Istor Academy of Magic.

　It is an institution for training mages, where young people from relatively wealthy families gather.
　It has a long history of three hundred years since its founding, and is regarded as a prestigious institution, boasting a track record of producing many famous mages, and is the most famous academic institution in the Solstice Magic Kingdom.

　It is no exaggeration to say that it is a school city, as there are many magic research institutes lined up in its vast grounds, and even a city that supports the lives of its students.
　Many of the people wished to study here, and that wish was enough to know that it was a place that only a few people could open, and it was supposed to be a narrow gate where education was dependent on.
　Currently, the academy is influenced by many factions, and in effect, each area is fighting for power.

　If it was a clash of opinions between students, it would be fine, but in fact, it is almost like a proxy war between magical nobles.
　The aristocrats who have become OBs are only concerned with raising their own authority by manipulating their own children to form factions, and furthermore, undermining and ostracizing those who don't agree with them.
　The majority of them are mages who have inherited magic or bloodline magic, and most of them are from noble families.
　Some of them are ex-aristocrats who are trying to restore their families.

　Inherited magic is magic that is passed down through the family regardless of its power, and even if the magic is useless in battle, the mage is favored simply for possessing it. Some of these spells randomly cause strange effects that you don't know how to use, so they were meant to be research materials for the mage family.
　Well, there are some families that have changed their magic in strange ways because of their research. .......

　Bloodline magic is, as the name implies, a magic that is passed down from one family to the next, a special magic that is inherited from one's parents at birth.
　There are many spells that produce special effects with various meanings that are often uncontrollable by those who inherit them.
　It is possible to unknowingly affect the mind or suddenly activate magic without chanting, but there are many spells that are dangerous in various ways.
　In particular, there are special spells such as [fascination], [visual ignition], and [prediction of the future], but you can't control your power and the power itself is not that great.

　For example, visible ignition can only create a small amount of fire, but it can't be used in battle.
　Moreover, it was a hindrance in life and often caused small fires.
　It is not possible to burn down an enemy with a single glance.
　When it came to predicting the future, the answer was either "yes" or "no.
　Many of these spells were so peculiar that it was hard to trust whether they would be useful or not.

　In a corner of the academy where many such mages gather, there is a dormitory for mage students determined by academic rank.
　The building itself is in the early gothic style, and as soon as you enter the main entrance, you will see a cross-rib vaulted floor with a ceiling that looks like two crossed kamaboko, passageways leading to the rooms where the students live on the left and right, and a symmetrical staircase in front.
　The style of the building is not very ornate, and at worst, it is a simple building, but for Celestina, the structure is similar to the atmosphere of a villa, which makes her feel at home.

　There are small spires on either side of the building, which are mainly used as punishment cells, but they have not been used much.
　Since it is an old building, students from merchant families and ordinary people have lived here.

　Those who saw her would give her a look of blatant disgust.
　For them, the impression of Celestina, who was born into a ducal family, was that she was capable but talentless, an incompetent who was here only because of her power, and a favoritist.
　Celestina's presence must seem annoying to those who paid a lot of money for school and worked hard to acquire academic skills.
　She herself understands this, and used to hide herself in the library of the school.
　She felt sorry for them, but at the same time, she was desperate to learn how to use magic.
　The results were not good, but that was until now.

　Now Celestina is able to cast spells, and she can cast a single spell without chanting.
　Chanting doesn't require you to say anything out loud, so you don't have to use the magic out loud.
　The key lies in how well you can visualize the spell and overlap it with the magic formula.

　The formula is the foundation for the smooth operation of the magic itself, and the chanting is the trigger for using the magic, but the chanting is secondary to the image of the magic form, and if you understand the magic well enough, the chanting is not necessary.
　For example, when shooting a gun, you can say to your adversary, "I've filled the magazine, released the safety, and pulled the hammer. I'm going to shoot now! You know how to use the gun.
　If you know how to use a gun, there is no need to tell him the process of pulling the trigger.
　The chanting of magic is similar.

