Magic Analysis (2)

"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon. Just checking, but you can do magic circle tracing, yes? Miss Elise is capable of reverse calculation, so why don't you give it a try as a learning experience!"

The professor smiled as she encouraged me. As far as she was concerned, my loss was already a foregone conclusion.

And honestly, she wasn't wrong to think that. Among the cadets, Elise was the only one known to be capable of reverse calculation. Plenty of active-duty mages couldn't use it either. It was that difficult — a discipline that lived firmly in the realm of raw talent.

Magic circle tracing was similar to reverse calculation, but a strictly inferior version of it — a spell that tracked magic circles and produced a comparable effect, except the difference in speed was overwhelming. The easiest way to think of it was as a bridge, a stepping stone you crossed on the way to learning reverse calculation.

Of course, I could do reverse calculation. I just had no idea how to do magic circle tracing.

"Well, I'm not particularly good at magic circle tracing, but I shouldn't have any trouble with the demonstration you're looking for, Professor."

"Wonderful. That's more than enough."

"…"

Elise stood in front of me, staring with a look that said she couldn't make sense of any of this. Then again, I probably wouldn't understand it either if I were in her shoes.

Oh. A quest. It'd been a while.

But why was the reward Strength? I was a mage. Though lately I'd been seriously considering that whole "magic martial artist" thing Liliana had mentioned.

Anyway, the fact that a quest had popped up meant I was finally walking a proper original-story route. Then again, it wasn't like the original ever featured rape-sex with Teaching Assistant Liliana or at the orphanage, so I supposed that tracked.

"Let's go with the most basic spell, shall we? Force magic."

Force magic. The most fundamental spell there was. You gave mana physical form and launched it as a projectile. You could cast it without a magic circle at all, and honestly, it wasn't used much because it didn't have much practical value.

There was just one enormous problem.

"All right, are we ready?"

"Professor. I'm sorry, but… I don't actually know the magic circle for Force magic."

"…? Force magic? Ah, that's right — Cadet Lee Ho-yeon, you only switched over to being a mage recently. You're so good I keep forgetting."

The professor let out a little laugh and started flipping through the textbook from the beginning.

"Well then… what other spells do we have…"

"You can just teach me the Force magic circle."

"Hmm? No, no. That wouldn't do. Having you compete with a magic circle you haven't even gotten used to yet would be unfair."

"It's fine. I'm here to learn anyway, and if we use the easiest spell, won't it be easier for the other cadets to watch and learn?"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Professor."

She'd been talking like I was going to lose anyway, so why was she suddenly bringing up fairness? This was why older professors were such a pain to deal with. Just let it go already.

"All right then. Here, try following along. It goes like this."

A hexagram inscribed in a circle — about as basic a magic circle as they came. I copied it in a single glance, of course. If it was this easy, the whole fairness argument was pretty much meaningless.

"I've memorized it."

"Then we'll start when this flame disappears."

The professor conjured a small flame in her palm. It hung in the air with a soft whoosh, slowly shrinking.

Elise stood across from me, not looking particularly tense as she drew mana into her body.

I intended to win this reverse-calculation match completely. The quest said to manifest a magic circle before Elise did, but if that was all I did, when would she get jealous? When would this stick in her memory? How many women did I have to conquer right now? Jealousy alone wouldn't cut it. I needed to make her think about me all day long.

Today, I was going to make Elise feel the difference in our class. It would probably be a painful first for her — a real taste of something spicy — but I figured she'd endure it.

"If you want to donate those books so badly, I'll take them."

"I'll apologize in advance. Try not to get too mad."

I shrugged and smiled. I really hoped she wouldn't get actually angry. I wasn't sure I could keep it at just jealousy.

The flame was about to go out. I drew mana through my entire body.

My field of vision widened in an instant, and I could observe the mana gathering in Elise's hands. I prepared a magic circle of my own. If I wanted to, I could fire it off in a heartbeat — but winning that way would be meaningless.

