Mage of the Four Seasons Council (5)

As soon as I finished speaking, the atmosphere in the meeting room sank heavily.

“The Empire’s desertification... that certainly could have become a serious problem.”

Senior Gaios stroked his chin and muttered.

“More importantly, isn’t the biggest problem that there’s an outside force with malicious intent toward Elterion Academy and the Belhart Empire?”

The smile vanished from Senior Miriel’s voice.

“Looks like we finally have a motion to propose under the Four Seasons Council after a long time.”

The president murmured, pressing a hand to their forehead.

...Ah.

This feels like I brought it up for nothing.

I was starting to regret it a little. A meeting that could have ended quickly looked like it was going to drag on for a long time.

As expected, the seniors all began firing off countermeasures at once.

“We need to strengthen the screening process for items brought in from outside the academy. A structure where things simply pass through with a simple report as they do now is dangerous. For this, a system to...”

“No, mere institutionalization isn’t enough. That’s too slow, Miriel. We need to check things with our own eyes.”

“What, are you suggesting we organize a patrol force or something, Sir Gaios?”

“If necessary, that’s what we should do. During times when outsiders frequently come and go from the academy, the students should step forward themselves...”

“It’s not a problem you can solve by simply making the students suffer. To address the root of it, we need to trace back who the sponsor is.”

“Hm. Do you think that’s possible? Even the president would have a hard time with that.”

“The Imperial Mage Corps is said to be conducting a full investigation right now. So the student council should also cooperate...”

Tiring, tedious words poured out nonstop.

Wow, just listening to it makes my head throb.

And if even one of the things being discussed right now gets put into action, I’ll be dragged all over the place again.

As a magical consultant, or a magitech consultant, or whatever.

That absolutely cannot happen.

Protect my tiny, precious lazy life at all costs.

“Excuse me.”

As soon as I gingerly raised my hand, the seniors in the middle of their heated discussion all turned to look at me.

“Isn’t everything you’re saying way too inefficient?”

In the first place, none of you are the ones who’ll be doing it anyway.

Well, maybe the patrols will be a little tiring.

“It may be somewhat inefficient. But in the end, safety is what matters most.”

The president said this to me as if to soothe me.

Yet their eyes themselves were sparkling with interest.

“Or perhaps, Lunaris, do you have some other efficient method?”

They sounded almost as if they were expecting me to have already come up with an idea.

“Preventing incidents is, of course, important.”

I went on, barely holding back a yawn.

“But you know, if the other side is determined, you can’t stop an incident from happening, can you?”

Besides, this is the world inside <The Academy's Grit Wizard>.

Starting next year, when Kyle enrolls, this academy is the place where all sorts of incidents, accidents, and unfair nonsense never stop.

So it’s easier on the nerves to act on the assumption that something has already happened.

This is, after all, a world that gets railroaded by the plot like this.

“It was a magitech golem this time, but next time I don’t know what kind of method something will blow up in... I think it’s not a matter you can solve by just making people work themselves to death.”

“Want to keep talking? Interesting idea.”

The president rested their chin in one hand and stared straight at me as they spoke.

“In short, what you’re saying is that we need a way to minimize the damage.”

“Hmm, is there such a method?”

Senior Gaios asked, uncrossing his arms.

“Well, if someone comes in waving a sword in plain sight, there’s nothing you can do about that...”

I continued, shrugging my shoulders.

“I think magic-based terror attacks can probably be handled if the professors in the Magic Department and the Magitech Department put in a little effort.”

The key here is that the professors are the ones who have to work hard. Not me.

No, come to think of it, the academy is supposed to be protected by the professors, right?

Why should a mere student like me be dragged around while being called the academy’s cheat-code guardian?

“For example, something like a mana barrier cast over the entire academy.”

“A mana barrier?”

Senior Miriel blinked and asked.

“Exactly what principle does it run on?”

“Well, the principle itself is simple.”

It’s nothing fancy—basically a biometric recognition concept.

Like using an iris, face, or fingerprint as an authentication key.

Of course, this world doesn’t have biometric engineering developed to that extent.

Instead, this is a world where “magic” exists.

This is a place where magitech replaces science.

“I want to make use of the fact that each individual’s mana attributes are all slightly different.”

It’s not just a matter of being suited to learning a certain attribute or branch of magic.

Defining a person’s unique traits is what this “mana uniqueness theory” is all about.

Conveniently, the mana-based communication system I’m developing also uses this principle instead of phone numbers.

Long term, I’ll need to study technology that converts natural mana into a code so even non-mages can use magitech devices, but that’s not something to worry about right now.

“So, if we gather the mana codes of everyone in the academy...”

“W-wait. Hold on, Lunaris.”

Senior Miriel interrupted me with a flustered expression.

“What you just said... I’ve never heard it before. You’re not just making things up, are you?”

“Hmm, if you ask me whether something that should be obvious is really obvious, I don’t know how to answer that...”

Besides, isn’t this basic theory one of the first things you learn when studying magic?

“Looks like Senior Miriel dozed off a little during the general-education magic lecture.”

I suddenly started feeling a strange sense of closeness to that aloof, prickly villainess senior.

She’s suddenly kind of human, too.

“W-who are you saying is like you?!”

Nodding off isn’t exactly something to be ashamed of, you know.

“Lunaris, what you’re talking about now—is it the theory of mana uniqueness?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Looks like the president was attentive in class and didn’t doze off.

