Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The S-Rank Magic Square
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"Even Lady Christa Warden can't help it when that genius young master drags her down."
Melanie laughed merrily.
She was an outstanding magic cadet from Rohwinen Academy, alongside Weiber. The two were heading to the podium to have their work checked.
"This easy problem, and they still haven't solved it? Well, no, it must be tough doing it all alone."
The time it took the pair from Rohwinen Academy to solve this problem was 13 minutes. It was an overwhelming first place in the class, beyond any doubt.
'Have they given up?'
Before submitting his answer sheet to Professor Owen, Weiber glanced back at the magic house duo.
It was markedly different from before.
Christa seemed to be assisting, while Rain was diligently scribbling something on the drawing paper.
'Even so, that genius young master...'
Judging they couldn't submit in time, were they planning to teach the genius young master how to solve it?
'Hmph, it's over.'
Weiber smirked in satisfaction and submitted his answer sheet to Professor Owen.
Owen quickly scanned the sheet, then placed his hand on the drawing paper and infused it with mana.
Light filled the circles of the magic square drawn on the paper, and at its peak, a hazy mist rose inside the classroom before vanishing abruptly.
"The runes for Steam and Depart are functioning perfectly. Not bad for such a short time."
The drawing paper, which had been covered in a complex magic square, was now blank. The magic square had transferred from the physical world to the astral realm upon activation.
"Haha, thank you~!"
"Don't shrug your shoulders, you monkeys from the Eight Great Academies. You're from the Eight Great Academies, and on top of that, Rohwinen Academy that wields wind! You should have solved this in two minutes. That's why it's a C grade."
A C grade? Melanie froze, unable to comprehend. Weiber narrowed his eyes.
"Why a C? We were the fastest in the class, and the equations were perfect."
"You know the hidden answer better than anyone, monkey boy."
No way... did he catch that?
No, even his academy seniors wouldn't notice; he'd refined it that well. Feeling a pang of guilt, Weiber couldn't respond.
"I don't know what you mean. Why?"
As Melanie began to protest, a sudden presence came from behind.
"Aren't you done? Move aside already."
Weiber's eyes shook. The other students' attention focused on the podium. Professor Owen raised an eyebrow with interest.
It was Rain and Christa.
A single sheet of drawing paper fluttered in Rain's hand like a spring breeze. The thick scent of ink from the completed magic square spread through the air.
"Please grade ours now too, Professor."
* * *
Constructing a written magic square was a race against time.
No matter how talented one was in magic, unless they had the gift for 'writing numbers quickly,' it took about the same time as everyone else.
That was why, in contrast to mental calculation magic, it was famous as a casting method where the gap between geniuses and average folk narrowed.
For that reason, most mages in the Empire were written mages.
Of course, it had clear limitations equal to its strengths. Their ability to generate and adapt to variables was overwhelmingly inferior to mental calculation mages.
Thus, to reach the realm of Archmage or Sage, one had to become a mental calculation mage.
Excluding unique spells individuals manifested themselves, public spells created by adults could be selected and used situationally.
Miranzo's Great Blue Territory Divide, Orbos's Heavenly Flame Strike, Lin's Thunder Field Defense Acupoint, and so on...
Written mages gathered pre-drawn magic squares like pages in a book and pulled them out as needed, hence called Remidier-type mages.
The Readers.
The reason for this explanation was to note that most Remidier-type mages took similar times to construct magic squares.
"You actually completed it? How unpleasant! I was grinning at the thought of expelling you magic house brats!"
"If you can't even cast magic because of a mere breeze, you can't call yourself a mage anywhere."
"Hmph, I like your spirit. Though it's barely on the level of my mother's booger."
Professor Owen took the drawing paper Rain submitted and stepped aside. Weiber, watching, doubted his eyes.
'They completed the magic square?'
Impossible. How much time had passed? Two minutes? Three? And they finished that?
"Hmm?"
As Professor Owen examined the answer sheet, his eyes suddenly wavered.
"The magic square... it's different from the one I provided."
The magic square Owen had given was a double fan shape, handling only wind attribute magic.
"Yes. One is fan-shaped, the other a circle."
It was a magic square where a large circle embraced the fan shape. A circular magic square imbued water attributes into the spell.
In short, this was a dual-attribute magic square with both water and wind properties.
"The reason?"
