The visitors who crossed the front gate were greeted by an array of flowers, stretching along both sides of the path leading to the mansion.
"Wow..."
Elia, who had been unable to close her mouth since earlier, blinked her eyes in awe. She set Seoyul down from her arms, and, holding her hands, crouched at the side of the path to examine the flowers.
"These are really beautiful..."
There were different types and colors. They weren’t supposed to bloom in the same season, nor were they native to the same regions... yet, they all bloomed together, side by side in this exotic display, in the same place.
The sight was like a landscape pulled straight out of a fantasy world, and I couldn’t help but admire it silently.
In front of her, a variety of flowers bloomed harmoniously.
Elia tilted her head, alternating between two flowers, her expression unsure but thoughtful.
"Is this white flower Edelweiss? And the red one next to it..."
"Hibiscus."
"Oh, yes! Hibiscus! That was the name!"
"And the purple flower next to it... Agapanthus? There’s all sorts of them."
Elia clapped her hands, pleased with the answer she received as she struggled to recall the names of the flowers.
"Mm?"
She then seemed to sense something strange and turned her head. The one who had answered her... no, the fairy Seoyul.
"...Seoyul, do you know all these flowers?"
"I saw them in a book."
Seoyul replied with a somewhat puzzled look on his face. He tilted his head repeatedly as he examined his surroundings, and on his back, a set of vibrant, multi-colored wings fluttered.
"Wow, our Seoyul is so smart!"
"Heh."
Seoyul gave a sly smile, proud of himself, and Elia, smiling softly, gently ruffled his head.
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Both of them wore bright-colored dresses, and with the beautiful flowers around them, it felt like a peaceful scene that could easily be captured in a photo.
In that peaceful moment, Elia and Seoyul resembled a perfect mother and child duo.
"Haryul, is something wrong?"
Hong Yeonhwa, who had been watching the scene with a strange look, approached me, noticing I had been standing there absentmindedly.
"No... I’m fine. Just spaced out for a moment."
She seemed puzzled by my dazed state.
I shook my head and responded, but suddenly Hong Yeonhwa grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into her embrace.
I naturally leaned into her.
"Hmph... If you’re feeling sick, just tell me right away. I told you before, right? Don’t suffer in silence."
"Yes, I’ll keep that in mind."
"Good."
Was she satisfied with that?
Her earlier discontent disappeared, replaced by a gentle smile as she patted my shoulder.
‘...Here...’
As I leaned against Hong Yeonhwa, I felt the strange and distinct sensation that had been bothering my body and mind since earlier. I reflected on it.
‘What kind of space is this?’
The mansion, and the magic that filled the grounds, felt very unusual.
Normal magic felt like a calculation. By interpreting the ritual, you could figure out what kind of effect it would have.
This place was different.
There were no rituals to interpret. The magic didn’t intricately weave together to project will. Instead, the will itself seemed to melt like a painting.
Even the flowers sprawling throughout the park had a will embedded in them.
"Bloom, bloom in your most beautiful form, bloom fully, and be full of life..."
In response to that will, the flowers seemed to be in their most vibrant state, full of vitality.
Even the barrier that stretched around the grounds, from the front gate to the walls, held a similar intent.
It was the will to block outside eyes and prevent intrusion.
It was so powerful that even with my ability to observe, I couldn’t easily peer inside.
The will was even stronger on the mansion itself, and the interior of the building was completely unobservable.
‘The key?’
For now, observation was possible.
I fiddled with the key I still held in my hand. Just a moment ago, the key had been vibrating, and now, I could feel something connecting me to it.
At the same time, the thorns that had been keeping out everything from the outside seemed to lower, and the firmly locked seal opened wide.
That wasn’t all.
The will that had settled in this place responded to me.
The persistent headache that had been plaguing me faded, and the sharp aches from intense training slowly began to subside.
The ground, flowers, grass, and trees—everything that belonged to life was now imbued with vitality, and the purity and quality of the mana were exceptionally high.
Breathing became easier.
With the pain and fatigue gone, I automatically felt better.
The wings of the sky fluttered like a fish in water.
It felt almost like this place was made for me, as my condition improved.
"Sniff..."
"Hick."
When I took a deep breath, instead of fresh air, the fragrant scent of Hong Yeonhwa filled my nostrils.
‘Ah, I had forgotten I was leaning on her.’
I had momentarily forgotten.
"Umm... why all of a sudden?"
Hong Yeonhwa flinched at the scent and pulled back slightly, pushing her chest forward.
...
We quickly finished our brief tour of the garden and entered the mansion.
We spent some time wandering through the mansion, inspecting everything.
Normally, we wouldn’t say we were "wandering" through a house, but this mansion was so vast that it was more than appropriate to use that term.
"Wow... it’s like they shoved everything they could think of in here."
Hong Yeonhwa, who had been accompanying me on the tour, said with a look of exasperation.
At first, she had just seemed impressed by the size, but now, even she was astonished by how much of the mansion remained unexplored.
