Chapter 14: Lesson
In addition to the aristocratic children, there were also commoners who were the children of merchants and high-ranking officials studying at the Centrior Imperial Magic Academy. Regardless of what kind of education each family practiced, these kids were more mature compared to other children of the same age.
But it was only natural. In Shian, 17 years old was considered an adult. In two years, these kids would be forced to act like an adult, so they were more careful about their words and actions to avoid degrading their dignity.
These new students would turn 16 this year. Based on the standard of Razé’s previous life, most of Centrior students should be called as young man and young lady instead of boy and girl.
Among the high school students in her previous life, usually there were one or two that were taller than other and had an aura of a male lead or female lead characters. This academy was full of those type of people.
Razé: “Good morning, Carna-sama.”
Carna: “Gokigen-yo[1], Razé-san.”
Once Razé reached the classroom, she greeted Carna, then she left Folia and walked to her seat.
Oh my god, someone said gokigen-yo to me! Ah, this is truly an aristocratic school. How on earth did I got in here, thought Razé as she waited for the class to begin.
At that time, there were noises coming from outside the door. The other girls immediately understood the situation and began to check their appearance in the mirror.
What is it? Razé could sense there were several people outside the classroom. Then she saw the Prime Minister’s son came in with his group of fangirls.
“Gokigen-yo, Adis-sama! Thank you for dancing with me yesterday. I had fun last night.”
“Good morning, Lady Gindens. I had fun too. (*^-^)”
Razé was horrified when she saw Adis’ smile.
The Shian Empire was an exclusionism country and was called “The Iron Wall Shian” by other countries. Shian’s people themselves claimed that they were a completely independent and neutral country. But if you look at it differently, Shian could be said to be nastier than the Magenda Empire. And Prime Minister Welrian was its brain. He was a very terrifying person and his famous anecdote was his smile could kill thousands of people.
This guy is 100% like his father.
Razé rubbed the goosebumps on her arm. Her instinct told her that he was a dangerous person. Due to the rules of her mission, she could not reveal that she was a soldier. But confronting him as a commoner was like going to the battlefield without weapon.
Adis walked over calmly, and stood right next to Razé. Then he said, “Morning, scholarship student.”
“Good morning …” Razé felt like he was provoking her with that agonistic nickname. Razé looked away from Adis who had walked away to his seat. Then she saw Ruben and Claude entering the room.
Well, no girl would dare to flirt with Prince Ruben as he is already engaged to Carna-sama. I wish that Prime Minister’s son would get engaged soon, he’s too annoying.
In case you’ve forgotten, this was Centrior. It was a place where talented people with promising future gathered. You could also think of it as a great place to find a life partner. It was full of beautiful girls. Compared to the military university, this place is like chalk and cheese. Well, at least please don’t let it be a messy relationship between teenagers[2]. I don’t care how many fan girls you collected, just please don’t create any trouble for me. Razé glanced at Adis and let out a sigh.
Adis: “What?”
Oops! He heard me sighed!
Adis rested his elbows on his desk and turned to look at Razé. His expression was not the usual sweet look he always shown to the ladies. She wanted to give an excuse, but right then the bell rang. She turned and looked straight ahead immediately.
“Everyone’s here?” Hugan said as he stood in front of the teacher’s desk. The lesson was about to start.
Thank god … Razé somehow managed to get away.
“Alright then. It seems that everyone is here. I’m going to hand out the time schedule for Class A.” After Hugan said that, the papers placed on the teacher’s table suddenly drifted up into the air, and then flew towards the students. Judging from the smooth magic stone activation, Razé was sure that Hugan’s specialty should be the wind.
When she looked at the paper she received, she could see that the curriculum was based on classes required to obtain an advanced magic license. It was 40% theory, 60% practical.
Hugan: “This is the list of classes for this year. As you know, all students will participate in the tournament ‘Battle Fiesta’ in the summer. At that time, your parents will be invited to the academy. Do your best so that you can show them your progress.”
