Chapter 15

“Ugh…”

“Are you awake?”

Timing was perfect as the girl woke up.

It was a bit contrived that she woke up right after defeating the wolf, but that’s how the program was set up.

Is this girl the guide now?

“Wh… Who are you?!”

“Why are you asking me? Just let me use magic already.”

“…?”

This isn’t it, is it?

It seems like the interaction isn’t working properly.

I felt like I was doing something wrong, so I decided to seek help from the chat window.

– How did you just use magic?

– ?????????

– Is it a hack?

– Even the NPC seems lagged, lol

I can tell that something isn’t going right.

“Did my older sister save you from the wolf?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you going to take the laurel from me too?”

“What’s with this laurel thing?”

As I expressed my confusion, the girl’s expression grew even more perplexed.

– What Remy has is the laurel of Arseria.

– This world is under the Demon Lord’s curse, so anyone can’t handle mana.

– But if you have the laurel, anyone can use magic without any restrictions.

Why did they have to stick such settings onto this magic experience program? It’s so annoying.

“I just need to be able to use magic.”

“In the end, the laurel is the goal!”

“I don’t need any leaves.”

“This is not just any leaves!”

Before Remy could lose her temper, I heard a presence approaching from afar.

“There are traces here. Search thoroughly!”

Remy’s complexion turned pale, and her hands started to tremble. It seemed like those tracking the laurel were closing in. I suggested to Remy.

“You were running away from them, right? Do you want me to help?”

“Calling you ‘older sister’ feels embarrassing, but how are you going to help?”

Remy’s gaze briefly landed on my head.

Is she looking down on me just because I’m shorter than her? This is making me lose my willingness to help.

Seriously, I could just find ten more wolves to make a full magic circle, so there’s no reason to fuss about this.

“Give me the laurel.”

“That’s not possible!”

“Suit yourself.”

“Please don’t go! Please help me!”

Remy handed me the item that apparently allows me to use magic, the laurel.

[‘leviatan’ donated 1,000 won!]

– With the current synchronization with the laurel, you can only use missile magic once.

The pursuers had arrived right in front of us.

– There are 3 enemies, but it’s a miraculous tutorial where you can only use magic once.

– In fact, you don’t have to catch all the pursuers to progress in the story.

– Is that how it is? I kept doing infinite resets for no reason.

– The Korean temperament level, lol.

So, I just need to show it, huh?

The enemies were closer than expected, but not close enough that I couldn’t draw a magic circle.

“1st Circle Advanced Casting: Polar Coordinate Grant.”

I generate a guided missile right from the outset using the method I was told earlier.

The reason a guided missile is a 3rd Circle spell is that it’s a 3-dimensional spatial magic devoid of a time dimension.

However, I can borrow that authority sufficiently even with a 1st Circle magic circle.

Since it’s a guided missile (physical), it had no explosive capacity.

A metal chunk struck the pursuer’s body fiercely as it received mana from the laurel, and as one fell, it quickly rushed toward the other.

Whoosh, kaboom!!!

“Easy peasy.”

– ???????

– How did you do that?!?

– Are you a collection master of hooks? But what’s the principle behind it?

– Teach me.

– Mom, why can’t I shoot guided missiles? Mom, why can’t I shoot guided missiles? Mom, why can’t I shoot guided missiles? Mom, why can’t I shoot guided missiles?

Beep beep beep.

Amid the chaos in the chat, an alarm rang.

Is it already time to leave?

“I’m sorry. I have another engagement today, so I think I have to end the broadcast here. I’ll cancel the donation questions I missed today, so please send them again tomorrow, and I’ll respond then.”

* * *

[Beep! It’s a child.]

As I scanned my disposable card, a familiar voice was heard.

On the surface, it serves the purpose of reminding us that the passenger is a small child, which requires caution, but in reality, it is a high-tech device to publicly execute those who misuse it in inappropriate ways.

I am definitely not thinking this because I got pricked by still being called a child at this age.

[The next stop is the entrance of Korea University’s administration office.]

The campus was sparse on weekends.

Especially in the dead of winter in January.

I had never been particularly friendly with educational institutions of this kind.

