If It Had Been You... It Means You Would Never Have Succeeded.
If It Had Been You... It Means You Would Never Have Succeeded.
I greeted the morning in the office of the World Within the Painting.
I'd stayed up all night, but I felt no fatigue whatsoever.
"...."
If anything, I was far too busy feeling satisfied.
The interior was as pristine as a sterile room—a desk and nameplate modeled after my old world, a few simple yet elegant ornaments—at last, I had a space of my own in this world too.
"Confirmed."
I handed the documents back to Maeve. They were materials concerning the Fritz Family and Trixie.
"As you ordered, I've also spread some rumors about your duel."
"Good."
The blood demons' intelligence network was more useful than I'd expected. It hadn't even taken a full day for Maeve to return with the information.
Thanks to that, I was able to confirm Trixie's general family history, the weight she carries with the blue flame... and a number of other things.
Maeve lingered instead of leaving.
"Master. Are you interested in this woman?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I was curious whether you'd be a little sad if I assassinated her."
Ever since I told her she could test me as many times as she liked, Maeve has been saying such things to me without the slightest hesitation.
She's apparently decided that concealing her animosity is impossible anyway. I actually find this easier.
I lifted my head and stared straight through her.
"You didn't, I see. I'd have given you the answer personally."
"...."
Maeve let out a dry swallow and averted her eyes for a moment.
"I chose not to. The wretch seemed pitiful enough as it was."
"So you even have the leisure to pity others."
"Her mother's accident, the crushing weight of her family name... well, this is why I detest humans. More than pitiful, really."
I understood her words well enough.
A mother who never once smiled at her, the fact that she's the sole surviving member of the family capable of wielding the blue flame... Trixie had lived her life burdened by a great many obligations.
No—she hadn't been able to shoulder them. She was crushed beneath them, ground down.
That is precisely why she cannot participate in the Subjugation Festival in her present state.
"You possess certain qualities that are very un-human, Master."
"Always be specific when you speak."
"You're cold and ruthless. Most people prefer humans with a tragic story."
That's simply what it means to be a mage. That would suffice as an explanation.
But Maeve is mistaken. I hold Trixie's talent and her story in extremely high regard.
Meaning, I haven't been agonizing over discarding her—I've been agonizing over how to refine her.
I'd exchanged only a few brief words with Trixie through Trivia.
[ * Teaching Auction ]
[ ▶ I have a duel today. ]
[ ▶ I'll do my best and come back! hehe ]
[ ▷ Let's meet in person tomorrow. ]
[ ▶ ...In person, you mean?! ]
[ ▷ Yes. ]
[ ▶ To-tomorrow! Really?! ]
I considered for a moment, then sent my next message.
[ ▷ Trixie ]
[ ▷ If you had to learn magic all over again from the very beginning ]
[ ▷ Would you still be willing to learn? ]
[ ▶ If it's something Teacher is teaching me, then yes! ]
The reply came back instantly. That was all I needed.
Straightening my collar, I rose from my seat.
If I could superbly refine a rough gemstone caked in mud—then that, too, would be a meaningful endeavor.
Because every action of a jewel I've polished will simultaneously serve as proof of my own skill.
'...Trixie.'
Repeating the name silently to myself, I made to leave the World Within the Painting.
No—I tried to leave, but.
"Um, Master."
Maeve called out to me.
"Don't get the wrong idea—I didn't hold back because I'm afraid of you."
"I hope you're being sincere. I have no use for a cowardly slave either."
"I am sincere. My master or whatever else—none of it frightens me in the slightest...."
Right then, my eyes met Maeve's. Her gaze immediately darted away at an angle.
"...It does not frighten me."
I gave a light nod and started to exit the World Within the Painting, when Maeve hurriedly added a few more words.
"To be specific about what I mean when I say it does not frighten me—I don't particularly feel nervous even when I meet my master's eyes. The reason I averted my gaze earlier was...."
Yammering on.
It was so noisy I didn't even listen to all of it.
◈
The arena I'd borrowed for the duel.
More people had gathered than I'd expected. I'd only intended for a gathering of first-year students, but... I spotted a few unexpected faces.