The summer vacation of this school was quite short. There was no Bon Festival here like in Razé’s previous life. Instead, the ‘Star Festival’ was the national holiday here. Only a little more than a week during that period was considered to be summer vacation. During that time, Battle Fiesta would be held in Centrior where the students would compete with each other.
Then in the winter, a mock battle would be held separately for each grade. For the 3rd Year students, the results would greatly affect their employment prospect, so it was considered as a very important event.
After giving a few minutes for the students to finish reading the paper, Hugan continued to explain. “It’s quite difficult for the 1st Year to win in the summer event. But this year we have so many talented students, so please aim for the top rank. Even if you lose early, as long as you show a good fight, people will recognize your effort. For the time being, you should focus your learning to prepare for the summer event. But take note that before the event, there will be a regular test.
Since this is your first time, so I’ll say it gently, please make sure not to misuse your magic just because you’ve made an improvement. Depends on the severity of the situation, you might get expel from the academy immediately.”
The classroom fell silent. If this was what he considered as ‘gently’, then what would happen if he got angry?
“It did happen before. An aristocratic kid who got carried away caused a serious injury to a commoner and was expelled from the academy. The reverse situation also happened before. Well, I hope there is no such savage person in this classroom! ”
His tone was light but the content was heavy. It was a scary story for Razé, so she couldn’t laugh at all.
Perhaps this is the tradition in this country.
Dangerous things were to be eliminated immediately. It sounded too strict and coldhearted. This was what Razé had felt since she was in the military.
“Well then. Let’s begin the lesson right away. Other classes started by identifying their specialty. But all of you already know your own specialty. Then let’s do some simple test. Come out one by one and show me whatever magic you’re good at.”
Unlike the self-introduction session yesterday, this time they would start from Razé.
Hugan: “Granoli!”
Razé: “Yes.”
She went down the stairs to the front, but she didn’t know what to demonstrate. When she looked around the classroom, she saw Folia making a small fist saying “Ganbatte[3]!”. Too cute.
Hugan: “Say your specialty first, then give a demonstration.”
Razé: “I’m good at movement skills [4].”
Hugan: “Alright. You can start.”
Beginner level for movement … then I’ll just teleport myself.
Teleportation was a very commonly used magic. Even if it was not one’s specialty, they should still be able to use this magic with regular skills. She assumed that it would be fine, so she activated her magic stone.
“Huh? Where did she go?” Someone asked in surprised after Razé disappeared.
Hugan: “Hey, you shouldn’t leave the classroom,” Hugan said as he immediately looked out the window. But his guess was wrong.
“Excuse me. I’m here.” Razé was sitting in her seat. She put up her hand.
“… Huh?!” Hugan looked at Razé with widened eyes. This kid, when did she sit down? If it’s shukuchi [5], then she should be standing next to the chair … Could it be the advanced level magic, teleporting while changing position?
She had forgotten. Razé Orphan, a teleportation magic user, had various way of applications mixed together that she had deviated from the original concept of teleportation magic. In the battlefield, it has been said that no one could see her move. She was feared by the Magenda army. They called her “Ghost of the Executioner”.
“… No way. It’s impossible.” Hugan convinced himself that he just didn’t notice when she sat down. He said, “Good. It was perfect. The activation was short and simple. Let’s move on to the next person.”
Razé thought that she had made a blunder when she saw Hugan’s shocked expression. She felt relieved that nothing happened.
Teleportation was a profound skill. I thought I wanted to show teleportation in the air. Luckily, I changed my mind.
A simple teleportation can be done using a teleporter machine. But the girl name Razé Orphan would not stop there. She utilized her memories from her previous life and developed various magics with flexible approach.
However, teleportation was simply teleportation. It was a very low-profile magic.
“Kyaa～! Sugoi～!”
“So cool …”
Swoosh. A wind vortex swirled around Adis. The classroom astir with excitement due to his magic.
The power was perfect and it was amazing for someone to be able to control the wind to that extent. But there were too many unnecessary movements.
What a flashy magic …, as expected from someone who aims a glamorous job like a Knight.
