“Come down!”
Relin roared. He was making more of a fuss than Deculein himself. His face had turned so red it looked ready to burst.
“Professor Relin. Calm yourself.”
“Yes? Ah… but that…”
Unable to watch any longer, Deculein personally pacified Relin. Then he slowly walked forward and stood facing Epherene.
“…Can I really?”
Though she had shouted in a fit of lost reason, Epherene asked half in doubt.
“I said you could choose anyone present here. I did not limit the target.”
Deculein said so and planted his cane against the ground. Thud—! The grand resonance and ripple scattered Epherene’s hair.
“However, appropriately disadvantageous conditions will be necessary. I will not attack you, and if this cane leaves the ground, it will be your victory.”
“…Yes.”
Epherene nodded and clenched her fists.
Deculein over there, and me standing before him.
Her heart was pounding like mad.
That was how much she had longed for this moment.
It was something she had once dreamed of.
Whoooo… After taking a deep breath, she first infused mana into her bracelet.
“Begin.”
The moment Deculein spoke, currents of wind wrapped around her entire body.
Acceleration. Embodying and accepting the element of wind—this, too, was an application of pure elemental magic.
To add, many people misunderstand this, but Acceleration affects not only bodily movement but also the speed of magic. The intervals between magical shots grow shorter, making rapid fire far more nimble.
“…”
Having finished warming up, Epherene gathered mana into her bracelet.
Usually, battles between mages take on the form of an attribute war. Each leads the battle with the element that suits them best.
However, Epherene had no need for that.
Because Epherene’s attribute was not an element, but an object.
In other words, the “bracelet” itself was her attribute.
Her bracelet became a “catalyst” for casting magic, allowing her to use all four major elemental attributes without any reduction in performance or penalty.
“Hup!”
Epherene released flames. It was a mid-tier pure elemental magic, 「Firewind」. 「Firewind」 spread violently and coiled around Deculein.
Deculein was trapped within the scorching wind and disappeared from sight.
Epherene added the attribute of earth to those flames. More precisely, she dropped in particles such as coal to amplify the fire, then generated highly concentrated oxygen within it.
Fwoooosh──!
Flames filled the arena.
That conflagration came into contact with the magically combustible dust and oxygen, triggering a chain of oxidation and combustion, and as a result—
Dust explosion.
─────!
A fearsome explosion erupted. Once it surged up, the explosion rode the dust in the air and continued dozens of times over.
Thud—! Boom—! Baaaang—!
It was a devastating sight that even Professor Relin was flustered by. The strength and scale of the explosions were immense even at a glance.
Ruuuumble──!
It was a certain-kill secret technique that Epherene had mastered.
A bombardment spell combining three attributes to maximize the power of the most destructive element, “fire.”
“…Haa.”
Having spent her mana, Epherene exhaled sharply and looked toward that place.
Almost the entire arena was blazing. Acrid smoke filled her vision.
She did not let her guard down with thoughts like, Did I get him? Naturally, she did not worry with thoughts like, Is he dead?
Because…
A cold wind blew, clearing the smoke.
Beyond it, there was a sphere of fire.
A solid shell of flame, as though wrapped around an egg.
Crackle, crackle— crackle, crackle—
Through the fissures burning like a haze, Deculein could be seen.
Within the flames, Deculein’s blue eyes were brilliant. He was gazing at her without the slightest agitation.
Deculein was not scorched in the least.
He was exactly as she had expected.
Shhhhk—!
At that moment, the flames that had been scorching every direction died down. In an instant, all the firepower vanished, and Epherene could not even understand why.
“…”
She bit her lip.
Then she began to fire magic one-sidedly. It was 「Grenade Mortar」, pouring mana in the shape of grenades.
Dududududu—!
The simply launched magical bullets, however, stopped the moment they reached Deculein’s range.
Their ownership had been seized.
Deculein did not even use those grenades, but erased them all.
It was his promise that he would not attack.
“Ah…”
Deculein was merely watching.
As if playing with a child. As if teaching a slow-witted student.
In that case…
Epherene condensed her magic.
Crackle—
However, there was an error in the process of manifesting that magic. The spell Epherene had tried to manifest merely scattered sparks and fell apart.
Epherene quickly realized the reason. It was Deculein’s “mana interference.”
Belatedly, Deculein spoke.
“There is a habit in your magic.”
He was capable of seeing magic with 「Vision」.
