Beatrice Magia
Chapter 4: Beatrice Magia. She was now walking toward the training grounds alongside the student who had introduced himself as Isaac.
Let’s rewind time a few hours.
The moment Beatrice first laid eyes on the brown-haired student, she knew.
‘A commoner, I suppose~?’
Unlike the other nobles, she felt neither disdain nor approval toward lower status. A commoner, and that was the end of it.
He didn’t seem particularly special, but he looked like the perfect type to sit quietly beside.
‘If he’d been a noble, this would’ve been such a hassle~’
She decided to sit down and nap as usual. Just as she moved to take her seat, Beatrice glanced sideways on impulse.
‘Huh~?’
Mana. Every living being is born with it.
The fact that Isaac possessed mana wasn’t unusual in itself.
What caught her attention was something else entirely.
‘It’s transparent~?’
Normal mana always carries color. Humans, magical beasts, even livestock possess at least a faint blue glow.
But Isaac was different.
‘I’ve never seen anything like this~’
Mana without color. Pure, flawless mana.
To Beatrice, who had been growing increasingly bored with magic—the one thing that had ever held her interest—this was fascinating.
That was why the girl who usually avoided human interaction had approached him first. That was also why, instead of heading straight to the dorms, she had gone to the library to train.
Isaac offering to come along had been unexpected, but Beatrice had accepted gladly.
‘Transparent mana~ Transparent mana~’
Would the library have the answer this time, or was this the birth of the very first mana?
Even if it turned out to be nothing extraordinary, it was more than enough to spark her curiosity right now.
She wanted to look into it immediately, but there was somewhere she had to stop first.
“Let’s eat before we go? I don’t have any money…”
“I’ll buy~”
“Damn it, Bera…! Were you a goddess this whole time?! I can’t even look at you, you’re too blinding!”
“Puhuhu~ Order whatever you want~!”
Just a casual conversation between friends. For the first time, Beatrice experienced the simple joy of talking with someone.
Her usual languid expression melted away into a smile.
It was such a rare sight that if anyone from the Magic Tower had seen it, they would have run straight to the Tower Master to report. And it had been accomplished by a boy she had only met a few hours ago.
‘This is fun~’
His playful banter never put others down; instead, he complimented them or poked fun at himself in a way that felt warm and likable.
Even if his mana hadn’t been special, she now had a reason to stay by his side.
A friend. For someone who had always been a voluntary loner, this was her very first friend—and there were so many things she wanted to do together.
“I’m gonna hit the restroom real quick.”
“Okay~”
She sat on a park bench near the academy entrance, waiting for Isaac to return. She wove mana between her fingers, shaping countless little stars—five minutes, ten, twenty.
“What’s going on~?”
He still hadn’t come back. Maybe constipation~? What kind of gift do you give a friend with constipation?
After entertaining that slightly rude thought, Beatrice stood up and headed for the restroom.
A crowd had gathered in front of it.
‘Something happen~?’
The nobles had formed a circle, watching something in the center.
And there—
Thud.
“Urgh.”
Isaac was shoved to the ground by a man. His face twisted in pain as he looked up at his attacker.
“Haa…?”
Beatrice’s head tilted.
Her vision narrowed to just Isaac and the male student. Her breathing grew slightly rough. Heat flooded her mind like she had a fever.
‘This is a first too…’
Her first taste of anger.
‘You touched my friend?’
The first sprout of possessiveness bloomed.
*
The air trembled.
Purple mana rippled through the space, kicking up dust from the ground.
“Huu…!”
The nobles who had been barely standing on shaky legs scratched the backs of their necks.
Why the hell is she like this?
More than revenge, what Isaac felt was sheer bewilderment. Of course he was grateful. How could he not be, when she was this furious on his behalf?
But this was a bit much.
She looked ready to shoot lasers from her eyes… and knowing her, she actually could.
If this kept up, the one getting demerits wouldn’t be the nobles—it would be Beatrice. Isaac moved.
“Bera… wait a second.”
He grabbed her arm just as she gathered every ounce of power, looking ready to slaughter them all.
Even the Tower Master and the Archduke of Magic had failed to calm a rampaging Beatrice.
