A night when the full moon scattered a clear mist.
Sylvia was quietly lost in thought in the mansion’s backyard.
“······.”
Today, she had come to understand. The reason he, despite being the senior professor, had been so well-versed in theory and so adept at teaching others.
─What if a child praised as a prodigy in youth were to grow up and eventually feel himself becoming ordinary?
Lacking in talent, he had worked harder than anyone else and walked the royal road known as theory. Because his intuition had wavered, he had immersed himself in logic as precise as interlocking gears.
─What if he saw children once inferior to him suddenly running far ahead?
All at once, Sylvia recalled it.
The sorrow of coming to doubt one’s own talent. The terror of being blocked by some wall. The fear that someone lesser than oneself would overtake them.
Could I overcome all of that?
─What if he imagined those he had belittled as trash someday laughing at him?
Imagine it. If Epherene were to become a better mage than me······.
Sylvia clenched her lips shut and puffed out her cheeks.
“······Impudent Epherene.”
There was not the slightest possibility of it happening, but even the thought made her dizzy.
That was why it was all the more astonishing. Deculein had overcome this feeling through effort.
“······.”
Having finished her contemplation, Sylvia immersed herself in meditation once more.
Breathing quietly, she drew up the mana in her dantian. Then, a variety of hues colored the light in her eyes.
Before long, the Origin manifested.
The darkness of night was disgorged, and brightness took its place. Flowers bloomed upon the earth, and butterflies fluttered about. A warm wind blew, and the grass rippled softly.
It was a landscape constructed by her “Three Primary Colors.” The image she held within had dyed the garden.
Within this domain, her colors themselves were the laws of nature.
“······.”
In that magical field, Sylvia quietly closed her eyes.
Once, she had heard of something called a “mage’s fortune.”
The first was innate talent.
The second was fitting effort.
The third was one’s muse.
She had already known of talent, and she had not been lazy either, but she had thought the third unnecessary.
Muse.
For a mage in particular, it was the third existence called “inspiration” or “stimulation.”
Now, Sylvia understood.
That her third fortune had come to her, just a little late······.
* * *
A dark dawn. I sat at the entrance of the Dark Mountain and opened the item catalog.
──[ Beginner Item Catalog ]──
１. Record Notepad.
２. Character Magnifying Lens.
３. Incubator······
──────────────
A catalog, true to the meaning of the word, was a “list of goods.” By consuming the catalog, I could obtain one of these items.
However, there was nothing that would have a dramatic effect on gameplay. They were merely a little convenient or unusual.
▶２. Character Magnifying Lens.
I chose the 「Character Magnifying Lens」. The A4-sized catalog went poof—and turned into a lens.
“······.”
No frame, no anything. Just a single lens.
It was bewildering, but when I roughly set it over my eye with telekinesis, it became like a monocle.
Rustle— rustle─
Just then, there came the sound of someone stepping through the grass. I looked in that direction.
“Ah?”
A startled voice as our eyes met, and the distinctive white armor and cloak were familiar to me.
The magnifying lens identified one of her most important traits.
──「Eternal Winter」──
◆ Rank
：Unique
◆ Description
：A season frozen forever.
：A flower that blooms more brilliantly the harsher it becomes.
───────
A Unique-rank trait, 「Eternal Winter」.
Yuli said,
“You were here as well, Professor.”
“Why. Am I not allowed to be?”
I deliberately asked coldly. Yuli awkwardly scratched the back of her neck.
“No. I merely heard the rumor. That you fought a magic battle with Rohakan······ I thought you would rest today.”
The chairwoman herself had asked me to keep watch over the Dark Mountain.
She said it was an order from the imperial family, and that perhaps Rohakan might return or whatnot.
“······Yuli, you. Does a knight captain take on even such trivial duties?”
“It is because I am the captain that I must lead by example.”
“By that logic, if war breaks out, the commanders ought to die first.”
“Ah! An excellent question. The answer to that is described in Volume 3 of the Knight’s Manual. I shall gift it to you later.”
“······.”
I made a chair with 「Beginner Synthesis」. Yuli hesitantly gauged my mood and sat down. Then she silently glanced at me.
“Do you have something to say?”
“No.”
I nodded.
Wind pressed in from the darkness beyond. The dense scent of mana and grass hovered at the tip of my nose.
Then Yuli asked,
“Are the imperial lessons now next week?”
Usually, the lesson date was up to the emperor, but once or twice a month was tradition.
