Interlude: A Genius's First Defeat
The Secret Realm held a beauty that seemed not of this world. Leaves glittered like cut jewels, the lake lay clear and pure as emerald, and the landscape stretched away into the distance as if painted by a master hand.
But anyone who fell for that beguiling surface was all too likely to lose their life. The trees were predators waiting for prey to wander close; the grass and foliage sliced flesh as keenly as blades; the place teemed with hunters so skilled they left behind not even a scream.
Lately, thanks to a certain celebrity, more visitors had been turning up—but it remained an undeniable truth that an ordinary person could have a hundred lives and still find them insufficient here.
One native creature, delighted by the recent abundance of soft, tender prey, fixed its attention on a strange bird soaring through the Secret Realm's sky. Flying up there without a shred of fear—I'll swallow you whole! The monster that leapt for the bird found a witch astride its back pointing a finger.
"Radius Flamma."
A crimson beam lanced from the tip of the witch's finger. A high-heat ray capable of punching a hole clean through even a sturdy fortress wall. Under that overwhelming thermal force, the monster turned to ash in an instant and vanished without a trace.
"A mere gnat, and you dare treat my familiar as prey? Burning you a hundred times wouldn't be enough."
"Pee, peeeep…."
"Don't worry, Florence. I won't let anything so much as touch a single feather of yours."
The pink-haired witch stroking her phoenix with such open affection was Marina—known to the world as the Red Flame Witch, a mage whose fame and power rivaled even Liber's.
Erasing the successive pests that lunged at her as if they had never existed, Marina pressed on until she reached a building standing tall at the heart of the Secret Realm.
I hope I'm not about to find some other guest already here. She scanned the surroundings, and when nothing offensive met her eye she broke into a bright smile and hopped down from her phoenix's back.
"I'm here! …Wait. Why is it so quiet?"
"Welcome, Lady Marina. I have been expecting you."
"What's Liber doing?"
"The Witch is… currently sound asleep in the reading room."
"Ah…. So she's barricaded herself in there with her books again. I wonder if she ever gets tired of reading."
At Cheshire's report, which arrived the moment she stepped inside, Marina briefly considered marching into the reading room to wake Liber. But time ran faster in there than it did outside; Liber would come tumbling out soon enough. With that thought, Marina headed for the drawing room first.
The journey had left her hungry, after all. She meant to scavenge some snacks and wait in leisure.
She settled onto the drawing-room sofa and shrugged off her outer cloak, and Cheshire appeared at precisely the right moment with tea and refreshments—a deeply fragrant tea steeped from leaves found only in the Secret Realm, and handmade flower cookies Liber had baked specially for her.
Marina grinned as she brought a cookie to her face, popped it into her mouth, and savored the leisurely blend of floral perfume and sweetness. Hmm. A little too sweet.
"There's a bit too much sugar in these. Has something been hard on her lately? She's not the type to mess up the measurements."
"Rather than something difficult…. She has been busy creating magic."
"Magic? So something's caught her fancy again."
It no longer surprised her. Not long ago Liber had invented a time-acceleration spell simply because she wanted more hours for reading. Once that girl decided she wanted something, she would knock out a brand-new spell on the spot. Marina figured this was more of the same.
Sipping her tea and chewing on cookies, Marina glanced at Cheshire standing ramrod-straight beside her and gave a little jerk of her chin.
"Cheshire. I'm bored. Keep me company."
"As you wish."
"Right. Got any complaints about Liber you usually keep to yourself? I'll pass them on for you. Give me one."
"Haha…. Nothing of the sort. Toward the Witch I feel only constant gratitude."
"No way. That girl is incapable of not causing trouble."
When Marina prodded as if testing a weak spot, Cheshire's eyes wavered, just faintly. Something must have come to mind after all.
She stuck her nose into some weird business again, didn't she. Softhearted idiot.
From Marina's point of view, Liber was a creature utterly beyond comprehension. Whatever was so wonderful about books, the mere mention of them would have her trailing after someone like a child drawn by candy. She acted as if she had no interest in people, yet once she took someone into her heart she would give them her liver and gallbladder both. And just when you thought her soft, she would show not a shred of mercy to anyone she considered an enemy and smash them to pieces without hesitation.
