The magic school Kunon would attend was located in the magic city of Dirashik.

Despite being a city, Dirashik was more like its own country. Surrounded on three sides by major powers, the city remained unaffiliated with any of them. It was governed by the immortal witch Gray Rouva, who was said to have been alive since time immemorial.

A great many people and things had gathered around Gray Rouva—especially sorcerers. They arrived from all over the world, desperate to study under her. Those who sought to plumb the depths of magic, to experience its mysteries and wonders—and even a little of its hunger and darkness—came to the immortal witch in droves.

This resulted in the founding of the magic school, and it continued to operate to the present day.

And so resisting attempts at negotiation and invasion alike by its powerful neighbors, Dirashik had settled into a path of coexistence.

“In short, the city survived a war against the Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the New Kingdom through Gray Rouva’s power alone.”

“Wow. Gray Rouva sounds like an amazing person.”

“Well, she is called the world’s greatest witch. I don’t think there’s a sorcerer alive who doesn’t know of her.”

It had been several days since Kunon and Iko’s departure from Hughlia’s capital, and their journey to the magic city of Dirashik had only just begun. They would be spending a lot of time in the carriage, so to pass time, Iko had asked, “What sort of place is the magic school?” and Kunon had answered her with information gleaned from the materials his father had prepared for him.

He had read the documents two or three times already. He was so excited about what lay ahead, in fact, that he thought about looking them over two or three, or perhaps even four or five more times, though he’d long ago memorized their contents.

“Some call her the ultimate witch. They say she brings angels and demons to heel—things like that.”

“I see. So she’s attended by charming little angels and demons?”

“I feel like calling them charming brings a different picture to mind. I kind of like the sound of it, though.”

“That’s no good. You’re a charming little angel yourself, Master Kunon. You’d better be careful.”

“Really? You don’t think I’m a demon?”

“If you were, we wouldn’t get along so well.”

The two of them laughed together. Their journey was going swimmingly.

As the carriage rolled along, the view from its window continued to look strange to Kunon.

Up above, he saw a purple sky filled with swirling clouds. Below, pure-white grasslands stretched on as far as the eye could see. Strong winds carried along a silvery powderlike substance. Only the water visible in the distance was a familiar color.

Nevertheless, for the first time, Kunon was getting a glimpse of the Marquess Gurion’s territory that he had so longed to see.

Their journey was supposed to take from three weeks to one month. During that time, Kunon intended to practice using the Glass Eye through which he had gained his sight. He still wasn’t accustomed to it, so he would need a lot of intensive training.

They were due to arrive in the magic city approximately one month before the school’s entrance exam. The plan was to use that window to complete the enrollment process and make the necessary arrangements.

Proceeding at a reasonable, comfortable pace, the carriage had taken about five days to reach the Marquess Gurion’s lands.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Kunon said.

Unable to see, Kunon had rarely ventured outside the grounds of his home. The only other place he had visited as a child was the estate on these lands. Though perhaps “visit” wasn’t the correct term. It was, after all, the seat of the Gurion family. Their estate in the capital was a secondary residence—these lands had originally been their home.

“It really has,” Iko agreed. “About four years, I think.”

“Wow, has it really been that long?”

The last time Kunon had been here was four years ago. He had hardly ever left the family’s estate in the capital since devoting himself to the study of magic. His father, mother, and elder brother had occasionally returned for work or to socialize with other families, but Kunon hadn’t accompanied them.

“What brought me out here last time, I wonder?”

Four years ago, Kunon had been studying magic under Jenié. He couldn’t think of a reason why he would have left his detached house back then. He had a faint but definite memory of coming back to the Gurion lands with his parents and brother, but he couldn’t recall what he had done during his visit.

He must have spent all his time practicing magic, reading, and doing research. Since that was how he usually passed his days, it must not have stood out much in his mind.

“Huh? You really don’t remember?” asked Iko.

“Remember what? Did I forget something?”

“You don’t remember coercing your father—who had work to attend to—your mother, and even Master Ixio into coming back here just because you heard the library at the family home was bigger and might contain books about magic?”

“I did that?”

“You kept doing a weird dance and told them ‘I won’t stop until you agree to take me!’ You seriously don’t remember? How could you forget such an original dance? It wasn’t fit for the ballroom, and it wasn’t provocative or sexy. It was like a totally new art form!”

“Oh, I do remember dancing nonstop. So that was why? I’d forgotten the reason.”

“…Back then, you were always working yourself to the bone with research and magic and swordplay. But you were never satisfied. Your parents made the decision to take you here for your health. Master Ixio came along as well.”

It seemed Kunon was always causing trouble for the people around him, even when he didn’t remember it.

“By the way, about that dance…,” Iko began.

“I don’t remember it,” Kunon said. “What was it like?”

Kunon had learned the basics of social dancing through illustrated textbooks, Baroness Flora Garden’s etiquette classes, and some assistance from Mirika. He didn’t think he was particularly skilled, but he expected he’d managed the basic steps.

“The dance itself was fine. I admire how you kept a straight face throughout.”

“A straight face, huh?”

Kunon imagined it. He pictured himself, expression serious, endlessly going through the steps of his original dance—“like a totally new art form,” as Iko had said—in front of his family.

“So you’re saying everyone was so moved by my serious face and sincere dance that they agreed to my request?”

“Yes, that’s exactly right. I’m certain of it.”

Kunon wasn’t so sure. In the end, the dance had conveyed not his earnestness but his bone-deep exhaustion. Perhaps they thought he was so tired it’d finally affected his brain.

The carriage continued inexorably toward the Gurion family home. Kunon would be spending two nights there. It was also where he would part ways with Iko and meet a new servant who would accompany him to magic school.

Kunon and Iko arrived at the Gurion estate precisely as planned. As Kunon stepped out of the carriage, a familiar voice called his name.

“Kunon!”

It belonged to his beloved grandfather.

“Grandfather!”

The elderly gentleman spread his arms wide. His grandson’s heart was racing, but he approached his grandfather at a calm, normal pace.

After an awkward but amicable pause, Kunon and the gentleman embraced each other, celebrating their reunion.

The man—Tinalisa’s father—was named Edrew Belland, and he was currently managing the Gurion territory. Kunon’s father, Arsan, was working at the royal palace, and he couldn’t afford to leave his lands unattended. So he had asked Edrew, who had lots of free time, to live at the family estate in the role of caretaker.

Despite acting on Arsan’s behalf, Edrew was from another noble household and didn’t possess any real authority in the Gurion territory. He was quite simply house-sitting.

At the ripe age of fifty-eight, Edrew adored his grandchildren. Having lost his wife early on in their marriage, he spent his leisurely days as an unmarried older gentleman devoted to his hobbies.

“Goodness, how you’ve grown!” he exclaimed.

“We cannot retain the trappings of our past selves indefinitely,” replied Kunon.

“Oh, is that so? I can’t say I follow, but I’m sure you’re right!”

They were meeting for the first time in about six months. Edrew traveled to the royal capital every so often, and so Kunon still saw him occasionally.

“Let’s go into town after you’ve rested a little! I’ll treat you to anything you’d like!”

“Hooray!”

“My Lord Regent, I have a letter from my lady,” Iko called out.

“I’ve prepared snacks!” said Edrew, ignoring the interruption. “Come, let’s go inside!”

“My Lord Regent! I have a letter from your esteemed daughter! If you do not accept it, she will be angry with me, so please take it without causing a fuss!”

Edrew, the picture of a model grandfather, smiled brightly as he invited his grandson into the house.

Meanwhile, he pretended not to see the letter from his daughter, which was sure to contain disappointing news. This elderly gentleman was practiced in the ways of the world and wasn’t afraid to turn his back on anything unpleasant.

“Hmph.” Edrew snorted brazenly from his spot reclining on the sofa. “No more than five hundred thousand necca? That’s hardly a child’s allowance.”

After leading Kunon to the parlor, Edrew had opened the letter from Tinalisa in front of his grandson and glanced over its contents. Iko had followed the old man, insisting at least ten times that he take the letter. This old geezer hasn’t changed a bit, she thought.

It seemed that, in her letter, Tinalisa had set a limit for how much money her father was allowed to gift to his grandson. If she hadn’t, there was a real risk Edrew would buy Kunon a house or a plot of land. The possibility must have been considerable, too, if even Kunon’s doting mother was making the effort to head him off.

Five hundred thousand necca was no small sum, in any case. Gurion family servants made just shy of that amount for two months’ work.

“Grandfather.”

The moment Kunon called out to him, Edrew’s grumpy, calculating expression morphed into that of a congenial old man. Shrewd as ever, thought Iko.

“Oh, who cares. We’ll just have to keep it a secret. Do you want to sneak out and buy a big ship or something? I have the money, you know.”

What use did Kunon have for a ship? This old man had too much spending power for his own good.

“No, that’s all right, Grandfather. Please call my new servant first. I’d like to have her discuss things with Iko so she can prepare to take over.”

“O-oh… Right. You’re on your way to magic school.”

Indeed, Kunon wouldn’t be staying at the estate for long. He was only using it as a rest stop on his journey to Dirashik and to pick up his new attendant who would be serving as Iko’s replacement for the rest of the journey. This wasn’t meant to be a playdate with Grandpa.

“I won’t be able to see you for a few years,” said Edrew. “I’ll be lonely, you know.”

“Grandfather, you promised not to do this.”

Edrew couldn’t remember making such a promise, but he nodded solemnly and said, “That’s true…” Then he ordered a servant waiting by the wall to fetch Iko’s replacement, and she left the room. Not long after, they heard the sound of two pairs of footsteps approaching.

“Introduce yourself.”

The new maid responded to Edrew’s command.

“My name is Rinko Round, and I’m eighteen years old! I took this job because of the handsome salary! I’m hoping to save money to open a shop in the future and for marriage! Also, my elder sister told me to go for it!”

“Nice to meet you. You’re Iko’s younger sister, yes?”

“Yes!”

Iko’s younger sister had become a servant at the Gurion household through Iko’s reference, just as Iko’s urging had led her to apply for the task of accompanying Kunon to Dirashik. Iko had recommended her highly and often.

“Incidentally, I have a fiancé, so I refuse to become anyone’s mistress! If Master Kunon’s fiancée were to bear a grudge against me, I might even be killed, so it’s out of the question!”

“You don’t have to worry about that. My fiancée is more precious to me than eating three square meals a day. You should treasure your own fiancé just as much.”

“Yes! But…more precious than eating three square meals a day…? Is that possible…?”

Perhaps Rinko’s fiancé wasn’t quite as precious to her.

Kunon had heard from Iko that she had a younger sister. However, as he hadn’t been to the family estate in four years, this was his first time meeting Rinko. After talking with her for a short while, he got the feeling that Rinko’s personality was just as cheerful as Iko’s, and he took a liking to her immediately.

Kunon didn’t think he could bear spending all his time with a servant he couldn’t joke around with. Her being engaged was also a plus. There was no telling what could happen between a man and a woman, no matter their ages. Both parties being spoken for already was preferable.

She looked similar to Iko, too. Through his Glass Eye, Kunon could see that the sisters even sported matching, splendid black horns on their foreheads.

As for his grandfather, Edrew… The massive horns protruding from either side of his head near his temples were just as impressive as those of the powerful demons Kunon had seen in picture books.

Edrew’s daughter—Kunon’s mother, Tinalisa—looked like the hero of some epic tale with her mismatched eyes, while her father bore the appearance of a great demon. Kunon wondered if there was some kind of significance there, though it was probably a waste of time to fret over nonexistent things that only he could see.

Kunon spent much of his visit to the family estate passing the time with his grandfather. He let Edrew teach him a bit about horseback riding, listened as he flaunted his wealth (“Should I buy a casino in secret? It’ll be for children, so don’t worry”), and indulged the old man’s little fits (“Old people die sooner when you neglect them, you know”).

It was likely they wouldn’t see each other for several years, so Kunon tried to spend as much time as he could with Edrew.

The man was in good health, but he was getting on in years, and anything could happen. With this in mind, Kunon strove to keep his grandfather company, but regardless, he still needed to sleep at night.

Edrew’s energy failed to die down in the evening, and so Kunon had him lie on the Supersoft-Body A-ori. This put his grandfather to sleep in moments. The fragrant, enticing waterbed had a reputation—particularly with Zeonly—for being too comfortable to resist. Its effect was instantaneous.

And so Kunon’s time at the estate flew by.

As Kunon was busy with his grandfather…

“So that’s Master Kunon. He doesn’t seem too difficult.”

Iko and Rinko were in the estate kitchen. They had taken up a corner of the room—so as not to get in the way of the cooking staff—and were discussing the transfer of Iko’s duties.

“Yes. I think you’ll do fine, Rinko.”

As she said that, Iko saw a smaller, younger Kunon in her mind’s eye. That younger boy, perpetually depressed and withdrawn, had been quite a difficult charge to care for. But the Kunon of the present? He was a different story.

“Actually, won’t this be harder on Master Kunon? I guess if he got on well with you, he’ll be all right with me, but…”

The Round sisters and their family were well-known in the area for their cheer. As common folk, they paid little attention to complicated matters, going through life joyfully.

It was that same bright disposition that had gotten Iko her job as a servant to the Gurion family. Thinking back on it, she had probably been hired to provide a kind of shock to Kunon’s system—not that any of that mattered anymore.

“Rinko,” she said.

“Hmm?”

“Master Kunon is still an earnest, impressionable child. So I’m telling you right now—I won’t forgive you if you put any nonsense into his head. If you get him involved in any unsavory activities, you’ll have to answer to me. Got it?”

“Unsavory activities? Like womanizing?”

“Stop! Don’t even say it!”

Iko covered her ears. Kunon was her precious, adorable charge. The idea of him touching or being touched by any crafty, grubby little temptresses was too much to bear! The only girl she would allow to have that kind of contact with Kunon was Mirika. Iko was completely emotionally invested, and she hoped and prayed nothing would tarnish her rosy vision.

“I get it. I’ve heard Kunon is engaged to a member of the royal family, so I’ll be keeping an eye on his dealings with women.”

Regardless of her elder sister’s feelings, that was most certainly the best course of action. Kunon’s fiancée was a royal princess, after all. If something was to happen—well, the fallout would be nothing to sneeze at.

In any case, Rinko needed to be prepared. Her new charge was himself the son of a marquess. She had read many a children’s story about villainous aristocrats and their heinous actions. It was always possible her master might saddle her with the blame for all his scandals…or worse!

Rinko would be with Kunon for several years, and she would prefer that time pass by problem-free. So when it came to Kunon’s interactions with girls or with anyone else, Rinko intended to exercise the utmost caution.

“Anyway, tell me about Master Kunon,” she said. “I need to know everything if I’m going to do a good job.”

In order to exercise caution as she’d promised, Rinko first needed to understand her new charge. She’d already observed how overindulgent her sister was toward the boy, but she’d only just met him herself. She wasn’t yet attached.

“Where to start…”

Collecting herself, Iko began to speak about Kunon. As Rinko listened and nodded along, her face gradually turned serious.

“…And that’s about it.”

As Iko wrapped up her lengthy description of the boy, the pride was clear in her expression.

Her younger sister, however, looked stricken.

“I see,” she said. “So because Kunon is a gentleman, he’s kind to ladies, almost always strikes up conversation with them, and lavishes them with praise. Basically, you’re saying his personality is perfectly suited to appeal to women.”

Iko seemed miffed by her sister’s summary.

“Why are you saying it like that? Like it’s a bad thing?”

“Because that’s exactly how it sounded to me.”

Men who were kind to women were certainly preferable. Rinko had no complaints on that front. But there remained the issue of what happened when a man was too kind to women. Men who were indiscriminately attentive to all women rather than directing their efforts toward a specific person, well—

Kunon was three weeks into his trip.

With no notable upsets to their schedule, he and Rinko had made it to the capital city of the Holy Kingdom. It would take another week to traverse the country and cross into neighboring Dirashik.

The Holy Kingdom—Saint Lance. As the name suggested, it was a deeply religious country, where all the citizens were said to be devotees of the Radiant Goddess, Kira Leila. That was mostly in the past, however, and its capital was now much like any other city.

Before, the people of the Holy Kingdom had worn robes and dedicated their lives to the Radiant Goddess, but the passage of time seemed to have eroded the old customs.

“…Hmm.”

Kunon wasn’t sure what to do. In his hand, he held a book of new theories from the world-famous water sorcerer Satori. As one might expect of a country bordering the magic city, a great many magic tools and books about magic found their way into the Holy Kingdom. At present, Kunon was in a large shop in Saint Lance’s capital specializing in magic.

He had arrived in the city the evening before and spent the night in a hotel. That day, Kunon had nothing in particular to do, and while exploring the city with Rinko, he had decided to check out this shop. The plan was to spend the day recovering from the fatigue of their journey, then board a carriage for Dirashik early the next morning.

“Rinko, how much do we have in the purse?”

“No matter how many times you ask, the answer isn’t going to change. We can just barely afford the book—which means that if you buy it, we won’t have the money to pay for the hotel or the carriage ride.”

“Right. So can I buy it?”

“Absolutely not. We’ll be destitute.”

Books about magic were expensive. Only magic users needed them, after all. To the average person with no magical ability, they were no more than paperweights. Consequently, most books on magic were one of a kind. Since they weren’t mass-produced, the cost of a single book was very high, and books written by well-known sorcerers were even pricier.

“It’s a big purchase, so you should think it over carefully. That said, I don’t think you should buy it, either.”

