Book 4 Chapter 7
Episode 81
“Beautiful magic?”
As Brimm Ludwig, who was feeding Bran oatmeal, asked back in a surprised voice, Ellyn huffed and plopped down onto a chair.
“I’m telling you… the theme for the top student final match is this. Isn't it too much of a shot at Layne, no matter what?”
“There she goes again, Miss. How much does Senior Madelia cherish our Layne right now?”
“I’m talking about the other professors, not the president! They must be jealous of Layne.”
Seri, who was eating roasted garlic herb salad for breakfast, tilted her head.
“Aunt, why is that?”
“Ugh, you useless child! Don't you know what our family's bloodline limit is? It's kinetic energy, kinetic energy! It's far from technical magic!”
On the other hand, what about the Warden family? As masters of inorganic summoning, they were, needless to say, a group of experts in magical craftsmanship.
And the Harimun School?
The Ligwind types were all masters of sound, so they had historically shown tremendous strength in such tests.
“Are you saying brother is at a disadvantage?!”
“It’s not just a disadvantage; it’s like everyone else came out with a spear and a sword, but he’s fighting bare-handed.”
Brimm also quietly tapped the desk with her fingertips, as if slightly worried.
“There was only one test where I was able to surpass him, and that was this test.”
At that, Seri's expression brightened for a moment.
“Then couldn’t Mother help Layne brother? You could just tell him how to do it.”
“That won’t do.”
“Why?”
“Seri, a mage, you see. They grow step by step by thinking alone, agonizing, and pondering solutions when faced with life's problems that block their path like this.”
Not just by solving one or two more math problems.
“But…”
Lovingly stroking her daughter's head, who wore a glum expression as if genuinely disappointed, Brimm concluded her words.
“How could I be called a parent if I take away my child's opportunity to grow?”
* * *
That evening, Layne sat in his dorm chair, staring up at the ceiling for a long time.
‘Thanks to Nora’s introduction, I had a brief chat with Kayden, but somehow it’s become even more complicated.’
At first, I thought he was just a taciturn guy, but he said he couldn't speak because he'd been mute since birth.
That's why he carries a portable notebook and a quill pen to communicate.
[There's nothing I can't tell you about what beautiful magic is to our school of thought….]
He was so expressionless that he seemed unfocused, but when he held the seven-stringed geom, a symbol of the Harimun School, his entire impression changed.
A sharp blade, visible only in those who take magic seriously, shone brightly in his eyes.
[It's commonly said that Ligwind types wield sound as magic, but the order is wrong. They use sound to create magic.]
- …?
[Do you know that invisible wavelengths exist in magical power, and those wavelengths touch upon principles to materialize supernatural abilities?]
Ligwind types have used magic by realizing such wavelengths into sound.
Among the schools that deal with geom (stringed instruments), the Harimun School uses the seven-stringed geom, which has the most strings.
Wavelengths and vocal ranges suited for fire-attribute magic, intensity and vibrations appropriate for earth-attribute magic… it means they can embody all that beauty.
[The range I can handle here is seven octaves (八度音程).]
- Octaves?
- In a musical scale, it refers to an interval with a span of eight degrees, both above and below. ★
Whether Nora briefly explained or not, Kayden continued to write down his words in his notebook.
[The ferocity of fire and the tranquility of water, the vastness of the earth and the freshness of the wind… I can express all of that through the music I desire.]
- …!
[To be honest, the moment I received the theme… I was confident I would win. I'm not particularly interested in the top spot, but I apologize. My master is here, so I can't just do a half-hearted job.]
Thus, he had just experienced a banquet of sound that was several times richer, more brilliant, and more beautiful than what he had encountered with Yannar during the <Ledacable> escort.
Realizing anew how vast the world of magic truly was, he was moved, and at the same time, fell into an agonizing contemplation, even forgetting the passage of time.
‘In terms of visual aspects, Krista has several times the advantage, and in terms of auditory aspects, Kayden is absolutely superior….’
With only a day left at best, could he bridge this enormous gap?
Krista had said.
She had built it up her entire life.
Perhaps Kayden's skill was also supported by that much time… because magic is always honest.
‘What do they not have, that I do?’
When it came to his specialties in his Lyn days, all he could point to were offensive spells that crushed enemy lines and defensive spells that countered such attacks…
‘No, what is beauty to me in the first place?’
Before thinking about beautiful magic, let's address that. Beautiful things, things I thought were beautiful….
‘If it's beauty, then, Leesta?’
No, what's the point of recalling a person? Not a person, but something… were there things I saw or heard that almost brought tears to my eyes?
- Lyn, over here! Look at these flowers!
Suddenly, Leesta's voice brushed past his ears, and the blade that had brutally pierced a corner of his soul trembled, as pain washed over him.
- It's too romantic a flower garden for an uncute brat like Lyn to see.
Yes. That's right, Friede.
That flower garden I saw with you guys that day… it was too beautiful a flower garden for me, a little kid back then, to comprehend.
