— Märchen Rank Mage 'Kaplan' —
— Märchen Rank Mage 'Kaplan' —
"The young lady Trixie... what business could she possibly have back at the mansion?"
The day after the pop quiz, Trixie returned to the mansion.
Five maids sprang into frantic motion. One laid out clothes, one prepared a warm towel, one readied the cosmetics....
All of it, for the sole purpose of attending to Trixie the moment she finished her ballet practice at the manor.
"Move faster. I don't want to see anyone sobbing their eyes out after getting another scolding."
"Not crying would be the weird part. Ugh, just imagining it...."
Chattering among themselves, the maids hurried to the ballet studio. And the moment the studio door that held Trixie opened—
Every maid held her breath.
Trixie von Fritz.
A body honed to flawless curves, and a gaze so sharp it pierced. Confronted with the presence those two elements created, no one could react any other way.
"......"
The maids made no sound at all as they quietly attended to Trixie.
Wiping down her sweat-soaked body, changing her clothes, applying cosmetics to her skin....
The entire process took less than a minute. That was how well-trained the Fritz household's maids were.
The moment the maids, having finished their work, began to file out—
"Stop."
Trixie uttered a single syllable.
The maids turned back instantly. They dashed straight back and lined up in a row.
Trixie crossed her arms and let the silence stretch.
The maids felt as though they were dying. They trembled, exchanging glances with one another.
Was there a problem with the cosmetics? Had the towel's temperature been off? Had they failed to check the attire properly...?
"Listen carefully."
Before anyone could step forward, the maids dropped to their knees. Today, too, someone was going to be scolded until they sobbed uncontrollably....
Hm.
Trixie clasped her chin in deliberation. At that, the maids' bodies began to tremble violently.
Hmm.
The deliberation grew longer. The youngest maid was already on the verge of tears. Amidst it all, Trixie finally opened her mouth.
"Someone who has... had romantic contact with the opposite sex."
Trixie's gaze slid furtively toward a corner of the ballet studio.
"......Raise your hand."
A suffocating silence descended. As if time had stopped, every maid's movement ceased.
"......?"
And in the next instant, every maid's head tilted to the side in perfect unison.
◈
"...Hoo."
Late at night, long after everyone had fallen asleep, I sat at my desk and ran a hand down my face.
I had just finished writing out every last detail for the wall poster.
I can't afford idleness right now. Managing my schedule as a student while simultaneously preparing a wall poster was a bit exhausting.
[ To All Professors of Märchen Academy's Magic Department ]
That was the title of the wall poster.
At a glance, it was like a title condemning only the professors, but the content was, in practice, aimed at all mages.
I was confident that any mage with a functioning consciousness would inevitably agree with the opinions written there. After all, I had included only words that were perfectly correct.
Yet persuasion exists to move the hearts of those who do not agree so readily.
So I had also prepared a mechanism to persuade those who might object.
"They won't be able to object."
My hand swept over the illusion spell I had just finished composing.
Originally, this had been a problem meant to go up on the Agora Board....
I had lowered the difficulty so that anyone could solve it. Because anyone must be able to see it.
By appearing alongside the wall poster, this problem would lend weight to my words.
The caster who solved this formula would witness an illusion I had designed.
The landscape they would see wasn't terribly complex.
It was a formula into which I had poured the scenery of my previous world, as vividly as I could remember it. Seeing it would no doubt stir something within them.
Though it was only an illusion now, someday it would become reality in this world as well. I could only hope that many mages would be moved by this scenery.
And with that, it seemed everything I had to do today was done. I closed my eyes and reviewed, making sure I hadn't forgotten anything.
Just like every other day, today I had trained, read, and attended lectures.
...No, actually, regarding lectures, I had merely been present. The contents were so trite I saw no reason to lend them my ears.
The results of the pop quiz would be announced tomorrow. Which meant there was no need to worry about the evaluation just yet.
I judged it was about time to get some sleep.
I was heading toward the bed when Hera abruptly called out to me.
[ Master! Master! ]
"What."
I answered as I lay down.
[ W-well, I mean. Isn't it about time... for us to form a contract? ]
"Not at all."
I shut her down with a single word. Rushing a contract held no benefit for me.
A contract with a spirit artifact was eternal. The moment it was bound, the contract persisted even if one party died.
If I were to forcibly use a sentimental expression, we became 'companions'—but our relationship wasn't quite as equal as that word implied.
In practice, this dynamic varied wildly depending on each mage and artifact.
If a mage of no consequence contracted a spirit, they'd spend their whole life serving and begging for power. If both were roughly equal, they'd get along somewhat like friends.
