The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 102

102

With the Seasonal Festival just two weeks away, the excitement in every class at was palpable, mirroring the rising temperatures.

The [Clear River] class was no exception. The moment Rain arrived at school that morning, the class president and vice-president eagerly approached him, their eyes sparkling, and explained the situation.

“So, our class theme this year is ‘Haunted House’… We really need your help, Master!”

“Haunted House, huh?”

“We’re planning to dress up as ghosts and monsters and give everyone a good scare! But no matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to make the setting scary enough…”

‘Ah, so that’s why everyone’s been working on those strange costumes… and that black curtain.’

“Could you possibly lend us that magic you used during the Top Student Decider competition?”

The magic from the Top Student Decider?

‘Are they talking about the one that uses the 世 (Se) rune [a symbol representing ‘world’ or ‘generation’ in some Eastern philosophies and magical systems]?’

“Hmm, you’re planning to use it for something like that?”

“I guess it’s not possible, huh?”

The class president and vice-president anxiously watched Rain’s expression, worried they were asking too much.

In this era, the use of such specialized magic is often considered a personal asset. It would be unreasonable to expect someone to simply share it.

However, Rain’s response was surprisingly encouraging.

“Why wouldn’t it be possible?”

“……!”

“But there’s a catch. The mana consumption is pretty significant. Can you handle it? I have Student Council duties during the festival, so I won’t be able to help much.”

The reason that magic was so easily activated during the final exam was because the caster was Head Professor Marchena.

‘Honestly, I’m not even sure if first-year students can activate it on their own.’

As if telling him not to worry, the class president waved his hands enthusiastically and grinned.

“If all of us classmates work together, there’s no way we can’t do it! And we have Hubert!”

‘Hubert, huh? Now that I think about it, if he’s involved, there shouldn’t be any problems.’

As Rain began explaining the formula for using the 世 (Se) rune, drawing a large magic circle on the blackboard, the class president and vice-president diligently wrote down the formula in their notebooks.

By the time he finished his lengthy explanation, it was already time for the executive committee meeting. Christa, Gertrude, and Kasena had already left, probably heading over ahead of him.

“I have to go now, so ask me later if you don’t understand something.”

‘Honestly, there’s no way they’ll fully grasp it after hearing it just once, so I’ll probably have to draw it out for them like a scroll on the day of the festival.’

“Yes! Thank you, Master!”

As he walked down the hallway, every classroom he passed was filled with lively chatter and laughter.

In the past, the teaching assistants would have intervened, but it seemed that everything was permitted during the festival preparation period.

Logan and Nora were at the center of the [Azure Wave] class, brainstorming ideas, and Lillian was in the [Little Fragrance] class, awkwardly attempting to mingle with her classmates.

“……”

‘Is this what it looks like when people prepare for a festival? It’s a sight I never saw when I was Ryn.’

Every city and town he’d known was consumed by despair and on the brink of collapse, so there was nothing resembling a festival. Most gatherings were just prayer rituals begging the gods for salvation.

‘I think that if Rista, who took up the sword to create a world where everyone could smile, saw this, she would be very happy.’

“The guardian of the Seasonal Festival has arrived. Let’s welcome the guardian with enthusiastic applause.”

As he arrived at the Student Council room, lost in thought, Valencidice suddenly started teasing him.

However, the other members of the steering committee, such as Kasena, who didn’t realize his hidden intentions, innocently applauded, leaving Rain with no way to retaliate.

All he could do was feel a wave of embarrassment and scratch his cheek as he hurried to his seat.

The executive committee meeting, which he was attending after an eleven-day absence, had an astonishing amount of work completed.

The three newly elected third-year steering committee members, replacing Maya, Rowenbelt, and Yors, had been working diligently for the past ten days, while Sandra Keppel was trying to recover from the magic volleyball tournament by dozing off.

‘Yeah, the moment that person becomes the student council president next year, is doomed.’

“Has the rehearsal schedule for all the participating clubs been confirmed?”

“Yes, President. This document summarizes the clubs that have completed their preparations.”

“What about the budget review from the Faculty Affairs Department?”

“They said it would arrive today.”

He watched Valencidice’s incredibly skillful meeting leadership with a critical eye, then reviewed the meeting minutes, which summarized the events of the past few days.

[Lovely, Cutely, Bravely! The Empire’s Strongest Magic in Your Heart, BAMM!]

Rain stared blankly at the festival slogan on page one of the minutes for more than three seconds before tilting his head nearly ninety degrees.

‘This is… a festival slogan?’

‘Who in the world came up with this?’

Christa, mistaking his expression for admiration, cleared her throat and puffed out her chest, proudly emphasizing her accomplishment.

‘What are you so proud of…?’

As if competing with her, the minutes suddenly flipped over on their own, and a paragraph swelled up as if to emphasize it.

[‘BAMM!’ was added to ‘Lovely, Cutely, Bravely! The Empire’s Strongest Magic in Your Heart!’ at the suggestion of Kasena Page.]

Just in case, he looked up, and Kasena shrugged from across the room, giving him a thumbs up.

‘Are you crazy….’

A dry laugh escaped him involuntarily, and a firm conviction formed in his mind: if this festival fails, these two are to blame.

“Memories are flooding back. Youth is burning brightly – that’s the feeling, wouldn’t you say?”

At that moment, a relaxed voice spoke from above.

A perfectly ordinary and commonplace voice… yet imbued with a subtle magic that made listeners feel exactly that way.

Startled, he turned his head and saw Doran Slade grinning with his signature friendly smile.

“I heard you’re the head of the Special Affairs Department. Your skill at slipping into crowds unnoticed is truly remarkable.”

No one, not even Christa Warden, who was standing right next to him, had noticed Doran’s arrival.

