Episode 121. presentation (5)

“Since Princess Frill’s embracing of commoners and other races became a hot topic, wasn’t Princess Seryl, conscious of this, trying to show the world that she also has the same virtues?”

“I think it’s the other way around. Did you say Lane? Princess Seryl is trying to show off that the vampire has completely surrendered to the Empire by dressing that vampire in red—”

Even after the air in the banquet hall was flushed with alcohol, Rane was still attracting the attention of the observers.

Speculations abounded among the observers to understand Seryl’s intentions in making Rahne the main character of the banquet, but none of them were correct.

‘This should be enough.’

By the time the upbeat music played by the orchestra is slowly drowned out by the clinking sound of drinking glasses and the buzzing of spectators.

Kegar looked around the banquet hall and smiled in satisfaction.

The day before the presentation began, it seemed that the long-awaited goal of imprinting Rane’s existence on the audience had been achieved… .

Even in the midst of other professors’ presentations tomorrow, the observers will only wait for the moment they announce about Rane’s identity.

Even if the content is quite excellent, if there are no observers who are interested in it, the topicality will naturally go down.

The announcement of Ian and Dana’s results will be buried in the issue that will drive the results of the mana reduction theory, and eventually, it will not get much attention from Caldera as well as the observers.

‘If Rane dominates the glory of this presentation, the status of Mana Reduction Theory will go beyond the Imperial Society… . I’ll be able to get the support of the Empire on my back.’

It may be necessary to manage Rane, who will be protected by the Empire, so that she can live in a lot of attention, but this was a problem that could be endured compared to the achievements achieved through her.

“Rane, you can go upstairs.”

“really? Can we go now!?”

“… yes. When I get back, I will have to prepare for the presentation the very next day.”

Shaking distractingly with her legs hidden under the tablecloth, she jumped up and clung to Kegar’s side as usual.

‘First of all, I’ll have to teach him how to sit still.’

He sighed as he bit the plate with the mixed food from Rahne.

* * *

As Rane left the banquet hall with Kegar, the observers either went back to their rooms early for the presentation to be held tomorrow morning, or moved outside to watch the caldera fall asleep under the night sky.

While the drunkards gathered on the open balcony drank with the folded wings of the caldera shining in the starlight as snacks.

The two professors, who confirmed that Cheryl and the others had left, were busy spending time sitting at a table in the empty banquet hall.

“So, what your junior is saying is that I have to listen to the case of disproving?”

“That’s right. If you relate to my presentation-”

Ian was busy preparing for tomorrow’s presentation… . Dana, who was rumored to be a rogue that even the Imperial Academy couldn’t control, was standing next to Professor Ian, listening to his presentation plan with a serious face.

“Would you like to join? Everyone will welcome you.”

Behind the two professors, who continue a heated discussion without noticing that a guest has arrived.

Mel cautiously spoke to a man with a razor-sharp golden beard who came to visit the group.

“… nope Isn’t it a situation where every minute and every second is a waste right now? There’s no way I’m going to get in the way.”

The servants, who had to serve many customers, began to take a breather and organize the plates and empty bottles.

The orchestra played a song for the Caldera, which closed its eyes alone under the moonlight, and the first tower, the sacred place of wizards standing in front of it.

The man, who folded his red robe neatly and put it on his lap to avoid being seen by people, put down Carol’s thesis he was reading for a while and asked Mel.

“Mel, have you been to the first tower?”

“Nope. This is the first time.”

“It will probably be very confusing the first time you go there.”

The world at the time the first tower was established was a dark age when even the concept of magic was not properly established.

Because of that, there were many elements in the first tower that would seem strange from the point of view of a modern wizard.

“At that time, it is said that there were wizards who tried to affirm the randomly moving mana as it is. Perhaps because of that, there are quite a few traces of those who pursue chaos rather than refined order.”

“that’s… .”

“I understand that magic seeking chaos may sound like a risky idea to you who have studied modern magic… . If you go to the first tower yourself, you will find that this is not necessarily the case.”

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Just as humans cannot predict the growth of snowflakes, there are many mysteries filled with irregularities in Mana and the natural world.

Carol’s research that it could be used in a magic ceremony was in line with the basic principle of magic pursued in the first tower.

“I hope that Carol’s research will energize modern magic that tries to fit everything into the rules. If only we could face the truth as it is without prejudice like the first wizards… . At that time, the magic world will be able to take another leap forward.”

“… .”

“I will do my best so that the snowflake theory will not be buried in the Mana Reduction Theory announcement.”

“… All right.”

“After getting older, words only get longer. I’m preparing for the presentation screening from early morning tomorrow, so I’m going to go back now.”

* * *

A forest where the caldera, lying on its stomach after cutting down the bushes, quietly sleeps without even hearing the sound of breathing.

The morning sun was just beginning to split the night sky, and the slanting rays of the dew settled down on Caldera’s eyelids.

‘… Is it over there?’

Although the innocent butterflies and birds that flew in from time to time were resting on his back.

The observers hushed their voices lest Caldera wake up, and quickly passed his feet to the first tower.