Even the salesclerk, who would have made a profit if she sold the book, recommended putting it back.

“By the way, are you interested in magical engineering? I’ve got a secondhand copy of Zeonly’s book. He’s been popular lately. It’s cheaper than that one by Satori, and I recommend it.”

“Not interested, thank you.”

Recently, the uncommonly brilliant magical engineer Zeonly Finroll was making waves in the industry and in the magical world at large. But Kunon, who was well acquainted with the contents of Zeonly’s book even without reading it, took no interest. Besides, his teacher had given him a copy already.

“What is this used for?” Rinko asked the clerk.

“Oh, that? It’s called a Trade Box, and it’s part of a set of two. Basically, it’s a magic tool that teleports whatever is put in one box into the second box.”

As Rinko chatted with the clerk, Kunon continued to fret over the Satori book.

“Wow, that’s incredible!” said the maid. “Could I put myself inside, you think?”

“You can put in anything that will fit. But the box is only about as big as one finger, so you might have some trouble.”

“Hmm, that is a problem. But maybe with a little elbow grease…”

“You’d have to make yourself really small… Actually, let me be clear. You definitely can’t fit in the box. So please don’t try. You’ll break it.”

“That’s a pity. Is there a magic tool that can shrink a person?”

“I don’t think one exists yet, no.”

“I see… I’d really like to try it, though… What do you think, Master Kunon? Do you want to try getting inside?”

“Sure.”

Kunon put the Satori book back on the shelf. The water sorcerer was an instructor at the magic school he was headed for, so it would make more sense to try speaking with the author herself once he arrived instead of buying her book here. There was also a chance that the school library would have a copy.

He really wanted the book, but that just wasn’t an option right now. Kunon’s pocket money, generous as it was, was insufficient. They only had enough to cover travel, and a big purchase like this would be reckless. Kunon found himself wishing his grandfather had come along.

But all that aside…

“Excuse me, fair lady. May I test the box?”

…the conversation between Rinko and the clerk had caught his interest.

“Hmm? Huh? Lady…? Um, sure, but you’re not going to try to get inside it, right?”

Despite his earlier answer to Rinko’s question, Kunon had no intention of trying to enter the box. He could tell he wouldn’t fit.

“Rinko, the box, please.”

His maid placed a small metal box into Kunon’s outstretched hand.

“Here you go.”

The clerk looked on, confused.

The tool was comprised of two boxes. Kunon held one, while the clerk held the other.

“Hmm…”

Using his magic, Kunon analyzed the structure of the box. It was made up of a number of diffuse, reflective magic circles laid one over the other. By passing it through all the magic circles at once, the space inside the box had been distorted with considerable force and connected to the other box.

Overall, the execution was rather slapdash. Kunon presumed the range of effect would be quite limited, and he questioned the device’s integrity as well. It would probably last only about ten uses. Furthermore, the box was tiny, making it rather impractical. As a magic tool, it wasn’t anything to write home about.

But when it came to such items, one had to consider more than their use alone. Invaluable tools might one day see the light of day precisely because of the breakthroughs accomplished by forerunners like this.

“How interesting,” said Kunon. “…Oh, you can open yours now.”

“Huh? Oh, okay— Wow!”

The object Kunon had transferred from his box to the clerk’s was a tiny water cat, small enough to fit inside. While they were in the carriage, Kunon had passed the time by creating things Rinko requested, including this cat.

“It’s so cute! And so teeny! How adorable!”

Kunon’s water cats continued to be well received.

“So you are a sorcerer, then.”

The clerk had suspected as much when she saw Kunon express interest in books on magic, but she’d held her tongue so as not to bother her customer. Now that she had seen his magic, however, the cat was out of the box, so to speak.

“Are you heading for Dirashik, by any chance?”

“That’s right. We’re just stopping en route.”

“I see. Around this time… Well, it’s a little early yet, but every year, fledgling sorcerers like you come into our shop, dropping in on their way.”

“Oh? Are you a sorcerer, too?”

“No. I like magic, but I have no ability. Regardless, I wanted to work in a place where I could interact with magic users, so I ended up here. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a sorcerer enthusiast. Oh, by the way…” At that point, the clerk somewhat pointedly changed the subject. “It seems our kingdom’s Saint will be enrolling in magic school this year.”

“Saint?”

Kunon had never heard of such a person. He knew about the concept of saints, but he hadn’t realized they still existed in the present day.

“Last year,” the clerk continued, “the Empire’s Inferno Prince and the New Kingdom’s Lightning Bolt enrolled as well. They’re pretty much the cream of the crop. To think you’ll be among them. Ooh, what fun!”

The clerk, letting the tiny cat perch on her index finger, was delighted to have met a boy who aligned with her interests.

“This is the first time I’ve run into a sorcerer who can produce an itty-bitty cat like this. I just know you’ll be famous. One day, I’ll get to brag about how I met you before you entered school.”

The clerk was gushing over him, but Kunon’s head was elsewhere.

“The Saint, the Inferno Prince, and the Lightning Bolt… Hmm.”

What fun, the clerk had said. Kunon felt the same way.

With the exception of the Royal Sorcerers—who he had met only once—he had yet to spend a significant length of time with any magic users other than Jenié and Zeonly. He was sure other sorcerers would have different approaches and skills than he did.

Would he be able to make practical use of knowledge from people with different magic crests? There would be no telling until he gave it a shot. But since Kunon had been able to make great use of what he’d learned from Zeonly, an earth sorcerer, he thought there was a good chance the answer was yes.

Kunon imagined the school friends he would make—people he had yet to even meet—and grew more excited than ever. He still hadn’t experienced school life in earnest.

“By the way, sir,” said the clerk.

“Yes?”

“What kind of magic do you do?”

Apparently, the clerk hadn’t realized what the water cat was made of.

“I’ll give you a hint. It evaporates when it gets close to fire. I hope that clears things up.”

“Oh, it must be water, right?”

But no sooner had he provided the clue than Kunon had dashed out of the store with Rinko in tow, pretending not to hear the clerk’s response.

After some leisurely wandering, Kunon and Rinko eventually stopped at another shop.

“Hmmm. Okay. Hmm… Oh? Ah…”

“Master Kunon, could you be a little quieter?”

“Wouldn’t that just be creepier?”

“No, I find the talking slightly more off-putting.”

“Iko always said it was weirder when I was quiet… But I get it. I’ll stay silent instead.”

I’d rather you didn’t do either, thought the shopkeeper of the sewing supplies store.

“Excuse me,” he said. “I’m sorry, but could you refrain from touching the products so much?”

As soon as the well-dressed boy had stepped into the shop with his maid, he’d started putting his hands all over everything. This was not polite behavior. What need could there be to touch all the store’s wares like that?

“Oh, please don’t mind us,” said Rinko.

“I’m afraid I do mind,” said the man.

The store wasn’t very large, and there weren’t any other customers at present. He simply couldn’t ignore the boy’s actions. Not to mention the product he was currently touching was the most expensive one they had. Of course the shopkeeper was worried.

This store was geared toward common people, and nobles rarely ever came inside. Plus, the boy was wearing an eye covering over both eyes and accompanied by a maid. He would’ve stood out no matter the circumstances, and with such a conspicuous person behaving so oddly, the shopkeeper couldn’t help but take notice.

“What exactly is it you’re doing? We’re quite confident in the quality of our products, so you don’t need to examine them so thoroughly… I assure you our goods are genuine.”

“I’m just trying to commit the texture to memory. This is dark fox fur, correct? I love the way it feels.”

“Um, thank you, I suppose…”

“Rinko.”

The boy with the eye mask called out to his maid, who was trying on hats in front of a full-length mirror. She kept striking poses and occasionally whistling at her reflection or saying things like, “I’ll have you know the punishment for stealing produce is death, buddy.”

“Yes?” she replied, looking up. “Have you memorized it?”

“Yep—here.”

The shopkeeper froze. All of a sudden, a black fox had appeared in the child’s hands. The animal’s glossy coat was so dark it would have melted into the night or shone under the glow of the moon. It was—unmistakably—a dark fox.

“Ooh, it’s so cute! Cats and dogs are fine, too, but I just love foxes!”

“Really? Then I’ll add this to my repertoire.”

“The tail should be a little longer. The fur is nice and fluffy, but it needs to be slightly thicker. Yes, like that. Oh, simply adorable! Can I have this one, please?”

“Sure. Now on to the next pelt—”

“What do you think you’re doing with our products?!” the shopkeeper barked.

There were simply too many strange things happening all at once, and he couldn’t stay quiet any longer. For some reason, he felt like something shady was taking place, as if the store’s merchandise were being used in some kind of fraudulent way right before his eyes.

After leaving the magic shop, Kunon and Rinko had found a nearby sewing supplies store. They were hoping to find some unusual furs, considering the size of the city, so that Kunon could expand his range of water animals.

Rinko had said You should learn to perfect animals other than cats, and Kunon had agreed, thinking it would be fun. It would be good practice in any case, as there wasn’t much else he could do during the journey.

Along the way, he had gotten the chance to touch actual cows, horses, dogs, and giant hairless rats. As a result, Kunon had been able to re-create those animals with some degree of success. And now, aiming to further his progress, they were looking for rarer pelts.

The object Kunon had just been rubbing his cheek against was a scarf made from the fur of a dark fox. Dark foxes, which were jet-black all over except for their white bellies and whiskers, were said to be extremely rare. Though to be honest, Kunon probably could have managed a decent re-creation of one just by changing the color palette of a regular fox.

“Oh… You’re using magic…to make reproductions of animals…? I… I see…”

Kunon told the man that he was memorizing the fur’s texture so he could replicate it with magic, handing him a water dog as an example. The shopkeeper didn’t seem to know much about magic, but somehow, as he petted a dog that he could hardly believe was made out of water, he was convinced.

“I apologize,” said Kunon. “I should have explained myself properly and asked for your permission first.”

When they’d initially come in, the shopkeeper had told them they were free to look over the wares, not that they could use the store’s goods as references for magic experiments. Of course, store clerks didn’t usually greet customers with lines like that. And this one definitely hadn’t.

“Um, can you re-create anything?” he asked.

“I can only replicate something’s shape and texture. The animals I create aren’t living creatures.”

“Then what about a woman?”

“What exactly do you think you’re saying to a child, hmm?” Rinko cut in.

Kunon had never heard such a cold voice from his new maid, and both he and the shopkeeper trembled. She sounded even scarier than Iko did when she was mad.

“No, um… My apologies.”

“Oh, you’re sorry, are you? Imagine having the nerve to soil my precious Master Kunon’s young ears.”

“Rinko, I’m sorry. It was my fault.”

“Why are you apologizing, Master Kunon?”

He was apologizing because she was angry, of course. Although it was true that Kunon had no reason to be sorry.

“… Humans are difficult to replicate,” he said. “So I’m afraid that’s impossible.”

In the past, Kunon had made a water doll that looked just like a maid from a distance, but ever since he’d made the doll fly around the royal castle and gotten in trouble, he hadn’t tried again.

All the Royal Sorcerers he had been playing around with at the time had also been reprimanded. It was a fond memory. Kunon wondered how Londimonde was doing these days.

Even more than animals, humans were always in motion. No matter how hard one tried, there was no stopping the movement of one’s heartbeat or pulse. The lack of this movement caused a sense of uneasiness when someone looked too closely at a water doll.

Actually, shouldn’t animals be the same? Wouldn’t a dog or a cat made of water inspire that same feeling of uncanniness, at least a little? No matter how similar their appearance, the water animals didn’t move in the slightest.

“… A re-creation of a human, huh…?”

Now that Kunon thought of it again, the subject was quite fascinating. He had a feeling there might be some practical uses for such a creation. Besides, when it came to things like this, it was better to cultivate a wide range of abilities. It was deeply frustrating having to say “I can’t do that” when the need for something arose.

“Master Kunon, let’s go. This shop is run by a good-for-nothing adult.”

“I really am sorry!” called out the shopkeeper. “I just said it on impulse! There’s a woman I like, and I was simply tempted by the possibility of sleeping next to her!”

“Shut your mouth. You’ll corrupt his heart as well as his ears.” Grabbing Kunon’s hand as he remained lost in thought, Rinko dragged the boy from the shop. “Good grief. This city is no place to raise a child.”

It seemed Rinko was surprisingly passionate about the upbringing of children.

“Ugh…”

That was a disaster, the clerk thought, sighing.

He’d spoken without thinking, asking if that boy could create a woman… It was a hidden desire that had only come out because of how blown away he was by the quality of the water dog still in his arms. But there was no doubt it had been inappropriate to say such a thing to so young a child. The shopkeeper was filled with regret.

As he was busy stewing…

“Sorry to trouble you.”

…the shop’s door opened, and two people in white hooded robes came inside. One was a tall woman, and the other, a girl. Aside from the child’s gender, they were like a matching set to the pair of customers who had just left.

Spotting the gold embroidery adorning their white robes, the shopkeeper straightened up. Slightly flashy yet undeniably beautiful and pure—it was Lailai’s ivy leaf embroidery. Anyone who saw it would know immediately that these two were high-ranking members of the Sacred Church.

Judging from their outfits, they were traveling incognito. Still, they were unmistakably important spiritual leaders.

“We heard you have a scarf made from dark fox fur,” said the woman. “Could you show it to us?”

“Yes, it’s on that shelf over there— Um, yes…?”

The shopkeeper pointed to the shelf in question, but the young girl ignored the gesture and approached him instead.

“That’s magic, isn’t it?”

The girl’s attention was on the dog in the shopkeeper’s arms.

“Magic?” asked the woman. “You mean that dog?”

The girl answered yes, then reached out to touch the animal with her fingertips. With a sudden splash, the dog reverted to a formless quantity of water.

“Whoa!”

There was no way to avoid the abrupt rush of liquid, and the shopkeeper’s lower half was totally drenched. It was like he was facing the consequences of his earlier rudeness.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I never thought it would be made of water.”

Her presence had caused the dog to burst on contact. As it happened, the girl had a natural resistance to sorcery and magic, and her presence automatically dispelled any low-level spells.

She’d momentarily forgotten this when she reached out to touch the animal, though she could hardly have expected the spell to be sustained by such a small amount of power.

“Oh, it’s okay… Ah-ha…”

Just great, thought the shopkeeper. First one child sorcerer and now another.

Magic users weren’t common. He could hardly believe two of them had wandered into his shop one after the other. It seemed too strange to be mere coincidence, and yet what else could it be?

“…U-um, is there something you need…?”

The shopkeeper squirmed. The pair of high-ranking church officials were staring fixedly at a single spot on his wet pants. Had his crotch ever garnered this much scrutiny? He felt sure it had not. As that foolish thought ran through his head, the two customers’ gazes remained glued to his pants.

“Was that dog really made of water?” the woman asked.

“As you can see,” the girl replied, “there’s no doubt about it. That’s water.”

“…I don’t know of any such spells.”

“Nor do I.”

A water spell that could take the shape of an animal. There were indeed spells of a similar sort, but they were rather advanced. If one of those had been used to create the dog, the girl’s touch shouldn’t have dispelled it.

“Has it caught your interest?” asked the woman.

“No, not especially.”

The girl, who had lacked strong emotion since birth, did not find herself particularly stirred. She simply logged the event in her memory and thought, What unusual magic one can find out in the world.

“Is that so? Well, I’m extremely interested,” said the woman. “Shopkeeper, what kind of person cast that spell? If you don’t mind my asking, that is.” She pointed at his crotch as she spoke.

What kind of torture is this? he thought as he stammered out a reply.

It would be a while longer before Kunon or the girl—Saint Reyes—realized how close they had come to meeting that day.

“Ugh, how annoying.”

“What a pain.”

Though Kunon and Rinko had encountered some minor hiccups during their journey, nothing had been major enough to disrupt their schedule. The trip went very smoothly, and after approximately a month of travel, the two of them arrived safely in Dirashik.

As was fitting for a place called the magic city, Dirashik was home to a large number of sorcerers, and there were stores related to magic everywhere. To Kunon, the city was like something out of his dreams. He wanted to explore it the moment he arrived, but there were more pressing matters to take care of.

On their first day, they checked into a hotel early to rest and spend the night. Then, the next morning, they headed for the magic school’s administration office. After arriving at a building just outside the school grounds, they consulted with a receptionist behind the counter. Unfortunately…

“I’m sorry, but the dormitory is already full.”

…when they asked her about enrollment and applying for a space in the dorm, she returned a rather disappointing answer. The biggest hiccup of the entire trip, it seemed, had come right at the end.

Kunon’s father had taken care of the paperwork necessary for his enrollment, and after a quick confirmation, Kunon was granted permission to take the entrance exam. He accepted his registration ticket without incident. The exam would take place in one month—all according to plan. The only problem was the dormitory.

Kunon would be living in Dirashik for a while, but because he had been undecided regarding magic school for so long, his father hadn’t been able to complete the dormitory application. By the time his attendance was decided, the dorm’s remaining spots had to be reserved on a first come, first served basis. Regrettably, that was just how things were.

Persistent, Rinko had said, “There must be something you can do,” but the receptionist had answered flatly, “I’m afraid there isn’t.”

Rinko tried to slip the receptionist a bribe, but that only angered her. “I’m not lifting a finger for less than ten thousand necca,” she’d said. “Certainly not for one hundred. Besides, I’m not a fan of bribery anyway.” In the end, they’d been shooed from the building.

“Ugh, how annoying.”

“What a pain.”

Rinko and Kunon were at a loss.

“She didn’t give my one hundred necca back, either.”

