Lecture (5)

After finishing the Mana Interference lecture, I strolled leisurely around the academy, sipping coffee.

Initially, my aim was simply to kill some time.

But it didn't last long before I headed to the bench under the academy's Clock Tower.

"Their welfare is top-notch."

It was the same coffee I always drank, but today it tasted particularly good.

I let myself zone out for a moment, caught up in the mood, and all sorts of thoughts drifted through my mind.

Professor Prokel especially lingered in my thoughts.

From the end of the lecture, I had seen him from a distance, remaining alone in the empty lecture hall, deep in contemplation about something.

I hadn't asked him what was going on back then.

There was a high probability it was related to the lecture.

To anyone, it was obvious.

What I wanted in this situation wasn't anything special.

I'd ended things as nicely as possible, so I hoped he wouldn't harbor any ill intentions.

If he crossed the line, a peaceful resolution would be impossible.

I wanted to just catch Demons as much as possible while enjoying a peaceful daily life.

I didn't want to get entangled more than necessary and end up taking responsibility for the cleanup.

Hoping such a situation wouldn't arise, I took a large gulp of the coffee I had been sipping slowly.

"…What is this?"

An unexpected bitterness filled my mouth.

I felt something gritty and unpleasant on my tongue.

When I shook the coffee and examined its contents, impurities were floating around.

I stared silently at the grounds before clicking my tongue.

"Well, I suppose there are days like this."

Come to think of it, it hadn't been the usual employee today.

I considered it an investment toward getting a cleaner cup of coffee next time.

If someone made good-tasting coffee at their current skill level, they were an employee worth looking forward to.

In the middle of continuing a string of similarly worthless evaluations.

"Instructor Karon~!"

Ayla popped up out of nowhere, seemingly from thin air.

Without leaving me a chance to speak, she plopped right down into the empty spot beside me.

"What were you doing?"

"I was savoring spring. And you, Miss Ayla?"

Ayla shrugged her shoulders.

"I was looking for you, of course. I was worried about how to find you on these vast grounds, but Flora told me where you were."

She was looking for me?

This was Ayla's first time seeking me out on her own.

Normally, she would appear with Flora, but today Flora was away inspecting a Magic Device Shop.

I knew this because she had reported it to me beforehand.

Thanks to that, I was spending time alone with Ayla.

Before asking why she came, I glanced at her sideways.

She was sitting demurely, lightly biting her lip, the signs of hesitation clearly evident.

Yet at the same time, she seemed somewhat brimming with expectation.

What on earth was she about to bring up?

Did the Magic Tower Master sing my praises to the heavens or something?

Barely suppressing my growing curiosity, I carefully spoke up.

"What made you come looking for me?"

"…I was curious about how Mana Interference is utilized in actual combat."

"Pardon? Combat?"

Ayla nodded slowly.

"There was the Crash Course last time, and I really wanted to know because I want to get one over on you someday, Instructor… but I was worried I'd be taking up your time."

Her determination to get one over on me hadn't changed at all.

I quite liked that about her—how she endlessly pursued the path of magic.

I stretched my arms wide to loosen up my stiff body.

"Not at all. I'll explain it to you right now."

"Thank you!"

Since this was a supplementary lesson just for Ayla, I couldn't show her written notes or demonstrations, so it proceeded orally.

"The essence of Mana Interference doesn't change significantly in combat, either. It's used as a way to check the opponent's attacks."

This was an explanation born from experience.

Unless you could overwhelm them with superior force, opponents tended to cause annoying problems, so I often used Mana Interference to introduce variables.

Talking like this might have made it seem like a field anyone could try.

But great rewards usually required taking high risks.

"However, since it's an advanced field requiring extensive knowledge of Magic Circles, only a skilled mage can do it."

"Hmm, that's quite difficult."

I nodded.

"Furthermore, the Level difference becomes starkly apparent. The larger the gap, the easier or harder it is; if it's equal, it becomes a match of equals."

After hearing my explanation up to this point, Ayla tilted her head, then added.

"Then, the reason my attacks occasionally failed during sparring with Master is…"

"Your guess is most likely correct, wouldn't you say?"

"…I've come to dislike my master just a little."

Ayla had just faced the cruel truth that had been veiled until now.

Every time she tried to cast a spell, the Magic Tower Master had unhesitatingly erased it with Mana Interference.

She must have firmly believed it was because she lacked the skill.

Perhaps that was the trigger that motivated her to train so fervently.

That chain of decisions ultimately led her to meet me.

I only spoke from an outsider's perspective, but for Ayla, who was directly involved, it was a little different.

For a while now, she'd been wearing a sullen expression, seeming to feel a peculiar sense of betrayal toward her master.

Still, who would have guessed that he sparred with his young disciple so seriously?

If this were Flora, I'd probably poke her cheek to lighten the mood, but…

Ayla and I weren't at that stage of our relationship yet.

If I did that recklessly and it reached the Magic Tower Master's ears, it wouldn't end with just a conversation.

Taking this chance to get to know each other better, I decided to do a bit of a personal background check.

"Now that I think of it, Miss Ayla, who would your master be?"

"My master? Ah, um…"

I already knew Ayla's master was the Magic Tower Master, but I pretended not to know.

It was because I saw this as the only way to break her sullen mood.

