novelraw Chapter 121 : Chapter 121
Chapter 121 : Chapter 121
Volume 2
Chapter 45 : Effort
“Heh heh, not bad. Really not bad at all.”
Inside the principal’s office, smoke curled thickly through the air.
Pink Bear was sprawled on his newly purchased genuine leather sofa with imitation-beautiful-legs texture, smoking a top-grade cigar from the South Locke region while flipping through the Saintess Photo Album 2.0 he had just acquired through special channels. Every now and then, he let out a thoroughly lecherous chuckle.
This new saintess photo album had not only found an actress who looked even more like a saintess, it had also added reenactments of famous scenes.
For example, one spread recreated the scene in which the previous Immaculate Saintess of the Life Church purified the undead spirits haunting a graveyard.
The Immaculate Saintess held a solemn staff in her hand, her expression grave as she released immeasurable holy light to purify those grotesque and revolting fiends, such that anyone who saw the scene could not help but feel the highest reverence.
But the “saintess” in the photo album was wearing an alluring, revealing erotic bikini that made one’s blood race.
“Tsk, tsk. This blend of solemnity and sensuality, this union of angel and devil—magnificent, truly magnificent. Just looking at this album feels as though my soul itself has been elevated. What kind of genius could have come up with something like this? I really want to meet the person who made it.”
While sighing over it, Pink Bear flicked the butt of his cigar away with the furry hand sticking out of his bear mouth, then casually scratched his backside.
Ah, life was good.
This kind of peaceful slacking-off time really was wonderful. If only he could—
“Pink Bear!”
A thunderous roar exploded through the room as the office door was kicked open.
“Holy crap, you’re back already?”
Pink Bear jolted upright at once, hurriedly hiding the photo album behind his back.
Looking toward the furious Professor Prang at the door, he shook his head vigorously and declared in a ringing voice:
“I wasn’t slacking off. I was not!”
“Slacking off is a trivial matter. It does not matter at all,” Professor Prang said through clenched teeth, his eyes bloodshot.
“Huh?”
Pink Bear froze.
Slacking off?
A trivial matter?
Was that really something Professor Prang would say?
Last time, he had only dozed off for half an hour during an inquiry meeting, and Prang had nearly kicked the seams off his mascot suit.
Why was he being so tolerant this time?
Pink Bear had not even finished processing it when he saw Professor Prang reveal a savage smile.
“Seize him for me!”
“Yes, sir!”
“You got it!”
Teacher Cade and Professor Gran sprang out from who knew where, each grabbing one of Pink Bear’s arms tightly.
“What are you doing? What are you doing?”
Realizing things were going badly, Pink Bear began struggling in terror.
But both Teacher Cade and Professor Gran were powerful in their own right. With the two of them joining forces, even he found it difficult to break free.
Not to mention that Professor Prang, a Crowned One, was still standing in front of him, watching like a tiger eyeing its prey.
Surrounded by the three of them, Pink Bear had no route of escape.
But why were they doing this?
Pink Bear’s eyes widened in horror.
Could it be...
Had they discovered that he had secretly diverted academy funds again to buy the sofa, cigars, and photo album?
Just as Pink Bear was frantically thinking about how to smooth over the matter of the funds, Professor Prang suddenly slapped a stack of documents into his face.
“Pink Bear! Look at the fine mess you’ve made!”
“This is...”
Pink Bear lowered his gaze to the papers and found that they contained information on a man with a huge scar across his face.
“Huh? Isn’t this that guy?”
Pink Bear recalled at once.
“The one who had fallen in love with Muen.”
“Oh? So do you remember the fine thing you did?”
“A fine thing? Oh, yes, that was definitely a fine thing. I helped him go look for his true love, after all.
Huh? Wait a second.”
Looking at the murderous expression on Professor Prang’s face, as though he wanted nothing more than to chop him in half on the spot, Pink Bear suddenly had a terrible thought.
“Don’t tell me...
He succeeded?”
