The next day, Luca, who woke up with a clear mind thanks to a good rest, picked up the bundle he had left beside his bed.
Inside were a few bottles of potions and a single egg, hardened to an ashen color.
'Phew, this is nerve-wracking.'
Luca carefully took out the ashen egg and examined it from every angle.
Sometimes, in novels, there are villain characters who, because they appear too early, get discarded easily thanks to the main character's buff.
'The Savior of the Academy' was no exception.
Celestial Winged Etherna.
Etherna, who had once been an ordinary countryside girl, one day obtained an ashen egg at the market. While cooking, she accidentally cut her hand and got blood on the egg.
The egg absorbed the blood and regained a bit of vitality. Curious, Etherna began sprinkling a little blood on the egg over the course of several days.
After about a week, the egg had completely regained its vitality.
The revitalized egg began to pulse, almost as if it had a beating heart, and Etherna held it close.
Not long after, what emerged was a small bird with sky-blue wings.
The small bird regarded Etherna, who had given it life, as its mother and followed her.
However, the moment the small bird was born, strange changes occurred in Etherna's body.
Her body suddenly felt lighter, and she was filled with tireless energy regardless of what she did.
Crackle!
"!"
In addition, though weak, she gained the power to use lightning.
As she marveled in both surprise and wonder, someone appeared before her.
"You wretched little thief, so you stole this precious thing!"
"Huh? I—I would never steal..."
"Once a Celestial Bird chooses its mother, it cannot be changed. I ought to return it to an egg, but there's neither the time nor the resources for that now. You'll have to pay with your body."
They kidnapped Etherna, brainwashed her, and used her as a tool to harness the power of the Celestial Bird.
Thus was born Celestial Winged Etherna—
A girl with the wings of the sky.
'She ended up pitifully dying at the hands of the protagonist, but now she'll get to live a normal life.'
Since she was a villain for whom death was her only salvation, saving her in this way didn't feel bad.
'I liked the character after all.'
The story was moving enough to leave a strong impression.
That's why Luca had looked into the details, which allowed him to acquire the Celestial Bird's egg so easily.
'That aside, Bella managed to find it without getting confused. As expected of someone from my mother's side, the Melborne family.'
Luca thought so as he compared the Celestial Bird's egg to his own hand.
'... Even being cut by paper hurts.'
First of all, he had to draw some blood.
Etherna, who had been just an ordinary country girl, must have suffered a lot, to keep smearing the egg with blood for days—something Luca couldn't comprehend.
'Even Celestial Wing, before fully awakening, held that much power. How strong would a completely awakened Celestial Wing be?'
Luca resolved himself to endure the immediate pain for the sake of a better future.
Slice—
'Ugh...'
The blade lightly cut his palm.
His skin, without any magic reinforcement, was easily sliced and began to bleed, but contrary to expectations, not a single groan came forth.
'Hm? Is it because this is Luca Traverse's body? I'm not making a sound.'
Come to think of it, even when wooden sword fragments lodged in his hand, he hadn't groaned.
'I guess I'm getting used to this body, though it still feels awkward at times.'
Luca wore a bitter expression as he held out his hand.
Blood dripped from his outstretched hand and slowly seeped into the Celestial Bird's egg.
'I recall that there's no need to feed it blood over several days.'
There was a sort of setting guide for 'The Savior of the Academy'.
He had read it in detail when he was younger, and in particular, he remembered the stories related to Celestial Wing, whom he had liked so much.
In fact, there was no need to smear blood on the egg; all that was necessary was to instill vitality into it. But Luca did not know how to instill only vitality—so he just fed it blood imbued with vitality.
Once the egg regained its full strength by absorbing a certain amount of vitality, merely keeping it close would suffice for the transfer.
It was just that Etherna, either by chance or because the egg instinctively chose her, naturally possessed high vitality and recovery.
Thanks to that, she could act normally even as the egg absorbed her vitality—but Luca wasn't sure what would happen to him.
That was the reason he had also bought potions to help recover vitality.
'I hope I find out soon the whereabouts of the alchemist who made these potions.'
Though not widely known yet, the alchemist 'Bern Doyner', who crafted these potions, was an inventor with many outstanding creations, and one of the characters Luca had to find, known in the original as an 'unresolved plot thread'.
Szzzzt—
"Oh."
While Luca was lost in thought, the Celestial Bird's egg slowly began regaining its colors.
