WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 86

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Almost two weeks passed. Course registration would begin next week. Since the registration period lasted about a month, I needed to submit the syllabus somewhere around the middle of it. That way, I could draw in students.

Of course, for now, I had only laid out the bare bones of the syllabus. I had not written any of the details yet. It could not be helped. This lecture was not mine alone. I needed to ask the treasures for their opinions too.

After our first treasure vault exploration ended, Cassian seemed extremely satisfied with the experience and examined her body from every angle. After that, she even started asking me first if we could enter the vault.

Should I call it communion with Mira? That physical process seemed to give her plenty to reference. Since I needed to gather a large number of treasures, that was welcome news. Of course, I had no intention of accepting her request.

Unless her body became perfectly stable, I had no intention of entering the vault at all. At the time, she was still dealing with the aftereffects of the first exploration. At my firm refusal, Cassian left with a slightly crestfallen look.

That body was the most precious thing to me. Even more precious than my own body.

The amount of information contained inside it was enormous, and who knew how much more potential that flesh might develop? There was no need to waste it through shortsighted thinking. That was the judgment I made.

I had to treasure it, then treasure it some more, and use it as research material for her entire life.

Yes, someday, she might leave too. A university was, in the end, a place people graduated from. With her talent, she would probably graduate before me. If so, I needed to keep her around at least until then, so I could make very efficient use of her.

Anyway, that was how Cassian rested in the tower, eating and lazing around. When that body fully recovered, we visited the vault once more. Cassian’s body, with Mira dwelling inside it, was still useful. I continued recording the treasures’ grades in the mirror bug.

And that brought us to the present. Through the mirror, I could see Cassian. She was lying on the enormous recovery bed prepared for her, rolling around with the bear puppet. Countless recovery magic spells poured down over her.

Professor Irian lightly stroked her chin. I was in Professor’s room. She was quietly watching Cassian through the mirror.

I stood silently beside her. I glanced at the tray in my hands. On top of it, today’s lunch, prepared for Professor, was steaming gently.

I carefully set it down in front of Professor. She stopped looking at the mirror for a moment and glanced at me. I smiled quietly and stepped back. Butler began preparing her tableware.

“You’re saying you want to use that one as an assistant?”

“Yes. Her name is Cassian, and she is also a student who received an acceptance certificate from the previous lecture.”

“Well, I don’t mind.”

Professor nodded readily. Just as I expected. She enlarged the screen and began examining Cassian closely. She also glanced now and then at the mirror bug beside her. The previous vault exploration was being replayed inside it.

“Hmm. I can see why you want to use her as an assistant. She’s practically the complete opposite of you.”

She put the mirror away. It looked like her interest had faded. The mirror bug also stopped the video and flew back into my arms.

She looked at today’s lunch placed before her. After checking what was inside, her brows furrowed slightly. With that uncertain expression on her face, she gave me a somewhat doubtful look.

It was understandable. Even to me, today’s menu looked rather plain. A slightly wide bowl was filled with transparent liquid. Inside it, only a few eggs floated around. There was nothing else.

It was an extremely modest meal. But I met her gaze confidently with a self-assured smile. This egg soup could be called the essence of flavor, created through my long cooking experience.

Those eggs were byproducts of the tentacle egg Cassian had hunted before. Back then, we had grilled it at Cassian’s request. I still remembered how disgustingly terrible it had tasted.

But that could not be called the ingredient’s true flavor. While sorting through the byproducts of the magical beast, I was drawn in by the fragrance coming from the tentacles. Then I tasted it raw once, and it filled my mouth with an incredibly rich flavor.

It was an extremely appealing taste. Then why had it been so awful last time? Because it had been heated. The moment this unknown tentacle touched fire, its flavor changed.

So I used only magical power to soften it endlessly. At the end of that process, the tentacle changed into something like these eggs. Only its core remained.

And the broth was very important. It contained not only tentacles, but many different ingredients as well. In the process of softening them with magical power, they lost their shape and color, turning transparent like this.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that hundreds of magical beasts had melted into the broth in that small bowl. In the process of softening magical beasts like that, I gained a great realization.

Cooking magical beasts had no limits. The only thing that set limits was the fixed ideas inside me. If I broke those, everything held far more endless possibilities.

