In a small room.
The second magician, the wizard marshal, was sitting on a chair waiting for the arrival of Manaka sajyou.
In the type moon world, an achievement that can be reproduced through manpower and time is called "magecraft." In contrast, something that cannot be achieved by modern humans, no matter what, is called a "miracle"—or in other words, True Magic.
For example, building a skyscraper. Magus might only need to construct a design in their minds, and then use magic circuits to form it directly, taking only a few days or even month. Humans, on the other hand, would need a few month or even years. That is the power of magecraft.
Conversely, when something is accomplished that magecraft or science cannot achieve, it is referred to as "Magic" (True Magic).
Magus call those who have mastered True Magic: Magicians (魔法使, Mahōtsukai).
Nowadays, as scientific technology has continued to progress, miracles that once dazzled the world have gradually faded. At present, only five forms of True Magic remain.
The man in front of her—known as the Second Magician, the wizard marshal—is one who uses the Second Magic.
That Second Magic…
Is the ability to observe countless parallel worlds, and freely traverse between them.
Put simply, he's someone truly amazing.
When Manaka sajyou pushed the door open and walked in, the dormitory's appearance instantly vanished. Replacing it was a void, a space where only the two of them existed.
The wizard marshal leaned back in his chair and happened to see Manaka sighing. He spoke.
"Manaka, don't sigh so much. Life's better with a smile, you know."
"It's all the same anyway. Nothing changes. You're so old already, and still act like a normal person. The world doesn't change just because we want it to. Sometimes, we can't even untangle the simplest misunderstanding. In the end, this world is built on deception, isn't it?"
Manaka sajyou sat down in a chair in front of him, looked at the old man, and spoke with some emotion.
If it had been someone else, they might have behaved with utmost restraint in front of the second magician.
But Manaka was extremely casual.
Sometimes, when she spoke quickly, she'd even call him "old man" directly—it was a common thing.
After all, when they first met, this teacher of hers had a rather decent personality.
He didn't carry himself with the stiff dignity typical of his age.
His words and actions were free of rigid formality—quite unlike what one would expect from a magus in the eyes of the world.
And that made Manaka feel much more at ease in private.
Also, she know someone that was too humble although possessed extremely dangerous power.
After that, she began to treat an absurd being like them casual. In short, she used to it.
Abou what she had just said—if others had heard it—
Following the usual pattern, they'd probably think Manaka had uttered another profound truth, and write it down in a textbook somewhere...
But only she herself knew—she just wanted to vent about how absurd life was.
After all, even if she farted, in their eyes, it would probably smell like roses.
Telling the truth? Now that's a real challenge.
The wizard marshal glanced at Manaka.
Indeed, no matter what expression she wore, Manaka sajyou carried an indescribable aura around her—something incomparable.
He often used the Second Magic to observe various parallel worlds and had seen countless extraordinary geniuses. But no matter who they were, he could always see their fate and trajectory clearly.
Except for the girl in front of him—Manaka Sajyou. Her path was utterly unreadable.
Perhaps because he had seen far too many things that were immediately apparent, when the wizard marshal first observed Manaka sajyou, he became deeply intrigued by a future he could not discern.
It was like how, before he had fully mastered the Second Magic himself, he had been brimming with all sorts of expectations for the world and the future.
Now, he placed those same expectations on Manaka sajyou.
The wizard marshal spoke.
"Manaka, before long, the Fourth Holy Grail War will be held in Fuyuki City, Japan. I want you to go—"
"—But I refuse!"
Before he could finish, Manaka cut him off.
'A Holy Grail War? Are you kidding me?'
'I'm just a rookie who hasn't even mastered the basics of magecraft. You want me to go to Fuyuki City and fight in the Holy Grail War?'
Even Lord Kayneth El-Melloi was killed in the Fourth War—wouldn't It be signing her death warrant?
There was no way she could agree.
"Don't be so quick to refuse," the wizard marshal continued gently.
"From where I stand, there's not much more I can teach you at this point. As a genius, you need real-world experience. The Holy Grail War is an excellent opportunity for that."
His words sounded rehearsed, as if he had been ready to say them for a long time.
"Genius?" Manaka scoffed to herself, a wry smile on her lips, unsure whether to feel exasperated or amused.
The problem now was that—
Everyone in the Clock Tower believed she was the greatest prodigy in history: a talent who could eclipse even the child prodigy Lord Kayneth El-Melloi, matched against the major Principals, a true Grand Magician in the making, destined to eventually connect to the Root itself.
It was hard to imagine how, bearing such a reputation, she could continue life in the Clock Tower. Should she keep hiding the truth—or finally come clean?
