Chapter 51: Some Things Cannot Be Forgotten
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Compared with Ryskan’s relatively southern climate, winter in the royal capital, which lay closer to the northern frontier, was considerably colder.
It lacked Ryskan’s bone-deep damp chill, but the biting gusts that struck him without warning or mercy felt like countless steel needles stabbing into every inch of exposed skin.
The avenue, once lined with trees, was now carpeted in dead leaves. Each step produced a faint, crisp crackle.
Roland came to a stop amid the fallen leaves and turned to look at the stalker who had followed him the entire way.
“Didn’t you say you were going back to the military headquarters? Why have you been following me this whole time?”
“Oh my, are you saying you don’t welcome me?” Iluvia tilted her head with a smile. “It just so happens that we’re going the same way. The academy gates are along this road, aren’t they?”
“Even if I am a freshman, that excuse is ridiculous.” Roland rolled his eyes. “The Spell Academy and the Arcane Academy aren’t very far apart at all.”
“You just have to cross the park between them.”
Caught out, Iluvia stuck out her tongue and walked toward Roland.
Then, as usual, she stopped about five paces away from him.
“I just wanted to go to the Arcane Academy with you and take a look around.”
“That should be all right, shouldn’t it?”
“I don’t mind. But if I remember correctly, Master Tolan himself isn’t exactly pleased to see you.”
As he spoke, Roland raised an example. “Have you forgotten that he was the one who announced the results when the examination ended?”
“You can’t possibly have forgotten what he said so quickly, can you?”
Iluv ia shook her head. “I wouldn’t forget.”
“Then why are you still coming? Are you looking to be scolded?” Roland was speechless. “He doesn’t care whether you’re a princess or not.”
“This time, I’m not going to speak up for you like I did before.”
“Ehh? Why?” Iluvia looked a little displeased. “Why not this time?”
“Because the situation is different.” Roland shot her a sidelong glance. “Last time, I was only speaking up for what was right.”
“There was no reason to invalidate your result with some absurd excuse when you and I had both passed the examination.”
As she listened to Roland, Iluvia shifted her gaze away from him.
“Have you ever considered what would happen if your result were invalidated too because of what you said?”
Roland laughed. “Then let it be invalidated. At worst, I’ll inherit my father’s profession and become an adventurer.”
“Besides, after I’ve spoken up for the princess like this, Her Highness surely wouldn’t treat me unfairly. She’d have to reward me with a hefty sum of money or something, wouldn’t she?”
“Hmm…”
Iluv ia did not answer. After a brief silence, she flushed and said, “Then I’ll let it go this time. I won’t cause you any trouble.”
“Master Tolan thinks highly of you. I don’t want him to abandon the idea of taking you as his apprentice because of me.”
“Then… see you tomorrow.”
Iluv ia gave Roland a small wave. After glancing at him several times, she turned and left.
“Phew…”
Watching her retreating figure, Roland finally breathed a sigh of relief. At last, he could enjoy a little time alone.
“Hopefully she really has gone. Never mind that for now. I’d better go see what Master Tolan has made.”
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Thinking back to the argument he had once had with Tolan over whether Iluvia’s examination result should be considered valid, Roland felt fortunate that the old man was a decent sort. After being persuaded, he had never made trouble for him.
He had even praised Roland’s practical ability, saying that he was clearly born to study arcane engineering.
After dragging Roland off for a meal and a conversation, Roland told Tolan about a magical artifact he had long wished to reproduce but had been unable to recreate because he lacked both the necessary skills and theoretical knowledge.
Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid.
Of course, if he was going to make it, he wanted an upgraded version.
The original’s shortcomings were simply too obvious, making it poorly suited to a close-combat mage like Roland.
He had also been deeply influenced by old Lancelot. Compared with the thrill of fighting, he was more interested in researching equipment that could keep him alive.
In Roland’s conception, the Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid should possess all the original’s functions while ideally covering the body completely, without leaving a single vulnerable spot.
It also needed to offer extremely high physical protection and magical resistance without becoming too heavy or bulky.
In truth, Roland had nearly stopped there when he reached this point.
Several of his requirements seemed mutually contradictory and unrealistic, even to him.
Had Tolan’s interest, aroused by Roland’s description, not encouraged him to continue, Roland might have sealed away the idea for this arcane battle suit forever.
