Chapter 98
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: A Cultured Archmage (4)
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“Thank you so much for making time in your busy schedule, Chief Professor Maxian.”
Maxian received the journalist's polite greeting—he had been dispatched from the Mage Tower—and sank wearily into the leather sofa.
His graying hair and deeply etched wrinkles exuded the weight of his years.
“Hoo... Enough with the unnecessary pleasantries. Let's get started.”
Maxian, the chief professor, waved his hand dismissively, noting that he had to begin reviewing his lab assistant's thesis in exactly one hour.
“Haha. As expected of a popular professor. I won't take up too much of your time.”
The man quickly flipped open his notebook, his eyes sparkling.
“When it comes to professors, I simply have to ask about 'familiars.'”
Familiars.
The mage's second staff, their most loyal servant.
From the time Chief Professor Maxian first announced their existence up to the present day.
It had become common sense for most mages to have at least one familiar.
“The 'Lord-Vassal Contract Magic Circle' you proposed, Professor, is a revolutionary theory not just for the School of Life Magic, but for the magical world as a whole.”
“Haha... Well, in a sense, it did turn the world upside down.”
“I'd love to hear about the inspiration behind that radical theory—stimulating a magical beast's brain to imprint the mage's mana and grant it intelligence.”
“I've talked about this many times before... But to emphasize once more, I didn't invent the familiar contracting process.”
At the man's words, Chief Professor Maxian gave a wry smile.
“The one and only mage who walks the path of sorcery, the 'Sorcerer of the Night Sky.'”
The chief professor humbly attributed it all to her achievements.
“I'm just a lucky human who encountered her ideas a little faster than others.”
“Haha. Of course, that's already well-known throughout the magical community. Didn't you reveal it years ago when you co-authored that paper as the second author?”
The man leaned forward and continued.
“What I want to ask is... the more detailed inside story.”
How he had connected with the enigmatic sorcerer shrouded in mystery, known to few.
How their joint research had proceeded.
The journalist probed the chief professor for the behind-the-scenes details.
“Joint research...”
A strange nostalgia flickered in Chief Professor Maxian's eyes.
“These days, my age makes me forget old events easily, but that day is still crystal clear in my mind.”
The chief professor gazed into empty space, lost in reminiscence.
“Back when she was still called an 'archmage' during her student days, by sheer luck... no, perhaps unfortunate luck... she attended my class.”
“Come to think of it, you were already lecturing at the academy during her enrollment.”
Truly, exceptional students recognize great teachers, the man chimed in with apt flattery.
“Teacher? Hardly.”
But Chief Professor Maxian shook his head awkwardly.
“If anything, I was the one receiving instruction.”
“Pardon? What do you mean...”
“From the very first day of my lecture, she bombarded me with questions... Each one was utterly perplexing.”
The chief professor smiled bitterly, adding that she had corrected the flawed definitions widespread in academia.
“Looking back now, I think she just used me to rigorously verify her own insights.”
“Haha, wouldn't the proper term be 'seeking help'?”
“Seeking help? From her? Haha. Ridiculous.”
The journalist asked in a joking tone.
Chief Professor Maxian let out a short chuckle.
“Besides... I had to actually help for that. I was just swept along by her genius that defied common sense.”
“Aren't you being unusually humble?”
“Humble? Anyone who's even once discussed magic with her would understand.”
Maxian waved it off with a firm voice.
“What it means to have your head cracked open and knowledge forcibly injected.”
“Go ahead and ask.”
A suffocating silence filled the large lecture hall.
Countless students swallowed dryly, eyes fixed on Lunaris's mouth, wondering what question she would pose.
The most tense person there was undoubtedly Professor Maxian himself.
His throat felt parched from the tension.
“Hmm—”
Lunaris stared blankly into space with a dazed expression.
As if she had so many questions she didn't know where to start.
“When you defined magical beasts just now, Professor...”
Soon, her small mouth slowly opened.
“You said using mana at will is a privilege of intelligent beings, and magical beasts are creatures that handle mana instinctively.”
Lunaris propped her chin on her hand and continued.
“So, is it impossible to tame a magical beast and make it follow incredibly complex commands?”
“...?”
Maxian inwardly sighed in relief.
Thank goodness it wasn't something world-shattering like overturning the cosmos or defying natural laws.
