The Way Geniuses Recognize Each Other
That was how Lili gradually became even more famous. And for good reason! Every time it rained, some lunatic would stand in the middle of the forest and hurl lightning bolts like a madman. The locals, trembling in terror, began calling the woods the Forest Cursed by the Sky God. Naturally, this bizarre phenomenon drew the attention of an investigation team, and before long, rumors about her reached all the way to the Magic Tower in the capital of the Astra Empire.
The Tower Master stared down at the thick stack of documents on his desk with a grave expression.
“Hmm…”
One of the executives reviewing the files cleared his throat and muttered, “Ah, this kid…”
“What is it, Vargas? Do you know her?” the Tower Master asked.
“This one was pretty well-known in the southern colonial regions. She showed extraordinary talent for handling lightning mana from the age of five.”
The Tower Master looked puzzled. “Five years old? Why has a talent like that only been reported now? Is she from some famous family?”
“No. She’s a war orphan from the colonies.”
“An orphan, you say. Then why wasn’t she sent to the Magic Tower or the Academy? No matter how humble their origins, the principle is to nurture talents like this from a young age and raise them as warriors of the Empire, isn’t it?”
The Astra Empire, currently in the midst of aggressive territorial expansion, proudly followed a meritocratic policy that welcomed talented individuals regardless of background. While they ruthlessly uprooted resistance forces in conquered lands, they were equally obsessed with discovering gifted commoners and orphans. After all, such children made perfect raw material to be forged into loyal, powerful weapons for the Empire.
At that, Executive Vargas’s face twisted into a strange expression. He shook his head slowly.
“No… I was the one dispatched when the reports got too noisy back then. Ugh, don’t even get me started. I thought my blood pressure was going to kill me.”
At the time, her talent for lightning mana had truly been the greatest he had ever seen in his life. But that was as far as it went.
What a shame… If only her head had been a little better… No, even average intelligence would have been enough.
Because of that, she had been classified as a child who cannot learn magic and abandoned by everyone.
And yet—
Ten whole years later, she had reached a realm where she could call down lightning from the sky.
Vargas’s heart began to race. Had she perhaps found a suitable teacher during that time? Just what kind of patient, virtuous adult could possibly have succeeded in teaching that wild… no, that pure child?
With high expectations, he went to meet the girl again after a decade.
But it wasn’t what he thought.
He had assumed her academic knowledge and intellect would have improved noticeably over the years. Instead, they had twisted in an even more bizarre direction.
“Ugh… Zzzzt, crackle… crackle-crackle… tingle-tingle, then zzzzap, is that what you’re saying?”
“???”
“Or maybe… crackle-crackle, zzzzap-zap, boom?”
“What on earth…”
“I’m saying… ugh, never mind. I should just stop talking. Uncle, you really haven’t gotten any smarter in ten years, have you? How can someone show zero improvement?”
“????”
Contrary to his expectations, she had not spent the last decade studying magic under a skilled master. She had simply developed an even stronger instinctual feeling.
…This kid is raising my blood pressure at an even faster rate than before!
And for some reason, she was utterly convinced that she was the smartest genius magic girl in the world!
She’s… completely delusional.
All learning begins with the acknowledgment that one does not know everything. But this girl! She acted as if she already knew it all, and that anyone who couldn’t understand her was simply an idiot. She was constantly irritated, as though the problem lay with everyone else!
The Tower Master, who had been watching the exchange, murmured, “Hmm… What should we do with her? No matter how you look at it, she’s a complete blockhead… Ahem, I mean, it seems impossible to teach her magic theory.”
“We can’t just leave her like this, can we? There’s no telling what kind of accident she might cause…”
“And it would be a waste to let such talent rot. At the very least, if we dropped her in the middle of enemy territory… wouldn’t that be quite helpful?”
He was right. A mage who indiscriminately rained down lightning with no control? In our hands, she was a headache. But placed in the enemy camp, she would become a catastrophe!
“…Then it’s practically decided. Send her to the battlefield immediately!”