The first tower that stood tall over the bedside of the caldera that disappeared in the mist… . It was shaped like a lighthouse, as if to light up the forest and the night sky surrounded by the unknown with wisdom.

However, if you look closely, it is subtly different from the structure of the lighthouse, and the bizarre structure in which a large-sized brazier is placed in the corridor where the lantern is located stands out.

A brazier hanging from the top floor of the white-painted Mage Tower.

I was mingling with people and silently thinking about its use.

“Junior, aren’t you tired? Yesterday, you stayed up all night.”

“I am fine.”

Dana, who had been snooping around looking for me, found me and came to visit me. She followed my gaze and looked up at the brazier.

It was yesterday evening that I anticipated the contents of Kegar’s announcement and started preparing for it… . She and I stayed up all night barely able to prepare a presentation to respond to.

Unlike me as a human, Dana followed my gaze and looked up at the brazier, without a shadow under her eyes.

“Your junior was also curious about what that was… ? It must mean something.”

She started to re-list the information she learned one by one, saying that an unknown Rubedo scholar had quietly approached her and explained the origin of that brazier to her, who had been reasoning with herself about why she had made such a thing a while ago.

“Originally, that was the place where the wise man who first found out how to make fire using mana gathered his disciples.”

A long time ago, when humans had to survive wild beasts and natural disasters.

Read the flow of mana to predict rainfall, search for water veins and dig wells. For humans, magic was the key to solving problems directly related to survival.

“At that time, the disciples who learned magic from the sage, after adventuring the world, gaining wisdom and helping people, came back and told the master and other disciples about what they had experienced and introduced new things they learned, and they developed into the Magic Tower.”

In order not to forget the beginning, the wizards lit a fire in the brazier every night to light up the forest, which was filled with darkness in all directions.

“The furnace served as a milestone for those who lost their way in the forest while looking for the Magic Tower.”

The free atmosphere of the wizards at the time, who had to travel around the world in order to gain wisdom, could be felt from the sense of life left in the huts around the Mage Tower.

Except for the fact that the signs of life are a bit strange… .

“… What is that?”

The clutter I felt from the main entrance of the Magic Tower touched me more clearly.

The observers who had arrived at the front door earlier were staring at the doorknob in embarrassment as they quickly ran away from their hands.

As if Dana was impressed, she began to look at it.

“… It is a joke left by our ancestors.”

Mel recognized her among the crowds in front of the front door and approached her.

“They said that in order to be recognized as a wizard with the skills to enter the Mage Tower, they had to break through those pranks.”

Scared to finish his words, someone who tried to jump through the window instead of the front door screamed in retribution for the shallow move.

“… Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be difficult to dispel such a mischievous magic, but it is said that the entire mage tower is covered with Caldera’s original form preservation magic, so the dispelling magic doesn’t work. So, I heard that if you want to enter the Mage Tower, you have to be creative, just like the people before you wanted.”

Of course, if someone opens the door in the Mage Tower, you can easily enter.

However, the mission that stimulates the spirit of challenge along with this story aroused the interest of the wizards, and everyone was half-seriously trying their creativity.

Dana, who heard Mel’s story, also started to burn the spirit of challenge.

We avoided the main gate where there were many people gathered and walked towards another joke located inside the magic tower.

* * *

‘… .’

He lowered his half-floating head in succession and resented the past me who thought he would be able to deal with the pranks of his ancestors skillfully.

With nothing to do but look for pranks, as soon as we entered the Mage Tower, we were immediately confronted with one of our ancestors’ pranks.

“A paper airplane?”

As soon as they entered the entrance, the overwhelming strong wind and the threat of paper airplanes flying fast along the corridor forced the party to lower their heads and lower their posture.

Dana asked Mel, blowing her hair in the wind that blew to one side.

“Are you sure this is an airflow experiment?”

In the hall beyond the hallway, it started to rain, and other observers could be seen grabbing open, floating umbrellas to avoid the rain and heading towards the podium.

“… Yes, it is. In modern times, magic takes a method of figuring out the cause of a weather phenomenon and then implementing it with mana. They say that in the past, observational techniques that would clearly reveal why it rains and thunders have not developed.”

Therefore, after reading the flow of mana while facing a storm, the previous wizards studied meteorological phenomena by imitating it in other places.

Looking down at the carpet in the concourse, which was more than damp, said Dana incredulously.

“Why are you doing it indoors… .”

“Isn’t it difficult even with modern magic to control all the mana in an open space? The smaller the test site, the less mana to control, so I wonder if this experiment was conducted indoors.”

Petals that had bloomed in the rain were getting wet in the experimental pots prepared to draw out the growth of plants by analyzing the mana in the soil.

‘… What is this?’

Some of the paper planes flying overhead were dogfighted with each other and were shot down and slammed to the ground.

Out of curiosity, I picked up the remains of a paper airplane that had been dumped on the floor in the hallway.

It was a paper with a hypothesis written on it that thunder was caused by friction, but it seemed that the planes with conflicting hypotheses were fighting.

After straightening the crumpled paper, fold the plane again and blow it in the wind.

‘… .’

We were able to arrive at the presentation venue, the first podium.