Ch.27Auction House (1)

Clifford sat in his office reading a magical newspaper through his monocle.

“The Great Achievements of Genius Magician Ruide Christopher Windsor”

Ruide’s accomplishments were written in huge letters across the page.

The subtitle read: ‘Presenting a New Paradigm.’

“Hehe, what a grandiose title.”

“You personally requested it, Chancellor. What are you saying?”

Fenicia remarked as she set down some black tea.

Clifford pushed up his glasses and scrutinized Fenicia with sharp eyes.

“I merely provided the idea, just the idea.”

“…The Academy Chancellor’s suggestion is basically an order.”

“Tsk tsk, should journalists succumb to power like that?”

Despite his words, he had already read the newspaper four times.

It was filled with all sorts of praise like ‘Establishing a New Magical Theory.’

But there was no substance. There were no detailed mentions of how magic had been developed.

This was because of Ruide’s opposition. Ruide was reluctant to make an official announcement to the academic world.

As Academy Chancellor, it was good that the institution’s prestige was rising, but…

As a magician, it was an absolute waste.

“What does the next Chancellor think?”

“About Lord Ruide’s magic?”

“Yes.”

“…I think it’s an incredible achievement. He made a nearly obsolete magic that nobody uses into something useful.”

Fenicia nodded readily and continued.

“The long casting time is definitely a drawback, but among 5th tier magic, it seems to have the strongest destructive power. The range is a bit disappointing though…”

“You stupid girl!”

“Eek! Why are you shouting?!”

Clifford glared at her intensely.

“Do you think this magic is worth only that much?”

“…Then please tell me, great Archmage Clifford.”

“The true significance of this magic doesn’t lie in destruction.”

Clifford put down the newspaper and spoke with passion.

“Until now, there’s been no precise definition of a magician’s level. Though we have tiers, the gap from the 5th tier upward is too large to subdivide.”

It takes much longer to advance from 5th tier to 6th tier than it does to reach 5th tier from 1st.

“Think about it. How many fools have died pointlessly in magical duels arguing over who’s better?”

As a result, even among 5th tier magicians, some think ‘I’ve practiced five years longer than you, so I’m much better,’ while others think, ‘If it only took five years, I’d have reached 6th tier already, idiot.’

When these two meet?

A magical duel ensues. And magicians’ pride is extremely strong. Many cases end with people dying needlessly because they refuse to back down.

“Look at this magic! Magical power, mana control, magical formulas, concentration, composure! Everything a magician needs is contained in this magic!”

“Could it be…”

Fenicia’s eyes widened at the realization she hadn’t considered.

“Chancellor, are you saying this magic could be used to determine the hierarchy among magicians?”

“Of course! Do you think it stops at 5th tier? It can easily go up to 11th tier, no, 13th tier!”

Clifford was a magician capable of using 11th tier magic. Once you surpass 10th tier, you’re called an Archmage.

13th tier magic could only be used by the Great Archmage, Dellin. To this day, no magician exists who can use the magic classified as 13th tier.

“What frustrates magicians most is not knowing their current level. Like how much progress they’ve made toward the next tier… But with this, they can gauge their level.”

Am I doing well?

Am I better than yesterday?

Or have I regressed?

Every magician has such thoughts at least once.

Fenicia responded with slight bewilderment.

“Now that you mention it… that’s true.”

“So this is a revolution. A revolution. But… it’s a shame he won’t make it public.”

Clifford seemed to think for a moment, then suddenly looked at Fenicia.

“What about the crystal balls? There are five in total, right?”

Fenicia nodded. She briefly went somewhere and returned with crystal balls in her arms.

“How many should we duplicate?”

Fenicia placed a total of five crystal balls on the table.

Normally, duplicating a crystal ball with another crystal ball is called division, but with each duplication, the image quality deteriorates, limiting it to 10 copies per original.

“Duplicate? How stupid. Why would we duplicate them?”

“…So we won’t? But there are so many people who need them.”

“Because many people need them, the number should be limited.”

“What?”

Fenicia couldn’t understand.

“I’ll release just one per year.”

Clifford opened the newspaper again.

“Why…?”

Fenicia was confused.

“If many people need it, shouldn’t we make as many duplicates as possible, even if the quality isn’t great?”

“Which do you think is more valuable: having 5 in the world or 500?”

“B-but in the case of Lord Ruide’s presentation, even 500 would be valuable.”

“Hmph, the price of an item isn’t determined by value alone.”

Clifford closed the newspaper and cast a preservation spell on it.

“How much do you think this crystal ball will be worth?”

“…Maybe 100,000 gold?”

“At least 10 million gold.”

Clifford smirked.

“W-what?”

Her eyes widened at the price, ten times what she had estimated.

The Academy’s annual operating budget was 50 million gold.

“I declare this: at the upcoming auction, it will sell for over 10 million gold. And when we sell another crystal ball next year, it will fetch an even higher price.”

Clifford’s eyes gleamed with certainty.

**

Ruide lay on the grass by Dellin’s Lake, gazing at the sky.

‘I should go get the orb, but it’s such a hassle.’

The presentation had ended successfully.

Well… there were some minor conflicts.

But they had nothing to do with him.

