Traces That Stun the Professors
The freshman assault investigation team, including Gail, headed into the forest for an on-site inspection. Led by Professor Oslo, the forest keeper, the seven investigators pushed forward, stepping over branches and climbing rocks. Along the way, numerous staff members were engaged in cleanup efforts, gathering up the foul stench scattered by Chaos. The spirit beasts summoned by Professor Oslo were also pitching in, purifying the lingering poison from Chaos.
Leaving them behind, the investigators reached the site. Gail felt a stark contrast from the previous night. It had been too dark to see then, but now the site was so pristine that he wondered if that immense mana surge had really happened here.
Professor Asterion drew a magic circle with his staff and used retrospective vision to confirm what had transpired. In his sight, faint yet undeniable remnants appeared amid the debris of a massive explosion.
"Here, and over there."
Professor Asterion pointed out the traces where Chaos had been literally "unraveled." As he pinpointed specific spots, the other professors rushed over to verify them. Normally, the dense mana in the forest hid such traces, but with Asterion marking the coordinates, they could focus and see them clearly.
Gail, lacking the knowledge, didn't understand, but the professors couldn't help gasping in admiration.
"Hoo..."
"Is something like this even possible?"
"A general solution that works on Chaos?"
"No way, is this real?"
The professors, all seasoned mages with experience battling Chaos and even some victories under their belts, were stunned. The intertwined mana trajectories were unmistakably Chaos residue, yet here was irrefutable proof that a mere seven-year-old freshman—not even an archmage—had unraveled it. Moreover, during cleanup, the investigators had determined that the Chaos entity possessing the freshman was at least executive-level. That "soul bullet" spell they named it—it was made from sacrificed souls and said to be usable only by executives and above. Dozens had died from those bullets alone. Even archmages had fallen to them...
A seven-year-old unraveling an executive's incantation? The professors, heads together as they examined the traces, were utterly awestruck.
"To wipe out such intense Chaos twice with such crude, rough mana."
"Professor Asterion, this is a groundbreaking discovery! Surely it wasn't the male freshman who got swept up in Chaos, right? How could she unravel it twice all by herself?"
"As expected of Ascentrius. Did that star of ours raise a monster like this?"
Asterion responded to the barrage of questions with curt replies.
"No, it wasn't just canceled out twice."
Even Professor Asterion could hardly believe that Chaos had been fully "unraveled." But his retrospective vision showed the swirling grayish mana of Chaos crumbling against Arbel's magic circle. In total, Kesera had unraveled it four times. Once he confirmed every detail, he pointed it out to the professors again.
"Here, near that twelve-sided area where sunlight filters in, once. And up there, in the three-sided space above the reddish rock, once more."
As Asterion indicated the spots, the professors swarmed them again. Only then could Gail barely make out the intense traces close to the ground.
"What's even more astonishing... no mana was expended here. Judging by those snapped branches over there, it seems Miss Kesera poured all her mana solely into flight."
"She used flight in combat?"
"Even archmages specializing in combat struggle with that."
"Heh heh, it feels like we've all been enchanted."
"The one we should ask... is too hard to question right now, isn't she?"
Sighs of regret escaped the professors naturally. Those who had conducted the initial investigation already knew: the Chaos executive possessing the freshman had nested here, on the verge of establishing an outpost to summon Chaos disciples. And yet... a mere seven-year-old freshman named Kesera had crushed it in one go. But in the process, she'd absorbed the aphrodisiac scent Chaos scattered defenselessly, leaving most of the male professors unable to approach her.
"Hmm... This seems like something Professor Dotor needs to check. The mana explosion's waves spread out from here, but I can't see it myself."
"Y-yes, understood, Professor Asterion."
Professor Dotor, who had been investigating Gail, was the one unraveling spells with magic circles mid-inspection. His specialty was imaginary magic, the soul-based school. As he checked the spot Asterion indicated, the traces of mana whirling primarily through the natural realm filled his vision intact.
"Whooaa..."
"What now, Professor Dotor?"
"No, hmm... Wow... This proves the Serchariston conjecture!"
The other professors crowded around Dotor, who could only gasp in awe. Gail, who had only seen the neutralization traces from behind, wondered why the professors were acting like that—questions swirled in his head unanswered. No, what the hell had that arrogant brat done to leave professors this impressed just from traces?
Unlike the puzzled Gail, Yerina, the Imperial Magic Bureau intern, was just as shocked as the professors. And... sorry to the freshman, but this would all go straight into a full report to the Bureau. The investigators were in for some hard work ahead. But for poor Gail, whose honor had been deeply tarnished, spreading word of the freshman's prowess was necessary.
"Gail."
"Y... yes, Senior."
"Can't you call me 'sis' like before?"
"No, you're my senior."
Yerina's heart ached at Gail's distancing behavior since she'd rejected his confession back then. Should she have accepted? She'd regretted it many times. But right now, she was here on official duty. Putting personal feelings aside, she asked Gail's opinion.
"So, what do you think of these traces, junior?"
"Well... I can't comprehend it yet. Chaos shouldn't even have a general solution to begin with."
"But this is proof it was solved. The Bureau will control the media, but it'll leak out somehow."
"Guess that means the freshman's that exceptional, huh?"
Gail recalled Kesera floating lazily during the entrance exam. The way she'd mocked him as a "parasite brother" and "sis-con." It still ground his teeth, but if professors were this impressed, maybe her skills deserved recognition.
"Who knows. Still, there's the ranking matches coming up. Here's hoping I can get some payback."
"Yes, good luck."
Still, Gail felt like he could win.
Three days passed since the incident. A holiday had come and gone, and now the first day of the week—Monday in my past life—had arrived. That incompetent nurse professor, who did nothing but hold incense, said since the purification was done, I could walk around the infirmary a bit starting today. No magic yet, no classes, but hey, kids recover fast, right...
"Huaa—☆ Being hurt means I can't do jack."
I'm trying rehab-like bits of mana use, but the injured muscles feel stiff and sore, making it hard to draw out mana still. But today's bigger problem... is the Imperial Magic Bureau and professors coming to visit? What a pain, those clumsy, half-baked☆ profs.
—Knock knock
...They say even trash comes running when called☆
The door swung open, and professors much taller than me filed in, covered head to toe in mud, twigs, and who knows what—like they'd rolled in a rice paddy.
"You old geezers☆ reek of age. Ugh~ Why not wash up before coming?"
"Ahem, everyone, at least cast cleanse before coming in."
I'm basically telling them not to come at all, but they take it that way? The professors went out, washed with magic, and lined up before me again.
"What? Why? Why're you half-baked☆ old men swarming like this?"
"Miss Kesera, how on earth did you solve Chaos's general solution?!"
I spat it out gruffly like always to shoo them away, but the professors wouldn't budge...
"How did you construct the circulation structure of imaginary magic?"
"According to the Serchariston conjecture, it shouldn't be provable... Ah, the Serchariston conjecture is—"
"To derive Chaos's general solution, there must be dozens of intertwined equations, but I think you used proportional methods..."
What the hell are these bug-like explainers with just professor titles? Haa... Seeing these halfwits utterly hooked on my brilliant magic skills is quite the spectacle—☆
I shrugged and looked away, but why of all places... did my gaze land on him beyond the open door? Spotting that total halfwit bastard made my heart pound, pissing me off so much I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled the blanket over again. They said this imprinting lasts a full week. Why the hell is that approach-prohibited guy standing there?!