"And also..."
As she said this, a hint of resentment appeared on Sense's face.
"I was originally going to give it to you at your coming-of-age ceremony, but you seemed to have forgotten all about it yourself."
Sense narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Huh? I'm an adult already? When! Let me see..."
Hearing Sense's words, Fíliya was instantly shocked. She then began to count the days on her fingers.
"Oh, you're right."
Miss Fíliya's eyes widened.
At this, Sense could only let out a sigh.
Fíliya doesn't even remember her own birthday, and her sense of time has faded so much... She's really becoming less and less human.
Has she gone stupid from studying the Demon Race? She might as well turn herself into a demon at this point.
Miss Sense thought indignantly, but she quickly composed herself and chose a new topic.
"Fíliya, that magic of yours, have you finished researching it? ...You said you poured your heart and soul into it, so much so that you even forgot your own birthday."
The moment magic was mentioned, Miss Fíliya perked up. She raised her head with great pride and said.
"Of course. It's complete, and has reached perfection... But there's a small problem now."
"What problem?"
Sense looked curious.
"I can't cast this spell."
Fíliya said seriously.
"Huh?"
Now, even the well-versed Sense looked bewildered. As a First-Class Mage, she had never heard of someone being unable to cast a spell they themselves had created.
"Sigh, the mana cost for this spell is just too immense. Even ten times my current mana wouldn't be enough. Unless... a very powerful mage were to stand still and let me absorb their mana without resistance, only then could I support the spell's cost."
Sense nodded at Fíliya's explanation. After a moment's thought, she said.
"Is my mana enough? If you want to try, you can do it now."
"Mmm. For Sense to trust me so much, I'm so touched... But unfortunately, even if I drained you dry, it wouldn't be enough. A conservative estimate would require the mana of Falsch, Genau, and old man Lernen as well."
Fíliya spread her hands, her expression slightly helpless.
"Then doesn't that mean it has no practical combat application...?"
Sense couldn't help but retort. What's the use of a spell that requires draining the mana of four First-Class Mages to cast? she couldn't help but wonder.
"Hmph hmph, has it ever occurred to you that magic isn't necessarily for combat?"
Fíliya wore a teasing expression, her tone cryptic.
"?"
Sense didn't understand, but she had to admit that Fíliya was very good at piquing people's curiosity.
But just as she was about to ask more, Fíliya waved her hand again.
"Alright, there's no point discussing that spell now... Once I've properly trained my mana, one day I'll be able to cast it for you myself, without any outside help."
By the time you train your total mana to rival that of four First-Class Mages? I'll probably be long dead by then.
Sense felt the soft flesh of her cheeks twitching slightly.
But she still noticed the point in Fíliya's words that caught her attention.
"Why the sudden desire to train your mana? ...You were never interested when I tried to persuade you before, you just spent all day buried in grimoires and ancient texts."
"Sigh... I have to. My stats are too low. Having good mechanics doesn't mean you can coast by every time."
Fíliya sighed, recalling the scene where she had blasted Abby to death in a single shot.
She had merely amplified her Ordinary Attack Magic by a little over twenty times, and it had completely drained her of mana.
"Sigh, I'm so weak."
Feeling deeply powerless about her own weakness, Miss Fíliya furtively threw herself into Miss Sense's arms.
"..."
The sudden action startled Sense. Her hair stood on end, the floating strands perfectly mirroring her current flustered state. She didn't even know where to put her hands.
"Sense, I'm so tired. Can you take a nap with me?"
Fíliya's tone had suddenly taken on a soft, almost clingy quality.
But Sense hesitated for less than three seconds before firmly refusing.
"No, I still have work to do... Hmm, but I can give you some time off. You can go home and get some proper rest."
"Tch, no fun."
Fíliya pushed herself out of Sense's embrace, an unhappy look on her face.
"What's the point if Sense won't join me? I'm not sleeping then."
Sense looked at Fíliya's pouting expression and found it quite amusing. Then she said.
"If you're not going to sleep, then let's just talk a bit more. I can still make time for some idle chatter... So, how was the commission this time?"
Seeing that Fíliya was still silent, Sense offered her a topic.
"Oh, the commission..."
Miss Fíliya pulled over a spare chair, lay down across it, and rested her head on Miss Sense's lap. Yes, the so-called "lap pillow."
After thinking for a few seconds with a look of pure comfort, Fíliya finally began to speak slowly.
"You know, I actually managed to catch a newborn demon this time? It's just a shame I got carried away and killed her. I wanted to ask her more things."
"Like what?"
Sense chimed in at the right moment. Although she couldn't understand Fíliya's intense interest in the Demon Race, she knew Fíliya had been studying them for a very long time.
"Like... I really want to ask how the Demon Race reproduces... Isn't that curious? Look, Sense, the Demon Race can't comprehend emotions, let alone 'love,' right? I really want to know, without love, how do they reproduce? Why do they even get together? Is it really just pure instinct?"
