The Flower-Shaped Magic Circle
The magic circle drawn on the wall flowed downward like paint that still hadn't dried. The irregular puddle of the circle, having broken free of its intended form and pooled across the floor, surged upward at Arina's gesture and began taking on an entirely new shape—completely different from the original.
"Done!"
She had finally succeeded. Arina couldn't hide the joy that lit up her face. She examined her creation from every angle, checking for the slightest mistake in the flower-shaped magic circle she had crafted. The petals matched her vision perfectly—five in total. The stem was smooth and straight, without a single crooked line. And the circle's original effect remained intact; the surface of each petal glowed a pure, dazzling white.
When she plucked one of the shining petals, it crumbled into sparkling powder and scattered into the air like dust. The sight of those glittering motes dancing before her eyes was so ethereal it felt like a dream.
"You finally did it."
Professor Paracelsus, who had been watching from the side, clapped his hands and rose from his chair.
"Altering the form of the magic circle while perfectly preserving its inherent effect. Outstanding work."
The mana expenditure during the process had been remarkably minimal. It was likely due to Arina's natural mana affinity harmonizing with the mana’s tendency to disperse back into the atmosphere. In that regard, she had already surpassed him, her professor.
"I have no corrections to offer this time."
Time had been short, yet she had managed to complete the spell just before the deadline.
"Your progress is far faster than I anticipated."
It was probably thanks to the mock battles with the student council members, which had filled the gaps in her real combat experience. After all, humans grew fastest when faced with competition. As long as it didn't tilt to the extreme seen in the Fan Empire, a healthy dose of rivalry was always welcome. The desire to surpass someone or defeat them was well-known as the simplest way to ignite a person's will. In fact, the Academy Tournament itself was held with exactly that purpose in mind.
"Not at all. It's all thanks to your excellent guidance, Professor."
At Professor Paracelsus's praise, Arina scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. He let out a soft chuckle at the sight, adjusted his monocle, and continued.
"While you've learned the magic, you've only just succeeded in your first transformation of a magic circle, Student Arina."
In other words, she had only taken her first step into the magic system created by Kain. Though she had improved greatly compared to before, she still lacked the skill to truly shine in the Academy Tournament.
"The greatest strength of this magic system is its complete freedom. Always think ahead and anticipate when you cast."
Other ability users liked to say that mages were those who prepared. Giving a mage—who controlled every situation through sheer force of will—time to prepare was an incredibly foolish thing to do. And among all schools of magic, the one that most embodied this principle was the alchemical lineage.
"You're departing for the Mendelssohn Grand Territory tomorrow, correct? I won't be able to hold classes until the tournament concludes."
Professor Paracelsus offered a gentle, benevolent smile.
"You've worked hard keeping up with such a demanding schedule. Take care during the Academy Tournament and return safely. I'll be cheering for your success from here, Student Arina."
"Yes!"
The Academy Tournament was now right at their doorstep. Beaming brightly, Arina nodded with energetic determination under her professor's encouragement.
Her eyes were naturally drawn to the smartphone vibrating on the desk. The screen showed a call from an unknown number. Normally she would have ignored it as spam and flipped the phone over, but for some reason her finger moved to the accept button today.
"It's been a while. Have you been well?"
The moment she swiped the green icon with her thumb, a voice came through the speaker. Jealousy pressed the phone to his ear, his face twisting into a deep scowl.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"What exactly do you want me to say?"
Magic Sovereign Ern Benedict. The mage hailed as the strongest and greatest of the current era—if not all of history. The pioneer who had ushered in an age of magical civilization across the Ellemental Kingdom. Just as the Death King received absolute worship in the underworld, this man was revered by every mage alive. Unfortunately for him, Jealousy was not a mage.
His reply was curt and held zero trace of respect. On the other end of the line, the Magic Sovereign gave a bitter smile.
"Your attitude hasn't changed at all."
There wasn't the slightest hint of deference or admiration. Of course, he had never expected such things from this man. Still, as an Absolute Being, he had at least hoped for some measure of caution. Yet this guy ignored all that and spoke with pure bluntness. He really took after his master.
If the Death King simply didn't feel any value in showing respect because he was indifferent to worldly affairs, the difference was that Jealousy calculated everything first and deliberately chose to be rude even while knowing it would offend the other party.
The greatest rebel of this age, someone who despised being suppressed by anyone. A man with such a rebellious spirit that he wouldn't bend even before one of the five Absolute Beings who ruled the world. The very fact that someone like him had submitted to another was already absurd.
"Why would I bother speaking nicely to you? There's nothing likable about you."
His words were usually sharp as thorns, but today they carried an even keener edge. In truth, Jealousy's irritation had been building from the moment he answered the Magic Sovereign's call.
"Who gave you permission to hijack someone else's body? Mind control. Hacking a smartphone to make a call, then using a specific vibration pattern as a trigger to hypnotically manipulate the target's mind until they have no choice but to answer. Crossing the vast distance from the royal palace all the way to Benedict Academy. Piercing even a superhuman's mental defenses to interfere directly with the brain. It really is a wondrous display of power worthy of the title Absolute Being—but what Jealousy felt wasn't admiration. It was pure disgust.