　But many students don't know what she is now.
　They still thought Celestina was incompetent as ever.

"Don't worry about it, young lady. They don't know who you are now.
"I know, but how could I have been in a place like this two months ago? Frankly, it makes me uncomfortable.
Now that you're more comfortable, you can see what's going on around you. This is just the beginning, isn't it?
I know, Miska. ....... I'm going to graduate from this academy as a mage worthy of your name!

　It's a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your money.
　On Celestina's right arm shines a magical bracelet made by her teacher, Xellos.

　Her new day is about to begin.


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　It's not as if the current situation is going to change much.
　The current situation of two months ago is repeated, and contemptuous and sarcastic glances are always attached to me.
　To be honest, she felt like running away, but Celestina managed to control herself and attended the lecture.

　The instructors at the academy also turned a blind eye to her, and never said anything unnecessary.
　If she were to ask a question about a class project, she would be confronted with a theory from a different perspective and would have trouble answering.
　Celestina is the enemy of the instructors, and while I like her attitude of trying to learn what she doesn't know, it's a bad thing because she asks questions about things she doesn't understand.

　They could not use magic, but they were good at it, so they were troublesome opponents for the lecturer's team.
　Therefore, the actions they took were to ignore them, which is problematic for a teacher who is supposed to teach others.
　However, from their point of view, Celestina's talent was terrifying.

　They thought that if she could use magic, she would be an excellent mage, but it was a problem that she was better than them, and more importantly, it hurt their pride that she couldn't use magic.
They don't want to admit that they are inferior to the Incompetents.
　Each of them belong to a faction with the purpose of attracting talented people, but if they are talented but can't use magic and have more knowledge than they do, then everything they've done seems pointless.
　In today's academy, belonging to a faction is a kind of status, so we have to deal with the girl who doesn't belong to any faction, but scours the knowledge alone and asks questions that she has learned, with bitterness.

　Celestina was writing down the contents of the lecture on a piece of paper.
　There is no such convenient tool as a notebook in this world.
　You have to buy your own paper, and if you can't afford it, you have to memorize it.
　This is why they take the lectures so seriously.

(I have checked the contents of this lecture in the library before. The teacher said that preparation is important, but isn't it a mistake to consider one of the magic letters as a meaningful word?
　It is true that magic letters are used to form command letters that transform in response to magic power, and that a magic formula is formed by stringing them together. But can we really afford to spread the false perception of magic letters any further?
　(......) What should I do in the current situation where factional conflicts are intense?

　There's nothing for her to learn at the academy now.


　Knowing what he knew about the nature of magic letters and formulas, it would be futile to lecture him at this point.
　However, I felt that it would not be good to spread false teachings.

　For the sake of future mages, she felt that she had to put a stop to the false teachings here.
　And then she did it.

"Instructor Samas, may I ask you a question?

　Samas, the lecturer, inwardly exclaimed, "Here it is: -----! Samas shouted.
　He did not want this to happen.

"What is it, Celestina? Is there something wrong with the lecture?
"No, I've always thought that there are fifty-six magic letters and ten magic letters, is that correct?
　Each of them has its own meaning, and they are intricately combined to form a magic formula. This is what is generally believed in current magical theory. I'm sure this is true.

What's wrong with that?
What's wrong with that? - It's a simple question, but aren't these magic letters used to form words with their own meaning as letters?
　If one of the letters doesn't have meaning, but a series of letters form a command letter that transforms magic power by making it into a meaningful word, then what is the point of what we are learning now?

　It was a shocking statement.
　The current deciphering of magical formulae is more of a stagnation than an extremely difficult task. 　
　Many mages have recognized that a magic formula is a series of magic letters, like a puzzle that is activated by a chain of magic letters in the exercise of magic.
　However, when it is itself a series of words, the meaning changes.

　The conditions for the activation of magic are expressed as words using letters to form a formula, which is then materialized in accordance with the physical laws of magic to produce various effects.
　If you're not sure what you're looking for, you can always ask your doctor.

