WeTried Translations

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 123

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It happened one week after Professor shut herself in her room. Beyond the window, I could see the sun pouring out brilliant light. I quietly closed my eyes and took it in with my whole body.

A faint magical power flowed through that sunlight. Until now, I had thought that thing called the sun was simply a single crystal of magical power. A spell that maintained this enormous dimension called the university.

But it was not such a simple object. The president had said so. That sun was an eyeball torn from the turtle. I naturally recalled those eyes, where only darkness rippled without any pupils.

Somehow, it felt as though someone’s gaze was pouring toward the tower along with the sunlight. Of course, that had to be my imagination. Feeling the sunlight brush lightly against my body, I slowly loosened my hands.

It was time to prepare today’s refreshments. Warm sunlight and gentle magical power streamed into the room. The sunbeams burned together with that magical power, filling the room with dazzling light.

Seeing the sun high in the sky, I gave a small nod. Then I waved my finger. Magical power began flowing from my fingertip.

That magical power formed a circuit and began gathering the sunlight that filled the room into one place. I watched the process closely and took out the teapot. Then I gently set it down on the tray.

After confirming that the empty teapot made a light rattling sound, I guided the circuit filled with sunlight into it. The circuit, packed to its limit until the magical power had half liquefied, slowly seeped into the teapot and vanished.

The circuit that disappeared into the teapot wandered through its interior, then headed toward the magic circle embroidered inside it. It slowly connected the missing parts. The sleeping magic circle gradually began to awaken.

It was the Perfect Tea spell. It was my own spell, one I had made before coming to the university and had spent a long time improving. The magic circle took in magical power and began casting that spell.

I nodded as I watched the tea, full of the sun’s magical power, slowly rise inside the teapot. As expected from something that held the most intense light, it was excellent. This was the “Perfect Tea” I would give Professor today.

When I opened the lid, the scent rising from the tea burst out in every direction. The fragrance brushed the tip of my nose, and a bright smile came naturally.

Inside it was a faint scent of the sun. Not only the sunlight now pouring in beyond the window, but the long years behind it as well. That came from the tea leaves.

What I used this time was something called sungrass. It was common all across the university. The sun scattered light everywhere, and sungrass grew wherever that sunlight lingered.

But what I used this time was a little different from the common stuff lying around everywhere. It was not something I had plucked at random, but something taken from the garden I had spent a long time carefully arranging and tending.

Since the weather was so good today, I had prepared these tea leaves. I smelled the fragrance again. It suited the sunlight beyond the window. Professor would definitely like it too.

I could see the sun’s magical power faintly spreading from the dried leaves that formed the magic circle. The tea flowing along those leaves was fully drawing out the magical power contained in them.

I lightly tapped the teapot. Its temperature, scent, and magical power were all flawless.

The Perfect Tea spell had improved even further from the version I had used before. It was the result of steady thought and training over the past week.

I wanted to brew tea more perfectly. Unlike the name I had given the spell, this magic still could not truly be called perfect. There was only one reason I had started thinking that way.

I gave a small bitter smile. It was because I felt sorry toward Professor. While my soul had been pulled out and I was looking back on the past, I had newly recalled the origin of this magic.

This spell had begun from the desire to serve Professor alone. Of course, by now, it had reached a point where others could use it too. But at the start, it contained only my intention to care for Professor.

I needed to return to that original intent. I lifted the teapot. Then I began pouring tea into the small cup prepared beside it. At the same time, an even stronger fragrance began to spread.

I set the cup down on the table. Then I slid it toward the girl half perched there. The girl stared down at it. She tilted her head slightly, then lightly gripped the teacup.

The girl quietly began savoring the scent. Perhaps drawn by the fragrance holding the sun, sunlight poured even more strongly from outside the window. It flowed down the girl’s golden hair.

The girl looked so similar to Professor that, at a glance, she could almost be mistaken for her. She smiled softly. Seeing that appearance, so endlessly like Professor, really made me feel as though Professor had taken a seat there.

