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“Do you know how a telescope works?”
“Um… you combine a dented lens and a bumpy lens, right?” Momo explained.
“…Well, that’s mostly correct. But grinding lenses takes a lot of time and money, so we condense magic power inside the tube and form a water lens.”
“Ah, so that’s where magitech comes into play. But wouldn’t even a slight distortion on the liquid’s surface cause the image to blur?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s why improving the liquid’s purity and vibration resistance is the main challenge…”
“Whoa, I see, I see. So, in short, it’s really super difficult, huh?”
“You don’t understand anything, Momo.”

Ignoring Momo’s feigned knowledge, I observed the exposed telescope up close.

The technology had existed for over a thousand years, but this was the first time I had seen such a refined, physical example of it.

Had it been assembled by a single person? The meticulous details scattered throughout the device spoke to the creator’s sheer dedication.

“Can you observe the stars with this?” Momo asked.
“No, it’s still incomplete. The lens purity and magnification are both low. If we want to view the stars, we’d need to scale it up, but with current technology, this is the best we can do.”
“…The outer tube is poorly made. There’s a gap in the assembly. If outside air seeps in, the water lens will distort.”
“What?! …You’re right. Damn, it’s warped again.”
“Did you make all the parts yourself? It might be better to commission a craftsman. You could weld the joints shut to make it airtight.”
“If I splurge like that on a prototype, my research budget will disappear in no time! I actually had a better one, but…”

The young man slumped his shoulders and glanced toward the corner of the room.

There, a pile of junk was crammed into a large wooden crate. Some of the twisted metal parts bore signs of being violently broken apart— as if shattered by some tremendous force.

“What’s that?”
“Prototype Telescope No. 26… It used to be my masterpiece.”
“It’s completely shattered. What happened?” Momo asked.
“…It got struck by lightning. That’s what’s left of it.”
“…What?”

I walked over to the wooden crate and picked up a piece of the wreckage.

Sure enough, scorch marks were clearly burned into the debris, as if it had been exposed to intense heat. But if lightning alone had caused the damage, the destruction seemed excessive.

“Are you sure lightning was the only cause? It would take a fall from an incredible height to break it like this.”
“It happened during an observation experiment on the roof of this lab. A bolt of lightning came out of a completely clear night sky. Can you believe that?”
“That’s… incredibly unlucky.”
“Could you be quiet for a moment, Momo?”

I was certain now— this wasn’t just a normal lightning strike. Whatever destroyed this telescope was something akin to lightning… something closer to magic.

“Let me ask you something. Have you ever done anything to anger a sorcerer? Or, specifically, Thuru?”
“Of course not! I swear, I’ve got no clue. Sure, the three major mages in this city are constantly at each other’s throats, but not to the point of wrecking my stuff out of sheer spite. Does this go against the teachings of the gods?”
“The teachings of the gods?”
“The sky is considered the domain of the gods— a sacred place for sorcerers. Don’t you have a similar concept in your world?”
“Oh, we do, we do. In Japan, there are gods even in the bathroom!”
“…That’s an impressively wide habitat range. A telescope peering into the heavens is essentially spying on the gods’ home. It wouldn’t be surprising if that made sorcerers uneasy.”

Even so, it didn’t seem like enough of a reason to resort to outright destruction.

If someone had borrowed Thuru’s lightning to obliterate the telescope, I’d expect to hear the sound of outrage echoing from within the community itself.

“Aren’t you going to protest? This was too well-made to just let it go.”
“Thanks. I did raise a fuss, but I had no proof. Even when I kept pushing, I ended up getting decked by Thuru’s show of strength.”
“Honestly, you should count yourself lucky your head’s still attached.”

There wasn’t even a trace of lingering magic power in the wreckage— if this had been magical sabotage, the residual magic power had long since dispersed.

Besides, this didn’t quite match Thuru’s style. It felt a little too underhanded for them. I couldn’t imagine them tarnishing the name of the lightning god they revered by using it for petty destruction.

If someone went to such lengths to hide their identity and had no hesitation about calling down lightning… a face flashed through my mind— that girl who swung around a massive hammer.

“…But why go this far…? Hm?”
“Master, is something wrong?”
“Not sure… doesn’t it sound noisy outside?”

✦✧✦✧✦

“I’M TELLING YOU! Make my staff ridiculously strong! Strong enough to crush that white-haired teacher into the dirt!!”
“I SAID THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE, YOU FOOL!! Magicologists exist to enrich people’s lives, not to create weapons!!”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying you should enrich my heart first! You should be honored!!”
“GET THIS BRAT OUT OF HERE!!”
“What the hell are they doing…”

Hearing the commotion, I rushed back to the first lab, where I found Plerion wildly swinging a broken staff and Arnitta, his face flushed red, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Just seeing this scene told me all I needed to know. Plerion had probably stormed in, still bitter over his loss, and was now demanding the impossible.

“Momo, can you mediate? I don’t think I’ve got the stamina to handle this.”
“Okay! Hey, Plerion, that’s enough!!”
“Huh…? Ah, you’re that pink-haired…!”

As Momo stepped in between the two clashing forces, Plerion blushed and took a step back. I couldn’t help but feel like her reaction to Momo was wildly different from the way he treated me— but maybe I was imagining things.

“You shouldn’t be causing trouble here. Where’s your guardian? Don’t tell me you came alone?”
“N-no, I brought Konis al-…wait, where is he!?”
“He bolted the moment Arnitta started yelling.”
“White-Hair?! What are you doing here?!”

“That’s my line. You’re acting incredibly out of line— I feel ashamed as a teacher.”
“S-shut up! It’s your fault I—!”
“Plerion, if you’re always angry, people won’t understand what you really want to say. Let’s start with a deep breath, okay?”
“Ghh… ssshhhhh… haaaah…!!”

For someone who rebelled against me so fiercely, Plerion obediently listened to Momo without a fight.

This little troublemaker… I’m absolutely getting back at him the next time we meet at the academy.

“…I… I won’t lose to you next time! Just you wait!!”
“Hey, no! Apologize to Mr. Arnitta and the others before you run off!”
“He’s fast. Honestly, survival skills like that are a valuable talent.”
“Master, I’ll go after him real quick! I’ll be right back!”
“Huh? Hey, wait, Momo!!”

Before I could even finish calling out to her, Momo had already dashed out of the research lab, chasing after Plerion.

We were supposed to be getting the test results soon, but it seemed like she’d completely forgotten why we came here in the first place.

“…Anyway, uh… sorry for my student’s behavior.”
“No, it looks like you’ve got your hands full too, miss…”

The research lab, now eerily quiet after the storm of chaos, left Arnitta and I standing in awkward silence.

Momo, you’d better really come back soon. I have no idea how to keep this conversation going.

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