It wasn't a negotiation that could be called a good one.
It was a one-sided negotiation where only one side suffered a loss.
It didn't fit the reputation of the Golden Heart Guild, which was said to never tolerate a loss and to chase the scent of money wherever it led until it eventually raked in the profits.
Considering the size of the guild, the expense itself was insignificant......
But for Son Euna, who had political enemies on all sides, even something this small was a weakness she couldn't afford to show.
Above all, the current Guild Master and her father, Chairman Son Jeongwon, had officially declared that he would choose his successor solely based on ability and wouldn't simply hand the position to someone because of blood ties.
That made this matter an even better target for Son Euna's political enemies to sink their teeth into.
And eventually, word of it reached the most troublesome person of all.
“You've done something unnecessary.”
Son Euna's father and the owner of the Golden Heart Guild.
Godfather Son Jeongwon spoke as he stroked a white Siamese cat, not even glancing in her direction.
Apparently pleased, the Siamese cat went, “Meooow~,” nestled comfortably in Chairman Son Jeongwon's arms, and closed its eyes.
Son Euna looked at the Siamese cat, swallowed once, and argued back.
“It wasn't a loss, Chairman. It was an investment.”
“Investors all say the same thing. ‘I invested to make a profit, but this time I was unlucky and suffered a loss.’”
Son Jeongwon's cold gaze left the cat.
Then it swept over Son Euna.
There was no focus in those dark eyes.
“So you made an investment too. Just like the others.”
“......”
Her breathing felt constricted, as though she had been trapped inside an enclosed space.
A pressure like someone squeezing her throat tightened around her entire body, but Son Euna didn't yield.
If I stay quiet here, the king will be disappointed, and the hyenas won't stop at prowling around me. They'll tear into me even more mercilessly.
“The amount is less than a hair to us. I considered it an extremely cheap price for the opportunity to make contact with mages who may one day dominate the world.”
“Puhahaha. Ah, excuse me.”
One of the competitors fighting for the single throne.
Son Eunwoo, the eldest son of the Son family, burst into hearty laughter before quickly apologizing.
Son Jeongwon didn't even glance in his direction and continued staring only at Son Euna.
What felt like an eternity passed.
Then Chairman Son smiled with satisfaction.
She had passed.
“My daughter...... seems quite confident.”
“Yes, Chairman. I am confident.”
“Then work hard. It's good to see you looking so confident.”
“Thank you.”
She swallowed a sigh of relief.
The hyenas wouldn't say another word about this investment now.
Now that the king had permitted it, they knew perfectly well that trying to tear into her over it would only bring the backlash down on themselves.
***
Time passed, and the promised Friday when the Joint Practical Training was scheduled finally arrived.
On the way to the Academy, Sia and Yeowoo questioned me as usual about how they could engrave their Circles.
Quite some time had passed, but neither Yeowoo nor Sia had managed to engrave a Circle yet.
They must've been getting impatient too, because they kept pestering me.
After all, the most important practical training of the first semester was happening today.
Well, I don't think suddenly reaching the First Circle right now would dramatically change their grades anyway......
“Hyunwoo. I can make the Mana Orbit work properly now, but once it starts going around, it takes a while before I can stop it on my own. How can I shorten that time?”
“Hmm...... It just worked when I did it. Is it not working for you?”
“I'm asking because it's not working, aren't I?”
Sia snapped sharply, apparently getting a little irritated.
I chuckled and put on a stupid expression.
In truth, the answer to Sia's problem was simple.
Effort.
Of course, she didn't merely need effort.
She needed effooooort.
In my previous world, anyone who dreamed of becoming a mage learned Mana Orbit from the very beginning, so it was never a problem.
But here on Earth, the very concept of Mana Orbit didn't exist.
Therefore, no matter how talented someone was, there was bound to be some growing pain when trying to accept something completely new......
That was my conclusion.
Today's class wasn't held in a classroom.
The Academy's pride and joy.
Its state-of-the-art training facility.
We gathered in front of it and exchanged brief introductions with the teammates who had been assigned in advance.
Quite some time had passed since we'd enrolled, but there were around a hundred students in a single class, so there were still plenty of faces I hadn't even learned yet.
“Hi. I'm Jeon Nayeon. I spent an extra year retaking the entrance exam, so I'm fourteen. My main role is support and cover. Nice to meet you.”
“I'm Yeon Hyebin, and I'm thirteen. My specialty is infiltration and support. Nice to meet you.”
Next came a foreigner with blond hair and blue eyes.
He introduced himself with an awkward smile in clumsy Korean.
“H-Hellooo. My name is Morgan Ruben. My main position is offense. Nice to meet youuu. Ah! I'm fourteen in Korean age.”
“...Ahaha. Nice to meet you, Ruben. Or should I call you Morgan?”
