The Dullard, The Prodigy, The Genius, and the Wallet Warrior (3)

The next day, Professor Neville’s lecture on magic theory continued.

“Over the past several decades, the Empire has taken the secret arts and ancient formulas that had evolved however they pleased among the royal and noble houses of various nations, analyzed them, restructured them, and divided them into two categories: Tiered Magic and Specialized Magic.”

Two diagrams appeared on the massive blackboard. Professor Neville pointed at the one shaped like a ladder.

“The defining trait of tiered magic is its standardization. The mana cost, the required level of mana control, and the resulting effects are all organized in an easy-to-understand format. Because of that, spreading and inheriting the knowledge is relatively simple, and its potential for development is high.”

He gestured toward the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠empty space beside the ladder diagram.

“A tiered spell’s name contains three elements: the spell’s rank, its attribute, and its form. Allow me to demonstrate with a few examples.”

“In contrast, specialized magic refers to spells that cannot be standardized this way. Their various elements are tangled together in complex ways. Many of the secret arts passed down independently for centuries fall into this category. Most of them are defective goods that cannot match the efficiency of tiered magic, yet some among them are genuinely useful. However, they are correspondingly more dangerous, so for now you should build your foundation with tiered magic before—”

After the morning classes ended, I wandered the academy searching for Lyla Everblaze Barhart—the Successor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Red and Blue Blood. At first I had hesitated after hearing Fiore’s words, but since I needed to create some kind of connection with her anyway, this seemed like the perfect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opportunity.

It had already been over a week since the academy gates opened. Students gathered in threes and fives, chatting away. In the center of the noticeably larger groups, children from famous houses of each nation stood out without fail.

Well, that’s only natural.

No matter how much the academy claimed there would be no discrimination based on status, their social influence and power didn’t simply vanish into thin air. On the contrary, the fact that the Emperor and the previous Emperor had enough authority to prevent those nobles from openly complaining or wielding their status-based power revealed just how extraordinary their influence truly was.

Given that, one would expect the area around Lyla—who carried the title of Imperial Princess—to be swarming with people. Yet the space around her, where she sat alone in a corner of the classroom reading a book, was surprisingly quiet.

It wasn’t because Lyla lacked charisma or because the other students avoided her. Even at this very moment, many were sending her gazes full of admiration from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠across the room. The reason they couldn’t approach her was that the web of interests surrounding her was incredibly complicated, and subtle checks and psychological warfare constantly played out between the involved parties.

Of course, that wasn’t any of my business. In fact, I needed to make my move before the people currently watching for an opening started reaching out to her in earnest.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness. If it isn’t too much trouble, may I have a moment of your time?”

Lyla looked slightly surprised for a moment, but she soon closed her book with a gentle smile.

“Chrome Midas, correct? Please call me Lyla, not Her Highness. That is the academy’s guiding principle, after all.”

“Then I shall call you Lady Lyla. My courage isn’t quite bold enough to address you by name alone.”

“Understood, Chrome. I look forward to our future conversations.”

The atmosphere was far friendlier than I had expected. I could feel a few sharp glares from the surrounding students, but I ignored them. Oh, I’m just a vulgar upstart from a nouveau riche family with neither noble blood nor respectable history, so I wouldn’t know anything about complicated politics. If you have a problem, feel free to interrupt right now.

Still… she’s more flexible and reasonable than I thought.

Unlike the other major characters in Planetarium, whose personalities and backgrounds I already knew from my past life, the template characters’ traits and appearances weren’t fixed. While I could make educated guesses, they could easily differ from my expectations. After all, Ligret had turned out completely different from the Nameless War Demon I had played in the game.

At least she doesn’t seem like the type to flaunt her authority on the surface, so this conversation should go smoothly.

Since many ears were listening nearby, I explained Rabaul’s situation while omitting specific names and details. Lyla listened with calm attention. When I finished, I noticed Pino and Rabaul pretending not to listen while sneaking glances and straining their ears in our direction. Lyla finally spoke.

“It is not uncommon for one’s desired path to conflict with their natural talent. Even if one is aware of their own shortcomings, I believe there is value in the effort made to move forward regardless.”

Pino’s expression crumpled. In contrast, Rabaul’s face brightened. But Lyla was not finished.

“However, before walking that path, it is necessary to first clarify one’s position.”

I asked, “What do you mean by clarifying one’s position?”

“Because desiring wisdom and desiring to be praised as wise are two different things.”

Isn’t that so? Lyla added with her eyes.

She already figured out who this is about.

I glanced at the grey-haired young man whose complexion had darkened and opened my mouth.

“Indeed, thank you for the wise words. May I speak with you again in the future?”

“Conversations with good friends enrich one’s life. I look forward to it, Chrome.”

“I shall prepare enjoyable topics that will not disappoint your expectations, Lady Lyla.”

After classes ended, the four of us—me, Loto, Pino, and Rabaul—gathered together. He was the first to speak.

“I will not abandon the study of magic. However, I will cease my obsession with using spells myself.”

Loto asked carefully, “Um… if you don’t use spells in magic, does it still have meaning?”

Pino answered, “It seems he’ll focus on the theoretical side—the fundamental principles and structures of spells. Even if he can’t use them personally, quickly identifying and analyzing what others are using is an important skill. The professor heard this and said he could continue attending classes.”

“After listening to your persuasion and Her Highness’s words, I reflected. I claimed I wanted wisdom, yet at some point I had become intoxicated by the image of myself being revered as wise. I cannot deny it outright. But I also could not easily abandon the path I had decided to walk.”

At Rabaul’s earnest declaration, I shrugged. It was a form of compromise, but at least he had stopped insisting on using spells himself, which was an improvement over before. That kind of knowledge wouldn’t hurt to have. Even if he later switched to the path of martial arts, understanding the spells his opponents used and their underlying principles would allow him to come up with countermeasures faster.

So it’s like a mage meta-build?

If asked whether I’d want to main it, the answer was lukewarm, but it wasn’t a bad sniper pick against certain bosses. Besides, we already had Ligret as an all-purpose physical attacker with excellent versatility.

“I wish to express my gratitude once more, Chrome Midas. I feel as though I keep imposing on you.”

“Don’t worry about it. As long as it’s resolved, that’s what matters.”

The conversation ended amicably. The next morning, after we had parted on good terms, I narrowed my eyes at the message left in front of my private room.

“Ha…”

I let out a dry laugh. I had expected something like this, but it looked like a quiet, peaceful school life had already sailed far beyond the horizon.