WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 119

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I began moving my hands carefully. First, I gently stroked the skin. When the faint stream of magical power rising from my fingertips seeped inside, the pale lump of flesh twitched.

I smiled in satisfaction. As expected from something that had been alive only moments ago, it was extremely fresh. I slowly drew my blade and cut into the skin.

A carving knife rippling with golden magical power. Or was it a cooking knife now? Either way, the blade pierced the sturdy magical power barrier and sank inside. Then I slowly moved it along the grain.

Within the flow formed by that grain, the knife advanced without the slightest resistance. It began dismantling the huge mass of meat in no time. I used my magical power to soften the texture and slowly trimmed the meat.

During the process, a chilling cold and a fresh, sweet fragrance began rising from the lean flesh. That meant I had processed it properly. The scent started spreading through the area.

What I was trimming was a creature called an Iceflesh Bear. It was quite strong. Of course, it was also as rare as it was powerful.

Only one thing mattered. This thing was apparently very tasty. Its meat was cold as ice and soft, making it an excellent ingredient. I had only read about it in books, and this was my first time handling the real thing.

Once I finished breaking down every part, I had a hill of meat as tall as my body. Even after removing all the bones, this much remained. Of course, if it were Professor, she might eat all of it in a single meal.

I floated the lumps of meat into the air and headed out of the cave. A bitterly cold wind struck my body. I quickly blocked it with magical power, then walked toward the huge bonfire blazing in the distance.

With every step, I heard the soft crunch of snow underfoot. Once I reached the bonfire, I carefully set down the lumps of meat. Then I took the countless skewers I had prepared in advance from my coat and planted them beside it. With this, all the preparations were complete.

Mira and Professor Irian were sitting on the chairs I had set around the bonfire. Mira met my eyes and smiled brightly.

“Oh my, you are here. Irian has been waiting very eagerly.”

“When did I ever do that?”

Professor said it with a sullen face. I bowed lightly to her and picked up a skewer. As I slowly began infusing it with magical power, I loosened up a little.

“Then I will begin today’s dish. Today, I plan to make skewers using freshly caught Iceflesh Bear meat.”

Handling this did not require much. The meat alone was enough. That was why I planned to grill it with nothing but fire and magical power. Only one thing mattered, my own skill.

I skewered the pieces of meat and tossed them into the fire. Threads of my magical power gripped the ends of the skewers and began moving through the flames.

Inside the fire, the magical power and fragrance contained in the meat began bursting out explosively. I quickly turned the meat over and twisted the movements trying to escape.

The skewers, heated in the fire, blocked that movement as well. The magical power inside them bound the flow firmly like hooks. Like that, the meat’s magical power stayed inside and began pooling within.

The skewers, which had taken in the fire itself, cooked quickly. I used magical power to constantly check the inside of the skewers. Even the smallest mistake could not happen.

The meat soon cooked and began dripping with juices. I swiftly pulled it out and nodded in satisfaction. I had been a little worried since it was my first attempt, but it was a complete success. I offered it to Professor.

“This is the first skewer. I gathered only the rump meat, the softest part. It is hot, so please eat slowly. Next, I will serve the bear’s paws.”

Professor accepted the skewer. After looking at it with sparkling eyes, she bit one piece of meat off the skewer and pulled it free. Then she quietly closed her eyes and began chewing.

Soon, she nodded. Then she opened her mouth slightly. From her mouth, along with a white breath, leaked a sweet fragrance like several kinds of fruit. It had been contained in the meat.

“You told me to look forward to it, and it really is delicious. It’s incredibly unique.”

She immediately bit into another piece. Watching that, I smiled in satisfaction. Then I quickly placed several more skewers into the fire with magical power. I could not allow Professor’s mouth to rest, after all.

Like that, I began handling the skewers at speed. Faint snowflakes slid down the magical power barrier surrounding the bonfire. In the deep darkness, only the bonfire shone brightly. It was the seventh night since we had left the tower.

One skewer after another was quickly laid out in front of them. Professor ate them with great satisfaction. I mixed various cuts as well, trying to bring out as many different flavors as possible.

“Oh my, please be careful. You spilled again.”

Mira said that and softly approached Professor. Then she carefully wiped the corner of her mouth. Normally, this would have been Butler’s job.

But he had remained at the tower. He was the only one who could manage the room Professor had left behind. Of course, I had also used that as an excuse to deliberately leave him there. Professor naturally accepted Mira’s service.

