CHAPTER 20

"Hey, crazy! That failure of a noble actually took down Logan!"

"No way."

"I saw it with my own eyes! Maybe those guys were right—he's actually amazing at magic. And at the end, he even pulled off some perfect-level scumbag behavior."

"So he's not a failure noble, but a scumbag noble?"

Through the window bathed in moonlight, the excited voices of boys chattering about today's events could be heard.

Owen, who had been looking down at the scene from the window, quietly turned around.

"Are you finally coming to your senses?"

The infirmary in the main building. Logan, who had just sat up on the bed, clutched his bandaged forehead.

"Ugh…"

"Hearing that shitty voice of yours loud and clear, and seeing that vacant look still on your face—seems like your brain, which is worth less than monkey crap, is intact!"

"B-Big Senior Brother…!"

At the sight of Owen, Logan immediately straightened his posture and sat rigidly. The Chaihark School was famous for its strict discipline, surpassing even military standards.

"You goddamn idiot, Logan! Big Senior Brother? Here, you call me Professor. And where's your response protocol?!"

"Yes, from now on, I will address you as Professor!"

"At ease."

Only then did Logan relax his stiffened body and lower his gaze to his own hands. Clenching his fist weakly, his whole body trembled.

"I've disgraced our school's name… The Elders are going to beat me to death."

"Disgraced the school's name? What, are you acting like some unlucky genius now, Logan? Just because they call you a late-blooming prodigy, does the Chaihark School already feel like it belongs to you?"

"No, Professor!"

"The opponent was just too strong. Those damn old men might get their bald heads all red with rage, but… give it a few years, and they'll understand."

Owen turned back toward the window. The moonlight cast shadows over his well-built muscles, which flexed beneath his robes.

Muscles are the true power of a mage… Logan swallowed hard, feeling boundless respect for his mighty senior.

"What do you mean by that…?"

"Do you know about Scarge Ludwig?"

How could he not?

The greatest mage of the previous imperial generation. Though now old and retired from the front lines, he was still devoted to training the next generation.

"A guy from said that old bastard used Rain as his assistant for three whole years."

"...?!"

"Three years! A full three years! He may have little to no official schooling, but his skill must be undeniable. Even if he's not a genius, spending three years under that old fart would make him leagues beyond your average fledgling."

A surge of hostility flared within Logan again. This was why he despised noble bloodlines. Even without talent, they got opportunities like that just because of their lineage.

"And from what I can tell, Rain—that damn bastard—is an absolute genius among geniuses."

"I must have misheard you. That guy is a failure noble!"

"Use that pathetic excuse of a brain for once! Even after getting beaten like that today, you still don't get it? How is that a failure noble? In a few years, that guy will be a giant in the magic world. Don't think of him as an enemy—start getting close to him now."

"But he's from a noble family!"

"You'd rather die than get close to him? Damn it, I've been wasting my breath on a brick wall. Taking in a monkey as a disciple would've been better!"

Owen let out a deep sigh, then smacked Logan's head with an air of brotherly camaraderie before walking toward the door.

"If you don't want to befriend him, at least don't make him your enemy. That's advice from me as your senior brother, not as your professor. Got it?"

"...!"

"And make sure you uphold the conditions you set for the duel. See you next time, you idiot disciple."

Logan stared blankly at the door Owen had just left through. A moment later, he let out a sigh of relief.

'He was overwhelming…'

He was furious, sure—but he had no desire to challenge Rain again. If that guy had gone all out, the result would have been obvious.

"I'm not scared. I'm only backing off because Big Senior Brother earnestly asked me to. I'm not scared…"

Ever since I received Rin's journal, I had the nagging feeling that someone unknown might be watching me.

But I never thought it would be true…

The first real confirmation came after the magic duel when I returned to the library. The librarian was rummaging through the vast shelves.

"Young Lord, did you by any chance take the book with you?"

According to her, this is what happened:

After I told her I'd leave the book in her care, she finished up some other tasks and went to pick it up—but it had vanished.

"I didn't take it…"

"Is that so? How strange."

"Maybe someone else checked it out in the meantime?"

"Impossible. If someone tries to leave the library without checking out a book properly, the magic alarm goes off."

So the book just… disappeared? Because of her mistake? I couldn't say that outright.

Seeing the beads of sweat forming on the usually composed librarian's face… Instead, she gave me a polite bow.

"I apologize, Young Lord. This was my mistake. I promised to keep it safe… I'll let you know if I find it."

An odd part of the situation was that the books from Kies and Freede were still there—only Tureina's book had gone missing.

"You've been searching for a while now, right? How much does the book cost? If we just buy a new one, that'll be the end of it. I'll cover the cost."

Sixty years ago, when the dwarves developed printing, book prices became stable. Unlike in Rin's time, you no longer needed to spend a fortune on handwritten manuscripts.

"What do you mean? This was my fault, so I'll report it to the Chief Librarian and accept the disciplinary action."

The librarian blinked in surprise, then quickly shook her head.

"No, then there'd be a whole disciplinary hearing… That would take forever."

"Pardon?"

"And thick biographies like that usually aren't sold in regular bookstores… Ordering one from the publisher sounds like a hassle."

I could just have my family order it directly. It would be easier to leave this problem to the librarian and forget about it.

Why was I even doing this?

I suppose… it was a small repayment. For bringing me Tureina's book and reminding me of someone buried deep in my memory.

Yeah, it wasn't an act of kindness.

Just a trivial gesture of repayment.

"Just count it as a loss under my name and place an order for a new one. Send me the receipt, and I'll cover the cost."

"There's really no need! Truly!"

"Don't refuse. It's a trivial amount for me. If I take the blame, I don't even get disciplined. I just pay, and that's it."

After three rounds of back-and-forth, the librarian finally bowed deeply.

"…Thank you so much, Young Lord."

But life wouldn't be life if problems were solved this easily.

The real trouble—and the reason my school life was about to get complicated—came in the form of an ominous response three days later.

As soon as Rain returned to his dormitory, he collapsed onto his bed and pondered.

Should he think about this situation in a complex way? Or a simple one? He hated complications, but when he pieced everything together, it was all too strange.

'Rin's journal came to me, and just as I was investigating my comrades' pasts, Tureina's book disappeared…'

If someone was watching me because of the journal, could it be Tureina?

But that made no sense.

First, Tureina was dead.

Second, if they knew my identity, they wouldn't just observe from a distance—they'd make direct contact.

'Rista is dead, Kies is dead, Freede is dead… then who…? Ugh, my head hurts.'

Maybe it was the Void Dragon Haraderiman?

No point in thinking in circles. Instead, Rain sat at his desk.

The best cure for a headache? Studying.

There's nothing quite as entertaining as solving math problems. Time to relieve stress with some Previsian calculus.

As he opened Rin's journal, something unexpectedly pleasant happened.

Socrafres.

You can inherit progress on your "Unique Magic" research from your environment.

Progress: 37.9%.

"…37.9%?"

That's weird.

Wasn't it 37.1% before? What had changed…?

"All I did today was beat someone up with magic."

Wait… Could it be? Does beating people up increase my research progress?

This was a fascinating discovery. Could violence really be the path to truth?

'No way…'

Still, it might be worth testing.