My thoughts are tangled.
This isn’t the first time I’ve faced a situation like this.
Most likely, the old man has grasped a fragment of truth related to the Akashic Record or the 9th Circle.
But I hope he fails to achieve enlightenment.
Objectively, it would be good if he attained enlightenment and reached the 9th Circle.
Wouldn’t it mean that the person protecting me from the Empire becomes stronger?
But I don’t want to help someone who, without any warning, uses mind magic on me just to satisfy his curiosity and then acts like it’s no big deal.
As I left the study and headed back to my room, I ran into Chechil.
The moment Chechil saw me, he immediately bowed his head deeply.
“I’m sorry……”
“Out of nowhere?”
“I just thought about how ridiculous it must have seemed. That’s what I felt.”
“Again, out of nowhere?”
“You can laugh at me if you want.”
“Hey, I can’t keep up with the pace of this conversation at all. Can you tell me what made you think that way? How you ended up saying that, following the who, what, when, where, why, and how?”
Right now, my head is also cluttered, and my mental state isn’t great, so it’s hard to just accept everything blindly.
Chechil bit his lower lip briefly, then opened his mouth.
“In the Squaret Duchy, I was more talented than anyone else. Everyone adored me, and I believed every word I said was right, and every plan I made would come true. But it wasn’t like that.”
Because Lumpen Hound came and utterly devastated the Squaret Domain.
For a 2nd Circle prodigy, facing an Intermediate Swordmaster was nothing less than a nightmare.
Honestly, it’s a miracle Chechil is still alive.
Maybe it was because Moere only paid attention to Senior Giselle, or maybe it was just fate.
“But even in the Helpion Duchy, and here too, I was nothing. Moreover, the person I used to look down on… the Consultant General, turned out to be the scariest one. A genius who mastered Light Spell in just one day and a prodigy in swordsmanship as well.”
“So?”
“I just felt embarrassed. I wanted to crawl under the covers and struggle. Then I wondered—what was the Consultant General thinking when I was saying all those things?”
Back then?
Back then, I was cursing Albatron.
Like a mad magician, never once considering how much pain someone else’s body would endure, just doing whatever he wanted…
Come to think of it, whether it’s the 8th or 9th Circle, mages really live selfishly compared to swordsmen.
“Because of that, I felt so miserable I came to apologize.”
Is that just a person’s nature?
Seeing someone who was so stubborn and angry become completely crushed and gloomy makes me think a lot.
“Alright. There was no need to dwell on feelings anyway. Since it’s all forgotten, let’s consider this apology the end of that incident.”
Chechil nodded with clear eyes at my words.
Looking into his eyes somehow made me feel that the worries he brought here were slowly unraveling one by one.
In the end, it worked out well.
Since he’s so talented, if he absorbs the teachings from Talio Magic Tower quickly, his future will be bright.
Somehow, my heart grew complicated.
The one I’d always looked down on as immature is the first to gain enlightenment and settle his mind, while I’m unsettled because of the old man’s magic.
“What will you do now?”
So I answered his question without hesitation.
“Train.”
Originally, I planned to go into my room and rest.
But now, I felt like I couldn’t stand still any longer without moving even a little.
Helpion Duchy, Squaret Duchy, and Talio Magic Tower—
Wherever I go, am I destined to train in the night air?
With that thought, I headed for the training grounds, only to find a visitor already there.
Thud!
A strong impact echoed as if someone had stomped hard.
Since this is the Magic Tower, I didn’t expect anyone to be training this late at night.
“Hello.”
“Laward, huh? What brings you here at this hour… Ah, you’re a swordsman, aren’t you? Of course, you need training time—I just forgot.”
“I can understand that, but what about Jason?”
“As for me… haha, you can see for yourself, right?”
Jason is a solidly built man.
His physique might be natural, but training like this—it almost feels like he chose the wrong major.
Look at him now.
Jason had shed his usual loose robe, training bare-chested.
With his robe off, his body was fully visible… Wow. That’s impressive.
Without exaggeration, he had a better physique than the warriors I often saw in the Helpion Duchy.
His body was covered with scars of all sizes, and sweat glistened from what seemed like long hours of training.
“Well then, I’ll continue what I was doing. Hup!”
Jason glanced at me and slowly resumed moving his body.
From fingertips to toes, his flow was strangely unified.
“Are you refining martial arts?”
“Uhhahaha, you noticed. I just can’t let go of what I used to do.”
“Used to…?”
“I was a mercenary. Wandering from place to place.”
“A mercenary mage?”
“No. A warrior. I learned magic later, after I came of age. I was too poor as a child to take the mana aptitude test. About eight years wandering the world, then by chance, a mage in the same mercenary band taught me.”
Listening to Jason, I sat down nearby.
Is this a lingering effect from the Squaret Domain?
When you see a unique life, you want to talk.
Or maybe that’s just an excuse because my conversation with Chechil left me feeling uneasy.
“Don’t you feel jealous?”
So I honestly asked about my own worries.
“Uhhahaha, honestly, I’d be lying if I said no. But once I start moving my body like this, those thoughts just disappear.”
