Ah. I lost focus again.

The nearby conversation was so interesting that even a quick glance made her stare in fascination.

Ilendil shook her head and refocused on the Valdrogard student.

Kind... is he? Well... I suppose you could call him kind...

That junior from House Wardanaz was certainly sociable and remarkably well connected.

Ilendil, whose only relationships were with a few juniors—and who still never felt fully comfortable even with them—could instinctively sense it.

That junior was the complete opposite of herself.

To begin with, someone attending every school in Einroguard was bound to build broad connections.

It was somewhat surprising that this extended even to Valdrogard students...

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: I see. Anyway, I don’t know that senior very well. I’ll let you know if I find them.

Though you probably won’t find them for the rest of your life.

Ipadur: Thank you!

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Ask Gonadaltes. Gonadaltes probably knows about things like that.

Using her limited social skills as best she could, Ilendil tried to help the two reconcile.

Although Ipadur still seemed reluctant about Gonadaltes, the mention of a sixth-year senior from House Wardanaz clearly shook him a little.

Ipadur: He’s eccentric and mean, so I don’t really want to associate with him... But alright. I’ll think about it.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: As a mage, you need to learn how to get along with people you’d rather avoid.

“I refuse to permit another demigod.”

“Why not?!”

“Learn how to handle it. Replacing it simply because it’s difficult to control is the behavior of a coward, not a disciple of royalty.”

At that moment, Ilendil could see a junior nearby somehow getting along with someone he clearly did not want to associate with—

No, with an Artificial Demigod.

That sight alone made her even more confident in the advice she had just given.

Ipadur: That’s good advice! You’re absolutely right! I’ve actually experienced something similar myself. When I enrolled at Valdrogard, I purchased a new manor nearby, but I couldn’t get along with the newly hired maids. The customs of the Western Empire were so unfamiliar.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Wow... that must have been difficult.

At that moment, Ilendil sincerely regretted not belonging to the dark magic school.

If she had mastered high-level curses, she could have cursed someone without even seeing their face.

Ipadur: But eventually we became close. Once we understood each other, I started noticing all their good points.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Right. We can stop talking about this now, can’t we?

Ilendil tried to gradually end the conversation.

Continuing any longer would only worsen her headache.

Unfortunately, Ipadur had no intention of letting go of the first Einroguard student who had willingly approached him.

Ipadur: Excuse me, could I ask you a few questions about magic?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Why not ask your Valdrogard seniors or professors instead?

Ilendil responded with a hint of sarcasm.

If the questions were truly advanced magical topics, Valdrogard mages would probably struggle to answer them anyway.

But the response she received was completely unexpected.

Ipadur: Right now all the seniors and professors are away on a spring flower commemorative carriage tour across the Empire together.

“...”

An intense killing intent surged inside Ilendil—the same murderous impulse she felt whenever outsiders damaged the Forest.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: ...Go ahead and ask. Wait. Why didn’t you go?

Ipadur: Ah, because the magic I’m researching right now is really interesting!

“?”

Ilendil tilted her head in confusion.

Unable to understand, she turned toward Lee Han.

“Um... excuse me...”

As his disciple interrupted while he was earnestly studying magic with the Artificial Demigod, the Insane Doppelganger coldly glared at her.

Ilendil immediately lowered her head.

“Ah, it’s nothing...”

“I see. Keep it nothing.”

“Yes, yes.”

Ilendil obediently averted her gaze.

A Valdrogard student skipping a luxurious excursion because magic was more interesting?

It has to be a misunderstanding... or some kind of mistake...

Ipadur: Right now I’m directly designing compression magic circles and layered magic circles. Normally, inside a closed magic circle, the total rise and fall of mana should balance out. But look here—only around the regular dodecahedral ruby reagent section, the mana is rebounding in reverse. I can’t figure out where the mistake is.

“!??!?!”

Compression magic circles were techniques that compressed dozens of magic circles into a single one.

An advanced high-level technique that even Einroguard divination students normally only began learning in their upper years.

Layered magic circles were equally difficult. Stacking multiple magic circles vertically and overlapping them to create chained synergy effects was arguably even harder than compression circles.

And a Valdrogard student was asking questions about them.

Ilendil briefly wondered if she was being deceived.

Could this actually be an Einroguard student pretending to be from Valdrogard?

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: What year did you say you were again?

Ipadur: Me? I’m a third-year.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: By any chance... did other magic schools send you offers before you enrolled at Valdrogard?

Ipadur: Huh? How did you know? Petroguard actually sent me an invitation.

Petroguard was absolutely not a magic school that merely existed in name like Valdrogard.

It was a respected institution known for producing outstanding magical craftsmen.

If he had received an invitation from a place like that, then his magical skill level finally made sense—even as a Valdrogard third-year.

If he had been a Petroguard third-year...

No, that would still be impressive.

At that level, he would probably rank among Petroguard’s top geniuses.

Still unable to understand, Ilendil asked again.

Beaver-Penguin-Fox: Then why didn’t you go to Petroguard?

Ipadur: Because all my friends decided to attend Valdrogard.

“...”

Ilendil unconsciously let out a deep sigh.

Imperial bureaucrats viewed Einroguard as a thorn in their side, but honestly, the true problem was Valdrogard.

A horrifying place that took mages with potential and deliberately let their talent rot away.

“Did you finish persuading him?”

Lee Han’s voice came from behind her.

When Ilendil turned around, she saw that the collar of his robe was badly scorched, as though flames had burst against it.

“The... the projection attacked you?!”

