Chapter 32: The Starting Point of a Leap Part 2

A break of about two weeks following the Chapter of Ascent.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly a short amount of time, but as with any break period, it passed in the blink of an eye.

It was around then that Lilian, who had been holding out as long as she could in the VIP quarters, finally reached her limit.

With less than three days remaining before classes resumed, the First Princess had no choice but to pack her things.

The reason was simple.

Primus was already dealing with a shortage of manpower, and once classes resumed, there would be no room to accommodate a princess who wasn’t even a student.

Of course, if they truly wanted to, they could have made the effort.

But the more resources and time were devoted to Lilian, the less would be available for the students.

And so, Lilian was ultimately destined to return to the imperial palace.

In other words, she had to say goodbye to the only person she considered her teacher’s family.

***

“I’ll send you letters even after I return to the palace… so please… write back. Oh, and if you ever hear anything about my teacher, please be sure to let me know as well.”

“…Yes. Understood.”

Lilian, reluctant to part with Letter, kept her gaze fixed on him even as she boarded the train’s private compartment.

Even when the train slowly began to move, turning the figure of Letter into nothing more than a dot in the distance.

Even when she had traveled so far that she could no longer see him at all.

Her eyes remained fixed on the window.

Hmm.

Only when the train carrying Lilian and her escort knights had disappeared from view did Letter finally move her feet.

A soft sigh escaped her lips—whether it was one of relief or concern, even she wasn’t sure.

Hearing that ambiguous sigh, Irina, who had been standing beside her to see Lilian off, cautiously opened her mouth to ask a question.

Since when had she become so close with her sister?

Her sister wasn’t the type to easily open her heart to others, yet she had even offered to write letters first—it seemed like she had grown quite fond of her professor.

“Fondness, huh…”

For a brief moment, Letter’s mind became extremely, extremely complicated.

After a pause, she gave a reluctant nod.

Then, for the sake of Irina—who had a tendency to idolize her older sister—she added a few embellishments to the truth.

“She has a strong interest in the Mana Design course, so we naturally ended up having many conversations as her professor.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes. Since the Second Princess also serves as a teaching assistant for the subject, she must have had many questions for me as well.”

‘…Though in reality, she had simply mistaken me for the Sage’s daughter.’

‘We never actually had any meaningful conversations.’

There was no way she could tell her that.

In any case, it was true that, for now, she no longer needed to concern herself with Lilian.

And so, Letter returned to the academy to fulfill her duties as a professor.

However, there was one place she needed to visit before heading to her office.

The infirmary, where the healing mage Iris—whom Letter had personally rescued a few days prior—was resting.

***

As Letter and Irina walked in sync, step by step, they finally arrived at the infirmary.

Just as they did, the door creaked open, pushed by a small hand from the inside.

Beyond the doorway stood a girl with light purple hair.

Sensing the presence of visitors, Iris lifted her body slightly and, upon recognizing them, revealed a delighted expression.

“Oh, Professor… You’re here?”

“…I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

The conversation that followed was no different from usual.

Letter inquired whether she was experiencing any discomfort or if there were any lingering aftereffects.

Or, if there was anything personal she wanted to ask regarding those who had controlled her.

“Don’t hesitate to speak your mind. It’s alright.”

“It’s fine, Professor. They’re all dead anyway.”

“Strictly speaking, not all of them. Cultists are scattered all across the continent, not just the ones who infiltrated Primus.”

“…For me, it’s enough that you’re here to protect me, Professor. Truly.”

Seeing her smile bittersweetly as she expressed gratitude, Letter refrained from pressing further.

Instead, she had a personal favor to ask of her.

“By the way, Iris.”

“Yes?”

“Could you… maybe put in a good word for me with Professor Miriel? I feel like I’ll be relying on her quite a bit in the coming days.”

With a slightly sheepish expression, Letter made her request.

After all, Miriel from the healing department was someone she found rather intimidating.

Fortunately, Iris’s response was positive.

With a calm voice, she assured her that such a small request was nothing for the person who had saved her life.

“By the way, Professor. When you say you’ll be relying on Professor Miriel… may I ask what you mean by that?”

There was a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Letter glanced briefly at Irina, who was standing beside her.

Then, at last, she explained concisely how the Mana Design course would proceed in the future.

“I’m planning to include practical exercises from time to time. In the rare event something goes wrong, the students could end up getting hurt.”

“…A little?”

Irina’s eyes wavered at the word ‘a little.’

It was a phrase she had heard before—one that carried a very specific meaning when coming from Letter.

“Um, Professor.”

“Yes?”

And so, with an extremely cautious tone, she asked: “Could she provide a more detailed explanation of the upcoming Mana Design course?”

