Chapter 69

At this point, I wondered if the infirmary was my respawn point.

I stared blankly at the ceiling of the infirmary, then sat up, and my rib area hurt like hell.

“Ugh.”

It seemed my ribs had broken when I fell.

This was an unexpected problem. I was fiddling with my side where a faint pain still lingered when I felt a strange gaze.

With a rustle, I pulled back the curtain and found the owner of the gaze.

“Professor Artemia.”

Brown bobbed hair and neat, light green eyes.

My heart stung at the gaze that even hinted at a slight vigilance.

Why? Did I do something wrong…?

“Professor?”

“…….”

A difficult silence followed.

Did I really do something wrong? Well, I did treat my body too recklessly.

I hesitated for a moment, and just as I was about to apologize, the silence was finally broken.

“What on earth are you?”

Rather than hearing such a question, it would have been better if the silence had continued. My body stiffened at the low question.

“You, are you really Theo?”

In the professor’s eyes, along with vigilance, clear suspicion was firmly in place.

“What you created wasn’t an ordinary thunderbolt, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“How did you create it?”

It seemed it would be difficult to avoid answering.

“It’s simple. I just used the basic element magics of wind, water, and fire.”

I slowly began to explain the principle of its creation to the professor.

Wind is air. First, I gathered the air in a specific space in the sky—above Barka’s head.

With fire magic, I heated the air, and with water magic, I cooled it. I created a convection current using the two airs of different temperatures.

Once the cloud was complete, the next step was to make the water droplets and ice particles gathered in the cloud collide with each other, reflect the light, and collect electricity.

By repeating that endlessly, when the cloud gathered so much electricity that it could no longer handle it, it would finally discharge a lightning bolt.

“It’s an artificial lightning strike created purely using the three elements.”

While I was explaining the method, Professor Artemia remained silent, as if lost in thought.

“Do people usually create it like that?”

“I can’t use lightning-type magic yet.”

“Even if you could, you probably wouldn’t have used it.”

I shut my mouth at Professor Artemia’s observation.

Because that’s what I really would have done.

The reason Barka was so helpless against the lightning strike created by the thundercloud was purely because it was outside the scope of typical ‘magic’.

It was a trick that utilized the fact that even magic follows basic physical laws, which allowed me to catch Barka off guard.

“Then how… on earth did you come to know such a thing?”

Have you ever heard of rote learning?

No matter how much I hated science, it was part of the basic science one learns in middle school.

However, in this world where magic that transcends the laws of nature already exists and science is unnecessary, the reality is that there aren’t even scholars who study it professionally, let alone basic science.

Because instead of building a lightning rod to reduce the damage from lightning strikes, you could just use magic to get rid of the clouds.

But, I can’t just ramble on about such things, and she wouldn’t be able to understand, so— there’s nothing I can say.

I just remained silent, stealing glances at Professor Artemia.

“From now on, when you use knowledge of unknown origin, just blame it on your father.”

“Pardon?”

At the unexpected words, I momentarily stared blankly at Professor Artemia.

But, the professor stood up as if she didn’t even feel the need to properly make eye contact with me and left leisurely.

What on earth just happened…? I just blinked blankly and then plopped down on the bed.

“Does she think I’m suspicious?”

…Honestly, even I think I’m too suspicious.

Actually, isn’t the professor fulfilling her duty as a professor just by not reporting me for heresy?

I really don’t know. Groaning, I turned my body towards the window.

The Flowering Festival finals must still be in full swing, right? I should go watch when the pain subsides.

Before that, I should rest a bit. As I closed my eyes, I heard the sound of the door opening.

The question of who it could be was resolved before I could even wonder.

“Are you feeling a little better?”

It was Father.

* * *

“Shouldn’t you be overseeing the Flowering Festival?”

Theo, who had turned his body towards Evan, asked, blinking his eyes.

Evan, who was sitting in the chair Artemia had just been in, explained in a slightly gruff voice.

“Professor Beatrice is filling in, so it’s fine.”

“And is it okay for you to meet with me like this…?”

“It is a standard procedure to inform the parents and guide them to the infirmary if a student is injured during the Flowering Festival.”

“Well, you’re not an ordinary parent, Father.”

He was currently filling in for the absent Headmaster.

As such, it would be right for him to avoid personal meetings with a specific student.

However, that was something Evan should be concerned about, not Theo, who was his son and a student.

“So you dislike meeting with your father?”

“Not at all.”

Theo’s lips curved up as if he were pleased.

However, a slight discomfort was hidden within.

It was impossible not to know this, but turning a blind eye to it was also a father’s duty.

“Barka was one of the most noticed magicians among the new students, you’ve done a great job.”

“I was lucky. No, it was just 70% luck.”

It was clearly visible even to Evan’s eyes.

Even with iron shackles on his arms, there was no guarantee that the lightning would strike Barka.

In the first place, if Barka had been a more skilled magician, it wouldn’t have worked.

“Luck is also a skill.”

But, apart from that, the voice that uttered those six syllables was utterly resolute.

No matter how much luck followed, a victory was a victory.

“You were amazing.”

Theo, hearing his father’s praise, finally smiled brightly, as if truly happy.