The egg soup created that way was truly the essence of vital recovery. I had also given some of it to Cassian, who was probably rolling around on the bed right now. It was sure to help quite a bit with her recovery.

“Today, I prepared something that won’t burden your body. Please taste the broth first, then eat it together with the eggs.”

As I said that, I pointed at the soup. She lifted her spoon and carefully touched one of the eggs floating in the bowl. In response, the egg wriggled slightly. As I had intended, it was still a little alive.

She looked at it, then scooped up a little broth. The broth stiffened slightly like a single jelly and climbed onto the spoon by itself. She carefully pushed it into her mouth.

Then she closed her eyes and began savoring the taste. Her furrowed expression gradually relaxed, and soon, a warm ease settled over her face.

I smiled as I watched. Anyone who ate that broth would make that kind of face. I had been the same. The warmth from that broth spread through the entire body and brought a deeply pleasant sense of comfort.

She scooped up the broth a few more times, then touched an egg. It wriggled slightly on the spoon. She put it into her mouth just like that. Then she chewed it with small movements.

At last, she looked at me and smiled lightly. Her eyes curved like half-moons, filled with pleasure.

“This is good.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed my head lightly at that. I had put quite a lot of effort into reviving it. The tentacle egg had been split in half by Cassian’s sword. And then it had died. Still, I had managed to salvage a little of its core.

I tried planting its tentacle into that core to preserve the taste. The tentacle absorbed the core and revived in such vivid form. Thanks to that, I was now able to serve a perfect dish before Professor.

Professor rapidly moved her spoon back and forth, emptying the entire soup. After eating all of it, she held her stomach and let out a small cough. A deeply satisfied expression appeared on her face. This meal had been a great success too.

I took back the bowl and quickly prepared tea. A sour fragrance rose from it and began pushing away the heavy smell of the soup that filled the room. Professor lifted the teacup and smelled its aroma for a moment.

With that, her expression began to relax a little. The soup had an extremely deep flavor. Because of that, it could also feel a little heavy. Just as it had for her until a moment ago.

To ease that, I had added tea leaves with a slightly sour flavor this time, guiding it to freshen the mouth. She drank it and smiled faintly. Then she sipped the tea and lightly rinsed out her mouth.

Now she should have a little room to relax. With that thought, I took several sheets of paper from my spatial pouch and quietly placed them in front of her. It was the list of treasures I had organized this week.

“Mm, when you said last time that you would be taking charge of a lecture, I wondered what you would do. But is there any point in just organizing the vault like this?”

She tilted her head as she spoke. Then she set down her teacup and began reading what was written on the paper.

“It is not only for the lecture. You appointed me to the position of storehouse keeper, Professor, so how could I leave the vault alone? I intend to organize the entire list like this so that you can check it easily.”

When I said that, Professor nodded lightly. I held out one mirror bug in front of her.

It looked exactly the same as the ones I had provided to the treasures. When I sent it my will, it began displaying a board on its screen. It was the treasure-only board.

Two treasures had joined this week. Together with the three I had gathered at first, a total of five were chattering noisily on that board. When Professor saw it, a very intrigued look appeared on her face.

“This is a chat room for the treasures’ welfare. I prepared it so you can check it too, Professor. It is also connected to the treasures’ mirror bugs, so if you want to check on them, you should be able to watch the video.”

As I said that, I opened a screen. The mirror bug flashed briefly, and then its screen began showing a vast lake. It had connected to the mirror bug on the other side.

At the center of the lake was a writhing mass of wraiths. It was the eye severed from a star, commonly called Star-Eye. Perhaps sensing our connection, it glanced at the mirror bug.

It could also see us through that connection. When it saw Professor, it panicked and began trembling. Bubbles rose and boiled in the lake from that shaking.

Professor smiled lightly at it. I also bowed my head toward Star-Eye beyond the screen. It did not know what to do, then soon sagged weakly. Watching that filled my chest with satisfaction.

This was a kind of safety device. If Professor took an interest in this board, these things surely would not be able to move carelessly. With that thought, I gave Professor the mirror bug. Of course, I had also prepared it to relieve Professor’s boredom.

The mirror bug’s screen soon went dark. The connection was still unstable. Well, it was connected beyond a door, after all. It needed a little more work.

