Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Looking for a New Job (4)
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“You do have some useful connections, don’t you.”
Aaron gazed at his longtime friend.
Rosel van Trias, elder of the Ashen Mage Tower and the renowned teacher of that famous Ashen Mage, Raniel.
He had said he knew someone ‘useful.’
Aaron shoved the papers to one side of the table and greeted Rosel with a smiling face.
“Oh, really? Don’t tell me it’s that...”
“Not my first disciple, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“...What did I say? I wasn’t expecting anything.”
In truth, he had been hoping inside, but Aaron didn’t show any disappointment. Even if it wasn’t that Ashen Mage, it was someone recommended by Rosel, who was infamous for his strict standards.
‘Surely it’s someone solid.’
Aaron straightened his posture and opened his mouth.
“So, who is it?”
“You wouldn’t know them even if I told you. They’re not a well-known name.”
“Hm?”
“They’ve been walking the path of magic for over ten years, but they’ve been holed up in a lab the whole time. Never made a name for themselves.”
“Wait a minute, Rosel.”
Aaron interrupted him in bewilderment.
“So you’re saying you’re recommending a mage with no accomplishments or reputation? Are they from a prestigious family at least?”
“They’re a child of the Trias family.”
A child of the Trias family.
One person flashed through Aaron’s mind.
“...That friend of yours? The one you recently took in as an adopted daughter...”
“That’s the one.”
“No, come on! That’s going to look bad no matter how you spin it!”
Aaron was aghast.
No matter how desperate they were for staff, hiring a professor like that would stir up trouble.
‘Even if Rosel is renowned for his fairness...’
Recommending someone he’d just taken in as an adopted daughter for a professor position. Aphria Academy was already under enough scrutiny. Rumors were bound to leak out.
“S-Still, that’s a bit...”
“Then start her as an assistant professor.”
Rosel shrugged as if he’d expected that response.
“My assistant spot is still open, isn’t it? I’ll put her there. No one’s applied anyway—who’s going to complain if I put my own daughter in?”
“That... yeah, that should work fine.”
It was a pretty attractive proposal.
But Aaron felt something off.
‘This guy isn’t one to bend so easily.’
In the end, Aaron asked again in a reluctant tone.
“...You sure that’s okay?”
“She’ll rise up on her own. I don’t even need to step in.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. You’ll see once you meet her. If anyone questions her talent after seeing her...”
Rosel narrowed his eyes and murmured.
“They’re just blind fools.”
“...That good?”
“At least in this capital, there’s no mage with better talent than her.”
“Including the Fourth Princess?”
“Her talent hasn’t bloomed yet. This child’s already complete.”
She completed herself on her own terms.
Aaron interpreted Rosel’s mutter differently as he watched him.
‘At least, it means Raniel isn’t in the capital.’
If that Ashen Mage were in the capital, Rosel wouldn’t say something like that.
“If you praise her that highly, I’ve got no reason to refuse. So, when can I meet her?”
“Do you really need to see her? You can meet her at the start of term.”
“I get that you dote on your late-in-life adopted daughter, but shouldn’t I at least see her face?”
Rosel reluctantly crooked a finger.
“Come in, Lania.”
“Yes, Master.”
A clear voice came from outside.
Aaron squinted and shot Rosel a glare.
‘You had her waiting outside the door, planning not to even show her face?’
How much did he treasure her?
Aaron sighed and turned his gaze to the door.
-Creak.
Soon, the door opened, and a girl entered.
Ashen hair fluttered in the breeze. She stood somewhere between youthful innocence and mature poise.
“Hello.”
The girl bowed expressionlessly.
A faint scent of old books wafted from her brief greeting. The deep aroma of scholarship embedded in her robe made Aaron smile unwittingly.
‘Not bad.’
Indeed, a fine first impression.
Not a short, flashy robe, but a neatly tailored one with a wider cut. Her robe bore no decorations or embroidered patterns.
That was her overall impression.
The girl was beautiful. But hers was not the beauty of extravagance.
More refined than ornate.
A quiet beauty born from that refinement.
‘Like a lily, if I had to compare her to a flower.’
She evoked the image of a pristine white lily untouched by dust. Aaron quite liked the impression.
Magic studies were, after all, an academic pursuit.
And this girl gave off the air of a scholar walking that path. Even the way she straightened her clothes and sat beside her master, Rosel, was graceful.
‘The students might tease me as an old fogey with rigid ideas if they heard...’
But to Aaron, she was the ideal image of a scholar.
‘I can see why Rosel dotes on her.’
He’d want to cherish an adopted daughter like that too.
Aaron nodded unconsciously and spoke.
“I’m Aaron van Tailunt, dean of Aphria Academy.”
“Lania van Trias, adopted daughter of Elder Rosel.”
“Nice to meet you, Lania. It’s the first time this friend of mine has recommended someone so enthusiastically, so even I’m a bit flustered...”
Aaron narrowed his eyes.
“Mind showing me a bit of your skill?”
No matter how much he trusted his old friend Rosel’s recommendation, Aaron was a mage too. Mages didn’t trust what they hadn’t seen with their own eyes.
‘The capital’s top talent? Let’s see it.’
With a touch of curiosity, Aaron pulled a sheet of paper from the stack he’d set aside on the table corner.
“Lately, with all this talk of Battle Mages and combat magic, the image of mages has changed from the old days, but...”
An intricate circuit etched on the paper.
Pointing to it, Rosel continued.
