The classrooms of the Magic Academy are spacious — pairs of students share each desk, and the desks themselves are arranged with generous distance front to back.
In the back row, behind the last student desks, was a space set aside for attendants like me to wait so we wouldn’t be in the way during class.
The tick-tick of the second hand could be made out clearly even amid the noise.
Each second felt long.
As the start of class drew closer, I waited for my beloved master’s return.
“Has something happened to Ouga, I wonder?”
The girl Lord Ouga had recently rescued — Mashiro Liche — spoke to me.
She is the very first individual Lord Ouga sought to acquire at this academy.
Among the many sons and daughters of prestigious houses, some might wonder why her.
But the moment they learn she is a [Dual Magic Caster], everyone will be convinced.
Having grasped the information through House Veret’s investigation, Lord Ouga ignored everyone else and committed to her.
Yet another talented individual has joined Lord Ouga’s circle — one more step toward the realization of the justice he aspires to.
As expected of Lord Ouga.
“Lord Ouga didn’t seem to have an idea, either. Regrettably, until he returns, we have no way of knowing.”
A lie, of course.
There are two possibilities I can guess for the summons.
One: that Floné Milfonti has caught on to my true identity.
She has a wide net.
Counted among humanity’s heroes, she also pours her efforts into cultivating successors, and frequents many venues in the country.
Naturally she has visited the Holy Knight Order numerous times — I myself have spoken with her on several occasions.
The other possibility — and this one is more troublesome — is that she has caught wind of Lord Ouga’s [Magecraft Funeral].
We have aligned our accounts to keep [Magecraft Funeral] hidden.
But that little vermin from House Bolbond will not have cooperated.
For an ordinary mage, his rambling would be dismissed as the babbling of a Bolbond grub… but Floné would entertain the possibility, just to be safe, and probe Lord Ouga.
After all, [Magecraft Funeral] is a technique that could turn the world upside down.
Just when the territorial disputes with the Demon races have begun to calm in recent years, a fresh conflict between human nobles and commoners could break out.
Floné, who has stood on battlefields without rest, might well move to stamp out any spark of a new war.
These thoughts even I — who has often been called muscle-headed — am able to put together.
Lord Ouga, surely, has foreseen all this and taken care for Liche.
So that she does not blame herself for the fact that [Magecraft Funeral] was used to save her.
As expected of Lord Ouga.
“I see… But class is going to start soon, isn’t it?”
“Headmistress Milfonti is not the sort of person to make a student late for class… or so I would think, Liche.”
“Ah, Ouga!”
The moment Liche called his name, the classroom fell quiet.
Lord Ouga, for better and worse, draws the eye.
Until very recently he had been mocked as the son of a corrupt lord — with no magical aptitude, who had bought his admission with connections (slander, of course, given everyone knows that is not possible).
But things began to shift the moment he rescued Liche from her bullies.
The students who had once laughed at the “incompetent” had begun to feel guilt as they learned of the good he had quietly done.
If Lord Ouga continues to live as Lord Ouga lives, the day will come when no one mocks my master.
“Welcome back, Lord Ouga.”
“Welcome back, Ouga. What did you talk about?”
“Just small talk. More importantly — there’s something I want to do right now.”
So saying, Lord Ouga picked up his own school bag and started walking toward the door again.
“O-Ouga? Class is about to start, you know?”
“We’re skipping. Mashiro too. Come on.”
“Eh, EH!?”
“To the Practical Wing. There’s something I want to see.”
“W-wait for me!”
She was startled, but Liche didn’t hesitate.
She crammed her open textbooks back into her bag and fell in beside Lord Ouga.
Fufu. Her loyalty too is considerable.
Now then — I’ll follow along—
“Alice, tell the teacher we’re absent due to illness, then come join us.”
——I cried.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Our hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
I hadn’t known Mashiro had multiple magic aptitudes.
When it came to her, I’d decided purely on the first impression from the photograph.
“But why now? Why do you want to go to the Practical Wing all of a sudden?”
“I’m curious. What does it look like to use two different elements at once?”
I want to know what kind of strength was sufficient to draw Floné Milfonti’s notice.
Can two different elements be wielded at the same time?
Does mana consumption change?
How does she picture the magic when invoking it?
I’d hammered in a wide range of knowledge from the start, to fill in the gap my missing aptitude left.
If I watch Mashiro’s magic, maybe I’ll think of another new technique.
Plus, I’d wanted to skip class at least once.
A convenient excuse, too. No reason not to.
“Eh? Then Ouga, you didn’t know about my magical aptitude?”
“No. Is that a problem?”
I-I-I mean, no? If anything, this way Mashiro won’t catch on that I researched her from the start?
Going exactly according to plan?
Excuses I didn’t know I was making, to whom I wasn’t sure, came tumbling out.
“No — that’s the best!”
A full-blown smile, and she latched onto my arm.
I couldn’t follow her logic, but her boobs felt amazing, so I didn’t think too hard.
“Here we are.”
“Wow. Up close, it’s pretty big.”
A short walk later we’d reached the entrance to the Practical Wing.
The classroom building is already plenty big, but the Practical Wing is several times its size.
Since actual magic is used here, an accident in a small enclosed space — an explosion, say — would cause considerable damage.
For student safety, ample area has been secured. Six zones in all.
“Right, let’s go in.”
“Yeah! I’ll show you my cool side, Ouga!”
We tried to step in, full of motivation.
But the door wouldn’t budge.
“H-huh? Why!?”
I’ve trained my body since childhood and have confidence in my raw strength.
Since I acquired Alice, I’ve added even harder training to that.
The door looks thick, sure — but even so, it shouldn’t be completely immovable.
Which means: there’s likely a reason it’s not opening.
“NNNGHHH…!”
Beside me Mashiro was pushing, her face beet-red — to no avail.
Use of magic on campus without permission is forbidden.
The actual practicum is scheduled more than a month out.
There’s no way I’m waiting that long.
Some kind of workaround.
Should I try climbing the outer wall.
I was starting to consider those reckless options seriously.
A clear voice cut into my thoughts.
“First-years aren’t permitted inside the Practical Wing on their own, you two.”
I turned. A figure stood there — waist-length pink hair swaying.
In a white uniform that wasn’t the same as ours, with an elegant bearing, she seemed almost like an angel.
A beauty that would draw the gaze of ten out of ten people.
I, too, found myself staring.
“It’s a pleasure. I am Reina Milfonti. I serve as the Student Council President of the renowned Lichberg Magic Academy.”
But what drew me in was not her beauty.
Deep yellow eyes.
Her eyes were like mine before reincarnation — without any sign of life.
“I’d be glad if we could get along. Mister Veret, Miss Liche.”
The mismatch between the expression she wore and the emotion that came with her words — a strange disquiet, I felt.
◇ Tomorrow there’s something I have to attend to, so the next chapter will post at 7 PM.
I’ll be making you wait a bit, but please continue to support me. ◇