An Arcana lecture?
Roland chuckled and tactfully reminded her, "Nisi, you're not joking, are you? I'm still only an Apprentice Mage. What could possibly qualify me?"
Lunifis replied, "Oh, stop that. I've already heard you're a Chief Authority Expert now!"
Roland laughed. "Who let the secret slip?"
"Young people these days really are getting more and more impressive. When I was an apprentice like you, I was still busy earning credits and getting my Spellcasting Certificates!" Lunifis praised him sincerely.
Roland was a little surprised. "Aren't you an Apprentice Mage?"
"Hehehe..."
At that moment, far away on the other side of Atrelin, in the Yther Wizard Tower, Lunifis couldn't help letting out a sweet, silvery laugh.
She was in her own study inside the Mage Tower.
Curious ornaments hung on the surrounding walls. Gems engraved with mysterious runes, dried flowers preserved by magic arrays, and specially treated specimens lay casually arranged around the room, their abundance never quite becoming clutter.
At the center of the room stood a huge, long table covered with quills, ink bottles, scrolls, and spellbooks. Some of the quills seemed to have wills of their own, rising upright and hovering in the air, occasionally writing a few words or sketching patterns on the paper.
Beside the table was a cozy Fire Elemental Fireplace. Its warm but never scorching flames danced, giving off occasional crackles as magical energy particles burst.
Against another wall, a large cabinet was filled with Arcane Achievement Award trophies from the Arcane Committee and all manner of certificates.
Lunifis took off her outer garment, baring her fair shoulders and back, and reclined in her spacious chair. She stretched at length, utterly relaxed and at ease.
"This little fellow still thinks I'm an Apprentice Mage?"
She gently pressed her warm, rosy lips together, a relaxed, happy expression on her face, and replied in all seriousness, "I'm a resident mage at the Yther Wizard Tower. I'm currently involved in teaching, though not on the front lines..."
"So you're a Teaching Assistant! My apologies. At first, I thought you were about my age. Should I respectfully address you as Teacher Lunifis, then?" Roland replied at once.
In Atrelin, mages and Arcanists might be referred to interchangeably, but they were actually different concepts.
Mage was an ancient, traditional designation, a general term for a particular type of spellcaster.
Arcanist, on the other hand, referred to researchers who grasped the profound mysteries of magic and pursued fundamental truths. It was a new designation born from the modern Arcana reforms.
To this day, Atrelin's mage ranks followed the old system, ranging from rank 0 to rank 9, with Legendary Mages in a class of their own.
Arcanist grades, meanwhile, were Teaching Assistant (1-3, low rank), Lecturer (4-6, middle rank), Expert/Professor (7-8, high rank), Arcane Commissioner (9, Grand Mage), and Grand Arcanist (10+, Legendary Mage).
Each had its own assessment criteria, such as seniority, Arcana achievements, and awards. The two systems ran in parallel while also referencing each other.
Generally speaking, Arcane Commissioner (Grand Mage) was already the highest grade a modern mage could attain. Roland's newly acquired status as Chief Authority Expert belonged to a separate system: it was an honorary title granting benefits equivalent to those of a full professor, rather than an actual grade. (Yvonne's ordinary Expert title granted benefits equivalent to those of an associate professor.)
Seeing Roland's reply, Lunifis couldn't help chuckling again, making the full curves of her bosom quiver breathtakingly.
"You silver-tongued little fellow. Haven't you been calling me your big sister all this time, with 'Nisi' this and 'Nisi' that?
Well, give the lecture some thought. Once you come to Isser, your big sister will make sure you're properly looked after~~"
Intent on quietly building himself up and keeping a low profile, Roland wanted to refuse, but he couldn't quite bring himself to rebuff Lunifis's kindness. He could only stall. "Sorry, I've been preparing to establish a new discipline lately. Let's discuss it when there's an opportunity."
"Really?" Lunifis actually believed him-or perhaps, to her, it had been perfectly reasonable all along.
"That makes sense. Your paper is scheduled for official publication on the fifth of next month. Atrelin's Runes School has been looking forward to the birth of a completely new language like this: clean, efficient, and free of historical baggage. Keep up the good work."
"I certainly will," Roland said hastily.
Still, he wasn't exactly fobbing her off.
Lately, his teacher, his senior schoolmates, and even the editorial office of Arcana had written to ask whether he could compile the contents of his first four papers into a textbook or something similar.
The Arcane Committee had plenty of skilled writers who would also help draft the material and build the new discipline together!
He really did shoulder considerable responsibilities as an Expert. His stipend and honors weren't given to him for nothing.
After replying to Lunifis, Roland noticed that Cynthia had answered the email he had sent her a few days earlier. In her usual casual manner, she chatted about various little matters concerning her studies and daily life, as well as her plans to obtain quite a few Spellcasting Certificates.
Atali had replied as well. Along with her usual thoughtful concern, she told Roland that she was accompanying the Order of Knights to the northern border for field training and might only be able to reply once every two or three months.
There was no helping that. After all, knights weren't like mages, who lived in ivory towers.
Roland replied to her, then turned his attention to his family.
In truth, he felt little attachment to his predecessor's family. But lately, the lord of his hometown kept mentioning, casually or otherwise, how he was looking after Roland's family, leaving Roland with little choice but to show some concern.
As far as the lord knew, Roland was still merely a young man with promising prospects, yet he was already so eager to help. Who knew how he would react if he learned that Roland had already made a name for himself?
The lord had someone write a letter on behalf of his predecessor's parents. Along with their greetings, it mentioned that the family had moved into a new house.
A kind soul had sold Roland's older brother, Hols, a house with a street-facing shop on the town center's commercial street at a low price. The family finally no longer had to farm for a living and was trying its hand at running a small business.
Roland was a little startled, but soon understood.
His predecessor had originally had several siblings, but more than half had died young. To support their youngest son Roland's schooling, the family had always lived barely above subsistence.
What else could he say? He hurriedly sent some money to help them out.
A little while later, another reply arrived from Lunifis.
"Since you can't come for now, I'll just have to tell you by email.
Here's the thing: I have a discovery to share with you. Turning Oracle into magic might be exceptionally well suited to the True Word Spell!
It can draw upon the most primal power of mana between heaven and earth, creating resonance at the level of the world's laws!
That also means it's entirely possible to imitate certain true word abilities used by priests, warlocks, or mages!"
Before you continue