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Glacier returned to his space only after threatening Professor Shirims a few more times.
Shirims also left the secret study, leaving Davian alone.
"I'll come to pick you up at dawn tomorrow. By then, read the autobiography, figure out the order of the 12 traces, and completely memorize the locations marked on the map."
He already knew half of the locations and the order.
Davian, who only needed to confirm the remaining half, memorized the order and locations of all 12 traces in just a few hours.
Stretching, Davian muttered to himself,
"If I had known it would be like this, I should have asked him to come pick me up a little earlier."
There was still plenty of time until dawn.
Growing bored, Davian began to look around the secret study.
"Leaving me alone here is probably another test. Maybe it's testing my honesty or something."
He wasn't really interested in the books or objects here anyway.
Davian's mind was filled with thoughts of how to find all 12 traces of the Archmage as quickly as possible and get a five-star hidden item.
"Even if I use the weekends to find them one by one, I probably won't be able to find them all before summer vacation. Let's find as many as I can and aim to finish it during summer vacation."
Having set his goal, Davian spotted a tempting item.
It was a thick blanket in the corner.
Davian took the blanket, spread it out haphazardly in the corner of the study, and lay down on it.
Whether it was because of the fatigue that had accumulated since the start of the 4th playthrough and up to the midterm exams, Davian quickly fell into a deep sleep.
A few days later.
It was time for the common subject class again.
After finishing the class, Professor Mateo closed his book and said,
"As you all know, the festival will be held in the third week of May. It's one of the few times when all grades can be together in the common area. The festival will be held for three days, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. It's a good opportunity to meet your seniors, so make sure to see and feel a lot during the festival."
At the mention of the festival, Davian sighed, resting his chin on one hand.
Meanwhile, Professor Mateo continued,
"Oh, and Davian Naone and Latia Meridiem, you two are responsible for preparing the grade-specific presentation on the third day."
That was the reason for Davian's sigh.
The grade-specific presentation on the last day of the festival.
The male and female representatives of each grade must take responsibility for leading the presentation.
The topic of the presentation is free.
They sometimes show magic or swordsmanship demonstrations, and sometimes they perform choir or plays.
"Well, that's it for today's class. A brochure with the detailed schedule of the festival will probably be released next week. I hope you enjoy your first festival at Elton Academy."
After the morning class, all the students headed to the student cafeteria.
As always, Davian and his group sat at the same table and enjoyed their meal.
Bellum looked back and forth between Davian and Latia and asked,
"Male representative, female representative. What are you going to do? For the festival presentation. Huh?"
"Not interested."
"Not interested."
Davian and Latia, who said the same thing at the same time, looked at each other.
"If you're not interested, what are you going to do? You two have to lead the presentation anyway. What would be good? You'll include us, right?"
Then Liber shouted, slamming the table,
"Let's do a play! A play!"
"A play? Out of the blue?"
"Yeah, a play! After all, even if we show magic or swordsmanship demonstrations, it'll look like childish games to the upperclassmen. You know that only 4th graders and above do demonstration stages on the first day of the festival, right? If we do something like that, we'll just be compared. Right?"
Bellum nodded and replied,
"That's true. That blabbermouth is right for once."
"And according to my informant, the 2nd graders are going to do a choir this time. I heard that one of the 2nd year seniors is an amazing singer? A choir will be formed around that senior. So choir is also out of our options."
"That's beside the point. Then, will a play attract attention? Ah, I can't be embarrassed in front of my sister. Besides, the festival period is the only time when the academy is open to the citizens of Elton City."
Nuves gave a clear answer to Bellum's worries.
"If you're afraid of being embarrassed in front of your sister, you don't have to participate in the presentation. You don't have to participate anyway."
"What? Hey! Big guy! Davian and Latia are going to the presentation, how can we not go? Are you even a friend? Are you Davian's roommate? You ungrateful guy!"
"It's not like we're going to a battlefield, what's with the loyalty..."
This time, Bonita opened her mouth.
"He just wants to be included."
Bellum's voice, with reddened cheeks, grew louder.
"Yes! I want to be included! I want to step up! Don't you know I'm the type to step up? I want to be included in the festival presentation! Is everyone satisfied? Huh? Are you?"
Liber stretched his arms out on the table to draw attention to himself.
"Okay, okay. Don't fight. It's good to do it all together, right? A play. How about it? I have an amazing story to tell."
Latia, who had been pondering for a while, opened her mouth.
"What's the story? Let's hear it. I won't do it if it's common."
"Common? What do you think of me, Liber, the king of information! The story I've prepared is very hot. It's called, 'The 12 Footsteps of the Great Archmage'! How about it?"
Davian, who doesn't get surprised easily, almost dropped his fork.
"What? What did you just say? Liber."
"Why, is the title too cool? The 12 Footsteps of the Great Archmage!"
