Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Star and the Mage (1)
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Recently, things around Estelle had been unusually rowdy.
Of course, being as sociable and well-liked as she was, her surroundings had rarely ever been quiet to begin with.
But the recent commotion was clearly something different.
"Th-that's incredible, Miss Lunaris...!"
At some point, Department Head Lilliana Gearheart of the Magical Engineering Department had started personally attending the lower-year practical classes to observe.
And her gaze was always fixed on one spot.
"To reduce the mana consumption of a magic communication orb this drastically...! Th-this is truly amazing!!"
"Eh, it's all about the materials. And anyway, this isn't a 'orb' communicator."
She was right on the money.
What Lunaris held in her hand wasn't a crystal orb, but a rectangular slab.
She had forcibly reshaped it using telekinesis magic.
Estelle swallowed dryly without realizing it.
Honestly, she was impressed.
The aesthetic perfection of a flawless golden ratio without a single wasted element.
The perfect portability that fit right in the palm of her hand.
And the overwhelming spatial efficiency of the magical engineering packed inside.
It was immediately clear that every bit of it had been calculated for utmost practicality.
Naturally, Department Head Lilliana trembled with excitement, her hands shaking.
"Even for the same magic tool, the shape can dramatically boost efficiency... This is the essence of magical engineering design! This is the perfect golden ratio!!"
"I knew the department head would appreciate the coolness of my iSlab."
Lunaris fiddled with the crystal slab through sleepy eyes.
Department Head Lilliana stared at her as if entranced.
"I-if there's anything you need, j-just say the word...! I'll support you even if I have to dip into my own pockets, Miss Lunaris!"
Her voice quivered with excitement.
The usual timidness was nowhere to be found.
"I-if worst comes to worst, I'll go beg the chairman himself... somehow!"
"I don't think that'll be necessary... Yawwwn..."
Estelle watched blankly from a short distance away as the two exchanged words with sparkling eyes.
They were right there beside her, yet for some reason, their conversation felt impossibly distant.
*
"Hey! They say the top freshman is going head-to-head with the Magic Department Head!"
"What? Where? Where?!"
"Magic Hall main building, practical wing!"
The moment Estelle heard the news, she rushed to the Magic Hall main building with the other students.
A massive crowd of onlookers had already gathered at the practical wing.
And at the center, two mages' spells were clashing.
The Magic Department Head, Raymond Cloud.
To Estelle's eyes, his magic was perfection incarnate.
Meticulous and efficient like the craft of an artisan honed over decades.
If effort had an endpoint, it had to look like that.
In contrast, Lunaris's magic was utterly alien.
There were no rules, no structure.
She just tore open space arbitrarily and scattered magic all over the place.
It was incomprehensible.
Her talent-bloomed magic unfolded before them, as if mocking every theory of magic Estelle had ever learned.
"Is that... a student's level?"
"What kind of magic even is that?"
Gasps erupted from the spectator seats here and there.
How much time had passed?
Suddenly, Lunaris staggered and flopped straight onto the floor.
"Ughhh... I'm beat..."
She hadn't even been hit directly by any spells.
Nor was her mana depleted.
She'd just suddenly collapsed.
"I can't do more... I'm tired. I forfeit, forfeit. Anyway, this covers a week's worth of classes in advance, right? So I get to slack off until midterms?"
Department Head Raymond stared blankly down at Lunaris before shaking his head in disbelief.
"...Miss Lunaris, it's funny coming from a mage like me, but you really need to work on your stamina."
"Eek. I hate that."
The spar ended with her grumbling.
At that moment, the onlookers burst into applause all at once.
"Ahh... Magic inspiration is surging...!"
"Magic this close to natural phenomena... The mage's ideal is right here..."
Even the visiting lecturers dispatched from the Mage Tower were wiping away tears of emotion.
But Estelle couldn't bring herself to clap in the end.
She clearly cherished the underclassman, yet her hands felt leaden for some reason.
*
The weekend bazaar drew more outsiders than usual.
And a good number of them came looking for Estelle.
"Pardon the intrusion. Are you the student Estelle Myers?"
"Yes, that's me...?"
"I heard you're Miss Lunaris's mentor. Is that right?"
And every such conversation ended the same way.
The esteemed old gentleman would slip her a sponsorship proposal to pass along to Lunaris, while the steward from a prominent family would entrust her with a heavy pouch of gold coins, asking her to deliver it properly.
The letters and items she collected that way easily surpassed two digits.
"Whoa~ Estelle! You know about that, right? The huge surge in sponsors for the Magical Engineering Department lately."
As things quieted down a bit, a male classmate helping run the bazaar sidled up to her with a grin.
"Not sure if the Magic Department's second string deserves this much prestige."
"It's all thanks to Luna, anyway."
Lunaris's connection.
That was the phrase Estelle heard most these days.
