Presentation (5)
"Presumably no one spirited it away, so are you saying a book that was sitting still vanished on its own?"
When I reacted as if to ask what he meant, the Magic Tower Master paused briefly before speaking.
"Calm down and listen. You know Spatial Magic is extremely difficult and complex."
"Of course."
"Do you know the reason?"
I shrugged to indicate I didn't really know.
"It may be hard to believe, but that’s because the magic was compiled by a Dragon. Even if you want to analyze and use it, the level of ability it demands is simply too high."
"That would explain why it was a little difficult."
At those words, the Magic Tower Master's expression turned incredulous.
"The Dragon who compiled it took the Grimoire back not long ago. If you want it returned, you’ll have to wait... roughly ten years."
Ten years—not months—was far too long for me to wait.
At this point, I decided it would be better to go retrieve it myself.
"I'd rather go meet them in person. Where should I go?"
"The highest mountain in the Northern Region of the Continent—the summit of the White Night Mountain Range. Coincidentally, that person also created your Artifact."
The White Night Mountain Range.
It had been a long time since the Northern Region of the Continent had come up.
The area was famous as a Mana-Depleted Zone. Its summit was close to the sky, but it was also extraordinarily dangerous.
You only earned the qualification to set foot there at minimum Level 7, and even then survival was not guaranteed.
Maybe that was why even the Demons stayed away from the place.
To me, it presented an opportunity.
'Isn’t this a chance to solve both the Grimoire and Artifact problems at once?'
As it happened, I had once climbed about halfway up out of sheer boredom in the past.
The route had been so tedious and Flora so worried that I had descended midway.
I intended to use this occasion to attempt the ascent at Level 6.
In theory, it demanded Level 7, but with the mana manipulation ability I possessed, even Level 6 met the minimum threshold.
To make the trip safely, I needed the Artifact adjusted.
That would inevitably provoke an uproar from the desk-bound higher-ups.
"To go to the Northern Region of the Continent..."
"Naturally, obtaining official entry approval would save trouble later."
"It's become bothersome."
"Highly bothersome, I imagine."
For me, it was the Artifact.
For the Magic Tower Master, it was permission to enter the Northern Region of the Continent.
We were talking about different problems, but after being burned by the Imperial Court more than once, we understood each other perfectly.
'I'll have to prepare as thoroughly as possible.'
I even wondered whether I ought to meet the Emperor someday and negotiate a deal.
If I cleaned up the spies within the Empire, would he grant approval cleanly?
While I was trying to think of a way to coax the Imperial Court into approving it without much effort,
"...The hotline at this hour?"
The Crystal Orb flashed rapidly, and the Magic Tower Master’s expression turned grave.
—Magic Tower Master, this is an emergency! A Demon incursion alert has just been issued at the academy.
"What?"
In that instant, he and I locked eyes.
We each must have had an important figure flash through our minds.
The Crystal Orb continued relaying the message without pause.
—Two first-year students are currently isolated. It has been confirmed that the Magic Tower Master's apprentice is among them.
"I will be there within one minute."
—Understood.
The Crystal Orb went dark. When the Magic Tower Master hurriedly grabbed the robe he had cast aside and moved to leave, I stopped him.
"I'll go."
The Magic Tower Master halted his steps, then stared at me intently with a look of suspicion.
"Is this merely because of our transaction terms?"
"Well, that’s part of it... I also want to use this chance to improve our relationship a little."
As he said, it would accomplish my immediate goal of hunting the Demons.
But considering my future status as a free individual, I needed to steadily improve relations with core figures like the Chancellor and the Magic Tower Master.
"We are hardly in a relationship that will end after a day or two now, are we."
"Hmm, wait a moment."
As befits an emergency, the Magic Tower Master reached a swift decision.
"In this domain, you are the expert, so I shall assist you, specially and just this once. What do you require?"
"Then adjust my Artifact."
"How do you know about that?"
"A person in your position would quite plausibly possess such authority. Wouldn't you?"
Someone in the Magic Tower Master’s position could easily have been granted that authority by the Imperial Court.
I probed him lightly, and as expected, it worked.
"The condition is that you devote your efforts solely to resolving the incident. How about it?"
"Agreed."
"Then I’ll limit you to Level 6 for one minute."
"Just in case, let's agree on Level 8."
Partly to test my long-missed original strength, I requested Level 8 from him.
The Magic Tower Master reacted as if anyone could see he thought I was insane, then flatly refused.
