WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 45

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Warm sunlight spilled in through the broad window. Its warmth rested lightly over the table near the glass.

A small girl sat before it, drinking a cup of tea. She was looking down at the scenery outside with an unreadable expression.

I walked toward her carefully. The solid weight of the tray in my hands steadied my steps. Mindful not to let it shake, I made my way to the table.

Then I slowly set the tray down. She noticed my presence and looked at me.

“Today’s lunch.”

I placed the enormous plate from the tray in front of her. On it was a steak, a huge cut of meat about the size of her upper body.

Butler, who had been waiting beside her, laid a knife and fork next to the dish. She took them in both hands and looked at me. Deep curiosity filled those emerald eyes. She wanted me to explain how to eat it.

“Would you try the meat by itself first?”

The steak had been cut into even pieces. It was the ideal shape, carefully adjusted so she could eat it comfortably. She lightly cut off a piece with her knife and put it in her mouth.

After chewing a few times, she gave a small sound of admiration. A thin flame rose from her slightly parted lips. Her eyes went round when she saw it. The flame vanished into the air without harming her at all.

It was a natural flame born from the meat. The fire toad’s trait was contained inside it. I had gone to tremendous lengths to preserve that flame.

Its meat was extremely tough, so I sliced it thinly along the flow. Then I used magical power to join it back together, preserving its grain as much as possible. I repeated that process thirty times to soften the texture.

After that, I cut it into the shape of a thick steak and heated it with magical power alone, without using fire, searing the outside crisp while leaving the inside tender.

As a result, I was able to bring out the natural taste of magical beast meat in a soft texture, while leaving enough of the meat’s magical power for it to revive as flame like that.

“I used the magical herbs around the lava swamp where I obtained the meat as spices. They should clear your mind and greatly increase your resistance to fire.”

“Mhm, tasty.”

She began stuffing the meat into her mouth. Using the knife must have been too much trouble, because she simply stabbed the meat with her fork and brought it to her lips.

To avoid interrupting the rhythm of her meal, I used the brief moments when she swallowed to continue.

“It will taste even better if you eat it with the puree on the side.”

Beside that enormous piece of meat was puree arranged in the shape of a flower. After hearing me, she lightly scooped some up with her fork. Then she paused to smell it.

Her face wrinkled slightly at the scent.

“Ugh, potato smell.”

She glanced at me while holding it. I simply smiled back at her. After hesitating for a moment, she put the meat in her mouth along with the puree. Then her eyes widened.

“It really is better.”

Of course it was. I had put everything I had into that combination of flavors. The puree contained vegetables I had grown myself. They were starlight potatoes, the most common ingredient at the university. As long as they received starlight, they would grow anywhere, making them easy food to obtain.

Just to grow them, one shadow puppet tended a field all day long. It infused them with magical power and guided the flow of their growth.

The starlight potato puree made through that process had a taste on a completely different level from ordinary puree. The faint power of the stars it released brought out the meat’s intense flavor even more.

She opened her mouth. Flame rose once again. This time, though, the color was different. A beautiful golden light shone within it.

It was the color of the starlight potato. Since I had expected her to like it, I had worked in that kind of visual amusement too. Sure enough, she looked delighted when she saw it.

“This is fun.”

She ate the meat with the puree and spat out flames one after another. They burst in midair, scattering beautiful colors in every direction.

I quietly watched the sight. Then, when she had eaten about half the meat, I held out the small bowl left on the tray.

“Then, would you try sprinkling this sauce on it as well?”

A deep darkness rippled inside it. Rather than a sauce, it looked more like fog. Once again, she gave me a doubtful look. This time too, I only smiled and said nothing.

She picked up the strange sauce and smelled it. But she would not sense any aroma at all. She seemed to realize that too, because her brow furrowed slightly.

“It looks really strange....”

After hesitating for a moment, she poured the sauce over the meat. The sauce drifted over it like fog, then quietly seeped in.

The meat that absorbed the sauce gradually changed from bright red to blackish. I could feel her recoil slightly when she saw it.

I laughed inwardly. It was a little prank I had prepared because I knew she would dislike the look of it. The taste, however, I could guarantee.

