Chapter 03: "Soot-Covered Harmony (Harmony)"
The after-school magic training room was dyed red by the evening sun――and now‚ it was completely a battlefield.
Standing in the center are the academy's two proud geniuses.
Duke's daughter Selina Elferia and the holy knight candidate Leon Valks.
"Leon‚ you've been way too rude since earlier! This magic flow curve is a 'beautiful formula' based on the golden ratio‚ you know?
I've refined it to a level that's not embarrassing even if shown to Louie."
"It's too beautiful and fragile. If even a single speck of dust mixes in during real combat‚ that 'golden ratio' will explode and scatter everywhere. Connecting it with a straight line here is the correct answer."
On the blackboard behind the two of them‚ a magic formula so complex that an amateur would faint is drawn.
And as for me‚ I was immersed at the edge of the classroom in the task of turning the emotion "I want to go home" into a mathematical formula.
(......Scary. The two of them are clashing with their 'sound arguments.' If the magic interference waves keep amplifying like this‚ the calculation says all the window glass in the training room will shatter. The compensation cost would be a 300-year dishwashing course‚ you know.)
"Louie! What do you think? Can this formula hold up in real combat?"
"Louie-kun! You absolutely cannot say my formula is wrong‚ okay? I believe you'll understand it for me."
Suddenly‚ the two of them turned their spears toward me.
Selina's smile is filled with the pressure of 'I won't let you escape‚' and Leon's eyes shine with expectation saying 'Speak the truth.'
(Stop it. My self-esteem is about to vanish right now like bubbles in a boiling pot. But if I don't say anything‚ the window glass will break. If it breaks‚ my life will break too.)
I quietly looked at the blackboard.
The curves and straight lines of the magic flow paths are trembling as they push each other's claims against one another.
If left like this‚ the magic formula seems about to gain self-awareness and rebel.
(......Ahh‚ I want to go home. I want to calculate the reflection angle of water in a bucket in the inn's backyard. Why am I standing right next to a magic formula on the verge of exploding right now?)
I stood in front of the blackboard with trembling legs.
Selina's formula is glamorous and high-output‚ Leon's is robust and unwavering.
Both are the work of geniuses.
But――at the central point where the two magics collide‚ there was a fatal 'stagnation.'
(If left like this‚ the magic interference will turn the training room into an 'unwashable dishes state.' In other words‚ an explosion. Not only will I not be able to go home‚ the inn itself will disappear.)
"U-um...... both of you. I want you to stop fighting‚ or rather‚ the room temperature has physically risen by three degrees‚ so can I make just a tiny correction?"
"Correction? My perfect formula...... in front of Louie?"
Selina's voice was not dissatisfaction‚ but a tremble mixed with shame and expectation.
"Fine. Louie‚ show me how you'll rewrite it."
Leon's eyes appeal 'Save my formula.'
(Stop it. I just want to go home. The water flow angle for dishwashing is still gentler.)
I picked up the chalk.
Inside my brain‚ the contents of Zeno-san's magic book unfold as a geometric model.
I imagine the flow of magic like "the angle of water peeling off oil stains" at the inn's washing area.
(Selina's formula has inflow that's too sharp. Leon's has walls that are too thick.
Then‚ the angle at this intersection point...... just 0.3 degrees more than the theoretical value......)
With a dry "Katsun" sound.
I reconnected the single point where the two formulas' 'contradiction' collides with an arithmetically optimized curve.
"......Shift this part by 0.3 degrees and use a reflection formula to cancel the interference.
That way‚ the explosion energy will be converted into 'directional propulsion force.'
――As movement-type magic‚ it should become quite efficient."
"0.3 degrees...... with such a minute correction‚ to that extent......?"
Leon gasps.
"Louie...... adding such a 'plain line' to my formula......"
Selina looked dissatisfied‚ but her cheeks were red.
That tremble was not anger‚ but――
sweet shame and joy from having been 'overwritten by Louie.'
And――the moment I finished writing‚ the formulas on the blackboard began to pulsate.
Magic power began to breathe‚ the lines gained light‚
as if "reconciling the contradictions of two geniuses with just one move‚" the entire formula quietly aligned itself.
(......Huh? Did I do something again? I only meant it as an extension of dishwashing......)
Selina gasps.
Leon opens his eyes wide.
The two of them gaze at me with eyes far hotter than before.
(Stop it. I only corrected it because if it exploded I wouldn't be able to go home......!)
"Then‚ let's try activating it. ......Wind Chant Formula · Phase Adjustment."
The moment I traced the formula with my fingertip‚ the air in the training room changed completely.
There is no roaring sound.
