Ch.15Magic Practice (1)

In truth, there is no punishment higher than expulsion from the Academy.

What greater punishment could there be than depriving a student of their opportunity to learn?

Even in a class-based society, working in the cafeteria isn’t considered more serious than expulsion.

Working without pay—well, a commoner’s salary is pocket change to nobles anyway. It’s money they could do without.

However, the severity of a “punishment” varies from person to person.

For some, paying a fine might be a severe punishment, while for others, it’s merely the cost of a meal.

For some, imprisonment might feel like the end of their life, while others might appreciate the free food and lodging.

Thus, punishment differs drastically depending on the recipient’s personality and circumstances.

Chancellor Clifford is someone who values “time” above all else,

while Investigator Gilbert is someone who’s extremely tight on “money.”

For these two, wasting a whole year and working without pay becomes a punishment greater than expulsion.

‘Hmm, was I too harsh?’

The problem was that Catherine had been excluded from all these calculations. I had focused solely on avoiding trouble with those two.

‘…Perhaps I should have been more generous since I was forgiving her anyway.’

It’s already in the past. While I was pondering such trivial concerns—

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Someone blocked Ruide’s path to Dellin’s Lake.

It was Catherine.

“Do you have something to say?”

“…Thank you.”

Catherine suddenly bowed her head. Her red hair cascaded down. Her expression was as pitiful as someone drenched in rain.

She looked completely deflated. Ruide found it quite unexpected.

He thought she would be furious that a noble like herself was made to work as a server.

“This favor… I’ll definitely repay it someday. And about before… I’m sorry.”

Catherine, still with her head bowed, ran away.

Ruide watched her retreating figure for a moment and muttered.

“Let’s just leave it at that.”

It’s fortunate that things seemed to end on a positive note.

**

With the troublemaker out of the way, there was nothing standing in Ruide’s path anymore.

“This is my world.”

He could sleep again and enjoy a peaceful daily life. Ruide was already happy.

He gently lay down on his designated spot. He took out a pillow from his spatial storage and placed it under his head. He curled up into a ball, finding the most comfortable position.

“Ah.”

After lying down, he realized he missed having a bonfire. But since it was too bothersome to make one, he decided to just sleep.

‘The weather is really nice today.’

A gentle breeze caressed his body. The breeze was neither cold nor hot, making it feel incredibly cozy.

The sunlight was just right for falling asleep, and the natural temperature was so pleasant that he didn’t need to cast any magic.

Perhaps because he had been moving around a lot recently, drowsiness quickly overtook him.

“Zzz…”

Before long, Ruide was sound asleep. Unless there’s something special, neither Hersy nor Amelia would wake him up. It seemed like no one would disturb his deep sleep for the time being.

**

“Ugh, hack.”

A girl appeared at Dellin’s Lake, pushing through the forest. Her name was Nia Ryan, a first-year student in the Magic Department.

“What’s with this mana concentration…”

She wiped her dripping saliva with her sleeve. Holding onto a tree, she took deep breaths. It felt as if she was in a very humid and hot area, making her body heavy and breathing difficult.

“Oh my?”

Nia tilted her head. There was someone by the lake.

-Hey, are you stupid? That’s not a fairy, that’s a new student.

Nia covered her mouth with a “hup.” She remembered what a friend had told her in the past.

‘That’s a fairy! No, it’s Ruide!’

The blonde boy was curled up asleep. Nia felt excited as if she had met a mythical being.

Being the friendly person she was, Nia wanted to say hello, but unfortunately, she couldn’t.

‘Careful, careful.’

She didn’t want to wake the sleeping child. Nia passed by Ruide and headed toward the lake.

She took out a small glass bottle from her chest and filled it with water from Dellin’s Lake. It was to collect samples needed for her alchemy class.

‘Wow, there it is! The Flower of Adrane!’

A rare flower that grows only in special places.

The Flower of Adrane was filled with magical power, making it look as if it was frozen blue. It was her first time seeing it in person.

