WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 93

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Puppetry was a fringe form of magic. Since it was a system of magic determined by talent, few people knew much about it, and even fewer practiced it themselves.

That was why people had so much distorted information about puppetry. One of those jokes was that every old puppeteer eventually became obsessed with the puppets they made.

No one knew where the story had come from, but it drifted through the magic world all the same. So people often teased those who handled puppets by calling them puppet freaks. I simply laughed it off.

But rumors came from some kind of truth. That thought occurred to me. I might have been seeing one of those old puppeteers right before my eyes.

“You need to proceed with the lecture.”

The woman spoke in a whisper. Professor On looked at the woman with regret on their face. But the woman firmly shook her head.

I studied the woman a little more closely. She was unbelievably lifelike.

A fairly impressive amount of magical power flowed from her. When I first saw her, I had thought she was a mage. But she was a puppet.

Perhaps she noticed my gaze, because she looked at me and smiled. Professor On saw that, clicked their tongue, and looked at me. There was a hint of irritation in their eyes.

Had I been staring too openly? As I stiffened, Mira smiled softly and hugged my arm. Professor On glanced at Mira, then stared quietly at me.

“Be careful next time. I dislike it when someone steals Tiena’s gaze.”

I quickly nodded. Their gaze left me and turned toward the other students. I let out a relieved sigh and sagged.

“You shouldn’t look at another person’s woman like that. You were far too inconsiderate.”

Mira said it with a smile. Woman? Hadn’t Professor On said she was a puppet? No. As I had just thought, I needed to respect other people’s tastes. I quietly nodded.

Professor On held the woman called Tiena in their arms and took out a card. The magical power engraved on it clearly showed a single word. It was “On.”

“Mm, you must have come here through this.”

It looked exactly like the one I had. I took it out and fiddled with it. Professor On glanced at the cards we had taken out and continued.

“I’m the one who called you. I’m sure you all know that already. I sent one to each city, so you must have come from your respective cities. Still, I’m glad all of you attended this time. Two hundred years ago, there was a time when not a single person managed to come.”

Professor On slowly looked over us. This time, their gaze was not on the puppets, but on us.

There was not even the faintest emotion in it. Their expression was like someone staring at inanimate objects.

“I don’t have great expectations for you. But I do have expectations for your puppets. I want one thing. Through this lecture, you will learn more about puppetry, and through that, you will make better puppets.”

Professor On lightly hugged the woman in their arms. The woman gently wrapped her arms around their waist. Professor On smiled faintly at her, then continued.

“I will teach you for five years. Each lecture will last three hours, and I will give assignments suited to it. If you complete the assignment successfully, I’ll give you a reward. If you fail, you get nothing.”

A reward. I wondered what it was. But Professor On did not explain it at all. They simply moved on to the next topic.

“I’ll clear out part of the tower for you, so use it if necessary. But please always watch your conduct. This is a space for puppets alone. Right, Tiena?”

The woman smiled softly and nodded. Staying here, huh. If I could, even I would have wanted to stay. Just like that woman, the puppets in the tower interested me.

Of course, it was impossible because I had to manage Professor Irian’s tower. What a shame. Feeling as though I was somehow losing out, I clicked my tongue.

Professor On quietly manipulated magical power and distorted space. Several books poured out from within it. They floated in the air and flew quietly toward us.

“Then, would you please take this first? It is the textbook you’ll use while attending my lectures from now on. If you understand it perfectly, you’ll probably be able to leave with an acceptance certificate.”

I carefully accepted it. The words “On’s Basic Theory of Puppetry” decorated the book like a band. That seemed to be its title.

No. 0 quietly rose from the shadow and stared at it with sparkling eyes. Professor On saw it and tilted their head.

“Mm, do we have an auditor? Read it together with your master. From the look of things, you seem to know how to handle puppets.”

At those words, No. 0 smiled and settled down beside me. It poked the book with an expression like it was looking at something fascinating.

“Now then, shall we turn the first page? Today, you will learn about circuits. In truth, circuits are the most basic part of making puppets. No matter what kind of puppet you make, circuits are always involved. A puppet is, as you all know, a kind of magic.”

I listened quietly and turned the page. Chapter 1, On Circuits. Beneath that, dense black letters filled the white paper. Professor On looked at us and continued.

“But are these circuits, which form the center of puppets, really made only of magical power? They are not. Circuits made only of magical power are no different from ordinary magic. Unlike that kind of magic, puppets are very special beings.”

Their gaze moved over the others’ faces and finally settled on me. They looked straight at me.

“You there. Do you love the puppet beside you?”

At that question, I coughed. I looked to the side. Mira was watching me with an amused smile. She lightly poked my side and whispered.

“Now, you need to answer. The Professor is waiting.”

I glanced at her and shook my head. I did cherish her. She was practically the essence of my puppetry.

But that was not quite love. A mischievous smile appeared on Mira’s face. She started poking me hard in the side.

