WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 147

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147.

I stood still and watched Professor. She was staring at the bowl set in front of her. I could feel her hair giving off a brilliant light.

I glanced out the window. The sun was high in the sky. Professor’s hair caught that sunlight and shone even more dazzlingly.

I carefully sprinkled the sauce I had brought over the plate in front of her. It rippled like mist and hid its form. I nodded quietly. Mm, with this, all the preparations were complete.

It was an ordinary lunchtime. That was why I had come to visit Professor like this. She tilted her head slightly, then carefully tapped the thing in front of her with a fork.

“...You want me to eat this?”

“Yes. Just fill it with magical power, chew, and swallow. I am confident it will taste far better than it looks.”

I smiled gently and set the tableware before her. She accepted it with a dubious look. After hesitating for a moment, she stabbed her fork into the plate in front of her.

The fork, filled with magical power, pierced deep into what lay on the plate. At the same time, there came a sharp crack, as if something had split apart. Professor looked at it for a moment, then closed her eyes and brought the fork to her mouth.

She filled even her teeth with magical power and began chewing carefully. A grinding sound came from her mouth, like something being torn apart.

It sounded as if metal were being forcibly ripped. Perhaps the noise bothered her a little, because Professor’s brow furrowed slightly. But her expression soon softened into a faint smile.

I watched as Professor stabbed another piece and brought it to her mouth. Once again, a tearing sound came from between her lips.

It was only natural for it to sound like that. What she was chewing really was iron. I glanced down at the plate.

On it, dark pieces of iron were quietly flowing with magical power while soaked in the dark red sauce I had sprinkled over them. I had spent a long time preparing them for this meal.

I had not made something else as hard as iron. This time, I had truly attempted to cook pure pieces of iron themselves. And I had succeeded. Watching my food shatter beneath Professor’s teeth, I nodded.

After chewing and swallowing the iron, Professor quietly closed her eyes. She savored the taste contained within, then opened her eyes and glared at me. The method of eating it must have been uncomfortable enough to annoy her.

Even so, her face was filled with interest. I smiled quietly. Of course it was. I had prepared this because I knew the taste would suit her perfectly.

As with magic, cooking must have no limits.

That was the insight I had gained one day while making food for Professor. Back then, I had thought about how ingredients were handled. Through that, I had grown one step further in the field of cooking.

But over the past while, I had realized where I was lacking. The limits I had set were not only in my cooking methods. Perhaps I had been narrow-minded about the ingredients themselves as well.

With that thought in mind, I did a great deal of research. And at the end of it, I realized something. There was nothing in this world that could not be eaten. As long as magical power existed in it, it could be handled somehow.

I shook my head slightly. My own preconceptions were still broad and deep. That meant I needed to keep improving. Especially since there had been a time when I had failed to serve Professor.

Those pieces of iron had been thoroughly softened with magical power based on that realization. What I had sprinkled over them earlier could be called a lump of magical power suited to them.

Inside the iron pieces soaked in that sauce, several layers of magical power rippled delicately. Each grain of that magical power would hold a different taste. And they would blend harmoniously inside the mouth.

Professor continued chewing and swallowing the iron pieces. Grinding sounds kept echoing from her mouth. Like that, everything on the plate was quickly gone.

Professor smacked her lips. I gave a slightly troubled smile. If she wanted more, I would have to bring out something else. What I had prepared was all there was.

Fortunately, she put down the fork and lightly patted her stomach. The meal was over. With a thoroughly satisfied expression, she looked at me.

“It’s an interesting taste. Strange, too. I didn’t expect eating iron to feel like chewing meat.”

She gently rubbed her stomach and smiled. It was probably because the magical power still flowing inside her was giving her a steady sense of satisfaction.

The iron pieces I had prepared were very small. Small enough to vanish after a few bites, just as they had now.

But the magical power contained inside them was enormous. A single one of those tiny pieces of iron held more magical power than I did.

They were the result of gathering several kinds of magical power in one place. Those magical powers intertwined and clumped together to create a new taste. As she had described, they had created a kind of “meat.” It was one of my new experiments.

“Since today happens to be the first anniversary, I prepared a special dish. I am glad you seem satisfied.”

I said that and gently bowed my head. Professor looked a little puzzled. As she watched me carefully clear away the bowl in front of her, she tilted her head slightly.

“First anniversary?”

I glanced at her. Ah, from her perspective, she might not remember. This was an anniversary only I remembered.