Looking at the wizard marshal' resolute expression, she felt "coming clean" seemed more reliable. She took a breath and said.
"Master, there's something very important I need to tell you."
"Go ahead. What is it?" he asked, curious.
Seeing his curious expression made her heart lurch—but she steeled herself and pressed on.
"The truth is… I'm not the genius you all imagine me to be."
She didn't want to keep hiding anything. She simply stated the reality: her talents were mediocre at best. Keeping the lie would only lead to bigger troubles.
Of course, Manaka understood that admitting this might bring its own problems—her teacher, classmates, and friends would be disappointed.
But the wizard marshal showed no surprise. Instead, he nodded calmly.
"I already knew that."
Now she was surprised. If he'd reacted with shock and thrown her out of the Clock Tower, she could've understood. Even a flicker of shock on his face would have made sense.
But absolutely no surprise? As if he'd known all along?
"Master… you?" Manaka asked, bewildered.
The wizard marshal flipped through the pages of a book in his hand and said.
"Manaka, tell me—do you think I've seen few geniuses?"
His question left her silent. She thought hard. After a while, she shook her head.
"No, you've seen many."
In truth, the wizard marshal had a terrible reputation within the Clock Tower. It wasn't because he'd done anything overtly monstrous. Rather, it boiled down to one phrase:
—He delighted in destroying geniuses.
Since long ago, the wizard marshal had been gathering outstanding magical prodigies from all over the world as disciples, only to subject them to brutal, hellish training.
The outcome was always the same: none survived longer than a year.
Yet despite that, his renown as a Second Magician drew countless geniuses to his doorstep, each convinced they would be the one to break his record and become the first to survive.
And now, Manaka sajyou was the only one who had lived past a year.
At this point, the wizard marshal stood from his chair, gazed out at the sky beyond the void, as if he were looking upon the entire world:
"Yes. I have observed countless parallel worlds and seen countless geniuses. I've taken in disciples like them before. Even the very worst among them were one-in-a-hundred talents among magi—any one of them could have been a standout within the Clock Tower."
"Never mind those with truly extraordinary gifts. Had they not been broken by me, any one of them could have led the Clock Tower's future."
"Truth be told, I was a prodigy myself in my youth. Otherwise, I would never have mastered the Second Magic. Yet even after seeing so many geniuses, I have never met anyone like you."
His words flew so quickly that Manaka strained to catch every nuance.
"…Me?"
She felt a sudden wave of nervousness.
"That's right—you, specifically."
"What about me?" Manaka asked, voice trembling.
Could this be a trick? First he'd praise her, then tear her apart?
The wizard marshal nodded gravely, adopting an expression of utter seriousness as he said.
"You are too special. I've seen countless geniuses, but none wore 'genius' on their face like you do. Every genius must train relentlessly, study the mystic arts, develop more powerful magecraft, and earn recognition before being acknowledged as a genius. You are different."
"You stand there, and the entire world seems to open itself for you. When you say, 'let there be wind,' wind will rise; say 'let there be rain,' rain will fall. Just scribbling a few lines of a formula can create an incantation that changes the Magecraft community. With you, people can't help but believe you're a genius."
"Others need to toil, to research, to innovate to gain recognition. But you don't—you have luck on your side. That's what sets you apart. Whether you're a genius or not doesn't matter; as long as others believe you are, that's enough."
"If everyone thinks you're a genius, then you are a genius. Do you understand, Manaka?"
His long explanation was so logical that Manaka almost believed it.
"But relying on luck alone—won't that eventually be exposed?" she couldn't help interjecting.
In this merciless Type-Moon world, strength was everything. Without real power, it was all empty talk.
"Manaka, you're mistaken on one point. Look—how many is this?"
He raised a single finger.
"One," she replied without hesitation.
But the Old Man frowned. "Are you really looking closely?"
"I am," Manaka said.
She didn't understand what he was getting at. It was clearly just one finger.
Yet he shook his head. "No, this is not 'one'."
"Why not? It's obviously one finger," she retorted.
He fixed her with a steady gaze and said.
"Because you're not truly looking. You don't genuinely want to know the truth—you want to be deceived."
"We always say magi must make the audience believe what they see is the truth. But the reality is absurdly simple—no one wants to accept it."
"Because audiences cling to the belief that 'their' version of the truth is the truth. And that is the very essence of the magician's secret."
"And you—you itself are a magic trick!"
"Now do you see clearly?"
As he said those words, he flexed his middle finger—and it seemed to split into two.
Manaka sajyou stared at the two fingers that now became three fingers because of the split, thinking "WTF" in her mind, unsure whether she should actually say it..