“Whoa… amazing! Wait, is this…”
“Heh heh heh, as expected from Kasuya -san, you noticed, didn’t you…!”
“It’s the Mage Tower!! The Life Field’s!!”
“It’s similar, isn’t it… Yes, this isn’t the only place. This world has far too many buildings that closely resemble the architectural style of the Life Field… Yes, it’s based on what you would call the Baroque architectural style of the ancient Ambrosia civilization in the Life Field—”
Somehow, Snow-san started muttering like it was a spell.
I decided to let her be.
More importantly, this! This tower right in front of me!
Ta-da!
In the vast grounds of the magic academy.
It was in a place that felt like an eastern meadow.
A huge tower made of gray bricks.
With windmills, windows, and a hint of liveliness, it certainly looked like it could function as a residence.
Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be something resembling a waterway carved into the tower’s wall, like a replacement for water pipes.
Water was rising along it for some reason.
“Snow-san, what do you think that mechanism is?”
“Hmm, probably an application of transformation magic… right? Perhaps the wall surface and interior of that tower have some law set up that allows water to rise into the sky.”
“Transformation magic…”
《Player, transformation magic is one of the six branches of magic. It is a magic that alters the rules set by the world through magical power. Among the six branches, it is a high-difficulty magic that requires affinity with the world and sensitivity to magical power… There should have been similar magic in the Life Field as well…》
“Is that the one used in combat?”
《…No. It doesn’t possess the high firepower or immediate effectiveness required for combat.》
“Then I don’t know.”
《…I see.》
I quietly responded to Navi-chan’s voice.
Transformation magic, huh.
It sounds quite smart.
“What’s wrong? Kasuya -san?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing. So, um, is Teacher Unsvarna inside?”
“Yes, he is also the teacher of healing magic… So, I think he is treating Aki.”
Snow-san lowered her voice a little.
“Um, Kasuya -san, do you have any injuries…?”
“Oh, no, not particularly?”
“I-I see, that’s good to hear. Well then, let’s head to the tower. The teacher and Aki are surely inside—”
“No, I am here.”
Flap, flap, flap.
The sound of wings echoed from the sky.
Looking up, there it was.
“Ah, Teacher Unsvarna…!”
“Whoa, amazing!”
With a sharp beak, gigantic wings that shadowed the sun, and a mighty lion’s body.
A lion with a bird’s head.
It was a legendary creature that most people familiar with fantasy works would know.
“…A griffon.”
Snow-san gazed up at it with sparkling eyes.
“Welcome, both of you. Please wait a moment.”
Flap, flap.
With each flap of its giant wings, a strong beastly smell and a scent of the sun hit my nose.
After hovering for a moment, the griffon landed in the meadow.
On its saddle was, of course, Teacher Unsvarna, who had a four-eyed weird knight’s helmet as his charm point.
Hello.
“Hmm, I apologize for making you wait. I just returned from the Eternal Night Forest because I was short on materials for potions.”
“The Eternal Night Forest…?”
“Oh my, Kasuya -san, did you properly listen during the entrance ceremony? It’s one of the restricted areas of this academy. It’s one of the places that students absolutely must not enter.”
“Really?”
A restricted area, absolutely must not enter?
Come on, that’s just asking to be entered.
“Ho ho, Snow, you are quite wise. If all students were like that, no promising students would lose their lives every year…”
“Eh?”
Snow-san froze at Teacher Unsvarna’s words.
Wow, that was a pretty serious statement just now.
“Ho ho, there’s no need to freeze up like that, Snow. It was just a little joke. Ah, Snow, take this.”
“Teacher, what is this…?”
“It’s a pill made by Teacher Rowin of herbology. It has the effect of enhancing healing magic. Could you deliver it to Aki? He should be in the tower’s room.”
“Oh, yes, understood! Um, then, Kasuya -san…!”
“Please wait, Kasuya . I have a little talk to have.”
“Eh? Is that so? Then I’ll go ahead first.”
“Yes, we will follow soon.”
“Alright, understood. Then, Kasuya -san, I’ll see you later!”
Snow-san bobbed her head and headed toward the tower.
Teacher Unsvarna watched her with satisfaction.
The griffon let out a big yawn.
“Well then… Kasuya , I apologize for calling you out during after-school hours.”
“Oh, teacher, not at all, it’s no problem. So, about the talk—”
In that moment.
《P-Player!!》
Red magical power.
From the teacher’s fingertip, it appeared without motion and swiftly took the form of a sword.
《Watch out!》
It swung precisely toward my neck—
…It was too precise, that sword strike.
“Cough!”
“…Why did you not dodge?”
It stopped, perfectly poised, just touching my neck.
Huh.
I didn’t plan to say something cool like “I wasn’t trying to hit you.”
Wait a second, is that a bit too much?
Since Snow-san isn’t here, it doesn’t matter for my likeability…
Hmm, this teacher seems somewhat sharp, so I’ll just go with this.
“I couldn’t dodge.”
This is it! What a straightforward response!
I want to avoid standing out more than necessary outside of Snow-san’s presence! Yes!
“…Ho ho, after tracking that well with your eyes… It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone have such composure with a sword strike in that distance since the Demon-Human War. I see, it seems you have some reason for this.”
Huh?
“Kasuya , you are indeed hiding your strength, aren’t you?”
Huh, why?
I just completely acted like a weakling.
《…Player, normally, when a regular person has a magic sword pointed at their neck, they cannot maintain such calmness.》
“…Uwaaaaaah!? Why is there a magic sword?! It’s red!!”
Thud! I fell to the ground, completely losing my composure!
Did that work? How is it, Navi?
“…Oh, and you can clearly see the color of my hidden sword too… Goodness gracious.”
Huh? Navi-chan?
《…Magic swords become invisible when a wizard becomes an advanced mage by combining them with illusion magic and other techniques. So why did you go so far as to state its color?》
…Because it was red.
“Ho ho. Wonderful, reaching that level at such a young age. The fact that you feel no magic at all is… an application of illusion magic and enhancement magic, the technique known as ‘false,’ isn’t it? Just as expected from the reincarnated hero.”
“N-No, teacher, I mean, I’m homeless and a G-class gifted…”
“I won’t ask you why you want to hide your abilities. The duel with Aki the other day was publicly explained as a case of gift runaway. There shouldn’t be anyone in the academy who correctly understands your strength yet.”
“Ah, um, thank you…”
This teacher isn’t listening to me at all.
“Oh, could it be that you feel a sense of gratitude toward this old soldier?”
“Eh?”
《Ah, this is bad. Unsvarna’s intelligence… 98!? That’s thirty times yours… this is not good.》
“Kasuya , I have something to discuss with you.”
I feel like Navi-chan said something rude.
Teacher Unsvarna looked down at me.
“—Are you not interested in marriage?”
“Eh?”
《—No, that’s not good.》
“Eh?”
Huh?
