Episodes 114. New Era

A moment later, or rather just after I filled the entire pipe with my elementals, Haran and I fell silent again, unable to speak to each other.

It wasn't because there was something between us, but she still couldn't believe or was perhaps even terrified of, the power I possessed.

How could she not be? She already knew Zarbeth (the Class 3, Magic 4 Teacher) who could use six elements, and even that made her avoid that granny. Now she found herself next to me, someone who could use eight elements.

Fortunately, Haran still didn't understand code magic, so I guess she wouldn't be even more shocked because of her heart was being made to stop.

"There really are people like you..." The woman's mouth slipped.

"Huh?"

"N-nothing, it's nothing!"

Her mental state was still unstable, you could say it was out of control now.

Hearing her statement, I could only pretend to be ignorant and act as if I hadn't heard it. If I acknowledged it, she might end up hating me. Or rather, the heavy atmosphere between us would become even more chaotic and uncontrollable.

Speaking of code magic...

As I recall, before thrashing her in the arena during the Teacher Test, I used it on Haran.

Wait, could it be that her kindness towards me was also due to the influence of that code magic?!

No, no... That's impossible, she's a very strong fighter, there's no way she could be affected that easily. At least not as weakly as... Dahlia.

Just mentioning her name sometimes scares me, I feel guilty about her.

Back to the topic, Haran turned and faced a glass screen covered by a steel wall.

Behind that screen, it was likely she kept something important, or maybe it was where she stored her hover shoes and hover wings experiments?

"What's behind that?" I asked, following her steps.

Haran nodded once without looking at me, her gaze locked on the screen still covered by the steel.

"Well, you could say, I guard them well, I'd even stake my life if someone dared to touch them."

This woman is really scary...?!

She turned towards me, showing her trademark sneer. "...Especially from someone like you!" When she said that, her slanted eyes seemed to freeze all my body movements, and my brain seemed to stop functioning for a moment.

Oh, she suspects me in case Nova suddenly orders me to destroy or steal these experiments from her.

Such a calculative woman... Oh, if the suspect is me, no wonder... Ehe.

"But for now, I'll let you see..." Her tone suddenly softened, and now I could feel my pulse and veins moving.

"Oh..."

"Ha, behold! A discovery that will be the surprise of this sixth decade! A technology that will make everyone stop using vehicles and prefer flying in the open sky! A technology that will change the battles of fighters who previously only used Pageblug with battles full of aerial circus performances!"

She said it so enthusiastically. Even my ears could buzz, and this room was quite small. Anyone who heard it would reflexively cover their ears, I bet...

"But too bad, it's still a prototype..." I said with a slight joke.

But from what my eyes caught, it seemed my words really stopped her.

"Ah, never mind..."

Haran's enthusiasm faded, returning to its flat tone as if nothing had happened.

Ctak!

The button under the screen was pressed by the woman, and the steel wall blocking our view split into two and shifted to the sides.

ZZZRRRRHHH....

The slow grinding sound of the steel would make anyone sleepy upon hearing its creak.

"Can't it go faster?"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I might suddenly break it."

"Ah, don't tell me those things are fragile?!"

"They are."

"Ugh!"

I had to support my forehead with my hand upon hearing this stupid fact, otherwise, I might faint just from seeing all the oddities this woman showed me.

***

Slowly, I began to see the objects touted to be the most astonishing discoveries of the 2050s.

The first object I saw was a shoe made of (aluminum foil?), and it had a beautiful color, white with a hint of pink base color.

A small wing-like object was the most noticeable accessory on the shoe, the wing hung cutely on the side of the shoe.

The second object I saw was a thick jacket that looked like the kind firefighters wear.

Somehow, the so-called hover wings looked like a failed product and seemed neglected by her.

For a discovery in the 50s, it was the first time in history that it used a foreign language rather than the local language for its name.

Anitya, which means immortality.

Pageblug, which means disaster.

And now, Hover Wings and Hover Shoes...

Very simple names without deep meanings.

***

"So these are they (the 50s discoveries)?" I asked.

"Yes, though they still need a bit of improvement..."

My eyes locked on the jacket. "Why do the Hover Wings look so pathetic?"

When I asked that, Haran's red eyes turned wilted as if losing spirit.

"What can I do... The promised funds and the funds that arrived in my hands were vastly different. So I had to maximize just one item."

Ah, it must be the corrupt government issue again.

Poor thing, funds for discoveries were taken.

If I were in her position, I might immediately incinerate those corrupt officials, but her position is slightly different now, as a citizen directly monitored by Nova, she would clearly be further burdened by her helplessness.

The public's view of Haran and other Class 3 magic teachers continued to decline. Losing power as the highest class might have made her and other 3rd-year magic teachers shrink further.

"If only Haran still had high authority in the school—" (interrupted by her)

"Enough! I don't want to be pitied by my opponent..." That cry of destruction truly explained everything.

Her face reddening more with every word that came out of her mouth could be clearly seen by my eyes.

She was actually very angry with me, even wanting to obliterate me, but for some strange reason, Haran couldn't do anything to me, especially if she wanted to do something bad to me. She would only get redder and hotter every time that thought came up.

So that's it, I apparently unintentionally forgot many things... Especially regarding this woman's problem.

The code magic I directed at her at that time really affected her mind. However, unlike the others, she could still fight it a little.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long, because now I was close to her. Trying not to think about the person she hated was impossible.