2

“Ains-dono, please wait.”

The one who called out to Ains’s back was Seidel, who had run from the classroom under Kirishiya’s orders.

“Seidel-san, is it? Did that mage tell you to bring me back? I refuse.”

Ains stopped with an exasperated expression.

Seidel lined up beside him and began walking together.

“No. Unfortunately, Hanna Wills seems to have stopped thinking entirely. I came because Lady Kirishiya ordered me to guide you.”

“The academy is large—you might get lost,” Seidel added with a wry smile.

Looking down the long hallway stretching ahead, Ains thought Seidel’s concern might be valid.

“…I never expected a ‘sorcery’ academy to give such a sloppy lecture. I feel foolish for being excited.”

Seidel gave a bitter smile at Ains’s dejected tone.

“I may sound like I’m defending her, but she and all the instructors here learned from exactly that lecture content.”

“Myself included,” Seidel added.

“…Well, I can’t entirely blame them for ending up this way.”

Ains sighed.

As things develop and evolve, they bring many benefits—but people also lose sight of their foundations. The colorful surface stands out while the muddy roots are ignored.

Indeed, printing technology had advanced and copies of the Original Canon were widespread. Many other materials and magic books existed, making knowledge easy to absorb.

That pleased Ains, who sought new knowledge—but sadly, modern people simply accepted completed works without thinking from the fundamentals.

“I see… Ains-dono’s perspective is so detached it’s hard to believe you’re the same age as Lady Kirishiya.”

The hallway held no one but the two walking side by side. From several closed classrooms came the continued sounds of lectures.

“Seidel-san, you graduated from here, right?”

“Yes. Unless they remodeled after I left, I know the structure.”

“Then is there a place where many books are stored?”

“Of course.”

Seidel nodded and walked half a step ahead, guiding Ains to the library.

Compared to the vast academy grounds, the building was small—but still large enough for many students attending lectures.

A long corridor, identical walls, classroom doors everywhere.

It felt like a maze without a visible goal, yet the vivid greenery outside the windows softened the inorganic hallway.

“The other day I asked you to spar with me, Ains-dono—but now I’m ashamed of myself.”

After seeing Ains easily perform alchemy and hearing his thoughts on magic, Seidel felt the gap between them.

“When the topic turns to magic and sorcery, I can’t lie to myself and end up speaking harshly. But that isn’t what you should be ashamed of, Seidel-san.”

A strange situation: a boy barely twelve lecturing a man much older.

“I wasn’t always where I am now. I’ve piled shame upon shame and been stuck countless times with nowhere to go. Even now I’m still piling it up.”

“But,” Ains continued,

“To avoid shame and stand still—that’s the height of foolishness. Shame left behind becomes a joke later, even a medal. But at the peak of foolishness there’s nothing—no poison, no nourishment. Only dead ground and dried fruit growing from it.”

Ains went on.

“…Sorcery is the technique of shaping an unyielding desire and touching the laws of the world. No sorcerer exists without countless plated-over, hollow medals.”

“I’m proudly living in disgrace right now,” Ains laughed lightly.

But Seidel did not laugh.

Normally, hearing philosophy from someone far younger would be unbearable and dismissed.

Given Ains’s age—around Kirishiya and Laika’s—he was likely barely an adult. Philosophy from such youth should sound worse than fantasy.

Yet Ains’s words were different.

Seidel became convinced: the weight of Ains’s words came from life experience many times longer and denser than his own.

“…I see. I too wish to live at least in the manner of a sorcerer.”

Satisfied with his future path, Seidel nodded deeply.

“Then let’s show some disgrace now, Seidel-san! Forget your duties, abandon lectures and guarding your master, and keep exploring!”

At Ains’s sudden playful tone, Seidel laughed.

“Hahaha, indeed Ains-dono. Action is what matters. I’ll gladly accompany you.”

The two headed toward the library.

Ains and Seidel arrived at a library slightly smaller than the school building.

With Ains in front, they pushed open the doors and entered.

The first thing reaching Ains’s nose was the smell of paper.

Some books were poorly preserved, giving off a faint moldy scent, yet mixed with calming notes like vanilla, coffee, or freshly cut grass.

Newer books had a crisp fresh smell of their own.

“There are quite a lot stored here…”

Shelves extended to the back of the building, filled without gaps. They rose upward across multiple levels.

“Yes, many students use them, so there are multiple copies of the same works. The most representative are copies of the Original Canon.”

Seidel looked around nostalgically, reminiscing about his academy days.