Fewer people called her the "Star of the Magical Engineering Department" now.
"Nice to have a great underclassman and reap the benefits."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"Estelle, you've been busting your ass alone to boost the department's rep all this time."
"..."
"You can finally take a load off. Right?"
Comfort without malice.
Estelle could only smile awkwardly.
*
It was late at night, but the lights in Estelle's private room were still blazing.
In her hand was none other than the magic communication orb.
The very one she had made with Lunaris on the first practical day.
Though calling it "made together" was a bit of a stretch.
In the end, Lunaris had overhauled everything from the circuit layout to the magic circle design.
"This is truly amazing... How on earth did she come up with this design?"
She had pulled all-nighters analyzing and studying it countless times since that day, but she still couldn't fully grasp the technology packed into this tiny orb.
The more she dissected it, the more new things she learned.
It felt like she was the apprentice, not Lunaris.
Jealousy?
That was an emotion that only arose when talents were somewhat evenly matched.
Before talent this overwhelmingly superior, even that didn't occur to her.
But still.
"I'm supposed to be Luna's mentor, the master artisan leading the apprentice..."
Estelle muttered to herself as she pulled out a weathered sheet of parchment from the depths of her drawer.
Last year, not long after enrolling as the top student in Magical Engineering, she had participated in a bazaar event.
It was the design blueprint for an ancient magic golem that a masked sponsor had handed her, telling her to give it a study.
She had tinkered with it off and on for over a year without making any headway.
But recently, while studying the magic circles Lunaris had engraved into the communication orb, she had found a few clues.
"If I could just complete this..."
Then maybe.
She could stand proudly before Lunaris.
Escape this inferiority complex...
*
In the past few weeks, the morning skirmishes with the Linea Hall maids had completely flipped.
This was a winning streak.
Now, days when she beat the maids outnumbered the days they dragged her kicking and screaming to class by far.
Honestly, back at the start of the semester, she had gone easy on them.
No, more accurately, she had no choice but to.
One wrong move and her magic could've gone haywire, turning WWE into UFC.
But now that she was completely accustomed to handling natural mana, unleashing spells held zero burden.
Like right now, for instance.
"Cough!"
Amid the maids sprawled across the room floor, Odette let out a hacking cough.
Today, as always, she had taken out the full maid assault team storming her room in a three-minute rout.
Anti-magic armor? Overwhelm it with even greater force, and it bends eventually.
Magic not working? Time to wonder if they were low on mana.
"Yawwwn... Just a bit more sleep, then head to afternoon classes late..."
I savored the victor's leisure as I readjusted my pillow.
"Oh yeah, it's Monday today."
So no need to go in the afternoon either.
Perfect.
"...Miss, so at least attend morning classes... listen to the lectures, then come back and sleep..."
Odette, collapsed on the floor, groaned as if squeezing out her last strength.
"But I'm way too sleepy to move right now... Mmm."
The moment I started nodding off, head bobbing, Odette seized the chance and tried to rise.
I flicked a finger, and the air in the room grew heavy.
Odette let out a faint grunt and was pinned back down.
"Hey, Odette. Not trying to tease or anything, but aren't the maids kinda lacking in oomph lately?"
"...It's not that, ngh, we're weaker... You're just, too strong now..."
"No, no. That's not the issue."
I shook my head and continued.
"How to put it... Compared to the start of the semester, they lack presence? And they seem more hot-tempered too."
Everyone's condition just didn't feel like before.
A flicker of bewilderment crossed Odette's face.
Her startled reaction confirmed it—something was up.
"...We're perfectly fine."
"Hmm~"
Of course, they looked like perfect maids on the surface.
But bickering with them every day made it impossible not to notice.
The tense expressions, hurried movements, and inexplicable anxiety.
If even I, who's oblivious to changes around me, picked up on it, this was serious.
"You all getting enough rest?"
"If Miss Lunaris would just get diligent... then we could rest plenty..."
"That'd be a problem. Wouldn't it all be solved if you just gave up on waking me?"
Odette smiled quietly at my words.
It was her signature stubborn smile.
"That would be even more of a problem. Turning you into a diligent student is the duty of us Linea Hall maids."
Negotiation failed, as expected.
Well, what a shame.
"Oh yeah, I woke up briefly at dawn, and things outside seemed kinda noisy."
Odette's reply came a beat late.
"...It's exam season lately, isn't it? Lots of people studying late into the night."
"Studying... noisy enough to shake the whole Linea Hall? For weeks on end?"
"I don't think it was enough to shake the building..."
Odette continued with a sigh-tinged smile.
"Besides, Linea Hall has plenty of people prepping for exams all semester long, surprisingly."
...At the time, I just shrugged it off as whatever and let Odette's words slide.
If only I'd paid a little more mind to that subtle off-note.
Maybe I could've avoided at least some of the massive hassle that was to come later.