The Kingdom of
The largest nation in the northern part of the Central Continent.
The largest, yes, but its national power was comparable to that of the Kingdom of Shirone.
However, it had formed an alliance with the Basherant Duchy and the Nelis Duchy, and maintained close ties with the Magic Guild.
Combine the strength of all three nations, and despite being in the impoverished north, they were said to hold the fourth-greatest power in the world.
Thus, Ranoa, Basherant, and Nelis.
These three nations together were called the "Three Magic Nations."
Why "Magic" Three Nations?
Because the Magic Guild's headquarters was located there?
That was part of it.
But the primary reason was that all three nations invested heavily in magical research.
They recruited talented individuals from across the world and spared no expense in advancing the study of magic.
For this purpose, at the very edge of the allied Ranoa Kingdom— A massive metropolis existing right on the border— Magic City Sharia was built.
Within it, everything related to magic was concentrated and packed together: the "Ranoa Magic University," the "Magic Guild Headquarters," and the "Nelis Magic Tool Workshop."
The heart of the Three Magic Nations.
You could call it the most prosperous city around.
Looking down at Magic City Sharia from above, you'd see the latest anti-magic brick construction centered on the Magic Guild.
To the east, a student district centered on the magic university.
To the west, a workshop district centered on the magic tool workshops.
To the north, a commercial district centered on the Commercial Guild.
To the south, an inn district welcoming travelers and adventurers.
Anyone with a keen eye would recognize that the layout was modeled after Millis.
At least, I took one look at the map and it clicked right away.
Not that it mattered much that it clicked.
When it got cold, Elinalise would crawl into my bed.
Having someone sleep defenselessly right in front of you made you want to touch them no matter what.
And when I did, I'd end up feeling depressed about it.
So, I booked an A-rank adventurers' inn with proper heating.
Elinalise had no complaints.
Something I'd learned during our travels: apparently, she had a reason she had to be with men.
Once, we'd taken a wrong turn and it took over a week to reach the next town.
Her condition during that time was terrible, and the way she looked at me had become frankly alarming.
But no matter how alarming she got, there were things I simply couldn't do, so there was nothing to be done about it.
When I asked her about it, she explained that it was some kind of curse.
A curse that required her to mate with men regularly, or she would die.
Reading the words, it sounded pretty rough.
But Elinalise didn't seem to be bothered by it in the slightest.
She apparently loved that sort of thing from the start.
She even said the curse changed nothing—she'd be doing it anyway.
You could say she'd learned to coexist with her chronic condition.
"Well then, I'm going to visit that Mr. Genus we discussed. What will you do, Elinalise?"
"I'll come along as well."
"...Why?"
I'd assumed she'd go hunt for men at the Adventurers' Guild or something.
"Since we're here, I think I'll enroll too. In the magic academy."
"...Why? Are you interested in magic?"
"No, I've developed an interest in boys around
"Ah, right."
Same old Elinalise.
But even if it was a university, being a school, there would surely be plenty of kids.
I wasn't sure what the laws of this country were, but would she get arrested for abducting minors?
...Well, it wouldn't be me getting caught, so whatever.
She'd do it anyway even if I tried to stop her.
Nothing for me to worry about.
"Still, there's probably an enrollment fee and tuition and all that?"
"No trouble at all. I happen to have quite a bit of money on me."
So saying, she patted a pouch of gold coins.
Inside it, besides the local currency, there were over five Asuran gold coins.
She also carried multiple magic crystals in her travel backpack.
She'd shown me once—perfectly spherical magic crystals, about the size of a super ball.
Apparently, if sold, each would fetch over ten Asuran gold coins.
I'd wondered where she got them, but she was primarily a dungeon-exploring adventurer.
I just figured she'd found them back in the day and carried them around as a substitute for traveler's checks.
Enrollment cost money.
But money was no issue for her.
Her reasons for enrolling were questionable, but I was hardly one to talk.
And I had no reason to stop her.
"Alright then, let's go."
We headed toward the magic university.
