Chapter 7

Chapter 7: An Seri (1)

In fantasy worlds, mage towers generally carried a strong image of being closed off.

It was a common trope for mages to jealously guard their research, passing it down only within their school or to their disciples.

However, the magic of Florian Rhapsody was far more open than that.

Even ordinary people could easily access papers written by the world's greatest mages just by searching online. Of course, whether you could actually make use of them was another matter entirely.

Florian Academy Central Library.

A place you could reasonably say housed all the knowledge humanity had ever accumulated about magic. Compared to the goddess of knowledge, it was a paltry amount, but the Teachings of Seshet had a limited number of daily uses.

At the very least, I needed to get whatever I could from here.

"Modification of magic circles. That was definitely an event in the game too."

The reason Lee Yeeun was a tier-1 NPC for companion recruitment wasn't simply because she was strong.

In the early game, few playable characters were stronger than Lee Yeeun, but by the late game, almost none were weaker than her either.

According to the lore, Lee Yeeun was a genius.

But being a genius—that was all she had.

Playable characters grew not just through talent but by obtaining countless fortuitous encounters throughout the story. It was only natural that they'd eventually surpass Lee Yeeun, who had nothing but talent.

And yet, the reason recruiting Lee Yeeun was so important was because of the achievement she'd accomplish in the late game.

With the player's help, Lee Yeeun would prepare her doctoral thesis and publish a paper on magic circles.

A paper proving that it was possible to modify magic circles—which were believed to be complete and perfect in their existing form.

This brought a revolution to magic.

Starting from Lee Yeeun's paper, every expert in the field would begin researching magic circles.

For instance, one mage simplified existing magic circles, making it easier to learn spells. Another strengthened magic circles, boosting the overall power of magic.

As a result, by the late game, the total number and quality of mages had risen dramatically.

All of it was only possible thanks to Lee Yeeun's research.

What would happen if that paper's publication was moved up to the early game?

"Humanity's level would jump a tier, and the later scenarios would go much more smoothly."

Especially the great war scenario in the mid-game.

Humanity lost a great deal that day.

But if Lee Yeeun's paper could be completed and released early, many things would change.

"Which means I need to work even harder."

After pulling an all-nighter, I'd finally managed to understand the report Lee Yeeun had brought.

The doctor had told me not to push myself, but now was exactly the time to push.

"Introduction to Elemental Theory – Advanced, Professor Brings' paper from two years ago, A Proper Understanding of Mana – Part Two... hm?"

Thud.

The moment I reached for a book, my hand bumped into something. It was a hand as small as a fiddlehead fern.

When my gaze followed the hand to its owner, a girl in an academy uniform stood there.

Platinum-blonde hair and deep amber eyes. Her fox-like features gave off a finicky impression, and her overall aura was one of glamor. She looked like the kind of girl the word "queen" would suit.

"Oh, were you going to borrow this book?"

Contrary to her first impression, the girl looked up at me with pitiful eyes. If I hadn't known who she was, I might've let my guard down completely.

"Do you need it?"

"Yes! Would it be okay if I...?"

"Then take it."

"Huh?"

I coolly handed the book over and turned away. I could feel the girl's bewilderment behind me.

The girl's name was An Seri.

4th place on the entrance exam, an incoming freshman, the heir apparent of Geumok—one of Korea's three great guilds—and a playable character of Florian Rhapsody. That An Seri.

I hadn't expected to run into her here. Contact with her hadn't been part of my calculations.

Throughout my entire time playing Florian Rhapsody, I'd never heard of An Seri visiting the library before enrollment.

Why had An Seri come here?

A child of a mega-guild, coming to the academy library because she had nowhere else to study? As if.

There was only one possibility I could think of in this situation.

A variable that didn't exist in the game—my presence—had drawn An Seri here.

I decided to test whether that was really the case.

"I don't think I've seen your face before. Freshman?"

The moment I tossed out the question, An Seri jumped at the chance.

"Yes! I'm enrolling this year. Are you, oppa—oh, excuse me. What year are you, sunbae?"

Heh, this sly little fox.

Pretending it was a slip and calling me oppa—it was cute, in a way. No, it was insufferable.

"I'm not your sunbae."

"Huh? Then are you an outsider, oppa? That's strange. Outsiders can't get in here."

"Don't worry about the small stuff. Are you here to study?"

"Yes!"

Going back and forth beating around the bush wasn't going to lead to a productive conversation. Time to crack that act of hers.

"That's a pretty difficult book. Do you actually understand it?"

"Mmm, honestly, it's a little hard."

"Then how about doing something that would help you more immediately?"

An Seri tilted her head once, then answered.

"Something that would help?"

"That's right. For example... something like how to surpass Sehyeon."

An Seri froze.

The face that had been all smiles literally stopped. It could no longer be called a smile. "Contorting her facial muscles" might be more fitting.

"What's the matter, Miss Seri?"

The moment I said her name, An Seri's expression shifted moment to moment.

Surprise, curiosity, alarm, anger—then finally, a blank mask settled into place.

The mask she'd been wearing had been completely torn off.

"Who are you, exactly?"

The future master of the Geumok Guild.

The woman who would soon become the heir to inherit Geumok.

But right now, she was merely the daughter who'd fallen out of favor, yearning for the throne.

Because the current heir to the Geumok Guild was the eldest son, An Sehyeon.

An Seri harbored an inferiority complex toward An Sehyeon—toward everything he'd been born with that she'd never had.

Their relationship was the worst.

"Didn't you come here specifically to see me? You must at least know my name."

I acted composed, but inside I was trembling.

An Seri never forgot a grudge, no matter who the other person was. Even if that person was a professor. I'd touched her reverse scale, so she'd retaliate one way or another.