“Had she received permission from the headmaster to conduct a class where students might get injured?”

To this, Letter replied.

“I’ll be getting permission soon.”

“There was no need to worry too much.”

“I’m just planning to have them practice a few combat-applicable magic circles. That’s all.”

“…A little practical experience… A little…”

“It’s really just a little. It’s nothing compared to actual battlefield magic.”

“Ugh…”

At any rate, since Letter had finished checking on Iris’s condition, she once again asked her to speak well of her to Miriel before leaving the infirmary.

***

And so, Irina once again found herself walking alongside Letter.

As for Evan, the other teaching assistant, he had decided to focus on taking care of Iris for the time being.

Which meant that, for the next few days, Irina would have to handle the teaching assistant duties alone.

In other words, Irina was the only one who could adjust Letter’s new lecture—the one that was giving her an extremely ominous feeling.

That was why, the moment she arrived at Letter’s office, she once again asked her a cautious question.

“Um, Professor. You know there was a course revision this time, right?”

“Yes.”

“And that the students who remained only stayed because they truly wanted to take your class?”

“Yes. They’re all students I’m grateful for.”

Which means… I should repay their enthusiasm.

As Letter subtly twisted the conversation in a direction Irina had not intended, she hastily shook her head.

Then, in the most polite tone possible, she said, “If the class changes too drastically, the students might struggle. So maybe… you could take things a bit slower for the first few weeks?”

She was trying her best to hold him back within the boundaries of what was possible.

Fortunately, the answer that came back wasn’t an outright refusal.

“Well, I have no choice but to go slowly anyway. There’s so much material to cover.”

‘Wait… Not just a little, but so much?’

For some reason, his response made her sense an even greater impending disaster than before.

And so, in the end, Irina decided to leave this matter to Headmaster Ainel and mentally offered her condolences to the students who would be taking the Mana Design course.

The only silver lining was that, at the very least, Letter hadn’t made the first lesson too intense.

The bad news was that, from the very first lesson, he had warned them that things would get intense.

And the worst news of all…

Was that Irina herself was a student in the advanced Mana Design course.

***

“You all have faced real monsters during the Chapter of Ascent.”

It had been a while since they had seen that youthful figure on the lecture stage.

A while since they had heard that calm voice.

And a while since they had felt this particular kind of unease.

“The task I assigned back then did not require you to fight the monsters, as long as you could find the right answer.

In other words, if you can find the right answer, you can survive against any monster.”

Chills ran down their spines.

“I told you in our first lesson—I won’t be teaching you something entirely new. Instead, I will teach you how to handle what you already know in a more efficient and practical way.”

Sshhk.

As his small fingers moved through the air, a thick bundle of parchment was distributed to every student.

The contents they saw were a sort of bestiary, filled with information on various monsters.

“You have already experienced the pressure of facing a monster directly. And as students of this academy, your role is to practice and experiment here as much as possible. Mistakes and failures on the battlefield mean death. So fail and make mistakes here, as much as you need.”

After a brief pause to take a breath, the young professor addressed the entire lecture hall.

“You will now begin preparing for every possible situation. You will experience firsthand how to recognize the correct course of action—where, when, and how to respond.”

A single point of light flickered into existence.

All eyes in the hall fixated on it.

The light then elongated into a long arc, gliding smoothly through the air.

Eventually, it formed a massive circle.

But it didn’t stop there.

Every conceivable diagram that could fit inside the large circle was layered in.

And even that wasn’t enough—more symbols were stacked upon the first, until at last, the formation was complete.

A magic circle with no empty space left.

None of the students in the lecture hall could identify what kind of spell lay before them.

It wasn’t until a few moments later that its nature became clear.

“I previously taught you all about the automation of magic circles.”

Still as composed as ever, Letter continued, “Today, we will be learning compression—the ability to merge multiple magic circles into one. And deconstruction—the ability to selectively activate individual magic circles from within the compressed formation.”

“This magic circle contains seven different spells. However, by properly blocking, connecting, and linking the mana pathways—”

Sshhk.

Crackle!

“—You can isolate and activate only the spell you need.”

It sounded simple enough.

But what the students had just witnessed was akin to searching for a single grain of sand in an ocean and moving it exactly as intended.

A tiny movement that triggered a ripple, which in turn gave birth to a massive tidal wave.

‘Just now… What was that?’

‘What did he just do?’

It was beyond anything that could be called fine control.

Something so impossible, so far removed from common sense, that none of the students could even imagine trying to replicate it.

And yet, the youthful face before them showed no sign of hesitation.

It was then that they finally realized.

His warnings about the difficulty of the class were not exaggerations.

This would be harder than any other course in Primus.

“Now then, let’s begin.”

Hell had opened its gates.