While watching them, I pulled a small skewer out of the fire. This one was for the turtle, who had worked hard today as well. I handed the skewer to the one that had been continuously sending me its will.

It took the skewer in its mouth and began tearing into the meat excitedly. Even in a puppet body, it was very faithful to its desires at times like this. It was probably because it could taste.

I stared at its body, which felt full of life. Was it Wriggler No. 1? I had heard it was a puppet elixir made by Professor On. I still could not understand anything about the method behind its structure.

Professor stayed still under Mira’s touch, then began staring at the turtle. Perhaps the turtle sensed her gaze, because it stopped tearing at the meat and met her eyes. Professor lightly tapped its shell.

“This one really does feel a little familiar. I feel like I’ve seen it eating something like this somewhere before. It also feels like I’m being drawn to it somehow...”

Under Professor’s hand, the turtle let out a meeeh. Then it rubbed its head against Professor’s finger. It seemed to be drawn to Professor as well. Looking at it, Professor tilted her head slightly.

At Professor’s words, my body flinched. Over the past week, she had occasionally shown interest in the turtle like that. So whenever I had time, I thoroughly examined it to see if anything was strange.

But there was nothing special. That faint change originating from Professor was thoroughly hidden inside its mana heart. There was nothing to discover.

Professor was suspicious on instinct alone. Was this what it meant to be a dragon? I could not help admiring that sharp, keen sense.

Of course, apart from my admiration, my heart did churn a little whenever this happened. Still, I did not regret it. That had been an expression of my pure desire to understand Professor more clearly.

Mira glanced at me, then softly clung to Professor. She picked up a skewer and held it out to her.

“Hoho, is that so? For now, how about one more bite? Here, say ah.”

Mira gently waved the skewer. The fragrance settled in the meat lightly seeped out. Drawn in by the scent, Professor naturally accepted it and ate. She chewed the meat and nodded.

Mira looked at her and smiled sweetly. Then she lightly smacked her lips while looking at Professor. Professor glanced at her.

“You can try some too.”

“No, I am fine. I am happy just watching Irian eat like this.”

Mira said that and lifted the skewer again. Then she took off one piece of meat and offered it to Professor. Professor accepted it and ate.

Mira had helped me. Feeling grateful, I dipped my head slightly toward her. She smiled lightly at me, then smacked her lips again. Her gaze was not on the meat, but on Professor.

Her desire was extremely clear. One day, she wanted to devour Professor. Professor did not seem to care about that desire at all. I had also thought it was nothing but an absurd dream.

But perhaps I had been wrong. Eating. Perhaps that might happen in another sense, in another way. I smiled bitterly as I watched Mira cling to Professor. With their similar faces, the two looked almost like sisters.

While Professor was led along by Mira and distracted by the meat, the turtle slowly slipped out of Professor’s hand and landed on the ground. Then it took its own meat in its mouth and slowly approached my side.

“Oh my, you have a little here. How cute.”

Mira slowly wiped Professor’s mouth. Professor frowned slightly and looked at her. Her magical power rippled faintly, as if expressing discomfort.

“You somehow make me feel like you’re treating me like a child. You’re getting too bold. Not as much as that guy, though.”

“Me? Not at all. Now, please have one more.”

Mira said that and offered Professor another piece of meat. At the same time, a soft rose scent began flowing from Mira. Professor’s face relaxed slightly at the scent, and she accepted it and ate.

“Mm, this is a warning. If you do this again, I’ll scold you... mm, this is good.”

Professor said while chewing the meat. Mira smiled softly and nodded.

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

Mira said that as she clung to Professor and lightly hugged her. Then she began gently feeling her arm. Professor settled naturally into Mira’s embrace without any resistance.

During the past week, Mira had grown closer to Professor like that and had finally reached the point of hugging her. Professor had not bothered stopping her either. Of course she hadn’t. Mira had been relaxing her body very gently.

Watching that, I also smacked my lips. I was so envious. I wanted to touch Professor up close like that too, no, I meant serve her. When I stared at Mira like that, she smiled brightly at me.

There was a reason Professor treated Mira this softly. Just as treasures were drawn to Professor, Professor was also drawn to treasures. So her treatment of them could not be the same as how she treated ordinary people.

That was probably why she collected so many treasures. And that was also the reason I was obsessed with Professor. Before the lectures began, I had decided that I wanted to become such an existence too.

Of course, it had become a little more intense than I expected. That was the result of hearing that Professor was a dragon. Well, was that not a good thing? I looked at Professor with sparkling eyes.

