Magician Marigold

7.

“……!”

The moment a squishy sensation flooded his mouth, Lancel was enveloped in a bizarre feeling.

Marigold’s emerald eyes, barely open, were staring intently at him from right in front of his face.

A fog descended upon his mind.

His thoughts ceased, and the sensations in his body gradually faded. It wasn’t a delusion. His vision was actually becoming increasingly blurred.

-Lancel.

A voice transmitted directly into his mind.

His body wouldn’t obey him, as if paralyzed.

-Lancel.

Marigold had not only pushed him against the wall but was also tightly embracing his entire body. For some reason, he couldn’t resist.

His mind grew increasingly hazy. He felt like he was about to lose consciousness.

-My Lancel.

.

.

.

“Lancel!”

“Ah……!”

Lancel abruptly sat up.

Before him stood a small, sixteen-year-old Marigold, holding a broom.

Barely over 150cm tall, with a flat physique, her long hair tied back, wearing an apron—the usual Marigold.

The body of the girl who had chosen the Wizard Path maintained the shortest stature in almost every playthrough.

“You need to eat. How long are you going to sleep?”

“Mary.”

Marigold tilted her head slightly, giving him a puzzled look.

“Why are you sweating so much? Just a moment.”

Only then did Lancel realize that his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

He let Marigold wipe his sweat with a handkerchief. He didn’t even have the strength to take the handkerchief from her himself.

“Mary.”

“Yes?”

“Did you happen to come into my room yesterday?”

“But you told me not to.”

“Did I?”

“You did.”

“Don’t come in the future either.”

“……I came in because you told me to wake you up……Why would I even think about going into a Knight’s room in the first place…….”

Marigold muttered her complaints.

What was certain was that she hadn’t come into his room last night.

He had rarely seen Marigold lie to him, so her words were probably true.

‘But it was Marigold.’

Yes. The Aura emanating from her body, her presence, Magic Power, atmosphere, voice, even her appearance were all different, but it was Marigold.

‘A dream?’

No way.

A dream?

That?

It was hard to accept. There was no way a dream could be so vivid.

It felt so real that the sensation left by Unicorn Marigold seemed to be etched all over his skin.

The two arms that had firmly embraced him, the soft sensation of her lips covering his, every inch of her body pressed against his without a gap.

If he closed his eyes, it all came back vividly.

‘I’m tired.’

He felt like he had been drained of his energy by a demon. What on earth was that?

“…….”

“What are you doing?”

“Yes?!”

Lancel slightly raised his eyes.

Marigold, who had been staring intently at his face from close range, startled and stood up. He wondered what she was doing since she was so quiet.

“L, lunch is ready, so come quickly! Y, you seem to have sweated a lot, so I’ll prepare a bath for you too! W, well then, I’ll be going……!”

Marigold rattled off her words like a machine gun and quickly disappeared out the door.

“Ugh.”

Lancel barely managed to lift his slumped body.

-My Lancel.

He flinched.

He turned his head towards the window frame.

There was nothing unusual about the wide-open window. Only a few sparrows flew over, chirping their hungry cries.

‘I’m going crazy.’

His emotions were a mess.

8.

Regardless of the Unicorn Marigold who had messed up Lancel’s emotions the night before.

Sixteen-year-old Marigold’s day was solely focused on Magic training.

“Breathe calmly.”

Jenis had even put aside his research to stick with her.

“Gather Magic Power. And slowly guide it in the direction you want. Keep summoning it until it moves according to your hand.”

Marigold’s eyes were closed, and her hands slowly began to form hand seals, as if sensing the gathering Magic Power.

The tangled Magic Power gradually changed direction according to her hand movements.

The process continued until it formed a round shape in her palm.

“Good. Solidify the mass of Magic Power.”

“Yes.”

The spherical Magic Power gradually decreased in size. Eventually, it became visible to the naked eye.

‘First Rank Magic. Mana Sphere.’

Lancel silently exclaimed in admiration. It might seem like nothing, but it was a remarkable sight.

It was a process that took weeks or months for mediocre Wizards. Marigold was doing it in one go. How could he not admire her?

“Excellent.”

Jenis’s eyes blazed. He seemed convinced that his disciple was a genius.

‘As expected of the protagonist.’

Knight and Wizard.

Both were similar in that they manipulated Magic Power, but their methods of use were completely different.

Knights specialized in concentrating the Magic Power stored in their bodies into their blades and armor, increasing their attack and defense power.

Wizards were those who specialized in delicately manipulating and shaping that Magic Power.

Naturally, Magic was more difficult.

It was the act of processing and converting an unprecedented power into physical energy, so it inevitably required much more sensitive senses and complex calculations.

But Marigold was doing it instinctively. In just one try.

Whoosh-!

The Magic Power mass in Marigold’s hand began to rotate at high speed.

The air inside the lab swirled, and the furniture rattled.

The candles went out, the bookshelves turned, and the items on the shelves creaked as if they were about to fall.

“Mary, stop, that’s enough.”

“Ugh…….”

“Mary?”

Jenis hurriedly stopped her, but Marigold’s complexion was not good.

“G-g-g-g!”

Oh, she’s acting strange.

“Damn it! Mary!”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She can’t handle the Magic Power. The Magic Power that Mary has captured far exceeds the capacity she can handle. She’s lost control!”

In short, it was a problem caused by her talent surpassing her skill.

That was why the Magic Power massed in Marigold’s palm was becoming unstable, as if it would explode at any moment.

It was already too late for Jenis to intervene.