--- The Ranoa Magic University occupied an enormous campus.
Across the vast grounds, multiple rows of brick buildings stretched out, and at the center stood a structure resembling a castle.
From a distance, it looked like it could serve as a fortress.
If I had to compare, maybe the Shriphenia University?
No, I'd only ever seen Shriphenia University in photos anyway.
Anyway, I showed the letter to a guard at the school gate.
"Excuse me. I received this letter."
The guard read it and nodded with an "Ah."
"Do you know where the faculty building is?"
"No, sir."
"Go straight ahead, turn right at the statue of the first headmaster. It's the building with the blue roof.
Hand this to the receptionist there, and they'll get you sorted."
"Thank you."
Elinalise was about to give the guard a flirtatious look, so I tugged her ear and kept walking.
The path to the first headmaster's statue was a straight road.
Along both sides stood bare trees.
Come spring, would cherry blossoms bloom?
Well, I didn't even know if this world had cherry blossoms.
Beyond the bare trees, a three-meter-tall brick wall loomed on either side.
If a large force attacked, would archers pop out from both sides and yell "Gotcha!" or something?
"Everything's made of anti-magic brick, I see."
"Huh."
At Elinalise's murmur, I examined the wall more closely.
Anti-magic brick was, as the name suggested, brick with resistance to magic.
It was said to withstand even large-scale attack magic.
Just how much resistance did it have?
I felt curious enough to try firing some magic at it to test it out.
But I didn't.
I'd heard that anti-magic brick was manufactured and sold exclusively by the Magic Guild.
In the
I hadn't seen it in Millis or the Dragon King Kingdom either.
But in the Three Magic Nations, it was everywhere.
The manufacturing process was a closely guarded secret, but perhaps the raw materials weren't that expensive.
Passing through the brick corridor, we emerged into a slightly larger plaza.
From there, three paths branched off.
In the center stood a statue of a woman wearing robes.
"First Headmaster, 56th Guild Master of the Magic Guild—Frau Claudius."
A plaque with those words was affixed to the statue.
This must be the statue of the first headmaster.
The brick walls ended here.
The road directly ahead led to fortress-like massive school buildings.
Even within visible range, there were more than six structures.
I noticed a burst of flame rising from what looked like a training field beside one of the buildings.
Must be during class.
To the left were several buildings with red roofs.
These too were large, with many windows and balconies.
Laundry hanging from the balconies suggested they were dormitories.
Now then.
To the right, blue-roofed buildings. To the left, red-roofed buildings.
I wasn't from the Silphenia Family, so I went right.
"I'm getting rather excited," Elinalise murmured.
"Are you?"
"Well, everything here is such a massive building."
What was this bitch playing the good girl for?
That was my first thought, but then again—adventurers didn't have much use for huge buildings.
At most, maybe the Adventurers' Guild.
So they rarely got the chance to see truly massive structures.
"What's the biggest building you've ever been inside, Elinalise?"
"The Millis Adventurers' Guild Headquarters."
"Oh, come to think of it, that place was pretty big too."
I'd been to the Millis Adventurers' Guild as well.
It was indeed quite spacious.
Though I hadn't been all that impressed, since I'd seen bigger buildings in my previous life.
"You really are a dull child, aren't you? When I first saw the Millis Adventurers' Guild, I was so excited I threw myself at
Elinalise muttered to herself, making a sour face.
She really did seem to hate Paul.
For someone who proclaimed any man would do, to say that much...
What on earth had he done?
Come to think of it, how many years ago had Paul and Elinalise split up?
If I was fifteen now, it had to be over fifteen years.
"Mind if I ask—how old are you, Elinalise?"
"Oh my, one really shouldn't ask a lady her age."
"For the record, I'm almost fifty."
"Oh, you liar."
As we chatted, we arrived at the blue-roofed building.
--- I handed the letter to the receptionist and was led to a waiting room.
"Please wait here for a moment."
With those words, the receptionist left.
We sat quietly on the sofa and waited.
Simultaneously, Elinalise draped herself against me.