But that was only an illusion. The thing slowly opened its mouth. From that mouth came a bleating sound. “Meeh.” I checked the will transmitted along with it and nodded.

“How is it? Try drinking it.”

The turtle, that girl who resembled Professor so closely, quietly brought the teacup to its mouth at my words. Then it took a small sip. The thing smiled brightly.

It seemed to like it very much. What a relief. If the turtle was satisfied, that meant Professor would be satisfied too. Perhaps because it had stolen that outward form from Professor, even its tastes were gradually becoming more like Professor’s.

It took five years to grow this sungrass. Since the color of the past five years was contained inside it, Professor had no choice but to like it.

I did think Professor would like it, but since I could not visit her directly, I had no choice but to use the turtle like this to check the reaction in advance. Fortunately, today could be called another success.

I took out a perfectly transparent cup and placed it beside the teapot. Then I tilted the teapot and poured some tea into it. The tea held a golden light.

Holding it in my hand, I infused it with magical power and lightly shook it. Then a seven-colored rainbow began to rise. I needed to check the taste too. I brought it straight to my mouth.

At the same time, flowers began blooming in my mouth. Sungrass bloomed only once in its life, and only for a very brief moment. And sungrass that bloomed like that released the magical power contained inside it.

That life of sungrass was also contained within the magic I had created. Like this, it bloomed for a single moment. Of course, those flowers were nothing more than fakes made by stacking magical power.

But the Fake Soul born from my innate magic made those petals bloom as though alive, if only for a very brief moment. Along with that, warmth like melted sunlight flowed through my entire body.

No matter how much others trained in the Perfect Tea spell, they clearly would not be able to imitate this taste. When I opened my mouth, a small rainbow leaked out.

The turtle saw me and began breathing a rainbow out of its mouth as well. I pushed a cake in front of it. Starlight potato cake. No, it would be more correct to call it moonlight potato cake.

Starlight potato. I had used this a few times before. In this space called the university, it was one of the most common ingredients alongside sungrass. Thinking about it, the ingredients used in today’s refreshments were the most common ones.

Of course, the taste would be completely different. A gentle light rippled from the cake. It was the moon’s magical power. This too was something I had carefully raised.

The moon was like the sun’s shadow. So its taste would definitely harmonize even more with the tea. And my clear will contained inside it would be conveyed well too.

Unlike the unchanging sun, the moon always changed. Because of that, its form held many meanings and contained much magical knowledge.

For example, the full moon contained magical power of healing and prophecy. The waning moon held the power of protection and release, and served to block misfortune that would come someday.

Making food based on this sort of magical power was a kind of magic. Magical power was infused into it, knowledge was needed, and clear intent brought the flavor to life. So this small cake too could be called a magical crystal.

The turtle’s eyes sparkled as it looked at the cake. Then it began devouring it messily. The thing looked at me and smiled broadly. Its face was full of satisfaction.

The turtle sent me its impression. Hearing it, I nodded. It seemed what I wanted to say had been conveyed well. I had taken care to make sure the cake contained only one kind of moon energy. The magical power of the new moon.

The new moon contained several meanings like the other moons. Among them, the ones I had tried to bring out were change, reconciliation, and forgiveness. The turtle was telling me that it could feel them very clearly.

Since both the taste and meaning were clear, Professor would certainly be satisfied too. She would also surely be able to tell that I had changed from before. Perhaps the tightly shut door might even open.

As I watched the turtle begin eating to its heart’s content, I carefully placed cake on the tray. Then, just as I was about to slowly take it out, someone lightly tapped my shoulder. When I turned my gaze, I saw Mira.

“Are you going again today?”

Mira asked, tilting her head. A mirror bug rose from her arms. It displayed the current time on its screen. It was a little past noon. By now, Professor should have finished eating.

In other words, it was time to head to Professor. Mira slowly walked toward the table. Then she stared intently at the turtle. She raised mist and wrapped it around the turtle.

Inside that mist, the turtle hardened as though bound inside a cocoon. Mira smiled brightly at the turtle, picked up a fork from the table, cut a piece of cake, and ate it.

