Lately, the area around Estelle had been unusually noisy.

Of course, with her friendly and well-respected nature, her surroundings were rarely quiet to begin with. But the recent commotion was of a distinctly different kind.

“Y-You’re truly amazing, Lunaris…!”

At some point, the head of the Magical Engineering Department, Liliana Gearhart, began personally attending the lower-year practical classes.

Her gaze was always fixed on one spot.

“To reduce mana consumption in a magic communication orb this drastically…! I-It’s incredible!!”

“It’s mostly the materials. And this isn’t an ‘orb’ anymore.”

She wasn’t wrong.

What Lunaris held wasn’t a crystal sphere but a rectangular slab.

She’d forcibly reshaped it using telekinesis.

Estelle swallowed dryly without realizing it.

Honestly, she was impressed.

A flawless golden ratio, free of any excess.

Portability that fit perfectly in the hand.

And the overwhelming spatial efficiency of the magical engineering packed inside.

It was clear at a glance that every element was meticulously calculated for practicality.

Naturally, Department Head Liliana trembled with emotion, her hands shaking.

“Even the same artifact can have its efficiency skyrocketed depending on its shape…! This is true magical engineering design! This is the perfect golden ratio!!”

“As expected, the department head recognizes the brilliance of the Apple Phone.”

Lunaris fiddled with the crystal slab with sleepy eyes.

Liliana stared at her as if enchanted.

“I-If you need anything, just say it…! I’ll support you with my own funds, Lunaris!”

Her voice quivered with excitement.

Her usual timidity was nowhere to be seen.

“I-If it comes to it, I’ll even beg the chairman for a grant…!”

“No need for that… yawn…”

Estelle watched their sparkling exchange from a slight distance, dazed.

She was right there, yet somehow their conversation felt impossibly far away.

*

“Hey! The top freshman is duking it out with the magic department head!”

“What? Where? Where?!”

“The main magic building’s practice hall!”

Upon hearing the news, Estelle ran to the main magic building with the other students.

The practice hall was already packed with spectators.

At the center, two mages clashed.

Magic Department Head, Raymond Cloud.

To Estelle, his magic was perfection itself.

Precise and efficient, like the craft of a master honed over decades.

If there was an endpoint to effort, wasn’t it something like this?

In contrast, Lunaris’s magic was alien.

No rules, no structure.

She’d casually tear open space and scatter magic haphazardly.

It was incomprehensible.

Magic that seemed to mock every theory she’d learned unfolded before her eyes, blooming with raw talent.

“That’s… student level?”

“What kind of magic even is that?”

Gasps erupted throughout the crowd.

How much time had passed?

Lunaris suddenly staggered and collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

“Ughhh… I’m beat…”

She hadn’t taken a direct hit.

Her mana wasn’t depleted either.

She just… lay down.

“I can’t anymore… I’m tired. I surrender, surrender. Anyway, I prepaid a week’s worth of classes, so I’m off until midterms, right?”

Raymond stared down at Lunaris, dumbfounded, then shook his head as if at a loss.

“…Lunaris, it’s ironic for a mage like me to say this, but you really need to exercise.”

“Eck. I really don’t want to.”

The duel ended with her grumbling.

In that moment, the onlookers erupted into unanimous applause.

“Ahh… magical inspiration is surging…!”

“Magic this close to a natural phenomenon… The ideal of a mage is right here…!”

Even the temporary instructors dispatched from the Magic Tower were wiping tears, overcome with emotion.

But Estelle couldn’t bring herself to clap.

She cherished this junior, yet for some reason, her hands felt heavy.

*

The weekend bazaar drew more outsiders than usual.

Many of them came looking for Estelle.

“Pardon me. Are you Estelle Belmaier?”

“Yes, that’s me…?”

“I heard you’re Lunaris’s mentor. Is that correct?”

The conversations always ended the same way.

A respected elder would slip her a sponsorship letter, asking her to pass it to Lunaris. A butler from a prominent family would entrust her with a heavy pouch of gold coins, asking her to “deliver it well.”

The letters and items she received easily surpassed double digits.

“Wow~ Estelle! Did you know? The number of people offering to sponsor the magical engineering department has skyrocketed lately.”

When things quieted down a bit, a classmate helping run the bazaar approached Estelle with a grin.

“Is it okay for the magic department’s second-string to rise this high?”

“It’s all thanks to Luna.”

Lunaris’s associate.

Lately, that’s the phrase Estelle heard most.

People rarely called her “the Star of Magical Engineering” anymore.

“Having a great junior is paying off for us too.”

“Mhm, yeah.”

