Chapter 364

As the exam content was roughly determined, so too was my to-do list.

Time to cause some chaos or stir up trouble. It seemed like the professors were itching for just that, and I was thinking of delivering.

Ah, of course, if I end up making a mess, Rod is definitely going to scold me, so I’ll keep it within reasonable bounds.

Crucially, the students have no idea what my ‘wish’ actually is. They’ll only figure it out once the exam kicks off.

“What will it feel like when I collect each treasure one by one?”

Honestly speaking, I was a bit, no, a lot excited.

When I have gathered all the treasures, my wish will be a perfect exam score of zero. And I mean every student in the class getting zero.

If it’s Dis, he might actually give the whole class a zero, or he could dismiss it for being too harsh.

Either way, I don’t care. After all, I’m just the assistant, so I can sweetly rake in my personal score regardless.

“But not knowing what abilities each treasure has is the real issue.”

What I was worried about was the abilities each treasure possesses. Dis explained that the treasures had some very special abilities.

Depending on how they are used, they are classified into different grades. Since there are seven treasures, they’ve been classified by rainbow colors.

Red is the lowest grade, easiest to find, while purple is the highest grade and the hardest to find.

And the color of the treasure that assistants must guard is green. That gives a treasure of just the right middle grade.

“Well, being green means its performance won’t be bad… but the question is who should have it.”

When judging purely by power, the weakest among the three, Karas, would be the best fit for it.

However, to collect the treasures, I absolutely need to be involved, and if I have it, I’ll be safe for now.

But it’s a little disappointing that I can’t utilize the performance of the treasure.

If we’re talking balance, then it should be Kara, but this would result in Karas being left out.

“I guess I’ll just take my time to consider.”

There’s still plenty of time until the exam. It’s not something to worry about right away.

Also, it would be prudent to consider that the students might self-destruct fighting each other.

Last time during practice, they ended up squabbling and it was all so pointless, so the same might happen this time.

The only difference might be that there’s resurrection involved. Because of that, I might just get to drop hints about what I want.

“Oh right. I think I’ll be going to Tartar too.”

“Anyone else, but Eli, why are you?”

“The professor sent me to study!”

It was the weekend before the exam, and for once, we were gathered with friends at Rod’s place.

Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise at Eli’s remark. Kara, in particular, looked especially shocked.

“What could you possibly learn from that country?”

“Is it okay for a princess from that nation to say such things?”

Even Grace, a foreigner, was flabbergasted. But Kara was dead serious.

She opened her mouth, showing a face of utter confusion.

“I’m just genuinely curious. Eli, you’re in herbalism, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Why would you? As far as combat goes, there isn’t really much in our country?”

Kara’s question was totally valid. That’s because Tartar is a desert country.

It’s generally a place where nothing grows unless it’s in a specific area. The searing hot sun is a trademark.

Sure, sometimes there are plants that manage to grow there, but calling them useful would be a stretch.

“Instead, surgery is advanced there, you know? Plus, there are herbs effective for skin protection.”

“Surgery may be, but skin protection? All I can think of is squeezing cactus!”

“That’s probably right. The professor once told me to research it. There’s also the date palm.”

“Hmm… I can understand if that’s the case.”

I had heard something about using cacti to make cosmetics.

Particularly, in Tartar, the sun is so intense that even Tartarians find it hard to bear.

You could argue that since their skin is brown naturally, it wouldn’t show, but saying that on Earth will get you scorned.

The sunlight is so strong in the desert that it can cause skin to necrotize—not just burn. So, sunscreen is a must.

“Then Eli, are you going with our class? Each class goes to a different place for practice, right?”

“Yeah. I got lucky. I’ll get to see Sivar more.”

“Eeh?”

Eli said that while she hugged me tightly. I almost spilled the cookie I was munching on.

At the same time, numerous eyes were fixated on us, but Eli didn’t care one bit.

In fact, she was rubbing her face against my shoulder, a clear sign of her affection.

“Well… if it’s luck, then I guess that’s good. But Kara, is there anything we should be careful about in Tartar?”

“They’ll probably give us something to wear first. It’ll be a bit cumbersome, but you can’t take it off.”

“What happens if you take it off?”

“Your fair skin will develop all sorts of trouble!”

“I’ll have to wear it without fail then.”

Whether man or woman, skin is incredibly precious. While girls do take care of their skin, guys also hate it when they get skin trouble.

There’s just a difference in meticulousness. Girls manage their skin with cosmetics, while guys just slather on lotion and that’s it.

Above all, genetics play a huge role in how one’s skin fares. Some people just have it good while others just don’t.

“Is it because I’m a demon that I don’t get any?”

I wasn’t sure. For now, I’ll just enjoy these delicious cookies.

They were so good because Eli baked them just for me.

“How long does it normally take to get to Tartar?”

“If you take a carriage, usually a month or two. But doesn’t the academy have warp too?”

“Warp? What’s that?”

Luna revealed her usual silly face, showcasing her confusion. Eli had a similar expression.

Grace and Kara looked at them with slightly baffled expressions. As if shocked they genuinely didn’t know.

“Warp is basically space travel magic. It activates not individually, but through a special device for space transfer.”

Rod, who had been listening quietly, kindly explained. As always, he was holding a teacup.

“Space travel? Isn’t that a lost magic?”

“You’re right. Space magic was lost during the war between the Hero and the Demon King. Well, demons still seem to use it well.”

Lost magic of space travel. For reasons unknown, it was lost back then and is no longer usable.

But not for demons. Being a race that has survived since ancient times, they can still use lost magic.

