“I am sorry it turned out this way. It seems I will have to decline Lord Damian’s proposal.”
“……You intend to form your own team and participate separately?”
—The next day.
There was no need to drag the matter out. As soon as Jaes encountered Damian’s butler, Robert, at the academy, he immediately conveyed his decision.
Robert could not conceal his displeasure. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Jaes.
‘Yes. It must sound absurd. Honestly, I still feel the same way.’
Had it not been for the female Mage named Sharan, Jaes might very well have accepted Damian’s proposal.
It had been an appealing offer that could have benefited them both.
Unfortunately, the situation had changed since then.
‘As long as that woman Sharan is around, there is no longer much point in being careful not to attract attention. My priority now is to humor her as much as possible and learn the information she possesses. Only then can I properly prepare countermeasures for the unknown situations I may encounter in the future.’
Naturally, Jaes still hesitated because he could not understand Sharan’s behavior.
However, he had experienced many situations in graduate school where postponing an incomprehensible problem only allowed it to fester until it became impossible to manage.
This time, he intended to take advantage of the fact that he was completely the weaker party, whether in terms of power or knowledge, and confront the matter head-on.
‘Thinking back to the brief time I spent at the Mage Tower, Sharan was certainly strange, but she was still friendly toward me. Besides, she is a Mage of the Mage Tower, whom everyone speaks of so highly. Surely she did not say all that without thinking it through at all. ……At least, I desperately want to believe that.’
As Sharan herself had said, if she had harbored an ulterior motive to harm him like Miya or Grayker, she could have done so without going through such an elaborate process.
For that and several other reasons,
Jaes firmly made up his mind.
“Understood. That is truly an answer I never expected. I thought you possessed at least a little sense, yet you are kicking away an opportunity that fell into your lap.”
“This may sound like nothing more than an excuse, but I was sincerely considering Lord Damian’s proposal favorably. Unfortunately, something unavoidable happened that I cannot reveal.”
“I will relay your words to Lord Damian exactly as you said them. See that you do not regret this later.”
“I hope I do not, either.”
‘—Now then. Since I have decided to do this, I should do it properly.’
Jaes replied with a shrug, and Robert walked away, grumbling for some reason.
After briefly watching his retreating figure, Jaes immediately took action.
“U-Um. What were you talking about with Robert just now? Was it because of what happened yesterday?”
“Ah. No, it was not. Damian actually asked me to join his team and participate in Trelas with him.”
“W-What? ……Ah! So that is why you asked me about Trelas yesterday. Still, to think he is already considering participating in Trelas as a first-year. As expected of Lord Damian and House Duschfeldt. Even the way he thinks is completely different from us.”
Ian had been standing nearby and approached with a startled expression.
Jaes smiled brightly at him and immediately dropped a bombshell.
“So you rejected him just now? We are still first-years, so it is much too early for us to participate in something like that. Still, receiving such an offer from Lord Damian is incredible. You really are amazing, Jaes.”
“Yes. I rejected him. I decided to form my own team and participate separately.”
“Yes. ……Hmm? Wait. W-What?”
“To be honest, I do not really have any friends other than you, Ian. I want you to become the first member of my team. Trelas teams must have exactly three members, correct?”
—FROZE.
“W-W-W-W-What are you talking about?! Do you not remember what I told you yesterday?! At the very least, second-years participate in that tournament, and even then, they are all exceptionally talented honor students!”
“That is merely what usually happens. There is no rule preventing first-years from participating. I did not originally intend to enter either, but unavoidable circumstances arose. Since I have decided to participate, however, I intend to do my best.”
“J-Jaes, you do not understand! Most of the upperclassmen who participate are close to reaching the Third Tier! That is not a level mere first-years like us can handle!”
“Why does that matter? Even if we lose, it is not as though we will die. It will be a valuable experience.”
“B-But merely participating so recklessly as first-years will probably make everyone label us arrogant brats who know nothing about the world!”
“Then we can prove ourselves with our abilities. You said it yourself, Ian. Everyone pays attention to the tournament because people can cast aside their status and compete purely through skill. Results have always mattered more than words.”
“That is exactly why this is even more ridiculous! I-I cannot do it with my abilities!”
“It will be fine, Ian. You are better at defensive magic than I am, are you not? I came up with a fairly promising idea this time. Trust me.”
“……? Jaes, could it be…… that you can already use Second-Tier Magic like Bele, even though you are still a first-year?”
“Hmm? No. Unfortunately, that is not the case at all.”
“……??”
Jaes rarely revealed much, but Ian had spent more time at his side than most people had.
He had vaguely sensed that there was something slightly unusual about Jaes’s magical abilities.
Jaes seemed far more confident than expected, so Ian had asked with a faint hope that it might be true. The answer only left him even more confused.
Jaes, however, had already chosen Ian as his first teammate.
‘If Trelas truly requires us to protect our crystal orb while destroying the opposing team’s, then Ian will be an enormous help as long as he masters defensive magic. He genuinely possesses talent in that area. I only need to help him a little.’
It still required further verification, but when Jaes had desperately defended himself against Grayker’s magic, he had confirmed that he could apply the incantations he was developing to spells such as Shield and increase their effectiveness.
‘The time was approaching when I needed experimentation and practical experience rather than more theory anyway. Since things have already turned out this way, perhaps I should use this opportunity to test everything to my heart’s content.’
“Regardless, the greatest immediate problem is deciding who our remaining teammate should be. Ian, do you know anyone suitable?”
COUGH.
“Are you truly serious……?”
