Chapter 247 (Self Edited) – Academy and Magic – Part 3
“Well, it was a lengthy detour or rather it was an introduction of trivial rumors, but let’s get back to the main topic. Uhm, it was a topic that magic was replaced by something else, right?” (Carine)
When Carine said it, people made a face of ‘Eh, are we going back until that part?’. She smiled in satisfaction when seeing that. This was because everyone listened to this topic and confirmed that they were drawn in.
When she turned her eyes to one of the people sitting in the front row, Soma, for a moment and loosened her mouth, the same reaction came back from the other side. It was like a quiet signal between accomplices… No, they were actually accomplices.
She easily noticed that, and although she heard a voice saying that it was his suggestion, she didn’t worry too much about it. More importantly, it seemed that the plan was successful. Although Carine was advised, she was wondering what to do if she still failed.
By the way, the one who advised her was Soma, and the purpose was to overcome the situation where the majority of people still didn’t listen to Carine’s lessons.
However, even if she looked pitiful, Carine didn’t proactively go to Soma, one of her students, for consultation. When she was lamenting about it in the library, Soma, who happened to come to the library, asked her what was going on, and gave her some advice. It was enough to say that she was pathetic though.
Anyhow, she was able to get the student’s attention by following his advice and talking about things that shouldn’t be talked about. It was a double-edged sword, but it made sense in this way. If so, it was worth doing it, and from here onward was the crucial moment.
When her cla.s.s was held, she must prove that the content was worth listening to while keeping their interest intact.
This was practically more difficult than talking about Witches, who were close to contraindication, and this topic attracted their interest. Surely, if she failed, her life wouldn’t change, but people would brand her lesson meaningless. It was, in a sense, scarier than death.
These people were already almost the same as adults. Although the contents of the lesson were still a long way off to complete, they would join the ranks of adults next year.
She was confident her students would understand the usefulness of the lesson this time because she was dealing with them, but she was also concerned that they might not understand it. However, it was only a moment when she remembered how weak-hearted she was. She immediately told herself that she would be fine, even if it was a lie.
As a result, she even encouraged her students to partic.i.p.ate in the discussion. Then, if she didn’t succeed with this method, that would be a lie.
When she regained her mind, she didn’t change the topic because she had forgotten to mention one thing at the end. It would be fine to say that there was no problem, but for some reason, she felt uncomfortable. She wanted to talk to the end properly because this was a good time.
The topic so far was only to attract their attention, but maybe that was why it was superfluous. Carine talked while exuding the vibe that it wasn’t a lie there.
“Well, I wanted to say let’s put aside the joke, and move on to the next topic… but I forgot something. Let me add the explanation. Even if you’re making a face like that, it’s fine. I won’t talk about anything weird this time, but it’s a very important topic in a way.” (Carine)
This was a fact. And the students would recognize that it was a fact with the following words.
“The Wizard of the Beginning. You already know what I mean, right?” (Carine)
As if to affirm Carine’s words, everyone’s face was tightened. It seemed that they understood the meaning of the name properly, but… was it too much that she could feel a bit jealousy there?
If it was surely these people, there was no need to play with such a trick, and everyone would listen to the story desperately. Carine let out a small sigh to the thoughts mixed with humor. That sigh was toward herself who thought about it and toward the other side who was just a list of facts she had.
“Yes, that’s what I forgot to say. It’s late now, but it’s really alright to talk about it now, yes? After all, it’s the name of the wise man who gave magic to us humanity.” (Carine)
In other words, that was the case. The person with that t.i.tle could be called a great benefactor or a common teacher to them.
In the first place, those who used magic were called mages instead of wizard because the name of the wizard was only for him. In respect to him, the mages called themselves mages as they were inexperienced.
So, everyone would earnestly try to hear when it was about him. Of course, she was no exception.
It was because of that she lied to herself that she wanted to be at his level someday. For the time being, it wouldn’t be a topic unless Carine said it out loud.
“By the way, the evidence that the magic arts have been replaced by magic is because the doc.u.ments are properly preserved along his name.” (Carine)
Incidentally, it was the common reason why the idea of magic was replaced by something else on the way to present time was denied. In short, what such a great existence had told them, couldn’t be quietly replaced without the name of the person who replaced the magic being known.
From Carine’s point of view, that matter was that matter, this matter was this matter, but… the claim that magic was different between the past and the present wasn’t true. That topic never left the realm of trivial rumors.
For now, it was just a topic, and if she could, she was going to do something like that in her cla.s.s.
“Now, it’s good that we can discuss this topic, so let’s move on to the next topic.” (Carine)
Then, while continuing her lesson, Carine glanced into the front row. She had thought about their future prospects, so she wondered what they were going to do in the future.
They would soon reach adulthood. They might think that it was a little bit ahead of them, but she was sure it would be in no time. After that, the future went by more quickly.
They were smart children. She didn’t favor them just because they listened to her cla.s.s properly, but as an objective fact, that feeling was correct.
Therefore, she was thinking about their future firmly, but she wondered if she did that because she was still a lecturer here. She might think even more so because it has been six years since she began to teach them.
It was six years. Looking back, it was a long time. It was something she had gotten used to, but of course, it wouldn’t be like this next year. That was for sure.
Even if they went to high school, it would be impossible for Carine to teach them. They didn’t have enough ability, track record or anything.
Moreover, there was certainly one person among them, and that person couldn’t enter the high school. It was none other but Soma.
Or rather, it was a ridiculous story. Carine was surprised that Soma was admitted into middle school. Soma, who still couldn’t use magic, should have a hard time to move his grade even by one.
