Ah~ You Should Do It, Right?

“Wh-What…”

“Did a student really break it and run away?”

Binz was momentarily confused, wondering if she had heard wrong.

But Seine, not taking her own actions too seriously, reached her hand towards the broken window.

Binz belatedly came to her senses and answered.

“Y-Yes. That’s right. It was caused by Dale Enberton, who ranked first in the entrance exam among this year’s new students.”

“First place?”

“First place from a commoner background.”

Binz emphasized the word commoner.

She thought that if they were a teacher at this academy, they would immediately understand what her words meant.

As the saying goes, the position makes the person, so even if they were first place, if a commoner caused trouble, they would understand without any further investigation.

“…Could you step aside for a moment?”

But was there some doubt left?

After that, she gestured to the students to make way and stepped towards the window next to the broken one.

After touching and examining it for a few minutes.

“Strange. The function is working well.”

“Pardon? Function? What do you mean…”

“Step aside for a moment.”

She rolled up her sleeve and raised her hand slightly.

What was revealed was her left hand wrapped in bandages.

-Woong.

As soon as she put strength into it, a shimmer began to rise around her.

Mana. The formless energy that is the basis for using magic.

The characteristic shimmer and vibration sound were the main phenomena caused by the formless energy distorting the surrounding light and air.

-Kwang!!!

The fist imbued with such mana struck the window.

The explosive sound that burst out made everyone’s skin tingle.

“…As I thought.”

It would have been a force that would shatter stone or dent iron.

But the window that the fist touched remained intact.

She clicked her tongue and quietly withdrew her hand from the window, then turned to the new students and said,

“Kids, let me ask you one more time. Is it true that the kid who was here until just now broke this window and ran away?”

“…”

---

There was a story I heard during the handover after being hired as a health teacher.

It was about the huge vein of mana located beneath this academy…

More precisely, the fact that there was a place where vast amounts of mana were concentrated to the extent that such an expression could be borrowed.

‘This is why the facilities in this academy can function without human intervention. Especially in the case of glass that has undergone special processing, just by being in the place where this vein exists, it can naturally absorb mana and guarantee tremendous durability.’

In short, within this academy, the windows become no different from very sturdy shields.

Since they can block even considerable attack magic, they shouldn’t break unless a student deliberately bombards them with magic.

But to have shattered such a window with bare hands?

That’s impossible.

“Found you, little one.”

Fortunately, tracking wasn’t too difficult.

It wasn’t hard to follow the traces the fleeing student hadn’t been careful about, like pressed grass and broken branches.

“Everyone’s so mean… I just wanted to make friends…”

The place I arrived at was a tall tree about 10m high.

On a thick branch of that tree, a girl was curled up and sobbing.

No, looking at the uniform, it’s a boy, not a girl.

Whatever the case, it’s fortunate they didn’t get stranded in the middle of this vast forest.

“Still, I can’t leave them like this, so I’ll have to take them back.”

Let’s see, for about 10m, how much strength should I use?

I haven’t done much physical work lately, just paperwork, so I might not be able to control my strength well…

No, forget it. I’ll just eyeball it.

-Paang!

A leap occurs as the mana gathered in my feet explodes.

After a crisp air sound echoed, everything around became an afterimage.

Reaching the top of the tall tree happened in an instant.

“Hello, little one.”

“Kyeeeeek!!”

Wow, what a loud voice.

Of course. Kids this age should know how to yell clearly.

I grabbed the kid’s collar and surrendered to gravity.

Now, 3 seconds of vigorous shouting ahead!

“Kyeeeeeeeeeeek!!”

Thud!

A thunderous sound echoed from my body as I landed on the ground.

As if the impact had been transmitted a bit, the blonde kid in my arms trembled and shouted,

“Thud, it went thud! It just went thud!!”

“Oh my, it went thud!?”

“I’m not joking!! Are, are you okay? Did you hurt your legs…?”

“I’m fine, so just come along quietly.”

Answering nonchalantly, I headed towards the school grounds with the kid tucked under my arm.

My gait was as normal as usual… No, my legs are a bit numb.

Even though I definitely drew mana to my legs for protection, the impact of falling from the tree was fully transmitted to my body.

Given this and breaking the window, does this kid really have something special?

“W-Wait a moment, teacher! Let me go!”

But the child in my arms didn’t seem to have such awareness.

As I applied a bit more strength to prevent them from running away, the boy began to panic and struggle.

“Stay still.”

“Your chest!! Your chest is touching me!!”

“I’m sorry. They’re not big enough to please a man.”

They’re small because of that bitch mother’s genes.

Anyway, that fucking woman doesn’t help my life at all.

“N-No, that’s not what I meant…”

“If you’re dissatisfied with my chest, should I show you my abs instead?”

Still, can I just let it slide when they’ve shown interest in this insignificant body of mine?

I lifted my sweater slightly to show the inside, and the kid quickly covered their eyes after seeing my abs.

“Eek! You shouldn’t do that!!”

The boy trembled with a reddened face.

At the same time, the commotion he had been causing up until now subsided considerably.

“…Oh my?”

To be this embarrassed just from seeing some abs.

I thought it might be a girl just wearing a boy’s uniform, but seeing this reaction, it seems he really is a boy.

“Oh my, oh my~”

Well then.

Might as well use this too.

“Did you perhaps have some strange thoughts after seeing teacher’s abs?”

“Th-That’s not it…”

The kid sweated nervously.