If that Duke’s son happened to have that sort of preference too, and then met Scarface, and the two of them hit it off and fell madly in love...
—No, this is bad. Duke Campbell would hack me to death.
He would personally march over with hundreds of thousands of troops and hack me to death!
Damn it. I was just trying to amuse myself a little. Are the tastes of noble boys really all this twisted?
Even if you like that sort of thing, at least pick someone better-looking!”
“Although I have no idea what you’re thinking, I’m guessing you’ve got the wrong idea.”
Professor Prang picked up the papers and pointed to one particular line.
“I’m asking about this.”
“This?”
Pink Bear followed where Professor Prang was pointing and saw that under the line for the scar-faced man’s identity, there were two bold words:
Bandit.
“A bandit?”
Pink Bear’s eyes went wide. “That guy was actually a bandit?”
“...”
Professor Prang fell silent for a moment.
“You didn’t know?”
“How would I know? Sure, he really did look like a bandit, but do you think I’m the kind of shallow person who judges by appearances? Besides, he did not have the slightest smell of blood on him. A bandit who has never killed anyone—would you believe that?”
“Then why didn’t you check him through the academy’s intelligence system? Do you have any idea how much damage it would do to the academy’s reputation if a bandit became one of our teachers?” Professor Prang roared.
Pink Bear was dumbfounded.
“Intelligence system? You’re supposed to be an academy that teaches and nurtures students. Why do you even have an intelligence system? What exactly are you people planning?”
“Hmph. It’s not just an intelligence system. There’s actually an armory hidden beneath the academy too,” Professor Prang said with a cold sneer.
“An armory?”
Pink Bear froze for a moment, then immediately roared in righteous indignation:
“Don’t tell me you’re plotting rebellion! I’m telling you, as long as Pink Bear remains in office for one more day, I absolutely will not allow such treasonous nonsense to happen. Let me go at once, and buy me one of the newly released saintess figures as compensation, or I’ll go complain about you to His Majesty!”
“I can’t be bothered to listen to you keep babbling your way off-topic.”
Knowing that if he let Pink Bear keep rambling like this, the man would definitely use it to gloss over the main point again, Professor Prang went straight to the heart of the matter.
“Even if you are the academy’s acting principal right now, a blunder like this cannot simply be brushed aside. You must be punished.”
“Punished?”
Pink Bear’s eyes widened in terror.
“How are you planning to punish me? Don’t tell me you mean to work me to death with overtime?”
“That would indeed be a fine method, but I have an even better idea.”
Professor Prang gave a cold smile.
Then he bent down and, from behind Pink Bear’s back... pulled out the saintess photo album.
“Prepare yourself for hell, Principal Pink Bear.”
Professor Prang’s face was merciless.
Under Pink Bear’s horrified gaze, he opened the photo album to the first page, gripped the sheet firmly in his hand, and then...
Slowly tore it out.
Riiip—
As the clear sound of paper being torn apart rang out, Pink Bear watched the alluring “saintess” on the page split little by little into two halves.
In that moment, he felt as if his own soul were being torn apart along with it.
“No—!”
...
...
“You’re just going to let him off like that?”
Inside Professor Prang’s office, Professor Gran skillfully brewed tea and handed a cup to Prang.
“That kind of mercy doesn’t seem like your style.”
“As if that were possible.”
Professor Prang gave a cold laugh.
“There are still more than a dozen inquiry sessions waiting for him after this. Did he really think a mistake like this could be smoothed over so easily? Compared to me, those nobles are the ones watching the academy like hawks. How could they possibly tolerate something like this happening here?”
“Oh, true enough.”
Professor Gran gave a cheerful whistle and unceremoniously enjoyed the top-grade black tea he had mooched off Professor Prang.
“Speaking of which, nothing else has happened at the academy recently, right?”
Professor Prang has been busy lately.
Otherwise, Pink Bear never would have been able to appoint a bandit as a teacher without any review whatsoever.
“Nope. Peaceful as can be.”
