Only I Know the War Hero’s Secret Chapter 20

‘……I might as well lend a hand.’

Mona hadn’t nodded in agreement to help construct the magic circle simply because she’d been swept up in the enthusiasm around her.

She just wanted the teleportation circle installation to be completed as quickly as possible so she could explore the Land of Chaos even a moment sooner.

“Please, follow me.”

When the investigation team members volunteered to help, Noel led them to a shabby clearing behind the lord’s castle.

“We plan to construct the teleportation circle here and then transport it to the base camp for installation.”

With a casual flick of his fingers, Noel lifted the cloth covering the stone slab.

“As you can see, the preliminary work is complete. Over the next five days, we’ll need to carve channels into the slab through which mana can flow.”

A gigantic, intricately designed magic circle composed of geometric structures came into view before Mona’s eyes.

Seeing the layers of interlocking patterns and the complicated design, she couldn’t help but marvel.

‘This is way more backbreaking work than I expected.’

Unlike Mona, who was inwardly breaking into a cold sweat, the other team members were all amazed and full of admiration.

“That’s incredible!”

“I’d heard that no one could rival Sir Noel in the field of teleportation magic these days, but it seems even the rumors have understated his abilities!”

Farmin seized the opportunity to flatter him.

“It’s because of my shortcomings that the schedule has been delayed.”

Noel responded modestly before adding,

“Honestly, even five days was cutting it close, so I’m truly grateful that you’re willing to lend a hand.”

“Sir Noel, then when should we begin engraving the circuits? Can we start right away?”

Farmin eagerly stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves. He was itching to see that clueless monster researcher embarrass herself as soon as possible.

“Yes. Since we’re pressed for time, we’ll begin now.”

Before Noel had even finished speaking, Farmin picked up a hammer and chisel for magic-circle construction from the corner.

Following his lead, the other team members also began picking up tools and taking their places.

‘Heh heh. Time to show them what I can do.’

Although Farmin was from the Department of Mathematical Formulas, he’d had several opportunities to engrave magical circuits onto stone slabs.

Magic and magic circles were inseparable, after all.

‘And I’ve been praised for doing a good job every time.’

Farmin deliberately took a position near Mona and flashed a triumphant smile.

After all, one’s skills shone all the brighter when standing beside someone who was bad at the task.

‘Judging by the looks of it, she doesn’t even know how to handle the tools.’

He inwardly sneered at Mona, who was examining the mana-conducting hammer and chisel with a bewildered expression, then swung his hammer.

Clang!

A crisp sound rang out as the chisel struck the stone slab, and the surface began to chip away along the preliminary design.

‘Well? How about that?’

As he worked skillfully on the circuits, Farmin glanced at Mona with a smug expression.

‘Huh……!?’

But an unbelievable sight was unfolding right before his eyes.

Tap, tap—

Accompanied by a rhythmic beat, the chisel moved with the smoothness of flowing water.

In the blink of an eye, Mona was carving out complicated geometric patterns that Farmin hadn’t even touched yet.

‘W-What!? Why is she so good at this?’

Whether Farmin was shocked or not, Mona was lost in her memories.

‘The tools for making magical circuits have gotten so much better these days. We didn’t have anything like this back in my day.’

When Mona was young, there had been no hammers and chisels that automatically regulated the amount of mana to keep it consistent.

So whenever she had to repair the magic circles in the front yard of her grandmother’s house, which monsters frequently damaged, Mona had to carve the circuits while manually adjusting the mana herself.

“Mona, you have such nimble hands.”

Encouraged by her grandmother’s praise, Mona remembered how she’d worked on magic circles as a child, almost as if she were playing with drawing patterns.

Since her grandmother was a monster researcher, their house had been very close to the Eastern Demonic Realm. As a result, the magic circles were constantly getting damaged.

Looking back, it really had been an endless cycle of backbreaking work.

‘I wonder if that little goblin bastard who kept stealing my sweet potatoes is doing well…….’

Mona was deeply absorbed in her work, her thoughts wandering through old memories, when—

“……Was your name Miss Mona Veloz?”

A low, gentle voice suddenly came from behind her.

“?”

Mona briefly stopped carving and turned around.

‘……It’s Noel Lotus.’

