It was strange for a teacher to be in the cafeteria after school, but it was even stranger for one to be in the gymnasium.
But Basileo decided to go.
Frondier was a strange person, after all!
‘Maybe he’s secretly training in the gymnasium. This could be my chance to uncover the secret of his high-speed casting!’
Basileo walked towards the gymnasium, his heart filled with anticipation.
As it turned out, his deduction was correct.
Frondier was indeed in the gymnasium, proving himself to be uniquely peculiar.
However, a correct deduction and a desirable outcome are two entirely different matters.
This day, Basileo was about to witness something he shouldn’t have seen.
Basileo peered through the gymnasium window.
A man with black hair stood in the center. It was unmistakably Frondier. Even without seeing his face, Basileo could tell from the unique aura he exuded.
He held his breath and observed Frondier.
There was no way he would be standing in the middle of the gymnasium, especially at this hour, without a reason. Frondier was definitely up to something. Basileo was convinced that he had found him at the perfect moment.
Basileo heard Frondier sigh. With only Frondier in the vast space of the gymnasium, his voice echoed clearly.
‘To think that Teacher sighs… How strange.’
Basileo found a newfound novelty in seeing this unseen side of Frondier.
In reality, it wasn’t that Frondier didn’t sigh at school; it was just that Basileo had been oblivious to the fact that Frondier sighed quite frequently.
“Please, just this once… work properly.”
And then, a mumble, like a lament. One fresh sight after another.
‘I knew it! Teacher Frondier was secretly training here!’
Basileo clenched his fist. As expected, Frondier’s high-speed casting was the result of tremendous effort and training.
Which meant that Basileo, too, could achieve it with enough effort. Dreams and hope filled his heart.
At that moment, Frondier raised his right hand. Simultaneously, a strange light emanated from him. It was the manifestation of mana.
‘What kind of magic is he going to use…!’
Basileo, remembering the incredible speed of Frondier’s casting, waited with bated breath for the magic that was to come.
Then, Frondier uttered a line.
“…Light as a thread, like a flickering candle in the winter wind.”
An incantation. Basileo’s jaw dropped.
Frondier, who hadn’t used a full incantation or activation word for his “Gathering Wind Arrow,” was now using an incantation. Just how powerful was this magic?!
‘But I’ve never heard such a depressing incantation before.’
Usually, incantations were used to solidify an image in the caster’s mind, but they were also used to amplify the power of the spell, so they tended to reflect the user’s desires. That’s why they were usually noble and hopeful.
But Frondier’s incantation was incredibly negative. It was as if he was praying for his magic to weaken.
And soon, something appeared in front of Frondier’s hand.
A brilliant, luminous color, something that looked like a pattern or a symbol.
It was hard to see from afar. Basileo narrowed his eyes.
‘Will-o’-the-wisp? That basic spell?’
Why would he use an incantation and an activation word for such a simple spell? No, why would he come all the way to the gymnasium to practice something so basic?
Basileo’s thoughts were his own, and in any case, Frondier had conjured a small flame in front of him.
‘…See. It’s just a wisp.’
A flame flickered in front of Frondier. It was a spell Basileo knew all too well.
Just as Basileo’s excitement began to dwindle…
Basileo blinked, questioning his own eyes.
As if the wisp had ignited in the same spot, another wisp appeared, overlapping the first.
‘Are my eyes playing tricks on me?’
His doubt was short-lived.
Pop! Crackle! Sizzle! Pop! Pop! Pop!
The wisps erupted in rapid succession. Conjured by a single activation word, they danced uncontrollably in Frondier’s hand, their numbers multiplying endlessly.
The first flame that had appeared in the air was just an ordinary flame. However, as more and more flames ignited in the same spot, colliding and merging as if in a struggle, their light intensified.
─They say the light starts out red, then turns blue, like the color of a ghost…
The red flames exploded in Frondier’s hand, burning ever more fiercely.
Frondier, standing before the inferno, was drenched in a cold sweat, biting his lip.
“Please, please just…!”
The red flames shifted to blue, then to white.
Basileo squinted. It wasn’t that he felt unwell; the light was simply too bright. The small flame dancing in Frondier’s hand was emitting an incredible amount of light.
Even with his vision blurred by the brilliance, Basileo couldn’t tear his eyes away.
Was that really a Will-o’-the-wisp?
‘That kind of light isn’t meant for illumination! What would happen if it touched someone?’
Of course, Basileo didn’t know the exact temperature of the light. Frondier, who was currently casting it, probably didn’t know either.
But a flame was a flame. If it were to come into contact with another living being…
Gulp. Basileo swallowed nervously.
Frondier’s expression brightened, seemingly pleased that he had succeeded in controlling the flames. It was the third expression Basileo had never seen on his teacher’s face.
With that expression, Frondier declared,
Basileo waited for the next words. What kind of magic was this? What principle allowed for something to be possible?
And Frondier’s next words were:
Unable to contain himself any longer, Basileo cried out.
Frondier’s words, his declaration, felt as if they were shaking the very foundation of Basileo’s understanding of magic.
Naturally, Frondier spotted Basileo.
For a long moment, the two stared at each other awkwardly.