“I don’t really enjoy bribery myself, but did you really think that amount would get us anywhere?”

One hundred necca was the kind of sum a commoner might give his child as pocket money.

“Isn’t it the first rule of negotiating that you start from somewhere unreasonable?”

So that was it. Rinko had been trying to bait the receptionist into making a deal with her. Kunon wasn’t so sure a bribe was the kind of interaction one should draw out, and at the other party’s place of business, no less. In any case, her attempt had ended in failure, so it was a little late to worry about it now. Besides, if Kunon started giving her tips, Rinko’s next shot at bribery might actually succeed, so he decided to let the subject go.

As a noble child, Kunon had learned about the importance of bribery as a method of negotiation, so as the servant of an aristocrat, Rinko’s instinct wasn’t wrong. But that applied only to dealings in Hughlia. Kunon was sure that, in Dirashik, things like bribes, dirty money, and collusion were viewed differently.

“We set aside a good sum of money in case I didn’t get into the dorm, right?”

“Yes. Enough to stay in a hotel for one month.”

In that case, there was still hope. In the meantime, Kunon could write to his family to ask for additional funds and seek their advice on what to do.

But to Kunon’s thinking—

“I wonder if we could find a house to rent long-term, since I’ll be here attending school for a few years.”

—securing somewhere he could stay on a yearly basis was preferable to the high cost of a hotel.

He was bound to amass more possessions while he lived here. He would continue collecting documents and books on magic—and might even start developing magic tools. And naturally, he would be conducting plenty of experiments and research.

Living was expensive. Plus, he would probably blow some money here and there on various magic-related goods. But those expenses wouldn’t be a waste. A hotel, on the other hand, while pleasant, was money that could be better spent, and Kunon needed to save where he could.

“Rinko, you can cook, right?”

“Yes. In the future, I plan to open a law-abiding restaurant with my fiancé.”

Rinko had also learned from her sister about Kunon’s favorite foods—and which ones were easiest for him to eat. Iko had told her that whenever she wanted to butter up Kunon, she should cut him thick slices of bacon.

“What about housework?”

“Yes. I’m prepared to become a housewife at any moment.”

Whatever one might assume from her personality, Rinko was still a servant for the Gurion estate. She excelled at such tasks.

“Then why don’t we rent a small house and live there together?”

“Um, is that a proposal…?”

“If neither of us was engaged, I wouldn’t mind if you took it that way. If we were both unattached, we could get married, and I’d cherish you for the rest of our lives.”

“Yes, gladly! If neither of us were engaged!”

The two of them burst into giggles.

“Excuse me.”

The receptionist was standing nearby, wearing a slightly sour expression. She’d just witnessed Kunon and Rinko’s shenanigans and rather wished she hadn’t.

“For the time being,” she continued. “I’ve been giving this to enrollment candidates who didn’t get into the dormitory… In addition, here’s your one hundred necca back. I’d rather not get yelled at by my superiors for taking bribes over such a paltry sum.”

Apparently, the receptionist had some additional information and had followed them out of the building. But finding it difficult to interrupt their strange back-and-forth, she had wound up waiting for some time, all the while watching them and thinking, I suppose they get along well, at least.

“A piece of paper?” asked Kunon.

Rinko accepted the document in Kunon’s place, since he couldn’t see, and proceeded to scan over its contents.

“Yes. It has information about realtors. Are there students every year who don’t make it into the dorms?”

“It varies quite dramatically,” said the receptionist. “Since there aren’t that many sorcerers in the world, we have years with no applicants at all. Plus, there are some students who struggle to graduate, so the number of openings in the dormitory is by no means consistent. As it happens, we haven’t had many graduates in the last two years.”

I see, Kunon thought. It wasn’t that there was an overabundance of applicants this year, but rather that students who had yet to finish school were filling up the dorm.

“Any realtor on that list should be able to show you some sorcerer-friendly properties.”

“Thank you very much for your help,” said Rinko. “I apologize for my discourteous attempt to bribe you.”

“…Bribes start at ten thousand necca. If you give someone that little, they’ll assume it’s a tip.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

After letting out an exasperated sigh, the receptionist went back into the building.

“Now then, Master Kunon,” said Rinko. “Shall we go find a home that could have been our love nest?”

“Yes. It’s time we started our new life together, I think.”

All joking aside, Kunon was right.

The entrance exam for magic school would be held in one month. In the meantime, Kunon needed to prepare.

Even if he failed, Kunon was still a sorcerer, and there were paths he could take outside of magic school. But all Kunon could think about was passing the entrance exam.

Starting with the immortal witch Gray Rouva, he had a long list of sorcerers he was interested in, and a good number of them were teachers at the magic school. It was said that even the instructors who weren’t famous had world-class knowledge and experience in their respective fields, not to mention unparalleled magical talent. There was no chance Kunon was going to walk away without meeting such people, not after coming this far. And so he intended to pass the exam no matter what.

He had been late in applying to the dormitory, but he was able to find a house in no time through a realtor from the receptionist’s list.

Every year, the number of applicants increased about two weeks before the entrance exam. Kunon had arrived a month early, so while he had missed out on the dorm, he had his pick of properties. In the end, he rented a house that was somewhat large for two people and moved in with Rinko.

It took him one week to get accustomed to their new living situation. After two weeks, he had acclimated to the cuisine. In three weeks and five days, Kunon could find his way to the different magic shops around town.

Then, for the two days remaining, he decided to apply himself at last and started cramming for the entrance exam.

Finally, it was time for Kunon, now thoroughly prepared, to face the test that would determine his future path…

The day of the entrance examination had arrived.

At the appointed time, Kunon returned to the administrative building along with Rinko. They were met by the same receptionist from one month prior, and she remembered them.

“O-only applicants are allowed beyond this point…”

The receptionist stammered a little while looking at Kunon. His stylish eye mask and fancy cane were probably to blame. She was taking his blindness into careful consideration.

“Oh, I can manage fine on my own. I’ll be quite lonely without Rinko, however.”

“What a coincidence, Master Kunon. I feel the same. Perhaps we can arrange something with the help of a little bribe?”

“Don’t try to give me another hundred necca, because it won’t work. I told you, the minimum is ten thousand. If you’re all right by yourself, your attendant will need to spend her time elsewhere.” She turned to Rinko. “The exam will end before noon, so why not have a cup of tea at a café somewhere?”

“In that case, I’ll go get myself something sweet! Good luck, Master Kunon!”

Rinko left without batting an eye.

“…What on earth is your relationship with that maid?” wondered the receptionist aloud.

Rinko puzzled her. The woman seemed worried about her master, then took off without a care. And yet they seemed to get along so well.

“Who can say?” said Kunon. “She’s always like this, so I can’t be sure. But attractive women always have a mysterious side, so I think it’s fine.”

“Oh… Is that so?”

“I’m sure you have a mysterious side, too. Perhaps you don’t have a name, for example.”

“What do you mean? My name is Loubella… Oh.”

The receptionist gasped. She’d been so taken aback, she’d given her name without meaning to. She felt as though she’d just been bamboozled by a master flirt.

“Loubella. What a lovely name. I especially like the way it sounds—like a combination of Lou and Bella.”

The boy had just tricked her into revealing her name, and now he was talking nonsense. The maid might be strange, but this child was a total enigma.

Loubella the receptionist had a feeling entertaining the boy’s antics would tire her out, so she decided it was well past time to lead him to the examination site.

Loubella and Kunon left the administrative building through the back door.

“Beyond this point, you’re on school premises,” the receptionist explained.

As they walked, she described the rough layout of the grounds, noting the schoolhouse and other special-use buildings in the distance.

“Wow…”

Kunon was already thrilled. They were still far away, but even so, he could feel them—the presence of several powerful sorcerers within the school grounds. They had to be the teachers he’d heard so much about.

Kunon was eager to meet the many esteemed instructors, speak with fellow students, and conduct all kinds of experiments. He was going to have so much fun.

“Are you familiar with the nature of the exam?”

“After the applicants’ magical ability is assessed through a practical skills test, they are separated by magical attribute to complete a written portion and interview. Ultimately, however, decisions are made almost entirely based on the practical portion.”

“By and large correct. If your magic skills are solid enough, the examiners assume you’re versed in magical theory, so they consider the written exam passed. Supposing you aren’t, they figure you’ll learn afterward, so it’s fine.”

Kunon tried to imagine what kind of person would possess undeniable magical ability without any familiarity with the theory behind it. Someone like that would have to be a genius. He felt such cases must be exceedingly rare.

“The interview is important, as well. People who aren’t suited for magic school… Those who take pleasure in hurting others, those who plagiarize the results of others’ experiments or research… The interview is conducted to prevent dangerous types like those from entering the school.”

Magic was power, and power could be wielded like a weapon. Weapons, in turn, could be used to protect, but they could also be used to do harm.

The school’s minimum age requirement had been established with the aim of ensuring that students had reached a sufficient level of maturity.

However, power was corrupting. It could change people. Sorcerers with flawed characters weren’t common, but they did exist.

“The world is filled with all sorts, isn’t it? How scary. You should be careful, too, Ms. Loubella. You wouldn’t want to be lured into marriage fraud or something like that.”

“…Just so you know, I’m a very cautious woman, all right? I’ll admit that I let my name slip earlier, but that’s because you’re a child. I’m not an easy mark.”

“If you’re too cautious, it can actually end up making you more susceptible. For example, once you let your guard down around a man, you might become overly dependent and obsessed with him, only to be dumped in the end for being too clingy. I think flexibility is key, no matter the circumstances.”

“……”

Loubella was at a loss for words. This was a mere child, and yet he’d begun prodding precisely at her most bitter experiences as if he knew all about them. What a frightening boy.

“Well, if it were me,” he continued. “I would never throw away a woman as charming as you are, Ms. Loubella.”

“Huh? …Wha—?”

Her heart gave a small, unconscious flutter.

This boy was just a child. How terrifying, she thought.

If only Loubella knew that Kunon was simply parroting things he’d heard his former maid say. The boy himself hardly knew the first thing about love.

At last, the two of them made it to the venue where the practical skills test was to be held.

It was an empty, open space not unlike a schoolyard. And it seemed that three others had already arrived ahead of him—two boys and one girl.

“Please wait here.”

The receptionist, who had grown to fear Kunon in more ways than one, quickly withdrew. Meanwhile, the three people already there looked over the newcomer. They seemed puzzled—even suspicious—of the child with an eye mask who had just joined them.

“……”

Toward them, however, Kunon felt awe.

“I see…”

Awe and satisfaction.

He decided to use the Glass Eye to get a glimpse of the other people and the surrounding area, but as soon as he activated it and took a look around, everything he had theorized until that point was thrown into disarray.

Kunon had seen many strange things on his journey, and he had started to formulate a set of rules based on those observations, but— No, it wasn’t that his previous findings were wrong, he’d simply discovered a new rule.

The three people were most likely other applicants.

The one who caught his eye first was a silver-haired girl clad in a white robe. She seemed to be around Kunon’s age. At her back was a massive hoop that emitted a faint, golden light. Kunon had seen such a thing in picture books illustrating various myths—it was a halo. A halolike object was floating behind her.

The other two people were similar. One was an adult man who looked about twenty years old, and the other was a boy the same age as Kunon and the girl.

The man had wound a bright-red lizard around his body—or perhaps it was the lizard who had wound itself around the man.

Something that looked like confetti swirled through the air around the boy. Kunon had occasionally seen something similar dancing on the wind out in nature.

This defied the rules he’d begun to establish regarding how he saw people through the Glass Eye. So far, he had been able to identify three patterns: people with things protruding from inside their bodies, people with things growing out of their bodies, and people whose bodies were affected by something.

“Master Kunon. You’ve got a letter from the magic sch— Ah, that looks so comfortable!”

Rinko, on her way to deliver a letter to Kunon, cried out when she saw how pleasantly relaxed he looked.

It was the middle of summer; the sun’s rays were strong, and temperatures soared. Even doing nothing at all could make one break out in a sweat. But under the shade of a parasol, curled up in the temperature-controlled Supersoft-Body A-ori, it was exceptionally relaxing.

“It’s incredibly comfortable. I hope you don’t have too much more work to do.”

Kunon was enjoying a little leisurely break. He read some books, got lost in thought, jotted down notes, and napped when he felt like it.

Once school started, this life would be a thing of the past. So he was getting in some relaxation while he still had the chance.

Plus, his magical waterbed was slowly rotating. Right now, it was moving clockwise. He could make it move in either direction at will, depending on his mood.

There wasn’t a reason for the A-ori to be rotating, mind you. Kunon had succeeded in applying the technique he’d observed the other day, in Hank’s Ka-ryu. He liked the waterbed better when it was spinning, so he’d made it happen. That was it.

This, too, was all according to his mood.

Rinko and Kunon were in the garden of their rental house.

The property was small for a noble, but as a living space for two, it was perfect. The garden was on the cozy side, as well. There was just enough room for Kunon to conduct his experiments and for Rinko to dabble in her hobbies. And with school relatively close by, the house’s location was excellent.

Kunon had completed his enrollment using this new address, and he’d informed his family back in Hughlia of his living arrangements via his Letter Box.

Kunon’s Letter Box was a magic tool he’d created, consisting of a box linked to a magic circle. If a letter written in a special kind of ink was put into the box, the words of the message—and nothing else—were transmitted to the magic circle’s location. Due to its limitations and the magic elixirs it required, the box was reserved for urgent business only.

Unless something extraordinary happened, Kunon expected that Rinko and he would stay in this house until he graduated.

“So the school sent a letter?” Kunon asked.

Without lifting her face from where it was pressed against the cool waterbed, Rinko said yes and held out the envelope.

“It’s probably an admissions guide,” said Kunon. “Or maybe someone is inviting me on a date?”

“I’ll be jealous if it’s the latter.”

“Don’t worry. Whenever I’m here with you, you’re the only one on my mind.”

“But what about when you leave? How cruel, Master Kunon. You’re a menace to womankind.”

The two of them burst into laughter.

Through his giggles, Kunon opened the letter. It sported a magical wax seal that he melted away with some of his own magic. Meanwhile, Rinko stuffed her face back into the waterbed.

Since he had already passed the exam, Kunon expected school would be starting any day now. That must be what the letter was about. Perhaps it contained a list of school supplies he would need to buy ahead of time. Or perhaps someone really had invited him on a date.

“…Aha.”

The letter was indeed related to admissions. Enclosed along with it were two certificates of permission to attend magic school, one of which was presumably meant to be kept safe at home.

“So I’m supposed to carry one with me, then?”

The first certificate was made of paper. The second was a small metal plaque, easily portable, engraved with his name and a few other bits of information identifying Kunon as a student at the magic school.

In other words, it was a student ID card. The metal plaque would likely double as Kunon’s personal identification from that point on.

“…Hmm? Huh…? What?!”

The contents of the letter, however, were unexpected. Kunon had been scanning over it lazily, but the further he read, the wider his unseeing eyes became.

“What’s wrong?”

At Kunon’s reaction, Rinko looked up from the cooling A-ori.

“…Pfft. Ah-ha-ha. I see!” Kunon was laughing. “So this is how the magic school does things? What a wonderful surprise!”

The time for relaxation had come to an end. School life, Kunon realized, was starting right now.

“Rinko, how much do you receive as salary from the Gurion estate?”

“About as much as your allowance, Master Kunon.”

“Huh? One hundred and sixty thousand necca? That can’t be. It’s that little?”

As the child of nobility, Kunon’s pocket money was nothing to sneeze at. The son of a marquess, he had spent extravagant amounts on his magic studies since he was small. But his first servant, Iko, had instilled a commoner’s sense for money in him. She often told him: “Money is precious. Don’t waste it. It’s the only thing you can always depend on. Not your family, not your friends—money.” For that reason, Kunon had a fairly good idea of how much money was worth, though he exercised little self-control and was prone to making expensive impulse purchases.

“I’m joking,” said Rinko. “I couldn’t help but make something up when you asked me about my income out of the blue like that… Master Kunon, you know it’s rude for employers to pry into the state of their servants’ purses, don’t you?”

Not knowing why Kunon had posed the question, Rinko had lied. Her caution was absolutely justified. No matter how close the employer-employee relationship, money was a private, sensitive topic.

“I normally wouldn’t ask,” said Kunon. “I do have some degree of common sense.”

Another thing Iko had taught him. She might have introduced a few flaws into Kunon’s personality, but she had done right by him otherwise.

“I’m asking because I can no longer afford not to know.”

“Pardon?”

“About two hundred thousand, would you say? I believe that’s around what Iko received, not counting additional compensation.”

“Um… I’m not really following, but my salary is approximately four hundred and fifty thousand per month, plus a travel allowance. It’s quite high for a servant.”

“I see. That much, huh?”

Kunon’s mind raced. A month’s hard work for a servant translated to 450,000 necca, and that was the high end of the range. That meant—

“A normal job isn’t going to cut it…”

Muttering to himself, Kunon smiled like he was having fun.

“Master Kunon, please explain. If you don’t, I’ll be forced to grab all the money in this house and run. This is making me very uncomfortable. You are absolutely not allowed to touch a necca of my pay.”

“Hmm? Oh yes. It seems that…” Kunon held the letter out to her as he spoke. “…unfortunately, the Advanced class I’ll be attending has a rule: I have to earn my own living expenses.”

“What? But that would mean…”

“In short, it means my allowance will have to be cut off.”

Scanning over the letter herself, Rinko confirmed what was written there.

