Chapter 26
“This is! This is truly unbelievable!!”
The window panes had been shattered by the explosion, and black scorch marks covered the walls and ceiling everywhere.
Even amid the scene of utter chaos, Dean Raymond paced the room, unable to contain his excitement.
“To think you could draw mana directly from what’s dissolved in the air... I thought something like this was only possible in theory!”
The dean's attention was focused solely on the spell I had just fired.
“Student Lunaris, this is an academic revolution! If those high-and-mighty people at the Magic Tower saw this, they'd flip out for sure!”
I hugged the blanket tightly and stared blankly at the dean as he raved on.
Honestly, what was so amazing about this?
“The moment you squeezed space with telekinetic magic, it lost all magical meaning, didn't it? It's basically no different from downgrading an advanced spell to an intermediate one.”
“What's important is that this is the first case of properly using natural mana!”
The dean strode over to me and made his suggestion in an excited, high-pitched voice.
“How about it? I'll help you, so why not turn this achievement into a research paper? This absolutely has to be recorded!”
“...Sounds like a pain. I don't really feel like writing it.”
I burrowed into the rolled-up blanket. I was the snail of Linea Hall.
“Then why don't you come to the Magic Tower with me sometime! I'll show those who ignored my teaching skills until now some real heat... no, burying a discovery of this century would be a loss to academia, a loss!”
Huh? It sounded like something sincere had slipped out just now.
Of course, whether that was the dean's true intention or not was none of my business.
“The loss to academia is less serious than the loss of my sleep.”
“Aaaagh!!”
Dean Raymond screamed, clutching his head with both hands.
He'd looked like the most charismatic person at the interview, but in less than a month, his image had completely crashed.
Watching him, I even felt oddly sorry for him.
Then, suddenly, the dean's eyes flashed.
It was the look of someone who had just thought of a good idea.
“Ah, come to think of it, there’s the Magic Exchange Tournament next Monday!”
I poked my head out from under the blanket and looked at the dean.
“The Magic Exchange Tournament? What's that?”
“...No, shouldn't you already know that? I'm sure it was announced during the practical session for the Integrated Magic course.”
I calmly shook my head at the dean, who looked at me in surprise.
“I didn't go to practical class, so I didn't get the announcement.”
“Another unauthorized absence? Student Lunaris, attendance needs to be...”
“No. I was exempt from that class for the entire semester in the first place.”
At my words, the dean's expression stiffened.
“What! Who on earth gave you a full-semester exemption without authorization?!”
As the dean raised his voice, I gave a light shrug.
“They told me to stop showing up after I blew up the wall of the practice building during a magic demonstration.”
There was a little embellishment mixed in, but it wasn't entirely wrong.
“Well... teaching an already seasoned advanced mage like Student Lunaris through the academy's official curriculum does sound absurd.”
Dean Raymond looked at me in disbelief, then shook his head with a resigned expression.
“Wait. Don't tell me you were exempt from the morning theory class too?”
“No, not that.”
I let out a long yawn—huaaam—and waved him off.
“I missed that because I had outside activities this week.”
“That's a relief. Well, anyway.”
Dean Raymond let out a short sigh, then looked me in the eye and said in a firm voice.
“Make sure you attend next Monday's Magic Exchange Tournament session. And at that event, show everyone the magic you just used to harness natural mana.”
“...Do I really have to?”
Honestly, I really didn't feel like it.
You know how when someone nudges you to do something, it just makes you want to do it less?
That was exactly how I felt right then.
“Didn't he say I'd get full marks on the practical even if I skipped class...”
“The Magic Exchange Tournament affects both theory and practice, you know?”
“Still, the practical part probably matters more.”
I was in the mood to throw away the small points.
At my lukewarm response, the dean finally made a condition.
“If you participate earnestly in next week's Magic Exchange Tournament, I'll excuse you from my class for one week.”
Oh, now that was tempting.
Yeah, this was the kind of offer that made me feel like sitting down at the negotiating table.
“One week is a bit too little... huaaam...”
In the end, the one who'd be disappointed was him, not me.
I grinned and went on.
“Give me next week and the week after that. If you let me skip two weeks, I'll think about it.”
“No, Student Lunaris! Do you know how many people drag carts piled high with gold coins just to receive my one-on-one tutoring? A ton!”
Dean Raymond beat his chest in frustration.
“And yet, Student Lunaris, why on earth...!”
“If not, then forget it.”
I deliberately let out an exaggerated yawn—huaaam.
“I won't be losing anything.”
Then I pulled the blanket back over me. Negotiations were over.
After a brief silence, a weary voice came from beyond the blanket.
“...Fine. I'll let you skip next week's class and the week after next's class too.”
