Chapter 01: Magic Power 0.2's "Optimization (Optimize)"
In the center of the royal capital‚ a white tower soaring as if piercing the sky.
The entrance exam venue for the Magic Academy was filled with the heat of young people gathered from across the kingdom and the scent of magic power.
And above all――with the heavy pressure of “If you fail‚ your life is over”.
At the edge of that clamor‚ I was chanting my 47th escape wish of the day like a spell in my chest.
「……Ahh‚ I want to go home. Right now‚ I want to go back to the inn and chew on mom’s burnt bread while washing dishes」
I seriously thought that. My self-esteem was no different from the soap bubbles popping in the sink. One little touch and they’d vanish with a pop.
The fact that someone like me had ended up at an elite academy that worshipped magic power meant my life’s equation had gone fatally wrong somewhere.
……Let’s go home. There’s still time. Slip out of line‚ hide in the tower’s shadow‚ take the back alley――
The moment I thought that‚ my right sleeve was yanked tight. My escape route was physically blocked.
「Rui‚ your face looks dead again? It’s okay! You’re the Rui I believe in!」
The one smiling like the sun beside me was the duke’s daughter‚ Selina Elferia.
Her magic power was the highest in academy history‚ her beauty the highest‚ and her obsession with sweets the highest‚ too.
Why on earth was this “everything-maxed” saintess unconditionally affirming me‚ the innkeeper’s son?
（Selina…… That affirmation doesn’t look like “encouragement” to me at all――it looks like “destruction of escape routes‚” you know?）
While I was retorting in my mind‚ a dazzling light poured in from the front of the line.
The source was the man who was walking justice itself――Leon Valks.
「As expected of you‚ Selina. The guy you brought. He must have some hidden power.」
Clad in silver-white armor‚ he stared straight at me with honest eyes.
No‚ please stop. When you look at me with eyes full of that much expectation‚ my “bubble mentality” evaporates.
The perfect knight and the perfect young lady.
Sandwiched between them was the “innkeeper’s son” wearing an ill-fitting uniform.
No matter how you looked at it‚ this lineup alone was a bug.
「Next‚ Rui Adel.」
The examiner’s voice rang out like the bell of a guillotine.
The surrounding examinees began whispering as if they had been waiting for this.
「Who is that guy?」
「Apparently the innkeeper’s son.」
「I heard his magic power is basically zero. Why did he even come?」
……Yeah‚ I know all of it.
I tottered up to the measuring device.
A “truth-exposing device” with zero escape routes that quantified magic power index with a simple hand gesture.
（Alright‚ if I can put out something like “0.3” here‚ I’ll peacefully fail and go back to washing dishes tomorrow……!）
I reached out with my trembling right hand toward the device.
――At that instant.
The device lost its sound.
The internal mechanisms that had been ticking steadily fell silent as if its heart had stopped.
The digital scale on the display panel showed “0.0” for a single moment‚ then froze completely.
The air changed.
It even felt like a cold wind had blown through the Magic Academy’s hall.
The next instant――.
「GAGAGAGA!!」
An abnormal noise like metal screaming from inside.
The needle on the dial swung all the way to the right――no‚ beyond the measurement limit.
「W-what!? Is it broken!?」
The moment the examiner turned pale and reached for the machine――
Something inside the device let out a low growl as if saying “processing impossible.”
The needle slipped from the right end to the left end‚ fleeing the overload beyond its limits.
Then‚ as if squeezing out its last strength‚ the machine spat out the lowest value “0.2” and stopped.
It wasn’t from impact――
it was the machine’s own scream saying “This vessel cannot measure it.”
「……Um‚ magic power index‚ 0.2.」
The hall froze for an instant.
And then――explosive laughter.
「0.2!? That’s lower than an insect!」
「He doesn’t even have enough magic power to breathe!」
「Poor measuring device!」
A storm of mockery.
I stood frozen with my mouth hanging open.
But in that uproar――
only Leon didn’t laugh.
He frowned and stared intently at the device’s silence and abnormal behavior.
As if he had sensed “something” there.
（……No way. This machine’s “vessel” couldn’t measure my magic power?
An unmeasurable error was processed as the lowest value……?）
A chill ran down my spine.
My magic power wasn’t low――it was close to “empty”?
No way‚ I tried to deny it‚ but at that moment‚
that voice came from behind me.
「Rui‚ that’s amazing……! You really are special!」
Selina’s innocent voice sealed off yet another one of my escape routes.
「Ahaha! Did you see that? He got 0.2!」
One examinee tried to poke my shoulder――and the air froze.
Because Selina Elferia had silently stepped in front of the boy.
The innocent smile from moments ago was gone without a trace.
Instead‚ cold eyes glowing from the depths of an abyss pierced the boy.
「……Was there something funny? Are you saying there’s something wrong with my Rui?」
Her voice was soft‚ yet it froze the spine.
The boy turned pale and backed away.
From behind him‚ the maid with amber eyes――Rosetta――appeared silently.
She took out a small notebook from her apron pocket and smoothly wrote something down.
（My lady. I have listed the family name of the insolent one who insulted Master Rui just now.）
（Thank you‚ Rosetta. Later‚ please ask Father to “optimize” it.）
……I didn’t hear it.
I simply unconsciously calculated the movement of their gazes‚ the distance‚ the angle of their mouths――
and the single “answer” that they were definitely plotting something rose in my brain.