It was her habit—whenever she sat next to a man, she'd do this. A bad habit.
I didn't exactly mind, so I let her be.
She was happy to play with a man's body; I was happy to have a beautiful older woman pressed against me.
Nobody was unhappy.
The only unhappy one was my son, who couldn't respond in a situation like this.
That thought in mind, I looked around.
The waiting room ranked about a C, I'd say.
The sofa was stiff, and the furnishings were sparse.
Still, for a place to receive traveling adventurers, it was appropriate enough.
"Thank you for waiting. I'm Genus, the vice-principal."
Vice-Principal Genus appeared after about an hour.
Without even a prior appointment, that was pretty quick.
He was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline who looked rather high-strung.
He wore deep blue robes.
Did he use water magic?
"My name is Rudeus Greyrat."
I gave a nobleman-style greeting and bowed slightly.
Glancing at Elinalise, she too was lowering her head in a similar fashion.
"And this person is...?"
"I am Elinalise Dragonlord. I'm Rudeus's party member."
"Haa..."
Who? What's she here for?
That was the look he gave us, but Elinalise acted as if she hadn't noticed.
Genus shrugged it off and offered us seats.
"I never expected you'd come so quickly."
"Someone recommended it."
"Someone? Ah,
Put some respect on her name, you balding runt.
I screamed that in my mind but didn't say it aloud.
"Of course, the professor encouraged me as well, but there was also someone else pushing me to come."
"Oh... So, would you like to be enrolled at our university?"
"Well, yes."
Genus leaned forward eagerly.
I nodded, leaning back slightly.
"Ah, forgive me—many independent mages tend to have high pride, and younger ones especially, like yourself, often look down on magic universities..."
"I see."
"I also heard you recently defeated the Stray Dragon.
With someone of that caliber, I didn't expect you'd actually want to enroll at a university..."
I'd gotten a feel for the tendencies of adventurers over these past two years.
It varied by race and country, but in this world, fifteen was often the age of adulthood.
Most adventurers debuted around that age.
But quite a few became adventurers even before adulthood.
There was no real age restriction, after all.
That said, those who showed talent before fifteen and climbed to high ranks were rare.
And the young ones who did climb were typically bundles of pride.
There was one boy I'd met who was a B-rank adventurer at only fourteen.
He was incredibly cocky and viewed me as his rival for some reason.
At the time we were the same age, so having me in A-rank must have rubbed him the wrong way.
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen him around lately—apparently he'd failed a subjugation quest and died.
Genus probably expected me to be that sort of insufferable brat based on those examples.
Unfortunately, our resident brat had been feeling a bit under the weather lately.
Lacking in vigor, perhaps.
"I have things I want to learn, things I want to research, things I want to do—all sorts of reasons.
I figured this was the best place to accomplish them.
Ah, and of course, after graduation, I'd be happy to help promote the magic university."
Recalling my conversation with Conrad, I said this, and Genus gave a wry smile.
"I appreciate your honesty."
"Well then, I'm not entirely sure what being a 'special student' entails, so perhaps we could discuss that after you explain?"
Genus nodded, then suddenly remembered something and smiled awkwardly.
"Ah, but before that—would you mind taking a small test?"
"A test?"
Like a scholarship exam or something?
Come to think of it, that was only natural.
This wasn't good.
It had been ten years since Roxy taught me magic.
How much did I still remember?
Let's see... combined magic was...
Damn, if I'd known, I would have reviewed...
"Yes. Just to verify whether you're really as talented as the rumors suggest."
Apparently, it wasn't a written test.
--- Being asked to defeat the Stray Dragon again was something I honestly didn't want to do.
I'm a good-for-nothing, I'm afraid.
When I said as much to Genus, he smiled wryly and said "You don't say."
This man smiled wryly a lot.
Led by Genus, we left the building.
We headed for the school buildings.
Specifically, a training room in the Practice Building.
It was apparently used for magical experiments and examinations.
"By the way, there sure are a lot of buildings here.
Are there really that many students?"
At my question, Genus nodded.
