Magic and the Professor's Secret Calculator
I stayed behind as Godin instructed, cleaning up. The cleanup mostly involved drying the soaked floor. Normally, I'd mop it up with a mop, but Grace lent a hand—with magic, of course.
"You can dry the moisture like this using a drying spell. It's not as effective as doing it manually, but it's great in a pinch."
"Oh."
"Try it yourself, Sivar. With your natural power, you might dry it all at once."
This is why brains make life easier for the body.
I cast the drying spell just as Grace had shown me. The sopping wet mop dried in an instant, becoming fluffy.
Crunch—
"...Huh?"
"It... turned into sand?"
It went beyond fluffy and scattered like sand. All the moisture had vanished, desertifying it.
Grace looked genuinely flustered, clearly not expecting this. No wonder—she probably never imagined a drying spell could evaporate everything.
I could control it more precisely next time, so no big deal.
"Ahem. Ahem. As the professor said, your power is strong—too strong. Which might actually be a good thing..."
"?"
"Nothing. Shall we keep cleaning? I'll cast the drying spell right beside you."
After that, I mopped while Grace dried things with magic, finishing the cleanup.
Someone might wonder why not just dry the floor directly, but even Grace said that was tough. The drying spell worked great on soaked objects, but the floor was waterproof. So we had to wipe and dry repeatedly.
"If it's hard, I can help mop too."
"Fine."
"No, I insist. We'll be together a lot from now on, so I should at least do this."
When were we together a lot, again? I thought as I mopped. Aside from meeting Godin or lunchtime, not really. We all hung out as a group anyway.
I blocked her attempts to mop and scrubbed the floor vigorously. The waterproof surface made it easy.
"Grace."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Weekend plans?"
Cleaning in silence was boring, so I asked. Asking a noble—especially a duke's daughter—about her private life was rude. But I was her guard knight. I needed to know her weekend schedule to stick by her side or not.
Above all, I had no idea what she did on weekends. She didn't buzz around like Ellie.
"Oh! Is that a date invite?"
"?"
"Kidding. Don't make that face."
I stared blankly, and she scratched her cheek, looking awkward. It was so natural it threw me off.
"On weekends... nothing much. I want to call Yeonju, but she's always busy. So I just stay in the dorm."
"Not bored?"
"Bored is better than scared."
Bored over scared. Worth pondering.
Grace lived boldly despite that incident. At a glance, she'd overcome her trauma. But trauma doesn't vanish in a day or two. It needs a trigger or motive.
Me?
As I wondered, Grace stared at me, then said shyly, "Well, if you came, I could go out. You'd make me feel safe."
She muttered it, but I heard every word. And I realized her situation.
She hadn't fully overcome it—halfway, maybe. She needed a source of psychological comfort nearby to function normally. That source was Yeonju or me. Without it, she couldn't go out alone.
That's normal.
In an academy full of the world's top talents, she'd faced that. Even "good security" would ring hollow to her.
"I'll take you. Weekends."
"P-Pardon?"
"I'll take you. But I have stuff too. Bear with it."
I wanted to say I'd escort her but had my own errands, so please understand. My language skills couldn't quite manage it. Still, short and choppy should convey it.
"O-Of course! I'm the one who should apologize—taking your personal time."
"Fine."
"Thank you. Really."
Grace thanked me sincerely. Her sharp cat-like eyes softened noticeably—she meant it.
"Great! We'll take it slow like this. Let's go!"
"..."
No. What scheme was this? She clenched her fist the moment I agreed. Too obvious. I couldn't call her out, so I let it slide.
Whatever scheme, it wouldn't harm me much.
"Don't rush. Infiltrate slowly."
Faith has increased!
******
After finishing cleanup, Grace and I headed to Godin's lab. She was his assistant originally, and I was there to probe the nature of my red mana.
As mentioned before, Godin had incredible theoretical knowledge—a vast breadth from books. Unlike Lord and Lize's experience-based wisdom.
Knock knock—
[Come in.]
After knocking and getting permission, we entered. The musty book smell hit immediately. The scent and scenery hadn't changed since my first visit.
"Ah, you're here. Perfect timing. Grace?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Could you help find some books? All the ones on mana, please."
No book solely on red mana, so he was searching manually. Godin's memory was sharp, but red mana knowledge would be scarce—maybe just passing mentions, which was impressive.
He probably hadn't cared much before.
"While you search, Sivar, pick any book and read."
Fair enough. I nodded and grabbed one. Professor-level stuff—dense and tough. But no issue. Improve my language, done.
What's that proverb for times like this?
Black is ink, white is paper. Exactly my mood.
Godin read this and understood it all? Countless such books too.
I quietly closed mine and eyed Godin. He pored over books for red mana intel.
Over an hour, easy.
Nothing more interesting? I stood, peeking at his desk. He was too focused to notice, Grace too.
Soon, I spotted a paper on his desk, covered in symbols.
Language and math are linked, right?
Math infiltrates nearly everything. Essential for most fields, especially logic. No math, most sciences stall.
Magic and math were inseparable—magic is math, some said.
But I've seen this somewhere...
Couldn't touch it, so I just watched. Complex symbols and formulas—magic-related, surely. Staring didn't help.
I looked around. Godin flipped pages diligently.
Ask him, probably.
"Godin."
"Yes?"
"What's this?"
I pointed; his gaze followed. He saw the paper, went "Ah," and gave a wry smile.
"A personal magic research. Theory's incomplete—embarrassing to show."
"The research you mentioned before?"
Grace asked. Godin nodded instead of answering. As his assistant, she knew roughly.
"Grace. Know it?"
"Yes. But too hard, gave up. Sounds like implementing human intelligence... doesn't make sense."
"Hahaha. So just theory-building. Nothing urgent lately."
Godin scratched his head sheepishly at her bluntness. He seemed embarrassed; I wasn't.
I instantly grasped what he was researching.
"What kind?"
"Simple explanation or detailed?"
"Simple."
Too complex, I'd lose it. Soul World knowledge aside, this world's was heavy.
Godin cleared his throat, a small smile forming, and began.
"Think of it as a calculator. Handles human computation, outputs results. Roughly."
"With magic?"
"Yes."
What Godin invented was simple. In modern terms: artificial intelligence.
Magic is language; language casts spells. Reverse-engineer it.
"Possible?"
If asked if viable, easy analogy.
"Just a pastime. Not serious."
Like game mods or custom maps pushing limits. Easy to grasp.