“Evidently, the school will pay our rent,” Kunon continued. “But we need more than that to live, right? I suppose I’ll have to work to earn money for food and other necessities, plus any extra funds I want to spend on magic. And it says that I am required to pay my servant’s salary myself.”

Consequently—

“It looks like I need to find a job. One with a monthly salary of about five hundred thousand… No, make that six hundred to seven hundred thousand.”

Kunon’s circumstances had taken a sudden, unanticipated turn.

The conditions for Advanced class students could be summed up in the following main points:

• Accepting money and/or presents from family (immediate or extended), friends, or anyone else is prohibited.
• The school will pay the cost of rent for students’ current places of residence. Otherwise, students’ living expenses will come from the wages they earn through work. Students with servants must pay their servants’ salaries themselves.
• Students are generally free to make use of all school facilities except for restricted areas.
• Wearing robes is recommended—but not required—so that students can be easily identified as pupils of the school.
• Students are required to carry their student identification cards whenever they leave their residences. Losing one’s ID card will result in a severe penalty.
• Students are permitted to consult with teachers if they need help, but this should not be considered a blanket solution to all problems.

“Not permitting you to receive an allowance is… A bit unreasonable, no?”

When Kunon finished reading the conditions aloud, Rinko looked skeptical.

“A bit,” he agreed. “But I’m sure it will work out fine.”

“Really? I don’t understand why they’re making you work when you came here to attend magic school. Won’t that cut down on your study time?”

“I think the point is to manage my time well enough to do both.”

Kunon put everything back into the envelope except the metal ID card.

“My master used to tell me, ‘Think about what you’re going to use that spell for.’ It’s fine to start by doing something just because it strikes your fancy, but after that you need to consider what you can do with it.”

The ability to use magic wasn’t worth anything on its own. One had to know what it could do, how to make it useful.

“In this case, I think he would tell me to come up with a way of using magic to make money.”

If their living expenses were relatively low, a normal job might have sufficed. But since Kunon also had to earn enough to pay Rinko’s salary, ordinary labor wasn’t an option. Of course, a typical job that didn’t involve magic would have been difficult to begin with, since Kunon couldn’t see.

“…There are only a few more days until school starts. I have some thinking to do.”

Then and there, Kunon’s life of leisure came to an unforeseen end. If he didn’t find a way to make money, he wouldn’t be able to support his lifestyle, and he wouldn’t be able to keep employing Rinko.

Suddenly, Kunon found himself in quite the predicament. And yet, compared to when he’d been indulging in leisure mere moments ago, he now seemed to be having much more fun.

Several days had passed since Kunon’s school papers arrived.

“I’m off,” he called out to Rinko.

“Enjoy your day!”

Rinko watched as he left the house.

The weather was excellent. Wind blew through the city, carrying away the lingering summer heat to some far-off destination. Kunon was grateful it wasn’t raining. It was a good thing that on an important day such as this—Kunon’s first day of magic school—the weather was nice and unremarkable.

From now on, Kunon would be going to the school almost every day. He had thoroughly memorized the route there so he could navigate it alone, even without sight. The school wasn’t that far away, so he had decided to commute on foot.

Kunon could hear his surroundings clearly. The sounds of people going about their daily lives reached him unhampered by any unusual noise.

On rainy days, the terrain was difficult, and Kunon struggled to hear anything over the din. That alone could make it a challenge for him to get around.

He was really glad it was sunny.

“G’morning, Kunon.”

“Good morning, Mr. Kunon!”

“Ha-ha! Ah-ha-ha!”

“Woof! Woof!”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

Kunon had been renting a house in Dirashik for one month, and in that time, he had established a friendly relationship with his neighbors. He was already a regular at the nearby bakery and general store, and he adored the massive dog that the man next door, Mr. Dio, owned. There were other cute dogs he saw sometimes, too, but he didn’t know who they belonged to. Though he assumed they were pets since they had collars.

By now, everyone in the area knew about Kunon’s blindness, so they made sure to say hello whenever they saw him. The dogs were always running up to him as well.

They were all nice—both the people and the canines.

“Good morning,” Kunon returned. “Your voice is lovely as always. It’s like I can hear the sound of your beautiful heart. Oof—my, my, such lovely drool! Quite befitting of such a gorgeous animal.”

Kunon greeted his neighbors and their dogs before continuing on his way.

Then, very casually, he stopped walking and activated the Glass Eye.

“Hello.”

It was still there. And it still wasn’t responding.

Along the road, in the narrow space between two buildings, there was a back alley wide enough for just one person to fit through.

When Kunon looked at the alley with the Eye, he could see a huge figure—so large he had to crane his neck to take it in properly—smooshed into the gap. The figure had red skin, long white hair, and an exposed, muscular body. Its bulging veins looked quite manly. Kunon had done some research and discovered the figure was a creature known as an ogre. Apart from a loincloth, the ogre was entirely naked and semitransparent.

The first time Kunon had seen it, he had thought it was a person. But now he assumed the ogre was like the crab that always followed behind him. It was possible he was wrong, however. After all, the ogre didn’t appear on the back of some burdened sorcerer, and it stayed stuck in the little alley, never stirring.

Approximately two weeks had gone by since Kunon had found it, but the ogre hadn’t moved an inch. Even an eccentric with a love of squeezing into tight spaces would struggle to stay in one spot for so long.

In any case, the ogre wasn’t really there, so it didn’t pose a threat. Kunon had been taken aback to see a dog walk right through it once. Incidentally, he had also been somewhat surprised by the high percentage of pet dogs in the neighborhood.

Was the ogre another apparition that broke all his heretofore established rules, or was it just an exception?

“…I wonder if it’s something I can figure out through research.”

Kunon continued to see all sorts of strange things. Looking into the distance was still too taxing, so everything he saw was up close. Moving visuals also remained difficult with the Glass Eye. In the time it took to blink, a scene could change dramatically. His brain struggled to process that amount of optical input. Instead, Kunon would look through the Eye for a moment before deactivating it. Then he would take some time to interpret what he had seen.

Currently, repeating that process was Kunon’s only method of looking at things. He had largely gotten used to it… But he still had a long way to go before he would be able to see around the clock like an average person.

If he reached that point, Kunon was sure he would come across countless mysterious beings like the ogre. Not that he particularly wanted that. He didn’t enjoy looking at large, mostly naked men.

In truth, he had grown used to these strange beings. As expected in a city brimming with sorcerers, if he kept an eye out, he was bound to discover quite a few. Even so, their existence was constantly weighing on his mind, and Kunon hoped that someday he would find the answers he was looking for.

Kunon arrived safely at school despite all the neighborly exchanges and frolicking dogs.

“Mr. Kunon. Good morning.”

“Is that you, Ms. Loubella?”

Though he had sensed someone standing near the school gate, he hadn’t been sure of who it was at first. It turned out to be Loubella, the receptionist he had met when he visited the administrative office.

“I’ll be leading you into the school from here, so please come with me.”

“Very well… Wait. Just me?”

“The other three new students are already inside. Do you remember the room where you took the written portion of the entrance exam? That’s where I’ll be taking you.”

“A special escort, just for me? Thank you so much. You’re very kind, Ms. Loubella.”

“I’m only doing this because I was asked to.”

“You don’t mind if I fall in love with you, do you? I mean, it’s already too late.”

“Right. Sure. You probably say that to every woman you meet.”

“I’m not so fickle as all that. I only say it about ninety-eight percent of the time.”

“At that rate, it seems to me you may as well go bold and make it a hundred percent.”

Loubella led him through the gate, preoccupied with thoughts of the 2 percent of women Kunon didn’t say such things to.

“This is it.”

“Thank you for your assistance. Please let me buy you lunch as a token of my gratitude.”

Deftly sidestepping Kunon’s advances, the receptionist walked away, leaving him at the classroom door. Perhaps she was indeed as guarded as she’d said. Kunon watched her go, then opened the door to head into the room…

“This is unacceptable.”

…only to find that some sort of quarrel was taking place on the other side.

“Okay, but what am I supposed to do about it…?”

Three people were already in the classroom. The one declaring something to be “unacceptable” was Reyes Saint-Lance, who Kunon had failed to win over during the entrance exam. Hank Beat, the oldest applicant, appeared flustered as she closed in on him. Watching their argument with no small discomfort was Riyah Houghs.

These were, as far as Kunon was concerned, his classmates, since they had all taken the entrance exam together.

“Good morning. It’s lovely to see you all again. Oh? How lovely, you ask? As lovely as when my thick-cut bacon at breakfast has been cut even thicker than usual.”

“……”

The Saint ignored him as usual.

“…Oh, hey. Good morning.”

“Good…morning?”

Hank and Riyah managed to return his greeting, though they sounded a little bewildered. Their faces seemed to say “It’s too early for you to be spouting nonsense.”

“Were you fighting about something? I’m happy to weigh in, if you’d like.”

“We’re not fighting, per se…,” Hank answered hesitantly as he turned to look at Reyes.

“We were discussing the Advanced class policies,” she said. “I hadn’t heard about allowances being prohibited or the need to earn my own living expenses before enrolling.”

“Oh, I see.”

So that was what the Saint found unacceptable.

Kunon recalled that Hank had worked for a long time as a low-level assistant to one of the school’s teachers. Reyes must have brought up the subject with him, assuming he would have some knowledge regarding the school’s internal affairs.

“That shouldn’t be a problem for you, right?” said Kunon.

“Excuse me? What exactly makes you think so? To be clear, based on some simple calculations, I’ll have to earn one and a half million necca per month to get by.”

One and a half million per month? That was almost twice Kunon’s estimate. Just what kind of life was the Saint living?

“That’s quite a sum,” he remarked. “I suppose it must be true that good women need money for grooming.”

Reyes ignored Kunon’s statement and kept talking.

“When I went looking, I was told there were no jobs paying that much, and that if I needed that kind of money, I’d have to become some noble’s mistress. The disrespect.”

Though she had claimed to be lacking in emotions, Kunon could feel a hint of indignation emanating from the Saint. In truth, she was probably incensed. What looked like minor irritation on Reyes likely translated to absolute fury on the average person.

“That really is a lot of money. But I’m sure you’ll be fine. It’ll be tough on all of us.”

Kunon addressed Hank, who had also asked to be in the Advanced class. Kunon was done trying to flirt with Reyes. He had remembered a piece of advice Iko had once given him: When pushing didn’t work, one should try pulling away.

In addition, when he mentioned the Saint while telling Rinko about his entrance exam, she’d told him, “Don’t pester her, and never be alone with her. Never. Don’t court needless misunderstandings by inviting her anywhere. Good men aren’t obstinate. A gentleman should always value a woman’s will.”

Kunon couldn’t dismiss such a valuable lesson about gentlemanly behavior. He was still very interested in speaking to Reyes, however. He was dying to ask her about light magic.

“Huh? Oh… Actually, it’ll be easy for me. I’m a commoner. I just need to earn enough for food. But you’re nobility, aren’t you? You must have various other expenses.”

“You’re right. I think I could manage fine if it were only my cost of living, but my servant’s salary… That’s a lot of pressure.”

There were probably students who sent their servants home to lessen the burden. But for Kunon, that wouldn’t be an easy decision. He could do things himself to a certain extent, but the barriers to living on his own were still too high.

Kunon had blossomed in numerous ways, but in the end, he still hated being alone. Plus, he didn’t know the first thing about housework, and he hated tidying up. Having a maid who could take care of the chores and attend to Kunon on occasion was, in his mind, an absolute necessity.

“Oh good, you’re all here.”

As the students were talking, their teachers arrived—Soff Cricket and his assistant Associate Professor Sayfie.

“This is unacceptable.” Reyes started hounding the teachers the moment they appeared. “I came here to study magic. I don’t have time to come up with my own living expenses.”

“Right, first off, congratulations on your admission. It’s orientation time. I’m going to go over all that starting now, okay?”

Soff and Sayfie remained unbothered by Reyes’s objections, as if they were par for the course.

“Now’s as good a time as any,” said Soff, “so let me begin with an explanation. I believe I told you at the entrance exam that ‘the Advanced class is aimed at producing first-rate sorcerers.’ An essential part of being in that first-rate tier is earning money. Let me put it simply: Sorcerers who can’t earn money can’t be considered first-rate, as far as the school’s standards are concerned. Right, Ms. Sayfie?”

“I’m not a first-rate magic user, but I still need money to get by. The more advanced the magic you’re involved with, the more money you will need.”

Kunon understood this very well. After all, he’d seen the hits to his allowance from the cost of his study and research into magic.

It was all about materials. Everything cost money, including the elixirs and medicinal herbs required for spells and the objects needed to serve as mediums. Each component of a magic tool was made-to-order and designed to react to and operate on magic. Putting together something like that was inevitably expensive.

“They say there’s no rose without a thorn,” Soff pointed out. “True or not, sorcerers unable to make money tend to wind up in trouble, stealing or killing to fund their research. And even without money, sorcerers can still use powerful magic, which only aggravates the situation. Some time ago, you used to hear stories about sorcerers who were tricked or threatened—or even lured into wrongdoing by the promise of a reward. Naive magic users who know nothing outside of spells are easy targets for professional con artists. Whether they’re after your strength or your authority, there are people everywhere who will try to take advantage of you for their own benefit. Learning to make an honest living is about keeping your distance from those kinds of shady characters.”

“Besides,” Soff continued, “you’re here to learn advanced magic—but Reyes, have you ever considered what you’ll do after achieving that goal?”

“No. My future is already decided.”

As a saint of the Holy Kingdom, Reyes was expected to become a high-ranking symbol of faith for the people. In other words, this was simply a period of transition for her.

“That’s all the more reason for you to experience working life. Find out what all you can achieve with your magic. Your future position might be decided, but there are plenty of things that aren’t set in stone yet, right? Find something you want to do. Whether it’s something you find interesting or simply enjoy, pursuing it will improve your magic and help it grow. Look—even if you don’t believe me now, just humor me and try some stuff out. Right, Ms. Sayfie?”

“Some things can only be achieved while you’re young.”

Kunon found himself agreeing with their teachers once again. His master, Zeonly, had told him about how he began making magic tools as a way to earn money. He had gone into the field with a casual attitude, but before long, he was obsessed.

Now Kunon understood. His master had come across magic tool-making in his quest to earn a living at school, not realizing he was stumbling upon his future occupation. He had discovered his calling as a sorcerer, and now Zeonly Finroll was a star magical engineer.

To find one’s lifelong career like that must have been an incredible stroke of good luck. After all, Zeonly’s personality meant he wasn’t likely to get along in most sensible magical professions.

“I need to earn one and a half million necca per month to get by. Does such a job exist?”

This time, Soff looked startled at Reyes’s words.

“What?! One and a half million?! No way… What do you need that much for? Food?”

“I have two servants who act as my guards. I have to pay them, don’t I? In addition to my living expenses.”

“Oh, I see… That is a bit of a problem, isn’t it, Ms. Sayfie?”

“It makes my stomach hurt just thinking about paying that kind of money…”

If her servants were also her guards, they couldn’t be dismissed easily. But the rules of the Advanced class said that Reyes had a duty to work to pay their salaries. Kunon now understood why she took issue with the policy.

“There is a quick solution, if you want one.”

“Is there? A way I can earn the money?”

“No, not exactly. However, you could transfer to the Second Level class. There’s no rule against allowances there… But if you drop down a level, you won’t be allowed back into this one.”

“…What is the difference in course content?”

“It depends on your motivation. Advanced students are free to study whatever they’d like. They can learn or slack off to their hearts’ content. In Second Level, the scope of things students may study on their own is narrower. That’s the main difference.”

“……”

“You can take some time to think about it. There’s a grace period, so it might be a good idea to consult with your teachers. Right, Ms. Sayfie?”

“Yes,” his assistant replied. “I am also available for advice, though I may not be of much help. Don’t give up hope yet.”

“…Thank you. I’ll consider my options.”

Though their school lives had only just begun, it seemed the Saint was already facing a big challenge on the financial front.

Though they’d gotten a bit ahead of themselves, Soff and Sayfie eventually returned to their original subject.

“We call it orientation, but since Advanced students don’t have many restrictions, there’s not a lot to say.”

“Um!” Riyah interjected. “I w-was aiming for the Second Level class, so I’m wondering why I’m here in the Advanced orientation!”

Apparently, another of their number had gotten a big surprise.

“It was concluded that your ability was sufficient to get by in the Advanced class. Are you unhappy with that decision?”

“Not unhappy, but… I was planning on using my free time to work so I could send some money back home…”

“That so? But well, class transfers are processed right away, so why not stay in the Advanced class for now and see how it goes? From the sound of things, as far as I can tell, there shouldn’t be much of a conflict for you.”

Soff had a point. Wouldn’t finding time to work to send money home be easier in the class where one was allowed to do anything they pleased?

“…I see,” said Riyah. “I suppose I’ll give it a try…”

Good, Kunon thought. Riyah was one of his precious, long-awaited classmates; there was so much he wanted to ask him.

“I’d like to add that students in the Advanced class are already considered qualified sorcerers in their own right,” said Soff. “You won’t be called apprentices or anything like that. Consequently, teachers will sometimes ask you to participate in experiments and research, and you can earn a certain amount of money that way, too. That’s one reason I suggested you consult with them. If your instructors think you’ve got what they’re looking for, they’ll offer you chances to make money whether you want them or not. You may have to negotiate a little, though.”

In effect, Soff said, the Advanced students were like freelance research assistants.

