Then, Alabaster cleared his throat and began to speak.
“Since I’ve told them I’m going to greet the academy headmaster today, I should be able to meet in the afternoon… I’d appreciate it if you didn’t push too hard, but could you ask?”
Alabaster responded to Aoi’s words with such a simple reply. It made one wonder if she was being blackmailed somehow. Alabaster’s response was surprisingly meek.
“The afternoon, is it? Well, we have time until then, so shall we observe some other lectures?”
Hearing this, all I could do was nod silently.
After that, Aoi and the others observed lectures on water, wind, and earth magic.
Originally, I had no intention of revealing all of our country’s magical standards, so I was planning to show only beginner-level lectures. However, since we had already shown high-level magic in healing, there was no point in trying to hide anymore.
Honestly, I took them to lectures attended by the top students currently at the academy.
As a result, we were once again confronted with the abnormality of the magician named Aoi.
In water magic, she bisected mithril armor as if cutting through leaves. She used words like water flow and compression to explain, but I was so focused on trying to understand what happened before my eyes that I don’t remember the details.
In wind magic, she made a student float in the air. I felt fear watching Aoi freely fly the student around above the academy.
In earth magic, she created a three-story tower inside the academy. She seemed unsatisfied, complaining about the lack of detail, but that tower looked sturdier than the holy city’s walls.
I heard that Aoi teaches a course called Introduction to Magic at Fidic Academy.
And apparently, Strauss teaches wind magic, while Eliza teaches earth magic. If Aoi, who doesn’t specialize in any particular magic, can demonstrate this level of skill, how powerful must Strauss and Eliza be in their specialized fields? And how much has Shenley, who is studying at Fidic Academy, grown? Knowing this, I’m afraid we’ll be clearly shown the difference between our academies.
At this point, I realized I needed to significantly revise my evaluation of Fidic Academy.
[SIDE: Aoi]
The first thing that caught my eye was her beautiful reddish-brown hair, close to copper in color.
A woman with long, flowing hair sat in a chair at the far end of the spacious room, watching us. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties. Her eyes were strong, giving the impression of a confident adult woman. She wore the same white outfit as the others, but with a small red cape draped over it.
Since Cameron’s cape was navy blue, they probably had different meanings based on rank or position.
The woman looked at each of our faces in turn, then stood up with a faint smile.
“I’m Balbrea-Clynelish. I’m the headmaster of the Holy City Magic Academy.”
Majestic. That was the word that best suited Balbrea.
Cameron stood slightly in front of us, gesturing towards us as he spoke.
“headmaster, this is Aoi, a senior instructor from Fidic Academy. Those are Strauss and Eliza, regular instructors at Fidic Academy.”
“Oh? Weren’t there students coming as well?”
“Given the nature of their business, the students are waiting in the rest area this time.”
As Cameron answered, Balbrea nodded, placing a finger on her chin.
“I see. I was only told you were coming to tour the academy, but what is this business?”
Balbrea turned her gaze to us with a face that suggested she’d found something interesting. Meeting her gaze directly, I voiced our request.
“We’d like to request your guidance on the magical knowledge, techniques, and understanding of the human body available at this magic academy.”
Upon hearing this, Balbrea blinked, then burst into laughter.
“Ha, hahaha…! I see, that’s why Cameron was troubled. You’re the same type as Crown Windsor, aren’t you? Obsessed with magical research and new discoveries, regardless of country or affiliation?”
Balbrea said this while peering into my eyes.
“That’s not exactly the case.”
For now, I indicated that I wasn’t quite like Crown. After all, he holds the important position of court magician, so he should have more constraints than me.
However, Balbrea ignored my words and turned her gaze to Strauss and Eliza.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“Are you two also willing to risk your lives for magical research?”
Balbrea asked, looking at the two with challenging eyes. They both shook their heads slightly.
The use of such a heavy word as “life” made me wonder if this meant they could be killed for learning about the state secret of healing magic.
If so, it probably wasn’t worth risking their lives for the two of them.
As I was thinking this, Strauss opened his mouth with a troubled expression.
“Normally… if any other instructor had done the same thing, I would have stopped them, even if it meant using force. However, the problem this time is that the one who wants to see the research results of another country’s magic is this magician, Aoi Kōnominato. If Aoi were to research healing magic, even if there was a serious incident of confidentiality breach, it would likely bring great benefits to the Maple Leaf Holy Empire.”
Strauss suddenly showed an eloquence completely different from his usual self. Balbrea narrowed her eyes with interest at his passionate and serious tone.
“…I suppose it’s the same for magic academies in any country, but our academy is always compared to Fidic Academy. And perhaps because of its diversity, most people tend to believe that Fidic Academy is superior.”
Suddenly saying such things, Balbrea took a step or two closer to us.
Not only Strauss and Eliza but also Cameron tensed up involuntarily. After glancing at them, Balbrea looked straight at me.
“It’s frustrating, isn’t it? As far as we’re concerned, we believe we’re doing equivalent research. If I had to point out a difference, it would only be whether it’s operated cooperatively by major countries or by a single country.”
Balbrea said this after coming right in front of me. She was taller than I thought, making me look up at her.
“I see.”
For now, I gave a response. I understood her spirit well, so there was no need to deny it.
As I was looking back at her thinking this, Balbrea raised one corner of her mouth and snorted.
“Interesting. You’re probably capable of magic equal to or greater than our Foar Pernod Roses, given that you’re a senior instructor at Fidic Academy, but does that give you excessive confidence?”
After asking this as if measuring me up, Balbrea raised her arm for me to see. The skin above her elbow was exposed, and my eyes naturally turned to its surface.
There, although basic, ancient magic was engraved as a magic circle.
“…Is this a tattoo? Directly on the skin?”
I asked, thinking it was a waste. But Balbrea’s face immediately turned annoyed.
“What? I thought you might be close to the depths of magic since you made such an outrageous request, but… if this looks like a mere tattoo to you, then it’s out of the question. There’s no point in discussing further.”
Sighing deeply and lowering her arm, Balbrea turned her back to us as if she had lost interest.
I tilted my head at her attitude and words.
“I’m not sure what displeased you, but were you looking for an opinion on that magic circle? To be honest, I thought that procedures on the skin that are difficult to change later are not very recommendable…”
As I said this, Balbrea, who was about to return to her desk, stopped in her tracks.
“…Oh?”
She muttered in a low voice and turned back.
“So you realized that what’s engraved on this arm is a magic circle?”
Balbrea, who seemed a bit pleased, gave off a scent somewhat similar to Owen’s.
“Well, what else could it be? By the way, Eliza is also researching magic circles, so I’m sure she recognized it at a glance.”
“Eh!? Ah, y-yes! I kind of understood!”
Surprised at being suddenly addressed, Eliza hurriedly replied. Not only Balbrea but also Alabaster and Cameron turned their gazes towards her.
“I see. Considering the diversity at Fidic Academy, I suppose your research on magic circles is also wide-ranging. No, this is becoming an interesting conversation. In that case, I’ll prepare a place where we can have a more detailed discussion later. We’ll conduct formal negotiations there.”
“Thank you very much.”
I expressed my gratitude since she said she would make various preparations. Then, Balbrea turned her eyes towards Alabaster.
“Lord Alabaster. Thank you for bringing such interesting guests. Please join us when we talk later as well.”
“Hmm, understood.”
Satisfied with Alabaster’s response, she then turned to Cameron.
“Cameron. You heard the conversation, right? Use the west side rooftop as the venue. Please make the preparations.”
“The west side, ma’am?”
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