Yet here he was.
“……”
She glanced at him in silence, then slowly dispersed her mana.
“…Okay.”
Well, that worked.
Surprised at himself for a moment, Isaac looked around.
“Hurk…! Hah!”
The nobles who had been directly exposed to her mana gasped for breath before their legs gave out and they collapsed.
The sight of them sprawled after surrounding someone so arrogantly was rather satisfying.
Isaac scanned their faces one by one until he found the man who had shoved him. He walked over.
A very familiar face.
“Kuh… Why would Lady Beatrice bother with trash like you…”
Ladian Noctia. Not someone Isaac wanted to remember fondly.
He was the mid-boss from the first major story arc—talented, but with such a notorious womanizing streak that almost no one liked him.
He was probably putting on this show to impress Beatrice, but now what?
“Puhup.”
Beatrice hated this kind of thing.
Crack.
A vein throbbed dangerously on her forehead.
If Isaac teased him a little more, that vein might actually burst. Was there a way to do that?
Revenge was the goal, but he wanted it to sting properly.
‘Ah. That’ll work.’
He wondered what kind of reaction he’d get.
Smiling at the glaring noble, Isaac reached into his pocket.
‘Found it.’
He pulled out a neatly folded white glove and tossed it at Ladian.
Thwack.
“Whoops. My bad.”
It was supposed to hit his chest, but “accidentally” smacked him right in the face.
The glove slid off, revealing Ladian’s expression—priceless.
“A-Isaac?!”
Beatrice, wearing a rare look of surprise, gathered her mana and looked back and forth between Isaac and the fallen glove.
He just shrugged at her wide-eyed stare.
“…Did you just challenge Ladian to a duel?”
“That commoner bastard… does he have a death wish?”
“He must be insane to challenge Ladian…”
The murmurs around them were predictable—some crazy commoner had challenged a noble to a duel.
Ladian Noctia had ranked in the top ten during the entrance exam, especially shining in magic. Forget the story role; a mid-boss who was weak would be useless anyway.
“Haa…”
Humiliated, Ladian exhaled a burning breath. Suppressing his rage, he picked up his dropped book with one hand and the glove with the other, slowly rising to his feet.
“…Fine. One week from now. I’ll smash that smug face of yours.”
“Do what you want.”
Grind.
Breaking his molars would be a pain to fix. Then again, this world had priests, so maybe it didn’t matter.
Either way, it had nothing to do with him. He had more important things to focus on now.
Shoo, shoo.
Isaac waved dismissively and walked over to Beatrice. Seeing her equally stunned expression made him chuckle.
“…Puhuhu~”
Beatrice’s smile proved contagious. She lightly smacked his arm.
“You’re reckless, Isaac~”
“If I want to stay by your side, this is the only way. Otherwise people will keep talking behind our backs.”
“…Puhuhu~ You wanted to stay by my side that badly~?”
“Something like that.”
“Ooh~ Confidence~ Think you can win~?”
“Well, you never know until you try.”
“Puhu~ Do you know how to use magic~?”
“Nope. I’ll have to learn now.”
“Puhuhu~”
Beatrice’s smile deepened into something bright and genuine, completely free of her usual languor.
“As expected~”
Fun~
The words she murmured into the wind didn’t quite reach his ears.
Still, he could tell she was satisfied. He had at least that much sense.
While they talked, the nobles who had surrounded them had all disappeared.
Typical—they were always quick to calculate when it came to this sort of thing.
“I’ll crush Ladian Noctia within a week~ Puhuhu~”
“So you’ll teach me?”
“Of course~ It’s been ages since something this entertaining happened~!”
Beatrice skipped ahead, and Isaac smiled before hurrying after her.
“Puhuhu~ I’m looking forward to next week~”
“Me too. We’re on the same page?”
“Right~”
Ladian Noctia was one of the top ten in raw combat ability, but so what? Isaac would beat him anyway.
With his game knowledge and Beatrice’s teachings, there was no reason he couldn’t win.
That was what the old him had thought.
“Isaac~ You have no talent for magic~!”
“…Huh?”
His world crumbled.