047 – How to Use Magic

“Ahem… I am terribly sorry for misunderstanding.”

“Indeed. What 15-year-old in this world would ever- uhp-…”

I was surprised at how completely that small hand covered my mouth.

“Anyway, please take care of me.”

“I will definitely keep your secret…”

In conclusion, Lilian Isolde had agreed to keep the relationship between Ella-ssi and myself a secret.

In the process, I suggested she could use my wish from my broken arm incident as payment.

“…You’re going to use a wish for something like this?”

Seeing the utterly bewildered expression on the girl’s face was a bonus.

‘This isn’t “just something”.’

How could the next head of the Eloise Marquisate dating a commoner be considered ‘just something?’

“You’ll keep the secret, right?”

“Of course.”

If this matter were to wrongly reach the ears of Ella-ssi’s first husband…

The Marchioness wouldn’t even tear me apart.

Ella-ssi’s first husband might just come and tear me to shreds himself.

I decided to be content with using the wish I’d been saving to ensure Lilian Isolde’s tight-lippedness.

“If someone offered you a hundred and ten million gold to reveal this secret…”

“I would never speak a word.”

“No, if they offered that much, you could tell them and just give me 30%.”

“Eh…?”

With that, I had achieved my initial goal.

Now, I had to ask why she had been hiding behind us.

“Come to think of it, why were you hiding behind us?”

“Ah, that’s… because Mihaen-nim’s performance in the sparring match wasn’t good because of me…”

“My coming in last is already a rumor among even the magic students?”

The fact that my sparring score was the absolute worst was apparently known throughout the neighborhood.

I could tell that she was trying to make amends somehow, and I am grateful for that thought.

“It’s just, like, ‘Some cripple can’t spar and came in last,’ or something like that…?”

“Truth can be cruel.”

A cripple, huh…

I really didn’t want to know about that kind of gossip…

“So, what I want to say is… I want to help Mihaen-nim use magic…”

“You’re really going to tell me the gossip in front of me… Huh?”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard and stared at the woman before me.

Then, I had no choice but to confirm that what I had heard was indeed correct.

“…You’re going to teach me magic?”

“More precisely, how to use magic.”

“You’re going to teach me how to use magic?”

“Yes.”

“You’re saying you can make it so *I* can use magic?”

“Yes.”

“Mihan can use magic?”

“…Yes?”

“Magic can use Mihan?”

“…”

“Use magic Mihan can?”

“You understood perfectly well what I said.”

“Caught me.”

“Caught you…?”

At the Arcane Campus, magic was considered a ‘talent.’

A natural aptitude one was born with.

If you didn’t possess it, no matter how hard you strived, a mere mortal couldn’t possibly wield magic, not even in death.

“Hmm… I’ll listen, just this once.”

No matter how much of a genius Lilian Isolde might be.

To breathe a miracle into the body of a talentless Mikhail was an impossible feat.

…

To find the escaped Miss Ella, he’d been wandering the academy, listening to Lilian Isolde’s incessant chirping.

“Every mage doesn’t actually *know* how they use magic, is that right?”

“I see.”

To put it in terms of a normal body:

It’s like we don’t know exactly how muscles work, yet we can use them naturally.

Mages, too, have been using magic naturally, so they likely don’t know how magic actually originates.

“But I know the principles of it exactly.”

However, our little prodigy mage Lilian Isolde…

Claims to know precisely how humans use magic.

“Oh…”

Indeed…

As befitting of the future greatest genius of the Magic Kingdom.

To even know the principles behind using magic was truly awe-inspiring.

“It’ll take roughly five years, though.”

“What will?”

“I’m going to create a second core within Mihan-nim’s body. You need that to use magic.”

“Heok… Th-the one that would obliterate an entire city if it exploded?”

“Exploding a core would obliterate a city…?”

“Just kidding.”

“?”

After hearing that there was a five-year preparation period needed to use magic.

He realised this was basically an indirect way of saying he shouldn’t bother with magic at all.

“Anyway. I’ll show you how to make the core, so just follow along slowly.”

“But, how do you create a core in somewhere other than the heart?”

“In my case, I’ve created two cores on the insides of my thighs. That’s why my magic’s speed and precision are unparalleled.”

I could sense that these cores were similar to the one that existed in my lower dantian.

“Is that so? I also have ether gathered separately here, around my lower dantian.”

“Huh?”

“?”

“…You’re saying you already have a core in your dantian?”

“I think so.”

“???”

“?”

“???????????”

“…Is it… not supposed to be there?”

“How… how did you come to know that…?”

“Naturally…?”

It was the most unnatural answer in the world.

But it was the only answer I could give.

