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— Ces’ Point of View.

「Haa, haa…… I give up, it’s my loss…… T-there really is always someone better……」
「You’re still young. You’re going to keep on growing. Oi!」

The girl in front of me is gasping for her breath. She exchanged blows with me until she was on the brink of running out of magic power, so of course she would.

「Go ahead.」
「Nn, thank you.」

I got rid of the wall dividing the combat area quite a while ago. I only set it up so that the two exams don’t interrupt each other, so it was to be removed when either ‌of them finished their exam. The other exam finished ‌early on, and it seems like Urania was in the middle of Tien’s orientation.

「Fuu… Sorry about that, Urania. We already have a break room rented out, so would you mind waiting there with her?」
「Nn, understood.」
「And Lily, ‌take a good rest too.」
「Got i~t.」

She’s probably feeling sluggish from the magic power exhaustion. She languidly waved to me in reply while having her other arm over Urania’s shoulders. It’s reminding me of how I was when I was her age and made me feel a bit of nostalgia.

「They’re gone now, Mr. Ces」
「Ahh, sorry about that, Tien.」

After saying so, I let out a deep breath.

「Haaaaaaaaa…… Who the heck is she?¹」
「Who knows? I don’t know myself. Motsi’s guild master only said that she’s a promising sorceress.」
「Well, he’s not wrong.」

The guild master’s evaluation of her is definitely not wrong. How many years has it been since the last time I almost ran out of magic power? Since she has quite a lot of magic power and is skilled at controlling it, I was forced to focus a lot on maintaining the Magic Shell. It’s frankly been so long since I got this exhausted.

「So, how did yours go?」
「If I had to say, unexpected. At any rate, her movements were quick. And surprisingly heavy. I never thought I that I’d receive a strike that heavy from someone as small as her.²」

As he said so, Tien showed me a wound on his arm. Despite his skin being much tougher than any regular armor, there was a large laceration on his arm. Really, who could’ve imagined that girl to make a wound this deep.

「…… That’s amazing.」
「I agree, highly outstanding. I never imagined that a {diseased} beastkin would have that much control over the use of “Wind” and “Weight”.」

I see, I was wondering how she outputs enough power to cut through Tien’s skin, but that’s how it is. She increased her speed with “Wind” and made either her body or weapon heavy with “Weight”. Just with a simple increase in speed and weight, the force behind her attacks increase. Naturally, the recoil would harm her own body if she doesn’t have skillful control, but considering how she didn’t show any signs of that earlier, she likely has superb control.³

「What about on your side? I never could have expected you to have a three-hour-long magic battle.」
「Three hours!? We spent that much time fighting?」
「Yes. Putting your case aside, I’m surprised that Lily lasted that long with you.」

I noticed that the battle went on pretty long, but I only thought it lasted about an hour and a half at most. Three hours, then it’s no surprise that I got exhausted.

「It seemed like you fairly enjoyed yourself. It’s been a while since I saw you having fun when using magic.」
「…… I see. Did I seem that elated? Then I’m sure that it’s because she was just pure with her use of magic.」

It’s a feeling I’ve forgotten long ago. From the time I succeeded the title of the Sage of Leo, the power passed down for generations, and my ancestor’s loyalty towards the crown⁴, I could no longer wield magic for my own ‌sake, but only for the king and the kingdom. When I instructed the anarchic⁵ court magicians or the academy laden with factional strife, I learned that magic had become a tool for authorities without regard to personal will.

Since when did this country start using magic as a tool for politics? It felt that way ever since I was a child and back in those times, I also feel that there were still more pure sorcerers then than there are now. Furthermore, the current king has just been crowned and doesn’t have the leeway to see what’s happening all around yet.

That might be the exact reason ‌there are more conflicts between sorcerers and rampant illegal magic experimentations lately. Everyone’s desperate to get a bigger slice of the pie. Recently in particular, the nobles from impoverished dominions and nobles that failed their businesses are eyeing for a quick turnaround.

I’m honestly thankful that Lily came to us. The academy is a miniature congress, a microcosm of this kingdom, but the inner affairs are hidden by a veil of mystery and can’t be observed from the outside world. As the administrator of the kingdom’s magic, I’ve wanted to check on the academy’s internal state of affairs, but unfortunately, there aren’t any children among my relatives that are near the age of enrollment.

I’ve also been invited as a lecturer, but I’m ‌too busy with my work and am practically there only once a month. Definitely not enough time to examine the academy’s current affairs. I’ve considered sending Adan to the elementary department, but I’m personally somewhat uneasy about sending my daughter to that ‌place. Most of all, I don’t want to risk Adan getting into trouble and being taken advantage of.

During this time, Lily made her offer. If this isn’t a godsend, then I don’t know what else to call it. I’ve considered the possibility that this could be a trap, but if a child so pure in her use of magic is actually a spy from somewhere else, then I can only praise her acting.

「So what should we do about it?」
「About what?」
「Her rank.」

Tien is asking an obvious question, isn’t he? No, in this case, I suppose it’s on purpose?

「It’s already obvious, isn’t it? I thought we were on the same wavelength?」
「Understood. Then, I’ll ‌make the preparations.」
「I’m counting on you. I’ll go after resting for a bit more.」

This lethargy should wear off after about ten more minutes. I wonder how they’ll react as we give them that guild card? Somehow it feels like I’ve suddenly gotten two more daughters.⁶

1. Lyly: Lol, he was trying to stay cool until they left
2. Lyly: Proof that Urania is a ninja, exhibit XX
3. Lyly: Honestly, we need more making use of regular magic to enhance physical capabilities. Seems to be the best option for adventurers, since most would have not much magic power because of their origins, making flashy magic frankly impractical
4. Silva: Wao, you can inherit your ancestor’s loyalty? This is the one moment I’ll say loyalty is earned, not given.
5. Lyly: I don’t know how to describe it better, but the term used here is, which refers to evil spirits in some legend, which implies that it’s in political chaos, having politics rule over everything, with intense faction in-fighting (really throws shade on the politics, lol. Comparing politics to a mountain full of ghouls and evil spirits, kek)
6. Lyly: That’s just cute