Episode 12
The first day of the new semester brought excessive work stress to the faculty, but it was also an overwhelmingly busy day for the freshmen.
After finishing the entrance ceremony in the auditorium, the freshmen first headed to the Academy headquarters. There, their pre-registered personal information was verified against their actual identities, and they received their student IDs.
Next, they went to the warehouse attached to the Finance Department to have their basic measurements taken and receive their uniforms. Though they’d rarely have occasion to wear them outside of important events, they were neat and pretty clothes.
After making a round of the warehouse to gather an armful of necessary supplies for academy life, it was finally time to be assigned their dorm rooms. The hearts of the freshmen, facing the place where they would live for the next four years, were filled with excitement and anticipation.
Of course, Jacqueline was no exception.
‘I’ll never forget this moment for the rest of my life. I’m finally going to be living in Lambert! You’ve made it, Jacqueline. You’ve made it!’
Even though it was scheduled to be 365 days of dorm life, Lambert was still the capital and premier metropolis of the Laurentian Kingdom, wasn’t it? The shops full of the latest trends! The artists’ street where the lights never went out at night! Just imagining herself strolling through such a backdrop made Jacqueline’s shoulders straighten and her chin lift with pride.
She was practically looking up at the sky, to the point that the girl walking beside her asked with concern, “What’s wrong all of a sudden, Jacqueline?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just a proper city lady now, so I was thinking about what to do first. Maybe I should get a pretty handkerchief. You know, to carry around and ‘accidentally’ drop.”
“Haha. You have such interesting ideas.”
The girl who replied was Rita Ridge. She was the first friend Jacqueline had made at the academy. Like Jacqueline, Rita was a freshman at the Magic University; they had become acquainted when Rita lent her own guide pamphlet to Jacqueline, who had been late to the entrance ceremony and missed receiving one.
Rita, with her hair braided into two pigtails and wearing round-framed glasses, was the very picture of a model student. That impression made Jacqueline think that Rita was probably good at studying.
“Rita, what electives did you pick?”
“For one, Magical Horticulture.”
“Oh? I thought first-years couldn’t apply for that?”
“Yeah, normally. But I plan to major in Witchcrafting in my second year, so I asked if I could take it in advance, and they permitted it.”
“Wow… you have everything planned out! How do you know all this stuff? I’m already struggling to remember everything I heard today.”
“My older brother is an academy graduate. I picked things up here and there.”
“You have a sibling?”
Jacqueline also had a sister one year younger than her. A diligent and sharp younger sister who, unlike her, was a bit of a nag. Right now, she’d be learning pumpkin farming from their father instead of Jacqueline. Feeling a bit guilty for some reason, Jacqueline returned to the previous topic.
“You have two electives, right? What’s the other one?”
“‘Theory and Practice of Recent Magic’.”
“Eh?”
Jacqueline let out a strange groan. Because…
“Isn’t that the class taught by that professor? The one who gave that totally obnoxious speech at the entrance ceremony…”
“Right. Professor Winter Winslet’s class.”
“After hearing that speech, you still want to take his class? Everyone else was cursing him.”
“So what? I’m curious just how confident he must be to say those things at an entrance ceremony. Besides…”
“Besides?”
“He’s my type.”
As she said this, Rita used a finger to push her slipping glasses back up. Jacqueline had thought she was just a quiet model student… She slightly revised her first impression of her friend.
This time, Rita asked, “But Jacqueline, you applied for that class too, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I applied.”
“You didn’t seem like it… Are you secretly a fan too?”
“What?”
“If not, there’s no reason you’d apply for a class taught by a professor you yourself called obnoxious. Did you apply after seeing his face?”
“That’s not it!”
Jacqueline jumped, denying it vehemently.
“The only reason I applied for that class is for revenge.”
Rita looked at her somewhat incredulously.
“Is the professor some enemy of your father’s?”
“No. But that bastard called me ugly.”
“…?”
“I’m definitely going to become a better mage than him and smash that guy’s arrogant nose flat.”
At Jacqueline’s words, Rita’s mouth opened and closed. She seemed to be holding back what she wanted to say about three times.
“I hope we can both keep up with the class material. Both of us. I wonder what kind of class Professor Winslet will teach?”
Chatting about this and that, the freshmen arrived at the dormitories. Four large apartment buildings lined up horizontally, backing onto a small lake—all were dormitory buildings. The four buildings were assigned alternately by student year, so this year’s freshmen would share a building with seniors four years their senior, for example.
The escort teacher guided the freshmen to the leftmost building, the ‘Spring Hall’.
“Let’s go quickly and unpack our bags first. My brother said all the dorms only have bunk beds. If we’re late, all the bottom bunks will be taken.”
“I like the top bunk, though.”
“Really?”
“It’s fun. It’s high up. And there’s a ladder.”
“That’s a relief. I prefer the bottom bunk. We can share a bunk bed then.”
“Great.”
Before entering the dormitory, the escort teacher sternly warned the freshmen:
“Under no circumstances are you to enter the forest located northwest of the dormitories. Circling the forest along the lakeshore is also prohibited. Understood?”
