Chapter 198: Ordinary Days [2]

The restrictions on Rune Tech shipments turned out to be more troublesome than Ilya had expected.

Several of the components required for SkyRune’s experiments had been held at an Imperial inspection depot for nearly a week, and the researchers were beginning to run out of patience.

Without the replacement conductors and calibrated mana crystals, their work on the ancient distribution mechanism could only progress so far.

Fortunately, Professor Antoine had anticipated the delay and instructed the workshop to concentrate on theoretical reconstruction until the materials arrived.

Ilya had no complaints about the decision. His ordinary coursework was already demanding enough, and the additional time allowed him to finish several assignments that had accumulated during his recent research.

There was also Hakon’s training to consider.

The professor had assigned him a series of exercises intended to improve his ability to manipulate external forces during combat, and the results had been encouraging. Although Ilya was still far from reproducing the speed and freedom of movement granted by Niflheim’s Blizzard, he had begun developing a more economical technique that relied on precisely timed bursts of magical force.

More importantly, the technique could be performed without invoking his Domain.

That alone made it worth pursuing.

During their latest session, Hakon had introduced an additional complication by requiring him to maintain his swordsmanship while performing those movements.

The difficulty became obvious almost immediately.

Whenever Ilya accelerated through ordinary magic, the force altered his balance in ways that interfered with his attacks. He could compensate through experience, but doing so required adjustments that made his movements less efficient.

Rather than increasing the strength of the spell, he experimented with applying the force closer to his body’s center of mass.

The improvement was modest, but it allowed him to maintain a more stable stance during short movements.

Hakon approved of the approach and encouraged him to continue refining it.

By the end of the afternoon, Ilya could accelerate laterally, change his angle of attack, and deliver a controlled strike without losing his footing.

It was an encouraging result.

The technique still required conscious concentration, and its practical applications remained limited, but Ilya had begun to understand how ordinary magic might eventually complement the swordsmanship he had spent years developing.

For someone who had once believed his inability to use Aura had made those years of training worthless, the progress was particularly satisfying.

Unfortunately, he had little opportunity to enjoy it.

His classmates had apparently decided that the upcoming practical examination required immediate preparation, and by the time he returned to the Magic Department, Garen and Solveig were already arguing over the most efficient way to approach their assigned spell construction.

The examination concerned the stabilization of a suspended magical formation.

Each group would be required to construct a working spell, remove the external anchor maintaining its structure, and preserve the formation for as long as possible without allowing its mana circulation to collapse.

Their group had been preparing for the exercise for several weeks.

The difficulty was that their proposed construction required the spell to maintain an internal circulation pattern after the anchor was removed.

Ilya had previously discovered research suggesting that such an arrangement was theoretically possible, but adapting those principles into a practical spell remained challenging.

By the time he joined the discussion, Garen was proposing a more powerful initial mana supply while Solveig insisted that increasing the amount of energy would only delay the eventual collapse.

Both had reasonable arguments.

However, Ilya suspected they were approaching the problem from the wrong direction.

The existing construction already contained enough mana to remain active for several seconds after severance. Their greatest difficulty was the instability that developed whenever energy passed between different sections of the spell.

Rather than increasing the initial supply, he suggested simplifying the junctions.

The proposal required removing two secondary formations that had been included to improve stability during activation.

Without those additions, the spell would become slightly more difficult to construct, but its internal circulation would involve fewer points where mana could escape.

Ma?lle supported the suggestion after examining their previous measurements.

Wolfram and Lisbet then began calculating whether the resulting structure could remain stable without the additional formations.

After another half hour of discussion, the group agreed to test Ilya’s proposal.

Their first attempt collapsed almost immediately.

The second lasted four seconds.

By the third, however, the formation remained suspended for nearly eleven seconds after the external anchor was removed.

That was already better than their previous result.

More importantly, the spell consumed less mana during its initial construction.

Garen looked genuinely pleased, although Solveig immediately reminded him that eleven seconds was unlikely to impress Professor Eklund.

Ilya agreed.

Their objective was to develop a reliable construction, and a single successful attempt proved very little.

Still, they finally had a workable foundation.

Over the next hour, the group repeated the experiment several times, adjusting the remaining junctions and recording how each modification affected the duration.

Their best result reached fourteen seconds.

It wasn’t exceptional, but it was consistent enough to suggest that further improvements were possible.

By the time their scheduled session concluded, everyone appeared satisfied.

For once, they had managed to complete an afternoon of practical work without Garen and Solveig turning their disagreement into an argument loud enough to attract the professor’s attention.

That alone deserved recognition.

The following morning, Ilya encountered Liselotte outside the academy’s main lecture hall.

The Imperial Princess had adapted to student life with remarkable enthusiasm. Despite the attention her presence attracted, she continued attending lectures and participating in ordinary academic activities without demanding special treatment.