However, to interpret and dismantle a spell he had seen directly with 「Comprehension」 in a very short time consumed an extreme amount of mana and was nearly impossible.
“The greater the motion of the spell, the more that habit stands out.”
However, if he had already experienced the caster’s magic several times—
And if that caster had a definite “habit”—
The mana consumption decreased exponentially.
In other words— 「Comprehension」 had now learned Epherene’s magic, and because of that, Deculein had instantly identified the “core circuit” of the spell she was trying to use.
“High-ranking mages hide their habits. No, they have no habits to begin with.”
Deculein spoke. His tone was as if admonishing a child who had failed.
Epherene continued trying to form magic. She tried to draw up the spells she had memorized.
However, nothing manifested.
Only crackle— crackle— repeated, like the sound of something burning.
“You will not be able to use magic in front of me.”
“…”
Epherene gritted her teeth. She gave up on manifesting magic, but she did not give up on the battle itself.
There was still one last method.
She simply had to deny him distance—in other words, time.
What if I break through in a single point and close the distance? What if I release mana right in front of Deculein’s nose?
He won’t even have time to dismantle or interfere with my magic.
She had confidence.
Because Epherene was not a mage from the Academy, she had not left her body frail. Stamina training, conditioning, and other barehanded exercises were among Epherene’s hobbies.
“Hraaaap!”
Therefore, Epherene charged. Her body, sped up by Acceleration, reached right in front of Deculein in no time, and just as she was about to fire magic—
Epherene saw a certain finger.
A middle finger curled into a circle.
As if he were about to flick her forehead…
Thwack──!
The pain was immense.
Epherene, who had been charging forward, clutched her forehead and staggered back. Then, stumbling, she collapsed onto the ground.
“…However.”
At that moment, Deculein’s voice was heard.
Deculein was looking at her from over there.
Epherene saw his face.
There was a smile on his lips.
His gaze was clearer than ever before, and it looked more satisfied than at any other time.
It was a kind of smile she had never once seen.
“It was not bad.”
It was the highest praise.
Deculein had liked it that much…
The cane, that was.
Epherene, unaware of that fact, stared blankly at his face before flopping down spread-eagled.
Was I… acknowledged?
Thinking that as she fainted, her friends rushed over and carried her down from the arena.
“Next.”
“Um, Professor. The arena, for a moment—”
Relin tried to speak. Since the arena had been damaged, they should take a short break—
Deculein restored the arena. With 「Telekinesis」 he raised the earth, and with 「Formation」 and 「Transformation」 he manufactured tiles.
The tiles made that way were, rather, much cleaner than before.
It was not difficult magic, but the speed and dignified manifestation were astonishing.
It was, literally, the magic of a noble.
“Next. Lucia.”
Class continued as it was.
However, the duel from moments ago kept replaying in the mages’ minds.
They all came to see Epherene in a new light, and more than that, they came to clearly know the fame and dignity of the Head Professor named Deculein—
the mage said to have stopped a train with Telekinesis.
If Epherene was an earthworm, Deculein was a tiger.
There was that much of a gap between the abilities of the two mages.
* * *
The following Monday.
The first day of midterms.
…Mmm~ Then this becomes like that?
…Yeah. That’s right.
After finishing her first exam, Epherene, who had been napping in the clubroom, opened her eyes at the sound of conversation. Stuck to the sofa like scorched rice, she lifted only her head slightly.
“Ah, I was totally confused about this. Thank you so much.”
“No need to thank me. Ask anytime.”
It was Julia. Julia was with some man. He was an amiable, handsome senior.
Are they dating or something?
Epherene wiped away the drool she had spilled with Cleanse and got up, disheveled.
“Oh, Ephie. You’re awake? Senior, you know Ephie too, right?”
When Julia spoke, the senior turned as well.
“Of course. How could I not? She picked a fight with Professor Deculein.”
It was Drent, a senior of the “Solda” rank who had passed the promotion exam last year. His handsome appearance, ability, and the character he showed as the child of a famous magical family who did not discriminate by status made him quite well known among commoner mages.
“You’re that girl, right?”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Ephie. I was asking Senior to look over Deculein’s assignment for me. There are five days left until the deadline?”
“Huh? Yeah. Exactly five days…?”
Scratching the crown of her head, Epherene suddenly looked at the bundle of her own assignments lying on the desk.
She had fallen asleep while writing that. Could it be?
Did he look?
