Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 247 Perfection and Evolution

The time has come to the fifth day of the college exchange meeting.

On the morning of the day, Ritas mainly spent time with the members of the bathing seminar, participating in the exchange program together.

Earlier on, the project started with Melsie's, called "Quiet Places".

As the name suggests, this is a project that has existed since ancient times. In simple terms, the project involves enclosing a piece of land and then cultivating it into an outstanding courtyard.

Contrary to expectations, the "Quiet Place" project was actually quite good, and the competition was visibly fierce.

First, since it was a group of four students working at the same time, and the venue itself wasn't entirely flat grass, the students initially had to compete and use their individual skills to mark out an ideal area.

Secondly, because of the time limit, the students had a lot to do in their chosen "quiet place." Just watching them swing their wands and use colorful magic to improve the efficiency of tending the courtyard was already quite a lively scene.

Furthermore, seasoned practitioners of the "Quiet Place" are adept at disrupting their opponents as much as possible without breaking the rules. For example, they might "accidentally" spill water, "accidentally" cause their own plants' roots to grow abnormally, or make a mess of their opponent's territory. Therefore, watching two students who have carved out their own territories engage in a stylish battle is quite a spectacle.

Aside from these elements of "competition," watching the originally barren ground gradually unfold like a painting also gave Ritas a very strange feeling.

"It's surprisingly a good project."

Hearing the word "Quiet Place" made me eager to bathe, but I stayed behind for the sake of my first wife, Melsie. Unconsciously, I became immersed in the bath and couldn't help but sigh.

"really."

Ritas nodded as well.

From a teacher's perspective, he believes that this exchange program can test many things in the participants.

Many exchange programs that have been around for a century sound absurd, but they do have their reasons for being passed down.

Since the "Quiet Place" project has been developed quite well, it was no surprise that Melsie, who was just there to make up the numbers, was eliminated in the first round.

I don’t know if it’s just Ritas’s imagination, but the area that Melci circled seemed even more barren than before the match.
"woo"

Dejected, Melsie left the stage, clutching the white disc handed to her by Ritas, and listened to the somewhat cheesy words of comfort from the goddess of the bath.

Ritas, who had been watching for a while longer, believed that this project would once again be won by the Royal Magic Academy of Blasche.

For this equally ancient academy, almost every project with a strange-sounding name is one of their strengths. Adding to that their past weaknesses, such as "Magic Ball," they seem to have put in considerable effort this year. It seems, barring any unforeseen circumstances, that Blascher will ultimately emerge victorious at the exchange.

As for Earls, after four days of competition, his goal for the year has shifted to finishing in the top four.

Speaking of which, Dean Livis of Erles Academy, who initially attached the most importance to this magic academy exchange meeting, seems to have disappeared these past few days.

Perhaps what she truly cared about was never some kind of "exchange meeting" at all.

With that thought in mind, Ritas also applauded the participants who advanced in the "Quiet Place" project.

Later that day, Ritas accompanied Miriam to the "Life Magic" competition.

When it comes to skillfully using small magical techniques in everyday life, Ritas is actually quite adept. However, firstly, his academic career was relatively short, and secondly, because the academy exchange event wasn't held in Ers, Ritas didn't want to attend. Therefore, this project, which has existed for nearly twenty years, has no record of Ritas's participation.

Although both events instilled fear in their fellow competitors, the feelings experienced by Miriam's opponent were clearly different from those experienced by Melsie's opponent.

On Miriam's path to advancement, he was threatened by another student from the Obsidian Magic Tower who used magic to assist in cooking.

When the student brought out a plate of food that shone with golden light, Ritas also began to worry about Miriam.

Unfortunately, the dish probably didn't taste very good. After tasting it, the judges just stared at the contestant with gritted teeth for a long time.

After the match, Ritas fairly praised Milian's performance.

Miriam and Melci, who came along to cheer him on, both appeared cautious and hesitant when facing Ritas.

Ritas roughly understood their concerns: they were worried about being "punished" for causing trouble at the matchmaking dinner.

However, Ritas himself hadn't decided what kind of punishment to use.

Sometimes, the most agonizing thing is when the "knife" hanging over your head hasn't fallen yet.

So, this feeling of being stuck in the middle is actually the best punishment. Is the four-person group at the bathing seminar more uncomfortable than being directly shoved into the Iron Virgin?
Hmm. It must be even more painful to enter the Iron Virgin realm.

In short, after the project in Miriam concluded, Ritas ended all his activities for the morning.

At lunchtime, Ritas also had some things to do.

After a long absence, Ritas returned to the third dormitory area and exchanged pleasantries with the gatekeeper, Seid, before heading straight to a mansion.

In the third dormitory area, the residences belonging to the faculty and staff of Erles are essentially their personal property. Therefore, the residences themselves often bear a strong personal touch. For example, Kenny, the head chef and associate professor of potions at the academy, has his residence almost entirely covered with various kinds of green plants.

In fact, Ritas's former dormitory residence had a very strong personal style. Leaving aside the interior, the bladeless guillotine alone has almost become a landmark in the third dormitory area.

Unfortunately, after the fire, his mansion never regained its former glory.

In short, the mansion that Ritas visited that day was also a distinctive one, commonly known as "Forgors' Workshop".

"Tsk, it feels like a blacksmith shop."

The evaluation of the goddess of bathing is the most direct feeling that Fergus Workshop gives people.

The open doors revealed a clear view of the various piles of semi-finished products inside, as well as a huge furnace emitting a dim light.

What the goddess of the bathing could not feel was the heat wave that could be faintly felt from a great distance, as well as the metallic smell and the burnt smell of charcoal that wafted towards her.

"It seems the second-floor floor was completely destroyed? Where does this Associate Professor Foggs usually live?"