No, it was rather mundane.
The kind of innocent curiosity a student her age might have.
“Before that, let me confirm one thing. What do you mean by 'complex commands'?”
“Hmm, for example...”
Lunaris wiggled her fingers.
“Giving vague goals without specific orders, and having it figure out and solve them on its own...?”
Like telling it to wash the bedsheets, and it hand-washes them fluffy and perfect.
“That's impossible from the start, since a magical beast's brain isn't developed enough.”
Her example was so childish it was almost cute, drawing an involuntary chuckle from Professor Maxian.
“More importantly, taming magical beasts is incredibly difficult in itself. Those ferocious creatures driven by instinct don't obey easily.”
“Really?”
Lunaris's head tilted sideways quizzically.
“Wouldn't they obey out of fear for their lives if you overwhelm them with sheer power?”
At those words, a blue spark of lightning crackled from Arke, the silver-white staff floating behind her.
“Eek?!”
Crackle— The menacing spark made nearby students shriek and recoil.
Professor Maxian flinched as well.
“Th-that's...”
The professor wiped away cold sweat, forcing a wry smile.
“A method only possible for you, Lunaris... Ordinary mages would get devoured instead.”
“What~? I was just saying it casually.”
Lunaris shrugged adorably—or terrifyingly.
It didn't look casual at all.
They say you can tell from the eyes.
Hers brimmed with sincerity.
“Anyway, I can't quite agree that taming magical beasts is difficult.”
Lunaris returned to the main point.
“Why not just form a familiar contract?”
“...Hm?”
Professor Maxian narrowed his eyes and asked back.
“Familiar? Contract...? What are you talking about?”
These were unfamiliar terms.
Of course, he could guess the meaning from context and word combination, but it wasn't precise.
“Oh no...”
Seeing the professor's puzzled look, Lunaris's expression shifted subtly.
The concept of familiars hadn't been established yet. She muttered to herself about the hassle.
Pretending it was a slip of the tongue wouldn't work because of Nebula's egg.
To raise it as her all-purpose slave No. 2 that guaranteed precious sleep, she needed the professor's help.
Lunaris let out a short sigh and opened her mouth.
“First... let's clarify the terminology properly.”
Her eyes changed.
“Professor, what exactly is a magical beast?”
All traces of drowsiness were gone.
Instead, the refined dignity of an archmage peeked through.
Of course, inwardly, she just wanted to sync her knowledge with the professor quickly through express tutoring to avoid the bother.
“Is a magical beast a stupid creature that can handle mana? Or a creature that can handle mana but isn't classified as human? Or a creature that handles mana by instinct?”
“If we must define it... 'instinct' is the key word.”
“But once a mage reaches a certain level, they're told to rely on personal inspiration and intuition for magic.”
Lunaris flicked her hand.
“If you cast magic purely on intuition without formulas or magic circles, does that classify you as a magical beast?”
Without a single spell or line of formula.
Pure natural mana swirled above her hand.
“Then what, are most mages, including me, magical beasts?”
“W-well...”
He was at a loss for words.
His vision darkened.
It had started as an easy, trivial question.
Before he knew it, they were redefining the foundational terms of academia.
“Let's just lay it out plainly.”
Lunaris spread her hands wide, scattering the natural mana.
“Magical beasts are just lifeforms demeaned by human supremacism—stupid creatures that dare handle mana despite not being human.”
“One could... see it that way.”
Professor Maxian nodded as if entranced.
The phrasing was radical, but the logic was irrefutable.
“Anyway, that's not the point right now.”
Lunaris tapped the desk.
Her tapping fingers mixed boredom with irritation.
“The core is this. Can a lifeform that only handles mana instinctively acquire intelligence later? And can we tame it as a familiar?”
She murmured on.
“Acquiring intelligence... Hmm, stimulating the brain with mana should make it possible somehow...”
Like casting body enhancement magic, but on the brain?
“If we infuse mana into the brain nerves to restructure the thought circuits, and imprint the lord-vassal bond in the process...”
“W-wait a second!”
Professor Maxian urgently stopped Lunaris.
“You're going too fast! I can't follow your train of thought. Let's sort it out step by step!”
The professor was already breathless.
A professor struggling to keep up with a student's questions—what a humiliation.
But now wasn't the time for petty pride.