chapter_0145

146 – I Have to Say This!

146 – I Have to Say This!

Gulp.

The inside of the store was quiet.

It seemed Max had finished cleaning before leaving, as the store was spotless without a speck of dust.

“Looks neat.”

The store reflected Max’s personality, which was always tidy and precise.

Meiko felt a pang of guilt as she compared it to her own cluttered research lab.

“I-I have my own rules, you know.”

There’s a saying about order within chaos.

Though it appeared messy on the surface, Meiko took pride in the order she maintained within her chaos.

“It’s not like I lose my thesis materials or reports.”

Of course, she did occasionally misplace things, but she always thought that was acceptable.

What she had lost at that time wasn’t important.

That’s why she forgot about it.

Suppressing her guilty conscience, she quietly entered the store.

Since she used the spare key to unlock it, the security system naturally didn’t activate.

“Looks like he set up anti-theft magic here and there.”

This was a piece of cake.

Disabling the basic Magic Circle was easy for Meiko.

“Good.”

Carefully closing the door, Meiko turned on the lights inside the store.

Since the store had no windows, it wouldn’t be noticeable from outside even with the lights on.

As she entered the workshop where Max always welcomed customers, Meiko saw the Magic Circle that spanned the entire room.

“Really intricate.”

No matter how many times she looked, she could feel the care he put into it.

The perfection of the Magic Circle was so impressive that her mouth fell open in awe.

She admired the Magic Circle for a moment.

“It doesn’t seem to have any problems…”

However, the illusions this Magic Circle produced were far too lewd.

As if desire was a given.

When she only looked at the Magic Circle, it seemed completely normal.

“Hmm, could it be a double Magic Circle?”

A double Magic Circle.

It doubled the mana consumption, but the effects of the Magic Circle could be applied with certainty.

By overlapping the effects of the Magic Circle, its effectiveness could be enhanced to at least double.

But the real advantage of a double Magic Circle was that it could hide the desired effect until it was activated.

As clear as the drawback of increased mana consumption was, this was a significant advantage.

“I had once researched this with the Meister School and had a paper on it.”

Did I tell Max about it?

She had only shared a simple introduction to enhance the Magic Circle he was studying.

“This is a method that hasn’t been disclosed by the Meister side yet; could it be…?”

She cautiously examined the Magic Circle, just in case.

To inspect the hidden spaces of the Magic Circle, she magically moved blankets, sofas, and various objects that obstructed her view.

Whoooom.

Since her physical strength was weak, casting magic was inevitable to move them.

Meiko used levitation magic to shift the items around.

Once she cleared the clutter that represented chaos, the Magic Circle became clearer.

“Yep. It’s a double Magic Circle.”

The hidden Magic Circle, which was not visible at first glance, came into view.

“Did he manage to do this perfectly with just an introduction?”

While the double Magic Circle she had presented with the Meister School was similar in essence, the method was different.

Instead of overlapping two Magic Circles, it drew a new Magic Circle in reverse on the back of the existing one.

This method was less efficient and more complex than overlapping two Magic Circles.

Moreover, the mana circuits were longer, making it more likely to overload.

It was a method full of drawbacks, but if there was enough mana, the effect was guaranteed.

Then she recalled a device attached to the outside of the workshop.

The Mana Battery, which contained powerful mana.

“If there’s enough mana…”

This was a method only Max, with his overwhelmingly high innate mana, could achieve.

No other magician could do it, and even Meiko herself would find it hard to guarantee success.

It would only be possible with the help of that external Mana Battery.

“He created his own method with just the introduction I gave him.”

Meiko was in awe of Max’s ability.

“Truly an impressive disciple.”

She felt a sense of pride in her disciple’s growth.

However, separate from that.

“What kind of effect did he hide on the back of the Magic Circle?”

The fact that he hid it so thoroughly meant there was an effect he couldn’t show to others.

“Hmm.”

She looked at the back of the Magic Circle.

Quickly interpreting the structure of the Magic Circle drawn in reverse that others couldn’t see.

“…Desire… is correct, but…”

Meiko’s face turned bright red as she read the Magic Circle.

“S-Sexual?”

Sexual desire.

She wasn’t at an age where she didn’t know the meaning of this word.

Knowing it only made her more embarrassed.

For Meiko, a devout follower of the Goddess, such words were very unfamiliar.

After all, for a noblewoman, sexual desire was something to be resolved only after marriage.

If one were to be led astray by sexual desire, they would become a demon.

