TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/week mon-fri
Illustrations: none
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After safely returning from the dinner invitation, Ian came back to the university with his new staff.
"Oh. Ian. That staff. Looks a bit different from before?"
Eredith was the first to notice the strange mystery's presence.
Having wandered the continent experiencing mysteries her whole life, it wasn't difficult for her to recognize unfamiliar ones.
"You've imbued some magic into it!"
Mysteries could attach themselves to objects too.
Wizards commonly called this 'imbuing magic'.
This imbuing usually happened by chance, though some wizards spent their whole lives studying just this.
Eredith hopefully looked at her beloved disciple.
Could Ian have experienced magic imbuing!
"No? It's not magic imbuing?"
"Then why..."
Eredith naturally thought Ian's familiar mystery of darkness had attached to the staff.
"Come out for a moment."
But when Ian spoke casually.
Shhhh!
"?!"
The staff suddenly started turning into a snake!
'C-creepy!'
Though Eredith was a middle-aged woman, her sensibilities were eternally girlish.
Like many women, she disliked snakes.
The snake coiled around Ian's arm and flicked its tongue at Eredith.
[I am a great djin-]
"Want to die? Who told you to stick your tongue out at Master?"
Ian grabbed the snake's neck and shook it.
Asu made choking sounds.
"As you can see, it's a bit of an arrogant djinni."
"..."
Eredith was dumbfounded.
The staff had been normal just yesterday, so this mystery must have come from visiting the count...
But how did he catch a djinni that lived far away in the desert?!
"You've found quite a rare mystery?"
"Rare but useless."
[Master! How can you say I'm useless! I have so many talents...]
"Hey. Staff."
When Ian spoke once, Asu dejectedly transformed into a staff.
Eredith watched carefully how Ian handled mysteries.
'Indeed. Ian's skills have improved incomparably from before.'
Eredith was the one who had introduced Ian to all sorts of magic.
But while introducing various magics, she hadn't had high expectations.
After all, learning multiple magics simultaneously was truly difficult.
Though she hadn't expected much, Ian had mastered diverse magics with surprising skill.
Honestly, it defied Eredith's common sense.
To improve magical ability, you first had to encounter mysteries.
Generally, mysteries were so rare that ordinary people might encounter one once in their lifetime, if at all.
But Ian seemed to be solving the problem of meeting mysteries somehow.
Did he have some hidden mystery-farm somewhere?
'His growth is incredibly fast.'
Though Eredith was proud of her disciple's rapid growth.
On the other hand, she felt an inexplicable foreboding.
'I hope nothing goes wrong.'
"Is your research going well?"
"Yes. No problems so far."
Her disciple was currently focused on uncovering an archwizard's memories.
No one could predict what results would come.
But if proper results emerged...
It would surely shock the imperial magic world.
"Don't push yourself too hard. You're still young, so there's plenty of time, right?"
Ian nodded for show.
Though Ian was young, he didn't have much time.
He wasn't planning to spend his whole life just researching.
...And in reality, Ian's remaining time was slowly but surely decreasing.
#
"Oh? Elia?"
"Ian. Do you have a moment?"
Elia came to Ian's research room.
Ian stopped preparing magic and made space.
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After brief greetings, Elia got straight to the point.
"I'm planning to go to Roxlan."
"..."
The reason Elia was heading to Roxlan was crystal clear.
Elia's father.
The imperial emperor, Eugen Shakraine Hastria's palace was in Roxlan.
The emperor had moved his palace to mediate the conflict between Fargar and Roxlan.
Elia planned to meet her father in Roxlan.
"I'll ask just once."
Elia looked at Ian with serious eyes and asked.
"Ian Eredith Raven. Won't you come to Roxlan with me and work for the empire?"
It was an incredible offer that would have made any ordinary wizard applaud in joy.
A chance to work for the empire alongside imperial blood!
"Ian. Actually, I'm ambitious for power. You might already know."
"I didn't."
Ian lied.
He'd noticed somewhat but wanted to save Elia's face.
"It might seem materialistic, but this is my chance, Ian."
"..."
"I want to make a name for myself through achievements. And..."
Elia took a breath and said.
"If possible... I want to compete for the next throne too."
The imperial throne wasn't hereditary.
But if the current emperor did well and their child earned recognition, there was no reason they couldn't continue the line.