“You all are essentially at liberty to do what you please. You don’t have scheduled class times like the First and Second Levels, and outside of individual commitments, the school will hardly ever force you to do something. You have free rein to use school facilities, and I want you to take advantage of that. Immerse yourself in magic, work, or whatever else you want.”

The Advanced class truly did enjoy freedom in their studies, it seemed.

“However,” he continued, “you are required to earn at least ten credits per year. You have to establish a record of achievement, whether you do that through research, experimentation, or working with teachers. If you fall short by even one credit, you’ll be put in Second Level for the next school year. I said before that you can slack off as much as you’d like, and that was true. But if you fail to earn your credits, the privileges that come with being in the Advanced class will be taken away from you.”

In other words, they could do as they pleased so long as they managed their own schedules and figured out how they would earn their credits.

The Advanced class asked a lot of its students. They would have to draw on their abilities as well as their ambitions. It was expected that, even when left on their own, they would do what was required of them.

“I think that’s about it. Just remember that you need to earn ten credits per year. There are numerous ways to achieve that, so you’d do well to ask various teachers for advice.”

With that, the main explanation was finished.

There were no particular restrictions for their class, so from then on, they would simply have to get used to their new lives.

“That’s it for the explanation. Any questions?”

The other students asked Soff about several things, but none of it was of particular interest.

“Yes, Kunon?”

Assuming his question might take some time to answer, Kunon waited until it looked like the other three students were done before raising his hand.

“Are we allowed to do business with teachers?”

“Yep, whatever you want. Sell your services as an assistant, sell things that you’ve obtained or created—anything. However, you could be expelled for angering a teacher, so make sure to use common sense and operate within the bounds of the law.”

Kunon was relieved. He had been brainstorming ways of making money since he’d first received that letter from the school. His current idea was something he was confident he could do—and which was both safe and effective. Plus, he already had a track record of success. It would also provide him with the chance to meet many of the school’s teachers, and if that included Satori, the water sorcerer he so admired, Kunon would be thrilled.

Ten days had passed since orientation.

“Problems? None so far, I think,” said Kunon.

“Really? No one’s said anything rude?” asked Soff.

“I think they want to, but they fall asleep before they can.”

“Oh, I see… Everyone sure is worn out…”

Plainly put, Kunon’s idea was a success.

He had started by offering people a chance to test the service once for free, and now, by day ten, four to five customers were showing up per day.

“With just a short nap, you too can feel as refreshed as though you’ve slept for half a day!”

“Pulled an all-nighter? Or two? Or three? No problem!”

“So comfortable you’ll come back again and again!”

“Realistic stuffed animal options available! Try the giant hairless rat—it’s our most popular add-on!”

With repeat customers so common, word of Kunon’s business, the Sleep Sanctuary, spread in no time. And when people heard it was Zeonly’s disciple running the service, they only talked about it more.

A significant number of people came just to take a look and see how business was going; even that was a sign of Kunon’s success. The Sleep Sanctuary was proving a popular new trend at the magic school, and this was only ten days into the new term.

“I think things have more or less settled. Thank you for all your help, Professor Soff.”

Soff had served as Kunon’s adviser right from the start, providing lectures on business fundamentals and helping him to secure a location, attract customers, and develop publicity. Kunon owed him a lot.

He had also helped establish the pricing. At the current rate, Kunon could probably earn his monthly living expenses in two weeks. His only worry now was that someone would re-create the Supersoft-Body A-ori and start a competing business.

This was a magic school, after all. There were tons of people more brilliant than Kunon here. He was sure that many of them could replicate his work if they wanted to.

“I didn’t expect you to develop a system for earning money this quickly, but… A place to rest, huh? It’s one of the things outside of food, clothing, and shelter that humans will always need. You’re practically guaranteed a steady stream of customers.”

Kunon felt like “a place to rest” fell under the “shelter” category, but there was no need to split hairs.

His business was already on track. Starting with Soff, Kunon had collected signatures from teachers and students who’d tried out his service. After submitting the list to the school, he was able to reserve three empty classrooms.

These were available for reservation by Advanced students on an individual basis to use as temporary research facilities. Anyone could rent a room, as long as their application explaining its intended use was accepted.

Kunon, whose application had been furnished with the names of current teachers and students, was granted permission for all three rooms without issue. He even managed to get space on the second floor. Apparently, the building’s higher floors saw less foot traffic, so the bottom two floors, which were the easiest to access, were thus more desirable.

“Things really are speeding right along, huh?”

Soff had just dropped by Kunon’s place of business that day to check in and see how things were going. Business was favorable, and it seemed customers were using the facilities even now.

What used to be nothing more than an empty classroom was fast becoming Kunon’s niche at the school. Stacks of library books waited to be thoroughly devoured and have their most interesting passages transcribed. In fact, piles of such notes were already forming.

Kunon was still just a boy of twelve. Yet the state of his desk brought to mind a full-fledged sorcerer. If someone was to happen upon this room when Kunon was out, they would never guess it was being used by a child.

Soff was long past having doubts, but if he’d harbored any lingering suspicions about Kunon truly being Zeonly’s apprentice, this room would have banished them. While it was true that Kunon was a bit strange and frivolous, his feelings about and approach toward magic were genuine.

This classroom was his home base—his research lab—and the other two were used for his business. One room was for men, the other for women, and each was further partitioned into spaces where customers would sleep. Or rather, where customers were already sleeping.

The people who needed this service the most were the ones who had to return to work immediately after waking up. So rather than napping here, they slept in their own dedicated research labs. The customers who came to Kunon’s rooms still had some time to spare.

Even Kunon, unable to see, could tell that the teachers and students who slept in their labs were run considerably ragged. Soff’s eagerness to help him get his business off the ground made a lot of sense in that context.

Kunon knew what it was like to get so invested in something that he forgot to eat or sleep, and the people at the school were no different. If anything, they seemed even more likely to push themselves to their limits.

In Kunon’s case, at least, Iko or Rinko was always there to stop him before he went too far. Without them, he would probably be in a similar state.

“Business aside,” said Soff, “you’ve devised quite an interesting bit of magic there. To think encapsulating water in a highly elastic and pliable membrane would result in something like that.”

“That” referred to the waterbed, also known as the Supersoft-Body A-ori.

Soff had tested it out, and it was absolutely wonderful. It was softer than the nicest of beds and made the user feel weightless. The waterbeds were so intensely comfortable that Soff bitterly regretted that, as a product of magic, they could last for only a day or two. He wished he could switch out his own bed for one. It seemed a lot of others felt similarly, ensuring a dedicated base of repeat customers.

“There’s a little more to it than that. But I’m keeping the rest secret.”

While his attribute wasn’t water, Soff was still a skilled sorcerer. He could tell there were various mechanisms at play in the A-ori.

“Oh? Even from me?”

He also knew that those mechanisms were fairly intricate. He had no doubts as to why Zeonly had approved of it.

“Hmm. I suppose it’s safe to tell you, Professor Soff.”

“Sure is.”

“My secret is the giant hairless rat. It’s the most popular option.”

As he spoke, Kunon held up a giant hairless rat made of water in both hands.

“…Is that thing really the most popular?”

“Yep. It works on everyone, even customers who seem a bit displeased with the bed itself. Once they cuddle up with one of these, they’re out like a light… I wonder if it’s the size? Or the weight? The texture? I don’t really know, but somehow it seems to be exactly what people need.”

Kunon held out the rat to Soff, who refused to take it.

“I have this feeling… Like if I touch it even once, I won’t be able to let it go, and something awful will happen. So I think I’ll pass.”

Despite not fully understanding Soff’s concerns, Kunon said “I see,” and dispelled the rat.

“At any rate,” said Soff, “I can see things are going well. I doubt you need any more help from me. I’ll come by occasionally to check in, but you may do as you please from here on out.”

“Understood. Thank you very much.”

For now, at least, it looked like Kunon had found a way to cover his living expenses.

“So have you found anything you want to do?” Soff asked.

Ten days had passed since orientation, and Kunon had spent all of them making the arrangements for the Sleep Sanctuary and reading books to feed his insatiable intellectual curiosity.

But he couldn’t just keep doing that forever. He had to earn credits. If he failed to earn even one of the necessary ten, he would lose his comfortable, unrestricted learning environment.

The safest course of action would be to earn the credits as soon as possible. And yet…

“I did receive a few invitations, but I feel like I’m okay for right now.”

Just as Soff and Sayfie had said would happen, both teachers and students had begun requesting Kunon’s assistance with their research. But he had turned them all down.

The good thing about his business was that it was peaceful. While his customers were asleep, Kunon had time to read. The school library carried an astounding number of books about magic, and he would have been happy to spend his whole school career doing nothing but reading through their entire catalog. Kunon’s current circumstances were perfect—almost too perfect.

“For now, I just want to keep reading books. I didn’t realize Professor Satori had published so many. Papers, too.”

Kunon still hadn’t met the professor he so looked up to, but he had found her books, and he was obsessed.

He had also come across handwritten reports that hadn’t been collected into books. He had practically drooled all over them. At present, he was focused on reading anything and everything of Satori’s that he could get his hands on.

“I see. Well, the term has only just started, so there’s no need to rush. Just make sure you don’t forget about your credits.”

“Understood.”

There were other things on Kunon’s mind aside from credits, however.

“By the way, Professor, what happened with Miss Reyes?”

“Hmm? Are you worried about her?”

“Of course. I still haven’t gotten to talk with her.”

Kunon expected he would get the chance to speak with Reyes at some point. But for the time being, since they both had things they needed to tend to, he hadn’t gone to see her at all.

He was busy with his business and his books. And Reyes had probably been working on the money problem she’d encountered at the start of the term. They were both preoccupied with their own tasks at the moment.

“She’s been brainstorming ideas with Ms. Sayfie, but it doesn’t seem to be going well.”

“…Does that mean the simplest option is out of the question?”

“Yeah. She said treating the sick and injured is the duty of those in sacred professions, so she can’t accept even a single coin for it on her own behalf.”

“That is troublesome.”

Kunon’s belief that Reyes would be fine was based primarily on her healing abilities. He’d figured she could simply walk into some hospital or treatment center somewhere and offer to heal everyone inside for a million necca. But it seemed that wasn’t on the table. Healing magic was the specialty of light sorcerers, so not being able to make money off it was no doubt a serious complication for Reyes.

“Kunon, why don’t you help her out?”

“Of course. I was already contemplating it. I’m an ally to women, after all.”

His answer was immediate and confident, as if it should have been obvious. Soff had expected as much. However…

“…Well, I mean, that’s what I’d like to say, but…” Kunon’s head drooped sadly. “Advanced students are considered qualified sorcerers, right? Offering unsolicited assistance to a full-fledged magic user could damage their pride. We’re just friends. If we were a little closer—on the cusp of dating, perhaps—that would be one thing, but as it is, I can’t reach out of my own volition. And since she hasn’t asked for my help…”

“…That’s a bit of a surprising answer from you.”

Incidentally, Soff was skeptical that the Saint would even consider Kunon a friend. He was pretty sure they were just classmates. Pointing that out, however, would probably only bog down the conversation.

“Really? I may not look it, but I’m still a gentleman. I always act with utmost politeness.”

Hold on one minute, thought Soff. That isn’t true. In fact, it’s not even mostly true!

“If you can, please try to persuade Miss Reyes to consult with me. I don’t know if I can help her, but as they say, two heads are better than one.”

“Do you have a good idea for a business?”

“No. I don’t really know what light magic is capable of, so I’m not at the ideas stage yet. I’m not sure how else you can earn money with light magic if not through healing. They’re basically synonymous.”

Soff nodded. A regular job that paid as much as Reyes needed in a month just didn’t exist. And without knowing what light magic was capable of, there was no way for Kunon to come up with suggestions.

“I asked her to teach me about light magic so many times, but she never did…”

Soff shook his head. He couldn’t blame her. Why would she have accepted Kunon’s invitation, when it had just seemed like he was hitting on her?

After that, Soff and Kunon spent a little while talking about giant hairless rats and discussing what Kunon’s other classmates, Hank and Riyah, were up to. At last, Soff concluded his visit to the empty classroom turned Kunon’s laboratory.

Five days after that, the Saint visited Kunon’s rooms.

“If I had to put a name to the emotion I’m experiencing right now, I would probably call it humiliation.”

Riyah had heard Reyes lacked emotion, and he imagined that was why she could say such things. The average person wouldn’t dream of blurting out a remark like that. And since she’d led with that statement, Riyah imagined Reyes was in a pretty stormy state of mind, despite her blank expression.

“Th-there, there…”

Overhearing her lament, the boy tried to comfort Reyes, but her expression remained unchanged.

“This is your first time, right, young miss? Are you nervous? It’ll be okay, just lie down and close your eyes. It’ll be over in no time… Trust me. The effect on your body will be worth far more than what you paid.”

Right in front of them stood Kunon Gurion, giving a needlessly sugary explanation of his sleep service to a woman—a teacher at the school—who was clearly around ten years his senior.

Backed into a corner, with no options left available to her except to ask this shockingly frivolous person for advice, Reyes felt her own powerlessness keenly. The disgrace of it all. Really, if she’d had any other choice, she wouldn’t be here. She’d never imagined that only two weeks after the start of school, she’d be opening the door to Kunon’s reserved classrooms.

“Oh, sorry. You can come on in, but do you mind waiting a minute?”

Kunon had been expecting her—Associate Professor Sayfie had dropped by the day before to warn him that they’d be showing up. However, it seemed their timing was a bit inconvenient. Kunon was just about to brief a first-time customer on the Sleep Sanctuary, and he asked them to sit tight until he was finished.

And so Reyes and the others waited, watching Kunon’s demeanor all the while.

“That’s it for the explanation. And your package of choice? That’ll be a full morning session, with the giant hairless rat add-on? Very well. I’ll need you to sign here… Yes, thank you. Now please follow me. I’ll be showing you to a secret garden just for us two—and several other people.”

Kunon led the new customer to one of the neighboring rooms before returning almost immediately.

“Sorry for making you wait. I wasn’t expecting so many of you.”

Reyes hadn’t come alone, after all. First, there was Associate Professor Sayfie, who had been helping the Saint with her problem for some time. Soff had assisted Kunon extensively, so Sayfie’s presence wasn’t a surprise. The problem, from Kunon’s point of view, was that Hank and Riyah were there, too.

“You asked our other classmates for help first, didn’t you? I’m hurt. I wish you would have relied on me sooner.”

In short, Reyes had come to Kunon only after she’d exhausted every other option.

“Personally, I would rather not be here at all,” she said. “I didn’t know what you would demand as compensation.”

“Ah-ha-ha. A gentleman would never take advantage of a lady like that—you’ll owe me a favor, though, of course.”

“……”

This was exactly what Reyes had feared—she didn’t want to be in Kunon’s debt. It was hard to tell if he’d gotten the message.

“…I believe you have a general understanding of my situation,” she said. “So do you have any ideas?”

Reyes really didn’t trust Kunon. Her initial impression of him had been bad, and after witnessing his superficial behavior earlier, how could she be expected to believe in him now?

Nevertheless, rather than regretting her decision to come see Kunon, she was, surprisingly, feeling rather hopeful. They had only been at school for two weeks, and yet Kunon’s business was thriving, and his classroom…

Reyes knew the room had been left empty before. And now it had transformed into a private research space. There were books everywhere. Stacks of documents, too. Catalytic agents, solvents, instruments made of metal and glass, and other items of unknown purpose filled the space. In every respect, the cluttered room looked like the research lab of an avid sorcerer. This was not the work of someone who had until recently been a mere apprentice.

Kunon might be frivolous and something of a troublemaker, but this room proved that he was already a proper sorcerer in his own right. It made him appear as competent as some of the school’s teachers.

So against her better judgment, Reyes was optimistic. And it wasn’t just the Saint; their classmates felt the same way.

Sure enough, this Kunon Gurion is no ordinary person.

All three of Kunon’s peers shared that thought. They also agreed that he was frivolous, but that was beside the point.

“As for your situation…,” Kunon began. “Is it accurate to say that you still haven’t found a reliable way to make money?”

“Yes. I found several jobs, but none where I could earn one and a half million necca per month.”

Reyes had made some calculations and found that even if she worked multiple positions, her goal would be difficult, so she had given up on that course of action.

“And you can’t accept payment for healing magic, correct?”

“Precisely. My healing magic is a sacred gift bestowed upon me by my ancestors and the divine. It cannot be used for the vulgar purpose of making money.”

Donations to the Holy Kingdom could be accepted in exchange for healing, but personal compensation was not allowed.

“So it’s a religious prohibition?”

“It is. It’s fine if you don’t understand it.”

So it wasn’t Reyes’s hang-up—it was her country’s.

“Can saints get married? Or will you live the rest of your life celibate as part of your ministry?”

“That has nothing to do with what I’m here for, so I will not answer.”

Reyes could get married. But the obstacles were numerous and tricky. Anyone she married was required to be a believer in the Radiant Goddess, Kira Leila, and would have to accept being adopted into Reyes’s family.

“Are you going to get married, Professor Sayfie?”

“Huh? Uh, what? Married?”

Sayfie, who had been casually skimming over some nearby documents, was surprised to suddenly be dragged into the conversation.

“I’d like to get married, yes. But I need to find a partner first… And before that, I need to pass my teacher’s exam… Wait, why are we talking about me?”

“Gentlemen naturally take an interest in the futures of attractive women. Right, Hank?”

“Hmm? Oh, uh, yep.”