Noticing her gaze, Drent smiled and said,
“I didn’t read it. That wouldn’t be proper, would it?”
“…Huh? Ah, haha, hahaha… Well, it’s not really like that.”
Epherene put the assignment into her bag.
I shouldn’t be leaving things like this around. For nearly two weeks, she had been sleeping only three or four hours a day, so her mind was a little off.
Drent chuckled and held out his hand.
“Epherene, should I check yours too?”
“Pardon?”
“Give it here. I’ll review it for you.”
She was well aware of Drent’s reputation. A hexagonal mage who had evenly mastered the magic of six disciplines.
However, Epherene shook her head with a wry smile.
“No. I’m fine.”
“Hm? No, it’s fine. I was just checking Julia’s assignment too.”
“No, no. It’s not well written enough to show anyone.”
Julia, who had been watching the two of them with some discomfort, sprang up using the time as an excuse.
“Oh! It’s almost four! Then we have our next exam, so we’ll get going! Thank you, Senior!”
“Hm? Ah… okay. Take care~”
The two of them left the clubroom.
As they walked down the corridor, Julia probed with words like, “Senior Drent is handsome, isn’t he?” but Epherene shook her head.
“Not my type.”
“Why? What about him isn’t?”
“He looks like he’d be kind to any woman.”
“Aha~ That’s true. But Senior Drent is attending the public review this time too.”
“Thesis conference?”
“Yeah. That.”
About a week after midterms ended, the thesis public review would be held. It was a place where seniors who had been promoted from Debutant to Solda would present their magical theses and receive evaluations from the professors of the Magic Tower.
If they wanted to remain mages of the University Magic Tower, Epherene and Julia would also have to go through that process someday.
Epherene muttered.
“I’m jealous. For us, it’ll be a year at the earliest, right?”
“Right. Ah, Sylvia might be able to do it within half a year.”
“…Why?”
“She takes a crazy number of classes. I bet her only day off is Sunday. She’s just totally obsessed with magic.”
As they spoke, the Magic Tower’s elevator arrived.
The two of them pressed the floors where they each had exams. Julia pressed the fourth floor, and Epherene the eleventh.
Ding—
They reached the fourth floor first, and Julia got off while waving.
“I’m going! Good luck on your exam, Ephie!”
“Yeah. You too. Do well.”
Huaaaaaam…
Just as she let out a yawn, ding— the doors opened on the sixth floor.
Epherene flinched in surprise when she saw the blond mage standing before her.
It was Sylvia.
“…”
Sylvia boarded the elevator without showing any particular reaction.
And so the two of them stood side by side.
“…”
After fidgeting for a while, Epherene asked first.
“Your exam, um, did you do well?”
“…”
Silvia nodded.
She had nothing more to say. So what if she had looked closely.
Iprin felt awkward for no reason, so she looked over the names for each floor.
Suddenly, [Floor 77: Chief Professor Dekyulrein’s Office / Dekyulrein Research Lab] caught her eye.
Ding— the doors opened again.
It was the 10th floor.
Iprin tried to wave in greeting, but as Silvia exited the elevator, she distinctly muttered.
“Don’t mess with the Professor next time. You were lucky you didn’t die that day.”
“······?”
That languid yet chilly voice lingered like a reverberation.
Ding—
The elevator closed, and Iprin stared blankly at the doors, speaking to herself.
“······What’s with her?”
* * *
Floor 77, Chief Professor Dekyulrein’s research lab.
I was analyzing a research paper.
I had already submitted the exam questions, so this was all that remained of my work at the Tower.
“At this rate······.”
The outline of the paper, which had been vague and distant, was gradually revealing itself.
The paper’s idea itself was brilliant.
At first, I had been bewildered because it kept bringing up things like trees, fire, charcoal, pencils, and diamonds, but after a long period of 「Understanding」, I realized—
This idea was related to ‘carbon’.
The potential of the element called carbon was enormous, so if one succeeded only in establishing it, one could roughly found a new school such as a ‘carbon class’.
Of course, that did not mean utilizing the element carbon itself.
It merely meant grafting the unique properties and characteristics of carbon—namely, allotropes and near-infinite bonding methods—onto magic, thereby granting magic tremendous flexibility and possibility.
However, it was difficult for me to master it myself.
Because in order to ‘Memorize’ and ‘Manifest’ the magic devised based on this paper, one needed talent in nearly every attribute, and if unable to do so, mana consumption was extreme.
