At last, Caelus finished his last class of the day, which was Runic Implementation. Not to be confused with Rune Study, Runic Implementation is the practice of drawing runes on a scroll. It is a much more advanced class compared to its prerequisite, as students are expected to already have an understanding of runes, the different types, and their functionality.
It would've been an interesting class had Caelus not had prior knowledge of it. Back then, Alune made it a habit of stealing unnecessary things from humans. Random assortments of pottery, shiny pieces of jewelry, and mounds upon mounds of scrolls and books.
To pass the time, Caelus would often read those books. Of course, most of them were useless to me, and the scrolls even more so. However, sitting here today, he couldn't be more grateful for Alune's spontaneous urge for thievery.
As he packed up his belongings, the professor announced, "Good work today, everyone. Remember to finish your assignment before tomorrow's lecture. We will be presenting them to the class. You are dismissed."
But Caelus remained seated. He decided to let the traffic die down instead of getting up just to take a step forward every few seconds, and it seemed like someone else had the same idea.
Sitting across the aisle was a certain young lady whom everyone tried their hardest to ignore. However, just the grandeur of her presence alone was enough to make them all twist their necks for a second look, then a third.
It was Princess Aria. She faced forward, her eyes unmoving and nearly emotionless. She sat with a straight posture, resting her hands on her lap.
Among the forty or so students in this class, she was the only one that Caelus remotely recognized, but he never acknowledged her until now.
Disciplined, graceful, and above all — elegant. To many, she was the epitome of a noble lady, but to Caelus, it seemed more like she was being shackled.
As if she had noticed a shift in the wind, Aria turned. With so many eyes on her, it was anyone's guess who she was giving her attention to. However, to Caelus, it was undeniable that those eyes were directed at him.
With a sigh, he planted his chin on the palm of his hand, pushing the elbow onto the table idly as he waited for the last of the students to leave. After a minute, they were the only two left in the lecture hall.
Caelus made the first move. He slid down the bench and stood up to leave, but he froze when Aria called out his name.
"Sir Caelus."
"...Your Imperial Highness," he replied with a bow.
"Please, don't. I've never cared for formalities, especially in a place where we're all supposed to stand as equals. Just 'Aria' is fine."
Caelus blinked. His mind flicked back to the night when Crown Prince Asta had practically invited himself into his room. Asta's words had been sharp, calculated, and dripping with arrogance. Aria's tone, however, was restrained. Careful. Almost too much.
"Then, Aria. Was there something you needed?"
"If it isn't too much trouble... I had a question."
Here it comes.
This was what Caelus had been waiting for. Surely she was about to ask him to join her side in the succession struggle. Kain had warned him yesterday, and he was determined to stay on guard.
But then, Aria unfurled a scroll covered in intricate rune circles, lines upon lines of careful carving.
"I watched you during class today," she said, lowering her eyes for a moment. "You didn't seem to have much trouble with the material. I was wondering if you could help me."
Caelus froze.
"I... I'm sorry?"
Her voice dipped, sheepish.
"Ah, forgive me. Perhaps it was presumptuous. If you can't... or if you'd rather not, then I completely understand."
Caelus wasn't sure what to make of her. He'd been warned to tread carefully around the imperials, a rule that fit Crown Prince Asta all too well. But Aria was different. He assumed as much during yesterday's short club meeting.
Her words carried a strange blend of confidence and hesitation, as though each sentence was carefully measured. Beneath it all lingered something sharper and quitter: apprehension. It seemed more like she was afraid to say the wrong thing. Whatever that 'wrong thing' is remains to be seen.
He let out a sigh.
"You don't need to be so nervous about a simple request like that. Tell me where you're stuck."
Just for a split second, Aria's face brightened, but she played it off just as quickly, as if she remembered that she was the crown princess.
"Here. This one," she said, pointing at one of the rune circle's three layers. "I know the element, but I can't seem to figure out everything else."
"Mm, I get it. Most important thing about Runic Implementation is being able to read runes. I'm assuming you know how to do that since you skipped over Rune Study."
"R-Rune Study...? Was that a course?"
Speechless was an understatement to describe how Caelus was in that moment. The first thing they do whenever students apply for certain classes is have them take a small test to gauge their understanding of the prerequisite. So, how was she able to sign up for this class?
Even as he asked himself that question, he already knew. She is the crown princess, after all. The registrar's office probably decided not to question it.
Caelus let out a sigh.
"I guess we can start from the beginning. What is the purpose of a rune circle?"
"A rune circle? It is to cast magic, no?"
"Technically, yes — but that's not the full story. A rune circle is a magical apparatus comprised entirely of mana strands. By connecting the two ends of a strand into a circle, it creates the tangible reaction we call magic. And that magical reaction is dependent on runes. Take, for example..."
He lifted his hand, conjuring a small rune circle on the palm of his hand. Unlike true magic circles, which are normally blue, this circle in particular was a bright shade of yellow.
"What's the most obvious thing you can deduce about this circle?" he asked.
"It's... yellow," Aria mumbled. "Meaning it has an elemental base of lightning?"
"That is a fair assessment, but we want to read the runes and nothing else. Rune circles are comprised of three layers. See this one right in the middle?"—he pointed at the center—"This is the runic letter representing Lightning. Now, what does the second layer consist of?"
"The form."
"Correct. It's hard to see because of all the mana strands keeping the circle together, but each of these layers has one or more runic letters that shape the spell. For this instance, the form is the Lance rune, which is a straight line projectile. What kind of spell do you think that is?"
She pinched her chin, contemplating the meaning of life.
"Um... Oh! A lightning bolt spell?"
"Aha..." Caelus chuckled. "Yeah. That's right."
"W-wha... Were you laughing at me just then?"
"Not at all, Your Imperial Highness. Anyway, you're right. This is a lightning bolt spell, but what makes it unique is the last layer — and the most difficult thing there is to learn about runes. The limiters."
Caelus aimed his arm toward the front of the lecture hall, where a sturdy training dummy was put in place for the professor's demonstration. By manipulating the mana to rotate, he caused a discharge reaction, and the lightning bolt spell fired.
However, instead of a singular lightning bolt, there were two that arced from both sides right before striking the dummy.
"Whoa..." Aria gasped. "How did you do that?"
"By placing a runic letter called Split into the third layer. In my opinion, that is where magic gets a lot more interesting. There are hundreds of runic letters that can be written in the third layer, and even more that we have yet to discover. Theoretically, I can turn that simple lightning bolt spell into a massive beam of lightning capable of piercing mountains. It all starts with Runic Implementation."
There was a slight sparkle in Aria's eyes, almost as if she had reached an epiphany. Like a child discovering magic for the first time. That's how Caelus would describe it, and unlike himself, he felt a small tug at the edge of his lips.
"Here," he said, placing the textbook he was carrying on the desk. "It might seem daunting at first, but runes are mostly about memorization. Practice putting it on paper first, then try to draw it out using mana. Take care not to place more runes than you are capable of implementing. Otherwise, it'll collapse. Or, worst-case scenario, your mana capacity will overload."
"That... sounds eerily painful," she mumbled.
"It is, so be careful."
Aria nodded her head confidently.
"Okay. I think I got it. Thank you, Sir Caelus."
"Just Caelus is fine, Your Imperial Highness."
As he walked off, he felt something strange. That was perhaps one of the most curious encounters he's had since returning to the human realm. He never thought he'd find himself teaching magic to the imperial princess, yet here he is.
"Hah..." he scoffed. "What the hell is wrong with me?"