It did not take more than a few hours for that mountain of meat to disappear. I ate a little too, but most of it vanished into Professor’s stomach. Her stomach had puffed up ever so slightly.

The meal was over. Then I had to prepare dessert. After leaving the cleanup to the puppets, I approached Professor and Mira. Then I took out a kettle in front of them.

When I sent magical power into it, the kettle rippled lightly with circuits and drew a magic circle. Warm tea flowing from the magic circle slowly began filling the kettle. Warm steam drifted from the spout.

I poured it into teacups and gently set them in front of them. A delicate fragrance began spreading from the teacups and covering the area. I set down a small bowl in front of the cups. It contained tiny snowflakes.

“Since you filled your stomach with meat, I prepared something for dessert that can cut through the greasiness. Please drink the tea while holding a snowflake in your mouth.”

Professor picked up one snowflake and stared at it. Then she put it into her mouth. She frowned slightly.

That was only natural. She would not taste much of anything. It was a lump of ice compressed with magical power. Nothing existed inside it except the subtle coldness of ice.

Professor then held the tea in her mouth. After staying still for a moment, she trembled lightly. Then she narrowed her eyes and stared at the teacup.

Seeing that, I nodded. The tea leaves I had prepared this time were made by trimming snowflowers. As flowers with the nature of snow, they must have released a deep, chilling flavor when they met those snowflakes.

They were very good tea leaves for this place. I slowly looked around. We were on the peak of a huge snowy mountain. It was also where we would stay for the day.

There was a reason I wanted to use this place as our campsite. I opened the barrier for a moment and lightly swept over the magical power flowing nearby. The flow of that magical power was extremely stable, as if someone had managed it.

There was no place around here where the magical power was as well tamed as this. It was the result created by the owner of the meat we had just eaten, the Iceflesh Bear. This was also its home.

It had been slaughtered by Professor’s hands when she grew hungry. I briefly prayed for its soul. It had generously given everything to us, after all.

“Then I will prepare a place where you can rest for a moment.”

Saying that, I gave the turtle a look. Sensing my will, it began trembling slightly. Soon, it moved its shell and dropped two small boxes.

I picked up the boxes and sent magical power into them. Then the magic circles inside accepted my magical power and began resonating. At the same time, the boxes gradually began shaking.

I threw them onto the ground I had prepared beforehand. The boxes absorbed magical power, expanded in an instant, and settled on the ground. I opened the door of the larger box and checked the inside. Refreshing magical power flowed out.

The inside looked exactly like Professor’s room. After confirming that, I nodded. There were no problems. I had prepared it solely for Professor before this trip. The smaller room beside it was ours.

When I returned to Professor, she lightly gestured toward the seat in front of her. It meant I should sit. I bowed my head slightly to her and took the seat.

From there, I stared at Professor as she began sipping her tea. Mira did the same. Professor stopped drinking her tea and glanced at us. Then she let out a quiet sigh.

“Should I have just flown there quickly? This is comfortable too, but you two are kind of burdensome...”

I blinked at those words. Burdensome? Once she got used to it, her thoughts would surely change. More importantly, I found a small opening in her words to continue the conversation. I carefully spoke to her.

“Come to think of it, why are you traveling like this? I do not think there is any need to ride the turtle.”

That was something I had been curious about all this time. The letter had not stated a clear visit date or period. It had only said that she could visit whenever she wanted.

Even so, she had insisted on leaving now. She also had not traveled directly. I knew because I had once been dragged through the air by her hand. At her speed, it would not take even a day to reach the end of the continent.

There was no need to travel on the turtle’s back like this. At this speed, we would have to go for a few more days. Of course, from my perspective, I was simply grateful that I could spend time with Professor like this.

At my question, Professor stopped drinking her tea and clicked her tongue lightly. Then she set down the teacup with a slightly sour look.

“When is the next lecture?”

“In one week.”

That was also my concern. I had left the tower to No. 0 and Hari, but it would be hard for them to hold lectures. Looking at me, Professor let out a small chuckle.

“If we go to that guy quickly, I’m sure nothing good will happen, so I’m going to drag out the time as much as possible, show my face for a bit, and come back. I’ll use the lecture as an excuse to escape. Then he won’t be able to say anything. You’re here too, after all.”

Saying that, she glanced at me. As expected, Professor seemed to have a clear plan. I only needed to trust her and follow her. Of course, hearing her words made me even more curious about the president.

