The Magic Academy's Physicist-Chapter 287: Locking The Door After The Horse Is Gone (9)
0% The country collapsed.
The country that she loved so dearly, it disappeared without a trace. The Imperial palace was nowhere to be found, and the armies retreated.
The live news reports distressed the girl.
Lotte hadn’t been there when the nation came to ruins, and so she didn’t know the details. The asymmetry of information was excruciatingly painful.
“.......”
So Lotte buried her head.
She stopped eating and drinking after fainting in Yufiel’s home. And so passed a few days of locking herself up in the dorms.
Knock knock.
“......Hi, may we come in?”
Her friends’ voices could be heard outside her room. She couldn’t turn them away, so Lotte forced herself to answer them.
Peek.
When permission was given, three students poked their heads through the door. From the top, it was Leninya, Yufiel, and Freyr.
“Bad news, Lotte.”
“All of the Empire’s territory fell into the hands of the Demon Army.”
I don’t want to hear it.
She pulled the covers all the way over her head, and plugged her ears on top of that. Even if it was like this, she wanted to escape from reality.
Time didn’t wait, but the girl, on the other hand, needed time to wait.
Her family was scattered, and the country was ruined. The Demon Army was advancing more and more south. Beasts even appeared at sea the other day. And in the midst of all this, her friend who could solve this situation had gone to prison.
Although she tried every possible way, it was useless. She lost her resolve long ago, and just wanted to run away to somewhere comfortable.
“...Hey.”
Freyr called out to Lotte weakly.
“I know it’s hard, but that’s when you need to be strong. We first have to get Aether out, right....”
Her voice was damp like it was wet with water.
“Now without Aether, we’ll be doomed. If we don’t get researching as soon as possible, we’ll all die at the hands of the Demon King...! But we’re the only ones who can get Aether out. Yeah? Lotte, let’s go. Let’s go, please...?”
Freyr grunted and tugged hard on the covers.
It was a force expected of a Youko. Before Lotte knew it, the covers were taken from her.
“Come on, hurry.......”
Freyr couldn’t continue her words.
Lotte... was crying mournfully.
Round tears spilled down her pearly-white skin. Beads of rain fell in her world.
She simply had no mental strength. What was she supposed to do now that she lost her family, her country? Was it even worth living her extended life?
The actions of the Demon Army completely broke the girl. The genius who had been about to blossom at the academy wept helplessly.
“......Lotte.”
None of them could say anything.
Freyr knew–neither her, Yufiel, nor Leninya could make Lotte smile.
Aether had to be here.
Only when she came could everything change.
What do we do....
Knock knock knock.
Just then came the sound of gentle knocking.
The owner of the room, Lotte, wasn’t answering, so Yufiel and Leninya, who had been watching cautiously, spoke up.
“...Who is it?”
Then they heard the gentle voice of a woman from outside the front door.
- Miss Saliere, are you there?
Yufiel and Leninya didn’t recognize the voice.
But Freyr and Lotte did.
It was a voice they missed that they used to hear all the time back when they were at Tilette.
“C-come in.”
Clack.
The one who appeared from behind the door was a tall woman.
The hair swept to one side and the narrow eyes that could be seen through the locks created an exquisite contrast.
It was a woman with a sly impression.
She also seemed suspicious in a way, like a mage who had connections to the black market or something.
“Really, should you be crying like this because I wasn’t here?”
But on her arm was the military seal. The unit mark of the western army command of Tilette. A mage who was elite of the elite.
Lotte glanced at the woman’s face, then sprung up from where she was.
“M-Miss Heerlein...!”
Meriga Heerlein. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
The woman who had been Lotte’s homeroom teacher when she was in Tilette.
“How are you here....”
That person was right in front of her eyes. For an instant, Lotte’s mind became scrambled.
Her mouth dropped open as she wondered, am I dreaming right now?
“Why, did you think I was dead? A powerful mage like me doesn’t die easily. Hhem, well, to be exact, I nearly did.”
“Miss. Is it really you, Miss Heerlein?”
Heerlein nodded and spread her arms wide.
“Yes, it’s me. Well, get over here. Let me give you a big hug.”
Lotte put her foot on the floor and got up slowly. She walked slowly at first, then her steps quickened.
“Miss, Miss!”
Before she knew it, she fell right into Heerlein’s arms. Then she sobbed like a baby.
Right after hearing that the Demon Army took over the Empire...
She had thought everyone at Tilette including Heerlein died. Or that they became prisoners of the Demon Army or went missing.
But she was here, alive.
She was so happy.
And sad at the same time, because although Heerlein was alive, she didn’t know what happened to the others.
“Miss, they said our country. Our country is gone.... Is it true...?”
“Yes, it is.”