...Sense was speechless for a moment. Sometimes she really couldn't fathom what went through Fíliya's head all day.
But Fíliya had clearly entered research mode.
"Could it be... unlike the human reward mechanism, the reproductive act for demons is a 'punishment mechanism'? The more you do it, the more painful it gets? Is that why the demon... demon population can't grow?"
Fíliya spoke with a serious expression, but Sense clearly had no desire to hear any more of this strange talk, so she pinched Fíliya's cheek.
"Hiss... Sense, what was that for?"
Wincing, Fíliya quickly rubbed her face.
But Sense just kept a straight face and said.
"Forget it... Let's not talk about the Demon Race. Can we talk about something related to humans?"
Humans?
Hearing the keyword from Sense, Fíliya looked at Sense's face, thought rapidly for a moment, and then, as if something had occurred to her, she asked with sudden excitement.
"Oh, right! Speaking of which... Sense, how old are you, exactly?"
Huh?
Sense's expression grew darker. It seemed the topic of age was something she didn't want to discuss.
But the oblivious Miss Fíliya continued to court death.
"Hmm, let me see. I've read the Association's reports, you know. Sense, you've been the head examiner for the mage exams five times, right? Assuming you became a First-Class Mage at twenty, and the First-Class Mage Exam is held every three years... By that calculation, even a conservative estimate puts you over 30, doesn't it?"
"And if we're not being conservative, you might even be 40... Good heavens, Sense, do you realize how dangerous that age is?! For us magical girls, 400 is fine, 4000 is fine, but it absolutely cannot be 40!"
As if completely oblivious to Sense's gloomy face, Fíliya even grabbed Sense's shoulders with both hands and began shaking her back and forth.
"That's enough..."
Sense said coldly.
"Instead of me, you should worry about yourself. I can assure you, Miss Fíliya, your life is about to be permanently fixed at the age of 18."
As Sense spoke, her long hair flew out from behind her like extending limbs, transforming into the shape of a power drill in the blink of an eye.
Er.
Fíliya subconsciously swallowed.
How could this cunning woman not know what she was doing? Of course, she was provoking Sense on purpose. After all... Sense had always been a good target for farming emotion points.
But it was clear she was now in a very bad spot. If Sense was truly angry...
She couldn't beat Sense.
Leaving mana levels aside, Sense specialized in using her freely transforming long hair for mass-based attacks. This type of high-frequency, wide-coverage physical attack was precisely what Miss Fíliya was worst at dealing with... Yes, one could say that Miss Fíliya's nemesis was Sense herself.
So Miss Fíliya quickly groveled. Besides, kneeling to Sense wasn't shameful.
"Hee, can we call a truce?"
Fíliya had a pleading look on her face, but she also had a backup plan ready. Although she couldn't beat Sense, if she decided to run, no First-Class Mage would be able to stop her.
Sense's response was an attack without a moment's hesitation.
After symbolically blocking for a few seconds with Defensive Magic, Fíliya's magic barrier was shattered by Sense's hair drill.
Unfortunately, just as the hair drill was about to strike Fíliya, Miss Sense's heart softened as expected.
She retracted the drill and instead used her long hair to bind Fíliya up tightly like a dumpling.
"Mmph... I can't breathe."
Although Miss Fíliya struggled with a pained expression, one couldn't shake the feeling that she was enjoying it.
In the end, Sense threw Fíliya to the ground.
Fíliya gasped for breath for a long while before finally getting up. She then looked at Sense with an ingratiating smile.
"Sense is gentler than before. Was that enough to satisfy you?"
Sense ignored Fíliya's nonsense. With a slight blush on her cheeks, she said huffily.
"The exams I presided over weren't all First-Class exams... It's five times only if you count the Second and Third-Class ones too."
Hm? Fíliya tilted her head in confusion. Is it because I just recovered from being suffocated?
Why can't I understand what Sense is saying?
Seeing Fíliya's blank expression, Sense could only add.
"In... in short, I'm not even thirty yet! If you dare spout nonsense about me being 40 again, you can just go die."
As she spoke, Miss Sense controlled her hair again, grabbed Miss Fíliya, and tossed her right out of her office.
"Oof... that hurts."
Miss Fíliya picked herself up off the floor and rubbed her tailbone.
She looked at the tightly shut door and knew that Sense definitely didn't want to see her again anytime soon.
So, she could only shake her head helplessly and try to stand up.
Just then, another familiar figure slowly approached her.
Fíliya looked up and saw it was old man Lernen, Miss Ehre's grandfather.
It's not easy to see him in a place like this. Is he here to see Sense? Fíliya thought.
But she noticed that old man Lernen's gaze was fixed firmly on her.
Huh?
Before she could even express her confusion, she heard Lernen say.
"Lady Fíliya, Lady Serie wishes to see you."
Huh?
HUH!!!
This time, Fíliya's expression was one of genuine, heartfelt shock.
______
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