Esdinas of Heaven, or rather, the original game that this Esdinas Academy is based on, has a certain saying.
– A party is like a girl you’re dating. If you get caught two-timing, you’re dead. Ahaha.
This is one of the jokes made during the connection event with Julius Keyarnim, the Student Council President.
A party is like a girl you’re dating.
If you two-time, you’re dead.
If you get caught on both sides, not only will you be ruined, but you might even get killed later.
In such a situation, one must make a wise choice.
What kind of choice?
Should you quietly accept being in a four-person team as fate and focus on that party?
Or should you leave your current party and find a new one?
– Wait, you said you were feeling unwell and had to return to your hometown! That was a lie?! You were just looking for a new party?
– Yeah! This party deals more damage, tanks better, and even earns more money than yours!
– Guh… Urgh!
Even if you separate amicably, conflicts may arise later—such is the nature of a party.
Therefore, joining a party requires careful consideration, and this is even more important after graduating from the Academy.
But what if…
A sort of agreement is reached between both parties?
What if the party member is so extraordinary that the other three members consider themselves a three-person team, eagerly waiting for that one person to join them in hunting monsters or conquering dungeons?
“You’re saying Phoenix is going to be in both the Vermilion Bird Class and the Azure Dragon Class at the same time?!”
If this had been an agreed-upon arrangement, that would be one thing. But when it feels like a sudden, forced decision, people can’t help but be taken aback.
“Phoenix, what’s going on?”
“Are you abandoning us for that rich kid?”
“You just said on the rooftop that we’d stick together!”
“Instructor Esta, I’d like to explain the situation before things get any more complicated.”
I quickly stepped in before the angels could start hovering around, ready to put halos on people.
“Having a presence in both parties means exactly that—but even in regular Academy classes, I’ll exist in both at the same time.”
“Huh?”
“Wait. That… doesn’t make sense?”
“At the same time?”
“Exactly.”
The three from Vermilion Bird Class looked confused.
“Isn’t it just that you’ll switch between parties depending on the need?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“…Then what? Do you have some kind of special method?”
“I do. And right here. I always thought I’d get a chance to use it someday, and now’s that time. Instructor Kadisha?”
“Here.”
Instructor Kadisha brought a box and placed it in front of me.
Inside the box—designed like a treasure chest from a dungeon—lay a single iridescent magic stone, shimmering brilliantly.
“This is…”
“Wait, isn’t this the core of that monster we took down over the break?”
“That’s right.”
It was the magic stone of the Ancient Ant from the Baron Raymond Balzac’s ant nest dungeon.
Unlike other magic stones, this one had been influenced by Demonic Land energy, meaning it had almost no traces of angelic power.
“I’ll use this to create a ‘clone’.”
“A… a clone?”
“Yes. It’s an extremely intricate and difficult spell, but for me, it’s not particularly hard.”
It’s a matter of talent.
The body I now inhabit, Red Sol Phoenix, was once Regif Habsderk, who specialized in hypnosis, mind control, illusions, and mental magic.
Furthermore, I had met the Seven Dukes of Hell in the Demon World, and one of them was a master of illusion-type magic. From her, I had learned and refined many mental abilities.
“Watch closely. Like this…”
As I channeled mana into the magic stone, a gray slime began to expand outward, forming a humanoid shape.
“Ta-da! What do you think?”
“…It looks exactly like you.”
Yunia inspected the gray slime, looking it up and down—
“W-Wait a minute! Why isn’t that part covered?!”
“Ah. Oops. My bad.”
Realizing that the lower half was left exposed without a mosaic effect, she screamed.
I quickly cast a censorship magic to cover it up.
“It’s been a while since I last used this, so I made a slight mistake. Hold on. Let me add a Mana Skin and fine-tune it a bit…”
Shhh…
The gray slime’s hair turned black.
Its skin became pale.
Its eyes gleamed with a jade hue.
Even a jade-colored highlight appeared in its hair.
The uniform it wore was identical to my own Academy attire.
However, unlike the blond and tanned delinquent appearance of Phoenix, this figure looked slightly more refined.
“I’ll call this one ‘Fenrir’ for convenience.”
“Fenrir… Does it have some special meaning?”
“It’s just a name. Similar to Phoenix, really.”
“I see, Miss Yunia.”
“Huh?!”
My voice resonated simultaneously from both bodies, as if in surround sound.
The entire room fell into shock, eyes darting between me and… myself.
“W-What the hell?!”
“I told you. I exist in both places at once.”
“Both Phoenix and Fenrir are me. Since they’re both me, it’s easy to talk like this.”
