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chapter 16
I could see the magic rippling like water.
If she were the original story’s heroine, the amount would be overwhelmingly large—so much so that if she activated her skill, she’d probably be enveloped in a white divine energy, with only her silhouette barely visible.
However, the light coming from Mei barely covered her face at most.
“Looks like she’s not the original heroine after all.”
In the original story, the limit of magic depended on the soul, not the body.
If Mei Escliff were the heroine the original story, there’s no way it would stop at such a small amount. She was the woman recognized by the original story as beloved by the gods.
“And besides, as a vessel, she’d have shown responses that are hard to notice…”
If I had to pick something unusual, it would be that her magic seemed to concentrate around her head rather than her heart.
“Well, that makes sense since healing mages are rare.”
That level of peculiarity wasn’t overly significant.
I deactivated the skill again.
Then, I took out the two sheets of paper under the bulletin board.
“What’s that?”
“A waiver for bodily risk.”
“Uh, what?”
“Just kidding.”
I chuckled and scribbled on the paper: Carnis’ name and student ID, and an agreement that she wouldn’t complain to anyone even if she got injured in battle.
“In a way, it really is a bodily risk waiver, huh?”
Of course, in genuinely dangerous situations, the professors would intervene, and students would adjust their power accordingly, but there were cases where things went terribly wrong.
Even in the original story, the male lead and the supporting male lead fought each other and the supporting male lead ended up badly injured.
“That’s why Carnis never had a safe day during the tournament.”
No matter how non-magical one was, being a student in the magic department meant they couldn’t skip the tournament.
Originally, she suffered bitter defeats in front of the audience.
“Those bastards.”
Why bother giving her humiliation if she could have just won quietly?
“This time, I’ll pay them back.”
After submitting the waiver at the reception, I dusted off my hands.
“Oh, right. You haven’t looked at a textbook yet, right?”
“Yes. Embarrassingly, I haven’t opened one at all.”
“It’s fine—first-year subjects are all common, so there isn’t much to learn anyway.”
Still, if she went in knowing nothing, she’d probably get ignored like the old Carnis…
“Ah, but since she’s a healing mage, maybe she’ll actually get special treatment?”
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
And then I reached a clear conclusion.
“Then let’s study together today!”
I took Mei to the library of the magic academy.
I handed her the first-year textbooks and started skimming the latest academic journals that were only available in the academy.
“Interesting.”
Without a smartphone, these magazines were all surprisingly engaging.
Of course,
[Grand Mage’s Brain (S)]
This skill helped a lot.
Each article I read taught me new principles, and I could immediately execute them. Even if it was studying, it couldn’t possibly be boring.
By the time I had finished about ten books in one sitting,
“Haah.”
I stretched and stood up. Mei was still wrestling with her textbook, and I went to grab new books.
“Let’s see… the next volume of Layered’s spellbook…”
“Huh? What? It’s not here?”
The set had five volumes, but of course, exactly volumes 3 were missing.
“I want to know what happens next!”
The Layered spellbook I had been reading was somewhat autobiographical.
This Grand Mage from a hundred years ago was so skilled in cutting-edge magic that by the end of volume 2, he had just been kidnapped by foreign inspectors.
“So what happens next?!”
Damn. I was stomping my feet in frustration when a voice came from behind.
“Looking for this?”
“Ah!”
She held exactly volume 3 of Layered’s spellbook in her hands.
I shouted reflexively, and the girl gave a sneering smile.
“But what do you intend to do with this? Can your stupid brain even understand it?”
“?”
I tilted my head, thinking I misheard her.
“Can’t you hear me? Are you deaf now too?”
‘Nope, didn’t mishear.’
Who is she, starting an argument from the first encounter?
Before I could process this absurdity, the freckled redhead grabbed the remaining books.
“You came to the library pretending to study. What, finally decided to stop being last this semester?”
She let out a mocking laugh.
“Well, you don’t even have an ounce of magic, so there’s no way.”
“Hey.”
“Even in the first round—haah!”
I kicked her shin to shut her up; I had no intention of taking her insults lying down.
Thanks to my strength stat A, the girl’s face turned a mix of red and blue as she crouched in pain.
“Are you crazy?! Physical violence between students is punishable inside the academy!”
I tilted my head at the flailing girl.
“Oh, really? Only ‘physical’ violence?”
So what you did earlier counts as verbal abuse?
‘How should I handle this?’
I had originally planned a more dramatic reveal during the tournament…
I didn’t realize I had such little patience. I raised my hand, ready to kick her away with telekinesis when a stranger’s voice interrupted.
“What’s going on here?”
Turning, I saw a cheerful red-haired young man.
“F-Felix?”
The freckled redhead quickly stood up. Her cheeks were flushed, clearly showing a romantic interest in him.
‘…Felix Agrippe?’
As I recalled the novel, I realized who he was.
‘He’s a side character.’
The friend who relayed news to the male lead. I remembered he didn’t have much direct interaction with the heroine…
“What are you doing here?”
While I was recalling the story, the girl who had started the fuss asked in a trembling voice.
“You’re not in a position to talk, Bella. You started the commotion in the library.”
Her name… Bella?
I glanced her up and down. Not exactly pretty. Bella wasn’t a typical standard beauty.
Meanwhile, Felix glared coldly at her. Flustered, Bella exclaimed in protest.
“It’s a misunderstanding, Felix! You know how well-behaved I usually am! If only that jerk hadn’t been here today—ugh!”
[Silence (C)]
I didn’t want to hear her whining anymore, so I shut her mouth magically.
‘Much quieter now.’
“What? Why’d you stop talking?”
The boy, unaware of the situation, continued to interrogate her irritably. Bella’s face flushed further.
She probably assumed Felix had silenced her with magic, feeling humiliated—especially since it was the boy she liked.
‘Why’d you have to mess with me?’
I gave a subtle hand signal.
Bella’s feet began tapping a rhythmic step.
Clack, tap-tap-tap!
Her shoes made a loud, rhythmic noise.
“What’s going on? Why so noisy?”
The students nearby began murmuring at the commotion, some peeking from the reading area.
“!!!”
Her face turned crimson with shame.
‘Time to let her go?’
At my signal, she quickly left the library. She’d probably suffer for about five minutes.
I put my hand on my forehead, pretending not to notice, and watched.
“Such a strange girl.”
“I know, right!”
Felix, oblivious to what I had done, nodded in agreement.
“-!! -!!!”
Wow. I could hear her silent scream of anger and shame.
Her gaze alone could kill me—but even if she unleashed all her magic, she couldn’t touch a single hair of mine.
‘This is how people should live!’
I wore a satisfied, cat-like expression when Felix suddenly approached me.
“But you really are unexpected. You were the one who kicked her earlier, right?”
Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?
