I said I'd take a look at it, but the magic manipulation I'm doing right now is a rudimentary step. You can't say that the two of you are inexperienced just because you stumble upon it.
　This technique is essential when fighting against demons, but it is something that is normally something that is to be worked on steadily over a long span of time.

　So, Ars's expectation was that it would be at least a month or more before they could take the next step with the stick.
　But why?
　The two of them looked so different from yesterday that it seemed as if they were honestly developing their own talent as educators.
　Of course, this is the end of their relentless efforts. But yesterday, today. No matter how much you look at it, this is.....

"It's not there. Gather them at your fingertips.

　Ars let them pinch each other and then let their fingertips slightly touch their own magic power. Of course, there is a rebound, but it makes it easier to recognize the magic power inside the body, and at the same time, provides clear guidance.

　They wouldn't be able to reach the suppression of magic power with the stick right away, but it would only be a matter of time.
　The two of them had already begun to perceive magic power, and had grasped it until they could give it directionality, if not all the magic power circulating within their bodies.

　It wasn't like yesterday, and their magic power was gradually gathering at their fingertips.

''Don't let it break your focus.''

　In the case of the two of them, they must also continue to give orders to stagnate the magic power gathered at their fingertips because they are susceptible to unconscious influences.
　Otherwise.........

''Wait!　Shut up.

　If you swear like that, the order is withdrawn and the magic power that was gathering at your fingertips begins to flow to the spot you pinched.

''-----!
See what I mean?

　Ars sighed in disgust.
　Immediately after that.

''I can't do this anymore...''

　Alice also lightly rubs her forehead, which is not covered in sweat, as if she has lost her concentration.

　Since she isn't actually using her magic power, she doesn't have physical fatigue due to the depletion of her magic power. Instead, the frustration on the mental side will be building up.
　It's just enough to take a break.

''Let's take a short break.''

　A lazy nod of agreement.
　This rest was for Tesfia and Alice, and naturally, Ars settled into his desk during this time.

　The neat and tidy materials were not hard to find, and he was able to switch between them with unexpected ease.

'Come to think of it, what is it that Al is researching?
You still haven't told me.

　A curious and glowing gaze is directed at Ars. It's probably out of simple curiosity.

'I was wondering if I could use transference magic in a real battle.

　The transition-based magic circle port in the school is a byproduct of the spatial interference magic invented by Ars. Since spatial interference magic isn't technically supposed to exist, he just published a theoretical paper on it. Of course, he has experimented with it himself.

　A lot of Ars's research is of that sort. He thinks he's trying to raise the entire magician's bottom line and create new magic, but basically a concept that is far removed from the existing ones will produce many forms of use at the same time.
　It would be beneficial not to say anything unnecessary here.

'When I say transition, I mean this.

　Then he grabbed the school insignia on his chest and asked Alice to agree.

'I think so,'

　Alice's vacant expression prompted Ars to answer.

'That school emblem is the first time transference magic has been used, isn't it?

　Other than that, the defensive line of defense of the country has circle ports set up at equal intervals in case of emergencies, though the mages keep an eye on them from time to time. It's the same in the form of operation. The first time is in general operation.

It has its drawbacks as well. After all, the maximum transition distance is limited to three kilometers.

　Of course, there is a lot of room for improvement. The magic is duplicated and the coordinates are fixed at the transition gate of the destination based on it. This works on space itself, which has a poor concept of time, and is sometimes referred to as "flying".
　The fundamental problem is the deterioration of the copied magic information, and the reason for this is that it is impossible to keep the irregularly shaped magic in space.

　When magic power is reconstructed into magic, the phenomenon of deterioration does not occur, but when magic power is emitted outside the body, the information deteriorates over time.
　Experiments have shown that it inhibits movement to a specific transition gate.
　There is room for improvement, but researchers are skittish because they are predicated on protecting the information bodies associated with magical power.

It was originally intended to be used for offensive magic, but now that it's being used for magic, it's just a matter of what we need to focus on.

　There was no way I could get an answer from the two of them for asking such a question.
　Even so, is it the nature of a researcher to run off on a tangent?

''Does that mean how best to use it in a real battle?''
Well, you must be right.

　This is a problem in creating original magic. In particular, the magic created by Ars must be beneficial to the wizard as a whole.

