Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: New Star: Lua Polaris (1)
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Full-fledged mage of the Blue Tower, Repel Kreit.
He had trained countless disciples in the Tower for many years, yet his academic achievements were lacking, leaving him with little standing within the Tower.
He had never even been considered for a position as Tower Master, let alone Elder.
And now, Repel Kreit found himself seething with rage.
His disciple, Lua Polaris—who had recently left his lab to become a full-fledged mage—
had published a new paper almost immediately after departing, as if she had been waiting for the moment.
"Lua Polaris! You're deliberately trying to make your master look like a fool, aren't you!"
In his fury, Repel pounded on the door of Lua's lab.
Just a short while ago, Lua had been submitting crude, sloppy work for review that made him wonder what was going on.
But the moment she left his lab, she began revealing her true colors in earnest.
She had published a groundbreaking new paper that drew attention from everyone.
It hadn't been long since she left, so she couldn't possibly have conducted new research in that time.
That meant she must have been working on it in secret all along, away from his eyes.
All while deliberately submitting absurd nonsense for her promotion review.
"Why! Why did you bring me garbage like a 'magic spell to mimic a rooster's crow' when you had real research like this!"
Repel's voice, filled with injustice, echoed loudly down the corridor.
The contents of the research Lua had brought him over the years flashed through his mind.
—A magic spell to produce a rooster's crow every morning.
The spell didn't crow like a rooster; instead, it barked like a dog every dawn, so it was scrapped.
—A magic spell to peel an apple without a knife.
The apple peeled by this spell left only the core behind, so it was scrapped.
—A levitation magic spell.
No one had yet found where the frog used for testing this spell had gone.
Repel's vague guess was that he hadn't sent it into the air—he had probably blown it up.
Looking back, every single one was crude and bizarre magic.
The kind that made him wonder what on earth his disciple was doing.
"You must have thought your master was a joke! There's no other explanation! Argh!"
And now, this same disciple was suddenly publishing something like "long-distance voice transmission magic via mana resonance," driving her former teacher insane with frustration.
It had to mean she had deliberately brought him her weird research all along.
It was no wonder rumors had spread that Repel had many problems, or that the disciple was better off than the master.
From Repel's perspective, it was utterly unfair.
Sure, he had borrowed a bit of her ideas toward the end, but he had never been negligent in teaching her.
It was true that he had poured his passion into every disciple he had ever taught.
He hadn't done anything that would turn a "rooster crow" spell into a "dog bark."
As Repel continued pounding on the door and venting his grievances, nearby mages began trying to restrain him.
"Come on, Senior. Why are you doing this to a kid who's working so hard?"
"Let go! She's my disciple! One I raised, Repel Kreit!"
"Good grief, she's not an apprentice anymore—she's a proper mage now! Shouldn't you just watch over her and let her make her own way?"
"Ugh! You lot, let go!"
"If you had taught her well, would she have acted like this? You're the one who ruined a perfectly fine kid."
"Aaaaaah—!"
"It's a relief that she's finally found her own talent."
Even as he was dragged away by the crowd of mages, Repel struggled and resisted.
But an old mage who shut himself in his room day after day couldn't possibly overpower his juniors.
Repel Kreit was hauled away by his juniors, sobbing.
He simply couldn't understand how a disciple who had produced nothing but bizarre, worthless results day after day was suddenly acting like a grand Archmage.
What made it even more unjust was that if he complained to the other mages, they would accuse him of suppressing a talented mage.
Swoosh—.
As he was being dragged away by the mages, Repel caught sight of the lab door cracking open slightly.
"Lua... Lua Polaris...!"
Peek.
Lua poked her head out from behind the open door.
She cautiously glanced around, then spotted Repel and narrowed her eyes.
Stare—.
For a moment, Lua's eyes quietly fixed on her master.
Then, without a word, she silently mouthed words toward him.
'Pa-per thief.'
Repel's eyes followed the shape of her lips, reading each syllable.
The moment he understood the message his longtime disciple was conveying.
Thud—.
Lua Polaris closed the door again and retreated inside.
"Aaah... Aaaaaah...!"
Repel wailed at the sight of his disciple, who had been hiding her power.
It felt like he wouldn't be able to step outside for a while, holing up in his lab.
