Side Story 1 â Part 1
Widnichol Aide was in a hurry. Holding magical books in both hands, he ran as fast as he could through the Black Lotus Court, which was a part of the royal palace.
This was the Black Lotus Court that wizards all over the world were envious of, comprising the most elite of the elite wizards, that students at the Academy of Magic would dream of becoming one day.
Widnichol was prone to disrupting its tranquil atmosphere, looking like he just lost an easy game as he desperately held those books, but in any case, he ran at his full speed.
As he ran through the corridors, the wizards working there or people from other parts of the palace that had visited all stared at the source of the noise, wondering what was going on. Widnichol did see them stare from the corner of his eye, but right now he almost couldnât bring himself to care about it.
The others, upon realizing that the boy running straight ahead without a glance to his left or right was in fact Widnichol, each said, ãOh, again?ã as if they now understood, and went back to their respective duties.
Since heâd just started going to the Black Lotus Court, heâd experienced nothing but being separately called out and stopped, being scolded, and hearing people say rude things about him.
Compared to that, it might be fortunate that he could run as loudly as he could and no one reproached him for it. But even so, to just accept that running frantically without any time to waste as the âonly naturalâ thing to do for him, made him feel complicated things in itself. No, in fact.
ââHe was not happy at all!
He screamed that internally, and of course, no one could complain to him about that. But even so, he couldnât help but to scream internally anyway.
Anyhow, the people he was dealing with gave him a hard time. Lord Dainanâs orders from a few hours ago rang again in his ears, and a shiver ran down Widnicholâs spine.
But, thatâs right, the most important thing to do right now was to deliver the mountain of magical books in his arms, even if that would exhaust all his energy.
And then, Widnichol ran to the deepest, most innermost parts of the Black Lotus Court, passing through a corridor with almost no one around, and throwing open the door in front of him with all his might. Now, the battle began.
ãMaster! These are all the books you said!ã
ãYouâre late. What were you doing?ã
Widnicholâs heart already felt like it broke at his teacherâs pre-emptive attack.
ãI-Iâm sorry, I just got caught by Lord Dainanâ¦ã
ãDainan? Ah, that thin-haired guy? He just wonât give up, will heâ¦ã
Even though the name Widnichol had said was one of the authorities of this country, the head of this room didnât look like he cared much, simply dropping his gaze once again to the books Widnichol carried.
Just how long were those upturned jet black eyelashes of his? Framed by the shadow of his upturned eyelashes, his pupils shook like a sunset with bitter orange and purple intermingling, bringing about an indescribable elegance.
His white skin that wouldnât get sunburnt even if he sat by the window all day long was smooth like porcelain; his jet black hair was incredibly captivating in contrast to his white skin.
His perfected androgynous beauty seemed like what a night fairy would look like. But thanks to that beauty, the scar that ran below his left eye stood out. But he was such a beautiful creature that even then, that scar couldnât be anything but an ingredient that made his beauty look even better.
Agedilus Von Lancent. As the head wizard of the royal palace, he was Widnicholâs mentor. And he was also one of the heroes who saved world.
While having him as a mentor, Widnichol couldnât help but always think âhe really is a beautiful personâ whenever he saw him.
Some years had passed since heâd started studying under him, so he had gotten considerably used to that beauty. But there were still times it startled him, as if suddenly stabbing him.
Widnichol put the books heâd been carrying on Agedilusâs table, started organising a heap of them, all the while thinking âgender really is irrelevant when someone is truly beautifulâ for the umpteenth time.
ãUm, this is a book containing the list for all the books on the table, the librarian said Iâll need your signature here the next time I borrow more.ã
ãGot it. Widnichol, read the third chapter to the seventh chapter of this, and then each page from the 112th to the 158th page of this.ã
ãO-okay!ã
Agedilus took out two books from the pile in front of him, one with a dark green cover and the other with a dark blue, and pushed them towards Widnichol without hesitation. His master somehow managed to ignore Widnicholâs face, instinctively stiffening at the weight of books against his chest.
His teacher had told him to read as simply as that, but they were both magical books written in the old magical language; they couldnât be read as simply as that.
âThis is impossible, Iâm not Master.â He wanted to say that from the bottom of his heart, but those sunrise-colored eyes were unlikely to spare him if he did. Heâd just nodded vigorously, so he ought to follow up by reading appropriately as well.
As if heâd lose here! His vision got a little blurry, but that was certainly not because of tears. That was his heart sweating.
ãTell me when youâre done reading.ã
ãOkayâ¦â¦ã
He couldnât do anything but nod. Dejectedly getting up and heading to the space made for him in a corner of Agedilusâs laboratory, Widnichol finally settled down. And then, he quietly stifle a sigh he was about to breathe out. Aah, the magical books were so thick they hurt to look at.
