You Exceed Imagination. You Truly Seem Like a Human Mage.
You Exceed Imagination. You Truly Seem Like a Human Mage.
After their victory in the first discipline of the Magic Sword Grand Festival—Combat—the Magic Department students welcomed their first weekend.
The sky was a brilliant painted blue, and the weather was flawless.
On a day when everyone felt the urge to be out and about, there was one girl who still kept to her disciplined routine.
Trixie von Fritz.
Seated on a bench in the training ground, she was utterly absorbed in studying Trivia.
Her discarded jacket, the academy uniform pants that fit snugly, and her sweat-dampened blue hair made the scene itself a painting.
Only she could make it so.
[ ▷ Enjoyin' yer weekend? ]
[ ▷ Yer disciple was seriously amazin' out there ]
[ ▷ I wanna be like that someday too ]
As much as she kept a strict schedule of study, training, ballet, and meals, lately she had been just as devoted to Trivia.
Waiting for Teaching-ssi's reply, Trixie recalled the way Plan had looked during the match.
"Hmm."
The sharpness that emanated from his keen features wasn't limited to his appearance alone.
Against Ivan, the first-year prodigy of the Knight Department hailed as a supernova, he had proven that his attitude wasn't the only sharp thing about him.
He had declared it without hesitation, and in the end, he had proven it.
'Soon enough.'
—Settle it with flame.
She remembered vividly the conversation she'd had with Plan on the day of the physical examination at the Magic Tower.
They had agreed to a match after the Magic Sword Grand Festival ended. That time was drawing near.
To say she wasn't nervous would be a lie. Plan's performance in the match had been nothing short of extraordinary.
But she had no intention of making a fuss. Nor did she plan to let anyone see her fidgeting or agonizing over it.
The discipline for their match was "flame." And so, Trixie was not anxious. All she had to do was give her best.
Fritz was the blue flame, and the blue flame was Fritz.
She would never be defeated. She would win without fail and become Teaching-ssi's prized disciple.
"Nn."
Just then, a reply came on Trivia, and Trixie let out an odd little sound without meaning to.
[ ▶ No reason you can't. ]
Today his words felt kinder than usual. Or maybe not.
The imagination was free. Trixie decided to interpret it however pleased her.
But there was one scene from the battle that lingered with uncanny clarity in Trixie's mind.
It was the moment when Plan, at extremely close quarters with Ivan, had slipped past her swordsmanship.
'A mage, fighting in close combat.'
A paper-thin margin.
If he had misjudged by even the thickness of a single sheet of paper, some part of his body would have been cut. That strange spectacle was especially vivid.
Nor had it been an awkward, desperate evasion. It was fluid, and utterly natural.
It had been closer to reading everything about his opponent and deliberately guiding the path of her swordsmanship astray.
Her fingers moved swiftly.
[ ▷ By any chance, did ya teach him the movements 'n stuff too? ]
[ ▶ You liked it, then. ]
"...!"
Trixie's eyes went wide for an instant.
[ ▷ As if that could ever happen. ]
[ ▷ That's annoyin'. ㅡㅅㅡ ]
[ ▷ Yer impressions and all, yer way too full of yerself! ]
But a moment later, a rather shocking reply arrived.
[ ▶ The movements and the impressions were both my instructions. ]
"Huh."
Trixie's hand, gripping Trivia, gave a startled twitch. What was she supposed to reply in a situation like this?
No, to be honest, Trixie didn't know how to handle any of this. Teaching-ssi was the first person she had ever truly corresponded with.
[ ▷ Hang on. ]
She couldn't just not reply, so she sent that and quickly closed Trivia.
She would gather opinions from her maids, and if a good suggestion came up, she would send her reply accordingly.
'Anyway.'
What would it feel like to see Teaching-ssi himself perform those elegant movements, those splendid impressions...? Trixie's thoughts stretched in that direction.
...It would probably feel something close to paradise.
In ballet terms, it would be akin to an arabesque or a penché. Trixie roughly imitated the motion.
And then, still holding the pose.
"Because a mage defeating a knight is exactly that simple a thing."
But that was when it happened.
The training ground door swung open with a bang, and Becky thrust her body inside.
"Ughhh, I'm dying of sleepiness... Huh?"
Their gazes met in midair.
"...!"
"...!"
Both of them recoiled. If one had to say, Becky seemed slightly more shocked.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
For a while they both stood frozen like that, and then Becky was the first to break the silence.
"Uh... Trixie, you think so too?"
"Get out."
"Okay."
◈
"What a peculiar woman."
That was my assessment, spoken right after waking and while examining the blank paper I had received from Chancellor Conet.
Outwardly, it was an object with no particular effect.
But the reality was slightly different. When the appointed time came, ink would rise onto the blank paper of its own accord.
Precisely because it had no notable effect, it was rather troublesome for me.
This device was not magical—it was thoroughly mundane, which made it impossible to interfere with beforehand to move up the date.
"It doesn't matter. No hindrance."
It was not an urgently needed item. I tucked it into my inner pocket.
[ Master, I look forward to serving you from now on~ ]
And at last, I formed a contract with Hera.
The black cotton glove worn only on my left hand was a bit awkward.
But just as I had sensed the moment I first saw Hera, and just as I had heard from her, the performance was reasonably satisfactory.
"A spirit artifact truly is a spirit artifact."
The ability to assist with magical computation was of no use to me whatsoever....
But the fact that in dark spaces all acts utilizing mana were strengthened, and the fact that I could share in Hera's total mana reserves.
These could certainly be called indisputable merits.
[ The longer we stay close like this, the better our compatibility gets, you know? So please keep me with you all day! ]
"Hera."
[ Yes, Master! ]
"Now that I think of it, I don't recall giving you permission to speak."