In my first life, I couldn’t even finish a semester, and I dropped out of the academy in my past life without making it through two years.

In truth, I had been attending elementary school alone ever since Arin transferred.

Since my name is still registered at the Merlin Orphanage, it seems the teachers don’t know the full situation.

There was nothing to learn, and there was no value in attending school.

If anything, Professor Cheon Kyujin’s lectures were more fun.

Sometimes I’d skip lunch to attend supplementary lectures and sneak out of school, and there was never anyone who noticed.

No matter how advanced technology is in this over-technology era, they don’t attach tracking devices to elementary school students.

I had made a few friends who I had grown close to while taking the same lectures.

University students were usually quick-witted, and instead of envying the fact that Professor Cheon Kyujin favored me, many tried to squeeze out even a bit more knowledge from me.

I willingly became their stepping stone for their grades every time.

After getting off the bus, I walked for a while until I finally arrived at the building Professor Cheon Kyujin had set up for grade verification and claims.

Since I wasn’t an undergraduate of this school, I couldn’t check my grades online, so I explained at the front desk that I was here to verify grades in addition to a personal request from Professor Cheon Kyujin.

Of course, I didn’t mention the former.

“Professor Cheon Kyujin… Right! Go to room 306 on the 3rd floor. 306 is a small lecture hall, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to think I was a weird person.

After taking the elevator, I arrived at the lecture hall door, and the lively sound was seeping out from inside.

Among those voices was one I recognized from class.

From the slightly elevated tone, it seemed like they were having a heated debate about the exam questions.

“But, professor, shouldn’t this formula earn partial credit? Even if it wasn’t your intended part, it was necessary in my process to derive the correct answer.”

“I understand the point of your argument, Ho-yeon. But look closely— to derive the answer using dimensional binomials, you need 3 formulas, not just 2. With only these 2 formulas, the equation becomes ill-defined, and there can’t be just one exact answer. You just happened to hit the correct answer by chance. I won’t deduct points for the answer, but I don’t think I can give you partial credit for this solution.”

It looked like a somewhat constructive exchange, but the professor’s terrifying attack threatened to deduct credit for the answer unless he agreed with her.

Eventually, it seemed that the student couldn’t find a better alternative and left the hall with slumped shoulders.

I sat in the front row of the hall, dazed until everyone else had finished their inquiries.

I wasn’t completely lost in thought; I occasionally soaked in the joy of those who received points and the despair of those who lost points.

“Hello, hello. Are you waiting for someone? Are you perhaps the professor’s daughter? Or a niece?”

“Hey, don’t talk randomly; you’ll scare the kid! Just wait quietly.”

“We’re just friends of that person over there. We’ve been waiting for a long time and thought we’d say hi. Is that okay?”

“Sorry about that; she’s still a bit naive.”

A boy and a girl sat behind me. The girl tried to hit the boy’s head, but I stopped her.

“No, I’m waiting for the professor too; I’m not family or anything.”

“Oh, I see. So cute. What’s your name? How old are you?”

“I’m 7 years old. This is my first time seeing you, Byung-jun and Ga-yeon.”

“Oh? How do you know our names? Is there a name tag?”

While the two students were puzzled, the last student stepped down from the podium.

“You’ve worked hard for two months. By the way, my name is Anah.”

I watched their expressions twist into shock and awe as I brought about the meeting that the professor had been eagerly awaiting.

“Hello.”

I casually greeted the professor.

“What brings you here?”

“Is there any other reason to come besides checking grades?”

I answered somewhat playfully, observing the professor’s reaction.

A bit of bewilderment, curiosity.

However, unlike others, he didn’t rush to ask me back or make hasty judgments about me.

He quietly waited for me to add more.

Indeed, I like this person.

Even though I knew it was a big faux pas to test a person like this, I couldn’t manage to shake off the habits from my time in the royal court.

I wasn’t sure how it would be received here, but at least treating someone like a Duke or a commanding officer of direct troops in such a manner would likely end with my head.

“I’m sorry for the late introduction; my name is Anah. I came to check my grade for the Interpretation of René Descartes.”