Chapter 24
-Something seems rather noisy around here. Has something happened at the academy?
I answered in a relaxed voice to Deputy Commander Albert, who asked with concern.
“It’s nothing. I just tested the communication crystal sphere I made in magitech practicals.”
-...Why are you testing it on me?
“I didn’t want to test it on you either. What was I supposed to do when it connected automatically?”
My perfect plan to take a break from contacting people for a while had been completely ruined.
-Haa... Miss Lunaris, I’m busy too. This is rather difficult for me.
A deep sigh mixed relief with fatigue.
Deputy Commander Albert was apparently being worked to the bone lately, right before being promoted to commander.
This is exactly why I didn’t join the Imperial Mage Corps.
-I thought another incident had broken out. Well, since we’re connected anyway, I did receive the report you sent yesterday.
“How was it? Is the report good enough? There weren’t any problems, right?”
-I was a little surprised. It was extremely meticulous and well organized, very unlike you, Miss Lunaris. Please keep it up from now on.
Right. From now on, let’s keep leaving all the reports to Department Head Sylvia. That’s the right move.
-By the way, the academy department classes are moving at quite a pace these days. Are you already having first-years make communication crystal spheres?
“Not exactly... it’s sort of advanced study, I guess.”
-Well, to teach you, Miss Lunaris, the academy’s existing curriculum would hardly be enough. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.
“Yeees—my mana’s already getting close to its limit.”
“And that thing you made in class, submit it to the Imperial Magic Tower through the academy administration office. Using an unregistered communication crystal sphere is illegal.”
With those words, the crystal sphere’s light faded.
A brief silence passed.
Thunderous applause filled the lecture hall.
“Why is the sound so clear?”
“And the communication duration? That’s insane!”
“They say a craftsman doesn’t choose their tools...”
“As expected of the star of the Magitech Department! As expected of the top duo!”
Amid the flood of praise, a rough, phlegmy cough mixed in.
“Ho-ho, in all my years, this is the first time I’ve seen a communication crystal sphere made with a magitech experience kit meant for toys.”
The professor, who had been sound asleep just moments ago, had already woken up and was walking toward us.
“When the mana went berserk in the middle, I thought the entire lecture hall was going to blow apart.”
What, you were awake from then on? Well, it must have been loud enough.
Then you should’ve helped instead of pretending to sleep.
“You think I’d blow it up again? It’s not like I’m some sort of serial academy terrorist...”
“Student, you’re already famous. The practice wing of the main Magic Hall is still under construction, isn’t it?”
“Cough, cough!”
The professor said, pointing out the window.
At the tip of his finger, a construction site spread out in stark view.
Most of the first-years flinched. They had been there when the building ended up like that, and they still seemed to be suffering from PTSD.
“Well, you two don’t have anything else to practice today.”
The professor looked at the communication crystal sphere we had made, his eyes sparkling with interest.
Was this really the same man who’d had such hollow, dying eyes just moments ago?
“I don’t even know how many weeks’ worth of material you cleared at once. Estelle Myers and Lunaris Evermoon—the team gets a perfect score. You may go back now.”
Getting sent back early is nice too.
“Senior Estelle, should we head back?”
No answer came back.
Puzzled, I turned my head to look beside me.
“...Senior?”
“Hm? Ah, right. We should go.”
Senior Estelle gave a start and shook her head up and down vigorously.
Her expression seemed a little odd.
She wasn’t smiling brightly like usual; instead, she had a vaguely dazed look.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, nothing like that... I was just thinking about something. Haha.”
Senior Estelle awkwardly smiled and twirled a strand of hair around her fingertip.
Then she suddenly picked up the communication crystal sphere in front of her.
“Can I take this? I’ll organize the report separately and submit it together with it to Department Head Liliana.”
“I don’t really mind.”
Rather, that was better for me. She was taking care of the annoying work, after all. I’m not one to refuse things like that.
At my indifferent reply, Senior Estelle lowered her head slightly.
The way her eyes seemed to lose their strength was probably because she was tired.
Come to think of it, she’d been concentrating for hours straight. Her head had to be burning hot.
When she lifted her head again, Senior Estelle smiled as if nothing had happened and said,
“Then how about we have a little celebration before going back?”
“...Huh?”
“Why, it was our first successful team project! If we just let it slide, it’d feel a little disappointing, wouldn’t it?”
“I, I just want to sleep...”
I’d already used up today’s energy—no, this month’s energy.
Because I’d uncharacteristically taken the initiative, voiced my opinion, and flailed both arms around to clean up the mess, my motivation had sunk so low it had drilled straight into the basement.
There was no way I could handle even a team dinner after this. Absolutely impossible.
“Don’t be like that~ okay?”
But my opinion didn’t matter.
The moment I started complaining, Senior Estelle had already grabbed my hand.
The gearhead senior’s grip strength and brute force were both working overtime again today.
“Come on! I’ll buy you something delicious. Eat up, get your strength back, and let’s get perfect scores on all the assignments left from here on out!”
*
To me, magic is murder.
As for the other days, fine—but at least today, Thursday, that was the case.
Last week, I learned one painful lesson through my magic duel with Department Head Raymond.
