I’m Not Becoming a Graduate Student! – Chapter 29

Suddenly, Professor Ronda Magret appeared.

The fact that she was sitting next to me on the bench felt like a dream.

If you were to ask what kind of dream it was, Sion would immediately reply, “A nightmare.”

“Why are you here, Professor…?”

“Didn’t I ask that first?”

“W-well, I was just… sitting on the bench.”

Unfortunately, this was not a dream but a harsh reality.

Professor Ronda Magret chuckled and pointed to the ground.

There were names of various professors written there, and only the name of Ronda Magret had an ‘O’ drawn next to it.

“So, what’s this then?”

“Ah… uhm, just….”

“Just what? …Huh. Sion.”

“Yes…?”

Professor Ronda Magret suddenly sighed and looked at the lake.

Quite some time had passed since the afternoon classes had ended, and the sun was setting over the academy’s lake.

While gazing at the beautiful scene, Ronda Magret seemed to want to say something, her lips moving…

After a brief pause, the words she uttered were shocking.

“I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

“To be honest, I underestimated your ability, Sion. When a commoner attends the academy, more than half of the time it’s because of donations… and those types usually tend to lower the quality of the classes.”

Professor Ronda Magret began to speak candidly while still looking at the lake.

“But you, Sion, are different. Barrier Magic… you really learned that for the first time on stage, didn’t you?”

“Yes, do you believe me? Everyone else doesn’t….”

“There doesn’t seem to be a reason for you to lie… When I see this, I can’t help but believe you.”

She pulled her professor ID from her pocket and showed it to me.

It was the community app for Byzantium Academy, ‘Bizanity.’

Specifically, it was the ‘HOT board,’ which only displayed posts with a certain number of recommendations.

[Title: New student in the Magic Department sets another record;;]

[Title: Summary of ‘that’ Magic Department new student’s activities so far.]

[Title: Can we stop posting about that Magic Department nonsense? I’m not even curious.]

[Title: But is this not just to grab attention, but actually real?]

The HOT board of Bizanity was filled with stories about Sion.

Perhaps because he had cast several spells during the duel today,

it seemed there had even been related posts just a few minutes ago.

“You saw this?”

“…I just stumbled upon it.”

As she hurriedly closed the window, Sion caught a glimpse of her search history.

‘Magic Department,’ ‘New student in the Magic Department,’ ‘Sion,’ ‘Legendary New Student,’ ‘First Year in the Magic Department,’ and so on….

It was all plastered with stories about Sion.

There were even keywords like ‘Ronda Magret,’ ‘Professor Water Splash,’ and ‘Professor Running Away’ faintly visible.

She had not only searched about Sion but also the series of events related to herself.

…Why?

At that moment of confusion for Sion.

Whoosh! The quick hand of Ronda Magret took the professor ID back.

“…Did you see?”

“Yes? W-what are you talking about?”

“That search… No, never mind.”

She fanned her face with her hand.

…Could it be she felt embarrassed about her search history?

Whether it was from embarrassment or just the glow of the sunset,

for some reason, her face was flushed.

‘To apologize directly to a student… honestly, I see her in a different light now.’

Sion’s opinion of Ronda Magret subtly shifted.

Most professors would never acknowledge their need to apologize. Especially not to the students they teach.

Even if it’s clearly their fault, many genuinely believe that apologizing would diminish their authority…

And many think there’s no reason to apologize to a student ‘like’ that.

In that regard, Ronda Magret’s initiative to apologize felt incredibly refreshing to Sion.

Only about 30% of professors might be willing to apologize.

Thanks to her courage, Sion was also able to muster up his own.

“Professor. Um… I’m sorry too.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize, Sion.”

“No, I… when I was using the Barrier, I splashed water on you… your clothes—!”

Thunk!

Professor Ronda Magret swiftly clamped her hand over Sion’s mouth.

Sion, startled by the sudden action, locked eyes with Ronda Magret as she leaned in close.

Even up close, her cheeks were still flushed.

“L-let’s forget about that.”

“…Huh?”

“Yeah, it was just an unremarkable event. An unfortunate accident. So, forget about it, okay?”

Sion, still with his mouth sealed, could only blink.

‘Even if I think of it as an accident… I wasn’t the only one who saw it…?’

That day, all the first-year students in the Magic Department witnessed the water splash.

It would undoubtedly remain a more intense memory for Sion on stage,

but even if Ronda asked him to erase it from his memory, that was—

“Forget it. Understand?”

At Ronda Magret’s insistence, Sion eventually nodded.

“Alright.”

“Phew….”

Only then did she finally remove her hand from Sion’s mouth.

…A strange minty scent tickled his nostrils.

Whether it was her natural scent or perhaps perfume, Sion found himself strangely aware of it.

At that moment, Ronda Magret suddenly stood up.

“Let’s go then, Sion.”

“…Huh? Where to?”

As she reached out her hand, urging Sion to rise,

he stared blankly at her hand when Ronda Magret tilted her head slightly.