Do you understand the difference in our positions now?
Only then did I poke my head out from under the blanket.
Turning my head, I saw the dean staring at me with a completely exhausted face.
I chuckled awkwardly, avoiding his gaze for no reason, then suddenly realized something important.
I still didn't know exactly what this so-called “Magic Exchange Tournament” was.
“So what exactly is the Magic Exchange Tournament?”
The dean let out a long sigh before opening his mouth.
“The Magic Exchange Tournament, you see...”
*
“So much happened... I'm seriously exhausted...”
After sending the maids and guards away.
Princess Celestina collapsed onto the bed without even properly changing her clothes.
It was an undignified pose for a princess, but whatever. No one was watching anyway.
More than that, she didn't even have the energy to fix her clothes right now.
The academic schedule at Elterion Academy was already nearing the end of its third week.
Each day felt like it wasn't passing at all, but looking back, she wondered when time had suddenly sped by.
What she'd learned over the past few days was that the academy was, in the end, a miniature version of the imperial palace.
Because of her status, she inevitably had many dealings with the students of the Politics Department, a group made up of the children of high noble houses.
Every time she met and spoke with one of them, she felt like she could barely breathe.
You could call them exactly what you'd expect from people raised on elite education from childhood.
Outwardly, they were being as courteous as could be to her as the princess, but every word they said carried a subtle edge.
Everyone knew it.
That she was the weakest member of the imperial family.
That coming to Elterion Academy was, in the end, little different from fleeing.
Especially when she ran into Lady Miriel Adrian, the Politics Department's top student among all second-years, she felt like she couldn't breathe.
House Adrian had already officially declared its support for the Second Prince.
To Princess Celestina, she was practically an enemy.
She really didn't want to meet her, but she couldn't openly avoid her either.
In that sense, this was a battle of nerves.
The side that backed down or flinched first lost—that was the kind of fight it was.
Miriel seemed to know that too, and used all sorts of excuses to 'invite' Celestina to tea parties and salons.
She kept attaching all sorts of surface-level reasons.
As part of the Politics Department curriculum.
That she was getting greedy to protect her grades.
That she owed the princess a great debt.
She was spouting flattering words, but the purpose was obvious.
Celestina knew full well that all of this was subtly narrowing her range of movement.
“I really did make the right choice not to go to the Politics Department...”
Coming to the Magic Department had been a stroke of genius, she thought with a faint smile.
Of course, she herself wasn't particularly gifted at magic.
At best, she was only a little better than average.
Without the backing of the royal family, she might not have made it into the Magic Department so easily.
Even so, she had no regrets at all about joining the Magic Department.
During magic classes, she could forget her status for a while and immerse herself in the joy of learning as an ordinary academy student.
“Right. Since I've come to the academy, it would mean something to devote myself to learning in keeping with my duties as a student.”
Making a small resolve to herself, she checked next week's schedule and soon frowned.
Monday was the day of the Magic Exchange Tournament.
“Of all days, Monday again...”
The Magic Exchange Tournament.
It was a fairly important practical exercise where students from the Magic Department and the Magitech Department dueled each other with magic.
The format had Magic Department second-years facing Magitech Department first-years, and Magitech Department second-years facing Magic Department first-years.
For Magic Department first-years, it provided hands-on experience against a different kind of opponent.
For Magic Department second-years, the learning goal of this exchange was to teach them the concept of “guidance.”
The Magitech Department? To those treated as the Magic Department's second-string, they were nothing more than extras for the first string's lessons and performances.
Anyway, the important thing was that this event was, in a sense, a team competition between the Magic Department and the Magitech Department.
The spectator seats were, naturally, also separated by department.
Meaning she couldn't sit next to Lunaris, who was in the Magitech Department.
“Was it really this hard to arrange a chance encounter?”
Come to think of it, one reason her academy life had become such a mess was Lunaris.
Honestly, even the students she didn't want to meet kept turning up.
But why did she keep missing the one person she actually wanted to see?
“As expected, Lunaris is avoiding me on purpose...”
Muttering to herself, she soon shook her head vigorously.
There was no point in feeding her own anxiety.
“Right, this time, let's be a little more proactive.”
If it was Lunaris, she would surely shine brighter than anyone else at the Magic Exchange Tournament.
Once the practical session was over, she'd naturally go over and compliment Lunaris, saying, “That was truly amazing magic.”
She'd strike up a conversation and let it flow naturally from there.
It really was nothing short of a perfect plan.
There was just one thing bothering her.
“S-so, you're not going to skip the Magic Exchange Tournament too, are you?”
To prevent such a disaster, she'd even spent her own money to properly arm the maids of Linea Hall.
Even so, she couldn't help feeling uneasy.