Choice

Allen was certainly enthusiastic.

As someone who had landed himself in an asylum and still managed to keep his newspaper serial from missing an issue, his typing speed—despite being a twenty-five-year-old lifelong bachelor—was no joke.

On the third day after receiving the outline, Allen returned to Angell with a manuscript of a full hundred thousand words.

Angell was stunned when he saw it.

Especially since there were no computers in those days. Even a typewriter put words on paper, and holding a hefty manuscript in your hands was a completely different experience from looking at a weightless document on a screen.

But the warm feeling vanished in an instant.

Angell noticed that the manuscript was full of setting details, not a script.

This kid was up to something!

Angell thought as he warily eyed Allen, who had the same dark circles under his eyes.

Angell didn't know much about screenwriting, but he did understand copywriting and creative planning.

Every copywriter working on a gacha mobile game dreamed of making a AAA game, so sooner or later, they'd end up adding "deep" plotlines to the main story and setting just to create a "surprise."

But Angell only wanted to make a low-budget mobile game (X)... Angell only wanted to shoot a low-budget commercial. A blockbuster costing hundreds of millions was simply out of the question!

Angell had noticed this tendency earlier, and of course he couldn't let things get out of control.

He ignored the manuscript's long-winded worldbuilding and flipped straight to the protagonist's profile to see whether Allen had followed his outline.

Thankfully, this part was perfectly normal.

A girl named Angie, who lived in Cecilia City, found an abandoned Magic Wand while playing in the storeroom of her family's Alchemy Workshop. She awakened her sleeping ancestor, Cecilia...

"...Give the protagonist a different name, and change her family background too," Angell requested.

"What's wrong with an Alchemy Workshop?" Allen asked. "I think it explains why the protagonist has so many Magic Items."

"That would make getting the Magic Wand as a cheat less satisfying. Besides, the Magic Items aren't the point," Angell commented objectively. "She has to be an ordinary little girl who gets a Magic Wand, can transform, and can beat up her enemies in a pretty outfit."

"All right. How about an ordinary Charity School girl who isn't interested in magic?" Allen readily agreed.

Angell said, "Also, it'd be better if her ancestor wasn't Cecilia."

When people casually mentioned Cecilia the Grand Mage, they naturally meant the one who had built Cecilia City.

This mage had wiped out an army of a hundred thousand mages, forcibly torn open a Spatial Rift, and driven the Demon Race down into the Abyss, saving the world. Her achievements were undeniably great, but they were far too bloody for a little girl and too distant from her everyday life.

Angell requested, "Try to pick a beautiful and approachable female mage. If there isn't anyone suitable, you can make one up."

"Ah, the Cecilia I came up with isn't the Grand Mage Cecilia," Allen said. "I made her 'God's Favorite' Cecilia."

God's Favorite?

Angell was taken aback, then realized what Allen meant.

Cecilia wasn't an especially rare name. More than a dozen people with that name had left their mark on history.

But few could rival the Grand Mage Cecilia who had driven away the Demon Race. If he had to name one, the only one who came close was the Cecilia who had ended the Plane War.

That Cecilia was famous for her beauty.

They said her looks had even earned the admiration of the Deities, while every mortal creature was utterly enchanted by her. It wasn't just humans—even Elves, Orcs, and Dwarves, whose standards of beauty differed subtly from those of humankind, had fallen at her feet. They were willing to set aside age-old grudges and forge a thousand-year peace treaty for her sake.

In terms of achievements alone, this beautiful Cecilia was on a par with the Grand Mage Cecilia. Unfortunately, people preferred to gossip about her love life. They said the God of Light had fallen for her, which was why she was called "God's Favorite."

The "Lady of Charm" Mithril had mentioned earlier—the one for whom every race had pooled their resources to build the Sky Spring—was this same Cecilia.

In short, this Cecilia was a super Mary Sue.

Angell thought she was indeed a good fit, but asked, "Was this Cecilia a mage?"

"Lady Cecilia was extremely mysterious. Nothing is known about her background, age, profession, or what became of her, so I don't see why we couldn't say she was a Witch!" Allen argued.

Good. You've grasped the essence of screenwriting.

At last, Angell looked satisfied.

The main plot was fine: an ordinary little girl transformed, found friends, and defeated the Demon Race.

So he really had been overthinking it, hadn't he?

Angell flipped through the background details that followed. It was all long-winded material that might never even make it into the story, so he handed the manuscript back to Allen. "Very good. Go ahead and write it like this!"

"Sure!" Allen replied with a grin.

He was satisfied too.

Allen didn't mind that Angell had clearly skipped everything after the protagonist's profile.

