[▶We Wish to Confirm Whether They Are Biological Siblings.]
[▶We Wish to Confirm Whether They Are Biological Siblings.]
"...."
At some point, my eyes opened. My vision was still blurry, but I could make out a stark white ceiling.
As always, mountains of research awaited me today.
Without a moment's hesitation, I rose from the bed. The sunlight streaming through the window was warm — it promised to be a perfect day for the pursuit of magic.
"Mm."
Just as I stepped away from the bed.
─Kaplan, not up yet?
Someone called my name from beyond the door.
For a moment, I doubted my ears. It was the voice of someone I could no longer hear.
BANG—
The next instant, the door burst open without leave and a familiar silhouette appeared. Along with it drifted the unmistakable scent of a witch's workshop.
"You...."
"You skipped meals again because of your research, didn't you? I've brought you something."
Her face as she lifted the basket was faint. Only her snow-white hair shone — the rest of her features I couldn't make out.
A tightness gripped my chest.
"Hey, Master! I came along too!"
While I stood there frozen, my disciple appeared behind her, waving a hand high. A wide grin spread across that face.
"...What is this."
"What do you mean, I'm your disciple!"
Cheeky smile still in place, the brat began pulling food from the basket and helping set it out. Between the hands of those two women, the empty table was soon laden with dishes.
"...."
Unable to believe it, I fixed my gaze on her with an intensity that bored through her silhouette. When our eyes met, she flushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Why are you staring like that? It's embarrassing."
Feeling as though I needed to splash cold water on my face, I moved toward the washbasin. But something was off. I slowly raised my head and looked into the mirror.
My reflection seemed to be grieving. That I could feel grief was incomprehensible.
And, surely, something that should never be permitted.
Then a spirited voice called from outside again.
"Master! I'm digging in first, okay!"
I finished washing up and went back to the table.
Appetizing sandwiches, bok choy, neatly sliced fruit — the table was already full. I simply watched the two of them eat.
"...Kaplan."
Then, suddenly, she spoke my name in a solemn voice. Without meaning to, I focused my attention entirely on her.
And the next moment.
She said something I couldn't comprehend in the slightest.
"I'm glad we could be together like this. But I have to go now."
I couldn't fathom where she meant to go. If anyone was an intruder here, surely it was you, not me.
"Huh?"
My disciple let out a puzzled sound.
"You were singing your heart out about how much you missed Master.... So soon? At least stay for a cup of tea."
He said this while noisily chewing a sandwich. It was a habit so familiar I still hadn't forgotten it — one I had pointed out to him many times over.
"Master~ do give some thought to the Great Witch every now and then. I swear you're practically engaged to magic."
Normally I would have told him to shut his mouth. But somehow, this time.
"If I find the leisure.... I shall."
It felt like those were the words I had to say.
Then she spoke again.
"Anyway, go on now. You must keep your promise."
"I believe I said I have no cause to visit the Magic Tower."
"No. Not the Tower."
She cut me off firmly.
The moment our eyes met in the empty air.
Words failed me.
"We made a promise, remember."
Her eyes were immeasurably sad.
"We promised not to let each other be lonely, didn't we?"
"...!"
That instant, my eyes flew open.
My breath was labored and my throat was tight. When I pressed my palm to my forehead, it was already drenched in sweat.
"...."
A dream.
For a while, no thoughts came at all. I only acknowledged the fact that I would never see those two again.
And I was steeped in an indescribable feeling. Those humble days that were more precious than anything — to think they would unfold before my eyes again as a dream.
"Haah."
I must have been heavily fatigued. In any case, the morning of the Subjugation Festival had dawned.
Quietly, I recalled that promise with her. The next moment, Becky, Louis, and Trixie surfaced in my mind in that order.
"A promise, was it."
And the corner of my mouth lifted into a faint smile.
"...I suppose I've been keeping it, in my own way."
◈
Just before leaving my quarters, I checked over several things.
The journey to Berkel had, in truth, furnished me with a fair amount of meaningful help.
My mana in this world was still finite. That meant every use of magic demanded an optimal calculation, and my reserves were constantly being wrung to their limit.
But precisely because of that.
The whole process served as exceptional training. My affinity with Hera had risen dramatically as well.
The Night Spirit, Hera, spoke in an excited tone.
[It seems I could manage spirit transformation now, you know?]
"Spirit transformation."
A matter of increasing mana capacity.
Truthfully, the assistance Hera had given me up to now amounted to essentially that single function.
Increased calculation ability, enhanced magic power in dark places.... The rest of her functions hadn't provided any particularly meaningful help.
But 'spirit transformation' was different.
Hera's form, fixed as a glove until now, could from this point be shaped into whatever 'something' I desired. It was bound to be exceptionally useful.
"I understand that I can designate the form."
[Yes, correct! But for refined shaping, the two of us will have to get much, much closer going forward.]
"Let us attempt it once, first."
[But before that — attunement comes first!]
"I was referring to attunement."
I accepted Hera's mana with all the strength I could muster.
"...!"
And simultaneously, an astonishing pain surged through me.
