Chapter 51
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Evermoon's Mage (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There was nothing quite as pointless as an all-nighter study session.
For starters, the very idea of "pulling an all-nighter" didn't make any sense.
How could a person possibly go without sleep? Why fight against a basic biological instinct?
Call it an all-nighter all you want, but you'd inevitably find yourself nodding off.
And then what? Study together?
With a bunch of close little kids crammed into one room? What were they even going to do?
Sure, maybe the first hour or so they'd manage to cram a bit.
But the moment one of them lost focus and flopped down with a groan?
After that, it was just playtime for everyone.
So why had I agreed to Her Highness's ridiculous suggestion?
...Obviously, because it was a "pointless" endeavor. That's why.
If this had been a serious study group where we racked our brains over textbooks, I never would've gone.
But.
Sprawled out on Her Highness's top-tier bed.
Watching Claire struggle and groan, occasionally tossing in a pointer or two.
And when I got peckish, snagging one of the snacks Her Highness had prepared.
How could anyone resist that?
Right now, I was already hogging her bed, rolling around blissfully.
Ah... this bed just hits different. Keeps coming back to me.
Sure, my attachment pillow back home and the bed perfectly molded to my body were a fantastic combo, but this one—with the imperial seal of approval—had its own nostalgic charm.
Even in that uncomfortable maid outfit, I'd conked out the moment my head hit the pillow. Now in comfy clothes? Double the knockout power.
Ah... should I run back to my room and grab my attachment pillow?
Nooo... this devilish bed won't let me go...
Ugh, let me gooo... I'll be right backkk...
"...Luna, study properly."
I was in the middle of my passionate tussle with the bed when bitchy, mean-spirited Claire snapped at me out of nowhere.
"Flopping face-down the second we get here defeats the whole purpose of a study group! Don't kill my motivation and Her Highness's!"
Claire, of all people... nagging me?
"Claire."
Still belly-down, I just tilted my head back and skimmed the practice sheet she was working on.
"The derivation in that equation you're solving right now has massive leaps. Don't just guess the answer."
"Gaaah! Argh, but the answer's right, isn't it? That's what matters, right?!"
"Your goal is to get into Linea Hall. You need to care about the process too. Besides, your answer's wrong anyway. It's 274."
"Kyaaah! Aaaah!!"
Claire, defeated.
Her scream was music to my ears.
She had this satisfying heft to her reactions—fun to tease, in a sneaky way.
"Um... Luna."
Then, Princess Celestina cautiously approached me, shyly offering her notebook like it was a love letter.
"Could you take a look at mine too? I'm not sure if I got it right."
I scanned what she'd written.
Yeah, after Claire's scribbles, Her Highness's handwriting was like a breath of fresh air for my eyes.
"Your handwriting is really pretty, isn't it?"
"Ehehe. Really? Th-thanks... Wait, no. That's not what I asked you to check."
Her Highness's cheeks flushed a bit.
"I wanted you to see if I solved the problem right."
"Well... the logical structure is flawless. Even someone clueless would nod along."
"Really? Phew, what a relief..."
"But the premise itself is wrong, so it's a total miss."
"...Hiiing."
Her sulky expression was adorable—like a puppy who'd just had its treat snatched away.
"Your Highness, you don't need to drag in overly complex theories. The first-year textbook concepts are more than enough."
"...How do you know what's in the textbook without attending even one lecture?"
I skipped classes constantly, and even when I showed up, I'd just doze off.
She'd poked right at my sore spot, so I cleared my throat awkwardly.
"Well... even if I skipped lectures, I know what's theory and what's not in the book..."
"...Wait. Luna, did you memorize the entire textbook?"
"Eh, more or less."
"..."
"It's all stuff I already knew anyway... and it wasn't that hard."
First-year academy level was all pretty standard.
I flipped over, propping myself on the bed as I continued.
"Anyway, take it step by step with just what you've learned, even if it takes longer. You'll get good results."
"But... won't it take too long if I follow your advice? The exam time will run out."
"So what if it does? Better to nail what you can than rush and miss everything."
Scribbling nonsense like Claire and getting zilch? Way too wasteful.
"Studying magic just to pass exams feels like such a shame anyway."
I held my open palm in front of Her Highness.
A handful of plain mana sparkled into tiny starlight.
"Pretty cool, right?"
"Wow...!"
The soft starlight.
Turned to embers at my fingertips, then frost, then wind, then scattered as dust.
"Something from nothing, changing into all these forms."
"Yeah... it makes me remember why I love magic all over again."
Her Highness mulled it over, then beamed.
