The Sleeping Devil

Several days after returning to the castle, the escaped prisoner still hadn't been found, allowing for uneventful days. Sergio deployed soldiers near the border of the domain and sometimes left the castle unattended, but otherwise, life was peaceful.

Sarah and Kyle stayed in their respective lodgings, learning their duties as attendants and participating in training sessions.

I found myself swamped with research on the mud and reviewing the classroom studies that had been on hold for a while.

One noticeable change since before the trip was that some of the knights seemed to regard me with softer eyes than before. Some even greeted me in the castle and cheerfully invited me to the training grounds.

I can't say I'm comfortable with too much attention in that direction, though...

I also managed to create a few prototypes of chocolate and held a tasting session among everyone, exploring variations in ingredients and aging periods. The one that melted milk chocolate and mixed it with cream after aging seemed to be the most palatable.

Despite offering sporadic advice a few times and relying on memories from one of my past lives, I unintentionally managed to replicate the tempering process. I truly believe they diligently researched it.

And the biggest change was...

"Father really loves surprises, doesn't he?"

"Surprises...?"

About a week after returning, I noticed Mary seemed unusually tired, and suddenly, I was led to a room in the main building. It seemed to be my new room.

However, it was different from the one I had been shown before. It had a work desk, a set with long benches and a low table suitable for tea parties, and a spacious arrangement of furniture, perhaps considering Ciel.

"What do you think? I actually wanted to show it to you on the day of your return, but we had to make some adjustments due to this little one coming along."

Sergio tapped Ciel lightly on the head, causing him to shake his head and wriggle out of his arms, seemingly accustomed to living in people's homes during the journey and eager to explore.

"Thank you, Father. It's a very spacious and lovely room," I said.

"I've kept the decorations to a minimum, so feel free to change it to your liking. But don't be too casual about it; Dior will get mad," Sergio said with a slight smile, which made me return a strained one.

Being told to arrange the serene interior to my taste felt more like pressure than a gift.

With this and that, I ended up relocating to a room resembling a suite in a luxury hotel. Upon exploring, I found separate areas for my own bathroom, toilet, and even a bedroom. It was much larger than I was used to, having lived in a one-room setup until then, so it might take some time to get used to it.

There was also a room resembling a warehouse, stacked with wooden crates containing clothes and shoes. It seemed to be a dressing room.

Come to think of it, until now, Mary had been just stacking those wooden crates, and I worried about her back. Since I'm not well-versed in furniture or curtain tastes, I decided to start by converting it into a walk-in closet.

The day after moving, while nibbling on leftover chocolate from the prototypes, I began writing new incantations for magic for Didier.

Incantations for summoning ice and freezing had completely different wording. As long as the meaning got across, they would activate, so I used words slightly different from each other to avoid mispronunciation as much as possible.

Once learned, I'd probably save them as presets, but as a former engineer, I wanted to eliminate any chance of human error.

There was a knock on the door, and Mary welcomed the caller.

"Lady Sheriel, Lord Julius has arrived," Mary announced.

It was the first time I'd invited Julius to this room, but it seemed Noah had guided him here.

"Teacher, how do you like it? It's a wonderful room, isn't it?"

"Oh, it's nice not to see a bed in sight."

Is that so? Certainly, I'm a girl too, so I was aware of having a man in my room, right? Yet, just like a seven-year-old doesn't think much when playing with a cat, I found myself comfortably having class in my room without much concern. Having been baptized and admitted into the noble society, it seemed I had to be mindful of appearances.

"Have you heard about the escaped prisoner from the capital? It seems both the Knight Order and the Mage Guild are heading this way, so it might be best not to go outside for a while."

"It seems so. The Knight Order might be manageable, but the Mage Guild seems like it could cause trouble."

How much do I really need to hide? Although I'm about to start socializing with ladies from other territories, I can't keep hiding forever. However, since Sergio and Dior seem openly opposed, I feel it might be better to keep my distance for now.

"Is this the new incantation? Before giving it to Didier, may I try it too?"

"Of course! I hurriedly wrote it for you to try, Teacher."

Julius glanced at the incantation and pulled out a short wand. I was surprised since, until then, I had been using beginner and intermediate magic without a wand, unaware that there were two types.

As Julius chanted the incantation, he froze the chocolate on the desk.

"Teacher! Please consider what you're freezing! My snack is ruined..."

"Oops, sorry. I thought it might break the cup."

After testing magic that froze the surrounding air, the chocolate on the plate had frozen solid. Since it wouldn't be edible for a while, I requested tea and a fresh batch of chocolate.

"However, it's a good formation. Simple yet beautiful."

"Really? I was careful with that part too."

I couldn't help but let out a smug sigh. I noticed differences in effectiveness among spells of the same magical power, probably due to how much magical power was allocated to the magic formation.

"Also, since I found a lot of inefficiencies in existing spells, I thought of implementing---or rather, restructuring them. As I thought, the performance improved. And among the intermediate ones that were originally spells, many seemed overly complicated."

"Should we calm down a bit?"

I was speaking incredibly fast... I just wanted to share this with someone quickly after discovering the efficiency differences...

Despite being told not to research magic alone, I couldn't help myself. I had been advised to only use beginner-level life magic. At first, I was just checking the incantations I'd written, but it escalated unintentionally. I apologized sincerely without making any excuses, but Julius just let out a sigh. I wonder if he's disappointed in me.

"I truly regret it. I won't do it again..."