All that remained was to safely receive Rak’s Orb and destroy it.

Once that was resolved, there would be no problems for at least a year.

“Yaaawn.”

Ruide stretched out with a big yawn.

Hersy was lying beside him.

“It’s peaceful.”

“Yeah.”

The gentle breeze tousled their hair.

Hersy took out a notebook from her pocket and flipped through it.

The densely written notes gave her peace of mind.

Ruide glanced at it and asked.

“What did you write down so thoroughly?”

“I wrote down everything you said.”

“…That much?”

“I have a habit of making sure I understand every theory I don’t know.”

Even as she spoke, Hersy seemed absorbed in the contents of her notebook. Ruide glanced at her and said.

“You work hard, Hersy.”

Ruide recalled how Hersy had diligently taken notes while watching the board, even amid the chaos.

…Hersy definitely wasn’t normal either. She had something of a “my way” feeling about her.

“Of course! Minerva is a family that must work hard.”

Hersy spoke with a hint of pride.

“That’s why I’ll definitely maintain my top rank.”

Ruide suddenly became curious and asked.

“Why are you so determined to be the top student?”

“…Succession issues. My position is precarious. I can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

Come to think of it, Ruide remembered how in the original story, Justin’s defeat of Hersy was described as a “David versus Goliath” battle.

It was considered a miracle that a commoner like Justin could crush the heir of a prestigious family…

Ruide’s eyes suddenly deepened.

‘Not Goliath, but just someone trying to appear that way.’

She was just a girl living diligently to protect her position.

“Come to think of it… Windsor doesn’t have succession battles, right?”

“Sometimes I feel like Hersy knows more about Windsor than I do.”

“How could that be? Well… I’ve been interested and looked into it for a long time.”

Hersy turned her face slightly and fidgeted with her bangs.

“No. Nothing like succession battles.”

“…I’m envious. People in Minerva are at each other’s throats. I understand why you’re close with Lady Amelia.”

Noble succession battles are as fierce as those in the imperial family.

Typically, nobles have four or five children, and under imperial law, succession isn’t strictly determined by primogeniture but by the family head’s judgment.

There’s a saying that the empire developed so much because it favored meritocracy—

As a result, nobles here lead incredibly bloody daily lives.

‘I’m fortunate to be born into Windsor.’

Ruide felt this anew.

“By the way, Ruide, you have another sibling besides Lady Amelia, right?”

“Yes.”

Hersy showed curiosity.

“As far as I know, that person is the heir… they must be quite skilled to surpass Lady Amelia.”

Amelia was here under the pretext of an heir test, but it was closer to a concept of self-proof and coming-of-age ceremony.

The Windsor heir had already been decided.

Ruide briefly thought of his older sister, Irene Windsor.

Just thinking about her made him break into a cold sweat.

“She is skilled.”

“Tell me more! I’m curious. Is she stronger than Lady Amelia?”

Ruide couldn’t say for certain.

Because Irene Windsor’s swordsmanship was one-hit-kill.

If Amelia could block that one strike, she would win. Though that seemed unlikely—

“Well… I haven’t seen Ame go all out. But I’ve never seen my older sister swing her sword more than twice. Ame always loses in one exchange.”

“What?!”

Hersy’s eyes widened in shock.

“She’s that strong?”

“She’s not the heir for nothing.”

“Wow, Windsor is truly amazing. …What’s her personality like? Dignified like Lady Amelia?”

‘Dignified?’

Ruide narrowed his eyes.

That was something he couldn’t even take as a joke.

“She’s crazy.”

“…Pardon?”

“Completely insane.”

Hersy was taken aback. It was the first time she’d heard Ruide use such harsh language.

“Crazy…?”

“Whatever you’re imagining, it’s worse.”

Ruide shook his head.

When he was in the North, the most dangerous thing wasn’t powerful magical beasts or the flesh-freezing cold.

It was his older sister, Irene Windsor.

She didn’t exactly bully him, but—

She was more like a natural disaster.

“…!”

Just then, Ruide sensed something sharp.

He quickly got up, took out his staff from his pocket and said.

“Aegis.”

It was the strongest barrier spell he knew.

“Ruide…?”

Four layers of massive protective shields formed in front of Ruide’s staff.

And at that moment.

CLANG!

A blonde woman flew in at almost the speed of light and collided with the barrier.

Sparks flew as her sword struck the barrier.

Ruide bit his lip and reinforced his magical power.

Hersy simply sat down in shock.

Ruide was gradually pushed back along with his barrier.

Crack, crack—

Ruide’s barriers broke one by one.

The sword was getting closer and closer to his forehead.

CLANG!

One last layer.

If this broke, he would still be safe due to his inner barrier, but Hersy might get hurt.

Ruide gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Big sister…!”

At Ruide’s strained voice, the sudden attacker withdrew her sword.

Ruide glared at the assailant.

The attacker raised the corner of her mouth and gave a gentle smile.

It was such a peaceful smile that it was hard to believe she had just attacked.

However, her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

There was only one woman in the world who could smile so terrifyingly.

The heir to the Windsor family and Ruide’s eldest sister.

Irene Windsor.

She spoke in a gentle voice.

“Your reaction time has gotten a bit slower, Rui.”