I whispered softly into the kid’s ear.

“If you struggle a bit more here, you might see something even more amazing.”

“A-Amazing…?”

“Do you want to see?”

Saying this, I put strength into my fingers as if about to lift my sweater even higher.

As if I was about to show above the abs.

“S-Stop! I’ll be quiet!!”

But it seems our little one doesn’t have the courage to see that far.

Well, there’s not much to see on this body full of lean muscles anyway.

“Fufu, you’re such a good child who listens well.”

But whatever the case, it’s good to see cooperation.

I patted the kid’s head and continued walking down the corridor.

---

The place I took the kid to was the principal’s office.

I looked through the list of new students kept there and continued my explanation to the old principal, Makarov.

“His name is Dale Enberton. 14 years old. A new student this year and first in the entrance exam… His hometown is Leninsleve.”

“If it’s Leninsleve, it’s located near the Kingdom of Toros…”

“Well, yes, it’s the place called the trash town.”

A large-scale crustal deformation that occurred due to direct damage from the war.

As a result, that place where trash from all over the continent gathered was, ironically, not even under the intervention of any country or government.

In fact, it’s a lawless zone suitable for not only trash but also human trash to gather.

The birthplace of this ‘entrance exam first place’ who caused the incident was such a place.

“…Is this what they mean by a dragon rising from a small stream?”

No, maybe it’s not a dragon but a monster.

Thinking about the tingling sensation I still feel from when I jumped down from the tree, I couldn’t just see this kid as a mere child.

“Um, excuse me…”

After discussing various things with the principal for a while,

The girl sitting on the sofa looked at me with uneasy eyes.

No… it was a boy, not a girl.

He looked quite pretty and timid for someone from a lawless zone, but I didn’t mind much as that’s just individual difference.

After all, it’s surprising enough that someone from a lawless zone got first place, so should we be surprised at every little thing?

“Would you like some more snacks?”

“Ah, yes.”

Hearing my words, Dale took the snacks offered in front of him in both hands and chewed… no. Looking closely, he was nibbling just the end of the snack with his front teeth.

As if a squirrel was eating an acorn…

…Ah, watching this makes my chest feel strangely ticklish.

It’s good that he’s eating quietly, but isn’t this appearance too harmful to the heart?

“However, it’s unbelievable. That this child broke a window with his bare body.”

On the other hand, the old principal looked at Dale with stiff eyes.

I too understood to some extent his assessment, knowing what the windows of Maris were.

But how wide is the world that we can be surprised at every little thing?

“I’m surprised too, but it’s not entirely impossible. You know about ability users, right?”

“Ability users, you mean this child?”

Ability users.

A concept that existed in the game as well, simply put, it refers to those who have powers that cannot be explained by modern technology and theory.

They’re not non-existent, just extremely rare.

“Honestly, just that alone is enough reason for this academy to take him on, regardless of his grades. If left alone, he might fall into dangerous paths, but on the other hand, if nurtured well, he could bloom greatly.”

“…Well, if it’s Teacher Seine’s judgment, it must be accurate. After all, you came to this academy on the recommendation of none other than the chairman.”

Haha. If you’re going to believe it, just believe it, do you have to point out that it’s a parachute appointment?

Whatever the case, the general discussion is over. I turned my back on my seat and took a seat on the opposite side of the sofa where the boy was sitting.

At that moment, the boy was startled and swallowed all the snacks he had in his mouth.

Then, looking up at me with a face that seemed about to cry, he asked tensely.

“Wh-What’s going to happen to me now?”

“Before explaining that, there’s something I want to ask you first.”

Then, placing the new student register I was holding on the table, I asked.

“Dale, have you ever been taught by anyone?”

“…Taught?”

“Usually, kids who come to this academy all have a teacher or two.”

Not all academies are like this, but Maris Academy gathers the most excellent children from across the continent.

It goes beyond simple social gatherings to include international exchanges.

Given such an important position, many children who have received early education gather, so the current question can be considered valid.

But.

“Self-taught…”

“Self-taught?”

“Yes, I studied on my own. Reading books I picked up in my hometown…”

“…”

“Is, is that strange?”

“No, well. It could happen.”

There wouldn’t be anyone to call a teacher in a lawless zone in the first place… No, rather, if he had a teacher there, it might have been more dangerous.

A scholar who drifted into a lawless zone is unlikely to be a proper person.

“So you’ve never actually used magic?”

“No, uh… I tried, but the thing called mana didn’t gather at all.”

But this is a bit problematic.

Once you grasp the theory, anyone should be able to manipulate mana if not magic, yet the entrance exam first place grasped the theory but can’t manipulate mana at all?

“I see.”

What kind of abilities this kid might have.

Snickering, I picked up a snack from the table and held it out to Dale.

“…Teacher?”

“Ah~”

“Pardon?”

“You should go ‘ah~’, right?”

Dale was at a loss at my words.

Then, as I held out the snack encouragingly, Dale reluctantly opened his mouth and took a big bite of the snack.

Not nibbling like before, but with an audible crunch.

“Good boy.”

Pleased with that sight, I smiled brightly, and the boy blushed and shrank his body.

Thinking that was also fresh and nice, I leaned back against the sofa backrest and brought the snack to my mouth.

“Well then, I should explain now. What I’ve figured out through this Q&A and bringing you here.”

Dale gulped down the snack he was holding.

I faced his tense face and told him what I had figured out.