But this was the surest method to strip An Seri's mask away.

An Seri recovered her composure faster than expected and put the mask back on.

"I got a little curious about the people who'd be teaching me, so I did some digging. Newly appointed Professor Cha Eunwoo."

"A little digging," she says.

The reason An Seri investigated professors' backgrounds was to build connections with capable people.

She couldn't afford even the slightest hitch, so she would've dug up everything she could about a person.

"A pointless exercise. Don't you know that professors' information is concealed by law?"

An Seri smirked as if she'd heard an amusing joke.

"They exist from time to time. People who are above the law."

"That's frightening. So, in your assessment, do I seem like a trustworthy person?"

An Seri shook her head as she answered.

"I didn't expect to find absolutely nothing after all that digging. So I came to see for myself what kind of person you are... and you already know who I am?"

"So it seems."

A natural result. Cha Eunwoo hadn't existed in this world until last week.

"You're not actually a professor, are you?"

"And if I'm not?"

"An assassin planted by An Sehyeon, perhaps. To get in my way."

Instead of answering, I gave her a smile. An Seri's cheeks reddened slightly.

Even for Geumok, while digging into a professor's background from above the law was one thing, fabricating a fake professor was beyond their reach.

Much less if it was for a single heir's personal reasons rather than the guild's collective action.

"...Whatever. I came because I was curious, but that's all. What does it matter who you are?"

"Quick to give up. But what if I have no intention of letting you leave?"

"Hah?"

An Seri stared at me in disbelief.

Her expression said: what could a professor possibly do to a freshman in a building crawling with CCTV?

Obviously, I had no intention of using physical force here.

"I'll make you a proposal. Take my class."

All I needed was to make her come to me of her own accord.

"I'll pass. I don't like keeping people of unknown identity near me."

An Seri turned around with an elegant motion and headed for the exit.

Let's see if she could stay haughty after hearing this.

"If you complete the course, I'll give you what you want."

"What I want?"

"That's right. Something like, say... the location of the Clairvoyance that vanished thirty years ago."

An Seri's footsteps stopped. Okay, I got her.

"How... how do you know about the Clairvoyance?"

The Clairvoyance was the most powerful artifact owned by the Geumok Guild.

Its performance was so overpowered that it had played a decisive role in elevating Geumok to the position of one of Korea's three great guilds. Its existence was kept strictly confidential—only a handful of core executives knew about it.

But its current whereabouts were unknown, with only rumors remaining.

For An Seri, the Clairvoyance was an extremely important item.

Normal An Seri ranked among the worst of the playable characters, but An Seri with the Clairvoyance stood proudly as one of Florian's most broken characters.

Even setting the game aside, if An Seri recovered the guild's treasure, her position in the succession battle would be massively strengthened.

There was no way An Seri could ignore this bait.

"Answer me. Where did you hear about the Clairvoyance?"

"Does that matter?"

"How can I trust information with no verifiable source?"

"Then that's where this ends. If you don't want it, go ahead and leave."

Whether An Seri believed me or not was irrelevant.

By dropping the information that I knew about the Clairvoyance, I'd gone from being "a professor she'd rather avoid because she couldn't figure him out" to "a professor she'd rather avoid but couldn't afford to leave alone."

There was no way An Seri would leave someone of unknown identity who knew the guild's secrets unattended.

"......"

An Seri, unable to make a decision, fidgeted anxiously.

The mask that had been protecting her was completely shattered.

An Seri was one of the most skilled playable characters when it came to politics and intrigue.

But in the early stages, she had moments of immaturity—she'd struggle to make decisions at critical junctures.

Pushing her around one-sidedly like this gave me a strange thrill. Should I push her a little more?

When I gathered my borrowed books and moved to leave the reading room, An Seri flinched. And yet, the fact that she still couldn't make up her mind was so like her.

Just before I stepped out of the reading room, I finally heard a voice call from behind me.

"Wait, wait a moment."

Go on. Say it.

Say you'd like to take Professor Cha Eunwoo's class, please.

Cast your lofty pride to the ground and ask me to teach you this and that!

But the answer An Seri gave shattered my expectations.

"Let's have a match. Prove that you're qualified to teach me as a professor."

Heh, would you look at that? Still clinging to pride? Let's see who wins.

I tried pretending to ignore her and walk away, but it was useless.

As if she'd never been flustered at all, An Seri spoke calmly.

"Stop pretending you have the upper hand. You have a reason you need to keep me close, don't you?"

This time, it was my turn to stop. Just as An Seri said, having as many playable characters as possible was important.

"My father used to say: the more important the information, the more you save it for the decisive moment."

"Wise words. And?"

"I thought about why you'd reveal information about the Clairvoyance. And it occurred to me that this is your decisive moment."

Before I knew it, An Seri had found her pace. I regretted not pushing harder.

"The reason this is your decisive moment—it's because you engineered this situation. Then your goal is obvious too. You want to keep me close. Am I right?"

A perfect answer.

She hadn't even enrolled yet, and her crisis management was already at this level. I wanted to give her a round of applause.

"Quite the ego. What reason could I possibly have to keep you by my side?"

"I don't know either."

"Of course you don't. It's just your imagination."

I made one last desperate attempt to pretend to leave, but An Seri didn't budge an inch.

She watched me with a relaxed expression, as if daring me to go ahead and walk out.

I'd honestly underestimated her.

I'd thought she was still green and treated her casually, and she'd backed me into a corner.

In the end, I had no choice but to raise the white flag.

"...Let me hear what kind of match you have in mind."

"An excellent choice."

Despite having an overwhelming informational advantage, we'd each scored one off the other.

In practical terms, it was my loss.

An Seri flashed a grin.

It wasn't a smile plastered over a mask—it was a smile born from genuine feeling.