Arcane Innovator

As this year's harvest season was slowly coming to an end, I happily continued with my magic studies, completely oblivious to anything else.

Lily didn't teach me any new spells during this time; instead, she made me repeat relentlessly those few basic ones she showed me during our first practice lesson.

I didn't mind it, as I understood the importance of practice from my own experience. I noticed that casting spells with incantations felt both very similar and, at the same time, vastly different from conjuring them directly in my mind, as I did until now.

I couldn't quite understand exactly what that feeling was, so I decided not to dwell on it for now and kept practicing instead.

I also used this great opportunity to try to pry some information out of Lily about the Grand Tower itself so that I could be adequately prepared for it. It took a lot of effort to break through Lily's great wall of silence. However, my efforts weren't totally in vain, as she reluctantly told me some very interesting things.

From the few snippets of information she shared with me, I was able to deduce the following surprising fact: it looks like the majority of students at the Tower are actually commoners and not nobles.

It seems that due to the Tower's difficult curriculum and the fact that the nobles there can't enjoy many of the privileges they are used to due to the Tower's meritocratic nature, they rarely apply there and tend to prefer the comfort of the other academies that cater more toward them.

However, when I inquired as to what exactly makes studying at the Tower so challenging, Lily smiled mysteriously and replied, "...You'll find out." Whatever that's supposed to mean...

***

One morning at the beginning of autumn, I came down to the dining hall for breakfast like usual. I slightly raised my eyebrows as today the heavy wooden table in the center of the spacious room was once again overflowing with a plethora of delicious foods.

I couldn't help but chuckle at such a sight. My new chef was either making a very obvious attempt to impress me with his cooking skills or, more likely, he was terrified of Bernadette's scolding if she found him idling in the kitchen...

Not that I was complaining or anything on the contrary; I quite enjoyed having such luxurious meals all day long. I smiled bitterly as I remembered the meager breakfasts I used to prepare for myself just a few short months prior.

However, this morning I ate absentmindedly as I was still pondering about what element I should focus on... From the basic ones, I probably liked the element of Air the most, as I found it easiest to control.

Yet I was also quite intrigued by the allure of the advanced elements, as I found their properties very interesting. 'What to choose...? What to choose...?' I pondered as I nibbled at my food.

But my current train of thought was quickly broken by the sight of Helga's pouting face. I furrowed my brows since it was kind of rare to see Helga make a face like that.

'Is something wrong with the food...?' I wondered for a moment, but the plates we were being served were flawless, like usual. Left with no other clue, I decided to simply ask her, "What's wrong?"

She looked at me like I was an idiot for stating such an obvious question. She then jumped to her feet and loudly exclaimed, with an almost palpable exasperation in her voice, "I hate it here!"

Her booming voice reverberated across the hall. This, in turn, prompted every servant present here to look at her questioningly. Realizing that everyone was now staring at her, Helga's cheeks reddened, and she quickly sat back down.

She then released a sigh and added much more quietly. "I thought that when I finally moved to the city, we would go take a look around Ereneth and explore the markets together, and I could meet new people... but all I'm ever doing is sitting in the house all day long..."

Helga then looked at me with clearly visible frustration in her eyes. "And you... You are holed up all day with that Lady mage studying magic while I'm forced to learn etiquette!"

She then leaned forward and whispered to me, "Bernadette's crazy, you know? She doesn't like how I talk or even how I walk... She forces me to repeat every little gesture over and over until my whole body aches, and yet she is never satisfied..."

A sigh escaped my lips as I finally understood what was bothering her. But then a pang of guilt washed over me, as it was partially my fault she was feeling this way. I should have paid a lot more attention to my dear sister, but instead, I wholeheartedly submerged myself in my magic studies, not caring about anything else...

I failed to notice that Helga was not at all like me. While I had no problems shutting myself up and studying magic for weeks on end, I now realized that my sister was an energetic fifteen-year-old girl, so subjecting her to the same was probably very taxing on her mental state.