Nia smiled brightly and reached out her hand. Since she had come all this way with difficulty, she planned to pick plenty.

But at that moment, Nia felt an inexplicable chill and shuddered. She looked to the side, feeling a piercing gaze.

“……”

“……”

She met eyes with a boy who seemed to hold the clear sky within his gaze. Nia blinked and smiled awkwardly.

“Ahaha, sorry. Did I wake you up?”

Ruide stared intently at the Flower of Adrane in Nia’s hand.

“Ah, this? It’s a material I need for alchemy.”

Ruide closed his eyes as if it wasn’t his concern. He was drowsy from being woken up.

‘Did I… get permission from the fairy?’

Nia thought so and continued to pick the flower. She felt a bit sorry for waking him up.

The flowers in her hand became two, then three. Nia planned to take just four. It was the minimum amount of material she needed for the experiment she wanted to conduct.

Just as she was about to pick the last one—

Ting—

“?”

Her hand was blocked by a transparent barrier, preventing her from moving forward. As if it was saying, “No more than this.”

“That’s strange.”

She wondered if it was magic, but Ruide was asleep, and there was no one else around.

Ting ting ting ting ting.

‘This is kind of fun!’

It felt like touching a very firm pudding. Nia found it amusing and kept repeating the same action.

“Go away.”

“Sorry!”

She had been so engrossed that she momentarily forgot someone was sleeping. Nia hunched her shoulders and put her hands together in apology. Ruide closed his eyes again.

‘But what should I do? I need one more…’

Just then, she spotted a Flower of Adrane a little distance away.

‘I’m really lucky!’

Nia tiptoed over and picked the flower. Now she had four.

She smiled happily. Now she could conduct the experiment she wanted. Just as she was about to leave with a light step—

“Ack!”

Something yanked her back forcefully, making her lose balance. Nia tightly closed her eyes, bracing for impact. But she felt nothing.

Nia slowly opened her eyes. She saw green grass. A transparent barrier was blocking her way.

Looking around, she realized she was surrounded by water droplets. Nia got up awkwardly and looked around with a curious expression. At that moment, her eyes met Ruide’s.

He was coming towards her, rubbing his eyes, having woken up at some point. Nia was slightly taken aback.

He bluntly said:

“Only three per day.”

“Huh…?”

Ruide held out his hand.

“Those flowers… you can only take three per day.”

Nia asked with a face full of curiosity:

“Why?”

“I don’t know either. The professor told me to protect these flowers. So hand it over.”

Pop!

The water droplet burst. Nia was startled but didn’t fall. She steadied herself and straightened her back.

‘…Her name was Nia Ryan, wasn’t it?’

Ruide looked Nia over. She was just like a rabbit. Platinum blonde hair reaching her waist, bright red eyes.

Overall, she gave off the impression of a cute child. Ruide knew who she was. She’s a heroine who appears in the middle part of the story. Despite her appearance, she’s the same age as Justin.

“Wow! You’re the first boy at the Academy who’s shorter than me. Are you really human? Not a fairy?”

It was a pure voice without a hint of malice. Ruide’s eyebrow twitched.

Nia circled around Ruide, observing him. She was very curious.

Unable to bear it any longer, Ruide spoke once more:

“Anyway, leave one flower behind.”

“But.”

Nia looked at Ruide with sparkling eyes and held up four fingers. Most people usually gave in to her requests when she made this expression.

“I need four.”

“No. Hand it over.”

However, it didn’t work on Ruide. They were of the same type. Nia was shocked.

‘My ultimate move doesn’t work…?’

Immediately recognizing Ruide as her natural enemy, she took two steps back.

“Give it quickly. I want to sleep.”

Nia hid the flowers behind her back. She turned her head and mumbled:

“No.”

“…You can get the rest tomorrow.”

Ruide spoke as if he was persuading a young child.

Nia made an extremely aggrieved expression.

“Do you know how hard it was to get here?”

“Of course it would be hard. You have barely enough specs.”

“No? You don’t understand!”

Nia pointed her finger at Ruide. But thinking it might be rude, she lowered it. Instead, she placed her hands on her hips.

