Chapter 29

A few more days passed after that.  

It was the weekend Iberia had promised to meet Young Master Nesferos, and now she was sitting with him in the self-study room next to the library.  

“…So, it’s a good idea to try proving the formula here once.” 

When Young Master Nesferos explained something to Iberia, he was surprisingly normal.  

This surprised her, so Iberia rested her chin on one hand and stared at him.  

The Young Master’s violet eyes blinked a few times as he continued to explain. Iberia straightened her slightly bent posture and asked,  

“Are you feeling hot? Should I turn off the heater?”  

She asked because his face was slightly red. Iberia pushed her chair back as if she were about to stand up.  

“No, I’m fine.”  

“Oh, alright.”  

“…Also, you need to compare this and this carefully. This one has a constant attached at the end. Sometimes, even if you don’t account for it while solving the problem, it doesn’t affect the answer. Keep that in mind.”  

Iberia pulled her chair back into place and listened to his explanation. Young Master Nesferos ran his fingers through his hair, holding it back with one hand as he continued explaining.  

Iberia nodded slightly and said,  

“Yes, thank you.”  

“Alright, and here…”  

Young Master Nesferos continued to kindly and meticulously teach Iberia the things they had learned at the academy.  

When his explanation came to an end, Iberia stretched her back and yawned.  

Listening to his explanations certainly helped her understand better. It was incredibly helpful and efficient. Knowing which parts to focus on was much better than blindly memorizing the content of the books.  

Young Master Nesferos asked Iberia, who was organizing her books,  

“Are you planning to stay here a bit longer?”  

“Yes. What about you, Young Master?”  

“Me too. I’ll read a bit more before leaving.”  

Iberia nodded and opened another book.  

The book Young Master Nesferos had brought was about the laws of the Holy Empire. It was a book Iberia had found quite interesting when she read it herself.  

Unaware that the pages in front of him weren’t turning, Iberia immersed herself in her studies.  

As she focused, the Young Master rested his chin on his hand and stared at her.  

Her slightly cold-looking eyes, the elegant curve of her nose, and her firmly closed, full lips.  

There wasn’t a single feature he didn’t like.  

Looking into her blue eyes, clear as the sky on a sunny day, he felt as though he were flying in the air.  

The only thing he didn’t like was how pale her face had become compared to what he remembered.  

Even though he stared at her so intently, Iberia didn’t seem to notice. He let out a small chuckle.  

If Iberia ever looked his way, he would be able to sense her gaze no matter what he was doing.  

It felt like this revealed the difference in feelings between them, but he neither felt sad nor discouraged.  

He had never failed to get the results he wanted.  

***

After the festival, the mandatory magic classes of the Magic Department were occasionally taught by the Mage Tower Master.  

The Mage Tower Master, claiming he wasn’t strong in theory, led classes focused on practical training. As a result, many of the classes were held in the magic practice room.  

After class, Iberia was practicing what she had learned when the Mage Tower Master approached her.  

“Would you like to come to the Mage Tower?”  

The Mage Tower Master had clearly left the practice room earlier, so when his voice suddenly sounded behind her, Iberia jumped in surprise and backed away from him.  

Her wide-open eyes were filled with astonishment and confusion.  

“Me?”  

Iberia managed not to stutter, though she remained flustered.  

She couldn’t understand why he would make such a suggestion. She didn’t have an exceptional amount of magical power, nor had she achieved outstanding results in the magic competition. She couldn’t fathom what he saw in her to make this offer.  

The Mage Tower Master, noticing her bewilderment, raised the corners of his lips in a smile.  

“Yes, I think your skills are sufficient. I’m serious about this offer.”  

“Oh… alright.”  

Iberia, who had briefly wondered if he might be part of a human trafficking group disguised as the Mage Tower Master, nodded for now.  

“You don’t have any more classes today, do you?”  

“No.”  

“Then, shall we have a little chat?”  

The Mage Tower Master walked over to a corner where chairs were laid out and plopped down. Iberia hesitated but eventually followed him.  

In truth, joining the Mage Tower after graduating from the academy would be a great opportunity for Iberia.  

Once she joined the Mage Tower, her existing social status and family name would disappear, leaving only the title of being affiliated with the Mage Tower. It would give her a more solid authority than that of middle-ranking nobles.  

“…Huh?”  

As she approached the Mage Tower Master, she suddenly felt as though the air had changed. Iberia stretched her hand out into the empty space.  

“Ah, it’s a barrier. It prevents sound from leaking out.”  

“Oh, I see.”  

“Take a seat.”  

Iberia moved cautiously. She sat down without a sound, clasping her hands together and staring at them.  

