I sat in the observation seats of the practice room, watching it all unfold.
Though I was several ters away, I could still hear their conversation.
No, to be precise, I could only hear what ca out of Maya's mouth.
The "Sound Room" functioned unidirectionally, allowing to hear her words directly in my ears.
That alone was enough for to understand how things were unfolding.
As I watched Karen leave the practice room, I let out a sigh and turned off the voice.
Surely Maya couldn't have been listening outside.
It was unsettling to think that soone she considered a friend was looking at her own body with malicious eyes.
But I hadn't expected her to be so furious, even though she must have explained her situation thoroughly.
I didn't think Maya had done anything wrong.
Everyone had different standards for what they deed acceptable.
Perhaps I had grown numb to such things.
In that other world, it was common for to entrust my body to soone else's care.
Whether it was going to the bathroom, bathing, or changing clothes, I always needed soone's help.
Maya's reaction might have been closer to what an average person would feel.
And they weren't even old friends; they had only t two weeks ago.
It might have been natural for her to react like that.
The teaching assistant called Maya's na.
She picked up the practice daggers and went to stand in front of the target.
I decided to stop thinking about Karen's situation.
While she was pitiable, I had no regrets about what I had done.
What if she had attacked Maya later on?
What would have happened then?
It was harsh for her, but the safety of my mbers was more important to than her teenage troubles.
With the signal from the assistant, a group of students ascended to the test stage.
Maya was among them.
Her delicate figure stood out among the bulky or slender bodies.
She looked around the stands as if searching for soone.
I smiled and waved at her.
She stared at with a blank expression before turning her head away.
In the original work, she didn't demonstrate any physical techniques.
Even when attempting to move quickly as her character, she would stumble and fall three seconds later.
Of course, that was exaggerated for gaplay, but it seed evident here that she lacked talent in physical activities.
She couldn't keep up with the basic physical training in the circus troupe and gave up.
How much had she improved?
I watched her dagger throwing practice with anticipation.
But sadly, there was no positive turn of events.
Her skills couldn't have been this poor originally.
If they were, I wouldn't have encouraged her to co.
Was it because of what happened with Karen?
Maya failed to hit the target even once with the daggers she threw today.
***
Maya left school and walked to Tettromino Plaza.
Her steps seed weary, yet she walked with determination, seeming angry.
It reflected her current state of mind well.
She couldn't hide her disappointnt and anger.
Although it didn't show on her face, anyone who knew her well could sense it in her subtle movents.
She clenched and unclenched her fists.
"It's my fault."
She couldn't bla anyone else.
It was all because she couldn't control herself.
Leaving Karen only deepened her guilt.
Every ti she collected fragnts of emotions, her magic fluctuated severely.
She couldn't focus on precise tasks in this state.
"For causing annoyance to the Director…"
After the test, Wonderstein ca down from the observation seats to comfort her.
"It's a pity, Maya, but your condition today…"
"Leave."
She replied coldly.
It seed as if she blad the Director for her mistake.
"If you do better next ti, it'll be fine. You don't have to be so disheartened…"
"I said leave."
Wonderstein couldn't say anything more in the face of Maya's reaction and stepped back.
He knew Maya's personality.
Such failures would be a big shock to her, as she prided herself on being rational and logical.
Most of the responsibility for what had upset her today also lay with him.
"The carriage will arrive soon."
"I'll find my way back. You can go ahead."
And so Maya was left alone at school.
Thinking about returning ho with Ela, who got along well with the Director, only made her angrier, but it was better than her hearing in front of her that she scored zero in acrobatics practice.
Lost in her thoughts, she arrived at the café operated by a polite old woman.
There was nowhere else she could think of.
"Oh, Maya, are you here? What about that friend you used to co with?"
Karen had also been here with her a few tis.
The mory made her feel even more bitter.
The thief who pretended to befriend her while scheming to steal another man behind her back.
"…There's nothing."
The cafe owner quickly sensed her discomfort.
She sat Maya down at a table and brought her favorite drink and snacks.
"Here, have so of these first."
At that mont, soone sat across from Maya.
It was a giant figure draped in white cloth, with a silver thread covering his face.
"I'll have a drink too, please."
The voice that ca through the threads was hard to place in terms of age.
"Who are you?"
The cafe owner looked at him with a wary look and stood in front of Maya, as if shielding her.
Maya stared blankly at the man across from her.
"The ringmaster of the Silver Veil Circus, Arno. Do you rember ?"
Maya nodded slowly.
