The four-way match would cap off the inter-class competition.

Reading Beatrix’s message, which strongly suggested she’d be participating, almost made my brain short-circuit. No, ‘suggested’ wasn’t even the right word—she straight-up said she intended to join.

I reread the message several times, then quietly turned my gaze to the window. The weather outside was clear, but it felt like it was raining buckets inside my chest.

Why?

Eventually, a very basic question surfaced. Why—why in the world would Beatrix crash an event meant for kids? And why did Louise invite Beatrix?

Giving Beatrix the benefit of the doubt, I could understand her participation. She didn’t volunteer first; it was her only disciple’s suggestion. And if Beatrix stepped onto the field, the Magic Department students would practically weep with joy at the sight of a living legend.

There would be a commotion, but it was a positive one that would introduce the students to a new world.

Still… chaos was chaos.

Why did Louise invite her?

I couldn’t make sense of it no matter how much I thought about it. I’d understand if Louise was a thoughtless, reckless kid, but that wasn’t the case.

Louise was the closest witness to what happened during last year’s four-person match.

She was a historical witness who observed the legendary assault on royalty in real-time and the unprecedented situation of my workplace probation that would remain an Academy legend.

Moreover, she felt sorry for me from the moment Erich designated me as an external participant for the four-person match, and she was genuinely sad when I received my probation.

Someone like that wouldn’t start a disaster like this without a very good reason. Maybe the 77th season club members would, but definitely not Louise.

I need to confirm with the person herself.

Finally, I sent a reply to Beatrix with a small sigh.

[Let’s talk about it during club hours.]

This issue could only be resolved through a three-way face-to-face with Louise and Beatrix.

When club time rolled around, I had Louise sit down. She entered with the expression of a dog that had misbehaved. Thankfully, this conversation might go easier than expected, judging by the guilty look on her face.

Naturally, Beatrix was seated right beside her. While I said I could understand Beatrix’s participation in the four-person match and gave her the benefit of the doubt, that didn’t mean I supported it.

When a student makes a wild suggestion, a proper teacher is supposed to stop them, not jump in with enthusiasm.

“You know why I’m doing this, right?”

“Yes, yes…”

Louise nodded meekly in response, her head bowing slightly.

Seeing her look so small and apologetic, I couldn’t help but smile a little. I might have pulled her lips if she had been brazenly unapologetic like Elizabeth, but I didn’t want to be too harsh on someone who already recognized their mistake.

“I’m not angry. I’m just a bit taken aback.”

At my gentle voice, Louise slowly raised her head. The other club members, who’d been watching the exchange like it was serious business, visibly relaxed too.

“There must have been a reason, right?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

Seeing her nod so eagerly made the tension in my chest ease a little more.

Right, there was no way Louise would do this without thinking. There must have been some unavoidable circumstances.

“Well… the Magic Department students begged me really hard.”

“The Magic Department?”

I frowned at that.

Sure, the Magic Department students were known to be practically obsessed with Beatrix, but begging that hard and pressuring her disciple to this extent? That was a little much.

Or had I underestimated the madness of mages…?

“Ah, it was really just a request. There was no other pressure.”

Louise hastily added, seemingly noticing my doubts.

It was a relief that there was no pressure, but how desperate must they have been for Louise to act on a mere request?

“They’re being too greedy, considering they already have weekly lessons.”

I felt displeased. They were enjoying the once-in-a-lifetime fortune of learning from the Mage Duchess herself, yet they were being excessively greedy. They should be satisfied with the lessons.

How dare they hassle my third wife to the point where my second wife had to step in too? Unforgivable—

“Um, oppa. Actually, there’s been a small problem with the lectures lately.”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head at those words. A problem with the lessons?

That didn’t sound right, so I turned to look at Beatrix. Could there really be a problem with her classes? How could that be when the greatest authority in magic was teaching in person with care and attention?

It’s true.

But seeing Beatrix awkwardly avert her eyes, I realized it was true. Something had gone wrong.

Is she… slacking off?

It was a strange conclusion, but also a highly possible one.

If the students were begging for Beatrix to participate in the four-way match despite having a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, then it suggested that they were still hungry for more. Wouldn’t this mean that the current lessons could no longer satisfy the students’ curiosity?

Perhaps Beatrix, who was unused to teaching, was getting bored and giving half-hearted lessons. If so, then this bizarre request from the magic department students would make sense.

“Are the kids having trouble keeping up with the lessons?”