"You really don't know?"

"No. I don't."

I expertly used my expression and tone to confidently press forward.

Thanks to this, Ayla wore a pondering expression for a moment, then looked around here and there.

Even though there were a fair number of people around, no one passed close to us.

"Everyone already knows, so I didn't bother mentioning it…"

Ayla slowly stood up and moved closer.

The slight distance between us shrank rapidly.

Soon, she twisted her body to lean towards me and said.

"I'll tell you especially, Instructor. Rodein Adrian, he's the Magic Tower Master."

She whispered it into my ear, so softly that only I could hear.

"So that's who he was."

I ended it with a lukewarm reaction even at the words 'Magic Tower Master'.

I didn't add any other particular response.

This seemed to strike Ayla as something novel.

"You're not surprised?"

"I'm not so sure."

Anyone else would have probably been shocked.

But honestly, wasn't the fact that I was the boss leading a mastermind organization more shocking?

Aside from that, there was just one thing I found most surprising during my time at the academy.

"To me, Miss Ayla, the way you always follow my lessons so well every time I teach you is much more surprising."

"Wha, what??"

Ayla suddenly started fidgeting with her fingers and actively avoided my gaze.

"…Thank you."

Her sullen look disappeared along with her words of thanks.

A faint smile spread across her lips.

As expected, there was no weapon as surefire as a compliment.

Not much conversation passed between us after that, but there was no doubt Ayla's mood had improved.

* * *

My luck truly was rotten.

On my way back to my quarters after parting with Ayla, I ran into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Chancellor.

I was promptly dragged to the Chancellor's office and forcibly seated on the sofa.

I had no idea where he'd heard the rumor, but the Chancellor demanded a full account of the circumstances that led to me taking over Professor Prokel's lecture.

At first, I unfolded the story without much fuss.

The Chancellor's level of absorption was considerable.

Even as a barrage of questions followed, I answered them methodically.

Yes. Up to that point, it was fine.

The problem was that this story alone had been going on for nearly two hours.

"And so, it turned out to be a successful lecture after all."

"So it seems."

At last, the epic saga had come to a close.

I never imagined I'd be recreating a Mana Interference explanation right here on the spot.

It felt absurd, demonstrating this to a mage over sixty years old.

Anyway, the Chancellor nodded with a satisfied expression.

"I had been pondering how we should address this, but things are different now that an expert has stepped in."

He was grateful because I had peacefully given him a good verbal counter.

It was a decent reaction, considering he'd been suspicious, so it was time to put my mind at ease.

"Ah, right. Didn't you mention giving the students a simple problem?"

"That's correct."

Just when I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looking for the right moment to leave.

The Chancellor suddenly brought up the problem I'd made just to kill time.

I sensed that particular vibe he gave off whenever he was about to make use of me again, and it felt ominous.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

He subtly handed over something that had been buried under a pile of documents.

I instinctively leaned back, keeping my distance.

"What's this?"

"No need to be so suspicious, just read it."

When I checked, just as the Chancellor said, it was an Academy Column.

I had initially thought it was a document sent from the Intelligence Bureau or the Imperial Court.

"A column is published every month, and there's a quiz on the last page. Would you consider making a problem?"

As if he'd prepared in advance, he opened the column to the final page.

A problem related to magic was written there in large print.

"This looks interesting."

"Even for a crook, you seem to have a decent eye for things."

Its purpose was to improve the academy's overall skill level, and small gifts were given to students and faculty who solved it.

Creating a quiz of this level wasn't difficult.

It would take ten minutes at most, so I decided to accept the proposal.

"Sounds good. What level of difficulty would you like?"

"Do you have a standard in mind?"

At the Chancellor's question, I tapped the table with the pen and spoke.

"What about a weakened version of the Prison Block ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠security…"

"Think again."

The Chancellor stopped mid-sip of his coffee and glared at me intently.

I felt like I'd experienced this kind of thing on my first day here…

This time, I considered the approximate number of academy students and faculty and suggested a reasonable standard.

"Then I'll make it so that about ten people can solve it within a month."

"No. Not that."

The Chancellor immediately waved his hand dismissively, demanding an exact number.

"Set it to five."

"Are you serious?"

"The quizzes have been easy thus ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠far, so it's about time we start making them difficult. You should handle that for me."

"Just give me ten minutes."

Since the Chancellor was backing me, I acted without worrying about the potential fallout.

I grabbed a blank sheet of paper, handily drew a Magic Circle on it, and mentioned the promise we had discussed before.

"Speaking of which, how did things go with the Order?"

"The reply is delayed. It seems they have circumstances of their own. Please wait just a little longer."

If the schedule was delayed further, it would get complicated, but this much was within my predictions.

I fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

A short while later, I handed the Chancellor the paper with the completed problem and its solution.

The Chancellor let out a low hum, scrutinized the Magic Circle intently, and looked satisfied.

"What shall we name the quiz?"

"We'll call it 'Spring Day.'"

"Spring Day… That suits it quite well."

Afterward, after confirming the demonstrated Magic Circle, the Chancellor lavished praise on it, saying there was no way a mastermind could produce something like this.

It was a clean finish with nothing more to criticize.

But on that day, I had no way of knowing what kind of waves Spring Day would set in motion.