The cafe owner exchanged uncertain glances between him and Maya.
"Are you sure, Maya? Isn't he a dangerous person?"
"Perhaps not."
"Is that so? Alright, sir. I'll bring your drink right away."
As the owner went to the kitchen, Arno spoke.
"You, a illusion mage, trying to learn acrobatics."
"Are you following ?"
Maya knew he was an acquaintance of her parents.
They had been part of the sa circus troupe when they were young.
That's why she had initially sought him out for help.
But she hadn't expected him to keep watching her.
Arno shook his head.
"Don't misunderstand. I ca to the school for sothing else and happened to see you, so I watched."
"For what?"
"Today is a special day."
Maya understood his words imdiately.
Today marked the anniversary of the Terror attack in Hippodro seventeen years ago.
There was a special exhibition in Lekachep commorating it.
He must have visited there.
After taking a sip of his arrived drink, he said.
"You're in a crisis."
Maya nodded slightly.
She couldn't hide her condition from a mage of his caliber.
"What's the trigger?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Because it seems you can't handle it alone."
"I can."
"What's the trigger?"
"I don't want to say."
"In my view, you can't lift a single stone or create a single cat right now. Am I wrong?"
His words made Maya's fingertips tremble slightly.
He was right.
She couldn't use magic right now.
The wild magic that had been raging earlier now lay as still as a rock.
"You should go see Director Wonderstein."
"No."
Maya shook her head vigorously.
She didn't want to let him know about her condition.
She didn't entertain the delusion that he might reject her for not being able to use magic.
He was not the type to do that.
What she worried about was whether he knew the cause of her crisis.
"I don't like the idea of the Director smiling comfortably while his mber is in this state."
"I kept it hidden on purpose. Please don't tell him."
"Then tell . What's the trigger? Acrobatics? Is that why you wanted to learn?"
Maya gritted her teeth.
She was really stubborn.
She reluctantly decided to speak up.
Though she didn't want to reveal it, it was better than Director Wonderstein finding out.
"It's Director Wonderstein."
"Yeah. If you don't tell him, I'll tell him."
"It's not that… Director Wonderstein is… the trigger."
Arno remained silent.
He didn't ask her what exactly that ant.
As a sorcerer, familiar with summoning scholars and monks, the term ""Papiflux" didn't escape him enough to not understand the direction the 17-year-old girl was trying to hide.
The person she faced today wasn't just Wonderstein.
***
Pyrene stood in the center of her own office, unable to stop her body from trembling with anxiety.
She chewed on her thumb, recalling the conversation she had just had.
Upon hearing that her ntor had collapsed during class, she hurried to find him.
She worried that her body's reaction was due to so foreign substance in the dicine.
Fortunately, her ntor simply attributed it to ntal fatigue.
Her calm acceptance even felt refreshing.
"Starting today, I'll sleep in the dormitory again."
Her sudden statent was shocking.
It was sothing she would never have said until this morning.
"Oh, alright. I understand. But how long am I going to rely on others? I've decided to try my way. Don't worry. I'll guard the bathroom even if it ans staying up all night."
And then she quickly left, not even leaving room for a reply.
Even though the pet still bared its teeth warily towards Clara, she didn't pay any attention to it.
"Haha, I should try to improve my relationship with this guy too. How long can I keep him locked up?"
Pyrene couldn't do anything but watch her suddenly change her behaviour as if she had suddenly gained so insight.
Other than being left alone to be consud by her anxiety.
"Has my magic been broken…? Is the ntor's ntal strength rising… no, recovering?"
The secret door in her office.
The secret space accessible through it.
A black bottle stored among the shelves displaying vials containing creatures afflicted by curse plagues.
Within it lay a liquid monster that heard her voice and opened its eyes.
'What happened? I can hear a sound.'
The pitiful creature, robbed of its na and body, had been trapped in the bottle for ten days.
The bottle she entered couldn't see the outside world due to the black film, and she couldn't hear anything because of the cork blocking the entrance.
But it wasn't just that.
The whispers of the cursed professor's voice ca to her as if whispering right next to her.
And then, the distant rumble ca from the other side.
'I am Cinepecus.'
'A phantom wandering between words.'
'A demon who loves rumours, gossip, fa, and misunderstandings.'
'Cinepecus!'
Her gooey, shapeless body trembled with fear as an overwhelming presence seeped through.
The demon spoke with a chuckling voice.
I' appoint you as my apostle.'
'Stolen of your na and body'
With his declaration, her body began to bubble and boil.
In red.
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