Who Said I Was a Mage?

Miracle.

Linton had never associated that word with himself, because death of any kind was taboo in the eyes of the world, while miracles were one of the names for all things beautiful.

As for him, walking down the street, he could not exactly be called someone everyone wanted to beat up, but he was at least disliked by people and dogs alike. How could he dare to think of something like that?

He had not expected the mysterious Miss Vera to hold him in such high regard.

Though she seemed surprised by the composition of Linton's power, Vera had not forgotten why he had come to see her.

After analyzing Linton's traits, she pondered for a moment before continuing, "Sir, do you have any ideas about the spell you wish to create?"

Linton nodded. "I hope to master a secret art that can strengthen myself or weaken my opponent within a short time."

"Strengthening and weakening..." Vera thought for a moment, then said, "Secret arts that grant power far beyond one's limits in a short period generally tap into one's potential, and they all carry considerable side effects. The side effects and increase are simply smaller for lower-level secret arts than for high-level ones. As for secret arts that weaken opponents, casting them usually has no effect on the user; backlash only occurs if they are countered. Do you have a specific direction in mind?"

"..."

Seeing that Linton had remained silent for a long time, Vera smiled faintly and took out a card.

"This is my library card. The far left section on the fourth floor contains enhancement secret arts, and the section beside it contains weakening secret arts. With my authority, you may browse some Gold-tier and all lower-tier spells at will, though you cannot take them out of the library. I borrowed too many books before and have not returned them yet. Sorry."

"No, no, no. I should be thanking you instead." Linton waved his hand awkwardly instead of taking the card. He pulled out a similar card from his pocket, though its color was slightly duller. "As for a library card, I have one too, so..."

"This card is not enough." Vera smiled sweetly. "This is an ordinary teacher's library card. With his authority, you cannot enter the fourth floor."

Linton froze.

Sika's card did not have enough authority, so why did hers?

At that moment, Iris, who had long since gotten lost listening to their conversation, quietly crept over and whispered, "Vera is a professor at the magic academy."

"A professor?"

Linton looked at the smiling girl curled up on the sofa with uncertainty.

Although her hair was also white, it was clearly different from the grayish white brought by old age. It was also thick and plentiful, with no sign of balding.

No matter how he looked at her, she did not seem very old.

"Surprised?"

"I am indeed shocked." Linton nodded honestly. "Magic itself is the most complex problem in the world. To possess such profound knowledge at such a young age is truly astonishing."

"Although you say that you cannot yet touch the starry sky at the pinnacle of the magical world, I believe that one day, it will lie at your feet."

"You will surely become a mage capable of changing the world."

"Hm?" Vera's expression suddenly turned strange. "Although I do know quite a bit about magic, but..."

"—Who said I was a mage?"

"Huh?!"

This time, not only Linton but even Iris was dumbfounded.

Vera turned to look at Iris, still smiling. "Iris, after knowing me for so long, you still do not know that I am..."

"—An elf?"

"An elf??"

Linton instinctively looked toward the side of the girl's head, but her short white hair blocked his view, preventing him from seeing the distinctive traits of the elf race.

"Want to see my ears?" Vera raised a hand, seemingly intending to lift her hair.

But just as her fingertips brushed against her white hair, a teasing curve suddenly formed at the corner of her lips.

"As if I'd let you~"

"Ahem." Linton coughed twice and stiffly changed the subject.

"I never expected that, as an elf, you would also have such a deep understanding of magic..."

At some point in his previous life, elves had seemingly become synonymous with archers, a fact widely known throughout the world.

With the principle of exploiting anything useful to the fullest, the Kingdom of Heavenly Principles naturally would not abandon such a deeply ingrained setting.

So since Vera said she was an elf, she was basically equivalent to an archer—though certainly not an ordinary one.

Vera pinched a small distance between her thumb and forefinger, blinked, and said, "I've merely lived a little longer and know a little bit about everything, that's all."

I get it. Just a tiny little bit older, with a tiny little bit more knowledge.

As if sensing what Linton was thinking, Vera's smile suddenly became dangerous.

"Sir, do not try to pry into a lady's age. Even I get a little angry when someone digs into it."

"Alright." She clapped her hands. "Sir, do you have any other questions?"

"No. Thank you very much for answering my questions."

Vera waved her hand. "Rather, you have added a little fun to my life and let me discover such a fascinating existence as you."

"Then..." Linton looked at the doll girl. "Iris, keep Miss Vera company here. I'll go upstairs and look around."

"Okay!"

Iris nodded like a pecking chick and agreed without hesitation.

After Linton left, Iris cautiously glanced at Vera, hesitating to speak.

"What is it?" Seeing her guilty expression, as though she were a thief, Vera could not help teasing, "After not seeing each other for so long, have you become unable to leave this Mr. Linton?"

"Sure enough, love makes people blind..."

"What are you talking about?!"

How could Miss Knight, whose skin was thinner than paper, endure such teasing? She hurriedly explained, "We... we're just companions... friends, just friends. Don't talk nonsense!"

Seeing that Vera still wanted to say something, Iris hurriedly changed the subject from this blush-inducing topic.

"Um... Vera, have you been dreaming lately?"

"Dreaming?" Vera chuckled. "When ordinary people do not sleep deeply enough, their subconscious naturally rises from their sleep and produces dreams. But when I sleep, I usually use relaxing spells to help me rest, so I basically do not dream."

Iris let out a long breath inwardly and muttered softly, "That's good, that's good..."

"But—"

"Ahem."

Before the doll girl could fully relax, Vera's drawn-out tone made her nearly choke.

"But what?"

Seeing the girl's anxious appearance, Vera laughed happily, but she did not continue teasing her.

"But it has been so long since I last dreamed that I somewhat miss that feeling. You reminded me. For the next few days, I will not use sleep spells and will just have a natural night's rest."

"O-okay..."

Seeing that the turn had not gone as she feared, Iris finally relaxed.

She deftly opened the dessert packaging, divided it into two portions, and pushed one toward Vera.

"Won't you leave a portion for Mr. Linton?"

"Why leave one for him? We'll eat it. Ignore him."

"Wouldn't that be a little rude?"

"It's fine. He won't mind."

"Oh? You understand him well."

"Of course. No one understands him better than I do—ahem, ahem. Eat, eat!"

Watching the rosy-faced Iris lower her head to tackle the sweets without another word, Vera smiled softly.

Yet in her eyes lingered a trace of doubt that would not fade no matter what.