Presentation (1)

"Huff, Instructor, is this right?"

"Camilla… I don't think I can go any further."

"Gil, Gilbert?"

Gilbert, the new Running Crew member, was sprawled across the floor, drenched in sweat.

Camilla soon merged with the floor right beside him.

They looked as though they'd been completely drained, which was only natural seeing as they'd adopted a method that consumed Mana while running three kilometers.

I'd set it up this way because, in order to push them toward overload in a short period, their physical stamina had to be burned through at the same time.

Using this as training was extremely dangerous, meaning it required someone trustworthy.

That was where I came in.

Using Mana Interference, I played the role of a firefighter, making sure nothing overloaded.

It was a task that demanded a high level of concentration, but for me, it wasn't difficult.

Gilbert and Camilla, on the other hand, were completely run-down and could barely move their lips.

"Wow… this is absolute hell."

"I saw Goddess Calde during that final stretch."

"…So I wasn't the only one who saw her."

"Pfft, what even is that."

Gilbert's lifeless remark caused Camilla to burst into laughter.

The friendly atmosphere was a positive sign, but from what I'd observed on the sidelines, an honest conversation was necessary.

Having just witnessed them collapse during the final stretch as in that earlier exchange, I knew more delicate adjustments were needed.

"Gilbert."

"Yes?"

"Camilla."

"Yes, Instructor."

I picked up the potions I'd prepared to aid with a swift recovery and asked the two students.

"This was our first session. Was it manageable? Gilbert, you first."

I squeezed a potion bottle into each of their hands and patted their shoulders.

Gilbert, who had been glancing around warily, then spoke up.

"Can I speak honestly?"

"I'm asking because I genuinely want to know, so you can be honest."

"It feels like I'm going to die."

I turned my head slightly and looked over at Camilla.

"And you, Camilla?"

"…About the same."

As expected, no real surprises there.

If this had been easy, they'd have already filled their Resistance Stones and taken a seat in the Magic Tower.

Beginners were one thing. Now it was time to check on the existing members.

I nodded toward the two students who were watching us from the other side.

"What about you two?"

"It's just right for me."

"It's a little tough, but I can handle it."

Flora was the first to signal that it was manageable.

A Level higher than those around her and an exceptional sense for this seemed to have helped.

Next was Ayla, who'd recently shown an immense upward trajectory.

The desperate cries for help from the first day were long gone; now she was steadily ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠keeping up.

Her stamina had definitely improved, so even expending Mana was no longer a major issue.

That was significant progress.

Neither of them would need feedback, so I could skip that.

In the end, I only had to focus on managing the new members.

Using the conversation we'd just had, I laid down a suitable training plan.

'We'll set three kilometers as the baseline and raise the maximum to five.'

It might have seemed harsh, but it couldn't be helped.

It had to be done if we were going to complete this within a month.

On the plus side, if they kept at it without giving up, they'd have decent Mana Circuits within a fortnight.

Now, someone might have asked.

Doesn't it take time to build basic physical stamina?

That wouldn't be a problem at all.

I'd make them drink Top-Grade Potions, brought in from the Magic Device Shop our organization ran, until they were sick of them.

If our stock ran out, I could just ask Madam.

I'd tried one once before, and the performance of Elf-made potions was truly extraordinary.

Anyway.

While I was fitting the training plan together until it was airtight, the surroundings had grown noisy.

Ayla, in particular, was sharing her own experience with the new members.

"Senior. When you wake up tomorrow, you're going to taste hell."

"Hell? What do you mean?"

"The moment you open your eyes in the morning… your entire body screams and everything hurts."

"…We're in big trouble."

Tsk, she called it hell.

It was purely the road to getting stronger.

I gathered up the empty potion bottles scattered on the floor, putting them into a box, and spoke.

"Everyone, I'll explain the plan going forward."

"…!"

In an instant, all eyes were on me.

Once all the bottles were in the box, I hugged it to my chest and continued what I'd been saying.

"We'll keep going like today, but I plan to gradually increase the intensity until we reach five kilometers."