“It has been exactly one year since I was allowed to set foot in this room again.”

I said that and lightly scratched my head. The process of receiving Professor’s forgiveness had been extremely difficult. But in the end, I had returned like this. I smiled faintly.

It was a result I had barely obtained after many gifts and a long period of apologies. So I needed to be careful enough that such a thing would never happen again.

“Has that much time already passed? You haven’t forgotten the warning I gave you back then, have you? If you do something stupid like last time, you really will die.”

Professor frowned slightly and glared at me. The magical power wrapped around her body rose thicker, slowly swelling as if to threaten me.

The magical power surrounding Professor’s body was layered over and over, forming a kind of membrane. Looking at it, I gave a faint bitter smile. That membrane was cleanly processing everything that came from her body.

She was thoroughly prepared so I could not do anything strange with that body like before. That wariness had not disappeared, even after I had steadily served her for the past year.

Because of that, Professor always narrowed her eyes whenever I approached. So now, even managing that body like before was not easy. It was only possible with Professor’s permission.

Mm, still, that wariness was slowly fading with time. One day, the day would come when she comfortably entrusted that body to my hands again. I only needed to wait quietly until then.

“Slaughter!”

At that moment, someone smacked the table with an arm. Along with it, just as with Professor, there came a grinding sound as something was crushed. I glanced toward the source of that sound.

Rabbit was sitting there. She looked happy as she chewed on a piece of iron. Professor saw her and let out a small laugh.

In front of Rabbit was a small bowl suited to her size. She put one of the iron pieces from it into her mouth and chewed. Her face brightened. It seemed the taste suited her too.

Rabbit was sitting beside Professor. She often shared a table with Professor like this on days when her body was being examined. Today was one of those days.

“Well, should I finish with this one today too? It’s stabilized enough.”

Professor gently stroked Rabbit’s head. Rabbit’s ears perked up a little. Professor’s face softened slightly, as if she liked the feel of that soft fur.

After watching Rabbit chew for a while, Professor looked at me. Did she have something to say? I lowered myself slightly and waited for her to speak.

“So, why did you play a trick on Star Armor this time? It went wild as soon as the lecture started, so I checked because it seemed suspicious, and you were the one who guided it there. Some of its power disappeared in the process, too.”

I felt a little suspicion rising from Professor as she questioned me. I scratched my head slightly. So she had seen that? Well, this time, unlike what I had expected, there had been a rather large commotion.

It was natural for Professor to suspect me. Every treasure in the tower belonged to her. So naturally, the power of those treasures belonged to her as well.

That meant I could not handle it carelessly. This matter was no different. If I had tried to take it only for my own selfish desires, Professor would surely punish me. Just as she had done to Hao.

But the reason I had scraped off a little of that power was not simply to satisfy my self-interest. I straightened my shoulders proudly. Since the topic had come up, should I bring it out now?

“I was trying to prepare a gift for you, Professor. A small commotion happened in the process.”

I took a small container from my breast. Inside the glass cylinder, dense magical power filled it like liquid. I carefully placed the container on the table.

Like the food, this was something I had brought to commemorate the first anniversary. It could be called the surprise gift I had prepared for today. I smiled lightly and pushed the container toward Professor.

Professor quietly looked down at it. Inside that dense magical power, a small puppet was quietly submerged. The puppet breathed softly, as if asleep.

Dark pieces of iron were wrapped around its body. They formed something like armor.

The reason I had torn power from Star Armor this time was to fill this puppet. The armor wrapped around the puppet was a fragment of the power the treasure possessed.

“Slaughter!”

When Rabbit saw the puppet, she stood in front of the container and quietly waved a finger. I could see her eyes glitter faintly. She looked very glad to see it.

It seemed she could recognize, at least a little, the connection she felt from the puppet. That must be why she was so pleased.

It was understandable. From Rabbit’s perspective, this was the first comrade from the dream she had met besides herself. This puppet was the second result made for the promise formed in that dream.

Well, I had gone through some trouble to tear the power away from the treasure. Even so, I had managed to finish the work successfully. It had been worth making a custom trap for Star Armor.

That power was now dwelling in the puppet and slowly being digested. I sent magical power into it and inspected the puppet. Its body was slowly absorbing magical power through the flow of power. I quietly nodded.

This puppet was under miniaturization magic so I could show it to Professor. The chance was extremely low, but I had worried that the miniaturization magic might twist some part of the flow. Thankfully, I could not feel anything wrong.

“Slaughter?”