Doran casually sat on Rain’s desk, rested his chin on his clasped hands, and looked over the minutes with interest.

“That’s an interesting slogan. I personally like slogans that are full of fighting spirit like this. It’s worth Rain Wijak protecting the festival.”

“What brings you here this time?”

When Rain replied with a sigh, Doran chuckled and broached a serious topic in a setting where it seemed impossible to be serious.

“I came to thank Wijak. I heard you cooperated with my subordinates to defeat a powerful black magician.”

Doran’s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Rain flinch in surprise and his pupils contract.

This was Doran’s specialty: extracting new clues from other people’s reactions.

A guilty conscience needs no accuser. Instead of directly interrogating, lightly bringing up sensitive topics as if he already knew everything would usually reveal the truth in the reactions of the culprits.

‘Contraction of the eyeballs, and instinctively pulling his body back to distance himself from me…’

‘Does this reaction mean he didn’t know about the deaths of the Special Affairs Department members, or is it a reaction of suspecting how I found out?’

Doran knew that Rain was not a black magician. But if he really participated in that fight as Doran suspected, he had to find out the reason.

Why did he try to hide the fight, and why didn’t he tell Doran… until his subordinates’ corpses rotted and were torn apart by wild animals and eaten by maggots.

“It’s truly unfortunate that my subordinates died, but it’s a small comfort that Rain Wijak is still alive.”

“……?”

“I wouldn’t have been able to face my seniors if something had happened to Wijak.”

As Doran intended, countless thoughts raced through Rain’s mind in less than a second, and his back was drenched in cold sweat.

‘What is it? How did he know? Did I underestimate the investigative abilities of this elusive man too much?’

‘Come to think of it, I was so distracted by Valencidice at the time that I didn’t think about it… that those Special Affairs Department magicians were Doran’s beloved subordinates.’

‘Should I apologize?’

‘Of course, I should someday, but what if he’s not here because he knows everything, but just probing….’

Doran’s lips creased slightly as he carefully watched Rain’s reaction.

‘Let’s take it slow. We can carefully elicit the next reaction.’

Just as Doran was about to ask Rain the decisive question, the sound of a huge pile of documents being stacked on the desk shattered the tense moment.

“I’m sorry, but the executive committee is off-limits to unauthorized personnel.”

Turning his head, Rain saw Valencidice looking down at Doran with his signature sneer.

Doran, who had been staring at Rain with half-open eyes, inwardly clicked his tongue but outwardly let out an exclamation as if he were completely unaware.

The eyes, which had emitted a snake-like cold aura, closed again with a smile.

“Oh, was it? I think I got too excited because it’s been so long since I came to school. There are two familiar faces here, too.”

“I’m just as glad to see you, but I’m busy with committee work right now, as is this slick guy here, so please talk to us another time.”

“You’re too harsh when we haven’t seen each other in a while. By the way, Valencidice’s admission to the Special Affairs Department has been approved. All you have to do is graduate.”

‘Valencidice in the Special Affairs Department…?’

‘Doesn’t even Doran realize Valencidice’s true identity? Certainly, he’s an asset that he can’t help but covet if he doesn’t know.’

“I don’t think I ever said I was going.”

“We can’t afford to miss out on talent like Valencidice. The Special Affairs Department always needs good people.”

Doran’s smile remained the same, but the temperature in his voice dropped noticeably. It was a tone that could not be considered friendly at all.

It was a natural precaution.

Doran had been suspicious of Valencidice since his first year. He was definitely a guy who needed to be watched, but there was no evidence.

The reason he was trying to force him to join the Special Affairs Department was to keep him close and monitor him, not because he thought highly of his abilities.

“And we’ve lost two talented people this time.”

Valencidice briefly interrupted the flow of the conversation with silence in response to that pointed remark. Then, he bowed his head as if to express his condolences.

“That’s really unfortunate.”

Doran’s smile seemed to disappear for a moment, as if to confirm the truth.

‘I can’t read that emotion at all. Who the hell trained this guy? At such a young age.’

In the midst of their fierce war of nerves, Rain shuddered and stepped back slightly.

Listening to the conversation of people whose inner thoughts he couldn’t understand made him feel a chill, as if two snakes were coiling around his ankles.

It was Doran who ended the silent battle of wills. He smiled and pointed at Rain as if nothing had happened.

“It’s not unfortunate at all. What did Valencidice do wrong… Anyway, you won’t be lonely even if you come to the Special Affairs Department. Rain Wijak will be joining in two years anyway.”

“I don’t think I ever said I was going.”

When he firmly rejected the unreasonable demand, Doran chuckled, put his old fedora on his head, and got up from his seat.

“I have high expectations for both of you. I’m looking forward to this festival, too.”

Only after watching Doran wave his hand and leave did Rain finally exhale. It felt like he hadn’t been able to breathe for several minutes.

‘Was my thinking too short-sighted?’

‘I was too focused on my own thoughts. I didn’t think about how that old man would feel. But did he really come knowing the truth of that incident?’

“You don’t have to thank me. I have to give this much help to an admirable junior who respects me.”

Rain’s train of thought was interrupted by Valencidice’s teasing words.

“I really can’t take it anymore. Come over here.”

However, the cowardly bastard immediately returned to the student council president’s seat.

With student council members guarding him like an escort on both sides, and everyone’s attention focused on him…

And seeing the provocative smile of victory, Rain really felt like he had to plant five fireballs on that face to feel better.

“Why are you spacing out since a while ago! Aren’t you going to approve this?”

Kasena was already next to him, yelling in his ear.

‘I wonder if we’re the only ones who know that Doran came…’ He picked up the student council stamp, stroking the goosebumps on his arms. ‘He’s a really scary human.’

In the midst of this eventful daily routine, the Seasonal Festival of finally began.