Early the next morning, at the residence of "Magic Old Timer" Serie.
Since it was his first visit, Guter arrived half an hour earlier than their appointed time to show his respect for his teacher.
But after considering the wooden door before him, Guter chose not to knock. Instead, he casually found a spot by the roadside to sit down, intending to wait for Lairn and approach the door together.
Fortunately, this Junior Disciple did not keep Guter waiting long. Just a few minutes later, he appeared before him.
"Good morning, Senior Disciple."
Lairn greeted Guter with some surprise. He had not expected his Senior Disciple, who had drunk so much the previous night, to wake up even earlier than he had.
"Mm, good morning."
Guter smiled and nodded in reply. After last night's drinking session, although Lairn was still somewhat awkward, the distance between them had indeed narrowed considerably compared to yesterday.
However, while the two disciples exchanged pleasantries outside, an entirely different scene was playing out inside the house.
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"Mm—so sleepy."
Dressed in pajamas, Serie sprawled wildly across her soft bed. Through the feedback from her mana sensing, she already knew that her two disciples had arrived.
"Why did my disciples come so early?"
Logically, as their teacher, she ought to get up at once, change clothes, and open the door for them.
But—
The soft mattress and warm blankets were simply far too tempting at this moment.
"My disciples came early; it's not that I woke up late."
"And it's not even time yet."
"As their teacher, I... should be fine sleeping for another five minutes, right?"
"Mm—"
Serie rubbed against her soft pillow again. After a brief internal struggle, she "resolutely" closed her eyes.
Half an hour later.
Outside, Guter estimated the time and felt that it had to be their appointed meeting time by now. He ended his conversation with his Junior Disciple and stepped forward to gently knock on Teacher Serie's door.
"Hmm?!"
Inside the house.
Serie, who was still lying in bed, jolted awake. After sitting up, she immediately cast a Seal Magic spell to firmly weld her front door shut, lest her disciples barge in and cause the most immediate possible social death.
Now, Serie had no time to consider exactly how long her subjective "five minutes" had lasted. What mattered was hurrying up to wash and greet her disciples.
After quickly washing her face, Serie found the coat she had worn yesterday and casually cast a spell that removed every trace of dirt from it.
Once the mana dissipated, not only were the food crumbs she had accidentally gotten on her coat during dinner last night cleaned away, but after putting it on, her entire body gave off a fresh fragrance.
Only then did Serie undo the seal on the door and open it for her two disciples.
"Come in."
After speaking concisely, Serie turned and walked deeper into the house, leaving her disciples with a profound silhouette.
Yet Guter, following behind his teacher, could not help curling his lips into a smile.
Clearly, Serie's messy hair, the corner of her pajamas peeking out from beneath her coat, and the bedroom door that had been sealed with Seal Magic had allowed Guter to guess why his teacher had opened the door so late.
"What are you smiling about?"
Serie suddenly turned around and asked Guter.
"Nothing. I just think you're very cute."
"What disciple describes his teacher as cute?"
Serie replied with slight dissatisfaction. "Whatever. Describe me however you want."
After walking quite a distance, Guter and Lairn were finally brought to their destination: Magic Old Timer's library.
Looking at the Magic Books piled before them like mountains, not only Guter, but even Lairn, who had seen the Imperial Royal Family's collection in the palace, could not help opening his mouth wide.
The Imperial Royal Family possessed quite a lot of books, but when it came to the proportion of Magic Books, how could it compare to this place?
Lairn found it hard to estimate, but he was certain that the two collections were absolutely on the same scale.
Seeing the astonished looks in her disciples' eyes, Serie chuckled and said calmly, "The ones here at home are only a small portion of my collection."
"Once the Continental Magic Association is completed, I'll move the rest of my collection there as well."
Serie's simple words left Guter clicking his tongue in amazement.
An Archmage who had lived from the age of myths until now—this description of Serie had, for the first time, become so vividly real before his eyes.
The vast sea of Magic Books inside the house had been piled as high as mountains. Yet Guter understood that Serie, standing before those books, was a mountain even taller than they were.
She was a mage who carried the entire history of magic.
Yet Guter did not grow intimidated by Serie because of this. At that moment, the thought lingering in his mind was this: if he could reach out and touch Teacher Serie's head, would that mean he had climbed to the summit of magic as well?
The thought was so amusing that Guter stared straight at Serie before him, while his restless hand had already begun to move.
"What are you trying to do?"
Before he could touch the "mountaintop," Guter's little movement was stopped by Serie. Under her slightly threatening gaze, he could only withdraw his hand in embarrassment.
What Guter did not know was that Serie, who had just sat down in the library, felt even more frustrated than he did.
"What is going on with this disciple? It would have been one thing if he felt no reverence in the face of this scene, but he actually wanted to..."
"I really don't think I've ever encountered this type of disciple before. He's a little troublesome."
Once Lairn had recovered from his shock as well, Serie lightly cleared her throat and spoke to her two disciples.
"Every disciple I take in receives a special privilege."
"Among this vast sea of magic, I will teach each of you one spell you desire most."
"Think carefully. You may make any request you wish."
"Guter, you first—forget it. Lairn, you go first."
The moment the words left her mouth, Serie changed her mind. She felt that if she let Guter go first, she would hear something utterly outrageous.
Though she could not avoid letting Guter speak eventually, for the sake of her pleasant morning mood, it was better to delay it as long as possible and teach the more normal-seeming Lairn first.
"Mm... me first?"
Lairn pondered for a while. Although he had learned before the competition that those accepted as disciples would receive this privilege, he had agonized over what spell he should ask for.
The magic he wanted most...
In the end, Lairn made his choice.
"Teacher, I want a spell that can shrink rocks, preferably one that lets me carry them around."
"Alright."
Serie nodded lightly and made a casual gesture. A Magic Book from the room flew into her hand.
After checking that the cover was correct, Serie handed it to Lairn.
"And... what about you, Guter?"
Serie admitted that when she asked this question, she had taken a deep breath, because she somehow felt that this "special" disciple would definitely give her a "special" answer.
"Teacher, I want a spell that lets me touch Lord Serie's head whenever I want."
As expected.
Before you continue