Marina had always treated Liber as the goal she meant to surpass as a witch—and at the same time, Liber felt like a little sister she needed to look after.
Probably the only people who thought the White Witch was hopelessly scatterbrained were Marina herself and Lethe. A dry laugh escaped her unbidden.
As Marina sat lost in thought, chin propped on her hand, fingers idly twitching, Cheshire studied her expression and ventured carefully,
"Lady Marina… you and the Witch seem to be on exceptionally good terms."
"…Do we?"
"Yes! Visiting once a week like this—I consider it a remarkable friendship."
"Ha. Friendship? Do I look like that kind of softhearted type? This is all business. The ideas she comes up with are incredibly innovative. I steal them and put them to use with the Magic Tower's resources."
"You say that, yet I am well aware that the moment any ominous rumor spreads, you come running straight here."
"My, how convenient. If even her familiar thinks that, I must have done an excellent job planting the right image."
Faced with Marina's stubborn refusal to admit a thing, Cheshire privately thought of someone rather similar. Why is it that every witch ends up with roughly the same personality? Cheshire decided not to dig up what she so clearly meant to keep buried.
"Come to think of it, there is one thing I've been curious about."
"What."
"What was your first impression of the Witch? Even with a long relationship, there is always that first moment of meeting, is there not?"
"First impression?"
At Cheshire's unexpected question, Marina sifted back through her memories. It would have been from the time when she was not yet a witch herself—still only a witch's disciple.
A flicker of nostalgia passed through her eyes as she reached for the distant past.
Marina first met Liber at the Witch's Assembly she attended at the age of eleven.
The Grand Witch Lethe had convened a gathering of every witch to celebrate the fact that the witches of that generation had all chosen their successors.
Marina, who had trained in magic under the witch Hilda since the age of seven, also attended the assembly in her capacity as a successor.
Riding her familiar toward the Land of Witches, Marina sat beside Hilda, who gazed at the banquet hall visible in the distance and murmured with a touch of nostalgia.
"It's been a while since the last Witch's Assembly. I think the previous one was five years ago."
"Five years ago… that would have been before I was around."
"Right. Lady Lethe said back then that producing a successor was a witch's duty. That's when I finally started thinking about taking a disciple myself."
From the sound of it, the last assembly's theme had been all about succession.
For Marina—once a kingdom's princess, whose life had been turned upside down the day she became Hilda's disciple—the timing had been rather fortunate in more ways than one.
Then Hilda seemed to remember something she had forgotten, and muttered to herself as if the whole thing still astonished her.
"That aside…. Who would have thought that lazybones would actually take a disciple. I was sure she'd run off without ever making a successor."
"Lazybones?"
"Ah, among the witches there's one called Hesty who's lazy to a truly ridiculous degree. Tell her to do something and she'll say she understands, then forget about it five minutes later. I've lost count of how many times I've fought with her over it."
"I… I see…."
"That's right! Since the occasion is so rare—Marina. You are absolutely not allowed to lose to Hesty's disciple. Just imagining that smug, nose-in-the-air face of hers is already making me furious."
"Yes. I understand. I'll definitely win."
Truthfully, Marina had no idea what one actually did at a Witch's Assembly. Hilda had never bothered to explain. But for her, there was no reason to refuse the demand. She was a prodigy who had mastered in a mere two years the foundational magic that took ordinary mages five, and who was already learning elemental magic.
Marina meant to prove to everyone that she was the strongest of the next generation. She was simply not the sort of person who could tolerate being anything less than the best.
"We've arrived. This is the Land of Witches."
"So this is…. the Land of Witches."
The moment they arrived, witches filled every direction Marina turned her gaze. Ordinary people might go their whole lives without encountering a single witch—but that rule did not apply here in the least.
Trailing after Hilda into the banquet hall, Marina found still more witches inside. Without meaning to, her expression went stiff as a board.
She might swagger about calling herself a genius, but she was still only a child. The countless stares pouring over her and the dense mana saturating the space left her thoroughly cowed.
