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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Teacher’s coming, so let’s talk later.”
There weren’t many ways to calm a raging Cecilia.
“Calm down? Are you hurt? Those bastards! I’ll kill them!”
Her eyes blazed, her body flickering with flames. She was on the verge of another outburst.
“Do I look like I got beat up by those weaklings?”
Egenir patted himself down, demonstrating his lack of injuries.
Then,
“I’ll call you if anything happens, so please calm down.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. Now relax and have some water.”
He’d spent so much time in the magic studies department that it felt like his second home. He knew where everything was, even without looking.
Cecilia sat on the sofa, accepting the glass of water he offered, and sighed.
“Why is Horse targeting you?”
She wasn’t stupid. She’d figured out that the thugs were student council members, and Horse was behind it.
“Don’t lie.”
She knew he was about to make up an excuse.
“We’re supposed to be working on the student council together. This conflict with the former president…”
“Can you expel them?”
Vice president. A useless title he wanted to get rid of. She glared at him, then shook her head.
“There’s no need to fight with the former president. He’s a toothless tiger.”
‘Not really.’
He’d return to his kingdom, using his Sword Expert title to solidify his power base. He wasn’t a toothless tiger, but a tiger about to sprout wings and take flight.
He just wasn’t interested in the academy anymore.
‘But…’
Horse, that gay bastard, seemed obsessed with the idea of breaking Egenir, either physically or emotionally.
‘At least I’m not going to be his…subordinate.’
He’d crawl and beg if it guaranteed his escape from the academy, but that wasn’t a graduation requirement.
He’d fought and bled in this academy, and now he was supposed to enter politics or become Horse’s… assistant?
‘No way in hell.’
He was rejecting an opportunity others would kill for. Cecilia looked at him, her expression worried.
“Are you…giving up on the vice presidency…?”
“No.”
She was worried about him. He was, after all, a baron from Horse’s kingdom.
Logically, becoming Horse’s subordinate was the safest path, a more stable foundation than aligning with a Magic Tower protégé like Cecilia.
“I just want to focus on my training.”
He’d always presented himself as a training fanatic. Cecilia seemed to believe him, and it wasn’t entirely a lie.
‘How am I supposed to acquire Elemental with Cecilia around?’
Spenny needed a romantic event to see him as more than a student, and that required privacy. He hadn’t pursued Cecilia first because…
‘I knew this would happen.’
Her obsessive nature, the risk of disrupting his magical balance…He’d tried to avoid her, but her clinginess, her tendency to lash out with her Salamander trait whenever he tried to distance himself…
“Good morning.”
Spenny entered, smiling.
She seemed pleased to see Cecilia.
‘Of course.’
A prestigious student from the Blazing Magic Tower had joined her previously empty magic studies department.
Egenir was a good student, but in terms of magical progress, Cecilia was far more valuable.
‘How depressing…’
He might be a good student, but there was a clear difference between a seasoned graduate student and a freshman. He possessed the knowledge of a professor, but he couldn’t reveal it.
“Should I bring the draft we discussed yesterday?”
Spenny, eager to test their theories, was thrilled to have Cecilia as a test subject. She handed Cecilia a document titled,
Cecilia’s eyes widened.
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“T-Teacher? This is…”
An incredible research paper. She’d anticipated a new mana circuit method, based on Egenir’s previous comments.
But she’d assumed it would be from the perspective of a first-year magic student, a promising but ultimately basic theory. This paper far exceeded her expectations.
“Circulating mana in an arch shape…avoiding vital points…using supporting circuits? This is…”
Being a magic fanatic, she quickly devoured the contents.
A new, revolutionary mana circuit method, and the research was incredibly advanced.
“You’re trying to make it compatible with existing mage mana circuits?”
“Yes. Egenir and I are working on making it seamlessly integrate with the standard methods used by the major Magic Towers.”
Cecilia glanced at Egenir.
‘With him?’
Egenir cringed at her disbelieving expression.
“Egenir is a brilliant student. He grasps concepts quickly.”
Spenny praised him, oblivious to the fact that he was guiding her research, not the other way around.
He already knew about the subsequent research on integrating Spenny’s mana circuit method with existing methods.
Spenny had become famous for her innovative method, but other mages had quickly piggybacked on her research, publishing their own papers on integration and compatibility.
Their research wasn’t entirely without merit, but it still irked him that they’d initially dismissed her work, then profited from it.
So he’d thought…
‘What if Spenny publishes the integration method herself?’
She’d control the narrative, becoming an indispensable figure in the academy, despite her low rank.
The academy funding would pour in, and his pockets, as her…beneficiary, would be overflowing.
‘Thinking ahead.’
Spenny’s money would become his money.
He’d be able to buy all the expensive alchemy and magic materials he wanted…
‘And that sword…’
An incredibly expensive sword that would be available later in the academy.
He chuckled.
‘Playing with this pathetic wooden sword is getting old.’
He wasn’t going to fight demons with a toy. He envisioned himself obliterating them with the power of money, and smiled.
“This is…unbelievable…This level of progress…in less than a month?”
Cecilia was stunned by the paper’s complexity. The initial mana circuit method had been completed within three days of their arrival.
And this, less than two weeks later…Even with their combined efforts, this level of progress was impossible.
Cecilia, having lived and trained in a Magic Tower, knew how much simulation and trial and error went into such research.
“Egenir’s insights have been invaluable, but…we’re lacking test subjects.”
The initial paper had been easily accepted because Egenir had served as a test subject. But this was different.
Asking established mages to adopt a new mana circuit method was risky.
It could disrupt their mana flow, requiring months of readjustment, or worse, lead to mana overload, crippling them or even killing them. And since the method hadn’t been officially published, leaking it was out of the question.
Spenny was in a dilemma.
The research was almost complete, but she needed test subjects. Egenir had subtly guided her research, providing key insights, which she’d diligently compiled during her afternoon research sessions.
“I’ll do it!”
Cecilia, after a brief glance at Egenir, volunteered.
“Really?”
“Of course! If this mana circuit method works…it could revolutionize fire magic, reducing the risk of unstable outbursts!”
Cecilia’s body began to glow, a fiery aura emanating from her. A true magic fanatic. The Salamander trait had already ignited her passion.
‘This is…good, right?’
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