[V13C13.2] Interlude: Monica Everett Learns Defeat

One day had passed since Monica employed Star-Weaving Mira at the lighthouse.

Out of concern for her fatigue, Monica was exempted for outdoor tasks. Instead, she was assigned to research and improve the shadow-removal spell at the Mage Association.

Joining her was the Fourth Thorn Witch, Melissa Roseberg, who was seated with her legs crossed in front of a blackboard.

Meanwhile, Monica’s disciple Isaac Walker was taking detailed notes a short distance away.

“Hey, hold on. Why is this mutt skipping out on security duties to be here?”

Melissa’s blatantly hostile attitude left Monica stammering, so Isaac responded in her place.

“Any disciple strives to understand the magic of his master. I believe that is only natural.”

“Huh? Can a third-rate like you actually understand any of this?”

Why were these two always at such odds?

Despite her timidness, Monica was determined to do something about the situation. She tightened her grip on the chalk and raised her voice.

“Um… I-I will now begin my explanation!”

Gluttonous Zoe had rendered many people comatose, in both the capital and Sazandol.

Since all of them required resuscitation, they urgently needed more mages capable of casting the shadow-removal spell.

For the past few days, Monica had been treating patients in Sazandol while simultaneously coming up with ideas for improvement.

The newly improved version was her pride and joy, boasting increased safety and fewer inefficiencies compared to her initially developed one.

“As you can see, performing attribute fixation on Sections 42 through 71 allows for improved stability on the spell. This concludes my explanation.”

Once Monica finished, Isaac examined the magical formula on the blackboard and let out a sigh of admiration.

“The formula is just so beautiful. It maintains complete stability while reducing waste to the minimum… I cannot find a single flaw.”

Isaac’s exaggerated praise was a bit embarrassing, so Monica found the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. That said, she also had a great deal of confidence in her creation.

Meanwhile, Melissa was staring silently at the blackboard, deep in thought. Then, she suddenly stood up and grabbed a piece of chalk.

“Hey, Moni-Moni. About this part of the formula…”

Melissa drew a slash down the middle of the formula, then added additional symbols to fill in the edges.

“It’s possible to split the spell into two here, right? One for reviving the comatose target, and the other for removing the shadow.”

Monica frowned at the additional symbols added by Melissa.

“Y-You’re right, it can be done, but…”

As Melissa suggested, it was possible to split the spell.

However, dividing it would require the additional symbols drawn by Melissa, thereby adding unnecessary complexity.

Monica had designed the formula to activate as a single spell, because splitting it meant maintaining two spells simultaneously. That resulted in a significant increase to mana consumption.

In other words, splitting it was much less efficient.

“It’s much cleaner as a single spell,” Monica explained.

“But splitting it makes it easier,” Melissa argued. “And it would simplify the required mana manipulation too.”

“Splitting it requires additional sharing and connection formulas, which increases the mana cost and burden on the caster! Keeping it as one spell is much, much more efficient!”

Monica argued back, unwilling to yield on the matter. In response, Melissa waved the chalk back and forth in disapproval.

“Tut-tut. No matter how efficient your spell might be, it doesn’t matter if only a tiny fraction of mages can cast it.”

“B-But…”

Tears began welling up in Monica’s eyes.

At that moment, Isaac silently stood up and approached the blackboard, taking a piece of chalk.

“Monica, or rather, Master. I apologize for the amateurish question, but…”

“P-Please, go ahead! You can ask me anything!”

Monica put on her ‘reliable master’ face, watching as Isaac drew something on the blackboard.

Once Isaac was finished, he lowered the chalk. The first half of the spell divided by Melissa had been further divided into two.

“It seems to me that it is possible to split the formula into three parts.”

“I-Ike…?”

Monica trembled all over, looking up at her disciple with a face of tremendous betrayal.

“Split again…? I-Into three? Three spells even though they can be consolidated into one?”

Beside the shuddering Monica, Melissa clapped her hands in approval.

“Oh, I see. That way, the attribute fixation part can be assigned to someone else. That’s generally the most annoying part since it consumes so much mana.”

“Right,” Isaac nodded. “The resuscitation part requires extreme care, so we want to reduce the burden on the caster for that part.”

Monica widened her eyes to the limit and repeatedly mumbled “Whyyyy…?” with quivering lips.

Meanwhile, Melissa and Isaac simply continued their discussion.

“In that case, this spell will have to be performed in pairs,” Melissa mumbled.

“Having two people will also make it easier for them to check each other’s mistakes. Anyway, we need manpower, so we should prioritize treating the teachers of Minerva.”

“Oh? You intend to revive the mages there so that you can work them to the bone?”

“There is never any harm in having good teachers. We should also collaborate with other mage training institutions and promptly organize training programs for…”

The teary Monica started pulling at the hem of her disciple’s robe.

“Ike, Ike, why…? Why do you have to split it into three…?”

Splitting such a flawless and beautiful spell into three, and throwing in unnecessary additions——This seemed like complete blasphemy, impossible for Monica to comprehend.

Isaac softened his gaze and put on an apologetic expression.

“I’m really sorry, Monica, but considering the time it will take for an average mage to master your spell, this way is more efficient.”

“The obsessions of a genius don’t always work in the real world,” Melissa added. “Give it up.”

“Waaaah!”

The most genius witch in all of Ridill fell to her knees, breaking down into tears at her own powerlessness.

＊　＊　＊

After discussing the repercussions of dividing Monica’s spell into three, Melissa began calculating the stability of the divided spells on the blackboard, as Isaac wrote up a plan for requesting support from other mage training institutions.

Meanwhile, a certain janitor entered the conference room and began sweeping trash into a dustpan held by two weasels.

He glanced briefly at the three debating in front of the blackboard.

“Honestly, wouldn’t it be easier to detach the connection formula into its own thing?”

“T-That’s practically dividing it into four…! It’s better to change how the connection formula is integrated…”

“Tell me Walker, can you actually use this spell?”

“I understand the formulas, but my mana manipulation skills are not up to par. To tell the truth, I think most advanced mages will be in the same boat.”

“See? This is reality, Little One.”

“Waaaah…! Ike, Ike, I’ll teach you mana manipulation… You don’t have to rely on spell division… I’ll make you a good mage, so please…”

“I would love the chance to learn mana manipulation directly from you, Master. However, that will have to wait until we solve the issue at hand.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s get back to the topic of spell division.”

“No, don’t divide it…! Waaaah…! Ugh, hng…”

The janitor watched the entire scene with unclouded eyes.

He wanted to tell Monica to calm down, considering all the commotion she was causing. However, he understood that they were working hard for the sake of the country, so he decided it was not his place to intervene.

Meanwhile, Isaac gave him a casual wave goodbye.

The janitor returned a small nod and, after pledging to redouble his efforts, departed the room with the weasels.

There was plenty of time until the scheduled carriage arrived, so Cyril made sure to clean up before he left.

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