The Obsessive Regressor of The Academy

30. Coming of Age Ceremony (2)

“…”

“…”

An awkwardness filled the room. The cool and composed Ena he was used to was nowhere to be found; she kept glancing sideways at Asel, seemingly self-conscious of the exposed neckline she kept covering. Asel, trying his best not to stare, aimlessly summoned and extinguished mana.

Strands of mana ejected in the form of thread, tracing patterns in the air. Threads of mana moving without any alteration to their properties. Asel skillfully manipulated them, trying to erase his wandering thoughts. Thankfully, as he did so, the destructive images he had seen earlier began to fade somewhat.

‘…She had a mole there.’

The thought resurfaced. Asel contorted his face and began to manipulate the mana threads even more aggressively. What was he imagining about the master who had saved him? He felt consumed by self-loathing and spiritual turmoil, as if drowning.

Even with his past life memories, Asel’s physical and mental age was barely that of a new adult. He had been so absorbed in magic that he hadn’t noticed, but he too possessed carnal desires. Only slightly less developed than others, thanks to his intellectual hunger for magic. Given the right trigger, they were ready to explode at any moment.

However, the fact that the object of his desire was Ena… seemed problematic. An impoliteness verging on outright rudeness. Asel quickly reigned in his feelings and desires, and with a calmer mind, he turned to look at Ena. She flinched at his gaze.

“You look beautiful, Master. You should dress like this more often.”

“…You want me to dress like this more often?”

“I apologize…”

Bringing it up had only made the atmosphere stranger. Asel cleared his throat and extinguished all the swirling threads of mana.

“But I meant it when I said you look beautiful.”

“…Thank you. I haven’t worn a dress since I was little, so I wasn’t sure if it suited me, but if you like it, then I’m happy too. Although, the exposure is a little bothersome.”

As Ena spoke, she subtly removed the hand covering her chest. Asel’s gaze nearly flickered in that direction for a moment, but having already overcome his inner turmoil, resisting his desire was not difficult. He leaned back against the chair and chuckled softly.

Ena’s expression betrayed a hint of disappointment at his reaction. A small emotion that even she didn’t fully register. An emotion that had only just taken root, not yet even sprouted.

“You know how the Coming of Age Ceremony works, right?”

Ena tilted her head and asked. Asel recalled the contents of the letter and nodded.

“Yes. You mostly just enjoy yourself, then the elders arrive with magical artifacts, and you choose one, right?”

“Correct. All the items being presented today are in good condition. I checked them separately yesterday.”

*That shouldn’t happen*, he thought, but Ena was technically an elder of the Witch Council as well. She just hadn’t officially taken the position. The seat for her was still empty. It was a testament to how special and cherished she was by the Witch Council. Telling her the list of magical artifacts for the top-secret Coming of Age Ceremony wouldn’t be that difficult.

‘I heard that the elders have a great interest in me.’

Eight years it’d been since Asel joined the Coven, yet he’d never laid eyes on the Elders themselves. He’d missed his coming-of-age ceremony last year, personal matters and all, so today was to be the day. Irina had warned him, a motley crew of cranky old folks, every last one. How they’d react, he couldn’t rightly say.

Still, it’d work out somehow, wouldn’t it? They wouldn’t start a riot at a celebration. No need to fret too much. Asel thought that way, biding his time until the festivities kicked off. Not long after, a maid rapped on the waiting room door.

“Lord Asel, it’s time to prepare.”

Following her lead, Asel, with Ena by his side, left the waiting room, setting foot toward the banquet hall.

“Everyone else is already here, Lord. When you’re ready, simply open that door and step inside.”

The maid gestured to a gaudy, tightly shut door. Asel acknowledged her, then turned to Ena, offering his hand.

“Shall we?”

“Yes.”

Ena smiled softly, taking his hand. Asel pushed the door open with a touch of magic, stepping onto a crimson carpet. At once, they found themselves in a banquet hall draped in gold and marble. The Coven’s mages, gathered and awaiting their entrance, greeted them. Asel shot a glance at Bell, who was whistling raucously, before halting at the carpet’s end.

He turned to Ena, kneeling on one knee.

A rite to show respect to the teacher who’d guided him to adulthood. Asel lightly kissed Ena’s hand, then pressed it to his forehead. Feeling the warmth of her skin, he murmured,

“Thank you for everything you’ve bestowed upon me until this moment.”

Ena didn’t reply. Instead, she smiled, gently drawing Asel into a brief embrace. Traditionally, the ceremony called for showering the disciple with flowery praise, but Ena brushed that aside. No one batted an eye, though. Ena’s affection for her students was legendary within the Coven. They chuckled, celebrating the pair.

“Thank you for coming to me.”

Those words were enough. Ena stroked Asel’s nape once, then carefully released him. Asel gave a wry smile, rising to his feet.

That marked the end of the coming-of-age entrance. The mages, who had been silently amused, opened their mouths as one.

“Get married!”

“No, marry *me*! Think of the age gap with Ena!”

“He’s *mine*, you hags! Asel! You’re an adult now, so you don’t have to hold back, right? Right?”

“Come here! I’ll shower you with affection!”

Asel wore a bitter smile at their jesting, half-serious remarks. Ena, on the other hand, glared at them, eyes blazing. A gaze that could kill. That stare locked on the mage who had mentioned the age difference.

“Gah.”

Her face paling, she hid behind a wall. Ena conjured lightning at her fingertips, only to banish the spell upon seeing Asel’s face.

No need to cause a ruckus at a celebration. Revenge could wait. For now, she’d enjoy her time with Asel. Thinking so, she took Asel’s hand, casually muttering as they passed,

“Age is no matter.”

“…? I suppose it isn’t.”

