Ch.239Past Stories: Olivia Eleonora – 5

The news that the girl had perfectly copied Helena’s healing magic threw the magic tower into an uproar, and every magician who wasn’t occupied with urgent matters rushed to the external lodging where the girl was staying.

Even the Tower Master followed briskly behind Helena. The news was certainly worth the commotion.

Had it not come directly from Helena, the magician who was all but confirmed to be the next Tower Master, they would have dismissed it as nonsense deserving a smack on the head. It was that outlandish.

But what if it were true?

They had to make that girl a magician of their tower by any means necessary. They couldn’t allow her to join another tower, nor could they accept her refusing to become a magician.

Dozens of magicians flooded into the external lodging. What they witnessed was the girl casting healing magic on her own body while firmly holding Abel’s left hand.

Her calves and thighs had already been neatly healed, showing off a certain shapeliness. Her right arm was also healed up to below the elbow, with new flesh growing on the upper part.

But that wasn’t the important thing right now. What mattered was why those two were holding hands so intimately.

As soon as she saw this, Helena let out an irritated snap.

“What are you doing, Abel?”

The other magicians instinctively stepped back. Even the Tower Master did the same. It was obvious what Helena was thinking, and no one wanted to provoke her.

Female magicians in particular had been careful to maintain minimal contact with Abel out of consideration for Helena, yet here he was, in such a position with another woman during the brief time Helena had gone to call everyone. Her anger was understandable.

Abel stammered.

“Um… Olivia asked me to hold her hand?”

“She asked you to? Wait, hold on. What did you say? Olivia?”

Helena’s eyes turned toward the girl. The girl’s eyes met Helena’s, though on the side covered with burn scars, there was only a hollow socket where an eye should have been.

“Me… name, Olivia.”

“What? So you can speak properly?”

Helena crossed her arms below her chest, her expression complicated. Her face contorted with frustration. She wanted to be angry, but with so many people watching, she felt embarrassed.

Besides, she wasn’t officially dating Abel yet, so it felt awkward to get properly angry.

“Fine, whatever. So your name is Olivia. But why are you holding hands?”

“…Hurts.”

“It hurts?”

Nod. Olivia nodded. Of course it would hurt while using healing magic.

“Hurts, so… asked to hold hand.”

As Helena was about to flare up again, her fellow magicians tactfully pulled her back, and an elderly man with a long white beard that reached his groin stepped forward, stroking his beard.

He was the Master of Abel’s magic tower.

“Abel, may I have a word with the girl named Olivia?”

The Tower Master had the appearance of someone who would undoubtedly be called an old man, while Abel looked no more than 17 or 18 years old, yet it was the Tower Master who showed deference.

Considering their actual ages, this made sense. Abel’s age would make him far older than even the Tower Master’s grandfather’s grandfather. His appearance was merely youthful.

“Why are you asking me? Helena didn’t ask for my permission before questioning her. You can do the same. Besides, am I the type to care about such things? You’ve known me for 30 years and still don’t know that?”

“Hehe, you know why I treat you with such respect.”

The Tower Master stroked his beard and smiled kindly. Abel gestured as if to say “do as you please.”

“Young lady, may I ask you a few questions?”

Hearing this, Abel snickered from the side.

“‘Young lady’? Hey, where did you learn such cringeworthy speech? You’re only 50—don’t people laugh at you when you talk like that?”

The Tower Master cleared his throat, trying to hide his embarrassment. In terms of actual age, he wasn’t the one who should be using such speech.

“…Ahem. I’ll have you know that people my age all speak this way nowadays. In fact, this manner of speech earns respect and is praised for its dignity. While I understand your perspective, Abel, in the outside world, even those as young as 40 can use this speech pattern without seeming awkward.”

“40? Is that true?”

“Of course.”

“…”

Leaving Abel to ponder this with his chin in his hand, the Tower Master regained control of the atmosphere.

“Have you ever studied magic before?”

Shake, shake. The girl shook her head.

“Then, has this person ever taught you magic?”

Shake, shake. She shook her head again.

“Final question. How, then, were you able to use magic?”

“…Just did.”

“Just did?”

The Tower Master’s eyebrows drew together. The other magicians had similar reactions, though Helena’s was a bit more intense.

Being able to “just use” magic was impossible.

If it were truly that simple, magicians wouldn’t hold themselves in such high regard, nor would they need to build towers to teach specialized knowledge.

Magic was an extremely difficult and arduous discipline—so much so that Helena was likely to become the next Tower Master simply because she could draw magic circles in the air without any auxiliary equipment.

And this girl claimed she “just did it”?

“Explain in more detail. What do you mean by ‘just did’?”