I gave Hera's circuits a firm, crushing squeeze and then left the dormitory. Naturally, during the process, Hera could not even scream.
It was the weekend and the weather was fine, so the academy grounds were already full of students wandering about.
...And at the same time, I began to feel annoyance.
Being in a crowd was nothing new. The finest educational institutions always held a large resident population of students, faculty, and various staff.
However.
The degree of attention was the problem.
"Hey, isn't that him? Look, look at him."
"I think that's Plan, right? They say he was the only first-year to win in the Combat discipline...."
Of course, I was not cowed or swept up even in the face of all that attention. The issue was simply that annoyance was a thing that never grew familiar but remained persistently annoying.
[ Master, you're really popular, aren't you? Oh, right. I'm not supposed to speak. ]
Hera began chattering and then clamped her mouth shut.
Tch. I clicked my tongue once and quickened my pace. I would finally find freedom in the library.
Once I arrived, I deliberately sought out the least popular section.
An area dense with books on the "Harmonization" school, which most mages found tedious. H-42. There, I examined the midterm evaluation notice.
[ Midterm Evaluation Notice Board ]
▶ Midterm evaluations will proceed starting tomorrow.
▶ Location: Magic Exhibition Institute 'Sapour'
▶ Supervising Professor: Brody
▶ The detailed method of evaluation will be announced after the exhibition tour.
"The Magic Exhibition Institute, is it."
I naturally felt no pressure whatsoever about evaluations, but the words "Magic Exhibition Institute" stirred my interest.
Exhibitions were one of the very few things that had interested me even in my previous world.
It was an exposition where all manner of magic gathered for the improvement, development, and promotion of magic. It was harder not to be interested.
But that was when it happened.
A woman stood beside me and casually picked up a book.
『 How Elves Utilize Harmonization Magic 』
The quality of the translator was abysmal—I was thinking that when she murmured quietly.
"In the Lumen of the north, a single mercenary appeared out of nowhere and overturned the entire war."
The words were so utterly without context, I wanted to ignore them.
But I could not. She and I were the only ones in the H-42 section.
Turning the pages one by one, she continued. It was certain: she was speaking to me.
"In the Great Forest of the central region, a single merchant suddenly appeared and had the entire commercial sphere in the palm of their hand. It caused an uproar."
With a crisp snap, she closed the book.
"And now, in the east, at Märchen Academy.... An F-grade student is producing miracles."
With those words, she abruptly offered a deeply respectful bow.
"Master of Disguise. Pride of the clan. It has been a long time, Lady Maeve. You are enjoying yet another wondrous diversion, I see."
"...."
My name is not Maeve. Nor do I possess such an alias.
When I turned my head to examine her appearance, my eyes narrowed involuntarily.
Tak—.
I closed my book.
Her mana aura was pure, but instead of blue, it was purely red. Put simply, that meant she was not human.
As I observed her in silence, she spoke again.
"Your qi sense remains as excellent as ever. Moreover, your art of disguise surpasses all imagination. Truly, you seem just like a human mage."
She smiled brightly.
"It is both an honor and a relief to meet you like this. Even for us, finding Lady Maeve is no easy task.... The clan's concerns have been considerable."
Disguise, clan, concerns.
With those three words alone, I could grasp that I had become entangled in some kind of affair.
The things she was saying to me were all decidedly unusual. Yet she did not seem to be lying in the least.
'Maeve, was it?'
It appeared there was a figure named Maeve who had caused major incidents in the east and central regions using a disguise ability.
And now, she was confusing me with Maeve.
I needed more information.
There would be no harm in playing along for a moment.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"What is it."
"First, when do you plan to transport the item? Her Highness the Princess is waiting with great eagerness."
Her gaze shifted toward my left hand. It seemed the "item" referred to Hera.
Now that I thought about it, this was stolen goods to begin with. It was not strange that someone would come looking for it.
Though it was slightly unexpected that it belonged to non-humans.
The fortunate part was that she considered me not the thief, but the transporter.
I openly twisted my expression.
I could afford to. She thought of me as the superior here.
"Should I not be the one receiving the report?"
"Ah, my apologies."
The woman lowered her head.
"We are a cell organization, so clearing out the rat traps took some time. For an academy, they've got an absurd number of little rats scurrying about...."
Little rats.
I wondered if it was connected to what Yushia had mentioned—the recent discovery of many evil ones.
I probed her indirectly.
"You made quite a commotion, I hear."
She lowered her head even more deferentially.
"My apologies. The rats this time were rather large, so after severing their limbs and plucking out their eyeballs.... We slowly burned their torsos to death."
Not as villainous as I'd assumed.
There were a few more things to confirm. Before mentioning the transport, she had used the word "first."
That meant there was a separate main topic.
"The transport is my own affair to handle. Is it not."
"Y-yes, it is."
"I will postpone the punishment for your insolence. First, summarize the main point."
She nodded as if in understanding.
"Yes. The deployment of the clan inside the exhibition institute Sapour is complete. The assassination of key figures and the seizure of the item. Both should proceed smoothly."
Seizure of an item.
My interest naturally turned in that direction.
An item worth seizing from the Magic Exhibition Institute.... It could only be a magical tool.
I asked, somewhat indirectly.
"What do you think of it."
"Pardon?"
"The item. Is it of value."
When our eyes met, the woman wore an expression of utmost humility and busily moved her lips.
"How could one as lowly as myself possibly presume.... It is the very object Lady Maeve has so long yearned for, so it will undoubtedly be magnificent."
Upon hearing that answer, I found myself wearing a satisfied smile without realizing it.
"Is that so."
No trace of worry or concern arose.
Only—a surge of curiosity about what that item might be came first.