Being ordered around or manipulated at someone else's whim was the one thing he hated most in this world.
"But if I hadn't done it this way, you wouldn't have answered, would you?"
"Obviously."
Jealousy answered shamelessly. Even if he had known it was the Magic Sovereign, he never would have picked up if the man hadn't forced the connection. No matter how impressive the other party was, he was allied with his master. As long as the man didn't go around casually slaughtering people in the streets like in the old days, there was no reason to fear or avoid him.
"So what do you want?"
It wasn't as if he were his master. There was no way someone of the Magic Sovereign's caliber would call just to check in on him. He had to have some reason.
"You're planning to attend the Academy Tournament, aren't you?"
The Magic Sovereign cut straight to the point, as if there was no reason to hide anything.
"......"
How did he know? Caught completely off guard, Jealousy fell silent for a moment. Realizing the silence itself was as good as confirmation, he clicked his tongue.
Of course, even if I'd denied it right away, he would've picked up on the tiny tremor in my voice.
The Absolute Beings—including his master—were all abnormal in their own ways. Their insight, intuition, and ability to see through people had reached the level of future foresight. The way they gathered clues was practically creating something out of nothing. It was probably a side effect of their minds transcending humanity and reaching the realm of gods. Or perhaps their original talents had unconsciously synchronized with the world's underlying system after they became Absolute Beings, becoming even more extraordinary.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about."
Even so, Jealousy played dumb without hesitation. His bold tone carried the attitude of What can you do about it if I deny it? The Magic Sovereign let out a hollow laugh at his audacity.
"There's no need to keep denying it when you've already been found out."
"I really don't know what you mean."
"Fine, let's go with that then."
At Jealousy's persistent denial, the Magic Sovereign sounded like he was willing to let it slide and simply shrugged over the phone.
"The position of academy professor can't mean much to you anyway. You were probably planning to skip without permission and follow along regardless of the penalty. You might have vacation days saved up, but the academy would never easily approve such a long absence for a brand-new professor who just started this year. Especially with so many others like Professor Karlsen and Professor Frankhorn already absent for tournament-related reasons. Unless it was truly unavoidable, your request would obviously get buried."
"Like I said, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'll send you."
"......"
What is this guy planning? Jealousy's eyes narrowed.
There's no way he'd do this out of pure goodwill without expecting something in return.
Did he want something from him? Was he planning to use this as leverage? Maybe it was the memory of being screwed over by Pride so many times. Jealousy glared at the smartphone with deep suspicion.
"It doesn't have any special meaning."
After the long silence, the Magic Sovereign answered as if it were nothing important.
"Even if I didn't give permission, you'd just run off anyway. I'd rather authorize it so the situation doesn't escalate. It sounds much better to say the school nurse was sent to the Academy Tournament to prepare for any student injuries than to say the school nurse arbitrarily skipped work and disappeared."
In a way, this was the Magic Sovereign's effort to prevent any stains from splattering onto the name Benedict Academy.
"Well, if that's how it is..."
In the end, the reason the Magic Sovereign had called was to pressure him not to cause any trouble since he'd grant what he wanted anyway. Jealousy's attitude flipped completely. He leaned all the way back in his chair, crossed his legs, and even started humming leisurely.
An excessively relaxed posture.
"Thank you so much for granting my wish even though I never asked. Esteemed Magic Sovereign."
In the end, he held the upper hand. There was no reason to feel uncomfortable. If anything, the fact that he had unintentionally put the Magic Sovereign in a tight spot actually improved his mood.
"Your tone sounds even more disrespectful than before."
"Must be your imagination."
"Anyway, I'll inform the president today."
With that, the call ended. Jealousy tossed the smartphone lightly onto the desk, a snickering laugh slipping from his lips.
I thought it was spam, but it turned out to be a call offering free gifts?
Thanks to this, he could head to the Mendelssohn Grand Territory without worrying about appearances. Of course, the long journey from the capital Raymond to the Mendelssohn Grand Territory wasn't exactly appealing. But unlike the Vivaldi Territory where there had been nothing worth looking forward to, this time a historic event awaited him—the young lady's participation in the competition.
Should I buy a proper camera? Using a smartphone to record the young lady's performance feels too wasteful.
Price was no object. He would just bill everything to Pride as mission expenses anyway. That guy would probably accept it without complaint if he said it was for documenting the young lady's growth. In a sense, he was an even bigger fool for her than Jealousy was.
What are the popular Magitower cameras these days?
Jealousy picked up the smartphone he had tossed aside. Tapping rapidly at the screen, he began searching with great enthusiasm. His thumb, adorned with beautifully sparkling nail art, flew across the display.
Just try not performing well, young lady. I'll kill that Togun bastard or whatever his name is.
Completely unaware that Pride was currently carrying out some kind of scheme in the Mendelssohn Grand Territory, Jealousy smiled in anticipation of nothing but Arina's brilliant performance.