Volume 1
Epilogue: Why I, a Jobless Bum, Became a Magic Instructor
The Alzano Imperial Magic Academy near-suicide bombing incident.
Thanks to the efforts of one part-time lecturer, the academy escaped the worst outcome. Due to the involvement of a hostile organization and concerns over societal unrest, the incident was handled discreetly. The scars of destruction etched into the academy were officially attributed to a magical experiment gone awry.
The Imperial Court Mage Corps enforced stringent information control, leaving only a handful of lecturers, professors, and the involved students aware of the incident’s true nature.
Of course, not everything was buried completely.
Whispers circulated of a legendary mage-killer once serving as the Queen’s covert blade, a discarded princess erased as a demon’s reincarnation, and a supposedly dead lecturer’s ghost tied to the incident’s shadows. But such unverified rumors, lacking substance, faded within a month as people lost interest.
Rumia Tingel, one of the students caught in the incident, took a brief leave of absence for unspecified reasons but soon returned to classes. Each morning, she could be seen heading to the academy with her silver-haired friend, brimming with energy.
Peaceful, mundane days returned to the academy, unchanged from before.
And then—
(Still, to think Rumia’s the same Princess Ermiana, supposedly dead from illness three years ago…)
On a clear afternoon, Glenn—no longer a part-time lecturer but a full-fledged instructor at Alzano Imperial Magic Academy—strolled the academy’s halls, reflecting on the incident from a month ago.
After the ordeal, Glenn and Sistine were secretly summoned by the empire’s top brass, briefed on Rumia’s identity. A supernatural, she’d been exiled from the imperial royal family for complex political reasons. For the empire’s future, her true nature had to remain hidden. As those in the know, Glenn and Sistine were asked to cooperate in safeguarding her secret.
(Tch… Another pain in the ass dumped on me…)
Still, nothing really changed. Princess or supernatural, Rumia was Rumia. Sistine, despite learning the truth, treated her no differently. The two remained as close as ever.
(Eh, it’ll work out.)
Everything was business as usual. As Glenn thought this, a voice interrupted.
“Surprising, though.”
He turned lazily to see Celica behind him, looking oddly pleased.
“What’s that? Would’ve been better mooching off you forever?”
Glenn shot back, feigning annoyance.
“Ha, don’t be an idiot,” Celica said, her sharp tone belying a mix of joy and wistfulness.
“But seriously, what’s with the change of heart? After that, I never thought you’d actually stick around as a lecturer.”
Her eyes flicked to the owl-crested robe—proof of a full instructor—draped over Glenn’s shoulders, sleeves unused in his typical sloppy style.
Glenn scratched his cheek, a touch embarrassed.
“That guy from the incident… Huey, was it? Felt too close to home. Letting circumstances push you around, blaming them for everything, shutting down… Anyway, I’m done sulking and pinning my life’s failures on magic. Figured I’d live a bit more forward. That’s all.”
“…Oh?” Celica raised an eyebrow.
“And…”
Before Glenn could continue—
“Sensei!”
“Hey, Sensei!”
Two familiar female students spotted him from down the hall and rushed over.
Glenn gave them a wry glance, spreading his arms with a shrug.
“…Wanted to see what those two’ll do down the road. Good enough reason to keep teaching. Decent way to kill time, right?”
Celica’s warm, maternal smile bloomed.
“Got it. Keep at it, yeah?”
“…As much as I feel like.”
They exchanged grins.
Then, the silver-haired girl—Sistine—barged in.
“Hold it, Sensei! I’ve got a bone to pick with you today!”
“What, White Cat? Another lecture? Don’t you ever get tired? You into preaching or something? …No wonder your hair’s going white.”
“It’s silver, not white! Ugh, whatever! That alchemy class earlier—what was that?! What’s going through your head?!”
“Uh… You mean the ‘method to transmute something very gold-like using low-tier elemental array conversion’? Something wrong with the steps?”
“No! The part after!”
“Oh, the ‘how to swindle idiot crooked merchants with the fake gold’ bit? Nope, nothing wrong there either. Back when I was a student, I used that to make pocket money—”
“It’s wrong! Wrong in a different way, but still wrong! It’s a huge issue! That’s a crime! It’s spitting in the face of Magical Law, Article 23, Clause B! What are you teaching your students?!”
“Idiot. What’s the problem? Creating gold from nothing… turning a roadside pebble into a gold coin—that’s the heart of alchemy, isn’t it?”
“Maybe, but that’s not the point—ugh!”
The blonde girl—Rumia—stepped in, defending Glenn.
