In A Noble Magic Academy, The Only Spell I Know Is Scan

Roko felt sick. It was hard to breathe and he already lost track of time. His hands and legs felt so heavy he could hardly move. Though if that was due to fatigue or gravity magic he didn't know. He shouldn't be suffering from gravity magic though, he's been able to keep it localized to the abnegate. Maybe it was all the spell circles he had been crafting with the back of his mind, multitasking his magic training with his sculpting. Actually he's been multitasking at least four different things since coming here. One was the sculpting process and another was the magic training but there was also maintaining the gravity spell and most salient of all, the analysis. He was learning so quickly. And he learned that the more he learned the more effective his analyze spell became. At first he could only record the surface condition of the abnegate but after chipping into the stone and noticing signs of the noumenite creation process, his spell actually started to penetrate the stone's exterior. Perhaps it was an improvement of his map analysis version of his spell but he actually could see the bits of noumenite shards forming in the abnegate. From what Kaguya had explained about the formation process, shards of noumenite form from wild mana seeping inside the abnegate and the gravity magic draws it deep into the center of the stone, coalescing them into a larger noumenite. The problem was the introduction of too much wild mana into those shards, causing them to reform into other gems. If those entered the forming noumenite in the center, it would color the canvas they were trying to form and the noumenite would disappear. Roko's magic training actually did well in pulling away the wild mana from the stone but it wasn't perfect so his mission was to find any deformed noumenite and remove it before it could corrupt the central noumenite. Eventually, he would reach the center of the stone, where the completed noumenite will be. The longer he waited, the more noumenite will form but also the greater the risk of that noumenite turning into a different gem and spoiling his efforts entirely.

And in the middle of all this, Roko felt sick. He had no idea how long he's been working on this but he knew he wasn't done. He tried to force himself to take some breaks, even left the mana dense area to do simple things like eat or take baths. But even away from his work, Roko felt like he was dying, his mind felt constantly split, never fully able to uncouple itself with his work. And when he wasn't working, he was stumbling through life. About the only thing he could remember to do was to take the abnegate away from the mana zone while he wasn't working on it to prevent mana corruption. The only solace he could find was to think over how his powers had developed. Or at least how his understanding of it had improved. The more he knows, the more his spells was able to tell him. So he needed to learn more. He needed to learn more. He needed to learn more. That single thought, running over and over again in his head was the only thought not related to his work that he could focus on to "relax". His mind felt shattered. Broken. Like a child surrounded by thier favorite toys that switched their singular focus from one toy to the next, Roko continued his work, hoping everyone else was doing better.

"So Roko's off killing himself again?"

"No, I said he's off doing something important." Kaguya frowned.

"Yeah. And that involves killing himself a little doesn't it?" Helena replied, "Or am I wrong?"

"Well...you're not wrong." Kaguya sighed.

"And Roko always leaves the most important work for himself so this is probably about that noumenite isn't it?"

"Clever clever." Kaguya said sarcastically, "But what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing." Helena shrugged, "Whatever Roko does, we usually need it so let's just pray he comes back safe and sane."

"You're just excited for another delirious Roko to mess with aren't you?"

"Kaguya! I'm shock! Shocked that you would think so low of me!" Helena mocked offense, "But now that you mention it, that does sound kind of funny."

"You're incorrigible. Just like Roland."

"Hey, I'm not sure I appreciate where that comparison's coming from." Helena smirked, "I'm different from Roland!"

"And how so, pray tell?"

"I'm more selfless!" Helena puffed out her chest proudly.

"Well, at least you didn't say modest." Kaguya sighed, "Speaking of, where's Roland?"

"He's off helping Momo rebuild the huts. Switched with him after my bracelet ran out of energy."

"You sure keep him busy."

"That's because you don't see how often he tries to slack off." Helena sighed heavily, "It's not even that he's particularly lazy or anything, he just keeps trying to look all film noir and stuff by sitting around, barely drinking coffee and looking out the window."

"Have you considered taking away his hat?"

"I would, but it's not like it's my hat. Dude paid for it himself so I can't just take it from him."

"I mean, you are his employer."

"Yeah but I don't want to be THAT kind of boss."

"What a nice boss you are." Kaguya said, "How's the reconstruction by the way?"

"Well, they fixed the hole in the main chamber. Now it's all about filling up the reservoir back up and bringing back the fish. Good news is, it's gonna rain tonight."

"Oh, neat. That should fill like...a fifth of the pool?"

"Should be some pretty heavy rain actually."

"...A third of the pool then?"

"Yeah, we're going to need more water."

"Have you made the preparations?"

"I'm leaving that to Corissa. There's all this stuff about acidity levels and proper balance for all the fish that will be living there so I just left it to the Disney princess."

"Isn't she busy with the incantation?"

"Well, she was begging me for some work to distract herself with so I gave her some."

"Ah, I see."

Their conversation fell into a short silence as Helena stepped back and let out a deep sigh, "So how big do you want this field, anyway?"

Kaguya looked up to check on Helena's work and giggled, "You won't get anything done hoeing like that."

