Chapter 11
The dining hall was far busier than I'd expected.
The uproar of hundreds of students talking at once rang in my ears, and I frowned for no real reason.
But when I saw the stew in front of me, my mood eased a little.
I casually picked up my spoon and took a mouthful of the thick broth.
A warm flavor spread across my tongue.
"Tasty..."
Yeah, this was enough to make skipping a nap worthwhile.
If I had to rate it, it was about 0.85 Ria.
As I quietly moved my spoon, I felt a gaze fixed on me.
Claire, seated across from me, had even stopped eating and was staring at me intently.
Has she never seen someone eat before?
"Why?"
"No, it's just... I thought it was amazing how your spoon was moving on its own?"
Well, right. It would be her first time seeing someone eat with telekinesis.
"It's nothing. Just a normal spell."
Without mana, your body pays the price.
When I shrugged with a flat expression, Claire suddenly burst out laughing.
"Ahaha! Lunaris, you're a lot more different from what I expected."
"...Huh?"
What exactly did she think I was?
"You didn't show up anywhere at the academy last week, did you? You skipped the entrance ceremony too, and you missed lectures."
"I did."
"Because of that, do you know all the rumors that started spreading?"
In those rumors, I was practically the academy's worst troublemaker.
"That you got angry during your interview and overturned every chair and desk with high-level magic, for instance."
"...?"
I had overturned the interview room with telekinesis, but I hadn't been angry.
And I'd even put everything back to normal afterward.
"There was even a rumor that you blew up the entire classroom during the practical exam and got suspended as soon as you were admitted."
"...Huh?"
I had indeed blown up the classroom, but it hadn't been intentional.
It had been an accident, that's all.
"There was also a rumor that you fought magical duels with Dean Raymond of the Magic Department for an entire week over whether you'd enter the Magitech Department..."
"???"
That weird department head did come looking for me every day, but we didn't exactly duke it out.
"And there was also talk that you turned your dorm room into a workshop, researched dangerous magic... and got on the maids' bad side..."
Magic research, my ass. I barely had enough time to sleep.
...Ah, though of course, the part about the maids having it in for me was true.
It was so absurd I let out a snort of laughter before I knew it.
If I'd been out of sight for a month instead of a week, maybe they'd have spread rumors that I was trying to blow up the entire academy.
"It's all exaggerated."
"I knew it... wait, if it's exaggerated, does that mean it's not completely made up?!"
"...It's a baseless rumor."
There was no point in giving some tedious, pedantic explanation, so I brushed it off.
Claire nodded and burst out laughing.
Then, with a much more relaxed expression, she started talking about this and that.
About how the Magic Department's atmosphere was, how decent the dorm rooms were, and so on.
She just kept chattering nonstop.
At first I found it annoying and half-listened, but before long I got used to the conversation.
Well, if she's around, at least it won't be boring.
*
Humans are creatures ruled by desire.
Once you've eaten your fill, you have to sleep; once you wake up, you have to start eating again.
Eating, sleeping, and taking a dump.
That's life.
If there's any reason I'm even saying something this obvious, it's because
Elterion Academy forces us into afternoon classes less than an hour after lunch ends. Wake up, wake upaaah...!!
The sunlight streaming lazily through the window made it the perfect environment for a nap.
But reality was cruel.
"Everyone, focus. From now on, I'll demonstrate the intermediate magic you'll need to learn over the course of this semester."
Standing in neat rows in the middle of the indoor auditorium, having to listen to a boring, pretentious lecture was truly despair-inducing.
"I'll show you the four elemental magics one by one, exactly once, so pay attention."
The middle-aged professor, with his bangs neatly swept back, raised his staff and pointed at the metal dummy.
With a short incantation, mana gathered at the tip of his staff, and a magic circle unfolded.
It began with fire.
Heat gathered at a single small point, then exploded, leaving scorch marks on the lump of metal.
Next, a pale frost began to gather around the metal dummy.
Then translucent wind blades went thunk, thoom—pounding the steel.
Finally, an earth-made spear caved in the dummy's torso.
The students burst into admiring applause at the professor's neat demonstration.
"Ahem! Most mages focus on one or two attributes, but there are those, like me, who handle all four elemental magics."
A bit of a buzzkill, but handling all four elemental magics wasn't really anything special.
Anyone could do it with enough effort, after all.
It was just a matter of efficiency.
Most people choose one or two attributes with the highest affinity and focus on those.
If anything, handling every element just meant there wasn't anything especially remarkable about you.
...And that was exactly me.
"Before the midterm, practice until you can perfectly use one of the intermediate spells I just demonstrated."
I nodded casually, suppressing a yawn.
What an utterly unhelpful class.
The bed in Rinea Hall shimmered in my mind's eye.
My bed was definitely missing me too... haaahm...
"Professor! I have a request."
Then someone suddenly raised a hand.
"Isn't there an advanced mage among our classmates?"
"Hm, come to think of it..."
"If you would allow it, Professor, I'd like to get a feel for what an advanced mage is like."
The intent was plain as day.
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.
The sneering look on his face was obvious.
"If you're as amazing as the rumors say, showing your classmates a simple spell shouldn't be a problem, should it?"
The nearby students started snickering at his words.
"Haha. Actually, I was wondering about that too. Student Lunaris, could you show us once?"
Not knowing how I should react, I scratched my head awkwardly.
As for casting magic itself... that wasn't really difficult...
Though I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to control ordinary elemental magic properly.
