Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: It Worked When I Did It (1)
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After the public lecture, Aphria Academy enjoyed three days of rest. It was a holiday hastily arranged by pulling forward the regular rest day originally set for a month later and rejiggering the academic calendar.
Officially, the reason was to repair the academy's barriers, disrupted by all the outsiders...
But most of the professors knew the truth.
It was a necessary break to cool the feverish excitement that had gripped everyone.
That day, in the grand auditorium.
Lania van Trias.
The word "basics" as it fell from that girl's lips.
There was no need to distinguish between professors and students.
Every mage in attendance had gained some enlightenment from her lecture.
Mages, after all, were scholars treading the path of magical studies.
And like any scholars, they yearned to commit their newfound insights to paper—to preserve them as research findings.
Over those past three days.
That academic fervor had set Aphria ablaze.
Reservations for labs across campus flooded in like mad.
Even the most dignified professors scrambled to claim spell research rooms, barricading themselves inside...
In a situation like that, normal operations were impossible.
The three-day rest was essential.
And now, on this day marking the end of that respite.
The professors gathering at the academy shared a single obsession.
Lania van Trias.
They'd checked Professor Rosel's office from early morning, but the girl wasn't there. So they beelined for the café.
A café that was usually dead quiet.
But everyone knew from the rumors—this was the spot she frequented.
"One for me here."
"Make it two..."
Thanks to them, the café was swamped with unexpected patrons.
Professors crammed into the window seat where she'd supposedly sat, eyes bulging as they waited for her to show.
And then.
"What the hell."
Lania van Trias.
The café's star regular took one look at the packed house and groaned.
"Guess I'll swing by later..."
She smacked her lips and turned to leave.
No professors caught sight of her.
The owner alone bore the brunt of the sudden mob, utterly baffled.
2.
Resti paced in front of the professor's office.
With everyone else charging off to the café eyes ablaze, the Mana Trading Studies office was deserted.
The chair placed before the office door.
Resti sat there, flipping through her notes over and over, waiting for one particular professor.
'I could wait inside, but...'
Elder Rosel still made her uneasy, so she lingered outside.
Rustle.
The breeze blowing in was warm.
Resti yawned amid the stretching morning sunlight. She'd stayed up late the night before, meticulously refining her circuits, and sleep had fallen short.
"Yawn..."
As she yawned.
"What're you doing out here?"
"...!"
The voice came out of nowhere. Resti jolted, shoulders twitching. She whipped her head around.
"Huh?"
Gray locks swaying in the wind. Blue eyes glinting through fine lashes.
Lania van Trias.
The very person Resti had been waiting for stood right there. Resti shot to her feet.
"H-hello, Professor Lania."
"Hey. What's got you out here so early?"
Her eyes narrowed as she spoke.
They'd once seemed intimidating at first glance, but not anymore.
Not when they were fixed on the notes clutched in Resti's hands. Oddly enough, Resti's shoulders tensed up.
"I solved everything. Came to ask some questions."
"Hmm."
A smile of genuine interest curved her lips.
She nodded toward the office door.
"Wanna talk inside?"
"Yes."
Once inside, she poured Resti a cup of coffee and settled into the seat across from her.
"Master, this kid's got questions..."
"Got it. I'll handle the commotion outside."
Rosel rose to sort out the ruckus beyond the door. The office now held only Lania and Resti.
Sip.
Resti sipped her coffee, watching Lania pore over the notes.
'This is delicious...'
Rich aroma from what had to be premium beans. Yet the professor across from her hadn't touched her own cup.
'She's really focused.'
About a minute passed like that.
Lania finished reviewing the solutions and spoke.
"All correct."
Short and sweet.
"Solutions spot-on. Circuits clean."
Straightforward praise.
"The assignment was circuit disassembly, but you even guessed its applications?"
"I, uh, had some time left over..."
"Hmm."
Eyes brimming with satisfaction.
"Care to explain this solution in more detail?"
"Y-yes."
Resti steadied her rising excitement and began slowly.
"Friction between circuits forms a mana layer between the lines. Circulate and accelerate mana through that layer to amplify the spell's power..."
"Ah."
She smiled.
"Exactly right. It's a friction-activated circuit."
She extended her hand for Resti to see.
Pale, slender fingers.
Mana crept up along them.
"Like this."
Snap. She flicked her fingers.
The stocked circuits on her middle finger and thumb rubbed together. Sparks flew in the air.
The sparks ignited into flame. A lightning-laced blaze flickered for a split second before fading.
Circuit friction, over in an instant.
"Whoa..."