"Well excuse me, princess. I'm not exactly experienced at farming." Helena wiped her brow of sweat, "If anything, I'm surprised you're so good at it! Being...you know...a princess and all."

"Well, I made sure to get in some practice while I was learning." Kaguya said innocently, "Would be no good if I couldn't teach my people what I learned."

"That's our class president for ya." Helena sighed, "You ever get tired of student council work on top of everything else?"

"Haha. Well, let's just say that normal council work will be much more mundane after everything we've been through."

"That tracks." Helena said, "...So should I just redo this entire row or..."

"Just leave it." Kaguya laughed, "The rain's coming soon. We should just head back inside and relax."

"That's true." Helena looked up at the gloomy sky, rumbling with the threat of lightning, "I don't know if our rebuilt homes are good enough to stand up to a bunch of rain quite yet but I guess we'll find out."

"Mikado's been busy preparing a sort of temporary sleeping quarters in the cave network so we don't have to be sleeping in our houses when we find out."

"Wow, you're really on top of things. I would hate to be out here while it's raining."

"I doubt anyone would."

The two princesses turned around as they heard the sound of rushed footsteps, running out of the cave and towards the camp exit as Corissa ran past them, looking worried.

"Yo, Corissa!" Helena called, "What you doing?"

"It's going to rain soon!" Corissa yelped as she stopped running, umbrella clutched tightly in her hands, "And I don't think Roko has an umbrella!"

"Aw, I'm sure he already has an umbrella." Helena smiled, "Right, Kaguya?"

"I uuuhhh..." Kaguya looked perplexed, "I think so?"

"Just leave it, Corissa." Helena called again, "You're not going to find him in time before it rains."

"But…!"

"Look, I'm sure Roko's perfectly fine right now!"

Roko realized he'd forgotten if he had slept in the past few hours or not.

"Perfectly fine." Kaguya nodded, "He's a tough little cookie anyway. I don't think a little rain is going to stop him."

"But..."

"Let's go inside." Helena put down her hoe and walked over with Kaguya to draw the concerned princess back into the cave, "I hear they actually replaced the ceiling in the cave with tempered glass. Doesn't that sound cool?! You can look up and see the fish swimming above you!"

"That...does sound really cool..." Corissa frowned, "But we don't have any fish yet."

"That just means we can watch the rain fill up the basin from below!" Helena said, placing a hand around Corissa's shoulder and gently drawing her away from the gate, "Come on, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Glass ceiling with fish is one thing, but when else are you going to be able to watch a glass bottomed pool fill up with rainwater?!"

"But..." Corissa glanced back at the exit, still worried.

"Corissa, if you get lost and died, our work here will have been for nothing." Kaguya said.

"But..." Corissa looked really sad.

"Come on, let's find find something to distract you with."

While walking through the vast network of tunnels that made up this cave, the princesses realized they've never actually been through the entire place. And that they never really mapped it out before all the renovation.

"Perhaps we should've done so earlier." Kaguya remarked.

"Well, the old man's been pretty particular about what people are doing in these caves of his." Helena replied, "He's pretty much claimed them as his home."

"Still, we should at least put up plaques detailing the layout."

"Or we could do brochures."

"This isn't a tourist attraction, Helena." Kaguya smiled, "We need more resilient ways of tracking our position in these dark hallways."

"Okay, then what should we make the plaques out of?"

"How about gold?"

"Pretty standard pick." Helena shrugged, "A gold plate embossed with a map doesn't really fit with the decor though."

"That's why we put it over a wooden panel."

"Ooo, a little classy. What wood are you thinking of?"

"Mahogany?"

"Standard pick. You're not one to rock the boat are you?"

"If it works, it work." Kaguya shrugged, "Besides, we don't own this place nor live here for the long term so we can't get too creative with our design choices."

"Shame Roko isn't here. Apparently he can just scan out a map of this place in his head."

"Roko..." Corissa squeezed the umbrella in her hands tightly and held it close to her chest.

"Aw shoot. Look Corissa, I'm sure Roko will be fine!"

Roko blinked. He thought he was crying for a moment. Unless...this was sweat. ...Wait, was this rain?!

"Besides, he put himself in this situation." Helena patted Corissa on the back, "Let him stew in his own decisions."

Corissa didn't look convinced.

"Uuuhhh, look!" Kaguya said quickly, "Seems like someone's doing something over there! Let's check it out!"

The princesses all dragged Corissa away to one of the caverns lit up with a bright light. Walking inside, they found an Ereshkigal reading a book by lantern light. There was a veritable library of books around her, lying in piles next to her and even in open crates around her. Just from a glance at the titles, the princesses could tell what she was reading but they approached her all the same with the obvious question,

"Hey Eresh. Whatcha reading?" Helena asked.

"My dad's old research notes." Ereshkigal replied, not looking up from her studies, "Trying to read as much of it as I can before we burn them all."

"Hmm, that's certainly admirable." Kaguya said, "But considering the effect that it has had on your father, is that really a good idea?"

