The Absolute Beings Obsessed with My Defeat Addiction

A few days have passed since Eileen left, satisfied.

“I have a letter.”

A letter has arrived from my master.

It must be a response to the question I asked previously.

I had sent a letter a few weeks ago asking for advice on the heating issue that arises in the emotional calculation magic circle and the resulting durability problems of the magic circle.

The timing was just right.

The postman, who handed me the mail from my master, extended his hand.

“Could it be…?”

“That’s right. It’s cash on delivery.”

Another cash on delivery?

Did they spend a lot of money on research over there?

“Understood.”

I handed over a coin.

“……”

However, the postman tilted his head and did not leave.

What is it?

“Isn’t the cash on delivery fee one coin? Has it gone up?”

“Oh, that’s not it. The previous wizard sent a cash on delivery, and that wizard over there sent another cash on delivery.”

Wait a moment.

“You mean my master did not pay for the amount of the letter I sent cash on delivery?”

“Yes. The wizard said that since the disciple has credit, to collect it from the disciple.”

My master sent a cash on delivery on top of a cash on delivery?

“Really?”

“Of course. Why would I lie to wizards about such things?”

“……”

That was a valid point.

Why would a postman, a civil servant receiving a salary from the imperial government, lie to me for some wealth and glory?

“Haah, understood.”

I handed over another coin.

It is the disciple’s virtue to cover the master’s shortcomings.

“Thank you.”

After sending the postman away, I opened the letter.

And just like before, the face of the blue-haired woman came to mind.

With a lively smile, it was my master, Meiko.

– My disciple, I have read all the concerns you sent. The heating issue and the durability of the magic circle are problems that many magic circles exhibit qualitatively.

It was a letter in the form of a recorded video, not the video letter I had sent previously.

It seemed that she changed the format of the letter because she had a lot to say.

Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and dark circles were heavily drawn under her eyes, likely from not sleeping for days due to research, but she appeared in a white lab coat, explaining the principles and methods to solve the symptoms of the magic circle.

– It could be a problem with the circuit, but usually, it is often the case that the compatibility of the runes set in the core magic circle that processes the calculations is not right.

– The runes engraved in the spell to operate the calculation circuit of the magic circle you sent me are positive runes like ‘arithmetic operation’, ‘logical operation’, ‘processing’, ‘amplification’, and ’emission’, right? Although they allow for efficient calculation processing at the cost of high mana consumption, if the types of calculations exceed a certain amount, it can easily lead to overload. No matter how sturdy the structure of the magic circle is, it cannot prevent the overheating that comes from the runes.

– If you set one or two of these to negative runes that reduce mana consumption, the overload will disappear.

Insert negative runes.

I had thought of this method as well.

However, negative runes were not suitable for large-scale magic circles.

While they consume little mana and are easy to learn, they drastically reduce the amount of calculations, which would break the magic circle.

Thus, I believed they were only used in small-scale magic circles where calculations were almost unnecessary.

– The moment you hear this, you probably think that negative runes are not used because they slow down the magic circle due to low mana consumption, right?

How did she know?

She was like a ghost, seeing right through me.

– Hehe, it’s because you’re smart that you miss this part. Haven’t you mastered positive runes since you learned them? I think it’s a problem that arose because you haven’t used negative runes.

– Anyway, if a negative rune is inserted among the positive runes, the heat generated by the positive runes will be stabilized by the negative rune. This way, you can operate the magic circle efficiently.

The harmony of yin and yang.

My master was emphasizing this.

‘That’s true.’

The calculation speed might drop somewhat, but the heat itself could definitely be suppressed.

‘Moreover, if what my master said is true, and I can lower the heat through the negative runes, I could add a few more runes to increase the efficiency of the magic circle.’

The part that had been stuck was cleared with my master’s advice.

“Thank you, Master.”

– If you understand, then when you return later, buy me something delicious. It’s been a while since I’ve had dessert, and I’m craving something sweet.

What is this?

Is this a two-way communication video?

– Hehe, I knew you would be surprised. It’s not a two-way communication video, so don’t worry. I predicted that you would react this way.

“……”

– Anyway, I hope you stop researching that shameless magic circle that shows such desires. With your abilities, you could do better things, so why are you focusing on that? What will you do if the Inquisition comes looking for you?

I’m sorry, Master.

I almost did something to the Saintess already.

– I will end this now. Let’s meet again when I return soon.

Having received advice through the letter, I carefully wrapped it up and stored it in my drawer.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, Master, I wouldn’t have come this far.”

Despite being younger than me, she was a master with magical knowledge that far surpassed mine.

It’s not for nothing that she is called a genius.

After storing the letter, I approached the magic circle.

Thanks to the Saintess’s holiness, the original weaknesses regarding heat had been greatly compensated in the magic circle.

It could perform a certain amount of calculations on its own without me controlling it, and the mana consumption was drastically reduced.

‘It’s thanks to this golden pattern.’

However, the holiness engraved in the magic circle had faded significantly compared to when I first used it with the Saintess.

It was probably because the Saintess had left and the holiness had not been exposed since then, causing its power to diminish.

I was not a wizard’s disciple.

