“It’s been a while for all of us. Since there are no unfamiliar faces, I assume everyone spent their vacation well.”
It was the first roll call of the second semester. After a few months, the homeroom teacher took a seat and scanned over the students while speaking.
“Well, if anyone didn’t have a good time and needs consultation, feel free to come see me anytime. Since it’s the first day, I’ll give a rough explanation about the second semester.”
Ferent, with a pen in hand, began to explain while scribbling something on the blackboard.
“Many things will change starting from the second semester. One of the biggest changes is the exchange programs with other departments.”
“Do we get to attend classes with the Saint then?”
When a male student raised his hand to ask, the surrounding female students started whispering and eyeing him.
“Hey! I was just curious, alright? Is there something wrong with me?”
Though he unintentionally became the enemy of the ladies, there was no one here who would sympathize with him right now.
Of course, the other male students cared about Ferent’s answer more than reprimanding their classmate, but none were brave enough to take his side for fear of becoming the females’ enemy themselves.
Rather, they were likely glad to learn what they were curious about thanks to him.
How else would I know?
Well, I’m curious too.
“Haha! Sorry to disappoint, boys. The Department of Theology is too exclusive to have exchange programs. And since the Saint is in the second year, you wouldn’t be crossing paths with her even if there were exchange programs. So, the departments you need to focus on are the Department of Magic and the Administrative Department.”
Ferent wrote “Department of Magic” in large letters on the board and emphasized it multiple times with the pen.
“Especially the Department of Magic students! Mages tend to have unpredictable temperaments, so you should be careful. Back in my day, a student from the Department of Magic cursed a student from the Department of Knights during a group assignment, making him taste only bitterness in everything he ate.”
Hmm… thanks to that, I managed to lose about 10kg.
Ferent seemed to recall something, nodding to himself while muttering. Although he was talking like it was someone else’s story, there was no one brave enough to point out the irony of his confession.
“Anyway, don’t be too disappointed! As you all know, there’s a big event in the second semester.”
Next to the words “Department of Magic,” he wrote “Celestial Festival” even larger on the board.
“Yes. There’s only one day a year. During the Celestial Festival, our Saint will pray to the Goddess. You’ll be able to see her from afar at least. Granted, you’ll probably be so far away from her, but still…”
The Celestial Festival can be seen as a festival.
More precisely, among the numerous events where prayers are offered to the Goddess, the Celestial Festival is the largest, thus incorporating festivities. The week-long festival leading up to the Celestial Festival is considered the biggest event at Griffin Academy.
Although it’s true that over time its festive aspects have overshadowed its religious ones, the festival still maintains the essence of praying to the Goddess.
Furthermore, the current Griffin Academy has a living Saint from the Church, who rarely steps out of the shrine. However, she does appear on the day of the Celestial Festival.
If the Saint wasn’t present, an elderly grandfather who is the head of the Department of Theology would have prayed instead. So, be grateful that we’re in the Academy at the same time as the Saint.
“By the way, has Selian ever met the Saint?”
After all, the combination of heroes and saints is one that’s hard to separate, isn’t it?
So, I decided to ask Selian, who was technically still a hero “candidate” but was practically already a hero as the sole contender.
“Saw her? Heck, I’ve even walked together with her… Nah, that’s impossible.”
Isn’t it strange to say the opposite of what you were initially implying?
I expected something different when I heard the beginning, but this was a typical Selian maneuver, twisting words as skillfully as she does with her sword.
“Is that so? Still, once Selian is chosen by the Holy Sword and the Goddess and officially becomes a hero, these questions will be meaningless.”
By then, I might use Selian’s connections to get an autograph from the Saint, hoping.
—
After that, there wasn’t much more content to the discussion. The only important events for the second semester were mentioned briefly, and aside from that, the only instructional focus highlighted was the exchange program initially discussed.
And just like that, the first day’s lessons continued.
“During first semester, you only learned the theory, but from the second semester onwards, we’ll be practicing enough to manifest basic magic. Knowing some basic magic spells will be useful in various situations, so it’s recommended that you learn them.”