Her classmates had gradually become accustomed to seeing her around the department, although most still addressed her with the formality expected of an Imperial Princess.

Ilya, fortunately, had been granted an exemption.

"Ilya! Perfect timing."

Liselotte approached him with a cheerful smile, carrying several books beneath one arm.

She had apparently been searching for him because she wanted to ask about the upcoming practical examination.

Although her enrollment had occurred later than that of the other first-years, she was expected to complete the same assessments as everyone else.

Fortunately, the academy had provided her with the necessary materials.

Unfortunately, she had discovered that reading several weeks of lecture notes was considerably less enjoyable than attending the lessons themselves.

Ilya offered to lend her his notes, provided she returned them before the examination.

Liselotte seemed delighted.

"Hehe. What a dependable fiancé."

"Please don’t say that too loudly."

"Why? It’s true."

"That hasn’t stopped half the department from treating me like I’ve committed some extraordinary crime."

Liselotte laughed, apparently finding his predicament entertaining.

Their engagement had continued attracting attention despite the passage of several days, although most students had gradually returned to their ordinary routines.

Ilya was grateful for that.

He had no particular desire to become the subject of another round of gossip simply because he happened to be speaking with his fiancée.

Nevertheless, Liselotte appeared determined to enjoy their circumstances.

After accepting his offer, she mentioned that she had recently spoken with Anastasiya again.

Apparently, the two had exchanged several letters following their visit to the carnival.

That was unexpected.

Ilya had assumed his sister would maintain a certain distance from the Imperial Family while attempting to understand the political consequences of the engagement.

Instead, she had apparently begun corresponding with Liselotte directly.

He wasn’t entirely sure whether that was encouraging.

Liselotte, however, seemed pleased.

"Your sister is rather kind once you get to know her."

"That’s an interesting interpretation."

"She even asked whether I was adjusting well to the academy."

Ilya considered the possibility that Anastasiya had secretly developed a second personality.

Then again, his sister had always been more considerate toward other people than she was toward him.

Perhaps there was nothing particularly unusual about the situation.

Their conversation continued until Liselotte’s next lecture approached, at which point she thanked him again and departed with the promise of returning his notes.

Ilya watched her disappear into the building before continuing toward SkyRune’s workshop.

Professor Antoine had returned from attending Lucile’s school presentation the previous afternoon, and judging by his mood, the event had gone rather well.

The professor was reviewing several diagrams when Ilya arrived, but he readily spoke about the presentation after one of the students asked.

Apparently, Lucile had delivered a report concerning the principles of magical communication.

Her explanation had been thorough enough to impress several of the attending instructors, although Antoine admitted that she had borrowed more than a few ideas from conversations she overheard at home.

"She even corrected one of her teachers when he confused mana transmission with signal amplification," Antoine recalled with amusement. "I had to explain afterward that being correct doesn’t necessarily mean you should embarrass your instructor in front of an audience."

Ilya smiled.

That sounded rather familiar.

"Did she listen?"

"She informed me that her teacher should have prepared more carefully."

Several students laughed.

Antoine appeared equally amused, although he admitted that his daughter’s confidence could occasionally become troublesome.

Nevertheless, he was clearly proud of her.

He had even promised to help Lucile construct a small communication device during the coming weekend, provided she finished her ordinary schoolwork first.

Ilya found the arrangement rather charming.

For all Antoine’s accomplishments as a researcher, he seemed to derive just as much satisfaction from his daughter’s academic interests.

The professor eventually returned to reviewing the workshop’s experiments, leaving the students to continue their assigned tasks.

Their delayed components had still not arrived, but the theoretical reconstruction of the ancient mechanism was progressing steadily.

Ilya resumed examining the feedback channels while another student compared their findings with previous research.

The afternoon passed productively.

Near the end of the session, Antoine received a brief notice concerning the delayed shipments.

The Imperial inspections would continue for several more days.

Apparently, the authorities had identified irregularities involving restricted Rune Tech components entering the capital through unauthorized distributors.

The notice provided little additional information.

Antoine instructed the workshop to continue using its existing materials until the restrictions were lifted.

Ilya accepted the decision without complaint.

There was enough work remaining to occupy everyone for the foreseeable future.

Still, he found the situation mildly curious.

The Empire possessed extensive regulations concerning the transportation of sensitive magical equipment, and unauthorized distribution was hardly unheard of.

However, the decision to inspect several unrelated shipments suggested that the authorities were investigating something more substantial than an ordinary smuggling operation.

For now, there was little reason to concern himself with it.

He returned his attention to the diagrams, intending to finish the day’s calculations before leaving.

After all, whatever difficulties the Imperial authorities were dealing with, Ilya still had an examination to prepare for.