The Smile at the Corner of His Mouth
A smile touched the corner of Yujun's mouth.
Facing Yenil doesn't feel uncomfortable anymore.
He had created true New-Generation Magic.
If anything, he was eager to see her as soon as he could.
Heh... I'll knock her flat.
Following that impulse, he went straight to the market of the Heavenly Realm and sought Yenil out first. Finding her was not difficult. She carried a distinctive aura, and she had wanted so many things that she was still lingering in the market.
"You've come?"
"Did you get what you wanted?"
"There are far more serviceable items than in the age I lived. I spent every last point you gave me. Forgive me."
He had given her five billion points, hadn't he.
"The money's fine."
He still had close to three hundred billion.
Yujun waited for Yenil to ask about magic first.
"......"
"......"
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Nothing. Don't you have something to say?"
"Ah. Thank you for lending me the points."
"Not that."
"Hm? Then I have nothing."
What's wrong with her?
Yujun's mouth twisted. It rankled that Yenil, who would normally have begged him to teach her magic, was doing no such thing.
Of all days, she doesn't ask today.
She couldn't possibly know, which only made the situation more perverse.
"How strange. That isn't like you. If you have something to say, then say it."
At Yenil's words, Yujun let out a hollow laugh.
"You're not going to ask about magic? You used to keep begging me to teach you."
Pride bent, he asked first, because he had no other choice.
"You seemed busy, so I held back. If you have the time, teach me."
"Is that all it was?"
Only then did Yujun brighten.
"Yes. But if you are asking me that, does it mean I am ready to advance to the next stage as well?"
"That's right."
He had no intention of teaching Yenil New-Generation Magic as it truly was. A degraded version of New-Generation Magic—and, at the same time, an upgraded form of Ancient Magic. That was the easiest way to think of it. It was magic founded on what he had first conceived, and honestly, even this was so exceptional that he almost regretted giving it away.
Still, since I already decided to teach her, I shouldn't hold back.
The difficulty was high enough that anyone short of a mage of Yenil's caliber would struggle to acquire it. Simply learning a single spell took a long time; mastering an entire system went without saying. He even wondered whether Yenil might fail to take it in at all.
"What will you teach me this time?"
"Not here. Let's take a large room."
"Very well."
Yujun's party claimed a room at the largest inn near the market. Money was rotting in his pockets, and he had no mind to pinch pennies over something so trivial.
"First stage. I'm going to hammer it into your head, so memorize all of it."
"...When you put it that way, it is a little frightening."
"Your memory's good anyway, isn't it?"
"I shall do my best."
"Manuela. Paranet. You two go do your own things."
"Okay."
"As you command."
Yujun laid a powerful barrier over the entire room and began explaining to Yenil the magic system he had established. More precisely, he poured it into her. As she listened, her expression shifted from moment to moment, and as time passed a shadow seemed to settle over her face.
"Wait a moment."
"What? Did you forget it?"
"I memorized all of it. I simply do not understand."
"Understanding comes later. For now, just listen."
"Ah. Very well."
After talking for another thirty minutes, Yujun grew thirsty and took a sip of water.
"It is finished, then?"
"No? I've only explained about half."
"......"
Yenil's hunger for magic was immense, but she could not help making a miserable face. Almost none of what he had explained so far was something she could understand, and there was still more? Half of it still remained? Just as despair took hold of her, Yujun added one more line.
"Everything up to now was the foundation. From here, it's the advanced course."
"...What? You are joking."
"I don't joke with magic."
He did lie, though. Yujun swallowed the rest. He had a prior offense, after all.
"I never planned to teach you the system itself. So listen closely."
"...Is this New-Generation Magic? It is extraordinarily difficult."
"Strictly speaking, it isn't New-Generation Magic. I upgraded it a little."
"Upgraded? You mean you laid hands on the magic system itself?"
"Yeah. Closer to a modification, really."
"Madness. Is your passion for magic greater than even mine? I cannot begin to imagine how much time you poured into this, Shin Yujun... You did not become a Grand Archmage for nothing."
Yenil was laboring under a strange misunderstanding, but a mage of her caliber could hardly fail to grasp what it meant to tamper with a magic system. She would know very well. The thought was understandable. She furrowed her brow, and yet, with a face that lovely, it was like looking at a painting.
Hm?
Yujun's head snapped toward Paranet. That had not been his own appraisal. Paranet's thoughts had reached him. Of course, the creature's thoughts did not always come through—only when the emotion grew intense. Which meant that the feeling that had struck Paranet upon seeing Yenil had stormed through him like a gale.
"Paranet."
"...Yes."
Guilty to the bone, Paranet did his best to arrange an innocent expression, turned his head, and answered. He knew his feelings had been conveyed to Yujun. Yujun held back the laugh that threatened to escape.
