By Zephyria 
January 20th.
The morning of the long-awaited graduation ceremony dawned.
The entrance ceremony was a simple affair where everyone, from freshmen to work-study students to professors, stood in place, but the graduation ceremony was different.
The stage was elevated at the back of the magnificent and enormous main hall, providing seating for invited guests, including parents. The graduates in the central area were also assigned seats with name tags on plush chairs with elaborate backrests.
The professors sat on spacious sofas on the right side of the main hall, and the soon-to-be graduates stood in line to offer their gratitude and gifts.
Those who were to climb the Yuil Mountains were scheduled to receive special training at the academy for a month in February, so instead of joining the crowd, I simply exchanged eye contact with the busy teachers.
Servants were stationed behind each professor to organize the gifts, and Walter Orgen was standing behind Professor Calypse Agrigent.
It was amusing to see him getting scolded for massaging Professor Calypse’s shoulders instead of organizing the gifts. I made eye contact with him and waved cheerfully.
I found my seat. Again, Shayden’s name tag was on the seat next to mine.
I had been fine all along, but seeing that name tag made me feel emotional. I was really graduating from the academy. As I sat there blankly, Shayden, who had just finished shaking hands and hugging Maelo Sanson, removed the name tag and sat down in his seat, making a pointless joke.
“Wow, sitting here like this makes me feel like I’m entering again. Should I stay for another three years?”
“Yeah, should you?”
When I responded to his joke with a laugh, Shayden nudged my shoulder and chuckled.
“Our Mika, who couldn’t even remember people’s names and cried all alone. When did you grow up so much that you’re even graduating?”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Was there any need to deny it? I just let it go and shook my head. It felt like a distant memory from a past life, so I wasn’t embarrassed at all.
As the students took their seats one by one, the orchestra, located on either side of the stage, began to play majestic music. The brass instruments started with a resounding “Buuu,” followed by the percussive sounds of drums. The slow strumming of long strings resonated in my chest.
Knowing that it was a time for solemnity, I placed my hands on my knees and looked ahead.
The headmaster, standing at the very top of the stage, looked exactly as she had at the entrance ceremony. The middle-aged woman with her neatly tied silver-gray hair had a surprisingly clear and distinct voice. Now I could see the Artifact hanging around her neck, a pentagonal body with three Mana Stones embedded in it.
[To the glorious students of the 327th graduating class of Shierun Academy, congratulations on your graduation.]
The headmaster’s gaze swept over the surroundings. All the students, sitting upright, stared directly at her.
[A few years ago, when I stood in this place and looked at you, you looked completely different from now. I miss your more innocent, cute, and adorable selves very much.]
Laughter rippled softly here and there at the headmaster’s joke.
After giving everyone a moment to enjoy the joke, the headmaster spoke again.
[Over the past years, you have learned in this Shierun Academy not just simple knowledge, but how to look into the lives of all people, how to live righteously. New martial arts and magic, arithmetic and criminal law, and the laws of this world that encompass all of them.]
I remembered not being able to concentrate on her speech at the entrance ceremony. I regretted that time now.
The headmaster spoke in a clear voice, as if declaring something.
[There are only three things I want to ask of you.]
[One, that you, who are in this place, see the world with a broader perspective.]
[Two, that you approach the world with a deeper heart.]
[Three, that your dreams and hopes today become a new light illuminating the world.]
I felt the ripples spreading in my heart.
My heart beat in time with the breaths she took between declarations.
The headmaster smiled. That smile was etched in my eyes.
[Once again, congratulations on your graduation.]
The headmaster stepped down from the stage. Next, a clergyman dressed in a long, white robe adorned with elaborate gold thread ascended to the podium. Blanc Cooper followed him respectfully, carrying something in his hands, his steps as light as if he were walking on clouds.
The headmaster, who had stepped aside, opened her mouth in a clear voice, as if emceeing.
[Next, there will be a conferment ceremony of the Single rise title for the academy graduates, presided over by the Pope himself.]
It was the moment when those who had lived their lives without surnames would be given new ones.
The Pope opened his mouth and called out the names.
The children whose names were called, including the surnames they had predetermined and submitted, rose from their seats without haste, navigated through the rows of chairs, and walked up the red carpet to the podium.
The Pope, standing on the podium just below the Pope, dipped his index and middle fingers in holy water and marked the student’s forehead, both shoulders, and chest, then recited a blessing in a clear voice.
“The First Goddess will engrave this moment of your rebirth in the deepest lake with a song. La Prira Et-sa.”
