Soon, tiny raindrops began to fall from the small cloud Yor had created.
Only then did Professor Radvisin stop mumbling about his thesis topic, stretch out his arm, and marvel as he let the rain soak his hand.
“Oh, to actually make it rain… Karbaldr, how much Aether does this ability consume? Assuming it lasts for more than ten minutes, how wide an area can you cover with rain?”
He said he was too busy to watch my training today.
Yet, Professor Radvisin’s scholarly curiosity wouldn’t let him hold back his questions.
Naturally, it wasn’t something I could answer.
Someone else was the one using the ability.
Instead of replying, I quietly stared at Yor.
The clever baby dragon immediately caught the meaning behind my gaze and shook the Yeouiju it was holding.
Then, the Yeouiju jingled as it spat out a notebook and pen.
“Ka-Karbaldr! What is that orb that defies the laws of physics?!”
Even though he hadn’t received an answer to his previous question, Professor Radvisin’s academic interest compelled him to fire off a new one.
It always feels a bit strange to hear someone invoke the laws of physics in a fantasy novel world.
‘Future Awakened Ones won’t even need a medium like a Yeouiju—they can just pull items in and out of thin air…
Well, technically from an “inventory window,” but only the Awakened One can see it, so to others, it looks like pulling things from nowhere.’
‘Still, it’s quite a sight to behold.’
I was genuinely surprised when Yor first put the notebook and pen into the Yeouiju.
That was the first time I realized it had that function.
Now, I just accept it as a good thing.
According to the 《Nas-e》 worldview, inventories have spatial and weight limits, so you can’t store an infinite number of items.
Having an additional item with inventory functionality is definitely an advantage.
Besides, Yor probably finds it easier to carry his belongings himself.
“I don’t really know much about that orb. It’s been with my Familiar since it was born. For reference, none of my family’s Familiars have such an item.”
I finished the mental narration and gave Professor Radvisin an honest answer, not trying to skirt around it.
I only know that orb is called a Yeouiju; I haven’t figured out what abilities it possesses yet.
***
When I asked Yor, it simply showed me the words 「Yeouiju = Yeouiju」.
“Your Familiar has some mysterious qualities, Karbaldr. Not only was it born with such a marvelous orb, but it can even write? Karbaldr, what’s going on? I’ve never heard of a Familiar being able to write before!”
Professor Radvisin stopped marveling for a moment and then was amazed again when he saw the writing Yor had just shown him.
He was so shocked by the notebook and pen that had come out of the Yeouiju that he hadn’t noticed the baby dragon was actively writing with the pen.
“Maybe other Familiars didn’t want to communicate concretely with their masters. Or maybe their front paws weren’t suited for writing, so they gave up. Otherwise, it means mine must be exceptionally intelligent.”
I deliberately answered in a casual tone, hoping Professor Radvisin would calm down quickly.
At the same time, I scanned the message Yor had just written with my eyes.
It said that with the current ability, it’s possible to rain over about half of the Academy grounds for more than ten minutes.
There was no specific explanation about the exact Aether consumption.
That might be because it’s hard to explain with numbers.
After all, the important thing is how wide an area the ability can cover, so maybe they just omitted the details.
“I don’t know how many times I’m going to be surprised today. Karbaldr, this is a world-benefiting ability! A truly remarkable one at that!”
Perhaps he had no more energy to be astonished, as Professor Radvisin spoke calmly from that point onward.
Still, through his words, it was clear that his admiration had gone beyond mere surprise to genuine awe.
“Of course. If it’s possible to make it rain during droughts or fires, the damage can be mitigated. Moreover, Yor says it can even stop natural rain, so it can handle disasters caused by heavy rainfalls, too.”
“This really… makes my shoulders feel heavy.”
It seemed Professor Radvisin felt a sense of responsibility to strengthen and manage my and Yor’s Sky-Blue Aether abilities.
That meant he would put his utmost effort into teaching me, which was a good thing for me.
“But, Professor, didn’t you say you had something busy to do today?”
“Ah, right! Blida and Elska must be waiting… Let’s talk while heading to the lab.”
So the busy matter was related to the two senior research students.
Perhaps they were about to start working on a thesis together.
I was hesitant, wondering if I would be a disturbance if I went along.
‘If I quietly practice Aether cultivation in the corner, it should be fine. I also have questions for the professor!’
So I followed Professor Radvisin to his lab with Yor.
Of course, before leaving the classroom, I made sure Yor stopped the rain and cleared the clouds.
“Professor, do you have any information about people with weather-related Aether attributes?”
“No. Actually, this is the first I’ve learned that such an attribute exists. I’ve been studying Aether attributes for a long time, but there are still unknown properties out there! The world of Aether is truly vast and incredible, isn’t it?”
I asked casually as we walked, and Professor Radvisin’s scholarly enthusiasm shone in his joyful response.
