I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 58

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Cousin Paved the Path of Flowers and Became a Hero — Episode 58
“Hopeless… is that what you’re saying?”
Alex nodded at Adela’s question.
Then, pointing at the unfinished Magic Circle with the tip of his sword, he began to explain.
[First of all, this Magic Circle is far too crude!]
“Yes, it’s far too crude.”
Of course, he was merely relaying Ibek’s words.
[Whoever drew this Dark Magic Circle must have taught themselves from a grimoire without any instruction.]
[Though I suppose a Dark Mage wouldn’t have explained things kindly anyway.]
“It seems the mage who drew this Magic Circle learned the craft from a grimoire without a master. But working from such an unstable foundation, without solid fundamentals, they added their own clumsy Magic Characters and Formulas to the circle as they saw fit.”
Adela and the Apprentice started in surprise, and Colin frowned deeply.
Klaus Brodell wore the expression of someone only half-understanding, while Domeric Brodell, suspected as the culprit who drew this crude Magic Circle, had his features grow slightly stiff.
“You can tell that from looking at it?”
“For instance, this part here. If you erase this Magic Formula like so, it resembles the formula that goes into a Magic Circle used for converting Mana into magical power, doesn’t it?”
Adela and the Apprentice examined it and nodded with expressions of wonder.
“Yes! That’s right!”
“I’ve seen that formula so many times!”
“But this is a Formula that wasn’t necessary at all.”
[Three o’clock direction!]
“There’s another Magic Formula right here.”
Alex pointed to the character at the three o’clock position of the Magic Circle. Having practiced beforehand that morning, he could do so without hesitation.
“Using two formulas with the same effect is simply wasting space on the Magic Circle.”
Adela and the Apprentice listened closely, and even Colin, who had been dismissive of Alex’s displays of magical knowledge, leaned in to hear.
Though Klaus Brodell knew nothing of magic, he could follow the gist of Alex’s explanation.
“It seems the mage lacked confidence in their own Magic Circle. Fearing it wouldn’t activate as intended, they inserted multiple formulas with the same effect.”
Alex’s explanation continued.
“This is why the Magic Circle became so complex. It’s a common mistake made by mediocre mages who learned Magic Circles on their own, without a master’s guidance.”
Meanwhile.
As Alex spoke, he occasionally glanced at Domeric Brodell.
The more Alex explained, the darker Domeric Brodell’s expression grew.
[He’s getting angry!]
Ibek, who had deliberately woven in words like “hopeless,” “crude,” “clumsy,” “shoddy,” “unskilled,” and “mediocre,” chuckled to himself.
It seemed that a simple “Yeah, you can’t do it” was the best way to get under a mage’s skin.
[Even I’d be angry if someone said that about me.]
Ibek giggled quietly.
[This all points to the second son drawing it, doesn’t it?]
Alex concurred.
It seemed safe to conclude that Domeric Brodell, the count’s second son, was an aspiring Dark Mage.
Alex had an inkling about what Dark Magic Domeric Brodell was involved in.
Alex’s eyes sharpened as he studied Domeric Brodell, but no one noticed since their attention was fixed on the Magic Circle.
They had no idea that Alex could glean such insights from an incomplete Magic Circle.
“And he crammed in far too many unnecessary elements.”
“Unnecessary elements?”
[For example, when you’re making a steak….]
Alex relayed Ibek’s words.
“For example, when making a steak, how do you do it?”
Adela looked puzzled, but she rolled her eyes thoughtfully before answering.
“A steak? Well. You prepare the meat first, put it in a pan, and cook it for the right amount of time. You can add spices too.”
“Right. You prepare the meat, add spices, and cook it in a pan — in that order. But this Magic Circle is starting from raising a cow.”
Alex pressed on.
“Deciding what feed to give the cow, raising it, then slaughtering it and choosing which cut to cook. Then growing spice plants from seeds, and cultivating trees to chop for firewood to light the flame. That’s what this is like.”
“That’s truly… wasteful and complicated.”
At Adela’s words, the Apprentice nodded repeatedly in agreement.
“Exactly. Of course, these aren’t entirely unnecessary elements.”
[For high-Circle magic or magic that requires delicate control, those intricate formulas actually become helpful!]
“But a mage with real ability could draw a Magic Circle that efficiently omits such elements.”
[Like how you can skip steps in a math equation and calculate it mentally!]
[Instead of writing 2+2+2+2, you write 2×4!]
“That’s why I said it was hopeless.”
A brief silence settled over the group at Alex’s words.
“Hmph. Quite the eloquent speaker, aren’t you.”
Colin let out a dismissive snort.
“You figured all that out just by looking at this incomplete Magic Circle? You, a sellsword mage with no affiliation? What, did you become a Grand Mage or something?”
[How did he know!]
At Colin’s sarcasm, Ibek—who had been a Grand Mage in his past world—chuckled to himself.
It seemed Colin was displeased with Alex for explaining something even he hadn’t known, right in front of the Count’s heir.
“I agree with Mage Colin’s point.”
Then.
Domeric Brodell, who had been listening quietly, also sided with Colin.
“First of all, your claim that you can omit parts of a Magic Circle is wrong. A single faulty Magic Formula can throw the entire Circle into disarray—omit parts? That makes no sense whatsoever.”
Colin quickly chimed in.
“Exactly right, Domeric! Young Lord, why would the Magic Circles drawn on Scrolls be so complicated? They have to be that way so a mage can trigger the spell exactly as intended!”
Then Alex countered.
Though it was Ibek’s words, of course.
