Upon arriving at the Tower of the Blue Dragon, Yi-Han noticed students resting in the lounge and spoke.
“If you help me with what I am doing now with Asan, I will give to all of you...”
“Of course.”
"Let's go."
His friends, before Yi-Han could even mention a reward, had already closed their books and set down their chess pieces.
Yi-Han felt slightly taken aback.
"It’s a tedious task over the weekend, are you okay with that?"
"Wardanaz, you always do that kind of stuff anyway."
"..."
Touched by his friends' warm words, Yi-Han was moved.
What in the world was the magic academy doing with students like these!
"Where's Gainando?"
"He's resting upstairs... Wardanaz. But Gainando might not come, right?"
His friends thought Gainando wouldn't show up.
It was unlike him to participate in a weekend task.
'But Gainando must participate.'
Yi-Han was resolute.
If Professor Alpen's friend arrived at the academy and found a prince among the students of the Tower of the Blue Dragon, Yi-Han's abilities would be rated even higher.
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
Yi-Han summoned Gainando.
Puzzled, Gainando, who had been lounging in his personal room, came downstairs.
"Why? What's going on?"
"I'm sorry, Gainando."
Yi-Han spoke with a voice full of regret. Gainando was terrified by his words.
"Am I... am I going to the punishment room?"
"No, not that."
"Phew..."
"Right now, I'm planning to go work on a magic circle with the other friends. But you can't participate."
"Really? Why not?"
Gainando tilted his head, confused.
Isn't that a good thing?
'Aha. If I show my interest, I might be dragged along.'
Gainando struggled to keep his expression neutral. These friends disliked him for wanting to rest.
"I'm really sorry. I wanted you to join."
"Yeah, sure."
"Then rest well. I'm sorry again, Gainando."
"...Wait a minute. Just a minute."
Gainando stopped Yi-Han as he was about to leave.
Initially disinterested, Gainando became curious due to Yi-Han's continued apologies.
Was there something more to it?
"Yi-Han. Why are you sorry for not letting me participate in the magic circle work?"
"It's a shame not to involve a friend in such a fun activity, isn't it?"
"Fun?"
"Yes."
"...??"
For a moment, Gainando thought Yi-Han had changed.
But then he remembered that Yi-Han was always like this.
A friend who loved studying to an unusual degree!
'How unfortunate.'
Regrettably, Gainando couldn't cure Yi-Han. Just as Gainando was about to let Yi-Han go...
"Yes, really sorry, Gainando."
"We really wanted you to join us too..."
"???"
However, the other friends saying this plunged Gainando into confusion.
Had the magic circle work become a trendy game among the newcomers without Gainando knowing?
"Fun? Really?"
"Gainando... you still don't know? How fun working on a magic circle is?"
Yonaire said to Gainando with a look of astonishment.
Hesitantly, Gainando replied.
"...Of course, I know!"
"..."
"..."
The friends stared at Gainando for a moment, but the prince failed to grasp the meaning behind their gaze.
"But why can't I join?"
"There are followers of the princess. They don't like it when you show up."
"What! Yi-Han! How can you give in to the threats of such villains!"
Gainando was furious at the followers of the princess, whose faces he did not know.
Of course, Adenart had more fame than Gainando, was better at magic, excelled in academia, and was skilled in various arts, but aside from that, there wasn't much else that made her better than Gainando.
And yet, they dared to prevent Gainando from coming!
"Is that so?"
"Yi-Han. That's not like you. You used to thrash anyone who picked a fight with you!"
"...Was it really that extreme?"
"No! This isn't like you at all!"
"But you weren't that interested, were you?"
"I am very interested in magic circle work! I want to do it!"
"Really? Alright. I'll speak up firmly then."
At Yi-Han's words, Gainando's face brightened.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"What's the big deal about this."
Seeing Gainando running off excitedly, the students of the Tower of the Blue Dragon looked at Yi-Han with admiration.
The increase in the number of students didn't make the work progress overwhelmingly faster.
Students drained of mana went one by one to lie down next to the classroom.
When about 1/3 of the magic circle was completed, Yi-Han was the only one left.
"..."
'Don't they all have too little mana?'
But grumbling wouldn't restore his friends' mana.
Yi-Han silently continued his work. The evening sun was already setting.
"Not bad."
"??"
Yi-Han turned around.
He thought it was Professor Alpen who had come to the classroom, but it wasn't. It was a face he had never seen before.
"Are you a professor?"
"In some ways, yes."
"?"
Yi-Han was puzzled by the enigmatic response of the stranger.
A professor in some ways. What did that mean?
'Aha. I see.'
But Yi-Han, an experienced student, quickly understood.
"You must be working directly under a professor."
Students who didn't graduate from the magic academy even in their senior years often studied deeper into the profound world of magic by researching alongside a professor.
Becoming a direct disciple of a professor.
These direct disciples shared their time with their mentors, inheriting their vision and exploring the world of magic.
And sometimes, they would also handle trivial tasks that were meant for the mentor.
Like teaching students...
Thus, a being who is a professor and yet not a professor is formed.
"No!"
"Are you not?"
The stranger looked at Yi-Han as if he were absurd.
Who was whose disciple?
For the mages of the empire, the magic academy Einroguard evoked various emotions.
