Lichberg Magic Academy is composed of four wings.
The main school building, packed with the classrooms where most of student life takes place.
The old school building, which has been demoted in practice to a warehouse for equipment.
The Practical Wing, where magic drills and demonstrations are held in dedicated training grounds.
These are all large structures — but the remaining one is, in use, more limited, and a fair bit smaller.
That’s the Faculty Wing.
Each teacher has been given a private room there, and on the top floor sits the office of the academy’s head — the Headmistress’s office.
And it was there that I, summoned via my homeroom teacher, now sat on a sofa.
“Thank you for coming all the way here so early in the morning, Mr. Veret.”
The woman facing me, lined with age, was an older lady.
Her name was Floné Milfonti.
The epithet [Floné the Lightning Strike] — no one in this country has not heard of it. Her battle record could justify calling her a hero of the kingdom.
She’d retired from the battlefield, unable to outrun the march of years. But seated face-to-face with her, it was clear.
She has not weakened in the slightest.
A heavy pressure pressed against my entire body.
“So — what’s so important that you had to take Alice off my side to discuss it? The Ruark incident has been resolved, hasn’t it?”
It had already been a month since their expulsion.
Since then, no one had come near me except Mashiro, so naturally there had been no problems.
“Fufu. I called you here for a personal matter today. I just wanted to talk with you.”
The Headmistress offered me a cup of tea.
I matched her sip and took one of my own — the tension in my muscles seemed to relax a touch.
“Looks like the nerves have eased a bit.”
“There is no student who can sit across from a hero like you and not be nervous.”
The man I’m aiming to be is a corrupt lord, after all.
Drawing the attention of someone in the camp of justice, at this early a stage, is something I want to avoid.
That fear seems to have come through more strongly than I intended.
“My, my, what flattery. But — I couldn’t save her.”
“Her…?”
“Mashiro Liche. That is what I wanted to thank you for today.”
She set down her teacup and smiled gently.
“Thank you. That we did not lose her precious talent is, more than anyone else, thanks to you.”
“I just did what I felt I should.”
And following my desires turned out to be the right call.
By nature, Mashiro is probably a cheerful girl. In an unfamiliar environment surrounded by nobles, she must have shrunk into herself.
As we spent almost all our time at school together each day, she dropped her guard in a good way — small touches, casual contact, started increasing.
Most of all, whenever something good happens she leaps around — and sometimes, in pure delight, she even throws herself onto me for a hug.
Boobs forever! Academy life is the best!
“One person, one element. In a world where it’s said any noble will of course have some magical aptitude, your having none might bring you difficulty. So I had hesitated to issue your admission… but it seems my choice that day was not in error.”
The Headmistress laughed happily.
Oh, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Mashiro is already in my hands.
A future where she gets used to her heart’s misuse is already decided…!
Of course, I didn’t let any of that show on my face.
“That you of all people — magic aptitude zero — should become friends with Liche, her opposite, must be fate, no?”
”…Meaning?”
“Mashiro Liche, opposite to you, was admitted because her magic practical scores were exceptional. Though — perhaps you, son of the famous House Veret, already knew that from the start.”
”…No comment.”
I had no idea!
I’d picked her based on her measurements and a full-body photo alone!
We hadn’t done any magic drills yet either — that’s right, I’d never seen her ability…
“In this world, the elemental aptitude granted is, as a baseline, one and only one. You know this, yes?”
“Yes, common knowledge.”
“However — sometimes a child is born with multiple aptitudes. And Liche has both wind and water. Two elements. That is a splendid talent. A talent we very nearly lost. Let me, on behalf of the academy, thank you once again.”
She moved to bow her head once more, and I waved a hand to stop her.
“You’ve thanked me once already from the Headmistress’s seat. The sentiment has come through more than enough.”
I wasn’t even doing any of this with good intent in mind, so being praised by others made me itch a bit…
In the first place I had no intention of “doing good,” so I’d rather not have my conscience prodded.
“Class is starting, so I’ll excuse myself.”
When I’m back in the classroom, I’ll have Mashiro show me her magic.
Thinking on that, I left the Headmistress’s office.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
”…So that’s Ouga Veret.”
The first man in academy history to score full marks on the written exam — and pass with a zero on the practical exam.
In any school that didn’t prize the rare and remarkable, he would have failed.
I’d wanted to confirm him with my own eyes, so I called him in… and indeed — what an interesting individual.
That boy… at first, he was wary of me. Of me, the hero called [Floné the Lightning Strike].
For an ordinary student, I’d write it off as nerves. But that one is from House Veret.
Stealth. Intelligence-gathering. A family that excels in information warfare.
He may have caught wind of some unsavory rumor about me somewhere.
From here on, I’ll need to be more careful not to leave traces.
“He’s gone and put himself under the protection of a troublesome house, hasn’t he.”
To think my planned experimental subject, Mashiro Liche, would be snatched away.
All thanks to that idiot from House Bolbond.
A noble may stand above commoners, but who in their right mind causes such trouble on day one of school?
”…Hmph. Well, no matter. We did pick up an unexpected gain.”
A line that Bolbond’s idiot son had let slip during interrogation.
“My magic was erased! It’s true! He’s lying about not being able to use magic!”
Magic that erases magic?
Don’t make me laugh.
What makes a noble a noble?
The presence or absence of magical aptitude.
Yes, sometimes a commoner is born with aptitude through mutation — but their numbers are overwhelmingly small.
That is why commoners do not rebel against nobles. They cannot.
Of course, nobles too don’t simply live off tax revenue — they provide peace by subjugating monsters and the like, in exchange.
Even so, dissatisfaction builds.
If a technique that nullifies magic itself were to spread, the order of the world would unravel.
“The Verets are all closing ranks, saying he doesn’t use magic. But if that turns out to be true…”
Both of his close attendants are of commoner birth.
That maid is suspicious as well. I can’t be definitive yet — I’ve only seen photographs — but I remember her face.
What became of her after she was banished, I’ll have to investigate.
But if my hypothesis proves correct?
On one hand: a monster who rose to Captain of the Holy Knight Order on sword alone.
On the other: a rare Dual Magic Caster, possessor of two aptitudes.
A staggering amount of power has gathered around Ouga Veret.
“A man who, because he has no magical aptitude, can rightly understand the suffering of commoners within noble society, hmm…”
What are his designs?
Is he trying to become a hero of the people? Maybe he’s just a fool who wants to surround himself with women and feel important.
”…Heh. No, I doubt it.”
His objective is unclear, but he holds the potential to become an obstacle to a dream I have pursued for many years.
In that case — he must be removed.
“——Reina.”
“Yes, Headmistress.”
At the name, a girl with pink hair emerged from the adjoining room.
“I am entrusting his surveillance to you. I’ll also place a recommendation for him to join the student council. That should make it easier on you, as Student Council President.”
“Fufu. I am pleased by your consideration.”
The unchanging smile that never reaches her eyes.
Around the clock, she wears the same constructed expression.
She is my own pupil, but she is a discomfiting girl. If she lacked talent, I would have cast her aside long ago.
“Should he show suspicious movements… you understand, don’t you?”
“Of course. In the name of Reina Milfonti——”
“——I will end his life.”