One executive asked in a worried voice, “…But is it really acceptable to grant a mage title and send someone who hasn’t even completed formal initiation to the front lines? She hasn’t even passed the exam. If we recklessly hand out the title of Special Mage, it will undermine the entire mage ranking system!”
“Hmm… Then let’s just make one up for the occasion.”
And so, the hastily created title of Special Mage was born. Since there were no other Special Mages besides her, the term “Special Mage” essentially meant Lili. In other words, the Special Mage was the Magic Tower’s one and only token mage!
In the end, the Tower Master dumped the troublesome matter onto the Imperial Magic Administration. After reviewing the documents, the Administration reached the simplest possible conclusion.
A mage who cannot be controlled? Just send her to the battlefield and have her shoot lightning. We happen to need a useful weapon on the eastern front. Dispatch her immediately.
Meanwhile—
Lili, who had been forcibly dragged all the way to the capital, was suffering from unbearable frustration. Surrounded by these idiots! It felt like her childhood PTSD was coming back.
Why can’t anyone understand the incredibly profound teachings this super-genius is giving them?!
And to make matters worse, they even got angry at her.
Who’s the one who should actually be angry here?!
In her eyes, the mages of the Magic Tower were all as dense as rocks. On top of that, she had to endure their subtle looks of disdain simply because she came from the colonies. She was exhausted.
“Hmph, forget it. I’m going back.”
Just as she was about to pack her bags, Vargas came running in a panic.
“You, come with me right now to… Wait, what are you doing?”
“I’m done here. The level is too low, so I was about to head back.”
When Lili snapped back grumpily, he hurriedly replied, “That’s not it! Our Magic Tower has recognized your profound abilities and decided to grant you a mage title. Among them, it’s the ‘Special’ Mage title. It’s a title that only you in the entire world possess. It means we consider you that special.”
Vargas watched her expression anxiously.
Please… Please let this work!
“…..Heh heh, now we’re finally communicating. So?”
Vargas could tell. His hastily made-up excuse was working. The pout that had been stuck on her lips was slowly softening.
“The military has requested your help! They say no one but you can do it!!!”
“Heh… Well, if you’re begging me that much.”
Lili shrugged her shoulders as if she couldn’t help it. Though this was the first recognition she had ever received in her life, inside she was already flying with joy.
And that was how she wandered across battlefields until she eventually arrived here, in the Schmidt Territory.
**
From atop the hill, Franz held his breath as he gazed at his goddess. In his eyes, this was no mere clash between knights fighting for honor. It was a grand magical duel in which two mages, each carrying the fate of their empires, were about to risk everything.
But what was this? The two of them were simply standing there, seemingly engaged in conversation.
“What are they doing?”
At that moment, Vice Commander Gideon, who had been beside him, stood up.
As I thought… My suspicions were correct.
He reviewed the battles of the past few days. There had been multiple opportunities to capture that mage. During the very first pursuit, before entering the forest, Lady Serian had clearly gotten right in front of the mage. Yet she had let her escape.
With the speed of that mobility device, she should have been able to catch her easily.
…She missed from that distance?
Though he had harshly scolded the youngest for his suspicions, the truth was that he had been doubting her as well!
Even after that, they had failed time and again to capture the mage. At first, he had simply assumed the enemy mage possessed outstanding magical skill. But… was that really all?
No matter how excellent the opponent, Lady Serian was a 4-Star mage. She should have had the ability to suppress the enemy’s magic. Yet she had done nothing to stop it.
…No. It would be more accurate to say she didn’t even try.
In the end, she had helplessly let the mage slip away.
Why…?
Could it be… that the Empire’s hero was deliberately allowing the enemy to escape? He didn’t want to believe it, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t shake the possibility.
And now, the sight of those two only fueled his suspicions further.
“Gideon! Where do you think you’re going! Are you defying Lady Serian’s order to stand by?”
He could no longer simply watch. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he rose to his feet. Gideon shook off Franz’s attempt to stop him and began descending the hill to confirm the truth for himself.
It was exactly then.
Franz shouted urgently, “L-look! The enemy mage… she’s kneeling!”