Chapter 310
Chapter Title: The Eccentric Professor
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Everyone stared at Tina, their faces a mask of astonishment.
Tina let out a lazy yawn, scratching her left calf with the tip of her right foot.
With both hands shoved into the pockets of her gown and a listless expression on her face, Tina was clearly different from the average elf.
“She’s… a bit strange, isn’t she?”
Karl whispered to Leo.
“Definitely an eccentric.”
Leo said nonchalantly, propping his chin on his hand.
“You don’t seem very surprised, though.”
Leo let out a small chuckle at Karl’s question.
“I’ve just seen too many strange elves.”
“True. Lunia and Eiran are a far cry from the typical image of an elf.”
“And what’s your idea of a typical elf?”
“Hmm… Luna, the Progenitor of the Nebula? Someone who seems benevolent and seeks harmony? You know, pure and elegant.”
“…”
Leo’s expression turned peculiar.
Benevolence, harmony, and purity.
*Those are the last words I'd use to describe Luna. I wonder when the world will find out what she's really like.*
“Anyway, why would someone from the Tinger family come to Lumerne as a visiting professor?”
Chloe tilted her head, voicing her confusion.
The Tinger family.
The family of Seirun, the Comet Mage.
They were not just considered the best among elves but were also known as the strongest family of magic-type heroes among all races.
For a member of the Tinger family to come to Lumerne instead of Seirun as a visiting professor was a surprise.
Moreover, the relationship between Seirun and Lumerne had been strained recently.
To be precise, the human and elven magical academic circles were on very bad terms, thanks to the thesis Ren had published, “Introduction to Star Magic.”
The fact that Ren, the author of that very paper, had invited Professor Tina was certainly unexpected.
As Chloe spoke, Karl crossed his arms and fell into thought.
“It seems a few students are curious as to why I’ve come to Lumerne as a visiting professor.”
At Tina’s words, a few students wore awkward expressions.
Looking at them, Tina spoke calmly.
“There’s no need to find it so strange. I’m a direct descendant of the Tinger family.”
Tina’s statement only made the students’ gazes grow more peculiar.
If she was a direct descendant, it made even less sense for her to come to Lumerne as a visiting professor.
“I see.”
Abad, however, nodded as if he understood.
“What is it, brother?”
Chelsea tilted her head beside him, looking curious.
“A direct descendant of the Tinger family should be famous, right? But have you ever heard the name Tina Tinger?”
Chelsea pondered Abad’s question, posed with his signature gentle smile, before shaking her head.
Her unique light-blue hair swayed.
“Don’t you think there’s a reason she hasn’t made a name for herself as a direct descendant? Especially when Professor Ren said she’s the top expert in magical artificial engineering, meaning she must be incredibly skilled.”
“Ah.”
Chelsea let out a small cry of realization.
The Lumerne students also began to grasp the hidden meaning behind Tina’s words.
Watching them, Tina nodded.
“The kids at Lumerne are smart. I spoke in riddles, but you still arrived at the conclusion.”
“Hmph, I’ve taught them to cultivate a broad way of thinking as mages. Deduction is the most crucial element in magical theory, after all.”
“Professor Ren, I don’t think this is the time for boasting.”
Anna let out a deep sigh, but Tina nodded as if she didn’t mind.
“That does seem to be the case. Children these days are too accustomed to activation formulas, so they tend to be weak at deduction.”
Tina looked straight at the Lumerne students with her listless golden eyes.
“Your assumptions are correct. I am a member of the Tinger family, but I’m not permitted to engage in external activities. I can’t be active in the magical academic world, either.”
The students began to exchange glances.
Ignoring their reactions, Tina continued.
“I was born with a body that cannot use mana. In other words, I’m not a mage in the user sense.”
“Indeed, Tina can’t use magic. But I have never once doubted that she is a mage.”
Ren grinned.
“Tina has written incredible magical theses in all sorts of magical artificial engineering fields! A prime example is her creation of the [Human Body Magic Activation Engraving Formula]! This magic formula was a great help to my [Introduction to Star Magic] as well!”
At Ren’s explanation, Chloe’s eyes widened.
“[Human Body Magic Activation Engraving Formula] was a thesis written by a mage named Depoi.”
“Depoi is my pseudonym.”
Chloe was at a loss for words.
“What’s with her all of a sudden?”
“Oh my gosh! It’s Depoi! Depoi! What do I do!”
Karl watched Chloe, who was blushing like a girl in love, with a puzzled expression.
“She’s an author who wrote many of the magic theses Chloe likes.”
“Ah.”
Karl nodded at Leo’s reply.
“One of her representative works was [A Philosophical Inquiry into Why Ice Mages Should Learn Ice Magic], right?”
“That’s right.”
“What kind of book title is that? It sounds strange and needlessly complicated just hearing it.”
Karl wore a sour expression.
In truth, most of the magic tomes Chloe read were difficult for him.
They were difficult not just for Karl, but for more than half of the second-year magic department students.
Chloe wasn’t the only one excited to hear the name Depoi.
A few other students showed thrilled reactions.
“Professor Ren.”
“Yes, Student Karl.”
“How did you come to know someone who works under a pseudonym?”
Ren chuckled at Karl, who had raised his hand to ask.
“I had long been impressed by the magical theses Tina wrote and always wanted to meet her. But since I could never find her in academic circles, I wrote her a heartfelt letter.”
Ren’s passion for magic was already famous among the students.
