And so the fourth day passed, and morning came on the fifth day.
Standing before the lined-up students, I pushed up my swirly glasses with a quick flick and rose to my feet.
The day before, after lunch, I'd had the students focus on recuperating by taking baths to soothe their fatigue.
We had plenty of meat from the monsters, and Julius had even provided vegetables from his Spatial Storage, so I'd confirmed that we could easily feed everyone for another two to three days.
Which was why I'd decided not to force any exploration and instead let them rest.
During that time, I'd held a meeting with the teachers and prepared the title of "new instructor researching a new school of magic."
"I know I should've introduced him sooner, but this is my old acquaintance and one of the foremost authorities on magic research, Satoru-kun. I'd actually asked him for a long time to stand at the podium, but he kept turning me down. But you never know how things will work out — this time, moved by everyone's desire to grow stronger, he's volunteered to help! Now then, Satoru-kun, a few words, if you would."
Teacher William stepped forward and introduced me to everyone.
I gave a magnanimous nod in acknowledgment.
When they heard that I was an acquaintance of Teacher William's and moreover one of the foremost authorities on magic research, every student wore a look of surprise.
Well, of course they would.
They'd just been told that someone who looked younger than them actually had the qualifications to stand at the podium.
Among them, the reactions of George, Mond, and the others who had been in my squad were especially entertaining.
Masha, for her part, seemed to have figured out that the magic cards had been my idea — she wore an expression like things were finally clicking into place.
She might have had some suspicions about my conversations with Teacher William.
Masha was gifted in magic, and her intuition was sharp. If I let anything slip, there was a real risk my true identity would be exposed, so I needed to be careful.
Well, it was only about three more days together. If I got found out, I'd deal with it then.
Observing the students' reactions like that, I spoke.
"My name is Satoru. Honestly, I'd intended to stay out of it and just wait for help, but seeing your motivation changed my mind. I want to meet your feelings head-on and guide you in raising your practical combat ability as much as possible in a short time. Now then — did everyone get proper rest yesterday? Starting today, the research-track students and I will be handling the cooking, so the combat-track and magic-track students should focus entirely on honing your abilities at full power. Prove to me that what you said yesterday wasn't a lie! Now then, let's get started —"
Once more, I flicked up my swirly glasses and surveyed the students.
"Sato — I mean, teacher. What exactly are we going to —?"
At George's question, I grinned.
"For starters, go run."
The students stared at me, holding their breath, and I said it with a smile.
◇◇◇ First up was running laps.
The basics.
Well, I'd set a lighter quota for the magic-track students, so they'd probably finish and come back without taking too long.
In the meantime, I needed to discuss future policy.
Before that, though, I also had to instruct the remaining students on how to cook.
Busy, busy, busy.
I gathered the research-track students and explained the cooking process.
It turned out their butler Neil and Cast, along with the guardian knight Clad, had been preparing Julius and the others' meals.
Clad being a knight aside, Neil and Cast's cooking skills were genuinely solid.
Clad had apparently helped out too, so mixing in the spices must have been easy enough.
The question was whether they had known what effect those spices would have.
A researcher named Irina was the mastermind behind this — she had definitely given the orders this time.
Whether Magnus had known, though…
He'd certainly intended to eliminate the obstacles. But maybe he hadn't actually planned to kill everyone.
Regardless, the fact remained.
If I hadn't had Mos standing guard, the teachers — obstacles in the way of Magnus and his group — along with Julius and the others would be dead. That was an undeniable truth.
In my subjective judgment, they were guilty. But proving intent to kill would be difficult.
So I wasn't going to bother with anything that tedious.
Instead of dealing with their little plan, I'd just crush their entire organization beyond recognition, and that would settle things.
Anyway, enough about that.
I'd been watching from a distance, and they were doing a neat, thorough job.
They had the students helping well and were following my instructions to prepare the meals efficiently.
No problems there.
It looked like tonight we'd be enjoying another wonderful meal.
With that thought to look forward to, I left the area.
The place I headed to was the tent where the magic-track teachers were gathered.
