Chapter 9
Sister and Lian Qi vanished from before me with a swoosh—.
I didn’t say anything more, because time was tight and the Mana Reactor’s temperature was rising at any second. Every extra word I spoke would be a second of their time wasted. So I could only silently cheer for them in my heart.
In short, I was entrusting Lian Qi to Sister. I hoped Sister could bring her back safely—!
“Qifeng, check the time. How long have they been in there? Why aren’t they out yet?”
“Fei’er… it’s barely been half a minute.”
“Oh… right…”
It seems I was just too nervous. I just feel like time is passing exceptionally slowly.
While waiting, I heard Teacher Mei Lin say with a hint of worry in her voice: “Lian Qi… she’s not going to blow up the Mana Reactor, is she? If the Mana Reactor is destroyed, the entire capital’s magic supply will be paralyzed.”
“No, she won’t,” I said hurriedly. “Lian Qi’s control is very precise. When she was destroying the magic curse the Death-Wielder left on Qifeng’s wound, she didn’t hurt Qifeng at all.”
Qifeng nodded in agreement.
Ahem… and also, when she used the Burst magic to “burst” my clothes, she was also precise enough to only harm the clothes and not me. It’s enough for me to know that in my heart; no need to say it out loud.
Teacher Mei Lin stared at the Mana Reactor, just as I was, and said softly: “On the surface, Enchantment-type magic seems to be magic that strengthens objects. But on a deeper level, Enchantment is actually magic that interferes with objects. As an Enchantment-type mage, for Lian Qi to understand Enchantment to such a profound level… I truly feel gratified for her.”
“I feel gratified for her, too,” I said with a smile.
It feels so happy to watch Lian Qi grow, step by step.
Wait… what have I become to her? This feeling… isn’t right…
The moment I finished speaking, the Mana Reactor suddenly let out a deafening roar—
It really made me jump!
I watched as the light from the Mana Reactor’s shell gradually dimmed and went out. Following that, the streetlights also went out, one after another. It seemed to be spreading, until the entire Royal Capital was plunged into darkness.
“Teacher Mei Lin, did something happen?” I asked quickly.
“The Mana Reactor… has actually stopped operating,” Teacher Mei Lin said, dumbfounded. “It was… so fast?”
“Does that mean Lian Qi succeeded in stopping it?”
A surge of excitement I couldn’t place washed over me; it was simply indescribable.
At the same time, a gust of wind blew past, and Lian Qi and Sister Aijieliya appeared before us. Neither of them was injured. I finally patted my chest and let out a sigh of relief.
“You’re back.” I reined in my excitement and smiled at Lian Qi.
“It was so hot in there,” Lian Qi sighed, one hand on her hip.
“How long were we inside?” Sister Aijieliya asked Qifeng. Qifeng looked at her pocket watch: “…Just about… less than three minutes, I think?”
“Only three minutes? Why did I feel like it was so much longer…?”
Qifeng covered her mouth with a whispering gesture and snickered, “Fei’er, oh… you had been inside for less than thirty seconds when she started asking why you weren’t out yet—”
“Shut up! Don’t say any more!” I covered her mouth, blushing. She was making me sound so impatient…!
At that same moment, an aged voice sounded from behind me— “It seems… I’ve arrived a step too late.”
I turned my head to look and saw an old man with gray hair and a similarly gray-white beard, who was smiling kindly at us.
Sister Aijieliya stepped forward and nodded respectfully. “Hello, Professor Einstein.”
Eh—? This old man in front of me is the great magician of the White Tower, Einstein? Even Sister respectfully calls him Professor?
“You’ve worked hard, Aijieliya. Thanks to you, the out-of-control Mana Reactor was stopped.”
“No, this was actually all Lian Qi’s contribution. She was the one who destroyed the Mana Reactor’s magic array.” Sister proudly grasped Lian Qi’s shoulders and pushed her forward to present her to Professor Einstein. “She is my student,” Sister said proudly.
“It really wasn’t much. It was just a little harder to break than the Death-Wielder’s magic curse,” Lian Qi said, looking a little uncomfortable.
“Oh, is that so.” Professor Einstein looked at Lian Qi with an appreciative gaze and nodded with a smile.
“Lian Qi, Fei’er, Qifeng, let me introduce you. This is—the founder of the Mana Reactor, Professor Einstein.”
Professor Einstein smiled kindly and replied, “I created the Mana Reactor, but for the past several decades, I have been dedicated to opposing it.”
“Huh?”
I was completely confused.
“I had long predicted that a situation like tonight’s would occur.”
Teacher Mei Lin coughed. “Professor, the most urgent task right now is to ask you to repair the Mana Reactor’s magic array, isn’t it? Otherwise, the entire capital’s magic energy supply will be paralyzed.”
“I know. I can still distinguish which matter is more important.”
Teacher Mei Lin let out a sigh of relief. “To have to trouble you, Professor, at your age… We’re finally saved.”
“Then let’s go. Aijieliya, you come inside with me and take a look.” Professor Einstein walked toward the Mana Reactor with his hands behind his back.
Sister turned her gaze to me, her expression slightly apologetic. “We don’t know when the Mana Reactor’s malfunction will be fixed and it will be operational again. Sister can’t take you home.”
“It’s okay, the three of us can go back on our own,” I said, waving my hand.
“Good little sister, see you later.” Sister winked at me with a suggestive smile. My bottom couldn’t help but start to ache faintly. Uu…
Because the Mana Reactor had stopped, none of the lights in the capital would turn on. On the way home in the dark, it was lucky that I had Lian Qi and Qifeng with me, so it wasn’t so scary.
“That Professor Einstein seems to have a lot of prestige, doesn’t he? Even the Headmaster respectfully calls him Professor,” Lian Qi said.
“I remember now. He seems to have been Sister’s Enchantment teacher when she was a student, right? He retired before she graduated.”
“Rumor has it that Professor Einstein is one of only three people who escaped the Demon King’s death hunt,” Qifeng said.
“Only three? Who are the other two?” Lian Qi asked.
“Another is Fei’er’s elf sister,1 and the other is that boy known as the legendary strongest adventurer.”
“Back then, That person killed everyone else, but when they saw Sister Mouyue shielding me with her arm, they just turned and left.”
“Eh?” Lian Qi made a sound of surprise.
Thinking back, at that time Sister Mouyue and I had only just met. She absolutely could have abandoned me and fled for her own life.
“So, what’s the deal with that legendary strongest adventurer?” Lian Qi asked.
“Logically, he should have been the Demon King’s primary hunting target, right? But although his whereabouts are unknown, he is indeed still alive today,” Qifeng said, pressing a finger to her lips thoughtfully.
“…” Lian Qi frowned and said, “Could it be… that the Demon King just hasn’t found where he is yet?”
Just then, the streetlights began to light up, one by one. Brightness returned before my eyes. “Eh? I didn’t think Professor Einstein was that amazing! He fixed the Mana Reactor so quickly?”
Footnotes
-
This likely refers to “Sister Mouyue” (眸月姐姐), mentioned two lines later. ↩