Thus, the next lesson was next Monday.
“You said you had nothing to say.”
“······.”
Yuli shut her mouth. Blinking, she stared into the forest. Each time some sound reached us, her ears perked up.
She seemed devoted to keeping watch on all sides.
“······Hm.”
I looked at my pocket watch.
One in the morning.
There were still three hours until the shift change.
“Yuli.”
“Yes.”
“I am bored. Shall we play chess?”
“······We are currently on duty.”
Yuli firmly shook her head.
I grew irritated for no reason.
“On duty, you say. I wonder which fool suggested that Rohakan would return here again.”
“······.”
At that, Yuli’s expression became somehow guilty. Huuup─ she inhaled, then kept holding her breath.
I let out a hollow laugh.
“······It was you.”
“Ah, that is······.”
“You really are foolish.”
“It is, well, basic. The criminal returns to the scene of the crime······.”
“Rohakan is the culprit, but not a culprit. If it were me, I would not guard the entrance, but comb through the entire mountain. Finding out his purpose for entering the Dark Mountain should be the top priority.”
“······.”
Yuli’s face turned red. Smiling faintly, I spent the time reading a book.
And so, when it became four in the morning.
─Frenheim Knight Captain Yuli. Withdraw now.
A voice came from Yuli’s crystal orb. It was Isaac’s voice.
“Yes. Understood.”
Yuli answered politely, then soon looked back at me.
“······.”
A chessboard emerged from Yuli’s backpack, but I did not even pretend to see it.
“Uh······ mm······.”
Yuli glanced at my expression.
Even so, when there was no response, she began to play alone.
Tak─ tak─ tak─
The forlorn sound of the pieces moving was amusing.
Left with no choice, I looked at the chessboard. It was the one I had gifted her before.
“If you play like that, you will lose.”
“······Is that so~?”
Yuli answered shamelessly. I closed my book and turned my chair around.
With the chessboard between us, I faced Yuli and continued speaking.
“Listen carefully. I shall teach you from the beginning······.”
Yuli clasped both hands and nodded.
“Yes!”
On the face that answered vigorously, there was a serious enthusiasm.
It seemed she sincerely wished to become a chess master.
* * *
The next day.
From the morning, I was summoned by the chairwoman. It was an order to come up to the private office on the 99th floor.
“Professor! Here is your mailbox!”
Before that, however, Allen delivered the mailbox for sponsorship number 39953.
Literally, a “mailbox.” It contained letters sent by the mages I had sponsored.
“Yes. Good work.”
“Yes!”
I took the mailbox and went up to the 100th floor. The entire 100th floor was the [ Chairwoman’s Office ], and as soon as the elevator doors opened, an enormous work desk stood imposingly before me.
“······.”
The chairwoman was lying on top of it, asleep.
To describe it in a little more detail, it was not just her face resting there. Her entire body was laid out on the desk, curled up like a shrimp, using her large conical hat as a blanket.
“Krrrrrrrr······.”
As I watched that scene, I suddenly recalled the chairwoman’s lineage.
“Mmmmmmmm······.”
At present, it was probably a fact only I knew, but the chairwoman was of mixed fairy and human blood. A lineage as rare as the giant race, and perhaps the chairwoman was the only one in the entire world.
“Krrrrrrrr······.”
The reason she deliberately slept atop the desk was because fairies liked high places.
“Mmmmmmmm······.”
“Good grief.”
Her sleep-talking was noisy. I suspected a breathing disorder, but I silently sat in a nearby chair and waited. I happened to have something to do as well.
I opened the mailbox. Then, in anticipation of its contents, I put my hand inside.
“······?”
There was only one letter.
Why?
Just in case, I shook the mailbox up and down.
Rattle─ rattle─
It was full of nothing but dust.
I was certain I had sponsored thirty people. Even if it was anonymous support, would it not be proper to at least send a letter of thanks?
······Then again.
That was simply what mages were like. From the start, sponsorship itself was premised on being repaid later.
I opened even the single letter.
[ To my anonymous sponsor.
Hello. I am Epherene of House Luna. I am also an insignificant Debutante mage whose talent you recognized······. ]
The name was familiar, so a hollow laugh escaped me.
[ ······Our family’s dwelling is a small hut with not a single support to lean on. Though we live in a hut, our debts are far beyond our station. Debt collectors come and go frequently.