However, I couldn’t just ask her, ‘Are you slacking off?’, so I posed a different question. Maybe her teachings were simply too advanced.

Actually, the more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Knowing something and teaching it were two entirely different skills. Even in my previous world, it was normal for undergraduates to struggle under a professor’s teachings.

“Well—“

I couldn’t help but smile wryly as Beatrix hesitated for a moment before starting to speak.

There was no problem with Beatrix’s teaching at all.

Despite the old saying, ‘Geniuses can’t understand the minds of ordinary people,’ Beatrix was astonishingly patient and thorough in her lessons. Naturally, the magic department students went wild over this gracious blessing.

She even willingly answered the endless questions they peppered her with during class. By the end of the first semester, she had a complete understanding of their capabilities and enthusiasm.

The disaster began in the second semester.

“Now that I’ve understood the children’s level, I planned to give more advanced lessons from the second semester, focusing on presentations and discussions.”

Of course, the magic department students who danced on the line between passion and madness weren’t hindered by the barrier of presentations and discussions. Rather, they were delighted to be able to express their opinions in front of the respected authority.

…For exactly one week.

“That was an impressive presentation. I could tell you worked hard to view traditional magic from a new perspective.”

“Th-thank you!”

“As it happens, that’s a spell I created 70 years ago.”

“…”

Sadly, giving a presentation to a living legend of magic turned out to be a nightmare.

“—So based on this principle, I’ve created a new magical tool.”

“Excellent. It’s a small but quite important idea.”

“Thank you!”

“I made the same magical tool 30 years ago. It wasn’t commercialized due to some flaws, but what’s important is that you came up with such an idea on your own.”

“…”

Moreover, this legend wasn’t just a repository of knowledge—she had also done almost everything.

Magical research and tool creation were the paths Beatrix had walked. As a result, no matter what they presented, the students found themselves crushed under the sheer weight of her experience.

Still, most of the students stayed enthusiastic until…

“Ah, that theory was established by my father. I’ve personally refined it a bit, so this is perfect.”

From that day on, all students fell silent.

Wow.

I barely stopped myself from sighing.

Beatrix’s father was known as the ‘Mage of Discovery.’ He was so devoted to magic that he was called the greatest mage of his time in the Empire. Countless spells and papers were created by his hand, making his status indescribable.

This meant that most of the students’ presentations were influenced by the Mage of Discovery’s papers, and Beatrix, delighted by the mention of her father’s legacy, willingly gave detailed feedback.

Yes, extremely detailed feedback.

Feedback on a 100-year-old theory…

How dreadful. The Mage of Discovery passed away 100 years ago, so his theories also stopped 100 years ago.

Those theories had long since become sacred, untouched, and preserved.

For the students, presenting research based on them should have been a safe and praiseworthy choice. Unfortunately, the Mage of Discovery’s daughter had been updating her father’s theories alone. In private, without publishing in the magical community.

What chance did they have? And so, the magic department students lost the courage to present in front of Beatrix, and the second-semester classes lost their vitality.

…

“I’ll explain it well to the principal.”

“Th-thank you…”

It all made sense now. The desperate magic department students, wanting to see Beatrix’s teachings in practice rather than theory, had pleaded with Louise. And feeling a twinge of guilt at having decimated her students’ spirit, Beatrix agreed.

So you got caught up too, huh.

Now that I looked closer, even Lather’s expression had turned a little bitter at some point.

It was truly a pitiful situation.

The rumor that second sister-in-law would participate in the four-person match spread quickly. Even though sister-in-law promised to forfeit if she ended up in a one-on-one against another class to preserve fairness, the magic department students didn’t seem to care about fairness in the first place and just cheered for her participation.

Are they really that happy?

Seeing the magic department students chattering with faces full of smiles was almost bewildering.

At first, I couldn’t understand it.

But then I thought: what if it were our Swordsmanship Department? It would be like hyung participating in the four-person match and showing Sky Cleaver—

That would be amazing.

I understood immediately. Yeah, I would’ve been ecstatic too.

That realization brought a faint, creeping sense of jealousy. The Magic Department was overjoyed. After all, they had the literal pinnacle of magic appearing for their match.

Wouldn’t it only be fair if we in the swordsmanship department also invited a big shot?

“Erich.”

As I was thinking this, someone shook my shoulder and called out to me.

“Rutis?”

When I turned, I saw Rutis with an expression as if he had made a big decision.

His expression was so intense that I instinctively swallowed hard.