Ch.111Summer Vacation Preparations (3)

# Ruide’s Magic Initiative

Ruide occasionally used magic against magical beasts.

However, he had never once done so voluntarily.

“Would you cast just one spell at the third defense line? Things have been precarious lately.”

“That’s bothersome.”

It was always at someone else’s request.

And even then, it only happened after Victoria or Irene had pestered him multiple times.

But this time, he had cast magic of his own volition, without anyone asking.

That made Irene happy.

‘He’s changed.’

Her adorable youngest brother.

It would be fine if he did nothing and just stayed as he was—

But if Ruide was changing, she welcomed it wholeheartedly.

Especially in the direction she had secretly hoped for.

Walking down the long corridor of the Imperial Palace, Irene recalled Ruide’s magic at the first defense line.

Light descending from the heavens.

That light took everything away, as if refusing to allow any living creature to breathe.

It transported Irene to the past.

When she was young, there was a time when a butterfly was split in two by a casual swing of her sword during training.

Young Irene had crouched down to examine the cross-section of the butterfly.

The butterfly’s cross-section was impeccably clean.

She had never seen such a pristine cross-section before.

She thought it was beautiful.

Irene wanted to recreate that beauty.

But it wasn’t easy.

Eventually, she sought Victoria’s advice.

Victoria said:

“That butterfly didn’t realize its own death. That’s why it could be beautiful. The dead butterfly still thinks it’s alive.”

Irene gained insight.

After that, Irene began to cut everything lightly.

After that, the cross-sections of everything Irene cut were clean.

After that, Irene never swung more than once when cutting something.

There was no need.

‘Is Rui becoming more like me?’

Ruide’s magic was light.

He killed hundreds of magical beasts without a moment’s hesitation.

It was just like her when she cut the butterfly in the past.

Excessively beautiful.

‘How much more beautiful would that light magic be if directed elsewhere?’

Irene’s smile deepened.

She stepped into the imperial garden.

A fallen flower was crushed beneath her foot.

As if entranced, she approached and stopped.

The Emperor’s face, as if he’d seen a ghost, flickered before her eyes.

“Your Majesty. It’s been a while.”

“Ah, Irene Windsor. How did you—”

The Emperor pulled back in great surprise.

Irene placed her left hand on her scabbard and moved.

Fear and terror briefly flashed across Lucius’s eyes.

But Irene merely lowered herself slowly to show respect.

“I’ve returned to the academy at my little brother’s request.”

“…You mean Ruide?”

The Emperor’s composure, which had been enjoying a rare leisurely tea time, was completely shattered.

It felt as if the quiet peace of the empire was breaking.

Irene had entered his garden without hesitation. Without any prior notice.

Disrespectful.

But disrespect from the person before him wasn’t considered disrespect.

That was the power of the Windsor Duchy.

That was Irene Windsor’s power.

“The reason I came directly to Your Majesty without spending time with my brother is simple.”

Irene spoke softly.

“My brother is trying to do something for once, and I ask that you not interfere.”

“…!”

This wasn’t something to be discussed in front of the Emperor.

Lucius’s expression visibly hardened.

“Then, what Your Majesty is worried about…”

Irene raised her head and said with a mysterious smile.

“Won’t happen.”

**

“S-Sister? V-Vice-Captain?”

Amelia, in her pajamas, nearly fainted.

She had decided to scold Ruide for coming home late, but when she came out—

There stood Irene and Charlotte.

“Waaah, Ame! It’s been so long!”

Charlotte stroked Amelia vigorously with a beaming expression.

Amelia brightened at the sight of Charlotte, then paled at the sight of Irene, repeating this cycle.

“It hurts when you discriminate so openly, Ria.”

“Sorry… I mean, I apologize.”

“No need to apologize.”

Irene smiled brightly.

But she said nothing more.

Ruide knew why.

Charlotte held a position in the Windsor Duchy similar to his own.

A person loved by everyone.

It was even said that the reason Irene usually walked around with a smile was because she learned it from Charlotte.

She was also incredibly skilled; there wasn’t a single person in the Windsor Duchy who hadn’t learned swordsmanship from Charlotte.

Amelia had also learned a lot from Charlotte.

Ruide was pleased.

‘It was good to bring Charlotte too.’

Somehow, the combination of Irene and Charlotte gave a sweet and salty feeling.

…Though he wondered if he might have brought too many key figures from the Windsor Duchy.

‘Mother will be fine with just a bit of aegyo later.’

Let’s trust in the supreme Victoria.

Irene put her hands behind her back and said:

“Amelia. Have you been training well?”

“…Yes.”

“For someone who trains well, I heard you needed Ruide’s help to catch the Black Mage who infiltrated recently.”

Irene was smiling, but this was clearly a rebuke.

Amelia’s expression darkened.

‘There she goes again.’

Ruide hugged Irene’s arm.

“Ame sis has been working hard.”

“Really?”

“During the recent magical beast incident, Amelia sis caught almost all of them, and I just helped finish up. She trains so diligently.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t scold her. Okay?”

Amelia looked at Ruide with a face that seemed about to cry.

Her younger brother standing up for her.

It was embarrassing, but the feeling of gratitude was stronger.

‘Phew. This pays back the allowance debt from before.’

Ruide grinned.

Isn’t family supposed to help each other?

Ruide, a bit excited, added words he didn’t need to say:

“That’s why sis isn’t popular. There’s a reason she’s still not married.”

“Oh my!”

Charlotte covered her mouth with both hands.

The blood drained from Amelia’s face.

Irene’s perpetual small smile abruptly stopped.

‘Oops. Was I too impertinent?’