You can use it to defeat demons, impede action, assist your allies in their attacks, or use it to escape. Or it could be used to escape.
Hmmm.........................

　In contrast to Tesfia, who tilted her head in a snarl, Alice raised her hand and offered to speak.

'What about making it a magic that can cover a wide range of things, like protecting a mage or all of them?'

　Of course, no matter what the opinion is, he will not deny it out of hand. Perhaps because of his awareness as a researcher, Ars will examine it once in his mind.
　However, Alice's proposal had long since been concluded.

''That's impossible, transition magic isn't a panacea. Depending on how you use it, it can be used for offense, defense, and maybe even support, but if you accept everything, then it's flawed as magic.

　Magic that appears in a magic compendium means that its unique name has been recognized. It means that it is recognized for its significance as magic. There is no magic that specializes in any of them. It's a good thing that the magic that specializes in one thing is much more useful than that.

''Well, it might be quicker to ask the actual magicians on the front lines for this.

　I thought Tesfia was something that Al himself would come up with, since he had been fighting on the front lines for so long.
　I swallowed as I remembered what the Chancellor had said about him being the exception.

　If there's only one person who can use magic when you weave a magic based on the #1 magician, it's meaningless.
　Especially if you are trying to raise the bottom line of mages by providing magic for the sake of making things easier for yourself, which Ars holds up, it's out of the question.


　After that, somehow, Ars's one-sided professorship unfolded. No conclusions were reached, of course. Nevertheless, Ars, who couldn't have the opportunity to share this kind of talk with others, continued to talk, oblivious to the passage of time.

　That didn't keep the two of them from going past curfew, but the complaint that they couldn't train was very much on target. You couldn't find a word to say no to Ars if he asked you to accompany him after school the next day.



　♢ ♢ ♢


That's surprising, though. Al like that.

　He speaks with a smile overflowing to Tesfia, who walks beside him. It was more a word for someone closer to his own age than his isolation as the first place.

　Today, it's just the two of us going home. You don't have to be particularly careful just because Ars isn't there.
　It's a good thing that you're not the only one, because you're not the only one.

'You were like a child,'
You have to say that's appropriate for your age.
No, they're kids. It's like showing off a toy you bought me.

　Alice giggled, putting her hand to her mouth with a giggle, saying that she felt that way when she was told that.

'Maybe it was. It sounds like a hell of a toy.'
'Well. Still, I know how good that guy is as a magician, but I wonder how good he is as a researcher.

　Alice had no doubt.

'I bet you're outstanding, aren't you?'
I don't know. Maybe it's all just a bunch of dullard research.
''Umm, I don't think so but let's see the magic you mentioned today when it's finished.
Oh, yes. You shouldn't laugh at me after all that forceful talk, even if it's just a little bit of dickish magic, Alice.

　Alice replied to Tesfia, who was chiding her like a big sister, in return.

''That's Tesfia, isn't it? You're a nobleman, so don't open your mouth wide and laugh even if it's funny!

　


　



　♢ ♢ ♢


　Ars parted from Tesfia and Alice in front of the research building, and then made his way to the Chancellor's office with lazy, heavy feet.
　For some reason, the only thing that gave me a bad feeling was the lesson I learned from my conversations and gestures with the chancellor for a short time.
　It's not surprising that a mere premonition has turned into something so convincing in Ars.


　The main building, where Ars's laboratory is located, is only a few minutes' walk from the main building where the chancellor is located.
　Still, no one could blame Ars for his penchant for heading to the circle port.


　A few knocks, he thought he had been regular and kept his manners to a minimum, but the expression on his face was clearly disgusted.

　When a muffled voice from inside grants permission to enter, Ars gently opens the door.

''I haven't said anything yet, but...''

　I immediately understood what this grievance was about.

'I haven't heard anything about it yet, sir.

　With a bare face, Ars straightened her posture. She was in a better position here.

'Well, fine. I'm sure you know that, but there's a competency test at the beginning of next month.'
I know, sir.

　It's part of the annual curriculum, of course, and it's designed to update new students each year with their rankings at the time of admission.
　This is not sloppy, but it is not accurate, as more than 1,000 applicants must be screened within a limited amount of time.

　For this reason, an exam is set up as soon as a student is admitted to the school in order to accurately judge an individual's competence.

　At this point, Ars had already guessed the chancellor's intentions.

