〈 Episode 244 〉 Night of the Wizards (6)
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Brick, the blue magic tower, felt eyes on him. There were no wizards everywhere cheering at the augmented magic engineering he had shown.
Cool silence.
A suspicious look.
This is a view that cannot be viewed as favorable even with empty words.
Was it really an expression used in this situation to say that the nape of the neck was stinging? Thinking like that, Brick stroked his forehead.
‘···this.’
Does this make sense?
The magic engineering that Brick presented at the magic banquet contains the essence of the blue magic tower. It was a result that could be called the best, and its performance was also unprecedented.
The result of painstaking work.
It was a tower that could not be easily toppled.
‘But, what are the results?’
It collapsed. And that too miserably.
Brick looked at the girl coming down from the platform. She is still a mysterious girl, and her inner thoughts cannot be read.
That girl knocked down Brick’s tower.
It’s so easy, as if it’s no big deal, that he crushes the tower he built.
It reminds Brick of the past. Brick remembers the face of a familiar young man in an unfamiliar girl. The voice of a young magic tower lord who had trampled on the blue magic tower lingered in Brick’s ears.
“Isn’t this a problem that can be proven with performance?”
And, the girl’s voice too.
“I guess it’s not the Gray Magic Tower that clings to the past.”
“Wow,” Brick gritted his teeth.
The outcome of victory or defeat was clear to anyone, and this defeat meant only one thing.
‘Once again blue has been defeated by gray.’
The blow this defeat will bring to the market, the damage he will have to endure in the future… Many things came to Brick’s mind, but in the end, only one thing remained.
humiliation.
All the words I uttered because I was confident of victory turned into arrows and returned to Brick. It hurts Brick’s pride. It was an extremely humiliating thing.
『This time too.』
『This is the second time.』
『How can a person become the lord of a magic tower?』
The sound of the wizards gathered in the square whispering lingers in Brick’s ears. There are people here who are not paying attention to the magic tower, and they are talking without even thinking about lowering their voices.
Parr.
Brick’s shoulders are shaking.
However, because he could not bear to leave, Brick gritted his teeth and looked at the girl coming down from the stage.
“ah.”
Then suddenly I made eye contact with the girl.
She left to cheers from the audience, but then walked towards Brick. The whispers from her audience grew louder as she approached the brick.
“···Do you have any business?”
Brick looked at the girl with feigned calm.
The girl was still expressionless, so I couldn’t read her thoughts. When he stretched out her hand, she came within touching distance and stopped in front of Brick.
‘Are you trying to make fun of me?’
Even when I was ridiculed, I had nothing to say.
Now that he was the loser, Brick had to endure whatever the winner said.
“If you have something to say, say it. “If you want to laugh at me, I will laugh at you…”
“That was a good thing. “Lord of the Blue Magic Tower.”
But what I heard was completely unexpected.
Brick’s eyes narrowed.
“…Are you saying that’s a good thing?”
“The part is that a wizard should not be tied down by the past, but should move towards the next.”
“Did you like that part?”
Didn’t you actually deny it?
Rather, you are the one stuck in the past.
When Brick gave her a questioning look, Rania smiled bitterly and responded.
“The part where you mentioned the Gray Magic Tower was somewhat unpleasant, so I added a word, but I had no intention of denying everything you said on the podium.”
There is no sign of lying.
“A wizard must pursue something new. Don’t get buried in the past. “It’s a common phrase, but it becomes an uncommon phrase when accompanied by results.”
And, the Blue Magic Tower lord proved it, right?
Rania looked straight into Brick’s eyes and said.
“In the past, I restored ancient magic engineering technology and created augmented magic tools. However, the Blue Magic Tower lord created magic tools starting from scratch.”
Nevertheless.
“Didn’t we get similar results? Amazingly.”
The results produced by the two wizards are similar.
“Personally, apart from the fact that I don’t think well of the Blue Magic Tower Lord, I think the result itself is amazing.”