That was how Agedilus talked to his disciple, who had ran from the Black Party Court to the library, in this large palace â which was quite a distance in itself â and back, desperately bringing these books for him.
Widnichol was rather used to this, so he knew that was just how Agedilus was, but he couldnât help thinking âcouldnât he just let me have a break for once?â
He knew it wasnât like he was told to do something absurd or something he just couldnât do, but he just wanted a little more compassion.
âBut, a teacher that sweet wouldnât be a teacher after all,â he thought, which was true as well.
As he slowly reached out for the dark green book, Widnichol peeked through the gaps between the piled up books and research tools in the room. He Peeked between the dried herbs, medicinal plants, and the lined up medicine bottles to check on his teacher.
He was reading the magical book he had on his hand as if obsessed, like usual. Watching his calm figure made it seem like that fight hadnât happened at all; it felt so mysterious. Even though it had just been some months since then, it seemed like it had been years.
That fight. Even children younger than 5 years old knew what that was.
That fight, namely, the fight with the ancient demon king.
Widnichol knew very well that his teacher, Agedilus, was the main person that brought down the demon king revived after hundreds of years, restoring peace to the world.
The heroes who saved world. Although people glorified him as being one of them, he knew he had barely done anything for that. He had just received the news of his teacher, Agedilusâs death.
Then, he left the capital to somehow meet up with the party of heroes and fight the army of the demon king. Nothing he had achieved there and their success could be compared to his teacher.
His teacher, who everyone thought had died, taking along the close aide of the demon king after he casted a spell with great magic, ended up saving them.
When they had gotten stuck in a trap by the demon kingâs army chiefs right in front of the demon kingâs castle, preparing themselves to die, his teacher had appeared out of nowhere for them.
Just who could have thought that the man in disguise, waiting in front of them as one of the close aides of the demon chiefs was none other than Agedilus?
That masked man didnât face them, but faced the chiefs, firing attacks at them. When Widnichol saw the face under that mask, he couldnât help bursting into tears. In contrast, the hero said, ãI knew you were alive,ã the princess said, ãYouâre late!ã and the head knight said, ãYouâre just picking the best of both worlds, arenât you?!ã All of them were laughing, with no way to describe it other than, âof course heâs aliveâ.
His teacher had been running about collecting information even in hiding, taking a risk as dangerous as invading the demon kingâs army, and then showing up at the best timing for them. Widnichol was so proud of his teacher, from the bottom of his heart.
That beautiful wizard with jet black hair. That extraordinary wizard that had poems written for him by the poets, who would probably have his name recorded in history books before long.
How had Widnichol started studying under that kind of a man, Agedilus Von Lancent? The reason was simple: There was no one more suitable, in both the meaning that âthere was no one else who could be Widnicholâs teacherâ and the meaning that âthere was no one else who could be Agedilusâs studentâ.
In the beginning, he would lament in front of the goddess that was his guardian deity, ãWhy does it have to be like this?ã but now, he couldnât ever thank her enough for this reality.
Widnicholâs magical power was immense. His appearance was the best proof of that, namely his ashy silver hair mixed with black.
He was the third son of a merchant that lived in the capital, and upon seeing an opportunity, entered the Academy of Magic. But in contrast to his magical power, he had an introverted personality.
That must have been the ruin of him, since by the time he realized it, he had turned into a verbal punching bag for the students in his class to take out their anger on, falling prey to teasing and bullying.
Widnichol didnât say anything back or do anything against them, but there was one time where Widnicholâs anger finally erupted.
His wild, reckless magical power mowed down his classmates, and Widnichol came close to instantly dropping out of school.
It was then that he was summoned by the Black Party Court, settling into the position of Agedilusâs disciple, who had his name known around the world with many different meanings.
The first time he met Agedilus, Widnichol thought, âwow, he really is so beautiful.â Then at the same time he thought, âhe really is so scary.â And that impression of him, to be honest, hadnât changed that much even now.
His teacher was always beautiful, especially in the middle of that battle. Even after that battle had ended and things had grown peaceful, he was a scary mentor for Widnichol.
But, Widnichol knew there was more to his teacher than just that. He found out sometime ago about that person.
ãMaster.ã
ãWhat?ã
He gave a short reply without hesitation, his voice was pleasing to the ear. His blunt way of speaking used to make Widnichol twitch no matter what, which sometimes greatly irritated his teacher.
There was someone explaining to him that his teacher wasnât angry at him, but that was just how he talked. When the face of that person came to his memory again, his mouth spoke by itself by the time he realized it.
ãHow has Miss Filmina been?ã
The atmosphere stiffened at Widnicholâs words.