Tsk....

　The comparison made Ars unconsciously clicked his tongue at the thought of being offended.

　This was Gudma's research.
　It was disgusting, Ars concluded. But at the same time, it was a meaningful study.
　If you can make an excellent mage from an acquired heritage, it would be enough of a fighting force to repel demons. The reason why the light system is categorically called the elemental and categorically called the elemental is not just because of anything inborn. In other words, the magic of the light strain has an advantage in the battle against people, and if you can handle the higher level magic, it will bring additional effects in the battle against demons. This is because the magic called the light system has the ability to prevent the regeneration of demons that have the ability to regenerate.

　Gudma's research was supposed to be in line with Ars's objectives. If it wasn't a mission, he might have thought of missing it.
　But now Ars dismissed Gudma's research.
　Of course, he had a hunch as a researcher that it couldn't be such a convenient thing, but the strongest feeling was that it was nothing more than an obstacle to the growth of his students, who he had spent no small amount of time raising.

　It is not a matter of emotion. It is not a hindrance to the mission.

　He was not happy with the way he was just a researcher.
　If he made Tesfia and Alice the sole wizard, how much easier would that make it for Ars?　Gudma's research has a much better chance of saving humanity.

　But ... the educational program for them has already begun. Then Ars will just have to take care of them until the end.

'I'm sorry I'm late,'

　Loki opens the door at a trot.
　I don't know when he left, and I don't know if it's too late from Ars.

　I'm sure that the words came only because Ars had left before him.

'Welcome home.

　Loki immediately moved on to prepare dinner. He had already done the prep work, and the carved ingredients came out one by one.

　Ars offered a topic of conversation himself to refresh the mood.

'How's Alice's training going?'
I think I'm getting the hang of this.
Well, maybe Loki is a very good teacher.

　A tone of voice that almost made me start laughing haha.

''...........What's wrong with you?''

　A quizzical Loki returned it without stopping to cook. Maybe it was her concern. The fact that she didn't become too mysterious and kept it to a casual question........

　Ars raised the edge of his mouth in a wry smile at his sensitive partner.

'No, nothing.'

　Even if it contained something (...), Ars answered knowingly.

'I see,'

　But the casual exchange didn't relieve her of her distraction, even if Loki pretended to be concerned.


　It was just when the conversation was interrupted that the alarm went off, signaling that the desk terminal had received something.

'No change?'

　The intelligence report comes from the Governor's own intelligence unit.
　This is also a regular occurrence. Since information largely determines the rate of mission accomplishment, if there is nothing else, the day's investigation report will be delivered to Ars.

　The assignment is scheduled to begin early in the morning three days later by designation, but it is not uncommon for the mission to be accelerated that day if there is movement, so this regular report must be looked over immediately upon undertaking it.

'I suppose you mean that the backers, the patrons, have not been identified?
I know.

　The Governor's own intelligence unit is an elite unit led by Lord Vizaytos.
　And yet they haven't made any progress?

That's a pretty big pile of crap.

　I wondered what I could catch, but I might be able to get my hook off easily enough.
　If that happens, it will be difficult to catch sight of them.
　The human race's survival zone has been isolated like a lake, but once it is submerged, it will be difficult for even the military to find it.

''Will it be all right?''
'I don't know, even though it wouldn't make sense if we didn't disintegrate it from the roots, that's not our mission.

　At the same time, there was a good chance that the mission would become massive due to this bandit invasion.
　If the experimental body Felinella was talking about had become so practical, then it was necessary to think about the experimental body escaping.

　The goal of the mission's accomplishment is to eliminate Gudma and erase the material. If the experimental subject had escaped, the actual specimen would be the same as the material.
　There are more than five individuals known to us...although we have not been able to confirm it, if the people who attacked us in the city are also involved, there must be more than eight of them.

If there are any changes, though, I'd like to see them sooner rather than later.
Yes.

　The dishes were brought out one by one as they were ministered to and decorated the table.

'Isn't that a little much?'
...!

　Maybe it's because of Alice's presence the past few days, but it's clearly one more person.

“----!　I beg your pardon.

　He could see why. Ars stopped Loki, who tried to put it back a little embarrassed.

'It's not too much to eat but then again, maybe I should have had Alice stay a little longer.

　Glancing sideways, Loki looks away from the embarrassment.

'There wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't tried to stay over in the first place!

