Grimoire
Grimoire
"Hmm, in this magic circle... even a slight increase in the rotation rate of the mana core... the destructive power of the magic is exponentially amplified..."
An academy classroom.
An old professor standing at the podium speaks slowly and passionately while filling a giant blackboard to the brim.
My academy life has officially begun.
I followed Renoa around like a chick, attending classes with her.
Since Renoa is in the Magic Faculty, most of the classes were magic-related, except for a few liberal arts courses.
That was the problem.
I frowned and tried my best to understand the formulas written on the blackboard.
However, whether it was magic equations or elemental arrangements, I couldn't understand a single word of the professor's explanation.
Even a long-standing chronic illness I had forgotten about began to flare up.
"Hwaaaam...."
The old professor's voice sounded like a sweet lullaby. Just listening to it made a yawn surge forth.
I wasn't even a formal student, so I didn't need to worry about grades, and I desperately wanted to just put my head down and sleep.
"Don't doze off. People will look down on us."
Every time I yawned, Renoa, sitting right next to me, would call me out.
"But I don't understand a single thing he's saying."
"That's because you don't study."
"That's just deception. Why do commoners fail to learn magic? It's because they're too busy trying to make a living. If I had learned magic instead of picking up a sword, I would have already replaced the Family Head."
"A slave knight isn't enough, so now a slave Family Head? That would be quite funny. Why stop there? Why not just become a slave Emperor? Then would I become the Emperor's owner?"
The corners of Renoa's mouth twitched upward, as if she found the idea amusing.
But I was being dead serious.
Rather than fighting this sleepiness, I felt it would be better to storm into the Duke's estate and beat the crap out of everyone suspected of being a Warlock.
"Milady. Should I just eliminate all the family's competitors? Then I don't think we'd have to suffer like this at the academy. In exchange, please set me free."
"If you're going to talk nonsense, just sleep."
Now that I had permission, I was about to sleep peacefully when...
"Irion-nim, don't you know how to use magic?"
Elody, who was taking the class with us in the next seat, leaned in and asked.
"I only know how to handle a sword a little bit."
"Handle it a little bit? You have no conscience. Sir Calben would be crying in hell."
"That man isn't dead. Please don't kill off someone who is perfectly alive."
Elody asked with a puzzled expression.
"Why can't you do it? I think you'd be good at it if you tried."
"Do you think so?"
"Of course. Even someone like me can do it, so an amazing person like Irion-nim would obviously be able to. If you learned just a little, you'd probably be better than me."
That was surely pure encouragement, but since I knew her background, I couldn't take it at face value.
Elody is a genuine genius with the greatest magical talent in this world's setting.
Later, she becomes a Great Mage, reaching a level where most nobles can't even dream of comparing themselves to her.
And such a 'talent monster' is saying, 'You can be better than me.'
It was a deception she wasn't even aware of.
"Magic isn't something that just happens because you set your mind to it."
Since I couldn't say that out loud, I gave a moderate response and brushed it off.
"Are you really being deceptive, or do you truly think that?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know how to use magic."
"Eh? Me?"
When did I?
When I reacted as if it was the first time I'd heard such a thing, Renoa looked at me with an exasperated gaze.
"That golden circle you showed during the knighting ceremony. That's also a type of magic."
The golden circle Renoa was referring to was the [Oath of Protection] skill.
"That's more of a... shout? Or maybe you could call it grit, rather than magic."
"You twist the entire structure of magic with just grit?"
"Well, knights originally live and die by their guts."
"I don't understand what you're talking about, and I don't want to understand, but you'll be better at it than you think. At least your mana manipulation is superior to mine."
I tilted my head at Renoa's sudden compliment.
"Better than yours, Milady?"
"Don't you remember manipulating mana while wearing the bracelet at the Imperial Banquet? That's something you can't do without considerable talent."
At those words, I fell into serious thought for a moment.
Certainly, being able to use magic would provide benefits in many aspects.
'Above all, magic is the roooomance of fantasy, isn't it?'
If I could learn it, I truly wanted to.
However, the source of my power is ultimately the proficiency and skill system. Proficiencies that don't fit the role do not manifest.
Would magic proficiency appear for me, a knight? Since Magic Knights exist in this world, wouldn't it be possible?
It would be worth a try.
"But Milady."
"What now."
"You didn't exactly tell me to learn magic, did you? When I first learned the sword, you said something about becoming the strongest."
"......."
"Surely it's not because you're afraid you'll get jealous if I become better at magic than you? Ayy, surely a master wouldn't feel an inferiority complex toward a mere slave...."
-Kwack!
"Ack!"
"You there, in the back... Please, be quiet...."
The academy is the section where the story truly begins.
Various events occur, and it's possible to grow the characters.
Depending on what goal you set, the stats you need to focus on change, and the events that occur change as well.
Among them, hidden events also exist.
Some are helpful for growth, while others are not.
Some are just satisfying enough to see the event and fill the achievement list.
What I want right now is the former.