Jacqueline’s hand shot up with a question.
“Why? Is it a forbidden forest? A terrifying place with unicorns or werewolves, right? Is that it?”
“No. Beyond that forest are the faculty residences used by the professors. People are prohibited from entering because the grass gets trampled. Entering without permission will result in penalty points.”
Having heard the explanation, Jacqueline turned to Rita and said,
“You hear that? Let’s sneak in there at night.”
“What?”
“Maybe it’s too much for today?”
“Jacqueline… you did just hear the explanation, right?”
“Ah! I just saw a really pretty kid go by over there. Blonde! She looks just like a doll! I wonder what her name is?”
Rita let out a sigh.
A class as an Academy Professor.
By the time I had finished conceptualizing what and how to teach the students, the sun was setting outside. As I had an evening appointment, I left work and headed to an upscale restaurant in downtown Lambert.
There were three guests inside the restaurant; since I had rented out the place for today, they were the people waiting for me.
“Ah, Professor Winslet.”
“You’ve arrived.”
“We’ve been waiting.”
These men were Academy affiliates connected to Winter Winslet through collusion. In crude terms, they were his lackeys. They held positions as the Head of the Academic Affairs Department, the Head of the Administrative Department, and the Section Chief of Research Support—all mid-level managers. It showed the extent of power Winter Winslet wielded within the Academy.
“Wow, Professor, thanks to you, I get to see a place like this in my lifetime. I’m touched, truly touched.”
“Shouldn’t we meet more often? It would be better for coordinating our work, too.”
“From our position in the same boat, nothing is more important than cooperation, wouldn’t you agree?”
Smooth talkers. Like many who lived on the royal payroll, their income level was low compared to the power they held. Hence their eyes lit up at this luxurious restaurant.
“Sit comfortably.”
“Yes. Well then, thank you…”>
I had summoned them to gather information. It was a relaxed operation, waiting with a fisherman’s patience to see if, among the things happening at the Academy, any content related to the Seven Stars Society would surface. It was also a chance to enjoy a good meal.
As I took my seat, the staff began bringing out the prepared food. The aperitif was champagne mixed with peach puree. The sweet flavor and carbonation whetted the appetite, followed by simple appetizers and soup, after which fish and meat dishes began appearing on the table.
The three men following Winter Winslet showed no restraint, devouring bright red lobster bisque, grilled sea bass fillet, beef tenderloin, and so on. As they did, they voluntarily brought up Academy news they thought might interest me, allowing me to naturally grasp the situation at the Academy.
“Have you heard the news that the Royal Family is awarding a medal to the Academy Chancellor? They’re definitely pushing him because he’s a Royalist faction figure.”
“They don’t understand that giving encouragement funds to the field would be more helpful in the long run than giving a medal to the Chancellor alone.”
“Exactly. It’s always people like us who work the hardest.”
Knowing their circumstances all too well, I let out a derisive snort. The thing these three lackeys worked hardest on at the Academy was money laundering. They took the budget allocated to the Magic University each year, funneled it under the names of various investments or support projects, and ultimately funneled it into Winter Winslet’s secret accounts. Every time wealth accumulated in Winter Winslet’s coffers this way, a portion trickled down to them like crumbs, so they assisted in embezzling state funds more diligently than anyone.
Once the meal had progressed somewhat, the staff brought out dessert. The man who was the Head of Academic Affairs, scraping up the ice cream brought for palate cleansing, said,
“I heard by chance that it seems a new Dean will be appointed to the Magic University in the near future.”
As confirmed at the last faculty meeting, the position of Dean of the First Magic University was currently vacant. The previous one was apparently driven out last year for some perceived slight against Winter Winslet.
“What sort of person does the new Dean seem to be?”
“He’s from the Life Support Division of the Royal Ministry of Magic. Rumor has it he was quite a handful there, too. They say his personality is a bit… tiresome, though.”
“Tiresome how?”
“They say he had a lot of friction with those around him. Picking fights with adjacent departments, bullying subordinates, that sort of thing. So he lost a lot of goodwill, but he still managed to pull in decent results. Maybe he has a knack for handling people.”
“Well, no matter who it is, they’ll know how to behave properly in front of Professor Winslet, right? Unless they’re crazy or stupid.”
“Ah, come now, let’s just grease the wheels a bit in advance. The new semester has started, isn’t this when you’ll be getting busy too, Professor Winslet?”
“That sounds good.”
“Speaking of which, I heard a lot of students flocked to your class, Professor Winslet. Is there anything you need? Just say the word, and we’ll prepare anything.”
At the word ‘anything’, I thought of something. When I mentioned it, looks of bewilderment spread across the men’s faces.
“Pardon? You’re asking for healers to be put on standby because there might be injuries in your class?”
“All of the medical personnel at the Academy?”
“Just what kind of class are you planning to teach…?”
To be frank, I gave a short answer.
“A proficiency test. A simple one.”