Just‚ together with overwhelming "silence‚" geometric light crests overflowed from the blackboard.
The multiple overlapping magic circles are precise like snow crystals‚
and yet spread smoothly like bubbles from dishwashing.
Selina's glamorous magic power and Leon's powerful magic power.
The two of them‚ with my drawn "0.3-degree line" as the boundary――
began to play a perfect harmony.
"Wha...... the magic repulsion has completely disappeared? No‚ it's accelerating each other......!"
Leon's voice trembles.
It is not shock‚ but――
the tremble of someone who has seen a realm unreachable by the sword.
"Lie...... What my formula was lacking was this 'margin'......?
Only the parts Louie touched are breathing......"
Selina's voice is a tremble mixed with sweet shame and joy.
The room is filled with geometric white light.
It is not a violent release of magic power‚ but
the optimization of thoroughly calculated energy.
The window glass‚ far from breaking‚ regains a transparency without a single speck of soot through light resonance.
(......Okay. With this‚ no compensation needed. As calculated.
......Wait‚ where did I set the "excess energy exhaust port" at the end of this formula?)
The moment I tried to check my notebook――
the light crest pulsed even stronger.
The magic flow converged centering on my drawn 0.3-degree curve‚
as if "the world itself is changing shape to match my calculation."
"Louie...... what exactly did you just...... do?"
Selina stares at me.
Her eyes are mixed with a magician's astonishment and a girl's obsession.
"Louie. Your formula...... no‚ your 'sense' is......"
Leon clenched his fist.
His expression held respect and――
a "knight's defeat" engraved at the same time.
(Stop it. I only optimized it because if it exploded I wouldn't be able to go home......!)
With a small "Parin" sound.
The moment the light crest converged to the extreme and struck the target――
(......Ah. I remembered. It's the same as cleaning the inn's drainpipe. The "peeled dirt" doesn't disappear‚ but...... gathers at the end and sprays out from the exit.)
The moment I realized that fact‚ the accumulated "optimization residue (a massive amount of soot)" backflowed simultaneously.
"Ah"
"Uwaaaaaah!?""Kyaa!?"
DOOOON!!
Black smoke envelops the training room.
......A few seconds later.
When the smoke clears‚ there――
three figures with faces and uniforms pitch black with soot‚ only their eyes blinking.
"......Pfft. Ahahaha! Louie-kun‚ your face is completely black! Like a thief cat!"
Selina holds her stomach and laughs. Her blonde hair is hardened with soot‚ looking like a regent hairstyle.
"Selina‚ what happened to that hair of yours...... hehe.
My armor has also turned into a 'black knight' with soot‚ you know."
"Leon! This isn't a laughing matter! The dignity of a knight is ruined!"
"No‚ Selina‚ the dignity of a duke's daughter is also......"
"Don't say it!!"
The three of them‚ seeing each other's "soot-covered" appearances‚ finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
The prickly collision from earlier melts away like a lie.
(......Sigh. In the end it always turns out like this. My calculations always come with this kind of 'unnecessary punchline' at the end.)
After that‚ the three of us lined up and ended up cleaning the floor of the sunset training room.
The sight of wringing rags with soot-covered hands was not hero candidates or saviors――
just "the inn's overtime group" itself.
"Louie. That 0.3 degrees of yours...... it might be applicable to my swordsmanship too.
Next time‚ let me hear about it in detail."
Leon says with serious eyes while wiping his soot-blackened cheeks.
"I absolutely won't acknowledge it.
That Louie-kun's formula was more refined than mine......"
Selina pouts‚ but her voice has sweetness underneath.
"But‚ just for today‚ I'll thank you. Here‚ half the sweets."
"......Thank you. But Selina‚ that cookie has soot on it‚ so
I'll calculate and clean it later."
"Geez! You're not honest at all!"
Selina pretends to be angry while grabbing my sleeve and brushing off the soot.
Leon also patted my back vigorously to remove the soot.
The distance between the two of them is close both physically and psychologically.
The training room at dusk was filled with a harmonious atmosphere.
(......As expected‚ I wanted to fail and go back to the inn.
Every time I stand out‚ it feels like the outer moat is being filled faster.)
At that moment――
In the shadow of the training room door‚ there was a faint "Kasa......" sound of paper being turned.
I stopped wringing the rag.
That sound just now is definitely "the sound of turning a notebook."
(......I heard it‚ but I won't turn around.
If I turn around‚ I'll have to face reality.)
(......Rosetta. You recorded today's "soot-covered incident" too‚ right.
Including the number of "body touches" just now......)
Behind the peaceful after-school‚ the outer moat deepened silently once more.
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