As I hesitated, the professor urged me on with a faint smile.
"Still, if you're an advanced mage, I imagine you could comfortably handle at least two-attribute intermediate magic, if not all four."
Then, as if he'd suddenly thought of an interesting proposal, the professor continued with a meaningful expression.
"Let's do this. If the student successfully casts two of the spells I just demonstrated, you won't have to attend my class until the midterm."
"...Oh."
This was a little tempting.
"What if I succeed at all of them?"
"Hm? Hah! Then I'll excuse you from this lecture for the entire semester."
"Ah, that sounds nice."
I slowly stood up from my seat.
Guaranteed nap time every Monday afternoon?
How could I possibly resist that?
If the magic goes berserk, that's none of my business.
I just did what I was told.
"But I haven't been sleeping much lately. I'm a bit off today..."
Just in case, I casually laid some groundwork.
That way, I wouldn't be held responsible for whatever happened next.
I slowly raised my arm and drew up mana.
First, earth-element intermediate magic.
Behind my back, an earth-colored spear—or rather, a sharp-tipped pillar—shot up.
Wow... this feels bad right from the start.
Before I could even control it, the pillar flew off on its own and skewered the metal dummy clean through.
No, it blasted it apart.
And not only that, it pierced right through the auditorium wall as well.
...
...
"Uh... student?"
I immediately prepared the next spell.
Guilt? No way I was going to feel anything like that.
All I was thinking was that I should finish the spell demonstration quickly and go to sleep.
Next came a wind-element intermediate spell.
The wind that began blowing from my fingertips.
It surged like a storm.
"W-What is this!"
"Lunaris student! T-this isn't intermediate magic, it's advanced magic...!"
"Eek! Get down!"
Broken stones and brick fragments began flying in all directions.
Before long, the storm had grown as if it were about to swallow an entire wall of the auditorium.
To finish quickly... no, before the damage got any worse, I hurriedly drew up more mana and cast the next spell.
A pale mist quelled the storm. It hushed the commotion.
"I-it's cold!"
"W-what kind of spell has a range like this..."
I shivered too, chilled to the bone.
Ugh, it's cold. I should hurry and cast the last spell, then get back under the covers already.
Fire-element intermediate magic, One-Point Explosion.
A black dot appeared at the center of the frozen space.
Cold air was sucked into the dot.
The dot kept growing, and growing...
...Wait. This is a little dangerous.
"Student, that's enough! Calm down and stop the magic at once!"
The professor's panicked shout echoed through the auditorium.
"It's not like I was angry or anything."
If I'd known this would happen, I should've just used basic or lower-level magic and passed it off as intermediate.
I'd only made things worse for no reason. It was pointless to regret it now, though.
I gathered as much mana as I could into my right hand.
And then I cast the only magic I could truly control.
Telekinesis.
The space where the black dot was located warped.
The auditorium wall nearby was caught up in the distortion.
-Krrk─!
With a grotesque sound, the bricks twisted.
Soon, an explosion erupted at the center of the black dot.
-Kwaaang─!
Contrary to the deafening noise, the auditorium was quiet. The flames were trapped in the warped space.
Soon, the noise died down.
I loosened the force in my hand and slowly looked around the auditorium.
It doesn't look like there's been much damage after all.
...A wall on one side completely collapsing is probably fine.
None of the students seem to be seriously hurt either.
If you've still got two arms and two legs and your insides aren't spilling out, you're fine.
...Huh? I guess I handled that pretty well?
Relieved, I let out a light sigh before I knew it.
But I seemed to be the only one who thought nothing had happened.
...
...
The surrounding students were staring at me blankly, frozen in place.
As if they'd gone speechless, all of them were just opening and closing their mouths.
Even the professor was pale, drenched in cold sweat.
He kept clearing his throat and eventually forced out a voice.
"C-cough, cough! Th-this is enough... I understand that the student is an advanced mage... cough! I know it very well..."
Looking at the professor, I felt a strange twinge of guilt and unconsciously averted my eyes.
When I turned my head, I noticed a male student trembling more violently than anyone else.
I wondered who he was, and then I remembered—it was that guy who, driven by academic zeal, had said he absolutely wanted to see my magic once.
"Hiiik...!"
The moment his eyes met mine, he cowered as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Uh... is that enough?"
"I'm sorry for doubting you! Please forgive me, show me mercy..."
"..."
Wasn't that the same guy who'd been acting so cocky just a moment ago?
Just as I was wondering how I should smooth over this awkward atmosphere.
"Your Highness! Are you all right!"
Armed knights burst into the auditorium, kicking the door open as if they were breaking it down.
At this rate I'd get dragged into something troublesome for no reason, so I read the room and casually headed for the hole in the wall.
"Professor. I'll be going now."
As I asked in as calm a voice as possible, the professor looked at me as if his soul had left his body.
"Y-yes. You may go then..."
"Yes. You've worked hard this semester."
"Uh... but you still need to come for the exam. Come and at least get your attendance marked before you go."
Before the professor had even finished speaking, I slipped out of the auditorium through the hole in the wall.
"Uwaaagh..."
I used up a week's worth of activity in half a day.
My stamina is completely drained.
At this rate, I'll just wobble back to Rinea Hall and sleep soundly for a solid 24 hours.
If the maids try to wake me up in the morning?
Then it'll be war. They'll get a taste of revolution and the heat of World War, too.
I'll show them exactly what happens when you make someone as gentle as me angry.