For an author, the setting was supposed to be the underwater part of the iceberg, not something you showed other people. Allen was an autocratic creator and hated editors who meddled too much.

And as a screenwriter, if the client immediately said, "We're planning to make something grand and epic, blah blah blah," then proceeded to nitpick the setting and background... run, and don't hesitate! If you didn't run, at least double your fee! Nine times out of ten, a client like that had no idea what they wanted to make, or even who they wanted to sell it to.

Angell had only asked for a story that "little girls would love" and that was "satisfying." He didn't interfere with anything else. Clearly, just as Editor-in-Chief Hector had said, he only wanted to revive magic and had chosen to spark little girls' interest as his way in. He didn't care about the rest, right?

Allen was glad to have such a straightforward client.

He certainly wouldn't let the man down. He'd meet the client's requirements while turning the work into a masterpiece!

The plot had to be exciting, and the magic had to be portrayed competently!

He'd show people how interesting and cool being a mage could be!

Speaking of which...

"By the way, Lord Angell, I heard Magic Gear has staff dormitories?" Allen asked as he put away the manuscript. "Could I stay in one while I'm writing the script?"

This place had Black Robe Angell and all the Rune Apprentices. It was the perfect place to observe them, wasn't it?

Angell didn't realize what Allen was really after.

In fact, Angell still hadn't figured out where Allen had come from. Lance and Editor-in-Chief Hector both assumed Angell already knew, so neither had properly introduced him. Angell thought Allen was just a recent Liberal Arts Department graduate, and it was only natural for someone that young to be short on money, so he didn't think much of it.

Angell agreed. "I'll have them prepare a room for you right away."

*

Six in the evening, Rune Studio.

Mira finished the last Rune and stretched.

That meant she'd completed the quota Mr. Angell had set for her that day. Anything she wrote beyond that counted as overtime, and each completed Rune Core earned two silver coins in overtime pay.

Mira was saving up, so she'd chosen to work overtime.

Of course, she still had to eat dinner. Besides, after copying Runes all afternoon, Mira felt tired, so she rubbed her arm, stood up, and looked around.

The person to her right had already gone to eat. The one to her left was still writing furiously.

"Gru, aren't you going to get dinner?" Mira asked.

"No, I'll head back once I'm done," Gru mumbled.

He wasn't under much financial pressure, so he rarely stayed late to work overtime.

The boy across from him, however, heard them talking and looked up at Mira. "Mira, bring me a Ham Sandwich and some milk when you come back."

"You're not planning to work overtime anyway, are you?" Mira complained. "Can't you go get dinner yourself?"

"Heh." He didn't seem bothered.

Once he finished his quota, he planned to go straight to the shop downstairs. Going to the cafeteria and back would be such a hassle!

He wasn't the only coworker who asked Mira to bring something back from the cafeteria. Several others did too.

"You're all impossible."

Mira complained, but a smile played at the corners of her mouth. She memorized everyone's orders before leaving the studio.

Mira liked the life she had now.

Simple.

You got back what you put in.

She could work with the Runes she loved most, without constantly living in fear that someone would discover anything.

These were the happiest days of her nineteen years.

But when Mira passed the Resting Room, something ruined her good mood.

"Mira, meow?" A white Receptionist Cat was curled lazily on the cat tree. When it saw Mira pass, it pointed to the table in the Resting Room. "You've got a letter. Remember to take it home."

"...Oh." The smile vanished from Mira's face.

The white cat watched her expression change and asked curiously, "You never seem happy when you get a letter! If someone's extorting you, you can tell Boss Mithril, meow. It'll take care of it!"

"No, nobody's extorting me," Mira said with a stiff smile. "It's a letter from my family."

"Family can't extort you, meow?"

"Most of the people who sold us off were family, meow!"

A mocking meow came from the cat tree. Several pairs of eyes gleamed in the shadows, watching Mira.

Mira hastily stuffed the letter into her pocket and hurried out of the Resting Room.

She didn't understand why the guests thought these cats were cute.

They were terrifying!

And from that moment on, it felt as though bad luck had started following Mira around.

When Mira reached the cafeteria, she saw Silverleaf showing something to an unfamiliar young man.

She'd heard a new person was moving into the dorms, and Mr. Angell had sent Silverleaf to welcome him. Was this the new arrival?

Mira hesitantly walked over.

"Silverleaf."

"Mira, you came at just the right time. This is Allen, who's moving into the dorms today. He'll be staying next door to you," Silverleaf said when he saw her, then added to Allen, "Allen, this is Mira. If you run into any trouble, you can go to her."

"Hello," Mira said with a smile.

Silverleaf had told her from the start that a newcomer would be staying next door.