"Stay here for a bit, then. I'm going to pay my respects to Lady Lethe."
"Ah—y-yes. Go ahead…."
Part of her wanted to beg Hilda to stay. But that would make her look like a little kid, so Marina swallowed the impulse down hard.
What do I do now? She drifted toward a relatively empty stretch of wall and stood with her head bowed, taking deep breaths—until a pleasant fragrance suddenly reached her, and she looked up.
Right nearby stood a girl so cute it was almost absurd.
What is with this ridiculously adorable little girl….
She was the kind of beauty who made you want to protect her on pure instinct. Soft black hair like polished obsidian. Clear blue eyes that seemed to hold the open sky. Flawless pale skin and a sweet, lovable smile to complete the picture.
Marina forgot her nerves entirely and found herself wanting to become friends. Ever since becoming Hilda's disciple she had practiced magic without a single break; meeting someone her own age after so long set her heart thumping.
How should I start talking to her? Marina kept glancing sideways, hoping the girl would notice her stare. Then she realized the girl's face looked perfectly calm, as if none of this was any great matter. The words slipped out of Marina's mouth before she could stop them.
"Hey—aren't you nervous?"
"Hm? Ah…. Not really. If anything, I just want this to be over soon."
What kind of answer is that? It was the first Witch's Assembly in five years—wanting it over before it even started was strange. But the reply was so unexpected that Marina's tension dissolved instead.
She checked the hall and confirmed there was still no sign of the assembly beginning, then took another step closer to the girl.
"What's your name? I'm Marina."
"I'm Liber."
"Okay, Liber. How old are you?"
"Eleven. My birthday wasn't that long ago."
"Same as me! I'm eleven too!"
The same age as her! The almost fated common ground sent Marina's spirits soaring. Her eyes sparkled as she launched into a proud recitation of her own accomplishments.
"How long have you been learning magic, Liber? I've been at it for four years. But the year before last I finished mastering all the foundational magic, and now I'm learning elemental magic."
"I've only been learning magic for a year."
"Heh-heh, is that so?"
In that moment Marina felt a tremendous rush of superiority. She was nearly four years in, and this girl had only one? Then her level was obvious. She smiled with overflowing confidence and puffed out her chest.
"Want me to teach you some magic, then? How far have you gotten? My specialty is fire magic—if there's anything you're curious about, just ask!"
"Ah, well…."
Just as Liber was about to answer, a sensation like a great drumbeat rolled through the entire banquet hall.
It was striking enough that Marina and Liber both fell silent mid-conversation and turned toward the sound. There stood the Grand Witch Lethe, who had appeared without anyone noticing; she gathered every gaze in the room and announced that the Witch's Assembly had begun.
Marina, who had been deep in conversation with Liber, had no choice but to return to her master Hilda.
"What was that. Who were you talking to?"
"There was a girl named Liber, and I just…."
"Liber? Ah, so you met Hesty's disciple."
"That girl is…?"
Only then did Marina realize that the disciple of Hesty whom Hilda had mentioned was Liber, and a flicker of disappointment crossed her face.
The one person she absolutely must not lose to was a novice who'd only been learning magic for a year. The outcome was decided before anything had even begun.
Still—if the gap in skill was overwhelming enough, maybe that cute little girl would look up at her with real respect. The thought rekindled a spark of motivation.
Before long it became clear what the witches' disciples were expected to do at the assembly: each of them was to mount the stage and freely display the magic they had learned from their masters. For Marina, that was no difficult task.
"Ardor Flamma!"
Born with dual attributes of fire and wind, Marina unveiled a red-flame magic far more powerful than ordinary fire spells. A dazzling display no foundational fire magic could hope to imitate. She directed her gaze toward Liber, who was waiting for her own turn.
But the look in Liber's eyes was nothing like what Marina had expected. You're good at magic. How clever. The gaze seemed to say exactly that, and Marina's temper flared.
She ought to be looking at me with something more like awe and respect. Why that cheeky expression instead?
Having received the watching witches' applause, Marina left the stage in a sour mood—and Liber mounted it in her place, as if taking a shift.