To think there was someone Professor found this difficult to deal with. I had not known Professor would prepare an excuse just to cut a meeting short. An existence that made Professor, who was a dragon, act carefully. I could not even imagine what he looked like.

“Then that’s the end of talking about him here. Well, you might like him.”

She said that and glanced at the turtle. It met her gaze and let out a meeeh. Like that, the night deepened.

The turtle let out that cry again the next morning. It moved its massive, hill-like body and quickly set off.

I glanced at the path we had taken. In the snowfield, the turtle’s tracks were clearly visible. Its unstoppable movement had shattered everything blocking its path, and the noise rang loudly through the dawn air.

Perhaps sensing that sound, presences began wriggling here and there. They were clearly magical beasts. They must have been quite strong, because I could feel their magical power even from here.

The closer we moved toward the end of the continent, the more powerful magical beasts like this began appearing. Compared to these, the ones I had encountered on the road to Canyon City with Cassian were laughable.

Even the Iceflesh Bear we had eaten last night had been an upper-rank magical beast. Around here, there were no traces of people to be found. That meant we had grown that close to the continent’s outskirts.

If the turtle encountered such magical beasts, it would surely be unable to flee properly. But it moved with great confidence. Instead, the magical beasts began avoiding it, burrowing into the ground and disappearing.

Of course they did. I glanced at Professor, who was looking out the window. Dense magical power was rippling from her. Any creature that felt that overwhelming magical power would surely flee just like this.

Watching that, I smiled warmly. That overwhelming presence could be called the dignity of a dragon. She yawned lightly. Even that small gesture seemed to carry elegance.

“Then shall I prepare today’s breakfast? Please wait a little. I will make a simple stew using the scraps left over from last night.”

Saying that, I drew the golden blade. Magical power originating from it began flowing lightly over my hand. Professor’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction. Mira sat beside her and looked at Professor as if she found her cute.

Several more days passed like that. It was a time that satisfied Professor, satisfied me, and satisfied Mira. It was a happy journey for everyone. I hoped there would be another chance like this someday. Thinking that, I got down from the turtle’s back.

It was the moment the journey came to an end. We had arrived at the end of this huge continent called the university, filled with all kinds of mountains. I blinked quietly. Then I stared blankly at the horizon spread out before my eyes.

Mira followed me down from the turtle’s back. We were standing on a fairly high cliff. When I stood at the edge of the cliff and looked down, small waves were rippling below. Mira linked her arm with mine and leaned her head against me.

“Oh my, is this the place called the sea? How fascinating.”

“The sea I knew was not like this.”

I murmured that and rubbed my chin for a moment. I had been born on an island. I had grown up on that land surrounded on all sides by the sea, so I knew the sea very well.

That blackish, writhing sea. The sea was not a place one could approach carelessly. If you so much as went near it, bizarre creatures of unknown kind would glare at you, and its depths were full of dangerous things even mages could not approach.

Yes, the sea had only been a dangerous place like that. If not for the airship, I would never have escaped that island. Even when I boarded the airship and rose high into the sky, I could still smell the rotten stench coming from the sea.

But the sea before my eyes was not like that. I quietly watched as the waves rippled and gave off a dazzling color. A faint salty smell came riding on the wind.

The sea gave off a very clear, blue light. The magical power flowing inside it was deep and pure. Mm, I had heard several times that the university’s sea was very different from the outside, but I had not known it would be to this degree.

Then something suddenly shot up from inside the sea. Was it an attack? I flinched and stepped back. Then I wove a circuit and cast protective magic. It was a reflex born from my memories of the island.

“Hoho, how cute.”

Mira looked at me and smiled lightly. I also smiled awkwardly and scratched my head. Then I slowly began releasing the magic surrounding us.

What had leaped up was only one small fish. It was nothing more than a living creature containing a tiny bit of magical power. Even a small creature like that could live in this sea? It was astonishing.

“If you’re done looking, come in now. We need to go to where that guy is.”

Professor said that while lightly tapping the turtle’s shell. As she said, we climbed back onto the turtle and headed into the room. Then I slowly resonated my will with the turtle. Sensing it, the turtle naturally began climbing down the cliff.

According to Professor, the president’s residence was different from other people’s. He did not live in a mountain, but in the sea. That was why we had come to the sea like this.

The turtle slowly dipped its feet into the blue water. It let out a meeeh. Its delighted will came to me through our connection. Like that, it slowly began sinking into the blue sea.

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