“Huh? Oh, no. I got carried away while practicing magic and made a mistake.”

Ignoring the Artificial Demigod’s complaints about inferiority, Lee Han had simply immersed himself in magical training.

Come to think of it, there was absolutely no reason to obediently follow the Artificial Demigod or the Insane Doppelganger’s suggestions about learning overwhelmingly powerful and sinister magic.

Lee Han could simply practice the magic he actually wanted.

And in doing so, he had discovered something unexpected.

The Artificial Demigod’s power was far more useful than he had anticipated.

-The success rate really increased! Amazing!

-Too boring...

-Please continue.

-When will we begin continental domination...

There was no need to draw out power on the absurd scale used by the Insane Doppelganger.

Using it merely as support wasn’t particularly difficult, and at Lee Han’s current level it was incredibly practical.

It significantly increased the success rate of difficult spells that normally carried high chances of failure.

The frightening thing about divinity was that it could intuitively accomplish results that would otherwise require hundreds of magical processes and theories.

Thanks to that, Lee Han became excited and began experimenting with new flame attributes, nearly burning his clothes in the process.

“Th-thank goodness... I thought the projection attacked you.”

“Ah, actually, I thought he’d get angry because I was only practicing magic that was too easy.”

“That’s not what I meant...”

That truly was not what Ilendil had meant.

To begin with, none of the magic Lee Han was practicing could reasonably be considered second-year material.

“But surprisingly, he didn’t get angry.”

“Oh... really?”

“Yes. He said I could do whatever I wanted.”

“?”

Ilendil tilted her head.

No matter how she thought about it, she could not imagine the Insane Doppelganger saying something like that.

“Ah! I know. Maybe he was being sarcastic...”

“So I asked whether he was being sarcastic, and then he got angry.”

“...”

Ilendil stared at Lee Han with genuine shock.

His most mysterious trait was not his innate mana or overwhelming talent.

It was the sheer madness required to say such things directly to the Insane Doppelganger of a deranged archmage.

How could he possibly speak to him like that?

“Anyway, he wasn’t being sarcastic. Honestly, I think using it this way is the correct approach... Senior, why don’t you try using it too?”

“I-I’m fine.”

Ilendil answered immediately, her expression filled with disgust.

If she borrowed divine power, she would use it to restore and regenerate the Forest—not to contact some suspicious Artificial Demigod and practice advanced magic.

Only someone obsessed with magic would do something like that.

“So, Senior. Did the persuasion go well?”

“Huh? Ah...”

Ilendil briefly summarized what had happened.

She had talked to him properly, convinced him, and then discovered that the other person was this kind of mage...

“...What kind of ridiculous lie is that?”

“It-it’s true!!!”

When Lee Han looked at her as if she were talking nonsense, Ilendil felt genuinely wronged.

There really was a mage like that at Valdrogard!

***

My guess is that Master is currently in an extremely good mood.

As they walked out together, Lee Han arrived at that conclusion.

Otherwise, several recent events made no sense.

Teaching students in place of professors.

Not becoming angry even when Lee Han ignored his instructions and practiced “easy” magic instead.

From the Insane Doppelganger’s perspective, anyway.

There was only one explanation for all these bizarre phenomena.

The Insane Doppelganger was in an exceptionally good mood.

“...?”

The Insane Doppelganger looked suspiciously at his disciple.

There was no proof, but he somehow felt that his disciple was entertaining arrogant and disrespectful thoughts.

Unaware of that suspicion, Lee Han continued thinking.

If that’s the case, then he should completely understand what I’m about to do next.

“Master!”

“What is it?”

“I’m about to head to my next lecture. Would that be alright?”

“...What kind of lecture requires separate permission?”

The Insane Doppelganger truly had come to understand his disciple better.

If Lee Han was asking in advance, then this was clearly not an ordinary lecture.

“It’s the swordsmanship lecture, 【Sword and Life】...”

“...”

The Insane Doppelganger’s face twisted instantly.

The moment Lee Han saw that expression, he realized he had made a terrible mistake.

That was absolutely not the expression of someone in a good mood.

Damn. I misjudged this completely.

He had boldly spoken under the assumption that the other man was pleased, only to suffer immediate losses.

“To think you’re attending swordsmanship lectures at a time like this. Do you truly not understand what matters most right now?”

“I was already attending it before...”

“Silence! Other magic, even if trivial in level, still remained on the proper path. Swordsmanship is different.”

“Doesn’t high-level swordsmanship eventually help with magic too?”

“That is an absurdly indirect path. If the destination lies ahead, why deliberately take a detour?”

The Insane Doppelganger did not deny that sufficiently advanced swordsmanship eventually touched upon concepts similar /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ to magic.

After all, both involved wielding power to alter the world.

But from his perspective, a mage wasting time learning swordsmanship because of that overlap was utterly foolish.

“Wait. Didn’t you learn close combat too, Master?”

Lee Han recalled earlier memories and asked.

The Insane Doppelganger had learned it himself, yet now claimed it was pointless?

“Having learned it personally, I can confidently say it is unnecessary. Once magic reaches a certain level, such trivial techniques become meaningless.”

The Insane Doppelganger was far more stubborn than Lee Han expected.

Even bringing up his own past experiences failed to shake him.

“...The senior teaching this lecture is a very unusual person. Aren’t you curious?”

“I am not.”

“He casts all kinds of magic through swordsmanship.”

The Insane Doppelganger paused for a moment.

Then he spoke again.

“Lead the way.”

“!”