However, the main reason I kept her hidden in the house lay somewhere else. It stemmed from the fact that thanks to my newfound status, it was inevitable that she would be thrown right into the midst of high society. Thus, she needed to learn some etiquette first.

If she, for example, met with someone like Sir Roderick or, gods forbid, Baroness de Fleur without knowing how to properly conduct herself, they would eat her alive...

Although my sister was quite clever and sharp-witted, she was also raised as a simple village girl, and thanks to our parents, she was very kind-hearted at that.

This made her very naive when it came to certain things, and if she entered the city's society like that, everyone would try to take advantage of her, which in turn could spell disaster not only for her but also for me.

So my original plan was for her to stay hidden here until she was ready, but now I realize this wouldn't be nearly enough for her. After thinking about it for a bit, I soon came up with a solution.

'Hmm, I wonder if I should invite Myra here?' I thought as a subtle smile appeared on my face.

I knew that her father would be at this time back in our village gathering taxes, and although he was probably hating my guts right now since I turned down his outrageous offer, he wouldn't dare try to stop me from seeing his daughter...

I also knew that both Myra and Helga knew each other from the time we played together back in the village, so it might help my sister not to feel so lonely here, plus Myra might also help my sister with the etiquette she is so struggling with...

I then promptly asked Helga what she thought about it. "You know very well why you must stay at the house... but what would you say if I invited Myra for tea? She could help you with the etiquette. And I promise I will spend more time with you from now on..." I said with a subtle smile.

Helga's upset face instantly turned into a bright smile. "Really? I'd love to see Myra! I haven't seen her for so long..."

But then she looked straight into my eyes with a determined expression, saying, "But I want you to also promise me that you will take me to see the market!"

I chuckled. "Alright, alright, I promise."

After breakfast, I went to write a letter to Myra inviting her to our house, and while I waited for her to respond, I also needed to deal with other issues that I had postponed for far too long...

I thoroughly enjoyed this peaceful routine I subjected myself to for the past few weeks, but I knew it could not last for long. The world, sadly, won't stop turning just because of me.

The time for winter preparations was once again looming above us. Luckily, this year I could just leave everything to Bernadette, who turned out to be an exceptionally diligent custodian.

But there was, of course, a catch—as with everything else these days, it required money. As I had to now take care of many hungry mouths besides just myself, it also required exponentially more coins than when I lived alone in my humble room in the Northern Quarter.

Alas, I had spent almost all of my remaining coins renovating the mansion, so I was now facing the all-too-familiar feeling of being completely broke.

I could, of course, take a loan. As I was now a wealthy landowner and an Aspirant on top of that, there would be plenty of people more than happy to lend me some money. But if there was one thing I hated more than being broke, it was being in debt. So that would be something I would only consider as a last option.

Luckily, all was not lost, as my meticulous preparations were almost finished and my latest money-making scheme was now ready to be put into action...

I went down to the basement, where I had excavated a new section with the help of my earth magic when I first moved in, and then during the reconstruction, I asked Master Swen to build in there several spacious rooms and corridors, all according to my exact specifications.

He muttered a few silent curses, but in the end, he reluctantly accepted. After it was all done, I hid everything behind sturdy iron doors and forbade anyone but myself from entering the new section of the basement. This generated many outlandish rumors as all my servants fervently speculated about what I was hiding inside.

These rumors ranged from a simple treasury all the way to a secret love nest. The corners of my mouth twitched each time I heard such crazy tales, as they couldn't be further from the truth.

But I didn't say anything, finding the whole situation quite funny. The rumors got to the point that even Helga was throwing curious glances at the secret doors from time to time.

Of course, no servant dared disregard my orders and peek inside as Bernadette's shadow loomed above them, ready to punish the slightest disobedience.

I opened the heavy doors and stepped inside. I then checked everything one more time and happily nodded. 'Now all that remains is that thing, and it will be ready...'

Luckily, I didn't have to wait for long, as just earlier today I received a message from Master Gorin saying that he finished that weird-looking apparatus I ordered from him.

'Perfect...' I thought with a smirk. Now I can truly begin making some real money...