"Well, just be careful from now on. Especially you, with your original magical power, you could end up blowing up the entire castle. If you want to try something, call for me."

How kind... to indulge in my whims and hobbies to this extent!

I started over and explained to Julius what I had come up with and what I had learned, incorporating practical examples. At first, Julius looked serious, but once I finished speaking, he burst into laughter as if something inside him had broken.

"Heh... hahaha! You're really amazing. You effortlessly exceed my expectations. Truly, you're... Haha!"

"W-what's wrong? Um, you're praising me, right?"

"Hehe, sorry. I was just really happy. It seems what I was looking for might be in you."

He directed a smile filled with angelic affection towards me, and my face instantly heated up. I felt proud yet embarrassed. With memories from my past life, being praised for recipes or techniques felt different. It was as if my own abilities were recognized, stirring up a boiling rush of blood within me.

"Does it seem... like I could be useful, Teacher?"

"Oh, very much so."

I wonder why. I haven't been belittled or seen as incompetent like the inept Sheriel in my dreams. Yet, I seem to desire praise from the teacher. But I guess it's natural as a student. Still, it would be nice to be praised by Teacher Margot or Teacher Jimon, especially after being scolded by Margot all the time.

Especially remembering the time when Margot, who usually scolds me, praised me, I pushed away these strange thoughts.

Today marks the first lesson on magic circles. Using special ink, we drew a beginner-level magic circle on a slate. It's simple, like a sigil, with few symbols and lines.

"Um, I can't draw a nice circle..."

Well, it was just weird. Why can I draw such a perfect circle? I thought maybe magical corrections made it perfectly round.

However, there was no way I could draw such a precise circle freehand as if using a compass.

"Your grip is wrong. It's different from writing letters; hold it from above and rotate your wrist."

"Ugh... it gets all shaky."

"Smaller circles might be harder? Try making it a bit bigger."

Repeatedly practicing while washing away mess ups with cleansing magic, I finally started getting somewhat decent circles. I never thought I'd stumble upon this here...

However, when I infused magic and activated it, the efficiency was lower than the magic circle generated by chanting.

"How do you draw large circles like during the baptism ritual? I don't feel like I can draw them neatly."

"That's what the staff is for. You use it as your axis, so drawing larger circles might actually be easier."

Come to think of it, when drawing the teleportation circle, I recall creating it with peculiar movements and steps.

"Magic doesn't activate with regular ink, right? Can I practice alone?"

While Julius chuckled at my distorted circle, he murmured softly, "Heh... indeed, it might be better to practice."

This is so embarrassing, he doesn't have to laugh!

Throughout Julius confirming and learning each of the incantations I wrote down, I kept drawing circles endlessly. I might get tendonitis at this rate.

"Um, is it necessary to draw magic circles? Wouldn't it be sufficient to just transcribe everything into incantations without drawing them?"

"There might be classes at the academy that use circles. Plus, you haven't deciphered advanced circles yet, right?"

Right...

Moreover, for rituals like baptism or teleportation gates without incantations to generate the circle, one has to draw them manually. Seems like I have no choice but to practice obediently.

"Then, I'll make a staff as long as Teacher's."

"It's better to make a staff once your body has finished growing. It'll be hard to handle if it's too big."

"Isn't Teacher still in the growth phase?"

"I remake mine every year."

He mentioned something about sacred trees around here, but aren't staffs something easily crafted?

While moving my hands, I asked about making a staff, and apparently, it's just breaking and carving wood, then dyeing it with your own magical power. However, there's usually a department in the Mage Guild responsible for crafting staffs, where they make them for the mages.

"However, that horn is a material that even members of the Mage Guild would kill for, so it's better not to entrust it to them. Should I process it for you?"

"Thank you! Um, was it that valuable?"

"The attribute itself is still unknown. For me, you, and even the master of that forest, we're unknown creatures that haven't appeared even in fairy tales for them."

I see. The first dragon I met was a black dragon, and soon after, I encountered the forest master, so I didn't have a sense that they were particularly rare. I guess birds of a feather flock together.

Ah, that's right. While my color is known, the attribute aspect is still unknown.

Although Julius now casually walks around the castle, his extreme avoidance of people might stem from past experiences of being in danger. If the value of rarity that even incites murder were to be associated with me in the future...

"Could it be that Teacher became a teacher to use me as an experimental subject?"

"Hm? Didn't you say something like that at the beginning?"

"I feel like I heard something like that."

Phew, thank goodness. Teacher is still Teacher. Even Didier used me as a guinea pig, so this must be an extension of interest, right?

"When you embed a magic stone into a staff, it somewhat supplements your magic power. Should I put in a void stone? Though for your magic capacity, it'll make a minimal difference."

"A void stone... that's a stone capable of storing magic, right? Since the master's horn is beautiful as it is, I'll leave it without the stone."

Julius took out a few staffs from a magically created storage space and let me choose one that would be easy for me to handle. I also took out the master's horn, and Julius cut off a branch-like part of the horn for me.

"It's so easy to cut. Is the strength alright?"

"I've enchanted this knife with my magic. I tried various methods, but with ordinary blades, I couldn't even scratch it. So, you can rest assured."

He suggested trying to cut it with a blunt sword used in swordsmanship training, but not even a scratch appeared.

He said he'd have it ready by the next lesson. Since I've been relying on him for everything, I want to do something in return, but I can't think of anything other than magic that would please Julius.

Would deciphering the intermediate magic circles that are still pending bring some joy to him?

As it seems like it'll take more time, I'll try to ask Owens during dinner.