“If so, that’s not basic theory at all, but one of the advanced research topics fourth-years might only cover in their graduation theses.”

...Huh?

“Wasn’t this something we learned in academy theory class?”

I’m sure I remember hearing it...?

“Seems you attended the theory lecture in your dreams instead of the classroom. That’s so like you, Lunaris.”

The president let out a snort of laughter and shook their head.

“Anyway, so?”

“Well— to continue, after casting the mana barrier, we register the mana of everyone in the academy.”

“So if unregistered, foreign mana manifests, you’d know right away.”

“If we clamp down hard enough, we could even prevent magic itself from being used. And if that’s too difficult, at least we could tell when, where, and by whom it was used.”

The seniors mulled it over and nodded.

“I’m just a guy who swings swords, so I don’t fully get it, but it does seem like a good idea.”

“What if someone inside the academy whose mana has been registered causes an incident? I don’t think we can stop that part.”

“That’s why I said it from the beginning, President. We can’t stop incidents from happening, but we can stop them from getting bigger.”

After all, mana is basically the same as personal information.

“In other words, we’d be able to identify who caused the incident.”

“Hmm, not bad...”

“Sounds good.”

At my words, the seniors all nodded at once.

“Come to think of it, casting a barrier big enough to cover the entire academy would be a job in itself. Do you have any ideas for that?”

“I don’t know that part.”

You’re asking too much of a freshman who’s only been in the academy for three months.

But I can at least introduce the experts for the job.

“Wouldn’t Dean Raymond, the great archmage, be able to find a way? And there are plenty of temporary lecturers who came from the Magic Tower this time, too.”

Imagining the dean and the other professors and lecturers working hard in my place made the corners of my mouth lift on their own.

Now that I think about it, the Four Seasons Council isn’t so bad after all.

If I play this right, I might even be able to legally work the academy staff into the novel's key episodes.

*

I had returned to my peaceful daily life again.

The cozy bed and fluffy favorite pillow were waiting for me.

In the mornings, I lightly twisted the maids’ wrists.

If I felt like it, I went to class.

Once in a while, I spent time with Claire, Senior Estelle, and Her Highness the Princess.

Days like that continued on.

And then Dean Raymond even became the chief overseer of the mana-barrier construction project and declared Thursday lectures suspended indefinitely, so these were blissful days indeed.

As expected, the best thing is to dump troublesome work on someone else.

-똑, 똑.

...Ah, here we go again.

Monday returned after the weekend.

Today too, it began as always with the sound of Ms. Odette knocking on the door.

I rubbed my eyes with a groan in my half-asleep state.

Ugh, I’d already had such a weird dream last night that it didn’t even feel like I’d slept at all.

Come to think of it, the maids really never seem to get tired.

How many wins is that now...

10 in a row? 20?

In any case, once it got to the point where I couldn’t count it even if I totaled up my fingers and toes, I got too lazy to keep counting and stopped.

Still lying in bed, I casually waved a finger toward the door.

Hmmnyaa... Kantapiya, abracadabra...

...Huh?

“What the heck, why isn’t this working?”

The magic didn’t manifest properly.

Whenever I tried to gather mana at my fingertips, it scattered like grains of sand.

While I was flustered, the door opened (forcibly), and a fully armed maid legion led by Ms. Odette came to find me.

“Good morning, Lady Lunaris.”

Ms. Odette, who usually showed almost no expression, had the corners of her mouth noticeably lifted today.

“Today I have news. About five hours ago, the mana barrier construction was completed.”

“...Oh? That was faster than I expected.”

“When the barrier was being constructed, we made one request to the professors.”

“...?”

“Could they restrict Lady Lunaris from using magic between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. every day?”

“...!”

A dumbfounded laugh escaped me.

No way, I can’t believe you’d exploit this like that...

“What a shame. Looks like it doesn’t work on me.”

I casually lifted the sofa beside me with telekinesis and gave a subtle threat.

“I never expected we’d be able to completely seal off the young lady’s magic.”

But that threat didn’t matter one bit to Ms. Odette.

“As long as it’s weakened even a little, that’s enough.”

“...”

“Looks like you’re feeling quite inconvenienced.”

It was true that using magic was rather inconvenient.

It felt like my body had turned damp, like cotton soaked through with water.

But, even so.

As long as I could use magic, this much was no problem at all.

“Ms. Odette, I think you’ve forgotten who suggested installing that mana barrier.”

“Of course I know. It was a proposal from the Four Seasons Council.”

Ms. Odette’s smile deepened even further.

“You dug your own grave, Lady Lunaris.”

I slowly sat up in bed and loosened my shoulders.

“But do you really think I’d have suggested that if I hadn’t seen this coming?”

“...!”

I twisted space with telekinesis and wrung mana out of it.

As expected, it didn’t stop me from using natural mana.

Well, controlling natural mana is basically the same as controlling all mana.

The instant I drew a magic circle in the air as if I were sketching a picture, Ms. Odette’s face stiffened.

“Formation D! Everyone, restrain Lady Lunaris with everything you’ve got!”

“If you thought something like this could stop me from sleeping in, you’re seriously mistaken.”

Soon, the sounds of explosions and the maids’ screams tangled together.

“What? What’s going on?”

“I thought things had been quiet lately, and now this again?”

“Knights, help Luna... no, support the maids. Make sure Luna wakes up and doesn’t skip class.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

It was a very lively and noisy morning after a long time.