The Magic to Freely Pat Lord Serie's Head

The next morning, at the residence of the "Magic Old Timer" Serie.

Because it was his first visit, to express his respect for his teacher, Guter deliberately arrived half an hour earlier than the agreed time.

However, looking at the wooden door before him, Guter pondered for a moment and did not knock. Instead, he casually found a place by the roadside to sit, planning to knock on the door together when Lairn arrived.

Fortunately, his Junior Disciple did not make Guter wait long, appearing before him in just a few minutes.

"Good morning, Senior Disciple."

Lairn greeted Guter with a hint of surprise, not expecting his Senior Disciple, who had drunk so much wine last night, to be up earlier than himself this morning.

"Mm, good morning."

Guter smiled and nodded in response to Lairn. After last night's drinking session, although Lairn was still a bit awkward, their relationship had indeed become much closer than the day before.

However, just as the two disciples were exchanging pleasantries, a different scene was unfolding inside the house at this very moment.

[＜()＞]

"Mmm--so sleepy."

Serie, wearing pajamas, was sprawled on the soft, large bed in a very wild pose. At this moment, she already knew from the feedback of her magic perception that her two disciples had arrived.

"Why did the disciples come so early?"

Logically, as their teacher, she should quickly get up and get dressed to open the door for her disciples.

But...

The soft mattress and the warm duvet were so alluring at this moment.

"It's the disciples who came early, not that I'm waking up late."

"And it's not even the time agreed upon yesterday."

"As a teacher, I. I can probably sleep for another five minutes, right?"

"Mmm--"

Serie snuggled into the soft pillow again. After a brief internal struggle, she "unhesitatingly" closed her eyes.

Half an hour later.

Outside the house, Guter estimated the time and felt that it should be about time for their scheduled meeting. He ended his conversation with his Junior Disciple and stepped forward to gently knock on Teacher Serie's door.

"Huh?!"

Inside the house.

Teacher Serie, still lying in bed, was startled awake. After sitting up, she immediately cast a [Magic to Remove Stains from Clothes] on her own front door, firmly sealing it shut to prevent her disciples from barging in and causing her extreme embarrassment.

Now, Serie had no time to ponder how long her subjective "five minutes" had actually been. The priority was to quickly wash up and greet her disciples.

After a simple face wash, Serie found her jacket from yesterday and cast a [Magic to Remove Stains from Clothes] on it.

As the magic dissipated, not only were the food scraps accidentally stained on her jacket the previous night cleaned away, but after putting on the clothes, her entire body exuded a fresh, fragrant scent.

Only then did Serie lift the seal she had placed on the door and open it wide for her two disciples.

"Come in."

After Serie's concise words, she turned and walked into the house, leaving her disciples with a profound silhouette.

However, Guter, following behind his teacher, couldn't help but smile.

Clearly, Serie's disheveled hair, the corner of her pajamas peeking out from her jacket, and the bedroom door that had been sealed with [Seal Magic] all led Guter to guess the reason for his teacher's late opening of the door.

"What are you smiling about?"

In front of him, Serie suddenly turned back and asked Guter.

"Nothing, I just think you're very cute."

"What kind of disciple describes their master as 'cute'?"

Serie replied with slight dissatisfaction. "Never mind, call me whatever you like."

After walking a considerable distance, Guter and Lairn were finally brought to their destination: the "Magic Old Timer's" library.

Looking at the magic books piled up like mountains before them, it wasn't just Guter, but even Lairn, who had seen the Imperial Royal Family's collection in the palace, who widened his mouth in astonishment.

The Imperial Royal Family's collection was extensive, but if one were to truly compare the proportion of magic books, was it as much as here?

Lairn couldn't estimate, but he was certain that the two were definitely on the same order of magnitude.

Seeing the shocked expressions of his two disciples, Serie chuckled lightly and said calmly, "These at home are just a fraction of my collection."

"Once the [Continental Magic Association] is completed, I will transfer my other collections there as well."

Serie's simple words made Guter gasp.

The description of Serie as "[Archmage who has survived since the mythical era]" was, for the first time, presented so vividly before his eyes.

The vast sea of magic books within the house, piled as high as mountains; however, Guter understood that Serie, standing before these books, was a mountain even taller than any mountain.

This was an archmage who carried the entire history of magic.

Yet, Guter did not feel intimidated by Serie because of this. At this moment, the thought swirling in his mind was, if he could reach out and touch the top of Teacher Serie's head, would that count as him also climbing to the peak of the magical summit?

This idea was truly amusing, so much so that Guter looked directly at Serie, who was in front of him, his restless paws already in motion.

"What do you want to do?"

Before he could even touch the "mountaintop," Guter's small movement was stopped by Serie. Under her gaze, which held a hint of threat, Guter had no choice but to sheepishly retract his hand.

However, what Guter didn't know was that Serie, who had just sat down in the library, was feeling even more depressed than Guter.

"What is this disciple all about? Not only did he not show any reverence in front of this scene, but he even wanted to..."

"I don't think I've ever encountered this type of disciple before. It's a bit tricky."

After Lairn's emotions had also recovered from the shock, Serie cleared her throat and said to the two disciples below.

"To all the disciples I have taken in, I will grant you one [privilege]."

"Among this vast ocean of magic, I will teach you the one magic you most desire."

"Think about it, you can ask me for anything you want."

"Guter, you first. No, Lairn, you go first."

As soon as Serie spoke, she changed her mind. She had a feeling that if Guter went first, she would hear something outrageous.

Although Guter would inevitably speak, to preserve her good mood from the morning, it was better to delay it as much as possible and impart knowledge to the more normal-acting Lairn first.

"Hmm, me first?"

Lairn pondered for a moment. Although he already knew that disciples would have this [privilege] before the competition, he was still troubled about what magic to ask for.

The magic he most desired?

Finally, Lairn made his choice.

"Teacher, I want magic that can shrink rocks, preferably magic that I can carry with me."

"Alright."

Serie nodded gently and with a wave of her hand, a Magic Book in the room flew into her hand.

After glancing at the cover and confirming it was correct, Serie handed it to Lairn.

"Then. How about you, Guter?"

Serie admitted that she took a deep breath when she asked this question, because she had a premonition that this "special" disciple would definitely give her a "special" answer.

"Teacher, I want [magic to freely pat Lord Serie's head]."

As expected.