A faint smile of unclear meaning tugged at Professor Gran’s lips.
“No major incident, but there has been one amusing little matter.”
“Oh?”
Professor Prang’s interest was piqued.
“What little matter?”
“This.”
Professor Gran handed him a newspaper.
“It’s only a small thing, but over the past few days it’s stirred up quite a lot of commotion around the academy.”
“Now that is a bit interesting.”
Professor Prang took the paper and quickly swept his gaze over it.
“Muen Campbell boldly declares that he will reach an excellent score on the next Fundamentals of Magic exam.”
Professor Prang raised a brow.
“An excellent score, meaning eighty? Is he planning to take the exam in the first-years?”
“The second-years.”
Professor Gran pointed farther down the report.
“The second-years?”
Professor Prang froze for a moment, then let out a cold laugh.
“Impossible.”
“Oh? That certain?”
Professor Gran smiled.
“What if he gets lucky and actually succeeds?”
“This isn’t the sort of goal one can achieve through luck.”
Professor Prang casually tossed the paper aside, losing interest at once.
“I’ve been a teacher for many years. I know very well what can be done and what cannot.
If Muen Campbell’s goal were sixty, then with complete focus for a month, devoting all of his attention to this one subject, plus a good teacher, it might still be possible.
But an excellent score of eighty... that is absolutely impossible.”
Professor Prang understood very clearly the gulf between sixty and eighty in Fundamentals of Magic.
That was not a gap effort alone could bridge.
“But what if? There’s always a what if. What if he really does create that miracle?” Professor Gran leaned in, refusing to let the matter drop.
“What if?”
Professor Prang gave a disdainful snort, then slapped his beloved antique desk.
“I’ll say it again—if he really manages it, I’ll eat my desk!”
...
...
“It’s spread through the whole school again?”
Inside the Ancient Potion Club classroom, Muen stared at the newspaper Anna had handed him, dumbfounded.
In the most eye-catching spot on the front page, bright red lettering extravagantly reported the bold declaration Muen had made earlier in the woods.
It had even slapped on a melodramatic headline: The Duke’s Son’s Counterattack.
It was easy to imagine that once these newspapers were distributed, they would stir up another considerable wave across the academy, which had only just regained some measure of calm.
“How does the Newspaper Society know everything? This time I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell anyone else,” Muen said in confusion.
“You should not underestimate Senior Mingote from the Newspaper Society, Junior.”
Anna handed him a cup of coffee.
Muen reached out to take it, only to realize in surprise that the coffee had been brewed in a measuring beaker.
Did intellectual older-sister types who worked with experiments all like doing this sort of thing?
“The reason he can serve as the society’s president is only partly because of his strength. More importantly, he knows a type of magic that allows him to control birds. You could say many of the birds around the academy are his eyes and ears. Very little happens here without him knowing.”
“Control birds? I see.”
With magic that is convenient, no wonder the Newspaper Society always managed to get the first scoop.
“What, are you scared, Junior?”
Anna stirred the coffee in the beaker with a glass rod.
Once the sugar cube dissolved, she lightly licked the transparent rod with the tip of her tongue, looking irresistibly seductive.
“It is not exactly a good thing to have this many eyes on you.”
“Scared?”
Muen steadied himself, then smiled bitterly.
“I’ve already staked everything. What is there left for me to be afraid of?”
He kept flipping through the newspaper, but when he reached the last page and saw the betting information about whether or not he could achieve an excellent score, the corner of his mouth twitched again.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s a betting pool for this too? How bored are these people?”
“Studying is dull. People always need to find some amusement somewhere, do they not?” Anna said with a soft laugh as she sipped her coffee.
“Oh? From the way you say that, Senior, does that mean you placed a bet too?” Muen blinked and asked curiously. “Which side did you bet on?”
“Which side?”
Resting her cheek against one hand, Anna asked in return,
“Which side would you like me to bet on?”
“I...”
