I tried hard to think, but it was really difficult to find an answer.
‘What could Professor Tritana mean?’
Back at the dormitory, I kept pouring mana into the mana stone again and again.
I didn’t really know how it was supposed to be done, so I just held it in my hand, closed my eyes, and tried to picture it.
I didn’t particularly understand it, but I just gave it a try anyway.
‘My brother taught me this.’
When you don’t understand the professors’ intentions, he said, just do as they tell you.
‘Even if all the professors seem like lunatics, they’re still brilliant people, you know? So if you just do what they tell you, sometimes something will click. Only sometimes, but still.’
Quite a long time passed, and after finishing dinner, Seira got up from her seat.
She usually visited Professor Rhyno’s hideout after dinner each evening—together with Phnelldi.
‘I should go again today.’
Ever since she began frequenting Professor Rhyno’s hideout, Seira had gained quite a bit.
The bread and jam she sold were far more successful than she’d expected.
‘I need to gather as many Lupi as possible.’
Soon, Lupi would become the true source of power and influence in this academy.
Before arriving at Rhyno’s hideout, Phnelldi spoke cautiously.
“I actually think it’s a relief that I failed.”
“Really?”
Seira could roughly guess why Phnelldi was saying that.
‘She must have been worried I’d be laughed at.’
Phnelldi was more delicate than she appeared, and Seira didn’t dislike that about her.
“I appreciate how you feel, but you should always give your best effort.”
“……”
Seira was well aware that Phnelldi was fond of her.
That being the case, it would benefit Seira if Phnelldi became someone who commanded the magic class.
She needed to encourage Phnelldi to show her best side.
“If you hold back out of pity for me, that’s actually insulting me.”
“…Got it.”
Without looking back, Seira continued.
“And that’s not all.”
“…Hm?”
“You’re my friend, after all.”
“……”
“I want my friend to shine. So always give your best—so you can shine even brighter.”
Phnelldi muttered with a flushed face.
“You’re so good at saying cringey things without sounding cringey at all.”
When Seira said them, even flattery didn’t sound like flattery, and embarrassing words didn’t feel embarrassing.
Seira was truly remarkable—no, mysterious.
‘Is it because of her looks?’
It wasn’t just her looks, but her appearance certainly played a part.
‘Even her back view is so beautiful.’
They said you could feel true beauty even from someone’s back, and Seira fit that perfectly.
‘Then and now… she’s like a princess out of a fairy tale.’
No—at this point, perhaps “queen” suited her better than princess.
Phnelldi smiled softly and followed behind Seira.
Professor Rhyno was quite gentle and kind—but that was only “for a professor.”
“From here to there. Pull out the weeds.”
My dad’s son once taught me: the way a professor puts an elephant in a refrigerator is “by ordering the assistants to do it.”
When Professor Rhyno said “from here to there,” it was practically wilderness in scale.
‘This is going to take at least five hours.’
Of course, this place was under time-distortion magic.
Even if five hours passed here, only a few minutes would pass outside.
Still, that didn’t change the fact that I had to do five hours of hard labor.
‘Actually, I don’t mind.’
I didn’t really dislike doing chores for Professor Rhyno.
This place gave me a sense of safety unlike anywhere else.
The place where the constant threat of death no longer reached me.
When I pulled weeds or did chores here, I could empty my mind without thinking.
After about thirty minutes, Phnelldi suddenly stood up.
“I can’t do this anymore! Why do I have to be doing this crap?!”
For reference, Professor Rhyno was also pulling weeds alongside us.
“Crap? Crap, you say?! This sacred labor?!”
The professor erupted in fury and promptly threw Phnelldi out.
“Never show your face in this treasure trove again!”
“Hmph! Even if you call me back, I won’t come!”
In the end, I was left alone here.
Tired to death?
Compared to swordsmanship training, this was incredibly easy. She was just exaggerating.
Maybe it felt worse to her because she was still drained from mana exhaustion earlier.
‘Isn’t weeding kind of fun?’
It helped organize my thoughts and gave me peace of mind, so I thought it was nice. But nobles hated this kind of thing, and that was the real problem.
While absentmindedly pulling weeds, I suddenly felt someone’s gaze.
