Chapter 36 (2/2)
“Show it to me. I’ll check it.”
Drent’s reputation was well known. He was a hexagon wizard who had mastered six types of magic equally. Despite that, Epherene shook her head with a bitter smile anyway.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Huh? No, it’s okay. I already checked Julia’s assignment.”
“No, no. I didn’t write it well enough to show it to anyone.”
Julia, who had been watching the two uncomfortably, interceded using time as an excuse. “Oh? It’s almost 4 o’clock. Our next test is about to start. We’ll get going now, but thank you, senior!”
“Huh? Oh… Okay. Enjoy~”
The two went out of the club room.
“Drent is handsome, isn’t he?” Julia said while walking down the corridor.
Epherene shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“What? Why not?”
“He’s nice to all women.”
“Ahhh~ That’s true. He’ll be attending a public hearing this time, though.”
“Thesis Defense?”
“Yeah.”
Thesis defenses were held about a week after the midterm exam. Senior students promoted from debutante to Solda would present their magic theses to be evaluated by tower professors.
To remain as wizards at the university tower, Epherene and Julia would inevitably undergo the same trial someday.
Epherene muttered.
“I’m so jealous. He’s a year ahead of us, right?”
“Yeah. Oh, Sylvia might be able to do it within half a year.”
“… How so?”
“She took a lot of classes. I think her only rest day is Sunday, which shows how crazy she is about magic.”
The tower elevator soon arrived.
Both of them pressed the floors where they were taking their tests. Julia’s was on the 4th floor, and Epherene’s was on the 11th floor.
Ding—
Arriving at the 4th floor, Julia waved and got off. “I’m going! Good luck on your exam, Ifi!”.
“Yeah, you too. Good luck.”
Hwaaaaaa…..
As she yawned, the door opened on the 6th floor, revealing a blonde wizard standing in front of her.
Sylvia.
“…”
Sylvia got into the elevator indifferently, resulting in the two standing side by side.
“…”
Hesitantly, Epherene asked her a question. “Uh… Did you do well in your exam?”
“…”
Sylvia nodded.
She had nothing more to say.
‘Did she do well, or what?’ Epherene felt awkward standing so close to her, so she looked at the names of each floor instead.
That was when she noticed it.
[77th floor: Head Professor Deculein’s Office/Research Lab].
Ding—
The door opened again, this time on the 10th floor.
Epherene tried to bid her goodbye, but Sylvia rattled as she got out of the elevator.
“Next time, don’t mess with the Professor. You’re lucky you didn’t die that day.”
“…?”
Her voice sounded fatigued, but it remained cold.
Ding—
The elevator closed, and Epherene stared blankly at it.
“… What’s with her?”
*****
77th floor, Head Professor’s research lab.
I was analyzing a research paper.
After submitting the test questions, this was the only remaining work I had left at the tower.
“Then…”
The outline of the thesis, which was vague and distant, was slowly coming out. Its idea itself was outstanding.
At first, it kept telling stories about wood, fire, charcoal, pencils, diamonds, and the like, but I finally realized its true point after studying it for a long time with the help of [Understanding].
Its idea was related to carbon.
The potential of the carbon element was so huge that if I succeeded in establishing it, I would be able to create a theological school about ‘carbons.’
Of course, it didn’t mean it would utilize the carbon itself.
Rather, by combining its unique properties, namely, its almost infinite combination with allotrope, it would provide magic with immense flexibility and opened up a lot more possibilities.
But it was hard for me to learn.
The magic ‘Memorize’ and ‘Materialize’ created based on this thesis required talent in almost all attributes. Its magic consumption would be too high otherwise.
Of course, the distinction between ‘magic development’ and ‘realistic acquisition’ was easy to point out.
It was just like how ‘theoretical physicists’ and ‘experimental physicists’ were completely different in modern science.
Linnel, who played a large part in the magic schools in this world, naturally had a certain amount of practical power, but he was not good at dealing with magic that he created along with his disciples.
However, he was in the same position as Einstein, whom no one could accuse of not conducting experiments based on his theories himself.
“That insight is great and all, but…”
In this world lacking in science, Epherene’s father, discovering that charcoal, pencils, and diamonds were actually under the same element, conceived the idea of using their properties for magic.
“Did he quit at the beginning of his research?”
The procedure he provided was less than half-complete. It also had multiple errors and missing parts. Most of it was based on intuition, too.
Of course, wizards’ theses were usually 70% to 80% intuitive and 20% to 30% theoretical, considering that those numbers were enough to understand their research and to cast the magic they were analyzing.
That aside, one wizard came to mind that suited the magic I was studying.
“… Epherene.”
A daring debutante from my last class with the ability to use all four major elements by using her bracelet as a catalyst.
“…”
The more she did it, the deeper Epherene’s questions about her father grew, however. I took out the pendant that I had put in a drawer in the corner of the lab.
It safely kept an image of Epherene as a child.
But why was her father’s face cut out in it? Wasn’t it strange to receive a photo like this?
“…”
After staring at it for a few moments, I left the lab, went back to my office, and took out a book.
As I was reading it, something caught my eye. I shifted my gaze towards it swiftly.
“…?”
I found a hawk staring at me while standing outside my office’s window.
As I stared back at it, it tilted its head as if it was looking at something, causing me to tilt my head a little as well out of wonderment.
Brrrrrr—
It soon flew away in a hurry, almost as if someone had scolded it.
“Does it have an owner?” Its feathers seemed taken care of, and it looked neatly groomed.
I closed the window curtains.
*****
The Red garnet Adventure Team waited for a ship at Lukan, a Yukline-owned coastal city on the west part of the Empire.
“Is it that one?” Ganesha pointed at a vessel on the other side. A child was supposed to arrive from the Archipelago today.
“Yeah.”
Only one, however. Two of the kid’s relatives were still at the Archipelago.
“It’s moving too slow.”
“Aren’t you just rushing too much?”
“You’ve been talking back at me a lot lately.”
“I’m not talking back. I’m just telling the truth.”
The ship arrived while they were quarreling, allowing the child to finally disembark from it.
As soon as she saw her cute appearance, Ganesha waved at her as the wind began to breeze through her hair.
“Hey! Over here!”
The kid smiled brightly upon noticing her red hair fluttering like wings.
“It’s been a long time, Ganesha.”
She had met a lot of children at the Archipelago. Among the three that had special talents, she was her favorite.
She looked precious, her tiny fingers even more so. “Lia~ Didn’t you miss me?”
Lia, a child with black hair and brown eyes, wasn’t only gifted but also mature for her age. She always seemed to know what she wanted to do and how to do it.
Her actions alone were no longer that of a child’s, but that exactly was what makes Ganesha pity her.
“Of course, I missed you— kukgh!”
Ganesha hugged Lia tightly before she could finish her sentence. “I missed you, Lia!”
“You’re hurting and suffocating me. This is child abuse, really…”
She simply couldn’t help herself. Lia’s face, sticking out of her arms like a bun, was just too cute for her to resist.
“Your birthday has already passed! You’re not a child anymore according to imperial law.”
“No, huh, What…? Hey, I said it hurts. Let me go, you idiot…!”
She was so mature that her behavior only made her appear cuter.
“Let go of me already… Let me… go…”
“Oh, sorry. Only then did Ganesha release her.
“Are you an actual idiot?” The kid glared at her.
“Sorry, sorry. Shall we go? I’ll buy you something delicious.”
“… What are you going to buy?”
Ganesha thought watching how much and how far this child would grow would become one of her most favorite hobbies in the future.