"I don't know, and that's Professor Foggs's personal privacy."

Ritas shook his head and then walked into Fergus's mansion. A decade or two ago, Fergus was a renowned genius in the world of magic. However, his research direction had some problems, or rather, it was seen as problematic by the mainstream academic community.

Foggs' research topic is "magical tools".

The research into magical tools is far more expensive than one can imagine. Therefore, after obtaining approval from the academy, Associate Professor Foggs occasionally takes on orders to create magical tools for his colleagues or students.

"The blacksmith doesn't seem to be here."

After looking around the completely open mansion of Forgors with Ritas, the goddess of bathing said.

Meanwhile, Ritas found a slightly larger-than-average parasol lying quietly in a corner of the mansion. A label with Ritas's name was affixed to the parasol.

It wasn't just his commissioned items that were casually placed in places everyone could access. Scattered around were other magical tools bearing other people's names.

All I can say is that, apart from the occasional assassination attempt, the security situation in the third dormitory area is quite good.

"Hmm, with this umbrella in Cortelne's hands, it feels like nothing's missing!"

Since Cortriena's beloved umbrella was destroyed during the summer, at least in the eyes of the goddess of the bath, Cortriena probably spent most of her time without an umbrella. But perhaps due to that initial impression, the image of Cortriena carrying an umbrella on her shoulder has become deeply ingrained in the goddess's mind.

"I thought you'd forgotten about it, but it turns out you commissioned someone else to make it. This one looks so expensive; how long has Cortriene already been paid in advance?"

"About five years."

As Ritas spoke, he began inspecting the finished products.

Actually, Ritas initially intended to help out. However, as the progress increased, his little quirk of "if you're going to do something, do it to the best of your ability" came to the fore.

Therefore, Ritas, who was far less knowledgeable about magical tools than a professional, sought out Professor Fergus.

The magic umbrella, besides functioning as an umbrella, sword, and wand, now also possesses additional functions derived from the "inspiration" of the two professors. Furthermore, its metallic material and luster make it clearly a weapon at first glance.

Although it has deviated somewhat from its original purpose, on the bright side, at least the umbrella is sturdy and won't break anytime soon.

After briefly checking the condition of the magic umbrella and concluding that Professor Fergus had done a good job of the task, Ritas, who was about to leave, heard a voice coming from afar.

"That magical tool should be lengthened by about one-fifth more."

Looking in the direction of the sound, Ritas saw an unfamiliar figure.

Judging from his appearance, he was a little boy of about seven or eight years old, dressed in a simple outfit with a plaid pattern.

However, the little boy had gray hair that looked like it was caused by old age, and his slow walking with his hands behind his back also made him look old-fashioned.

"Only by increasing the capacity to hold sufficiently large magic crystals and adding an additional device to allow the magic circuits to circulate can it be made truly perfect."

Continuing from the previous words, the little boy who walked over slowly stared at the magic umbrella in Ritas's hand and said.

The little boy spoke again, and Ritas confirmed that the deep, resonant voice he had heard earlier did indeed come from the other person.

"Huh? Where did this kid come from? Uh... could this be Professor Foggs!"

Ritas casually tapped the white disc twice to indicate, "No, that's not it." Ritas and the goddess of the bath had actually created many secret codes that allowed them to communicate without Ritas speaking. However, Ritas wasn't sure how many of these codes the goddess of the bath remembered.

"However, increasing the size and weight of this umbrella would be very inconvenient for the user. The current shape and appearance are the result of careful measurement of various user parameters."

"Explain in detail how you measured it!"

"."

Ritas felt the long-lost annoyance of the goddess of bathing.

Ritas initially didn't want to pay attention to the strange little boy's inexplicable "troublemaking." However, something suddenly occurred to him, which changed his mind.

"Just make the most perfect magical tool. If others can't use it, that's their problem."

The little boy shook his head and said.

"Such a requirement is too extreme. Whether it is a magical tool or any other tool, it only has meaning when it is used by someone. Therefore, there are many things in this world whose principles I do not know and how they work, but that does not prevent people from using them. Or rather, from the very premise that it has the flaw of being 'unusable,' it is not a 'perfect' magical tool."

After thinking for a moment, Ritas seriously refuted the little boy's words.

"Hmm. Does the fact that it can't be used mean it's already imperfect? ​​That makes some sense. So, once the user grows up enough to use it, can that magical tool still be considered 'perfect'? Just like a baby can't pick up a spoon, it's not that the spoon itself is poorly designed, it's that the user is the problem."

The little boy continued to stare at the magic umbrella, sometimes muttering incantations, sometimes gesturing wildly in the air.

"Is the goal not to make magical tools match the user, but to make the user adapt to the magical tools?"

Ritas was speechless. He didn't understand why this person insisted on improving that magic umbrella.

"Oh—that's the idea. It's about humans adapting to magical tools, not magical tools adapting to humans."

The little boy nodded approvingly, quite satisfied with Ritas's summary.

"Then what is the purpose of creating a perfect magical tool that no one can use for the time being?"

"Purpose?"

The little boy thought for a moment,

"The purpose is that perfection represents evolution. Humanity has evolved to its current state over an incredibly long period of time, far beyond what an average person's lifetime can measure, yet the result is still only a 'half-finished product.' In comparison, magical tools have only existed for a very short time, but the time required for each magical tool to evolve to perfection is something that an average person's short lifetime can witness. Therefore, even though magical tools are made by humans, their essence is far superior to that of humans."

"."

For a moment, not only did Ritas, who was inexplicably engaged in a debate, fall silent, but even the goddess of bathing stopped speaking.

Where did this little boy come from? He seems a bit mentally unstable.
(End of this chapter)