Episode 13

Throughout the mineralogy class, Rose’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. In contrast, Jasper maintained an expressionless face, gazing ahead with unwavering focus. Straining his eyes to stay awake had given him an even more aloof appearance.

The elective class met twice a week, two hours each session. Despite being the first day, Professor Luis filled the time to the brim with his lecture.

“Alright, folks, that’s all for today. Also, I’ll need you to form teams and submit a report. We’ll discuss this next week after you’ve had time to…”

Ding. Ding. The chime of the clock interrupted him. Luis suddenly jerked as if he had been lost in his world for quite some time.

“Oh no! Time got away from me. Well, let’s meet on Thursday. The next class will involve a lab, so you can look forward to it.”

As Professor Luis stepped down from the podium, Jasper let out a small sigh. His face had darkened even more throughout the two-hour class.

While Rose was engrossed in the lesson, she hadn’t noticed Jasper’s demeanor until later.

“Are you okay? You seem tired.”

“Not at all.”

“Is it because the class isn’t suiting you?”

“No, it’s interesting. I find it engaging.”

Jasper replied curtly and stood up abruptly.

Rose tidied her station, stealing a glance at Jasper. From the beginning of the class until now, Jasper’s desk had remained empty.

“But… don’t you usually take notes?”

Mineralogy requires thorough note-taking due to the amount of memorization required. Jasper tilted his head slightly and answered.

“I didn’t bring my bag.”

“Your bag?”

It suddenly dawned on Rose that Jasper had nothing in his hands.

“I forgot.”

“How could you forget?”

“Well, my mind’s been occupied since morning dealing with Caleb. Can’t change roommates, can I?”

“Senior Caleb is your roommate?”

“He’s no senior. He was in his second year, and now he’s stuck with us.”

“Oh, so we don’t have to call him senior then? That’s awkward.”

“Whatever. Do you have any business talking with Caleb? Why worry about it?”

Jasper furrowed his brows. Rose tightened her grip on her bag’s strap and lowered her head.

“Uhm, no. Never mind.”

Jasper’s previously tense expression gradually relaxed.

Rose was growing accustomed to Jasper’s prickly tone. Despite his imposing demeanor, she found it easier to maintain a calm demeanor in his presence. Their exchange was mostly about the tone; he wasn’t a bad person. Looking closely, Rose realized that Jasper’s actions were subtly affectionate. 

Furthermore, she shouldn’t forget that he was the one who helped ensure she could continue attending the academy. They might not become close friends on a personal level, but maintaining a friendly disposition towards him was essential.

“Jasper, I’ll lend you my notes on today’s class later.”

“I don’t think looking at the notes will help me understand.”

“Which part was difficult?”

As Rose naturally walked out of the classroom alongside Jasper, she asked him. Jasper furrowed his brows as if he were annoyed.

“It’s not that it’s difficult, but more like… the professor kept saying weird things.”

“He did?”

“I didn’t pay attention. Something about rocks and… I don’t know.”

“Uh-huh.”

Rose’s face fell slightly. She had found today’s class fascinating, like taking someone to your favorite restaurant and seeing them complain about the taste.

“Maybe if you saw the process of purifying a magic stone firsthand, you might find it interesting!”

Rose tried to encourage Jasper.

Mineralogy was closely related to magic engineering. Naturally, Rose was full of curiosity throughout the class.

Mineralogy has existed for a very long time. It encompassed the study of common minerals, valuable gemstones, and special minerals like magic stones, which contained mana. Originally, it was a discipline aimed at analyzing all the minerals existing in the world.

A significant change occurred in this field a few decades ago with the rapid advancement of magic stone purification technology. It marked a turning point not just in mineralogy but globally.

Before that, magic stones were treated as slightly mysterious objects with some unusual effects.

Mana was composed of four elements: hydro, gravity, pyro, and aero. They were often referred to as hydromana, gravimana, pyromana, and aeromana, respectively. The proportions of each element determined the properties of the magic stone.

For example, a magic stone with a strong hydro element would create a slightly humid environment around it. A magic stone with a strong aero element could create a gentle breeze.

They had been useful in daily life, but that was about it.

However, with the development of purification technology that could extract only pyromana from a magic stone, what was once a mysteriously behaving rock became more valuable than gold.

This technology involved applying precise mana calculation formulas to apply appropriate heat and pressure to the magic stone, causing all other components to escape, leaving behind only pure pyromana.

This purified mana was then converted into an immense amount of kinetic energy, enough to power steam engines.

What seemed like an ordinary mineral at first glance became the key to transforming the world. In just a few decades, various technologies advanced at an unimaginable pace, surpassing the previous generation’s wildest dreams.

Professor Luis’ class focused on delving deeper into magic stones, the materials of magic engineering. For Rose, it was nothing short of an intriguing topic.

