…Too bad, some people just didn’t know where to draw the line.

“Do you know where the lead actress is?”

Since the performance was about to begin, the backstage staff were working hard in the wings of the stage, while the main actors were busy with their preparations. …Meanwhile I, who was tasked with behind-the-scenes works (+mob), had to hurry and change my clothes.

So, while working behind-the-scenes, I cluelessly asked out loud, earning rattled glances from some first-year students.  

They were the ones gossiping about the lead actress in the warehouse yesterday.

…Looks like they’ve done it.

The students who didn’t know anything replied sullenly, “Aren’t you going to change your clothes?”

I replied with, “I’ll do so right away,” and left the place. Of course, I went to help the lead actress.

[We could’ve stopped them yesterday…]

If only I could get upset at those who’re up to no good and take strong measures…

As Cecily said, there were probably many ways to prevent this outcome in advance. I could’ve just told the manager and had them banned… But this is an academy, after all. I just thought that children—good or bad—deserve the opportunity to grow as a whole.

Perhaps this is the wisdom of an elder.

Quite frankly, when I heard what they were up to yesterday, I thought that nothing would come of it.

“Hey, what is the lead actress doing in such a place?”

“I was told to get changed in the audiovisual room around here, but I can’t seem to find the place…”

Then, I found the lead actress wandering around the deserted old school building.

It seems that she’s gotten lost.

Actually, I came straight from the classroom where the important costume was stored. I was the one who placed it there. Oh, and the one who took down the ‘Audiovisual Room’ sign? Also me.

I can see why the new students might have gotten confused.

I smiled and pointed in the opposite direction.

“Oh, they’ve since changed the place. It’s in the usual club room. Everyone is in the middle of getting changed, so it’d be best for you to hurry.”

“Okay, thank you!”

The lead actress smiled in relief and ran off.

She’s so adorable.

The girl who wanted to do her harm didn’t deserve the role of heroine. After all, her ugliness showed on her face.

“Well, then, all that’s left is…”

I entered the audiovisual room which had its signboard removed. To avoid unnecessary suspicion, I left the signboard inside the classroom, lest my ruse were discovered.

But then, right when I stepped inside—

—Click.

I heard the door lock snapping shut. Immediately, the surrounding area became quiet. Didn’t the door use a slide lock? It shouldn’t make that kind of noise…

…In other words, the sound that I had just heard came from magic.

“Eh?”

I rushed to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. The same went for the back door. I turned to look at the window where I saw a crisscross pattern of pale, transparent chains.

“I’ve been locked in!”

[Eeeeh—!?]

Nice reaction, Cecily.

She said she appreciated the ghost life, while I was grateful I had someone to talk to after 800 years of solitude.

I carefully observed the magical chain.

“Well, it seems that it only affects this particular classroom. A magic that isolates and seals you from the outside world… The scale of magical power is also moderate—I have to say though, this magic is beyond an ordinary student, let alone a freshman. Given that it’s a forbidden magic, many things could go awry if you aren’t careful. Those kids… Their futures might actually be promising…”

[Hey, why are you praising them!?”

“Oops, I spoke without thinking… All right—oh, whelp, they blocked the sound, so calling for help isn’t an option. Heh, they did me a favor.”

[Wait, what’s wrong?]

I smiled wryly to Cecily, who was panicking, before pointing at a relevant part of the magic circle.

“Can you read this part here?”

[Uhm…]

Cecily directed her gaze at that part. Even though she was trasnparent, her side profile, with her mouth hanging open was so cute…

Cecily must’ve been able to read it, seeing that she was growing paler.

Good job, what a smart girl.

Although, even if I praise her now, it probably wouldn’t make her happy.

After all, we were in a bit of a pinch.

[…Isolate… air!?]

“If we don’t get out of here quickly, we’ll suffocate!”

[As for how to dispel it—]

Moreover, at first glance, the magic formulas might have seemed to have been intricately woven, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Thus, I judged it to be an accident rather than intentional. The culprit dabbled in magic far too advanced for their capabilities, and made a mess. In short, instead of weaving a cloth, they made a jumbled mess of threads.

To escape from this situation, we needed to untangle the threads.

Although I’d gotten accustomed to controlling Cecily’s magic, the base amount was still small. I couldn’t brute force the magic. In that sealed-off space, I couldn’t draw my magical power from outside either.

—Thus, my only option was to untwine it piece by piece.

Okay, let’s get started!

We wouldn’t solve anything by dawdling around.

To not waste oxygen, I kept my mouth shut and focused on the strings of magic. I loosened and unraveled the magic that was tangled all over the classroom, one thread at a time.

Pass the end of the thread through the small hole, one after another…

Time was running out.

I shouldn’t have sighed, but human beings didn’t have the ability to concentrate on simple tasks for very long.

…Still, if I didn’t persevere, my naivety would be the end of Cecily!

Yet, the more I panic, the more suffocated I felt.

Even though the magic didn’t specifically steal my oxygen, I was still running out of air—!

Ugh, this is why I hate amateurs!

The fact that I didn’t have time to get angry at such sloppy magic infuriated me even more.

“Ah, I made a mistake!”

My impatience caused me to mess up, costing me a massive portion of my work.

When I was about to redo it, Cecily, who’d been silent the entire time, commented.

[What if you reduce the Element Value of water to 3?]

“Eh?”

[After that, refer to this one. Increase the Wind Value to 5, then decrease the Fire Value to 0. By doing so, the Water Value here will increase to 12, after which—…]

Now that’s a different take on the concept of my beloved sorcery.

Sorcery was a concept that digitized all magic so that anyone could use it. Based on that concept, she presented me with a futuristic mathematical formula.

When I didn’t say anything, Cecily cowered.

[S-sorry for speaking as I please…]

No, hold on a minute.

Slowly but surely, I manipulated the element values according to Cecily’s instructions. With her formula, the threads were organized much faster compared to when I was unraveling them one by one.

Okay, Cecily, continue.

When I faintly breathed in relief, Cecily answered with a hint of enthusiasm in her voice.

[…Okay!]

---

***T/N: I really love this method of magic!

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