　A sigh escaped Loki's mouth, but Ars smiled at it, saying that it seemed to be fun for some reason.

　And even the food, which is one person's too much, is eaten up with the tongue.
　As they joined hands, Ars felt uneasy about the satisfying food.

(Not good if you don't exercise.)



　♢♢ ♢



　It was yesterday, today, but Ars and the three of them had come to the training grounds. Yesterday today is because they had already booked the training ground.

　It was still early in the morning, and if it wasn't a holiday, it would be time to go to school.
　Today, he had gone out of his way to secure it to try Alice's new magic.

　When Alice heard that, she said, "It's already done! I was astonished, but it's not so much an exaggeration as it was actually possible.
　So I'm wondering if I can even call it a new magic. It's not the original, it's just a combination of the magic structure of the other systems into the light system.
　It's not the original, it's just a combination of the common "Arrow" and "Burst", which is another step up, that were just tweaked.
　The basis for this one is the mid-level magic of the wind system, the Wind Scythe.

　This is the training ground where the mastermind has descended and sectioned off as a matter of course.
　Alice and Loki, who have changed into training clothes in the changing room, come in and listen.

''If truth be told, it would be better to carve the magic formula directly and get used to it, but since we don't have the materials to become AWR, we should be able to do that level of magic if we can hammer the process into our heads and go through the stages slowly.''
'Yeah...'

　The two sheets of paper he handed her had the magic formula drawn in thick layers, with translations and supplements carefully scrawled underneath.

　Looking down at the paper, Alice was elated as she sniffed at the easy-to-understand interpretation, feeling like she could already do it.

'Thank you, Al,'
"Don't thank me, just move on, that's just the beginning.
...Yes!

　Alice moved to a corner of the training area and sat down. She stared at the magic formula.

'Well Loki, well we can't do our usual detection training here, so let's take a different approach.
Please.


　The training method I've come up with is to unilaterally attack a meditating Loki and prevent him from doing so.

'If we can even detect their precise movements, we won't have to create any blind spots,'

　This was inspired by a mock drill with Loki before. The reason I was able to notice Ars's blow from behind was because I used detection magic.

　First of all, I imparted magic power to the rubber ball for playing and threw it at him.
　Loki would avoid or catch it with his eyes closed.

''Ta-ta!

　He tries to grab it with his hand, but the timing isn't right and the ball hits his head. Even though it's imparting magical power, it's not held tightly in place for the attack, so it's no big deal when it hits.

'So the sonar's continuous projectiles are slow. Instead of releasing it over a wide area as usual, why don't you try releasing it at about 50 per second at about 10 meters.
Yes, sir.

　He rubs his forehead and picks up the ball and throws it back to Ars.
　Loki stands upright and meditates on his eyes.

'Oops!　You can indeed see this much in a row.

　You can feel a slight touch of magic on your skin.
　It's enough to make it hard to tell if you don't feel it with considerable agility.
　The proof of this is that Alice, who is within range, doesn't seem to have noticed.

　Arus closed the distance a little bit to be interesting and threw it with all his strength. He was faster than before.

　The ball settles into Loki's hands neatly with a bash.
　Loki immediately opened his eyes and brought the inside of his hand into view.

''Ars-sama done.''
That's good. How's the magic expenditure?
Not much, but I've been using it for what, five minutes?

　So that means that that one was released for 5 seconds, so 250 times, or 15,000 sonar shots after 5 minutes of use.
　That's about it, Loki says, but he can't possibly use any other magic just because it was designed for combat.

''It's not very fuel efficient. For now, since we've made it to the point we're at now, let's lower the frequency until we can capture it.

　And with the ball in his hand, he went to Alice, who hadn't yet succeeded.

'Well,'
Hmm, it doesn't show what's wrong with me.

　Grabbing the loaner AWR and staring at the paper, Alice just tilted her head slightly and couldn't think of a cause.
　Anxiety oozed from her enthusiasm.

'We'll see, go ahead and do it.'
Uh-huh.

　He throws the ball to Loki while watching the AWR.
　For the sake of sense, I'll let Loki adjust the number of times he throws sonar himself, but Ars just plays the role of the thrower.
　We don't know if he succeeds until he does.

　Alice's magic travels through the AWR, clearing the process.

　The blade glowed and Alice swung the AWR as it was.
　The magic power concentrated on the tip of the blade didn't form, it just dissipated as it was, and in the end it just released magic power for nothing.

