The Original Heroines Take Notice 3
A few seconds of heavy silence passed.
"…Pardon?"
Ardelia de Solarrium thought she'd misheard.
3-Circle?
'That off-the-charts destructive power was just a 3-Circle spell?'
She'd vaporized the entire Solarrium Academy's 5-Circle defensive barrier.
Pierced a one-meter-thick special mana-blocking wall like tissue paper.
And that insane power came from a 3-Circle spell? Cast by a scrawny 13-year-old commoner boy, no less?
'Bad jokes have their limits.'
Disbelief clouded Ardelia de Solarrium's crimson eyes.
She was the crown princess. No stranger to magic.
A 4-Circle mage qualified as a full-fledged practitioner.
Breaching a 5-Circle barrier in one blow demanded at least 6-Circle potency.
For this trail of devastation to stem from that twig of a boy's fingertip?
"Dean. If you're feeding me lies to wriggle out of this mess, the consequences won't be light."
"Y-Your Highness! I swear on my life—it's the truth!"
The dean leaped to his feet, face twisted in lingering outrage and shock. His white beard quivered with indignation.
"The entire faculty saw it with our own eyes! That boy—the disciple of Great Mage Iril—flung a white Fireball skyward with a single gesture… and the rest is as Your Highness beholds!"
He jabbed wildly at the shattered ruins, unleashing a torrent of words.
And there was proof of his claims.
The elf great mage Iril, standing nearby, rubbed her throbbing forehead and heaved a deep sigh.
"Haa… The dean's telling the truth, Your Highness. My disciple's handiwork. I had no idea the little lunatic would slam mana like that on day one. No excuses."
"……!"
Ardelia de Solarrium's eyes quaked like the ground in an earthquake.
Confirmation from the 9-Circle great mage herself—no less.
The shock of her taking a commoner disciple was one thing. But this apocalyptic mess really being the boy's doing?
'Impossible…! Every word out of their mouths is pure nonsense!'
As Ardelia de Solarrium scrambled to process it all—
"Wowww…."
Vesperia von Edelgart, standing beside her, let out a gasp of awe and trotted forward.
Her jet-black hair bounced with each light step—utterly at odds with the grim devastation around them.
'Vesperia?'
Ardelia de Solarrium snapped back to reality.
By then, Vesperia von Edelgart was already nose-to-nose with Rian.
The distance had been short to start with; closing it took seconds.
She glanced back and forth between the half-collapsed wall and Rian, her amethyst eyes sparkling.
Pure, unadulterated curiosity shone in them.
"Hi! That massive boom just now—was that really you?"
Vesperia von Edelgart beamed up at him innocently.
"How'd you do it? No magic circle or anything? Fire just whooshed out of your hand? What's your name?"
Questions tumbled out in a relentless stream.
No circle on the ground meant no amplification. That raw power was pure, unassisted might.
Rian eyed the chattering black-haired girl in front of him.
Then flicked his gaze to the golden-haired one boring holes into him from behind.
'Hmm.'
Past-life memories surfaced.
Blonde hair, red eyes.
'Original story's heroine: Princess Ardelia de Solarrium.'
Black hair, purple eyes.
'Sub-heroine: Edelgart Duke's adopted daughter, Vesperia von Edelgart.'
Identities locked in.
'Ah, the regressor princess and her twin sister, adopted into the duke's house.'
Rian muttered indifferently to himself.
He had the romance fantasy novel's key lore memorized cold.
The sister clawing for survival after regressing from decapitation by her tyrant dad.
The pitiful one abandoned at birth over the 'cursed star' prophecy, later marked by malevolent outer gods.
He knew their birth secret, pre-regression tragedies, and what came next.
'So what? Happy ending either way, right?'
Simple verdict.
It wrapped up fine without him. Toss in occasional pointers; they'd sort it.
No point diving into the drama as a lead.
'Full belly and cozy bed—that's plenty for me.'
