Chapter 5: Admission and Antagonism

“We’ve arrived, so get out.”

As I stepped out of the carriage, a massive tower-like building filled my vision.

Tilting my head all the way back, its height seemed to be roughly that of a 15-story apartment building.

“Is this the academy headquarters?”

“Yes. It’s located in the center of the island and is the building that handles the academy’s administrative tasks and the island’s management.”

Looking at the building, I was dumbfounded.

It wasn’t just because it was tall.

It was possible to build very tall buildings even with medieval technology.

But those were mostly made of light wood or took the form of a spire that narrowed towards the top.

However, the academy headquarters had a form almost perfectly vertical, similar to a modern building.

The fact that they built such a structure without reinforced concrete was truly astonishing.

‘It’s probably plastered with magic. There’s no way that building could maintain its balance otherwise.’

‘It’s magic for the win, isn’t it.’

“I don’t even have the energy to nitpick anymore…”

“Are you going to stand there all day? I’m not that free, you know.”

“Ah, yes. I’m coming.”

Upon entering the building, I saw William talking to someone at a counter.

When Kyla waved, William noticed us and immediately came over.

“Miss Tarsha. You must be tired from the long journey. Did anything happen on the way?”

“Do you think anything would have happened with me around?”

“I apologize. I was originally supposed to come and get you myself, not Kyla, but some documents came up today that required my personal approval.”

“Hey. Are you saying it’s something to apologize for that I came to get her instead of you?”

Kyla kicked William’s shin.

Thwack!

A dull sound echoed, but William didn’t even blink.

‘So this is the head sword instructor. Indeed. His durability is no joke.’

“The transfer process seems quite complicated. Seeing as there’s so much paperwork.”

“Well, yes. And since you’re magicless, Miss Tarsha, there were more things to prepare than in a typical case.”

The walls of the prestigious Ceylon Academy are high.

Normally, only those who passed the entrance exam held once a year at the end of the year were allowed to enroll.

Therefore, even with a recommendation from a related party, one would normally have to take a transfer exam.

However, thanks to William’s status as not just any related party but the head sword instructor, I was allowed to transfer without taking a separate exam.

The biggest reason was that I was magicless.

The exam was prepared on the premise that one could use magic or body reinforcement, so there was no standard to evaluate someone like me in the first place.

Of course.

Ceylon Academy was not a charity, so there were a few conditions for my transfer.

I received the documents.

On it was written what I had to do in exchange for transferring to the academy.

‘First. Regularly visit the forges that supply arms to the academy and thoroughly teach the manufacturing method of the wave-patterned sword sold on the market, that is, the pattern-welded steel.’

This was actually a simple request.

I was worried that revealing the manufacturing method might put my father in a difficult position, but he said he had already earned enough and it didn’t matter much.

Above all, if I could befriend the blacksmiths and use their forges, that would be a good thing in itself.

‘Second. If there is a request from professors and instructors working at the academy, comply with the request as much as possible. (However, it is acceptable to refuse matters that may pose a threat to one’s life or are unreasonable.)’

This also didn’t matter much.

I could run minor errands.

Of course, I wondered if any teacher would need the help of a magicless person like me.

And finally.

“Third. Attend the Ceylon Academy regular seminar held one week from the date of transfer?”

“Ah. That’s a clause I newly added yesterday.”

William said.

“The wave-patterned sword. I mean… was it called pattern-welded steel? There are quite a few people interested in it. I would like you to explain it in front of them and answer various questions.”

“Ah. Well, something like that. Of course, it’s possible.”

I wrote my name in large letters at the bottom of the document and handed it to William.

He rolled up the paper, handed it to a woman who seemed to be a staff member at the reception desk, and nodded.

“With this, Miss Tarsha is a student of Ceylon Academy.”

“…What? Already?”

Such an incredible processing speed.

It seems the head sword instructor is not just good at swinging a sword.

“We made a lot of preparations overnight so that you could be admitted immediately upon receiving your signature, Miss Tarsha. ‘My subordinates’, that is.”

I see.

So it’s the same here, making your subordinates do all the work.

Looking closely, the woman who received the document had a smile on her lips, but her eyes were not smiling at all.

Seeing the dark circles deeply settled under her eyes, I could clearly see the hardships she must have gone through last night.

For some reason, I felt like it wasn’t someone else’s problem.

I also had a past where I was swamped with preparing my thesis, yet had to take on tasks like reviewing undergraduate reports and grading exams.

Recalling those days, I felt a slight migraine.

“Ugh…!”

“Are you in pain somewhere?”

Somehow, William’s worried expression felt insincere.