Honestly, I’d been a little too complacent that day.
In a word, I was soft.
I hadn’t properly understood what it meant to challenge an opponent stronger than myself.
I should have attacked with desperate ferocity, as if it were the real thing—as if I truly meant to kill my opponent.
Even if I’d gone all out, nothing would have happened to him anyway. I should’ve been worried about the person who actually needed worrying.
So today, I made up my mind firmly.
The moment dawn broke, I opened my eyes.
I should give myself credit for getting up on my own even though the maids didn’t wake me.
It’s one day’s sacrifice to coast on for the next four years.
Even while half asleep, I slapped both cheeks hard, smack, smack, to keep my wits about me.
“Ngh! I-it hurts!”
My cheeks were numb and stinging. I’d put in more force than I expected because I’d really psyched myself up.
Still, it chased the sleep away completely. For a morning, my condition wasn’t bad.
I sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Department Head Raymond to come looking for me.
My heart pounded with adrenaline. Sweat beaded on my palms.
“This time, I’m definitely starting by breaking his arms.”
Just as I was gritting my teeth and repeating my resolve over and over in my head.
-KWAANG!
The tightly shut door was ripped away, door and all.
No... I didn’t even lock it, so what is this...
I was just about to protest in disbelief.
“...This is a joke, right?”
Seeing Department Head Raymond appear in the doorway, I muttered in a half-dazed state.
He was looking down at me with the same elegant smile as always.
There was one thing different.
He had brought every spirit with him, all of them radiating dazzling multicolored light behind his back.
Fire, water, wind, and earth. The primitive spirits of the four elements had all gathered. A full set.
“What the... kgh?!”
Before the mental shock could even fade, an invisible massive force pressed down on me.
A suffocating pressure crushed my entire body.
This wasn’t magic or anything of the sort.
It was nothing more than brutally pinning me down with overwhelming mana.
My body was pinned to the floor and couldn’t budge.
I barely managed to move only my eyes as I looked up at Department Head Raymond.
Department Head Raymond’s lips moved to form words.
When I listened closely, I heard him murmur in a low voice.
“I don’t really like this kind of teaching method either... but today, it can’t be helped.”
I was dumbfounded.
No, this isn’t teaching... it’s just outright violence... cough!
“W-wait... this is seriously cheating...”
“Hah, you think I want to do this? This is all for the student’s sake.”
I tried pushing the surrounding space away with telekinesis and even tried bursting my mana out, but none of it worked.
And just like that, I was subdued in an instant by Department Head Raymond’s full-serious surprise attack.
*
How long had it been?
When I opened my eyes, I was a sorry sight.
I was wedged between the bed mattress and the floor, unable to move an inch.
Of course, if I put my mind to it, I could get out anytime.
But I couldn’t move rashly.
“Kgh... to think he’d take the bed hostage...!”
This diabolical setup was clearly warning me that the mattress would be the first thing to blow if I started rampaging!
Thorough. Vicious. And cruel.
How did he know I’d become someone who couldn’t live even a single day without the bed in Linnea Hall...!!
Grinding my teeth, I barely turned my head to the side and looked around.
In the middle of my room, Department Head Raymond sat elegantly as if it were his own room, sipping black tea.
At a glance he looked elegant, but he couldn’t hide the slight tremble in his raised pinky finger.
It was a mild mana shock caused by expending too much mana in too short a time.
...Wow. Just how serious had he been?
“Even if we agreed to use any means necessary, don’t you think this is a bit too much?”
This isn’t teaching or anything.
It’s just bullying.
I almost wanted to stage a protest over whether student rights were really okay like this.
“I didn’t have another way. To minimize the damage, I truly had to use any means necessary.”
At my grumbling, Department Head Raymond lowered his head apologetically.
“If I’d gone easy on you, Linnea Hall, which had just finished repairs, would have been broken again, and I’d have been the one on the receiving end instead.”
The department head let out a short sigh and went on.
“After all, hadn’t you already made all the preparations to get the better of me?”
Seeing me perched on the bed had made his heart sink, he said with a bitter smile.
“No, but still, going this far is petty and shabby. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Embarrassed, huh... hoho. Nice choice of words. My dignity and face hit rock bottom last week.”
Suddenly, Department Head Raymond’s expression turned sharp and vicious.
“Do you know what happened last week? I had to do academy patrols fit for assistant professors, and fill out and submit dozens of pages of apology letters under the name of incident reports...”
His hoho laugh carried all kinds of emotions as he said I was a complete mess.
“I’m telling you, these days I’m so embarrassed I can’t even hold my head up.”
Department Head Raymond’s voice kept rising.
“Do you even know how humiliated I was?!”
“Uh, th-then... I’m s-sorry?”
He’d even gone red in the face and started huffing, and at that ferocious intensity, an apology slipped out of me without thinking.
I could tell that Raymond, too, had been stewing over this for the entire past week.
That the department head was even more desperate about it than I was.
That was the cause of this defeat.
“Well, I did get thoroughly humiliated, so I was a little hot under the collar...”
Department Head Raymond let out an awkward ahem and continued.
“Actually, the reason I came on a little rough today is because I have something to tell the student.”