“This is pretty interesting. I like it. I also understand a little why you’re trying to mess with the treasures.”

As she said that, Professor glanced at my chest. Her gaze went beyond my body and toward the tree contained inside it. Yes, she knew my shadow tree very well.

So she must have understood right away what I had in mind when I handed mirror bugs to them. There was no need to hide that fact from her. She was sure to notice soon anyway.

“But how are you planning to use this for the lecture?”

She asked with her eyes sparkling. At that, I shook my head slightly and scratched my cheek.

“It is not organized yet. Once it is decided for certain, I will explain it together with the syllabus.”

Professor did not seem satisfied with my vague answer. She puffed out her cheeks slightly, then narrowed her eyes. A gaze filled with suspicion shot toward me.

“Something feels suspicious. I feel like you’re going to do something strange again.”

“No way. When have I ever done that?”

I said that while waving my palm. She silently glared at me for a while, then soon relaxed her expression. Then she began sipping her tea again.

“You know best. Well, waiting like this should be fun too. You can go now.”

She waved her hand. At that, I bowed deeply.

“Then I will take my leave.”

I carefully backed out of the room.

The days afterward repeated in a very regular pattern. Cassian rolled around in bed, then rolled around in the tower, stabilizing that body as much as possible. Mira stuck close beside her and treated her.

Cassian’s body changed through that process. Greater power and potential began to settle inside it.

I checked the data Mira provided and blinked. The change seemed to have gone slightly beyond human standards.

It must have been because of Mira’s influence. Well, anyway, it was growth, so was that not fine? Thinking that, I quietly let it pass.

Cassian would handle it on her own, would she not? Mira also treasured that body greatly, so it was certain that it would not harm Cassian.

While they stabilized the body like that, I repeated research upon research. It was to customize the treasure-only mirror bugs. The safety devices became even firmer during that process.

This connection was made beyond the doors of the treasure vault. Those doors were sealed tight with layer upon layer of extremely powerful barriers. If not for the key, I would not have been able to even conceive of this connection.

Anyway, I needed to use that barrier. Every signal they sent was blocked once by the door’s barrier and censored.

It checked whether malice or magical power was contained inside, or whether something like fragments of will had gotten mixed in. Only after confirming the presence or absence of such possibilities did the signal go up on the board.

Sometimes, the treasures requested something. There were times they asked for simple magical beasts, and times they simply wanted to hear stories about what was going on in the world. I spent my time faithfully answering their requests.

And then I entered the vault. That was the weekly routine. Like that, two weeks passed.

During that time, we were able to visit three more rooms. The number of treasures inside them was twenty-two in total.

Among them, five treasures possessed enough intelligence to join the board. Like that, a total of ten treasures gathered on the board. That was also the minimum number I had aimed for.

I had in-depth conversations with them. I even created a separate secret board Professor could not see. It was to shape the framework of the lecture, and also for their sake.

These treasures could be called a kind of customer who would accompany my growth from now on. So it was only natural that I should listen to their opinions and accept their demands. I moved the conversation forward with the idea that their satisfaction was my satisfaction.

Like that, we completed the syllabus.

I stood before Professor with it in my arms. She was holding a teacup and savoring its aroma. In front of her, I placed the syllabus along with ten sheets of paper.

Those ten sheets of paper were emitting extremely powerful magical power. It came from the blood-colored letters written on them. Perhaps feeling that, Professor glanced at the papers.

“What is this?”

“It is the treasures’ joint statement. Ten treasures wrote it on behalf of five rooms and a total of thirty-nine treasures.”

The ones at the center of this lecture were none other than the treasures. They would evaluate the students and grant them power as the reward. I would mediate between them while gathering points and information.

It was the completion of a world where everyone was happy. And the first step toward that was this joint statement.

At those words, she tilted her head. Meeting her eyes, I proudly opened my mouth. Right now, I was the treasures’ representative. For the sake of the future lecture too, I had to fight for them.

“Just as students are guaranteed the right to survival and property rights, treasures must also be guaranteed minimum rights. That is the will of the treasures.”

Pfft. Professor spat out a little of the tea she had been drinking. She let out a dry cough and looked at me. The bewilderment in her eyes reached me exactly as it was.

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