Muen’s eyes shifted, and then he said,
“I’d like you to bet on the side that says I can’t do it.”
“Oh? Why?”
Anna asked,
“Don’t you want me to believe in you?”
“Of course I want you to believe in me.”
Muen folded his hands beneath his chin and said with complete seriousness,
“But I want even less for you to lose your bet.”
“...Hehe. Even at a time like this, you still do not forget to flirt with me. What a scoundrel you are.”
Feigning annoyance, Anna tapped Muen lightly on the head with the book in her hand and laughed softly.
“Have a little more confidence in yourself, young man.”
“I’d like to.”
Muen let out a sigh.
“But when I calmed down after all that grandstanding, I had to admit that it really does seem difficult.”
“So, are you going to give up just like that?”
Anna tilted her head.
“The sixty you first mentioned was already quite an impressive goal, you know.”
“Give up?”
Muen lowered his head and stared at the tabletop.
The table used as an experiment bench was made of metal, and Anna had cleaned it so thoroughly that not even a speck of dust remained on it.
Like a bronze mirror, it faintly reflected his image.
And yet the blond man in that reflection, though properly dressed and handsome, looked wretched to Muen.
He could do nothing.
He could change nothing.
Not himself, and not others.
Compared to Aemon, he was the one who seemed more like a dog.
“Who said anything about giving up?”
Muen clenched his fist, as if he wanted to hammer those words one by one into his heart.
“I won’t give up. Never.”
“Is that so?”
As though she had long expected that answer from him, Anna snapped her fingers.
A thick stack of books suddenly appeared in front of Muen.
“This is...”
“Exercise books.”
Anna said,
“Since your target has changed, our study method must change as well. We can’t limit ourselves to memorizing and reviewing the basics anymore. You must also do large amounts of practice based on the kinds of questions and problem types that might appear on the exam. After all, the test is not going to consist entirely of textbook material.”
“I see.”
Muen nodded in realization.
“So, it’s the sea-of-problems strategy. That brings back memories.”
“Brings back memories?”
Anna raised a puzzled brow.
“You’ve done something like this before, Junior?”
“Haha... maybe in a dream...”
Faced with Anna’s confusion, Muen could only give a dry laugh and gloss it over.
After all, he could hardly say that in his previous life, for the most important exam of his life—the college entrance exam—he had already lived through the so-called sea-of-problems strategy once before.
Still, it really was similar.
This exam, like that college entrance exam in his previous life, would also determine his future.
“In that case, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
After all, he had already gone through it once, had he not?
Anything, once experienced for the first time, no longer felt quite so terrifying the second time.
He only needed to proceed step by step, in proper order, one bit at a time.
So—
“Come on, Senior. Do not pity this delicate flower of mine. Please ravage me mercilessly!”
Muen declared with an expression of total resignation.
“Is that so? Then Junior had better not cry later.”
Anna was holding a riding crop she had somehow acquired from who knew where.
She lightly flicked it and smiled wickedly.
“Teacher Anna is very strict, you know.”
...
...
Night.
Inside the dormitory.
The glowstone Muen had bought at great expense shone with brilliant light, illuminating the entire room as bright as day.
In the dormitory building opposite his, aside from a few rooms belonging to upperclassmen that still glimmered faintly, the rest had long since sunk into darkness.
It was late into the night, yet Muen was still studying by lamplight.
At last, unable to endure the soreness in his eyes any longer, he stopped and pressed a hot towel over them.
Judging from the hot water already prepared at his side, this scene had clearly repeated itself many times before.
“It seems the human body really does have its limits.”
Muen rubbed his temples, feeling the warmth against his face, and let out a sigh.
Even the body of a second-rank warrior could not bear up under studying all day.
Delicate parts like the eyes had long since begun protesting.
“If only there were some way for me to ignore physical fatigue.”
As he thought that, Muen suddenly jolted awake.
“Huh, wait. I think I actually do have a way!”
With that, he no longer cared about the damp towel that had fallen to the floor. His consciousness immediately sank inward.
