The young man named Alexander Smith walked off, completely ignoring Marzin.
That was intriguing.
Marzin rubbed his chin, idly wishing he didn't have to shave his long beard due to a recent fire hazard accident.
But he set that thought aside and watched Alexander walk off.
'No wonder Marisa spoke so highly of him.'
It had not been love in Marisa's gaze towards Alexander, but a deep admiration.
Respect that Marzin had only previously seen directed towards himself. That was why Marzin had been curious and teased Alexander a bit. A slight probing to determine his true character.
And Alexander had simply just brushed him off. As if the Grand Sage himself was just air.
But Marzin could understand why, after having talked with him. 'A refined gem forged under pressure and already honed... How curious.'
Though the young man hid it well, there was no hiding the unique combination of mana circles and mana stars unifying his physical and magical prowess.
And Marzin did not miss how quickly that young man had hid an extraordinary magical artifact in a space that even he could not perceive.
'How very curious...'
It seemed that it truly had not been by chance that Marisa had reached Rank 7. But either way, it was just a minor curiosity.
Just as that young man had his own plans to tend to, so too did Marzin.
And so after watching Alexander head towards the noble dorms where the princess no doubt awaited that young man, Marzin waved his hand and teleported himself to the Headmistress's Mage Tower.
There was an immediate blast of pure white mana.
Marzin chuckled and waved his hand, splitting the attack before dissipating it across countless spatial folds. As he did, he said, "You are as prickly as ever, Little Light."
Sophia huffed and tossed her purple hair aside, glaring at Marzin. "And you continue to have no sense of privacy, old man. Bursting into the private chambers of young women..."
Marzin raised an eyebrow. "Young?"
Another blast of white mana surged towards Marzin.
He laughed and swept his hand to the side again, dissolving it all.
Sophia clicked her tongue, eyeing a paperweight on her desk.
Marzin chuckled and said, "If striking this old man will relieve some of your stress, please, go ahead."
Sophia crossed her arms and said, "Don't kid yourself, you masochist. I know you like freaky things like that."
Marzin chuckled and said, "Whatever you believe, Little Light."
Sophia sat back down behind her desk, adjusting a stack of reports that had been disturbed in the attack.
Marzin waved his hand, summoning a comfortable plush chair. Shoving it on the other side of Sophia's desk, he eyed the papers and said, "It seems you are quite busy these days."
Sophia nodded and said, "Obviously. But what about you?" She glanced over and said, "I thought you were busy as well, finishing the Skymend Project?"
Marzin nodded and laced his fingers together. After that, he leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other before saying, "I am indeed quite preoccupied with various tasks. But my dear granddaughter crossed the wall. How could I not congratulate her? ...And investigate how she did so?"
Sophia frowned. "I thought I sensed something off yesterday. So it was because that girl crossed the wall, was it?"
Marzin frowned. His emerald eyes immediately turned serious and said, "You must be truly preoccupied if you did not notice a Rank 7 Mage enter your territory, Sophia."
Sophia sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "There's... a lot. A lot is happening now. Elio is helping me with it, but..." She paused, considering something. Then she shook her head and said, "No. It's nothing you have to worry about." She sighed and said, "If the United Mage Tower joins in as well, then it will be far too much of a mess to handle."
Marzin slowly nodded. "...Very well. However, if my granddaughter is harmed in any way-"
Sophia waved her hand and said, "Yes, yes. You'll rip this Empire to shreds along with the academy... I've heard that plenty of times since she enrolled, Old Man."
Marzin smiled and said, "Just a friendly reminder."