“Hm, it’s delicious. If this child reacts this much, Professor will like it too.”

Mira said that and lightly touched the turtle’s nose. Then she began eating all of the turtle’s cake right in front of it.

The turtle squirmed as it watched, but the cocoon was extremely sturdy. Mira looked at the turtle as though it was cute. I placed a new cake in front of the thing and nodded.

“Then that is a relief. I hope she eats this and accepts my apology.”

“Do your best. I also want to see Professor soon. It is too uncomfortable right now.”

Mira muttered that and placed the turtle on her palm. As she watched the turtle flail wildly, she placed cake into its mouth. The turtle quietly began accepting it while held in her hand.

“Then I will step away for a moment.”

Mira lightly waved at me. Then she turned her gaze to the turtle and wriggled that hand toward it. She hugged the turtle to her chest and began poking it.

It seemed the teasing was about to begin in earnest. Leaving behind those two, who resembled Professor so closely, I left the workshop. The rehearsal was over, so now it was time to truly visit Professor.

With the tray lifted by magical power, I slowly climbed the stairs. I was headed to the top floor of the tower. The place where Professor was.

When I reached the tenth floor, I saw a single door. This enormous floor existed only for Professor’s room. I quietly looked at that door. The door, covered in layer after layer of seals, was shut tight.

It had happened on my way back after meeting the president. The memory of my soul being torn to shreds still remained vivid. It had been a very long time since my soul had been pulled out like that.

And while being punished, I was left with only my soul intact. Inside that soul, I realized something. That I had been a little... No. That I had been truly obsessed with Professor.

I had even stolen that body and created the turtle, so it was only natural for Professor to punish me. A slight bitter smile rested on my lips. I needed to apologize for that act of mine.

But finding that chance was far too difficult. Professor was beyond that door. After returning to the tower, she had not come out from behind that door. She had also blocked my entry. She said she did not even want to see my face anymore.

“Really, I can’t even kick you out now. Get lost. Don’t even think of coming near me until you fix that head of yours.”

That was what Professor had said that day, frowning. With those cold eyes as the last thing I saw, she shut the door with a bang. Along with that, an even tighter seal than before was placed on it. These were the very seals in front of my eyes now.

I slowly swept my eyes over them. Those circuits created a flow so complex and bizarre that I could not even imagine it. Above those seals, I saw a sign.

“No Evron Allowed.” Looking at that sign, I let out a faint sigh. From the letters infused with magical power, I could feel an extremely clear will. It came from Professor. It was rejection toward me.

I stood in front of the door and slightly bowed my head. Then I gently set the tray down in front of it. It had already been a week since I began coming here to offer Professor my apology. But even though I came like this and asked for forgiveness, there had been no answer from her.

After leaving the tray there, I carefully rang the doorbell hanging in front of the door. Then a wraith popped out from inside with a sour expression. It was a very familiar face.

The wraith looked at the things I had prepared and nodded. Then it slowly began squeezing its body beyond the seal. The layered seals gently accepted it.

How long had I waited outside like that? The seal began to release a little. Soon, the door opened slightly through a gap in the seal.

My eyes sparkled for a moment at that sight, but the seal left only that small gap and released no further. The barrier was still firm. Through that crack in the door, a dragon-like figure appeared. It was Butler.

“How is Professor Irian?”

It came outside and bowed its head to me. Then it transmitted a faint will. Part of the memory it had recalled was contained inside. A still sulky face, yet the sight of her eating all the lunch I had prepared.

Food has no sin, after all. Seeing her mutter that made me smile bitterly. It seemed her anger had not fully eased yet. That was understandable. If anything, I should have been grateful that it had ended at this.

I knew I was in the wrong too. But she had stopped at tearing my soul apart only a few times. And she still left me in the tower like this. That meant she needed me that much.

I quietly scratched my head. Before coming to the tower, I had wanted others to recognize my usefulness. I wanted them to think I was more useful kept nearby than treated as an enemy.