Resti let out an involuntary gasp.
Chronologically, maybe two seconds.
Counting the mana reactions in those two seconds? Impossible.
'Friction, acceleration, overheating, evaporation, circulation...'
Five was all Resti could track.
As she marveled, Lania pulled out a sheet of paper.
"Well, since you nailed it... bet you can handle this one too."
"Pardon?"
"Similar problem. Now that you get it, this should be a breeze."
Lania picked up a pen.
And on the blank paper, she sketched a circuit with quick strokes. Resti watched intently.
A jumble of circuits in a format like the one she'd solved.
Resti squinted at it.
By the time the circuit was complete.
Resti had her calculations done too.
"Then, this one by tomorrow..."
"Solved it."
"...Come again?"
Resti pulled out her own pen and scribbled the answer right beside it. Shared solution method with the prior problem.
'Doing it like this...'
Thud.
She set the pen down.
The blank paper now bore three separated circuits.
"...Correct."
Surprise colored her voice.
Resti glanced up. Their eyes met across the desk.
Those perpetually narrowed eyes.
Now wide with astonishment.
As if genuinely taken aback.
"Impressive."
Praise laced with awe. Emboldened, Resti asked with a lilt in her voice.
"Can I take more problems?"
3.
I scanned the spot where Resti had left.
The solution process laid out on the desk.
I reread the neat, precise handwriting. No errors in the steps.
"Hmm..."
Honestly? A little surprised.
It was similar to the homework problem, sure. But if that was basic theory...
This one I'd just handed her was applied usage.
'Figured it out just from watching me draw it.'
A problem type she'd only tackled once before.
And she nailed the application on the spot.
"...Beyond expectations."
I'd figured she had talent.
Picked by an Ashen Mage Tower elder, so she had to have the chops, right? But...
This was way past that.
"Not the type to get brushed off like that."
No way she deserved the dismissal. This was overflowing talent.
She'd unearthed more than what was given.
Not just the answer to my problem—she'd approximated the applications of the resulting circuits too.
And.
What really drew my eye.
The faint glow lingering in her eyes as they chased mana flows and parsed circuits. A glimmer of talent not yet bloomed.
That light.
It was a "different" breed of talent—one I lacked.
'Right, her class is Summoner.'
I gave a wry smile.
I knew all too well how nightmarish Summoners could be.
One of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings.
Alchemist and Summoner.
'The Apostate, Gletus.'
Thinking back to that lunatic mass-producing spirit beasts and commanding chimera hordes made my nape prickle.
'Nearly died to him.'
An apex Summoner.
After facing that nightmare firsthand, I could never take the name lightly.
'That glow from earlier.'
Suddenly, I pictured what might emerge if it fused with her Summoner gifts.
The conclusion hit quick.
I muttered it with a bitter chuckle.
"...She'd stick right to it."
To that nightmare, anyway.
"Sigh..."
I leaned deep into the chair with a heavy breath.
"Scout, Belnoa."
Then.
"Vanguard, Rak."
One by one, I named the students who'd caught my eye.
"Mage and vanguard support, Resti... and Princess Aila if possible."
A party of four.
"Ah."
A laugh slipped out.
"Every last one of 'em a joy to raise."
4.
"That's enough. Go."
"No, just once, please..."
"Must I raise my voice?"
The icy tone shut the professors up. Even for them, Rosel was a tough nut.
An elder of the Ashen Mage Tower.
One of the kingdom's rare living sages.
Within Aphria, they were colleagues. Outside? Good luck getting a word in edgewise.
"F-fine."
"Next time, then..."
The professors retreated, regret trailing them.
"Sigh..."
Rosel shook his head.
'Even a prodigy disciple brings headaches.'
The week of prep had paid off—the lecture was a resounding success, even by his standards. Easily a passing grade.
'Still a ways from perfection...'
But the kid was sharp as a tack. She'd pick it up quick. With that thought, Rosel set off.
The corridor back to his office.
As he walked, Rosel spotted a student approaching from the opposite direction. He knew her well—not just as a student, but as an Ashen Mage Tower elder.
His disciple's successor.
Next Mage Tower Lord.
Resti.
She strode along, eyes glued to her notes. Didn't even notice Rosel coming her way.
'Careful now...'
Watch where you're going.
He opened his mouth to warn her—then glimpsed her expression and clamped it shut.
Resti brushed past him.
Rosel craned his neck, eyeing her retreating back.
'...She's smiling?'
No doubt about it.
Beaming with joy, delight radiating.
The girl who always wandered stone-faced. Seeing her smile felt utterly alien to Rosel.