“I told you, I am. I know you are worried, but I will not allow you to suffer a loss because of this. Please listen to me just this once. You said that you felt sorry toward me, did you not? Then we can consider this enough to settle it.”
“Urgh…….”
“Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the other students. I had no plans whatsoever to do this before. I wonder whether we can find someone suitable within the remaining six days.”
“Ian, pure magic is your specialty rather than martial combat, correct……?”
“Hmm? Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“I am asking whether you specialize in close combat supported by magic or ranged combat centered upon magic itself.”
“By close combat, do you mean fighting with martial arts or weapons?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, I would naturally have to say the latter.”
“As expected. However, if you truly intend to take me into the Trelas tournament, it would be best to find someone who specializes in martial combat as our final member. A three-person Trelas team normally follows either a one-to-two or two-to-one ratio between martial fighters and mages.”
“Ah. I see. A party naturally needs both a vanguard and a rearguard.”
“Yes. Otherwise, the team’s balance suffers, and even a more skilled team can lose helplessly. That is why most teams are formed that way.”
“Right. No matter how skilled someone is with magic, they usually need a teammate who can buy them enough time to complete their incantations. Yes, I understand. Neither you nor I specialize in martial combat, so our final member should possess exceptional physical abilities, even if that person is somewhat less skilled with magic.”
“Exactly.”
‘So that is why Damian made his proposal with such confidence. Damian and Robert obviously specialize in martial combat, so they were searching for someone skilled with magic. Tch. The more I think about it, the more regrettable it feels. I have not personally witnessed their abilities yet, but if the rumors are accurate, there probably are not any first-years more skilled than those two in martial combat.’
Considering how confident Damian had been, he was clearly certain that he could defeat even upperclassmen in sword-based combat.
However, regrets were merely regrets. Neither Damian nor Robert could join Jaes’s team anyway, so Jaes quickly cast his lingering attachment aside.
“See? You are already helping. I will be counting on you from now on. Let us find someone capable for our final member and cause a proper upset now that we are participating.”
“……Haa. Jaes was never someone who enjoyed stepping forward like this…….”
“You have to change how you conduct yourself according to the circumstances. Let us demonstrate our abilities so thoroughly that the noble faction students—spoiled brats like Bele who do not know their place—will not dare say a word. We should ensure that they never even consider plotting something like yesterday’s incident again.”
“I think we will only humiliate ourselves without accomplishing anything…….”
“Oh, come on! I have my reasons for doing this, so trust me. I will definitely make you stronger than you are now as well.”
“……Mmm. All right. If you are going this far, Jaes…… I will trust you with this once.”
“Good. You made the right decision.”
MURMUR MURMUR.
“……Hmm?”
Just as Ian fidgeted with his glasses and accepted Jaes’s proposal, the classroom door opened and someone entered.
The classroom immediately filled with the murmuring voices of the students, and the noise grew steadily louder as the person walked farther inside.
“T-That person is……?!”
“What? Why is she here……?”
Ian and Jaes were naturally no exceptions once they recognized her.
“Now then, hello, children. My name is Sharan. Starting today, I will be teaching your Basic Magic class in place of Grayker, who had to leave the academy due to certain circumstances. I will also be taking charge of this class while I am here. I hope we will all get along♡”
“W-Whaaaaaat? L-Lady Sharan?!”
“Lady…… Sharan? What? Ian, you know that woman too?”
“Of course I do! She is Sharan the Enchantress, one of the Mage Tower’s foremost Mages! Along with Lord Raiden, she is one of Duke Ailin’s most famous disciples! S-Someone like her is going to be our instructor?!”
‘……What? She was famous enough for everyone to make this much of a fuss?’
Even amid the commotion, Sharan noticed Jaes looking at her and secretly winked at him.
A slight chill ran down Jaes’s spine, and he was forced to reconsider his perception of the Mage Tower and the people who belonged to it once again.
To Jaes, the Mage Tower had merely been the first workplace he had been dragged into after arriving in this world.
He had spent an entire week watching the chaotic manner in which it operated. Therefore, even though he knew it was an object of admiration, he had never imagined that its members were regarded with this much reverence.
In his original world, saying that he was a graduate student at Hanguk University had sometimes earned admiring looks.
However, not once had anyone ever regarded him as an object of envy or respect.
‘Envy, my foot. I was fortunate if people did not look at me with pity and ask when I was finally going to graduate. Then what are those sparkling eyes they are directing at Sharan?’
“S-She is incredible. Lady Sharan possesses such a mysterious yet intellectual air. She must normally conduct magic research at the Mage Tower with her colleagues—research that people like us could not even begin to imagine. But what could have brought someone like her here?”
‘Intellectual, my foot. Her daily routine at the Mage Tower consists of yawning incessantly, teasing everyone around her, and picking fights with them.’
However, Sharan was behaving like a normal person(?) here, unlike at the Mage Tower.
Jaes could only stare at her with his mouth hanging open.
Looking at Ian and the other classmates gazing at her with such idealized admiration, he repeatedly sighed in pity.
‘……Right. A fledgling who has only just entered university might misunderstand after witnessing the practiced demeanor of an experienced doctoral student teaching a class. When I think of it that way, it is not entirely incomprehensible. More importantly…… She is our instructor?’
Sharan continued glancing subtly in Jaes’s direction and smiling at him.
It seemed that the reason he suspected was indeed correct.
Jaes looked beside him at Ian, who still could not tear his gaze away from Sharan.
‘……Haa. Why do I have the feeling that things are about to become exhausting?’
He let out another deep sigh.