The starting signal vanished with a soft hiss, and Elise immediately began constructing her magic circle. Looks like her strategy was to finish her circle first rather than interfere with mine. If you were confident in your mana control, that was the safest play.

But I didn't use the mana I'd gathered to build a circle. I simply read Elise's mana. The gaps between the lines of her circle. The density of her mana. The rhythm of her breathing. In less than a second, I analyzed every element I could see.

When she was showing me this much, reverse calculation was almost trivially easy. I gave my hand a slight flick, and Elise's mana scattered.

"…?!"

The circle, moments from completion, fell apart. Only then did Elise look at me.

I was slowly constructing my own magic circle. Like a sloth that had tumbled to the ground and was crawling along, I drew a rock-solid circle at a leisurely pace.

Elise's face twisted, and she started interfering with my mana. If this were a fight, even a gap in skill might leave room for some kind of variable. But a pure contest of reverse calculation left no room to close a gap in ability. On top of that, Elise had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to calculate and interpret. I simply understood. That difference was one she could never overcome.

No matter how hard Elise tried to interfere with my mana, my circle kept taking shape. And whenever she tried to draw her own, I sliced through her mana with surgical precision and dismantled the circle.

"Hah…"

In the end, Elise lost without ever getting a proper chance to do anything. She stared at the completed magic circle in my hand with a hollow expression.

"Oh, ohhh…! Cadet Lee Ho-yeon! You can reverse-calculate! Why didn't you say so?!"

"I just happened to pick it up just now."

"What do you mean you just— no, that's not what's important. Another prodigy among the first-year mages! This is huge! Absolutely huge!"

The professor seemed far more delighted by the windfall Victoria Academy had just received than by my nonsense. I ignored her and looked at Elise, who was lost in thought, trying to figure out why she'd lost.

"Elise."

She clenched her fists and looked at me. The glare in her eyes was honestly a little scary.

"You. What the hell are those eyes?"

She seemed to have concluded that my Insight was the reason she'd lost. She was almost right, but I would've won even without it. If I'd wanted to, I could've completed a circle in a single second and won that way. It just wouldn't have meant anything.

"That's a secret, obviously. Ah — you're not going to hold a grudge over this, right?"

"…Haa. Do whatever you want. So what do you want to commission? I can handle one request at my own discretion."

Elise's father was the guild leader of France's Iris. The Iris Guild, France's flagship guild, was famous as the world's only information guild worthy of the name. They were so well-known that people said you could buy any information in the world from them, as long as you had the money. They received plenty of threats, but they possessed such overwhelming military force that they kept the guild running without so much as a flinch.

"I've got enough money to commission the Iris Guild myself. If that was all I wanted, I wouldn't have made a bet with you."

"Don't tell me…"

"Yeah. It's probably what you're thinking. We'll talk about it later. You're not going to pretend this never happened just because you lost the bet, right?"

"…Fine. Don't worry. I'll do it, no matter what."

Not a commission to the Iris Guild — a direct request to the guild leader himself. That wasn't something money could buy. You needed enormous connections and a serious stroke of luck. But if Elise asked, he'd say yes. The Iris Guild leader was an enormous daughter-doting fool, after all.

Though… she sounded a little pissed answering that. Nah, surely not.

"Elise. You're not mad, right? It was just a simple bet."

"Not at all. I'm not mad, okay? Could you not say weird things?"

…She was definitely mad.

Well, the quest was complete, so it was probably fine. Heroine conquest quests had never screwed me over before.

"But seriously, where did you learn reverse calculation? Beating Elise is a huge deal, isn't it?"

Lunch was over, and Lucy struck up a conversation as we headed to the lecture hall for the afternoon theory class.

"I've told you already. I just taught myself."

"Whoa… Ho-yeon, you're insane."

"That's amazing, Ho-yeon…"

"It's embarrassing, so cut it out. Let's just get ready for theory class."