The room beside Mira's had a large balcony and great light. It was the best room on the staff dormitory floor, but when the Rune Apprentices had arrived at Magic Gear, they'd been nervous and uneasy. None of them had wanted to stay long, let alone pick a room, so it had been left vacant. Later, no one had felt right asking to switch into it.

Now that a newcomer was coming, Silverleaf had decided to give him the room. Since Mira was more attentive, he'd asked her to keep an eye on the new neighbor.

Silverleaf had always looked after Mira, so of course she wouldn't refuse.

But when the newcomer named Allen looked at her, Mira's heart sank.

Allen wasn't unpleasant to look at. On the contrary, he was quite handsome, but his expression seemed a little unhinged. The way he stared straight into people's eyes, especially, made Mira feel as if he could see right through her. It was deeply unsettling.

His personality really did match his appearance.

"Hello, Mira... miss?" Allen said, looking her over. "You're a girl, aren't you?"

Mira's hair stood on end.

Silverleaf immediately stepped forward to shield her, smiling as he said, "Mr. Allen, that's not important, is it?"

Silverleaf had a very beautiful smile.

He was already handsome, and he had a special charm. Whenever he smiled, everyone was instinctively drawn to it and couldn't look away.

Thanks to having such a Chief Student around, nobody had ever noticed that Mira was "different."

But Allen seemed immune to Silverleaf's smile.

His unhinged gaze stayed fixed on Mira. "Why dress like a boy? Is it your personal preference? Or a special requirement from Lord Angell?"

When Angell was brought into it, the two Rune Apprentices realized they couldn't avoid the question.

Mira instinctively tried to take the blame herself. "It was my own—"

"It's a requirement of the Rune Major," Silverleaf said.

He rested a hand on Mira's shoulder, shook his head, and said softly, "We've graduated now."

Mira lowered her head, feeling uneasy.

Allen watched their exchange with interest.

The writer had keen powers of observation, but he couldn't read the room—or rather, he deliberately chose not to.

"Does the Rune Major not accept girls?" Allen continued, hitting the nail on the head. "Sex discrimination?"

The one who discriminated was that Rune teacher.

"...That's also an objective fact," Silverleaf said. He didn't really want to speak ill of the teacher, so he tried to steer away from the pointed question from an academic perspective. "Unlike men, women's mana is more easily affected by the Moon Tide, which makes it less stable. It can also affect their bodies and even their emotions. So some people think women aren't suited to becoming Rune Masters, who need to channel mana steadily."

"Oh, I've heard of that!" Allen's eyes suddenly lit up for no apparent reason.

He pulled out a little notebook and began taking notes as he asked, "I've heard female mages with too much mana can even fall and become Witches. Is that how it works?"

"There's no 'falling,' and it has nothing to do with how much mana they have. Unstable mana itself is dangerous!" Silverleaf explained. "Even men can easily lose control under the influence of unstable mana, or even go mad. At the end of the day, female mages and Witches are completely different things!"

"Could you be more specific?" Allen asked.

"Female mages are much like male mages. They've mastered proper spellcasting instruction and can cast magic, but because their mana is inherently less stable, there are fewer of them than male mages. Witches, on the other hand, prefer to cast spells through tools, avoiding the way unstable mana stimulates their bodies. They're also more inclined to give in to mana's influence on their emotions, so they seem more emotional. But their control over their own mana is actually more skillful and stable—"

Silverleaf explained in detail.

With his Succubus abilities, he could tell that Allen meant no harm and was simply curious.

But unchecked curiosity could still cause harm.

In fact, Silverleaf already regretted putting him next door to Mira. He hadn't expected Allen to be so "direct."

So Silverleaf drew Allen's attention to a topic he found interesting, while secretly waving Mira away, telling her to leave as soon as she could.

Mira let out a breath of relief and quietly left.

Even after all that, she still bought all her coworkers' food from the cafeteria and fed them before taking the letter that had brought her bad luck to the Tea Room in the studio and opening it in secret.

The letter had come from nearby.

Cecilia City's Mage Tower.

Mira had recently figured out where Cecilia City was. If she walked there, it would probably take her only two hours.

But Mira didn't want to go.

Mira hadn't lied. The letter was from a family member: her older sister.

Mira's older sister had a talent for magic too. When she entered school, she gave the family a sum of money. When she entered the Mage Tower, she gave them another sum. She'd also found herself a mage fiancé, so she was the pride of the whole family, the "best daughter" in her parents' eyes.

Mira was supposed to have done the same.

In fact, most students at the Magic Academy in the City of Academies were girls. Compared with boys who were expected to inherit the family business, girls had little to lose by attending a Magic Academy that paid out allowances directly. Besides, most students at the other colleges in the City of Academies came from well-off families, some even from noble houses. Finding a husband in either the City of Academies or the Mage Tower was a fairly good option.

