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However, since it sounded so absurd, she didn’t believe it in her mind, thinking that the resemblance must have been a trick by a con artist.

Indeed, she acted like a scammer.

Whenever she approached nearby adults, she would magically disappear without a trace.

‘Thanks to that, I’ve been suspected of being a lunatic since I was a child.’

Even now, the woman was so unlikable that it made her teeth ache, but Dorosian had no choice but to accept that this was indeed her future self.

This was because she spoke of future events as if predicting them, and everything she said actually happened—significant incidents like earthquakes in certain regions, newly discovered dungeons, and the death of some high-ranking noble.

However, it seemed that even she was wrong this time.

-Don’t get close to that guy; it’s better not to. He’s destined to die by his stepmother’s hands in ten years.

On the day when the eldest son of the Tenest family visited the Grice mansion for socializing, the prophecy that future Dorosian had casually mentioned…

Dorosian’s immediate thought was ‘the butterfly effect.’

That seemed to be the most plausible speculation.

Indeed, there was a fateful pairing between a butler and a maid, but by firing the butler immediately, the maid ended up with another man instead.

In this way, the futures that had been predetermined by her gestures could be changed.

‘The flow of causality tends to yield various outcomes.’

In this case, one choice might have affected that guy too.

Nothing else could explain how he had survived.

She was likely very close to being certain of it.

After all, future Dorosian and her past self had diverged paths from the very beginning.

‘Well, even so, avoiding destruction seems impossible…’

Dorosian smiled at Hersel and lightly shrugged her shoulders in greeting.

“Has it been 11 years? How have you been?”

Hersel opened his eyes slightly with a somewhat indifferent expression.

“…Have we met before?”

Taken aback by his unexpected response, Dorosian blinked in surprise.

“No way, even if it was a long time ago, you don’t remember me?”

“Well, I guess not?”

His tone and expression conveyed that he genuinely did not remember her, which seemed strange to Dorosian.

‘Did he really forget after being put through that?’

There was no peer among the nobles who hadn’t faced consequences when encountering Dorosian.

The degree of punishment varied, but Hersel had definitely been taught a harsh lesson.

It was understandable, given that Hersel had been a foolish young master who relied on his background and acted recklessly.

Naturally, from their very first meeting, his words had been rude,

“Pretty face, but you must be crazy? What a waste of looks.”

Dorosian had turned the wall into jelly and trapped him inside it.

She had left only his face outside so he could breathe, then solidified it.

“W-what are you doing to me? Are you trying to get killed by my father?”

“Shut up; you’re annoying.”

After all, the world would end in about ten years anyway.

She had pulled his lips as she pleased and trampled on his pride, which had been bragging like the world belonged to him.

But apparently, he had forgotten that.

‘Is he pretending not to know?’

That was unpleasant in its own way.

Dorosian narrowed her eyes and reached out to grab Hersel’s lips.

“This is a disappointing reaction. Will this jog your memory?”

At that moment, her wrist was suddenly seized.

Dorosian’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at his face.

Hersel had gripped her wrist with just enough force, glaring at her with a cold look.

He asked in a chilling voice, “Why are you trying to touch my face?”

“…What?”

It was only a moment of surprise at his defiance.

Once she regained her composure, Dorosian half-opened her eyes and moved her empty hand.

Having not seen him in a while, she was pondering what magic to use to punish him when Professor Noh grumbled unpleasantly.

“It’s been ages since everyone left; why are you two still hanging around? Aren’t you going to depart soon?”

Only then did Hersel release her wrist.

He turned away, saying, “We should be going.”

Dorosian found it momentarily ridiculous.

He had just almost attacked her, yet he casually turned his back.

As if he expected her to let it go…

‘Did he really forget me?’

That was the only explanation.

The fear etched deep within would inevitably resurface, even subconsciously.

Yet, from his demeanor, he appeared to exude tranquility.

Dorosian briefly fell into thought as she looked at Hersel’s back as he walked ahead.

“Hmm.”

In the time they hadn’t met, he had become quite an intriguing creature.

Both alive and bold, the man who had once been so timid as to avoid eye contact now appeared energetic, providing a refreshing perspective.

“This might not be so bad after all.”

Above all, having at least one conversation partner seemed preferable to being bored.

Just a little while ago, when she had dispelled her invisibility magic, many had fled with a terrified expression.

Dorosian finished her thoughts, chuckling softly as she followed Hersel.

“For now, I think I’ll just watch quietly.”

To Dorosian, his presence began to appear rather interesting.

***

When Dorosian attempted to touch my face, I ignited the ‘embers of noble blood.’

Was this a battle of wills?

If I had backed down, my remaining time at the academy would have become exhausting.

Dorosian was a woman who did not touch those who piqued her interest.

Knowing how to handle herself, she would have been severely punished had she been an ordinary person.

As I walked ahead, I kept striking up conversations to divert her attention elsewhere.

Of course, there was an underlying motive of gathering information.

“Was coming to the Schlaphe Magic Department your choice?”

“I just came here because the professors told me to,” she replied.

