Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Unexpected Encounter (2)
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Master dropped me off at the Royal Library, saying he had some people to meet before taking his leave. Of course, his help was only needed to get in, so there were no real issues.
'It feels a bit neglected, though...'
Whatever.
I didn't need Master to read books.
"Hm."
I glanced around.
The Royal Library.
A library accessible only to mages recognized by the royal family or their disciples.
'I used to hole up here back in the day.'
When I was younger, before seriously building up achievements at the Ashen Mage Tower, I'd come here every day. It was the capital's best library, after all—nothing was missing.
I learned the history of magic here.
I studied the origins of countless spells.
Exaggerating a bit, this Royal Library was like my second master.
'It's been about six years since my last visit?'
I'd been too busy as the Next Mage Tower Lord to stop by.
Wondering how many new books had come in during those six years, I started walking with anticipation.
First up: the monthly recommended books.
This place was structured like a bookstore as well as a library, with librarians curating the most popular books of the month separately.
-Category: Magic Studies texts.
The system hadn't changed even after six years—about twenty books floated in midair on a levitating bookshelf via buoyancy spells. I pulled out four of them.
Fundamentals of Combat Magic.
The Concept of the Battle Mage.
Cradle of the Stars, Aphria Academy.
The Hero Chosen by the Stars, Kyle.
One of them went right back on the shelf the moment I saw the title. Why the hell are you in Magic Studies, fuck off.
"Hm..."
I considered grabbing one more, but they all seemed pretty similar. Battle Mages this, combat magic that.
'Come to think of it, the dean and Master kept going on about combat magic.'
What the heck was a Battle Mage anyway?
At least, I'd never heard of such a class.
'Well, it'll explain if I read it.'
I took the books to a corner and sat down.
Just as I was about to open one...
"..."
My eyes drifted to a sheet of paper pinned to the corner of the table. More precisely, to the name on it.
-Academic.
-Twelve Circuits.
Oh yeah, they had these too.
I remembered submitting solved ones for a small reward as a kid. I'd done them occasionally back then.
Riiip.
I tore off a sheet that no one seemed to have touched yet and pulled it over. Figured I'd give it a shot. I was curious what problems they had these days anyway.
-Items 1 through 12...
Twelve problems.
These were a bit different from the Magic Society conundrum Dean Aron had shown me last time.
These weren't made for solving problems—they were for interpreting circuits that appeared in real combat situations.
Like trap spells in dungeons or deciphering ancient incantations in ruins.
'Let's give it a try.'
I narrowed my eyes and examined the problems.
1 through 7 were easy ones I could solve quickly. The real tough ones started at 8.
Not really after the money, I started with 8. My focused vision took in the circuit's overall shape.
A circuit woven from countless curves and lines.
It looked messy at first glance, but clear rules and principles lay embedded within.
I searched for those principles.
It didn't take long.
'Might've taken longer back then...'
Unlike six years ago, I'd grown too.
Probably thanks to all the real-world experience I'd piled up.
Facing thousands, tens of thousands of circuits daily on the battlefield had honed my intuition—I could grasp them with just a glance now.
'The core of this form is here.'
'Centered on where the curves and lines intersect.'
'The diagonals are decoys. The solid lines are this.'
My years-honed intuition derived the solution with every circuit I saw.
I pulled out my ever-present pen and infused it with mana.
Soon, the pen glided across the paper.
-Scratch.
I infused the nib with mana, jotting down a simple proof process and the answer. No hitches in writing the solution. I'd just finished 8 and 9 and was moving to 10 when...
-Rip.
The nib scraped the paper.
Because the mana that should have smoothly coated it didn't flow out.
"...?"
No mana from the nib.
I tilted my head at the slightly crumpled paper.
'Broken?'
I twisted the pen around, tapped it a few times. Then I realized. The pen was fine. The problem was my mana.
It felt just like when a mana eater bit me.
Mana wouldn't rise properly. Wouldn't gather. Frowning at the mana scattering into the air,
Was someone running a mana block experiment? Normally, they'd warn you first.
"Hoo..."
Feeling a twinge of irritation at the disrupted flow, I let out a short breath. Steadying my breathing as I exhaled.
One second, two, three...
Counting silently, I focused on the mana flow. Ripping free whatever was binding my mana.
-Drip, drop.
Soon, mana started flowing from the nib again. Gripping the pen properly, I refocused on the problem. Where was I? Right here...
"Excuse me."
Just as I concentrated, someone tapped my shoulder. Twice in a row now—irritation bubbled up.
"Hoo..."
I sighed and set down the pen. Turning around, I froze stiff at the unexpected figure standing there.
"What are you working on so intently?"
Platinum blonde hair braided to one side.
Narrowed golden eyes.
Her outfit wasn't formal or indicative of status, but she didn't need such things anyway.
Golden eyes proclaiming her royal blood.
They explained everything.
The 4th Princess Aila.
Stella, the child beloved by the stars.
She was looking down at me.
2.
The last I remembered of the 4th Princess was from six years ago, when she was just over twelve.
Still young, but spirited.
The girl who'd stirred up the capital as the child blessed by the stars.
I'd taught her magic once.
Not officially, of course.
Whenever I visited the library, she'd seek me out for lessons.
'...She's grown a lot.'
The girl gazing at me.
Seeing how she'd matured made me realize just how much time had passed.
"Is there something on my face?"
"...No."
I slowly stood from my seat.
To apologize for my earlier rudeness.
"Your Highness..."
"Don't bother. I don't like that stuff."