"Even this much will make those bureaucrats guarding their turf throw a fit and drag me before the Imperial Court. Be grateful."
"Ha, it can't be helped."
Behind me, as I clicked my tongue in regret,
The Magic Tower Master adjusted the Artifact, and my forcibly sealed Mana Circuits came back online.
I hurriedly began optimizing my Mana Circuits.
Using them recklessly could cause a backflow and permanently damage the Mana Circuits.
While I was meticulously filling the empty circuits with the randomly surging mana, I discovered something odd.
'What's this? The total mana capacity has changed?'
Compared to my previous time at Level 6, my total mana capacity had clearly increased.
It appeared that a change had occurred as time was reversed.
Perhaps I could now cast spells that would have been impossible before.
If this capacity also increased at Level 7 and again at Level 8, I might be able to compensate for an innate weakness.
'No matter what happens, I have to reach the summit of the White Night Mountain Range.'
A smile involuntarily crept onto my face.
Just as the thought crossed my mind that I might finally taste the enjoyment of growth after a long period of stagnation,
the hotline activated once more.
—M-Magic Tower Master? The Apostate intrusion barrier has activated. We will deploy troops immediately!
"Ah, do not do that."
—Pardon?
Even with confusion pouring through the flashing Crystal Orb from the other side, the Magic Tower Master moved as if nothing were wrong.
"Since it has not activated for a long time, I deliberately conducted a test. My apologies for not contacting you beforehand."
—On the contrary, the unexpected nature of it allows for more certain preparedness. I shall log the inspection results as no anomalies.
"Do so."
While the Magic Tower Master covered for me, I finished preparing Spatial Transfer, one of the spells I had seen in the Grimoire.
It would have been impossible before, but the increase in my total mana capacity made it feasible now.
"What in the..."
Watching this, the Magic Tower Master pointed at the subspace with an air of disbelief.
"Not only have you grown stronger since I last saw you, you only glanced at the Grimoire and can already use it this well?"
"It is nothing special."
I took a practiced step forward with my right foot.
Before vanishing into the subspace, I conveyed, as an academy instructor to a parent, the words I wished to say.
"Oh, right. Ayla was the first student at the academy to solve Spring Day. Give her some praise when this is over."
"Praise? She merely did what is expected of her."
The Magic Tower Master averted his gaze outright as he headed outside, but the faint smile etched fleetingly across his face revealed the fondness he held for Ayla.
'How brusque...'
The remaining time was one minute.
Time to return to the academy.
* * *
While Karon and the Chancellor, two of the academy’s key defenders, were away, Flora and Ayla went to the mountain behind the academy to prepare for an assignment and ran into monsters.
Screeech—!
Shrieking with all manner of cries, the monsters charged.
The two students held their ground, employing what they had learned from Karon.
"Ayla, are you alright?"
"Yeah. I can hold on. You?"
"I'm holding up too."
The monsters tried to exploit the opening while they talked, but Flora’s blade swept out in a clean, crisp arc with no wasted movement.
Shing.
Scarlet blood scattered across the ground as another corpse piled up.
Flora slowly steadied her breathing and surveyed her surroundings.
'It was a good thing I brought my sword because Alcyone said the atmosphere around the academy was ominous.'
Flora and Ayla guarded each other’s backs, using everything Karon had taught them.
As the monsters faltered under their fierce resistance, Ayla searched for a weakness in the Demonic Energy.
"Flora, do you think we can break through the Demonic Energy?"
"No. We have to hold out until support arrives."
The intrusion alarm had sounded, but the Demonic Energy Chimera had spread beforehand made it difficult to enter the area.
The academy had urgently summoned the Calde Order for purification, but time was dragging on.
They could only hope the one who had spread the Demonic Energy would not show up.
"I'm working hard to earn my master's favor, so why are you getting in my way?"
Chimera appeared, furious.
It tilted its head eerily as it gazed upon the mountain of monster corpses.
"Haah... You ruined my plan, so I think I’ll return the favor. I’m done holding back."
Chimera snapped its fingers, and a colossal serpent burst from the undergrowth.
Hisss!
It was one of its alchemical masterpieces. The serpent locked onto its prey and lunged with ferocious speed.
"Don’t even try it!"
Flora blocked the attack and attempted a counter, but it was difficult to pry open a gap.
The serpent was Level 6 as well, matching Chimera, and that made the fight difficult.
