11 – Why Are You Crying, Friend?

“T-there’s one more thing I want to ask…”

“Yes.”

Etilla was persistent.

Even after witnessing Esther’s near-perfect grasp of magical theory, she didn’t stop her questioning.

She desperately wanted to find a flaw in this genius boy, but.

“Do you understand?”

The more she questioned, the higher Esther’s prestige seemed to climb.

“It would be more effective to adopt the method written in the current solution rather than the calculations typically used by existing mages for this problem.”

Even…

“B-but, explosion spells usually belong to the flame school of magic. This formula doesn’t involve creating fire elements at all…?”

There were times when Esther offered answers with calculations so outside of common knowledge that Etilla simply couldn’t comprehend them.

“Haa…”

Each time, Esther would emit a small sigh.

As if she found herself exceedingly displeased at having to explain such matters in detail.

“You cannot comprehend even after seeing my answer?”

“O-of course not!! Comprehend it? How can you cause an explosion with only wind elements and psychokinesis!? This answer is complete and utter nonsense!!”

Esther ceased her writing.

“It seems I have overestimated your abilities, Lady Etilla.”

“Haa!?”

“I never dreamed you could be so…ignorant concerning magic.”

Etilla’s hand trembled, a barely perceptible tremor.

‘Ignorant of magic, am I?’

The sole student at the Tristi Academy to receive a full scholarship.

One who, though not yet graduated, receives offers from every magic tower.

Etilla, a genius mage predicted to achieve transcendence in five years, ignorant?

“What is…!!”

Esther, in a voice utterly devoid of warmth, interrupted Etilla.

“Seeing is believing.”

“What’s that supposed to mean…”

“To hear something a hundred times is inferior to seeing it once. Review this solution and attempt it yourself.”

Esther offered the notebook.

Etilla snatched the notebook away with a sharp, irritable gesture.

‘Just you wait. I’ll return those words to you threefold…!!’

Mana simmered within her, reflecting the emotions that churned within Etilla.

She began the verification.

She would refute Esther Tristi’s solution head-on. That was her resolve.

Etilla’s magical comprehension was exceptional.

Had Esther not appeared, Etilla would surely have been the protagonist to solve the millennium problem.

Etilla recorded Esther’s calculations in her mind and began to interpret them.

‘Generate wind elements and grasp them seamlessly with psychokinesis….’

And then, she manifested it in reality.

“…….”

Then, an unbelievable vista unfolded.

*Kwaang!!*

A small explosion erupted.

Even Ethilla, the mage herself, couldn’t comprehend the magic.

‘Just what… is this?’

It used a third of the cost of existing explosion spells, yet its power had more than doubled.

Ester simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Magic is a convenient discipline. That’s why most mages easily overlook something quite crucial.”

The genius boy, who had solved one of the Millennium Problems, explained to the dumbfounded Ethilla.

“That something is the very providence of this world.”

Ester extended his hand toward Dalpi.

“Knife.”

“Yes, young master.”

With the knife received from Dalpi, Ester began to draw a formula on the stone floor.

“The explosion spell, taught primarily in the fire schools….”

…forcibly creates the phenomenon of explosion in exchange for mana.

Ester marked an X over the formula he had drawn on the floor.

“I believe this process is remarkably inefficient. And I see no reason to persist with the current method. Because the principles and types of explosions are exceedingly diverse.”

“……..”

“Allow me to illustrate.”

Ester drew a fire.

“Fire is a reaction that occurs when hot, flammable material combines with oxygen and combusts. Magic allows one to skip this and generate fire in exchange for mana.”

But.

“To sustain fire created in this manner, one would have to continually expend mana, but mages don’t; they transfer the fire to flammable materials instead.”

The reason was simple.

It was simply more efficient.

“Magic is a discipline that can unleash greater power when coupled with the rules of the world.”

Ester wrote the words ‘High-Pressure Explosion’.

“Ethilla, are you aware that an explosion can occur simply from gas and pressure alone?”

Like the boiler explosions caused by volumetric expansion, the overpressure explosions of air compressors, or the physical explosions from the overpressure due to the high-speed rotation of high-speed centrifuges, all commonly seen in Ester’s previous life.

Ester’s magic formula was a method that utilized explosions through high pressure.

A fusion of science and magic.

It was a revolutionary method with an efficiency rate five times greater than the explosion spells typically used by mages.

“…”

In Etila’s eyes, Ester seemed like someone who understood the rules of this world more clearly than anyone else.

She knew that phenomena commonly encountered in everyday life existed between universal truths and laws.

Therefore.

The words Ester spoke now.

Were a shocking answer that utterly shattered Etila’s accumulated common sense.

“I believe Etila Bedford-ssi’s magical talent is exceptional.”