"Soccer field, basketball court, tennis courts, a movie theater, a training area, an alchemy lab, a magic measurement room... it’s unbelievable."
"Haha... yeah, it is pretty big. It’ll probably take days to check everything out."
"Not just big, this is insane."
"It’s huge..."
Even Seoyul, who usually didn’t seem too impressed, agreed with Hong Yeonhwa’s assessment of the mansion’s size.
I let out a sheepish laugh.
The mansion had three above-ground floors and two underground levels.
It was shaped like a "D," with the central building and two wings, to the west and east.
The central part served as the main building, filled with all the essential living facilities.
By the way, every room was ready for immediate occupancy. The many rooms already had furniture and were impeccably clean.
Even the bed I briefly lay on was a top-tier luxury. It was far better than the one in the dormitory, and just lying down for a moment made my mouth drop open in amazement.
The west wing had a soccer field, basketball court, tennis courts, a movie theater—basically every form of entertainment you could think of.
The east wing had facilities for martial arts, magic, alchemy, and metallurgy.
Everything was managed by the same strange magic, so nothing seemed to malfunction.
"This isn’t the end, though, right? There are annexes behind the mansion too. When are we going to check those out?"
Surprisingly, it wasn’t over.
A little distance away from the mansion were several annexes.
They weren’t as large as the mansion, but still massive in their own right. Honestly, they could probably accommodate all of Siyoram’s students.
This vast estate also had a park, a botanical garden, and even a herb garden.
The grounds were so large that I didn’t have the time to explore all of it.
So for now, I released only the spirits that preferred the natural environment. Since the space was full of vitality and mana, the spirits glowed brightly and scattered.
"Why are they handing over a place like this..."
"Yeah..."
In the lobby of the mansion’s central building, Hong Yeonhwa, who had flopped onto one of the many sofas, muttered, and I nodded in agreement.
When she casually handed me the key and said, “This is the key to the mansion,” I had imagined something like a mansion where Baize might live.
I had thought it would be something manageable, but this... was ridiculous.
[Well, we don’t have to explore everything today.]
It was far too big to explore in one day.
[Should we unload everything here?]
[It’s fine if I keep it, but we’ll need to move it to our rooms now.]
At this point, I already had the key.
I could always return it and leave if I felt burdened... but for now, I wasn’t planning on doing that.
"Ah, we should pick rooms now. I completely forgot with all the exploring."
Elia sighed and opened a large hole in the air.
The hole released the luggage, which I caught with the wings of the sky and set down on the floor.
"Haryul, which room will you take?"
As I started unpacking, Hong Yeonhwa, who had quietly approached, asked in a casual tone.
"I... haven’t decided yet. But I’ll probably choose the room next to Seoyul."
"Ah, next to Seoyul... Hmm? Where are you going?"
I finished unloading the luggage.
After double-checking to make sure I didn’t miss anything, I stood up, and Hong Yeonhwa tilted her head.
"You and Elia should rest for a bit. I’m going to start on the food."
"Right, you said we’re having a housewarming. Who’s coming?"
"Uh... The teacher, Professor Liana, and Baize. Also, Senior Lee Jiyeon..."
"Lee Jiyeon? You invited her?"
"Ah, yes."
"...Really?"
Hong Yeonhwa, who had cut me off mid-sentence, looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Why?"
"Oh... it’s nothing."
"?"
Anyway, I had a lot to do.
Since tomorrow was the weekend, we were planning to have a housewarming dinner.
So I was going to make a lot of food. The kitchen was already well-prepared, so I just needed to start cooking.
And before I started cooking, there was one more place I needed to visit.
At the far corner of the east wing of the mansion, there was a door that was tightly shut.
It didn’t look particularly special on the outside. Like any other door, it was a dark brown wooden door that gave off the depth of age.
‘The lock is strong.’
I couldn’t observe the inside. Even now, through the key, I couldn’t easily observe what was beyond. Even with the boundary released outside, this place still maintained its own barrier.
It was immediately obvious that this place had strong security.
As soon as I recognized it, I had been planning to visit.
This was the place that was said to have been inhabited by the previous dean, and there were rumors that the elusive Tower Lord had hidden away here.
Such a place still had a strong barrier around it...
‘Hmm...’
I paused in front of the door, thinking for a moment, and then took out the key and placed it against the door.
Shudder—
The key vibrated.
Click.
‘As expected.’
Though the door had no keyhole, the sound of the lock opening rang out as soon as the key came close.
It seemed the key was indeed the access pass.
It appeared that the key itself granted access to this mansion.
I grabbed the doorknob.
Creak...
The door opened with a strange sound as the boundary around the room loosened, allowing me to observe the inside.
‘...What is this?’
The interior was a library.
But it was enormous. It was dozens of times larger than I had perceived from the outside. It seemed to have been affected by spatial expansion magic.
The walls of this vast room were filled with bookshelves, and countless books filled every inch of space.
And...
‘A portrait?’
A large portrait hanging on the wall became visible.