Preoccupied by the same documents as Sayfie, Hank gave only a vague reply. Riyah was looking similarly restless, and it seemed like there was no point in talking to anyone other than the Saint, at the moment.

“Feel free to take a look at any of those papers.”

The important ones were already tidied up and put away. The only things left out were what Kunon had copied from books and reference materials. More importantly, it was all information he had already memorized.

Recognizing that the other three weren’t in the mood for a conversation, Kunon decided to let them be and focus on Reyes.

“Incidentally,” said Kunon, “documents like these are another good way to earn money as a sorcerer.”

“…They’re reports on magic experiments and research, yes?” said Reyes.

“Yep. People buy them based on their importance and potential influence on the magic world going forward… Though I guess that’s a little difficult for new students like us…”

Kunon and Reyes were barely more than apprentice sorcerers, and their knowledge and experience were nothing compared to their elders. They had a long way to go before they could even dream of competing in the realm of ideas and ability.

Most of what they came up with would be something someone else had already thought of and tested. There probably wasn’t anyone who would pay for that, no matter how many experiments they performed or papers they summarized.

If successful, they could expect a decent sum for their work, but at present… That particular avenue wasn’t looking very hopeful.

“You need one and a half million per month, right? That’s way too high for a regular salary… Which means instead of working for someone else, you’ll probably have to do some sort of business on your own.”

“I considered that as well. But what would I do? Sorcerers sell magic, but my magic can’t be used to make money. Even if I tried, I have no capital and no business expertise. And it would take too much time for me to start learning now.”

“That’s true. If you try your hand with some half-baked idea, it’ll likely fail and land you in debt.”

“You seem to have done quite well in that respect, though.”

“The Sleep Sanctuary? That’s just the result of my making the best of my abilities.”

Due to religious reasons, however, Reyes was limited in what abilities she could make the best of.

To think the day would come when a saint—said to be one of the world’s greatest treasures—would be in such dire financial straits. Saints used to be the primary adversaries of the Demon Lord and his legions. No one else could compare. In theory, she could easily use her ability to make a fortune. And yet here she was, helpless. It was a difficult era to be a saint. Things were not going as she would have liked.

“I only looked into it briefly,” said Kunon. “But is it true that light magic’s two specializations are healing and purification?”

“Yes. Broadly speaking, the magic I can do falls into those two categories.”

“And healing magic is out of the question.”

“Correct.”

“Right, no healing… Are you allowed to use purification magic for profit?”

“Yes, that is permitted.”

“By the way, is there anything specific you want to study here, Miss Reyes? Or are your goals still loosely defined, like ‘mastering magic’?”

“I want to study anything I can. That’s what schools are for, yes?”

Indeed, Kunon thought, nodding.

“Then why not try making magic tools with me? I have a few concepts I haven’t started work on yet. I can’t say whether we’ll accomplish anything for sure, but when magic tools are successful, they’re a big deal.”

“Wait a minute!” Sayfie cut in. “You’re talking about the rights to a new magic tool, right? Trying to share something like that would be…”

When a magic tool took off, the rights to it were worth an astronomical amount. Even if it wasn’t a big hit, as long as it was decently valued, there was still a reasonable chunk of change to be had.

Kunon was still only twelve years old. This wasn’t the kind of proposal that a child who didn’t understand the value of money should be making. That was why Sayfie had interrupted.

“It’s okay.”

But her fears were unwarranted. Kunon knew what he was doing. He had a good grasp on the value of money, and he understood how much was at stake.

“These are just some ideas I was thinking of trying out after a lot of experimentation. I thought light magic might speed up the process is all. I don’t intend to give over full rights or anything, but Miss Reyes would be the star here—I would just be the ideas guy.”

“Just” the ideas guy.

Even during such an important conversation, Kunon’s attitude was as lighthearted as ever.

“Above all, I am an ally to women. I’m devoted to being a gentleman even if it isn’t to my advantage.”

His tone was so unconcerned, Sayfie began to worry that he didn’t fully understand what he was saying. But since Kunon himself had claimed to be okay with it, there wasn’t much more the associate professor could say.

“So? How about it?” asked Kunon. “This is the only proposal I have for you right now.”

“May I give my answer after hearing the particulars?”

“I’m afraid not. Once I tell you about the idea, I’ll have to get into the plans and the figures. If you were to walk off with that information, I would be at a disadvantage.”

“I see… What is the probability of success?”

“That depends on you. Like I said before, you’ll be taking the lead role in manufacturing the tool. Once I turn the project over to you, there’ll be nothing for me to do except sit back and watch. Though I intend to be your enthusiastic companion until the end, of course.”

“…And I’ll be able to earn one and a half million necca?”

“And then some, I think. I believe this could lead to massive profits in the long run. Though that also depends on you. Or I suppose, since this would be our first collaboration, it will depend on both of—”

“Fine. I accept your offer.”

“…Oh, okay.”

The Saint had been thinking hard for two weeks. She had consulted her classmates and Sayfie and spent a lot of time considering her options. But ultimately, she hadn’t been able to come up with anything. Kunon’s proposal, however, might just provide a solution.

She still didn’t know what she would be doing, but by coming here, she had finally discovered a potential way to make the money she needed. She had no choice but to give it a try.

Prepared to transfer to the Second Level class if all else failed, Reyes made her decision. Perhaps she’d even get Kunon to stop prattling for once.

“Really? Really? Hooray! A light magic experiment! I’ll have to take notes on everything! Oh, you’ll let me ask you questions this time, right?! You’ll teach me about light magic, right?!”

“……”

Reyes would be lying if she said she wasn’t anxious. But at the moment, this was her only hope.

Once the Saint made her choice, Kunon wanted to get right down to business.

“…I really hadn’t expected…,” said Reyes.

“Hmm? What?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Kunon had started by asking Sayfie and their classmates to leave the room, leaving him alone with Reyes. She had wanted to avoid such a situation at all costs, but now she had no choice.

Reyes braced herself physically and mentally, but—contrary to her expectations, Kunon immediately started talking about his plans for the magic tool. It was as if he felt there was no time to waste. Like he wanted to start experimenting right away.

“…Something along those lines. What do you think? Have you fallen for me all over again?”

“I was never in love with you to begin with.”

If only it weren’t for his injecting nonsense into the conversation at every opportunity, Reyes thought. If it weren’t for that, she could have accepted him openly as an outstanding classmate.

Her guard was as tight as it could be. And yet Kunon’s talk about this new magic tool had quickly drawn her in. He really was an amazing boy—even more than Reyes had thought. She realized instantly that what she’d heard about Kunon being the disciple of the famous Zeonly Finroll was neither a lie nor an exaggeration.

“Shi-shilla… I see.”

Taking notes with a borrowed pen and paper, Reyes asked Kunon questions to deepen her understanding of the idea.

“That’s the outline in full,” he said. “Did it all make sense?”

“Yes. You’re talking about using my purification magic to synthesize an environment in which to cultivate the sacred herb shi-shilla, which only grows on holy land.”

“Exactly. Some time ago, I wanted to understand the principle behind the various sacred lands and consecrated grounds found around the world, so I did some research. The soil in such places is said to be rich in potent spiritual magic and purifying power, and so I was wondering if someone like you could cultivate plants that required that kind of environment.”

“I understand the theory behind what you’re saying, but as to whether it’s possible…”

“That’s why this all depends on you. There’s not much I can contribute here. If it is possible, I think the research and results will be worth a decent sum. And of course, shi-shilla itself commands a high price. Once the systems needed for cultivation and mass production are in place…”

“A monthly income of one and a half million necca won’t be out of reach.”

“Precisely.”

“And you’re going to use the shi-shilla to make a medicinal potion, right? That would be a totally new product… And an extremely valuable magic tool.”

“That’s right. Are you falling for me again?”

“I was never in love with you.”

Kunon’s idea was to produce a potion in which the sacred herb would be the primary ingredient. With the shi-shilla as his raw material, any resulting product would be a so-called miracle drug—a magic potion. Magic potions served various purposes, and one made from shi-shilla would result in an especially fast-acting healing salve. That was what he wanted to create.

The potion would be the magic tool. Details were still confidential, however.

Reyes could probably have gotten Kunon to share everything with her by saying something like, “I think I really have fallen for you.” But her pride as a saint would never allow her to do so.

“I think the processed material will be easier to produce in higher quantities and ultimately more valuable than the shi-shilla alone. That being said, even if we don’t turn it into a potion, you could probably make enough money simply by growing about five shi-shilla plants per month. Just based on my calculations anyway.”

This had surpassed Reyes’s wildest dreams. If she could earn one and a half million necca or more in a month just from cultivating five plants, she had a real chance for success.

The nature of her work had seen her make many pilgrimages to holy lands and consecrated grounds. Such places were very familiar to her. Their conditions and atmosphere, their soil, purified by holy magic—she knew it all well.

If that was all it would take—replicating that soil and air—she was sure she could do it.

Something permanent would be difficult, but as for establishing a temporary growing environment, Reyes didn’t think she would have any problems.

Most importantly, it would be done with the noble goal of creating a medicinal potion—of serving people. She didn’t think that would go against the church’s doctrine.

“I’ll get to work right away.”

“Oh, wait.” As the Saint made to leave the room, Kunon stopped her. “If possible, could you reserve a classroom nearby and grow the herb there? I want to watch and take notes on its progress. I also want to document your hard work, of course.”

“I would rather not.”

“Don’t say that. If you submit an application to the school, I’m certain you can earn credits for it. Apart from making money, growing shi-shilla is a fine experiment and would be considered an achievement for a sorcerer. Let’s call it a joint research project. All you have to do is the growing; I’ll take care of the documentation. And if we have free time, we could eat lunch together.”

He’s right, Reyes thought. Aside from the lunch thing.

She hadn’t had any time to spare thinking about credits in the last two weeks. All her efforts had been focused on figuring out her money problem. How the credit system worked still wasn’t totally clear, but she knew if she didn’t earn ten of them in a year, she would be forced to transfer from the Advanced class to Second Level.

Though the result would be the same, transferring as a last resort and being forced to transfer were two very different things.

Ten credits per year would mean earning one credit approximately every month. Thinking about it that way, there wasn’t a lot of time to spare.

“Are joint research projects allowed?”

“Yep. I’ve already checked.”

“…I suppose I have no choice.”

“Hooray! We’re going to have lunch together!”

“I wasn’t talking about lunch.”

When it came to credits, Reyes found it hard to refuse on personal grounds. The whole plan had been Kunon’s idea. And once the shi-shilla was grown, Reyes would need to consult with him about manufacturing the magic tool.

In short, she still needed Kunon’s help; it was too early to stop associating with him.

…That said, she was getting the feeling that as long as she could endure his pointless chatter, she wouldn’t necessarily need to cut him off at all. Personality aside, Kunon’s abilities, knowledge, and ideas were extraordinary. There were sure to be a lot of benefits to partnering with him. Even if he was frivolous.

“Let’s get started right away,” she said.

“Yeah. I’ll procure the shi-shilla seeds, so you start preparing the application for reserving a room. To apply—”

Kunon stood and opened the room’s main door.

Sayfie, Hank, and Riyah were all outside. Despite being made to leave, they had found it quite difficult to simply walk away and were waiting for the conversation to be over. Plus, they still didn’t know what kind of person Kunon was, so they thought it unwise to leave Reyes alone with him.

Kunon ignored their groundless fears.

“Professor Sayfie,” he said. “Miss Reyes will be applying to reserve a classroom, so please help her. Hank and Riyah, too, if you have the time.”

This had all started with the Saint’s money troubles. But the one most motivated and enthusiastic about the project was undoubtedly Kunon.

“A-amazing…!”

“So this is…!”

They were witnessing a spell unique to saints: Sanctum. All five of the potted plants Hank and Riyah had prepared were encapsulated inside it. Though the barrier was transparent, its domed shape became visible when light bounced off it. There was an indescribable holy energy coming from the dome, and it was extremely intense. Even with such a small range, its power was obvious and overwhelming.

The Sanctum spell was said to be the most powerful defensive magic, capable of blocking out evil beings, and was the exclusive purview of saints. In fact, the ability to cast this spell was what earned saints their title.

“……”

Not many people got the chance to see a Sanctum spell. Taking little notice of their noisy classmates and Sayfie, who was looking on calmly despite her inner amazement, Kunon was single-mindedly taking notes.

Naturally, he felt the same way they did. He was astonished and excited. However, he decided to prioritize writing down everything he was seeing and feeling, so as not to forget. Not that he could actually see anything. Once his notes were finished, he planned to marvel over the spell to his heart’s content.

“What do you think? I’ve done my best to replicate holy ground…,” Reyes addressed Kunon’s quietly scribbling form.

“It’s incredible!” he replied excitedly, his pen never pausing. “Seeing it made me think of a bunch of things I want to test out! Can I ask you for another favor?! I can, right?! I’ll buy you a parfait! Or three! Please, pleasepleaseplease!”

“……”

This mood was familiar—it was the same Kunon from the entrance exam.

Ah. I see, Reyes thought, finally able to believe him. Kunon was asking her out but not on a date. He had meant what he said back then. This was just what happened when he got excited about magic.

“Don’t you think three parfaits is a bit cheap?” said Reyes.

“What? I have to be careful about my expenses, too, you know.”

“Aren’t you raking it in at the moment?”

“Don’t you know? Sorcerers require a lot of money.”

This was the type of person Kunon Gurion was. Now that Reyes understood, she had no more reason to be on guard.

The next day, the seeds of the sacred shi-shilla herb sprouted successfully and began to rapidly grow within the Sanctum.

“Is it necessary to take notes more than ten times in a day?”

“Hmmm. Who knows? I guess that’s why I’m taking notes.”

Did that response even address the question?

With the prospect of earning money finally in sight, the Saint’s school life had started to calm down. She had reserved an empty classroom, giving her a space to relax. With that, she should have secured the foundation necessary to begin her studies in earnest.

What prevented her from fully settling down was that Kunon kept showing up to see how the shi-shilla herbs were growing. He had been by multiple times the day before and started dropping in again early that morning. This was his second visit already.

Reyes hadn’t expected his presence to be so incessant. It was true that he was in charge of all the recordkeeping, but he was showing up way, way too often.

He didn’t seem to be trying to hit on her, though—he’d headed straight for the growing pots upon his arrival. Almost like he was ignoring Reyes entirely.

If she hadn’t realized Kunon’s true character, she would have been at her wit’s end by now.

“There hasn’t been much change, huh?”

It was Hank who spoke up. At the moment, Riyah, Sayfie, and he were all in the Saint’s room. Kunon wasn’t paying much attention to them, either.

“No change since I first saw them this morning, no,” he said. “But I want to monitor them carefully until they’re mature—and take plenty of notes. I mean, the fact that they sprouted in a day seems to indicate that sacred herbs grow faster than other plants. Plus, while I’ve seen them in dehydrated powder form, I’ve never seen the herbs themselves. They’re quite uncommon. I want to get a good look.”

The herbs were certainly rare. Without a saint, growing the plants this smoothly wouldn’t have been possible. No one yet had achieved the cultivation and mass production of shi-shilla.

“I’ve seen pictures,” he continued. “But the real thing has something of a…presence. Like a spiritual presence. I guess that’s why it’s called a sacred herb, huh?”

Reyes thought Kunon was probably just feeling the effects of the Sanctum spell. To begin with, Kunon shouldn’t have been able to see the shi-shilla at all.

“Oh, and I don’t want to hear anyone saying something like, ‘I thought you were blind.’”

It was surprising even to hear Kunon say such a thing. No one could bring themselves to comment on such a sensitive issue.

“Kunon, what is the truth about your eyes?”

…Except Reyes, apparently. She dove in without the slightest hesitation. Her face as blank as always, she’d cut straight to the heart of the mystery surrounding Kunon’s vision.

Perhaps this was proof of her “lacking emotion.” And yet it was clear that everyone in the room had been wondering the same thing.

Kunon was always wearing an eye mask and carrying a cane. By all appearances, he shouldn’t have been able to use his eyes to perceive his surroundings. And yet despite that, he had taken the written portion of the entrance exam, he tore through books at great speed, and he was currently in the process of taking notes based on his own observations. But what had he observed? It was a mystery how Kunon managed to do so many things that should require sight.

It was lunchtime, and the four Advanced class students were once again gathered in the Saint’s classroom eating sandwiches made with failed bacon and discussing an unfamiliar subject.

The conversation was about factions.

In a rare occurrence, Reyes had been the one to raise the topic, saying, “I got invited this morning. What about you all?”

“Factions, huh…?”

Kunon had heard the word mentioned before. Customers he had become close with—his seniors, he supposed—had been talking about large groups of some sort. More than once, Kunon had seen these customers bickering among themselves, throwing around words like faction and Inferno. Well, he hadn’t actually seen these exchanges, but nevertheless. This was the first time he was hearing about the so-called factions properly.

“I was told they remain neutral for the first month,” said Reyes. “Even though we’re Advanced students, we’re still new, so all contact and solicitation is prohibited at the beginning to let us get used to our lives here. But yesterday marked one month since we enrolled, so invitations have started, evidently.”

So it seemed. Unfortunately—

“All three of you got invites? That means I’m the only one who didn’t.”

—this had led to the discovery that Kunon alone had not been solicited by a faction.

That morning, Reyes, Hank, and Riyah had all been approached by recruiters. As each of them, starting with the Saint, confirmed that they had been approached, they naturally expected that Kunon must have also gotten an invitation. No one would have guessed that he would be the odd duck out.

Or perhaps—

“I get the feeling that they’re competing, actually.”

