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Deep in the night, the full moon scattered the shallow fog as Sylvia dove deep into her thoughts in their mansion’s backyard.
“…”
Today, she found out why he was the Head Professor and had amazing theoretical and educational skills.
‘What if a child, praised for being a prodigy, suddenly feels he’s becoming more ordinary as he grows up?’
Lacking talent, he worked harder than anyone else and walked the royal road of theory. As his intuition faltered, he immersed himself in logic as sophisticated as cogs.
‘What if he sees children who were worse than him getting ahead of him?’
Sylvia recalled Rohakan’s words.
The sadness to doubt one’s own talents. The fear of being blocked by an impenetrable wall. The fear that someone worse than oneself would overtake them.
“Would I be able to overcome it all?”
‘What if he imagined that someday they would laugh at him, who used to look down on them?’
She imagined Epherene becoming a better wizard than her…
Sylvia shut her mouth and puffed up her cheeks.
“… Arrogant Epherene.”
The possibility was slim, but just thinking about it made her dizzy.
So it was even more surprising. Deculein overcame this feeling with hard work.
“…”
Finishing her thoughts, Sylvia immersed herself in meditation again. She breathed quietly and released her mana, causing colorful shades to appear in her eyes.
Eventually, she materialized the Origin.
The darkness of the night faded, and light entered. Flowers bloomed on the ground, and butterflies flew as a warm wind blew, the grass gently swaying.
The landscape was constructed with the ‘three primary colors.’ The image she embraced had dyed her garden.
In this realm, her color was the Law of Nature.
“••••••••.”
Sylvia quietly closed her eyes amid the magical field.
She once heard of something called ‘the wizard’s fortune.’
The first was innate talent.
The second was a worthy effort.
The third was one’s own muse.
She already knew her talent, she wasn’t lazy, but she used to think she didn’t need the third.
Muse.
For wizards, the third was essentially called ‘inspiration’ or ‘stimulus.’
Now Sylvia understood.
Her third fortune just came a little late…
* * *
Under the dark dawn, I sat at the entrance to the Mountain of Darkness and opened my catalog of items.
──[Beginner Item Catalog]──
1. Record Notepad.
2. Character Magnifying Lens.
3. Incubator…
───────────────
A catalog was, in the essence of the word, a ‘list of goods.’ I could consume an item catalog to get one of these items.
However, there was nothing in it that would have a dramatic effect on the gameplay. The items in it only offered a bit of convenience or uniqueness.
▶2. Character Magnifying Lens.
As soon as I chose option 2, the A4-sized catalog took its shape.
“…”
A single lens with no frames or anything.
It was embarrassing, but it became like a monocle when I roughly put it on my eyelids with Psychokinesis.
Crumble— Crumble—
At that moment, I turned my head in the direction where I heard someone walking through the grass.
“Ah?”
When our eyes met, I heard a startled voice and saw her distinctive white armor and cloak.
The magnifying lens identified one of her most important attributes.
──[Eternal Winter]──
◆ Rating: Unique
◆ Description:
– An eternally frozen season.
– A flower that blooms more brilliantly the harsher its environment becomes.
───────
Her unique grade attribute, [Eternal Winter].
Julie said, “Didn’t know you were here as well.”
“Am I not allowed to be here?” I asked coldly on purpose.
Julie scratched the back of her neck as if embarrassed. “No, but I’ve heard the rumors. I thought you were going to rest today because you… just fought Rohakan.”
The chairman personally asked me to monitor the Mountain of Darkness.
It was an order from the imperial family, too, just in case Rohakan came back or was plotting something around this area.
“… Is the commander of the knights also supposed to be in charge of such chores?”
“Being the leader, I take the lead.”
“Then, according to you, if a war breaks out, the commanders will all have to die first.”
“Ah! That’s a good question. The answer to that is described in the 3rd volume of the knight manual. I’ll give it to you later.”
“…”
I made a chair using [Psychokinesis] and [Basic Earth Control]. Julie glanced at me slowly and sat. She kept glancing at me without a word.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“No.”
I nodded.
The wind blew in from the dark, carrying with it the thick scent of mana and flora.
Out of nowhere, Julie asked, “Is Her Majesty’s lesson next week?”
Usually, the date of our classes was based on the emperor’s will, but traditionally, they were held once or twice a month.
That being said, our next lesson was next Monday.
“You said you have nothing to say.”
“…”
Julie shut her mouth, looking into the woods instead. Every time she heard a sound, her ears perked up.
She seemed to be working hard.
“… Hmm.”
I looked at my pocket watch.
1 AM.
There were still three hours left of my shift.
“Julie.”
“Yes.”
“I’m bored. Would you like to play chess?”
“… I am on a mission now.”
Julie firmly shook her head.
I got worked up for no reason.
“Mission? I wonder what kind of idiot thinks Rohakan will come back here again.”
“…”
Julie had a guilty expression on her face.
Huhp-
She took a breath and held it.
I smirked.
“… It’s you.”
“Oh, that’s…”
“You’re too stupid.”
“Um, this is basic post-incident measures. The perpetrator might return to the crime scene…”
“Rohakan is a criminal, but he is not the perpetrator. If it were me, I wouldn’t guard the entrance but scour the entire mountain. My top priority would be to find out why he entered in the first place.