The combat-track teachers were out running laps with the students, so they weren't here.
Even if they were, they wouldn't understand, and they'd just be in the way.
Inside the tent, Teacher William was holding a magic card and explaining its contents to the other teachers.
"This is from Lord Rimuru. I've just finished my explanation."
"Oh, good work. By the way — whatever you do, don't call me by that name in front of the students, got it?"
"Ha ha ha, of course not."
Teacher William's smile became a little strained.
I really needed him to watch himself. One absent-minded slip and it wouldn't be a small matter.
I had to keep reminding him, or I was genuinely worried he'd blurt it out someday.
After firmly driving that point home, we moved on to discussing future policy.
"I'll be assigning you the magic-track students. Use these cards and take charge of their practical training."
When I said that, another NNU research instructor raised her hand and looked at me.
Her name was Heinrich, I believed — the teacher who had first seen through the situation on this island.
I nodded and allowed her to speak.
"Please allow me to apologize first. That a colleague at our school was involved in this matter —"
"I understand. I've accepted that apology, so you don't need to worry about it anymore. Just focus on what comes next."
I accepted Heinrich's apology and said as much, but…
"— however, how could anyone simply trust a colleague who would do something like that? Personally, I intend to carry out whatever I'm ordered without hesitation, but…"
Heinrich pressed the issue.
She may have been told something by the other teachers while I was away.
"There's no need to worry. As long as you demonstrate it through actions, that's enough. Though I won't hold it against you if you can't meet my expectations, I'd strongly advise against ever betraying me."
Just to be safe, I made sure to add that warning.
"Everyone here — to Lord Rimuru — no, to Lord Satoru —"
"Let's just call me Teacher Satoru."
"Ha ha!"
Teacher William — he really did seem on the verge of an absent-minded slip, and it was terrifying.
I'd have to keep reminding him gently while also covering for him whenever I could.
"We would never dream of betraying Teacher Satoru!" Teacher William declared emphatically.
I nodded along while thinking to myself that Heinrich seemed satisfied too, so we moved on with the discussion.
◇◇◇ It was a virtual meeting conducted at super-high speed through Thought Acceleration and Thought Communication — something I was quite familiar with.
The goal was to hand out the magic cards to the teachers and help them understand the contents in greater detail.
Of course, since it was virtual, the magic wouldn't actually activate in reality.
But with
And that experience was carried over to the Physical Body.
Once you understood it and could use the magic, the experience gained in the virtual space wouldn't go to waste in the real world either.
That didn't apply to the Physical Body-type training, but for mental-type magic use, it was the perfect practice ground.
However, the average human brain couldn't handle the information processing speed, so this was only viable for those who had reached a certain level.
Even these teachers, I was only accelerating them about three hundredfold. And even that, they could sustain for roughly one hour of real time at most. Any longer and their brains would suffer fatal damage.
But one hour at that level meant the equivalent of three hundred hours — twelve and a half days — of practice.
Since they were reasonably talented people, that should be more than enough.
Since only I and Guy could pull off something this reckless, these teachers were about to experience something that no other humans had ever experienced before — an incredibly rare opportunity.
When the remaining time had nearly run out, everyone had managed to use the True Name Conversion Magic proficiently.
That said, the mechanism behind this magic was simple.
Even if the combination was correct, it wouldn't activate if the required magicule amount was insufficient.
"This is really…"
"How should I put it —"
"It feels like everything I knew about magic has been rewritten."
"It certainly accelerates one's own magic research, but it also feels like we're cheating somehow."
Those were the impressions of Teacher William, Heinrich, Puuley, and the portly Bram.
Puuley was the school nurse, but she'd joined voluntarily because she was interested in recovery magic.
"But it took us over ten days to master this — and you want us to teach it to the students? That's —"
Teacher William raised a perfectly reasonable objection.
Of course it was.
No matter how much you crammed the information in, expecting someone to understand an entirely new magic system in just a few days was impossible.
Even a prodigy of the highest caliber couldn't do that.
