Ch.2525 – Letter of Recommendation

[sys.msg: A vehicle has arrived]

Phew.

It was an incredibly tiring day.

The capsule powers down as the automatic cooling and cleaning mode activates.

I stretch my stiff body in various directions, but the fatigue accumulated over the past week doesn’t easily disappear.

Since I haven’t left the capsule all day, there’s absolutely no dust in the house, but conscious of the homeowner’s arrival, I look around to see if there’s even a speck of dust.

“How have you been?”

“Today was your last day at work, right? How was it?”

“You make it sound like I’m retiring? Well, nothing special happened. Have you finished your report?”

“Can I really get into the Academy with just this?”

“Who knows? The Academy might actually find you overwhelming.”

Every evening while eating with Professor Cheon, the only topic we could discuss was about Yeonseong-jin.

That makes sense because although we might be similar in terms of lived experience, my physical age was still stuck at seven years old, and his hobbies were practically nonexistent outside of mathematics and Yeonseong studies.

[Local Solutions of Complex Analytic Forms of Modular Groups and Perfectoid Curves with n≤3]

The report I’m submitting to the Academy contains theoretical content about the dimensional reduction method of circles, which requires extensive background knowledge but is actually digestible by young mages once they grasp it.

“This is truly at dissertation level, not just a report. Our graduate students should learn from this.”

“I didn’t come up with this on my own. I just wrote down what we discussed.”

“Who else but NoName would I discuss modular groups and perfectoid fields with?”

“It’s strange that universities don’t cover this basic magic theory. What do they teach at universities then?”

“Magic engineering dealing with the Idea realm is the trend these days.”

“That makes sense. People need to make a living somehow.”

Kids these days have no romance.

I’m reminded of my old colleagues at the Magic Tower who employed all sorts of bizarre incantations just to increase the size of their circles.

Now they’re concerned with getting better efficiency output using the same methodology and procedures, which makes the development of magic even more strange.

Even the modern era wasn’t much different from my previous life.

We continued discussing such topics over dinner tonight.

Sometimes he would tell me stories about neighboring professors or graduate students, like how someone got caught stealing red ginseng extract from the president’s office, making the situation awkward for everyone—truly absurd and funny.

“I need to write your recommendation letter for Cephiron Academy. Should we write it together?”

“Am I allowed to see it?”

“In principle, no.”

“Then I trust you’ll write it well.”

“My, you’re quite clever at evading.”

So Professor Cheon only showed me the recommendation letter form, without the content.

“It’s simpler than I thought. Not many fields to fill out.”

“I’m not good at writing. Even when I want to write something, getting started is really difficult.”

“I think recommendation letters should express the person as they are, rather than just listing strengths. After all, as you said, there probably aren’t any children my age who could produce such a report.”

“To capture NoName’s story… How about we have a brief interview? I think it would help me write the recommendation letter.”

“Well… I’ll answer as best I can. What would you like to know?”

Professor Cheon prepared quite a formal interview, complete with A4 paper and a pencil.

With the overall dark atmosphere of the house and just a single light, it feels like I’m being interrogated—but that’s probably just my imagination?

“Let’s start with the first question. When did you first become interested in magic, NoName?”

* * *

“Is the Princess still protesting in her room?”

“Yes, unfortunately…”

“She certainly has quite the stubborn streak! I wonder who she takes after!”

Butler Vargo had been troubled for days by the Princess who was causing him grief.

The trouble started when Prince Hiasen, who had been playing with the Princess, left to receive successor education like Jade and Fayran.

Upon hearing this news, Princess Estasha declared she wanted to learn magic too and began a hunger strike with her young body.

Thinking it was just a child’s tantrum, he resolved to teach her a lesson for a day, but the Princess was now continuing her hunger strike for the third day.

“Butler… forgive my impertinence, but if the Princess were to collapse…”

“Sigh… Call Verstappen. I need to request an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”

Whether aware of their situation or not, the three princes who had finished their successor education would gather in Princess Estasha’s bedroom as if by appointment.

“Hey! Stupid Shasha! Didn’t you miss your brothers?”

The one always causing a commotion was Second Prince Fayran.

He would pinch Princess Estasha’s cheeks and tease her, while Crown Prince Jade would try to stop him.

“I heard you’re on a hunger strike. Aren’t you well past the age for tantrums? Maintain the dignity of the Kaizen Imperial Family.”

But Jade was equally harsh in criticizing Estasha’s behavior and warning her.

It’s natural to feel more betrayed when someone who treated you well turns their back on you than when someone who was always harsh does the same.

Princess Estasha’s eyes reddened and tears welled up, but she stubbornly refused to say a word.

“Don’t be so hard on Esha. Estasha? I’ll ask Father one more time. Don’t cry, okay?”

Unusually, Prince Hiasen, who rarely intervened between them, took her side and comforted her.