I reacted a bit sharply when you teased me, but I’ll admit it. As she said that, the girl looked at her brick and smiled faintly.
“It was a good duel. “I felt a lot.”
And then he suddenly reaches out his hand.
As if asking for a handshake.
“······.”
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Brick looked at Rania’s hand in silence.
White and thin hands that still have youthful marks.
Next, Brick sees Rania’s face.
It doesn’t look like it’s made up.
There is no intention to mock. I just held out my hand because I felt it was a purely good duel.
‘···different.’
The girl has a different attitude from the gray wizard.
Brick imagined what he would say if the person in front of him was a gray wizard.
“You just talk a lot, but there’s nothing special.”
It was clear that he would be ridiculed in that way.
However, the girl in front of me is different.
Rather than mocking it, it is praising it.
『······.』
Thanks to that, the surroundings are quiet.
In fact, the winner praises the loser and appears to be impressed, so there is no way the audience has anything to say. The silent audience looked at each other and started applauding one by one.
‘different.’
Brick saw an image of the gray wizard Raniel in the girl in front of him, but he had to admit that although they looked alike, they were different.
Now Brick even feels ashamed.
Although it is a humiliating defeat, it is difficult to even accept it as humiliation when the opponent comes out so coolly. If you refuse that handshake, you will only make yourself laughable.
After thinking about it for a moment.
Brick finally opened his mouth.
“…Thank you for feeling that way.”
Brick accepted the girl’s handshake.
The audience’s applause grew louder.
“I apologize for my verbal abuse. “The words were harsh…”
“Iknow, right. “Why did you make fun of her mouth so lightly if you were going to lose anyway?”
It is the moment when such a heartwarming scene is about to be created.
The white magic tower lord approached Rania before she knew it and placed both hands on Rania’s shoulders. Their height and hair color are similar, so at first glance they even look like sisters.
Brick frowned.
“White. “You have to distinguish between situations where you can get involved and situations where you shouldn’t get involved…”
“Sloppy.”
“What?”
Blue’s eyes widened.
White chuckled and spoke again.
“It looks good. “Sloppy.”
For one reason or another, there was a lot of white piled on top of the blue.
2.
“Praise the loser, Raniel.”
“The winner is a winner even if he doesn’t say anything. “When the winner comes out and mocks the loser, even if it feels good right now, the value of the victory becomes less.”
“Mocking is third-rate.”
“Being silent is second-rate.”
“Those who give praise are first-class.”
“By giving praise, you praise the loser, and by praising him, the victory you achieve becomes more valuable.”
This is what Master said to me not long ago.
To be honest, I had forgotten about it until just before the end of the duel, but as I watched the blue magic tower being subtly ridiculed by the audience, my teacher’s words came to mind.
‘So I gave it a try.’
It wasn’t really a lie.
Regardless of the really old-fashioned personality of the blue magic tower owner, I felt that the result itself was great.
‘Is it effective…?’
I glanced at the blue magic tower.
Although he was sitting a little distance away, he didn’t react as harshly to me as he did when he was just defeated.
Also, the reactions of those around me.
The whispering of subtle insults to the Blue Magic Tower owner has decreased. What has increased as much as it has decreased is the story about me.
『Already at such a young age.』
『Looking forward to the future.』
『Not only the knowledge of magic, but also the knowledge of magic engineering… is very surprising.』
『Is it also the Trias family? I heard you will succeed the great gray wizard.』
The corner of my mouth twitched a little.
“…Why don’t you listen openly, instead of quietly pretending not to hear? “Rania.”
“When will I?”
“Speak while hiding the trembling corners of your mouth.”
I quietly covered my mouth.
Master sighed and put down his teacup.
“So, why is the author here?”
“Why? “I came to congratulate your student.”
The White Magic Tower lord responded to the teacher’s words.