"The Steam rune pairs well with water attribute magic. By basing it on water magic, the equations for constructing that rune simplify dramatically."
"Right, in that case, a linear equation alone suffices to derive the answer the Steam rune requires."
Christa then looked at Rain with an expression of disbelief.
"What? That's not even in intermediate classes. Where'd you learn that?"
"That's because intermediate classes are flawed. You can't say you wield magic perfectly until you've mastered the runes."
"!!!"
By leveraging profound rune knowledge to minimize time... Hmph. Owen placed his hand on the paper with an amused grin.
"But whether this is skill or folly, I need to see for myself."
"Go ahead and check."
"You're so cocky it makes me want to smack you! A dual-attribute square actually raises the difficulty of the equations for Depart?"
The Steam rune's equations might simplify, but overall difficulty multiplied several times. A single math error during casting, and the spell fails.
"Mana infusion."
Mana flowed from Owen's palm into the magic square, breathing life into it.
Light seeped into the bold ink curves, lines, and numbers, and in the next instant, a dazzling explosion overlaid the unreal upon reality.
Steam.
Droplets danced in the air, hazy mist blooming amid the breeze.
Then, Depart.
The mist unfurled like white wings in all directions before vanishing abruptly.
"......!"
"......!"
"......!"
Unlike the textbook solution from the Rohwinen pair, this was a magical feast laced with artistic flair.
'No way. This... this is just luck...'
Weiber couldn't comprehend the image burned into his retina in that fleeting moment. No, he didn't want to.
'No way that magic is possible in such short time...'
At that moment, the students doubted their eyes for another reason.
The gorilla—no, Professor Owen, perched arrogantly on the podium... was smiling contentedly and clapping?
"In my 13 years of teaching, I've met countless geniuses, but you're the first to provide such a novel solution to this problem."
The gorilla, who'd never praised his own academy juniors, was giving that kind of rave review to Rain Ludwig...?
No, no.
Christa must have done everything. The genius young master contributed nothing. The students thought so.
"It's infuriating, but I'll give you an S grade. The highest grade I've never once given on these pop quizzes."
Christa's eyes, shadowed with despair, lit up. Unable to believe the situation, she glanced back and forth between Owen and Rain.
"You're too kind."
At Rain's reply, Christa doubted her ears for a moment, then gripped her fists in thrilled shivers and shouted.
"Thank you!"
Weiber, watching in disbelief, suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine and clamped his mouth shut.
It was the gaze.
Rain was staring straight at him. As if he knew everything he'd done. The gaze carried clear menace.
I'll let it slide this time. No next time.
* * *
Word that Gorilla Owen gave an S grade on the first lesson spread like wildfire across the academy.
The rumor reached the other four postgraduates from the Eight Great Academies, excluding Weiber, who each reacted with amusement.
"Weiber that idiot got a C? Ha, I knew it."
"Not surprising. Christa probably did it all herself anyway."
"Ah, what a shame. If I'd been in the same class as Weiber... they'd both be too ashamed to show their faces by now♪"
Of course, given Christa's status as a once-in-a-generation genius, it was no shock that all the credit went to her.
Only Professor Owen and Christa knew the truth. No, truly, only Christa knew...
Owen thought it was their collaboration, but in reality, Rain alone had wrought the miracle.
'I should thank him.'
She should, but throughout class, her mouth wouldn't open. Only as the first day's lessons ended did she muster her courage.
"Hey, Rain Ludwig."
But as their eyes met, her face flushed beet red, words failing her.
As the perennial top student, relying entirely on her rival was humiliating. Yet gratitude was real too...
With so little—no, zero—experience in peer relations, Christa couldn't sum up those tangled feelings into thanks.
-Power isn't just crushing with strength; true strength is using it to push someone's back.
That smug guy tossing advice like that... she couldn't bear owing him, yet she'd accepted his help.
"Just watch. I'll bring you something to turn that sky-high nose into modeling clay..."
Muttering those incomprehensible words in a low, crawling voice, she darted out of the classroom.
"That damn modeling clay of hers..."
Left alone, the boy stroked his chin, lost in deep thought.
'That girl really loves modeling clay.'
Past life or this one, why did all the weirdos flock to him like flies? It defied mathematical reasoning.
'It started with Rista. Could this be Rista's curse? Their names are even similar.'