“Estelle, you worked so hard trying to raise the department’s status on your own.”

“…”

“Now you can ease up a bit. Right?”

A well-meaning consolation.

Estelle could only smile awkwardly.

*

It was late at night, but the light in Estelle’s private room was still brightly lit.

In her hand was none other than the magic communication orb.

The very one she and Lunaris had made on the first day of practicals.

Saying they “made it together” was a stretch.

In the end, Lunaris had completely overhauled the circuit layout and magic circle design.

“It’s incredible… How does she come up with designs like this?”

She’d stayed up every night since, analyzing and studying it countless times, but she still couldn’t fully grasp the technology packed into this small orb.

The more she dug, the more new things she learned.

It felt less like she was the mentor and more like she was the apprentice.

Jealousy?

That’s an emotion that only arises when abilities are somewhat comparable.

Before talent this overwhelming, even the thought didn’t cross her mind.

But still.

“I’m Luna’s mentor, the master who’s supposed to guide her apprentice…”

Muttering to herself, Estelle pulled an old parchment from deep in her drawer.

Last year, shortly after entering as the top student in magical engineering, she’d participated in a bazaar event.

A masked sponsor had handed her this—an ancient magical golem blueprint, telling her to study it.

For over a year, she’d researched it in her spare time but couldn’t even grasp a clue.

But recently, studying the magic circles Lunaris had etched into the communication orb, she’d found a few leads.

“If I can just complete this…”

Then maybe, just maybe.

She could stand before Lunaris with some pride.

Escape this inferiority complex…

*

Over the past few weeks, the morning battles with the Linea Hall maids had completely flipped.

Consecutive victories.

Now, the days she defeated the maids far outnumbered the days she was dragged to class.

Honestly, at the start of the semester, she’d held back.

No—more accurately, she had to hold back.

If her magic went haywire, WWE would turn into UFC.

But now, fully accustomed to handling natural mana, casting spells came with no burden at all.

Like right now.

“Cough!”

Amid the maids sprawled across the floor, Odette let out a cough.

As always, I’d taken down the entire maid assault squad in under three minutes.

Anti-magic armor? Overwhelming power makes anything work somehow.

Magic doesn’t affect them? Then maybe they should check if they’re low on mana.

“Yaaawn… I’ll sleep a bit more, then head to afternoon classes…”

I savored the victor’s leisure, adjusting my pillow.

“Oh, right. It’s Monday.”

Then I don’t need to go in the afternoon either.

Perfect.

“…Milady, at least attend morning classes… Finish lectures and come back to sleep…”

Odette, collapsed on the floor, groaned with her last strength.

“But I’m too sleepy to move right now… nyum.”

As I nodded off, Odette tried to seize the chance to stand.

I flicked a finger, and the air in the room grew heavy.

Odette let out a faint urgh and was pinned to the floor.

“Hey, Odette. Not to tease, but the maids seem a bit… weak lately?”

“…It’s not that we’ve grown weak, urgh, it’s that you’ve become… far too strong…”

“No, no. That’s not it.”

I shook my head and continued.

“It’s like… compared to the start of the semester, you’ve lost your edge? You seem more rushed too.”

Something’s off. Everyone’s condition isn’t what it used to be.

A flicker of alarm crossed Odette’s face.

Her startled reaction confirmed it—something was up.

“…We’re fine.”

“Hmm—”

On the surface, they were perfect maids.

But after clashing with them daily, you pick up on things whether you want to or not.

Tense expressions, hasty movements, inexplicable anxiety.

If even I, who’s oblivious to changes around me, noticed, it’s serious.

“Are you all resting properly?”

“If Milady Lunaris became diligent… we’d get plenty of rest…”

“That’s a problem. Wouldn’t everything be solved if you just gave up waking me?”

Odette smiled quietly.

It was her trademark stubborn smile.

“That would be the real problem. Making you a diligent student is the duty of us Linea Hall maids.”

As expected, negotiations failed.

Too bad.

“Oh, by the way, I woke up briefly at dawn and it was noisy outside.”

Odette’s response came a beat late.

“…It’s exam season lately. Many study late into the night.”

“Studying… loud enough to shake the entire Linea Hall? For weeks?”

“I don’t recall any commotion loud enough to shake the building…”

Odette continued with a sigh-tinged smile.

“And there are surprisingly many in Linea Hall who prepare for exams year-round.”

…Back then, I just let Odette’s words slide with an “oh, okay.”

If I’d paid a bit more attention to that subtle unease…

Maybe I could’ve avoided the excruciating hassle that was to come.

*

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