The Mage Tower Master, observing her actions, began to speak. His tone was calm.  

“Mental magic users are rare.”  

Iberia already knew that. She slowly closed her eyes and opened them again. There had to be a reason why the Mage Tower Master was suddenly bringing this up.  

As though reading her thoughts, he studied her for a moment before dropping a hint.  

“Not just rare, but extremely rare. The reason you collapsed was because of mental magic. That’s also why the doctors couldn’t find the exact cause.”  

“Oh…”  

Even though it was a clear hint, the first thought that came to Iberia’s mind was whether there had been a mental magic user in the arena. She was so convinced that she couldn’t possibly have such a talent herself.  

After a brief moment of contemplation, Iberia frowned. The Mage Tower Master smirked, but it wasn’t a particularly pleasant smile.  

“You, Iberia, are a mental magic user.”  

“Pardon?”  

“I’m a mental magic user too. And for the record, we’re not related by bl＊＊d, so don’t worry. I don’t have any children.”  

He bombarded her with information that was both hard to accept and unnecessary to know.  

Iberia had some knowledge of mental magic.  

It was so rare that there wasn’t much information about it, but she had learned a little about it in her academy class, ‘Understanding Magical Systems,’ which covered the basics of different types of magic.  

Thanks to that, she knew two things: it was both a blessing and a curse, and it was magic with a will of its own.  

“Mental magic is the only magic that is divided by whether or not someone has the talent for it.”  

It was hard for her to believe she was a mental magic user. Iberia took a deep breath to calm herself.  

Me, a mental magic user? Me?  

“Illusion magic is also broadly categorized as mental magic. Of course, it’s a type of magic that can be used even without being a mental magic user.”  

She already knew that. That’s why, even though she was skilled at using illusion magic, she had never considered the possibility of having talent in mental magic.  

“If possible, I’d like you to think of mental magic as a blessing. If you learn to handle it well, it’ll bring you more benefits.”  

The Mage Tower Master let out a short laugh. Iberia, on the other hand, couldn’t laugh.  

Was this why the Mage Tower Master had invited me to join the Mage Tower after graduation? Because I was a mental magic user?  

It was certainly something to be happy about, yet she felt a strange mix of emotions. As if aware of her thoughts, the Mage Tower Master continued speaking as though it were obvious.  

“Even if you weren’t a mental magic user, I still would’ve made the same offer. The skills you showed during the competition are something anyone would admire.”  

“Thank you.”  

Only then was Iberia able to smile.  

Even if it was just flattery, the thought that her efforts hadn’t been in vain comforted her. Whether the Mage Tower Master knew her thoughts or not, he continued sharing information with her.  

“You know that mental magic has a will of its own, right?”  

“Yes, I learned that in a general education class.”  

That was also why the term “magic” was rarely appended to “mental.” Unlike other types of magic, mental magic possessed a will, making it difficult to categorize it as mere magic.  

The Mage Tower Master let out a small sigh. His demeanor shifted from the playful attitude he had shown earlier, and Iberia instinctively tensed.  

“That’s the problem. While they may act with good intentions, the results they bring us aren’t always favorable.”  

“Oh…”  

She felt like she vaguely understood what he meant.  

As Iberia habitually processed the information in her mind, the Mage Tower Master’s tone turned teasing again.  

“And mental magic consumes a lot of mana.”  

This was bad news for Iberia, who already had a pitifully small amount of mana to work with.  

When her face crumpled, the Mage Tower Master chuckled.  

“But here’s where we need to properly establish cause and effect. I believe the reason your mana is unusually low is because of your mental magic.”  

Iberia let out a sound of amazement.  

Even though she had assumed she wasn’t naturally gifted, her mana levels were exceptionally low.  

Her mana was so scarce that it fell below even the average level of ordinary people, leaving her feeling endlessly frustrated.  

But if that was because of her mental magic…  

The Mage Tower Master’s voice struck Iberia like a hammer. His tone was light, but the content was anything but.  

“During the competition, your mana was leaking all over the place.”  

The Mage Tower Master recalled the dark mana he had seen during Iberia’s match.  

Though she didn’t fully understand, Iberia bit her lip and listened carefully to the Mage Tower Master. This kind of information was impossible to get anywhere else.  

“In the final match, you probably scraped together every last bit of mana you had. You must’ve known you were running out of usable mana.”  

Iberia unconsciously opened her mouth in surprise.  

The Mage Tower Master’s voice remained calm. It was steady, like a storyteller speaking to a child.  

He ran a hand through his hair, his gaze becoming sharper than ever before.  

“The reason you collapsed was because you tried to draw on the mana your mental magic was using.”