—The World Mage Academy Babel.
A gigantic tower located within the neutral territories, it was a premier academic city of sorcery where the sons and daughters of every nation and race across the world converged.
In a room on its highest floor, four men and women were gathered together.
"So, is the boy's strength genuine?"
Leaning back in an ornate wooden chair, a woman with golden hair as radiant as a goddess questioned the other three, a look of skepticism on her face. Her ears tapered into long points, and the back of her pristine white robe was embroidered with a golden, immortal divine bird.
"Without question. He possesses martial prowess that surpasses even Master's."
A swordsman-like man sporting a crimson bandana—Bly—clenched his right fist tightly as he stressed the point.
"Having fought him myself, I can vouch for that as well."
The narrow-eyed man in black robes, Sigma, chimed in with immediate agreement.
"I have already received a report from Ralph regarding his combat capability. That is not what I am asking. I speak of something far more fundamental. Mille-Feuille, tell me what you sensed regarding his power."
Turning her gaze toward the silver-haired girl, the golden-haired woman questioned her in a quiet tone.
"He is undeniably the most powerful Transcender in history that our nation—no, that this world—has ever encountered."
Her proclamation rang out clear and unwavering.
"A Transcender? Our investigation suggested Kai Heinemann is human, though. What's more, as absurd as it sounds, he holds that ridiculous joke of a Gift—The Most Incompetent in the World."
Bly knitted his brows, throwing the question back at Mille-Feuille.
"Yes. Just as you say, Mr. Bly, I also believe he is human."
She gave her affirmation with utter conviction.
"Hmm, I'm not sure I follow what you're trying to say, Miffy. What do you mean by that?"
At Sigma's straightforward question, the corners of Miffy's lips curled upward.
"Where do you teachers believe a person's true essence lies? In the body, or in the heart?"
She posed the baffling question.
"An interesting thing to ask. To us mages, the physical body is ultimately nothing more than a vessel. The soul is a person's true essence, and the heart—as the manifestation of that soul—is what defines a person."
"...I'd like to say the body, but if a goblin's soul ended up in a human vessel, you wouldn't call it human. I'd say the heart, too."
Bly replied while stroking his chin.
"I also believe it lies in the heart. And? What does that have to do with this?"
The long-eared, golden-haired woman leaned forward. Her golden eyes sent a fierce, unspoken demand to stop evading the question. Glancing aside at Bly and Sigma, who both swallowed hard at the Tower Master's chilling intensity—a sight entirely new to them—Mille-Feuille continued.
"His heart is human, yet his vessel is that of a Transcender. Therefore, by definition, he is human."
She declared the conclusion almost melodiously.
"In short, you mean that he, at the very least, perceives himself to be human?"
"Yes."
The golden-haired woman rose from her seat and looked out the tower window, gazing down at the distant landscape below.
"He might prove useful."
Muttering to herself, she cast her eyes across the three of them and quietly began to speak.
Born from the conversation woven in that very room, the peaceful life that Kai Heinemann so desperately yearned for was about to be derailed entirely.