''You mean, the rankings?''
Well, since we don't want any trouble, I'll let you be the judge of that.

　As much as I would like to say that it's an abuse of authority, I don't want to make even more of an unnecessary mess.
　Therefore, it is also true that that is the only way out of it, Ars thinks.

　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.


'I understand. So what's the reason for calling it out?

　The Chancellor was not surprised that he had been spotted. Rather, a sigh escaped him.
　I guess we can now move on to the main topic.
　Judging from the chancellor's appearance, Ars's hunch was right.

''It's this one.

　The Chancellor placed a stack of papers in front of his desk.
　It was reversed in the direction so that Ars could see it. In other words, he would be asked to look.
　At one point, Ars asked with his eyes for permission.

　In response to this, he is prompted with a smile.

''..........''

　When I finished looking through it all, Ars also let out a sigh. When it comes to this, Ars can't help himself.

''What do you want me to do?''
I'm not saying that you have to do anything about it but what do you think?

　Inside the document is a detailed description of the new classes to be incorporated. This proposal comes from the military.
　In other words, the Second Academy of Magic as a national policy must accept this proposal.

　It wasn't what would happen by asking Ars for his opinion, but it was something that would make someone want someone's opinion - especially Ars'.

''Before we do that, may I ask you one question?''
Come in.

　The lusty smile was an anticipation of Ars's opinion.

'Is this the result of my offering to retire?
Maybe.

　Although his reply was vague, he didn't seem to see the problem with what was caused by Ars's retirement, per se.
　The content of the document is this.
　The idea is to have students gain experience in real battles with demons by associating it with an extracurricular lesson.

I think this in itself is about as slow as it gets. The other first, fourth, fifth and seventh academies have already introduced this. It's just that........
This will only lead to more deaths.
I knew it.

　The chancellor blurted out in a dumbfounded tone of voice that didn't sound too serious.

　It means your life is in danger. That in itself is something they will experience eventually, since they will go into military service after graduation, but the students are not trained for that kind of thing.
　No, what should be a problem here is that it's quite possible that the role as an insurance measure may not work.
　If the students can use a certain amount of magic as a magician, they will be able to successfully defeat a low-rated demon or so.
　But in the unlikely event that they were so horrified, as Ars said, that their minds stopped fighting, they would be unable to use their magic. Whether that will be a semi-permanent trauma depends on the individual.

　There's a safety net in place for that, but there's a problem with that.
　Freshmen are only assigned a coach and an upperclassman in case of an emergency.
　In other words, despite the difference in skill level, a beginner in defeating the enemy is not much different from a first year student.
　It shouldn't be hard to imagine that in the event of an emergency, the personnel for that purpose would be useless.

''You mean, the upper echelon?''
That's true. That sounds like something the higher-ups who've never fought a demon before would think about.

　So it would be best to resolve it as soon as possible, so Ars switched to the main issue first.

'What do you want me to do?'
I did most of my defense work, so you know more about demons than I do.

　I'd like to question that argument, but I'd like to hear all about it in the first place, so I encourage him to continue.

So, Ars, can't you do something about it?
What do you mean by 'something'?
I'll just work upstairs and be a little bit more independent.
I can't.

　Ars wasn't welcomed well enough to be approached by his superiors. And yet, he'd been rubbed to death by the mission.
　If this was a suggestion by the Governor, he could have put in a word for it. Whether he did or not, it was a possibility.

　And the other one, of course.

'How many students do you think there are, it's impossible to cover them all?

　Even if it was Ars, it would be impossible to do so unless they were solidified in one place or another.

　The Chancellor puffed out his cheeks uncharacteristically unfaithful to his age.

'Then I have an idea.

　It's quite a throwback.
　Probably not going to be able to leave in silence with this.
　Ars cowered his shoulders and scratched his head deliberately, saying he had no choice.

'How much can you change?'

　Even if you are the president of the board of trustees, if you interfere with a directive from the top, you could cause a recession, and even if the directive is legitimate, it is almost illegal to object to it.

　If you are going to ask for a good plan in such a situation, you have no choice but to ask the president to approve it, even if it is unreasonable to do so.

That's the extent to which it will not harm the significance.

　I responded with a serious look. It wasn't a look of "can you do it or not? It wasn't a look of "can you do it or can't you do it" but a look of determination.