“In theory, anyone with a water-manipulating Aether attribute might imitate it, but evenly scattering water over a wide area would be extremely difficult and mentally taxing. It’s practically impossible.”
He praised the Sky-Blue Aether’s power.
Perhaps pleased, Yor spun happily in the air, turning its joy into a dance.
‘Sure. In terms of offense, controlling water itself is stronger, but in terms of benefiting the world, the ability to create rain clouds is truly amazing.’
That’s why I wondered—
‘Could this really be a power given to some “school bully who used to harass the protagonist”?’
Even considering Karbaldr as a character who might have joined the protagonist’s party, this ability was way too much.
‘Moreover, it’s not a rare trait like the protagonist’s thunder attribute—it’s an attribute that had never even been known before.’
Just looking at Professor Radvisin’s reaction made it clear that the ability to summon rain is a helpful power.
That’s why it would naturally attract attention if it existed.
Yet, if it’s unknown, there’s only one conclusion.
‘It means this ability has never existed in this world until now!’
***
After considering the possibility that my possessed body might have Sky-Blue Aether, the first thing I did was look through the Austri Ducal Family genealogy.
However, none of the former duchesses had blue eyes.
So all I could do was vaguely assume that an ancestor of theirs must have had Sky-Blue Aether.
‘That’s why, in the 《Nas-e》 setting, I don’t know exactly what kind of traits Karbaldr’s Sky-Blue Aether originally had, but it definitely wasn’t related to weather control. Maybe it was supposed to be decided later, but because the party inclusion failed, the setting remained a blank…
Anyway, even if Karbaldr had been accepted as the protagonist’s comrade in the original, he wouldn’t have been able to make it rain.
I’m sure of it.
Because, controlling the weather is always considered an overpowered ability in any creative work.’
‘But what kind of character was Karbaldr?’
A character who didn’t even make it to a supporting role and met his end as a trivial villain.
Meanwhile, ‘I’ am a novel transmigrator.
If you asked who’s more suited to have an overpowered ability, one hundred out of a hundred would say the transmigrator.
‘Besides, an ability to control weather? It suits a dragon too perfectly.’
So I came to the following conclusion:
The unestablished or completely blank setting of Sky-Blue Aether in the original novel was overwritten with the data of ‘me,’ whose name means ‘dragon,’ creating this new attribute.
Although the world I lived in was an ordinary modern one without Aether abilities, my original body didn’t have blue eyes either.
This means the plausibility is more than sufficient.
The weather-controlling Sky-Blue Aether ability definitely originates from me.
“Are you done organizing your thoughts?”
Lost in contemplation about the Sky-Blue Aether trait, we suddenly arrived right in front of Professor Radvisin’s lab door.
That was when he spoke to bring me back to reality.
“Ah, sorry. I was worried about whether I could handle this rare and precious ability…”
“You’ll be fine, Karbaldr.”
It wouldn’t be appropriate to explain the transmigrator stuff as it is, so I muttered a vague excuse and lowered my gaze.
Professor Radvisin patted my back and offered encouraging words.
“Well then, shall we go inside?”
He stepped aside toward the door.
Though his behavior felt somewhat forced, I opened the lab door without much thought.
Then…
Bang! Boom-!!
“Meowaaah!!”
Startled by the sound of fireworks, Yor curled around me, and at almost the same time, paper confetti fell over my head.
Standing there bewildered, congratulations poured down on me.
“I heard your Familiar was born! So yesterday was your birthday, right? Happy belated birthday~!”
“Happy birthday, junior!”
“Yes, happy birthday, Karbaldr.”
***
After Blida senior and Elska senior finished their congratulations, Professor Radvisin also offered his words softly, gently pushing me forward.
Thanks to that, I managed to move my stiff body and step inside the lab.
“I heard you had something busy today, what was it…”
“Right, your surprise birthday party.”
“Junior, aren’t you a bit overwhelmed? We rushed to prepare this after hearing the rumor, so no gifts, sorry…”
***
When I stammered to speak, Blida smiled warmly in response.
Elska, holding the cake, teased playfully but looked a bit embarrassed for not having a present.
Laughter from Professor Radvisin echoed from behind.
“I never expected someone I’ve only known for a short while to celebrate my birthday.”
Though my mind thought that “Thank you” should come first, nonsense spilled out of my mouth.
That just shows how bewildered I felt.
If this were a scene in a novel, readers might find my attitude puzzling.
So here’s a bit about my personal information.
Actually, my birthday—‘Mir’s’ birthday—is today, the day after Karbaldr’s birthday.
Moreover, ever since my mother passed away, I’ve never once been told happy birthday, nor have I ever eaten birthday cake.
So I’m awkward with birthday celebrations.
‘We already celebrated Yor’s birth yesterday, so I was going to let my birthday slide this time too…
That should explain why I’m so flustered and unsure of what to do right now.’