Slurp.
I was having tea with the professor. I felt like I should offer some sort of lip service.
"It tastes good. It feels like... the bright sunshine of the south."
"... It's not from the south, it's tea from the east."
A failure.
Valerius took a sip of tea and then fired off questions like an interviewer.
"You said your name was Isaac Upperhills?"
"Yes."
"You must be an orphan."
"Yes."
"Age?"
"Twenty-two."
"Who do you respect?"
"Erwin Schrödinger."
Valerius tilted his head. Of course he wouldn't know Schrödinger. He was a physicist from Earth.
It seemed some supplementary explanation was needed.
"He's the one who wrote a paper while on a trip with his mistress."
"... Don't tell me you want to live like that?"
"No. I only want to emulate his academic passion."
The conversation felt like a probing battle. Meaning neither Valerius nor I were being entirely sincere. So I answered with my brain half turned off.
Wow, this tea is good. Just then, Valerius's mouth opened once more.
"So, what is your goal?"
Of course, it's— Hup. I hastily reined in my thoughts. I almost said, 'To become a rich man whose wealth is unknown and live a quiet life forever.'
That kind of answer would be a deal-breaker. Even in the 21st century Republic of Korea, there are people who would curse such an answer as 'lacking ambition.' Naturally, this world is even more so.
So what should I say... I replied, carefully observing Valerius's expression.
"... To become a landed noble."
Let's go with about half the truth. The desire for social advancement is something everyone has.
"To rise in the world..."
Smirk.
A faint smile played on Valerius's wrinkled lips. He said bluntly.
"A lie."
"I can see a longing for freedom in your eyes."
What?
How did he know? Valerius continued his questioning.
"Which school do you belong to?"
"The School of Magical Surveying."
Valerius's eyes widened.
"The School of Magical Surveying? You're under that fellow Doloren?"
Heh heh.
He let out a dry laugh.
"That place has no money, no honor, not even freedom... Why would you enter such a place?"
I agree about it having no money and no honor. But I had to refute the part about having no freedom.
"That's not true. There is freedom."
"Freedom? Doloren spends most of the year wandering outside his lab. Those left behind must be rotting away doing paperwork. How is that freedom in any way?"
"Because there are two kinds of freedom."
I set down my teacup and spoke seriously.
"There is 'Active freedom' to do something, and 'Passive freedom' to not be interfered with. No school in the Magic Tower guarantees perfect Passive freedom as much as ours does. We have the freedom to do nothing."
At my answer, Valerius's eyes narrowed.
"The freedom to do nothing..."
He seemed to be mulling over the unfamiliar concept of 'Passive freedom'. A moment later, a voice laced with deep interest came from his lips.
"The kind of freedom a prisoner or a soldier would desire."
"Doesn't sound like something a disciple of Doloren would say."
Just as the conversation was ripening...
Kwang!
The lab door burst open with a violent storm of mana. At the epicenter were Gwendolyn and the other students.
"Ugh... I'm out of mana...."
"Pant, pant... We finally broke through."
I examined the lingering traces of mana left by the students. 'They focused an explosive magic on a single point.' To be more precise, four of the five worked to fix the spell's direction, while the last one devised the explosive magic. ...
It's incredibly inefficient. It was like using five people to change a single lightbulb. One person holds the bulb, while the other four turn the chair he's standing on.
They staggered forward, covered in sweat and dust.
"There's the professor."
"What... he's not alone?"
The moment they spotted me, all noise ceased.
"What's with him."
"How did he get here faster than us..."
Valerius let out a sigh.
"Hoo... you've finally arrived. The latecomers."
He looked over the students and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. Taking dozens of minutes just to find the entrance... when it's visible if you just open your eyes wide."
Gwendolyn retorted.
"Our eyes? We saw it too! But there were no magical clues..."
"Because the clue wasn't magical."
Valerius cut her off.
"This disciple of Doloren here discovered the contradiction of two shadows from a single light source and deduced the door's location."
"... Don't tell me, was it that suit of armor?"
"It seems you saw it and passed it by."