''Hey.''

　Not ne. It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for, but it's not a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do that. I'm not going to be able to get any adjustments to the power and other aspects of the spell, as I've already mentioned.
　The habit of shrugging off the process of power, shape, and all the rest of it can be seen in class from time to time. This is also because there are no classes on ancient aphasia and magical formulas, as they are technically called.

　It is an oversight because of the lack of recognition of the processes that make up magic, and since Alice and Tesfia worked together with Tesfia in studying for exams to deepen their understanding of magical formulas in no small measure, they should be able to understand just by giving a word of advice at a time like this. Surely.

''Look properly.''

　He points to the paper on the floor.

''You haven't specified the shape. Well, I've only used magic that acts on the AWR itself, like "Reflection" until now, so maybe it can't be helped.

　Major magic like Arrow is shaped like an arrow, so the shape designation is already made in your mind.
　So if it's your first time using magic, you have to accurately trace the process.

''Ah!''

　I was taken aback by Alice, who inadvertently stuck her tongue out at me. Of course, it's not as uncomfortable as the chancellor's, so I let it slide.

　I grabbed the ball that was thrown back and threw it at Loki again in the same way.

　Alice must be following the stages in her mind as well. When the image is completed.

"Hmmm....

　Grasping the AWR and letting the magic power pass through, the magic power gathers on the blade and makes the magic formula shine.

《Shail Wraith》

　A slash flew from the swinging blade and exploded as it hit the wall. White smoke rose, and the walls of the training grounds absorbed the magic power, causing ripples to spread out.

''It's done!''

　Alice, who looked at the wall as if she was stunned and lingering, gradually faded into a happy face. She looked as if she was about to jump at any moment.

'It's done!　I'm ready.
I know because I saw it.

　After witnessing the results of his research, Ars was inwardly convinced that he was right.
　The light system is a little more out of the natural order than the other systems.
　Therefore, the expression itself has no effect as a substance. If they released fire magic, they would have to use magic power to compensate for the elements needed for combustion.
　However, the light system requires less magic power than the other systems just to express and stay.
　It's not that they don't need it at all. To be precise, the light system is said to have its roots in the light of the sun. For that reason, whether artificial or not, where there is light, the consumption magic power is also reduced.
　If it is the sun in the outside world, it will get even more benefits. On the other hand, in the dark, its power could be reduced by half.

Congratulations. Arus-sama, Alice-san.
Thank you, Loki.

　I'm going to stop and pay tribute to him for his current explosion. It would be a nuanced tribute to Ars.

'You don't have to be me to do this much.
Humility....
'Yes. It's great.

　I thought it sounded sarcastic, but it's true that it's no big deal since it's just a result of diverting existing magic to the light system, so it's no big deal.
　It's a great achievement from the point of view of those girls who don't know about that kind of research, so I decided to take it in stride and swallow the counterargument.

　The fact that Alice is also excited about being able to use the third magic in her lineage, not only does her excitement linger, but it also increases and she snorts.

'Alice, repeat it so you can use it whenever you want. That should give you some leverage with the demons.
Yes!
I said repetition, but you have to be able to use it on the fly. You can add or subtract, adjust for maximum power at any time, and learn it.
'Yes. It will only make sense if you use Master Ars's work to the highest standard.

　Loki poked Loki's reddened forehead as he spoke eloquently, somewhat enviously.

'It doesn't matter how many times you've figured it out.

　'You don't have time for that, I thought I said.

'Of course, sir; twenty-five to thirty will be enough to figure it out.
Like I said we'll do it live next time.
'Yes!　Please.


　After lunch, the training continued until dark with a blitz from then on.
　The fact that Alice was able to make 《Shail Wraith》 almost her own was a great gain.
　Is she good at activating magic with movement, a talent that is probably distinct from the other students.

　Although Loki also has a lag in the timing of its use in actual combat, this too can be detected while fighting in the near future with experience.

　The reason it was dismissed was partly because of the time, but also because of the private communication in Ars's license.
　The opponent was, surprisingly, Felinella.
　He excused himself by saying he got his registration number from his father and didn't want to get into the subject at all, so we decided to meet in the lab first.

　Personal communications from the license are common and surprisingly easy to be intercepted.
　The license is also equipped with a countermeasure against the interception of such communications, but if the other side does not take the countermeasure, it is of little use because one side will be intercepted as well.