“…”

“However, the magic you currently know is merely half-baked.”

Etila could say nothing.

She felt as if the world she had known until now was being shattered into pieces.

A new prodigy shamelessly appearing before the girl who had maintained the absolute number one position.

“I believe that Etila-ssi can grow into a truly magnificent mage.”

“…”

“I sincerely hope that this conversation will be helpful to Etila-ssi’s growth.”

Ester Tristi was radiant beyond compare.

The star named Etila, at this very moment, was obscured by a genius burning even brighter.

“Hngh… wuuh…”

Etila shed copious tears.

She was frustrated.

Completely defeated by Ester.

The difference between her skill and his was as vast as the sky and the earth.

She felt pathetic for not being able to refute the boy’s words.

She was, quite literally, a frog in a well.

Her past self, so proud of being a genius girl, was now terribly ashamed.

“Hiccup, hngh, hwaaa…!!”

Etilé fled, weeping openly.

“Oh, Mademoiselle!?”

Rang-Rang hurried after her.

Ester could only stare after Etilé, a truly bewildered look on her face.

But of course, Etilé couldn’t see it.

‘Just you wait, Ester Tristi…!!’

Etilé vowed as she ran.

She would certainly make Ester Tristi pay.

She would absolutely wipe that conceited look off her face.

She would prove that *she* was the true genius mage, she promised herself for another day.

*Thump.*

Etilé, running with all her might, tripped and sprawled onto the ground.

“Hwaaa!”

Etilé stayed where she fell, bursting into sobs.

“Oh, Mademoiselle…”

Rang-Rang embraced Etilé, who was weeping so bitterly.

“uuu, Heuuuh… Rang-Rang.”

And so, Etilé returned to the dormitory, held tightly in the arms of her maid.

*

“Dalpi! You said it was alright! You said it wasn’t bad! You said it was most wonderful!”

I’d made a girl cry for the very first time in this world.

No, I really didn’t mean to make her cry.

I was merely trying to practice proper etiquette before meeting the Archmage.

And I was just trying to kindly explain a school assignment to the girl who came to ask.

Especially because, with Nob AI, problems like that were so easily solved!

But somehow, I ended up making Etilé cry.

“Yes.”

“It’s not alright at all! It’s bad! She ran away crying!”

Dalpi cocked its head.

“The commonfolk are simply prone to fleeing in tears at the sight of genius.”

“No… this is too much….”

“From the start, you’ve been far too meek, young master.”

Dalpi cut me off with a sharp retort.

“Look at your other siblings. Considering how Kenneth and Lady Uriel strut around with their noses in the air, this is rather tame.”

“Th-that’s….”

“Even Felix, with absolutely nothing to show for himself, used to yap like that. I think this is quite modest by comparison.”

Hearing her say it like that, I couldn’t really argue.

“It’s enough for you to be timid in front of me, young master. But to others, this confident attitude is far more becoming. You don’t want to be looked down upon, do you?”

Dalpi was logical.

Right. There must be a reason why Dalpi was saying all this.

“Truly, *chuckle*, a genius wizard *cough*, incarnate….”

There must be a real reason, right…?

Anyway.

*I hope Professor Aria hasn’t gone home yet….*

Looking up at the sky, the sunset was already sinking below the horizon.

“I need to hurry.”

“Let’s be off then.”

Etilla had eaten up too much of my time.

After what happened at the main gate, it might take a bit of courage to return to the academy.

It wasn’t that I disliked the attention, but balance in all things was important.

Dalpi and I quickened our pace.

*

“I should leave early today….”

Professor Aria, with dark circles hanging beneath her eyes, stared at the documents that needed approval by tomorrow before finally rising from her seat.

Let tomorrow’s me deal with today’s work.

Normally, she wouldn’t procrastinate so irresponsibly.

But thanks to some genius causing a massive incident by attempting to solve a millennium problem, the Red Magic Tower had descended into utter chaos.

Major projects that had been stalled were now sailing smoothly using the recreation of hellfire, resulting in Aria, who was working as an academy professor, being thrown into the mix as a research resource.

“I’m going to die like this, I swear…”

Today, I’m just going to collapse in bed.

She left the stack of mugs on the desk, right in front of the TA’s station, and listlessly grabbed her coat.

Just as she was about to head home, finally in decent spirits, a knock echoed from the office door.

“I’m clocking out, so if you have a report, bring it to me tomorrow…”

Unfortunately, the people at the door weren’t Aria’s assistants.

“Good evening. I am Esther Tristi. I’ve come to deliver a letter from the Archmage.”

“And I am Dalphy, Esther-sama’s personal maid.”

Aria blinked.

Guess I won’t be going home early today either.