Ch.292287 – Celebration

“What is this thing anyway? A drone?”

Jihye tapped the device, and a whooshing sound came through the speaker.

The drone suddenly wobbled before performing a 360-degree spin right in front of her.

[Hello friends?]

“Aaahh! What… what is that?”

She’s really something else.

“My friend. She agreed to film me today.”

“H-hello…!”

[Hehe just pretend I’m not here! Think of me as invisible, okay?]

“Yesss.”

It only takes 15 minutes to walk to school.

Plenty of time to chat along the way.

We passed the bus stop where Seo Yu-na usually gets off.

“Aren’t we waiting for Yu-na?”

“She said her legs hurt so her brother is driving her to school today.”

“Makes sense. Yu-na’s been working the hardest with all that practice.”

Seo Ma-ru apparently got his license recently.

It’s fascinating that in an era where 95% of vehicles are self-driving, getting a license is actually much harder than in my first life.

On the way to school, I gave Jihye some feedback I couldn’t finish giving her after yesterday’s competition.

“E-enough already…!”

“And Jihye, you really need to learn coordinate transformation soon. You can’t rely on magic artifacts forever, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Study matrix multiplication when you get home today. Then I’ll teach you.”

“M-matrix?”

“It’s not a difficult concept, I promise!”

“Waaah! No way!”

Sometimes I think time passes so quickly, but then I wonder when these friends will ever mature.

Even middle school students look like babies to me, and these kids still have four more years until they graduate elementary school.

They probably won’t be ready for proper dueling for another decade.

“Huh? What’s this? How did so much change in just a week?”

Walking along the main road, I suddenly felt something was off and looked around.

The street trees were decorated with ornaments and lights, even though it wasn’t Christmas.

A few helium balloons floated high in the sky.

“This wasn’t like this on Friday, was it?”

Even Han Seo-ri, the only one of us who stayed at the academy, tilted her head in confusion.

Endless banners hung between the trees.

[★ Congratulations on Cephiron Academy’s Seoul Regional Competition Victory ★]

“Wow! They must have decorated everything because the academy won the competition! It’s so pretty!”

“Did they do this last year too?”

“Hmm… I don’t really remember, but I think we lost last year so there was nothing like this.”

Must be the principal splurging after our first victory in eight years.

[★ Congratulations on Cephiron Academy Elementary Division’s 3:2 Victory ★]

‘That’s so like Principal Gu On-yu.’

The elementary division’s score is even detailed in the midst of all this.

I couldn’t help but laugh seeing his obvious attempt to show off to the principals of the middle and high school divisions, with whom he doesn’t get along.

But the truly surprising sight came next.

“Huh? There are so many people?”

“Aren’t those all our academy seniors? What are they doing there?”

“Adella. Go up high and take a picture for my phone.”

[Okie.]

The drone flew high into the sky, powered by both magic circles and electric motors.

My eyes widened when I saw the picture Adella showed me.

A dense crowd of people from here all the way to the academy gates.

‘500 people? 700? That’s almost the entire student body?’

But everyone was standing in orderly lines on both sides, as if waiting for someone.

I made eye contact with some third-year high school seniors standing at the very end.

“…!”

When they noticed me approaching, the commotion intensified.

“NoName, look over there!”

“…?”

Seo-ri pointed to the largest banner hanging between the cherry blossom trees.

[★ Congratulations to Miss NoName on her Academy Competition Victory and MVP Award ★]

[From Cephiron Foundation and Academy]

“Why would they do something like this…”

“NoName! I think they’re clapping for you.”

*clap clap clap clap clap*

Hundreds of students clapping in unison.

I froze momentarily from the shock.

All their eyes were on me.

My heart suddenly started pounding like a hammer.

I’m not used to this much attention.

I looked down at the ground and saw my shadow stretched long in the morning sunlight.

“Looks like you have to go in alone from here.”

“Seo-ri and I will come in later…!”

“Go on in!”

My friends pushed me forward.

When I looked up again, I could see the kindness in everyone’s eyes.

The moment I stepped into the path created by the crowd,

Cheers louder than my pounding heart filled the cold autumn air.

“Wooooooah!”

“NoName! NoName! NoName!”