The reasons behind the professors’ decision were secondary, but I wondered if it was acceptable.

The fact that Dorosian had never been assigned to the Schlaphe Magic Department before was undeniable.

There was a high possibility that it would create problems in the narrative, but there was also a silver lining.

That was the fact that her significance was not particularly large in the Frost Heart.

“Hmm, that doesn’t really offer much comfort.”

I was never keen on finding myself in frequent encounters with dangerous individuals.

“Really? Oh, speaking of which… did you say we met when we were kids?”

When I asked, Dorosian cast a deep glance at me.

She then lightly rubbed her lips together, smiling before turning the question back at me.

“It seems you really don’t remember anything at all. Did you suffer from amnesia or something?”

Reluctantly, I decided to adopt the convenient narrative she had presented.

I’ve used this many times already, so there’s nothing new about it now.

“Well, that did happen.”

As I answered flatly, Dorosian murmured softly with a strange light in her eyes.

“For some reason…”

In my eyes, that look seemed ominous.

Just as I was regretting whether I had made a wrong choice, Dorosian extended one palm toward me.

“Hold on.”

“Hmm?”

“We used to hold hands and wander around a lot when we were kids. You never know; this might jog your memory.”

…It seemed like I had stepped on a landmine.

As I looked at Dorosian’s outstretched hand, I quickly began to guess inwardly.

Dorosian is a bad woman.

Hersel is a bad guy.

There might be something connecting these bad elements together.

No, that seems like an overstatement.

I couldn’t even imagine a scene where the arrogant Hersel would treat the woman Dorosian kindly.

Based on the data so far, I believed he would have been thoroughly punished for not knowing his place.

That’s why I doubted Dorosian’s claim.

“My arms are heavy because of the chains. You should grab my hand quickly.”

Prompted by Dorosian, I came up with a wise answer.

It wasn’t something like ‘How can I trust that we were close?’ to irritate her.

“Did you not hear what the professor said? It’s the season when monsters wake from hibernation. It’s better to keep your hands free.”

Dorosian, seemingly sulking, dropped her gaze and glanced at my waist.

“By the way, why are you carrying a sword as part of the Magic Department? And isn’t the Tenest family known for their swordsmanship?”

There’s no benefit in showing my weaknesses to this woman.

Deciding to end the conversation there, I shifted the topic again.

“Whatever I learn is my choice, isn’t it? Besides, we’re in class now. Let’s focus a bit.”

This place was slightly distant from the fortress.

Now that the snow had melted, it was no different from a wild forest, and I didn’t know when monsters might appear.

Searching for magic stones through taste in such a place…

I glanced at Dorosian out of the corner of my eye.

She had a fox-like face and smiled slyly.

“Why? Are you asking me to find it for you?”

“…No. I just thought that if you had awakened your five senses, you might have some clues.”

Dorosian covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.

“Ah, right. You awakened your sense of taste first, right? I’ve never seen someone like that in my life.”

“If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine.”

Turning my head as if I were completely uninterested, Dorosian let out a chuckle.

It seemed she was thinking seriously for a moment.

“Hmm, You mean feeling mana through taste?”

Dorosian licked the air with her tongue, even letting out a sultry moan.

She must have done it deliberately to look alluring.

From the way she kept glancing at me, it seemed she wanted to enjoy my reaction.

Being toyed with like this is dangerous.

If she thinks I’m an easy toy to play with, the outcome won’t be good.

I waited for Dorosian’s words, keeping a neutral expression as if it were no big deal.

“Try licking the air periodically. If it starts tasting increasingly like some bizarre fruit, then you’re probably heading toward the magic stone.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

I also briefly licked the air with my tongue.

It tasted faintly fruity.

Using this as a clue to determine the direction, Dorosian followed behind, jangling her chains.

We walked in silence for a while.

Dorosian seemed to have no intention of interrupting my careful observation of the surroundings.

Whenever I discovered a suspicious thicket, I drew the telekinesis spell with the staff I had taken from the assassin.

Felia’s staff was stored in my inventory.

I was wary that using it in class, where invisibility was a passive ability, might create a ruckus.

Rustle—

There were no magic stones.

Dorosian seemed to enjoy my failure, giggling softly.

“Nothing’s there.”

“…You knew and didn’t say anything.”

“Weren’t you trying to find it by yourself?”

“Well, that’s true.”

I didn’t expect much help to begin with.

I resumed the search and kept drawing blanks.

By the time I experienced my sixth failure,

Dorosian asked,

“By the way, why are you checking everything with telekinesis magic?”

“Because there might be poisonous plants that are dangerous just to touch, or monsters hiding nearby.”

“Really?”

“Usually, searching is the forte of a mage. It’s common knowledge among adventurers.”

In my case, I had Limberton, who had keen eyesight, and Aslay, who had extensive knowledge of the wild, so I hadn’t taken an active role.

However, if there was something that required close verification like this, I would use telekinesis magic for safety.

Dorosian didn’t seem to find this knowledge boring, as she nodded while listening.