After all, expecting to create such equipment alone, relying solely on his own practical ability and theoretical knowledge, was more than a little fanciful.
But after listening to Roland, Tolan had immediately declared, “Your ideas are novel, your demands are maddeningly particular, and the challenge is tremendous. I’m interested.”
He had also promised to make a prototype and give it to Roland before he enrolled the following semester.
Roland had no reason to refuse.
Still, he had never expected Tolan to work so quickly.
No wonder the old man was the master who had invented the Empire’s first arcane power furnace, optimized the production process for magic crystals, and earned recognition as the founder of the Empire’s arcane technological industry.
His ability to get things done was truly extraordinary.
Excited at the prospect of obtaining his new equipment, Roland entered the Arcane Academy’s administrative building.
“Oh, Roland! You finally came! That damned elf forgot to pass on my message again, didn’t she?”
The moment Roland stepped through the academy’s entrance, an old man over two meters tall came striding toward him with a booming laugh. He wore a black short-sleeved T-shirt, and his entire body was knotted with muscle. Standing there, he was scarcely distinguishable from a wall.
This was Tolan Tast, the current head of the Arcane Academy and a universally acknowledged genius in the field of arcane technology, not only throughout the Empire but across the entire continent.
Although he looked more like a warrior than most warriors, he truly was one—a warrior of the eighth rank, a heroic-tier combatant.
There was no rule saying that research into arcane technology had to be conducted by mages.
Warriors of the seventh rank and above could also draw upon the Great Source of Magic and bend it to their will.
The old man before him had begun as a blacksmith, changed paths to become a warrior, spent half his life in the military, and then, against all precedent, become a researcher of arcane technology.
With nothing but a hammer, he had forged the foundations of arcane technological development for the Empire and for humanity as a whole.
“Good to see you again, Master Tolan. Miss Frum has been very busy lately. I hope you can be understanding of her difficulties.”
Tolan laughed heartily. “You rascal. How long have you known her, and you’re already speaking up for her?”
“Never mind that elf. Here, here—take this.”
As he spoke, Tolan pulled a pair of silver gloves from his trouser pocket.
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Although they gleamed with a metallic sheen, they felt no different from ordinary leather gloves.
Roland put one on his right hand and infused it with magic power. At once, the glove transformed into a pool of flowing metal that spread across his entire body.
With a thought, the liquid covering his skin transformed, following Roland’s will, into a variety of weapons.
Light and portable, extraordinarily quick to reshape, and possessing respectable defensive power…
Roland had not expected Tolan to truly accomplish it.
Seeing Roland’s astonished expression, Tolan looked particularly pleased. “Well? Didn’t I tell you I could make it?”
“It’s a pity I didn’t have enough materials. Otherwise, I could have made it so that the artifact retained its offensive capabilities even while providing protection.”
“What a shame. With so little material, you can only choose between defense and offense.”
“Use it for now, and remember to tell me how it feels. I’ll see what I can improve later.”
“As I said before, it’s yours.”
“Oh, and…”
Tolan’s tone changed. “Are you still in contact with that Iluvia girl?”
“I was wrong during the examination. I let my temper affect the result, and I admit that.”
“But as for her as a person, I stand by my opinion, Roland…”
“Stop there, Master Tolan.”
Roland interrupted him before he could finish.
Tolan had already delivered the same speech to him many times.
Roland removed the glove, then looked at Tolan with a smile. “I don’t know Iluvia all that well.”
“The examination is the greatest point of connection between us.”
“Without me, she could never have completed it alive.”
“But the reverse is also true.”
“Without her carrying me, gravely wounded, across the wasteland in that secret realm for an entire night, you wouldn’t be able to see me standing here now.”
“She hates—no, perhaps it would be more accurate to say she fears—close contact with other people.”
“And yet she chose to carry me, barely conscious, through the wasteland for an entire night, taking me away from the region where the giant sandworms roamed.”
“If you insist on making demands of me… then take this back.”
As he spoke, Roland held the gloves out to Tolan with both hands.
“I may have lost the chance to become your student. Naturally, that would be a major loss on my path as a scholar.”
“But… there are some things a person must not forget.”
“I’m not from the royal capital. I can’t understand why you people view Iluvia the way you do.”
“Nor can I claim that she and I are especially close friends.”
“But at the very least, I should not stand against someone who once saved my life for the sake of a few benefits, nor become one of those who judge her with prejudice.”
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