Impossible, Absolutely Impossible

After a brief but suitably formal interview, Swein left, satisfied, taking the Special Recruitment Terms Roland had signed on the spot.

Perhaps having noticed Roland's current plight, he even left a small pouch of gold coins as a personal gift.

Roland put the pouch away and could not help sighing inwardly.

To think a high-ranking mage could be so thoughtful, considerate, generous, and kind.

This really was...

Nothing like what he had imagined before.

Just then, Roland caught sight of the two young women hurrying toward him.

Atali still wore that dazzling silver-white Knight's Uniform, her leather trousers hugging her curves.

Her close friend Cynthia had even taken off her usual voluminous Witch Hat. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her long, fiery-red hair streamed behind her. She was still some distance away when she began waving her arms and calling, "You bookworm! What are you doing here?"

The riverside was hardly a good place to be, especially with Roland's current circumstances giving them cause for concern.

Roland blinked. "Atali, Cynthia, what brings you here?"

Cynthia snorted. "Looking for you, obviously! You ran off without a word and had us searching everywhere!"

Roland smiled. "Never mind that for now. I have some good news for you."

"What good news?"

"I've been accepted by the Orvisto Wizard Tower!"

"What?" Cynthia could not believe it. "You're still in the mood to joke at a time like this? Have you gone mad from wanting to get accepted so badly?"

"Roland, is that true? You really got accepted?" Atali reacted quite differently.

Cynthia said, "Atali, how can you believe him? He doesn't even think before spouting nonsense! That Mage Tower is a top institution founded in the name of His Excellency Archmage Ovesto. It hasn't been around all that long, but it's already won several major awards in Arcana and joined the ranks of the very best. You could almost call it the finest Mage Tower in the Runes School!"

"Besides, if you really had been accepted by the Orvisto Mage Tower, the news would've spread everywhere by now. How could there be no word of it? Are the people at all the other Mage Towers blind?"

Atali caught on belatedly, and a worried look crept onto her face as well.

Everything Cynthia said amounted to one thing: impossible, absolutely impossible!

Why would Roland say such a thing?

Clearly, the pressure was so overwhelming that he had begun showing signs of delusions.

When someone's longing grew too intense, they might become unable to bear it and develop schizophrenia, suffer a breakdown, or experience all sorts of other disorders.

Roland said helplessly, "What, you don't believe me?"

"All right, snap out of it!"

Cynthia stepped forward, snatched the purse Atali was clutching, and thrust it into Roland's hand.

"In two days, it'll be time for the farewell ball for graduating Apprentice Students leaving the academy. Everyone who hasn't left early will be there.

"We're all going our separate ways, and we might never get another chance to see each other for the rest of our lives. We have to say our goodbyes properly.

"Don't go running off to work during these next few days. Get some rest!"

"This is..."

Roland was rather bewildered.

"This is some financial help from Atali. I just put some of my own pocket money in too. It isn't much, but it'll definitely cover your travel expenses and living costs for the next few days."

With that, she whisked Atali away without waiting for his response.

"Hey, don't go! I have money of my own. I don't need this!"

Roland stood stunned for quite a while before coming to his senses and hurrying after them.

"Whew... whew... see? I told you!

"A modern gentleman should learn to graciously accept gifts from ladies. That fellow's head is full of outdated nonsense. He's even embarrassed about it."

After quickly finding somewhere to hide and watching Roland chase off into the distance, Cynthia finally emerged from a nearby corner with Atali, speaking between gasps.

Even now, Atali's face was full of worry. She wanted to say something, but for the moment, she did not know where to begin.

Elsewhere.

Unable to find the two young women, Roland guessed that they were deliberately hiding from him and could only smile wryly.

"I already told them I don't need it anymore. Why won't they believe me?"

Perhaps the whole thing really was rather hard to believe.

Even he had nearly thought he was being subjected to a magical scam at first.

Then again, the farewell ball for graduating Apprentice Students leaving the academy was only two days away.

Cynthia and Atali would probably both attend. He could explain things to them then.

All these complications had cost him quite a bit of time. Roland simply headed back to his workplace, planning to finish washing the dishes he had left behind.

While he was there, he would tell his boss that he would not be coming in tomorrow or the day after.

Once he had settled things here, he could bring his life at Falando Academy to a close and head to the Orvisto Wizard Tower to begin a new one.

What Roland failed to notice was a pair of eyes watching him from a dark corner. Only after he entered the kitchen and changed into coarse cloth clothes did the watcher step out, his face full of shock and disbelief.

"Roland has actually sunk this low?"

He was an ordinary graduate who knew both Roland and Ramsey.

Thinking of the "little disagreement" between Ramsey and Roland, he quickly took out his Apprentice Badge and sent a message through it.

"Ramsey, come take a look! Roland's given up on himself and gone to wash dishes at the restaurant behind the academy!"

Before long, Ramsey's reply arrived.

"Don't alert him yet. Hurry and sneak a few photos, then send them to me..."

Even through the text, Ramsey's keen interest seemed obvious.

He had already been wondering how to grind Roland into the dirt.

Campus disputes did not yet warrant hiring a killer or resorting to other, more extreme measures. Besides, actually doing so would only increase the risk of exposing a scandal that would otherwise have stayed hidden.

But his classmate's unexpected discovery gave him a few insidious ideas for destroying someone without shedding blood.

Social ruin.

In a place like the Arcane Empire, reputation and credibility still mattered a great deal.

High-level struggles were often just that simple and unadorned.

Before anyone knew it, two days had passed, and the End-of-School Farewell Ball had arrived.

In the academic affairs office, a group of administrative staff were compiling the final recruitment figures.

Although many students' destinations had gradually been confirmed over the preceding days, there were still exceptions.

For instance...

"Sir, there's an Apprentice Student here who's actually been recruited by the Orvisto Wizard Tower!"

"What? The Orvisto Wizard Tower?"

The director of academic affairs, a high-ranking mage, approached the Small Teleportation Array with pleased surprise and examined the letter transmitted through the magic network.

Sure enough, it bore the mark of the Orvisto Wizard Tower!

"Special recruitment... Roland?"

Suddenly, the director froze.