The first thought that crossed the minds of those seeing the man on the podium for the first time was just one:
Is he really that young?
The young man’s appearance suggested he was in his early to mid-twenties at best.
To make matters even more surprising, he didn’t resemble a mage at all. Instead, he looked like a handsome man one might expect to find in the entertainment industry. No, to be precise, his looks surpassed those of most ordinary handsome men to the point of rendering any comparison meaningless.
Indeed, several women in the audience found themselves momentarily stunned and unable to hide their dazed expressions as they stared at him.
A brief moment of silence passed before the man on the podium, Yujin, seemed to read the room and smiled knowingly.
“Are you surprised to see that I’m younger than you expected?”
-.…..
The silence continued. No one responded, but the lack of answers itself was an unspoken confirmation.
Understanding this, Yujin opened his mouth to speak again.
“Some of you might be wondering if I’m a proxy for the author of the thesis or perhaps just the host of this lecture. But no, I assure you. Standing before you is the actual author of the thesis.”
As soon as Yujin said this, someone in the audience raised a hand. When Yujin turned his gaze to them, the man began speaking even before receiving permission.
“How can you prove that you’re the author of the thesis?”
“Hmm… prove it, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. Then let me ask you a question.”
With that, Yujin turned to the man while smiling faintly.
“Why should I prove it?”
“Huh…”
“Go ahead and explain. If you can convince me why I need to provide proof, I’ll gladly do so.”
“Isn’t it obvious? Everyone here has come to attend a lecture on space-time magic! How could we accept and learn from someone who isn’t even the author of the thesis?”
“And that’s precisely why I’m asking.”
Eugene continued speaking with a smile on his face.
“I’m asking why I need to convince you and teach you in the first place.”
“What…?”
At those words, the man seemed at a loss for words and his expression was frozen in shock. The audience began murmuring and rustling; the atmosphere was growing restless.
“What is he talking about?”
“Isn’t the purpose of a lecture to teach?”
“What on earth is he saying?”
The commotion intensified with confusion spreading throughout the room. Some even stood up, as if preparing to confront Yujin.
Clap!
“May I ask for your silence?”
The crisp sound of Yujin’s clap accompanied his calm words. At that moment, everyone who had been talking instinctively fell silent and their attention shifted toward him.
With just that simple action, Yujin commanded the crowd’s focus. Still smiling, he scanned the room before speaking again.
“I understand, of course. You’ve traveled a long way to hear a lecture on space-time magic. It’s only natural to feel bewildered if the speaker suddenly claims they have no intention of teaching. Yes, I understand.”
“Yes, exactly! So then—”
“But, everyone, you are making a critical mistake.”
With those words, Yujin turned slightly and began pacing slowly across the platform.
“I have neither the obligation nor the intention to teach you anything. In the first place, I did not come here to teach.”
“What…?”
“What are you saying? You’re not here to teach?”
“Exactly as I said. My reason for being here is not to deliver a lecture on space-time magic.”
After making that declaration, Yujin briefly glanced toward the upper seats of the audience. There, the head of the Mage Association sat with a stunned expression on his face.
Noticing him, Yujin smiled faintly before retrieving something from his subspace.
“What is that…?”
“Is it a document?”
“Could it be…?”
What Yujin held was a bundle of papers that looked like documents.
The people who saw it began murmuring among themselves, speculating about its nature. Naturally, the most plausible guess was…
“As you may have guessed, yes. This is not a mere partial piece of information already made public; this is the complete thesis. In short, it contains everything I’ve discovered about space-time magic.”
When Yujin waved the document in his hand as he spoke, the eyes of everyone in the audience widened in astonishment.
A complete thesis on space-time magic, something that had never been publicly disclosed!
Greed flashed in the eyes of those who saw it. If they could just obtain that, they would know everything there was to know about space-time magic!
“How much? Name your price!”
“If it’s about the cost, I’ll pay anything! Just hand over the thesis—!”
“Out of my way! I’ll buy it! How much do you want—”
With a sudden burst of flames—
“…….!!”
People rushed to purchase the thesis, but Yujin only smiled faintly and burned it in his hand.
