"You've won the bet. Congratulations."
Rohimdal, who was staring at the arena, heard Dersia’s praise and dropped his head low. He had no idea what kind of expression he was making.
"Just... how did he do it."
Veins bulged on the hand that gripped the terrace railing. The princess's talent was real. It wasn't some false gold guaranteed by her bloodline, but something beautiful enough for any mage to covet.
However, the match itself was utterly disastrous. To the eyes of Rohimdal, a high-level mage, everything was clear. The princess had poured out all her strength, and that cadet had received it.
Even though he didn't need to. Had he used that unknown magic right at the start, the princess would have been defeated in an instant. The reason he didn't was likely his Master's order.
This bet, too, was nothing more than a play unfolding in the palm of her hand.
"Telling you about that was not part of the conditions."
Dersia said curtly. As if that secret was far more precious than some method to reach the 8-Star. Rohimdal lowered his head further and spat out in a seething voice.
"... I don't need it."
"Hmm, are you certain?"
"Didn't you know I would say this? Do not torment this old body any longer."
Pride.
The sole reason a mere 7-Star mage, knowing he could never win, had challenged a 9-Star and picked a fight. It had crumbled to the point of meaninglessness. If he were to accept that secret method now, he would never be able to recover.
Dersia narrowed her brow as if in disbelief. She had expected this decision. It was because of something else. '...
Old body?'
His self-loathing or inferiority complex was none of her business, but for him to call himself an old body in front of her was, how should she put it, absurd. Still... should she say it was fitting for a mage who reached the 7-Star on his inferiority complex alone?
His desire to reach the 8-Star must be immense, yet his refusal didn't look too bad. Dersia gave a slight smile, nodded, and stepped back.
"If that's the case, I will respect your decision."
"Wait a moment-" Just as Dersia was heading toward the stands, intending to praise her disciple, Rohimdal’s urgent voice stopped her.
"What is it?"
"J-just tell me one thing."
Rohimdal looked at Jern in the arena. Mages were beings created to crave answers when they witnessed the incomprehensible. It felt as if he wouldn't be able to sleep without an answer.
"That disciple, just where did you find him?"
"... Hmm."
After a moment of thought, Dersia answered as if it were nothing.
"I picked him up from the sea."
"?"
It was unfortunate for Rohimdal. But that was truly all she could say. After Dersia left, Rohimdal let out a deep sigh and sought out the princess.
"Princess Lumia."
"... Ah, R-Rohimdal..."
Lumia, who had come up to the terrace, scanned her surroundings with a tremor that was almost a convulsion.
"Der-Dersia? Where is she?"
"She has left. You need not worry."
"... Phew, no, that's not it-" Rohimdal had never seen the princess like this.
The tomboy who had always been so confident, who never lost her spirit no matter who she faced, had become like a newborn puppy facing a tiger.
"... What was that? What in the world was that thing, and where did it come from...??"
Looking at her trembling eyes, Rohimdal understood her feelings a hundred times over. At the princess's age—no, not even at her age, that young child danced lightly atop all preconceptions about magic. It wasn't simply that he was strong.
She was just like him. Witnessing an incomprehensible being had made the princess this way. He wanted to ease her anxiety, but—he could only relay what he had heard.
"Dersia said she picked him up from the sea."
"....?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I, too... wish I knew."
Should I really retire? The thought kept crossing his mind.
"It's been a while..."
As soon as I returned to the waiting room, I stopped, feeling a sensation as if the floor were swaying. When I waved my arm lightly, there was a definite feeling of cutting through a current. It didn't last long.
After a few waves, it returned to the feeling of being in the air, but this was the first time since I'd had that massive nosebleed that I felt this strong sensation of 'being underwater'. It seemed my reaction had become more sensitive after holding back and then returning to this state. Most importantly, a new pressure had appeared.
"Ah, ahh. Ahem. Oh."
After experimenting by speaking aloud and throwing an empty water bottle on the floor, the results were in. Sounds echoed slightly. They sounded a bit muffled, too.
How strange.
It feels like making a sound inside a bathroom. But this doesn't seem like it will be a particular problem. Of course, I shouldn't jump to conclusions, but even if this gets worse, it'll just feel like talking underwater.
Compared to the other things, that's nothing, right? As I was thinking that, I heard the sound of the waiting room door opening.
"Ah, Master."
"...?"
Dersia, who had been about to say something, stopped and tilted her head, then asked.
"Say that again."
"Master."
"It's gotten a little worse."
"Pardon? Why?"