Professor On looked at us and nodded slightly. Then they lightly wrapped an arm around the waist of the woman beside them.

“Then love her from now on. Puppets grow stronger when they receive love. Just like our Tiena.”

After saying that, Professor On lightly kissed the woman. The woman gently returned it.

They kept kissing for a long time, paying no attention to us. After enough time had passed, Professor On pulled away and looked at us.

“Yes. The circuits that form a puppet are not simply made of magical power alone. Behind them, there also exist spiritual circuits that connect to you. That is affection.”

At those words, I blinked. I glanced around. I had grown curious whether the others had understood.

Thankfully, the others’ expressions were similar to mine. They looked like they did not quite understand. Professor On seemed to know that too, and quietly blinked.

“Well, I didn’t think you would understand. Then let’s skip that and talk about how the structure of magical power circuits is composed. Turn to page 4.”

Professor On began reciting as if reading the text aloud. I quietly listened to that flowing voice.

“A puppet’s circuit is basically a path through which magical power flows. Well, I’m sure all of you know that. But did you know that things other than magical power can also flow through this circuit? For example, something like a soul....”

It was something I had never heard before. Souls flowed through circuits? Was that possible? The Professor showed us an example directly. Watching it, I quietly admired the demonstration.

Like that, I began to fall deep into Professor On’s lecture. They also took questions a few times in the middle. The others spoke up passionately.

I also asked several questions about the parts I did not understand. With a very listless face, Professor On answered them in detail.

In that way, I participated in the class with great enthusiasm. Knowledge I had never known kept pouring into my head.

Yes, time passed like flowing water.

“Now then, shall we wrap things up here? Time is up.”

Professor On said that. Only after hearing those words did I blink. The mirror bug gently floated up and told me the time. Three hours had already passed.

I looked around. Everyone seemed busy digesting what they had just heard. Even the people from the fourth floor.

It made sense. This had, quite literally, covered the basics of circuits in great breadth. The knowledge about puppets that Professor On had built up had been poured out generously for us.

I was the same as them. The knowledge I already had gained new substance, and new frameworks formed around things I had not known.

They became a kind of realization and faintly soaked into my tree. I stared blankly at Professor On. This was a real class. One filled with nothing but high-quality information.

That made it feel even more awkward.

In truth, most of the lectures I had experienced or looked into until now had been hands-off. If you lacked the knowledge or power, you were bound to struggle at the bottom of the tower.

But this lecture was different. Professor On told us what we lacked and filled those gaps for us. In the process, even the parts I had been agonizing over seemed to connect smoothly before I knew it.

I quietly looked at the basic theory of puppetry in front of me. Basics, huh. If this was the basics, I could not even guess what content lay beyond it.

Maybe because the class had ended, the book vanished as if melting away like snow. No. 0 stared at it regretfully. I was sure my eyes looked the same.

For puppeteers like us, this knowledge was worth more than a thousand gold pieces. I could hardly believe that Professor On would share such knowledge with others so readily.

Why were they doing this? I looked at Professor On with that question in my eyes. Professor On met our gazes.

“Mm, you always make those faces after the first class ends. Faces filled with doubt, wondering whether I have some kind of scheme.”

Professor On had hit the mark. It was exactly as they said. Once the class ended, I grew worried instead. I wondered whether they would use this as an excuse to demand some absurd price.

Professor On lightly shook their head.

“This is a kind of investment. An investment in your puppets. As I said earlier, I want your puppets to develop further. More of her own kind existing, that is what our Tiena wants. That is why I called you.”

The woman in Professor On’s arms nodded as if agreeing. She smiled and hugged Professor On just like that. Professor On hugged her as well and continued.

“Rather than this worthless talk, let’s discuss the assignment. Did I talk about love earlier? I love the puppets I make. Since you do too, love your puppets.”

Mira poked my side again. I tried hard to pretend not to notice and focused on Professor On’s words.

“That is your assignment until the next lecture. Make one puppet you love. The puppet you love the most, and will continue to love in the future.”

Professor On’s lecture on puppetry ended like that. I blankly left the spherical tower. No. 0 likewise had a slightly dazed face.

Holding a proper class in a lecture room? What a bizarre thing that was. It was a strange space, a strange lecture, and a strange professor.

Mira poked my side again. At this point, it was impossible to ignore. In the end, I had no choice but to look at her.

Then she smiled at me. Hanging on my arm, she leaned her head against my chest.

“Hu hu, isn’t this assignment incredibly easy? I feel like the result already exists right in front of you. I wonder who that could be?”

She looked up at me and asked mischievously. I gave a bitter smile. This was why I had pretended not to notice. She seemed to be enjoying the situation quite a lot.

This teasing would probably continue until the next lecture. If I failed to complete the assignment properly, it would continue even after that. I needed to solve it no matter what.

Love. Love, huh. Professor On had told me to make one puppet I loved. I still did not know what that meant.

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