After wavering, she stabbed it with her fork and brought it to her mouth. Then she closed her eyes and began chewing. Once, twice, three times. Then the meat went down her throat.

She quietly opened her eyes again and poured more sauce onto the meat. Then she ate another bite. Once, twice, three times. The meat went down again. Admiration spread across her face.

“This is...?”

She looked at me. I showed her the sauce ingredient I had prepared in advance, holding it in my hand. It sprang up and landed on the table.

Then it began slowly walking across it. It was the shadow of a fire frog. I used magical power to place it back on my hand. My shadow tree absorbed it.

“It is a sauce made by gathering thirty fire frog shadows and boiling them for a long time. On its own, it cannot produce any flavor at all, but when it meets its original meat like this, it creates a deeper, richer taste.”

She poured the sauce again and slowly chewed the meat.

That sauce did not simply settle into the meat. It seeped between the layers I had created by cutting the meat thirty times earlier. Every time she chewed, it burst out and brought out the flavor of the meat even more.

She began devouring the meat without another word. After eating like that for a long while, she leaned her head against the back of the chair and let out a breath.

Her stomach had only swelled a little. She had eaten that much, yet it had filled her only that much. I had no idea what her insides were even like.

Apparently satisfied with the meal, she gave me a thumbs-up.

“Very good. I didn’t give you the shadow for this, but anyway, you did well.”

“I’m glad it was to your taste.”

I bowed politely.

Only after raising my realm like this did I realize it. Professor had already known that the shadow would become a foothold for my growth.

She had probably noticed even before I passed the university exam. That must have been why she told me to take Professor Heisen’s class. Respect rose from deep in my heart.

With a very satisfied expression, she began looking out the window again. I glanced outside too, but all I could see was a thick spread of clouds. I could not tell what she was looking at.

Very thin flames flowed from her mouth. They were flames rising from the meat inside her. The streams of fire, red, gold, and black, met her magical power and became a single dragon.

She sent it flying out the window. Then she began moving it around and playing with it. During that time, I neatly cleaned the table.

Just then, one shadow puppet carefully approached. It was the first one I had ever made. To commemorate that, I had named it No. 1.

No. 1 was holding a tray. On it was a beautifully crafted plate. It placed the tray on the table.

I carefully picked up the plate with my hands. If even a little magical power mixed in, the taste would change, so I always had to be careful.

“This is your after-meal dessert.”

She had been busy controlling the flames, but she looked at me again. The dragon made of fire flew away beyond the clouds. I pointed to the plate on the table.

There were about twenty small tarts on it. Butler, who had been waiting quietly beside her, brewed a cup of tea and placed it next to them.

She picked one up and ate it. Then, with a natural motion, she lifted the teacup and cleansed her palate. She closed her eyes and savored the taste.

The tarts did not have a strong flavor. They were simple things made from various mountain berries harvested around this enormous mountain.

But that was enough. It was enough to elevate the fragrance of the tea by another level. That intent seemed to have succeeded quite well. She was smiling with a very satisfied expression.

She leisurely enjoyed the tea and snacks while looking out the window. Butler poured her another cup of tea at her side.

I studied Butler. Looking like a dragon that had become human, Butler gave off restrained magical power. In truth, Butler occupied the largest area in my shadow tree. Roughly a hundred times more than the other puppets.

Based on what I had felt while cultivating it since my advancement, I estimated that the capacity of my shadow tree was roughly five hundred puppets. Butler had taken a full fifth of that.

I narrowed my eyes. No matter how I looked at it, Butler felt stronger than me.

It made sense. The magical power here was incredibly dense. The magical power here was about five times denser than on the fourth or fifth floor.

After the shadow gained an ego, Butler devoured magical power at an explosive rate. Then Butler began putting every bit of strength into serving Professor.

Since Professor found moving around bothersome, Butler attached several spells to her bed and moved it personally. Whenever Professor had something to take care of, Butler inspected it first.

When I examined Butler’s will, Butler placed me and Professor on the same level. All puppets given shadows showed their own distinct personalities like this.