Ruide read some intention in Irene’s piercing gaze.

Get out before you get scolded.

Then I’ll forgive your impertinence just now.

That was roughly the meaning.

Averting his gaze slightly, he said:

“I-I’ll go play with the fox.”

“Kyaeng!”

Ruide followed the fox that ran away without looking back.

Amelia reached out to the fleeing Ruide with wistful eyes.

‘How could you leave after creating this atmosphere!’

Amelia’s silent scream echoed.

“……”

An unbearable silence filled the room.

Charlotte tried to sneak away, but stopped at Irene’s voice.

“Did Ruide tell you roughly what’s happening?”

Amelia snapped back to attention and answered.

“Yes, yes. He said he would bring you as a special instructor. I didn’t imagine it would be today, though.”

“I heard you’re in charge of the academy’s swordsmanship club, Ria.”

“…That’s right.”

‘Is she going to say I’m not qualified?’

“It’s still too early for Ria to teach others. If you make a mistake, Windsor swordsmanship might leak out.”

Amelia took Irene’s words as criticism of her lack of skill.

But that wasn’t Irene’s intention.

In reality, Irene didn’t have any major complaints about Amelia’s skills.

She was just a bit lacking in combat against humans.

Against magical beasts, Amelia had more strengths than weaknesses.

The problem was that her strengths against magical beasts became weaknesses against humans.

“So rather than teaching—”

Irene glanced at Charlotte once, then said to Amelia:

“For the time being, learn swordsmanship from Charlotte.”

“…What?”

Amelia’s eyes widened.

She had clearly expected to be reprimanded for not properly looking after Ruide.

“Charlotte, is that okay?”

“Hehehe. It’s a hundred times better than catching disgusting magical beasts. Trust me, Captain.”

Charlotte smiled wickedly at the thought of drilling Amelia after so long.

“Could you focus the training on fighting humans rather than magical beasts?”

“Humans?”

Charlotte scratched her head.

In the North, what mattered was hunting magical beasts, not humans.

So naturally, she had planned to teach subjugation tactics.

“That’s easier, but… will Ria ever need it? She’ll graduate soon, and when she returns, she’ll only fight magical beasts.”

“Well.”

Irene looked at Amelia, who had lowered her head.

‘She’s developed some fighting spirit.’

Her brother, and her little brother too.

She was glad that everyone seemed to be growing in the right direction.

“Someday, it will come in handy.”

**

‘It’s annoying, but let’s do our best. It’s unfair if only our family has to work hard.’

Ruide had momentarily forgotten, but he was a professor.

As a professor, he had the authority to create desired courses, gather students, and teach them.

Therefore, Ruide could implement his plan with his independent authority without any further discussion.

Ruide stood at the podium.

‘The vacation is coming soon. If I start by sending everyone to the defense line for training, there will be a lot of resistance.’

So Ruide selected a list of key personnel and passed it to Ella.

It mainly included those with loud voices or outstanding skills.

The “Experts,” the most skilled individuals at the Imperial Academy, were naturally included.

And by loudness of voice, the second-to-none “Justin,” “Catherine,” and “Hannah” were also included.

Until now, these three had been occasionally unpleasant and extremely annoying presences, but…

They could be considered elite for maximally conveying the terrifying nature of the North’s magical beasts and raising awareness.

“Today I’ll make an important announcement. The reason I personally selected people instead of accepting course registrations is because of this.”

Exactly 32 students looked at him.

With this many people, he would normally use formal speech, but today he deliberately used informal speech.

It was to clearly establish who was above and who was below.

At that moment, someone raised their hand.

“Yes. You can ask a question.”

It was Isabella, the library clerk.

“May I ask what the meaning is of opening a new course when vacation is approaching?”

It was a polite question, and a reasonable one.

In fact, the commoners had very significant complaints written on their faces.

“Don’t worry. Considering that, I’ll give everyone perfect scores. Without any separate exams. And 10 merit points each.”

Isabella sat down with a very satisfied expression.

She couldn’t help it. It meant her grade average would rise for free.

“But you’ll have to give up your vacation.”

“What?”

“Pardon?”

Murmurs immediately filled the classroom.

“W-what does that mean?”

Someone asked in confusion.

Ruide smiled brightly and said:

“It’s a seasonal semester.”

“S-seasonal semester?”

“A seasonal semester means you get a very good opportunity to learn magic even during vacation.”

The students’ murmuring increased fifteenfold.

Ruide understood perfectly.

He had experience taking seasonal semesters due to poor grades in his previous life.

It was… hell.

“Of course, it’s not mandatory.”

Only then did the students’ murmuring subside.

“If you don’t want to, you can stand up and leave. There will be no disadvantages.”

As soon as Ruide finished speaking, several students stood up.

Ruide blinked.

‘That’s unexpected. More are staying than leaving.’

Are magicians highly studious?

Ruide had such thoughts.

Of course, most of them wanted to make connections with the young genius magician or attend lectures by a magician who had received a title directly from the Emperor.

‘But—’

Sorry, but Ruide had already perfectly prepared the list.

It would be troublesome if people left.

Thud!

“…!”

All the students who had stood up fell to their knees on the floor.

Strong gravity that couldn’t be resisted was pressing down on them.

The surrounding students looked at Ruide in confusion.

There they saw Ruide with an innocent expression, holding his staff.

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

Ruide raised the corners of his mouth.

“It seems everyone wants to attend the class.”

‘It’s a bit extreme, but can’t be helped.’

Ruide thought this was the most efficient way to quickly convince people.

“Now, I’ll explain the direction of my lectures from now on.”

Only, Ruide didn’t notice at all.

His own change, gradually becoming more like Irene.