The First Day of the Academy and the Grimoire Exchange
The entrance ceremony ended earlier than expected in the morning, as it was the first day of school.
On the way back to the dormitory assigned to me as a place to stay for a while.
"......"
I felt the presence of someone following from behind.
I turned around and looked at the person who had been following me.
It was a girl with a doll-like appearance, sky-blue hair, and soft yellow eyes.
"Why have you been following me since earlier?"
The girl who stopped her steps just like me when I asked said.
"What was it? That magic from before."
"What?"
She usually looked quiet but stared at me with curious eyes, mouth closed.
"What kind of magic?"
I asked back.
Then she explained.
"That one. The magic you used on me on the way to school this morning."
"Friction Decline, you mean?"
"Yeah."
She nodded lightly, and I frowned and said.
"You already know what kind of magic it was."
She closed her eyes and shook her head.
Then opened her eyes and said to me.
"Exactly, it's the No-Chant when using that magic. Something, you used a different magic, right?"
"......"
This time I hesitated.
She was hinting that it was another magic I used when casting No-Chant, i.e., Magical Eye, I guessed.
"... Sorry, but I can't tell you why."
"Yeah, because the question you asked just now is taboo among mages."
"If you know, don't sneak up on me."
"......"
She was getting closer to me while talking.
So I finally exhaled.
"Haa, what exactly are you curious about? It's just a magic used by a first-year middle schooler."
Actually, I knew it wasn't that, but I did it on purpose to divert her interest.
But she didn't seem to back down easily.
"My name is Aina."
"What?"
It wasn't a question I couldn't hear.
It was like suddenly introducing herself out of the blue in this situation.
"My name is Aina von Frost."
"......"
Middle name von.
In this Orwen Empire, unlike Arhen Empire, nobles use von in the middle name.
Well, cultural differences between countries, I can understand.
Why suddenly introduce herself with full name?
"...... Free von Betelgeuse."
"Yeah, Free. I remember. I'll remember it."
... Well, since I'm not being polite to nobles, I told my name.
But that's one thing, this is another.
"Stop asking about other people's magic and go quietly to your way. It's annoying."
"......!"
For some reason, she widened her eyes greatly at the last words, looking shocked.
Why?
"I... annoy you?"
Ah, that's why.
"... Hoo, I was a bit harsh with words. But it's really troublesome, so I hope you give up and go. I don't intend to tell my magic to someone I don't know."
"...... Not like we're strangers."
"What kind of talk is that?"
When I looked at her with disbelief, the girl who introduced herself as Aina answered me.
"My name is Aina. Your name is Free."
"......"
When she said her name, she pointed at herself with her finger, and now she pointed at me with the same finger when saying my name.
I could only sigh at this unknown behavior.
Ah, I was wrong.
*
"Stop it... Stop bothering me."
"... I don't want to."
After that, she followed me all the way to the front of the male dormitory.
Aina von Frost.
She was really a troublesome girl.
That day, somehow I managed to shake her off so she couldn't follow anymore. But the next day, and the day after, she always followed me closely.
And it was always on the way back from school.
"...... Hey."
"Yeah."
"If I tell you... will you go?"
"Yeah."
"......"
Yeah.
I lost.
If it's to get rid of this clingy girl, it might be okay to tell her what kind of magic it was.
Well, but I didn't intend to explain the detailed mechanism of the magic, just the representative ability, excluding the fine details of the ability. Like the lamp under the bushel.
"... Hoo. The name of that magic back then was Magical Eye. Literally, it means the eye of magic."
"Yeah yeah."
Finally, when I told her, her eyes sparkled for the first time, and her usually expressionless face changed a little.
"The effect of the magic I have is a magic ability that shortens the No-Chant speed by almost half. Now, is that enough? If you understand, stop bothering me."
"Yeah. So, how do you use it."
"......"
She was adding more to it.
She learned a bit and tried to take the whole thing.
This kind of girl, have I seen all kinds of bandits?
It was unbelievable.
"...... Do it moderately. Even if I tell you this much, I think it's enough to be grateful."
"Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. So, tell me more. In detail."
"......"
No words.
What kind of mage is this shameless?
This much, isn't it coercive? How is this empire law like this, not arresting such a person and leaving her alone.
It didn't make sense.
But what doesn't make sense is this annoying girl who follows me like a leech no matter what I say or ignore.
Then, a good idea came to mind.
"... Good. I'll tell you. Instead."
"Instead?"
"Prepare a magic that matches this magic enough to exchange with it."
"......"
Hoo, this should make her back off. It was the moment I thought it was that simple.
Swoosh.
"?"
For some reason.
Aina started rummaging through something in the bag she was holding. She even put the bookbag on the floor.
Then,
"Ah... Here it is."
What she took out from the bookbag was a mysterious magic book.
A brown-covered book of unknown origin.