The black book’s space.
This time, however, there was no maid assassin, nor any naked adventurer.
It was no longer pitch-black, either.
Under Muen’s deliberate control, the scenery here had transformed into... the Ancient Potion Club classroom.
The blue curtains Anna liked swayed gently, though sadly, beyond the window there was only darkness and nothing could be seen.
Running a hand across the cold metal tabletop, Muen could not help smiling.
“Somehow, this place is what makes me feel at ease.”
After indulging in that little sigh of emotion, a thought stirred in his mind, and the exercise book he had just been working on appeared before him.
“Practice brings true knowledge. Let’s test it.”
Muen sank back into studying.
Then, after an unknown amount of time had passed, he finally emerged from his total concentration, glanced at the time, then sensed the state of his body and could not help but brighten with delight.
“I’ve already studied continuously for three hours. As expected, my body doesn’t get tired in the black book’s space.”
In truth, the answer was obvious if one thought about it.
What moved within the black book’s space was Muen’s consciousness, so what it consumed was naturally mental energy.
There was no accumulation of physical fatigue at all.
One could even say that while Muen studied inside the black book, his actual body was getting proper rest.
And as for mental strength... Thanks to the constant tempering he had undergone through countless battles in the black book’s space, Muen’s mind had long surpassed that of an ordinary person.
After all, how could someone who had died countless times possibly not develop ironclad mental resilience?
“In other words, I can even reduce my sleep to the bare minimum!”
Muen’s eyes lit up.
Since he no longer needed sleep to remove physical fatigue, roughly two hours of deep sleep a day would be enough to restore his spirit to full strength.
And that, in effect, gave him four extra hours of study time every single day!
Muen clenched his fist in excitement.
Sure enough, only hard work would never betray a person.
All those struggles before had seemed useless, yet in the end, they were still paying him back in an unexpected way.
And they were finally allowing a glimmer of light to bloom in the darkness around that goal which had once seemed impossibly out of reach.
...
“But if I keep doing problems like this without knowing whether my answers are right or wrong, the efficiency really isn’t very high.”
The more questions he solved, the more Muen felt that something was off.
After all, in this world, magic as a field of study was still aimed mainly at nobles and certain rare geniuses.
Although it had formed a degree of systemization, it was nothing like the broadly universal subjects from his previous life.
For example, the exercise books Anna had gathered from who knew where did not look professionally printed at all.
They were more like compilations of past exams and teachers’ assignments. Some sections were even handwritten.
As such, there was naturally no such thing as an answer key.
The point of the sea-of-problems strategy was not simply to do huge quantities of exercises without regard for quality or efficiency.
It was to use constant problem-solving to identify one’s weak points, or the areas one still had not mastered, and rapidly refine and solidify one’s grasp of the material.
But if he did not even know whether he was getting things wrong, then none of that later benefit could happen.
At that point, all he was doing was increasing his speed and familiarity with answering questions.
And for Muen, speed and familiarity were utterly worthless right now.
“But if I leave it until tomorrow and have Senior mark them...”
Setting aside whether Anna even had that much time and energy, in terms of efficiency it was completely at odds with Muen’s whole approach.
He had to think of some other solution.
Muen stroked his chin and pondered.
The first idea that came to mind was to hire several more “teachers” specifically to correct his practice work.
After all, it was not as if he lacked money.
But for him, hiring teachers would itself cost a great deal of time, and there was no guarantee he could even find suitable ones.
So that could only be a last resort.
Muen kept thinking.
As he did, his gaze wandered idly around the room, until it happened to fall on the deep darkness outside the window, revealed whenever the blue curtains swayed.
Darkness...
Black...
A flash of inspiration struck Muen’s mind.
“The black book!”
At Muen’s summons, the black book slowly appeared.
Only this time, the way it floated out so sluggishly made it seem... just a little unwilling.
Muen did not think much of it. Beaming with excitement, he pulled the black book closer.