Second Lieutenant Bahamut’s electric shock is way more horrifying. It could destroy the nerves even with small power …. Well, I’m the one who taught him though, Raze thought.
* * *
“…”
Standing in front of the class, Adis could see clearly that there was one person who showed a different reaction.
It’s her again.
Since yesterday, Adis had been concerned about Razé, both in a good and bad way. She had this aura that was different from other students. Even now, every time they saw each other, her face looked like she got something to say.
Other girl would want to be his friend (or girlfriend if possible) because of his look and his status. But he couldn’t sense those ulterior motives from her.
Hugan: “Alright. You can stop.
Adis: “Okay.”
Hugan: “You’re able to draw enough magical power. That’s great. Okay, next.”
Adis took a peek at Razé before he sat down, but she was already paying attention to the next student.
What a weird girl …
There was only one scholarship student selected in a few years. He was wondering how amazing this person could be. But when he saw her, he found out that she was an ordinary girl. One look and you would know that she was a commoner, the mediocre type. Folia Cresias, who could use healing magic, seemed more suitable as a scholarship student. He got curious and tried to provoke her a bit, but she didn’t give the reaction as he had imagined. Perhaps because she was aware about her commoner status.
Adis looked boringly at Razé as she quietly watched the demonstration by other students.
Hugan: “Next, Cresias.”
Folia: “Y- Yes!”
Prince Ruben finished demonstrating a combination magic of flame and water. Next was Folia’s turn. She wore a troubled look as she stood in front of Hugan. If she wanted to show a healing magic, then she needed someone that was injured.
Folia: “Hmm, sensei …Do I really need to use healing magic?”
Looking at Folia’s sad face, the girls started to whisper gossip with each other. They were speculating whether she had lied about her specialty, perhaps her skill wasn’t that good.
Attack, defense, and recovery were the 3 disciplines of regular magics that were compulsory subjects. If you couldn’t master your specialty, then it would be inferior to a well-practiced regular magic. So, one should not exaggerate their specialty careless.
Razé: “Excuse me, sensei.”
Hugan: “What is it, Granoli?”
Razé couldn’t stood by doing nothing when she saw the situation.
Razé: “I have a bruise on my arm, so I’d like to have Cresias-san to heal me.”
Hugan: “Oh, good timing. Is it okay, Cresias?”
Folia: “Yes.”
Razé teleported herself to the teacher’s desk.
Razé: “Sorry to trouble you.”
She rolled up her sleeve. There was a huge bruise on her left arm.
Hugan: “How did you get this?”
Razé: “I bumped into something when I went for a run this morning.”
… I’d teleported to my room, hit myself to make a bruise and came back. There’s no way I’d tell you the truth.
She rarely got injured in normal daily life. Even if she was injured, she could heal it herself. She did this just for Folia. It was a bad example of how to use an advanced level magic.
Folia: “I’ll heal you immediately.”
Folia put her hand on Razé’s arm. A warm light shone on her arm. Her bruise was gone in no time.
Folia: “It’s fine now.”
Razé: “Thank you.”
Hugan: “Alright. Practice well to improve your healing speed. Next!”
Without using teleportation, Razé walked back to her seat. She looked down at her completely healed arm.
“Huh?” Only Adis, who was looking at her, noticed the sad expression on Razé’s face.
[1] gokigenyou: A greeting that mean ‘good day’. Only female aristocrats use this phrase. Do not say this to your Japanese friends. ↩
[2] It was a word play. ‘Like chalk and cheese’ in Japanese is 雲泥の差 (lit. difference between cloud and mud) while ‘messy’ is 泥沼 (lit. mud swamp) ↩
[3] Gambatte: A very common phrase meaning ‘do your best’ ↩
[4] Her specialty ‘movement magic’ covers anything about movement including teleportation, telekinesis and superspeed. ↩
[5] shukuchi: There are various interpretation. In this novel, shukuchi refers to short-range teleportation without pre-marking the target location. You can check the wiki page here. ↩