Each time, many students chanted the last words in unison and applauded. I gladly joined in, reciting the refrain and clapping. La Prira Et-sa. Even though I didn’t know what the Goddess’s will truly was, I wanted to bless these children with all my heart.
Jenny also stood on the podium.
Jenny’s new surname was Tenessus. Jenny Tenessus. I had heard before that it was a word not commonly used in names, but to me, who was unfamiliar with all the names of this land, it sounded like a very wonderful name.
Some children laughed, and some cried. Their emotions were so poignant and joyful that I felt I could watch them all day without getting tired of it.
What was surprising was what came next.
[Next, graduation certificates will be awarded to all graduates.]
Then, five Wizards, led by Professor Angela Sting, ascended to the stage.
Dressed in unusually long robes, they looked like clergymen in gray-brown garments. The five Wizards, with their noble and serene faces, simultaneously raised their staffs.
Five Wizards were also standing at the back of the main hall. They too wore the same robes and held their staffs high.
And at the same time, they chanted. When one word of that spell, which sounded like lyrics, ended, a brightly shining dot fell from the northwest. The sphere of light, making a “thud” sound as it fell to the floor, circled greatly around the graduates.
The light that started as a dot became a line,
And returned to the point where it began, forming a circle.
A bright light permeated the inside. It was a surprisingly pure white light, yet it was not at all blinding. When I opened my eyes and looked around, something popped out above each graduate’s head. It burst out with a “bang” sound.
I snatched the round ring that fell in front of me.
The thick, square metal plate located in the middle of the ring was only the size of a thumb. It was an Artifact with five small Mana Stones embedded in it.
What adorned the center of the Artifact, which glowed with a subtle radiance, was exactly the same as the emblem on the very first page of the Shierun Academy notebook. It was a pattern with a triangle perfectly fitted inside a round and upright circle, a square perfectly fitted inside that triangle, and a round circle inside that again.
The round jewel embedded in the center had a flatly polished surface, but the way the deep part inside was carved made it sparkle with iridescent colors as it caught the light. As I stared at it as if possessed, Angela Sting explained in her usual gentle voice, as if murmuring.
Her voice always reached my ears clearly, even when she spoke softly. This too was magic.
“You now have the status of… Shierun Academy graduates… Here, we have transferred a part of your happiest memories to each of your graduation certificates…”
Angela Sting hung the Artifact on her wrist like a bracelet. Seeing that, I followed suit and hung the newly received Artifact on my left wrist. Angela Sting continued.
“This graduation certificate is also an identification card… but it will also be a source of strength that allows you to return to the beginning and start again when you are lost… In the most difficult and painful moments, gently rub the jewel in the center with your heart…”
A smile spread across my face. I thought it was a very Angela Sting-like gift. I didn’t know if it was a magic planned by Angela Sting, or a tradition that had continued for over three hundred years, but I thought it was a very affectionate form of magic.
“I hope that you will become talents who are not daunted by anything, recalling your most beautiful memories in the most unbearable moments…”
The light dust that fell softly brightened the floor and then disappeared. Some children rubbed the Artifact as if curious, and I heard them trying to suppress their laughter with a “hee hee.” The shapes and forms of the Artifacts in each child’s hand were slightly different. I now realized that the colors and shapes of the Artifacts were distinguished according to each person’s grades and department.
Angela Sting, who had carefully scanned the scene, was once again gentle.
“I sincerely hope that you will remember that there is someone who truly wants you to be happy, no matter what path you walk or what you do in the future… Congratulations on your graduation, everyone…”
I was also curious, so I gently rubbed the flat jewel.
What was my happiest moment? That moment.
[Excellent!]
I was stunned for a moment. I bit my lower lip to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out.
Ah, it was Ranunculus’s voice. Yes, that day, Ruben had offered to teach me how to dance. My heart was so full and overflowing that I unconsciously scanned the invitation seats with my eyes.
It seemed that this Artifact could not hear the happy sounds of other children. Shayden looked at my face and whispered, asking what memory had come to mind, but I didn’t answer. I wondered if Ruben also had something like this. My heart stirred with curiosity about what the child’s happiest memory would be.
The subsequent schedule was for each person to have lunch, followed by another event in two hours.
The children were all busy taking care of their families, as they were told that they could invite their families to the dormitory cafeteria for a meal. I was busy greeting Shayden’s parents and Benjamin’s parents, and then I moved to find my own family.
Then, I painfully suppressed the laughter that was about to leak out between my teeth.
Rubel, standing next to my Father and holding a large bouquet of flowers, looked like a flower himself. He was very pretty. It was as if a soft Ranunculus was leaning his cheek against my neck, against my chest. My insides were so ticklish that I tried hard not to sneeze.