For upstart mages who hadn't received proper teaching, it was a place of longing.
For mages from other magic academys, a place of jealousy.
And for mages working in imperial positions...
"I have no idea how much gold they're extorting."
"It's a place nurturing the talent of the empire?"
"I'm a mage too! No matter how outstanding, there's no way it should cost so much gold to teach young students. It must be gold for the mages' own research, I'm sure!"
Kendry Bak, the Imperial Senior Accounting Officer, complained to his escorts as he walked.
He was invited to the magic academy by his friend, Professor Alpen Knighton, but...
That wasn't the only reason for visiting the magic academy.
Kendry intended to see the magic academy with his own eyes.
It was a good time to visit as a guest and look around, especially since the magic academy was celebrating its spring festival.
"Sir, you arrived a few days earlier than promised. Is everything alright?"
"Yes. It was intentional."
Kendry had misled them about his arrival date for a simple reason.
Had he arrived on the scheduled day, those sly mages would have hidden anything potentially incriminating.
Arriving early was preferable. Though Alpen was a friend, he was inept at lying and deceit. Any request from Kendry would likely have been discovered.
"I've heard that Einroguard's students are harshly trained from their freshman year to cultivate a hunger for magic, but it seems the rumors are somewhat exaggerated."
A guard accompanying Kendry commented as they observed a student from the Tower of the Blue Dragon, casually carrying snacks.
"It could be because the priests are visiting this week."
"But looking at their faces, they seem well-fed. And their clothes too."
"Hmm... That makes sense."
Kendry nodded at the guard's words.
The students wouldn't have gained weight just because the priests visited over the weekend. Moreover, the student's attire was quite decent.
'It seems the students are faring better than I heard. Were the rumors exaggerated?'
Kendry pondered if this was why the gold cost more but soon shook his head.
It was still too much.
"Let's go in."
"Yes."
Kendry toured around the dormitory tower and also visited the main lecture halls.
Surprisingly, despite it being the weekend, there were students practicing magic in the classroom.
The guard expressed his admiration.
"Indeed, this is Einroguard. The students are all so passionate, practicing even at this hour."
"But why are they lying down like that?"
"Probably due to a lack of mana."
Kendry understood why the freshmen were sprawled out in the classroom.
Inexperienced mages often suffered from a lack of mana, likely making a mistake while casting their magic circles.
Yet, one student continued working without collapsing.
There was only one reason for this.
The student was calculating his mana perfectly while drawing the magic circle.
If they knew exactly how much mana each part of the circle required, they could avoid overexertion.
Certainly, this student must have spent months preparing and designing this magic circle, to the point of dreaming about it.
Reminded of the past, Kendry commented,
"Quite impressive."
"Ah, you are the Professor's friend. I have heard about you."
Yi-Han bowed respectfully upon realizing who the visitor was.
It wasn't just because the visitor was a friend of Professor Alpen, but also because he was a high-ranking official of the Empire.
'But why did he come so early?'
"You've heard about me?"
"Yes. I was actually preparing this magic circle to show you."
"Typical Alpen. Sorry for the trouble."
Kendry brushed his wavy hair aside, expressing his apologies.
"You must have started preparing this right at the start of the semester."
"Not quite that early."
"How long did it take?"
Kendry asked casually.
Considering the difficulty of the magic circle, its current completion, and the pace at which Yi-Han was working, it seemed likely he had started right at the beginning of the semester.
Yi-Han hesitated for a moment.
'It wouldn’t seem insincere if I said it took a day.'
"I started today."
"..."
Kendry was so surprised that he momentarily dropped his staff.
"Today?"
"Yes."
"By any chance, are you from the Wardanaz family?"
"Indeed," Yi-Han answered, while inwardly expressing his gratitude to Professor Alpen.
The reward of his attentiveness and refusal to doze off during lectures had become evident.
To think that someone would mention Yi-Han's name to a friend like that.
Yi-Han neither hurried nor hesitated too much. He strived to appear as a modest yet promising mage.
"I had thought Alpen was exaggerating his praises... but there was a reason for it."
To accomplish this much in a single day.
Even if he had studied the magic circle in advance, it was a genius talent. Especially since theory and practice were different matters.
'There was a reason Alpen praised him.'
"Well, the magic academy exists to nurture students like this. Anyone can hold a position in the Empire, but only a genius can pursue the study of magic."
"I believe that an imperial official is as important as a researcher."
"Do you? Coming from the Wardanaz family, that's an unusual view. Thank you. You'd fit well in an official position."
Yi-Han's face brightened.
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course, it's a joke. A genius like you should be conducting research."
"...I can do well in an official role too."
"Of course you can. But it would be a waste of your talent."
"...I'm not particularly talented. I just kept pouring mana into the magic circle until it worked."
"What do you mean?"
"I kept inputting mana and adjusting until it worked..."
Kendry immediately understood the significance of his words.
If he had fully grasped the magic circle, he wouldn't have needed such trial and error.
The fact that he was still experiencing trial and error meant he hadn't been familiar with the magic circle for long.
Yet, to have completed it to such an extent.
He must have been born with immense mana, not to mention a natural aptitude for magic circles.
"Truly a genius!"
"..."
