Until the next episode began, Baek Yu-Seol diligently practiced at the residence of Ha Tae-ryang, who was no different than his teacher.
Since he was the only person in this magical world who trained with swords and studied Mana Accumulation Retardation, Baek Yu-Seol felt a strange sense of kinship despite never even seeing his face once.
Still, Baek Yu-Seol couldn't wield his sword.
It was said that if one mastered the Mana Accumulation Retardation skill beyond a certain level, he would qualify to learn swordsmanship through the sword used by Ha Tae-ryang...
But the criteria for that 'qualification' remained elusive, leaving Baek Yu-Seol perplexed throughout his training.
Of course, not being able to hold the sword didn't an he didn't progress at all.
Now, he could trigger [Tae-ryang Divine Skill] instantly.
If given a brief mont to focus, he could channel explosive mana into the sword.
Though the duration remained short, he had confidence in the instantaneous attack power.
And then there was more.
"Here's a gift."
Not long ago, he had gifted Alterisha with a very rare material called 'Moonlight Stone.'
Baek Yu-Seol hoped she'd use it as she pleased to create sothing better...
"I coated moonlight stone onto your Stella uniform. You're always getting into dangerous situations, Student Yu-Seol."
"This is..."
While being lightweight, Moonlight Stone was an excellent conductor of mana, and despite possessing low durability, it was easy to enchant it with high-grade magic.
Though Stella's uniform was equipped with defensive magic, it was lacking compared to alchemical engineering.
Alterisha had completely transford his uniform and upgraded it.
"The temperature maintenance function is basic, and it has the ability to partially restore damaged parts on its own and clean dirty parts. I also added a feature which would allow it to withstand most level 3 spells at once."
"Wow... Thank you so much, Assistant."
Baek Yu-Seol didn't expect to receive a gift of this magnitude, so when he appeared thrilled, Alterisha made a mischievous expression for the first ti in a while.
"I'm not an assistant anymore. How long do you plan to keep calling that?"
Baek Yu-Seol blankly stared at her. She probably wanted to be called 'President' or 'Doctor,' but he teased her slightly.
"Should I call you 'nuna' then?"
"Th-that won't do!"
"Oouch!"
Baek Yu-Seol received a hit on his head for playing around unnecessarily.
In the Aether world, there existed the 'Four Great Floating Cities.'
It was a term which encompassed the largest four floating cities.
However, aside from the mysterious heavenly world reachable only by transcendent mages, three cities remained.
'Arcanium, the City of Magic,' 'The Sky City of Elvedia,' 'The Ancestor's City of Calon.'
Among them, Calon was famous as the place where the Progenitor Mage wrote the first pages of history and single-handedly ford the city with his power.
Even after a thousand years, the Progenitor Mage's power still lingered there, and the fact made it one of the greatest mysteries.
Calon was a place where laws or politics didn't exist, and everything was governed by a single law called 'magic', making it the holand of mages.
Every year, a significant mages gathering took place there.
Among them, the 'Aslan Seminar,' a mage conference exclusively open to teenagers, stood out.
The seminar which denied access to those not officially recognized as mages produced nurous talents yearly.
However, this year, exceptionally brilliant individuals were drawing extra attention.
Jeremy, the golden prince of the Skalben Empire.
Born with the blessing of fire, Hong Bi-Yeon, the princess of Adolveit.
Edna, the girl who inherited the blood of angels and fairies.
Haewonryang, the heir of the world's greatest magic tower, the Twilight Tower.
And born with the blessing of ice, Eisel, a descendant of the traitor Morp Family.
Moreover, at Calon's Aslan Seminar, geniuses from all races gathered, and the sight of teenagers from various races like giants, elves, dwarves, and others beca common.
"Human mages are receiving remarkable attention."
As there were many outstanding individuals among humans, it stirred discomfort among other races since it was an undesirable thing for them.
Although it had been a hundred years since the unification of all the races, the strange rivalry between races hadn't entirely disappeared.
Jeliel, the illegitimate daughter of Starcloud's president and a high elf, casually remarked, "Well, it's understandable. Humans have short lifespans, so they rush and hurry. Oh, Seong Tae-won, aren't you a human either?"
"... I am a half-human and half-elf. Following my mother's wishes, I aspire to live as an elf."
Jeliel's bodyguard Seong Tae-won was a half-elf, but like most mixed-bloods, he didn't receive favorable treatnt from either side.
Amidst this, Jeliel discovered his exceptional talent and appointed him as her protector.
Thanks to this turnaround in life, Seong Tae-won found himself by her side 24/7.
And perhaps because he had been spending so much ti with her, Seong Tae-won no longer viewed Jeliel as a re escort...
