Chapter 74
I'm hungry.
You really shouldn't say that in front of Grandma.
"Ugh..."
I groaned inwardly as I rubbed the area around my solar plexus.
My stomach felt so bloated it seemed ready to burst.
How should I put it... it feels like there's a life growing in my belly...
Even though it had been a long time since we left the dining hall, what I'd eaten still hadn't gone down.
As I gagged with meat packed all the way to the end of my esophagus, Grandma Eleanor clicked her tongue from the rocking chair across from me.
"Don't you have a rather small appetite?"
"...How many people can eat an entire cow?"
I thought they'd bring out one reasonable portion to cut up and eat; I never imagined it'd be an all-you-can-eat course where they kept bringing more every time the plate was emptied.
I couldn't even touch the dishes that came later. No lie, I saw my whole life flash before my eyes for a split second...
"At your age, you're supposed to eat plenty. I've prepared cake and pudding for dessert too; would you like them with some tea?"
I shook my head desperately.
If I put anything else in here, I might actually give birth to something.
Listening to Grandma's laughter, I sipped the tea, which was supposed to be good for digestion, little by little.
Once my stomach calmed down a bit, I finally took in the room around me.
'So this is Grandma Eleanor's magic workshop...'
It was far too modest to be the room of someone at the pinnacle of the Magic Tower.
The sofa I was sitting on and the table in front of me. The desk lightly covered in dust. And the rocking chair Grandma was sitting in.
That was all.
There were no spellbooks filling the walls or fancy magical tools anywhere to be seen.
"Do you usually stay here?"
"Yes. Why, are you disappointed it's so bare?"
"No. It's not so much disappointment as..."
I replied, fidgeting with my teacup.
"When you think of a mage's laboratory, the first thing that comes to mind is a mess of random odds and ends, with mysterious magical tools rolling around on the floor, right?"
Just look at the professors at Elterion Academy.
Dean Liliana's laboratory is piled high with so much junk you can't tell whether it's a storeroom or a lab.
Dean Raymond's laboratory is plastered with so many expensive decorations you can't tell whether it's a place for researching magic or luxury goods, but anyway.
"Hehe. I suppose the magic I study is a little special."
Grandma rocked back and forth in the chair, creak, creak, wearing a completely relaxed expression.
"There's no need for all sorts of cluttered furniture and tools. What's more important is a comfortable environment that's good for sleeping."
"An environment good for sleeping...?"
I was instantly intrigued.
I imagined myself declaring that I was in the middle of important magical research and not to be disturbed, then sleeping soundly right there.
"...Wow, this is really the best. It's like a dream come true."
"What kind of magic is it exactly?"
"Lunaris, dear, do you know about lucid dreaming?"
"Lucid dreaming? So... you mean the state where you're aware that you're dreaming?"
"That's right. My magic overlays the dreams in my mind onto reality."
Grandma drew a circle in the air with her finger.
Hazy mist rose, taking the shape of a small butterfly before vanishing.
"If I may boast a little, I can use any magic I can picture in my head. Hoho."
"Wow..."
"I'd like to show you sometime, but the biggest problem is that it's magic that can't be properly cast unless I'm asleep."
Grandma chuckled, saying an old lady couldn't be so shameless as to snore in front of you.
"It's kind of like the magic Deputy Director Albert uses. That guy also uses magic that materializes illusions."
"Mm? You know little Albert?"
"Yes, well... we're tied together by work, in a way. By the way, do you know the deputy director too?"
"Of course. I was his teacher back when he was at the Magic Tower."
What a strange connection.
To think they'd known each other through just one degree of separation.
Come to think of it, the magic world is really small.
He was quite a sharp kid. He was also friendly, unlike most mages.
Grandma Eleanor's eyes narrowed as if lost in memories.
"But he was just as ambitious. I had secretly hoped he'd follow after me and lead the children of the Phantasm School, but in the end he went to the Imperial Court, saying he wanted to climb even higher."
"...That's surprising."
I was quite shocked.
That slippery-looking deputy director was actually Grandma's disciple from when she was the Tower Master, and an ambitious one at that.
Come to think of it, when he joined the Imperial Mage Corps, he latched onto our grandpa, the commander, didn't he?
You really can't judge a person by appearances.
'Anyway, magic that materializes illusions...'
I sipped my tea with a slurp and fell into deep thought.
The more I thought about it, the more incredible it seemed.