“So you have felt jealous.”
“There are many more talented people than me. Like Telma in the Magic Tower. She’s my peer but already 5th Circle. Isn’t that amazing? She started learning magic early and was already 4th Circle when she entered the tower. After four years, she reached 5th Circle. Then there’s Toma, also a 4th Circle master. Brother Boris is soon approaching 6th Circle.”
As Jason talked about various people, his expression was completely clear—no shadows.
At least to me, it didn’t look like he was hiding his true feelings behind a facade.
“I used to feel a lot of jealousy. But what can you do? My ability is lacking. I realized that being consumed by those feelings and falling into despair helps no one. So instead, I changed my mindset. Want to see?”
Jason smiled, clenched his fist tightly, and released his ki.
“Hup!”
His fist sliced through the air, and at the same time, I felt mana spreading out in all directions with a whoosh.
What is this?!
“That wasn’t just simple mana usage. The mana rotated following the flow of martial arts, didn’t it?”
“Oh, you recognize it? You’re the first person besides the teacher who’s come to the Magic Tower and noticed it on the first try.”
Jason smiled and swung his fists and feet a few more times.
Each time he moved a fist, the mana residing in his body spread out in waves in every direction.
“When you form a circle in your heart, aren’t you unable to use martial arts?”
“Haha, theoretically, yes. But that’s just theory. That’s why I tried it once, and it turned out like this.”
“It turned out like this?” I asked, sensing the subtle nuance in his words.
“Could it be that this is why your class rank isn’t going up well?”
Jason laughed without answering.
“I think so. I haven’t learned mana breathing technique, but from long years as a mercenary, mana accumulated in my dantian.”
“But once you form a circle, doesn’t it completely disappear?”
“That would be a waste.”
Jason swung his fist in the air once again.
“It’s true I chose the life of a mage. But that doesn’t mean I’m ashamed of or regret my mercenary life. I became a mage because I was a mercenary. That’s the difference.”
“The difference?”
“Others started magic early through early education. That’s their trait. I learned magic while using my body. My nature isn’t a weakness or flaw—it’s a trait.”
Jason smiled gently and kicked the air again.
Thud—his foot firmly struck the ground.
“So if I keep developing my traits, maybe one day I’ll reach 4th or 5th Circle? My teacher knows that and doesn’t scold me… or at least I think so.”
His tone was light, but his words echoed deeply.
“That’s good.”
“Uhhaha, thanks.”
I followed that echo and stared at Jason’s face for a long time.
Why was that?
Before meeting him, my heart had felt heavy and foggy, but now it seemed to clear up.
The answer was in his words.
“Jason.”
“Hm?”
“Is there a place like a library here where I can learn magic from the basics?”
“Uhhaha, a library? Yeah. If you go up to the 7th floor of the tower, there’s an entire floor dedicated to magic reference materials.”
“Thanks. I’ll make time to go. I’ll head in first.”
When I reached near my room, Alice suddenly appeared behind me.
Startled.
“Will you help that guy reach enlightenment too…?”
“Huh?”
“Because you’re a sage, right?”
“Well… I can’t just give or withhold enlightenment at will. Everyone knows I’m not a real sage.”
“You liked him… You’ll give him enlightenment…”
No, seriously, I’m not the legendary Golden Goblin who hands out enlightenment recklessly.
He just happened to gain some after a casual chat.
But Alice made a bothered expression and disappeared quietly.
What the heck.
We’ve been together for a while, but she’s impossible to predict.
Why did the Head Maid assign someone like her to me?
Her skills are undeniable, but the more I know, the more four-dimensional her mental state seems.
Ugh. Better not dwell on it. I should get some sleep to prepare for tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I’ll go learn magic.
As always, I’ll read books from the library and gradually make those spells my own.
There are even some spells I want to experiment with.
Jason said he’s trying to find a way to use martial arts even with a circle on his body.
I’m the opposite.
I don’t have a circle on my body.
I just draw mana scattered in the air whenever I swing my sword or cast magic.
Does that mean I’m free from the concept of circles?
Could it be that I can freely use 3rd or 4th Circle magic?
Maybe even higher circles…
Since the Akashic Record holds the records of 9th Circle mages, if I keep learning magic like this, could I freely use 9th Circle magic…
No, that can’t be.
I shook off my runaway thoughts.
If that were possible, the moment I learned Body-Utilization Secretary, I would have been able to perfectly imitate the swordsmanship of Duke Helpion.
I probably need a certain level of knowledge, physical ability, and mental control.
Still, it seems worth experimenting to see how far I can go.
Come to think of it, I heard that the old man Humboldt is coming tomorrow too.
For various reasons, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
I fell asleep wrapped in anticipation.
“Humboldt, sir?”
“Who is it?”
“The mages introduced me as having a long relationship with Lord Talio of the Magic Tower. I am Laward Gordem from the Helpion Domain Tower. May I ask about Lord Talio’s late wife’s love affair?”
“No business here.”
Old man Humboldt cut me off sharply and then slammed the door shut.