“Come on, Sisti. I’m sure Sensei was just joking to entertain everyone… right, Sensei?”
“……………Uh? Yeah, sure, that.”
“What was that awkward pause?!”
“Ugh… Rumia, you get me. Sensei’s touched…!”
Ignoring Sistine’s jab, Glenn faked a tearful sob.
“Oh, Rumia, thanks for helping clean up the lab equipment after that alchemy experiment. Saved me a ton.”
“Hehe, you’re welcome.”
Glenn ruffled Rumia’s hair, and she beamed, delighted.
Sistine, watching, clenched her fists, shoulders trembling, veins popping at her temples.
“Ugh, if only White Cat were as sweet and cute as Rumia—”
“Not true, Sensei,” Rumia chirped. “Sisti’s got her cute sides too. Actually, she’s been practicing something her mom taught her as a thank-you for saving her during the incident—mmph!”
“Wah?! Stop, stop!” Sistine, face beet red, clapped a hand over Rumia’s mouth.
“Why’d you try to say that in front of him?!”
“Haha, ‘cause if I don’t, you’ll be too shy to ever follow through. You’ve been practicing so hard with what your mom taught you…”
Rumia stuck out her tongue playfully.
“N-no… it’s not like that… it’s, uh, a necessary skill for girls… or… ugh…”
Sistine’s gaze darted, twirling her long hair, her fingers oddly wrapped in multiple bandages, as if from cuts.
“…No clue what’s going on, but my take on you two hasn’t changed. Rumia’s cute, you’re brat. That’s it.”
Snap.
Glenn’s blunt, tactless words pushed Sistine over the edge.
“Topic change. My dad’s a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Magic. He’s a magical oversight officer managing artifact trade here in Fejite.”
“Huh? What’s that outta nowhere?”
“By the way, Sensei, did you know gold transaction records stick around for about ten years?”
“…What? They do?”
“I think I’ll suggest to Dad that he thoroughly recheck a decade’s worth of gold transactions in this city for certain… irregularities.”
Sistine flashed a bright smile. Glenn’s face twitched, cold sweat beading.
“Uh… wait… hold on… sorry, please forgive me…!”
“Hmph!”
She swatted away Glenn’s pleading hands and spun on her heel.
“Let’s go, Rumia!”
“Whoa, hold up! Wait a sec! I’m sorry! I got carried away—!”
“Shut it, idiot! Go eat prison slop for a while!”
“Nooo—!”
The hallway erupted into chaos.
It was fast becoming a hallmark of the academy’s daily life.
“What a noisy bunch… Youth’s something to envy,” Celica muttered, half-exasperated, half-amused, watching from a distance.
“…You’re fine now. Bit lonely, though.”
Seeing her pathetic disciple groveling, Celica smiled with quiet satisfaction and glanced out the window.
Beyond stretched a brilliant blue sky—
And, as always, the floating castle gleamed in the radiant sunlight—
…
“Are you familiar with the fairy tale Melgalius’s Wizard?”
A woman murmured to no one in particular.
“Yes, that’s right. A story set in a castle floating in the sky, where a heroic wizard defeats an evil demon king to save a princess… A children’s tale. In this country, it’s practically a lullaby everyone’s heard at least once.”
Snap. She closed the book in her hands.
Its title: Melgalius’s Wizard.
“But there’s a peculiar anecdote about it. For instance—”
Her gaze shifted to a large world map on the wall.
“In the neighboring Rezalia Kingdom, ruled by the Holy Elisalles Church… Melgalius’s Wizard was banned, all copies burned. Its author was branded a heretic and executed.”
She sighed, as if mourning.
“Strange, isn’t it? A mere fairy tale prompting a nation to act so drastically.”
Stepping from the room onto a balcony, she continued.
“Another oddity… In this country, many mages research the enigma of Fejite’s floating castle, said to be the tale’s model. Yet, an uncanny number of them inexplicably vanish or meet bizarre deaths. Not all, of course, but… suspiciously frequent. Is it mere coincidence?”
The sky felt close. A gentle breeze stirred her long hair.
From the balcony, the opulent cityscape of Alzano Empire’s capital, Orland, sprawled below—
And far in the sky, toward Fejite, the illusory castle floated faintly.
“So, that castle in Fejite’s sky… Melgalius’s Sky Castle… what is it, truly?”
Alicia VII, Queen of the Alzano Empire, murmured to no one in particular.
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(T/N: With this Volume 1 is completed, we have already started working on V2, to check the progress of it join discord)
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