“I know that strengthening the magic circle with holiness is not permanent, so now I need to make improvements according to my master’s advice.”

I replaced the positive rune ‘amplification’ with the negative rune ‘growth’, and similarly replaced the positive rune ‘processing’ with the negative rune ‘causing action’.

Although I couldn’t perfectly replace them since they were much easier runes, I believed that adding other runes to compensate for the deficiencies would be sufficient.

‘Good.’

All that was left was to demonstrate the modified magic circle.

I stood in the center of the magic circle to play the Nanako video.

Using only mana to operate the magic circle, without utilizing the holiness that still remained engraved in the magic circle, the entire magic circle, excluding the golden pattern that had been engraved with holiness, glowed and enveloped me.

***

Yuris wiped the sweat flowing down after finishing the morning training today.

“Captain, you worked hard again today.”

“Ah, uh, yeah……”

Recently, Yuris had not been able to properly see the faces of her subordinates.

The reason was simple.

It was because of the illusion she had seen in Max’s screening room.

Having become the wife of a general from another country, her own image, wishing to seduce in front of her subordinates, kept coming to mind, making it hard for her to look at their faces.

Especially.

“Ah, Captain! Are you not feeling well these days? Your concentration seemed a bit off during the sparring today?”

When looking at Jeko, the vice-captain of the 1st Knight Brigade, it became even worse.

In the illusion, Jeko had rebelled to reach Max’s tent while being a captive to save her.

In front of him, she had swayed her waist from Max’s position, acting like a bitch several times.

How lewd and strange her own image had been, spewing out lust.

Even when she experienced the illusion, and when she watched the video, Yuris had enjoyed it several times.

Every time she saw Jeko, the image of herself being violated by Max came to mind, preventing her from concentrating properly.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been feeling well lately.”

“Captain, by the way, your tone has strangely become feminine. Do you perhaps have a boyfriend?”

Yuris shook her head at Jeko and the other knights’ questions.

“What? A boyfriend? No way.”

Max was not a boyfriend.

He was the president of the screening room she visited.

Although they had had sex several times in the illusion, it wasn’t real sex.

‘Right. It’s just a relationship between a president and a customer.’

Her heart would beat strangely in front of him, but that was only because the scenes from that time came to mind.

The desire to want to exercise together was just because of that.

Completely immersed in thoughts of Max, Yuris did not notice that her subordinates’ gazes toward her had changed.

“You’re really embarrassed.”

“From your reaction, it seems like there really is someone, huh?”

“Are we finally going to be able to eat noodles now?”

“I can’t imagine the captain having a boyfriend.”

Her blushing face, looking embarrassed, was not much different from that of a girl in love for the first time.

At that moment, the Imperial Guard came to the training ground.

“Yuris, Captain of the Knight Brigade, Her Majesty has summoned you.”

“Oh, really? Understood. I’ll be there shortly.”

She hurriedly escaped from the group of knights, which kept bringing up lewd thoughts.

“Yuris, is there something good happening today?”

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, Yuris bowed her head to the legitimate ruler of the Empire.

“Thanks to Your Majesty’s grace, every day is enjoyable.”

“I see. It’s good to see a loyal subject feeling better. Are you no longer afraid of defeat?”

At the Empress’s question, Yuris lowered her head.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Yuris was no longer afraid of defeat.

How could she be?

Having experienced such good things, how could she fear defeat?

As soon as she imagined herself losing on the battlefield, her lower abdomen heated up, and her hips began to sway.

As soon as the thought came to mind, Max appeared.

The desire to go to him surged even in front of the Empress.

I want to go quickly.

I want to lose.

Suppressing the rising desire, Yuris opened her mouth.

“May I ask why you called for me, my lady?”

The Empress gestured.

Yuris slowly ascended the stairs at her gesture.

Standing one step below the Empress, Yuris bowed her head, waiting for her command.

“A messenger has arrived from the Elf Forest.”

“Elves… you mean?”

“Yes. After defeating the Demon King, those arrogant beings disappeared into the Elf Forest, claiming they would purify their own forest.”

Until the Demon King was defeated, the elves had sent several messengers to the Empire, asking for protection of their forest.

They were one of the races that suffered the most from the Demon King and his minions.

The demon race had invaded the Elf Forest several times, and Yuris had led the knights to be dispatched to stop them.

A few years ago, the 18-year-old girl knight had led the charge and repelled all the demon races, marking the first victory of the Goddess of Victory.

“The elves are saying they will open the Elf Forest to the Empire.”

“That’s good news.”

“Instead of formally sending a delegation, they want an important figure from our side to welcome the delegation.”

The Empress reached out and gently stroked Yuris’s chin.

“They want you to welcome the delegation.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You are a hero of the Empire, but the elves also regard you as a hero.”

“…… If Your Majesty commands it, I shall obey.”

It was regrettable that she could not go to Max’s screening room, but she could not refuse the Empress’s command.

“Hehe, can you do that for me?”

“Yes.”

“Then I ask you. Please bring the elves to the palace. They are an arrogant race, but their power is still useful.” 

The Empress, who had stroked Yuris’s chin, smiled gracefully.