“Miss Sia!”

“Don’t follow me.”

Sia, about to get off the carriage, firmly stopped him.

But the butler was persistent.

“But it’s raining so heavily… I can’t let Miss Sia go alone!”

“Sigh… Lawrence.”

Sia sighed and scolded her young butler.

“Are you really that dumb? I’m the daughter of the Riumin family, loved by water.”

Sia Riumin stepped out of the carriage into the pouring rain.

Then, a bluish ring floated above her head like a bubble.

“I can’t possibly get wet from rain, right?”

Just as Sia said, the ring spread like an umbrella, absorbing the rain pouring down on her.

It was literally an umbrella made of water.

Lawrence, momentarily speechless at the astonishing sight, snapped back to reality.

“T-then, I’ll escort you.”

“Ugh, seriously! I’m not a child anymore!”

“You never know. You might run into robbers or something…”

“Ha… We’re right in front of the school gate now. What kind of bold robber could possibly break through this school’s security?”

“As you guessed, Miss, we can’t rule out the possibility of such a bold robber. Please allow me to accompany you.”

“What kind of… Sigh… Do as you please.”

Sia, looking exhausted, started walking towards the school without looking back.

The ring of water above her head flawlessly protected her from the rain.

It was a highly advanced level of magic control.

There probably wasn’t a genius like her when it came to handling water.

Lawrence, holding an umbrella and scrambling after her, said,

“Miss Sia! You’re walking too fast.”

“……”

Is he really asking why I’m walking fast?

Even though I clearly showed I wanted to be alone, he’s such a clueless butler.

Sia walked on, not caring whether he followed or not.

Her steps were quick, but each step exuded the grace of a noble lady.

Perhaps that’s why. Some students had already recognized her.

But Sia was only burdened by their gazes now.

Originally, considering the fame of the Riumin family, this level of attention would have been familiar.

Moreover, Sia was a prodigy who had never missed the top spot in both middle and high school.

Of course, it was a given that she would enter Meikhael University, the empire’s best, and she had no doubt she would take the top spot there.

She had even received confirmation from the admissions office, who were close to her family, that she was a strong candidate for the top spot.

It was only natural.

Her skills were incomparable to her peers. It wasn’t arrogance. She truly had the ability.

But just before the entrance ceremony, she was informed that she had taken second place.

Sia clenched her teeth.

An indescribable annoyance surged within her.

The displeasure of having what was rightfully hers taken away made her feel like she was going mad.

…Of course, such emotions would never show on her face.

No storm could ever break her dignity.

That was the Riumin way.

“…Are you still holding onto that matter?”

It was a gentle voice.

Lawrence, who had appeared beside her at some point, was now walking alongside her.

“……”

For a usually clueless butler, he was surprisingly sharp at times.

Sia spoke as if it were nothing.

“Not really… It’s not something to dwell on. There must have been a student more outstanding than me.”

“…Is that so.”

“Well, I have to acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged.”

Though she said that, her insides were churning.

She continued talking because she felt like she would explode if she didn’t.

“But it’s strange. If someone could take the top spot at Meikhael University, I would have thought they were from one of the seven families… But it was a name I’d never heard before. What was it again…?”

Sia turned to ask the butler, but he wasn’t beside her.

“Lawrence…?”

Looking back, Lawrence was standing a few steps behind, staring at something.

At the same time, Sia noticed something strange about the atmosphere.

Not just Lawrence, but everyone’s gaze was fixed in one direction.

In that direction…

“…What on earth is that?”

Sia’s eyes caught a ridiculous sight.

At the center of the gaze was a small, animal-like girl.

She was the student who had taken the oath at the entrance ceremony.

Sia realized she was the one who had taken the top spot from her.

An indescribable emotion took hold of her heart.

‘…Is that the kind of skill that makes her so arrogant?’

Sia carefully covered her mouth with her fingers.

Between her slender fingers, her lips began to silently chant a spell.

*

You can’t block the rain with just pure magic, just like you can’t cover the sky with your palm.

Creating a barrier with just magic consumes a lot of magic power and lacks density.

That’s why a medium is needed when casting curtains or barriers.