He wasn’t entirely sure what she was on about, but Asel agreed nonetheless. Thankfully, that answer seemed to please Ena, who downed a cocktail—something she usually avoided. Asel caught a whiskey glass floating through the air and drank it down as well.

“Music!”

Far away, Bell, clutching a bottle, stood atop a table, bellowing. She seemed to be enjoying this sort of atmosphere, in her way. At least she hadn’t turned into a cat for the banquet. Though she must have replaced her vocal cords with some other creature’s, the sound of her voice boomed throughout the hall.

As if on cue, cheerful music filled the hall. A mage specializing in musical-scale spells materialized a score, playing the music remotely. Asel chuckled, the music coming from nowhere, sounding like the “speakers” from a past life’s memories.

It dawned on him that since glimpsing those past-life memories as a child, no new ones had surfaced. Even those initial glimpses were incomplete, leaving him ignorant of his past self’s name, their upbringing – everything. Just fragmented scenes and fleeting recollections.

‘Perhaps, like ingesting narcotics to unlock a memory, a specific trigger is needed to awaken new ones.’

He couldn’t say. Though imbibing drugs was certainly not an option. Ultimately, he was left with the prospect of trying various other approaches.

‘Perhaps I should seek out more books relating to my previous life.’

He had already scoured every library in Weiheim. Yet there was still nothing of any real substance to find. Inevitably, he would have to study ancient texts directly, interpreting the originals to discern any relevant information. He recalled that the Academy possessed a handful of such ancient volumes; it seemed a good place to start.

‘I’ll probably end up buried in the library even at the Academy, then.’

His future seemed disturbingly clear, and Asel managed a wry smile, taking a small sip of his whiskey.

Just then, Irina, pipe clenched between her teeth, approached Asel. She exhaled a puff of smoke into the air and casually slung an arm around his shoulder.

“Congratulations on coming of age. Feels like I’ve known you since you still smelled of breast milk; yet, you’ve made it to your coming-of-age ceremony without kicking the bucket.”

“Didn’t we see each other at the coming-of-age celebration the other day?”

“That was nothing. A mage of the Witches’ Coven needs to go through a formal ceremony like this to be considered truly of age. That party was just for show.”

“So, the party the Master held personally was nothing. I was unaware.”

“……Saying it like that makes me sound like a total heel.”

Irina puckered her lips as she spoke, then turned her attention towards Ena, who remained firmly glued to Asel’s side.

“Leech, aren’t you? You’re preventing all the other randy mages from even getting close to Asel.”

“Be quiet.”

“You’re so cold only to me. Show me that female expression you give Asel. Are we strangers?”

“……”

“Alright, alright, I’ll shut up.”

Irina immediately averted her gaze, sensing Ena’s face growing colder.

Her verdant eyes reflected the sight of Bel bounding about like a dog. Her voice took on a slightly more serious tone.

“By the way, Ena, there’s a convocation coming up at the Alliance soon. All the Archmages are required to attend.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

With that, the conversation ended. Irina completely dropped her serious demeanor, grinned, and roughly ruffled Asel’s hair.

“I’m off. Congrats on coming of age, and call if you need any help.”

“Oh, I have something right now, actually.”

“Huh?”

Asel responded immediately to her perfunctory offer. Irina cocked her head with a slightly dubious expression, then chuckled and tapped her pipe.

“What is it? Something I can help with right away?”

“Hmm… I believe showing you directly would be better than explaining it. Might I borrow your smoking pipe for a moment?”

“This thing? It’s not exactly the best object for a non-smoker.”

“I only need a small taste.”

He said it with such seriousness that it was hard to refuse. Irina simply shrugged, and handed the pipe she was holding to Asel. He examined the pipe with a keen eye.

“There aren’t any enchantments inscribed, specifically.”

“Of course not. It’s just a simple smoking device. I keep it spotless thanks to meticulous care, though.”

“You only used the smoke technique to manipulate, well, smoke itself?”

“That’s right. Why do you ask?”

“I need to know.”

Asel answered thusly, then lightly put the pipe to his lips and inhaled the tobacco smoke. Ena, who had been standing beside him, gasped in surprise with a look of disbelief and grabbed Asel’s hand.

“No smoking. You’ll end up like Irina.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, you brat.”

Irina glared at Ena with an absurd expression, then turned her gaze toward Asel, who was grimacing from the smoke, and spoke.

“Harsh, isn’t it? That’s just how I like it. I’ve been smoking it so long that anything less isn’t satisfying.”

“Cough, cough!”

Instead of answering, Asel exhaled the tobacco smoke and coughed repeatedly. Irina chuckled, taking the pipe back from him.

“So, why did you suddenly want to smoke?”

“I needed to seek, cough, some consultation, huff, about something.”

“Consultation?”

The moment Irina tilted her head, a question mark etched on her face. Asel flicked his fingers while watching the smoke he had exhaled. The smoke that had been disappearing into the atmosphere froze in place and began to morph. The smoke coalesced, forming a round sphere, then stretched out and shaped itself into what resembled a spear.

The smile vanished from Irina’s face. She stared at Asel with a shocked expression, her lips parting slightly.

“Hey, you….”

“I observed and imitated the technique you were using, Irina-nim. However, there are still many areas where I am lacking, so I would appreciate your advice on my magic. You are, after all, very skilled at manipulating smoke.”

“…You imitated it from simply observing the technique?”

Irina, witnessing Asel’s genius firsthand for the first time, couldn’t even bring herself to believe the fact.

Smoke magic. A unique form of magic that allows one to freely manipulate the specific medium of smoke. Even for Irina, it took three years to grasp the concept and use the magic for the first time.

And a mage, one who did not even know the concept, imitated that magic perfectly just by observing the technique.

“Oh, for f*ck’s sake.”

Irina cursed, feeling as if her husband had been stolen away.