The Imperial Academy of Magic’s Entrance Examination. The advisor position... I ended up accepting it.
There was no way to refuse. I asked Laura.
"So, what department will I be an advisor for?"
"Wind Element Magic."
"... What? I was brought in as a substitute for 'Sound,' so why am I being assigned to Wind?"
Could it be because sound travels through the air as a medium? 'It's not like sound can't travel through liquids or solids...' In fact, it travels faster and more efficiently through them.
And the people of this world know at least this much. 'I remember having a similar conversation with the Head of the School of Sound Magic through our correspondence.'
Laura replied.
"As far as I know, the departments were decided several hundred years ago and have remained the same ever since."
"Good heavens."
"That's just how the magic departments are."
"... Well. I suppose so."
Laura was right. The six great elements that the people of this world believed in were a prime example. Water, fire, wind, earth, light, and darkness.
Darkness, despite being the absence of light, was its own separate department. Moreover, dark magic, under the guise of 'black magic,' also included spells like 'corruption' and 'mental attacks.' That should be closer to biology.
And just like that, I was unexpectedly joining hands with the School of Wind Element Magic.
And so, the day the exam committee gathered arrived.
"Ooh..."
"Amazing, that carriage isn't shaking at all."
"My goodness."
I stepped out of the carriage, receiving everyone's attention. The road to the committee meeting place was a bit rough, so the suspension had to work hard. This was a villa on the outskirts of the Imperial capital, owned by the Magic Tower.
For the next few days, I would have to live here with the other committee members. It meant we would be locked in until the exam questions were complete.
"It's as if this were some kind of great national exam..."
The area was filled with mages holding doctorates. Most of them were mages I had never seen before. Most of them were affiliated not with the capital's Magic Tower headquarters, but with the regional Magic Towers.
It was customary for the Magic Academy's exams to be created primarily by professors from the regional Magic Towers, rather than the central one. I stared at the nameplate on the door.
[Wind Element Magic Deliberation Room] "Once I go in there, I can't get out, can I..."
The moment I entered the meeting room, I felt a slight sense of unease. My role was to be an exam advisor for the Wind Element Magic department. But the people in this room didn't feel like 'scholars.'
They were warriors. -"That's why you passed out from the rebound last time you used magic." -"For how many days?" -"Three days." -"Not bad." -"Right?" Their conversation was terribly grim. The men seated were all muscular, and their bodies were covered in scars, big and small.
'What is this? A combat mage veteran's meeting?' Have... have I been kidnapped?
Should I run? Just as I turned to leave. A hand suddenly grabbed mine.
"You couldn't be!"
"You've mistaken me for someone else. I'm Howard Wallowitz..."
"You're Isaac Upperhills!"
"..."
Damn it.
He must have seen the name tag I was wearing. The muscular giant said to me.
"It's an honor to meet you."
"Yep."
"I'm not kidding. Thanks to your Wave Theory, my research has progressed significantly."
"... I see. That's wonderful news."
Despite his menacing appearance, the atmosphere wasn't bad. Is he a combat mage who also does research? I glanced at his name tag.
[Wind Element Magic Committee: Dyke Juquir] .
What the.
"So you really are a wind mage."
"Hm? Who did you think I was?"
"It's nothing."
"How dull."
Starting with Mr. Dyke, the other professors' gazes turned toward me.
Murmur, murmur.
I could hear them talking.
"Oh... is that boy Master Doloren's disciple?"
I heard the name of the advisor I had never even met, "There's a rumor that he personally taught Sir Valerius 'calculus'..." and I heard the name of the Great Mage who abandoned his special lecture to go take the heads of his enemies. It was strange how little they mentioned the princess. I suppose it's because they are researchers.
When the review of the exam questions began, a strange situation unfolded. I, who didn't even have a master's degree, was tasked with reviewing the questions created by doctors. If it weren't for the halos of Valerius and Doloren, I would have been in big trouble.
"Researcher Upperhills, what do you think of this question? It asks the student to fill in a missing part of a 4th-circle 'Gale Blade' magic circle."
A professor held out a question he had created, his eyes full of expectation. I glanced at the magic circle for a moment before carefully opening my mouth.
"It's an excellent question, Professor. But perhaps this part could be slightly modified?"
"Hm? Why is that?"
"This structure is a complex form used in 6th-circle magic circles. It's too difficult for undergraduates to solve, so how about using a simplified structure from below the 3rd-circle that produces the same effect?"
"Hm? Where would I find that?"
"It's in the paper 'A Study on Wind Element and Mana Fluidity,' written by Doctor Granell eleven years ago."
At my words, the professor's cheek twitched.
"... I am that Granell."
[Question Author: Granell] It's true.
What is this.
"Not only have you read and understood my entire paper, but you've also found an application that even I missed?"
"... You flatter me. I am still lacking. I am always striving to learn with a humble attitude."
After my role as an advisor was confirmed, I read every paper that mentioned 'wind.' Since I was an advisor in name, I couldn't just spout nonsense without knowing anything.
"Haha. Hahahaha. This is insane."
Professor Granell's breathing grew heavy.
"Young man. Have you ever considered transferring to the southern Magic Tower instead of the capital's? You don't even have to publish papers. If you just stay by my side...!"
Just then, someone stopped Granell.