Of course, this distinction between ‘magic development’ and its ‘practical mastery’ was a common tale.
If compared to modern science, it was exactly like how ‘theoretical physicists’ and ‘experimental physicists’ were thoroughly separated.
Even the famed ‘Rinnel’, who occupied a major branch of the magic schools in this world—though of course he possessed some degree of practical ability—could not handle the destruction-type magic he had devised as well as his own disciples.
However, no one could curse at Einstein for ‘not conducting experiments directly’.
“The insight is great, but······.”
In a world lacking in science, Iprin’s father had discovered that charcoal, pencils, and diamonds were in fact the same element, and had conceived the idea of utilizing its properties through magic.
“Did he give up in the early stages of research?”
The actual process had not even been half-finished. There were many wrong and empty parts, and moreover, most of it was intuition.
Of course, a mage’s paper was usually 70–80% intuition and 20–30% theory. That alone was enough to understand the paper and cast the magic without difficulty.
Anyway.
Returning to the main point, exactly one mage came to mind as suiting this magic.
“······Iprin.”
That brazen mage from the previous lesson. The talent who had handled all four great elements using a bracelet as a catalyst.
Iprin.
“······.”
However, the more I thought about it, the more my doubts about Iprin’s father grew little by little.
I took out the pendant I had placed in the corner of my desk drawer.
The pendant containing a childhood image of Iprin.
But why was the father’s face in this photo cut out?
To simply accept that ‘this is just how the photo is’—wasn’t there something subtly strange about that?
“······.”
After staring at the pendant for a long while, I soon left the research lab. And returning to my office, I took out a book.
At that moment.
Some gaze pricked into my consciousness. I hurriedly turned around.
“······?”
It was a hawk.
Some hawk was perched on the Tower’s window frame, looking at me.
I looked back at it. It tilted its head as if to ask what it was looking at. I also tilted my head slightly in puzzlement.
Then the hawk, trembling—flap, flap—as if scolded by someone, hurriedly flew away.
“A hawk with an owner, huh.”
Its feather grooming was one thing, and the fact that it was somehow cute was another.
I drew the window curtains.
* * *
······To the west of the Empire, the coastal city ‘Rukan’ in the Yukrain Territory.
At the port of that place, famous throughout the Empire as a resort for its clear and warm weather all year round, the ‘Crimson Garnet Adventurer Party’ was waiting for a ship.
“Is that the ship?”
Today was the day a child arrived from the Archipelago.
Ganesha pointed at the ship visible in the distance while shielding her eyes with her hand.
“Yes. That is correct.”
For now, there was only one girl. Two of the child’s relatives were still in the Archipelago.
“The ship is quite slow.”
“Isn’t it just that the Captain is impatient?”
“Are you picking fights with me a lot these days?”
“It’s not a fight, it’s the truth.”
While they bickered like that, the ship arrived, and finally the child disembarked.
The moment she saw that cute appearance, Ganesha waved her hand and hair at the same time.
“Here. Over here.”
Flapping like wings, the red hair fluttered, and watching it, the child smiled brightly.
“Ganesha, it’s been a while.”
She had met many children in the Archipelago, and among them, three possessed especially remarkable talents, but among them, the child Ganesha particularly liked.
They were all precious, but especially her soft spot.
Ria was a mature one. A child with black hair and brown eyes.
Precocious beyond her years, but a child bearing great talent. She even knew on her own what she had to do, and how to do it.
However, because of that excessive maturity, she didn’t even act spoiled, which made her all the more pitiful.
“Not particularly— gah!”
Ganesha hugged that Ria tightly.
“Ria, I missed you!”
“Ah, it hurts. It hurts. This is child abuse, I tell you, seriously······.”
The bun-like face poking out from her embrace was so cute it drove her crazy.
“You’ve passed your birthday so legally you’re not a child under Imperial law~”
“No, what does that even matter······ ow, I said it hurts, let go, let go, you idiot······!”
A child so mature, thus so cute.
“Captain. Let her go. She said it hurts.”
“Let go······ let me go······”
“Ah, sorry.”
Ganesha finally let go, and Ria glared at her with a deliberately fierce gaze.
“Really······. Are you a complete idiot?”
“Sorry, sorry. Shall we go? I’ll buy you something tasty.”
“······What are you going to buy.”
Watching just how much and how far this child would grow.
Seemed like it would remain quite a lovely hobby for the foreseeable future.