But Princess Aila waved me off lightly, stopping me. She looked repulsed by the very idea.
"You were focused. I interrupted, so a sigh's natural. Sorry about that?"
She pulled out a chair and sat.
Right next to me, too.
"You came to read, not be waited on. Keep doing what you were."
Saying that, yet sitting beside me anyway.
I shot her a subtle look, but she just stared intently at the worksheet I'd been solving.
"Academic, huh?"
Her gaze was intrigued.
She alternated between me and the academic paper, letting out a "Hee..." of admiration.
"You're a mage?"
"Yes."
"Good at magic?"
"Well enough."
In my perfunctory replies, I suddenly realized my mistake.
'Oops.'
This was how Raniel treated princesses.
If some random mage talked to her like this, it'd be insult to royalty—no defense there.
"..."
I checked her expression.
Fortunately, no sign of offense.
"Hm."
Instead, she smiled with her eyes and scooted her chair closer to me. Then she pointed at the problem I'd been solving.
"Why skip the early ones for number 8?"
"Pardon?"
"Too hard? Well, number 1 is tricky..."
"This one?"
I tilted my head.
"1 through 7 are simple. Saving them for later."
"...Simple?"
"Yeah, simple but tedious."
I glanced at number 1.
Easy to solve, but annoying. It asked not for the answer, but the 'method of solution'.
"Type that's a pain to explain."
"Pardon?"
"You know? You could solve it, but explaining the process is a hassle."
"Oh... like mana trading theory?"
"Something like that."
I tried to brush it off and get back to solving, but this princess showed no intention of letting me.
"Then, um?"
The princess pointed at number 1.
"Could you solve it right here, just once?"
"...Pardon?"
"I've been stuck on it from number 1. Watching you might help."
She tilted her head slightly, looking up at me.
"Would that be okay?"
She kept asking, clearly not leaving till I did. With a reluctant sigh, I moved my pen to number 1.
A intricate, complex circuit unfurled.
Not one, but 'multiple' circuits pieced together.
'That skullhead's circuit again.'
Lately, I saw it everywhere.
This was the circuit used in the 'barrier' spell by Skeval, the ancient lich and one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings.
'Why is this a conundrum?'
Both the Magic Society puzzle Dean Aron showed me and Academic's number 1—why did everyone love Skeval's circuits so much?
'It's a moronic circuit that shatters if you poke it.'
I checked what the problem required.
[1. Describe the process of finding the 'true circuit' hidden in this one, and a solution method that 'shortcuts' the existing approach.]
Of course, it focused on the solution process.
I could jot the answer in seconds, but describing the steps? A real hassle.
"...?"
I shot her a 'do I have to?' look, but she just grinned.
'Sigh...'
I sighed inwardly and moved the nib. Jotted the answer first, then added the explanation above it.
-No need to dismantle every circuit.
-Instead of dismantling...
I paused after a couple short lines. Since the princess wanted to see, maybe I should make it understandable.
'Come to think of it, I explained this once.'
I'd lectured the knight division mages on breaking Skeval's barriers at Uncle Heinkel's request.
'Most didn't get it then.'
Should I spell it out more?
What a pain...
I glanced sideways at the princess.
She wasn't grinning playfully anymore. The moment I wrote the answer, her face had stiffened.
"And next?"
She asked as my nib stalled.
"...Organizing my thoughts."
She nodded slightly, then shifted back to my explanation.
I silently moved the pen.
Writing out such detailed steps was new for me—felt awkward.
In the end, under her gaze, I kept adding explanations until she was satisfied, spending quite a while on it.
This is weird.
I definitely didn't come here for this.
3.
"This makes no sense."
After the mage left.
Aila sat alone in the library, chin propped, staring at the problems the mysterious mage had solved.
Academic's number 1.
The circuit interpretation problem from the ancient lich Skeval, steadfastly holding that spot for three years.
"Simple, she said?"
Aila let out a hollow laugh.
"Battlefields collapsed because no one could solve that 'simple' problem..."
The ancient lich Skeval.
His barriers severed external contact, completely isolating those inside.
Dismantling one took at least six hours. Even then, only if dozens of mages focused solely on it undisturbed.
And six hours?
Plenty for an isolated knight division to be wiped out.
Mages had racked their brains to shave off even a minute. Yet Skeval's circuit remained unsolved.
But how long had that woman spent on it?
'Thirty minutes.'
Most of that adding explanations. She wrote the answer the instant she saw it. Pure writing time...
'About thirty seconds.'
As far as Aila knew,
Only one person could do that. The front lines were retreating now precisely because that person was absent—no one to dispel Skeval's barriers.
"..."
Aila silently reread the correct answer the woman left behind, over and over.
Maybe it was bogus.
Just scribbled to impress the princess.
'Since I can't interpret the circuit myself.'
As the 'child of the stars', Aila's intuition vaguely grasped the spell within the circuit.
But that was it.
She didn't know exactly what it meant or how to dismantle it.
Thus,
She couldn't tell if this solution was right.
Or if it even worked.
'But why...'
The explanation had a strange persuasiveness. Even to her, ignorant of circuit details, it felt... doable.
'Should I send it to Heinkel?'
It might just cause confusion.
From an unknown mage.
Reason said no.
But her intuition rang alarm bells.
Send it to the knights on the front lines.
You must.
"...Hm."
Aila tilted her head.
Her index finger tingled unusually today.
Author's Note (Afterword)
Aila's age: 17~18.
Raniel's age: 26~27.