Although he wasn’t sure from what moment these likenesses of their figures were taken, Eugene felt it was probably from just before they had departed for Helmuth. Vermouth, as he was pictured on the wall, didn’t appear to have the Moonlight Sword on him.
‘I also look like I have fewer scars.’
In his previous life, Hamel had ended up with a lot of scars. The many scars on his body had been covered up by his clothes and armor, and even his face had borne a lot of minor scarring. Around half of them had been obtained while he was working as a mercenary, and the remaining half were obtained in Helmuth.
The ‘Hamel’ in front of him had almost no scars on his exposed skin. Although he had a nasty expression, his eyes weren’t all that offensive. From how neat and tidy his appearance was, this image had to be from before they had gone through all sorts of hardships in Helmuth.
“...How handsome,” Eugene eventually murmured.
“Right?” Mer agreed. “Although I’ve also seen this image a countless times, I still can’t get over how handsome Sir Vermouth was—”
Eugene interrupted her praises, “I was saying that Hamel was so handsome, not my ancestor.”
Mer’s eyelashes fluttered. Her jaw dropped open as she alternated between looking at Hamel and Vermouth.
“Are you crazy?” Mer demanded.
“Well, my ancestor, um, I admit that he’s handsome, but Hamel also… uh… he has his charms. With his… um… untamable countenance? And that… um… that bestial charm…,” Eugene's lips eventually fell shut as he felt an unbearable sense of shame. ‘What the hell am I even saying?’
Although the shame he was feeling was already intense, Mer’s gaze, which looked as if she was seeing something confusing and pathetic, made him feel even more embarrassed.
“...That’s just how I feel,” Eugene finished lamely.
“You have quite the unique taste,” Mer observed politely.
“That’s just how people are.”
“Untamable countenance? Bestial charm? If that’s where your tastes lean, how about admiring Molon instead of Hamel? Just from looking at him, you get the feeling that he’s a bear, not a human.”
“Isn’t that a bit too much? Instead of a bear, at least say that he looks like a monster.”
“Well, that also works.”
Mer couldn’t deny those words. After glancing at Molon’s bulging muscles with a disgusted eye, she eventually turned her gaze back to Eugene.
“....Apart from the portrait, don’t you have any other recordings of Lady Sienna’s appearance? Something like these,” Eugene asked curiously.
Mer returned his question with one of her own, “Sir Eugene, aren’t you able to recall your own appearance without having to use a mirror?”
Eugene argued, “But if she was going to leave something like this, she should have at least left her own figure since all she needed to do was stand in front of a full-length mirror.”
“Lady Sienna probably just didn’t have any desire to do so,” as she said this, Mer giggled. “After all, she so disliked attention that she was even reluctant to leave behind the portraits. Now then, what exactly are you planning to do?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Although I’m not too aware of the situation, the fact that you have been allowed in here despite only being seventeen and lacking a high grasp of magic means that… those arrogant wizards must have seen some amazing potential in you, Sir Eugene.”
“Well, it’s something like that.”
“There’s no need to act so humbly. Even without you doing that, Sir Eugene, reading just one of the books of magic stored here will make you realize how humble your talent truly is,” as she said this, Mer looked at Eugene with a proud expression on her face. “We don’t just have Lady Sienna’s hall here. Including Lady Sienna, nine other wizards have had their names added to Akron’s list of halls.”
This was the Royal Library, Akron. Here, there were other floors dedicated to nine other Archwizards like Sienna.
The topmost, fifteenth floor, was the Hall of the Magic King who had founded Aroth. Below Sienna’s Hall, on the eleventh floor, was the Hall of the Battle Mage, who had been called the father of battle magic; on the tenth floor was the Hall of the Great Spirit Summoner, the first human to have made a contract with a Spirit King.
“The second, third, and fourth floors are used to store a range of magic texts,” Mer continued. “All of them are rare and valuable books of magic that were carefully selected by previous Tower Masters. Of course, although you were allowed to enter Akron because you possess the qualities to be called a genius, the magic stored in Akron was all created by fully-fledged geniuses.”
“Got it,” Eugene nodded his understanding with a calm expression.
He knew what Mer was trying to tell him. From an objective point of view, Eugene’s knowledge of magic was still too shallow. Although he had somehow managed to get into Akron, it was impossible for him to self-study the magic texts stored here as he had done with the introductory books on magic back at the Red Tower of Magic.
“Aren’t you able to cast magic?” Eugene asked.
“I can’t be the one to teach you,” Mer rejected his unspoken question, shaking her head. “There’s no reason for me to do so, and the system programmed into me also strictly prohibits me from transmitting magic. For hundreds of years, many wizards have attempted to try and extract Witch Craft from me, but none have been able to change my settings.”