Impressed, Luca clenched his fist to encourage the blood flow.
Drip, drip—
The Celestial Bird's egg absorbed every single drop of blood, as if it were a sponge soaking up water.
By the time his wound had stopped bleeding on its own, the egg had completely regained its color.
"Whoa, I feel dizzy."
Luca, feeling a bit light-headed, opened the potion and drank its contents.
"Urgh!"
The moment his mouth filled with the potion, he felt nauseous.
'The taste truly lives up to its reputation. Now I see why the protagonist used this during torture scenes.'
Nicknamed 'mop water', the potion had a famously terrible taste. But the effect was clear: his dizziness vanished at once.
'I can't tell if my dizziness disappeared because of the potion's effect or because the taste was so revolting.'
Thinking this, Luca gave a wry smile and turned his gaze to the Celestial Bird's egg.
A blue background with cloud patterns—it was so beautiful that it was hard to believe this was the same thing that had just greedily sucked up blood like a sponge.
"At least the minimum preparation is done. Now, the rest..."
Luca stood up. Stretching his limbs, he headed for the training grounds.
'All I can do is get more used to this body.'
That was the only thing he could do at the moment.
* * *
Class Assignment Exam.
At Hernan Imperial Academy, students are placed into classes based on their abilities.
Of course, this is partly to fuel rivalry among students, but also because those with outstanding talent are likely to be children of high-status families, so the system also serves to affirm class distinction.
'In fact, the protagonist earns high marks in the exam, but since he's a commoner, he still ends up in the lowest class.'
Thinking so, Luca lifted his luggage.
"Master! Let me carry your bags!"
"It's fine. They're not heavy."
"But..."
The site for the class assignment exam is Havok, the metropolis where Hernan Imperial Academy is located.
As a central hub of traffic, most magic trains and airships go through there.
Thanks to this, even foreign students can easily attend Hernan Imperial Academy.
"It'd be easier if you brought a few more servants."
"We're taking an automated carriage anyway; why would I need servants? We're not staying long; just going for the exam and coming back."
The Traverse family may be located on the outskirts, but the roads are well maintained. By traveling at a reasonable pace in an automated carriage, it would only take three days to reach Havok.
There was no need to bring lots of luggage or servants—on the contrary, bringing more would just be more complicated.
But Bella seemed to have other ideas.
"What are you saying, master? Since we're going to a big city like Havok, you should have fun while you're there!"
"Have fun? There's nothing to do."
To Luca, who had enjoyed modern entertainment, the amusements of this world seemed uninteresting.
All he wanted was an adventure that made his heart race.
And he already knew—thanks to the novel—what kinds of amusements existed on this continent.
"According to this month's issue of Monthly Sentimental, the Rain Sound Orchestra is performing in Havok right now! If you miss it, you'll have nothing to talk about later with the friends you make at the Academy!"
"Even if I don't... Wait. What orchestra?"
"The Rain Sound Orchestra! They're one of the continent's most famous groups!"
Luca's expression was peculiar.
Of course—he, too, knew what the Rain Sound Orchestra was; it included some rather important figures.
'But... why is this appearing now?'
In the original, there were several scenes of the protagonist wandering Havok during his class assignment test.
But never once was the Rain Sound Orchestra mentioned.
'Don't tell me... things are already changing?'
Because Celestial Winged Etherna appears so early as a villain, Luca hadn't thought that taking the Celestial Bird's egg would make much of a difference so early on. Still, the egg was valuable enough that it wouldn't be strange if changes had already begun.
'This bothers me. I can't just ignore it.'
Given the influence of the Rain Sound Orchestra, it wasn't something to just brush off.
Thinking this, Luca slowly nodded.
"Fine. I'll go see that Rain Sound Orchestra, or whatever it's called."
"Oh my! Master, you really are keeping up with the trends! I was so worried since all you did was train!"
"...."
Seeing Bella so moved, Luca put on a sulky face and glanced at the mansion.
"When will Mother and Father be back?"
"... They said, due to the odd movement near the border, they won't be back for some time."
"I see."
Though Luca answered Bella's somewhat forlorn tone with nonchalance, he couldn't shake one thought from his mind.
'Turns out the reason the original Luca became twisted wasn't only due to jealousy of his older brother.'
Since taking over Luca's body, he'd never—not even once—met the head or lady of the Traverse family.