“I still believe the foundation of magic studies lies in incantations—the interpretation of circuits.”
“You’re right.”
“Glad you think so. Then, can you interpret this circuit?”
Aaron handed the paper to the girl while glancing at Rosel. He’d know what circuit was on it.
‘The Mage Society’s conundrum.’
That’s what they called it—a circuit with no practical use.
Purely designed by the Mage Society elders to test circuit interpretation skills.
‘Can I test her?’
Aaron signaled Rosel with his eyes.
Rosel just shrugged without displeasure.
Go ahead and do as you like.
That’s what it seemed to say.
Aaron chuckled and spoke.
“No need to solve it right here. It’s considered a conundrum of conundrums, so bring the solution next time we meet.”
It was the Mage Society’s conundrum, after all.
Dozens or hundreds of trap circuits layered over a single ‘real’ one. Clearing them would take at least ten days.
‘The elders said they drew inspiration from the barrier of Skeval, the ancient lich, one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings.’
Asking her to solve it on the spot would be too much. Regrettably, they’d have to wait for the next meeting.
“Of course, I’d prefer you solve it on your own, without help from your master. Rosel, you’re too favoritist...”
“Solved it.”
“Pardon?”
Aaron blinked.
“What was that, Lania?”
“I solved it all.”
“Ha, haha! You take after your master with the jokes...”
Aaron teased as he glanced at the girl.
‘...Doesn’t seem like a joke?’
Solved it? Just from a glance?
“...”
The girl didn’t add any words.
Instead, she quietly placed the paper on the table. No answer was written on it.
‘...Is she joking that there’s no answer?’
As Aaron pondered how to react, the girl raised a finger.
-Rustle.
Ashen mana rose from her fingertip.
Using the ashen mana as ink and the air as canvas, she painted a picture.
-Rustle.
A quiet sound like turning book pages echoed faintly. Aaron realized what her strange action meant when her drawing was half-complete.
‘...A circuit?’
The picture she drew in the air was the circuit.
Aaron swallowed dryly as he watched.
1 minute.
2 minutes.
3 minutes.
After three minutes, her finger stopped.
“...”
Aaron looked up wordlessly.
A complete circuit floated in the air.
Aaron tore open the envelope that came sealed with the problem paper. It had been distributed first to Aphria Academy. The answer should be inside.
Thud.
Aaron unfolded the answer sheet that fell out.
Then compared it to the circuit in the air.
“Ha, haha...”
A hollow laugh escaped his lips.
Not a single discrepancy.
The thickness, the looseness, even the flow of the curves matched perfectly. No one could replicate it this exactly just by looking at the answer.
‘What in the...’
He had nothing to add.
“I told you.”
Rosel spoke for the speechless Aaron.
“At least in this capital, there’s no mage with better talent than her.”
2.
The Northern Duke, Erahul van Grace.
His valiant heir, Rak van Grace.
He was wandering the grounds of Aphria Academy, where he’d soon enroll, on his father’s orders.
‘Before entering the academy, go to the capital first. See and feel it for yourself. Learn how far you still have to go.’
But quite some time had passed since arriving in the capital, and Rak felt no particular insights.
They all looked so frail.
He wondered if they could even run properly. No matter how much body reinforcement spells they used, the base physique had to be healthy.
‘Compared to the family warriors...’
Next to those muscular warriors, they seemed insignificant.
“Sigh...”
Bored, Rak waved to summon the butler who had come with him to the capital.
“Sebas, let’s head back.”
“Pardon? No need to look around more?”
“Nothing more to see. I’d rather go back and hunt with the warriors.”
“Well, if that’s what you wish, young master...”
As Sebas prepared to leave, Rak gave the academy scenery one last sweep.
‘Too peaceful. Way too peaceful.’
To Rak, who had lived amid the daily blizzards of the northern snowfields and rubbed shoulders with monsters, it was an alien sight. Alien enough to feel boring.
‘Three years in a place like this.’
Maybe he should talk to his father again.
As that thought crossed his mind and he turned to go—
-She solved it in an instant.
-Lucky. I’d smashed through that skeleton’s barrier countless times, bashing its skull while poking around.
-Lania, your language has gotten awfully crude...
Rak turned at the sudden voices.
A middle-aged man and a girl who looked about twenty.
“...”
A chill ran up his spine, and Rak spoke.
“...Sebas.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Who’s that?”
“Isn’t that Professor Rosel?”
“I mean the one beside him.”
Rak pointed at the girl.
“Who’s she?”
His instincts, honed in the wilds since childhood, were ringing alarms. Behind that harmless appearance lurked something fiercer than any beast.
“...?”
As if sensing his gaze, the girl turned.
The moment their eyes met, Rak swallowed hard. He whipped his head away, avoiding her gaze.
“...Scary.”
“Pardon?”
“A sensation I’ve never felt from the northern warriors or the territory’s barbarian fighters.”
Cold sweat beaded on Rak’s forehead.
As he wiped it with the handkerchief Sebas offered, he muttered like one possessed.
“Is this why Father told me to come to the capital and learn? There are so many hidden powerhouses in the world...”
“...Pardon?”
“Nothing. March is looking promising.”
“Ah, yes...”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Author's Note
Ashen mana is a color that appears in all mages trained by the Ashen Mage Tower.
The only one who can tell with the naked eye whether it’s Raniel or not is Rosel, Raniel’s master.
*Originally! Monday is! a regular rest day, but I prepared an episode for all you weary souls on Monday.
*Truth is, I had no homework today...