After she had finished, Mer fell silent for a few moments. She had a complicated expression on her face as she crossed her arms in front of her.
“The only type of spells I’m permitted to use… are ones for removing any dust in this hall or picking up small pieces of trash,” Mer explained. “Do you still want to see my magic?”
“Mhm,” Eugene wordlessly responded.
“If so, please try to break into Akron without an entry pass. If you really do so, then I will make sure to appear faster than any of the familiars from the other floors to execute you, Sir Eugene.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“If you dislike that method, you could try to attack either Witch Craft or myself. If you have a preferred method of death, Sir Eugene, I will do my best to fulfill your desire.”
It didn’t sound like a simple joke when she said it like that. In any case, it looked like it would be impossible to be personally taught magic by Mer. After taking a few moments to think, Eugene headed for the elevator.
As he walked, he asked Mer, “Even if you can’t teach me, can you give me any advice about magic?”
“That is also restricted,” Mer admitted. “If it were so easy for me to gently guide you into learning magic, wouldn’t all the Archwizards of Aroth have already mastered Witch Craft?”
Witch Craft was just as infamous as it was renowned. Even though you couldn’t even touch it without being first qualified to enter Akron, among all the Archwizards who had entered this library, not a single one had yet to fully master the magic of Witch Craft.
Mer hesitated, “If you do need some advice… um…. Sir Eugene, how many Circles have you reached?”
“If I had to say it, I might be at the Third Circle,” Eugene awkwardly admitted.
Mer cringed, “Ugh. Really?”
“It’s only been a bit over two months since I started learning magic,” Eugene defended himself.
“Hm. Considering how long it’s been since you started, I guess you can be called somewhat of a genius. But even with that, you’re still far from qualified to enter Akron.”
Until just now, Mer had been smiling as she joked about this and that, but when it came to magic, her attitude became cold and scornful. Even this sort of look somehow reminded Eugene of Sienna, causing him to smirk in amusement.
“What did you mean by, ‘If I had to say it, I might be at the Third Circle’?” Mer demanded.
“I haven’t actually created any Circles,” Eugene confessed.
“Don’t lie to me.”
“No, really. Without any Circles, I’ve been using my Cores as Circles when casting magic.”
“...Is that the Lionheart Clan’s unique magic formula?”
“It shouldn’t be. I don’t know how Vermo—I mean, my ancestor used to cast magic, but the Lionheart’s direct line doesn’t have any record of such a magic formula. Although, I can’t be sure about any of the collateral branches.”
There were countless collateral branches of the Lionheart Clan. Although they didn’t seem to interact much with the main family, there were also families among the collateral lines who specialized in magic.
“Hm…,” Mer hummed contemplatively. “If that’s the case, is the magic formula that you’re currently using something that you came up with on your own, Sir Eugene? Or did you get advice from some other wizards?”
“I made it all by myself,” Eugene declared.
Mer was lost in thought, “Hm, hmmm….”
The elevator doors opened, and they entered. While they were descending to the twelfth floor, Mer was caught up in her own musings as she stroked her chin. Perhaps because the speed of their descent was so fast, her thoughts also seemed to quickly reach a conclusion.
Mer appeared to be relieved as she said, “Well then, it seems that your qualifications aren’t as terrifyingly inadequate as I had feared. I was worried that your entry into Arkon was bought mostly by the prestige of your family name.”
“I think it may have played at least a small factor,” Eugene admitted.
“I really appreciate such an honest attitude. Although it would be faster to just see your magic than hear it from you, for now… what type of magic are you interested in, Sir Eugene?”
“Are you asking so that you can give me some advice?”
“I might not be able to teach you any magic personally, but I can at least point you in the right direction.”
“I want magic that will be useful in a fight. Spirit magic would be okay as well.”
“What a barbaric request.”
Mer clicked her tongue a few times in disapproval as she followed behind Eugene.
Still, she continued to generously give her advice, “The tenth floor is the Great Spirit Summoner’s Hall. That Hall is dedicated to the human who was the first to make a contract with the Water Spirit King.”
“But it’s not like you can be sure to make a contract with the Water Spirit King just because you’ve learned the magic stored in that hall,” Eugene quibbled.
“Well, that may be the case. After all, the innate compatibility of the summoner is also important when making a contract with a spirit. As for the magic stored on the tenth floor… most of the spells there are meant to be applied together with the power of water spirits.”
“If that’s the case, they won’t be of much use to me. I prefer wind spirits over water spirits.”
“But something like compatibility isn’t up to you to decide, Sir Eugene…. Well, for now, I get your point. If you want magic that’s useful in a fight, then the eleventh floor is definitely perfect for you. Because that hall is dedicated to the Archwizard, who was called the Father of Battle Magic.”