Perhaps I had achieved what I wanted. This current situation, where Professor was only blocking me from approaching, was proof that she recognized my usefulness to a very great degree.

Of course, this could not end here. I quietly looked at my wrist. The contract I had made with Professor rippled there. A faint pain from it stabbed into my tree.

To serve her until graduation. That was the remaining content of the contract. The contract, sensing Professor’s discomfort, was digging into my tree. It was still faint, but I did not know what would happen later.

Professor might abandon the contract entirely and find someone to replace me, or she might endure the annoyance and throw me away. The future was uncertain, after all. So I needed to turn her heart back again.

I held the tray out to Butler. These foods were also one part of asking for forgiveness. Of course, things like this alone seemed nowhere near enough. Still, if they piled up, perhaps the door would open someday.

Butler bowed its head to me, took it, and headed beyond the door. Along with that, the split seal began connecting again. And during that process of restoration, the door also slowly closed.

I quietly looked at the firmly shut door. Professor might notice the meaning contained in the tea and dessert and give some kind of answer. But even after I waited for a long time, there was no response at all.

It seemed I had failed again today. I let out a light sigh and turned around. Then I slowly went down the stairs. It seemed I needed a more effective method than this.

Over the past week, aside from Professor’s door being locked, daily life in the tower had continued normally. Thanks to Professor, we had returned quickly, and lectures could proceed as usual.

The treasure used for this class was Star Armor, a Grade 2 entity. It was a treasure that allowed one to understand part of the extraterrestrial whispers just by holding a fragment of it. Its power was extremely impressive.

Of course, those extraterrestrial whispers also had severe side effects. Unlike other treasures, it functioned as a kind of medium. An accident from that soon happened too. It was Hao’s doing.

Following those whispers, he had nearly transformed into a kind of magical beast. Hari barely stopped him, and I also had to work a little to clean up afterward. But that process was actually somewhat welcome.

At least it had let me stop my obsession for a little while. Of course, that also ended quickly. I looked down at my faintly trembling hand. At the same time, an extremely intense sense of crisis began filling my chest.

It was obsession toward Professor. Despair at not being able to see Professor’s face again this time began clearly shaking my heart.

I closed my eyes where I stood. Then I calmly began settling that obsession.

Until now, I had not been able to properly recognize my change. But the moment my soul was dragged outside after such a long time, I was able to understand my original shape. Of course, once I was locked inside my body, that realization remained only as a blur.

Still, it was enough to let me recognize that my obsession was strange. Perhaps this too could be called Professor’s grace. So I could no longer disappoint her.

I stopped for a moment like that and quietly looked into the emotion filling my heart. At its base was respect for Professor. That did not end with simply respecting her as a mage.

To me, she was like a bundle of fortuitous encounters. It was thanks to her that someone like me, who had been wandering along the bottom, could stand shoulder to shoulder with others like this. I had also found talents I had not known I possessed.

So naturally, my feelings toward her, that bundle of fortune, had no choice but to be immense as well. It was respect toward a benefactor, and respect from a disciple looking at a teacher.

But did that alone create obsession? It did not. Those feelings were very natural. It was not enough to say that alone had brought about obsession.

Something was acting on me more directly than that. The cause was very clear. I had brought it on myself.

I quietly placed a hand on my chest. I could feel the magical power filling my body. It was also thickly settled beyond my body, in the tree and shadow tree that formed my mental world. It was magical power that came from treasures.

Feeling that magical power fill my body and try to rise all the way to my head again, I gave a bitter smile. It seemed I needed to empty this out once more.

It was hard to call it simple magical power. Beyond that, it also contained part of the desires of the treasures that had once been its owners, and it was also a kind of contamination made of information I could not currently perceive.

That was filling my body and creating obsession. Its influence was considerable. Even now, I was full of the desire to see Professor’s face.

But that alone was not enough.

This magical power was becoming the stepping stone for my growth. Because of that, I had known it would exert some degree of influence over me like this. I had expected that I would come to desire something.

But what I currently felt was far worse than what I had expected. I moved my hand and touched my head. Through the magical power, I could feel the golden net that existed beyond it.

