Amidst the silence, Strass murmured softly, “… Is that really the right way to solve this?”
Rose, who had been frozen, let out a small laugh, almost like a sigh. “… I always knew I was a bit of an oddball, but you’re even weirder. Honestly, you’re such an amusing person.”
Everyone exchanged glances at Rose’s words and laughter.
“…F-for now, shall we head to the magic academy?” Eliza brought up, seemingly trying to change the subject.
While finding it strange, I remembered that today’s plan was to visit the magic academy. “Yes, let’s go to the magic academy.”
Hearing this, Ayle and the others cheered with joy.
“Yay!”
“This time, we’ll be able to take our time looking around.”
“I’m so excited!”
The adults smiled and nodded at Ayle’s straightforward enthusiasm.
―――
With direct permission from Diageo and even permission from the academy's principal, Balblair, to do as I pleased, I decided to observe a beginner-level magic lecture first. By the way, Rose had said she would refrain from going to the academy and remained in the imperial castle.
When we arrived at the academy, Strass and Eliza said they wanted to see lectures on their own areas of expertise, while Cote and the others expressed their desire to participate in the lectures. Thus, we decided to take our time observing various lectures, with Cote and the others actually attending them.
Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to observe the students in the classrooms during their lectures.
“How was it?”
After the lecture ended, I decided to ask the students for their impressions of the content. Right now, I was with Cote, who had attended a beginner-level earth magic lecture. Nearby were Ayle, Strass, and Eliza, who had attended lectures nearby.
“The fundamentals of magic are the same. However, it feels like there’s too little practical application and too much focus on knowledge,” Cote answered modestly.
Ayle shrugged and shook her head from side to side. “There just aren’t enough teachers who can teach. Why is that? If someone can use intermediate or higher-level magic, you’d think teaching beginner-level magic would be no problem.”
Strass answered Ayle’s curious question, “The problem is the level of research. Because the research isn’t advanced enough, they can’t explain the finer details when teaching students. The explanations are inadequate, so students who are still lacking in knowledge and a sense of magic can’t grasp it. As a result, the number of mages who can use advanced magic does not increase. It’s a vicious cycle.”
“At Fiddiq Academy, teachers highly passionate about magic research gather from all over the world, and Principal Glenn promotes hands-on learning. So it’s a really good research environment,” Eliza chimed in, agreeing with Strass’ opinion.
I see. In other words, if you changed how research and teaching were conducted, the understanding of magic would deepen.
In that case, then the ones who needed to change were the teachers.
With this thought, I went to visit Balblair with a request. Her eyes sparkled as she said, “That sounds interesting. I’ll go observe.”
It seemed my request was approved.
We were provided with the largest square in the Holy City. It used to be an arena, so the sturdy stone walls around it made it perfect for my purposes. The ground was packed dirt and gravel, which would allow us to perform small-scale magic without any issues.
Standing near the entrance to the square were Balblair, Award, and Crown watching us. Behind me were Strass and Eliza. Since it might take a while, I had sent Shenley and the others back to the imperial castle earlier.
Before long, around twenty teachers started filing in. As they made their way to the center of the square, some of them looked surprised and greeted Balblair and the others standing at the entrance.
When the teachers noticed me, they gave me suspicious looks.
"… What kind of gathering is this?"
"What business do you have with us?"
Being questioned, I bowed slightly and said, "I apologize for calling you all here on short notice. I have come to you at the request of His Majesty Emperor Diageo of the Maple Leaf Holy Empire."
With my preamble, everyone froze. It seemed they couldn't ignore a request from the nation's ruler.
There were various reactions—some people looked uneasy, while others cast suspicious glances. I briefly surveyed the room before getting to the main point.
"The reason I've gathered you here today, though presumptuous, is to teach all of you about the application of magic and research methods. My plan is to hold study sessions every day for two weeks—"
A middle-aged man furrowed his brow and interrupted my explanation. "Wait a minute. We don't even know what you're capable of. You might be a senior teacher at Fiddiq Academy, but you're still young. Are you really qualified to teach us magic?"
Other teachers voiced similar concerns.
"Indeed, you should demonstrate your magic first."
"Are you trying to steal Maple Leaf’s magic under the pretext of instructing us?"
Hearing these comments, I raised one hand, palm facing them. "Please rest assured. I have learned a bit of Maple Leaf's magic. What I'll be teaching you is mostly new magic."
They fell silent. Perhaps because it wasn’t common for people from different countries to exchange magic knowledge, they seemed both skeptical and intrigued.
However, there was still one person who didn't seem convinced.
It was a small, white-haired man with drooping eyes glaring at me. When our eyes met, he let out a deep sigh. "I am Hinek, a senior teacher. I have some questions for you. Is that alright?"
"Go ahead," I answered.
The man who introduced himself as Hinek suddenly began chanting a spell. It seemed to be an ice spell. The people around him hurriedly stepped back to distance themselves from him.
"[Ice Spire]!"
As Hinek cast the spell, the ground between us began to freeze, and a sharp, towering icicle thrust out from the earth.
The massive ice pillar was as tall as a three-story building, and his colleagues gasped in surprise.
"As expected of Hinek-dono."
"There are few people in other nations who can cast a spell of this magnitude."
Hearing their remarks, I nodded. "Indeed, it's a very impressive spell. However—"
"However? What are you trying to say?" Hinek's angry voice shot back at me.
I had expected this from the start. I knew he wouldn’t be convinced with words alone.
With this in mind, I spoke. "However, I find the time it takes to chant and cast the spell a bit wasteful. [Ice Tower]."
I invoked an ice spell without chanting. Immediately, the towering ice spire that had been standing was shattered from the inside, and a larger ice pillar appeared in its place.
It was similar to what had happened with Crown earlier. I smiled at the sense of déjà vu and then looked at Hinek standing beside the ice pillar. "First, I would like to teach you how to cast magic without chanting. Once you master this, I will teach you about research into magical tools. What do you think?"
Hinek and the other teachers stood frozen in place, eyes wide with astonishment.
Meanwhile, Balblair let out a hearty laugh, her mouth wide open.
Hello everyone!
I’m Amarylais, and I’ll be your new translator for this novel. I’ll do my best to maintain the quality and will do my best to provide accurate and enjoyable translations.
Thank you for your patience and support—I hope you continue to enjoy the journey!