Ch. 80 - Knowledge of Magic Circles

"… Oh?" Balblair let out a sound of surprise and turned around. "You realized that it’s a magic circle engraved on my arm?"

She looked somewhat pleased, giving off a scent similar to Owen's.

"Well, there isn't much else it could be. By the way, Eliza-san is researching magic circles, so she probably also recognized it at a glance."

"Eh?! Ah, y-yes! I-I had a feeling!" Eliza, surprised by the sudden mention, responded hastily.

Not only Balblair, but even Alabarta and Cameron turned their gazes towards her.

"I see. Considering the diversity at Fiddiq Academy, the study of magic circles must be quite extensive. This is becoming a fascinating discussion. In that case, let's prepare a place where we can talk in more detail later. We will hold a formal negotiation there."

"Thank you." I expressed my gratitude to her.

Balblair turned her eyes to Alabarta. "Alabarta-dono, thank you for bringing such an interesting visitor. Please be present when we have our discussion later."

"U-understood."

Satisfied with Alabarta's response, she next turned to Cameron. "Cameron, you heard the discussion, right? We'll use the west rooftop as the venue. Please make the preparations."

"The west side?" He seemed surprised by her words but quickly fell silent when her gaze sharpened.

"That's all. Please follow Cameron's guidance from here."

After confirming Cameron's acceptance, Balblair concluded the conversation, and we exited the principal's office.

As soon as we stepped into the corridor, Alabarta let out a relieved sigh.

"Aoi-dono, that was nerve-wracking…" he said with a resentful look on his face.

Wondering what he meant, I looked at Strass and the others to see Strass with half-closed eyes.

He turned to Eliza, who looked exhausted, and said. "… Balblair-dono and Aoi are quite similar, particularly in your directness and forwardness."

"Even though your way of speaking is completely different, you are strangely like sisters." Eliza agreed with a wry smile.

I tilted my head in confusion. "I'm not sure what you mean. I don’t think we’re similar at all."

Aside from her appearance, Balblair seemed like a very communicative woman, the complete opposite of me, who was often quiet and didn’t like to stand out. I admired people who could speak up at large gatherings like parties. Balblair definitely fit that type of person.

This was what I thought, but it seemed neither of them shared my opinion.

"No, it felt like a clash of strong-willed women." Cameron, whom we had just met today, agreed with them.

I looked at Alabarta. He nodded in agreement as well.

I realized I was outnumbered.

Reluctantly, I decided to drop the futile discussion and change the topic. "By the way, Cameron-san, you seemed surprised earlier when you heard we were going to the west."

Cameron hesitated for a moment but quickly exhaled and walked towards the window. From the window, a small courtyard and the wall of the academy building at the entrance could be seen.

Pointing to the white wall, Cameron explained, "This academy has a treatment ward at the entrance so that injured people can be brought in immediately. Beyond that are the classrooms for intermediate and higher-level magic lectures. This central building is considered part of the east side. On the west side are the faculty dormitories, libraries, and research laboratories. The west rooftop is difficult to see from the outside, making it ideal for developing and testing confidential magic. In other words, the west side contains many confidential facilities on par with the magic research labs in the Holy City…"

"That's convenient." I inadvertently spoke my thoughts aloud. After all, it seemed like the perfect place to gather all the materials I needed. It would be an efficient place to learn about healing magic.

But Cameron and Alabarta exchanged uneasy glances.

"… Is that alright?"

"You must be worried, right? I understand your concern." Alabarta nodded deeply in agreement.

―――

Passing through the courtyard, we moved to the western buildings at the back. It seemed Cameron had given up on thinking and guided us while explaining the important facilities along the way.

"This is the library accessible to general teachers, and beyond that are the labs for general teachers. Next is the library for senior teachers, along with their labs. Currently, the only senior teachers are healing and water magicians. There used to be senior teachers researching fire and wind magic, so there are some vacant rooms now."

"Are there not enough teachers?"

"No, it's just that few teachers meet the principal's standards, but the number of teachers remains the same. However, there are currently no senior teachers available to teach advanced fire, wind, or earth magic."

After candidly discussing the current state of the Holy City Magic Academy, Cameron glanced at me.

I tilted my head at his gaze.

Eliza clung to me. "We're not giving Aoi to anyone."

Cameron responded with a dry laugh and pointed down the corridor. "I didn't mean that. Now, the stairs to the rooftop are ahead. Please, follow me."

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