In my case, however, I had absolutely no intention of making Hera a friend or companion.
A slave, though... that was worth considering.
Her current state is proof of that. I intended to ignore Hera until she was groveling and begging to serve me.
Everything needs to be tamed in advance. Otherwise, complications will arise later.
[ Master! Please, just use me! I'll really work hard! ]
Judging by the way she was talking, the taming was nearly finished.
Once I actually lay down, sleep didn't come.
Out of habit, I opened Trivia in the air. First, I relayed a command to Sepia.
[ ▷ A wall poster goes up tomorrow morning. ]
[ ▷ Merhen Daily is to run it as an extra edition. ]
Next, I used telekinesis to flip through the pages. In doing so, I encountered a staggering number of notifications.
[ ▶ Please just look at my message once ㅠㅅㅠ ]
[ ▶ Just reply once! Argh.... ]
[ ▶ Reply reply reply ]
[ ▶ Why aren't you replying ]
Astoundingly, every single one was from Trixie. The fact that each of the four messages had a completely different tone bothered me slightly.
It was only recently that I had learned the details about the Fritz family.
They were a renowned flame family, and their distinctive 'blue flame' was both their symbol and their pride.
After a moment's deliberation, I sent a reply.
[ ▷ I have something to teach. Are you willing to learn. ]
[ ▶ Huk, yes! ]
[ ▶ Please teach me! ㅎㅅㅎ ]
If the mindset of a prestigious family changes first, wouldn't it be easier for the thinking of others to follow?
I had no intention of forcing my thoughts on anyone. However, if this one felt what there was to feel, she would no doubt chase after it on her own.
[ ▷ Very well. ]
[ ▷ What I am teaching you today is a state of mind. ]
I began entering characters.
◈
The next day.
Violet visited the editing department of Merhen Daily from early in the morning. She had given in to Sepia's relentless insistence that she come see it without fail.
With a face steeped in fatigue, Violet asked Sepia:
"So, what's this about, calling me here at this hour."
"There's something I want us to look at together. Unni, will you take a look at this?"
Sepia calmly unfurled an enormous sheet of paper.
[ To All Professors of Märchen Academy's Magic Department ]
Violet read the title and her brow furrowed.
"What is this? A wall poster?"
"It's a wall poster that went up this morning. We're thinking of running it as an extra edition. Unni, take a look at it too."
Violet scanned the wall poster with sharp eyes.
[ The contempt directed at mages continues without end.
Yet for all this time, the combination of oppression from knights—and the trifling efforts of mages themselves—has produced no solution whatsoever to this situation.
Unless the very mindset of mages is changed, unless this structure in which contempt for mages can only pour forth is itself transformed, a fundamental solution is impossible... ]
"A student wrote this?"
Violet murmured without realizing it.
[ Let every single mage of Märchen Academy's Magic Department do their utmost toward a fundamental solution.
Establish rigorous standards, select your representatives, and devise a proper curriculum to foster the growth of mages.
I strongly demand that you strive without ceasing and put your principles into practice as if your lives depended on it.
One who bends the knee to none—that is a mage.
Resist, create, and have hope. Reject that which cannot be accepted.
Negate this entire world as it currently stands.
All those who seek to change the present circumstances of mages are in the right.
Therefore, do not worry. Simply press onward.
— Märchen-Rank Mage "Kaplan" — ]
"...No. A student didn't write this."
Violet shook her head.
The title and content were profoundly provocative, yet not a single part of it could be deemed objectively wrong.
What's more, its examination of magic and mages was of a remarkably high standard. It was impossible to think this came from a student-level mind.
From beside her, Sepia inquired casually.
"Unni, what do you think?"
"Quiet. Be quiet for a moment."
A curt reply came back, but Sepia was rather pleased. She was delighted that her unni was showing interest in the wall poster.
'I knew it!'
Sepia inwardly cheered.
Meanwhile, Violet's gaze moved to the problem at the bottom of the poster. She could immediately tell it was an illusion formula.
But the circuits were tangled in confusion, and so much effort had clearly gone into the illusion it was meant to display that a tremendous number of supplementary formulas were attached.
"......There isn't a single trace of the formula being revised, either."
Violet murmured, as if in disbelief.
"Right. That means it was created without a single correction. Incredible, isn't it?"
"I don't know who it is, but they poured an immense amount of work into this. The main text, and this formula added below."
At those words, Sepia burst into laughter.
"You know what? Unni, you look fully awake now."
"Does sleep matter right now? Who on earth wrote this? They pursue the same things I do."
