Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Beautiful Magic
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“ No! ”
Seri turned her head sharply away with a deeply sullen face, then paced back and forth in front of me as if making sure I noticed she was upset, shaking her head repeatedly.
She must have learned only bad things from Aunt...
I stared intently at Elin, the pioneer of such antics, and Elin tilted her head.
“Why? What?”
“No, nothing.”
I had only said one thing—“Can’t we just go home without watching the top rank match?”—and now this. Mother asked in a worried tone.
“Just go home...? I don’t think Rain would say something like that without reason. What’s wrong?”
That was where the words caught in my throat. It wasn’t like I could say, “A black magician is targeting you all,” right?
That would immediately trigger a massive investigation, and would Valensidis—who hadn’t been caught by Delaiten or the special task force’s information network up to now—really get apprehended?
No, it would just paint me as the weird one. Then the nickname “Lying Young Master” would stick.
“Just... I’m a bit lacking in confidence.”
So I brushed it off vaguely.
Elin narrowed her eyes in disbelief, then smacked Rain’s head with a whack.
“A man of the Ludwig family spouting such weak words! You’re not just any member—you’re the legitimate heir! The future family head! And you lack confidence?”
“Eek, I was joking.”
In the end, my attempt to send the family back to the mansion failed, and the next morning dawned.
Today marked the start of the second years’ final exams, so first years were customarily supposed to attend their department buildings for self-study during morning hours.
But as a top rank match qualifier, I was summoned to the chancellor’s office first. Along with the other two qualifiers.
“Rain Ludwig, Christa Warden, Kaden. The reason I called you here is one thing: to convey the theme of the top rank match.”
Madelia nodded, and Vice Chancellor Professor Kyle, who had been standing at attention beside her, handed each of us a copy of the documents in an envelope.
[美]
Peeking at the paper inside, there was just that one rune boldly scrawled on the pristine white parchment—no further explanation.
“......?”
When I looked up and tilted my head, Kyle smiled faintly and spoke.
“The theme is ‘Beautiful Magic.’”
“Beautiful Magic?”
“Three hundred years ago, during the period of unrest, ornate magic was briefly scorned for lacking practicality, but now in this age of peace, its importance is being highlighted once more.”
That was certainly true.
It was common knowledge that, back then, northern mages were more welcomed on the front lines than southern mages.
Madelia gestured with her chin for the explanation to continue.
“It’s also called magic craftsmanship. Just one piece of magic craftsmanship allows you to accurately gauge the mage’s abilities—that is, their creativity, computational power, and the depth of their mana.”
Beautiful Magic...
For Rain, who belonged to the northern mages that emphasized practicality from the start, this was an exceedingly difficult assignment.
“The match begins Friday morning. Do your best to think up what magic you’ll show the world by then.”
Madelia seemed about to end there, but she glanced slyly at Rain and smirked.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
* * *
“What’s that? Why are you sighing!”
I was just staring at the envelope on the desk with my arms crossed when a voice loud enough to make my eardrums ring suddenly burst out.
I knew who it was without looking.
Still, there was such a thing as courtesy, so I glanced to the side. Kasena, with features so striking they dazzled the eyes, was glaring intently at me.
“Just... my thoughts are stuck.”
For the record, my seat had changed. Apparently, helping transfer students was the duty of the top student or something...
This was the very last seat in the center row.
Even so, taking the end seat by the window from Christa felt off, so I barely persuaded Kasena to compromise on this spot.
Now Gertrude sat in the seat next to Christa instead of me.
“Why are your thoughts stuck!”
“I don’t know what Beautiful Magic is.”
“Beautiful Magic? What’s that.”
Would I be sighing if I knew? Think before you speak.
‘Valensidis already has my head in a mess...’
And now the exam had to have such an incomprehensible theme. The situation was serious enough without exams becoming a hassle too.
“Struggling over something like that? And you dare call yourself my rival?”
A shadow fell over the desk, and when I looked up, Christa was looking down at me in her signature arrogant pose, arms crossed.
“What! It’s dark now—I can’t see the letters!”
At that, Kasena suddenly bristled. Christa glared back at Kasena and growled.
“You weren’t even reading a book.”
“I’m about to right now?!”
“Pfft! What kind of nonsense is that!”
Oh, they got along great—chatting casually without regard for status differences. It seemed same-gender bonds formed more easily than opposite ones.
“Hmm, now that you mention it, since Young Master didn’t attend magic school, this theme might be a bit difficult for you.”
Gertrude Fenton, the one capable of somewhat normal conversation, spoke in a tone of understanding.
“You know it?”
“It’d be weirder if I didn’t. It’s a problem that comes up at least once a year in magic school.”
“Oh...... So Christa knows this exam inside and out too.”
Christa scoffed at even that admiration, clicking her tongue and shaking her head slowly.
“It’s not just knowing it inside out, and it’s not because of school either.”
“?”
“From the moment I started with magic, I’ve obsessed over this theme every single day without fail.”
The one who chimed in agreement with Christa’s bold claim was someone who hadn’t been there until now. And someone who didn’t fit in with the group either.
