Chapter 25
[sys.msg: A vehicle has arrived]
Phew.
It had been an incredibly exhausting day.
The capsule powered down, and its automatic cooling and cleaning mode kicked in.
I stretched, twisting my stiff body this way and that, but the fatigue that had built up over the past week did not disappear easily.
Since I had hardly left the capsule all day, there was no reason for dust to have accumulated in the house, but I looked around anyway, conscious of the landlord coming over.
“Have you been well?”
“Today was your last day at work, right? How was it?”
“You’re talking as if I retired. Nothing much happened. Did you finish the report?”
“Can I really get into the academy with just this?”
“Who knows? Maybe the academy will find you too much to handle instead.”
As we ate dinner together every evening, the only subject Professor Cheon and I had in common to discuss was transmutation formations.
That was only natural. Even if the amount of time we had lived was similar, my physical age was still stuck at seven, while his hobbies were almost nonexistent apart from mathematics and transmutation studies.
[Complex-Analytic Forms of Modular Groups and Local Solutions on Perfectoid Curves with n≤3]
The report I was submitting to the academy contained theoretical material on the dimension-reduction method for magic circles. It required a great deal of background knowledge, but once understood, even young mages could digest it without difficulty.
“This is practically at the level of a thesis, not a report. Our graduate students should read it and learn from it.”
“It’s not as though I came up with it all by myself. I only wrote down our conversations pretty much as they were.”
“If not Name, who else would I discuss modular groups and perfectoid fields with?”
“It’s strange that universities don’t cover this kind of basic magic theory. What do they learn there, then?”
“Magic engineering involving the Idea realm is the mainstream field.”
“I can understand that. People have to make a living, after all.”
Kids these days really had no sense of romance.
I was reminded of my former colleagues at the old magic tower, who had employed every bizarre ritual imaginable just to increase the size of their circles.
It was stranger that magic was considered to have advanced when people were now merely seeking more efficient output through the same procedures within the same methodology.
For all that it was called modern, it was not much different from the era of my previous life.
We continued discussing such matters over dinner that evening as well.
From time to time, he also told me stories about the other professors and graduate students. One story about someone being caught stealing concentrated red ginseng from the rector’s office and leaving everyone awkwardly embarrassed was both ridiculous and hilarious.
“I have to write your recommendation letter for Sefiron Academy. How about we write it together?”
“Am I allowed to see it?”
“In principle, no.”
“Then I’ll trust you to write it well, Professor.”
“You’re quite good at slipping out of things.”
So Professor Cheon printed out only the recommendation-letter template and showed it to me instead of its contents.
“It’s less than I expected. There aren’t even that many fields to fill in.”
“I’m not very good at writing. No matter what I want to say, getting started is exceptionally difficult.”
“I think it’s better for a recommendation letter to express someone as they are rather than simply list their strengths. Besides, as you said, there probably isn’t anyone else my age who could have written a report like this.”
“So I have to include Name’s story... How about taking some time to interview me? I think it would help a lot with writing the recommendation letter.”
“Well... I’ll answer as best I can. What would you like to know?”
Professor Cheon prepared a remarkably serious interview, bringing out even A4 paper and a pencil.
The entire house was dimly lit, with only a single light, so surely it was just my imagination that I felt as though I were being interrogated.
“Then let’s begin with the first question. Name, when did you first become interested in magic?”
* * *
“Is Her Highness still staging a protest in her room?”
“Unfortunately, yes...”
“She certainly has quite a stubborn streak. I wonder who she takes after!”
Head Butler Vargo had been racking his brains for days because of the troublesome princess.
The problem was that Prince Hiasen, who had always played with the princess, had left after reaching the age to begin heir training, just like Jade and Feiran.
After hearing the news, Princess Estashia began a hunger strike despite her young age, insisting that she wanted to learn magic too.
Thinking it was merely a child’s fit of pique, he had resolved to teach her a lesson for a day, but before he knew it, the princess had been on hunger strike for three days.
“Head Butler... Forgive me for saying so, but if Her Highness were to collapse...”
“Phew... Call Verstappen. I need to request an audience with His Majesty.”
Whether or not they knew of the situation, the three princes who had finished their heir training always gathered in Princess Estashia’s bedroom, as if they had made an appointment.
“Hey! You idiot, Shasha! Didn’t you miss your big brothers?”
The one who always caused a commotion was Second Prince Feiran.
He would pinch Princess Estashia’s cheek and tease her, while Crown Prince Jade tried to stop him.
“I heard you’re on a hunger strike. You’re well past the age for throwing tantrums, aren’t you? Maintain the dignity of the Kaizen imperial family.”
But Jade was hardly any gentler, pointing out Estashia’s eccentric behavior and scolding her as well.
When someone who had always treated you harshly turns their back on you, it is painful, but the sense of betrayal is even greater when it comes from someone who had treated you kindly.
Princess Estashia’s eyes reddened and filled with tears, but stubbornly, she could not bring herself to say a word.
“Don’t be so hard on Esha. Estashia? I’ll ask Father one more time. Don’t cry, there, there.”
For once, Prince Hiasen, who rarely ever inserted himself into their affairs, took her side and tried to comfort her.
“Ugh, you idiots make a perfect pair. Starve all you want—I’m going to eat delicious turkey for dinner tonight!”
