A Great? First Step (2)

Just as my head was in confusion from the sudden situation, the door opened with perfect timing and the professor entered. It was such an appropriate timing that I couldn’t say anything.

“Nice to meet you all.”

A short and concise greeting. Eyes scanning the students with a dry gaze. It’s a face I saw at the entrance exam. I believe her name was Professor Elaine. I overheard on the way here that she’s a beautiful and capable young female professor, but equally famous for being merciless.

“My name is Elaine. For now, I’m in charge of the Magic Department.”

After writing her name on the blackboard, she didn’t put down her writing tool, as if she had more to say.

“You may know this, but in the Magic Department, professors are assigned according to each student’s attributes and aptitudes. Although I’m in charge of the Magic Department, I won’t be teaching all of you. Just think of me as the representative professor of the department.”

Even though the Magic Department is like private tutoring, they still need a nominal representative. That representative is Elaine.

“I won’t do inefficient things like self-introductions. I already know your personal information, and you can naturally get to know each other through interaction if needed.”

Isn’t it the norm to have self-introductions and explain how the classes will be conducted when a new semester starts? Should I call this groundbreaking or lazy? Still, it’s probably closer to the former, right? She doesn’t seem like a lazy person.

“Here, I’ll let you know which groups you’ve been divided into.”

Groups…? Why does this sound so ominous? Group projects, desertion, piggybacking, group leader… All sorts of terrifying words passed through my mind. T-That shouldn’t happen!

“These are the groups initially distributed by the faculty based on your aptitudes. I’ll tell you in advance that if your aptitude changes or if there’s a better place for you, it might change.”

The first criterion for dividing people in the Magic Department is the attributes they handle. I have ice and lightning attributes, and Mari has light attribute, so we’ll be separated from here. My ice attribute isn’t that common, but it’s bound to be overshadowed compared to Mari’s.

Glancing to the side, Mari was staring at the blackboard with sparkling eyes, as if excited. Hmm, who was she grouped with in the original story? I remember she was just put somewhere appropriate since there was only one light attribute user.

Again, the first criterion for dividing people in the Magic Department is the attributes they handle. But the light attribute is essentially Mari’s unique attribute. Even in the original story, there were no other users besides Mari. Mari is in a position where she really needs one-on-one tutoring. I remember she was moved around here and there because of that…

What about Ariel? I think I remember her hanging around with some followers with decent grades…

“Huh?”

Looking at the list written on the blackboard, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment. To be honest, I wasn’t very interested in the others and was only looking at Mari’s name and mine, but…

[Supervising Professor: Elaine Brittra]

This is fine so far. Although she’s the department representative, there’s no rule saying she can’t take on students. It would be tough on her body if she handles representative duties as well, but that’s for her to deal with, and I have no place to interfere.

The problem is the list of students below. There were only two names written under Professor Elaine.

[Ariel Walpurgis, Mari.]

Why are only Mari’s name and mine written there? And with no one else? Am I the only one who finds this strange?

I glanced around, but most students didn’t seem to have any particular reaction to that list. Is it because it’s not their names, so it doesn’t matter to them? That’s not wrong. People usually lose interest when they think something doesn’t concern them.

But I, being directly involved, am different. This is strange no matter how you look at it! My attribute isn’t that common, but it’s not extremely rare either, and I don’t have anything particularly outstanding, so why am I paired up with just Mari?!

Wondering if I had missed something, I listened to the surroundings once more. After all the names were written on the blackboard, people who initially only checked their own names started looking at others’ as well. This is the perfect time for eavesdropping.

“As expected, putting the top students together…”

“That group is clearly on a different level…”

“Hmph, a commoner, no less.”

Ah, so it was because of grades… Come to think of it, both Mari and I were top students in the Magic Department. Then it makes sense to some extent. Plus, for some reason, I’m the only one with the ice attribute among the new students, so it would be easier to group us together?

Wait… Something seems to be going in a strange direction.

“Unless the entire department is gathering, this classroom won’t be used, so please remember that. Now, you can go find your assigned professors for guidance. You two, please follow me.”

“Yes!”

“Yes.”

Is this really the end? Just grouping us and immediately moving? Was it like this in the original story too?

“Then we’ll move now.”

It really was the end.

As I stood up, my eyes met Mari’s.

“I-I look forward to working with you…”

“Yes. Likewise.”

Her shy greeting was incredibly cute, but what’s important now is the behavior I should show as we’ve become part of the same group. W-Well, following the original story, picking a fight and quarreling here would be the best method, right?

In the original story, Ariel picked a fight with Mari as soon as the first class ended. She provoked Mari, challenging her to prove her skills, and it led to a duel… where Ariel suffered a crushing defeat against Mari. Although it didn’t reach a conclusion because they were caught by the professor at the end, it would have been a complete defeat if it had continued.

It couldn’t be helped. Although the original Ariel was said to be a genius, she didn’t put in any effort, so her growth had stopped, while Mari was the protagonist with a synergy of talent and effort.

‘But I have no intention of doing that.’

I don’t plan to lose pathetically like the original Ariel. I need to trample Mari here deliberately. This is a different approach from the original story, but there are reasons why I have to do this. Three reasons, in fact.

First, if I get beaten badly, it would bring shame to the family. Despite appearances, I’m aware that I’m a member of the ducal family and care about honor to some extent. Reinhardt always reacted with disbelief whenever I said things like this… I wonder why.

Anyway, second. The second reason is that I’ve already become much stronger than the original Ariel. To suffer a miserable defeat like in the original story, I’d have to pretend to be weak, but that would make the picture strange. Looking down on the opponent but not being able to exert proper strength and getting beaten? It’s not like being caught off guard, but doing it openly would look very odd.

Wait a minute.

‘No, that might not be so bad on its own.’

Come to think of it, getting caught off guard and being defeated might not be bad. Originally, getting crushed like this and then saying, “I was careless this time, but it won’t happen again,” while fleeing with villainous lines might be quite fitting for a villainess. Oh, this is better than I thought?

And third, stimulating Mari’s competitive spirit. Originally, Mari would have a smooth sailing at the academy, then experience her first defeat in some incident, which makes her study frantically to become stronger. When a genius who was already working hard grits her teeth and puts in even more effort… It’s unimaginable how terrifying that would be. Thinking about how much faster her growth rate would become, it might actually be good.

Anyway, that’s what I had in mind. But if I deliberately lose, the third point becomes moot… though this might be offset to some extent if I fight with full power later. But then, thinking about it, the first point becomes an issue.

What if I fight half-heartedly and deliberately lose? If that fact reaches someone’s ears? The first reason immediately crumbles. No matter how much I say I was caught off guard, from a distance, it’s just the excuse of a loser, and the image of the Walpurgis ducal family would instantly plummet. We might fall into the abyss.

If that happens, it could even cause trouble for my father and brother who are working so hard. I don’t want that, no matter what. Then the plan to lose deliberately is essentially… scrapped.

‘Ah, let’s just go with the original plan.’

Alright. In these situations, going back to the initial intention is often the answer. There’s a saying that thinking too long can make things worse, and often the first draft is the right answer.

Child, life doesn’t always go as you plan… Is that not right? Whatever.

Okay. Let’s organize the plan. Pick a fight from the first day like the original Ariel. Have a duel. Win overwhelmingly and taunt her to ignite her fighting spirit. That should do it, right? Okay, perfect.

As I stood up at the instruction to rise, I once again recalled the plan.