I mentally lowered my evaluation of William slightly and kept my distance.

“I’m fine. More importantly, what about classes? Can I attend them right away?”

“You can attend classes starting tomorrow. For today, let’s take a look around the main buildings of the academy. Is there any place you’d like to visit first? If not, I was planning to introduce the swordsmanship hall first, and then so on…”

Swordsmanship hall.

As William uttered that word, Kyla, who had been keeping her mouth shut with a sullen expression, inserted herself between us.

“Ha. Swordsmanship hall, my foot. Of course, if you come to Ceylon Academy, the vanguard of magical development and the hall of learning, you should visit the magic hall first.”

“I thought you were busy. You’re still here?”

William glared fiercely at Kyla.

Come to think of it, they had the same atmosphere when they came to find me.

As I was thinking that, Kyla snorted and retorted.

“That’s right. I’m about to get busy. I have to teach this magicless person about the greatness of magic. Above all, what kind of first impression would Ceylon Academy give if we started with the sweat-smelling swordsmanship hall?”

“The magic hall is the farthest from here. We should visit the swordsmanship hall first to avoid wasting time. How can a mage have a worse head on their shoulders than me?”

Crackle.

An invisible spark flew between the two.

“Swordsmanship hall first!”

“No. Magic hall first!”

It seemed childish, but I understood.

My own advisor once got into a fistfight with a computer science professor he was friendly with at a drinking party after saying something like, ‘Isn’t coding going to be completely taken over by AI within a year?’

If someone were to belittle engineering, wouldn’t I also fight with my eyes blazing like that?

“You don’t have to get so worked up over just the order of a tour, it’s not like you’re deciding my career path…”

“No. Miss Tarsha. This is a matter of pride.”

“Right. More importantly, hurry up and decide. It’s the magic hall, obviously, right?”

A gaze mixed with half desperation and half expectation was directed at me.

But even with them looking at me like that, the place I wanted to go to first had already been decided before I came to this academy.

“I…”

The place that would likely be the most sensitive to quantitative ‘measurement’ and ‘numbers’.

“I’d like to go to the alchemy hall first.”

If I planned to do engineering here from now on, I had to visit that place first.

---

The wide training ground in front of the swordsmanship hall.

There, numerous students were warming up for class.

The place, which would have normally been quiet without much talk, was filled with the students’ whispering voices, unusually so today.

The topic, of course, was about the transfer student enrolling today.

“Did you hear? The transfer student coming in this time is a human, but they’re magicless.”

“Really? How did they get in?”

“How should I know? Maybe they have connections at the school?”

“Some people struggle to death to pass the exam and get in. Isn’t that too unfair? Why would anyone bother taking the difficult exam to get in then?”

“Tell me about it. In the first place, what can a magicless person even do here?”

Zelia ignored such chatter and quietly warmed up.

But even she couldn’t help but turn her head at the sound that followed.

“Huh? Isn’t that the transfer student?”

In the distance, Instructor William and Instructor Kyla could be seen walking.

And squeezed between them, a pink-haired woman in peculiar attire that looked like a blacksmith’s work clothes.

“What? It’s a girl. Then she’ll be going to the girls’ dormitory, right?”

“Is there an empty room? Or is there a room only one person is using now… Ah.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Zelia.

Zelia tried her best to ignore it, but her sharp dragonkin senses arbitrarily detected the gazes directed at her.

“Ahem. Hmm.”

“Oh, the instructor is a bit late today~”

The students started making other noises and began warming up again.

But among them, just one phrase.

“…A perfect match, aren’t they.”

Zelia, not missing that small sound, lifted her head with a murderous expression.

“Who was it?”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Zelia?”

“We didn’t say anything…”

Thud!

Zelia slammed the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

“Who was it. The one who just spoke.”

Everyone froze as if they had turned to stone.

But Zelia had no intention of stopping here.

Right now, she was determined to do whatever it took to find the person who had dared to say such a thing to her and make them pay the proper price.

But the moment she took a step to identify the culprit, a voice came from afar.

“What’s going on? Did something happen?”

Zelia clicked her tongue, tsk, and returned to her spot.

Only then did the students let out a sigh of relief.

Zelia glared in the direction where the pink-haired woman had disappeared.

That earlier remark echoed unpleasantly in her ears.

‘…A perfect match?’

Her anger reached its peak, and an empty laugh escaped her.

No matter if she was a half-blood and not a pure-blood dragonkin, she was not on the same level as a mere magicless person.

“That pink-haired girl…”

‘I really don’t like her.’

Zelia thought of the face of the girl who would be her roommate and turned her gaze away in disgust.