Meiko remembered the teachings of her faith better than anyone.

“My disciple created such a lewd Magic Circle…”

She fidgeted, unsure of what to do.

She realized why she had seen such an illusion.

The very principle of this Magic Circle was to confront the opponent’s sexual desire, thereby eliciting it.

What a cruel method to make one face their hidden preferences.

If both men and women were confronted with the situations they always desired, how could they resist?

The reason she had imagined such things with young Max was…

“Ugh, so embarrassing.”

Just imagining it made her face flush.

“By the way, what should I do? Should I convince him to break this…?”

The teacher’s duty to guide her disciple correctly clashed with the Goddess follower’s belief that such lewd items should not be kept.

And the teacher’s reluctance to carelessly destroy a creation made by her disciple, along with the thrill from that day’s experience.

Two conflicting thoughts swirled in her mind.

Suddenly, she recalled Aurora’s words that there was nothing wrong with the Magic Circle.

It was only natural that Aurora said the Magic Circle was fine.

“Aurora wouldn’t know about the double Magic Circle.”

She had managed to hide it well, but what if another magician came?

If a magician from the Meister School, who knew about the existence of double Magic Circles, came, they would surely notice.

They would realize that something was off about this Magic Circle.

If that were to happen…

Heresy.

She would be insulted as a demon worshiper and dragged off to prison.

No way.

Not that.

She didn’t want to see her diligent and earnest disciple misunderstood as a demon worshiper.

“Ugh…”

As she pondered, she bit her lip.

It was unfortunate to have to reprimand her disciple for their achievements, but she had to say this wasn’t right.

If she wasn’t careful, she could be accused of heresy.

“I am the teacher. I must guide my disciple onto the right path.”

While it was commendable that he had developed a double Magic Circle on his own, the fact that it was used to create a fantasy filled with sexual desire was troubling.

“If I just change the sexual desire to something else, it should be fine.”

Her stubborn disciple wouldn’t easily listen, but she had to persuade him nonetheless.

“I am the master. Even if it hurts, I have no choice.”

It was unfortunate that she wouldn’t be able to see such fantasies again…

But she had to do what needed to be done.

Steeling herself, she stood up.

“Ah!”

In her flurry of analyzing the Magic Circle, she stepped on a blanket that had been carelessly tossed aside and slipped.

Thud!

“Ouch.”

As she fell to the floor, she rubbed her aching backside and groaned.

And at that moment, the mana she had carelessly used to move the objects reacted.

“…Huh?”

This was something that would never happen under normal circumstances.

For the mana to react from the impact of falling to the floor.

If the mana could respond that easily, it wouldn’t be surprising if an explosion spell suddenly went off at a festival.

However, Meiko’s situation, lying on the floor, was far from ordinary.

A massive Magic Circle.

A powerful magician standing at its center.

And the Mana Battery installed outside the Magic Circle.

Because the Magic Circle was so intricate.

Because the mana Meiko had at the center was so strong.

And because she had activated the mana in the workshop by using various spells to clear the items.

With countless coincidences overlapping, it became inevitable.

Kiiiiiing!

The Mana Battery responded to the vibrating mana and activated.

“Uh, huh?”

Oh no!

Her words couldn’t finish.

Whoosh!

The Magic Circle activated, and an illusion was created.

“Ah…”

Meiko gasped as she knelt down.

“This is bad.”

The Magic Circle has been activated.

“I-I didn’t intend for this at all.”

She had only planned to check the state of the Magic Circle and leave.

But suddenly, the Magic Circle was functioning.

“I can’t escape in time like this.”

What she had come here for was to figure out what kind of Magic Circle had been drawn.

Activating the Magic Circle was beyond her plans.

“Now that this has happened, I need to find a weakness as quickly as possible.”

She hadn’t been able to find it when Max was directly controlling it.

“It’s only temporarily activated, so I should be able to find a way to dispel it.”

That wasn’t difficult.

As the head of the Illusion Magic School and currently the best illusion magic scholar, dispelling illusion magic was fundamental.

“If I just find the flow of mana…”

She focused her mind to find the weakness of the illusion Magic Circle.

“Since it operates based on sexual desire, I just need to suppress the sexual desire.”

She could definitely resolve it.

However, there was one point she overlooked.

The fact that the more one suppresses sexual desire, the stronger it becomes.

And.

“Meiko, sister?”

She saw it.

The boy Max, with the perfect key to her preferences, looking at her and smiling brightly.