“Unnecessary formulas piled on top of one another is just a sign of incomplete understanding. Study the magic thoroughly, research it deeply enough, and you’ll be able to draw a Magic Circle using only the essential formulas.”
Colin’s face flushed with anger as he pointed a finger at Alex.
“A mere second-Circle mercenary, what do you know! Domeric trained under a fifth-Circle mage dispatched from the White Tower and is a third-Circle mage himself! He knows far more than you!”
[An apprentice of the White Tower, then!]
Klaus Brodell watched the mages’ debate unfold. Alex’s argument had merit, though Klaus could only grasp half of it—yet his brother’s words also had a point.
Beyond the gap between second and third Circle, it was hard to believe Alex could extract such information from an incomplete Magic Circle.
Then.
“…Ah!”
Adela, who had been listening quietly, let out an unintended exclamation.
It was a small sound, but the chamber had fallen silent enough that everyone caught it.
They all turned their heads, regarding Adela with puzzled expressions. Yet Adela seemed oblivious to their gazes.
“That’s it!”
Adela’s eyes, which had been vacant, suddenly blazed with light. Color flushed across her cheeks.
As though she had just grasped something profound.
[Wait, she’s achieving a breakthrough right here?]
[Alex, activate Mana Detection!]
Alex, startled like Ibek, activated his Mana Detection ability.
Immediately, he felt the mana in the air gathering around Adela. That mana flowed toward her heart and took root there.
[Oh! Third Circle!]
[She’s becoming third Circle right here!]
Ibek’s voice rang out in amazement.
Alex looked at Adela, his expression one of shock.
In the Future, he’d seen Hero Leo and his companions each breaking through walls one by one as they grew—but never had he witnessed a mage suddenly manifesting an entirely new Circle like this.
“Omission! Yes, that’s what it was!”
The others could sense it intuitively as well.
Adela had shattered through the barrier and become third Circle.
“I was using far too many formulas unnecessarily! The useless ones can be removed!”
Adela murmured, unaware that the others were staring at her in astonishment.
[Exactly!]
[If you can do mental arithmetic, you can definitely cut back on written calculations!]
[Smart girl!]
Why are you so pleased with yourself?
Though it was understandable.
Ibek was the one who had analyzed the Magic Circle.
He could be called the teacher who had helped Adela become third Circle.
“Congratulations on reaching third Circle, Adela.”
[Congratulations!]
Alex offered his words of congratulation to Adela, who now seemed to have regained her composure.
“Hm? Me? You mean me?”
Confused by Alex’s words, Adela checked her own Circle—and gasped in surprise.
“What? No, wait—I really am third Circle!?”
There it was, right in her heart: that third ring she had wished for so desperately, thin but undeniably real.
At that, tears spilled from Adela’s eyes.
“Waaahhh! Thank you so much! I never would’ve reached third Circle without your explanation, Alex! Thank you, truly!”
Upon hearing those words, Colin, Domeric Brodell, and the Apprentice finally realized that Adela had truly become third Circle.
“W-what just happened!?”
Colin was stunned to hear that Adela, who had been in the Brodell Territory for two years and was inferior to him, had reached the Third Circle.
He quickly recalled the explanation Alex had given. That was the key to ascending to the Third Circle!
If Adela could do it, he could too.
“Huh!”
But no matter how much Colin recalled Alex’s explanation or how deeply he pondered it, enlightenment would not come.
Watching Colin with his eyes shut and brow furrowed, Ibek smirked silently.
[If it were that easy, someone would’ve written a book called the Enlightenment Compendium by now.]
The Apprentice too hastened to record Alex’s explanation.
He meant to share it with his master, and besides, it might serve as a helpful guide if he ever hit a wall of his own later.
While the mages busied themselves, only Domeric Brodell wore an expression of vacant bewilderment.
The remark that his own Dark Magic Circle was shabby and crude irritated him, but it hadn’t angered him outright.
After all, it came from a Second Circle mercenary mage with no affiliation and nothing to his name.
‘…She reached the Third Circle?’
But if Adela had gained enlightenment because of that remark, then Alex’s words had to be true.
In other words, he himself—the one who had created this Dark Magic Circle—was shabby, crude, and unremarkable.
And on top of that, the Third Circle.
The Second Circle mage he had secretly scorned was now a Third Circle, the same as him.
And what’s more, that woman belonged to the Blue Tower.
The Blue Tower—a tower greater than the White Tower that had trained him.
Now that woman would return to the Blue Tower to study magic. And perhaps—just perhaps—she would reach the Fourth Circle faster than he would.
A mage who had been beneath him!
Ahead of him!
“…Domeric. Domeric.”
“…Yes?”
Domeric Brodell, unconsciously gritting his teeth under the weight of inferiority, turned his head toward Klaus Brodell.
“What do you think? Does Alex’s explanation seem right to you? That the mage who created this Magic Circle is mediocre?”
Now that such remarkable proof had appeared before them in the form of Adela, Klaus Brodell too understood that Alex’s words were true.
He simply wanted confirmation from his younger brother, who clearly knew more about magic,
“…Yes. It does seem so.”
He had no way of knowing the miserable anguish of Domeric Brodell, who had just admitted from his own lips that he was a mediocre mage.
[Nice, assist! Eldest brother!]
[The youngest seems to be seething right now.]
[But who’d have thought it’d turn out like this!]
Indeed.
His pride already wounded by Alex’s words, Domeric Brodell would grow all the more urgent and anxious because of Adela reaching the Third Circle alongside him.
[Maybe he’ll try to use Dark Magic to reach the Fourth Circle soon?]
Just as Ibek had suggested.
Having stirred things up like this, the moment for him to show his hand couldn’t be far off now.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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