"There were some circumstances that prevented me from concentrating in class."
As he said this, Leo got up from his seat and walked over to Alice's side.
Ignoring Alice's startled and cringing reaction, I quietly examine her face.
If she shows any sign of displeasure here, it will be difficult.
Rich blonde hair swept to one side.
Eyes so clear and blue that it's hard to believe even when you're looking at them directly in front of your eyes.
Leo took the book she was holding, careful not to be distracted by her refined beauty.
"Explanation of the operating principle of magic power. It covers the operating principles of magic power that is mainly used in using magic, but there are some things that I personally don't understand."
Practical knowledge gained through using magic on your own, and comparison with theory.
I ask her for the first time about the curiosity about the ignorance that comes from that gap.
"The utility of both acceleration using rotation and pumping through continuous pressure is described very simply in this interpretation. There is no explanation at all about the case where the two efficacies of acceleration and pumping are completely reversed when the amount of horsepower available at once exceeds a certain level, making control difficult."
"Now, wait a minute. How did you do that…."
"Other interpretations and papers dismiss this phenomenon as a very unusual exception and interpret it vaguely, but I think differently."
Leo's calm gaze gazes quietly into Alice's eyes.
"Isn't knowledge of this part a rare theory that is only permitted to magicians who have reached a certain level or higher?"
"...."
Looking at the silent Alice, Leo once again recalled the iron rule he had previously established.
'Hide your talents thoroughly. Just open up about the theories you have and ask for help.'
Although there are countless books on magic in the library, Leo began to realize at some point that the principles of magic he was experiencing were slightly different from what was written in the books.
Could it be that Leo's overflowing talent was leading him down a completely different path?
Rather, it is more likely that information about magical theory available to the general public is extremely limited.
Leo had been suspicious of this hypothesis for quite some time, and Alice's reaction just now confirmed it.
Leo, sitting across from me again, began to move his mouth smoothly.
"It's been several years since I started reading books."
"...."
"But the more I learned, the more the gap between what I knew grew wider, and the things I thought I knew began to turn into awkward knowledge."
From here on out, acting is required.
Leo continued speaking slowly, avoiding Alice's gaze as if he was thinking about it.
"Do you know why I'm only bringing this up now?"
I close my eyes briefly, then open them again and meet her gaze.
In her eyes, he must have seemed like someone possessed by an inexplicable longing for learning.
It may be seen as a student who cannot continue his studies due to his talent and environment.
And as Leo's acting seemed to have worked, Alice's gaze began to waver greatly.
"....You fooled me."
"I'm sorry. But….. it's hard to bring up the subject. Who would I dare to talk about this to?"
A hushed silence flows.
Before I knew it, only two people were left on the eighth floor of the library.
Alice sat there blankly for a while before slowly answering.
"Your guess is correct. There is information that is not available to wizards below the fourth rank who are not recognized by the city government, and this also applies to the citizens of Balkan."
"...."
"Unless you seek out a master and become a direct disciple, or belong to the Magic Tower, it is extremely rare for the restrictions to be lifted. You could almost consider it a de facto information isolation measure."
"okay….."
The very act of bringing up such a topic would be an implicit expression of Alice's position that she cannot break such a ban.
It was only natural. To her, Leo was just a stranger whose name she didn't even know.
They only meet irregularly because of her personal favor. The relationship between the two has never had any meaning until now.
'How should I persuade him…?'
What Leo wants is not simply a teacher who will teach him theories that are not permitted to him.
He just needs a fellow magician to share some of his concerns about magical theories with, and to provide inspiration through conversations.
"I don't mean to ask you to just share the knowledge you have."
It was necessary to speak carefully.
"However, how about changing the current teaching method a little?"
"What is that…?"
"This time, the professor is listening to what I usually think about while reading theory books. In fact, I also had a lot of things I wanted to say while studying magic."
He smiled broadly, receiving the gaze that was looking at Leo with an absurd face.
This time it was a genuine smile.
"Don't you think it would be fun?"
test
A few days passed after my meeting with Alice began to take on a new meaning.
Panoa not only gave Leo the relic as promised, but also gave him a lot of money for the failure of this operation.
In Leo's bank account, which only had 20 million cells, he quickly had enough money to buy another Stemonia.
It would be easy to just buy another one as a spare right away, but that's not something Leo can control.
Even if you have a lot of money, it's useless if no items are listed on the auction.
In the end, in order to avoid wasting that money, you have to aim higher than you are now.
Another week passed, and Leo returned to the Dyke headquarters where the negotiations had taken place.
"Hello. My name is Manya House, and I will be your assistant in this operation."
A very young-looking employee greeted me with a blank expression on his face.
"As you may have heard from Team Leader Panoa in advance, there will be a test to select team members for this project starting today. During the process, Ban will evaluate and filter out candidates who are deemed unqualified."
She held the small shopping bag in her hands and handed it to Leo with both hands. Looking at the contents, she saw that it was an ordinary suit that an employee might wear.
"It's not a custom fit, but the size should be fine. It should be big enough to blend in naturally with other employees."
Manya's words that there was no need to stand out were not wrong, and Leo obediently changed into a suit.
He unbuttoned the top button of his stuffy-looking shirt and pulled down his narrow tie, but Manya didn't say much as she watched him do it.
