The mages continued on with their conversation.
“I also heard that she was very young.”
“I heard that she looked only in her late teens or early twenties.”
“Really! It’s amazing that she reached that level of magic at such a young age. It seems as if she is not just an ordinary genius.”
“She might be older than she looks though.”
“Even if she is in her thirties, it’s still extraordinary.”
“Shouldn’t we try to scout her to join us in the magical tower?”
“We should at least try once. A talented magician like her would definitely be a big help in the magical tower.”
As the top mages continued talking, Lyla’s value as a mage soared higher; however, there were people who did not look at Lyla so favorably. Wayne Jaewick was a leading representative of those people, and the slight trembling on his cheeks reflected his current emotions.
However, the mages were so absorbed in their conversations that they were unable to notice Wayne Jaewick’s expression. There were those who noticed, but they decided to ignore him. They had already kept their courtesy by not bringing up his granddaughter’s story again. However, there was another person besides Wayne Jaewick who seemed to have negative feelings about Lyla.
“Since she is such a talented mage, she might really be able to help Elena.”
“What nonsense.”
The meeting room immediately became silent. People quickly moved their gazes at the disgruntled voice. Their gazes landed on the seat with the highest authority, the chair of the head of the magical tower.
“No matter how great a mage she is, no one can make someone without mana do magic.
She gave false hope to a child who needs to face reality.”
The mages glanced at each other. They all realized that the master wasn’t pleased at all by the rumors of Lyla teaching Elena.
“…Well, yes. Sir, that’s true.”
“Honestly, wasn’t it you, sir, who personally taught Elena in the beginning? No matter how talented this Lyla person is, how can she be more skilled than you? There’s no way she can successfully do what you weren’t able to achieve. I think that’s impossible.”
“We’ve been too high-spirited after hearing about such a genius.”
The mages in the meeting room were trying to cater to the master’s moods, but after calming down, they also didn’t think that Lyla would be successful in educating Elena. Wayne Jaewick also fervently nodded his head. Rather than agreeing with the other mage’s words, he felt pleased that Lyla’s value, which was reaching the sky, was falling.
However, a sentence that directly irritated the master’s mood was uttered. “But is it so wrong?”
Everyone’s gazes shifted towards the speaker.
“Isn’t this what Elena wants? She’s still young. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to let her do everything she wants right now. If she can successfully awaken her mana, it’ll be great, but even if she can’t, will the situation get any worse? It’ll actually be better for her to keep trying like this, and eventually she will realize her limits and accept her situation.”
“…So you’re saying that you’ll keep watching her suffer like this, Orland?!”
Orland shook his head at Walwiss’s anger. “What kind of father enjoys watching his daughter suffer? However, it’ll be much more painful for Elena to give up on magic right now. Father, you know very well her love for magic.”
“That’s why I’m saying she should quit right now! When do you think she’ll accept her limit? It’s more effective for her to quickly quit a painful reality and bury it under time! How can you say you’re her parent when you’re throwing your child into a path of thorns!”
“…It’s my job as a parent to support the path my child wants to go.”
“It’s also a parent’s job to guide your child to another path when the path they want to go is broken in the middle!”
The words that passed between the father and son grew more blunt. The magicians around them were taken aback.
“I’m reminding you again, but I was also not a very outstanding magician when I was young! I’m the type of person that got better at magic later on! Why can’t you admit that Elena might be like me!”
“But you were at least standing on the starting line! Elena is not even on the starting line! If Elena just gives up on magic, she has plenty of potential in other areas! Also, you’re not a normal case either!”
“…Yes, I get it. Because of that, you were like that to me too.”
“Why are you suddenly talking about yourself!”
“Do you perhaps think that my child is an embarrassment to this family? That’s why you’re making her quickly give up on mag—”
Slam!
Walwiss Dwayne slammed his fist on the table. “…What the hell did you just say?”
“…” Orland did not reply. However, he stared directly at Walwiss’ eyes and made it clear that he had no intentions to withdraw his statements.
“Hey, hey, let’s stop this. We can’t act like this! Even though this is time for us to connect and build our relationships, it’s not a time for a family fight.” The second-ranked mage who was directly under the master of the magician’s tower in rank tried to appease Walwiss. Then the mage scolded Orland, “And you, Orland Dwayne. No matter how angry you are, how could you say that to your father!”
“…I’ve been rude. I’ve shown an embarrassing side of me. I apologize for my actions.” Orland got up and bowed his head. However, he refused to face the direction where Walwiss was, and Walwiss was also not able to cover his furious eyes. It was difficult for people to continue their small talk in such a heavy atmosphere. While glancing at each other, people began to disperse.
After this meeting, a rumor began spreading across the magical tower and reached all the way to the tower’s lowest floor—Walwiss and Orland’s conflict surrounding Elena was more serious than what people thought.
* * *
While Lyla taught Elena, Zich sometimes wandered around the magical tower. It was usually to fulfill Lyla’s request. Lyla often asked Zich to go buy something in the magical tower’s shop. Most of the items that Lyla requested were snacks for her and Elena to eat during their break time. Elena felt apologetic, but Zich didn’t mind getting stuff for them.