No grand ambitions anyway.
Calculations done, Rian scratched his chin lazily.
To Vesperia von Edelgart's bright-eyed barrage, he yawned hugely and tossed out a casual reply.
"Yeah. Me. So?"
Casual speech, straight-up.
"……!"
"Gasp!"
Deflated gasps leaked from the dean and professors behind.
This was an empire of ironclad hierarchy.
Great mage's disciple or not—a commoner.
To the duke's daughter, continent-north overlord and top nobility.
That brazen casual talk!
Academy rules preached equality indoors, status be damned.
But noble reality laughed at such flimsy ideals.
Vesperia von Edelgart, though—the target—reacted nothing like expected.
"Pfft."
No offense taken. She blinked her round eyes a couple times, then burst out laughing.
"Ahaha! You're hilarious! Everyone's always tiptoeing around me, but you're zero scared?"
His nonchalance hit her fresh.
Duke's adopted life: endless fake grins, bootlicking.
This boy? Neither.
No hopes pinned on her, no fear. Pebble-on-the-road indifference.
To Vesperia von Edelgart, it felt oddly soothing.
"I'm Vesperia. You? Age? Look my age—friends?"
She stepped closer, all friendly vibes.
Rian scowled, annoyed.
"Rian. Thirteen. No friends. Hassle."
"Aww, c'mon! That spell was awesome. Magic major here—teach me sometime?"
"Nah. Got my own problems. Hungry anyway—no energy to burn."
Firm shutdown.
Vesperia von Edelgart? Grinning ear-to-ear, unscathed, orbiting him like a cheerful satellite.
Ardelia de Solarrium watched the weird scene, her thoughts knotting tighter.
'Who the hell is that boy?'
Sharp eyes dissected Rian mid-chat with Vesperia von Edelgart.
Pre-regression life. Up to her 18th-birthday guillotine.
No 'Rian,' genius commoner mage, ever crossed her path.
No word of Iril taking a disciple.
'Shatter a 5-Circle barrier at 13? Continent-shaking fame. Why zero recall from before?'
Options slim.
One: Died pre-academy last life, some reason.
Two: Some powerhouse hid him, grooming a secret nuke.
Three.
'My regression warped the world—spawned a total unknown that never existed before.'
Didn't matter.
Key: his raw power now.
Power equaled survival for Ardelia de Solarrium.
Against her unraveling father, Emperor Kaiderion de Solarrium.
Needed muscle outgunning the imperial knights.
If this boy truly authored the carnage?
Perfect. Her ideal shield.
'Can't buy it on hearsay, though.'
Cautious verdict needed.
One slip could mean the chop again.
Eyes-on proof: monster worthy of a great mage's disciple?
'Fine. I'll see for myself!'
Ardelia de Solarrium advanced slowly.
Cue-watching professors hushed.
Giggling Vesperia von Edelgart froze.
All eyes locked on the princess.
She tiptoed over debris to Rian.
"Hoo? Princess warming to my disciple?"
Iril observed, intrigued.
Reaching him, Ardelia de Solarrium smiled warmly.
"Rian, right?"
"……."
Rian stared blankly, wordless.
She read tension and awe into the silence, pressed gently.
"Incredible talent. Befitting a great mage's disciple—vaulting past your station's bounds. My deepest admiration. Dean and great mage vouch, so of course I believe…."
Red eyes gleamed keen.
Soft words laced with sovereign poise.
"Frankly, though—a miracle too wild to swallow unseen. If it's no imposition, might you demonstrate that spell once more? Right here?"
Polite ask. Command in truth.
The empire's princess decreed!
All held breath.
Dean, profs: magic incoming.
Vesperia von Edelgart: hands clasped, eyes aglow.
Rian met her gentle smile with bored flatness.
"Why would I?"
Instant freeze.
The princess's elegant curve cracked—crackle—like fracturing porcelain.