Hedera, the 2nd Princess of the empire and the owner of the Imperial
Tower, was frowning as she flipped through the sale plans.
"Hmm."
Indeed, her mind was still complicated.
─Your Majesty, I will handle it myself.
─I respectfully ask you not to interfere.
She intended to settle things with Jaekiel in one go, but she ultimately
failed. It was like the crumpled letter in her pocket—an unpleasant
situation.
At one point, she thought he was just making excuses and decided to leave,
but that decision backfired.
Who would have thought he would grab Hedera's wrist, say he was sincere,
and then leave? He was indeed a formidable opponent.
Anyway, it was time to play the role of the Tower Master.
"Sigh."
Just thinking about performing the duties of the Tower Master made her
sigh.
'What announcement?'
It was just a place where people would desperately beg her not to sell the
tower.
She had already experienced such situations countless times. People with
awkward smiles trying to please Hedera, and desperate attitudes because
they would lose their jobs if the tower disappeared…
She had generously kept the tower, feeling charitable, but the circumstances
surrounding her had changed, making it difficult now.
'Ascension Ceremony.'
In the Celestial Realm, there was a grand event called the Ascension
Ceremony. It was a tremendous event where those with dragon blood were
recognized by the living legends, the dragons, and given the opportunity to
become one of them.
Hedera intended to remove any blemishes in advance for that day. Being
known as the 'master of the underperforming tower' was practically a
disgrace.
In fact, considering the Ascension Ceremony, there was no reason to listen
to any announcement.
It would be right to sell it off without listening to anything.
However.
Despite that, the reason she personally took a seat was.
─I am sincere.
…Just because of those few words. She wanted to give him a chance.
"Shall I listen?"
If what was written in the letter was truly sincere, what had Jaekiel
prepared? Could he present something that would satisfy the gaps he never
explained?
Her escort knight Valcon quietly lowered his posture.
"Princess, will you really listen to that man's story?"
"Yes."
Of course, if he spouted nonsense, she would leave immediately.
She definitely held the upper hand. As Hedera reiterated this fact to herself
several times, the murmuring in the room ceased. Jaekiel finally appeared.
However, from the start, Jaekiel defied her expectations.
"I've been thinking."
She expected a flood of flowery words, but that wasn't the case.
She thought he would be overly polite and formal, but he wasn't.
"It's better to just sell off a tower like this."
"…"
At first, she doubted her ears.
"…?"
It took her a minute to realize she had heard correctly.
Having heard correctly, she had to doubt her ears again.
Soon, one thought rose in her mind.
'What?'
…She had no idea what he was trying to do.
Finally, the formal announcement began.
Crunch, Jaekiel took out a new Sun Grass and chewed it.
"As everyone knows, the Imperial Tower is a place that uses and researches
extremely advanced magic. However, there are still those who can't even
handle the basics."
The magicians' minds began to race.
They had no idea what he was trying to say, what the auditor was thinking.
…Even speaking informally? But this wasn't the time to question it.
Whoosh.
As Jaekiel exhaled a short puff of Sun Grass smoke, ice statues began to
rise from the ground.
"Huh?"
"What? That's me?"
Their faces showed a mix of surprise and confusion.
They were amazed because they understood the extreme difficulty of
creating such precise ice statues, but they couldn't understand why the
statues resembled themselves.
Jaekiel continued his announcement while chewing the Sun Grass.
"Basic magic ice spear. One scroll is enough."
He unfolded the scroll he had prepared.
Whoosh!
The scroll thrown into the air took the form of an ice spear and pierced
straight through the air. It was a straightforward and classic form.
"But what about this kind of ice spear?"
Swish!
Thud!
As soon as he finished speaking, something tore through the air and
embedded itself in the wall. It moved too fast for the naked eye to follow.
The tip was shaped like a saw blade, and the speed was incomparable.
The difference was so extreme that it couldn't be considered the same
magic. After all, the ice spear in the scroll was designed with 14 strokes,
while Jaekiel's manifestation had 80 strokes.
"Why does the same magic have such an extreme difference? Is it simply
because it's been enhanced? Hasn't anyone seriously explored this?"
No magician had yet answered.
"Then why is the manifestation time the same? The amount of technique
and the manifestation time are supposed to be proportional, so why?"
Still, no one answered.
However, now everyone was focused on Jaekiel's words.
"Of course, you wouldn't know. You've been obsessed with the uniqueness
of magic and new discoveries, missing the truly important things."
That was when.
Squeak.
The ice statues resembling everyone started moving. It was a marvelous
spectacle, as if they had their own will.
The magicians' mouths gaped open.
"The answer lies in self-understanding. From now on, you must observe
yourselves, not the magic. Countless times."
Crack.