“You can do it, can’t you?”
He patted the exercise book.
“Mark these for me.”
【...】
The black book remained silent.
“You definitely can.”
When the black book still did not move, Muen’s eyes immediately sharpened.
“Your ability is really just recording things, isn’t it? You even know the weaknesses of evil gods. I refuse to believe you don’t know the first-year material for Fundamentals of Magic.”
【...】
“You still haven’t compensated me for altering my Fate without warning me beforehand last time.”
【Sigh.】
It was the same heavy sigh as always.
The exercise books Muen had already worked through suddenly began flipping rapidly in front of him.
Then, behind each question, there appeared either a small ✓ or a small ×.
“Thank you!”
Overjoyed, Muen quickly flipped back to the first exercises he had done and began correcting his mistakes.
But as he worked, he suddenly turned to look at the black book again, his expression serious.
“What were the basic principles of magical syllogism again?”
【...】
The black book turned reluctantly, and an explanation identical to the one in the textbook appeared before him.
“Thanks. Love you.”
Muen practically wanted to hug the black book and kiss it.
It absolutely could not be called a good teacher, but it could absolutely be called an excellent textbook.
If he did not know something, he could just point to it. In fact, sometimes he did not even need to point; the relevant knowledge simply surfaced on its own, saving him the trouble of searching for it. Who would not love a textbook like that?
...
Through the long night, Muen studied with complete concentration.
The black book floated beside him, turning a page from time to time, either revealing textbook knowledge or the notes Anna had made during her lessons.
Muen improved at astonishing speed.
And yet, even by this point, he still did not seem to realize that he could have used the black book to cheat and pass the exam with absurd ease.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that cheating had never once appeared within the bounds of his thinking at all.
...
...
“You’re late.”
Inside the Student Council Room, Selicia looked expressionlessly at Veir hurrying in, dew still clinging to her hair.
“You are exactly fifteen minutes late.”
“Hehe... President, please spare me...”
Veir stuck out her tongue and begged for mercy.
“I stayed up too late questioning that Aemon guy last night, so I overslept.”
“Is that so? Then why was it that when I went to see Aemon just now, he said you slipped away at eight o’clock last night?”
“Uh...”
Veir’s pretty face instantly stiffened.
She began desperately wondering whether she should kneel and beg for forgiveness, or throw herself at the president’s legs and beg that way, if she wanted to save her beloved novels.
“Forget it.”
But this time, Selicia did not pursue the matter.
“Go make me a cup of coffee.”
“Yes, right away.”
Veir felt as if she had been granted amnesty and moved at once.
Before long, the fragrance of coffee drifted through the room.
Selicia, meanwhile, stood with her hands clasped behind her back and turned to look out the window.
Autumn was deepening. The parasol tree leaves fell one after another, spreading across the quiet path outside like a golden river.
If someone stepped on them, they would surely make a crisp, pleasant sound.
It was beautiful, but in the stillness of the morning, not a single person passed by.
“What day is it now?” Selicia suddenly asked.
“The fifth day, I think.”
Veir assumed she was asking about Aemon’s case. As she brewed the coffee, she rambled on.
“That Aemon guy really was stupid. He actually dared to drink a potion from a stranger. Sigh, and he didn’t even get a clear look at what she looked like. It’s infuriating. If he’d been a little smarter, we wouldn’t be this busy now. Don’t you think so, President...?”
“He is a bit stupid.”
Selicia withdrew her gaze, though it was not clear whom she was referring to.
“But after not seeing him out on his morning run these past few days, it does feel a little strange.”
...
...
“Ariel!”
On the way to class, Lia stared at the absentminded Ariel beside her, a hint of confusion in her bright, lively eyes.
“You’ve seemed really off lately!”
“Huh? Have I?”
Ariel came back to herself and blinked.
“You’re imagining it.”
“You have! You daydream in class, zone out while walking, and keep smiling foolishly at a transmission stone!”
Lia’s expression turned serious.