A laugh born of longing escaped him. At the sound of that laughter, Pipi, who had been dozing on Layne's head, woke up.
“Pipi, do you remember that flower garden we saw before crossing the continent?”
“Flower garden, flower garden, flower garden.”
He chuckled, putting on his crimson gem spectacles and simultaneously taking out his writing tools. It was a gift from Kasena.
The crystal, shimmering with a reddish glow, gathered the faint light of the night and focused it where the wearer's gaze fell.
Even under the midnight light, his eyes felt unbelievably comfortable… it seemed he could study all night without any problem.
“I’m going to try creating that flower garden with magic, could you watch and compare it for me?”
Dandelions blooming across the horizon.
Birds chirping as if singing.
Leesta's firm yet warm hand pulling my arm… I'm going to try to paint the scene of that most beautiful day of my life with magic.
* * *
The second-year final exams, excluding the top student final match, also concluded. Perhaps because only selected students remained, the prevailing opinion was that the results were obvious.
The qualifiers for the final match were Sandra Kephel, Triwis, and Oldin. All of them had been first, second, and third in the mid-term exams.
For these reasons, perhaps because even more anticipation was focused on the first-year final match, which was dubbed the Golden Generation, the Dragon Arena's spectator stands were bustling from morning.
“The <Delighten> first-year, first-semester final exam top student match, I will now introduce the participants.”
As Professor Kyle, the second-ranked professor, said that after receiving an 'Ok' sign from the organizing committee, the stands immediately fell silent as if a mouse had died.
“Mid-term exam top student, Cadet Layne Ludwig.”
As his name was called and the black-haired handsome boy walked out first, it gradually grew noisy.
“Top entrance student and mid-term exam second-place student, Cadet Krista Warden. And mid-term exam fourth-place student, Cadet Kayden.”
Following him, a brown-haired beautiful girl and a boy with a seven-stringed geom on his back entered one after another, and the cheers swelled to the point where they could shake the stadium.
“The theme for this year's first-year top student final match is [Beauty (美)]!”
Beauty, huh… The eyebrows of Vice Dean Chaihak, who was sitting in the stands, subtly twitched.
“Isn't this a theme that seems more like a one-on-one between Warden and Harimun, rather than a three-way battle?”
At that, Professor Owen, who was sitting next to him, also nodded in agreement, but.
“If some other stupid bastard were the top cadet, I would have thought the same, but….”
“Hmm?”
“This time, I damned well don't know. Because that damned smartass is sitting in the top spot.”
Most of the spectators in the arena were predicting Krista or Kayden's victory, but they couldn't help but harbor a 'what if' expectation.
Why wouldn't they?
The formidable multi-calculation skill Layne Ludwig had displayed in the preliminaries had already left an inexpressibly powerful impression on the magical world.
“Layne…”
Brimm clasped her hands together eagerly, looking at her son's back. She remembered her own past, having stood there herself.
‘Unlike mid-term exams, which are internal school evaluations, it's no exaggeration to say that final exams also include external evaluations… because officials from the magic world are watching.’
Because of this structure, being the top student in the final exams inevitably means more than being the top student in the mid-term exams. It's about taking the top spot in front of everyone.
“Mother, don't worry too much! Brother's expression is so calm!”
Seri pointed to Layne's expression, but Ellyn shook her head firmly.
“His expression is calm, but his mind and heart right now must be even noisier than the stands.”
Ellyn could say that with certainty because she had also been a regular participant in this top student final match during her school days.
There, everything pours out.
The morning sunlight, five thousand pairs of eyes, emotions mixed with favor and antipathy… one must overcome all that pressure and unleash the best magic.
“Huu…”
Krista Warden took a deep breath, repeatedly clenching and unclenching her right fist.
The winner would be decided here….
Then her gaze met Professor Caroline, who was watching her from the other side of the stands. Her mentor, who had guided her for nearly ten years.
‘Don’t be too nervous, Krista.’
‘I’m not nervous.’
Her parents had forbidden her to come. It was obvious they would only become a laughingstock if they did… but such a day of humiliation would soon be over.
‘Now, I just have to overcome one more wall.’
She glanced at Layne Ludwig. The scion of an influential family, standing before a desk without a chair, just like her.
“…”
From the judges' seats, Professor Kyle watched the scene with sentimental eyes.
‘Only a single set of writing tools is placed on the desk. There is nothing else.’
And the only sound to be heard was the pounding of their own hearts, persistently pressing and urging them on, like the second hand of a broken clock.
‘Now, the cadets can only rely on the years they have accumulated until now.’
The extreme state of tension that only those aiming for the pinnacle can feel… now, what result will come this time?
“Then, from now on, I will begin the banquet of beauty that will obscure <Delighten>’s second sun!”
As soon as Kyle's command rang out, the three cadets, as if in competition, raised their brushes almost simultaneously.
Krista, with noble elegance.
Kayden, with melody-like gentleness.
And Layne, with masterful restraint.
As the ink from the three brushes scattered in dots into the air, the cheers reached their peak once again.