Nuves shook his hand and said,
"Eh, even I, who has no historical knowledge, know that common legend. 'He who finds the 12 traces of the Great Archmage may become the next Great Archmage,' isn't it?"
"Hey, Nuves. Who doesn't know that? But this Liber isn't just holed up in the library researching old books for nothing. Besides, my family recently sent me new information about that legend."
Liber Specula. Nicknamed Blabbermouth.
He is treated as a nuisance by Davian's group, but he is, after all, from the Specula family, which has the best information agency on the continent.
If he said that the information was sent from his family, it was not something to be laughed off.
Davian asked,
"What information?"
"Haha. Well, it's..."
Liber lowered his voice.
"...information that maybe that legend isn't just a legend!"
Bellum crossed his arms and scoffed.
"Ha, you're kidding me. It's been 600 years since the Great Archmage Fabian Hendrick died. You're saying that those 12 footsteps or traces that no one has found are not a legend?"
"I'm serious! And although there have been many plays commemorating the Great Archmage Fabian Hendrick, there has never been a work that specifically deals with those 12 traces properly. We're the first!"
Davian asked again,
"Then you know, specifically, what those 12 traces are?"
"Of course! Actually... not 100 percent. I've almost figured it out! My family gave up investigating it a hundred years ago, but I, Liber Specula, have been holed up in the library and have almost figured it out. With a little help from my family, though."
"Then where is the first trace?"
"Bure Prairie. When the Great Archmage just became an adult, he protected three villages from a monster attack there. Alone."
Accurate.
"Then what about the fifth?"
"The fifth? Hmm... that's the western mining area. A great achievement in calming down a mad dragon."
"What about the tenth?"
"The Ebetere Mountains. Where he met Roan Kaerum, his lifelong comrade and lover, and joined forces to fight against the demon legion commander."
Accurate.
"Liber, do you really know the order and location of all 12 traces?"
"Uh... it's just a guess for now. But according to my information and my research, it's probably almost correct. Probably? Don't you think? It should be right."
Bellum pretended to press Liber's temples with both hands.
"Ugh, you blabbermouth. In the end, it's all your speculation."
"Uh, anyway, it doesn't matter as a play material! We're not really going to find them."
Davian stared at Liber, who was bickering with Bellum.
"That's really great information and analysis. I didn't ask about all 12, but the first and fifth places and events are exactly right."
Meanwhile.
"Well, not bad. A play."
Latia was the first to say yes.
"I have no intention of doing a talent show, showing magic tricks in front of the seniors, and I have even less intention of going on stage and singing. Let's just do that. A play."
"Really? Then I'll join that play too."
Bellum looked at Bonita in surprise.
"Bonita, you? Doing a play at the festival? I thought you wouldn't even go to the festival because you wouldn't have time to practice swordsmanship."
"I was going to, but I decided that if Davian and Liber are doing it together, I'll join too. Ever since they went and got that stone of enlightenment or something together."
This time, Luna raised her hand.
"I, I also agree!"
Liber shouted excitedly.
"Great! I'll write the script, so leave it to me! You guys decide on the roles!"
Davian, who had been lost in thought for a while, also opened his mouth.
"I also agree. Let's do a play. With Liber's script."
It wasn't that he particularly wanted to do a play.
But even if it wasn't a play, he would have to do something anyway, and more than anything, he was curious about the content of the script that Liber would write.
"What kind of information did he get from his family? How much of the Great Archmage's biography did he organize by researching books in the library alone? I need to check."
He remembered what Shirims, the head of the Department of Magic, had said when he left the secret study a few days ago.
"It would be good to find reliable comrades and go on an adventure together. It won't be an easy path."
He already knew.
Finding the 12 traces of the Great Archmage.
That wasn't a simple task like adventurers finding a treasure map and going on an adventure.
Davian looked around.
The 17-year-old freshmen, who were already excited and noisy about the play.
Davian had chosen them himself, and they were the comrades who would overcome many things in the future.
"I'll have to judge after seeing this script. Whether Liber will be helpful or a hindrance in finding the 12 traces of the Great Archmage. ...Or whether he will be a competitor."
While Davian was thinking this alone, the other friends were having a heated discussion on a new topic.
"So, Davian, the male representative, will play the role of the Great Archmage Fabian Hendrick. Who will play the role of his lover?"
Luna raised her hand, her face flushed pink.
"I... I'll do it!"
This time, Latia, who had crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, opened her mouth.
"Fabian Hendrick's lover, Roan Kaerum? Of course, I, the female representative, should do it, right? If the male representative is the male lead, then the female representative should naturally be the female lead."
Bonita, who had been quietly watching the situation, picked up the sword she had placed next to her chair and put it on the table with a thud.
"Roan Kaerum is a knight, isn't he? Then it's right for me, who is in the Department of Swordsmanship, to do it. Luna, Latia. Are you going to start practicing swordsmanship just to prepare for a play to present at the festival?"
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