"If Asilien finds out, this is going to be a disaster, isn't it?"
"Master. Please keep it a secret."
Paranet looked desperate. Five meters of giant rubbed both hands together, begging for mercy. Yujun glanced at Manuela in the distance and spoke as if whispering.
"You don't react like that when you look at Manuela."
"To be honest, that woman is my type. She has been since my days as an alchemist."
"......"
An undead summon's taste. If he told Asilien, there would be a genuine uproar. He had no desire to poke a hornet's nest for no reason, so he decided not to tell her.
"Not Manuela?"
"No. I prefer tall women."
"Then you ought to meet a Titan. With the size you are now, it'd be a perfect match."
"That is a bit much... And I still love Asilien. I may let my eyes wander toward other women, but I have no intention of giving them my heart."
"Really?"
"Yes."
He could feel that it was not a lie.
"Devoted unto death... not quite. You did look aside, after all."
"I still love her, but she and I are finished."
"Asilien seemed to want you."
"Master. I am undead. She only spoke that way in the joy of the moment. Given time, she will surely come to regret those words."
"Hmm..."
Yujun had no choice but to agree. With the undead, one could not do the things lovers ordinarily did. Nothing at all. Only an emotional communion could be shared.
Well, they did say a witch's love lasts forever. If that's true, it might not be impossible for her and Paranet to stay bound together.
For his part, Yujun hoped Paranet and Asilien would work out. Not because he expected any help from Asilien, but because what he wanted most was Paranet's happiness.
I've grown fond of him, and he's suffered plenty because of me.
Even so, he had no thought of setting him free. Paranet's usefulness was simply too great. Once the summon's churning heart had settled somewhat, Yujun finished explaining the latter half of the magic system to Yenil.
"Don't try to understand it. Just listen for now. If you only try to grasp the front half without knowing the whole flow, it'll be a disaster."
"Understood. I will do as you say."
Inquisitiveness—the chronic illness of mages. Yenil habitually tried to analyze the system Yujun had taught her. He had cut that off.
"Hoo..."
Only after he had finished every explanation for Yenil did Yujun let out a deep breath. He had only been reciting what he already knew, so why was he this tired? Still, it had counted as study. Didn't they say review yielded a high learning effect? In fact, the rank of his Magic Comprehension trait had risen.
SSS+ → EX ★
The rank had climbed so absurdly that he sat stunned for a while. EX was hardly a rank one earned by running one's mouth, and yet a single explanation had raised it just like that.
Ah. In a way, is it obvious?
His magic had already reached GX+ rank. It was not merely a high rank, either, but New-Generation Magic, far more advanced than Ancient Magic. In that state, Magic Comprehension rising to EX was not strange in the least.
Luck keeps calling more luck.
Yujun believed everything was thanks to luck, but in truth his abilities were simply interacting with one another.
Ah. I should have left out the mana circulation part when I explained earlier.
Now that Magic Comprehension had ranked up, he could see that the earlier explanation had been just a little inefficient. It hardly mattered anymore.
"Do you understand all of this?"
"All of what?"
"The things you explained."
"Yeah. Of course?"
He had made them. There was no way their creator would fail to understand. Yenil, however, could not even dream that Yujun had created the magic system. When he had first deceived her, he had boasted that New-Generation Magic was superior to Ancient Magic.
"I will acknowledge it. Shin Yujun. Among every mage I have ever seen, you seem the greatest genius."
"......"
There was no mage who lacked a good head. If there were, they would be some low-level player who had never grown much. And yet, among mages who were at the very least called prodigies or geniuses, the greatest genius of all? This was flattery beyond flattery.
"Genius, what genius. I just got lucky."
He was not being modest. He genuinely could not feel it. He could sense his magic improving by leaps and bounds, but that his mind had grown sharper? It had, certainly, yet he did not feel like a genius himself.
Or maybe being a genius was never anything special to begin with?
In any case, even if Yenil was overestimating him, it was true that he knew magic better than she did. How long would it take her to understand the system? She had shown overwhelming skill even in an age crowded with outstanding mages, so she was unlikely to fail to absorb his knowledge. It would probably just take a while. Then Yenil bent at the waist.
"Thank you. Truly."
"For what. I'm just teaching you what I promised."
"That is not it. You taught me magic that is yours alone, did you not?"
"...What?"
The words struck the heart of the matter, and Yujun was faintly flustered.
"It is not the New-Generation Magic used by the mages of this age, the one you spoke of."
"How did you know?"
"How could I not? What you just taught me is a magic system so superior that the difference is unmistakable."
"......"
This was far too embarrassing. It was not something he needed to be deeply ashamed of, and yet it felt as if every private shortcoming had been laid bare. His lie had been found out, after all.