“I think so, too.”

“I agree.”

—it wasn’t that none of the factions wanted to invite Kunon. Rather, they were all vying for him and had yet to reach a settlement.

Beginning with Riyah and followed shortly by Hank and Reyes, all three of Kunon’s classmates came to the same conclusion.

“Competing…? You mean, there are girls fighting over me…?”

Whether the competing parties were girls wasn’t certain, but Kunon had the right idea, more or less.

“But I don’t want them to quarrel on my account…”

“Anyway, which one are you joining, Reyes? And you, Riyah?” asked Hank. “I was set on the Harmony Faction from the beginning.”

With Kunon spouting gibberish, they decided to ignore him.

Hank, familiar with the workings of magic school, had long since decided which faction he wanted to be in.

“I’m interested in the Rationality Faction…,” said Riyah. He was still waffling, but his heart was leaning pretty strongly in one direction.

In fact, during that morning’s floating practice, an older student from the Rationality Faction had shown up to speak with him. The student had taken a moment out of headhunting to give Riyah some advice on flying. And when he had casually decided to test out the suggestion—the flying spell had worked.

Kunon hadn’t been present at the time, since he’d assumed Riyah would just be practicing his Fu-ra spell as instructed. Riyah had only tried it on a whim and had never considered for a moment that he would succeed. Afterward, he felt like he had messed up somehow.

Though it was still morning, Kunon had come to check on Riyah once, and Riyah had explained the whole situation, then apologized.

But Kunon didn’t get upset with him; he just celebrated the spell’s success. He said he didn’t really care, because flight spells were merely privileged information, not unknown territory. Riyah was extremely relieved. Starting that afternoon, they were going to take even more detailed, accurate records.

In any case, that was the reason for Riyah’s inclination toward the Rationality Faction.

“I’m unsure.”

The Saint, however, had yet to make up her mind.

Truthfully, she didn’t feel that there was a compelling reason for her to join a faction. Even at the magic school, which attracted students from all over the world, light sorcerers were few and far between. There probably wouldn’t be many chances for her to use her magic collaboratively, even as part of a group. Consequently, Reyes felt that it would be more beneficial to simply rely on her own abilities to research and experiment.

“So what are factions anyway?”

Still without an invite, Kunon couldn’t hold back his curiosity. His classmates’ conversation sounded so fascinating.

“You could say they’re ideological groupings. Although it’s not that serious these days.” Hank, ever knowledgeable about the school’s inner workings, began to explain. “Advanced students are considered full-fledged sorcerers. Teachers don’t interact with them more than necessary, and even when there are disputes, they hardly ever intervene. In other words, we have to take care of things by ourselves as much as possible.”

That was the price they paid for their educational freedom. They set their own schedules, used the school facilities at will, and were required to find resolutions for whatever problems arose as a result. Those were the rules.

“Factions are mutual aid societies, so to speak. Regardless of what anyone says, there’s power in numbers, and power impacts all kinds of things. For example, when you want to test out some magic, but you can’t find an unoccupied space, or you want to borrow a book from the library, but it’s taking forever. If you have the numbers, you can steer all kinds of things in your favor. In the worst cases, personal disagreements might turn into brawls, or you could have your research results forcibly seized by a mob. Factions were established to prevent that kind of violence. Apparently, over the years, each faction gradually developed its own ideology. Nowadays, there are four major factions, and almost everyone in the Advanced class belongs to one of them.”

They had all been given simple explanations along with their invites, but both Riyah and Reyes felt their understanding was more complete now.

“Also, there’s research you can’t do by yourself, right? Faction members help one another out with that kind of stuff. With collaborative research and joint experimentation, there’s always the risk of being betrayed and having all your hard work stolen. Unless it’s an especially outrageous situation, even the teachers won’t help you. But if that happens, and you’re part of a faction, you might be able to get your research back with their help.”

Given that many sorcerers were selfish—or at least, cared only for their own work—interpersonal problems were quite common. And when those problems turned into professional disputes, they got ugly. There were also those who resorted to force simply because they had the power to do so. Most of the time, the results were too awful to imagine.

“I see. So what’s the deal with the ‘Harmony’ thing you’ve decided on, Hank? Or the ‘Rationality’ one Riyah mentioned?”

“They’re names of factions. The four major ones are Ability, Rationality, Harmony, and Freedom. Since there aren’t that many Advanced students, I would guess each one has about thirty members.”

The factions were divided by ideology. In the past, those beliefs were considered the absolute law of each faction. Now they were more like broad principles.

The Ability Faction was based around its members’ strengths. People tended to assume that it was a meritocracy, but in reality its main purpose was to improve the power, or quality, of each member’s magic. In other words, it was a group for polishing one’s individual skills.

The Rationality Faction held reason to be of utmost importance. Their purpose was to strive to uncover magic’s deepest mysteries through the exchange of information between like-minded people. They formed small groups of two to three and honed their magic within those limited circles. The Rationality Faction, incidentally, also had a high rate of male-female couples formed between members.

For the Harmony Faction, agreement was key. Since members always offered assistance to comrades in need, it was common for a big chunk of the group to be conducting large-scale research projects together. Everyone in the Harmony Faction got along well because they all valued the power of the group’s combined efforts.

Though technically a faction, the Freedom Faction didn’t have any particular ideology. Each member did as they pleased, and help was offered only when needed and only by those who wanted to help. Whether the group had any kind of leadership wasn’t clear. And yet, year after year, things went surprisingly well for the mysterious Freedom Faction.

There were also several people who never joined a faction.

As the factions’ original purpose was mutual aid, there were hardly ever group confrontations or open hostility. Though, apparently, things had gotten quite intense long ago.

“…And that’s a rough summary of each faction. But unlike in the past, there aren’t many restrictions now. You should be fine, no matter which one you choose.”

Hank had picked the Harmony Faction. Riyah would probably go with Rationality. Reyes was still unsure. And as for Kunon…

“I think Freedom sounds good. I don’t see the need to tie myself to a group—even a loose one. Especially not in an environment where I’m allowed to experiment and research anything I want.”

It was an extremely Kunon-like answer. His classmates, however, felt certain that, in the end, he would end up joining whichever faction sent a girl to recruit him.

That afternoon, as Kunon was taking notes on Riyah’s flight magic, a girl came to speak to him.

“Kunon. Are you interested in the Ability Faction? You should join if you’d like.”

This was Elia Hesson, said to be the most beautiful girl in her faction. She looked like she was around fourteen or fifteen years old. Her appearance was striking—she had hair as orange as the setting sun and eyes reminiscent of the finest peridot. Once one noticed how attractive she was, it was hard to look away. Elia was dazzling, as if she radiated her own light.

Riyah, a country boy, had never seen such a cute, lovely girl. Even though she wasn’t looking at or speaking to him, his heart raced as he floated in midair.

“I’m more interested in you than the faction. Would it be improper of me to join for such a reason?”

Kunon, on the other hand, behaved as he always did. Face-to-face with such a pretty girl, he was so unaffected it was almost disgusting. As soon as she received Kunon’s favorable response, Elia Hesson walked away looking pleased.

“Kunon Gurion.”

A second girl arrived.

“I’m Elva Daglight of the Harmony Faction.”

Elva had long, glossy black hair and almond-shaped purple eyes. She gleamed like polished obsidian, drawing the gazes of everyone around, no matter how they might try to resist.

“Hff…hff…hff…”

Slightly out of breath from Kunon’s unsparing flight experiments, Riyah couldn’t take his eyes off her. Though he was pretty sure she was still a teenager, she had a dizzying allure about her. Riyah’s heart raced as he floated in midair.

“Kunon. Will you join the Harmony Faction?”

Elva raked a hand through her black hair. She was already considerably attractive, and the action only increased her already excessive charm. Even though she wasn’t looking at or speaking to him, Riyah’s heart was hammering away in his chest.

“Why ask such a foolish question? Princess of the Night, I’ll do anything you ask of me.”

“Eh?”

Riyah reacted without thinking to Kunon’s response. Then, without sparing the floating sorcerer a glance, Elva left with a satisfied expression.

“Um, Kunon,” said Riyah. “Isn’t that called two—?”

“Let’s continue the experiment… Oh, what? Did you say something just now?”

“…No, nothing.”

The reply he’d given Elia earlier had made it sound like he intended to join the Ability Faction. And the one he gave Elva just now seemed to imply he would join the Harmony Faction. But since Kunon could make his own decisions, it wasn’t an onlooker’s place to raise concerns. Even if Riyah did want to point out that Kunon was two-timing.

With no small effort, he swallowed his comment.

“Kunon! Hello!”

As expected, a third person stopped by. Also as expected, she was a remarkably beautiful girl on par with the other two who had come. Her silky, radiant blond hair swayed with her every movement, while her clear-blue eyes were alive with emotion.

“Hff… Hff… Hff… H—”

Riyah’s breathing, along with his heart, stopped short for a moment. The girl’s gaze had flicked over him with a clear look of disgust. It seemed his harsh breathing was offending her.

It’s not like I can help it.

He had been doing flying drills over and over, and his magic had nearly run out; Riyah was exhausted. Not in a position to explain himself, floating as he was, he kept a short distance away from the beautiful girl.

“Hello. May I help you?”

Kunon kept taking notes as he greeted the girl. Inwardly, Riyah was surprised. It was rare for Kunon to not give a girl his full attention.

“I’m Cassis, from the Rationality Faction! Won’t you consider joining us?”

As if the disdainful look from before had been only a momentary lapse, Cassis addressed Kunon with a glittering smile. Riyah was sure the glare had been real. This smile was just a sales pitch. He knew he was being played. And yet her smile was so exceptionally cute that Riyah felt like he was going to combust. If she asked him to do something with that expression, he would never be able to resist. No boy his age would be immune to it, he was certain. As proof, Kunon replied—

“Huh? No way.”

“Eh?”

“Wha—?”

Cassis seemed taken aback, but Riyah was shocked, too.

He’d said no. Kunon had said no. To a girl.

“We’re in the middle of something, so could you leave us alone?” he said. “Oh, whatever. Riyah, let’s call it for now.”

“Huh? Uh. Oh… Okay.”

It was all Riyah could do to process his surprise at Kunon’s cuttingly cold demeanor.

Later, he was even more astonished when Kunon told him, “That was a boy. Why would I be happy about a boy recruiting me?” In truth, Riyah had thought Cassis was the cutest of all the scouts.

A boy—even though he was that pretty. A boy.

Riyah trembled. Cities were full of surprises.

The magic school’s grounds were vast, and rumor had it that they had been magically distorted to be wider. It didn’t help that every time someone tried to measure the grounds’ total area, they came up with a different number. No one knew for sure how extensive they really were—or why getting an accurate measure seemed impossible. This was just one of the many mysteries of the Dirashik School of Magic.

“Cheers!”

““Cheers!””

In a certain room in a certain building on those sprawling school grounds, a group of young people raised their voices merrily.

The room—the home base of the Ability Faction—was located in a large mansion, though it was really more of a fortress than a mansion. A bit timeworn, the building was big enough to be the estate of some minor noble.

Past members had constructed it as part of their research and experiments. Referencing historical blueprints from a country that had long since fallen, the students had erected an actual castle. Because it took up so much space, the original plan had been to demolish it soon after it was built. But recognizing the splendid fruits of their labor, the students who built it decided to leave the structure standing for future faction members.

In one of the rooms of this historic building, the Ability Faction celebrated. About thirty young people filled the room. There was food and alcohol laid out on a table, enhancing the party-like atmosphere.

“You did it, Elia! As expected of the most popular girl in the faction! You’re so pretty even the goddess of beauty would do a double take!”

“P-please, you’re embarrassing me…”

Bael Kirkington, the current representative of the Ability Faction, finished the group toast with lavish praise for his junior, Elia Hesson.

“Pretty girls are great! If only their hearts were pure, too!”

“Go out with me! I’ll make you regret it!”

“No, go out with me! You can curse me out and dump me on our first date! Actually, shout at me now! Call me a pig!”

“I want to propose to you, but I’m five hundred million necca in debt! Let’s pay it back together!”

Some other boys chimed in—their humor in very poor taste—but Elia didn’t pay them any mind.

She was being praised for the same reason they were holding this banquet: Earlier that day, Elia had completed the important task of securing Kunon Gurion—the much-anticipated, promising new student—as a member for their faction.

The Ability Faction had bided its time while the one-month, no-interaction rule was in play, but their attention had naturally been drawn to the infamous Zeonly’s disciple. In fact, Kunon stood out so much on his own that it overshadowed even his master’s fame.

The first hurdle Advanced students had to overcome was the ability to earn their own living expenses. The better the circumstances of someone’s birth and upbringing, the higher that hurdle became. For the children of aristocrats, unused to city life, job hunting was difficult. Some nobles didn’t even know how to communicate with common folk. Plus, their sense of money was skewed. They were unused to working, and even with a job, they might still struggle to earn enough money to pay the servants they’d brought to the city.

For those from blessed environments, it was most likely their first stumbling block. The children of royalty and nobility—a high percentage of whom were sorcerers—were often unable to overcome this initial challenge and resigned themselves to joining the Second Level.

Kunon Gurion had cleared that hurdle in only a few days. His achievement was a testament to his strength, adaptability, and talent as a magic user. Further proof came in the form of the business he’d started, a novel concept with no equal in all of the school’s long history.

It was uncommon for inexperienced new students to have the ability to calmly determine both how to use a spell and what best to use it for. Precisely because Kunon was one of those rare few, his business had been a success. The more the senior students went to see his unique water magic, the more they understood the depth of his ability.

Quite a few members of the Ability Faction wanted Kunon’s magic skills and creativity on their side, even though he had been at the school for less than a month.

Furthermore, they had learned that he also had enough flexibility and cooperative spirit to help out his classmates. That was a major point in his favor. Many sorcerers were self-centered by nature. The more talented they were, the bigger their egos tended to be. That meant that a sorcerer open to collaboration was very valuable.

Kunon was a rare find, so people in the other factions had their eyes on him as well. The fact that Ability had managed to outmaneuver both Rationality and Harmony was no small feat. (Freedom was a different story.)

In fact, the three groups had been at odds over the new kid. They had fought and fought, and even by the end of the first month, none of the factions would yield. Ultimately, their only choice had been to play a game of cards to determine the order in which they would approach him.

That order had turned out to be critical.

Kunon was rumored to be quite fond of women. According to Elia, he had given a near immediate reply to her invitation, indicating that he would join the Ability Faction. Since both Rationality and Harmony had girls just as pretty as Elia in their numbers, it really had come down to a matter of who crossed the finish line first.

Moreover… Though Bael had only ordered Elia to do so, several other girls in the faction had voluntarily gone to extend invitations to Kunon, and they all reported receiving favorable responses.

There had been some unsettling rumors, but…with so many members having confirmed his answer, surely the issue was settled. It had to be.

Incidentally, Bael also wanted to get his hands on the three other talented new students—Hank Beat, Riyah Houghs, and Reyes Saint-Lance. Reyes was even a saint.

The invitations had already been offered, and now there was nothing to do except wait for the invitees to make their choices.

As Bael struggled to shake off the uneasy feeling brought on by those aforementioned unsettling rumors, something happened.

“Hey, you Ability losers!”

The party was interrupted by some uninvited guests.

“Dear me, if it isn’t some of our friends from Rationality. Oh-ho. You really shouldn’t barge in without permission now. Heh-heh. Did you need something? Oh-ho-ho.”

Indeed, the intruders were five of Rationality’s big guns, including their representative, Lulomet. The slimy voice that called out to them belonged to Genevis, who just happened to be in their vicinity as they entered the room.

Genevis was actually a rather nice guy, but his peculiar, unpalatable way of speaking tended to lead to misunderstandings. The way he talked was irritating, and he always sprinkled his idiosyncratic laughter throughout. He tended to laugh at uncomfortable times, as if he was doing it on purpose. He insisted that instigation was never his goal, though.

“Your voice is pissin’ me off as usual! Don’t make me knock you out!”

The first member of Rationality to call out after entering the room—and the same person who was shouting at Genevis now—was Sandra. She was as assertive as ever.

“Oh-ho. How scary. Miss Sandra, pfft, you’re looking spirited again today, hmm? Have you been eating well?”

“Scuse me?! You lookin’ to get your ass kicked?!”

“Oh-ho-ho… Pff… You’re so scary, Miss Sandra. Heh-heh.”

Even though Bael knew Genevis was a nice guy, the way he talked was really annoying. Even his cadence was grating. Members of the same faction, even when they got along well, could still get on one another’s nerves.

“Something up, Lulu?”

Hoping to avoid Genevis and Sandra coming to blows, Bael stepped out in front of the students from Rationality.

Lulomet, their representative, was eighteen years old, just like Bael. As fellow faction leaders, Bael and Lulomet had known each other for a long time. Though they’d started school separately, they had been through a lot together over the years.

These days, there was peace. There had been no conflict or hostility between the three factions for decades, and they would interact from time to time. Although if Bael was asked if they were on good terms with one another, he would probably say “We each keep to our own.”

“What do you mean, ‘something up’?!”

This angry reply came from the pretty girl—or rather, the pretty boy, Cassis. He looked genuinely very cute in his short white skirt.

“We came to figure out why that ugly hag is going around lying about Kunon accepting her invitation!”

Cassis pointed to the “ugly hag” in question. It was Elia, the very reason for their banquet.

“Wha…? Excuse me?! I’m not ugly! And I’m not lying!”

Shocked by the sudden accusation, Elia took a step forward.

