Chapter 13

I Will Accept a Lifetime Contract (9)

“Today, we’ll start by measuring how much magic power you have. After that, I’ll teach you how to use it properly.”

I pointed at the clear crystal ball on the desk.

Last night, while checking if it still worked, I polished it until it shined. Now it glowed beautifully.

“This is the tool for measuring magic power. Honestly, hundreds—no, probably over a thousand people have used this one already.”

“Really? That many?”

“Yes, absolutely!”

Lynette’s eyes widened in surprise.

This crystal ball had been my best-selling item during my street stall days, from the very beginning to the very end.

‘People who succeeded in measuring with this… Jimmy, Sophia, Bernard… who else? I can’t quite remember.’

I used to live on Wendelton 7th Street, a poor district where commoners struggled just to survive.

For them, the only way out of misery was to discover some kind of hidden talent.

‘Of course, I was the same.’

When I was very young, I sold flowers on the street to buy books about magic.

With those books, I studied alone.

‘I remember—I couldn’t even read at first. It was so hard.’

To understand just one book, I even worked under a grumpy old man with a bad temper. I was only ten years old then.

‘If I hadn’t learned magic through all that suffering, I probably would’ve starved to death long ago.’

Realizing later that I had reincarnated was a blessing. If I’d known too early, I might have just given up and wasted away.

“How do you use it?” Lynette asked.

I kindly explained.

“It’s simple. Just place both hands on it and concentrate.”

The way it worked was straightforward: when the user poured magic into it, a smoky mist would appear inside.

The more magic they had, the more the sphere filled with smoke. If it turned completely opaque, that was the maximum measurement.

For reference—yes, the maximum standard was me.

‘Which means anyone with more magic than me can’t be measured properly.’

But until now, I’d never seen anyone fill the whole thing.

Still, Lynette was the protagonist of the story. Maybe she could.

I looked at her with anticipation.

“Like this?”

“Yes! Just hold still.”

Both of us focused on the crystal.

A moment later, a faint smoke began to rise inside, until the sphere was half full.

‘Huh?’

I was startled. Did that mean Lynette had only half my magic?

I stared at the ball, stunned.

‘Is it broken? No… that can’t be.’

She was the heroine of the original story, with divine power so strong that no one could match her. But only half my magic? It made no sense.

Her weak divine power I could understand—her holy powers hadn’t awakened yet.

‘But her magic too? That’s strange. The only thing that wasn’t awakened was supposed to be her divine power.’

I couldn’t figure it out.

“This is amazing. It filled halfway,” Lynette said brightly.

‘Halfway?! I thought it was only half. She thinks that’s impressive?’

To keep her happy, I raised my voice and said:

“Wow, as expected of the Saintess! This is the highest measurement I’ve ever seen!”

That wasn’t a lie. No one else had ever made it this far.

“Most people I measured barely showed even half of yours. Some could only produce a tiny wisp of smoke. It was really disappointing sometimes.”

“I see… This is the first time I’ve ever known how much magic I have. I didn’t think it would be this much.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly—she looked genuinely happy.

I quickly decided to put the crystal ball away.

But then—

“Eh?”

Lynette’s face filled with shock.

I followed her gaze and froze.

‘Oh no.’

The crystal ball in my hands was now completely filled with smoke, so thick you couldn’t see through it.

“Teacher… could that be…?”

Lynette pointed at the crystal ball with wide eyes. I panicked.

‘What if she complains that I have more than her? Should I have pretended earlier and secretly added some magic to make it look closer?’

I regretted being too honest.

Lynette spoke again, her voice trembling.

“Is that really your magic, Teacher?”

“Uh…”

I hesitated, but in the end, I confessed.

“Yes… it’s mine.”

Then something strange happened—her eyes sparkled, almost glowing with excitement. She even covered her mouth as if she was moved.

“Unbelievable! Teacher, you’re amazing!”

‘…Wait, she’s actually impressed?!’

At that moment, Lynette’s heart overflowed with emotion.

‘As I thought. Teacher really is my hope.’

She was certain now. She must never let go of Elsie. Because…

‘She’s the one I saw in my revelation.’

Lynette von Leder. The heroine of the story, the Saintess.

Though she hated the title, her natural divine power was unmatched.

Recently, for the first time, she had received a vision from God.

Among the many familiar faces, there had been just one unfamiliar one.

It was Elsie.

‘I won’t let her go. No matter what, I’ll keep her by my side.’

Her conviction showed in the bright smile she gave Elsie, who looked utterly bewildered.

“As expected of Teacher! You have twice as much magic as me. Isn’t that incredible?”

“R-really?”

“Of course! That means your skills are amazing.”

“Hehe…”

Showered with compliments, Elsie blushed and grinned shyly.

Lynette barely resisted the urge to poke her round cheeks.

“Ahem. Just to be sure, let’s test again.”

Elsie poured magic into the crystal once more.

The result was the same.

“This doesn’t make sense…” she muttered, staring in confusion.

“Could it be broken? No, impossible.”

She fiddled with the ball, her face written with worry.

‘Why is she so troubled by this?’ Lynette thought.

To her, this was nothing but good news—it proved Elsie’s power was overwhelming. It made her revelation feel even more certain.

“There’s nothing strange about it. It just means my magic is about half of yours. Isn’t that right, Teacher?”

“…!”

Elsie looked shocked, as if she hadn’t wanted to admit that.

‘She must be bothered that she has more than me,’ Lynette thought.

But honestly, Lynette was just as surprised.

She had inherited power from her mother, the great Saintess, yet Elsie surpassed her.

Very few people had ever done that.

‘Other than that sly Tower Master… no one else.’

Of course, he was the Tower Master, so it made sense.

But Elsie? She was just a normal witch.

Just a few days ago, she was depressed because she’d lost a year’s worth of sales. And now it turned out she had enough magic to outshine even Lynette?

‘This makes no sense.’

How could such a powerful person go unnoticed for so long?

‘Maybe she’s been hiding her power on purpose. A recluse, living quietly to avoid fame… yes, that must be it.’