"Well, it'll probably be fine if she doesn't actually practice too much of it." Helena shrugged, "I mean, it's not ALL eldritch stuff right?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Ereshkigal said, "Everything makes sense so far."

"Did it always makes sense to you?"

"I mean, not at first. I wasn't like a magical prodigy. I just kept reading and sometimes watch my dad in action."

"I mean, the fact that you can operate the memory machine at all is apparently really impressive." Helena smiled, "Give yourself some credit."

"Credit huh? I don't actually know how hard this magic is compared to anything else. I just did my best to catch up to my dad."

"Well your dad's known as the best for a reason." Kaguya nodded, "You'd do well in his footsteps, though I don't think anyone wants you to."

"I know." Ereshkigal scratched her head, growling in frustration, "I'm trying to figure out something else I can do with all this knowledge before it all goes up in flames."

"I'm sure you can do it." Corissa knelt down and offered the young dark elf a pleasing smile, "You've got your whole life ahead of you to figure everything out."

"Easy for you to say." Ereshkigal scoffed, "You're all princesses so you've probably never had to work for anything."

"That's not true." Corissa shook her head, "I wasn't always a princess."

"You weren't?"

"Nope. I used to be a simple village girl before my village was attacked by the Demon King's forces. I lost everyone I knew. My mom, my dad. And for a while, even my best friend."

"You did?" Ereshkigal asked, not quite sure whenever to trust Corissa's story but she didn't seem completely doubtful.

"I did." Corissa nodded, "I'm sure Helena, Kaguya, even Momo, Mikado and Roland had times where they weren't sure of themselves or where things seemed hopeless."

"..." Ereshkigal looked down, deep in thought, "Do...you want to see your parents again?"

"Eh?" Corissa said, completely caught off guard by the question.

"I mean, I'm doing all this research but like...I'd like to do a bit of practice one last time before it's all forgotten." Ereshkigal explained, "So...if you want, you could see your parents again."

Corissa sat back on her butt, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions flowing past her eyes in instants that never came across her face. Everyone stayed still and silent as they let the princess collect her thoughts that none of them could ever imagine were like right now. But in a moment faster than any of them expected, Corissa answered,

"I...never thought about seeing my parents again. It's been so long that I don't even remember their faces anymore. So much has happened but...what would I say to them? If I could tell them everything that's happened to me, would they be proud or worried? Would they be able to rest in peace again?" Corissa let out a small laugh, "I would love to see them again...but I don't think...I'm ready. I'm just too nervous. I want to see them when I can be proud of who I am. Right now...I feel like I haven't done enough. Even if this opportunity never comes again...I want to prove myself first before seeing them again."

"...I mean, if that's how you feel." Ereshkigal nodded, "How about you two? Feel like seeing anyone again?"

"My parents are still alive so I'm good on that front." Helena grinned.

"I...I'm good." Kaguya replied, suspiciously nonchalantly. Though no one in the room seemed to pick up the swirl of emotions she had briefly experienced.

"Suit yourselves." Ereshkigal shrugged, "I'll just keep reading then. Though the room we used last time for the journal is getting discontinued soon so we won't be able to try this later. If you're all content with that, we can just focus on everything else that needs to be done."

"Hm, wonder what Roko would have said." Helena mused, "Drat, if only he were here!"

"Would it even work, considering he's from another world?" Kaguya asked.

"I mean, it's worth trying." Helena shrugged, "He'd never say yes though so we'll have to trick him."

"Into what?"

"I dunno. When is the room getting decommissioned?"

"I'm supposed to remove the enchantments with holy tomorrow." Corissa said, "They said it should be easier if I did it."

"Oh no. Kaguya, when are you picking up Roko again?"

"In like three days?"

"...Corissa, can you hold off on that magic for a few days?"

"Helena." Kaguya said crossly.

"Fine fine, I'll drop it." Helena sighed as Corissa giggled, "Man never tells anything about himself to us so you gotta put in some effort you know?"

"Yes, yes, let's get you out of here before you get anymore ideas." Kaguya shook her head.

"Alright! Later, Eresh!"

"Ah, one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Please don't tell my dad I offered to do this for you. He'd probably get mad."

"Ah, don't worry. I'm an expert at keeping secrets from your parents."

…

"Something you want to talk about, Helena?" Kaguya's eyes narrowed.

"Nope. Let's go."

Five days had passed since Roko first began his work on the abnegate. And like Kaguya promised, she had returned early to see how his progress had gone. Normally the process was said to take a week but Kaguya didn't know of the conditions that this statement was made under. Not to mention Roko's own skills that may or may not have served as an advantage. Kaguya wasn't sure what to expect but she certainly didn't expect to see Roko outside of the mana dense zone, lying against a tree and completely unconscious. In his arms was a clear gem about the size of a helmet. It was certainly smaller than the abnegate that Kaguya had given him but it was also much, much larger than any piece of raw noumenite that Kaguya's ever seen.

"You mad man, you actually did it." Kaguya grinned, "I...sure hope you're still alive."