* * *
With the development of magic, there was no need to use carriages pulled by live horses anymore.
Of course, commoners and poorer nobles still rode horses, but the high nobility increasingly avoided such inconvenient and hard-to-maintain means.
Though the disadvantage of requiring proper roads remained, nobles affluent enough to use automated carriages had little cause to go where roads didn't reach.
"Oh my, there are so many other students here~."
"I don't care."
"Oh, master. You might make friends—you should show some interest~."
After several days of travel, Luca and Bella arrived at Havok.
Truly befitting its reputation as the heart of transportation and logistics in the Hernan Empire, the place was grand and dazzling.
Everywhere, people bustled about, and fabulous storefronts were plentiful.
'This feels like going abroad.'
Though he'd never traveled abroad, there was a striking difference between experiencing something firsthand and reading it as text.
The sounds, the heat, the colors—these sensations were nothing like what he'd seen beyond a screen.
'Maybe, just as Bella said, it wouldn't be so bad to have some fun?'
Moved by the lively and vibrant scene before him—one more vivid than he had imagined—Luca felt his own spirits rise.
And as if to nudge him further, Bella whispered quietly:
"There are lots of other sights in Havok besides the Rain Sound Orchestra, you know, master?"
"... No thanks."
Giving a curt reply, Luca checked the time.
"More importantly, where's the testing site? I need to register."
"I've already registered you. You just need to go verify."
"Good. Lead the way."
Following Bella, they arrived at a huge dome-shaped building—the so-called Academy Exam Hall.
Already large by design, this building was further expanded inside with spatial magic for exam use.
"Hello~ We're from the Traverse family, registered for this round's class assignment test."
"Welcome. I'll verify right away."
There was nothing Luca needed to do himself at the testing hall. Nobles handling such matters personally was considered undignified, so Bella took care of it all.
As he stood quietly behind, arms folded, someone approached.
"Well, if it isn't the Little Star of House Traverse?"
Luca didn't know what "Little Star" meant, but since 'House Traverse' was mentioned, it was surely he that was being addressed. Luca looked toward the source of the voice.
—Light red hair, freckles, tall but slightly narrow-looking build.
—His face seemed scrunched up in some discomfort.
'This feels... familiar.'
The description sparked something; this had to be a character from the novel.
As Luca furrowed his brow, trying to recall, the red-haired boy seemed flustered.
"Traverse. You still don't like that nickname? Everyone calls you that to praise you, y'know?"
"..."
"Ah, geez. Just as standoffish as ever. As fellow second sons of Counts, we ought to get along."
At the words 'second son of a Count', something flashed through Luca's mind.
—To think a lowly commoner dared to ignore me, Ottbo Gress, the scion of House Gress, founders of drive magic!
—Hahaha! Die, you lowly commoner!
—N-no way! For a mere commoner to defeat Ottbo Gress...!
He was Ottbo Gress, the character who first introduced 'drive magic', an ability often referenced mid- to late-story, and a villain designed to make the protagonist look cool.
"... Huh?"
"W-what's gotten into you?"
Seeing Luca's sudden bewilderment, Ottbo was flustered too, but Luca couldn't answer.
'Wait a minute. Wasn't Ottbo Gress...'
Luca glanced at Bella.
"Bella! Which class year am I entering at Hernan Academy?"
"Huh? Master, you said it's the 100th class, so you could never forget!"
"100th..."
Luca's cheek twitched, a line from the novel coming to mind.
—The principal's lengthy address finally seemed to be wrapping up.
—And so, to the 101st incoming class, I sincerely welcome you all!
—101st, huh. It's a shame it's not a perfect hundred, but it doesn't matter. My youth starts now.
Luca squeezed his eyes shut.
"The real protagonist hasn't arrived yet."
"What? What's up?"
Right now, the protagonist hadn't even arrived in this world yet—in other words, this was a full year before the protagonist would appear.
'In that case...'
When Luca slowly opened his eyes, Ottbo was in his view, tilting his head in confusion.
'There's still much I don't know, and many variables, but is this an opportunity?'
Before the protagonist appeared on this continent—so there would be almost no information about this period.
But, since he knew what came after, some information could be inferred.
And things the protagonist had wanted but couldn't get in time—for example, the Celestial Bird's egg—were now within his grasp.
'The future... is worth changing, isn't it?'
Luca's eyes shone. New possibilities were sparkling before him.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】