Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Tower of the Stars (2)
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The Ivory Tower of the Magic Society has five pillars.
These five pillars support the Ivory Tower.
Those who oversee the pillars are great scholars.
Scholars who have left their mark on the world of magic studies.
They take pride in drawing circuits.
A circuit is a letter sent to the stars.
The circuit sent to the great stars must be beautiful. Each stroke must contain sincerity. Even a seemingly casual straight line must hold beauty.
To them, a circuit is a single painting.
If the ultimate goal of the Mage Tower is the development of new spells, then the final goal of the Magic Society is to draw the most beautiful circuit.
"The three hundred circuits created by the ancient dragon mage."
Based on those, to create an artistic circuit that will remain in history. It is the opposite of the Mage Tower mages who pursue practicality.
The leader of these scholars who pursue such art.
Togelm, one of the five pillars of the Ivory Tower, was breaking out in a cold sweat as he kept forcing his wandering gaze back in place.
......Normally, there would be no need for Togelm to look around nervously inside the Ivory Tower. Yet, the reason he was so restless now was due to a single visitor in the Ivory Tower.
A person who had barged into the pillars' conference room.
Though not one of the Ivory Tower's five pillars, this individual had earned an honorary pillar position through exceptional interpretive skills and an eye for reading circuits.
"......Why on earth is she here?"
He couldn't fathom her intentions.
Why would someone born into nobility visit such a place? If he had to guess, there was only one plausible reason.
"......To meet Professor Lania?"
Is it to meet the recently talked-about figure? Even that wasn't certain. If she wanted to meet her, she wouldn't need to borrow such an occasion.
"I can't make sense of it."
In the end, only questions remained.
Togelm shook his head to clear his stray thoughts and replied to the scholar knocking on the conference room door.
"Let them enter."
Soon, the door opened.
The scholar bowed from outside the door, and a girl entered the conference room under his guidance.
Ash-gray hair and blue eyes.
The gaze was drawn first to that iconic coloring. Next came the girl's youthful appearance.
"......She's young."
He had heard rumors, but she looked even younger than imagined. Instead of the dull aura typical of mages, she exuded a subdued elegance.
The first impression wasn't bad.
Togelm spread out the problem he had received in advance and inwardly clicked his tongue.
"A young mage like that drew this circuit?"
Interpreting and activating circuits are matters of different realms.
If the Mage Tower mages were experts in activating circuits, the Ivory Tower scholars were those proficient in interpreting them.
A circuit is the essence of magic studies.
It contains the life the mage has lived.
The scholars who interpret such circuits read the drawer's habits just by looking at them. They predict what path in the demonic arts the person has walked.
"......It's arduous."
The life readable from the circuit before his eyes was far from smooth. It was like gazing at a cliff sharpened by countless years of erosion.
"Less like a young mage's circuit and more......"
It felt like the atmosphere of a Mage Tower elder who had devoted their entire life to magic studies. Togelm blinked once and opened his mouth.
"Welcome to the Ivory Tower, Miss Lania."
The girl bowed her head slightly instead of answering.
When she raised her head, the pillars tapped the table.
The conference room ceiling flipped over.
The circuit of the problem they had prepared in advance was engraved on the ceiling, displayed like a constellation exhibit.
It would be a astonishing sight for a first-timer, yet the girl viewing it remained impassive. It was as if she had experienced it before.
"Please provide a brief explanation and solution to the problem."
"Yes, then......"
Soon, the girl spoke.
The explanation didn't drag on. From the start, they knew the problem's completion was high.
At a glance, it resembled a maze.
However, the solution was astonishingly simple.
"The most basic concept."
The problem could be solved with just that one concept. Its value lay more in serving as a learning exercise than as a difficult challenge.
"......That's all."
With that, the girl finished her explanation.
It was a concise commentary without excess. There was no need for further testing as a problem.
"It's of a quality that could be published in an academic journal right away."
However, Togelm couldn't easily open his mouth.
"Hmm......"
The other pillars were the same.
They stroked their chins while observing the circuit.
"Something......"
Something felt lacking.
The value as a problem was high. What was lacking was the circuit. Of course, there wasn't a major flaw in the circuit itself.
"On the contrary, it's perfect."
A perfect circuit. Impeccably neat.
Yet, that neatness appeared to the pillars' eyes like an unfinished work of art.
The artwork it evoked was pottery.
Like pristine white porcelain.
The curves of pottery are beautiful. A simple work of art. But that simplicity looked to the pillars like a blank white canvas waiting to be filled.
"If it were just touched up a bit more."
If the circuit were adorned just a little more.