‘Professor Tritana was here?’
At some point, Professor Tritana had arrived and was talking with Professor Rhyno.
‘Huh? They’re talking about me?’
They were openly discussing me—right in front of me.
Professor Rhyno found Seira utterly fascinating.
“Among the high nobility, is there any student who does menial work so diligently?”
“Very rare indeed.”
“She’s an unusual student.”
The most interesting part was that she didn’t seem to be doing it reluctantly.
Normally, it took until third year for students to lose most of their pride and become more perceptive.
Seira’s behavior was that of a third or even fourth-year student.
“Does she really not dislike it?”
“Perhaps she understands your strange teaching methods, Professor Rhyno.”
“Strange teaching methods?!”
“There are many ways to practice tabula rasa besides this odd method. More efficient, cleaner, and more effective ways.”
Tabula rasa.
It meant emptying the mind of stray thoughts to achieve a state of nothingness.
From a magical standpoint, it was essential.
The more stray thoughts one had, the more impure the magic became.
To achieve cleaner magic, one needed to practice emptying the mind, and magicians called this tabula rasa.
Swordsmen called it entering the void, but in Somarfi, tabula rasa was the more common term.
“But this is a method proven over ages, a fundamental practice. Nothing can surpass the fundamentals.”
“Are you sure you’re not just trying to torment the students?”
“Hmph. Well… that’s not entirely wrong either.”
While keeping her hands busy, Seira chuckled to herself.
‘This feels like working part-time at a café.’
In her past life as Lee Sohyun, she had briefly worked at a café. It had been a fresh experience.
Customers had chatted about all kinds of things as if she weren’t even there.
To them, café staff were like wallpaper or plants.
‘I don’t know if this really has anything to do with tabula rasa…’
Professors were the kind of people who, if an apple fell from a tree, would exclaim, “Oh! Gravity exists in this world!”
If they pulled weeds, they’d suddenly cry, “Oh! This is tabula rasa!”
So she decided not to take it too seriously.
She had no ambitions of excelling in magic or scholarship anyway.
She just needed time to clear her head and relax.
And to gather fresh fruits and vegetables while at it.
Then suddenly, Professor Tritana sat down beside Seira and asked:
“Seira. Why are you learning swordsmanship?”
Professor Rhyno butted in.
“Of course, to awaken to the essence of the sword! What kind of question is that to ask a swordsman?”
“I wasn’t asking you, Professor Rhyno.”
Seira felt a strange sensation.
‘Why does it feel like… they’re fighting over me?’
Like children arguing, “This toy is mine!”
Professor Tritana asked again.
“Why are you learning swordsmanship?”
“For self-defense.”
Professor Rhyno’s horns trembled violently at the disappointing answer.
Unable to hold back, he interjected again.
“Seira is being modest.”
“Pardon?”
“Who learns swordsmanship under the very head of the Quaybeck family, in the cradle of the sword, just for self-defense? Hahaha!”
But it was true. She had learned it for self-defense. He should try living with the constant threat of death breathing down his neck.
If possible, Seira would have preferred to learn magic instead.
Swordsmanship required heavy physical exertion and often exposed her to brutal situations.
Even when killing cockroaches, it was far better to use a spell than to squash them with her hands.
If it had been possible, she would have chosen magic.
As if he understood that thought, Professor Tritana nodded.
“Think carefully. About which discipline will hold more meaning in your life.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind. But Professor, may I ask one question?”
Sensing an opportunity, Seira carefully spoke up.
“Of course. Ask freely. Our laboratory is always open to curious, eager students.”
“Our lab is also—mmpf!”
With a flick of her staff, Professor Tritana conjured a magical restraint and clamped it over Professor Rhyno’s mouth.
Seira swallowed nervously.
‘The Gag of Silence?’
It was technically classified as a non-lethal spell, but “non-lethal” was misleading—it was so viciously dangerous that misuse could rip off someone’s entire lips.
The fact that Tritana used it so casually, and that Professor Rhyno, even after being struck by it, only looked slightly resentful—both showed they were anything but sane by normal standards.
With a calm expression, Professor Tritana said:
“Ask comfortably.”