“Shut up, hag! Anyone who isn’t as pretty as me is ugly! You need to learn some humility to match your face!”

Cassis’s logic needed some work. He really was pretty, though.

“Shut up, Cassis. Let me speak.”

Clicking his tongue in response to Lulomet’s order, Cassis backed down.

“I’m sorry, Elia. He likes to speak his mind,” said Lulomet.

“……”

Elia felt Cassis owed her some kind of apology, at least. But carrying on this way would only cause trouble for Lulomet—and Bael, by extension—so she withdrew, glaring at Cassis the whole time. Whatever the case, as a woman, she had a hard time forgiving such a brazen insult.

“Seems like you have a lot on your plate as usual, Lulu,” said Bael.

“You’re right,” she replied. “I’m drowning in big personalities over here. I’m beginning to regret becoming a representative.”

“Yeah, I feel you.”

In Bael’s opinion, Cassis had the bulk of the personality, but that was beside the point.

“Bael. I came to compare answers.”

“Compare answers?”

“I put out a call. Harmony should be here soon. Let’s wait for them.”

As Lulomet had said, several members of the Harmony Faction arrived shortly thereafter, accompanied by their representative, Shilto.

“Which faction did Kunon Gurion choose, in the end?”

Not a big talker, that was all Shilto said.

Shilto Lockson was the representative for the Harmony Faction. Also known as the Lightning Bolt, she was a talented girl elected to lead her faction despite being only in her second year.

“Oh, that,” said Bael. He hadn’t quite understood what was going on before, but the reason for Lulomet’s and Shilto’s presence had finally become clear to him. “Seems like those rumors were true, huh?”

The abuse Cassis had hurled shortly after his arrival had been setting off alarm bells in Bael’s mind from the second he’d heard it, though he hadn’t responded in the moment.

Just then, Lulomet spoke up.

“About five girls from our faction claim they succeeded in recruiting Kunon Gurion. That’s why I called Shilto and came here.”

That explained why Elia was being accused of lying about her accomplishment.

“Seven girls from mine,” added Shilto.

Apparently, her Harmony Faction was in a similar circumstance. When Lulomet had mentioned “comparing answers,” he’d meant confirming how Kunon Gurion had responded to each faction’s solicitation attempts.

That meant Bael’s answer had to be:

“Six from ours, including Elia.”

So in short… Kunon Gurion had given each of the three factions the impression that he was planning to join their ranks.

“Why only me…?!”

Realizing then and there that his invitation was the only one Kunon had refused, Cassis let out a wail.

It was clear to everyone present that if he had been a she, his efforts would have succeeded. Cassis’s appearance could only be described as that of a stunningly pretty girl. And yet Kunon had sensed his biological sex with one glance. Of course, he likely couldn’t see what Cassis looked like, since he seemed to be blind.

“I don’t know what to say… That kid is something else.”

Bael sighed. Based on the facts, almost twenty girls had extended invitations to Kunon, and he had accepted every one of them.

Kunon was a marvel in more ways than one. Had he not thought about the problems this would cause? Once the dust was settled, Bael really wanted to ask him what the hell he was thinking.

Well, that settled it. Given the situation, even if one of the factions was lying, there was only one possible solution now.

“Guess we have no choice but to ask him.”

From his responses alone, it didn’t seem like Kunon was leaning toward any particular faction, which meant he probably didn’t care which one he joined. And yet, despite this debacle, none of the representatives’ feelings had changed; they all wanted Kunon as a member. Many excellent sorcerers ended up being a handful, and an issue of this size was well within acceptable levels. It would be a pity to give up on him just because of this.

None of the three was ready to concede. With that established, all that remained was to ask Kunon directly:

Which—no, who is your favorite?

Once they had his answer, they would know for certain which faction Kunon Gurion belonged to.

Once again, smoke was rising up from a particular part of the schoolyard.

“Recently, I feel like I’m starting to understand. How should I put it…? I’ve started wondering what would happen if I did this—or that. I’m having more ideas.”

“I see. Personally, I’d like you to work on improving your failure rate. Or at least on making your failures edible.”

“I’m…sorry, I guess.”

Making changes to the fire had become very enjoyable. But because Hank was trying out a lot of different alterations, he was also seeing a marked increase in failures. Specifically, there had been a number of incidents resulting from an inconsistent heat level.

“Even the inside was burned,” said Kunon. “Miss Reyes was gagging while she ate.”

“I know. I was there.”

“She said it would be wasteful to throw it out… I guess because she’s short on money.”

The sight of the Saint, blank-faced and teary-eyed, chewing on the charred bacon had been difficult to watch.

The sacred herb she was growing was probably almost ready to harvest, but it needed a little more time. In other words, she still had no income. How she was managing to get by right now weighed on his mind, but that was a topic for another time.

Every morning, Hank worked hard at making bacon, and Kunon looked over the other boy’s notes on his experiments.

“It seems like you’re close to the end,” said Kunon.

“Really?”

Comparing the notes to the meats Hank had finished so far that morning, Kunon nodded in approval. When the bacon received a passing grade from Kunon, the experiment would be over—a welcome prospect for Hank. He was looking forward to it, but…

“…But now I feel like I’m more particular about it than you are,” said Hank.

To Hank, making bacon he himself was satisfied with was now more important than earning Kunon’s approval. A useless fixation had begun to take root in his mind.

“I knew you had talent, Hank.”

It seemed that Hank’s state of mind had finally bloomed into that of a true sorcerer. After all, it wasn’t the experiments or research that a magic user performed at someone else’s request, but those they carried out of their own volition that allowed them to pursue the knowledge they most desired.

When someone could handle their magic power with as much dexterity as Hank could, it seemed inevitable they’d become obsessed with using it. Kunon had just known things would turn out like this, because he’d seen a kindred spirit in Hank: someone else who enjoyed very fine, precise handling when it came to magic.

“That’s fine,” said Kunon. “Why don’t you keep making bacon until you’re pleased with it. Call it a hobby. I’ll buy what you make.”

“Hmmm… I really don’t know what to do.”

“You figured out how to make scented fire, right? How about a fire that tastes salty next?”

“Salty fire?! Why would I do that?! How would you even go about confirming the flavor?!”

“Bacon and smoked meats are soaked in salty liquids for seasoning. I think it’s also done as a preservative technique. But that aside, I meant that you could try achieving that flavor effect with the fire.”

“R-right… I was surprised by the idea of adding a scent to the fire at first, too… And now flavor… Is that even possible?”

“Don’t worry. There are no limits or impossibilities in magic.”

“…That sounds sinister when you say it, Kunon…”

Kunon snickered at that, sounding delighted, and Hank couldn’t help but see the other boy as a bit sinister, too.

In a very literal sense, Hank felt that the two of them saw magic in totally different ways. Compared to Hank, Kunon’s view was, quite possibly, much, much deeper and broader.

…Well, in any case, it seemed Hank was close to realizing his bacon-making goals.

The morning session with the smoker had ended.

Every day, Kunon and Hank brought the results to the cafeteria and had them made into sandwiches they would have for lunch. Though they hadn’t established any kind of fixed schedule, the four new Advanced class students had lately been eating lunches together in the Saint’s classroom. That daily routine was probably at the end of its shelf life, though…

“Hello, Kunon.”

“Hello.”

“Hey.”

“We’ve come to pick you up, Kunon.”

…because the factions had come to collect.

The other day, Kunon had given them careless responses, and now it was time for him to face the consequences.

A total of ten girls showed up at Reyes’s room in a mixed group including all factions. They stood in front of Kunon, a nervous tension hidden as much as possible behind their bright smiles. They had been sent by the three factions that had previously invited Kunon to join.

“Hello, lovely fairies,” he said. “As you can see, I’m eating lunch. As a gentleman, I don’t stand up needlessly during meals, so would you allow me to finish first?”

No, go now.

Get out of here already.

Everyone else in the room was united in wanting Kunon to get up and go immediately, and the boy himself was the odd one out. He sat calmly, a half-eaten sandwich in hand, making the girls wait for him.

How could he stay so composed with ten girls looming over him, all with menacing smiles? Even if he couldn’t see them, he should at least have been able to sense their unusually intimidating auras.

“Today’s failed bacon isn’t bad,” said Reyes. “It doesn’t make me nauseous, and my body isn’t refusing to swallow it. The saltiness is nice, too, though I prefer smoked fish. Would you be willing to try smoking fish a little more often?”

Apparently, she was also unperturbed. Perhaps it was due to her lack of emotion.

“Fish, huh?” said Kunon. “Fish is tasty, too. I can find fish meat for sale sometimes but not often. It seems it’s hard to get fresh fish here, since we’re not close to the ocean. Sometimes sorcerers who have traveled that far bring back frozen seafood to sell for extra money, but you really can’t get it otherwise.”

“Is that so? What a pity.”

How could the two of them be so calm in this situation?

“Is it possible to farm freshwater fish in this part of the world?” Reyes asked.

“I don’t know. But I’m sure some of this school’s sorcerers have at least tried it. Why not look for a report on the subject in the library?”

“Kunon. If I locate a report and it seems doable, would you help me?”

“Of course. For you, Miss Reyes, gladly.”

Were they really going to have this conversation this calmly in this situation? Why not just talk about it later? More importantly, why wouldn’t Kunon just leave?

As sorcerers themselves, it wasn’t like Hank and Riyah were uninterested in the topic at hand. But they were really uncomfortable, and it was all they could do to keep their heads down and awkwardly chew their sandwiches.

“I’m so lucky to have this many fairies here to escort me,” remarked Kunon.

The lunch from hell was ending at last. The girls he had brazenly kept waiting surrounded Kunon on all sides, and he looked quite happy as they marched him out of the room. The girls’ expressions, however, were closer to “quietly seething with rage” than “fairylike,” at least in Hank’s estimation.

“Guess I’ll get back to making bacon.”

“I’m going to practice flying some more.”

Hank and Riyah decided to put the whole thing out of their minds. Imagining Kunon’s fate terrified them, but in the end, he’d done this to himself. They had no intention of defending him or coming to his rescue. Especially because it didn’t seem like the other boy wanted them to.

“I think I’ll go look for that report. I’m feeling a bit excited.”

Reyes alone looked like she truly wasn’t worried about a thing. The boys felt a twinge of envy at her stone-faced cheerfulness.

“Wow… This is amazing,” Kunon said, sighing in admiration.

The ten girls had led him to a majestic, imposing old castle. That was astonishing on its own, but Kunon’s heart pounded even harder when he was escorted inside to a room filled with sorcerers.

Including the girls surrounding him, there were about fifty magic users present. Since many of them were young, he felt sure they were students at the school. And not just any students—they were all members of the Advanced class. Most intriguing of all, however, were the things possessing each and every one of them.

Kunon’s crab.

Hank’s lizard and Riyah’s confetti.

Reyes’s halo and Zeonly’s light.

Through his business at the school, Kunon had seen tons of sorcerers and noticed a number of patterns. And yet here, in this room, were people who did not fit into any of the patterns he had established based on his previous sample set.

The first person who caught his eye was a boy. His mouth was covered by the hands of a floating, demonic-looking woman with long black hair obscuring her face.

That didn’t fit Kunon’s rules at all. It was the first time he’d seen someone with a truly humanoid apparition.

Perhaps noticing Kunon’s interest, the boy approached.

“Oh-ho-ho. It’s nice to meet you, Kunon Gurion. Oh-ho, my name is Genevis. Ah-ha, heh-heh, feel free to call me Geneve. I insist.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Geneve… Is there something funny about me?”

“Oh no. I’m sorry. My laugh just, pff, sort of leaks out. It’s a quirk of mine.”

“A quirk…”

By some chance, was the woman behind him the cause? If Genevis somehow had the feeling that his mouth was being smothered, perhaps he—

“I’ll show you the way, oh-ho, from here…”

Genevis started walking farther into the room, and Kunon followed. The crowd of almost fifty sorcerers parted to let them through, watching Kunon as he passed.

At the center of the group, three magic users were waiting. One of them had to be the master of this castle.

“……”

Kunon’s rules continued to be broken. Coming here had been well worth his time just for the sake of increasing his sample size. Smiling, Kunon bowed and introduced himself.

“Hello. I’m Kunon Gurion. It is my great privilege to join you here today.”

One month had passed since Kunon started magic school.

In his daily life with his family, he hadn’t been able to observe a sufficient range of the things that he was seeing. That was because, of course, there hadn’t been many sorcerers around.

Since coming to school, however, a number of clear rules had been established.

One such rule allowed Kunon to determine if someone was magical based on what he could see. He could sort the things he saw—and thus, the people “possessed” by them—into sorcerer and non-sorcerer categories.

If someone’s something was only partially emerging from their body, they were a non-sorcerer. If their something was wholly outside of their body, that person was a sorcerer.

Starting with the non-sorcerers, he had seen horns, feathers, mismatched eyes, the jet-black wings of a fallen angel, and so on.

There was no uniformity in what protruded from people’s bodies, just that they appeared to follow a pattern of being “only partially emerging.”

Kunon’s father, Arsan Gurion, who looked blurry from head to toe, seemed to be the only exception. But if Kunon considered the possibility that Arsan’s something was emerging across the surface of his body and giving off the effect of frosted glass, then that would adhere to the rule as well.

The following day, many things happened.

It was almost as if everything had been arranged beforehand. Like someone—or something—had been patiently waiting for that exact day to arrive.

It was probably just coincidence… No, that wasn’t true. At least half of it must have been intentional, even inevitable.

The first incident happened early that morning, when a teacher came to Reyes’s classroom.

“Oh! Oh my! This is fantastic!”

The teacher was Professor Sureyya Gaulin. She was almost thirty-two years old, and her attribute was light. At present, she was standing in front of the five pots containing completely mature shi-shilla plants, trembling with excitement.

Reyes, though surprised, was expressionless. She had never met Sureyya and was totally bewildered by the energetic teacher’s appearance.

“I bought the shi-shilla seeds from Professor Sureyya,” said Kunon, who had brought the woman in question to the classroom.

In that case, this all made a lot more sense. If Kunon had been associating with her unbeknownst to Reyes, there was a reason for her to be here now.

As Reyes had been cultivating the sacred herbs over the past two or three weeks, she had indeed wondered about the origin of the seeds. Kunon had said he would procure them, and he had returned with them very quickly. It was hard to imagine that any general store, even in the magic city, would stock the seeds of such a rare, hard-to-grow, expensive plant. They were probably the kind of thing one had to special order from the place where they were grown.

The reason Kunon had managed to come up with them in less than a day was—

“Professor Sureyya provided them for us.”

—in that case understandable.

Reyes also had an idea why Sureyya was so impressed. Cultivating shi-shilla must have been something she was also researching. That was why she’d already had some seeds and how Kunon—who had known that—had been able to obtain them from her so quickly.

“How much did they cost, out of curiosity? I can’t imagine they were free.”

Sacred herbs were expensive and so were their seeds. The Saint had been avoiding the topic, because she was afraid she would be asked to cover the bill.

“Two hundred thousand necca per seed.”

In other words, it had cost one million necca for all five.

That was a lot of money. Reyes had never had to think about finances in her home country. But ever since enrolling in magic school and frantically trying to earn her living expenses, she had developed a sensible understanding of money.

The price of each seed—two hundred thousand necca—was about as much as a common person would make in a month. Altogether, they cost five times that.

The potted plants Reyes had calmly raised to maturity seemed to grow large in her mind, rapidly becoming a heavy weight that settled in her gut. Reyes felt a little sick. As she realized belatedly just how critical it had been that she succeed, the pressure she would have been under hit her all at once.

“But she and I agreed that the seeds would be free if we grew them successfully and submitted a report,” said Kunon. “I’m glad it turned out well. Having to pay that million necca would have been hard on me.”

On top of that, Sureyya was a teacher. She would probably award credits for the experiment, so it really was a win-win situation, in the end. At least in theory.

But Reyes, realizing she had unknowingly taken on a million-necca risk, was not so easily appeased. She only had herself to blame, though, for refusing to ask how much the seeds had cost.

What’s more, she had let Kunon shoulder some of that risk, too, all so she could make money. Judging from his tone, if the cultivation had failed, he would have eaten the seeds’ cost himself. Thinking about that possibility made emotions she wasn’t supposed to have start welling up inside.

“Kunon. I’ve caused trouble for you. I’m sorry.”

Reyes had only been thinking of herself. She was ashamed.

Yes—ashamed. Even the Saint, despite her missing emotions, understood something of this feeling. It was mortification, gratitude, and regret for getting Kunon involved, all wrapped up together.

Reyes bowed her head, but Kunon replied, “I’d rather a woman tell me ‘thank you’ than ‘I’m sorry.’”

Hank and Riyah, with nothing better to do, had been watching the scene unfold since Professor Sureyya’s arrival. The fact that Kunon was still very much himself, even in this situation, filled them with both exasperation and admiration. Though perhaps just this once, admiration was winning out. Because this time, they thought, Kunon’s words were exactly what was needed.

It was a happy day, because the shi-shilla was ready to be harvested. That was why Kunon had called on Professor Sureyya.

Soon, the professor and Reyes began discussing matters in their shared field of expertise, light magic. Sureyya already had Kunon’s report—complete with his frankly excessive notes—clutched in her hands.

The boys, realizing they were only in the way at this point, promptly exited the Saint’s classroom. It was almost as if they’d been driven out, but as they each had things to attend to, they couldn’t complain.

“Here’s today’s meat, Hank,” said Kunon.

“Got it.”