“…”
Julie blushed.
I laughed and spent time reading books.
4:00 AM.
—Freyhem Knights Commander Julie. You may withdraw.
Words came out of Julie’s crystal ball. It was Isaac’s voice.
“Yes. Alright.” Julie, who answered politely, immediately turned to me.
“….”
A chessboard came out of Julie’s backpack, but I pretended I didn’t see it.
“Um… Er…”
Julie glanced at me.
However, when I didn’t respond, she started playing alone.
Tap— Tap— Tap—
Hearing the strangely moving objects felt funny to me.
Reluctantly, I looked at her chessboard, realizing it was the gift I had given before.
“If you do it like that, you’ll lose.”
“… Is that so?” Julie answered. I closed my book and turned my chair towards her.
With the chessboard between us, I continued speaking while facing Julie.
“Listen carefully. I will teach you starting with the basics…”
Julie put her hands together and nodded.
“Yes!” Serious enthusiasm vigorously enveloped her expression.
It made me think she wanted to be a chess master.
* * *
The next morning, I received a call from the chairman. It was an order to go up to her personal office on the 99th floor.
“Professor! Mail has been delivered to you!”
Before I could leave, however, Allen handed me a box with the support number 39953.
It was from the wizards I sponsored.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing!”
I picked it up and headed up on the elevator; the entirety of the floor served as the [Chairman’s Office]. After a few moments, the elevator door opened, revealing a huge office desk.
“…”
The chairman was lying on it and sleeping.
To describe it in more detail, she didn’t have her head on it. Her whole body was lying on it, curled up like a shrimp while sleeping with a large cone hat as a blanket.
“Crrrr…”
The view reminded me of the chairman’s lineage.
“Zzzzz….”
As of right now, it might be a fact that only I knew, but the chairman was a hybrid between a fairy and a human. Her bloodline was as rare as the giants. It was so unique she was probably the only one left of her kind in the world.
“Crrrr…”
The reason she slept on a desk was that fairies liked high places.
“Zzzzz…”
“Ugh.”
Her snore was annoying. I suspected she had a breathing problem, but I didn’t disturb her. Instead, I sat quietly in a nearby chair and waited. I had something to do anyway.
I opened the mailbox. And, looking forward to the contents, I put my hand in.
“…?”
There was only one letter in it.
Why?
I shook the mailbox up and down, just in case, but only dust fell from it.
I probably supported thirty people. Even though I did so through anonymous donations, I gave more than enough for them to send a letter of reciprocity.
… But.
Wizards had always been like this. They predicated on the assumption that they would return the sponsorship itself in the future.
I opened the only letter I received.
[Dear Anonymous Sponsor,
Greetings. I am Epherene of the Luna family. I’m also a humble debutante whose talents you recognized…]
I laughed. That name was familiar. Extremely so.
[… Our family’s residence is just a small hut, and even though we live under such dire circumstances, we have more debts we can handle. Debtors come and go from time to time.
I grew up as the daughter of an aristocrat only in name, and I was used to a life of solitude and independence. Surrounded by nature, I ate frogs and rabbits, and fishing and hunting became some of my specialties…]
However, the content was serious, and her writing was neat.
I calmed down.
[…There was a time when I thought that if I tried hard, everything would work out.
But this world isn’t as calm a sea as I thought. Rather, it turned into a rampaging wave in an instant, pushing and breaking me. My father took his own life, which made my grandma and grandpa cry…]
I felt like I could hear Epherene’s voice through the letter.
[… I went out to the Tower to fulfill my father’s dream and to meet the expectations of my grandmother and grandfather, but every day feels like I’m living on thin ice.
It was your support that saved me from that despair.
Your donation gave me warmth while I lived under the cold, gelid sky.
Sponsor.
In the southern grasslands, there is a wild boar called Roahawk. They run freely in the fields and grow up eating only Yufran sesame leaves as feed…]
“Roahawk?” I muttered unintentionally.
“Zzzzz….”
The chairman opened her eyes sullenly. She looked at me with a sleepy face.
“You came… When did you come… Why did you come while I was sleeping…”
The way she talked, drowsy, was markedly different from the usual chairman. I put the letter in my inner pocket.
“I arrived just now because you called.”
“… Oh, right… Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn…”
The yawn lasted almost a minute. After that, she slowly wiped away her tears.
“Yes.”
“Yeaawn… I wanted to ask you about the progress of the Symposium questions…”
“I’m almost done. I’m going to finish it today.”
“Hmm… Good…”
The chairman soon spoke as if she was about to sleep again.
“Oh, right… The visiting professor was decided to be Louina this time… Today’s professor welcome ceremony…”
“Yes. I know. I don’t mind.”
“…!”
The president’s eyes widened, her pupils rising like a cat.
“You don’t mind?! What does that mean?! You two had a bad relationship, didn’t you?!”
“…”
The chairman liked rumors, especially provocative gossip.
That was due to her personality itself, also known as “Curiosity Seeker.”
“There was just a misunderstanding back then. It’s fine now.”
“No way! You’re lying!”
“Is this why you called me here?”
“No! Not at all!”