Feiran left with Jade in tow, mocking the princess with food to the very end.
“You leave too.”
“Huh?”
“Hiasen, I’m telling you to leave too.”
“I don’t really like turkey dishes. Can I stay a little longer?”
“Why do you come here every day in the first place?”
“I’m bored. You don’t want to play with me anymore? Have you forgotten all those days when I always played with you and made things fun?”
“...”
The princess was so dumbfounded that she was left speechless. Who was it, exactly, that had played with whom?
But Hiasen seemed to be enjoying himself as he hummed and looked around the bedroom.
“I started learning magic because my brothers did, but it’s so difficult. Count Dmitri told me to memorize the runes by the next lesson. It’s really daunting, you know? Want to see?”
Hiasen unfolded the homework he had received from their teacher in front of the princess.
“Don’t pretend to be stupid. I know you’re smarter than your bro— I mean, your big brothers, okay?”
“Esha, you talk as though you attended the class with us. The lesson really was difficult!”
“Then teach me too, so I can see how difficult it is.”
“I can’t. The count said I absolutely mustn’t tell outsiders.”
“...”
“But if my dear little sister really insists, I might make an exception?”
* * *
“I started learning magic because my brothers were learning it.”
“Brothers?”
“They aren’t my actual brothers.”
“Ah, I see. So you learned magic at an orphanage, then.”
Technically, they had been half-siblings, though.
“Then did you have any difficulty learning magic?”
“It was fun. And fascinating.”
“Do you have a favorite spell?”
“Do you know the fifth-circle spell Raul-Sist?”
“What does it look like, roughly?”
I drew a rough outline of Raul-Sist’s basic magic formation on the paper. At first, the professor pondered it, but then he seemed to find a clue.
“In Korea, they call it an alchemist, or Alchemist. It’s a truly romantic spell that lets you see the stars even in broad daylight.
It’s a rather minor spell even among fifth-circle magic, but you know quite a lot.”
A spell discovered by Raul Luminous, one of the ancestors of the Luminous family.
It was the first spell Hiasen, who had been so reluctant to use magic in front of others, ever demonstrated to me.
It was a spell that expressed 128 runic words—from El, Ras, Maven, and Sutra to Resha Aikbar, Saleanti Lumone, and Harayet Reika—by replacing them with 128 stars.
It was a romantic spell that every mage who had mastered the fourth circle tried to demonstrate at least once.
The purpose of this spell was still unknown, but there was no denying its role as a map showcasing the culmination of fourth-circle magic.
“Good work. I’ll write the rest, even if I have to stay up all night.”
“Is the deadline for submitting the recommendation letter to the academy tomorrow?”
“Hahahaha.”
Maybe putting off assignments until the last minute was an unavoidable human instinct, whether one was a university student or a professor.
After showering and brushing my teeth in preparation for the end of the day, I greeted the professor, who was still wrestling with the recommendation letter, and entered my room.
My hair was still damp from not having dried completely, and it bothered me quite a bit.
[Hye-Bam: Name, I have something to tell you about settling up. Do you have a moment?]
It was a message from Sia.
I activated the capsule’s holographic text mode and lay down on the bed to initiate a conversation with her. Of course, I didn’t forget to place a towel down so I wouldn’t wet the pillow.
[NoName: Yeah. I’m free now.]
[Hye-Bam: Oh, perfect timing, huh? I’d already submitted the settlement request earlier, and luckily they said I could withdraw it today, so I wanted to tell you!]
[NoName: Thanks. I owe you my life, Sia.]
[Hye-Bam: Aw, it’s nothing! If anything, I owe you a lot. I thought you should get the 500,000-won mission reward for reaching Master, so I included it in the settlement. Splitting the donations we received over the week, the total is 2,564,496 won!]
[NoName:?]
[NoName: Isn’t that too much?]
[Hye-Bam: Not at all! I didn’t even include the V-Tube revenue. You apply for V-Tube earnings every quarter, so I’ll send you your share from your appearance later, at the end of March.]
[Hye-Bam: Also, the tax has already been withheld at the source, so you won’t have any additional costs to pay. Keep that in mind.]
The amount was far larger than I had expected.
And what did she mean by V-Tube revenue?
[Hye-Bam: You don’t know about V-Tube? You earn revenue there based on your views too.]
[NoName: That’s the first I’ve heard of it.]
[Hye-Bam: Anyway, if things continue like this, that amount will be well over two million won.]
[NoName: What should I do? If that much money comes in, they’ll definitely get suspicious.]
[Hye-Bam: ??? Wasn’t it your account?]
[NoName: Yeah. So the balance excluding the 500,000 won can be sent later...]
[Hye-Bam: What should I do? I already transferred it.]
[NoName: Ah.]
The noise of the city at this late hour felt louder than usual.
Before long, I heard someone’s footsteps approaching.
Knock knock.
“Name. Are you asleep? I have something to say.”
It was Professor Cheon’s voice.
[Hye-Bam: Sorry hehe]
[NoName: It’s fine. I’ll deal with it somehow.]
[Hye-Bam: Fighting! Let’s play together again sometime!]
I replied to her with a small chuckle.
Maybe this was for the best.
After all, lying was something fundamentally incompatible with my nature.