“You’re not still thinking about that woman from before, are you? Didn’t the professor say she was fake?”
“No. Absolutely not!”
Ariel answered decisively, and in the same motion took Lia’s hand and said with deep feeling,
“Right now, the only one in my eyes is you, Lia.”
“Oh, stop it.”
Lia’s cheeks flushed, and she looked shy.
Since Ariel had said that much, then she could forgive her.
But just as she was about to say something, she noticed Ariel’s gaze had once again been drawn elsewhere.
“That is...”
Following her line of sight, Lia saw a blond man sitting under the shade of a tree, completely focused on the book in his hands.
He muttered something under his breath, occasionally making notes with the pen in his hand.
“Muen Campbell.”
Lia recognized the blond man under the tree.
“I heard he made some bold declaration that he’s going to score eighty on the next Fundamentals of Magic exam. I wonder if it’s true.”
“Hmph. He’s just grandstanding.”
Ariel gave a cold laugh.
“He only got three points in that subject last semester, and now he wants to score eighty? He only starts trying now—how could that possibly happen? He’d have a better chance if he took the first-year exam instead.”
“That’s true. Still, this matter has really become the talk of the school lately. Oh, right.”
As though she had suddenly remembered something, Lia asked,
“Ariel, did you place a bet in that betting pool?”
“Hm? Why would you ask that?”
“Because you seem exactly like the kind of person who would get involved in something like that.”
“...”
Ariel fell silent for a moment, then a crookedly smug smile spread across her lips.
“That’s just like you, Lia. You really are good at reading people. But I only did it for fun. I just put in two hundred Aemir.”
“Two hundred? But isn’t that already a whole week’s worth of meal money for you right now?”
Lia said worriedly,
“I remember last time you bet your meal money too, and then you had to eat black bread for a whole week. If you keep doing this, you’ll get malnourished. Your chest might really shrink!”
“As if that would ever happen!”
Ariel flew into a rage, then immediately lifted her chin with total confidence.
“Last time I only stumbled because I forgot that Muen Campbell had an absurdly powerful father. But this time it’s different!”
After all, even those teachers who were especially skilled at magic had said flat-out that this was impossible, so it definitely had to be impossible!
“Just wait and see. This time I’m definitely going to win back everything I lost last time—my pride and my meal money both!”
Ariel planted her hands on her hips and laughed triumphantly.
“B-But... the odds are one to twenty now, aren’t they? Most people still agree with you and don’t believe Muen Campbell can pull it off. So even if you win, it does not seem like you’ll actually make that much money,” Lia said carefully.
“...”
Ariel’s smile froze. Then she exploded in grief and fury.
“Damn you, Muen Campbell!”
...
...
“I’ve decided. I’m betting all of this month’s allowance!”
Inside the Magic Art Club, a little girl with twin ponytails suddenly slammed down her piggy bank and huffed indignantly.
“One to twenty? Who exactly are those people looking down on? Is Muen really that hopeless in their eyes? They say he can’t do it, but I say he can!”
“Exactly! I’m betting all my allowance too!”
“Damn those snobs who look down on people! Long live our one true favorite!”
The other two girls chattered in agreement as well, looking as though they wanted nothing more than to roll up their sleeves and personally fight Muen’s haters on his behalf.
“Emma, Alva, Aimi.”
Off to the side, Senior Fanny swept a helpless glance over the three girls and sighed.
“Calm down. It is not that we don’t believe in Muen Campbell. It’s just that the goal he set is too difficult. Even the teachers think it’s impossible.”
“So what!”
Emma slapped the table in fury.
“True love is invincible! Long live our idol! If I say Muen can do it, then he absolutely can!”
“Exactly!”
“Totally agree!”
“...”
Watching the three girls, full of fighting spirit and practically ready to beat up even her, their own senior, if she dared say one bad word about Muen Campbell, Fanny could not help twitching at the corner of her mouth.
Deranged fans really were frightening.