“Mary.”

Lancel quickly ran to the window. He opened it wide and pointed to the garden.

“Throw it!”

“Y-yes……!”

“What? No, that’s my garden……!”

Jenis was flustered, but Marigold acted first. She spread her two hands holding the Magic Power mass wide open outside the window.

“Haaat!”

Bang-!

The Mana Sphere flew off with a loud noise. It passed through the window, drawing an arc like a cannonball. It landed directly in the garden’s lawn.

Kuuuuung-!

Explosion.

The ground was scooped up in a fan shape, and dirt and gravel rained down. If someone had been there, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to be covered in blood.

“Haa…….”

An exhausted Marigold collapsed to the floor. Her face was flushed, as if she had used up all her strength at once.

“It’s like a bomb.”

“M-my garden! What happened to it?”

Lancel and Jenis gathered at the window, leaving her condition behind.

The traces of the Mana Sphere’s explosion remained prominently in the middle of the garden.

“What do you think? Do you really think that’s the power that First Rank Magic should show, Jenis?”

“Of course not. That’s at least at the Second or Third Rank level. It’s not a power that a newly initiated apprentice Wizard can handle. She didn’t actually handle it either.”

“Roughly one or two ranks higher in power……. You must be happy to have such a talented disciple.”

“Is it that obvious? It’s the first time I’ve been happy even after seeing my garden in such a mess, Sir Lancel. To be honest, I thought she was going to be unusual from the moment she started handling Magic Power, but I didn’t expect it to be this much.”

“Is it possible that Mary will graduate as the valedictorian of the academy?”

“That’s going to be difficult. I heard that a lot of talented geniuses are gathering in this class. Compared to them, Mary has only just taken her first step……It’s going to be very difficult to be the valedictorian.”

‘Certainly.’

As Jenis said.

It was exactly this time.

The time when the academy was filled with the ‘Golden Generation.’

Within it were the still young Seventh Prince, a Prince from a foreign country, the heir to a Duke, brothers from a prestigious Knight family, a Magic genius, and so on……There were quite a few famous capture characters in the game.

If things went wrong, they would immediately fall in love within the academy and even go to a marriage ending.

‘The academy is the easiest background for nobles to pick and choose…….’

Of course, Lancel didn’t intend to push her directly like before.

If a man within the academy was attracted to Marigold, and if she herself was compatible with him……Then he wouldn’t bother stopping her. That was all.

There were quite a few good guys in the academy. Maybe she’ll find a good ending.

“…….”

Anyway.

“Mary.”

Lancel approached the exhausted Marigold. He ruffled her hair and left the mansion.

“Sir Lancel?”

“See you at the academy.”

“Yes? What does that……?”

Only Marigold’s puzzled face, blinking blankly, stared at Lancel’s receding figure.

With that, Lancel headed straight for his hometown, the Dante territory.

9.

“You want to be a professor in the Knight Department?”

“I was thinking of doing it for about three years.”

“You? A professor? Suddenly?”

“Yes. So please write me a letter of recommendation.”

“…….”

Lancel’s father, Viscount Dante, was momentarily bewildered before bursting into laughter.

“Puhahaha! You crazy bastard, you’re going to be an academy professor at your age, does that even make sense!”

“Well, there’s no reason why I can’t.”

Originally, Lancel was going to be an instructor.

But as soon as he saw that the qualifications for an instructor included ‘graduate of the academy,’ he immediately changed his goal. To a higher position, a professor.

“You stupid fool. If you suddenly go and say, ‘I’m going to be a professor,’ do you think they’ll just accept you? There’s a fixed number of professors there. There’s no hole for you to enter right now, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“……Why?”

“Because a position will be opening up.”

“What?”

Viscount Dante blinked.

“Baron Onis, who was originally a professor, severely injured his leg recently. He’ll need time to recover for a while, so he’ll be vacating his professor position for a few years. I’m just temporarily filling that position.”

“How do you know that?”

“Rumor. It’s a rumor.”

Lancel shrugged, pretending not to know anything.

“Some bad person broke into Baron Onis’s mansion and broke his ankle bone……I just heard it as a rumor.”

“Suspicious.”

Viscount Dante’s eyes were suspicious.

“Well, if that’s the case, I’ll write you a letter of recommendation. But if you fail miserably in the screening or tarnish the reputation of the Dante Family, I’ll never forgive you. Understand?”

“Of course.”

.

.

.

When Lancel, who had gathered letters of recommendation from his father and several other nobles, returned to the Imperial Capital.

The academy was already past the entrance exam period.

==========

—Marigold has been accepted into the Wizard Department of the academy! Only diligence, and more diligence, until the day she becomes a great Wizard!

※I hope she makes a lot of good friends!

==========

“Good friends.”

Lancel broke out in a cold sweat at the sight he saw as soon as he entered the academy.

He had come to the building to submit an application to become a temporary professor, and a familiar face suddenly caught his eye through the window.

‘Marigold.’

No doubt about it.

It was her.

The blonde woman who was gathering the items scattered all over the garden pond was definitely Marigold.

Books, pillows, outerwear, underwear, shoes, handkerchiefs, writing utensils, hair ties, lunch boxes, and so on.

She was carefully picking up items that didn’t seem to have fallen into the water willingly. With her feet in the pond that reached up to her knees. With the hem of her skirt all wet.

‘Good……friends……?’

The semester hadn’t even started yet.

She had only just been assigned to the dormitory, and she was already in this state.

Lancel sighed as he watched Marigold sneeze.