Gwendolyn fell silent. The students around her started whispering.
"That's a trick..." -"Damn it..."
Well.
Since I didn't use magic, it's true it was a trick. But do you really need some grand, straightforward method just to find a classroom?
Tsk... Scratch, scratch.
Gwendolyn's gaze turned to me.
"Then, how did you break through? The barrier was incredibly strong."
Before I could answer, Valerius's mouth opened.
"An overwhelmingly powerful light."
"... We were in the same classroom, but I saw no such thing."
"You know that light travels in a straight line, right? What happens if all that light goes in one direction?"
"... It won't be visible from other directions. Ah. So that's why!"
Flash.
Gwendolyn's eyes lit up.
"Seems you're not a complete fool."
However, not everyone was like Gwendolyn.
"What. Why wouldn't it be visible?" ...
I don't know, man. It's embarrassing, so just be quiet. Gwendolyn caught her breath and stepped forward.
"Still, thanks to Sir Valerius's test, we learned the value of cooperation over competition. Thank you for your profound lesson."
Valerius was left speechless by Gwendolyn's words.
'Wow.
That girl's got a strong mentality.'
"Cooperation... That wasn't my intention, but if you managed to learn even a small lesson, I suppose that's a good thing."
"You came in a group and barely crossed the threshold. Incredibly sluggish. Not a shred of talent to be found, but..."
Gwendolyn's face stiffened at the venomous assessment. To spit in a smiling face. This Valerius fellow has a terrible personality.
"Well, at least teaching you will be rewarding." ...
Or not?
"Normally, I'd proceed with the lecture, but I suppose I can't do that now."
"... Is it because we are too lacking?"
Valerius shook his head at Gwendolyn's question.
"No. That's not the reason."
Valerius pointed to the wall clock. The clock was on the hour.
Which means...
"The lecture time is over. See you next week."
The students whispered at Valerius's words.
"What. It's ending here?"
"This is ridiculous..."
Valerius said.
"If you want to hear more of my lecture, make a formal request to the Dean."
"Hup...!"
The students became quiet as mice.
"Still, you'll need an assignment for next time."
Valerius's gaze turned to Gwendolyn and the other students.
"This is your assignment. By next class, each of you is to find an answer to 'What is magic?'"
What is magic...? What is that? It's a question that makes my mind go blank.
I've never thought about something like that. The other students were also flustered, looking at each other. 'Maybe I can just copy the description from the beginning of an introductory text...?'
Just then, Valerius spoke.
"Know that if you spout parrot-like nonsense from a textbook, I will kick you out on the spot."
Huk.
This is bad. Valerius's gaze turned to me.
"Disciple of Doloren."
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly. 'Damn it, did he find out?' Could Sir Valerius even read people's minds?
Even Voldemort can't do that.
"Your assignment is different."
"... Yes?"
Everyone's eyes in the lab turned to me.
"You are to think about 'What is impossible with magic?'"
To prove impossibility, not possibility. This is much better than the last question. Because I have an all-powerful weapon I can use for times like this.
Reductio ad absurdum is invincible, and I am a god. I gave a short nod.
"Understood."
"Good. That's all for today's orientation. Everyone, go back."
Valerius unilaterally ordered our dismissal.
As the first week of the special lecture came to an absurd end, Gwendolyn's eyes caught sight of Isaac.
Whoosh.
Isaac was rushing to the floating staircase faster than anyone else. 'Just what kind of person is he?' At first, her approach had been purely out of interest.
The Isaac Gwendolyn saw back then was... -'I'll look around a bit more... no, I'll think about it some more and then decide.' A little rude, but should she say he looked forlorn? She didn't know his circumstances, but he seemed like the protagonist of a pulp novel, agonizing at a crossroads of life and death.
But the Isaac she saw today was completely different. -'So it was that multi-level marketing scheme I saw in the dining hall.' -'This special lecture isn't some Hunter Exam.' Like an unpredictable spark?
In fact, she had been worried when he suddenly disappeared alone during the classroom-finding test. ...though it turned out he had passed Sir Valerius's test all by himself. 'You should worry about yourself, Gwendolyn.... Gwendolyn felt a little ashamed about what had happened then.