In an instant, it turned to ash and scattered, leaving everyone to stare at the remains in disbelief. Watching their devastated expressions, Yujin dusted off his hands and spoke.
“This is my answer.”
“What… what are you…?”
Unable to bear the sight any longer, the head of the Mage Association teleported down from the upper seats to stand before Yujin, holding the ashes of the burned thesis in his hands.
“What… what have you done?! If we could wield space-time magic, humanity could ascend to even greater heights!”
Yujin smiled at the Association Head who had abandoned his usual formal tone in his frustration.
“Association Head, have you read the thesis I made public?”
“What…?”
“The thesis I released is enough. If you can interpret it, modern mages will be able to uncover space-time magic to some degree. It may still be basic and flawed in its early stages, but isn’t that how humanity has always grown?”
Looking at the dumbfounded expression of the Association Head, Yujin continued speaking.
“What do you plan to do with magic you cannot interpret on your own? Use it to satisfy the shallow vanity that plagues the association as it stands today?”
“What… what do you mean…?”
“I am well aware of the corruption within the association.”
Yujin began walking slowly across the platform once again as he spoke.
“You speak of humanity ascending to a greater height? No, what will come is an era where only the mages within the association will believe themselves to be great. Isn’t that exactly what the association has become today? Discrimination against non-mages, prejudice against unaffiliated mages, corruption born from a sense of entitlement…”
“……”
“How funny. Is that what you would call worthy of ascending to a truly great state? I, for one, cannot see it that way.”
“Wh-What are you trying to say?”
“It is too early. Far, far too early. At the very least, shouldn’t mages be seekers of knowledge and truth, rather than slaves to vanity?”
Snap!
With those words, Yujin snapped his fingers.
Then—
Whoosh!
A magic circle unfolded, and the ashes of the burned thesis began to gather and coalesce. As though time itself had reversed, the ashes reformed into the original document and returned to Yujin’s hand.
Everyone’s eyes widened in shock as if they were about to burst from their sockets.
It was real, actual space-time magic. And not just any magic, but the magic of reversing time itself.
It was a miracle that anyone would desire.
“This… this can’t be…”
“To think it’s real…”
“Unbelievable…”
While the crowd stared in utter disbelief, the Association Head’s gaze locked onto the document in Yujin’s hand. Slowly, he reached out toward it.
Whoosh!
But just as before, Yujin burned the thesis to ash again, almost mockingly.
“A-Ah…”
“Association Head, space-time magic is far too early for you.”
At some point, Yujin knelt on one knee before the collapsed Association Head, meeting his eyes directly.
With a faint smile, Yujin continued.
“Know your place… and think about pursuing your own discoveries.”
“You… you…!”
The Association Head’s eyes spun; he was on the verge of losing focus. Though he had been overwhelmed by Yujin before, he could not suppress the seething fury that burned in his chest.
“Arghhhhhhh!”
At the moment he unconsciously reached out to cast a spell—
Snap!
Yujin snapped his fingers again.
In that instant, the colors around the Association Head turned to ashen gray, and his movements came to a halt as though time itself had stopped.
– ……!
To think someone of the Association Head’s caliber, an Archmage, could be stopped so easily! The crowd was once again struck with shock.
Yujin slowly stepped forward and addressed the onlookers.
“Therefore, I have concluded that space-time magic is far too advanced for the current generation of mages. I am here to convey that message.”
– ……
“Of course, if I were to say I would never disclose it, the backlash would be intense. I understand that. I too believe that knowledge holds meaning only when shared with the public. So…”
Yujin pulled another stack of documents from a subspace. The crowd’s eyes shifted to it.
“Everyone here, have you all reviewed the thesis I first submitted to the Association?”
The crowd nodded. While there were a few who hadn’t, the majority had already read it beforehand.
“Like I told the Association Head, anyone who deciphers that thesis can find the secrets of space-time magic. Unfortunately, it seems the Association has yet to succeed in doing so. But I am willing to pass on my knowledge to anyone who can produce a correct interpretation of the thesis.”
– ……!!!
“A mage must find their value in exploration. Those who do not seek knowledge and merely aim to satisfy their vanity are of no use to me.”
With a faint smile, Yujin finished his speech.