The movements of the ice statues were a recreation of the intense sparring
the magicians had done while Jaekiel was away.
"…!"
The magicians were shocked and clung to the railings. They wanted to see
the good magic up close for as long as possible. It was an instinct no
magician could shake off.
Of course, Hedera was still frowning.
She didn't want to admit that she was engrossed in this presentation. She
especially didn't want to acknowledge that she was finding it interesting…
It was the result of pride and defiance combined.
"Though you are the practitioners, most of you have spent your lives
watching others manifest magic. How have your lives been?"
Jaekiel pointed to one of the moving statues.
The statue seemed to be performing some kind of motion, likely utilizing a
scroll.
"This one activated a rockfall summoning scroll, so I'll apply my
understanding to it. These are just a few examples."
Jaekiel unfolded the rockfall summoning scroll.
Pop!
Rocks generated in the air began to fall.
"Change the elemental acting in the main strokes to ice."
He applied his self-understanding to the scroll. The falling rocks in the air
transformed into giant icicles.
"But it's not always a situation where you have to drop them."
He adjusted the direction of the circuit. Reverse.
The falling icicles shot back into the air.
It wasn't telekinesis or anything. This was also a 'utilization' of the scroll.
"Sometimes, having more is more effective."
He split the specific strokes drawn in a straight line on the scroll into
countless dotted lines. Immediately, the icicles divided into ten identical
forms and stuck into the ground.
By combining his self-understanding with the rockfall scroll, he utilized the
effects of icicle fall, icicle rise, and icicle division shooting—all with one
scroll.
"…"
Hedera unconsciously fiddled with the mask covering her mouth. It was an
old habit of hers when she became interested.
And for good reason, Jaekiel's words were simply idealistic.
That was definitely not basic. Definitely.
Why do the words "It's easy to say" exist in the world?
Even if something was theoretically possible, there were many things that
were practically impossible to achieve. If every theory could be realized,
there would be no distinction between geniuses and fools.
That was exactly what Jaekiel's presentation was like.
…Just an easy story to say. Wasn't that all it was?
Wasn't it too difficult to actually try?
"Okay, this time, let's delve into this scroll."
But.
If someone could accomplish that theory so easily before their eyes.
If someone was proving that it wasn't impossible right in front of them.
If someone was turning a supposedly easy-to-say story into an actually easy
story, a spark would ignite in the magicians' hearts. The desire to try it at
least once.
"You each have your own constitution. They are all different, and that is
exactly what you must cling to as your uniqueness. For this, you must
observe yourselves countless times."
Come to think of it, there were no mirrors in the training ground.
The magicians had been watching only the appearances of others.
Everyone in the training ground was already focusing all their attention on
Jaekiel. The self that he showed through the ice statues was both unfamiliar
and welcoming.
The self that had been persistently indifferent to oneself, now cautiously
reaching out towards oneself as a magician.
Reconciliation with oneself, grasped with desire and courage. The first
handshake.
"…"
A spark slowly ignited in Hedera's mind as well.
It was a moment when the frequency of friction gradually narrowed.
At that moment, when even a small flame seemed to be kindled…
"That's enough."
Jaekiel suddenly stopped all his actions.
At the same time, all the ice statues in the training ground shattered into
steam. As if nothing had happened.
"Huh?"
"Oh!"
"Just a little more…!"
They instinctively sighed here and there.
For a moment, Hedera also felt a chill run down her spine.
Because she clearly felt a sense of regret just now.
Was she feeling regret?
…Was she that interested in Jaekiel's story?
Everyone except Hedera looked at Jaekiel with anxious expressions.
They desperately hoped for his presentation to resume. Stopping here was
no different from torture.
"…Well, this is roughly what basics mean to me."
Of course, Jaekiel just casually chewed on a new Sun Grass.
"Let's just sell it. You guys don't even have the will to do it."
Then, everyone's eyes lit up.
It wasn't a look of rebellion, just a plea.
The magicians were already looking at Jaekiel with expressions that seemed
to beg for a chance.
"Why do you look like that? Is it not?"
The magicians nodded with their eyes.
But Jaekiel shook his head again.
"But still, no. This is against the ordinance."
At the same time, he let out a laugh.
A mischievous smile, like a rascal, but not at all unpleasant.
"Unless the 2nd Princess changes her mind."
At the same time, all the magicians' heads turned quickly like owls.
The point where countless eyes arrived was, of course, the face of the 2nd
Princess, Hedera.
"…"
For a brief moment, Hedera sensed what they were feeling.
Unlike before, it wasn't just a childish plea to stop the sale.
Behind their eyes, there was a burning desire.
Hands itching to manifest it right away.
They were, finally, magicians.
It was a sight Hedera had never seen before.
"Sigh."
In the end, the Princess let out a hollow laugh.