... A fact Jeliel herself was subtly aware of.
But well, wouldn't it just be perfect to exploit him by gently manipulating those emotions?
'Hmm... Seong Tae-won's [Value] seems to be failing.'
Is it really because he was a human-elf hybrid? The problem lay in their shorter lifespan.
Although Seong Tae-won had been with her since she was rely 8, and a decade had passed, his magical prowess hadn't increased significantly from that ti. In the end, he had reached his limit.
While an elf might dedicate more ti to ascend to greater heights, human mages couldn't do the sa.
'... Humans are inherently inferior.'
It seed like it was ti to 'discard' Seong Tae-won and bring in a new person. Unlike elves, humans had shorter lifespans, fell in love easily, and were easy to manipulate.
'What if I get Baek Yu-Seol as my bodyguard... how would that fare?'
Jeliel also attended the seminar as an elite enrolled in the 'Astral Flower Magic Academy,' the most prestigious academy in the fairy realm.
She arranged the list of attendees a long ti ago and already knew that Baek Yu-Seol would also be attending.
If not, she wouldn't have co here.
Imdiate business mattered more to her than Aslan.
In that sense, Baek Yu-Seol was quite useful... No, he was a business item with potentially enormous value.
Wouldn't you agree?
He was not just any genius but the first mage to control the spell Flash, a co-developer of the items with Alterisha, and despite being rely seventeen, he tackled nurous incidents involving dark magic.
Just having him around would undeniably bring a significantly positive impact on Starcloud's image.
... Besides those superficial reasons, there were many crucial reasons to keep him by her side.
'Let's just wait quietly.'
A smile automatically crept up on her face.
In any case, it was only a matter of ti before Baek Yu-Seol ca into her grasp. Today, she was planning to lay the groundwork until that day cos.
"We've arrived at the Montbleu Castle Hotel, Miss."
In the Aether World, there were up to seven-star hotels.
Montbleu Castle Hotel was one of the seven-star hotels located in Calon. It was used by upper-class nobility, major corporations, and rchants; this luxury hotel cost more for a night's stay than an average person's yearly salary.
Of course, for soone like Jeliel, it was just a temporary residence.
"Miss, there's a eting scheduled with Mage Alexaron from the Magic Society at 14:00. Then, imdiately after, Viscountess Marcaeu is hosting a small birthday reception at the hotel. I've prepared your dress in advance for attendance."
Seong Tae-won recited the schedule to Jeliel. Although she was a high elf, she lived as a rchant, so she had no choice but to deeply involve herself in the society of various races.
She simply ca to Calon for the Aslan Seminar, but it seed like she had no spare minute.
As a fairy, she possessed great stamina. Although she wasn't physically tired, she couldn't help but feel ntally strained.
However, she was ticulous in every aspect, especially in crucial matters since she didn't feel relieved until she personally resolved them.
In the midst of such a busy schedule, she managed to write a thesis herself which was enough to prove the above fact.
Considering the fact that regular 'fixed attendees' secretly stole the research of the mages, Jeliel could be considered quite honest when it ca to matters regarding magic.
Anyway, as soon as she set foot in Calon, Jeliel dedicated her entire day to et nurous mages, businessn, and nobles.
She hadn't achieved the goal behind her visit, but she figured she could take it slow.
"Sigh... I'm tired."
Late evening.
Rejecting the noble's sly attempt to introduce his handso son, insinuating, 'How about a late dinner?,' Jeliel boarded her own car.
"Where shall I take you?"
The day's schedule was over.
Just as she was about to say, 'To the hotel,' Jeliel rembered sothing.
"... Where did Baek Yu-Seol stay?"
"Ratanel Hotel."
"A hotel nad after a traitorous angel? As befits the holand of magic, even cheeky nas are accepted."
"It seems to not please the lady's heart."
"Exactly. I don't like angels. Just take there."
Compared to the opulent Montbleu Hotel where Jeliel stayed, Ratanel Hotel was much smaller.
Initially, the thought of staying in such a place seed absurd to Jeliel. As she despised even setting foot in such a shabby hotel.
However, what irritated her more was the thought of Baek Yu-Seol, who would soday be her subordinate, staying in such a shabby place.
"Is there an option for anonymous sponsorship?"
"Do you want to change Baek Yu-Seol's hotel?"
"You really know my thoughts well."
"... Yes. Because of the ti we've spent together."
Seong Tae-won added a aningful comnt at the end. Normally, he would have swallowed those words silently, but lately, he subtly displays a sense of intimacy.
'Hmmm...'
When he realized that Jeliel was showing keen interest in Baek Yu-Seol, he secretly felt jealous.
'Cheeky.'