They'd been like this all through lunch. It was actually embarrassing. People passing by kept glancing at me walking between Lucy and Rumi. Or maybe they were just staring because I had a pair of twins on either side.

We arrived at the lecture hall and got ready for class.

"Ugh, nooo. Honestly, I hate Modern Hunterology. I understand it when I hear it, but why do I have to memorize this stuff?"

"Calm down, Lucy. Let's study together in the club room today."

"Yeah? Then you come too, Ho-yeon. You're good at studying."

"Me?"

I didn't have anything scheduled after this, so it was fine, but… was there any real reason to turn them down? It was also a chance to do it with Rumi once.

"Sure, why not."

"Nice. We've got a tutor today. I'm gonna squeeze every last drop out of you."

"Still, we shouldn't interfere with Ho-yeon's studying too much."

"Okay, okay. And you're going to ask him questions too."

"Well, that's true, but…"

The door rattled open.

"Hello! I'm Professor Kang Hyo-rin! It's been a while."

Professor Kang Hyo-rin, the instructor for Modern Hunterology. A truly distinguished professor who frequently skipped class because something "urgent" had come up.

"Today, we'll do a recap of the key points in preparation for the exam. We don't have time! We're going to run from start to finish with no breaks, so stay focused and don't fall asleep!"

"Ah, I'm screwed."

Lucy's devastated voice drifted over from beside me.

A sedan that pulled up to the academy's front gate at the same time every single day. Elise slid into the car as naturally as breathing.

"You've worked hard, young miss."

"Yeah, thanks."

The middle-aged man in the driver's seat started the car with practiced ease. Elise always went to the same restaurant for dinner.

"Is your midterm preparation going well?"

"Yeah, smoothly enough…"

She'd been about to say she'd take first place without any trouble, but she stopped. Because a certain man had surfaced in her mind.

"It'll be first or second, I guess."

"Second? If you're saying that, young miss, there must be quite the talent around."

"Yeah. That Lee Ho-yeon from the PR department you mentioned last time."

"Ahh, that handsome fellow. My, so he's good at studying too. Last time there was talk about him taking down an ogre or something. Is that true?"

"Who knows. It might be."

Elise had been on the skeptical side, but after seeing Lee Ho-yeon's level of magic today, a thought had begun to creep in: maybe…

"Anyway, I want you to look into Lee Ho-yeon."

"Oh! Have you finally taken an interest in a friend?"

"It's not like that. And I want you to investigate Lee Ho-yeon personally. Please."

"In that case, it's not interest — it's a countermeasure."

The middle-aged man's demeanor shifted. The grinning uncle vanished, replaced by a man radiating a sharp, cutting presence.

"Well, it's just a feeling, but… something about him sits wrong with me."

"Understood. If the young miss commands it, I have no choice but to obey."

"Yeah. I always appreciate it."

Elise had never been particularly interested in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other people. That was why she hadn't bothered investigating Nam Da-eun separately. There were always going to be people more talented than her. But Lee Ho-yeon stuck in her mind for some reason.

His close relationship with the student ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠council president. The strange current that ran between him and the Saintess. On top of that, a club with the first-year twin beauties. And that abnormal level of magical ability.

If even one of those suspicious points hadn't been there, Elise never would have ordered a background check. But at this point, her feeling was more like: surely at least one of these will turn something up? If something came up, great. If not, whatever.

"Ah, right. Call Dad for me. Tell him his daughter has a favor to ask."

"Yes. Understood. When should I begin investigating Cadet Lee Ho-yeon?"

"Hmm, whenever's convenient. It's not that urgent."

"Then I'll start immediately, today."

"Yeah, yeah. Do as you like."

Elise ordered a background check on Lee Ho-yeon without giving it much thought. And she never imagined — not even for a moment — that Lee Ho-yeon would turn up in every single place she had suspected.