A chilly silence followed those words.

The new members went without saying; even Ayla froze up as though she'd seen a ghost.

Only Flora, arms crossed, nodded her head.

Back at her peak, Flora had routinely run five kilometers.

No wonder she considered this nothing special.

Additionally, since they might have wondered how the stamina and Mana issues would be handled, I laid out a concrete plan.

"I'll take responsibility for safety, and I'll prepare plenty of Top-Grade Potions to cover stamina and Mana, so you needn't worry."

"…"

Finally, mindful of things that could be easily misheard, I added a summary telling them just to bring themselves.

The two students who'd been merged with the floor moments ago stood up with difficulty and asked me at the same time.

"Is that it?"

"Yes. I'll see you this afternoon."

With that, Flora and I headed back to our quarters while the others trudged off to the dormitory.

Afterwards, Flora and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I shared breakfast and talked about various things.

I received a report that the development of the Resistance Stone Mine was progressing smoothly.

With so many backed-up tasks making things complicated, it was pleasing that this was going smoothly.

I stored the important details in my head and stepped over to Flora.

"Do you have a moment?"

"Yes, Boss."

She'd been bustling about to get to her morning lecture, but she came to a complete halt.

She waited for my answer with a demure posture.

"…"

I had to use this opportunity to finally approach a secret that had been pushed far down the list for a long time.

That was.

The reason she refused to reach Level 6.

The issue hadn't been a major sticking point until now.

If I handled things cleanly up front, Flora and Alcyone took care of what came after.

We'd been dividing the roles among a small, elite group.

But that changed after the deal with the Empire. My Level had dropped since I started wearing the Artifact.

In other words.

Even though the organization's reputation remained the same, our strength had diminished compared to before.

If that fact were to spread, it could invite unwanted outside intervention.

Therefore, until I resolved the Artifact issue, I needed someone to help hold the line.

Flora was the right person for that.

However, since this was akin to digging into the past of someone precious to me, I approached the matter as carefully as possible.

"Wouldn't it be good for you to reach Level 6 soon?"

"Is this because of the Artifact…?"

"That's a big part of it, yes."

Flora, as expected, was also aware of the current situation.

While meeting my eyes, she seemed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glance briefly at the Artifact.

In that short moment, several emotions flickered across Flora's face.

The most intense one I sensed was fear.

Flora forced a smile and spoke.

"I may be Level 5 by name, but you know better than anyone, Boss, that my skill is on par with Level 6."

"Having Level 6-caliber skill at Level 5 is different from simply being Level 6. You know that, don't you?"

"That's…"

At those words, Flora bit down hard on her lip.

Watching that, it felt as if I'd prodded at a painful past, and it pained me too.

Even so, having come this far, I couldn't back down.

I sat down in a chair and waited calmly.

I watched as Flora held herself together, gripping her trembling hands.

A moment later, a fragile voice, that of a young girl, sounded.

"Please give me a little time."

"How much do you need?"

Considering Flora's skill, it would take two weeks at most, and if things went well, only a week.

The moment I'd finished my estimate.

"One week."

As expected, my judgment hadn't been wrong.

I would have liked to discuss in detail what kind of help she needed, but due to time constraints, that was difficult.

I couldn't keep her any longer because of her other lectures.

Putting my regret aside, I gave her a thumbs-up as a show of support.

"Let me know if you do it sooner than planned."

"…Understood."

After that, Flora gathered her things and headed to the academy.

For someone like me with lectures scheduled for the afternoon, the situation was no different than usual, but today, Ayla's empty seat felt oddly heavy.

"Hoo."

Half-sitting on the chair, I stared blankly up at the ceiling.

I'd thought that after our long time together, I knew as much as there was to know…

What I'd just seen in her eyes was something I'd never witnessed before.

It wasn't the Flora who smiled brightly and took things in stride.

Perhaps her behavior, glossing over matters without a fuss, had been an act, secretly wearing a mask to pretend everything was fine.

"This really…"

Still, it wasn't all bad.