"The Ranoa Magic University differs from ordinary magic schools.
We also hold regular academic classes, so we need more classrooms.
There are departments for nobles, arithmetic courses for merchants, and so on.
Of course, learning magic is a part of virtually every curriculum regardless."
There were as many departments and courses as there were positions and purposes.
Just as Roxy had said—they accepted all comers.
It was destined to become a mammoth institution.
"We may not have anyone qualified to teach statecraft, but our faculty in magical studies surpasses the Ranoa Royal Academy—of that I'm confident."
"Oh."
"We also have a department for military science, though it has almost no students."
"Does any department cover, say, medicine for mental illnesses?"
"Medicine for mental illnesses? No, we don't have that, I'm afraid. We're quite proud of our healing and detoxification magic instructors, but... isn't that a somewhat different field from magic?"
"You're right."
So it was a university, but not a hospital. I got it.
Well, I had the
No need to rush.
"Do you have someone close to you who's ill?"
"Nothing so serious as an illness, but... it's more of a curse, I suppose."
"I see. So you've come here to research curse treatment? How admirable."
"I'm not planning anything that grand."
As we talked, we entered a building.
This one was also made of anti-magic brick.
Inside was a large, open space like a gymnasium, with four magic circles about five meters in diameter laid out in a row across the floor.
At the farthest magic circle, around twenty men and women were gathered.
They all wore similar robes.
Two of them had entered the circle and were exchanging offensive magic.
Weren't they going to get hurt?
"Those are students entering their fourth year. I believe it's a class with many nobles.
At our school, we also consider practical combat experience, so we hold mock battles like that."
While half-listening to Genus's explanation, I watched.
One student's fireball hit the other dead-on.
The student was engulfed in flame, but the magic circle beneath them immediately glowed, and the fire was extinguished.
The student emerged from beneath the flames without a single burn.
"This magic circle?"
"It's a Saint-tier healing magic circle. Even if you take a hit, you recover instantly."
"Wow, that's impressive."
"Furthermore, there's an advanced barrier set up along the outer edge, so minor magic won't so much as faze them."
I see.
Magic circles—back when I'd first seen them in a magic textbook, I hadn't thought much of them.
But on my way back from the Demon Continent, they'd given me more than a few bitter lessons.
Maybe I should learn to use them myself.
Though, at this point, I could probably handle the ones I'd encountered in Shirone.
Thinking that, I walked into the magic circle on the opposite end from the students.
"So, what do I need to do?"
"I've heard you're a chantless magic user. I'd like to see that in action."
"Is just using it enough? If I were a fraud, I'd have prepared something more elaborate."
"Hm? Good point. We actually had one chantless magic teacher, but he passed away of old age last year..."
Genus started to fret, then snapped his fingers.
"Ah, perfect timing—actually, there's a student in that class who can also use chantless magic.
She may not match your level, but she's our school's foremost genius.
She's also on the student council this year... but never mind that.
Mr. Geater! Would you mind if I borrowed Fitz?!"
Genus ran over to the other magic circle and called out to a teacher.
After a while, he brought back a single boy.
Short white hair, wearing sunglasses.
His ears were long—a long-eared race, perhaps.
He was small-framed. Or maybe just young. Around thirteen?
He was sorely lacking in muscle.
A studious type, then.
If you're male, you should train more.
He was younger than me, but starting next year he'd be my senior.
I should at least introduce myself.
"Rud—!"
He saw me and started to rush over.
I beat him to it, introducing myself loudly and bowing.
"My name is Rudeus Greyrat.
All being well, starting next term I'll be your junior.
If there's anything I'm doing wrong, please don't hesitate to correct me."
"...Eh? Ah, y-yes."
Fitz seemed about to say something, but by then I'd already finished my greeting.
First-mover advantage in self-introductions.
He moved his mouth wordlessly for a moment, then pressed his lips together tightly, and answered in a slightly stiff, high-pitched voice: "I'm Fitz. Pleased to meet you."
His voice hadn't broken yet.
So he was younger after all.
