, if he endured, that story should come out. After that, Isiel wouldn’t be so critical of him.

“Cut the chatter, and let’s go to the headmaster to get your ether level measured. If it’s proved that you’re level 1, then I’ll have to admit I must’ve seen wrong last night.”

Kleio felt a pang of fear inside.

‘If I get that ether level or whatever it is measured right now, then it’ll probably come out higher than that, right?’

It was impossible to separate Promise from his body. He had tried several times, but the ring was stuck to him like glue.

Behemoth, the cat, offered no help. It circled around them, watching and mocking him.

“Meoooooooooow (What did you do to make this pretty person angry? I’ll let you know beforehand that you can’t hide your ether level if it gets measured).”

Kleio thought hard and quickly for the first time since he came here. It would be troublesome for him to stand out, especially if he wanted to play around.

“I’m not well, so I have to rest for now. And I don’t know why I have to listen to that kind of demand.”

“Kleio Asel. If you don’t agree to the measurement, I will officially report you for improper registration of your ether level.”

“You don’t have proof.”

“My goal is to acquire proof.”

“I don’t know if it was because of the accident, but as I said, I don’t remember.”

He had wondered why other people kept saying ‘I don’t remember’ during court hearings, but now that he was in the same situation, he couldn’t do anything but.

‘And now, should I come out in a wheelchair?’

With a calm expression and his fingers laced atop his lap, Kleio hid his anxiety well. He remembered the contents of the manuscript clearly.

‘First of all, three days after the drowning, the ringleader will approach Isiel. And I still have four days left on my sick leave.’

“Then, let’s do the measuring after my sick leave ends.”

“Don’t even think of pulling anything.”

“I’m not. I’m in pain, and I feel sick right now. Is it proper behavior to unfairly persecute an innocent person?”

Kleio beat around the bush, aiming for the fact that Isiel was the type that pursued impartiality and justice.

“…How can I be sure that isn’t a part of your plan?”

“Check with my housemate and the attendant. See if there’s a student, or even anyone, that I approached while shut in my room before I fell into the river.”

A slight crack appeared in Isiel’s otherwise blank expression. She probably had already searched around. Kleio Asel had no friends that could be found…

‘Not a single one.’

“If the incident isn’t resolved by the time my sick leave ends, then I’ll agree to your summons. But if it does get resolved, then don’t bother me again.”

The Kleio Asel looking up at Isiel had such a tired and spent face, completely unlike a seventeen-year-old boy. After all, he was an overworked 32-year-old worker who longed for rest, and this teenaged girl was stopping him from doing so. How could he show her a pleasant expression in this situation?

Isiel assessed the boy before him. Cool sweat beading on his pale forehead; he truly looked sick. She could no longer vigorously corner him. Kleio, whose back had been trembling like he really did have a fever, had a satisfied smile deep inside.

‘There. Now, let me off easy.’

At the moment when it seemed like he would be able to persuade Isiel if he pushed just a bit more, things suddenly fell apart.

Bam–!

It was because someone slammed the entrance door shut and burst into the living room.

“Kleio Asel, you better come out right now.”

‘I thought he doesn’t have any friends. Where are there so many people coming to find him today?’

“Do you know how much trouble I’ve been through thanks to you jumping into the river? Even though I treated you well because I felt sorry for you!”

A boy with a big build passed by Isiel and rushed straight towards Kleio. He looked so angry that it didn’t seem like he could see straight. A large and thick fist flew straight towards Kleio’s face, with enough force that his bones might break if it hit him.

“Ack, [Save me!].”

Before Isiel could stop the boy, a golden semicircle with complicated patterns filling it wrapped around Kleio and spread out. The boy’s fist hit the circle’s boundary and bounced off.

“Arghhh–!”

The boy screamed loudly, clasping the back of his hand. Isiel glared at Kleio as the semicircle surged with golden light. Her hand rested on her training sword, prepared to be drawn out at a moment’s notice.

‘Crap, what did I do?’

Even Kleio, who was clueless about magic, could tell what it was. A golden circle of a 2m radius had spread out with him in the middle. It was, without a doubt, a Mage’s Circle mentioned in the manuscript. It was a circular field that spread out in size proportional to the mage’s ether level.

He quickly thought back on the parts in the manuscript about circles. It had said that only impressively outstanding students could cast circles starting from Year 1. This was basically the same as him, who was in the last place in the entire school, suddenly getting full points on a mock exam. Promise sparkled in his finger. It seemed this defensive magic reflexively unfolded whenever a big threat approached his body.

‘…If you were trying to shove a current day person into a fantasy world, then I guess you should add some insurance. I suppose this was what Isiel saw before.’

It was clear that the unconsciously invoked magic was what saved him when he had fallen into the river.

‘I’m thankful for it, but it’s troublesome now. Is it possible to turn things back? Is there a way?’

He had been caught in the act after feigning not to know anything about magic. As Kleio tried his best to find a method to slip somehow free of the situation, golden words floated up in front of him yet again. He felt hot on the back of his right hand.

[–Will you use Inherent Skill: Editor’s Authority?]

[–When the skill is applied, the author will accept the editor’s revision suggestion.

Restriction: Within the relevant chapter, usage is possible only up to three times.]

Jungjin screamed inside his head.

‘I’ll use it; I don’t know what it is, but I’ll use it!’