“I thought only soldiers did stuff like this. So it’s really like that?”

She fell silent again.

After repeating the process of failing a few more times, a considerable amount of time passed.

There were no more signs of life in the thicket.

It seemed the others had already found their magic stones.

“Yawn.”

Dorosian lowered the hand that had been covering her mouth from yawning and said to me,

“Finding it through taste is the hardest, right? Of the five senses, the sense of mana is the dullest.”

“I wouldn’t know since I have no point of comparison. I should have tried awakening my other senses to understand.”

“Still, it’s strange, isn’t it? We should be finding something by now.”

Dorosian licked the air again.

This time, she didn’t make any sultry sounds.

“Indeed, the taste is rich. But if I still can’t find it, maybe even that one awakened sense is below average?”

The precise and bitter assessment made me wince.

Dorosian seemed to enjoy it and continued to speak sharply.

“You drew the telekinesis magic circle very delicately just now, so it seems you really have put in a lot of effort. But you were born without even a hint of talent. Am I right?” ℝ

It seems geniuses can read such things.

Anyway, it’s not the first time I’ve received this kind of evaluation, so I’m just numb to it now.

“Yes, I have no talent. So what?”

As I replied nonchalantly, Dorosian began to approach me.

Then she leaned in close to my ear and whispered.

“Want some advice? No matter how hard you try, it’s actually all meaningless. I don’t know how far you’re hoping to reach, but you’ll probably die before you achieve it.”

Her voice, as she said this, seemed somewhat drained of energy.

Her words were likely based on the premise of destruction.

As expected, it was just as I had predicted.

“Why not just give up and live comfortably? Life is much shorter than you think.”

If I were to unpack the underlying meaning, it would undoubtedly be, “You’ll all die before your twenties end, so live as you please.”

“So, how about this?”

Dorosian withdrew her head and, as if suggesting corruption, extended her palm again.

“Take my hand. Then I’ll find it for you. Isn’t that a fair deal?”

Five magic stones floated around her hand, bobbing in the air.

It was definitely something she had brought using telekinesis, deducing their location solely through sense.

If I could just get my hands on one of those, I could complete this class successfully.

However, all I could hear in my ears was the meaning of becoming a well-behaved dog.

“I refuse.”

My answer came out without hesitation, causing Dorosian to tightly close her once-budding hand.

Crack!

The sound of bones and flesh being crushed echoed, and droplets of blood splattered across my face.

Around us, there was a thud as something heavy fell, and streams of blood began to flow on the ground.

Dorosian’s gaze still fixed on my eyes.

With a seductive smile, she opened her palm again.

“I’ve killed all the monsters nearby. Now, using one hand for me should be okay, right?”

Feeling a strange stubbornness from her, I scanned the surroundings.

Blood was dripping from the bushes and trees in the area.

In an atmosphere where it seemed I wouldn’t fare well if I refused, I didn’t have some grand determination like, “I’d rather burn the embers of noble blood. I’d choose to die as a human than live as this woman’s dog.”

As a user, I was aware that she had reached her limit.

No matter how much the trait “Mana of the Sea” exuded a lot of mana, with three slots filled, limits still existed.

However, currently, she had used magic strong enough to kill all the nearby monsters.

It was only natural that her mana was depleted.

Although Dorosian smiled as if she were relaxed, her core was in a state of empty mana exhaustion.

It was a moment when I could safely scratch the surface of my nerves.

“Hehehe.”

I sneered, as if finding it ridiculous.

Then, I stared into her eyes and expressed what had been inside me.

“Dorosian, remember what I’m about to say from now on.”

This was something I genuinely wanted to convey to Dorosian.

“I am not someone who gives up over just a single failure, like some person who lives somewhere. Unless it’s completely over, I will challenge again.”

It was a statement that should sound significant to her.

Could it be that I touched the reverse scale I had hidden deep within?

Dorosian narrowed her eyes in displeasure and said softly,

“You say that so easily? As if you know nothing…”

Still, she needed to understand this.

What made me better than Dorosian, the next Grand Mage, was not just character.

“Oh? I’ve faced dozens, hundreds of failures and always challenged again.”

This woman had only seen the end just once.

In contrast, I had seen that sight countless times to the point of ceasing to count.

I would never lose in terms of experience points from failure.

“Of course, you must think it’s funny that I’m saying this just because I’m looking for a single magic stone. I know my words probably won’t resonate with you. You might wonder if I ate something wrong. Nevertheless, I say this simply…”

I turned my gaze away from Dorosian and turned my back to search for the magic stone again.

“I hope you remember the words I just said someday.”

After that, I said nothing and just licked the air.

This time, the taste of mana felt a little richer.

As I pushed through the bushes and walked for a few minutes, I unleashed my telekinesis.

Amid the splitting grass, a shiny stone glimmered.

I picked it up and looked at Dorosian.

Though her gaze was cold, there was certainly a flicker of interest for a brief moment.

I smiled as I raised the corners of my mouth.

“See? I found it.”

I hoped it could prove that there must be at least one way to save this world.

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