Epilogue: The Reason Why I, a Jobless NEET, Became a Magic Instructor

The Alzano Imperial Magic Academy self-detonation terror attempt—

Thanks to the efforts of one part-time instructor, this incident, which could have ended in the worst possible outcome, was averted. Due to the involvement of a hostile organization and concerns about causing public unrest, it was handled discreetly. The numerous scars of destruction left on the academy were officially announced as the result of a magical experiment gone awry.

As a result of the Imperial Court Mage Corps exerting their full authority to enforce strict information control, only a handful of instructors, professors, and the students directly involved knew the full details of the incident within the academy.

Of course, not everything was completely buried in darkness.

Rumors abounded, whispered as though they held some truth: a legendary mage-killer, once the queen’s confidant, secretly operating across the empire; a forgotten princess, believed to be the reincarnation of a world-destroying demon, whose very existence was supposedly erased; and the ghost of a deceased instructor were rumored to be involved behind the scenes. But people are fickle creatures, and within a month, such gossip faded from conversation.

Rumia Tingel, one of the students caught up in the incident, was absent from school for a while for some reason but eventually returned as if nothing had happened. If you wake up early in the morning, you’ll likely see Rumia cheerfully heading to the academy alongside a silver-haired girl.

The academy had returned to its usual peaceful, mundane routine, no different from before.

And then—

(But, well, to think that Rumia is actually Princess Ermiana, who supposedly died of illness three years ago…)

One sunny afternoon.

Alzano Imperial Magic Academy instructor—no longer part-time—Glenn was walking down the academy’s corridor as usual, idly reflecting on the incident from a month ago.

After that incident, Glenn and Sistine were secretly summoned by the upper echelons of the imperial government as key contributors to resolving the crisis and were informed of Rumia’s true identity. They learned that Rumia, a Sympathetic Amplifier, had been banished from the imperial royal family due to various political circumstances. For the sake of the empire’s future, her identity had to remain hidden. As those privy to the truth, Glenn and Sistine were requested to cooperate in protecting Rumia’s secret.

(Tch… Just my luck, getting saddled with another hassle…)

That said, nothing really changed. Princess or Sympathetic Amplifier, Rumia was still Rumia in his eyes. Even after learning the truth, Sistine’s attitude toward Rumia didn’t shift one bit. The two of them were still as close as ever.

(Well, whatever happens, happens.)

Everything was as it had always been. Just as Glenn was thinking this nonchalantly, it happened.

“Still, I didn’t see that coming.”

A voice suddenly called out from behind.

“After that whole fiasco, I thought you’d swear off anything to do with magic for good.”

Turning around lazily in response to the voice, Glenn saw her.

There stood Celica, looking oddly pleased.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? So, I should’ve just kept mooching off you forever?”

Glenn shot back, sounding thoroughly annoyed.

“Hah, don’t be ridiculous, idiot.”

Despite her sharp tone, Celica’s expression was a mix of joy and loneliness.

“But seriously, what’s with the change of heart? I never would’ve pegged you for the type to actually become an instructor, especially after everything that went down.”

Celica’s gaze drifted to the owl-emblazoned robe—the official mark of an academy instructor—that Glenn wore sloppily, arms not even through the sleeves, in true Glenn fashion, as she posed the question.

Scratching his cheek with a hint of embarrassment, Glenn answered.

“That incident… Huey, was it? It just didn’t feel like someone else’s problem. Getting swept up in circumstances, blaming everything on the situation, and shutting down… Well, anyway. I decided to stop sulking and blaming magic for my life’s failures. Figured I might as well live a bit more forward-looking, you know?”

“…Hmm?”

“And…”

Just as Glenn was about to say more—

“Oh, Sensei!”

“…Sensei, over here!”

Two familiar female students spotted Glenn from down the corridor and came running toward him.

With a wry smile, Glenn glanced at them, spreading his hands and shrugging.

“…I got curious, you know? About what those two will get up to in the future. That’s reason enough to keep being an instructor. It’s a decent way to kill time, right?”

Hearing this, Celica smiled warmly, like a mother watching over her children.

“Got it. Do your best, alright?”

“…I’ll manage.”

They exchanged smiles.

At that moment, the silver-haired girl—Sistine—barged in.

“Hold it, Sensei! I’ve got a bone to pick with you today!”

“What now, White Cat? Another lecture? Don’t you ever get tired of preaching every single day? What, is nagging your hobby or something? …No wonder your hair’s turning gray.”

“It’s not gray, it’s silver! Ugh, whatever! That’s not the point! What was with that alchemy class earlier?! What on earth were you thinking, Sensei?!”

“Uh… you mean the ‘method for transmuting something that looks an awful lot like gold using low-grade elemental rearrangement conversion’? Was there some issue with the process?”

“No! The problem is what came after!”

“Oh, you mean the ‘method for swindling shady merchants by passing off that fake gold’? Nah, there’s nothing wrong with that process either. In fact, back when I was a student, I used that trick to earn some pocket money…”

“It’s! Wrong! It’s wrong in a completely different way, but it’s definitely wrong! It’s a huge problem! That’s literally a crime! It’s a blatant violation of Article 23, Clause B of the Magic Law! What are you teaching your students?!”