"Don't worry. Just in case, I've already prepared simplified magic cards."
That was a lie.
I'd literally just made them right then.
I would customize them to each student's talent and hand them over on the spot. That way, each student would be able to use one or two of their preferred spells easily without chanting.
But explaining all that would be troublesome, so I opted for some vague words to make them accept it.
"I see — so we just hand out cards tailored to each student's strengths?"
"That's right. Once they've built up confidence with those, they'll naturally be able to handle the full version of the magic cards."
"I see, I see."
They seemed satisfied, and I thought that was that — but then.
"Wait a moment. You said 'full version'… Could it be that you intend to publish these magic cards to the world?!"
Bram's eyes went wide as he stared at me in disbelief, practically lunging forward.
"Yeah, that's the plan."
At my response, Bram was struck speechless.
But after a brief hesitation, as if steeling himself, he cautiously pressed further.
"That would require overhauling all existing magic education, wouldn't it? And not only that —"
"The very concept of magic itself would be fundamentally transformed. The scholars of the Magi Nation Salion certainly wouldn't stay quiet about it."
"Magic engineering, too — every system that relies on existing magic would see a massive efficiency improvement. Not just at the level of efficiency — this could cause a revolution on par with a complete civilizational upheaval…"
As expected of first-rate teachers.
They had quickly grasped the chaos that would follow.
Naturally, I'd already thought about all of this.
"Don't panic. I am going to release this, but not right away. This card serves as the original text — from here, I plan to have improvements made and new magic created in large quantities so that even ordinary people can use them. In other words —"
After that preamble, I laid out my vision for this new magic system.
The card I'd given Masha was an all-purpose card that could handle everything as-is.
But for those weak in imagination, that alone wouldn't be enough. They would need something like the step-by-step instructions I'd given Masha.
But memorizing all those steps would be a burden, and if we covered everything with just this card, there'd be no profit in it.
Profit — meaning revenue.
The plan was to inscribe exactly one spell effect per card.
Since the magicule consumption for each spell was fixed, even ordinary people could use them as long as they had enough willpower.
— To explain precisely, humans, unlike monsters, couldn't convert magicules into energy.
Some people did possess magical power. There were also those with alternative powers like holy-spirit energy that could substitute for magic, but such individuals were rare.
That said, it wasn't as though humans couldn't manipulate magicules at all.
The fact that humans could use magic proved that manipulating magicules was possible.
That was what incantations were for.
There was also magic through contracts with spirits, of course.
By expending spiritual power — or willpower — you accessed the truths of the world, or mobilized spirits.
If I were to make a bold claim, willpower was essentially equivalent to magical power.
These magic cards were designed with human use as the premise.
In other words, they converted willpower into magical power at optimal efficiency, allowing humans to use magic easily.
Which meant…
Magic cards that anyone could use.
These things were going to sell like wildfire.
For example, attack magic like Flame Ball would work perfectly. It would be invaluable for self-defense.
Convenient spells like Gravity Control would become indispensable for transporting heavy goods.
Flight magic would require some training to control, but still.
Each such spell would be inscribed as one spell per card.
These spells had effects determined by the combination of their linguistic components.
Having people research those combinations and spreading the system for general use was the ultimate goal.
The scholars of Salion were also invited to participate in this research — I wanted them to create all manner of spells with free-form thinking.
All sorts of magic, inscribed on cards.
Practitioners would need to assemble the cards they needed, meaning massive profits were in store.
And for high-level practitioners only, a limited simplified version — the universal card — would be sold.
This one was intended to allow users to produce various effects using their own imagination to a reasonable degree.
"So that's the general idea. I'm not planning to release it immediately — I think announcing it at an academic conference around ten years from now, with proper preparation, would be the responsible approach."
That was how I wrapped up my explanation.
If this was published, it would mark the birth of a practical magic system following in the footsteps of Elemental Magic and Spirit Magic.
Given its high applicability, combining it with Inscription Magic could open up all sorts of new uses.
It would undoubtedly contribute to the advancement of magical science.
"My dreams are expanding…" Teacher William let out an awestruck sigh.
