Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 28 (Part 2)

On warm days, people occasionally visited the lake—trainers, committee members, and Cory. Sometimes, they appeared out of nowhere, laughing and talking.

But in winter, the lake was entirely his. People rarely visited.

It wasn’t bad to have the entire lake to himself. It was also good to quietly organize his thoughts.

“It’s so nice after getting rid of Number 155.”

It was a bit annoying to chatter on while teaching the method.

If it were his dorm mates in Room 301, it would be different. Talking with people he wasn’t close to wasn’t enjoyable.

But after the slight trouble of explaining, peace returned. The library was quiet again, and he could move as he pleased today.

“The advanced training method will… hmm?”

Jito, who was disguised as clothes, signaled to him. Someone was approaching from afar.

‘A person in this winter?’

He briefly shared Jito’s vision. With Jito’s eyesight, he could see who was approaching.

‘Why is that person here?’

Rodin pretended not to know someone was approaching and kept staring blankly at the lake. There was no need to reveal that he had a way to see behind him.

“Ahem.”

At the sound of a cough from behind, Rodin finally turned his head sharply. He widened his eyes as if surprised.

“Oh? Chairman?”

“You’re a trainee, I see. Let’s see… Oh, you’re Number 108 of the third class. Nice to meet you.”

“Yes, Chairman. I am Trainee Number 108 of the third class.”

This was Rodin’s second time seeing Chairman Kreate. The first was during the entrance ceremony three years ago.

“No need to be so formal. Sit comfortably. I’ll sit next to you.”

“Thank you.”

Somehow, he ended up sitting next to the highest authority of the training center. Rodin stared blankly at the lake, while Chairman Kreate stared intently at Rodin.

“Is there something on my face?”

“I’ve received reports about you. A second-circle magician… hmm, but that’s not it.”

“What?”

His spine chilled. His mind went blank for a moment.

Since birth, he had never been this flustered. How could he have figured out his level without a magic circle measurement device?

‘Is it possible for a sixth-circle magician to do this?’

The books in the library didn’t mention such a thing. They stated that a measurement device was essential for measuring circles.

“You’re not an ordinary second-circle magician. The density of your magic is on par with the Magic Tower.”

“Oh! Thank you.”

Rodin secretly sighed in relief.

Chairman Kreate hadn’t discovered that he was a third-circle magician. He had only noticed that his magic density was much higher than others.

“Is it your constitution? Or do you have a special method?”

“I don’t know. I tried to pronounce the runes accurately.”

“Hmm, then you know that runes are a language humans can’t pronounce correctly.”

“Yes, I thought the same. So I’ve been trying harder.”

The conversation ended there. The two stared blankly at the frozen lake for a while.

Perhaps disliking the silence, Chairman Kreate spoke again.

“Do you prefer the winter lake or the summer lake?”

“I like both. The winter lake feels like it’s preparing for a new beginning, and the summer lake feels lively.”

Rodin didn’t come to this lake often. Today was his first visit in almost two months. He visited when his mind was occupied, and coming here always cleared his head.

“When we made this lake, do you know what we focused on the most?”

“I don’t know. What did you focus on?”

“Preventing people from coming. Humans are one of the few species that destroy nature.”

Rodin neither agreed nor disagreed with Chairman Kreate’s words. He had never thought about it before.

“Ah! Is that so?”

“For this world, humans should disappear first. That’s what I think.”

Chairman Kreate’s view was overly human-centric.

He equated the direction the world should take with what humans consider a beautiful world.

The world has no thoughts. It just exists, and it’s up to those living in it to shape it.

“I’ve never thought about it that way. I’m too busy taking care of myself.”

“Think about it calmly later. Deep contemplation broadens the scope of thought. Oh, it’s late. I must go.”

“Yes, Chairman. Thank you for your kind words.”

After Chairman Kreate left, Rodin felt exhausted.

He had spent only about twenty minutes together, but it was more tiring than running all day.

—

A few days later, Rodin met Chairman Kreate again, this time also at the lake. They chatted about insignificant things and parted.

Since then, he occasionally met Chairman Kreate at the lake.

When the ice melted and the weather warmed, when spring ended and the days began to heat up, on a day when it rained heavily, and several other times.

They never met by appointment.

Rodin always visited the lake to clear his mind, but Chairman Kreate was either already there or came later.

“Winter again. It’s been a year since I met you.”

“Technically, it’s been four years. I saw you at the entrance ceremony.”

“Right. I remember you from four years ago. A very small child trembling at the end.”

“I’m still small. Among the third class, I’m still the smallest. Even among the seventh class that just entered, half are bigger than me.”

A few days ago, the seventh class trainees had their entrance ceremony. It had been six years since the training center started operating.

“You know why the kingdom created this training center, right?”

“I heard it was to create weapons for the war against the Ingram Empire.”

“Weapons are such a harsh word. There’s a better term: talents.”

“Yes, talents. That’s a good term.”

It was an excessively good term.

Everyone knew it was about sharpening obedient swords, but only Chairman Kreate denied it.

“The war with the Ingram Empire is inevitable. It will surely happen. What do you think about the upcoming war?”

“I think it won’t be easy.”

“Haha, is that so? That’s because you don’t know the power of the Allied Kingdoms. Objectively, the Ingram Empire and the Allied Kingdoms are evenly matched. We won’t know who will win until we fight.”

Rodin could never agree with Chairman Kreate’s assertion.

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