I am the daughter of a noble in name only, so I grew up in nature and became accustomed to a life of obtaining many things for myself. I ate frogs and rabbits, and fishing and hunting were among my specialties······ ]
However, the contents were serious, and the writing style was neat.
The corners of my mouth also settled calmly.
[ ······There was a time when I thought everything would work out if I tried hard.
But this world was not the calm sea I imagined it to be. Rather, in a single instant, it transformed into a wave that shoved me away and shattered me. My father took his own life, and my grandmother and grandfather wailed as though their hearts would break······. ]
It felt as though Epherene’s voice were playing from the letter.
[ ······To fulfill my father’s dream in his stead, and to meet my grandparents’ expectations, I set out for the Magic Tower, but every day was like walking on thin ice.
What arrived amid that despair was your sponsorship.
Your sponsorship gave warm heat to me, who had been living utterly alone beneath a cold sky.
Sponsor.
On the southern plains, there is a wild boar called the Roahawk. They run freely through the fields, and are raised eating only Yupran perilla leaves as feed······. ]
“Roahawk?”
It was the moment I muttered without thinking.
“Mmmmm······.”
The chairwoman half-opened her eyes. With a face full of sleep, she looked at me.
“You’re here······ When did you get here······ Why did you come while I was sleeping······.”
Her drawn-out tone was clearly different from the usual chairwoman. I put the letter into my inner pocket and said,
“You summoned me, so I have just arrived.”
“······Ah, right······ Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam······.”
Her yawn continued for nearly a full minute. Afterward, she slowly wiped away her tears.
“Please speak.”
“Hwaaaam······. I wanted to ask about the progress on the symposium problem······.”
“It is almost complete. I intend to finish it today.”
“Mm······ good······.”
The chairwoman continued speaking with a face that looked as if she would fall asleep again at any moment.
“Ah, right······. You know that the external visiting professor has been decided as Ruina this time, yes······ The professor welcome ceremony today······.”
“Yes. I know. It does not matter.”
“!”
The chairwoman’s eyes popped open. Her pupils stood out like a cat’s.
“It doesn’t matter! What does that mean! You two were sworn enemies!”
“······.”
As such, the chairwoman liked rumors, especially stimulating gossip.
That was her personality itself. The so-called 「Lover of Gossip」.
“At the time, there was merely a misunderstanding. It is fine now.”
“No way! You’re lying!”
“Was that why you summoned me?”
“No! That’s not it!”
The chairwoman climbed down from the desk and plopped into her chair. Then she took a scroll from the drawer.
“Here you go!”
[ Voice of the Floating Island: Promotion Exam Proctor Deculein ]
It was a letter sent down from the Floating Island.
Its contents stated that, for the supervision and design of the promotion exam, they would be mobilizing the Monarch-rank personnel “Deculein.”
“Proctor.”
“Yes! You know the Solda Exam takes a week at the shortest and a month at the longest, right?! Monarch ranks are required to attend if the Floating Island makes a request!”
“Yes. I know.”
“You’ve really made it! Even overseeing a promotion exam! Anyway, good! Then let’s go! To the professors’ welcome party!”
The Chairwoman sprang to her feet and pressed the elevator button.
Ding—!
As soon as we stepped into the elevator that had arrived, the Chairwoman said,
“I feel this every time I see you, but Professor Deculein, you’re pointlessly tall!”
I looked down at the Chairwoman. She was looking up at me almost as if she had to break her neck to do so.
“You are the one who is short, Chairwoman.”
By the setting, the Chairwoman was probably in the low 150-centimeter range.
Since she was of mixed fairy and human blood, she was not as small as a true fairy.
“What did you say?! You, seriously! I’m exactly average!”
“If you met Count Freyden, you would faint.”
“That bear isn’t a human, he’s a beast!”
“Shh. Quiet.”
I placed a finger to my lips, pretending I was about to say something important.
At that, the Chairwoman also held her breath.
“......Why? Did something happen to that bear?”
“No. Sir Zeit is as he always was.”
“Then what is it? Tell me! I can keep a secret......”
“......If you insist.”
“Hurry......”
I nodded. The Chairwoman swallowed nervously as well.
“Your voice is too loud, Chairwoman. It is noisy. That is why I told you to be quiet.”
“......What did you say?! Ah, are you messing with me right now?!”
* * *
The Imperial University Magic Tower invited external professors two to three times a year. The selection might be someone from a kingdom’s Magic Tower, someone from the Floating Island, or, out of nowhere, someone with a background as an adventurer.