Eliza. The journalist from the Knight Department was one example, and there were also several blood demons, including Maeve. All of them were perfectly disguised as students.
In the center of the arena, Trixie and I stood facing each other.
"The subject is the fire element. The contest is 'output.' Is that correct?"
I answered indifferently.
"Output alone isn't necessary. Anything will do."
"What is that supposed to mean."
"Use it in any way you like. Just try to win at something."
"...."
Trixie openly grimaced. Her full lips parted slightly.
"Before we start, let's make two things clear."
Wordlessly, I met her eyes. It meant she was free to say whatever she had to say.
"If I win, put me in as Teacher's disciple."
"And."
"Also... put my name on the Subjugation Festival roster."
"So be it. There's ample time for the correction period."
I didn't ask why. I already knew her circumstances anyway.
Trixie tilted her head for a moment as if puzzled by my clean acceptance, then soon snapped her fingers.
A single steel rod embedded in the floor rose into the air.
"It's a Flame Core. The degree to which it melts depends on the output."
Whoosh—
Simultaneously, a blue flame engulfed the Flame Core. In an instant, not even a trace of its form remained.
"To melt just this one thin Flame Core... just how much output do you think that requires."
Admiring exclamations burst from several students.
They had good reason. Seeing it up close... it was, indeed, a covetous talent.
This particular lesson would need to be conducted with greater precision.
"Your turn."
After nodding, I considered the number of Flame Cores. Trixie urged me once.
"Decide the number."
I soon made my decision. This lesson needed to be precise.
"Two."
As I murmured, two Flame Cores rose from the floor. At a glance, it was a substance highly resistant to fire.
One, two, three. As the number increased, the fire resistance strengthened exponentially.
So if someone were to ask whether I could melt them... the question wasn't even worth answering.
Snap—
I snapped my fingers. A crimson flame bit into the Flame Cores, and then nothing was left in the air.
"...Alright, so you're confident too."
The exclamations from the spectators swelled a little louder, and Trixie nodded as if she'd expected that much.
"I like this better too. Proving it more clearly."
Proof.
Coincidentally, my favorite word slipped from between her lips.
I, too, want her to prove it.
"Five."
She abruptly increased the number of Flame Cores to five at once.
Fwoom—!
The blue flame coalesced and took the shape of a beast's fangs. Four blazing canines crushed the steel rods in a single blow.
The fact that she even sculpted the flame's form and utilized it—I rate that highly.
To the eyes of the onlookers, it must have appeared far more impressive, for they let out a string of admiration as they watched us.
Five, ten, eleven, sixteen, seventeen....
I calmly increased by one each time, while Trixie increased by five at a time.
"Twenty-two."
From this point, I could see Trixie's arm trembling.
Producing increasingly high firepower demands stamina beyond imagination. No matter how remarkable Trixie is, she's no exception.
Furthermore, exactly seventeen had already been her limit.
At this very moment, she is surpassing her past self second by second. Naturally, it's an extraordinary feat.
Fwoom—!
The blue fangs crushed the Flame Cores.
But some began to merely snap without melting.
"Huff."
Trixie wiped the sweat from her forehead. As time passed, she did manage to melt them all somehow.
However.
The fact that she has just now surpassed her past self is of little importance.
From the very beginning, her direction was wrong.
And teaching her that is likely to be my role.
"Twenty-seven."
This time, I increased by five on my end.
For me, the number is no constraint.
Trixie melts the Flame Cores solely through the 'force' of her fire, but I skillfully seek out and penetrate the circuits through which the cores melt.
The difficulty is effectively nonexistent from the start, so no matter how exponentially the resistance increases, the result doesn't change. I'm not greatly bound by mana limitations either.
That is why Trixie's effort comes close to 'flailing.' Because trying hard and doing things the hard way are not the same.
"No. Thirty-two."
I levitated five more, then manifested the flame.
It wasn't flashy, but it was faithful to the fundamentals. The thirty-two Flame Cores melted as though decomposing.
"...."
Trixie stared at me, her face tight with suppressed shock.
"Do it."