Just by mentioning the term “magic stone,” Rose’s face brightened noticeably. Jasper matched his pace to Rose’s and spoke slowly.

“You seem to love magic engineering. Your expression changes when we talk about this.”

Rose scratched her cheek with her fingertip.

“Well, I do like it… the more I learn, the more fascinating it becomes. Those complicated mana calculations can be a barrier, but once you understand them, magic engineering reveals a whole new world.”

Although the complex mana calculations were a daunting barrier, once she got past that, magic engineering unveiled a world of possibilities. What could be done with all this tremendous energy? Steam locomotives crisscrossing the empire, elevators, experimental automobiles, and airships that were still in development… the possibilities were countless. There might even be inventions she hadn’t even thought of yet.

During her time in Quilts, Rose often imagined herself alone. Rocks transforming into the force that moved the world, an unrealistic and exhilarating fantasy. At those moments, she thought that titles like noble status didn’t matter. Becoming a magic engineer seemed to fit her better than conforming to the constrained marriage and domestic life that most noblewomen led.

One of the few advantages of Rose Bell’s life was that she didn’t need to dive into the arid waters of arranged marriages. Instead, she could freely delve into magic engineering.

However, Jasper had mentioned that he wasn’t particularly interested in magic engineering. Rose felt a little awkward, as she had gotten too excited in front of someone who didn’t share her enthusiasm.

As Rose was about to close her plump lips, Jasper spoke slowly.

“It’s a talent to immerse yourself in one thing. I can’t do that.”

Rose’s eyes widened. Among all the voices she had heard from Jasper until now, this was the gentlest.

‘Oh? So, you can speak softly…’

It was fascinating. She even had flashes of the young Jasper she had met in the garden eight years ago.

He had been sharp-tongued then, but not as poised as he was now. It was hard to find traces of his childhood as he had grown so much. What had Jasper been like during his growth?

In a gentler and mellower voice than usual, Rose spoke.

“Jasper… you’re skilled in swordsmanship. I’ve heard that no one at the academy can beat you.”

As Jasper responded softly, Rose’s demeanor followed suit.

“I’m good at it, but that’s different from enjoying it.”

Jasper’s tone was casual, his expression nonchalant.

“Even though you’re not fond of it, you work hard at it? That seems more challenging.”

Rose was a novice when it came to swordsmanship. Perhaps it was because she had spent many days wrestling with her father. She didn’t have particularly strong innate stamina, so she had never taken related classes apart from basic fitness.

However, she knew that Jasper Conway was a genius in swordsmanship. She had seen him so often at the training grounds that she knew he didn’t slack off in his efforts.

“Well, because someone told me to.”

“But… you looked cool. You won the swordsmanship competition last year, right?”

“…You saw it?”

“Yeah. The competition was held at Berkley, so all the academy students must have seen it. Many journalists were there too.”

“You didn’t strike me as someone who would watch that kind of event.”

Jasper’s guess was correct. In truth, Rose Bell hadn’t intended to watch the swordsmanship competition from the beginning. The entire school was in an uproar over the competition, so she ended up being forced to watch it.

On that day, just like usual, Rose had been in the library. The crowds were so noisy even inside the building that she couldn’t concentrate on her studies. Feeling that she couldn’t study properly, she had gone outside to escape the noise.

The competition was taking place in a large outdoor arena. There were separate seats for Berkley Academy students, and Rose had arrived late and found a spot at the back of the audience.

Coincidentally, it was during the finals. The distance was too far for Rose to make out Jasper’s features, but his swift movements and swordplay were vividly felt.

Jasper muttered quietly.

“So… you saw it.”

“I don’t know much about swordsmanship, but even from a distance, you were impressive. Plus, you were the youngest winner of that competition, right?”

“Well…”

Jasper, who had always looked directly at Rose, averted his gaze slightly. It was a new expression she had never seen before.

‘…Is he feeling embarrassed?’

Rose blinked and held her breath for a moment.

‘How interesting!’

Unconsciously, Rose stared at Jasper for quite a while, until he raised an eyebrow and met her gaze.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“Huh? Oh. Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. There’s no need to turn away so quickly…”

Just then, loud voices echoed down the corridor from the other side.

“Rose!”

Startled, Rose looked ahead. From a distance, an all-too-familiar face was rapidly approaching with enthusiasm.

“Bry?”

“You’re here!”

Briley closed the distance in an instant, pulling Rose into a quick embrace before releasing her. Jasper, who was standing nearby, flinched.

“I finished class early, so I’ve been wandering around. I came over this way when I saw you! I’ve been wanting to see you.”

Briley held Rose’s hand and shook it around as she spoke cheerfully.

And then, finally, she seemed to notice Jasper. Briley’s head tilted to the side with a quizzical look.

“What’s up with you two being together?”