“You can call me whatever! It's okaaay!”
Then everyone's eyes turned toward me.
The final member of the team.
I politely lowered my head and introduced myself.
“Hello. I'm Lee Hyunwoo, and I'm eight years old this year. My position is...... mage.”
“Ah A mage? You certainly look like one with those clothes, but......”
Jeon Nayeon gave an awkward smile.
She looked me over with an unconvinced gaze.
I probably looked far too young for her to trust me with her back in a team.
“Huh? Wait. Hyunwoo, are you that mage who was on the news?”
Yeon Hyebin's words instantly changed the atmosphere.
Jeon Nayeon also went, “Ahhh~,” and stared at me in surprise.
“You were on the news, and I heard the professor who made fun of you was so shocked that he took a vacation. He still hasn't come back, right?”
“It wasn't because of me. Apparently, he already had vacation plans......”
“Ahhh! So you're the kid who reached the First Circle! Nice to meet you! Our team seriously hit the jackpot.”
“Oh. Serious?”
Morgan Ruben read the mood and gave an American-style reaction.
He raised both hands and widened his eyes in a stereotypical Hollywood reaction.
I thought people only did that in movies.
So they actually do it in real life.
“But that means our team doesn't have a tank, does it? I'm an archer, and Hyebin's main weapon is a dagger, right? Morgan uses a sword, and there's no way we're making our little mage carry a shield...... What a blessing.”
As Jeon Nayeon said that, she began badmouthing our homeroom teacher.
“He acted like he was going to balance everything perfectly, but forget balanced positions—this team is ridiculously skewed toward damage dealers!”
The rest of us, including me, could only smile awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Morgan Ruben apparently hadn't understood because Jeon Nayeon had spoken too quickly.
He saw our awkward smiles, read the mood, and grinned as he raised both thumbs.
“Oh. Perfect team. Perfect team. Good.”
“Haha...... Yeah. Really perfect.”
Jeon Nayeon gave a bitter smile as she stared at Morgan Ruben's double thumbs-up.
***
The practical training began.
The state-of-the-art training center, where modern science and magic had been combined, lived up to its reputation as the pinnacle of Magic Engineering.
Its realism was so extraordinary that anyone could've believed it was the real world.
This place was a jungle covered in dense forest.
Just like a real jungle, it was humid and hot, and countless unidentified flying insects constantly rushed toward any opening they could find to suck the blood of living creatures.
“Ugh! Seriously, why are there so many bugs?!”
Jeon Nayeon waved her hands furiously at the swarm of flying insects obstructing her vision.
The other team members seemed equally irritated, swatting at the insects clinging to their bodies or shaking themselves around.
But we were still a long way from our objective.
Our goal was to find the Goblin Shaman hidden somewhere in the jungle, subdue it, and take the shaman's necklace.
That was our objective.
And to find the shaman, we had to locate footprints, clues, and various other traces it had left behind, then follow them.
So that was exactly what we were doing......
“Augh! I hate this! I'd rather a monster come out! Why does it have to be bugs?!”
Less than thirty minutes after we'd begun the practical training with faces full of anticipation, the team's morale had already fallen apart.
They probably hadn't imagined the training would torment them like this.
Meanwhile, I followed quietly from the very back without a single complaint, diligently trailing behind my teammates.
Of course, I hated bugs so much that even the sight of them made my skin crawl.
If I happened to see something like a cockroach, I might burn it to death on the spot.
But I was free from these swarming insects.
Why?
Because I'm a mage.
And not just any mage.
I'm a former Ninth Circle mage.
Problems of this level—and figuring out how to overcome them—were things I'd transcended decades ago.
“Shit! Fucking bugs!”
The stress of the swarming insects was enough to make even the foreigner who had been trying his hardest to speak Korean revert to his native language.
Even so, I said nothing and silently followed my teammates.
I might've been sweating, but not a single insect crawled over my body.
More precisely, they couldn't cling to me even if they wanted to.
A barrier currently covered my entire body, rejecting all contact.
Keeping it active while moving around was fairly taxing with my current mana reserves, but fortunately, the mana concentration inside this jungle was richer than just about anywhere else on Earth.
An expenditure like this was more than worth it if it spared me the stress of being attacked by swarms of insects.
However, I didn't have enough mana to cover all my teammates with barriers too, so I kept my mouth firmly shut and maintained my secret.
Meanwhile, my teammates grew even more desperate, picking up the pace in an attempt to escape this jungle as quickly as possible....
I didn't complain and simply matched their speed.
If there was one thing bothering me in this situation, it was the unusually intense heat.
The sweltering temperature and sticky air on top of it.
If the bugs had been clinging to me too, it would've been a hellish collaboration, but thankfully, I'd taken care of that part.
I silently followed my teammates while resisting the urge to rip off my robe and throw it away.