Looking up at the direct descendant of such a prestigious family standing behind her, Mona asked in a puzzled voice,

“Yes……? Is something wrong?”

Instead of answering, he narrowed his eyes and gave her a gentle smile.

It was the very smile that the young ladies of high society unanimously praised as elegant and charming.

He wasn’t an impossibly handsome man like Richard, but even Mona, who had little interest in other people’s appearances, couldn’t help thinking that he was quite good-looking.

……But why was he smiling?

“Could you come over here for a moment, Miss Mona?”

“……?”

With a groan, Mona got to her feet and followed Noel with a bewildered expression.

“I’d like you to work here.”

To her surprise, the place he led her to was the center of the magic circle, which was covered in the most complicated patterns.

Mona nearly frowned.

Damn it.

She’d deliberately taken a seat near the outer edge, where the geometric shapes were simpler. Had he noticed?

Noel Lotus……

His demeanor and voice were as sweet and gentle as honey, but he seemed to have a surprisingly strict and sharp personality.

“……All right.”

Swallowing nervously, Mona forced herself to answer calmly before crouching down again and resuming work on the magic circle.

“Miss Mona.”

But Noel called her once more.

“……Yes?”

“I’d like you to pay a little more attention to refining that curved section. I’m sure you can handle it, Miss Mona.”

He was even nitpicking her work.

‘I’ve gone and gotten myself into trouble again.’

What good were the improved tools when the patterns themselves were so ridiculously difficult?

‘Is this my unlucky year or something?’

With a bitter feeling, Mona continued working, breaking into a cold sweat.

Meanwhile, Farmin watched Mona, who had been singled out by Noel, with such envy that he nearly bit through his handkerchief.

‘What on earth is going on here?’

He’d only just recovered from his shock at seeing that woman carve a stone-slab magic circle suspiciously well.

Now, after Sir Richard, she was being addressed by Sir Noel himself!

Who exactly was Noel Lotus?

He was an unparalleled genius who had become the head of a research laboratory on the Magic Tower’s seventh floor at the mere age of twenty-six.

Farmin had been ecstatic when he’d learned that Noel was part of the same investigation team.

There were countless magicians who would give anything just to exchange a few words with him, and Farmin was no exception.

However, despite his gentlemanly behavior, Noel had a subtle way of keeping people at arm’s length, making it difficult to approach him.

‘Sir Noel actually approached her first!’

Grrr…… My stomach!

The thought that he’d personally handed a valuable networking opportunity to some monster researcher from the outskirts made his insides twist.

His stomach hurt so badly that Farmin nearly rolled around on top of the magic circle.

 

***

 

‘Hmm.’

With his arms crossed, Noel watched the delicate movements of the woman’s hands before him with interest.

……Mona Veloz.

The way she worked on the magical circuits with greater skill than anyone else was remarkably impressive.

He almost wanted to recruit her as an intern at the seventh-floor research laboratory on the spot!

But something else was what truly caught his interest.

‘It seems this woman has at least a general understanding of how this magic circle works……?’

After bringing her over and observing her more closely, he became even more certain.

Judging by the depth of the grooves she carved and the order in which she engraved the patterns, she certainly wasn’t someone who lacked an understanding of magic circles.

Those kinds of hand movements were impossible without knowing how mana flowed through the circuits.

‘……But wasn’t she from the Department of Monster Studies?’

How could a monster researcher understand the principles behind a teleportation circle built on various functions and complicated geometric formulas?

Was it merely a coincidence?

‘Well, there are people who are naturally gifted at sensing the flow of mana.’

Just as he was once again wavering between certainty and doubt, carefully observing Mona Veloz at work, she suddenly stopped her hand and tilted her head.

“Miss Mona.”

At the sound of her name, Mona lifted her head. Her silver eyes, faintly visible beneath her disheveled bangs, glimmered.

“Yes……?”

“Is something wrong? You suddenly stopped working.”

“……”

At Noel’s latest round of nitpicking, Mona suddenly felt wronged.

‘I’m really not slacking off this time.’

To explain why she’d paused her work, Mona hesitantly opened her mouth.

“It’s just, there’s something about this part……”

When Noel looked at the pattern she was pointing to, his golden eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp glint.