But immediately afterward, she found herself wondering... should she also place a little money on Muen Campbell, just for fun?
If she lost, it would not be enough money to hurt much. If she won... a twentyfold return was undeniably tempting.
And besides...
What if, just as those girls said, there really was that tiny chance?
...
...
After the Silent Moon invasion incident, no further major events took place.
The academy finally seemed to have entered a long period of peace.
The peaceful, leisurely daily life Muen had longed for had finally arrived as promised, but ironically, he himself had no time to enjoy that peace at all.
This period had been unbelievably full.
Aside from two hours of sleep each day, half an hour for meals spread across the three daily meals, and one hour for miscellaneous necessities such as bathing, traveling from place to place, and other bodily needs, Muen poured nearly all of his remaining time into Fundamentals of Magic.
After Anna’s teaching had brought him up to speed, he also attended several of Teacher Flan’s classes.
He did not sit anywhere obvious, but chose a quiet seat by the window in an out-of-the-way corner, listening seriously to Teacher Flan’s lectures and cross-checking them against what Anna had taught him, deepening the impressions in his mind.
Every now and then, he even raised his hand to ask questions, and Teacher Flan—whom he no longer feared quite so much—would explain his confusion carefully and earnestly.
To be fair, apart from being a little too emotional at times, Flan really was a good teacher.
Though for some reason, whenever Muen sat in that seat by the window, Ariel would glare at him several times.
That left him completely baffled, making him wonder what exactly he had done to offend her again.
...
Time flowed on without pause.
And so, at last, the day before the exam arrived.
Inside the Ancient Potion Club classroom, Anna closed her book, signaling the end of the final lesson.
“All right. We’ve finished all the lessons, so Junior should rest a little now.”
“I don’t need to. I’m not tired yet.”
Muen did not even look up at Anna. The instant the lesson ended, he opened an exercise book and started doing problems again without the slightest pause.
Anna lowered her eyes and quietly observed him.
His beautiful blond hair had grown quite a bit, but he had clearly not taken the time to groom it in a while. It covered his ears and brows, making him look somewhat disheveled.
His uniform was also slightly rumpled, with many of the creases still unpressed. Even his necktie sat crooked. For a noble son born into privilege, that was almost unimaginable.
And though his handsome face still looked healthy enough in complexion, the weariness in his eyes was plainly visible.
That was not physical fatigue. It was fatigue of the spirit—the aftereffect left behind by a stubborn soul that had not stopped advancing for a single moment, day after day.
“Come to think of it, Junior Muen, it seems we haven’t tried doing any actual club activities again in quite a while.”
“Now?”
Muen lifted his head in confusion.
“Right now.”
Anna nodded seriously, looking for all the world like a mischievous little girl pestering an adult to buy her candy at the worst possible moment.
“Well... all right.”
Emotionally and logically alike, Muen had no way to refuse such a small request from Anna, so he could only smile bitterly.
“But please make it quick, Senior. My time is very tight. The exam is tomorrow, and I still need to sort through all the knowledge points one more time.”
“Of course it will be quick. It’s only a potion.”
Anna smiled softly, as if she had planned this all along, and placed a potion bottle in front of Muen. The bottle was black, so the liquid inside could not be seen.
“Drink.”
“This... won’t have some terrifying effect again, will it?”
Muen was still haunted by what had happened last time.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong this time.”
“All right, then...”
Either out of trust in Anna, or because he wanted to finish quickly and get back to studying, Muen did not even ask what the potion did this time. He simply drank it down in one gulp.
“That should do—”
Before he could finish speaking, Muen’s vision blurred.
Then, with a thump, he collapsed face-first onto the tabletop.
Not long after, the sound of steady breathing rose from him.
He had fallen into a deep, sweet sleep—the first true sleep he had had in an entire month.
Inside the quiet potion classroom, Anna propped up her cheek and watched him, then could not help reaching out to gently stroke his hair.
“Sleep peacefully for a while, Junior. You’ve already worked hard enough.”