"Right? I originally planned to keep this under wraps, but I decided to confide in you because I trust you. Besides, I've found someone with truly remarkable talent who seems capable of mastering this magic."
At my words, the teachers exchanged glances.
And Teacher William, speaking for everyone, said: "You mean Masha, don't you?"
"That's exactly right."
I nodded.
Honestly, I had been planning to take my time releasing this magic and hadn't even decided who to entrust it to yet.
But Masha's talent had stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Not monsters, not demi-humans — magic made for humans.
Developing and advancing that was, without question, a human endeavor.
I intended to provide the original text and the hints, then leave everything to them.
For that research, the academy was the ideal place.
But to make that possible, organizations like the "Human Liberation Alliance" simply could not be allowed to exist.
I wanted everyone to cooperate and conduct their research together in harmony.
"Teach and guide her, and work together to advance the research. Well, before that, you'll need to have each magic-track student learn one spell."
"Understood!"
"We'll rise to meet your expectations!"
"We'll make sure any reckless moments are covered on the treatment side."
"We'll have to put in the effort so we don't fall behind Masha."
The teachers had grasped my intentions correctly.
With that, I could leave things in their hands.
"I expect great things from you — may your contributions be worthy of being remembered alongside the founders of this magic!"
At my words, the teachers nodded firmly.
Incidentally — "Oh, one more thing —" Bram asked, beads of sweat forming on his brow from the tension. "If this information were to be leaked…"
I answered with a smile.
"My subordinates don't know the meaning of going easy on people who can't be trusted with secrets. Teacher William Rawers, I'm sure you know that from firsthand experience. You should tell everyone all about what my subordinates are really like."
When the conversation turned to him, Teacher William must have remembered his encounter with
His face went pale as he turned to the others and thoroughly lectured them on keeping the absolute strictest secrecy!
And one more thing.
"Um, I have a question —" Puuley said hesitantly.
"What is it?"
"About Irina and the others… the 'Human Liberation Alliance'… what do you plan to do with them? Do you really think the students can beat them?"
She looked worried as she asked.
Hmm, regarding that — we wouldn't know until we tried.
"I have a plan. But the most important thing is making sure my identity doesn't get exposed. Winning would be easy on its own, but the ideal outcome is for the students to win without me drawing attention. Because if I do draw attention, you'll all be in a difficult position, right?"
"And how do you mean?"
William's expression said he had a bad feeling about this.
"Yeah. The moment my whereabouts are exposed, I can guarantee all sorts of annoying people will come swarming in all at once. The truth is, I'm currently traveling incognito — I snuck out without telling anyone. In other words, I'm a fugitive. So you can imagine what that means, right?"
The teachers fell silent with expressions that said they wanted to scream.
Well, yeah.
Once you learned you'd been inadvertently dragged into a fugitive's situation, that was the natural reaction.
In the worst case, you could end up being framed as abductors.
I let that implication hang in the air, and in doing so secured the teachers' wholehearted cooperation.
"And also, right about now… One of my subordinates — particularly dangerous one — is probably using that brilliant mind of theirs to conduct a criminal investigation, sweeping through the various academies. So it's only a matter of time before the Alliance's members are flushed out. In fact, they'd probably be happier if the students took them down…"
I let my words trail off deliberately.
"… Could it be… Lord
Tension rippled through the teachers.
"Yeah, well, something like that," I replied.
"Eeeeeek! — We might actually get to meet Lord Diablo!"
"Oh, those people are done for."
"What idiots they are. Truly, what complete idiots…"
"Oh my. Now that my innocence has been proven, I am relieved from the bottom of my heart, I am."
The teachers each voiced their reactions.
One of them had gotten oddly excited, and another's speech pattern had changed entirely — but I decided to overlook that for now.
"Anyway, the moment my identity is exposed, you might become targets of Diablo's retribution too, so keep that in mind!"
It was just a threat, but it was devastatingly effective, so I'd count it as a win.
Having tightened the teachers' resolve, I ended the virtual meeting.