* * * * * *
Lua Polaris.
Lately, she had been riding high.
She had escaped the lab of her master, from which she once thought she'd never break free, and obtained permission to check out materials from Celestia's First Repository.
She had gained the right to publish any magical research materials from the Fantasy Repository Celestia as she pleased.
In fact, the material she had published recently had garnered a huge response in the Tower.
A candidate for the next Blue Tower Master—
She had successfully taken a small step toward fulfilling the great promise she had made with Johan.
Thanks to that, rumors were spreading among the Towers that "a genius newcomer has appeared in the Blue Tower."
"This is all thanks to Johan and Celestia."
As a result, letters filled with questions had started flying to her.
But replying to all those letters was no problem at all.
After all, she had an Archmage she could meet every night in her dreams.
No matter how difficult the question, she could just ask the Archmage in her dreams.
Archmage Johan answered even the toughest questions with ease.
"I wrote replies to yesterday's letters without any issues too... This should be fine, right?"
Thanks to him, Lua was able to respond to the flood of letters coming her way.
As a bonus, she could enjoy the Dessert Tower to her heart's content.
Lua had been reaping the benefits of Celestia in droves, but lately, one worry had begun to creep into her mind.
Wasn't she enjoying too many benefits without giving anything back?
That thought had surfaced in her own head.
"Maybe... I'm receiving too much without giving anything in return."
That's how relationships between people worked.
If you receive, you must also give.
And Lua had received so much from Johan.
Sure, she was doing his assignments now, but it was debatable whether that truly counted as repayment.
Would it be okay to keep just taking like this?
Lost in thought, Lua began racking her brain for ways she could help Johan.
"......"
Help with research?
Any research would progress far faster with the Archmage Johan alone.
A meal made with all her heart?
The hamburgers—or whatever they were called—at Celestia would be a thousand times tastier than her cooking.
Library cleaning?
No matter how she thought about it, Celestia was cleaner than her own lab.
Besides, Lua wasn't particularly skilled at cleaning.
After agonizing over it for a while, a sudden thought flashed through Lua's mind.
Am I actually more useless than I thought—.
She ended up thinking that.
"......As expected, a mediocre mage like me probably isn't much help to Johan."
Haa—.
With a sigh, Lua slumped over her desk, burying her head.
Was there really no way to help the library's Archmage other than collecting magic?
As Lua, lost in her worries, caressed the remnants of a magic tool on her desk.
Swipe.
Something light caught on her hand.
"......"
Lua lifted her head slightly from the desk and looked at the letter envelope now in her hand.
Had it come with one of the letters asking magical questions?
What was in her hand was a letter in an elegant envelope.
The sealed envelope bore an unfamiliar seal.
Lua's eyes quietly regarded the luxurious envelope.
"Where did this letter come from? From some noble family?"
She reached out and tore open the seal on the envelope.
Pop—.
Lua opened the envelope and pulled out its contents: a single card and a neatly folded letter.
A glossy, high-end card with a jester illustrated against a black background.
Letter paper that matched the envelope's refined atmosphere.
Gazing at them, Lua carefully unfolded the letter.
"Hmm......"
Lua's eyes scanned the letter from top to bottom, line by line.
At the top was praise for Lua Polaris, who had recently begun making a name for herself.
It seemed the mage who sent it had benefited from one of her replies.
He also mentioned discovering an ancient grimoire in some ruins recently.
He wanted to invite prominent mages, including Lua, to have them decipher the grimoire.
Her recent replies to mages' letters must have helped.
"An ancient grimoire... Johan would definitely be happy if I brought back a new one."
Given the luxurious envelope and the expensive-looking card enclosed, it didn't seem like a prank.
He clearly wanted renowned mages to sincerely interpret the grimoire.
Perhaps it even held the ancient summoning magic Johan had been hoping for.
Entertaining such hopes, Lua caressed the card on her desk.
The card in her hand was an invitation to the event.
"Two weeks from now... I'll have to work hard until then."
The event was two weeks away.
Still, until then, diligently doing Johan's assignments was Lua's job.
With a deep sigh, Lua picked up the magic tool from her desk.
What reward would Johan give her if she brought back an ancient grimoire?
Finding out would be a pleasure two weeks from now.