The current Emperor Shakraine II had succeeded Shakraine I after all.
"Ah. So that's why you didn't study well."
"...Isn't that conclusion too strange?!"
Elia shouted in genuine indignation, but Ian ignored her.
No wonder she'd neglected her studies and focused on politicking with nobles.
She was clearly trying to build connections early.
Definitely disqualified as a wizard, Elia.
When Ian gave that look, Elia shook her head.
Ian. Just how devoted to magic was he...
"The conflict between Fargar and Roxlan is a really serious problem."
"..."
"The empire could truly split apart."
Elia spoke seriously.
"The Holy Empire could vanish from the world."
Ian was slightly surprised at how indifferent he felt.
But soon remembered why.
He recalled the prophecy from Gerard, the inscrutable space-time wizard.
'He said the empire would fall.'
"Ian. If we help father resolve this situation well... we could definitely become imperial officials."
"You mean getting positions?"
"Yes! We start from there and advance step by step. You and me together."
With an outstanding wizard alongside her, Elia would fear nothing.
And she wanted that wizard to be Ian.
She'd thought so since first meeting him.
And still thought the same now.
No matter how many times she saw it, Ian's magic was the best.
Ian thought briefly.
If instead of choosing to travel, he'd gone straight to the university to focus on study...
Might there have been a future where he met Elia and became an imperial court wizard?
But Ian smirked.
Only a space-time wizard would know that.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll decline."
"...It's so boring because it's exactly what I expected. Can you tell me why?"
It wasn't difficult.
"My research isn't finished yet."
"..."
"If you wait a bit, I could drop by and give advice."
Elia smiled like she'd expected this.
"It's such a you-like reason that I'm relieved."
"?"
Ian almost shouted 'What do you mean you-like!' but stopped. If he were 5 years younger he might have.
"Alright Ian. Let's do this. I'll go down first, and if you get interested later, come find me."
Unlike Ian, Elia seemed to have no plans to stay at the university.
Now that Fargar had put forward the Silverwind heir, military movement was just a matter of time.
She wanted to help her father as soon as possible.
"Alright."
Ian readily agreed.
It was an offer with no downsides for Ian. Creating a debt with the imperial family would make his future journey much easier.
"Then Ian... see you later."
Elia gave a polite farewell.
A few days later, she left the university with many others.
Most people could easily guess why she was leaving school.
"...Well, they say a huge war might break out."
"No way! Would dukes really fight? Fellow imperials?"
"But if war really breaks out..."
"His Majesty the Emperor won't stand idle! Needless worry!"
While fights between barons were just skirmishes.
Fights between dukes were dangerous enough to shake the empire.
As news spread that war would break out soon, noble students requested leaves of absence and returned home one by one.
Of course, commoners and magic professors didn't care about surrounding events at all.
Yeah~ not my business~ I'm just a commoner with no territory to manage~
Though some ambitious commoners left school hoping to achieve merit in the war, most were just treated as crazy.
Having the mindset to achieve merit was good and all.
But could they actually use magic properly?
When they met 'real' wizards on the battlefield they obviously wouldn't be able to do anything. Their ambition was running ahead of their ability.
Imperial University just became a bit quieter, everything else stayed the same.
The same life of praying, studying, eating and sleeping.
Though Ian was sliiiightly worried about Lucy in Talian, he settled for sending one letter checking on her.
The sparks of war were burning in the south, the north was fine right? Obviously nothing would happen.
...He just wanted to send a letter. Really.
The three commoners gathered in Ian's research room thought similarly.
"War, huh. Big trouble."
"Well... as long as we don't go there it's fine."
"Might have to go down later. Battlefields need wizards."
Ian, Kira, and Maria.
This crazy commoner party of a serf, jester, and maid... didn't worry about the war at all!
War was just high lords fighting over profits.
As long as they weren't conscripted, it had little to do with commoners.
"People might come looking for wizards from the south."
"Ian, whose side will you take?"
"Me? I'm thinking the emperor's side for now."
Fargar, Roxlan, and the emperor would send people to the university to recruit wizard forces.
Until then, Ian decided to focus on his research.
"Well then, ready?"
"Hehe. Of course."
"I'm ready too."
Ian set off into the memory world once again to meet Maronius's soul.
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