But Mira had fallen in love with magic Runes.

Mira's sister had warned her at the time that the Department Head in charge of the Rune Major at the City of Academies hated girls who cheated the school out of funding, and the entire major refused to accept female students. But Mira had gotten the "wrong idea." Taking advantage of her status as a top student at the Charity School and a lapse in its administration, she secretly changed the gender listed on her school records and pretended to be a boy when she enrolled in the Rune Major.

Her family had panicked, terrified that Mira would be found out and sent home, and that the City of Academies would demand its allowance back.

Mira had nearly been found out too.

Living with boys in the dormitory around the clock made it almost impossible not to be exposed.

So her identity as a girl had inevitably been revealed in her first year. But Silverleaf and Jack had been the only ones there at the time. Not only had they helped Mira keep her identity secret, but they'd somehow persuaded the other boys as well. For the next few years, every student in her year helped keep her secret. In the end, Mira had no idea whether the Department Head knew, but she graduated without a hitch.

Before Mira could breathe a sigh of relief, she learned that the Rune Major wouldn't be sending its graduates to the Mage Tower that year. Instead, they had to go to an Alchemy Workshop. Once again, her family had erupted in outrage.

If she didn't go to the Mage Tower, wouldn't she miss out on the commission the Mage Tower would pay?

Not to mention finding a mage husband.

Ever since Mira joined the Magic Gear, she'd received several letters from her family and her older sister, all blaming her for secretly changing the sex listed on her student records back then.

Mira had taken advances on her wages and sent money home several times, but clearly, that little bit of money hadn't been enough to convince her family.

That was still her goal now: working overtime to save enough money to send home an amount that could match what her older sister sent. Then, perhaps, she could persuade her family to believe the Alchemy Workshop was a good place to work.

But until then, she'd inevitably have to put up with these "unfortunate letters," right?

Mira quickly read the letter in her hand.

She decided that if it contained nothing important, she'd soak it in water and wash it away.

But after reading its contents, she nearly felt her blood freeze.

"What does the letter say?"

"My sister says she's found me a place in the Mage Tower..."

Mira answered instinctively. Then she abruptly turned around and saw Gru gazing at her with a mournful look.

"I knew it!" Gru said without surprise. His face was indistinct in the shadows of the Tea Room. "I heard placements started this year. The top students from the other programs all went to the Mage Tower."

"...Do you want to go too?" Mira asked.

She knew Gru had good grades. He'd only narrowly missed becoming this year's Second-in-Command Student.

At the Magic Academy, student rankings were determined by a unified exam in the general courses, not by major. That was why Silverleaf, the Chief Student of his program, was also the Chief Student of the entire academy.

Gru had chosen runes by chance. He'd always wanted to become a mage, so although being assigned to the Magic Gear wasn't bad, he must have wanted to go to the Mage Tower even more.

Sure enough, Gru nodded. "If I don't at least take a look at the Mage Tower, I'll always feel a little regretful."

"But I think the Magic Gear is great..."

"Then are you going to ignore your family's good intentions?" Gru asked. "Besides, maybe the Mage Tower is better. You could study there and learn runes at a higher level."

"I..."

Mira took a step back.

Fortunately, a voice rang out just then.

"Don't pressure her, Gru! You're just afraid to go alone, so you want to drag someone along with you."

"...Silverleaf!"

Mira looked gratefully toward the voice and saw Silverleaf standing at the entrance to the Tea Room.

Allen was there too.

"Mr. Allen said he wanted to see our workshop, so we brought him over," Silverleaf explained.

But the workshop clearly wasn't what had caught Allen's interest. He watched Mira and Gru with an amused expression.

Gru didn't seem to notice the strange outsider. His face darkened as he said, "Silverleaf, I'm not trying to betray anyone. I just..."

"You're not willing to let it go, right?" Silverleaf said. "I feel the same way. We'd already made all the arrangements."

He paused. The academy's Chief Student then displayed his most basic quality and began to lecture them. "But once you've made a choice, you have to take responsibility for it—"

Silverleaf was eloquent.

Going by the usual course of events, Gru would certainly be persuaded, and nothing would happen.

The Magic Academy's reputation as "the most stable and united class" wasn't a joke.

But a third voice cut in. "No. If you want to go take a look, you actually can!"

The Rune Apprentices turned toward the speaker.

A manic smile spread across Allen's face. "Your boss wants to make a movie, and it'll have scenes at the Mage Tower. When the time comes, you can ask to go as assistants. Then you can see the Mage Tower for yourselves and figure out what you want to do, right?"