Swoosh.
"This, I'll give it to you."
"......"
I looked at the book she handed to me with one hand for a moment.
Then I took it without saying anything.
Flutter.
On the brown cover of the magic book opened with both hands.
It said on the first page.
[Most Efficient Mana Cultivation Method I], it was.
A high-grade magic book that is hard to get on the market.
And it was Volume 1.
"The Magical Eye magic. If I tell you everything, I'll give you Volume 2 and Volume 3 as well."
"... You'll give them?"
"Yeah. Since I've already mastered them and don't need them, and they're copies too."
Not just lending, but giving them to me.
And if I tell you one magic, I'll give you Volume 2 and 3 generously. Not one, but a total of 3 high-grade magic books.
Although they are copies, they are not much different from the original. Rather, if I use the preservation magic well, I can use them as if they were originals. It means it's possible to master and sell magic books.
The one I received from the Phoenix family's duke was also just a copy.
The original is probably in another place or the duke has it.
Unless it's the original, copies can't be duplicated into another copy unless it's a special case.
Because indiscriminate copying has been taboo in the empire for a very long time.
It was a common rule across the continent, not just the empire. The reason is probably that many criminals would appear, or if wrong, they might plot war or rebellion, so to prevent concentration of power in one place.
If you do it, you might have to live in prison for life or immediate execution.
So, you have to report to the country with proper procedures, pay registration fees, and get permission from the country, and then you can duplicate the original up to the number specified by the country according to the grade of the magic book.
Most mages who look at magic books and learn them are mostly copies of the original.
I had also learned magic by looking at copies so far.
The original is probably stored in their grimoire by those who have the original.
Grimoire can also store magic books. Whether original or copy.
Then...
What it means is...
"... You, from the beginning, planned to give this to me? Did you take it out of your grimoire today in advance for the purpose of trading with my magic?"
"Yeah."
What kind of thorough preparation is this.
It was amazing.
I was dumbfounded in front of her for a while.
At that time, Aina said to me again.
"So? What are you going to do?"
"......"
Of course, my answer was set.
OK, ...
If I think about value, it's exchanging a total of 3 volumes of high-grade magic books and a slightly special magic created from low-grade magic books.
It didn't seem like one-sided loss.
Because I didn't only have the Magical Eye as my strength.
Above all, as someone who is accumulating mana only with low-grade mana cultivation books of low rank, it was like a timely only salvation.
I had prepared countermeasures when trading, and after spending a few days with her, I felt that her personality was somewhat understood.
I couldn't be sure yet, but at least subjectively, she didn't seem like someone who would suddenly turn against me or harm me.
"... Good. Include the next volumes of the magic books you have in the transaction. I'll tell you in detail the activation principle of the magic I have."
What I intend to tell is a lower tier version of the Magical Eye that has slightly lower performance than the original magic. But this will be enough. Because it can shorten the No-Chant speed by about 1/3 compared to others.
"Yeah. Okay. But that magic, does it have a separate magic book?"
"Yeah. So, I'll tell you directly. Originally, I didn't write it down separately because I wanted to be careful about the leakage of this magic."
"... No way, that magic. You created it?"
Nod.
When I nodded without saying anything and agreed, her eyes widened a little in surprise.
Her expression seemed a bit clumsy, as if emotions were not well expressed, but if she showed surprise to that extent, it was proof that she was quite surprised inside.
Normally, creating magic from nothing at this age is an unprecedented achievement.
So much so that my original magic, which I developed independently.
The original Magical Eye was a special personal secret magic with high value that others would covet if they knew.
In my previous life, I created magic through wars while learning only low-grade magic books.
Now, I'm in a situation where I'm learning high-grade magic books too. Soon, I'll learn another one from what I receive from her.
It was like when I developed Magical Eye, there was something faintly coming to mind recently.
But I had decided not to expect anything because I couldn't be sure when the idea would become clear in my head.
So, I told the small-mouthed frozen Aina von Frost in front of me.
My personal magic.
I decided to teach the lower tier version of the original Magical Eye, which shows the performance of one grade lower than the original secret magic, verbally on the spot.
Because the high-grade magic book I received from her, and the other magic books I plan to receive from her.
It was something that I had to definitely get, perfectly suited for me who was absorbing mana from the outside with just low-grade cultivation books without any proper mana cultivation method.
So, perhaps the duke provided me with the high-grade magic book series "Must-Read Book on Multi-Casting" easily. Because I couldn't use it freely without mana. All calculated in my head.
It was the moment I obtained the high-grade mana cultivation book that I couldn't even see in my previous life, in my hand.
To the point where I chose to bear the risk of leakage of my secret magic.
But I had one contingency plan for that as well.
Then I said.
"Then, let's make a contract"
"... Contract?"
Aina tilted her head with a puzzled expression at the unfamiliar sound.