The problem was their capacity. Including the puppets I had made so far, I only had about a hundred slots left now. If I wanted to increase that space, I would have to grow the shadow tree even more.

Perhaps Professor’s pleasure had harmonized with the magical power too, because the magical power around us shook wildly. I gave a bitter smile at that thrilling sight.

Only after raising my realm could I truly feel how strong she was. Her domain not only wrapped around this entire tower, it extended past this mountain and far into the distance.

I could not even imagine how far it reached. I remembered how shocked I had been when I first noticed this domain. In the end, people only saw as much as they knew. I was sure there were still many things I could not see.

“A little more of this.”

Professor pointed at the tarts as she spoke. She looked at the few remaining ones with regretful eyes. I had expected that, so I had sent No. 1 ahead in advance.

After receiving my signal, No. 1 brought more tarts. When they were placed in front of her, she smiled brightly.

While I was attending to her like that, I felt a response from somewhere. It was a connection that came from the shadow tree. When I followed that flow, the will held by Cassian’s puppet was sparkling.

It passed along Cassian’s message that there was a problem with the tower’s magic circle. I frowned slightly. Bowing my head to Professor, I spoke.

“Excuse me, but may I step away for a moment?”

She waved her hand. I stepped backward away from the table. Butler could handle attending to her anyway. I put No. 1 inside the spatial pouch and left.

I had invested two hours into serving this lunch. Seeing her satisfied made me realize that learning to cook had not been a waste.

Looking down at my hands, I swallowed a bitter smile. As the shadow puppets connected to me, they also became able to imitate the things I had learned, if only a little.

Cooking was the same. The more skilled I became at cooking, the more accustomed to cooking they became too. Like that, they grew little by little. To make the puppets’ egos more complete, I would have to keep learning skills like this in the future as well.

The more complete they became, the less work I would have to do. Even now, the shadow puppets handled simple tasks. Thanks to that, I had gained some breathing room. Enough to put effort into cooking like this.

When I followed the signal, I saw Cassian. She was in the central hall on the second floor, playing by clapping hands with the bear puppet. I quietly raised magical power to let her know I had arrived. Her gaze turned toward me.

For an instant, I flinched and leaned my upper body back. Blade-like blue sword energy had brushed past me. After confirming it was me, she scattered that magical power into the air. She waved at me.

“Here, a gap formed between the floors.”

She pointed to the staircase in the central hall. It was the passage connecting the split levels. I unfolded the tower’s magic circle and checked its structure. Just as she had said, a very fine gap existed there.

It had been made about two weeks ago. Two weeks ago. There had been a small fight here then. It had definitely been created at that time. I quickly erased the error and asked.

“How did you discover this?”

Until I checked the magic circle, I had not known there was a gap. The fact that it had not been reported for two weeks meant no one else had noticed either.

“Mm, it felt kind of ticklish? Something bothered me every time I passed through here.”

She scratched her forehead with her finger as she spoke. She had discovered this anomaly purely through sensation? That was impressive skill.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

“Mm-hmm. You’re working hard too, mister.”

She waved and left. The bear puppet followed behind her. She never went anywhere without that bear puppet.

Even when she attended lectures. It had not taken a single wound even in that harsh environment. That spoke to how strong she was.

I also left and headed to my workshop. Inside, my shadow was working on an enormous puppet. When it saw me, its will flashed strongly, as if greeting me happily.

“No. 0, is everything ready?”

It nodded with a sulky face. It still looked like it did not like that name. But what could it do? I was the one calling it that.

It was the very first shadow and the source of my inspiration, so I had given it that name. When I thought of the most convenient name, it naturally came to mind. In the end, it had given up too.

I looked up at the puppet No. 0 was working on.

It was my turtle. The one I owed so much to, the one that had saved my life several times and led me all the way to the university.

Because it was so enormous, I had to put quite a lot of effort into working on its shadow. And I could not be satisfied with that alone.

I had to repay what I owed it. For that, I had prepared very thoroughly. Not simply to form an ego, but to let it contain strong power as well, like Butler.

When I imagined it moving as though alive, a smile naturally formed on my face.

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