Never Die Villain

For a second, Ilya wondered whether he had somehow given himself away, but Professor Hakon pulled back before he could answer. The professor brought a hand to his chin and mulled over the possibility, only to shake his head a few seconds later.

"No, that’s impossible. You’re sixteen—"

"Seventeen now, sir."

"Seventeen, then." Professor Hakon glanced at him before continuing. "And according to your records, you had never formally studied magic before entering this academy. For someone with barely half a year of magical education to have already developed an inner realm far enough to manifest a Domain simply isn’t logical."

Ilya said nothing.

Fortunately, Professor Hakon appeared far more interested in disproving his own suspicion than waiting for Ilya to do it for him.

"Even among talented wizards who begin their education as children, reaching that point in their late teens is already noteworthy. Doing it after six months would mean your inner realm developed at a rate that shouldn’t be possible under ordinary circumstances."

"Then it’s probably not that, sir."

"Yes, probably not."

Ilya maintained his usual expression, although inwardly, he couldn’t help but feel relieved by how easily that had gone.

Professor Hakon looked at him once more.

"Still strange, though."

"...Is it?"

"Very."

That wasn’t particularly reassuring.

Professor Hakon eventually stepped away and addressed the class again, leaving the matter there for the time being.

Whatever he had noticed in Ilya’s casting, he had apparently decided it was an unusual consequence of his background rather than evidence that the seventeen-year-old standing beside him was secretly hiding a fully manifested Domain.

Ilya preferred to keep it that way.

* * *

Lunchtime.

The Knight and Magic Departments had separate cafeterias, mostly because the average diets of their students were different enough to justify it.

Knights spent hours every day conditioning their bodies and generally required larger meals with far more protein and calories, while wizards had little reason to eat the same amount unless they happened to maintain similarly demanding training routines.

Garen said he had somewhere else to be, leaving only Ilya and Solenne to make their way toward the cafeteria.

They met Elise there, got their food, and spent most of lunch talking about whatever happened to come up, from their classes that morning to complaints about professors and the schedules they had ended up with for the semester.

Eventually, however, Elise made another unfortunate discovery.

"...You two also have the same History of Modern Magecraft?"

Apparently, Ilya and Solenne shared History of Modern Magecraft II as well. Even Ilya was somewhat surprised by how closely their schedules seemed to overlap, although he didn’t particularly care one way or another.

"Yes," Solenne answered. "Right after lunch."

Elise slowly lowered her fork.

"And mine is tomorrow..."

Ilya continued eating while Elise sank farther into her seat, looking genuinely betrayed by the course registration system.

Once lunch was over, they went their separate ways again, with Elise heading off to her next class while Ilya and Solenne walked together toward the lecture hall for History of Modern Magecraft II.

"By the way, Miss Vernet," Ilya began as they walked. "Does the Consortium ever sponsor professors?"

Solenne glanced at him. "Why the sudden question?"

"Just curious."

"Well, not usually." She adjusted the bag hanging from her shoulder. "We aren’t a research foundation, so the Consortium doesn’t go around handing money to professors simply because their work sounds interesting. But if someone is working on something exceptional and there’s a reasonable chance it could become profitable, then yes, we sometimes fund specific projects."

"So there needs to be a commercial use?"

"Usually. Or at least the possibility of one." Solenne thought about it for a moment. "Sometimes the value isn’t obvious at first, either. A paper might look completely theoretical, then five years later someone figures out that the same principle can improve mana engines or reduce the manufacturing cost of tools."

"I see."

"Why?" Solenne asked. "Do you have a professor you’re trying to get money for?"

"Not exactly." Ilya slipped his hands into his pockets as they continued walking. "I was wondering whether any professors at the academy currently have loans with the Consortium."

"Loans?" Solenne repeated, clearly not expecting the question. "That’s quite different from research sponsorship. Well, there are definitely some, but I obviously don’t know every client we have."

Solenne began going through the names she could remember.

"If you’re asking specifically about professors teaching second-year Magic Department courses, though, I don’t think there are any."

Ilya nodded. "I see."

They continued walking, and for several seconds, Ilya thought that was the end of it. Solenne had already moved on as well, until she suddenly slowed down.

"Ah, wait."

Ilya turned toward her. "Hm?"

"There is one."

Solenne brought a finger to her chin as she tried to recall the details.

"Professor Antoine. I remember seeing his name because the amount was fairly large, and it was unusual for an academy professor."

Ilya’s steps slowed.

"Professor Antoine?"

"Yes." Solenne nodded. "Professor Antoine Remy Chastellain. I’m fairly certain it was him."

"What is he working on?"

"I don’t know." Solenne continued walking for several steps before a smile slowly appeared on her face. "But why don’t we find out?"

Ilya glanced at her.

"I may have said there weren’t any other professors teaching second-year courses who received funding from the Consortium, which is unfortunate." Solenne clasped her hands behind her back. "But that doesn’t mean there aren’t professors elsewhere in the academy who do."

"And?"

"And I always have leverage against them."

"...."

For a second, Ilya could almost see Solenne’s image overlapping with that of a sly fox. She had seemed friendly enough since they met that morning, but apparently, the daughter of the Vernet Mercantile Consortium’s chairman had inherited more than just the family name.

"What kind of leverage?"

"See, I have the most absences in the entire Magic Department." Solenne pointed at herself without the slightest hint of shame. "A staggering number, actually. Enough that I should’ve been expelled by now."

"...."

"But look at me." Solenne spread her arms slightly as she continued walking. "Still enrolled, still attending classes whenever I feel like it, and somehow nobody has thrown me out yet."

By the time they reached the lecture hall, Ilya was about to head inside when he noticed Solenne continuing straight past the entrance without slowing down.

"...Are you skipping this one?"

Solenne stopped and glanced back at him. "Hm, should I? History is boring, you know."

"Can’t exactly blame you."

"Right?" Solenne smiled, apparently taking his response as all the encouragement she needed. "Tell you what. If you write down the notes for me whenever I’m absent, I’ll make sure you never have to ask your family for an allowance again."

"Uh...?"

Ilya wasn’t quite sure how they had gone from exchanging notes to Solenne offering to fund his entire daily life, but it wasn’t exactly a bad offer. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more appealing it became, since the less he had to rely on his family for money, the better.

"I mean, I don’t mind, but..."

Solenne had already started walking away.

Ilya watched her get several steps down the corridor before calling after her.

"Will I be seeing you in the next class?"

"...."

Solenne stopped.

For a moment, she remained with her back toward him before slowly turning around. Then, with a finger pressed lightly against her lips, she smiled.

"Hee-hee! Who knows?"

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