Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Amidst the bustling scene of the communal workshop—where students were busily etching enchantments onto their canvases and exchanging opinions—in the main building of the Department of Enchantments, one lonely student in a secluded corner stood out from the rest, silent and unmoving.

That student, Lea, was staring at the blank canvas before her with her arms crossed. If it wasn’t for her slowly blinking eyes, she would have been mistaken as a statue, with how still she was. And as they were in a communal workshop, the strange sight made the other students murmur.

“How many days have it been now?”

“Almost over two weeks.”

“There’s less than a week left until the pre-submission deadline, yet she’s still like that. She definitely won’t make it.”

The fact that Lea sat frozen in the same spot every day, without doing anything, made most of the students feel she was both amazing and pathetic. Her current state was such a stark contrast to when she was the honor student of her department who was both admired and envied.

I’m so done...

Meanwhile, the person in question’s mind was so filled with other thoughts that she couldn’t be bothered to care even a speck about her surroundings.

I thought I could make it work out somehow.... If I had known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have even considered taking on the cursed mass production of sword aura equipment!

In the end, she had bit off more than she could chew, trying to tackle both the student scholarship selection for the Ivory Tower and the mass production of sword aura equipment at the same time.

I should work on the submission for now... wait, what if I layer enchantments that are inscribed on both sides and then increase the mana input... no. The submission first... Right! If I refine the mana used by clashing white light enchantments together... aghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Her mind knew the submission for the student scholarship selection was due in a week, but her heart was focused solely on perfecting the enchantment for the mass production of sword aura equipment.

Tormented by the seemingly unsolvable situation, her eyes flickered nervously as she continued staring at her blank canvas. At that moment, a concerned voice reached her ears.

“Another blank canvas?”

The speaker, Howard Grant, had blue-tinted hair and a tall stature. Standing by Lea’s side and looking at her canvas, he exuded a mature yet cool demeanor.

“If it’s that hard, why not discuss it with others? That’s what the communal workshop is for, after all.”

“...”

“Or you can tell me what you’re struggling with, and I can help too. There’s no problem with getting advice for the student scholarship selection,” he said gently.

“...”

However, despite his attempt to talk, Lea just continued staring at the canvas without even looking at him.

And that scene made the other students watching her behavior narrow their eyes in annoyance.

Why did she come to the communal workshop if she was going to act like that?

Does she still think she’s the honor student or something...?

Between Lea, who wasn’t known for her sociability, and Howard, the pride of the Department of Enchantments and the third-year honor student of Borsippa, it was clear who the students’ sympathies would lay with. Naturally, a hostile atmosphere would also form around her.

I’m getting tired of this, too, Howard thought, sighing inwardly.

He had actually come to tease Lea upon hearing that she appeared in the communal workshop despite usually confining herself to her own workshop when she didn’t have a major class. But her lack of response made everything seem dull.

Bored, Howard began pondering how to engage her before eventually brightening up.

“Is it because of that ‘incident’ from before?”

“...”

“It’s all in the past now, so you should focus on the...”

“Haah...”

At the sigh that escaped Lea’s lips, the first reaction she showed, Howard looked at her expectantly.

“Why am I hungry even when I haven’t done anything.”

Unfortunately, she was just grumbling discontentedly as she packed her canvas into her void pocket before walking past Howard.

Gazing at her as she walked past, her gaze briefly met his, but it was as if she were examining the scenery around her or avoiding a rock on the road—she hardly acknowledged his presence. Seeing that, Howard realized wasn’t even ignoring him at this point; she simply didn’t even register him properly.

Rude... Howard thought, furrowing his brows.

Her attitude suggested that she had no interest in anything except enchantments. It was as unpleasant as ever, but a part of Howard was also slightly pleased by that fact.

I thought she would change after she started hanging out with Lee Se-Hoon, but she’s still the same as before.

Thinking that she must have only met Se-Hoon a few times for enchantment-related matters, he assumed that her essence likely hadn’t changed.

Then, as if his thoughts summoned him, a young man appeared at the entrance of the workshop at that moment.

He had dark hair, a fierce demeanor, and a face that students could no longer fail to recognize.

“Lee Se-Hoon...?”

“What’s he doing here...?”

“Wasn’t there a rumor that he’s close with Lea? Maybe that’s why?”

Curiosity filled the air as rumors were heard here and there, but ignoring all that, Se-Hoon scanned the room.

“Sunbae,” Se-Hoon called out, finally spotting her.

“Hmm?”