Rabbit lightly poked the container and called to the puppet. But the puppet did not respond and only slept quietly. Because that power had not stabilized yet, the puppet could not wake up.

The process of that puppet digesting magical power along with the power was painfully slow. Feeling that flow, I shook my head slightly. It would surely take a few more years before a proper result emerged.

Rabbit puffed her cheeks with a slightly gloomy look. It could not be helped. I wanted to wake it up right away too, but this was the best option. The power torn from the treasure was only the bare minimum, and even absorbing that much was difficult for the puppet.

It was very different from when Rabbit had awakened. She had been born by absorbing Blood Axe’s offshoot body. That had been a result forced through very urgently to resolve what Blood Axe had done.

Thinking of Blood Axe, I lightly shrugged. It was still bound by Ring of the Sky. And within that happiness, its power was slowly being stolen. Tooth Necklace was the same.

That was the method I had suggested to Professor. There was no treasure as suitable as Ring of the Sky to use as a prison. In that way, Ring of the Sky would absorb their power and grow a little stronger.

Since Ring of the Sky had often helped me, it could also be called consideration in return. Kindness needed to be answered with kindness, and hostility with hostility. They would remain bound inside until Professor’s feelings softened.

Considering how sulky she had been toward me over the past while, I did not know how long that would take. Perhaps they might stay bound until this lecture ended. Well, they must have been prepared for this result when they caused trouble.

Anyway, because Rabbit had been completed in such a hurry, her magical power was very unstable. If Professor had not steadily adjusted her for the past year, that body would definitely have slowly collapsed.

In that sense, this puppet, should I call it Knight? It was the same. If I forcibly granted it that power, it would wake up immediately. But like Rabbit, its body would need constant adjustment.

I could not trouble Professor like that. Besides, only by absorbing that power slowly like this would the possibility inside it grow greater.

I quietly placed a hand over my chest. This too could be called a spiritual object with the possibility of becoming a treasure, like Rabbit or the turtle.

I could feel a little of the treasure’s magical power filtering through that connection. Right now, because this one was deeply asleep, that flow was terribly faint, but once it awakened, it would become much larger.

Rabbit looked at the puppet, then soon lost interest. Then she began chewing the iron pieces in front of her again. Those iron pieces were byproducts left after making this.

I remembered tearing off part of Ring of the Sky before and cooking it for Professor. She had said the taste was excellent. This dish was an attempt inspired by that memory.

An old treasure naturally held equally old magical power. So I only needed to bring out plenty of that magical power. And the taste could be called excellent. Just as Rabbit was extremely satisfied right now.

Unlike Rabbit, who quickly lost interest in the puppet, Professor was staring closely at the container. As she looked at the puppet inside, she frowned slightly.

“This looks like it has my appearance again.”

Professor glanced at Rabbit. Meeting her eyes, Rabbit blinked with a “Slaughter?” The two of them facing each other looked almost like sisters.

The puppet inside the container was the same. It had Professor’s form. I bowed my head slightly toward Professor.

“This is the same as Rabbit. In order to contain the power, it needs to maintain this appearance. Would you like to check it yourself?”

Professor extended magical power toward the container. That magical power slowly seeped into the puppet’s body. Even within that magical power, the puppet still slept quietly.

After thoroughly scanning its body, Professor nodded slightly. She seemed to have fully grasped the possibility contained within.

But her face still held a reluctant look. Professor lightly tapped the container, then clicked her tongue softly.

“There’s something suspicious about how everything you bring as a gift has my appearance. I know this puppet body is useful, but I can’t properly understand how it was made either.”

After thinking for a moment, she crossed her arms. Then she narrowed her eyes slightly and stared at me. At the same time, the magical power around her rippled faintly.

“It feels like you’re hiding something from me.”

“What do you mean? That I am hiding something? How could that possibly be true?”

I spoke while letting out a slight dry cough. Then I quickly shook my head. At my firm denial, Professor wrinkled her nose slightly. Her eyes still held a trace of suspicion.

“More importantly, how about having dessert now? What I prepared this time is shaved ice made by clumping several kinds of magical power together. Please try it.”

I needed to quickly divert that suspicion. Smiling, I placed the dessert I had prepared in advance before her along with tea. Then the magical power contained in the shaved ice mixed with the scent of the tea and rose richly.

Professor looked down at it, then lifted the teacup. She quietly savored the fragrance. As she began sipping the tea, she soon closed her eyes.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I like this one too.”