"That's enough. If you keep this up, you might get a meteor dropped on you by Sir Valerius."
"... Alright, I get it."
Granell stepped back, smacking his lips. The mage who sent him away spoke to me.
"This must be your first time as an advisor, but you're doing well. Quite skilled."
A muscular old man wearing a monocle. He had an aura about him that suggested he could snap your back in half if you said the wrong thing. Are all wind mages like this?
My eyes naturally drifted to his name tag.
[Head of Wind Element Magic Committee: Gedrick Windbelly] Crap.
It's the committee head. I maintained a proper posture and answered immediately.
"Not at all. I am not doing well."
"... You're quite disciplined. Have you ever served in the military?"
"No, sir. Of course not."
"Can you say anything other than 'no'?"
"..."
"..."
"I'm just teasing."
The committee head, Gedrick, sat down next to me. He continued speaking.
"How about coming to the eastern tower instead of the southern one? I'll treat you well."
"... That's." "A joke."
"..." ...
This guy, seriously. After that, I continued with my work. After several hours, I began to see a common thread in the questions the doctors brought.
'The questions are monotonous.' So far, all the questions could be solved by simply memorizing general-purpose magic circles or incantations, not any secret spells. 'The other subjects weren't like this...'
I had confirmed it while teaching Anna. The entrance exams usually ask about 'application' or 'modification,' not such blatant memorization. 'Is it difficult to create modification-based questions for wind magic?'
Just as I was thinking that, the meeting room door flew open and a committee staff member rushed in.
"Urgent request! A doctor from Water Element Magic has declared he's giving up on a question. Would it be possible for the wind department to take on one more? It's a high-difficulty question worth four points."
At his words, one of the doctors replied.
"Why are you making a fuss here? Go tell the water department."
"... Well. They said they don't want to."
"What?"
"They said... isn't it about time the wind department started handling some of the high-difficulty questions..."
"..."
At the staff member's words, the atmosphere in the room turned cold.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The committee head next to me, Gedrick, spoke with a heavy expression.
"For now, tell them we understand."
"Yes, sir! Excuse me."
Thump.
The door closed. .. What is going on? ... One doctor exclaimed in shock.
"Professor Gedrick! How could you decide something like this on your own!"
"... It's true that the wind department hasn't been able to produce a high-difficulty question for the past decade or so. It's our turn now."
"... Damn it."
The doctor who had been angry with Gedrick muttered a curse and walked away. However, even he couldn't refute Gedrick's claim. 'They haven't been able to make a high-difficulty question for over a decade?
Why?'
A professor spoke with self-derision.
"Committee Head. You know our situation. Wind is different from water or fire. It's fickle and unpredictable."
"I know. Who doesn't know that even a slight modification to the original magic circle can result in a problem with no answer at all?"
"What?"
"I have to at least pretend we're trying, just to save face."
"..."
"It's hard to refuse every year."
Listening to their conversation, I gradually understood the situation. 'So it wasn't that they didn't create high-difficulty questions, but that they couldn't...' I think I knew the reason why.
The fundamental principle of wind magic is fluid mechanics. And the basis of fluid mechanics is the 'Navier-Stokes equations.' ... No one knows the general solution to them.
Not me, not even the greatest geniuses would know. Just like when I manipulated Malakai's blood, the best one could do was calculate an approximation to minimize the rebound. If that was the case for me, what about the mages of this era?
'They must feel hopeless...' Of course, if you use the same spell repeatedly, a 'mage's intuition' will develop, and the rebound will decrease over time.
Like Malakai.
But this isn't a dueling ground; it's an examination hall. What needs to be tested here is not proficiency, but applicability. Predicting how the result changes when a magic circle or incantation is modified.
That is the core of a high-difficulty question. ... With gases, that must have been impossible. Gedrick finally let out a deep sigh as if in resignation.
"I understand. I'll tell them we can't do it."
"..."
"Damn it, at this rate, we'll just hear again how useless wind magic is."
Gedrick had given up, but the wind magic professor's expression was not good. Who would want to be incompetent?
Trudge, trudge.
As he walked out, Gedrick asked us one last time.
"Can you really not do it? Really?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
But only silence filled the hall. Should I step up here? Of course, there was no reason to.
These people were strangers to me. I was just a substitute for this year, so all I had to do was wait quietly for the meeting to end.
But.
'Damn it... this doesn't feel like someone else's problem...' In my past life, my major, theoretical physics, was often treated the same way. The daily ridicule was that it was a field that didn't make money and was detached from reality.
When did they ever praise it as a field for geniuses... If so, they should have at least invested in it properly.
'Ah...
I didn't want to reveal this here.' I shot up from my seat and spoke to Gedrick.
"We can make it. The high-difficulty question."
"What...?"
The doctors around me spoke up.
"Young Mr. Upperhills...?"
"Stop. This is not your place to step in."
Gedrick raised his hand. The other professors fell silent. Gedrick asked me.
"... Explain. How can wind magic be 'modified'?"
"..."
"..."
I could tell them about the ideal gas law, but that would be too much too soon. I can show them something simpler here.
I answered.
"Gas is not always fickle."
I wrote a short equation on the blackboard. PV = k Boyle's law.
"For a fixed amount of gas at a constant temperature, the volume of the gas is inversely proportional to its pressure."