“What about my father, my brother, the others. Everyone, did everyone.......”
“Mmhm, I know what you’re trying to say.”
Heerlein hugged Lotte as deeply as possible, even took out a handkerchief and dried her tears.
It was about then that another voice came through the door.
“...Meri, may I come in?”
Peek.
The next to poke their head through was a gold-haired, red-eyed woman.
She was a beauty who rivaled Heerlein, a person who had an elegant and lofty air about them like masterfully-created white porcelain.
“M-Miss Klais.”
Lotte looked like she couldn’t believe it.
Klais Hasfeldt. The person who was considered deceased from being killed by Beasts had appeared. And looking quite alive and well, at that.
Slap!
Lotte smacked herself hard on the cheek.
“Ugh, ouch.”
It wasn’t a dream or the afterlife.
It was definitely the Klais that Lotte knew. The only thing that was different was that she seemed a little more relaxed.
In the past, Klais had looked like some madman obsessed with something, but now that vehemence was now nowhere to be found.
“Do you remember me?”
“You’re Miss Klais Hasfeldt, our homeroom teacher....”
“Oh....”
The corners of Klais’ mouth twitched up, then dropped back down.
Then her face turned rather strange. Was she happy, sad, flustered... she couldn’t tell at all.
“Hey, if you’re happy about it, then just say it. A student you’ve only seen a few times remembered you, right?”
“.......”
Klais’ cheeks reddened slightly. She stiffened up, mouth zipped.
“Geez, fine, fine. We’ll talk about this later. Miss Lotte Saliere?”
“Um, yes?”
“Don’t be so surprised already. We aren’t the only ones who are here.”
Lotte wiped at her reddened eyes with her sleeves. Although she was still feeling miserable, seeing her two teachers gave her hope.
Especially Klais who had come back from the dead. She didn’t know what happened, but if what she was experiencing now was real–
Then....
“This reminds me of old times.”
This time, it was the deep voice of a man.
“When my daughter was about five, I believe? She lit a flame with her hand to roast marshmallows, but she couldn’t control the fire and burnt them to a crisp. Oh how she cried that her food was burnt completely black....”
Lotte’s body flinched hard.
That thing just now... was an embarrassing story that only her family would know.
“But are you still crying?”
The front door of the dorm opened wide.
Two men entered one after the other. One was middle-aged, and the other was around Lotte’s age.
Both of them had red hair and red eyes.
“Ah....”
The feeling of her breath catching.
The emotions she had just calmed sprang up again. Her heart pounded, and her breath quickened. She couldn’t think straight.
“Dad, Lorewell...!!”
Lotte became a complete child.
**After the Empire was defeated, the Demon Army got as far as crossing the Thyrims River.
Now the elf country was truly just around the corner.
By this time, the country also began to be on alert. No, the Empire had fallen much too quickly for them to have made that judgment.
The administration was nearly paralyzed.
“Miss President, could you come with me?”
Vermel asked Cecil as soon as they were back at the capital. Cecil thought for a moment, then nodded.
“You want to speak to the administration, right? Alright, then.”
Iliad Academy was a national academy, so naturally the president was a government official. At the very least she was a high-ranking official at the ministerial level.
She could enter the Presidential Building without difficulty.
“If it’s you, there shouldn’t be a problem taking you along.”
Cecil had a great eye for picking up talents. And in her eyes, Vermel was also a remarkable one.
She was thinking that since defeating Leviathan.
Vermel Horde. This student knew exactly what the weaknesses of the Sea Dragon were. As to how she didn’t know, but it wasn’t just luck. Because afterwards, it had also been Vermel who realized that the Imperial army would withdraw from Thyrims River.
The communication network between the Empire and elf country had been obliterated. If it hadn’t been for Vermel, the Imperials would have been exterminated. Because that was the kind of army that the Demon Army was.
Does he have some kind of precognitive ability?
How he knew the strategy against the Sea Dragon, what happened at Thyrims River... she wasn’t sure how it worked.
But one thing was for certain.
He’s protected by the Air Lord.
Cecil slowly looked up.
There hovered one Wind Elemental in see-through clothing.
Lady Aerial.
The Air Lord, Aerial, the Elemental King who governed Wind Magic.
She wouldn’t have formed a contract with Vermel, but still, she was busy hovering behind him and watching.
She had heard that Aerial was quite whimsical, but to think that she would have such avid interest in this young man.
He simply couldn’t be an ordinary student.
Thinking that, Cecil took Vermel and knocked on the doors of the administration herself.
“It’s President Renay Cecil. I would like to meet with His Excellency the President.”
“Ah, Miss President. We were just about to call you. Come in.”
The guards quickly let Cecil and Vermel inside.
Their faces were deathly pale.