Across the desk, a professor new to us from the Department of Magic entered to begin the class.
Now, while other students might not have known her, this wasn’t my first time seeing her — she was our boss.
Apparently, I’d heard that she held a professorship but didn’t teach because of various reasons, so it was surprising to see Presia standing at the podium.
It felt a bit surprising and confusing at first to see her here teaching in the classroom, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Looking at her teaching at the podium, I suddenly understood more the fact that Presia was indeed a professor in the Department of Magic.
“To activate the ‘Light’ spell, one of the most basic magic spells through a magic circle, you draw like this…”
Presia started drawing the Light magic’s magic circle on the blackboard with a pen.
However, because Ferent had previously adjusted the blackboard to match his height during roll call, the space available for Presia to draw the magic circle was now quite limited.
Trying to stretch her arm as high as possible, Presia attempted to finish the magic circle quickly and somewhat simply but, due to height disparity, it was clear that was quite difficult.
There was a way to adjust the height of the blackboard using a side mechanism, though Presia, as this was her first class and she wasn’t yet familiar, seemed unaware of it.
Of course, a student might’ve pointed this out, but everyone stayed silent, amused by the sight of Presia hopping slightly on her tiptoes at the front, trying to finish the magic circle.
In the end, she gave up on drawing the circle with the pen and instead projected it onto the board using magic, utilizing her abundant mana in an almost extravagantly talented way.
“It’s not much of a concern since Presia possesses overflowing talent, but this is technically a waste of magic.”
“Alright then, everyone draw the magic circle on your magic notes and infuse Mana into it. Let me know if you encounter any problems or anything seems off.”
The students worked diligently, alternating between looking at the blackboard and their notes as they tried to copy the magic circle.
Despite following along, magic was unfamiliar to me, and I had to keep checking the board several times even for the supposedly simple Light magic circle.
I glanced over at Selian, who seemed to have no trouble with the concept; she finished the magic circle in mere moments, her expression one of boredom as she conjured light effortlessly.
Not wanting to fall behind, I eventually copied the magic circle and infused it with Mana.
However, instead of a sphere of light, I only saw a small puff of smoke accompanied by a faint ‘pop’ sound.
I fervently compared my magic circle with the one on the board but couldn’t spot any differences.
I tried checking my mana infusion again, but all I managed was the same puff of smoke.
Just as I was pondering independently, Selian approached me closely and offered assistance.
“Allow me to help you.”
Seeing my struggle with basic magic must’ve pitied her, I assumed.
As Selian began analyzing my mistakes, certain minuscule differences between the classroom’s magic circle and mine started to appear.
“Here the line should extend outward…”
“Talking during class is prohibited.”
Just as Selian was pointing out the issue, Presia came up and warned us.
“I’m helping a friend who’s in trouble.”
“That’s the professor’s job, so I’ll handle it.”
It was clear that Presia, seeing me struggle despite our relationship, wanted to take care of me a bit.
“No need, Professor. It’s a simple problem, so it’s unnecessary for you.”
“Even simple problems shouldn’t be overlooked if a student doesn’t understand. Miss Alicia, let me instruct you.”
“I don’t need that much…”
“Since I am the professor…”
For some reason, it felt like they were vying to teach me, which was probably a bit of overconfidence on my part.
Besides, the surrounding glances were starting to feel uncomfortable, so I wished they’d stop.
“Professor! I’m unclear on something.”
Meanwhile, a student in the front row raised their hand and asked a question, and I heard Selian snickering.
“Didn’t you say we cannot neglect a student with doubts? The professor is being called over there.”
“…”
Why Selian looked so smug while Presia appeared annoyed would be something I’d prefer not to know.
Considering my mental health, ignorance might be bliss.
“Well then, let me continue teaching in the professor’s place.”
Since it was Presia’s first class and I was both her disciple and assistant, I was slightly worried, but it seemed like she was popular among the students.
It was likely due to her youthful appearance that her casual and familiar teaching style seemed charming rather than disrespectful.
After the conclusion of the basic magic class and all the other first-day classes, during the after-hours, Presia enthusiastically taught me her celestial magic, more so than usual for some reason.