“Aren’t you wanting to achieve Second Circle?”

“…!”

“Don’t give me that expression as if I shouldn’t know. I just… heard you muttering when I sat next to you earlier.”

“Ah….”

Sion realized,

the content he muttered to himself before he was aware that Ronda Magret was next to him.

– Putting that aside… the utmost priority here is to become a Second Circle.

If she had indeed heard that mutter, then it made sense.

She said she would help him achieve the Second Circle.

Yet… to think someone like her would really help him was hard to believe.

After all, Sion had been the one to embarrass himself in front of all the first-year students.

‘But I don’t think I can refuse… I really want to get to the Second Circle.’

For Sion, the top priority now was to “move from the First Circle to the Second Circle.”

There were countless benefits to achieving the Second Circle.

Improved quality of mana, learning Second Circle magic, and an increase in mana capacity, etc.,

each was something crucial for Sion right now.

“When are you going to get up? It’s already evening, and we need to head to the professor’s office.”

“Ah….”

“I thought you wanted to achieve the Second Circle.”

Ronda Magret shook her hand again, and

Sion barely regained his composure and grasped her hand to stand up.

Even looking at her again, her face was quite flushed.

*

“Just sit anywhere. It might be a bit messy….”

“Ah, yes.”

Creak.

He entered the office of the professor’s research building used by the professors of the Magic Department.

The nameplate reading ‘Ronda Magret’ was on the door.

‘The professor’s office is this big…?’

The size of the professor’s research area was about two typical middle or high school classrooms combined.

Furthermore, expensive-looking wands and magical tools were scattered here and there…

It made him doubt whether this was genuinely an office assigned to just one professor.

“What are you dawdling for? Come on in.”

“Yes…. But aren’t there any other people… like graduate students…?”

Sion looked around, glancing at Professor Ronda Magret.

Desks that were separated by partitions. Plenty of writing instruments and books, but no actual people around.

It wasn’t even completely dark yet, and there were no graduate students here?

‘Could it be that this is a sweet spot?’

Sion’s eyes sparkled. Sometimes such places exist.

Even in a university where the perception of ‘graduate student = professor’s slave’ is prevalent,

there are rare professors who treat their graduate students like people.

Could it be that the strict and prickly Ronda Magret was one of those ‘angelic professors’?

After all, it’s not good to judge people solely by appearances or professors by their teaching and lecturing skills!

However, just then, Ronda Magret revealed the harsh reality.

A somewhat cold and harsh truth.

“Oh, don’t worry about that too much. The graduate students who come to study under me usually can’t last a few months before quitting.”

“…Huh?”

“Students these days lack perseverance. They complain about wanting time off after a few nights, or whine about not having showered for a week… What’s important, Sion, is that you don’t have to worry about those things.”

Professor Ronda Magret spoke as if it were nothing, but Sion was left quite startled.

‘Not just a few days, but several weeks…??’

Even in Sion’s university, it was common to pull all-nighters or keep students from returning home for a few days.

However, several weeks was a period he had never heard of in his life.

He had never experienced it directly, nor had he ever heard of it from acquaintances who were graduate students.

At that moment, Sion realized one important fact.

‘This… isn’t the modern world but a medieval fantasy world…?’

In modern times, there’s a high awareness of human rights, and the legal system is well established.

Naturally, the professors’ treatment of graduate students is also mild.

However, this was a medieval fantasy world where there’s no mercy or tears.

If a modern graduate student is treated like a ‘slave,’ in this world, they’re more like ‘tools’ or ‘parts.’

Realizing that fact, Sion’s face turned pale.

“Sion, are you unwell? Your complexion doesn’t look good…”

“No, um… it’s nothing.”

“? …Whatever it is, you can still challenge the Second Circle, right?”

Click.

As Professor Ronda Magret pressed a button,

a magical circle located in one corner of the research room lit up.

The beautiful magic circle was enough to make Sion’s eyes sparkle, which had been frozen from earlier discussions about graduate students.

“Please sit here.”

“If I challenge the Second Circle here… is it safe?”

“It’s safe. Many of my students have challenged their circle increase here. Not just the Second Circle, but the Third and Fourth Circles have done so without issue.”

“Ah….”

Sion approached the magic circle with a dazed look.

‘With this, I can also become a Second Circle…!’

Finally, he could become a Second Circle.

Thanks to having the heart of the First Circle, he could learn new combat skills and magic just by ‘looking’ at them.

That meant if he had the heart of the Second Circle, he could learn Second Circle skills just by looking at them.

Even with the First Circle, he was able to create waves in numerous places.

How great would it be if he could easily use Second Circle magic?

That thought made Sion half-dazed as he stepped onto the magical circle.

“Okay… great. Go on. You need to become a Second Circle, right?”

Professor Ronda Magret gave him a gentle push on the back.

Caught up in the thought of soon becoming a Second Circle, Sion noticed nothing else.

He didn’t see…

“…Hehe.”

The corners of Ronda Magret’s lips slightly curved upward as she observed Sion from behind.