Agony as though every bone in my body was being ground down, as though my muscles were twisting and tearing — the exorcism-like agony of a body being forcibly remade.
A grinding crunch—!
Sounds that a body should not produce rang vividly in my ears. The pain did not subside as time passed — it only grew more immense.
However.
Eyes closed and focused, I endured all of it. I could not help the sweat that streamed down my face, but I would show no sign of weakness.
That quality which ought, perhaps, to exceed even that of an aristocrat.
'The dignity of a mage.'
I merely stayed faithful to that.
Soon the mana I had taken in gradually began to come under control. I distributed it evenly throughout my body, understood its flow, and made it wholly my own.
"Cough...!"
A murky clot of blood was expelled from my mouth. More agonizing than ever before — yet in the end, the result of this higher-order attunement was success.
I slowly lifted my eyelids. My body was running hot with the newly accepted power.
"Now we will attempt spirit transformation."
[P-please be gentle with me...?]
Spirit transformation belongs fundamentally to the summoning type, but it is a magic with superb synergy with the manipulation type.
I concentrated on Hera's form. When I channeled in mana, what had been merely a black glove began to undulate and ripple.
The results of the experiments that followed were straightforward.
Forms requiring multiple components, like a music box, were a failure. However, simple shapes like a needle could be achieved without difficulty.
"This much is sufficient."
[Ah, couldn't you play with me just a little longer....]
Right at the moment I had finished confirming that.
─BANG!
Suddenly, someone flung the door open.
"Plan! The point gap's widened massively instead...!"
The one who had thrown open the door was Becky.
"...!"
Becky couldn't finish her sentence. She took in my state, and her brow began to tremble faintly.
"What is your business."
I cleaned the bloodstained corner of my mouth and the desk with magic, changed shirts on the spot, and quietly asked.
"Ah.... Well...."
Becky mumbled and let her gaze sweep over me once. She couldn't find her next words for a long moment, then asked in a deeply worried tone.
"Plan, you.... A-are you hurt? Does your body hurt somewhere?"
"Nothing is amiss. I believe I asked your business."
Only then did Becky begin to explain the whole story.
"Ah. That. Um.... I won points. I won at poker, so I bought a few souvenirs to give to you...."
"I will look over them later."
"Oh, uh. Sorry. I'll get out of your way. I barged in way too suddenly...."
Becky withdrew, looking deeply worried. Even as the door sealed shut, she kept stealing glances back at me, gauging my mood.
Alone in the room again, I examined a few more things.
"Come to think of it...."
The blank card I'd received from the head of the Magic Department, Conet, suddenly surfaced in my mind.
Checking it after a long while, there was a meaningful change. The characters were nearly all risen to the surface now, and I had a vague sense of what this was.
It was likely an artifact that supplied magic power. I would probably be able to draw out as much as I wanted within a set limit.
"To think it would be a kind of blank check."
Not gold coins, but a plan to dispense magical power — such a quintessentially department-head move that I nodded to myself.
Then, at some moment, it struck me.
'...?'
In my previous world, handing over an object imbued with one's own mana was widely understood among mages as a deeply concentrated act of courtship. Could it be that in this world too....
"Well, no matter."
For now, either way made no difference. Far more important was the purpose of this nameplate.
I tucked it into my inner pocket, then pulled out Trivia.
Whether someone had spread the word, a considerable number of requests had been coming into the Teaching Auction recently.
"I made it clear that I only accept matters pertaining to magic...."
Disappointingly, most were rather miscellaneous.
For example, someone presumed to be Maeve had requested being taught an "assassination magic that leaves no trace and uses blue mana." Naturally, I had no intention of teaching such a thing.
[Trixie]
[▶Ah, the reason I couldn't get back to you earlier]
[▶was because I accidentally left my Trivia behind hehe]
[▶Were you perhaps feeling put out by any chance...? 8ㅅ8]
I sent Trixie only a cursory reply.
Paging past a stream of useless content as I sifted through the requests, I finally discovered one that piqued my interest.
[GwangyaVanMate]
[▶Good day. I am making a respectful inquiry.]
[▶Is it true that you can answer anything at all so long as it relates to magic?]
[▶If so, I ask that you conduct an intensive investigation into the magic of a single person. Compensation will be provided to your satisfaction at whatever level you desire.]
[▶The subject is a first-year at the Academy: Plan Yudit.]
Plan Yudit.
The anonymous requester had clearly written that. They already knew I was a scion of the Yudit family.
Yet what seized my attention more was written on the very next line.
[▶Additionally, I ask that you investigate the Inherent Ability of Scarlett Yudit, also well known as the Knight of Embers.]
[▶Conduct a comparative analysis of the energy of these two individuals.]
─Would all team representatives please gather at the plaza!
─The announcement is being repeated.
─Would all team representatives please gather at the plaza.
Right on cue, the announcement broadcast began ringing through the lodging house. I left my room immediately.
Walking down the corridor, I sent a reply to the requester.
[▷The request itself is not difficult.]
[▷However, I must know your intent.]
The response came back without the slightest delay.
[▶I wish to confirm whether you are full siblings.]
And it contained rather astonishing content, at that.