　If Celestina's theory was legitimate, then everything they had learned would lose its meaning.
　The magic we have today was created by improving the magic of the lost era, but if we are not careful, there is a possibility that we may have turned magic that is easy to use into magic that is difficult to use.

　In fact, Celestina can engrave magic formulas, but she can't activate them.
　Even if this theory is correct, it would be impossible to accept it.
　Many mages have struggled to decipher magic letters, and there have been many successful and unsuccessful attempts to create magic until now.
　Considering this history of hardship, Celestina's theory was difficult to accept.
　They were all self-important and hard-headed people, and it would be more accurate to say that they could not accept her flexible ideas.

"Well, how did you come up with that idea? I'm really curious.
"As you know, I couldn't use magic. That's why I tried to find the cause of the problem by learning more about it, but I came to the conclusion that what if the magic of today is inferior to that of the past?
I see. ...... It's not impossible.
It's not impossible.　
　If, during the course of research, the magic of the old era was mistakenly transformed, creating individual differences in the activation itself, then the current magic research is moving in the wrong direction.

　If it was said that the magic of the old days was already perfected and that research had destroyed it, it was not impossible.
　As Celestina said, there are only a limited number of mages in the world today.
　According to the literature, all of the people can use magic to some extent, and many of their livelihoods are based on magic.
　It's hard to argue with her because she's right on target, but at the same time, I notice something about her words that bothers me.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.　Why the past tense?
"I can use magic now. In the last two months, I've been practicing and I'm able to use magic.
What?　That's impossible. If that's true, then how did you learn to use magic in such a short period of time?
I've been training every day in actual combat, and in between I've been training in the use of magic. I've also experienced real combat.

　Shocking statement number two.
　If Celestina has experienced combat, her level will naturally increase.
　If you believe what she says, then you can be sure that she will be able to use her magic more efficiently.
　If you believe her, it means that she has been fighting to the level where she can use magic.
　This is not something a student would do during the summer vacation.

"You've been working very hard. It's dangerous to level up too quickly as it can affect your body.
But I didn't have time for that when I was on the verge of life and death. I lost my food to demons, and I had to hunt for four days to stay alive, with demons attacking me every few hours.
How could I have survived in such conditions?
I'm here because I survived. ....... I'm here because I survived, and my brother and the rest of the Order were with me, so you can check with them, okay?

　It reminds me of my survival life in the Great Deep Green Zone of Far Flan.
　I was forced to be on alert at all times, including the knights, and I went into the forest where demons roamed to hunt to quench my hunger, and I survived a situation where my personality was slightly altered.
　In a matter of days, her polite knights turned into wild warriors, her respected mentor Xellos destroyed demons without mercy, and her brother discovered the joy of alchemy and went into a frenzy.
　Celestina herself is enjoying the increase in level and is waiting for the demons to come.

The battle broke ...... people's hearts.
Why do you have such a vacant look in your eyes?
No mage today can survive that forest. ....... That place is hell. It's too harsh. ......
You've been to the Great Deep Green of Farflung?
The demons in the depths of that forest are fierce and much stronger. I'm afraid I'm going to die now.

　It was unimaginable.
　The Great Dark Green Zone of Fafhran is a magical place where the strength of the demons becomes stronger the deeper you go.
　Even in the forest at the edge, the strength of the demons is incomparably different from this area.
　It would be hell to keep fighting in such a situation.

　In addition, only the Order of the Knights could conduct such actual training, and it was impossible for the various factions to accompany them into battle.
　The Knights were notorious for not getting along with each other, and to accompany a political rival organization was insane.
　The only mages who could do that would be the new faction, the 【Solitaire Faction】.

　A cold sweat ran down Samas' back.
　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm going to be able to do it.


　The Weasler faction, which is a warrior faction, will lose its meaning of existence, and at the same time, the Solstaires will have a strong connection with the Order.
　If this happens, it will be impossible for the mages to seize military power.