"Luna really is a great teacher."
Right in this touching moment, Claire let out a pitiful groan.
"Lunaaa... why are you so strict only with me? Teach me sweetly and kindly toooo...!"
"Quiet, Claire. And you drew that magic circle all wrong too. Redo it."
"Kyaaah!!"
Her Highness giggled at Claire's scream.
Then she tilted her head and asked me.
"So, where did you learn magic, Luna? Self-taught?"
"Nah, not exactly..."
Should I say I endured child abuse from a young age? Or got drilled with intense early education?
"Hmm, I had a pretty decent teacher... once?"
"Really? Who was it?"
Who?
My lips froze for a second.
Looking back, "I" had never spent even a single second with Grandfather.
He only lingered vaguely in this body's memories.
"...Luna?"
So how could I describe who he was?
What kind of person was he, exactly?
"Luna, are you... crying?"
"What? No way, Claire. Why would I—... uh."
Then, tears streamed down my cheek.
"...Huh."
I wiped it casually, and my hand came away soaked.
...Why?
"Oh no! Luna, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked...!"
Princess Celestina panicked, fumbling out a handkerchief and handing it to me.
"It's fine. Just yawned or something... Thanks, I'll use it."
I dabbed my eyes with the handkerchief.
But I had no idea why the tears had suddenly started.
"...Must've been someone special."
Her Highness said softly.
"If you miss him that much."
"Not really..."
He was the guy obsessed with shoving me into the Imperial Mage Corps.
A workaholic with nothing but the Empire on his mind.
...Of course.
Whether Grandfather meant that much to "Lunaris" too.
Who knows? Not me.
It had been quite some time since he'd set aside his life as Captain of the Imperial Mage Corps.
His clothes were worn from wind, rain, and dust, their colors faded.
The staff at his waist gleamed from constant handling.
Now, he was no longer a mage.
Just a nameless wanderer, trudging across the Belhart Empire.
If his journey had a purpose, well.
It was to find an heir to carry on his will.
A voyage to pass on everything he'd learned from someone else to yet another soul.
*
The mage roamed the empire's mountains, fields, rivers, and seas.
The land under his own two feet was incomparably vast compared to the maps in the palace.
Even if he devoted his remaining years, could he see it all?
With great expanse came many people, but the "sprout" he sought never appeared.
Truth be told, magic was less about talent and more the product of bloodlines and early education.
No dragons in rural wheat fields—at least, not when it came to magic.
Born to mage noble houses like the Belka Counts, inheriting dense mana.
Or raised from childhood with rare herbs and efficient meditation techniques.
Only such children could become proper mages.
That's why most mages were nobles.
Even if a commoner miraculously awakened mana, local lords snatched them up fast.
In this era, every magic user was precious.
Weapons to defend cities.
Heavy machinery for public works.
Factories mass-producing magic tools.
Their numbers were limited, but demand endless.
Unless they holed up deep in the woods, nobles spotting them was inevitable.
And what this mage sought wasn't ordinary talent, but Imperial Mage Corps level.
High bar, so the journey dragged on.
Maybe venture beyond the empire? As he pondered one day.
He encountered a girl, by chance.
*
The village was already ruins.
Bandits? Foreign infiltrators? Black mages' experiments? No way to tell.
He'd seen the scene countless times on the way here.
The farther from the capital, the more common.
Amid the ashes.
The mage spotted a girl.
"Completely empty."
His first words upon seeing her.
No mana at all.
Well, normal for a street kid her age.
But.
Even her eyes were vacant. That was anything but normal.
They said eyes are windows to the soul.
But those dull eyes just reflected a murky sky—empty of anything.
Like a soulless doll.
Ironically, in this village where everyone died, she alone survived because of it.
The things that swept through mistook her for already dead.
Or deemed her not worth killing.
To the mage, this girl was preferable.
Better than some half-tainted kid—a blank canvas like her would accept anything.
A great mage's mana.
A wise sage's knowledge.
Even a legendary witch's spellcasting prowess.
Anything at all.
The mage crouched to her eye level.
"What's your name?"
Her chin jerked up creakily.
Empty eyes fixed on him.
Slowly blinking.
Blink... bliiink.
Her parched lips stayed shut.
The mage caught his breath, glancing around.
Among the rubble, a faded sign caught his eye.
[Inn, Lunaris]
He murmured the name softly.
Maybe fate.
He rolled up his dusty, worn robe sleeve and extended a careful hand.
Wrinkled and rough, but warm.
"Will you come with me?"
"..."
"Lunaris Evermoon."