The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

“I’m sorry!”

After hearing the full story, Evelyn immediately bowed her head to the floor of the carriage.

The carriage, neatly trimmed with wood and finished with magic, had been modified to feel soft even on the floor. Evelyn inwardly marveled at the touch of the wood comfortably cradling her forehead, then quickly came to her senses and shouted loudly again.

“I’m sorry! Please forgive me just this once!”
“…It’s alright, raise your head.”

Haa. Ena sighed deeply and patted Evelyn’s shoulder lightly. Despite the contact being as light as a feather, Evelyn flinched and quickly raised her body. Then she stood at attention and watched Ena’s expression. In her eyes, there was a faint, undisguisable fear.

Ena could understand. She knew well how magicians were perceived publicly.

Dogmatic, arrogant fools who only know how to throw tantrums when things don’t go their way. Although humility is naturally realized after long periods of training and cultivation in magic, only a minority of magicians reach that stage. In the current magical society where most magicians are not like that, it’s natural for the perception of magicians to be rock bottom.

Moreover, Evelyn, who grew up in the slums, would clearly have an even worse perception of magicians. Since magicians who flow into the slums are usually there for illegal rituals or experiments, it was common sense for Evelyn to be wary of magicians even if she had only heard rumors. In fact, those rumors were almost all true.

‘Should I clear up the misunderstanding?’

Ena thought this, but soon shook her head.

It’s a problem that time will solve anyway. Evelyn will spend time with them while Asel is a disciple, and magic isn’t a discipline that can be mastered in just 1-2 years of learning. They’ll be living in the same house for at least 10 years, so they can become close during that time. There was no need to talk about it in a petty manner now.

“Um, excuse me…”

While Ena was lost in thought, Evelyn, who had been watching her expression, cautiously opened her mouth. Only then did Ena realize she had been staring at Evelyn continuously, and she spoke with a bitter smile.

“Ah, sorry. I was just thinking for a moment. Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, yes! I was in terrible pain until yesterday, but now I’m completely fine!”
“That’s good. Looks like the medicine worked well.”

Ena nodded and glanced to the side.

She saw that Asel, who had been anxiously watching the situation until just now, was reading a book as soon as he confirmed that the atmosphere had lightened.

It was a book with the title “Introduction to Magic” written in large letters. It was a useless item for Ena, but she had kept it in the carriage because it seemed a waste to throw away. It seemed he had somehow found it.

Should this be called talent? Ena smiled slightly and buried herself deeply in the chair’s backrest.

She didn’t bother to give Asel instructions like do this or do that. That’s something to do after arriving at the village, not now. They haven’t even started formal training yet.

Moreover, disturbing a magician while reading is considered one of the taboos that shouldn’t be broken. Although Asel wasn’t an official magician yet, she respected him as he was engrossed in the book with sparkling eyes.

“……”
“……”

Thus, silence fell inside the carriage. Only the occasional sound of turning pages could be heard. Ena gently closed her eyes and hugged her large hat, while Evelyn watched Asel quietly while keeping an eye on Ena.

“…Hmm.”

Unlike Asel, Evelyn couldn’t read. So she didn’t know the title of the book Asel was reading, nor could she know its contents. However, having just heard that Asel had become a magician’s disciple, she could guess that the contents of that book were related to magic.

‘A magician’s disciple…’

Evelyn suddenly had such a thought and looked out the window. A cool breeze blew through the rapidly passing scenery.

She knew that Asel had been different from others since he was young. But she never dreamed that it was evidence of his outstanding talent as a magician.

Of course, it was something to celebrate. A child born in a nameless mountain village becoming a magician’s disciple. Evelyn felt joy and fulfillment at the fact that her brother was the protagonist of a story that seemed like it could only happen in novels.

But there was one thing that bothered her. It was about Evelyn herself.

‘Am I becoming a hindrance?’

Asel had said it. He became a disciple on the condition that they go together because he couldn’t leave her alone in the slums. Evelyn felt grateful for those words, but also felt sorry inside. A negative thought crossed her mind that she might be interfering with his life.

“Don’t worry.”

At that moment, Ena’s voice was heard. Evelyn turned her head towards Ena, startled. Ena, with one eye half-open, moved her lips while looking at Evelyn.

“I can guess what you’re thinking, but there’s no need to worry so much. I don’t intend to let you just sit around and eat. That would be better for you too, who considers yourself a burden, right?”
“…How did you know?”
“It was all written on your face.”

Ena smiled slightly and closed her eyes again.

“Anyway, I won’t treat you as a means to bind our disciple. And I’ll help you until you can pull your own weight, so don’t think strange thoughts and get along well with Asel. You’re at that age.”
“…Magician.”

Evelyn looked at Ena with eyes full of emotion and teared up.

Isn’t that exactly what a mother is like? Evelyn was so deeply moved by Ena that she unconsciously had such a thought.

How much experience must she have to have such a broad perspective?

She opened her mouth unconsciously, carried away by the wave of emotions.

“How old are you, Magician?”
“Evelyn.”

Both of Ena’s eyes snapped open.

Evelyn immediately lowered her gaze.

A magician was indeed a magician.

Wiheim, the hometown of archmages.

The location of Ena’s mansion and the city of magicians ruled by the Magic Federation. A closed place where only those granted permission can pass through, and outsiders are thoroughly filtered out.

Ena explained their current destination like this.