Her face had already softened completely. After that, Professor said nothing and quietly savored the taste and scent of the shaved ice. The magical power rippling from her naturally expressed her satisfaction.

Her suspicion had surely settled now. No, rather than that, she was probably just letting it pass for now. Searching the entire tower to confirm whether I was hiding something would clearly be far too annoying for her.

From her perspective, she only needed to thoroughly check the result like this. I knew that was how she thought. That was why I had confidently brought out the Knight puppet.

I quietly scratched my head. I had engraved the warning Professor had given me deep in my heart. In that sense, there was only one thing I was hiding from her.

The fact that there were still dozens more puppets like that.

If that was discovered, it would surely not end with just a few hits. I had not played any tricks on her, so I would not be chased out of the tower, but those puppets would all end up broken. So I needed to hide them thoroughly.

Was that not good for everyone? From Professor’s perspective, she would steadily receive new gifts. For me, it was good because I could stabilize my realm through new filters. Going further, it was good for the puppets because they could awaken into reality.

And the treasures... mm, it was in a slightly different form, but they could create offshoot bodies, so that was good too. Those could be called a kind of child. All my inner demons were based on the desires and magical power of treasures, after all.

It could be called something that made everyone happy. Thinking that, I smiled and looked at Professor. She was eating the shaved ice I had prepared with satisfaction.

That lunchtime ended quietly. I quietly left Professor’s room and stretched. The most important thing I had to handle today was done.

A great many things had happened over the past year. During that time, I had steadily tried to fish up treasures. But the treasures did not easily give up their power. Star Armor, which had been used in this lecture, was only the second victim I had barely obtained.

And the bait that had bewitched Star Armor had done a great job in that matter. Since I had a little leeway now, I needed to check the bait’s condition. It was probably on the third floor now. Thinking that, I slowly headed toward the stairs.

The third floor had the form of an enormous staircase. And each step of that staircase was also a room where a student entered. The place I needed to go was a room located around the middle.

I moved over and stood in front of that room. Then I lightly knocked on the door. Magical power rippled slightly from inside. At the same time, the door opened lightly.

When I stepped inside, I felt dense magical power ripple. Then, from somewhere in the room, I heard a muffled groan. When I glanced that way, I saw a girl waving at me.

Her purple eyes sparkled, and she wore a joyful smile. Perhaps she was happy about my visit, because a light intent was conveyed to me. I nodded slightly toward her.

Then I saw what was beneath her and gave a bitter smile. Hari was not sitting on a chair, but riding on the back of a sturdily built man. That was Hao. The groan I had heard had come from him.

The bait used in this matter had been Hao. That scent had been enough to bewitch a treasure. But in the process of fishing up Star Armor, he had caused a bit of trouble. It seemed Hari was punishing him for it.

“I came to examine Hao for a moment. Could you stop?”

Hari nodded at my question. Then she lightly stood up from her seat. At the same time, the magical power binding Hao’s body came undone.

Hao lay down on the floor. After lying there limply for a while, he seemed to regain his senses and slowly raised himself. The magical power flowing through his body helped the movement.

Once Hao got up, I could see exhaustion on his face. Hari, by contrast, looked utterly satisfied. I looked over the two of them, then met Hao’s eyes and smiled slightly.

“Hao, it has been a while. Thanks to you, we were able to finish this matter successfully. There was a small problem, but... well, that is already in the past. In that sense, I should reward you. Is there anything you want?”

“No, there isn’t. I’m perfectly fine right now. So please don’t mind me.”

Hao quickly waved his hand. Then he glanced at Hari. His face was a little flushed. After checking Hao’s expression, I quietly blinked.

I calmly looked over Hao’s appearance. He was wearing a slightly wrinkled robe, and I could see a collar around his neck. The collar was connected to Hari.

Did being punished by Hari suit his tastes? I nodded with a reluctant look. Well, tastes varied. If he did not need a reward, there was no need for me to concern myself any further.

“Then I will ask for your help next time as well.”

Hao nodded at my words. There was no longer any need to give him points and request work from him. Like Cassian, he had also become bound to our tower.

Of course, he had not been incorporated into the tower as my assistant like Cassian. Rather, it would be more accurate to call him a kind of slave.

I gave a bitter smile. Before, what he had done was no different from trying to steal Professor’s property. So Professor had tried to chase him out of the lecture completely after snapping in half the tree he had raised with the treasure’s power.