'So there really is no getting around a Level difference.'
Flora gritted her teeth and focused on defense.
If only she had a little more time, she would have faced it at Level 6.
Her troubled thoughts made her hesitate for a moment.
Hisss!
Another one, which had been lying in ambush in the undergrowth, shot out and lunged toward Ayla.
'I have to deal with this one!'
She had to block it immediately, but the serpent Flora was facing had coiled its body around her blade, twisting it so that even with her strength behind it, she could not cut through.
"Ayla!"
At that simple shout, Ayla instantly cast defense magic.
It was a response far beyond what anyone would expect from an academy student, showing everything she had learned from Karon.
But Flora knew.
She could not block it perfectly; minimizing the damage was the best she could do.
'At this rate, Ayla will get hurt.'
The enormous serpent lunged at Ayla.
Ayla looked prepared to take whatever injury came.
With every slow breath, memories of the past got in Flora’s way.
In a situation where she absolutely had to reach Level 6, Flora found herself confronting the past she had feared all along.
Where had it all begun?
Food was always scarce in the slums, and it was never strange when someone went missing.
In a place where survival was the sole objective, Flora had been exceptionally strong from a young age.
Then, by chance, something changed.
Flora used her strength to procure food, and people came to like her for it.
In that hell, where life had no meaning or purpose, Flora felt for the first time what it was like to be needed.
That feeling was too precious.
As time passed afterward, Flora grew stronger and stronger.
The day she reached Level 5, people's reactions began to change little by little.
One by one, they started whispering behind her back.
—Suppose she decides to kill us too, if she doesn't like us?
Flora felt the furtive gazes directed at her.
Even when she helped them, no one smiled at her as they used to.
Fear came before gratitude.
Flora pretended not to notice, believing it would get better with time.
Not long after that.
A decisive incident struck the precarious slums.
A member of the organization that controlled the area had been found dead under suspicious circumstances.
It was the groundwork of another organization, seeking to expel Flora before attacking and thus eliminate a variable.
Enraged members of the organization swarmed in and threatened the people.
Terrified, the people pointed to Flora as the culprit.
No matter how much Flora insisted she was not the culprit, no one believed her.
Fine. Up to that point, it was bearable.
Until the only child who had shielded her died a gruesome death.
In the end, Flora quietly left the slums.
The child who had believed in her vanished without a trace.
For the young girl, having that precious feeling of being needed denied left a deep emotional scar.
Did she wander aimlessly after that?
That day in particular, it rained.
The sky wept sorrowfully, as though expressing her dejected heart.
All she had wanted was to be someone people needed, but the stronger she grew, the more they feared her and drifted away.
'I met Boss when I’d lost my reason to live and given up on everything.'
And so she came to meet Karon.
Her instincts, ingrained through experience, surfaced naturally and made her wary of him.
But the sight of him reaching out his hand to her in the rain was somehow strange.
He was not afraid, even after seeing her. Rather, he embraced her.
For Flora, that was the first time she had ever experienced such a thing.
She followed the tiny light that bloomed in her frozen heart.
After that, Flora spent a long time with Karon.
As time passed, the pain of her childhood slowly washed away, but scars had a way of lingering.
The day she first resolved to challenge Level 6, Karon's imprisonment caused those memories of the past to resurface, and her trauma grew stronger.
After that, she was unconsciously terrified that she would lose Karon if she reached Level 6.
Because he was the only person who had ever truly taken her in, she could not show that fear.
So she put on a mask and acted as if she was fine.
In the end, Madam's advice had become reality.
At the crucial moment, it had ended up holding her back.
She was deeply ashamed of herself, having sworn loyalty to Karon.
'From now on, I will walk side by side with Boss.'
With the sole desire not to lose the person who remained by her side, the fragile girl shattered the colossal boulder that had been crushing her.
Flora, having returned from the swamp of memory, readjusted her grip on her sword.
Thump!
Her fierce gaze was different now.
In a single stroke, she carved apart the serpent that had been impeding her attack. She then leaped at tremendous speed and cleared out the surroundings.
"Hoo."
With every exhalation, a chill radiated into the air around her.
With every step Flora took, the cold aura shrouding her blade froze the vicinity.
Chimera was shaken to see a human on the verge of death suddenly awaken.
"You reached Level 6? How could a mere human like you?"
"Because I want to repay the person who held me warmly."
The cold tip of Flora's blade was aimed at Chimera.
"You'd better prepare yourself."