“It’s quite difficult to get permission to enter. It’s relatively simple if you belong to a Magic Tower or the Witch Association, but it’s still difficult. However, magicians belonging to the Federation can enter Wiheim at any time.”

Magic Tower, Witch Association, Federation.

Asel tilted his head at the names of organizations he had never heard before. Ena kindly explained about them. These were all things he would need to know anyway if he immersed himself in magic.

“The Magic Tower is an organization where magicians researching the same branch of magic gather.”

There are many branches and attributes of magic. Even elemental magic alone is divided into fire, water, wind, and earth, and numerous other magics such as pure magic, lightning, gravity, bestowal, etc., are deeply embedded in the magical society.

However, unlike the branches of magic, the number of Magic Towers was surprisingly small. This meant that there wasn’t one Magic Tower for each type of magic.

As magic is divided into mainstream and non-mainstream, those who mainly deal with non-mainstream magic don’t bother to build Magic Towers but create other organizations to share information among themselves. Even if that’s not the case, as there are magics that are only handled by specific organizations other than Magic Towers, the Magic Towers couldn’t correspond one-to-one with magic.

One of the magics treated this way was lightning magic. Lightning magic, which is only passed down in the Witch Association due to its uniqueness, had a structure that made it impossible for a Magic Tower to exist. The reason Ena could use lightning magic was because she belonged to the Witch Association.

Asel asked a question that came to mind when he heard the word Witch Association.

“Are there only women in the Witch Association?”
“It used to be like that, but not anymore. There are a few men too. Though still less than ten.”

Ena said as she infused magical power into the carriage’s power source. The magic carriage, which operated silently with magical power, was moving continuously day and night as there was no need to worry about resting horses.

Ena glanced at the sky that had become dark and continued speaking.

“Unlike the Magic Tower, the Witch Association doesn’t deal with just specific magic, but comprehensively handles most magics. Just look at the lightning magic I use, or flower magic that handles flowers, or tuning magic that controls emotions. There are also magicians who handle unusual magic that you can’t easily see. There are even some who handle bloodline inheritance magic.”

You can learn such things in the Witch Association too.

Ena said this and produced lightning from her hand. The crackling snow-white lightning brightly illuminated the interior of the carriage.

“Although I’m the only lightning mage right now.”

Unusual magic was as difficult to learn as it was rare. Magic that tuned emotions often drove people mad in the learning process, and magic that handled flowers could only be used if one knew about life science, botany, and the effects of magical power on plants. Lightning magic also had prerequisites that matched its destructive power and might.

This was the reason why only Ena could handle lightning magic currently. There were quite a few magicians who boldly challenged lightning magic, but they all died turning to ashes, devoured by their own lightning. The end of those who underestimated the notoriety of unusual magic was that miserable.

“There are two conditions for joining the Witch Association. Either you have a recommendation from an elder of the Witch Association, or you become a disciple of a magician belonging to the Witch Association. I was the former, and you, Asel, will be the latter.”
“…Am I part of the Witch Association?”
“Yes. Congratulations. When we arrive in Wiheim, let’s make your registration card first.”

Ena stroked Asel’s sullen face and continued speaking.

“Lastly, the Federation is… a bit unique. It’s a place where all kinds of magicians gather. There are magicians from Magic Towers, magicians from the Witch Association. There are also quite a few magicians from organizations that aren’t publicly known.”
“……”
“This happens because of the Federation’s uniqueness. As long as you pass the entrance exam, you can become a member of the Federation regardless of your affiliation. You don’t even need to leave your original organization.”

So dual affiliation is possible. Asel nodded.

“You’re also part of the Federation, right, Master?”
“Yes. But I didn’t take a separate exam, they just begged me to join because they had an archmage position open.”
“……”
“At first I found it annoying, but the benefits that Federation magicians receive in Wiheim were more than I expected, so now I’m living contentedly.”

Ena added that even the carriage they were riding in now was provided by the Federation.

A carriage without horses. A privilege that only high-ranking magicians of the Federation could enjoy, and a symbol that thieves should never touch. Asel thought that this must be why they hadn’t been attacked even while passing through night forests since they left for Wiheim a day ago.

“Do you have any more questions?”

At Ena’s question, Asel thought for a moment and then shook his head. The only other things he was curious about were related to magic. Since she said they would start in earnest after arriving in Wiheim, there was nothing more to ask.

So the three of them continued towards Wiheim, occasionally chatting. Asel spent time reading books, asking Ena when he came across something he didn’t understand, or having casual conversations with Evelyn. And after another day passed, Asel woke up to the feeling of the carriage suddenly stopping.

“Are you awake?”

Ena asked, putting on a large pointed hat. Asel greeted her with a “Good morning,” then looked at Evelyn, who was still sleeping leaning against the wall. Then he removed the curtain that had been drawn.

Swish.

As the curtain was removed, bright sunlight illuminated the interior of the carriage. Asel frowned at the light, then gaped at the scene unfolding beyond the window.

“…Wow.”

Black castle walls erected as if reaching for the sky. The countless magical formulas and waves of magical power engraved on the surface are fully transmitted to Asel, who had vaguely awakened to magical power.

A huge floating island in the sky and a long spire piercing right through that island. Colorful starlight hanging at its end. Even the geometric patterns covering the sky.

Asel couldn’t close his mouth at the feast of mysteries he was seeing for the first time.