“That is all.”
***
Having concluded what could only be described as a performance disguised as a lecture, Yujin left the hall. Slowly, he began making his way toward the inn.
As he walked, Yujin spoke to Tiamat.
Well? Wasn’t that rather satisfying?
[Fufu, indeed. Just as you said; it was quite entertaining.]
Tiamat smiled in agreement with Yujin’s words. She found it immensely satisfying that those who flaunted their sense of entitlement as mages but neglected true exploration had been dealt a significant blow.
Spreading the false article about a lecture on space-time magic, coupled with denting the Mage Association’s pride, means they won’t dare to recklessly antagonize me. After all, they wouldn’t want to lose access to the knowledge of space-time magic. Because of that, the Association probably won’t bother me much in the future.
[Yes, that was the original intent, wasn’t it? Still, regardless of that, it was fun.]
Haha, as long as you’re entertained, that’s all that matters.
[But tell me, were you serious about what you said? That you’d share your knowledge with anyone who could decipher your thesis.]
Ah, that? Hmm… Personally, I don’t think it’ll ever happen.
Yujin, honestly, didn’t expect anyone to succeed. Without the necessary foundational knowledge, interpreting it was virtually impossible.
[So, it was a lie?]
Of course not. While I did want to weed out those who would approach me recklessly with nothing but money, it wasn’t entirely false. If someone genuinely seeks to explore and understand, I wouldn’t mind passing on some of my knowledge.
Yujin didn’t mind sharing knowledge with someone who truly wished to learn and had no ulterior motives. Although he doubted such a person existed, the thought didn’t bother him.
By the way, Lady Tiamat, did you notice it?
At that moment, Yujin turned to Tiamat and asked her directly.
Tiamat flinched slightly at his words.
[Oh… uh, yes, I did.]
Earlier, someone with the energy of a dragon was present. That person, along with someone else, seems to be following us now.
[Th-That… Yujin? I noticed it too, but… can’t we just ignore them and keep going?]
“Hmm? Why not?”
[W-Well, that’s…]
Tiamat who was overcome with shame couldn’t lift her head and merely fidgeted awkwardly. Yujin grew puzzled for a moment and finally turned around as they grew closer and spoke.
“There’s no one else around. Would you mind coming out now?”
“…You’re perceptive.”
From the alley Yujin had turned to, two women stepped forward.
Hmm… As I thought.
One was a great beauty with sharp features, short, dark purple hair, and purple eyes. The other had bright red hair and bright yellow eyes. Her beauty was equally radiant.
Seeing the two, Yujin nodded inwardly as if understanding the situation.
It made sense; these women were familiar to him from the game of “Labyrinth Academy”.
The red-haired woman was Ines Karandar, the Headmistress of Labyrinth Academy.
Known as the “Great Witch”, she was considered one of the strongest among mortals.
At the same time, she was a being rumored to carry some trace of dragon blood. Although Yujin had confirmed her presence during his lecture, seeing her up close now felt entirely different.
Beside her stood Reina Sahart, a professor of magical studies at the Academy and someone who worked as Ines’s assistant.
Among the two, it was Ines who spoke first.
“I enjoyed your lecture. It was excellent.”
“I wouldn’t say it deserved to be called excellent.”
Yujin fully turned to face the two women.
“Regardless, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m just a nameless mage, but you can call me Yujin.”
“A nameless mage, you say? That’s a bit much, don’t you think? Coming from the mage who redefined space-time magic?”
“Hahaha, is that so? In any case, might I ask why you were following me? And not just you…”
Yujin smiled faintly and continued speaking.
“Especially someone like the Headmistress of the Academy.”
The Grand Witch Ines Karandar was not only one of the strongest mortals but also the well-known head of the Academy. It was unnatural not to recognize her, so Yujin casually remarked on the matter.
At this, Ines spoke up.
“That’s… true. I don’t enjoy beating around the bush either. Let me be direct.”
With those words, Ines extended her hand toward Yujin and continued.
“Would you consider taking a position as a professor at the Academy?”
“Hmm?”
This was an entirely unexpected turn of events.
Yujin chuckled inwardly at the surprising offer.
Leave a Reply