Only then did Trixie's shoulders jolt. She shook it off with a shake of her head, then silently raised her hand.
"Thirty... three."
The positions had reversed. Now when I raised by five, she raised by one.
"Raising by one, is it."
Even if it's a mere question, Trixie now can't perceive it as such.
She bit down on her lower lip.
"...Thirty-four."
Facing her as she forcibly increased the number of Flame Cores by one more, I quietly parted my lips.
"And all the while, you're probably admiring yourself."
At that single phrase, Trixie's trembling came to a sudden halt.
I continued flatly.
There was also a reason to show Trixie consideration so she could gather even a little more mana.
The more she wrings out of herself, the more deeply the lesson will sink in.
"Since you're surpassing your own limits in real time... you probably think that will, that effort, is proof that you're a genius."
"...Shut up."
With a harsh grind, Trixie gritted her teeth.
Boom—!
At the same time, the blue flame exploded.
A seemingly living fire demon soon assumed the shape of a beast—a blazing wolf.
Whoosh—! Crackle—!
The fiercely blazing fire felt almost like the howl of a wolf. That was how powerful its force was.
"Oh my god...!"
"As expected of Fritz!"
The exclamations bursting from the spectator stands were tremendous. It was only natural. In fact, it was genuinely excellent.
Crunch—!
The wolf savagely chewed through the thirty-four Flame Cores. It was a narrow success.
"Thirty-nine."
Without pause, I melted thirty-nine Flame Cores.
But.
I didn't stop there. I engulfed Trixie's blue wolf with crimson flame.
"...!"
Trixie's face went pale. Like her own flame.
After obliterating the wolf, I opened my mouth.
"You are no genius. If you continue as you are, your family name will be dragged through the mud."
"...It's not, it's not over yet. Forty-four."
Her entire body drenched in sweat, Trixie raised her arm. Her pale, slender arm shook madly.
The Flame Cores floating in the air were now as numerous and thick as the keys of a piano.
Trixie had already expended her full amount of mana.
Therefore, she absolutely could not succeed.
"Your flame has nothing to it except the fact that it's blue."
"...Stop."
Pfft.
Trixie failed to manifest her flame. The blue fire died out without burning anything.
"Just what exactly changes if you impose the suggestion that your flame is special? Are you trying to cast an illusion on the elements themselves?"
"...Mouth! Your mouth, shut it─!"
Boom—!
A flame imbued with her fury erupted.
But it failed beautifully.
Only the flame had exploded; the Flame Cores were perfectly intact.
"Hah.... Hah...."
Trixie's hands dropped to the floor. She wouldn't have the strength even to lift her arm now.
"Ah.... Ahhh...."
She was defeated.
To me, it was a matter of course, but to her, it was not. It must feel as if her entire life has been denied.
No, it actually has been denied.
"I ask you: do you have a hobby of being humiliated in front of others?"
"...."
She clawed at her own face in silence.
"Then let's pretend it never happened. The Teaching Auction, the Subjugation Festival."
"Wait. I'm still...."
I clicked my tongue and murmured a number.
"One hundred."
One hundred Flame Cores levitated from the ground.
There were so many that they looked almost like a dark cloud.
"...!"
Trixie's eyes grew wide.
But I did not melt them. A moment later, I dropped them back to the ground.
"What do you think?"
"...."
"If I had tried, would I have succeeded?"
Our eyes met in the empty air. In Trixie's navy-colored eyes, waves rippled ceaselessly.
"In truth, such a thing is entirely irrelevant. Trixie."
"...."
Trixie could only steady her ragged breathing, unable to piece together a single word.
A dragon breaks its shell to be born.
To that being, the shell is an entire world, and that extraordinary birth begins by destroying one world.
The birth of an extraordinary mage is no different. Family, duty, talent... their 'shells' exist under various names.
They have one thing in common. Break it and liberate yourself.
If she cannot shatter her own world and emerge from it, then it must be my task to hammer at it from the outside.
"What matters...."
The moment she breaks her world and greets the light.
Only then will she finally know her true birth.
"Is that if it had been you... you would never have succeeded."
Once more, I strike at her.