Just then, the other students approached and spoke to her.
"Lady Everglow, even for a Great Mage, isn't this too much?"
"That's right. This is a complete disregard for us."
They naturally expected Gwendolyn to side with them and voice their complaints. But Gwendolyn didn't answer.
"Ahem... if that's not the case..."
"... Hey. Let's just go."
Feeling awkward at her silence, the students started walking ahead, grumbling amongst themselves.
"This is pissing me off. He didn't even teach a class and gave us homework."
"Hey. Watch your mouth. You might get ripped apart again."
"Ah, jeez. Let him try! Did I say anything wrong?!"
"... He's right, though. To burn through all our mana and barely escape, only to be met with ridicule."
The word 'ridicule' struck Gwendolyn. 'Was it purely ridicule...?' She didn't think so.
Gwendolyn's mouth opened.
"... Isaac Upperhills did it alone."
Thump, the students stopped in their tracks.
"But we couldn't. Is it still ridicule then?"
"... You're right. We were mistaken, Lady Everglow."
Their words sounded like they were admitting it, but that wasn't the reality. Their expressions were closer to 'I have a lot to say, but I'll hold my tongue.' This was because there was nothing to be gained by getting on the bad side of the only daughter of the Everglow family.
"We will be more careful in the future. We'll be on our way, then."
They gave Gwendolyn a noble's bow and retreated. But the topic Gwendolyn had brought up was still alive.
Isaac Upperhills.
The subject of their conversation had shifted to him.
"Come to think of it. That Isaac kid's assignment topic was different from ours, too. Why?"
"I don't know... 'What can't be done with magic?'... Does such a thing even exist?"
"Hmm... like destroying the Earth..."
"That's absurd."
The students passed the silent Gwendolyn and headed for the lounge. But Gwendolyn's feet felt rooted to the spot.
'Right.
Why is it different?' The superficial reason would obviously be the difference in skill. Because Isaac's skill surpassed the sum of those five.
That wasn't the problem. The problem was, what was the difference between the questions 'What is magic?' and 'What is impossible with magic?' What difference was there between the two questions that made Valerius give that one to Isaac?
A hazy question formed in Gwendolyn's mind.
After the lecture ended, Slurp. Valerius sipped his tea alone. This was black tea from the south, his favorite.
"... Come to think of it, how did he know this was from the south?"
He had lied to Isaac, saying its origin was the east, but this tea was in fact from the south.
"Didn't he say he was an orphan?"
He shouldn't have had the leisure to accumulate such refinement...
"How?"
Thinking about it, the person named Isaac Upperhills was a bundle of question marks. The magical intuition he used to find the real classroom alone was... exceptionally outstanding, but not surprising. Because all geniuses are like that.
What was truly amazing was the 'completeness' of his magic. The strange 'light' spell he was about to shoot at the illusion wall was one thing... But the masterpiece was the spell he used when the latecomers entered.
The moment the latecomers rushed in, Isaac Upperhills instantly deployed a detection-type spell. It was a level of skill unbelievable for someone aged 22. Because of that, Valerius gave Isaac a different assignment than usual. Normally, he would have asked, 'What is magic?'
This is an epistemological question, so the answer reveals the respondent's disposition. From there, he would have grasped each person's disposition and suggested a path that suited them. But not for Isaac.
'What is impossible with magic.' Since magic uses thought as a catalyst, to reveal the impossible is the same as confessing that mage's limits.
Therefore, this.
'How far does your knowledge extend?' Is what the question boils down to. What answer will Isaac come up with?
What are his limits? Valerius let out a smirk.
"To know his skill, we'll need a more proper stage."
Valerius headed for the deepest part of his secret study. There, research problems that no one had solved for hundreds of years lay dormant. Even the Dean had failed to solve them.
He picked out one of them.
[Achilles and the Tortoise] This was the blueprint for a cursed magic circle that dealt with 'infinity,' embodying an ancient paradox.
"Let's see you try and solve this. Disciple of Doloren."