But a senior was a senior.
I didn't want to be subjected to any insidious bullying, so I'd keep things humble.
"I'll be in your care.
Please do me the favor of overseeing my examination."
"Ah... sure."
When he stepped into the magic circle, Genus muttered something and activated it.
I had bad memories of magic circles.
I tried tapping the outer edge to test it, and my finger went right through.
"Huh? Mr. Genus, it doesn't seem to be working properly."
"Rudeus. This circle only resists magic.
Physical objects pass right through."
So that was how it worked.
The one I'd seen in Shirone had been a King-tier one, right?
That one had nullified both physical and magical attacks.
Well, I'd look into that sort of thing when I had time.
Since I was at a school anyway, having someone teach me couldn't hurt.
"Well then, since you're an adventurer, shall we structure this as a mock battle with Fitz?
Essentially, I'd like you to use your chantless magic."
"Sure."
I nodded and turned to face Fitz.
Wait.
What if I lost and they told me to pay full tuition?
That would suck.
I had plenty of money from subjugating the Stray Dragon, but after living frugally for so long, I couldn't help wanting to keep costs down.
Guess I'd have to go all out.
Fitz and I took positions on opposite sides of the magic circle's center point.
In his hand, he held a small wand.
Nostalgic—I used to use a wand like that too.
I raised my own wand.
Mine was the "Arrogant Water Dragon King," which I'd been using since I was ten.
Lately, I'd been toying with the idea of naming it "Shirley."
Honestly, it didn't make much difference whether I used it or not.
Genus raised his hand.
"Then—begin!"
"Disturb Magic!!"
The moment he gave the signal, I cast Disturb Magic on Fitz, who had his wand raised and ready.
The magic that should have emerged didn't, and Fitz stared at his wand tip in surprise.
With my left hand, I created a Stone Cannon.
No matter how you looked at it, Stone Cannon was the most practical spell.
It could target a precise point and delivered high power.
Maybe it was because I'd spent a while making figurines, but I could easily control its power and fire rapidly.
For subjugation quests, it was basically this and "Mud Swamp" almost every time.
I did use various spells depending on the situation, of course.
And besides, if you carelessly used fire magic, you'd end up burning yourself.
"...How?!"
"Well, how about that."
The size was about the tip of my little finger.
I kept the rotation and launch speed high.
My aim was dead center of Fitz's forehead... but I changed my mind.
Fire.
The Stone Cannon shot forward with a "keeen" sound, and as it grazed past Fitz's cheek, it pierced the barrier with a crisp "kaan."
It embedded itself into the anti-magic brick wall beyond, scattering debris before coming to a stop.
"...!"
A thin line of blood appeared on Fitz's cheek, then the wound quickly sealed shut.
Fitz scooped the blood from his cheek with a finger, turned around, and checked where the Stone Cannon had gone.
Then he plopped down on the spot, landing right on his rear.
Good thing I'd aimed away.
Healing magic wasn't omnipotent.
The Saint-tier healing circle could fix simple wounds instantly, but a direct hit could have been fatal.
Saint-tier couldn't revive the dead.
"..."
Suddenly, my eyes met Fitz's.
I couldn't tell where he was looking through those sunglasses, but I just somehow knew our gazes had locked.
"..."
"..."
Neither of us said a word.
Only Fitz's stare grew more and more intense.
I had a nagging feeling I'd messed up.
Unrelenting gazes poured from the other magic circle.
Genus was watching wide-eyed.
Elinalise was yawning.
"Wh-what was that... how did you do that...?"
Fitz's voice was trembling.
Genus also wore an expression that said he desperately wanted to know what had happened.
"It's a magic spell called Disturb Magic. Have you not heard of it?"
Fitz shook his head.
He didn't know about Disturb Magic.
It was fairly obscure, I supposed.
I thought it was extremely useful in mage-vs-mage combat, though...
Come to think of it, I'd never seen anyone besides
Fitz stared at me intently.
The gaze from behind those sunglasses cut right through me.
"..."
