HTNSA 51

Chapter 51

Yet Rosia’s name never left her lips.

Professor Arina slightly furrowed her brow.

As the instructor of Magical Tactics, she was known for her rigorous meritocracy and consistent academic achievements.

Naturally, she had high hopes for the transfer student, Rosia, who had excelled in every class—unlike Eila, who suffered from mana insensitivity.

“But Professor Jacy doesn’t seem particularly interested in her.”

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Professor Roman pressed further.

“So? What happened? Did they both get perfect scores?”

Professor Jacy shook her head.

“No.”

“Hm?”

Her response piqued everyone’s curiosity.

“Rosia missed one essay question.”

“She did?”

Disappointed murmurs rippled through the room.

“She listed the wrong ingredient ratio for the luminescent potion.”

It had been one of the potion assignments recently.

Professor Jacy shrugged lightly.

“So, Eila was the only one who scored perfectly on my test.”

The professors couldn’t hide their surprise.

A few even clucked their tongues in disapproval.

“It won’t matter if she scores poorly on the practical exams.”

“Exactly. What a shame.”

“If Rosia had scored full marks, we might’ve finally had a perfect student at the academy again.”

While the professors exchanged opinions, Professor Jacy frowned and spoke up.

“You should be praising the student who earned a perfect score—not complaining about who didn’t.”

Her remark left the room oddly quiet.

Even Professor Arina, despite her reluctance, nodded in agreement.

“It’s true. Eila has consistently excelled in theory. There’s no need to belittle her efforts.”

She was someone who had no patience for talentless nobles. Still, that didn’t mean Eila’s dedication should be ignored.

“Rosia’s mistake was her own. It’s not Eila’s fault.”

“Ahem.”

Someone cleared their throat, but Arina pressed on.

“And we can’t assume Rosia will get a perfect score in the practicals either.”

“Well, she is from House Blanche…”

“That doesn’t mean anything. The idea that all Blanche heirs are skilled mages is a baseless myth.”

“Professor Arina!”

“I only judge based on what I see.”

Silence descended over the grading room.

The professors shifted awkwardly, but none could argue with Arina.

After a while, they quietly resumed grading.

Then Professor Jacy leaned over to Arina and said in a low voice:

“Sometimes, you do make a fair point.”

They weren’t particularly close.

Jacy often found Arina’s relentless focus on talent off-putting.

As expected, Arina scoffed.

“You misunderstand. I’m just being objective. Eila’s consistent performance in written exams is undeniable.”

“…”

“The same applies to the practicals. If she does poorly, she’ll have to take responsibility for that.”

Jacy sighed.

All the professors assumed Eila would perform terribly in the practical exams.

Honestly, even Jacy didn’t expect otherwise.

From the second day onward, the final exams moved to practical subjects.

Practical exams usually involved one professor testing multiple students at once.

While the grading was supposed to be absolute, students believed that being grouped with top performers like Freya or Rosia could hurt their scores by comparison.

So most hoped to avoid being placed in the same group as them.

By contrast, students were relieved if they were grouped with Eila.

One of them was Coco Valencia, who had a history of conflict with Eila.

After the rat incident, Coco had been subtly ostracized from Freya’s group.

She was desperate to redeem herself and regain favor.

“If I can share how badly Eila failed, they’ll all enjoy it.”

Freya had given Coco a second chance when she found out they were in the same group.

“You’re grouped with Eila? Bring back something fun. Feel free to sabotage her a bit too.”

Remembering Freya’s words, Coco clenched her fists.

Even if Eila collapsed on her own, Coco wanted to witness a more spectacular fall.

“To get back at her for what I went through.”

In truth, Eila had done nothing wrong to Coco.

Coco had started the conflict, and it was Freya who orchestrated the bullying.

But as always, it was easier to blame the weak than confront the strong.

Coco genuinely believed her situation was Eila’s fault.

That day’s first exam was Magical Tactics.

Professor Arina, who openly disdained incompetence, was likely to humiliate Eila.

“I hope I go right after Eila.”

“You’re aiming for an easy win, huh? As if you’d be that lucky.”

Students laughed and chatted lightly.

Eila just shrugged.

Today, she was separated from Peony, which gave her groupmates the freedom to mock her.

She scanned their faces.

They all seemed quietly smug—pleased to be in a group where they weren’t the weakest.

“It’s comforting to have someone beneath you.”

The noisy chatter died down as Professor Arina entered.

“Quiet.”

Her cold tone silenced the room.

Her sharp eyes scanned the students, making them squirm.

She was infamous for her strictness and refusal to accept bribes. She only valued results.

Some saw her as inflexible, others as fair.

Eila met Arina’s steely gaze with calm composure.

Intrigued, Arina’s eyes glinted briefly.

“Rokas, Pandia, Vania, Coco, Eila.”

She called out the names.

Coco brightened. To think she’d be paired with Eila!

Being compared directly might even improve her own score.

“Lucky me.”

Meanwhile, Arina coolly explained the exam.

“Today’s task is to use these iron chains to restrain a slime.”