“Everyone! The invited external professors are here! Clap clap clap clap!”
The Chairwoman introduced them in the party hall on the 40th floor. The woman adorned with graceful elegance was Ruina, and the handsome man with long hair standing beside her was Vargan. His long hair was in the style people in the modern era would typically call goddess hair.
“I am Ruina. For the sake of research, and also to gain experience, I will be staying at this Magic Tower for a while. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“I am Vargan. I look forward to working with you.”
Among them, I fixed my gaze intently on Vargan.
The mid-boss who would soon appear, the “Baron of Ashes”......
Ah, that did not mean Vargan was “definitely” the mid-boss.
He could simply be an ordinary named professor, or he could truly be the Baron of Ashes.
“These two are imperial citizens who have returned after accomplishing tremendous achievements in foreign lands, so please welcome them, everyone!”
In this game, each mid-boss had its own particular characteristic, and among them, the trait of the Baron of Ashes was [ Random Difficulty ].
The Baron of Ashes was, quite literally, an “ash heap” without a form. It was a special mid-boss that parasitized named characters of Magic Power Grade 5 or below.
Most likely, it had either already parasitized one of the professors gathered here, or was preparing to do so.
“Good! Now, everyone, enjoy the banquet~! Professor Ruina, your seat is over there!”
In the meantime, the professors’ introductions ended, and Ruina’s seat was beside mine.
“Don’t worry too much! Professor Deculein and Professor Ruina! I hear the two of them have reconciled!”
The Chairwoman shouted as much. Perhaps she was still holding a grudge over the joke in the elevator.
Because of that, the professors’ attention gathered on us, but Ruina herself remained calm.
“I heard. That this time, you’re attempting the symposium problem.”
“That is correct.”
“Will you be all right? The judges will be very strict in their evaluation. If it isn’t truly your own thinking, you’ll be eliminated at the stage where you have to prove the answer.”
I turned to look at Ruina. Ruina could not even meet my eyes properly.
“Ruina.”
“......What is it? I’m saying this because I’m sincerely worried about you, Boss.”
“I know. What you think of me.”
Ruina’s expression was subtle. Whether it was contempt, ridicule, or reproach.
In any case, she looked at my chest with eyes in which many things were mingled.
“I am no longer the Deculein you knew.”
“......So, you mean you can do it?”
“Today. Tomorrow at the latest, it will all be finished.”
“Today?”
“Yes. Only the final verification remains.”
Since I did not know when the mid-boss might appear, I intended to handle the remaining miscellaneous tasks as quickly as possible. There was not much left anyway.
“Hm...... verification.”
Ruina seemed to think about something, then nodded.
“All right. Work hard, Boss.”
* * *
As soon as the welcome party ended, I went up to Deculein’s laboratory on the 77th floor. On the wide table, I laid out the translated runic text, the nearly completed formula, and a highest-grade mana stone worth 100,000 elne.
[ 6. On a certain ancient inscription, the following formula is engraved along with runes. It is said that in the past, runes also served as circuits; infer this ancient formula. ]
The core of problem 6 was the use of the runic language. However, runes were not such remarkable characters that each and every one of them could be used as a circuit.
The issue was the “combination” of runes.
As I said, the runes used in symposium problem 6 numbered fourteen in total.
Among them, only three could be utilized as circuits.
If those three runes were combined with the other runes,
the insufficient mana was supplied with a mana stone,
and the formula was formed while mobilizing 「Comprehension」 to a high degree......
────!
Resonance. Vibration. Trembling.
The cry of the runes, announcing that this was the answer.
“......I dragged this out for too long.”
The problem I had put effort into for quite a long time had been solved. No, the verification had been completed.
I transplanted that answer as it was onto a magic scroll, stowed it in my briefcase, and went down to the Magic Tower’s parking lot.
Ren and Enen were waiting in front of the car.
For reference, Jeff, my previous driver, had been promoted to general administrative staff.
“You have arrived, sir.”
“To the Floating Island.”
“Yes, sir.”
The headquarters of “Wizard Academic” was on the Floating Island.
I intended to submit this answer sheet there in person.
......When I arrived at the Floating Island and saw the list of judges for the symposium problem,
I came to understand Ruina’s ambiguous reaction.
[ Symposium Judges: Monarch-rank Ruina, the Addict Astal, Etinel-rank Roserio, and 4 others ]