"This is basically magic that can produce endless content."
"M-more? Content...?"
"Yeah. If you turn old stories or beautiful scenery into dreams and show them to people, what could be more fun than that?"
Entertainment enjoyed in bed is just as important as a good night's sleep.
Scrolling through shorts before bed, then tapping away at my smartphone after waking up to slowly come to my senses.
That's the perfect bed life.
"Hoho. What an amusing thought. To think of dreams as something to enjoy."
At my odd interpretation, Grandma Eleanor burst into delighted laughter.
"Isn't that how it is?"
"I'm not sure. At least, the young mages who study magic in our Phantasm School don't think that way."
A faint shadow fell over Grandma's face.
"It's awkward to say, but illusion magic is a minority field in the magical world. The Phantasm School doesn't get very favorable treatment either."
"Really?"
"By some chance I ended up as the Tower Master, so we've managed to keep the line alive... but to be honest, it's steadily declining."
"That's surprising. I thought Deputy Director Albert and the mages who mainly handle illusion magic were doing pretty well."
"He's an unusual case. The reason he learned magic from me was because I was the Tower Master."
She said that if he'd learned a different kind of magic, he might have reached an even higher level as a mage.
Grandma set down her teacup and spoke in a wistful voice.
"Usually, the people who come to the Phantasm School are those who have run away to forget the pain of reality."
Because reality is too painful.
Because they want to escape into dreams.
That's why they learn magic, she said.
That's why its limitations are so clear.
"Hmm... I think a little differently."
After mulling over Grandma Eleanor's words, I slowly shook my head.
"The illusion magic I think of isn't magic that bewitches people; it's magic that entertains them."
"Magic that entertains, huh..."
"Yes. Not something to run away from reality with, but something to make reality a little more fun—like the sauce served with that steak we had earlier."
Grandma Eleanor fell silent for a moment, as if chewing over my words.
Soon, a faint smile spread across her lips.
"Thank you. For saying that."
A note of regret was mixed into her voice, so soft you could barely hear it unless you listened closely.
*
"Grandma, could I learn illusion magic too?"
"That would be difficult. You can't learn illusion magic, child."
Grandma immediately shook her head without the slightest hesitation at my words.
"Because your magic is magic that lives in reality, not in dreams."
"...?"
I tilted my head at the vague riddle, and Grandma let out a soft laugh.
"Unlike the other youngsters who borrow the power of spirits, you're one who raised your rank through the ancient method, so I can ask you this."
"...?"
"Child, where do you think the source of your magic lies?"
"Laziness."
I answered without even a second of hesitation.
"U-uh?"
"Magic exists for my own convenience."
A tool to sweep away troublesome processes and get the result easily.
What else could the source of my magic be but that?
"Hehe. So that's the answer you've found."
Grandma gave a quiet laugh at my confident answer.
"But don't you think you've reached that answer a little too hastily?"
"...Pardon?"
"And yet, to have reached the level of a Great Mage... you truly have remarkable talent."
Grandma Eleanor marveled that if I gained one more real insight, I might truly be able to see the end of magic.
"The source of magic is far more complex and mysterious than you think. It's not simply a matter of personality or preference."
My brow furrowed at the difficult subject.
I thought about it for a bit, but it felt as murky as walking through fog.
Even the intuition that usually sparked when it came to magic was completely quiet now.
"Then what do you think the source of my magic is, Grandma?"
"Well... this isn't a question with a right answer. It's something you have to ponder for yourself, but..."
Grandma tapped the armrest of the rocking chair, tap, tap, and gave a strange smile.
"If I had to say, I think the source of your magic lies in the stars."
That was a little underwhelming.
Maybe she was talking about the traces of the starlight-summoning magic I used in the conference room.
"Stars also signify another world beyond that distant sky."
But Grandma's next words were deeply meaningful.
"Magic that rewrites the laws of the world, and special talents that seem as if they've come from another world—can't you say, in a way, that they're both related to stars?"
My eyes widened before I knew it at those words.
It felt as if she were seeing through everything about me, even the things I'd never told anyone, and my heart lurched.
I stared straight at Grandma Eleanor.
"It's fine if you don't understand what I'm saying. There's no need to take it to heart. Just let it wash over you and find your own answer. Hoho."
But Grandma just kept sipping her tea with a friendly smile.
"Now, the tea will get cold. Hurry up and drink yours too."
As if she had said nothing at all.