"Yeah. I thought they were a bit like you, unni."
Violet whipped her head around to look at Sepia.
"And what is this 'Märchen Rank' phrase at the very bottom? Magical ranks are only distinguished by numbers."
"Right. Distinguished by numbers."
"Who wrote it? Tell me now. Is 'Kaplan' the name of an individual student? Or a group name?"
"Well, you see, there happens to be no group or individual with that name whatsoever. Found the poster just this morning and we're scrambling to put together an extra edition as we speak, you know?"
When Sepia played coy, Violet let out a deep sigh and turned her head away.
'Kaplan.... Kaplan....'
Violet repeated the name to herself, when suddenly, one student with a similar name naturally came to mind.
'Plan?'
She immediately shook her head. That was an absurd connection.
One thing was certain, however: Violet's attitude had changed.
Violet, who had originally planned to briefly hear Sepia out and then head off straightaway to prepare for her lecture, was now showing considerable interest in the wall poster.
Violet pointed a finger at the upper part of the formula and spoke.
"Let's verify this illusion formula right now. I'll calculate the top section, so you calculate the bottom."
"Alright. I'd been wanting to check it out myself, as it happens."
Without either being the first to move, both simultaneously began to unravel the sections they had taken charge of.
And the calculation didn't take long.
'Friendly' was a better descriptor than 'easy.' It was a formula so approachable that anyone who knew how to use magic could see it.
When the two women let mana flow into it at the same time, the illusion slowly unfolded.
At first, they saw an ordinary world. There were buildings, and people passing by.
They stared vacantly at the sight, when all of a sudden, Violet and Sepia tilted their heads. There was an inexplicable sense of dissonance.
And before long, they found the reason for that dissonance.
Outwardly, it had all the components of a normal world, but this was by no means a world that Violet and Sepia had ever experienced.
The first thing that caught their eyes was a tower of impossible, colossal scale. And they didn't need much time to understand that it was a Magic Tower.
Their mouths fell open.
How could a Magic Tower be that gigantic? It made the Magic Tower of reality feel like a toothpick by comparison.
And that wasn't all. As mages in formal attire passed by, knights offered them a silent bow of their heads. The mages gave a light nod in return.
There wasn't the slightest trace of fear in the eyes of the mages as they regarded the knights. Their faces, brimming with conviction, were rife with confidence.
Yet there was no attitude of looking down on the other party, either. It was simply the sense that all of this was as natural as an obvious truth.
They were clearly looking at an illusion, yet they both murmured at the same time.
"......It's so vivid."
Literally so. The scenery was as vivid as if it were a real, existing world.
Usually, worlds inside illusions only looked plausible on the surface.
A dog doesn't bark, a passing pedestrian spills a drink on their clothes and shows no reaction....
In most cases, these fine details are dead. That's only natural, for a world that is merely an illusion.
But.
"......It's, it's too vivid."
This was simply too vivid.
Just how desperately did the creator of this formula dream of such a world?
How deeply did they yearn for it, that one simply could not find any flaw in this illusion?
It didn't feel like an illusion in the slightest.
Mages sighing as they examined magic theses together; a few knights staring at the sight with wonder; a mage walking by and amiably greeting the child of a knight couple....
Everything was as natural as if it were showcasing a real world that truly existed.
Without realizing it, Violet raised her hand. The moment she reached out to tap the shoulder of one of the passing mages....
The illusion ended. The scenery of Merhen Daily's editing department unfolded before Sepia and Violet once more.
Sepia shifted her gaze to glance at her unni.
Violet was tracing her hand over only that formula. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but a spark of vitality was kindling in her eyes, heavy as they were with dark circles.
"So, we're going to run this as an extra edition now~ I wonder how everyone will react?"
Sepia asked, subtly probing.
No answer came. Sepia grabbed Violet by the shoulders and shook her.
"Hellooo~ Unni! I'm asking because I want your opinion!"
Violet, her body held and shaken, managed to speak.
"React, how."
Violet murmured.
Sepia looked at her unni.
Something unknown was beginning to ignite on Violet's fatigue-worn face. Not something negative, but something that called forth vitality.
"What are you asking such an obvious thing for."
Violet spoke again.
Not only Sepia, but Violet too was gazing steadily into Sepia's eyes.
Violet saw her own reflection contained within Sepia's clear pupils.
She did not see the image of herself, limp-eyed and steeped in fatigue. There was only the image of herself, seized by an unknown emotion.
Violet intoned, as if wringing the words from her lungs.
"......It's going to cause an absolute uproar."
She had finally realized, herself, that the nature of that unknown thing was 'passion.'