She had given up on attending the academy not because she lacked the grades, or confidence in the test.

It was because she didn’t have the means to handle the enormous tuition.

But now, there was no need to worry about tuition, was there?

“I heard the amount you received for your sister’s wedding settlement was tremendous. So there shouldn’t be a problem?”

She had never missed the top spot in her academy life, and had received many awards in various competitions. It was the result of not neglecting to invest in her future.

“I’ll have to talk to my father once his anger subsides. I’m going to take the Horizon Academy exam too.”

(This is a time separator.)

Even after overcoming the big mountain of the formal meeting, there were still mountains left for Riley to climb.

“Memorize these today. We’ll test at the end, don’t be late. The exam is a week away.”

“Understood.”

Horizon’s entrance exam was approaching in a week.

As the exam date approached, Riley became more sensitive.

Of course, she didn’t expect to pass and get admitted from the start. It was an impossible task. She decided to value the challenge itself. There would be opportunities next year.

“Your magic control is too unstable. Why are you so distracted? That distraction is reducing your focus.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You need to know that you have the worst personality to be a great wizard. Sensitive, overthinking, and worried too much. If you can’t control your mind, you can’t be a wizard. Get it together.”

Arpeggio increased the difficulty as the weeks went by.

Now Riley had to memorize six books a day, and the spellcasting time was extended to four hours. Coming home at three in the morning after six in the evening became frequent.

Of course, Riley was not dissatisfied with this intense schedule. Rather, her gratitude for Arpeggio, who passionately taught her by splitting his time, grew.

She had no choice but to work harder to repay his efforts.

(This is a time separator.)

“Arpeggio, Master Matop is calling for you.”

“Tell him to come here.”

“He’s asking you to come.”

“Ah, how annoying.”

“Is he crazy? What time is it for a summon?”

It should be legal to break the head of a boss who summons at such an ambitious time past four in the morning.

Grumbling, Arpeggio shut down the magic storage generator and teleported to the top floor in an instant.

“Hello.”

“Hello, my ass, you bastard.”

He instinctively swore at the sight of the unpleasant face.

Plopping down across from Gibnen, Arpeggio ran his hands through his matted hair and sat down.

“You must be insane. Otherwise, who would call someone at this hour?”

“I have no time other than now, being the busiest person in the tower these days. And I’m a night owl, where would I find time to meet during the day?”

“Who’s the reason I’m going through this in the first place… Ah, never mind. So why did you call me?”

“Just wondering how Riley is doing under the supervision of Horizon’s guardian, how the education is progressing, and I’m curious about an overall review.”

Arpeggio spat out a cynical laugh, stunned by the question.
“Local deity? Why turn a perfectly living person into a ghost, it’s crazy, just crazy. And even though I’m older than your master, you spit out informal words. Have you erased from your mind that I was a classmate of the previous Magic Tower Master? Huh?”

Gibnen shrugged his shoulders.

“I said to treat me casually as if I’m your brother.”

“……That means to think of me as your brother, not to actually treat me like your real brother, you brat.”

“Just tell me anyway.”

Arpeggio let out a deep sigh, looking at the ceiling.

“If you were so curious about your wife in the first place, why didn’t you educate her yourself?”

“As you know, I’m very busy. And this area is your specialty. I don’t have the delicacy to see through someone’s magic.”

“I could freeze to death. A guy praised as a genius of the century often whines.”

“Enough with the useless talk and get to the point.”

At Gibnen’s urging, Arpeggio let out a sigh and listed information about Riley.

“Her magic was sealed. It might have been Lyston’s doing. He turned my daughter into a walking bomb. I tried to forcibly unseal it, and luckily, it worked. If I had known the magic was sealed, I would not have tried to forcibly unseal it.”

“So, you’re confessing that you almost blew my lovely wife to pieces?”

“The result was good, so it doesn’t matter, damn it. Who did it on purpose?”

Gibnen continued to glare at Arpeggio with a displeased look. Then Arpeggio defended himself as if wronged.

“Don’t entrust her to me in the first place! Even if I help, it’s madness, madness!”

“Enough, continue.”

“She’s not a genius. Despite her magic being sealed for a long time, she’s handling it well, even unconsciously. Plus, her memory and comprehension are exceptional. But it doesn’t seem like her innate ability. Perhaps…… Lyston passed on some of his knowledge and magic to her as you suspected.”

“Hmm, as expected.”