"Do the Solistareans have mages with a lot of combat experience?
I don't know about that, but I have no intention of joining any other faction. I don't know about that, but I don't want to join the other factions, at least not to the extent that the other factions have been able to handle my situation.
"So, you've been under someone's tutelage?　What faction are you from, ......?
I don't know. I know your grandfather. I don't even have the authority to disclose that.

　There was no mage in any of the factions that could teach Celestina.
　But if she was actually able to use magic, then there was a mage who taught her.

　This led to rumors that a powerful mage was behind the Solstice faction.
　If he is an acquaintance of the famous [Purgatory Mage], he can be presumed to be a powerful mage of equal ability.
　This caused a tremor within the Weasler faction, but that was still some time away.

　And this bombshell will have a big impact on the people around her.
　It was the students who had underestimated her as incompetent.

"Seriously, ......, what happens when an incompetent can use magic?
"Hey, we've been making fun of her, haven't we?
"She's a duchess, right?　We're in trouble, aren't we?
I don't know. I've laughed at her incompetence in front of her before.

　The people who had mocked her for her lack of talent despite being born into a ducal family all paled at the same time.
　I've never mocked her to her face, but I do remember hurling insults at her in an audible manner.
　Normally, this would have been unacceptable, but the school had an ostensibly power-free policy.
　They claimed that they would open their doors to all students and give many the opportunity to learn.
　In effect, the school was an evil cave where power and factions ran rampant.

　In such a situation, it did not take long for the daughter of a duke, who had no talent for magic, to become a pillar of humanity.
　They were taking out their daily frustrations on Celestina.
　What would happen to them if that became impossible?

But they were bluffing anyway. If you can improve your skills in two months, you'll have no trouble.
Yeah, right. It won't be a big deal.
I know. No, it's not. ......

　Some of them deny the current situation.
　They were the ones who made fun of Celestina for being at the bottom of her class and not being able to use magic.
　She herself remembered their faces, but now they had become irrelevant.

　The bell rang for the end of the lecture, just as the place was getting rowdy.

"That's all for today's lecture. Celestina, your questionable theories are very interesting. I'm going to examine it in my own way.
"I see. Let me know what you find out and I'll look forward to it, Professor Samas.

　At this point, Samas wondered if she knew the outcome.
　It was impossible for her to have acquired magic in such a short period of time, and there were certainly people who were not good at magic, even at higher levels.
　If you don't think that you have succeeded in improving your abilities by learning something that you don't know, you will be denying what you have been doing.
　As a magic teacher, he has a certain pride that he cannot compromise.

　Although he couldn't determine the truth, Samas was filled with an anxiety he had never felt before.
　It was as if the common sense of magic that they had been taught and taken for granted was quietly crumbling.

　In the end, Samas did not prove Celestina's hypothesis.

　The method of using magic letters as words would mean throwing away all the research results currently available.
　At the same time, when it came to language deciphering, we would have to start from scratch, just as we did in the early days of the Institute.
　Because of the stable salary, he was not willing to verify such troublesome things.

　He had no way of knowing yet what it would eventually produce.


　　The Academy is not all about magic.


　The academy doesn't only teach magic.
　There is a wide range of genres, from national history and literature to mathematics and pharmacy.
　These lectures are taken by the students of their own free will, and students will never go to a class they are not interested in.
　The environment is similar to that of a university lecture, but the disadvantage is that if you miss one class period, you will lose track of the rest.

　Celestina's courses were mainly in magic and physics, but from this new semester, she also took Alchemy, and spent many days in the library writing down the content and preparing for it.
　During this time, there was no one to talk to, and he could feel everyone giving him a distant look of interest and fear.

　The former was curious to see what kind of magic Celestina, who had been called incompetent, would be able to use, and the latter was afraid that if she could use magic, she would be accused of the act she had mocked so far, and a few were looking at her as if they were looking at a traitor.
　A small portion of them were the bottom-performing students, commonly known as "dropouts.
　From her point of view, she had no reason to be treated as a traitor, but from their point of view, Celestina's inability to use magic was a consolation for their inadequacies.