It would enter the realm of true challenges, the realm of art. The unfinished space was regrettable.
"This is...... just like the circuits of the Ashen Mage in the past."
Back when the Ashen Mage was the next Mage Tower Lord.
The Ivory Tower clashed with him repeatedly. It wasn't that they disliked him. They just wondered why he wouldn't touch up circuits that were one adjustment away from perfection.
"It's the same even now."
This circuit was no different from those back then.
To the Ivory Tower scholars, such circuits were akin to torture.
"If a young person is already like this......"
How many circuits would be wasted without becoming works of art? The pillars sighed at the thought. In the end, Togelm spoke on behalf of the pillars.
"The explanation is perfect. The value as a problem is high as well. However, Miss Lania?"
Togelm pointed to the circuit.
"This part here, this part. Might I ask why you handled it as a single line?"
"Because it's neater that way."
"But if you adorned it more like this......"
"I was taught that neatness is a virtue in circuits."
"Who on earth taught you that......"
Who is this mad mage?
About to say that, Togelm hurriedly clamped his mouth shut. The girl's name flashed through his mind.
Lania van Trias.
The adopted daughter of the Trias family.
Rosel, who had raised the Ashen Mage himself, was her master. Even as an Ivory Tower pillar, slandering the sage Rosel was out of the question.
"......I don't know who your fine mage teacher is, but at least for circuits meant for academic journals, wouldn't it be better to adorn them a bit more?"
He said it softly, glancing at the girl. Fortunately, she showed no sign of offense. Instead, she tilted her head as if puzzled.
"Is there any need to?"
Why should I?
Togelm frowned at her tone, which seemed to ask just that.
"I must impart my teachings."
This was a matter of pride as a pillar.
Togelm cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
"If you add just a bit more to the circuit......"
"A fine circuit."
However, someone cut him off.
Togelm felt irritation at that. Even among fellow pillars, interrupting each other was rude.
But the moment he identified the voice's owner...... Togelm shut his mouth without complaint.
There was no room for irritation or reason. In this gathering, there was one person to whom pillar etiquette didn't apply.
The First Princess, Luriel.
Her platinum hair symbolizing royalty and golden eyes gleamed as she spoke.
"A concise and beautiful circuit."
2.
2.
The First Princess, Luriel.
The second in line to the throne had early on renounced her claim to the crown. Not only did she lack noble support, but she herself had no desire for the throne.
-Why not support the First Princess?
To that question, there were many answers, but most nobles attributed it to her personality.
-To put it nicely, she's bold and...
-To put it badly, she's a bit... a bit... incredibly foul-mouthed and has the temperament of a warrior.
She's bold.
She never backs down. Once she opens her mouth, she tears into someone before stopping.
-Avoid debates with the First Princess at all costs.
-......Not that I should say it, but it's better for your mental health to bow your head and think of it as being bitten by a mad dog.
Such words circulated among the nobles.
-If she ascends the throne, she'll be quite the tyrant.
-We're grateful she renounced her claim.
Such a person with ferocious rumors.
"Beautiful."
She continued speaking.
"I said it's a beautiful circuit. Why is no one responding? Didn't you all just chatter that it lacked something?"
The pillars knew the rumors about Princess Luriel well. They clamped their mouths shut in contemplation. Silence fell.
They wanted to refute the princess's words.
They wanted to elaborate that it would be beautiful if adorned.
But they couldn't muster the resolve.
"Is it right to be stubborn against the First Princess?"
It was madness.
Yet bending their scholarly pride was difficult. In the end, Togelm spoke for the pillars.
"Your Highness, this circuit is like a blank white sheet. No matter how neat and beautiful the blank sheet...... it's like an unfinished artwork."
"Continue."
Princess Luriel nodded.
Togelm pressed on.
"If the blank sheet were filled, wouldn't it become an even more beautiful artwork? It's a circuit on the verge of perfection. An artwork awaiting completion. Not completing it is......"
"Is that your view?"
She cut off Togelm and rested her chin on her hand.
"I've heard it all before. Boring. Not what I wanted to hear."
Boredom flickered in her golden eyes.
"In my view, you all need to resemble the Mage Tower mages."
"Pardon? What do you......"
"Those arrogant bastards may be insufferable, but their conciseness and simplicity are worth learning."
Princess Luriel crooked her finger.
The ceiling's angle shifted, bringing the circuit before her eyes. Pointing to it, she continued.
"Of course, circuits that pursue only practicality and lose beauty are trash. As a member of the Magic Society, I agree with you there. But this circuit is different."
The space between lines.
Pointing to that space, she said.