‘Like this, I can hear rumors.’ While waiting for baked bread to be packaged, Zich perked his ears. If he infused mana into his ear, his already keen hearing became even keener.
‘As expected, I can’t hear any sound from the other floors.’
As expected of a magician’s tower, the only sounds that Zich could hear were sounds coming from the same floor he was on. However, even Zich was able to eavesdrop on an interesting conversation.
“Have you heard about it? The head and Sir Orland Dwayne had a huge fight after their monthly meetings ended.”
“For what? Aren’t they family? What is there to fight about…Ah! Is it perhaps because of Elena Dwayne?”
“Yep. You know that Elena Dwayne got a new teacher, right?”
“Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes. She’s really amazing. Even though she’s a mage, she’s really good at punching, and in regards to magic abilities, I don’t think she will be lacking compared to the top mages in the magical tower. Also, she’s young and beautiful!”
“But the master doesn’t seem to like that.”
“Well, it’s pretty well known that he doesn’t like Elena Dwayne studying magic.”
“Yeah, and compared to him, Sir Orland Dwayne has always been supportive of Elena Dwayne’s magic education.”
“Ah, then did their conflict explode because of Elena Dwayne’s new, talented teacher?”
“Yeah, for sure. Since they had a fight in front of everybody, it seems like this problem runs deep between the two of them.”
Zich smirked. Even though the two unknown magicians continued to talk, no more useful information passed between them.
‘We are making an impact for sure.’
If the two of them had a fight, even in a meeting room where everyone was watching, their relationship was probably at the lowest point.
‘At the same time, their interest in Lyla would spike up.’
A young, genius magician that suddenly appeared in the magical tower and was now teaching their daughter/granddaughter—it was impossible for them to not pay attention to Lyla.
‘They’re going to call Lyla soon.’
Then Orland and Walwiss Dwayne would try to figure out what kind of people Lyla and Zich were. When the food he ordered came out, Zich picked it up and bought one more drink and returned to where Lyla and Elena were. And like he predicted, a request to see Lyla came after several more days.
The first person to make his move was Elena’s father, Orland Dwayne.
* * *
From beneath the carriage, there were small sounds of hooves hitting the ground; following the sound, the carriage also slowly shook. However, the pavements were smooth and the carriage was of high-quality, so the shaking remained minimal. Inside the carriage, Zich and Lyla sat next to each other, and Elena sat on the other side. They were currently heading to Orland’s mansion after receiving an invitation from him.
Elena looked a bit nervous; she seemed a bit scared about what would happen in the first meeting between her teacher and father. Since her father supported her magic studies, it seemed as if nothing much would happen, but if her father also changed his mind about her studying magic, Elena would have to really study without anyone to depend on. Of course, even then she didn’t think about giving up on her magic studies.
‘It’ll probably be all right.’ She comforted herself like this, but her anxiety didn’t go away. ‘I’m also worried about Mr. Zich.’
He was her teacher’s friend who was always kind to her. However, if she thought back to her teacher’s duel with Jaewick, Zich didn’t seem like a person who was only kind. At the same time, it wasn’t as if anything could be resolved just by worrying. Elena let in a deep breath.
“Are you nervous?”
“…Yes, a bit.” Elena honestly nodded at Zich’s question.
Lyla made a calm smile and said, “Don’t worry. I’m just greeting your father as your teacher. It’s nothing for you to get nervous about.”
“Yeah. And from the rumors, it seems like your father is very supportive of your magic studies.”
“Yes, that’s true.” What Zich and Lyla said was true. However, whenever she recalled her father’s support, she thought of her grandfather’s opposition at the same time and felt a bit insecure.
“If you’re so worried, why don’t you tell us a bit about your father? If we know more about him, we can prepare in advance.”
Elena agreed to Zich’s words and began explaining, “His name is Orland Dwayne. He’s also the leader of the Conroad School of Magic, which is one of the biggest schools of magic.”
“I heard that he’s in a different school of magic than you and your grandfather.”
“Yes, that’s right. Honestly, Conroad School of Magic is my mother’s school.”
A new figure, Elena’s mother, appeared in the narrative. Zich’s eyes sparkled a little bit.
“At that time, my father was not a very promising figure in the magical tower. My grandfather also didn’t think my father would become a figurehead in magic. My father thought he should find a different method to improve his skills, so he followed my mother and changed schools.”
“And he improved dramatically, right?”
Elena nodded. “I heard that it happens sometimes. There are people whose affinity doesn’t match with the school they are in.”
“Could you give some examples?”
“My grandfather and I are in the Pulru School of Magic, and fire magic is their specialty.”
Zich nodded. Before his regression, Elena’s specialty was also fire-related magic.
“However, the Conroad School of Magic is on the opposite spectrum. People in this school specialize in ice magic.”
“No wonder. His affinity is the complete opposite.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t mean to impose, but what happened to your mother?”
“She passed away.”
“I’m sorry. I asked a very rude question.” Zich dipped his head a bit.
Elena quickly denied his words. “No. It happened a long time ago, so I’m all right.”
Lyla quickly asked another question and changed the topic. “Then would you say it’s accurate for us to think of your father as a talented magician who specializes in ice magic?”
“Yes.”