In their twisted minds, they used her as their last bulwark, saying, "I'm better because I can use magic," or "I'm smarter but not as talented, so I'm better.
　If they hadn't done so, they would have been despised, and there was no way they could have been decent in this academy where factions fought fiercely for power.
　There is no such thing as betrayal when you despise someone.

　In the midst of all this, the lecture that some of us have been waiting for and some of us didn't want to come is finally coming.
　It was a spell casting exercise.
　The students of the academy gather in the training hall and practice unleashing magic.

　The lecture is a boring one where we shoot spells for almost an hour.
　It is a training to measure how much magic power the students have consumed in the use of magic, but in the actual battle, if the magic power is depleted, they will be left behind on the battlefield.
　Even if you have some magic left, it's meaningless if you can't use it to fight. This training had a good reason, but it was not designed for actual combat.


　The class is supposed to be about how to use magic well, but in fact it is a place for students to relieve stress. 　
　The magic they use is the initial magic "Fireball" and its power is determined by the total amount of magic power of the individual.

　Now that the old concept of using the magic of the natural world has been lost, the magic they use must be done entirely with their own magic.
　As the number of times their magic power is depleted increases, one would think that some of them would learn skills such as [magic power control] or [magic power consumption reduction], but in reality, they just shoot magic and never learn those skills.
　In fact, they don't learn these skills just by shooting magic. At most, they will only slightly increase their magic power, and more importantly, since they are not trained to consciously control magic, they will never learn these skills.

　There are some who can learn the skill of [increasing magic power], but Celestina has already learned it.
　The training of the stinky looking old mage was such a tough, rewarding and fun time.

"Huh~......

　Celestina could only sigh.

"You seem unmotivated, young lady. ......
I'd rather deal with a golem. The training is both physical and mental, and I've found that I'm growing in a number of ways.
You think it's too easy, too uninteresting?
It's training, so it's serious, but when there's no danger of death, it's like playing.

　While feeling relieved at the change in his master, Mischa let out a sigh as well.
　It was as if there was nothing to be learned from this academy in earnest.

But there is a huge amount of material in this institute and we need to gather as much information as we can.
"The physical laws of this world?　This is one of the subjects that Lord Xelloss mentioned.
Yes, it is important to understand the meaning of phenomena in order to construct magic. You can read them in the formulas, but they are still vague, and if you compare them to the laws, you will know the reason why the magic works.

　She can decipher some formulas, but not enough to create new magic.
　Seeking knowledge was her top priority right now, and she wanted to refrain from playing around with this lecture in name only.
　In that sense, the time when she couldn't use magic had been a very meaningful time.

　He let out a sigh for the first time today.

"Oh?　You're Celestina, aren't you? I didn't know you were still at the academy.

　There was another person who gave me a headache.
　The one who approached her was a blonde girl with a vertical roll, her name was Carostee de Saint Germain.
　She was the daughter of the Marquis de Saint-Germain, the head of the Saint-Germain faction, which was the head of the magic research faction.
　She was also one of the few people who would call out to Celestina at any time.

It's been a long time since I've seen you, Carosti.
"Yes, it's been a while. But it's unusual for you to be taking this class.
"Lecture?　I think you're just playing with me. You're not getting anything out of it.
That's true. By the way, I heard that you've become able to use magic?　How did you do it?
Would you like to know?
I'd love to hear about it. It keeps me awake at night.

　Celestina was not very fond of her.
　She didn't mean to be sarcastic, but her words and actions seemed to those around her as if she was getting involved with Celestina.
　Perhaps because of this, the people around her did not even try to hide their disdain for Celestina.
　She was unaware of it, which made it worse, but she wasn't a bad girl, so it couldn't be treated as such.
　She was a troublesome girl in many ways.