“Tch, what’s the big deal? Creating gold from nothing… turning a roadside pebble into a gold coin… isn’t that the very essence of alchemy?”

“Okay, maybe, but that’s not the point! Argh, forget it!”

Then, the blonde girl—Rumia—stepped in, as if to defend Glenn.

“Now, now, Sistie. I’m sure Glenn-sensei was just trying to entertain everyone with a joke like that… right, Sensei?”

“…Uh? Oh, yeah, sure, that’s it.”

“What was with that awkward pause just now?”

“Ugh… Rumia, you always get me. Sensei’s so touched…!”

Brushing off Sistine’s jab with exaggerated flair, Glenn pretended to choke up with emotion.

“Oh, speaking of, Rumia. Thanks for helping clean up the equipment after the alchemy experiment earlier. That really saved me.”

“Ehehe, you’re welcome.”

Glenn patted Rumia’s head, and she accepted it with a delighted smile.

Watching the two, Sistine clenched her fists, shoulders trembling with irritation as veins pulsed at her temples.

“Tch, if only White Cat were as sweet and cute as Rumia.”

“That’s not true, Sensei. Sistie has her cute sides too, you know? Actually, Sistie’s been practicing something to thank you for saving her during that incident, and—mmph!”

“W-Waaah?! Stop! Stop it right there!”

Her face turning bright red, Sistine hurriedly clamped a hand over Rumia’s mouth.

“Why would you try to say that in front of him of all people?!”

“Haha, well, if I left it alone, Sistie would probably be too embarrassed to ever go through with it. She’s been practicing so hard with her mom’s help, after all…”

Sticking out her tongue playfully, Rumia grinned mischievously.

“N-No… it’s not like that… I mean, it’s just a necessary skill for a girl… or, um… ugh…”

Sistine’s gaze wandered aimlessly, her fingers nervously twirling her long hair. For some reason, her fingers were covered in several bandages, as if she’d been nicked by cuts.

“…I don’t really get it, but my opinion of you two hasn’t changed. Rumia’s cute, and you’re a brat. That’s all.”

Snap.

With Glenn’s blunt, tactless words, Sistine finally lost it.

“On a different note, my father happens to be a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Magic. He’s a magical inspector overseeing the distribution of magic-related goods here in the Fejite branch.”

“Huh? What’s that all of a sudden?”

“By the way, Sensei, did you know that records of gold transactions are kept for about ten years?”

“…Wait, really?”

“I think I’ll suggest to my father that he thoroughly reinvestigate all gold transactions in this town over the past decade that match certain… conditions.”

With a bright smile, Sistine spoke cheerfully, while Glenn’s face twitched, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

“Uh, wait, hold on… um… please, I’m sorry, forgive me…”

“Hmph!”

Swatting away Glenn’s desperate attempt to cling to her, Sistine turned on her heel.

“Let’s go, Rumia!”

“W-Wait! Hold up! I’m sorry! I got a bit carried away, okay?!”

“Shut up, idiot! You need to eat some stale prison food for a while!”

“Noooo—!”

In an instant, the corridor became a lively commotion.

Lately, this scene had become something of a staple at the academy.

“Good grief, what a noisy bunch… Makes me jealous of their youth.”

With a mix of exasperation and amusement, Celica watched the chaos from a distance.

“…He’ll be fine now. Though, I’ll miss him a bit.”

Seeing her pathetic disciple groveling at the students’ feet, Celica murmured with satisfaction before turning her gaze to the window.

Outside was a brilliantly clear blue sky—

And as always, the sky castle gleamed in the dazzling sunlight—

—.

——.

“Does anyone here know the fairy tale called ‘The Magician of Melgalius’?”

Suddenly, a woman murmured this to no one in particular.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a children’s story set in a castle floating in the sky, where a heroic mage defeats an evil demon king and rescues a princess… In this country, it’s a tale so familiar that nearly everyone has heard it as a lullaby at least once, wouldn’t you say?”

With a soft thud, the woman closed the book in her hands.

The title read The Magician of Melgalius.

“However, there’s something peculiar about this story. For example—”

Her gaze shifted to a large world map hanging on the wall.

“In the neighboring country, the Rezalia Kingdom, ruled by the Church of St. Elizares… The Magician of Melgalius was designated a forbidden book, and all copies were burned. Its author, they say, was branded a heretic and sentenced to the stake.

The woman let out a sigh, as if mourning.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? For an entire nation to go to such lengths over a mere fairy tale.”

Quietly, she stepped out from the room onto a balcony.

“Another odd thing is… In this country, many mages have devoted themselves to unraveling the mystery of the castle floating in Fejite’s sky, said to be the model for the story’s setting. Yet, for some reason, a surprising number of them inexplicably disappear or meet bizarre, untimely deaths. Not all of them, of course, but… it’s unnaturally frequent. Could it really be… a coincidence?”

The sky felt close. A gentle breeze stirred, swaying the woman’s long hair.

From the balcony, she could look down upon the opulent cityscape of Orlando, the imperial capital of the Alzano Empire—

And far, far in the distance, toward the sky over Fejite.

There, faintly visible, floated the illusory castle in question.

“Now, that castle floating in Fejite’s sky… what exactly is Melgalius’s Sky Castle?”

Alicia VII, Queen of the Alzano Empire, murmured this to no one in particular.