Something needed for Elody's Great Mage route. It's not mandatory, but it's an indispensable event if you're aiming for the highest potential.
What does that mean?
'It means I can use it too.'
Using information only I know is the privilege of a reincarnator, and I'm finally going to use it.
For that reason, I visited the academy library. Renoa and Elody were with me.
Aether didn't come because he was busy.
"Uwaaaah.... There are so many books."
Elody let out an exclamation and stared intently at the library.
I also swallowed an exclamation inwardly and tilted my head toward the ceiling.
A dizzyingly high ceiling.
Giant wooden bookshelves stretched out to the edge of my vision.
Magic lights floating in the air illuminated the books, which easily numbered over several hundred thousand.
"This is the Great Library established by the imperial decree of the previous Emperor. He gathered scattered knowledge in one place for the sake of the students."
Beside me, Renoa kindly continued the explanation.
"In terms of the number of volumes or scale, it's hard to find a place in the world with this many books. At most, maybe only the Imperial Palace Library in the capital."
"Waaaah...! Then can we read all these books?"
"You can read anything you see."
"Uwoooh...!"
"I'm asking you, please don't act so provincial next to me. It's embarrassing."
Renoa scolded Elody, whose eyes were sparkling.
Soon, her narrowed green eyes turned toward me.
"What's gotten into you, asking to come to the library first?"
"I have to study. So as not to tarnish Milady's honor. And I thought you would like it too, Milady."
"Hmph."
Though she didn't show it, she also seemed to quite like the scale of the library.
Since Renoa spends all day reading even in the detached villa, I thought she would naturally love this place.
If I were to exaggerate, wouldn't this be paradise for her?
"Then shall we each find the books we want to read and meet back up?"
"Yes!"
"Shall we."
Elody gave a bright answer and dashed off quickly. Soon, I saw her getting caught and lectured by a librarian.
Renoa also set off to find books with a faster pace than usual.
'Then shall I get moving too?'
The place I headed for was the most secluded reading room in the library, where even the magic lights didn't properly reach.
Most students tend to look for grimoires or major textbooks that would be immediately helpful for their grades.
Therefore, areas like this, filled with old, musty history books and ancient texts, are sparsely populated.
'The Continental History section. And the furthest corner of it....'
I arrived at my destination, tracing my faint memories.
I crouched on the floor and rummaged through the bottom of a dusty bookshelf.
'I'm sure it was around here somewhere....'
At a glance, they were all old books that looked more or less the same. Many were so damaged that even the titles were unrecognizable.
When it was a game, it would automatically come out if I just rubbed against the bookshelf and clicked, but...
Now I had to search for it one by one.
After searching for a long time while covered in dust, I was able to find a familiar book spine.
'I think this is it...?'
What I carefully pulled out was a thick hardcover book bound in pitch-black leather.
In the center of the worn-out cover, a drawing of an eyelid about the size of a fist was depicted.
Seeing as it wouldn't open even when I applied force, there was no mistake.
It was the hidden event and item that would greatly help Elody's growth in the future, the [Sealed Grimoire of the Sage].
It doesn't open by force; instead, you have to inject mana to wake the Sage sealed within the grimoire.
'Shall I open it right away?'
I glanced around. After confirming no one was there, I placed my palm on the cover.
I slowly channeled mana into the grimoire.
-Bu-ru-ru.
At that moment, a slight vibration occurred in the book. The tightly closed eyelid on the cover snapped open as if it were being torn.
A purple pupil hidden beneath the eyelid rolled around before staring directly at my face.
[......Is it you, the brat who woke me from my long slumber?]
A powerful old man's voice, in which the passage of time could be felt, flowed into my mind like telepathy.
"Well, for now, yes."
[An arrogant brat. However, judging by the mana I feel, you must be a skilled mage.]
"No. I'm a knight."
[......What?]
"I said I'm a knight. A knight who uses a sword."
The eye on the cover blinked a couple of times.
[......A knight who uses magic, then.]
"I'm sorry, but I can't use magic yet. I'm planning to learn from now on."
[Gaaah——!]
"Ugh!"
The old man's shout struck my mind directly.
[How dare a brainless swordsman who doesn't even know the 'M' of Magic wake me! This is an insult to magic!]
I know that much.
M-agic.
Magic.
Magic isn't that big of a deal.
[I, the Great Sage Iskalon, will not give anything to someone like you. Close the book and put it back where it belongs this instant!]
What's this?
The image is different from the Sage I know.
When Elody broke the seal, he was definitely a very kind grandfather.
But the one in front of me now is just an old man. A cranky, stubborn old man.
Could this be....
"I understand. I'll bring you the best mage who will suit your tastes perfectly right away. In exchange, I'll be listening in from the side."
[Hmph! A mage recommended by a swordsman is bound to be mediocre!]
I tucked the grimoire under my arm and returned to our spot. Renoa and Elody were there.
[Uwoooh! Super-top-tier beautiful girl mages! And two of them!]
Should I just burn it now?