“The only difference is the appearance. Otherwise, the abilities remain mostly the same.”
“Hmm, well, since I’m split, the efficiency is probably halved. Of course, the main body is Phoenix.”
“Wait. One at a time, please.”
“But I am talking one at a time.”
“Only Phoenix should speak! This is too confusing!”
Fenrir raised both hands and stepped back while I moved forward, standing in front of Yunia.
“Yunia. Watch closely.”
“Ah…!”
I gently held Yunia’s cheeks, ensuring our eyes met.
“How many of me do you see?”
“Well, um…”
As she instinctively tried to glance over at Fenrir, I leaned in and pressed my forehead against hers, making sure her entire vision was filled only with me.
“Right now, how many of me do you see?”
“…O-One.”
“That’s right. Just one.”
I pulled back from Yunia.
“The essence remains one. No matter how I look on the outside, inside this Old School Building, whether it’s Phoenix, Fenrir, or any other form, they are all still me.”
“Then…”
Ludmila licked her lips and raised a hand.
“Does that mean you can change into appearances beyond blond, tanned or the black-haired jade-eyed version?”
“I can, but it’s not ‘unlocked’ yet.”
“???”
“It’s a specialized manipulation using mana responses.”
“Think of it like the color of a flame changing based on the reaction.”
“If you’re going to speak separately, at least do it one after another.”
Having been quietly observing, Yurha pointed at me alternately.
“It’s not overwhelming, but I’d appreciate it if you were considerate of the listeners. Could only one of you speak when you’re both in the same place?”
“Hmm.”
“And why would that be?”
I positioned Phoenix to Yurha’s left and Fenrir to her right.
“Could it be…”
“That hearing it from both sides like this…”
“”Isn’t something you’d dislike?””
Yurha briefly closed her eyes.
Her eyelids trembled slightly, and she swallowed hard, a reaction that left the others stunned with their mouths agape.
“…Alright, I get it. Just stop. Only one of you should speak.”
“Understood. Then when the main body is present, the main body will speak, and if it’s just the clones, the first-created one will do the talking.”
I patted Fenrir lightly.
“Take care of this, [Tear of the Demon God]. Whether I end up in the Vermilion Bird Class or Azure Dragon Class, we’ll see.”
“Huh?”
“Since I’ll exist in both places within the Old School Building, one side will have the main body, while the other will have the clone. Naturally, there’s only one real me, right?”
“…!!”
The three from the Vermilion Bird Class widened their eyes in shock.
“Are we… going to settle this with a duel?”
“If that’s the case, I don’t mind at all.”
“If we’re deciding who gets the main body through combat, then we have no choice but to do it properly.”
“W-Wait a moment…!”
Amid the growing confusion, Shuri hesitantly raised her hand in a small voice.
“What’s wrong, Miss Shuri?”
“I-I get everything else—or, well, I actually don’t get most of it—but, um…!”
She pointed between herself and Yurha.
“There are two of us…!”
“Oh, that’s right.”
The three from Vermilion Bird Class tilted their heads in confusion as they looked at the sixth empty seat.
“Where is the third student from Azure Dragon Class?”
* * *
[At that moment, somewhere in the Old School Building]
“Hmph, hmm-hmm~”
A blonde female student, adorned with a butterfly-shaped hair ornament, walked with her hands clasped behind her back, stopping in front of a particular room.
Creak.
The door opened.
It should have been locked, yet strangely, it wasn’t. As if someone had deliberately left it unlocked, the door quietly swung open.
“…”
The blonde girl wrinkled her nose the moment she stepped inside.
The room was filled with the lingering scents of multiple people.
It was clear that several individuals had spent time there just hours ago.
Ignoring the other signs of presence, the girl walked straight toward the bed.
Lifting the blanket, she buried her face into its center and took a deep breath.
“Ssssssssniff.”
Like a cat inhaling a familiar scent, she pressed her face deeper into the pillow, an almost ecstatic expression creeping across her features.
“…It’s you.”
A faint smile flickered on her lips, and she licked them.
“It’s you. I thought it couldn’t be, but it is. I knew it.”
In her eyes burned a certainty that could not be swayed, no matter what anyone said.
“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize it. From the moment I was born… I have belonged to you, Brother.”
The girl.
“Did you really think you could escape from me?”
Seia Ludvecia.
Once known as Seia Habsderk, the daughter of a Sword Master and Grand Mage.
“Hoo, fufufu…”
Clutching the pillow tightly to her chest.
Shiver.
Her entire body trembled.