“False can be called the god of magic.”

On the other hand, humans seem to have lost some magic for reasons unknown. One of the representative magics is the space travel magic.

You might say that only the Celestial can handle space, and in a way, that’s correct. But spatial travel magic functions differently.

If Rod and Rize, who specialize in space, ‘ignore’ space, then spatial travel magic is about quickly ‘breaking through’ space.

Simply speaking, ignoring is like jumping from 1 to 10 instantly. Breaking through is climbing step by step to 10 at an invisible speed—1, 2, 3…

“Sometimes, ancient ruins are found with movement magic installed. They take all of it back.”

“Is it difficult for individuals to analyze and use it?”

“It’s impossible. Renowned linguists have tried to decipher the language inscribed on the magic circles, but they’ve always failed.”

“Language?”

As soon as the word ‘language’ came up, Luna looked at me. Was it? The thought lingered on her face.

Maybe it wasn’t just her; everyone seemed to be looking at me as if they had the same idea. So I gave an answer.

“I’m good at listening. Watching, I need to learn.”

“Oh, that’s true.”

And just like that, everyone accepted it. Grace was the only one to follow up with a question.

“Isn’t it possible to interpret even by looking?”

“Moving.”

“Huh?”

“Can’t be done.”

“Oh.”

She caught on pretty fast. If I could’ve learned, I would’ve done so ages ago.

Even Luna in the Soul World never managed to learn how to do space travel magic fully.

It would have been easier to just cut through space with a sword. That’s how tough it is.

“Pronunciation is important too.”

In magic, the language needs to be perfect in terms of both written form and pronunciation to work.

So learning spatial travel magic isn’t worth it if you could learn something else instead.

“Anyway, the spatial travel magic circles aren’t individual but reciprocal. It’s probably possible to tour Tartar only because it was newly installed. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah. Coincidentally, we discovered ancient ruins a few years ago.”

Even if they hadn’t found it, they probably would’ve sourced it somewhere. Maybe they struck a direct deal with Santia.

In any case, the spatial travel magic circles cannot be used by individuals. Only larger organizations equivalent to a nation can utilize them.

Primarily, VIPs from different countries transfer for international meetings or tours sent by the academy. Those are the two cases.

“Kara, it seems like you’re going back home for the first time in a while?”

“Yeah. I’m a bit worried though.”

“What part?”

“Many parts.”

Kara expressed it indirectly. She probably knows best herself.

That her father, Hector, is wandering around, and that this is the first time in Tartar’s history for this kind of visit.

The likelihood of incidents arising from cultural differences is very high. If that happens, it could be detrimental to international relations.

Can Hector, who hasn’t yet matured as a king, really navigate this well? That’s precisely Kara’s worry.

“Just need to deal with one idiot, and it’ll be fine.”

I stared at the worried Kara with a blank look. Noticing my gaze, Kara looked back at me.

As we locked eyes, I was munching on a cookie when I finally spoke up.

“It’s okay. It’ll be fine.”

“··· ···”

At my words, Kara’s eyes widened. Meanwhile, others looked puzzled.

This was because the words I just uttered were in the Tartar language. I’m starting to manage basic speech now.

“What did Sivar just say? It was the first time I’ve heard that!”

“Me too. Did Kara unni understand it?”

“Could it be Tartar language?”

Luna made a remarkably sharp comment. She was alarmingly perceptive at times like this.

Kara listened to the others and couldn’t help but laugh. That classic easygoing grin of hers.

“Yes. What I said was indeed in our language.”

“Really? When did you learn that?”

“You all come from the Matra Empire, right? I thought you looked lonely, so I learned it.”

“Huh?”

Did I ever say something like that? I tilted my head in confusion.

It was true I had learned the Tartar language with that thought in mind. However, I never directly told Kara that.

“Did I? Or maybe I had mentioned it?”

Just then, Grace, sensing danger instinctively, stammered as she asked Kara.

“Ah, so it’s true. Sivar is so nice that it’s a trouble. But what did he say?”

“He said I’m the prettiest here!”

“······That’s nonsense. While Kara is charming, I can’t agree.”

“What’ll you do if I don’t agree? Sivar said it!”

“Is it true, Sivar?”

“It’s not fun if you hear it from me.”

Suddenly, the living room turned chaotic. Even though Grace was retorting logically, Kara remained unfazed.

The calmest was Eli, who just watched with a pure smile.

“Eli! Why are you just sitting there?”

“Me? Why?”

“Sivar just said that Kara is the prettiest. Don’t you have any rebuttal?”

Was Eli puzzled by the questioning? Grace pressed her for an answer.

Though Eli tilted her head, genuinely not understanding, she responded.

“Um… I think both of you are pretty, so I don’t really know. You’re both prettier than me, right?”

“Don’t you feel insulted or anything?”

Kara asked curiously. It was quite an unexpected response.

I figured she might be slightly bothered, but Eli was just not fazed at all.

“Not really. Is there any need to feel insulted about the truth? I don’t think so.”

“Oh really?”

“Instead…”

But Kara underestimated Eli too much. Eli cheerfully smiled and added,

“I have the biggest chest among us, don’t I? That’s good enough.”

“··· ···”

“··· ···”

Eli’s overwhelming victory.

“Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you check out the face first or the body first?”

Luna was just being Luna again. All eyes suddenly shot toward me.

In this incredibly uncomfortable situation, I begrudgingly opened my mouth, secretly resenting Luna.

“I love whoever I love.”

[Faith increases!]

Feels more like wisdom is increasing, if anything.

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