I'd been able to catch a glimpse of a positive side.

Hearing that she'd only need a week to go from Level 5 to 6 had put me at ease.

That was because the symbolism of being Level 6 was rather unique.

Since ancient times, Level 6 had been called the limit point for both mages and swordsmen.

Put another way, it meant having reached a peak from which one could climb even higher.

With that level of skill, she could certainly aim for Level 7 as well.

So for now, the best course of action was to trust Flora and wait.

* * *

It didn't feel long at all that I'd been reading the magic tome Alcyone had packed for me, and soon it was time to head to work.

I'd fallen into a daily routine cycling between my quarters, the academy, and occasionally the chancellor's office, but recently, Spring Day had brought about a change.

To borrow the words of our ever-passionate chancellor for a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment.

Even though Spring Day had set off a massive craze, no student had yet succeeded in solving it.

On the other hand, the faculty saw the solution and were making a huge fuss about having the students solve it.

To the point where there was even talk of listing it as an 'Academy Problem to Solve Before Graduation.'

Anyway.

In contrast to the faculty's heated reaction, student interest had been waning day by day.

I'd expected this would happen from the start.

'If Ayla fails, it'll essentially be a total wipeout…'

Deep down, I'd been hoping Ayla would solve it, but perhaps because she'd been juggling it with her studies, there hadn't been any news.

The moment I stepped into the gymnasium, blaming the chancellor who'd asked me to make it difficult without good reason—

"Instructor!"

Ayla came running in a frantic hurry, as though a ghost were chasing her.

She was so fast that the notebook in her hand was flapping wildly.

"I have something to show you!"

"First, calm down."

She'd nearly crashed into me while trying to stop, that was how fast she'd been going.

First, I calmed Ayla down, then calmly set about grasping the situation.

"What's the matter?"

"You'll be shocked when you hear this."

Ayla grinned from ear to ear and held up her index and middle fingers.

"I solved Spring Day."

"Really?"

"Of course! I wanted to show you before submitting the answer to the library, so I brought the solution."

My admiration was short-lived.

In the blink of an eye, I'd been handed the notebook.

I skimmed through it quickly and saw that the core requirements of the problem were being met.

If that was the case, all that was left was to verify it worked through the final stage: a demonstration.

Conveniently, Ayla had also been at the point of only having the demonstration left.

Everyone gathered around at once to watch the demonstration.

Ayla transcribed the solution onto a blank sheet of paper and stepped a good distance away.

"Alright, here I go."

Just as Ayla, amidst everyone's anticipation, was about to channel Mana into the Magic Circle—

"Lord Karon, are you in here?"

A woman's voice sounded from behind me.

I instinctively took stock of the other party's information.

Judging by the Mana wave, she wasn't someone I knew.

I turned around to check her attire and confirmed she was a mage from the Magic Tower.

"I am Karon."

"I've come to the right place, then."

I put the demonstration on hold for a moment and greeted the guest who'd come from the Magic Tower.

She crossed the gymnasium in an instant and inserted herself into the demonstration.

"Oh, it's the Spring Day."

She recognized the Magic Circle drawn on the paper and immediately spoke to Ayla.

"Did you solve this problem yourself, Miss Ayla?"

"Yes. I was just about to demonstrate it. Would you like to watch with us, Elder?"

"I'd be delighted."

To think a Magic Tower elder would grace us with her presence here.

It was obvious from her buoyant mood that it had been a while since she'd last seen Ayla.

There was no need for me to ruin a first impression, so I waited quietly.

About five minutes later, the elder, who had been smiling fondly, finally noticed she'd gone off on a tangent.

"Ahem, I've committed a faux pas."

"It's quite alright."

The elder cleared her throat loudly and then pulled out a fine-looking letter from within her robes.

In a markedly serious voice, she declared the purpose of her visit.

"Karon, the author of Spring Day. The Magic Tower Master seeks an audience with you."

I'd been wondering when the announcement I'd promised the chancellor would arrive.

It had finally come.