"This isn't a failure to adorn due to lack of skill. It's choosing not to, despite being able. Don't you pillars grasp that difference?"
......Not adorning despite being able to?
It was incomprehensible to the pillars. Seeing them blink, Princess Luriel sighed.
"It's a different way of pursuing beauty. Is there only one kind of beauty in the world? This person pursued beauty in their own way."
Her gaze settled on Lania.
Gazing at the ash-gray haired girl, Luriel smiled with interest.
"The beauty this person pursues is simplicity. By restraining what could be expressed, they chose elegance over flashiness, serenity over ostentation."
A soft rustle as Princess Luriel's index finger brushed past the circuit's curve.
"It's not adorning despite the ability to pursue flashiness."
She gently swept over the rune characters condensed within a single line and spoke.
"The ability to summarize and condense something means you also know how to elaborate."
Her finger, having swept the rune characters, pointed toward Lania. Indicating her, the princess asked.
"Can you?"
The girl nodded at the question.
"Show me."
Lania touched the circuit with her finger.
A crisp sound.
She dismantled a single line to fill the space.
Characters rose in the gaps between lines, blooming like flowers in full display.
A rustle, a crisp rustle.
With each movement of her finger, the circuit gained more splendor. Its size grew. What fit on a single sheet now filled the ceiling.
The intricacy hidden within simplicity.
The splendor nestled within that intricacy revealed itself.
"......"
The pillars blinked.
They swallowed dryly at the blooming beauty.
A firm press.
Finally, as if placing a period, the girl pressed her finger firmly into the air and stopped. The circuit was complete. She presented the now lavishly decorated circuit to the princess.
"Hm."
Watching, the princess let out a laugh. The smile turned mocking as it turned toward the pillars.
"Did you see?"
"......"
"If you saw, say you saw. Why the silence? Are you all mute? Do I need to pry open your mouths myself? Such insolence."
"......We saw."
The princess smirked.
"Then you understand."
"......"
"You wrinkled old fools with no eye for it. The level of the Ivory Tower is clear."
"No, Your Highness, that's......"
"No excuses. Pathetic."
Having said her piece, she rose from her seat.
"Well, whether you publish this problem is up to you lot. Whether to engrave splendor or simplicity...... you choose."
Treating publication as a foregone conclusion, the standing princess turned to the girl.
"Seems our talk here is done."
She crooked her finger.
"Professor. Let's talk for a bit."
3.
3.
The artificial garden on the Ivory Tower's middle floor.
The princess's guard knight had cleared everyone from the garden and left on her orders.
"......"
Suddenly facing the princess one-on-one, I swallowed dryly. A coffee cup sat before me, but I had no desire to drink.
"......Why did she call me?"
No matter how I thought, there was no reason to summon me.
Did she like my circuit? If so, wouldn't she have said it back there?
Honestly, I had no idea.
The only royals I knew were...... the Second Prince and the Fourth Princess.
"First Princess, Luriel."
I racked my brain for information on her. The first thing that came to mind was a story Kyle once told by the campfire.
-The First Princess, Lady Luriel, is...... a bit unique. Sharp-tongued and...
-Huh? What do you mean?
-When I drew the holy sword and was recognized as the Hero...... I met her once, and she was incredibly, incredibly unique.
-What did she say?
-Seeing a retard like you become the Hero, the world must truly be in its end times......
Eh?
"She's got good taste?"
Suddenly, the princess before me felt approachable. Like reuniting with a long-time friend.
"Do you have something to say?"
I smiled brightly and asked. The First Princess took a sip of her coffee and spoke.
"The world's such a fucking mess, isn't it."
"......Pardon?"
That was the princess's first utterance.
While I floundered, unsure how to respond, she kept talking.
"My father might be somewhat competent in politics, but his dick-handling is his flaw. The epitome of that flaw is my brother."
"Uh...... uh......"
What am I hearing?
"Thinking of my father and brother darkens my future. It's fucking infuriating. Especially as my brother's bullshit worsens daily, my head feels like it's splitting."
"Uh, uh......"
"Do you know, Professor?"
She continued, staring into the distance with eyes like she was beholding filth.
"Mix psychosis, paranoia, and utter bullshit in a 1:1:1 ratio, and you get my brother—the First Prince, heir to this nation's throne."
"I-is that so?"
"So, Professor, I thought I'd talk to you about my brother."
"......Why me?"
"Shut up and listen. Can't you see I'm speaking?"
What kind of person is she?
I was too stunned, like I'd been struck on the head, to respond.
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>Author's Note
Wrote it quick and brought it quick :D