“NoName, let’s live together at the academy forever!”

“You’re the best! Thank you, NoName! You know your big sis loves you, right?!”

Starting with the third-year high schoolers, then second-years, then first-years.

These mature students were shouting my name at the top of their lungs.

I don’t know who organized all this. My face was burning with embarrassment.

Then came the middle school division.

“Woohoo! Na~me Name-Name Na~me! Na~me Name-Name Na~me!”

These ones went even further by making up songs with my name.

Among them were seniors who had participated in the competition.

“Hey… shouldn’t you be in the hospital, senior?”

It was too noisy to hear the answer.

But judging by their bright smile, I could guess what they meant.

“Congrats, NoName!”

“Our elementary division is the strongest! NoName fighting!”

“The Demon Lord NoName has arrived! Make way!”

“It’s the Demon Queeeeen! Arrrgh!”

Even the elementary students with their high-pitched pre-pubescent voices were shouting.

By the time my embarrassment transformed into happiness, I had finally reached the entrance.

At the end, all the academy teachers had formed a finish line.

Principal Gu On-yu and homeroom teacher Jacqueline Carroll raised their hands high to welcome me.

“What is all this? Did you arrange this, Principal?”

“This is how we celebrate when we win the academy competition.”

“Oh, really?”

“That’s what I decided starting this year. I’m the principal, so it doesn’t matter, right?”

Principal Gu On-yu picked up his wand that was leaning against the wall and drew a magic circle on the ground.

Beside him, Teacher Jackie helped with the casting by drawing a small circle.

“Congratulations once again on the academy competition victory, NoName.”

[4th Circle Cast: Fireworks]

[5th Circle Area Cast: Barrier – Total Eclipse]

A massive barrier spread out, covering hundreds of people,

The sun gradually lost its light, making the boundaries of shadows blur.

Darkness.

In the pitch-black night sky where nothing was visible, six fireworks shot upward, spewing flames, endlessly climbing higher.

Whooooosh-!

The small rockets defying gravity exploded when they hit the ceiling of the barrier.

“…!”

At that moment, a festival of light, fire, and stars unfolded.

Light gathered to form embers, embers gathered to form stars, and stars radiated light again.

Bang-!

Boom-!

The explosion of stars announced the birth of countless smaller stars.

[N]

[O]

[N]

[A]

[M]

[E]

Six constellations adorning the night sky.

They formed letters, spelling out my name.

“Wow…”

It was like gold dust sprinkled on a black canvas.

And those starlight slowly showered down on us like snow.

I rubbed my eyes and kept staring at the achingly beautiful scene.

The silhouettes of people, including Teacher Jackie, gradually reappeared one by one.

The dark sky regained its blue hue, and the magic circle dissolved into nature.

“Welcome to Cephiron Academy from the bottom of my heart, NoName.”

But that momentary fantasy was surely etched forever in everyone’s hearts.

I suddenly thought that might be the very reason humans learn magic.

“Thank you… for giving me a place to belong.”

* * *

At the stairs in the first floor lobby.

Our brief journey together ended here, as Principal Gu On-yu needed to go to his office and I needed to go to Class 2-A.

Adella had received conditional permission to film the academy, and everything seemed to be working out perfectly today.

As we were about to part ways with smiles, I suddenly asked the principal:

“By the way, Principal, did the Cephiron Foundation approve the budget for this? Just curious.”

“I’m spending my own money, so what business is it of theirs?”

“Ah, I see.”

Right, Principal Gu On-yu was extremely wealthy.

But I’m pretty sure his wand was inside the boundary line…

“Are you sure you cast that magic outside the academy grounds?”

“Huh? Umm… what?”

“I was just checking, just in case.”

“W-wait…? Did I cast it inside?”

Principal Gu On-yu hurriedly pulled out his phone to check something.

His face turned pale.

“I’m screwed…”

And without saying goodbye, the principal made a U-turn and ran straight to the foundation headquarters building.

Budget manager Kim Yong-sil must be quite shocked by now.

“Adella, our classroom is this way. Let’s go.”

[Wow… this school is a complete mess.]

To think that our great Cephiron Academy would be talked about like that by Adella.

I couldn’t hide my truly regretful feelings.