Because it was the truth…

It just appeared last night, so I’m not very familiar with this friend either…

‘No wonder… it couldn’t be used for body enhancement.’

Thinking about it, it was true.

The ether that gushed forth from my heart could be used to enhance my body as I pleased.

But the ether that gushed forth from my dantian couldn’t be used at will.

The reason must be that the ether in my dantian existed solely for magic.

“This is… usually… normally… mages aren’t supposed to know… about having another core in their body… right?..”

“Lillian Isolde knows.”

“Yes, but aside from me… it’s normal not to know… even the Archmage doesn’t know this…”

Lillian Isolde stared at me with a bewildered look.

“But, if Mihan-nim has another core, why can’t you… use magic?”

“Hmm… would you believe me if I said this core appeared last night?”

“…Suddenly?”

“Yes. I’m still in a very awkward situation with this friend that suddenly appeared.”

It was the truth.

Of course, I’d lived honestly, but it was an unavoidable phenomenon that people didn’t believe me.

…

The reason the Doppelganger, disguised as Mihail, could use kidnapping and spying magic was.

Because this body was capable of using magic from the start.

‘Mihail was quite the prodigy, wasn’t he?’

Thinking back, it was so.

When I possessed this body, it was in a corpse-like state, with no ether remaining.

And I was in a position where I was filling that body with ether by consuming elixirs and spiritual pills.

The ether, storing itself within my body, must be merely returning to its rightful place.

Thanks to that.

“Do you happen to know what kind of magic Mihen excels at?”

‘Kidnapping! Spying!’

“I don’t.”

“From this moment on, we shall dedicate time to discover what magical talents Mihen possesses.”

And just like that, I found myself taking a magic lesson from Lillian Isolde.

Of course.

“By chance, you aren’t going to toss me into a fire to check if I have an affinity for fire magic, are you?”

Like those sensitivity tests you see in webtoons and novels, something extreme…

“Uh…”

Lillian Isolde was magically summoning water into a massive basin.

Trickle, trickle…

Limp… Limp…

I desperately tried to escape this place, relying on my crutches.

“Sit down. You’re not in good shape.”

“Uh oh…!”

Before I knew it, Lillian Isolde, having filled the basin, naturally guided me towards it.

“This is disability abuse.”

“I’m just going to submerge your head for a moment.”

“It’s not the ‘moment’ that’s the problem. It’s the head-submerging that’s the issue, you see??”

“Five minutes is all it takes.”

“Five minutes is how long it takes to die.”

Why is it that my bad premonitions are never wrong?

To be threatened and tortured when I can’t even run away because of this leg cast…

“If Mihen possesses an affinity for water magic, a signal will come when your life is in danger underwater.”

“A signal will come, I’m sure. The problem is what *kind* of signal it will be.”

While I was racking my brain for a way to escape this headache of a conversation…

*Ting-a-ling!*

“A customer has arrived. Sadly, we’ll have to try this another time!”

“See you later.”

‘I won’t be back.’

The sound of the bell I had hung at the entrance of Mihen’s Sleep Clinic rang, and I bolted towards the counter as if escaping death.

“Welcome, guest!”

The arrival of my savior! I was about to offer this customer a 20% discount when…

“Forgive me, Mihen-gun, but I am not a customer.”

“Professor Layton?”

I could see the Professor, who had left for the Imperial Palace with information about the Succubus Queen, had returned to the Academy.

“You’ve come at the perfect time, Professor!”

“Hm? Why is that?”

“Professor’s daughter is about to drown someone.”

Wouldn’t it be just perfect if the person who arrived at that moment was the Professor himself?

The only person who could stop Lillian Isolde’s atrocity was the Professor…

“…What is this?”

Before I could even finish the words, I looked down at the paper the Professor handed me.

What could this burdensome piece of paper be…

Gilding a mere letter in gold?

Who on earth would send something like this, what a waste of money… Wait a moment, this crest…?

“This… …it’s the Imperial Crest imprinted here…”

“His Majesty wishes to see you in person.”

With the Professor’s words, I resolved myself.

“Lillian Isolde, let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Mihane?”

“Will ten minutes suffice?”

I wondered if simply plunging my head into a basin full of water and passing out might have a higher chance of survival.

Because…

The Imperial Family possessed a special lie detector passed down through generations, known as the Jewel of Truth…

‘If I go to the Imperial Palace, I might be exposed as Mikhail…!’

If things go wrong…

I might end up living a life worse than death.

“If I happen to lose consciousness and collapse, just leave me as I am, Lillian Isolde. Understood?”

“…Then wouldn’t you actually die?”

“Precisely.”