Hearing Ren’s words, Chloe was impressed.
“And Tina was moved by your sincerity!”
“No. I kept ignoring his letters, so Professor Ren was about to use tracking magic on them.”
Tina looked at Ren with a blank expression.
“I figured he’d actually track me down and barge in if I left him be, so I agreed to meet him. When we met and talked in person, he seemed like an interesting person, so I accepted his invitation.”
Everyone looked at Ren with strange eyes.
Anna clutched her head and shook it slowly.
As all the students wore peculiar expressions, Tina spoke.
“At Professor Ren’s invitation, I’ll be staying at Lumerne for a while. And I plan to teach you about ‘Magical Artificial Engineering.’ Your exam assignment will be to create a familiar.”
Tina walked to the center of the lecture hall.
“Anyone want to present on the subject of familiars?”
At her words, several students raised their hands.
Tina scanned the students with a deadpan expression before pointing at Emio, who was sitting in the very back.
“You, there.”
“My name is Emio Luchan.”
Emio, ranked fifth in the second-year magic department, stood up from his seat.
“Alright. Explain familiars.”
“Familiars are the traditional assistants of mages. They are beings that receive a mage’s mana to aid in battle.”
“Correct.”
“However, it is also a field that is now nearly obsolete.”
Emio didn’t stop there but continued.
Most of the magic students nodded in agreement.
“The origin of familiars lies in the summoning arts of summoners. Strictly speaking, familiars are also included in the broader concept of summoned beasts. However, mages cannot form contracts with spirits and phantom beasts. Therefore, familiars are fundamentally a much lower class of summoned creature compared to them.”
Many students looked slightly flustered at Emio’s words.
They had anticipated what he would say next.
“That is why I cannot hide my doubts about the midterm exam assignment being familiars. I would like to hear an explanation from Professor Ren as to why.”
Ren gave a slight smile at Emio’s complaint-filled words.
“I fully understand Student Emio’s point. It’s true that familiars are becoming obsolete.”
Ren nodded.
“In the past, familiars were used to buy even a brief moment of time to cast a spell. But as time passed and magical formulas advanced, the casting time for magic also progressively shortened. In recent decades, there have even been research findings that it’s more advantageous in battle to use the mana spent on a familiar for an attack spell instead. The scope of a familiar’s use has been limited to that of a guardian or a messenger. That was the trend in the magical world, and I thought so too.”
Ren smiled meaningfully.
“But after seeing Tina’s research lab, the story changed a little. I came to believe that before long, familiars will once again become a mainstay in the magical academic world.”
Familiars had fallen from the mainstream of magic hundreds of years ago.
The students’ eyes widened at the thought that such a thing might become mainstream again.
“Visiting Professor Tina will explain that part!”
At Ren’s words, Tina scratched her rear and spoke.
“Emio… was it? You’re from a military family, right?”
“Do you not recognize the name Luchan family?”
“No, I don’t. By that logic, I’m a Tinger, even if it’s in name only. There’s no need for me to remember the names of other families, especially those of other races.”
Emio’s face contorted slightly as Tina spoke so bluntly.
“Military mages have a useless preference for the practical. They have a strong tendency to think the latest magic trends are the best. They also tend to prioritize combat over research. Well, I understand, since they’re soldiers.”
Tina said nonchalantly.
“Alright. Then you’ll understand once you see how useful a familiar can be in actual combat.”
Tina pointed a finger outside.
“Shall we go?”
***
The magic training ground was located within the magic lecture building.
Tina stood in the middle of it.
Looking at her, Emio asked.
“Shall I be your opponent?”
Tina gave a bored look at his provocative words.
“No, I’d prefer a student capable of a variety of attacks.”
Tina grinned, for the first time.
“An All-Class, for instance.”
At her words, everyone’s gaze turned to Leo.
Leo stood in the middle of the magic training ground.
“If you don’t mind me.”
“Okay.”
Tina looked at Leo with intrigued eyes.
Her previously hazy eyes now held a spark of life.
Seeing that look, Leo was reminded of Luna.
*The same look she had when she first saw me.*
That look full of curiosity, as if seeing an All-Class for the first time.
Recalling that gaze, Leo waited for Tina to summon her familiar.
A moment later.
Tina extended her hand.
*Ooze— Splat!*
A blue liquid flowed out from Tina’s upper body and fell to the floor.
Then, it began to clump together.
The students who saw it wore dumbfounded expressions.
“What? It’s a slime?”
“Is she going to fight Leo with a slime?”
“I thought it would be some kind of special familiar.”
A slime.
An artificial lifeform created through alchemy, it was one of the most common familiars for mages.
Voices tinged with disappointment came from all around.
But upon seeing the slime, Leo narrowed his eyes.
*What is this heavily modified slime?*
Leo quickly counted the number of magic formulas embedded in the slime’s core.
*What on earth is the mana source that can activate that many magic formulas at once?*
Normally, the number of magic formulas used in a slime was five at most.
But the number of formulas used in this slime was around a hundred.
Leo was watching the familiar with interest when…
*Ooze—*
The slime began to gather into one mass, eventually taking on a single form.
Seeing it, Leo narrowed his eyes.
*An elf?*
The shape it took was that of an elf mage about Leo’s age.
Just then, Chloe’s face filled with surprise.
“The Comet Mage?”
At her words, Leo narrowed his eyes and stared at the slime.
*It looks exactly like him.*