And Hari had voiced opposition to Professor. Something about taking responsibility and raising Hao herself. Professor respected Hari’s opinion. Like that, he was given two choices.

Either become Hari’s pet human, or get chased out of the tower after losing half of that tree. Hao chose the former.

If he had succeeded in helping Blood Axe’s offshoot body escape, he would have chosen the latter. Considering the power that offshoot body would have raised, losing half the tree could have been a bearable loss.

But in the end, he failed. And now things had come to this. So I too could use Hao as bait with ease.

I slowly sent magical power toward his body. No matter how well the matter had ended, this too had not gone according to plan. As Professor had said, a small commotion had occurred.

During this matter, Hao had tried to let that fragment of power escape. In the process of fishing up Star Armor, Hao had instead been deeply bewitched by it. Just like last time with Blood Axe.

That meant I needed to check further to see whether any traces remained in his body. I traced magical power all the way to Hao’s tree and observed its state. Then I lightly nodded.

Fortunately, there was nothing wrong. Was it the result of Hari’s proper discipline? The tree had achieved a very stable balance. The treasure’s power was also settled in the tree without any sharp edges, calmly twinkling with light.

I quietly rubbed my chin. Over the past year, I had realized something while researching Hao’s scent. So I had somewhat expected that he would be bewitched this time too. That was how I had managed to settle this matter somehow.

The scent originating from Hao drew in inhuman beings. That was why treasures tended to take an interest in him. It was also why I had used him as bait this time.

But that attraction went both ways. Through my research over the past year, I had learned that just as treasures were drawn to him, he was also strongly drawn to treasures. Much like how I had naturally become obsessed with Professor.

I scratched my head. Perhaps that was also why he had helped Blood Axe and Tooth Necklace. No matter how many points they gave him, stealing a treasure was an incredibly foolish act.

I still did not know what was hidden in that mind of his. I lightly shrugged. Even so, one thing was clear. That power was very useful for fishing up treasures. So I needed to keep making good use of it.

“Now, it is finished. Then please continue what you were doing.”

I lightly dusted off my hands and withdrew my magical power. At that, Hari pulled on the leash. Hao bent his body according to her hand. I quietly turned my gaze away from them and stood up.

Mm... tastes needed to be respected. I did not think this was the direction Professor had wanted from them. Still, if both of them were satisfied, was that not a good thing? Nodding like that, I left the room.

Now it was time to head to the workshop. I had to prepare to leave the tower.

When I entered the workshop, I saw puppets moving busily. At the center of them was No. 0. It was packing while supervising the puppets.

I could tell that a great deal of joy was leaking from it as it hummed lightly. It accepted luggage from the puppets and placed it inside its shadow.

After moving diligently like that, it soon spotted me and waved happily. I nodded and headed into the workshop.

No. 0 was putting items not only into its shadow, but also into a small shell. Unlike how it looked, that small shell seemed to have an enormous capacity, because the piled-up items kept going in without end.

Considering the size it had originally possessed, that was only natural. It was the turtle’s shell, after all. I looked at the turtle, who let out a “Meeeng.” Taking the form of a girl, it was sprawled across the table.

Perhaps because it felt empty without its shell, it had wrapped its body up in a small blanket. Mira was gently stroking its head as if she found it cute.

I slowly approached them. Mira met my eyes and smiled gently. The turtle avoided her hand and nestled into my arms. I put the slightly whiny turtle into my breast pocket and stroked it lightly.

“How cute. Since Evron is here too, shall I stop teasing you now?”

Mira rose slightly and smiled with her eyes. She leaned her body against me and looked at No. 0.

“No. 0 has been like that since morning. It seems that child’s anticipation is very great.”

I nodded slightly at that. After I first entered the puppeteer association and joined that gathering, two years had already passed. The time for the general assembly was right in front of us.

It was understandable for No. 0 to look forward to it. Now was the time to face countless puppeteers. I was just as excited as it was. Especially because I also had to resolve the request Mauro had made.

“Hehe, I think it will be very interesting too. Just thinking about what kind of sight Evron will show me makes me happy.”

Mira laughed and stroked my chest with a finger. A faint rose scent flowed from her.

Mauro had asked me to win the competition between newcomers. I quietly fiddled with the container inside my clothes. The connection originating from the puppet inside flowed into my chest.

I nodded slightly. Puppetry could be called the only talent I had. It was also the greatest possibility my fragmented soul could contain.

This matter would surely become a standard that let me know just how far that talent had reached. And I could be fully confident that I would win.

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