A little while ago, she was sitting right next to me, smiling brightly.
“Really, it was so refreshing. “I really wanted to say something to that old man, but he did it for me…”
The White Magic Tower is still giving subjective interpretations full of misunderstandings.
‘It’s not like I didn’t make a point for correction.’
Even when I tried to point it out, all I got was a lukewarm look back, as if I understood everything, so I was halfway to giving up.
“Iknow, right. “I don’t know either.”
“If you don’t know, who knows?”
“Iknow, right···?”
Instead of responding to Master’s questioning gaze with my own questioning gaze… I glanced around the square. The square was still crowded with wizards.
The magic banquet has ended.
Nevertheless, the wizards remain in place without leaving the main square. Because no wizard has yet come up to that stage.
Flash.
And, it seems the time has finally come.
The magic stone lights that illuminated the square began to blink unstably. The ones on the podium are even worse.
The concentration of mana in the air has risen.
Unsaved mana makes the air in the area heavy. The sound of someone’s footsteps echoed softly through the heavy air.
widely.
In the midst of silence, a wizard comes up to the stage. Bluish hair and golden eyes. What he is holding in one hand is the staff of an old tree.
The ancient dragon wizard, Jormun van Dragonic.
“Nice to meet you. “Wizards who lead this era.”
He stood on the podium and opened his mouth.
“I found the results you showed at the Magic Banquet quite interesting. “The schedule may have been slightly advanced due to my visit, but there were many impressive results.”
He is an ancient dragon wizard who is called the god of wizards.
The wizards’ eyes lit up and they focused on what he said, as if each word he spoke was a famous quote from the century.
“This magic school banquet…”
I was satisfied.
It’s always fun to see the witty ideas of wizards living in this era.
“and.”
After spitting out the same ritualistic words as always for a while, the ancient dragon wizard took a deep breath.
Thus, artificially created silence.
In the silence, he slowly looked away.
The eyes of those gathered in the square follow his gaze and move in unison. The last place the line of sights headed from end to end of the square was…
“Rania van Trias.”
It was me.
“He is the protagonist of this magic banquet and a young wizard who has achieved amazing results over the past year.”
He looked at me and opened his mouth.
“You have delved deeply into the transactions between stars and wizards, and have achieved significant results. “I saw the stars from a different perspective than countless other wizards.”
The golden eyes of an ancient dragon.
A platinum-colored ring is engraved in the vertically torn pupil.
“Therefore, I grant you the qualifications of a wise man.”
Even the wizards who had always remained silent seemed unable to remain silent this time, and the square was in an uproar. It was worth it. Because ‘sage’ was a worthy title.
Proof that it has been recognized by the ancient dragon wizard.
A wizard guaranteed by the wizard god.
The meaning of that qualification is by no means light. Because it was a title that not only gave you simple honor, but also the power that came with it if you wanted.
“You are the first person to receive the qualifications of a sage at this age. This is the first time a priest has received it together. “It’s a great thing in many ways.”
The ancient dragon wizard clapped his hands with a smile on his face. The sound of applause was contagious, and when the sound subsided, the ancient dragon spoke again.
“also.”
My eyes met his and mine in the air.
My blue eyes are reflected in my golden eyes.
“I feel like you need a more special name. “You, who walk the magic path that is different from any sage or wizard in history, need a name that suits your specialness.”
I narrowed my eyes.
Another nickname that the ancient dragon wizard mentioned to me earlier. That’s why I felt some uneasy feeling about what was going to happen from now on.
“Most wizards live under the stars. They are bound by the stars. You can’t be free from the stars. But you are different.”
The ancient dragon whispers.
“I don’t believe in stars. I don’t trust it. They don’t even look at it favorably. So you are close to the truth.”
distrust(?).
“A child who does not walk under the stars.”
The ancient dragon looked at me.
“You have the qualifications to be a leader.”
It was the eyes that looked at their own people.
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