I hurriedly tapped Selina’s shoulder.
「W-wait‚ Selina! It’s fine! I was just told the truth! I really am 0.2!」
「No‚ Rui is amazing. I believe you can change the world with numbers.」
When she turned around‚ her face had instantly returned to that of the “natural sweet-loving childhood friend.”
That smile was as bright as the sun――and completely burned away any escape route.
Unconditional trust.
Right now‚ it weighed heavier on me than any attack magic.
「……That was courage.」
Leon placed a hand on my shoulder.
That hand was warm and unwavering.
「Magic power index 0.2. Standing here while fully aware of that overwhelming disadvantage.
Rui‚ when I look at you‚ I’m convinced that the “courage” I believe in is not wrong.」
（No‚ Leon‚ I’m just trembling because I want to run away.
If you frequency-analyzed the trembling in my legs right now‚ it would be playing a beat of despair‚ you know?）
The surroundings laughed at me as “the weakest‚”
while my best friends believed in me as “the strongest” without doubt.
In the middle of this abnormal temperature difference――
「U-um…… We will now move on to the next test! Prepare for the Magic Construction Test!」
The bewildered examiner’s cough forcibly tightened the atmosphere.
And so‚ with no escape route left‚ the test moved on to the next stage――
“Magic Construction.”
The Magic Construction Test――not a test of magic power quantity‚
but of “how efficiently you can refine magic power and complete it as a structure.”
The elite around me swung their staves and grandly unleashed flames and lightning.
Explosions‚ flashes‚ cheers.
In the middle of that uproar‚ I alone stood alone in front of the blackboard.
（……If I have no magic power‚ I just need to thoroughly optimize the flow path.）
An ocean of equations spread inside my brain.
Shift the inflow angle of magic power 0.3 degrees from the theoretical value and correct it with reflection.
My fingertips moved as smoothly as when tracing dirt on inn dishes‚
carving white geometric patterns onto the blackboard.
「……What kind of calculation is this?」
The examiner peered in.
At first his eyes were cold‚ as if saying “it’s pointless anyway‚”
but as the equation neared completion‚ his pupils dyed with astonishment.
「The structure…… is too beautiful. There is zero waste of magic power.
But to activate this‚ you need precision control like threading a needle.
For someone with magic power 0.2 to do that――」
「……Spark‚ Optimize. Activate.」
The words slipped out of my mouth so naturally that even I was surprised.
I myself didn’t understand why I muttered “Optimize.”
The next instant‚ an extremely small flash shot from my fingertip.
There was no thunderous roar like lightning‚ no frenzy like flames.
It simply sliced through space like a sharp scalpel――
pierced the exact center of the target and reached the protective barrier behind it.
And then‚ as if tracing its trajectory――
white geometric patterns gently floated up in the air.
Straight lines‚ arcs‚ spirals.
The equations I had drawn on the blackboard seemed transcribed onto space itself‚ emitting light‚
and the entire classroom filled with a serene “afterglow of formulas.”
It was a sight that made you feel as if the laws of the world had been rewritten for a single instant.
「Wha…… Magic reaction is practically zero‚ yet what is this precision and penetration power!?
The space…… is being optimized……?」
The venue fell silent.
I wiped my soot-covered fingertips with a cloth‚ stunned by what I had done.
（……Ah‚ I overdid it. This is the kind of thing that shouldn’t stand out. It was supposed to be a calculation for failing!
And what the hell was that “Optimize” just now…… I don’t remember naming it that!?）
My dazed expression was exactly like “a sink with all the bubbles gone.”
In the midst of that――
「Rui‚ that’s amazing……!」
Only Selina’s applause echoed clearly through the white tower.
That smile was so proud it completely blew away any remaining escape route.
Leon stared at me with eyes full of respect‚ even though he didn’t understand.
The examiner was trying to call the next examinee’s name with a trembling hand.
I was trembling at a single fact.
（……This flow definitely means I can’t go home anymore.）
At dusk‚ as the shadow of the white tower stretched long‚ the results bulletin board was wrapped in commotion.
At the very bottom――almost touching the ground――my name was there.
『Rui Adel――Lowest Rank‚ Passed』
「……Thank goodness. If it’s the lowest rank‚ there’s still a chance I can quietly live as the innkeeper’s son.」
While I breathed a sigh of relief‚ Selina nodded in satisfaction beside me.
I still hadn’t noticed the “obsession” lurking deep in her eyes.
（Congratulations‚ Rui. Now you belong to the academy. No――you belong to me.
I wonder which family standing in the way of your future on the throne I should erase first.）
「Rui‚ congratulations! From now on we’ll be together every day!」
She hugged me vigorously‚ and my brain’s calculation circuits completely short-circuited.
The calculation formulas for escape routes turned completely blank.
「Even the lowest rank is a splendid first step.……Let’s keep working hard together‚ Rui.」
Leon gently patted my shoulder‚ left a smile illuminated by the setting sun‚ and walked away.
His back was straight and unwavering.
Meanwhile‚ a shadow quietly watched from the shade of the spectator seats.
The man who led the continent’s largest trading company――Balthazar Fawn.
「Magic power 0.2 yet that precision. A terrifying innovation that will destroy the existing magic rights……」
The sun set.
The path I wished for――“peaceful days of washing dishes”――was quietly closed off by Selina’s smile and the tides of the era.
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