Even so, he didn’t repeat a year because everything except the magic skill was perfect. Considering that he was a student of the magic department, he should have repeated a grade. No question asked. However, his other skills were so perfect to the point that the Academy had decided to allow him to enter middle school as a special case.
The condition was if he missed even one score from perfect scores, he would have to repeat a grade. Soma told about it to Carine. The lecturers, who didn’t know Soma, were unreasonably fixated on that condition, but… the result was as they could see. For those who knew Soma, they were convinced that he would succeed.
The entrance examination to the middle school was indeed very hard, but Soma said he was able to do something with hand slashing since he was told to use bare hands. For the time being, it ended up without incident. After that, it was a matter of course that he went up to the final grade of middle school, but… it was only until that grade.
It was possible to graduate from middle school, but it was impossible to enter high school. The highest level of inst.i.tution only allowed those who had the key positions of the country, so as expected, it wasn’t easy to go through the entrance examination.
Even so, Soma had something that made her think that he would pa.s.s the exam. Rather than thinking if that was possible or not, it seemed that Soma wasn’t thinking of going to the high school. She hadn’t heard clearly, but she heard him saying such a thing.
Perhaps, it was because of that, Carine felt that Soma had been looking distant more often these days. It looked like he was thinking about something or about the future. Even Carine could notice it. There was no reason the people around him didn’t notice it. Under this influence, she often saw other people thinking about the future from time to time.
As for her, she just wanted to worry about her student as much as she could. Of course, if they came to consult with her, she would entertain them, but she wouldn’t tell them what to do. They had their lives, and it was no-brainer to make a difference there.
However, there were two people who Carine felt could do something for them.
One was a girl with blonde hair that fluttered even today. The girl was attracting attention no matter where she was in the academy. To begin with, the girl wasn’t a student who should be here. However, she had achieved excellent results in the swordsmanship department to which she belongs, and for some unknown reason, she became able to use magic along the way. So, she was allowed to join her magic cla.s.s since last year as a special case.
Carine hadn’t heard much about her from the beginning, and no one could explain her situation other than Carine. Therefore, it could be said that it was natural for Carine to talk to the girl.
At the beginning, she was worried that the girl might be left behind in regard to the lessons, but now, she didn’t feel that anymore. Perhaps, it was related to her height that began to grow little by little. However, that was her problem and Carine wasn’t concerned about it.
Rather, what Carine concerned about was that the girl was someone with superb sensation. She was a very enthusiastic student, and Carine liked her because she came to listen to the story and lessons seriously, but it was faster to actually show it in one practice session rather than talking about it repeatedly. Moreover, when Carine showed it, the girl remembered it immediately. So, in a sense, she was superb.
That being said, she would graduate next year as well. No matter how hard she tried, the difference of four years wouldn’t be filled.
That wasn’t surprising, but if the girl took it for granted, she had no reason to make an effort. As a person who taught her various things, Carine wondered what else she could do for her from now on.
However, there was another girl who Carine felt more concerned about. With black hair and red eyes which were colors that didn’t resemble the blonde hair girl, it was surprising that those two were sisters.
Their race wasn’t different, so it was impossible to have different physical characteristics, but… it was possible to think that there were some circ.u.mstances. Besides, the headmaster of the Academy admitted her to admission. So, there was no complaint about that.
What made Carine curious was the girl was also a hard-working person. Moreover, she seemed to be involved in Soma, and sometimes, she was pulled by Soma to another cla.s.s.
If the girl was annoyed by it, she might say it, but rather, she seemed to be taken proactively as she wanted. Furthermore, if Carine had to say further, Soma was doing that not only for her but also for himself. That was because he was trying to acquire various knowledge in order to use magic.
However, because of that, Soma would stop at a certain, but… that wasn’t the case for the girl. As for Soma, even if he didn’t leave the cla.s.s, he would study independently and deepened his knowledge. While Soma gave a feeling of wide and shallow, the girl gave a feeling of wide and deep. It seemed that it wasn’t uncommon for her to be far more detailed than Soma depending on the field of expertise.
But in exchange for that, she was a girl with low practical skills. Her physical ability was a bit better than the people in the town, but if compared to those who were in the magic department, hers was on the lower side.
By the way, for that reason, she entered the school and transferred to the magic department. In fact, she also received special attention like Soma. She was also exempted from practical skills during the entrance exam… Considering that the practical skills cla.s.s was also exempted, it could be said that she was treated more preferentially than Soma.
Anyhow, she would also graduate next year. She often came to Carine, asking her a lot of things such as things to do from now on.
Well, if Carine had to admit it, yes, she was worried about other people as well.
Lars, Helen and Sylvia were doing best… No, they were working harder. The same was true for Aina, who was probably the most talented among them. Rather, Carine knew that Aina was still trying hard to compete because she didn’t want to lose to them.
No, if she had to say that, she would be worried about the other people…
“Aah, I see… when I realized it, I was doing something that lecturers would do…” (Carine)
As the words stuck in her mouth, she shook her head slightly. In order to be able to say that, it was necessary for all of them to be able to listen to the lessons properly.
Then, when they graduated, she was proud that she was their lecturer. Carine was doing her best as well… No, she thought that she had to show more from now. She, then, looked at the students in front of her, and let out her voice.
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TLN:
- Wizard/Mahoutsukai (魔法使い)
- Mage/Mahoushi (魔導士)
- I improvised a little bit here and there. If the story flow of this chapter isn’t smooth enough, I’m sorry about that.