"This is a suit that is directly distributed by the company. It is basically elastic and durable, so there is some demand for it as self-defense. Unless you particularly dislike it, I recommend that you wear it in a matching outfit for future operations."
"Because it's not noticeable?"
"Because the other team members who will be selected this time will be able to save your life."
Manya, who had blurted out such creepy words without thinking, turned her back.
Contrary to his youthful appearance, he was a man with a fierce outlook.
Leo chuckled and immediately followed her.
Take the elevator that glides at high speed down to the basement of the building.
Further down through the underground parking lot reserved for employees and executives.
Manya opened her mouth, staring into the pitch-black darkness beyond the glass window.
"We spent a lot of money lobbying the city government to secure underground space for our headquarters. We put a lot of effort into securing the route that the subway should have run on."
"Can you tell me that?"
"We have already concluded that we absolutely need the help of the half-wizard to make the project a success. If we can expose the company's corruption and gain its trust, it wouldn't be a bad deal."
Manya's appearance of responding without even blinking was quite similar to that of rational magicians.
Did Panoa notice this personality of hers and intentionally attach her to Leo?
After a brief moment of hesitation, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.
As we passed through the cold, metallic corridors and across the arched bridge, a large cavity came into view beneath us.
It is difficult to say that it has been properly completed; it is a crude form that looks like they simply dug up a large space and put lights on top of it.
An empty space where nothing but construction equipment can be seen, except for the floor being compacted with solid cement and a platform built in one corner.
In the meantime, many people are moving busily, bringing in, placing, and moving various terrain features.
One by one, structures are installed according to the colorful paint drawings that are densely drawn on the floor.
Leo furrowed his eyebrows as he saw Killian leading the work from the front.
"What is that?"
"We're setting up a temporary facility to test the candidates. Killian has personally been in charge of airlifting the relevant supplies."
"Killian?"
I always thought he was a punk who would pick trouble wherever he went, but I didn't know he would do something like that.
What was even more surprising was that the shape of the structure they were installing looked quite realistic.
Manya glanced back at him, perhaps noticing the emotion in Leo's words, and opened her mouth again.
"Killian is a high-ranking warrior among the lycanthropes. As such, he knows well what kind of physical training is required to test a warrior. This physical test is being conducted entirely under his jurisdiction."
"Because I'm a warrior…."
I knew that werewolves lived in tribal societies when they were young, but I never thought I would hear that word here.
Leo looked down at the loud green-haired man with renewed eyes.
If we're going to talk about class, the werewolf blood that Killian has is incomparably purer than that of Guile's that we met last time.
While they were talking, the two people came down the spiral staircase and arrived at the common floor, and headed towards Killian.
He was moving the structure with other employees when he noticed Manya's presence and turned his head.
"The precious wizard has arrived. How are you? Are you feeling a little better?"
"As much as you have made mistakes."
A moment of silence fell over the room at Leo's cold response.
The other employees at Dyke were already quietly watching to see if they had been informed of Leo's true identity in advance.
In the end, Killian laughed awkwardly, having started a fight for no reason and not getting his money's worth back.
"....You really don't lose a single word. I also have regrets about this operation."
"....."
"But isn't the reason we came here to try to do well together? We're also trying our best to make sure something like this never happens again."
"I guess I'll have to see it for myself to know."
"Of course. What we're preparing here now is…. so to speak, the minimum cutoff line. In order to protect our wizard, you need to have good specs, right?"
Is even the test we're currently conducting the result of reorganizing the project around Leo?
Leo felt keenly that Panoa had made up his mind to bet.
At this point, isn't this a case of leaving the direction of the project entirely up to Leo's abilities?
It seemed that the power that Leo had demonstrated at the port had impressed the employees of Dyke quite a bit.
'It doesn't matter. The thought itself isn't important anyway.'
After a brief conversation with Killian, Leo sat down on the platform at the end of the hall and watched the situation unfold.
Manya stood behind him without saying a word, observing the scenery below.
Only after the structures are in place to test the ability to cope with various situations does Panoa appear in the public.
She looked around while holding her cell phone in one hand and talking busily on the phone.
As soon as she found Killian, she approached him and started yelling at him, and he scratched his chin with an awkward expression.
The other employees who followed her began to move in unison, pitching tents nearby, building fences, and bringing in all kinds of measuring equipment.
After a while, the elevator doors opened, and a group of people began to enter the common area, guided by other employees.
These are the candidates personally selected by Panoa for this plan.
"...…"
Leo looked at the group of people who looked to be about twenty with sharp eyes.
The magical power he unleashed stretched out in a bold direction, crushing the shoulders of the candidates.
Woohoo!!
At the same time, I quickly moved my gaze left and right to observe people reacting.
"….!!"
Four people turned their heads as if they were startled. Five people noticed something.
And there were three people who turned their heads in this exact direction.
'There are three people who can handle magic well... Not bad.'
It seems that Panoa has selected better candidates than expected.
A faint smile spread across Leo's lips.
".... Sir, have you already started?"
"hmm?"
Leo turned his head in slight surprise at Manya's belated question.
"Did you notice?"
"I could feel that the wizard was using magic power."
Manya shook her head slightly with a troubled expression.
"Until the physical test is over, I would appreciate it if you could refrain from provoking the candidates as much as possible. Since we have set quite strict requirements for keeping things confidential, they will probably be quite sensitive as well."
"...…"
Leo nodded vaguely at Manya's words, but what really surprised him was not that.