“How hard it is for me! Even standing here like this is hard… wait, it’s not. What’s going on?”

Nia looked at her small hands. Her body wasn’t heavy, and breathing wasn’t uncomfortable.

It was Ruide’s consideration. Even now, he was adjusting the amount of mana around Nia.

This was only because they were near the lake where mana concentration was highest. With a simple spell cast, the journey wouldn’t be difficult from tomorrow.

“It won’t be hard tomorrow.”

“Hmm…”

Nia thought briefly. She wanted to conduct the experiment today, which is why she came to get the materials herself despite feeling like she might die from the effort.

If she backed down now, the experiment would be delayed by a whole 20 hours. Nia was the type who would do anything to satisfy her magical curiosity.

But using this as an excuse to come back tomorrow didn’t seem too bad either. Nia wanted to become friends with Ruide.

“Alright. But let’s be friends.”

“…Friends?”

“Yes!”

Nia held out the Flower of Adrane.

“This is a gift to commemorate our friendship.”

“……”

Ruide was dumbfounded.

**

——

<Magic Practice Guide>

First-year Magic Department students, how did your class placement test go?

A month has already passed since the semester began.

Although we haven’t had proper classes yet, I hope you’ll gain a lot by the end of the school year.

Therefore, before starting full-fledged classes, I’d like to test your basic skills while also giving you some practical experience.

The details, such as location and date, are as follows:

Location: Central Area, Meeting Colosseum.

Date: Next class time for the “Practical Magic” course.

Special Invitation: Second-year Fencing Department Captain, Amelia Windsor.

-Judging that there’s no suitable opponent for Ruide Christopher Windsor, we’ve specially invited Amelia Windsor.

-Although this is a choice made out of necessity, mages should always be prepared for battles with knights.

-I’m confident that these two will provide the best example of how battles between mages and knights should look.

-This test is purely for demonstration purposes, so participation is not mandatory.

The above is certified by:

Practical Magic Head Professor, Lepen Chaser-.

Magic Theory Head Professor, Fenicia Finance-.

——

“Amazing…!”

A notice was suddenly posted on the bulletin board. It was something no one had expected.

“Is this saying only a Windsor can stop a Windsor?”

“To think we can see the Sword Empress fight…!”

“We’ll finally see the skills of the ‘Lazy Ruide’ who’s only been the subject of rumors.”

“Who will win?”

“Definitely Lady Amelia!”

“No, Young Master Ruide will win. If I were Lady Amelia, I wouldn’t be able to fight properly because he’s too cute!”

The Magic Department students were in a frenzy of excitement. In truth, no one misunderstood the real meaning of this test.

This was more of a demonstration than a test. The Sword Empress, already making a name for herself throughout the empire, versus Ruide, who recently added “Genius of the Century” to his titles.

Students were already starting to place bets on who would win. Of course, they’d get demerits if caught by professors, but it would be a sin not to bet gold on such an exciting event.

Meanwhile, Hersy, who was returning after class, also saw the notice.

“…What’s this?”

Hersy rubbed her eyes in disbelief. However, the two names clearly written on the notice didn’t change.

“I, I didn’t hear anything about this from Ruide…?”

Thinking she should quickly go and ask, Hersy hurriedly moved her feet.

‘…But really, who would win?’

It was a genuine question. Ruide was a genius, but so was Amelia. She wasn’t called the Sword Empress for nothing.

Hersy quickly arrived at Dellin’s Lake. She was almost out of breath from practically running. After briefly adjusting her clothes and catching her breath, she emerged from the forest. The emerald-colored lake came into view.

She first looked for the spot where Ruide usually lay. But today, he wasn’t there.

In the center between the forest and the lake,

Ruide was standing face to face with an unfamiliar girl.

They were exactly the same height, making them doubly cute.

The girl was holding out a flower, and Ruide was accepting it.

Hersy stared blankly at the scene.

‘A cute child next to… another cute child.’

If heaven exists, could this be it?

Hersy was convinced.