If she had drawn the line earlier, saying, 'You can't be on par with ,' he wouldn't even have dared to say such words.
But thanks to Jeliel, who covertly acknowledged Seong Tae-won's feelings while pretending to reciprocate, Seong Tae-won also misunderstood sothing and subtly expressed his own intentions.
"Well, it's fine. Baek Yu-Seol must have enough wealth, so he must have a reason for using this place."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. So..."
Just as Jeliel was about to say he should leave now, she noticed sothing eye-catching.
'Hong Biyeon... Adolveit?'
Soone as significant as a princess of one of the world's mightiest nations appeared at the shabby Ratanel Hotel for so reason.
'Hmmm? Interesting sight.'
Hong Bi-Yeon had a stronger desire to show off than anyone else, she was a woman who spared no effort to show her strength to the world. For a woman like her to stay in such a shabby hotel, she must have co to et soone.
Probably Baek Yu-Seol.
'... Co to think of it, she said that princess of Adolveit have an interest in Baek Yu-Seol?"'
Information within Stella was sothing Jeliel had to handle sowhat sensitively, but the fact that Hong Bi-Yeon showed a particularly unique reaction only to Baek Yu-Seol was sothing anyone could easily figure out.
"Open the window and let's approach slowly."
"Understood."
Hong Bi-Yeon was pacing alone in front of the main entrance of the Ratanel Hotel without any escort.
Jeliel activated the 'presence concealnt', 'magnification', and 'audio amplification' functions of her private car, and parked it at a suitable spot.
She had hoped to eavesdrop on Hong Bi-Yeon and Baek Yu-Seol's conversation if he appeared...
A while later, instead of Baek Yu-Seol, a refreshing and beautiful girl with sky-blue hair erged from the hotel.
It was Eisel Morph.
"Hmm...?"
Morp and Adolveit were supposed to be enemies.
It was intriguing information that they were eting secretly, so although Jeliel was disappointed that Baek Yu-Seol didn't show up, she listened intently.
"Why did you call out to this cheap-looking hotel?"
Hong Bi-Yeon imdiately confronted Eisel upon seeing her.
"Nevertheless, you ca out. I thought you would co if I told you it was related to Baek Yu-Seol."
"What, what are you talking about... I just ca out of curiosity since you were calling so conspicuously."
Eisel glanced around, then realized it wasn't necessary and sighed.
Anyone could figure the fact out anyway.
"I heard you're also running around trying to cure Miss Baek Yu-Seol's terminal condition, aren't you?"
Jeliel was unaware that Baek Yu-Seol had a terminal condition, so she was shaken by this revelation. She hadn't fully grasped all the information within Stella.
"I... am what? Who said that?"
"I also have an eye for things, and because of that, I have sothing to say."
"... Have you found a solution?"
"No. I found out that there's no need for one."
"What?"
Jeliel leaned closer to clearly listen to her words.
But sohow...
"I looked up ********** and found out his ********. However, I couldn't find out more than that."
Eisel's words faded into a vague mist. The words beca unclear, as if soone had deliberately censored them.
Even after that, Eisel tried to persuade Hong Bi-Yeon for a while, but Jeliel couldn't understand anything at all.
Eventually, Eisel concluded.
"I can't explain any further. There's a sort of prohibition."
"... Are you asking to believe that?"
But Hong Bi-Yeon seed to understand everything, and her expression beca cold, as if she had been told an unbelievable lie.
"Yes. Whether to believe or not is up to you. But you must understand too. I, who detest the Adolveit, am asking you directly. Even bowing my head like this."
Hong Bi-Yeon fell silent, leaving Jeliel frustrated. Not catching so of the most crucial words made it impossible to understand what was being discussed.
"Fine, I agree. I don't entirely believe your words. But if it's proven to be true sohow..."
Hong Bi-Yeon and Eisel both looked up at the sky, perhaps seeing stars instead of the sky.
"... Then, let's talk again."
That was the end of the conversation.
Hong Bi-Yeon disappeared into the distance with fiery steps, while Eisel remained there, staring blankly at the sky, and let out a sigh.
Behind that bitter and wistful expression, what thoughts and secrets could she be hiding?
"Miss."
"... Yes?"
"Should I imdiately dig up information on those kids?"
Seong Tae-won quickly noticed her unsettled state and spoke.
"Don't touch the Princess of Adolveit. But... investigate Eisel Morph. However, do it in a way that won't go against Stella's wishes."
"Understood."
"Let's return to the hotel."
Seong Tae-won silently started the automatic carriage, while Jeliel leaned against the window lost in thought.
... What on earth were they talking about?
And what in the world is Baek Yu-Seol's deadline?
That day, Jeliel couldn't sleep even a wink.
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