"Your voice is different."
"... Wait, you can hear it?"
It seemed this echoing voice sounded similar to other people as well. This was the first of my pressures to affect another person. To be precise, it was closer to a pressure that others could also perceive.
"A normal person wouldn't be able to notice. However, my race being what it is."
Dersia's ears twitched. I'd forgotten she was an elf.
"How are the other pressures?"
"They're intense. It's cold, my vision has narrowed further, and it's raging more fiercely."
"In that case, how do you feel?"
"... It's the best."
I caressed the empty air. Maybe I felt this way because I had held back for so long. But it certainly felt like I had regained my freedom.
"Somehow... I think something like this... might be possible."
As I clenched and unclenched my hand, I grabbed the water bottle on the floor from a distance. The currents, water pressure, and the extremely enhanced Tide Sense combined like an intricate clockwork, delivering the sensation as if I were truly holding it in my hand. I let out a small laugh and replied.
"It works. It really feels like I'm holding it with my hand."
"Shall we test it?"
"How?"
Dersia held out her hand.
"Try to grab it from where you are."
"Um, yes."
I grabbed Dersia's hand. The sensation of her cool skin was transmitted to me. For the hand of a Great Mage, it was quite small, not much different in size from my own.
"Can you feel it?"
"I do. I can feel an invisible hand holding mine. It's cold, and somehow unpleasant."
"Then, would you try grabbing the inside."
"The... inside?"
"Yes."
Dersia said something strange.
"Assume you are grabbing inside the flesh of the hand."
"Is something like that possible?"
"I wouldn't know. But you might."
"Don't blame me if you get hurt."
I attempted to pierce through Dersia's skin and touch the bone. But there was no difference. No matter how I thought about it, it seemed impossible, so I gave up.
Dersia caressed her hand and murmured.
"It seems this is still difficult for you."
"It's not a matter of difficulty, I don't think something like that is even possible."
"I have seen a certain heart-realm mage actually use it. Perhaps you, Jern, will also be able to do it someday."
"... Ah, right. Speaking of which, what should I do about this voice? If it gets worse, won't I be found out?"
"As I said, unless someone has extremely sensitive ears, you won't be discovered. Besides, there is very little information about heart-realm mages."
"If it's something that can be deduced from just a voice, there are probably only two people in this Empire who could do it, including myself."
"Is that so..."
"Don't worry too much. You are progressing at a sufficiently fast pace. If you can maintain your breathing even while being scorched by fire, you won't die just from fainting."
"You could say the objective has been achieved."
"I gave the princess a little scare. It seemed like that's what you wanted. Did you perhaps anticipate this?"
Dersia smiled lightly and opened the door leading to the library.
"I thought she would pick a fight in one way or another if you participated in the exam."
"Ah, so you prepared for it."
"No. I did nothing."
"?"
"I did not think that whatever the princess did would work on you. That was simply my judgment."
I followed Dersia with a slightly uncomfortable expression. If I think of it as her trusting me, I'm grateful. ... But isn't this just irresponsible?
For a few days after returning to the library, I took some time to test my new ability.
"'Deep Fusion.' Let's call it that."
"To melt into something... it's a bit creepy, but it fits."
That's what Dersia called the new ability I had acquired. The act of creating something similar to telekinesis by combining Tide Sense, water pressure, and currents. Honestly, besides it being interesting, I didn't see much reason to use it, so I wondered if it even needed a name.
Can't I just grab with the currents and perceive with Tide Sense?
"'Deep Fusion' is the first high-class magic you have created. It is not something to be taken lightly."
"... Wait, is it that significant?"
High-class magic refers to very difficult magic that only a 3-Star or higher mage can learn. It didn't seem like a name for such a simple combination. Dersia replied as if it were obvious.
"The principle is the same. It is the act of creating an advanced form of magic by combining several lower-level spells."
"The intricacy is also there. It is certainly the most advanced of the heart-realm magic you have created."
"I... am not sure it's that difficult."
"That is natural. Have you never found it amazing how a lowly spider can weave a precise web in any situation?"
"You are a creature of the heart-realm before you are a human. You must not forget that."
"I see. Then I'll have to train it more diligently."
I was using Deep Fusion to organize the nearby books when Dersia's telekinesis stopped me.
"You must not. It is the same as training currents, water pressure, and Tide Sense all at once. The speed at which the pressure builds will be incomparably faster."
"I've almost completely learned Remove. Shouldn't I be able to endure it to some extent now?"
