Chapter 68

◈ Chapter 68: The Sympathetic Senses of Magic (1)

"Flora Lumos. What's going on here?"

In response to Rudger's question, Flora hesitated, unsure of how to answer.

Actually, there was something she wanted to ask about what had happened the other day.

Whether it was you who used that peculiar magic in secret.

'But how can I say that?'

The only evidence of the magic being used was the smell.

And it wasn't a smell anyone could detect; it was a unique fragrance that only Flora Lumos could sense.

It was because of the smell.

She couldn't bring herself to say it, even if her mouth tore open.

"A, ah, well, you see..."

Why was Rudger there that night?

And what was the identity of the vial he was carrying?

She had several questions, but at the same time, she thought:

'Now?'

Upon reflection, she wasn't particularly close to Rudger. In fact, she might even be considered one of those who didn't get along well with him.

While Rudger claimed he didn't understand at all, Flora still hadn't forgotten the humiliation she experienced on the first day of class.

It was all due to her own shortcomings, and even her attempt at revenge afterward ended in a spectacular failure.

Yes.

To her, Rudger Chelice was merely a man worth challenging, a rare genius.

Flora fidgeted with the hem of her uniform.

'Right, that's it. Pull yourself together, Flora Lumos. Whether Mr. Rudger is sick or not, it's none of my business, right?'

Even as Flora organized her thoughts, Rudger stood quietly, merely observing her.

Ahem.

Flora gave a small cough and looked at Rudger.

"..."

And without realizing it, she averted her eyes.

It was embarrassing to meet Rudger's gaze.

'What, what is that look?'

Rudger was just looking at her normally, but it didn't feel that way to her.

Rudger was a man who exuded charisma even when he simply closed his mouth. His sharp features and intense gaze made him seem almost regal.

Anyone receiving his gaze would naturally feel intimidated.

His unwavering, intense stare was something she couldn't hold for more than three seconds.

It felt like facing someone more noble than a noble.

"Do you have something to say?"

For Rudger, finding a student blocking his path early in the morning was quite disconcerting.

Especially if that student might have witnessed his secret the other day.

'Could she have seen it? Is she trying to blackmail me over it?'

Naturally, a wary look appeared in Rudger's eyes.

Unaware of this, Flora was only flustered by the increasingly intense (or so she thought) gaze of Rudger.

In the end, Flora, after much hesitation, had no choice but to reveal her purpose.

"I heard you're looking for a teaching assistant."

Actually, she hadn't come for anything related to the teaching assistant. She wanted to ask about what she had seen the other day, but couldn't bring herself to say it.

So, she changed the topic, pretending to be there for the teaching assistant position.

Indeed, when Rudger had announced he was looking for a teaching assistant, it had piqued her interest.

"Indeed, I am."

Rudger nodded, acknowledging her words.

"But why are you asking?"

"W, well, you see."

Flora clenched her small fists and mustered the courage to speak.

"I, I can do the job of a teaching assistant, you know?"

"..."

She placed one hand on her chest as she spoke.

Rudger momentarily wondered if he had heard her correctly.

"Excuse me, what did you just say?"

"W, well, I said I can help with the work of a teaching assistant."

"So, you're saying you want to be my teaching assistant?"

"No, no, that's not it!"

Flora immediately objected.

Being a teaching assistant! That's a different matter entirely.

"Is it not?"

"I can help with the work of a teaching assistant, but I don't want to be one!"

"Is that so."

"What's with that lackluster reaction? I came here to offer my help..."

Flora pouted.

Even if she was the top student in her second year, offering to help a teacher directly would usually elicit a grateful response, perhaps even a handshake.

But Rudger's reaction was indifferent. It was as if he was looking at something ordinary.

"Look, I may seem like this, but I'm incredibly talented in magic, you know?"

"I know."

"K, know... But why the reaction?"

"Because I no longer need a teaching assistant."

"Huh?"

Flora's eyes widened as if she had heard incorrectly.

Her long, dark blue hair swayed with her emotions.

"What do you mean, now...?"

"Exactly as I said. I already have a teaching assistant, and I don't need another one right now."

"But I wasn't thinking of becoming a teaching assistant..."

"Even helping with the teaching assistant's work is the same. More importantly, I look for something other than magical skill in this role. Didn't I explain that in the previous class?"

"That, that's true..."

Rudger doesn't choose a teaching assistant based on magical skill or the student's background.

He looks solely at character.

How diligent they are and how well they fulfill their role.

That was the condition he set, and he said he would only conduct a simple interview to judge it.

Flora was slightly shocked that her courageous words were rejected so harshly.

She bit her lip and lowered her head.

At that moment, Rudger's voice echoed in her ear.

"Still, I appreciate your offer."

"Huh?"

Flora's head snapped up.

"W, what do you mean?"

"Didn't you come here to offer your help?"

"N, no, that's not it! Y, you must be mistaken?!"

"..."

Why is she acting like this?

Rudger thought students' minds were truly incomprehensible and decided to let it go gracefully.

"Then, let's leave it at that."

"B, but that's not what I meant."

"If you have no other business, I'll go in now."

"No! I have one more thing!"

"One more thing?"

What could it be this time?

Rudger resolved that if this was just another trivial matter wasting his time, he would give her a stern lecture.

With that resolve, he looked at Flora, who, despite her pout, summoned her magic.

"That time, Mr. Rudger said that if someone understood his magic, they should come to him."

In the previous class, Rudger had shown the students coordinate designation magic.