Seeing the corners of his mouth twitch, his father too must have been genuinely pleased.

“Could you explain to me the principle by which you induced the lightning strike?”

“Of course.”

Theo repeated the same explanation he had given to Artemia.

Evan occasionally nodded and asked.

“It’s quite interesting, have you thought about writing a thesis on this theory?”

“I don’t know enough to write a thesis….”

“Then how about I try writing one?”

Evan’s blue eyes shone brightly.

At the gaze full of interest, Theo slowly nodded his head.

“Do as you please.”

If there was something Theo often forgot, it was the fact that his father, Evan Lisitoel, was a professor.

And a professor at Lapis Academy, renowned for grinding his assistants into a hexagonal pulp.

“Thank you.”

If a new thesis were to be added, the dark circles of the Academy’s assistants might get 1cm longer, but that had nothing to do with Theo.

Well, if he had ended up writing the thesis himself, the story would have been different, but since he had slyly slipped away, he was indeed lucky.

“It’s not that amazing of a content.”

At the repeated words of thanks, I felt awkward for no reason and just fiddled with the nape of my neck.

“Healing magic? Is there anywhere that’s uncomfortable?”

“My side hurt a little when I opened my eyes, but I’m really fine now.”

“Then that’s good.”

Evan reached out and stroked Theo’s head.

“Winning isn’t important, so take it easy and take care of your body. My heart… doesn’t seem like it will last.”

With those words, Evan got up from his seat.

Theo, after confirming that Evan was leaving, closed his eyes.

It seemed he could rest a little more.

He was a little concerned about Lucian’s and Zephyros’s matches, but they would probably do fine on their own.

Theo, blinking his eyes, fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

“This brat is sleeping, right?”

“I heard he had a huge fight?”

“We might wake him up at this rate.”

I heard whispering voices.

They seemed to be Zephyros, Lucian, and Lerwon, in that order.

When I peeked my eyes open, sure enough… the three of them were gathered together, looking down at me.

“What are you three doing?”

“Huh? Just looking.”

“Am I a monkey in a zoo?”

“What’s a zoo?”

“A place to see animals— that’s not what’s important….”

When I sat up in bed, the pain in my side was completely gone now.

The round of 16 is tomorrow, so that’s a relief.

“So how did you guys do?”

I wasn’t the only one who had a match in the round of 32.

Of course, Zephyros and Lucian also had their matches today.

“Of course we advanced.”

It was the expected result.

In the original story, the two of them met in the Knight Division finals.

There was no way they would be eliminated in the mere round of 32.

“What about that kid named Liber who was with you guys?”

“He advanced too.”

According to Zephyros, he seemed flustered but dodged the attacks here and there, then knocked his opponent down with a single blow.

Wow, it’s a pity in many ways that I didn’t get to see that.

“Aren’t you the one who’s too precarious?”

“What’s so precarious?”

I just overdid it to avoid the failure penalty.

“But I’m not going to overdo it from now on.”

Seeing my worried father, I decided not to push myself to the point of wearing out my body, at least.

Seeing him leave his post for a moment and come to see me, I reflected on many things.

“That’s a relief.”

“There’s still a lot of that left, so tell me if you need it.”

At Lerwon’s words, who was quietly following behind, I let out an awkward laugh.

The ‘lot that’s left’ would of course be the elixir.

“It’s possible with just healing magic.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

“By the way, do you know that there’s a rumor going around that you did something crazy?”

“Crazy is an understatement, you should say insane.”

An additional blow from Lucian following Zephyros’s attack.

Lately, Lucian seems to have become strangely merciless, but it’s probably just my imagination, right?

Well, as long as our sweet potato hero becomes at least a dried sweet potato, that’s a relief. Big brother is happy with just that.

“They said you used lightning magic.”

“It wasn’t exactly lightning magic.”

It’s a pain to explain.

I have to explain it to Professor Artemia, my father, and now the sweet potato hero’s party?

My father will publish a thesis later, so just try to understand it on your own with that… if I say that, they’ll be determined to kill me.

“I’m a patient.”

“You just said you were fine.”

“I never said I was fine!”

“Explain.”

“Are you threatening me right now?”

“Yes, I’m threatening you, so explain quickly.”

I couldn’t resist Zephyros’s murderous threat in the end.

Keuheup, after finishing the third explanation, Zephyros’s expression became even more murderous than before.

Hey, if you’re going to be like that, was there any need for me to tire my mouth explaining it?

Zephyros kept his mouth tightly shut as if holding back a curse, and Lucian, while glancing at Zephyros, lightly patted his shoulder.

“That’s amazing. I wouldn’t have been able to think of that method.”

“The way you handle your body is fundamentally too reckless.”

“That’s because I have something to rely on.”

“Professor Artemia?”

Professor Artemia is a professor, and I also have Self-Heal.

But, does it really look too reckless and dangerous to other people?

“I’m really going to take it easy from next time.”

“Don’t lie.”

Zephyros growled.

I’m serious… well, once I’m in a real fight, I’m a human with desires too, so my mind will probably change.

“When did I ever lie.”

I slyly avoided Zephyros’s gaze.

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