I fought the Mad Golem for three hours. It's a good workout both mentally and physically, but I wouldn't recommend ...... it.
・・・・・・ Well, that's fierce. But where did you get that many golems?
"It was created by a mage friend of your grandfather's using the Golem Creator. They're not only strong, but they also move in a controlled manner, so they've been injured quite often.
I've never heard of such a mage. Are you a master?
He's more than that. I've heard that he travels a lot and is rarely seen, but I ran into him on my way back from vacation and he taught me for two months.

　The existence of a mage of astonishing ability.
　Calostee is astonished.

Where is he now?　I'd love to meet him.
"I'm afraid he'll be leaving again at the end of the summer vacations, and not seeking ...... power.
Wonderful, wonderful!　There are still real mages in this world!

　The Saint-Germainists want power to fund their research.
　They believe that the lack of progress in magic research is due to the lack of good mages, so they have taken actions to gain power in order to headhunt talented mages from different countries.
　In fact, the number of mages who tended to alchemy was overwhelmingly large, and they were looking for an easy way to earn money.
　The Saint-Germain school was full of scholars who prioritized research and had a wide range of research.
　If they knew of the existence of the Great Sage, they would undoubtedly come after Xellos to recruit him, and for the sake of their teacher, who wanted a peaceful life, she ducked the story with falsehoods.

　The family's tendencies were also evident in Calostee.
　Above all, she has a strong admiration for the wise men of old.

I can't tell her that my teacher is a great sage. (I can't tell her that my teacher is a great sage. If she knew, she would be the first to ask to see him, and even if I refused, she would probably take a day off from the academy and force herself to go see him.

　She seems to have a lot of energy for nothing.

Next!　Celestina Van Solstair.

　Celestina comes to her senses at the sound of the instructor's voice.
　It seems her turn has come.

I'm off then.


Take it easy. My Master.

　She walked reluctantly to the place where the exercise was waiting.

"Are you sure you can use magic, Celestina?　To be honest, I don't think it's any different than before...
You can tell by looking at her. You can see it by looking at her. She's stronger than most mages now.
I'm not sure what to make of this.　Aren't maids supposed to be in the dorms?
Because I'm a graduate student here.

　That's not a good reason.
　Even if you're a graduate, you can't just walk around the campus as you please.
　But she didn't take offense and said it without hesitation.

　As the crowd gazed at her, Celestina faced the target and measured the distance.
　The target was an armor made of a composite of Damascus ore and mithril, with a magic formula built in to make it resistant to magic.
　The armor was not easily destroyed, so the purpose of this lecture was to assess the accuracy and power of the magic shots.

"Okay, here we go.

　A small fireball was born in Celestina's palm.
　It was a fireball, but it was much smaller than those of the academy students.
　Those who saw it laughed at her.

　But the instructor was astonished in a different way.
　Celestina was using magic without chanting.

"Fire.

　A flash of light flashed toward the armor.
　The fireball shot out at super high speed, and when it hit the armor, the high heat melted the armor and penetrated it.
　The armor was blown to pieces by the explosion from the inside.

　Even if it is the same fireball, compressing the fireball will increase its heat and power, and if the fireball explodes, its destructive power will jump dramatically.
　Because the heat that is compressed and amplified is converted into destructive power, the power of the fireball was far more effective than the magic of the other students.
　The magic itself is the same, but the combination of the magic formula, the magic control, and the magic manipulation skills can increase the power to such an extent.
　If you think about it, Celestina's magic was improved by Xelloss, and is comparable to that of the old days.
　I'm sure you'll be able to understand why I'm so interested in this.　

What the heck? -------- ---What the hell?
It's not possible. What the hell is that power?
It's the same magic, you incompetent bastard!

　The training ground was in an uproar.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.
　And the one who did it was the famous Incompetent girl in the academy.

　On this day, the girl who was called "The Incompetent" became famous as the "talented woman" of the school.
　But to her, such a title meant nothing.

　The back of the master she is aiming for is far away from her. .......