And he said:

If a student could properly analyze his magic and even replicate it, they would have completed their assignment, and he would give them a lot of points.

But he meant it only if they could actually implement the magic he had shown.

Could this student in front of him do it?

"Watch this."

Flora said this and created a small droplet of water in the empty space between her and Rudger.

She didn't stop there. A small piece of ice formed on the ceiling, and a gust of wind swept through the corridor on the opposite side.

Rudger's eyes sparkled as he watched the scene.

Yes, it was clearly the <Coordinate Designation Spell> he had shown in class.

It wasn't as refined and clean as what he had demonstrated.

It was crude, and its effect was minimal.

But the foundation was undoubtedly the same as what he had shown.

"Really, you succeeded."

"I'm a genius, after all."

Rudger's easy acknowledgment made Flora's nose involuntarily rise.

"What do you want? Do you want the points I promised?"

"At first, I thought getting points would be enough."

"But?"

Flora thought it would be boring if that was all.

And her thoughts changed midway.

"I want something else, something that corresponds to the points."

"Something else, you say."

"Yes, that's right."

Flora's request was bold, but she had every right to make it.

Rudger pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"Alright."

"Really?"

She had only said it offhandedly, but she was surprised that Rudger readily agreed, her eyes widening.

Of course, she had her own intentions.

She couldn't outright ask to see another magic spell, and she couldn't ask him to reveal his secrets.

But if she left the judgment to Rudger?

He had boasted that he would give a lot of points.

If she asked for a similar reward, Rudger would have to think about what reward would match the points he promised.

'Mr. Rudger is unexpectedly old-fashioned. Someone like him wouldn't give something strange for no reason.'

The Rudger Chelice she had seen so far was a man who kept his word.

He was stern and rigid, sometimes speaking bluntly, but he was confident in his words.

One might say he had principles.

Such a man wouldn't make empty promises just for show.

"Come in."

Rudger said this and opened the door to the staff room.

"Y, yes?"

"I said, come in."

"..."

Flora swallowed hard.

Was she really going to enter the staff room alone with him?

Flora couldn't help but have some inappropriate thoughts, but she quickly shook her head to dispel them.

'Right. He just told me to come in. Don't think too much about it!'

She answered that she understood and followed Rudger into the staff room.

The inside of the staff room, what can I say, strongly gave the impression of being very much like Rudger.

It was quiet and clean.

Everything was neatly organized, and there was a strange sense of calm.

The pleasant smell of wood, the scent of ink and paper.

The soft light illuminating the interior.

This is Mr. Rudger's personal space.

"This way."

Rudger guided Flora to a door on one side of the staff room.

It was a personal research lab for teachers, where teaching assistants stayed and Rudger conducted his magical experiments and research.

Rudger opened the door and went in first, and Flora followed.

'Wide.'

Flora had this impression as she looked at Rudger's research lab.

Most teachers have research labs of similar size, but Rudger's felt larger than the others.

This was because there were almost no cluttered items taking up space.

Indeed, as a former soldier, he kept only the essential books, documents, and materials he needed.

On the long blackboard on one wall, dense magical arrays and theories drawn with a magic chalk were visible.

'What exactly is he researching?'

Most of it was just excerpts from papers or books, things Flora was also familiar with.

But when she saw a particular symbol drawn at one end of the blackboard, she couldn't help but stop in her tracks.

'What is this...?'

One of the clues to the various magics Rudger was researching.

While it didn't particularly inspire her, the symbol she was looking at was different.

'Symbol? No, is this a spell formula?'

But the shape of the spell formula was strange.

Basically, a spell formula is a three-dimensional image created by drawing lines and surfaces in the air with magic.

The appearance varies depending on the magic, but many of them exude a sense of elegance or beauty.

But what Rudger had drawn was too strange.

It was a simple cube.

Something she could draw with her eyes closed.

But with a smaller cube inside it, and lines connecting each corner, it was a different story.

'Just drawn? No, this isn't just drawn.'

As she moved closer to examine the spell formula, Rudger spoke.

"I've been thinking about what to give you. Since I promised a lot of points, if you want something similar, I should give you something equivalent or show you something."

Flora turned to look at Rudger.

He seemed to have already made up his mind.

"The coordinate designation spell I showed you. As you experienced, it involves setting mathematical formulas and coordinates centered on the user to manifest magic at a distance. It's about controlling the mana you use to the maximum, fixing it in the air, and then manifesting another spell formula at that air coordinate."

Of course, students who couldn't understand this wouldn't understand even if he explained it.

Actually, Flora Lumos was one of them.

She could use it somewhat because she followed the process she had seen with her eyes. Her innate talent made it possible.

"You, however, might be able to handle this."

Rudger said this and began to draw a spell formula in front of him.

But it was far too different from a typical spell formula.

'What, what is that?'

Flora couldn't help but shiver.

He wasn't drawing a single stroke to form a shape.

Each stroke continued without interruption.

It drew smooth curves, forming a surface, and eventually penetrated the existing surface.

What was completed was a revolution beyond a spell formula.

A basic spell formula creates a three-dimensional image by drawing lines of magic in the air.

But what Rudger was showing now was...

The shape known as a 'Klein bottle' on Earth.

A spell and magic that demonstrated the possibility of another dimension beyond three-dimensional space.

"!"

At the same time, Flora's 'Sympathetic Senses' activated.

A transcendent sense that surpassed the limits of human senses.

The moment she perceived it visually and olfactorily, Flora couldn't withstand the shock and fainted.