“Sigh, the fools make a good pair. Starve all you want—I’m going to enjoy delicious turkey for dinner tonight!”

Fayran mocked the Princess about food one last time before leaving with Jade.

“You leave too.”

“Huh?”

“Hiasen, I said you should leave too.”

“I don’t really like turkey dishes. Can’t I stay a bit longer?”

“Why do you always come here anyway?”

“Because it’s boring. Have you grown tired of playing with me? Have you forgotten all the fun times I’ve given you?”

“…”

The Princess was speechless with disbelief. Who was entertaining whom, really?

But Hiasen, finding something amusing, hummed a tune while looking around the bedroom.

“I started learning magic following my brothers, but it’s really difficult. Count Dmitri told me to memorize these rune characters by next time. It’s quite overwhelming. Want to see?”

Hiasen showed the Princess the homework he received from their teacher.

“Stop pretending to be stupid. I know you’re smarter than your broth—I mean, than your older brothers.”

“You talk as if you attended the classes with us! The lessons were really difficult!”

“Then show me how difficult they are.”

“No way. The Count said we must never disclose this to outsiders.”

“…”

“But if my little sister really insists, I might consider it…”

* * *

“I started learning because my brothers were learning.”

“Brothers?”

“They weren’t my real brothers.”

“Ah, I see. They taught magic at the orphanage.”

They were actually half-siblings, but anyway.

“Did you find learning magic difficult?”

“It was fun. And fascinating.”

“Do you have a favorite spell?”

“Do you know the 5th Circle Raul-Sist?”

“What does it look like, roughly?”

I drew the basic outline of the Raul-Sist magic circle on paper. At first, the professor pondered, then seemed to find a clue.

“In Korea, it’s called Yeongeumjulsa, or Alchemist. A truly romantic spell that lets you see stars even in broad daylight. It’s quite an obscure 5th Circle spell—you know a lot.”

A spell discovered by Raul Luminos, an ancestor of the Luminos family.

It was the first magic that Hiasen, who was so reluctant to use magic in front of others, demonstrated to me.

A spell that transforms 128 rune words—from El, Ras, Maben, and Sutra to Reshaaikbar, Saleantirumon, and Harayetreka—into 128 stars.

It’s a romantic spell that any mage who has mastered the 4th Circle would try at least once.

Though the purpose of this spell remains unknown, its role as a map that consolidates 4th Circle magic is undeniable.

“Well done. I’ll stay up all night if needed to write the rest.”

“Is the Academy recommendation letter deadline tomorrow by any chance?”

“Hahaha.”

Whether student or professor, it seems to be human nature to tackle assignments at the last minute.

After finishing my shower and brushing my teeth to prepare for the end of the day, I said goodnight to the professor who was wrestling with the recommendation letter, then entered my room.

My still-damp hair was quite annoying.

[HyeBam: NoName, I have something to tell you about the settlement. Do you have a moment?]

A message from Sia.

I activated the hologram text mode of the capsule and lay on the bed to request a conversation with her. Of course, I didn’t forget to put a towel on the pillow to keep it from getting wet.

[NoName: Yes. Now is fine.]

[HyeBam: Oh, perfect timing! I just applied for the settlement earlier, and luckily same-day withdrawal is possible, so I wanted to let you know!]

[NoName: Thanks. You’re a lifesaver, Sia.]

[HyeBam: No problem! If anything, I benefited more from you. I included the 500,000 won mission reward for achieving Master rank since I think you deserve it. The donations we received over the week, split 50-50, total 2,564,496 won!]

[NoName: ?]

[NoName: Isn’t that too much?]

[HyeBam: Not at all! I didn’t even include the VTube revenue! Since VTube earnings are requested quarterly, I’ll send you your share at the end of March.]

[HyeBam: Just so you know, this amount has already been taxed, so there’s no additional cost.]

The amount is much larger than I expected.

Plus, what does she mean by VTube revenue?

[HyeBam: Don’t you know about VTube? You earn revenue based on views on VTube too.]

[NoName: That’s news to me.]

[HyeBam: Anyway, at this rate, that amount will easily exceed 200.]

[NoName: What should I do? If such a large sum comes in, they’ll definitely be suspicious.]

[HyeBam: ??? Wasn’t it your account?]

[NoName: Yes. So except for the 500,000 won, the balance later…]

[HyeBam: What should we do? I already sent the money…]

[NoName: Oh.]

The noise of the late-night city seems particularly loud today.

Soon, I hear someone’s footsteps.

Knock knock

“NoName, are you awake? I need to talk to you.”

It was Professor Cheon’s voice.

[HyeBam: Sorry lol]

[NoName: It’s okay, I’ll handle it.]

[HyeBam: Fighting! Let’s play games together again sometime!]

I smiled slightly as I sent her a reply.

This might actually be for the best.

Lying doesn’t suit my nature anyway.