Unlike her reaction to everyone else until now, Lea immediately looked up, and her eyes widened upon seeing Se-Hoon.

“Uh... um... actually...”

Seeing her eyes trembling and her face stiffening, Se-Hoon nodded in supposed understanding.

“Let’s go outside to talk.”

“...Okay.”

With her head bowed, she walked out with Se-Hoon, leaving behind the students in the workshop who had been watching in wonder.

If the mass production of sword aura equipment was their ultimate goal, then what good was it if they could only manage to produce a single product?

However, her confusion was met with Se-Hoon’s incredulous expression.

“That would be a problem if you were planning to sell the enchantment. What I asked you to help with was making mass-produced sword aura equipment.”

The only purpose of the enchantment was to produce sword aura. Everything else was simply about creating a blueprint based on that enchantment so that a piece of sword aura equipment could be mass-produced.

“Ah... uh... ah...”

Realizing the misunderstanding, Lea’s expression changed rapidly.

The futility of having torn through dozens of blueprints to increase versatility; the regret that came from sleepless nights fueled by endless cups of coffee; and now, the anger, resentment, and embarrassment toward this detestable underclassman for only clarifying this now—all of that rushed through her head at once.

“Then you should have said that earlier...”

“I thought you would’ve reported back as soon as you managed to produce sword aura. Who would have thought that a business partner wouldn’t update their partner?”

“...”

Lea’s mouth clamped shut. She wanted to complain, but his point was too valid to argue against.

“Ah... ah... ugh...”

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she emitted strange noises before banging her head on the table.

Thud-

And she remained motionless, seeming like she had fainted from being overwhelmed by self-loathing. It was a sight that Se-Hoon couldn’t help but chuckle lightly upon seeing.

People would think her life is ruined.

While it wasn’t necessary to increase the compatibility rate of the enchantment, doing so would make the designing process of the blueprint easier, which wasn’t a bad thing in itself.

For now... this doesn’t look too bad. There are a few disappointing sides here and there, but we can make adjustments as we improve the enchantments.

Since it was only a prototype, there was no need to aim for perfection right from the start. Satisfied, he focused back on the situation at hand.

Then the remaining issue is this one.

He silently observed Lea, who still had her head down, motionless. A moment later, he stood up before returning to their table with the ordered sandwiches and drinks.

“Stop moping and eat your sandwich.”

“...”

Lea, apparently hungry, slowly raised her head and looked at the sandwich with an expression like a deflated balloon.

“...I’m so stressed out that I feel weak.”

“And?”

“Feed me.”

“...”

Hearing her, Se-Hoon briefly considered just grabbing his sandwich and coffee and leaving her, but since she didn’t seem to be joking, he sighed and picked up the knife and fork.

“Open up.”

He cut the sandwich into bite-sized pieces and fed her, who chewed slowly.

Their actions prompted a lot of strange looks from those around them, but Se-Hoon didn’t care and asked her, “So, what’s really concerning you?”

“...What concern.”

“You wouldn’t be making such a fuss over just some extra work. Is there something else that’s worrying you?”

Swallowing the bite of her sandwich, Lea spoke in a deflated tone.

“Do you know about the student scholarship selection of the Ivory Tower?”

“I do know a bit about it.”

The student scholarship selection contest was sponsored by the Ivory Tower, a foundation that sponsored students specializing in magic, which was located in a thirty-story building on campus. It was because of this that Luize suffered mana impairment after falling victim to Gerwin Kruger’s sabotage, who had done it because he was eyeing the same scholarship opportunity.

“I’m planning to participate this time, and the submission is due in a week...”

“And you haven’t created anything yet?”

“...That’s right.”

Noticing that she became even more deflated, Se-Hoon grew more confused.

Why not just not participate?

While receiving sponsorship from the Ivory Tower would be beneficial, he didn’t think it was absolutely necessary for her. However, upon recalling a past conversation, the pieces fell into place in his mind.

“I won’t interfere with whatever you’re up to, but only as long as you don’t forget our promise, okay?”

Lea’s grandmother, Professor Rebecca, had mentioned a promise when talking about the student scholarship selection during the forging session of the Phantasmal Spyblade.

“What did you promise Professor Rebecca?”

“Well...”

After hesitating for a moment, she awkwardly replied, “I promised that I would withdraw from the school if I don’t receive the scholarship.”

“Withdraw...?”

“Yeah.”

“...”

At Lea’s response, Se-Hoon took a sip of his lemonade and grimaced slightly at its sourness.

“Ah, shit.”