That net was stopping the treasure’s magical power from surging up to my head. Thanks to that, I could maintain a sound mind. But even with this barrier, I was obsessed with her.

Then when had that obsession begun? Over the past days, I had thought deeply about that. And at the end of it, I was able to confirm the point where my perception had changed. It had been when I learned Professor was a dragon.

Yes, Professor was a dragon. The golden net settled around my head showed a flow of magical power similar to the carving knife in my possession. Feeling that, loyalty naturally rose in me again.

Feeling it, I gave a bitter smile. Perhaps this net itself was the problem. This net was Professor’s original magical power, in other words, her magical power as a dragon. That was why it had a golden color.

This magical power naturally stirred obsession in me. That was the trait of dragons. Why was the treasure’s magical power drawn to Professor? It was because a life called a dragon was a crystal of desire.

Originally, what I had wanted to set as the direction of that desire was the will to raise my realm. When I had not known she was a dragon, it had flowed that way too. But after I learned she was a dragon, everything changed.

So this magical power was also creating a kind of obsession. Of course, its influence was only faint. I could clearly tell that this was not the cause.

That meant there was something else. A reason my desire was growing so large.

After calming all of my heart like that, I opened my eyes again. Then I slowly walked down the stairs. When I entered the workshop, I heard a loud, “Meeh.” Looking that way, I saw the turtle wrapped in a cocoon, drooping limply.

It looked utterly exhausted. Beside it, Mira was stroking its shell with an extremely bright smile. The turtle looked at me with a pitiful face. After lightly touching its head, I leaned back on the sofa.

Leaving the turtle alone, Mira approached my side. Then she began lightly tapping my shoulder. A faint rose scent flowed from her.

“Oh my, judging by your dark expression, it seems you failed again.”

“Yes, but I intend to keep visiting. Then someday, she will open that door.”

Saying that, I let my body droop. Mira let out a light laugh as she watched me. She delicately moved her fingers. Mist blooming from her fingertips began flowing along my body.

Within that flow of mist, the tension and distortions contained in my body slowly began to adjust. Feeling that comfort, I glanced at Mira.

She proved that treasure magical power alone was not the cause. She was a treasure, and she had also learned that Professor was a dragon. Even so, the same eruption of desire as mine had not happened to her.

Feeling my gaze, Mira smiled gently. I lightly bowed my head to her in thanks and let out a small sigh.

The treasure’s magical power was certainly part of what formed the obsession. But there was a more fundamental problem. Me. Why was I different from the other treasures? That was not simply a problem of the body.

As I sank into thought, Mira gently loosened my body. After finishing the whole process, Mira lightly tapped my shoulder. When I glanced at her, she softly clapped her hands. Then she smiled brightly.

“I also thought carefully over the past days. And then I came up with a good method that might turn Irian’s heart back. Would you like to hear it?”

At those words, I sprang upright. Then I stared at Mira. Beyond her eyes, I could see myself with my eyes opened wide. She covered her mouth and laughed softly, then placed the turtle on her hand.

“How about giving her a gift?”

She said. A gift? Mira slowly added to her words. As she spoke, I could feel a kind of certainty from her.

“Irian is very pure. Like us, her desire is clear. So you simply need to give her something attractive enough that she has no choice but to come out, something that will open her heart. Then her anger will naturally ease too.”

Hearing that, I thought carefully. Would Professor’s heart really soften just because she received a gift like Mira said? I could only nod blankly. If it was Professor, perhaps it might. It was a very convincing argument.

Then what exactly should I give Professor as a gift? Mira lightly shook the turtle. The thing let out a “Meeh.” Then it bit Mira’s finger hard. Mira poked the turtle.

“How about making her cute children like this?”

Mira looked at the turtle as though it was adorable. I also stared at the turtle, just like she did. Professor had quite liked this thing. Hari too.

The reason was clear. They contained the power of treasures. Yes. Treasures. Dragons desired treasures. If I offered that, Professor might open the door. Thinking that, I put strength into my body.

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