The Tower Master’s voice grew urgent. Olivia’s finger pointed forward, directly at Helena.

“I… saw her… do it…”

Even Abel, who had been lost in thought, couldn’t help but be surprised. To be able to use the exact same magic just by watching someone perform it once.

The Tower Master’s mind raced. This talent was extraordinary. If he could persuade her to join his tower, the benefits would be immense.

“Young lady. May I make another request?”

“…Why?”

“I wish to assess your talent.”

The purple eye glanced at Abel beside her and gripped his hand more firmly. Seeing this, Helena flinched, and her fellow magicians carefully observed her reaction.

“Try to copy this magic.”

A magic circle appeared in his hand. Other magicians let out sounds of admiration at the perfect form and the orderly flow of mana. Olivia stared at the magic circle intently.

Then, she raised her right hand.

The Tower Master’s eyes widened in shock as he read the mana flow emerging from Olivia’s hand. Not even 10 seconds had passed since he’d drawn his magic circle, and she was already copying it?

Regardless of the astonishment around her, Olivia drew an exact replica of the Tower Master’s magic circle with her right hand. Mana followed along the lines.

“…Insane.”

“…Is that even possible?”

“No way… Hey, is this some kind of setup between the Tower Master and her? Did they meet beforehand?”

People showed various reactions, but the common thread was shock.

If she had perfectly recreated the internal structure of the magic circle just by looking at it from the outside, it was impossible to imagine what level of talent she possessed.

Even the strength and flow of the mana matched the Tower Master’s perfectly. No one present could have accomplished this.

Not even Helena.

“Well… this is… remarkable.”

That statement represented everyone’s feelings. After a while, the girl let the magic dissipate. The mana scattered into the air.

The Tower Master, who had been staring blankly, spoke.

“Is there a vacant position in the tower? If not, create one.”

No one objected. Olivia just tilted her head, looking at Abel with her purple eye.

Olivia, who had received an impromptu invitation to join the magic tower, quietly accepted the offer.

Helena protested that this was unprecedented, but soon withdrew her objection. She knew it was futile. The girl’s talent was that extraordinary.

As soon as Olivia entered the tower, she gathered all the basic magic textbooks and shut herself in her room. Since the Tower Master had ordered everyone to accommodate her as much as possible, no one could stop Olivia’s actions.

Three days.

That’s how long it took for Olivia to emerge from her room again.

After three days, Olivia came out, returned the basic magic textbooks, took the beginner-level books, and shut herself in her room again. She emerged a week later.

Then, she returned the beginner-level books, took the intermediate-level books, and repeated the same process. This time, it took her two weeks to come back out.

An ordinary magician would need a full three years to master the basic textbooks, ten years to become proficient with beginner-level books, and would spend a lifetime studying intermediate-level magic.

Even Helena, the promising candidate for the next Tower Master, had taken five years to reach the intermediate level. That alone was considered an incredible talent.

But Olivia completed the entire process in less than a month. It was talent that could only be described as divine—to the point where observers felt fear rather than awe or surprise.

It was around this time that Olivia’s personality and demeanor began to change. Her hair, which had been so long it trailed on the floor even after wrapping around her body several times, was now barely shoulder-length.

Her already subdued atmosphere gradually became gloomy and eerie. Magicians who saw her smile would get goosebumps and avoid her.

Still, most magicians didn’t mind. Eccentrics were common among magicians. A gloomy demeanor barely qualified as eccentric.

Above all, Olivia’s magical talent was too valuable to dismiss over mere changes in personality and atmosphere. Everyone in the tower agreed on this.

Olivia absorbed magic at a frightening pace, and the Tower Master spared no support for her.

“…”

As the situation progressed, Helena’s position became increasingly precarious.

Before Olivia’s arrival, Helena had believed that both the Tower Master position and Abel’s heart would be hers. Now, both were in jeopardy.

So far, Olivia hadn’t shown any interest in becoming the next Tower Master, but if her skills continued to grow at this rate, even that would become uncertain.

The same was true for Abel. Helena clearly recognized the way Olivia looked at him.

It was the gaze of a female.

The same gaze Helena had when looking at Abel.

The only consolation was that Abel clearly maintained boundaries with Olivia. Helena had witnessed Abel repeatedly rebuffing Olivia’s advances.

Had Abel been receptive to Olivia, Helena’s patience would have surely exploded.

Helena couldn’t contain her rising irritation. One month. It had only been one month. How could Olivia fall in love just because someone took care of her for such a short time?

Still, it was acceptable. If Abel stayed by her side, she was willing to give up the Tower Master position.

She preferred gaining Abel and losing the Tower Master position over gaining the position and losing Abel.

That’s when the incident occurred.