According to Genus, Fitz was supposed to be a genius.
And yet, to have fallen flat on his rear in front of everyone...
I'd probably destroyed his pride.
Fitz's gaze was painful.
I quietly averted my eyes.
Had I made an enemy?
Would I get tripped at mealtime or something?
Would they pour milk on me and laugh?
That sort of thing was genuinely miserable.
I'd really rather avoid it.
Right.
"Thank you so much, Senpai!
You let this new student have the spotlight, didn't you?"
"Eh?"
I said this with a bright smile, loud enough for the other students to hear, as I walked toward him.
Then I extended my hand.
Fitz hesitated briefly before taking it.
His hand was soft.
Had he never held a sword?
"I'll be sure to properly express my gratitude another day."
"...!"
As I helped him up, I whispered quietly in his ear, and Fitz shuddered from head to toe, nodding rapidly.
Once I enrolled, I'd bring a box of sweets and pay him a proper visit.
That's what I'd do.
I quietly resolved.
By the way, I passed the test.
Genus was full of praise.
Apparently, completely outclassing Fitz left no room for doubt.
--- And so, starting one month later, I would be living in the magic university dormitory.
After that, I received a detailed explanation about being a special student.
Basically, special students had their tuition waived.
In some cases, classes were also waived entirely.
Those who wished to could mix with regular students and attend classes according to the curriculum.
As long as you attended the monthly homeroom, you were essentially free to do anything on campus.
Borrow a room in the research building and devote yourself to research? Fine.
Borrow a room in the practice building and train day and night? Fine.
Head to the library and read to your heart's content? Fine.
Devour food nonstop in the dining hall? Fine.
Leave campus and operate as an adventurer? Fine.
Go to the Magic Guild and publish your research findings? Fine.
Hit up the red-light district and have some fun? Fine.
However, anything that happened off-campus was at your own risk.
You had the title of "student," but it was closer to being a researcher.
That said, special students came in various forms.
The other special students weren't necessarily exempt from classes.
I'd been granted an unusual amount of freedom.
Of course, certain things were prohibited.
For example, anything considered a crime under Ranoa Kingdom law.
Acts of destruction against the school, spitting on the Magic Guild—that sort of thing.
For details, I was told to read the rules, and handed a thin booklet.
I flipped through it on the spot.
Basically, as long as I acted within the bounds of common sense as I understood it, there shouldn't be any problems.
It was basically the same as the Adventurers' Guild code.
The Adventurers' Guild's rules were actually stricter.
Incidentally, Elinalise enrolled too.
She paid outright.
The enrollment fee plus tuition through graduation amounted to about three Asuran gold coins.
Surprisingly cheap.
Maybe the cost of living was different here.
By the way, if you took the entrance exam and earned strong marks, a significant portion of the tuition and enrollment fee could be waived.
Or if you had no money, you could pay after graduation.
They were apparently quite flexible in order to attract talented individuals.
Well, that had nothing to do with me.
"Hmm."
I read through the school rules again, savoring every line.
The section on penalties related to sexual matters.
I examined that part very carefully.
"Elinalise, it seems like there's a fair amount of freedom as long as you don't force anyone."
"What a wonderful school. Did you know? At schools in Millis, it's completely prohibited."
The conversation had no subject, but the response was dead-on.
As expected from someone whose mind was perpetually pink.
By my standards from my previous life, allowing relationships during enrollment seemed like it would cause serious disruption to discipline.
But this academy had students ranging from children around ten years old to individuals over a hundred.
While it did skew young, the ages varied.
The races varied.
The common sense varied.
And there were many others like Elinalise who carried curses.
In that kind of environment, imposing strict rules of "no this, no that" would likely cause more problems than it solved.
Reproduction was an instinct, after all.
Well, there was a reason behind the free-spirited school culture.
And a reason meant I could put effort into regaining my vitality as a man.
Wow, I'd really try my best.
I'd make my boy into something big.
Just kidding.
Well, I had the Man-God's advice, and the cure was essentially certain at this point.
I'd take it easy and see how things went.