Conversely, with a medium, blocking rain isn’t difficult.

The simplest method is to use an umbrella as a medium and float it above your head.

But no one does such a wasteful thing.

It’s much easier to just hold an umbrella.

Moreover, casting a barrier just to block rain is even more foolish.

It’s no different from deploying the full force of Aslan to chase away a kitchen cockroach.

Therefore, the method Myohail used was the epitome of foolishness.

‘Watch closely! This is how a sage avoids the rain!’

A magic circle floated above Wendy’s head.

High-level magic formulas flickered faintly before disappearing.

That was all.

‘…Huh?’

Is that really it?

Wendy tilted her head and reached her hand out into the rain.

Then, the cold raindrops would touch her palm… but they didn’t.

‘…?’

Something was off.

Wendy cautiously stepped out of the carriage.

Yet, she didn’t get wet at all.

Even though it was pouring just a few steps ahead.

Then, Wendy saw a mysterious sight.

The raindrops falling to the ground had stopped in mid-air.

And within seconds, they disappeared without a trace.

‘What??’

‘It’s vaporization.’

Myohail said nonchalantly.

‘I just vaporized all the raindrops about to fall on your head. Hehe.’

‘What?!’

Myohail, who had just said something incredible, began explaining to his lacking disciple.

‘Didn’t I tell you before? You need to recognize that magic power can take many forms. So, I changed the magical properties of the raindrops. From water to wind, that is, from flowing to blowing.’

Only then did Wendy remember.

What Myohail had taught her in class.

But… even so, this was on a different scale.

‘Originally, you’d have to set each raindrop individually, but with a magic circle, you can automate the settings… It’s that easy. Hehehe. Well, I made it sound grand, but it’s really nothing special.’

‘It’s plenty grand…’

Wendy, amazed, started walking.

Among the people holding umbrellas, she was the only one walking without anything.

Myohail’s previous words about magic being a miracle felt real.

The saying that if a magician prays earnestly, magic will surely come true was indeed true.

But Wendy didn’t know.

The real miracle was just beginning.

‘Huh…?’

Wendy’s steps halted.

It felt like the shadows were growing darker.

And suddenly, a foreboding thought crossed her mind.

‘M-master…?’

‘Yes?’

‘You said the magic circle you activated earlier vaporized all the raindrops falling on my head, right…?’

‘Yes. That’s right.’

‘How far above my head…?’

‘Hehehe… My disciple is asking strange questions.’

Myohail chuckled.

‘I clearly said ‘all.”

‘No… Nooo…!’

Wendy’s foreboding was correct.

The sunlight was already breaking through above Wendy’s head.

Myohail’s magic had split the dark clouds.

A ridiculously foolish method. But bolder than any other.

Myohail wasn’t ashamed of it at all.

In fact, he flaunted it.

‘Hehehe. See? My disciple, you should be able to do this too.’

‘Noooooo! Cancel it! Cancel it, please!’

It was like a staircase to heaven.

The warm sunlight shone through the parted dark clouds, illuminating only Wendy.

As if she were the protagonist of this world.

‘E-everyone’s looking at meee…!’

‘Kehaha! Fools! Behold! This great magic!’

‘P-please stop! Master! I’m so scared…!’

Wendy couldn’t even lift her head.

A rainbow-colored barrier floated above her head.

The people staring at her murmured.

“I-is she a saint…?”

“God… really exists…”

“Eek?!”

Unable to bear it, Wendy hurried towards the school.

Covering her face in embarrassment.

That’s when it happened.

‘Hmm?’

Myohail seemed to notice something and started muttering.

‘This is interesting. Trying to change the properties of magic power? Arrogant, but I like it. The spirit of challenge is admirable.’

‘Huh?’

‘But… pitiful. Truly pitiful. Compared to Mondri’s pranks, this is child’s play.’

Myohail muttered incomprehensibly and fell silent.

It was only about five seconds.

Then he spoke.

‘Hehe. I’ll return the favor.’

At that moment, Wendy felt a small ripple.

That was all.

“Eek!”

A sharp scream was heard.

When Wendy turned around, there was a female student drenched in water.