“That makes sense♬ The Warden family’s bloodline limit summons inorganic matter, and the summoned beast’s external details are all influenced by the mage★”
The owner of that singsong voice was none other than Nora Reden, Melev Academy’s later index.
While the trio of young ladies glared at Nora with wariness and bewilderment, Rain waved as if pleased to see her.
“Oh, Nora. You know quite a bit?”
“Hehe, knowing your prey’s info is a hunter’s essential virtue♪”
“You know about Beautiful Magic?”
“Simply put, even with the same magic, it gives off a more gorgeous and magnificent feel? It’s not hard♬”
What? Since when were they on such friendly terms, exchanging greetings like that? Was “womanizer young master” not just empty talk?
‘While I wasn’t looking, he’s really been spreading his legs everywhere...’
Christa quelled the suspicions bubbling in her mind and shook her head.
“It’s not necessarily that flashier and grander is better. The most important thing is precision. No matter how much you amplify the flashiness, if the runes and mathematical formulas don’t mesh precisely, it ends up looking tacky.”
“......!”
“And combining runes and math for Beautiful Magic requires considerable experience. It’s not something you can understand just from hearing it once.”
Recombination of runes and math?
If it was that, wasn’t it one of my specialties? I was starting to get a feel for it.
“Like this?”
Rays of light flowed out from Rain’s palm and merged into the form of a magic square.
The magic square was a combination of a circle and a fan shape, with the engraved runes 증 (Steam) and 서 (Pass).
At that, even Weiber—who had been glancing sideways at them ever since Nora appeared—had a twitch in his eye.
‘The magic he used on the first day of enrollment...’
Christa looked both pleased and wary, but soon crossed her arms in a leisurely manner.
“That works too, but it’s not enough. How about we settle who’s superior right now?”
“Superiority? How?”
“Like this.”
Then, on Christa’s palm as well, a spectacle of light rays unfolded.
The speed at which the magic square formed—that is, the mental calculation speed—was about three or four times slower than Rain’s, but just completing the square perfectly without a single mistake made her an impressive underclassman.
With that, the top qualifier and runner-up faced off, each with a magic square revolving on their palm.
“Let’s get a judgment. Fairly.”
Christa was the first to shatter her magic square.
증 (Steam)—pale white steam bubbled up and scattered like cherry blossoms, then 서 (Pass)—it unfurled in all directions like a pure white curtain before suddenly vanishing.
Rain also shattered his magic square to manifest the ability, but...... something was different. Some ineffable something.
“Miss Warden’s was somehow more......”
“Like an afterimage? That lingering effect was stronger?”
“Yeah......”
As the classmates in the same class murmured like that, Kasena wore an expression of disbelief.
“What?! Same magic square, same runes—what difference is there?!”
On the other hand, Gertrude, riding high on Christa’s victory, let out a smug smile.
“Well, you could say it comes down to the difference in how the mathematical formulas are solved.”
“Mathematical formula solutions?!”
“One math problem can be solved with a simple formula like a linear equation, but it can also be solved far more simply with advanced formulas like calculus or cubic functions.”
“......?”
“What does that mean? Depending on which formula you use, it creates a subtle yet huge difference in the visual result of the magic.”
For instance, Young Master Rain just used ‘Prissen matrix multiplication’ for the core solution of the magic square, whereas Miss Christa used a ‘general matrix’.
“Since a ‘general matrix’ is several times more basic than ‘Prissen matrix multiplication,’ it requires longer and more formulas to use.”
“Th-that much I know!”
“This applies directly to magic, making the dispersing steam spread wider and linger longer. That’s the source of the difference.”
Ugh, I have no idea what that means......
Unlike Kasena, who was biting her nails in utter confusion, a dizzying realization flashed through Rain’s mind, and his eyes widened greatly.
“Aha, so that’s where the difference comes from......”
This might be far more unfavorable than expected. The eras Lin and Christa had lived in were just too different.
‘Because we always had to face real combat, I indiscriminately mastered advanced formulas that could solve problems several times faster than basic ones...’
That had been the case from the very start of magic education. Northerners always emphasized the practicality of magic.
“I know it all. Which mathematical formulas change the visual effects of magic... whether it fades faster or slower.”
“......!”
“Rain, you might have a deeper understanding of runes than me, but on this, I absolutely won’t lose. I’ve piled a lifetime’s worth of effort into this alone.”
Christa glared alternately at Kasena and Nora, whom she didn’t like, then lightly flicked her hair as she turned away.
“So keep in mind no sitting together across genders this time and prepare properly before coming to the exam hall. It’s not an exam where prelim surprises will work.”
With Christa gone like that, Rain’s feelings grew even more complicated.
Nothing’s easy......
At that moment, Nora turned to Rain with a beaming smile.
“Hmm★ You seem pretty cornered—want me to introduce you to someone helpful?”
“Who?”
“Kaden.”
“Kaden?”
“Yeah, that guy who advanced to the top rank match with you♪ Harimun Academy’s later index.”