I Will Be Unrivaled With The Skill [Sewing]! They Said It Was A Bad Skill, But With Effort, I will Make It A Hit~ - Chapter 45

Episode 45: The Magic Genius

Two weeks later, Seneca and the others entered the royal capital’s forest with Kito.

Since Gaia and Plautia were meeting for the first time, they introduced themselves to each other.

Kito was impressed once again after witnessing Seneca and Maior’s adventurer skills firsthand, and she marveled at Gaia and Plautia’s vast knowledge.

Plautia, in particular, possessed deep, practical knowledge about plant materials, which Kito made sure to remember and later planned to compile into notes.

Kito’s concentrated potion had been poorly received due to its awful taste, but thanks to Plautia teaching her about a flower nectar that could mellow the bitterness, she planned to improve its flavor.

Through hands-on learning, Kito realized once more that pharmaceutical crafting is limited by the methods of material gathering. Thus, she decided to regularly request escorts to continue her studies.

Gaia frequented the magic training grounds almost daily after classes. The high-powered magic training rooms were usually vacant, so she’d start by practicing her 【Artillery Magic】  before moving on to other training.

Recently, Seneca had been pouring effort into studying magical theory, often engaging in discussions with Gaia. Since understanding magical theory required knowledge of physics and mathematics, Seneca had been studying those subjects intensely, leading to significant improvements in her grades.

While Seneca was studying magical theory to gain the ability to use magic, she struggled. This was only natural because magical theory is meant to improve the skills of those who already possess magic, not to grant new abilities.

Maior advised Gaia, “It’s a great opportunity to get to know Seneca better, so you should stick with it.” Gaia didn’t mind because Seneca’s sharp questions were intellectually stimulating, but she still didn’t fully understand what Maior meant.

As Gaia continued these discussions with Seneca, she began to wonder if she could somehow develop her 【Artillery Magic】  using magical theory.

Lately, she thought of nothing else, whether awake or asleep.

Through her analysis, Gaia identified five major stages in casting 【Artillery Magic】 : Preparation, Mana Circulation, Mana Conversion, Mana Compression, and Firing. Due to the excessive mana consumption during the Mana Compression and Firing stages, she could only cast 【Artillery Magic】  once per day.

Gaia theorized that if she could either stop at the first three stages or adjust the Mana Compression process, she could increase the number of attempts, thus improving her proficiency. However, she had no idea how to achieve this.

One day, while groaning over her calculations, Maior, who had come to visit, said:

“Hey, Gaia, is this about your 【Artillery Magic】  again? If you’re okay with it, how about consulting with an S-Class genius? Even if you don’t find the answer, I’m sure it’ll be beneficial.”

Since coming to the royal capital, Maior had learned to consult with the appropriate geniuses when in doubt and handle everything else on her own. Incidentally, her list of geniuses included Seneca, Kito, Gaia, and Plautia.

Eager for help, Gaia readily agreed, and the next day, she had the opportunity to speak with the “Genius of Magic.”

After class, when Gaia entered the special training room, she found most of the S-Class students gathered there for some reason.

“Ah, Gaia! You’re here. Over here!” Maior waved her over, drawing everyone’s attention to her .

“Gaia, let me introduce you! This is Stolo Aedis!”

“Nice to meet you, Gaia-san. I’ve heard a lot about you—ranked first in your department, surpassing both me and Pulcher! I often hear about you from Seneca-san and Maior-san, too. Just call me Stolo.”

“I’m Gaia. Pleased to meet you.”

Stolo Aedis was well-known as a promising talent at the royal capital’s Adventurer’s Guild, alongside Pulcher Cluris. He was also a top achiever in their grade.

Even Gaia, who paid little attention to others, knew that Stolo was a meticulous earth magic user.

“So, you’re the genius of magic,” Gaia muttered quietly, though Stolo heard it.

“Genius? What do you mean?”

“Maior called you a genius of magic.”

“N-No way, I’m nothing like that…”

Seeing Stolo’s lack of confidence, Maior exclaimed, “If you’re not a genius, then who is?!”

Stolo’s face turned bright red at her words.

Gaia silently thought, I see now.

“I-I even lose to Maior-chan in mock battles…”

“That’s because those are close-combat matches. If you used your magic seriously, I’d be crushed by a landslide.”

Stolo mumbled something in response, but Gaia couldn’t catch his words. Everyone, except for Maior, seemed to understand Stolo’s feelings, creating an indescribable tension in the room.

Incidentally, Maior had spent her childhood openly declaring, “I’m going to marry my father when I grow up,” and thus had no immunity to romance.

Although the situation seemed to be getting out of hand, Seneca sensed this and skillfully steered the conversation back on track, finally allowing Gaia to discuss her magical concerns.

Since there was nothing to hide, Gaia explained everything openly.

“I see. I understand the issue well. From what I’ve heard, it seems crucial to train in enhancing mana control, but I’m still unclear about the nature of the magic itself. If you don’t mind, could you show me your magic?”

Stolo spoke with confident ease.

“Of course, I don’t mind, but with all these people around…”

“Ah, I understand. That’s true. You probably don’t want to reveal your magic in front of people you’re not close to.”

“Right. Maybe we should limit it to just those who can use magic. It would be beneficial to get their feedback anyway.”

Gaia had only voiced her discomfort because of the unfamiliar faces, but Maior managed the situation smoothly, so she didn’t correct the misunderstanding. As a result, those who didn’t qualify began to disperse.