If she's only a first-year, she'll wrap up with a single foundational spell. That was what Marina thought—until the scene that followed froze her expression solid.
"Elementum Quarta."
What Liber unfolded was a fourfold magic that simultaneously manifested the four elemental arts of fire, water, earth, and wind.
What was more, the elements did not encroach on one another; each held its own domain while achieving perfect harmony. Then the elements gathered into one and became a brilliant light that rose toward the ceiling.
A mere eleven years old—and skill that beggared belief for a so-called first-year. The watching witches' eyes went round; their reactions bordered on shock.
"What… is that…?"
"F-four attributes at once?! She's handling every element?!"
"No—that looks like foundational magic, though…."
Naturally, that overwhelming performance made everyone forget the display Marina had given only moments before.
Foundational magic or not, what Liber had done was the equivalent of pouring four different drinks onto a flat plate without letting them mix or spill. Her control and sustained precision exceeded the level of a witch's disciple—perhaps even surpassing some full-fledged witches in refinement and excellence.
And so, by a near-unanimous judgment, Liber was declared foremost among the witches' disciples.
Later, when the assembly shifted into the atmosphere of a banquet, Marina chased Liber out of the hall, blocked her path, and shouted with raw intensity.
"Liar! You said you'd only been learning for a year. You tricked me!"
"Hm? It's true. I became Master—no, Lady Hesty's disciple around this time last year."
"Then how did you pull off foundational magic that perfectly…. Are you saying you mastered it in a single year?!"
"That's not it."
At Liber's answer Marina felt a momentary rush of relief. Right—even she, a magical prodigy, had needed two years. There was no way Liber had finished everything in one.
She must have learned magic before becoming a witch's disciple. Just as Marina was about to accept that explanation, Liber's next words left her speechless.
"I finished mastering it half a year ago. Lately I've actually been focused on creating other magic."
"Wha…?"
"Oh—would you like to learn some too? I've made spells for producing paper and books, respectively. The first is Carta. The second is Biblion, and…."
The impossible answer left Marina's mind blank. Half a year—far faster than her own two-year mastery.
She's the same age as me, and she's so much better at magic. And that gap is only going to widen as time goes on.
This is a real genius. How am I supposed to beat something like this? Just as she was about to be crushed under that weight, Marina's face twisted violently and her fists began to tremble.
"I… admit…."
"Hm? What did you say?"
"I won't admit it! Someone like you—I will never, ever admit it!"
Tears streaming down her face, Marina clung to pure spite. She never even noticed Liber floundering in genuine panic; she spun around and fled in a desperate rush.
The first overwhelming defeat of her life. The miserable feeling of having been stripped bare left her completely unable to stay near Liber.
I will never forgive this. Someday I'll definitely wipe that easygoing look off her face and make her sweat. Marina steeled herself with that vow.
That was the precise moment a genius who had stagnated in her own arrogance began the grueling, self-carving work of true effort.
"Well… no matter how hard I struggled after that, I never did manage to surpass Liber."
Marina laughed hollowly as the memories from that time to the present washed over her.
She had gone without sleep learning magic, thinking she was closing the gap—only for Liber to suddenly awaken to star mana. She had planned to make an impression at her coming-of-age ceremony with dazzling red-flame magic—only for Liber to casually drop a meteor from the sky. She had tried to expand her own renown—only for Liber to defeat the Black Dragon that had threatened to destroy the world and become the savior of everything.
No matter what she did, she could never catch up. Why on earth had the heavens seen fit to create Liber and then create Marina? She was the very definition of a tragic second place.
And yet Marina still had not given up on the idea of overtaking Liber.
That idiot gets so deeply attached once she likes someone that she can't let go—but dealing with people exhausts her. So all I have to do is the things she can't.
Right. As long as Liber was alive, Marina could try every trick she knew and still never win. But what about the distant future?
A fairy-tale figure who had saved the world—versus a legendary figure who had rewritten the history of magic from its foundations.
Which of the two would history books treat as more important? Marina considered her odds more than good enough.
Her plan was a grand design spanning thousands of years. In the end, the one still standing at the very last moment was the one who won.