"That is a temporary measure. In the first place, it is not easy to withstand the Deep Sea with Remove alone. That's not the purpose for which you learned it, either."
"... Why?"
Dersia, having put the book back on the shelf, calmly explained.
"Remove is a resistance to experiences you yourself have undergone. In the end, you must endure it with a human body."
"Although you've learned body-reinforcement techniques and are sturdy, there's a limit to the impact a 10-year-old's body can withstand."
"For example, if I were to throw you into lava, you would die instantly before you could even heal, so you wouldn't gain the experience."
"The Deep Sea would be worse than lava, so I can't withstand it with just Remove... is that it? Hmm, it's less useful than I thought."
I wonder if I'd be okay if I slowly increase my Remove against the water pressure. As I was thinking that, Dersia continued.
"That is why Shape exists."
"... You mean that horrible torture technique?"
"Think carefully. What might you be able to do with that torture technique."
"Well, I could use it on an opponent like you did, Master..."
"That cannot be done with Shape alone."
"Hmm..."
As I pondered, a terrible thought surfaced in my mind.
"... Don't tell me. You use that to overcome the body's limits?"
"Correct. With Shape, you can create experiences that the human body cannot handle, without breaking it."
"Without Shape, Remove is nothing but a lesser version of a knight's magic-reinforced body. And without Remove, Shape can be nothing more than torture."
"They are steps that complement each other."
"Forgive me for interrupting. But this method seems truly, excessively crude."
Wasn't magic training supposed to be a refined thing, learning from magic books, reading, writing, and debating? No, at the very least, it shouldn't be a method of torturing oneself, right? When I voiced such doubts, Dersia shrugged.
"That is a blind spot. In reality, the archaic formula was perceived less as magic and more as a magical act of self-harm practiced by a minority tribe."
"That is, until a certain mage who saw its potential completed it by adding Cultivate to Shape and Remove."
"After that, even the stubborn Elders of the magic towers' Council of Elders had no choice but to acknowledge it."
"What's Cultivate?"
"I will tell you once you have learned everything else."
I had no choice. Well, it'll all be for my own good, I suppose. As I sighed and stood up from my seat, this time Dersia shot me a glare.
"So, when are you sending her back?"
"Soon."
I roughly patted the head of Elysia, who was dozing off beside me.
"Wake up. Get up. Hey."
"Ugh... Just a little more..."
Lately, I've been diligently playing the part of Elysia's master. To extend our time together even a little, I had her with me even while taking Dersia's lessons, but it seems the content was a bit too difficult for a child to understand. Dersia, watching this pathetic scene, narrowed her brow.
"Is that... insane plan of yours to raise a mage who rejects magic progressing well?"
"Yes. Take a look at this."
I quickly boasted. I conjured a wind magic next to Elysia.
"How is it? It works well, right?"
"What exactly is working well?"
"When Elysia is out of it like this, the magic works."
"It didn't before?"
"No. And now, even when she's conscious, I can control it in certain situations. It seems that trait shows itself more during happy moments."
"The other day, when she was eating chocolate I'd procured from some famous cake shop, I didn't feel any restrictions whatsoever."
"Honestly, I don't believe the heart-realm is a world so pathetic that it can be resolved with such things."
"I think that if I raise her well, I can at least reduce the pressure. What do you think about that?"
"... I myself do not have extensive knowledge of the heart-realm, so I cannot give you a definite answer. The possibility... that it could be helpful... does exist, I suppose."
"That's enough for me."
I grabbed and shook Elysia's fine, silver hair and smiled. No matter how small the possibility, it was fine. If it could help even a little, and if it was within my reach, I would extend my hand.
Because that's how I've decided to live. ... No, but really, she's still not waking up. Just as I was about to pinch her nose to stop her breathing, someone started banging on the library door.
"Lady Dersia! I have something to report!"
"Tsk, this is a library, yet he has no manners."
Is that something the person who privatized the library should say? Dersia, opening the door as if it were her own home, looked at the knight who was panting as if his heart was about to fall out, and asked.
"What is it?"
"Th-the magic tower!"
"... What about the magic tower?"
"The magic tower has been attacked and the Elders are dead! It's a state of emergency, a summons has been issued for you as well, Lady Dersia!"
"Which magic tower?"
"Pardon? O-of course, the Black Magic Tower you belong to— This is no time for that! I don't know where it came from, but a dragon covered in a giant mass of flesh—" "It's been a while since I've heard such pleasant news."
The door closed with Dersia's cold smile.
"Let's continue with our lesson."
Still, I couldn't do that.