As I was trying to hold back my laughter, the classroom door opened, and a woman wearing glasses walked in.
She had brown hair and was wearing a black robe.
She was clearly more advanced than us, but she still looked quite young.
This woman walked up to the podium and turned to face us.
“Good morning, everyone. Since there seem to be some new faces, let me introduce myself. I am Jenny, your homeroom teacher for this class.”
She appears to be our homeroom teacher.
“Good morning!”
An appropriate greeting followed.
“Yes, that’s wonderful energy. Everyone, this is Nagase Tsukasa, who has joined our class today.”
As the teacher announced this, everyone turned around and looked at me.
“Hi there.”
Despite my greeting, there was no response…
Everyone was looking at me with measuring eyes.
“Shouldn’t there be some clapping or something?”
At my question, everyone but Toko started to clap politely.
Meanwhile, Toko was glaring daggers at me.
“I’ve never seen a freshman demand applause.”
“Me neither.”
That’s not normal though. People usually clap voluntarily, don’t they?
Are these people alright? Do they lack common sense?
Aren’t they interested in welcoming a new classmate?
“Yes, thank you very much. Let’s begin the lesson.”
With that, the teacher concluded the introductions, and the lesson began smoothly.
I thought I’d copy notes later and focused on carefully listening to the teacher’s lecture on basic studies. I don’t take notes because my handwriting is too messy and because I’m not good at multitasking. It’s common for people to get so focused on note-taking that they stop listening to the lecture altogether.
“Ahem, magic was once thought to be created purely by imagination, but recent studies have shown that it follows certain rules, specifically formulas known as incantations. I’m sure you’re aware of this?”
I shook my head in confusion.
“Because of this, it was discovered that magic can be categorized into numerous attributes, significantly increasing the types of spells available. Fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning are the five types probably familiar to all of you, but currently, there are over a hundred attributes, and more are being discovered daily.”
Hmm…
What should I do?
I have no idea what she’s talking about…
The teacher continued her lecture, but I understood very little of it.
“Alright, we’ll have a twenty-minute break, then head to the practice field for practical exercises. Please don’t be late.”
Two hours into the class, the teacher said this and exited the classroom.
Following her, some students, including Toko, also left the room.
“Phew.”
I sighed unconsciously.
“How was your first class?”
Cedric asked me.
“Difficult.”
“Is it? I think the teacher was probably going over the basics just for you, the new student.”
Teacher, thank you. But I’m sorry for my poor performance.
“I don’t understand a single thing.”
“You’ve got to be kidding…”
“You passed the entrance exam, didn’t you? That stuff should have been covered.”
Because of a backdoor entry…
“I hate studying…”
“Well, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses…”
“But are you okay with the practicals? Your magic power seems pretty high, at least.”
Eh… That’s debatable.
“So, do you know what the practicals will involve?”
“Controlling your magic and similar tasks.”
“Will we actually cast spells during them?”
Not good.
That’s my biggest weakness.
“Can we just knock someone out to win?”
“Why are we talking about fighting during a basic lecture?”
“Practicals aren’t about that.”
Dammit…
“Hey, is that guy alright? His words remind me of Yuika’s…”
A sigh of exasperation came from the front as Ilmera approached.
Noel followed her, of course.
“So, what was Yuika doing during the lecture?”
I’ll ask for reference.
“She was asleep.”
Not good.
“I see… maybe you two will get along well.”
“That’s not good at all…”
Ilmera sighed again, looking more exasperated.
“Anyway, Yuika does review in the dorms,” Noel added kindly but with a troubled expression.
“Yeah, she came crying to me afterwards.”
“Hmm…”
I want to cry too…
Should I go crying to the Ice Princess?
“By the way, did you guys understand today’s class?”
“Duh, of course we did.”
“Hmm… ”
Is this school only filled with top students except for Yuika and me?
At this rate, the Japanese will be perceived as fools.
“I see… I don’t belong here at all… Just to let you know, I can’t use magic.”
“……Why did you come to this academy?”
To lift a curse… I can’t say that though.
“Ilmera, there are things you should and shouldn’t say.”
“You’re right. Stupid people should be pitied.”
Frank and Cedric reprimanded Ilmera.
Cedric’s point was slightly off though…
“Sorry…”
Ilmera apologized, looking somewhat embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it… It’s my fault for being an unemployed high school dropout who failed their exams.”
I did write the names properly though…
” seriously didn’t take any safety school exams?”
“I failed those too.”
“Wow… good luck. It doesn’t matter how many years it takes. Very few people graduate in exactly three years anyway.”
The longer it takes, the sooner I’ll lose my left arm, right?
“Um, shouldn’t we head to the practice field by now? Everyone else has already gone?”
As Noel mentioned, it was just the five of us left in the classroom.
“Ah, that’s true. Let’s go.”
We exited the classroom, left the school building, and made our way towards the practice field. There were five of us walking, and I suddenly had a question.
“You guys didn’t bring any bags or anything?”
Everyone was empty-handed.
“There’s space magic. Oh right, you can’t use magic, can you? You should learn that spell quickly. It isn’t too difficult.”
Ah, I saw Sharl use it yesterday too.
“How do you do it?”
“You didn’t know how… like this?”
Ilmera pulled out a notebook from seemingly nowhere as she explained.
“I would advise you not to become a teacher in the future.”
“Agreed… Tsukasa, I’ll teach you later,” Frank offered.
“Thank you.”
Ilmera is hopeless.
“Am I not suited to be a teacher? Not that I intend to become one anyway,” Ilmera asked Noel.
“Most likely… I think you need to patiently explain depending on the ability of the students you’re teaching.”
While she seemed to lack malicious intent, her words carried a subtle insult. Though, it’s the truth…
“I see… So that’s why Yuika only comes to me once for a study session and then goes to Noel afterwards.”
Even I, like Yuika, would go to Noel.
Thank you very much for reading.
If you found this work ‘Interesting!’ or are ‘Curious about what happens next!’, bookmarking it or rating it with ‘★★★★★’ instead of ‘☆☆☆☆☆’ would greatly encourage my writing.
Thank you very much!
