The first day of the new semester had always been a source of immense stress for the faculty and staff, but it was equally hectic for the incoming freshmen.
After finishing the entrance ceremony at the main auditorium, the new students headed straight to the academy headquarters.
There, their previously submitted personal information was verified against their actual identities, and student ID cards were issued.
Next, they visited the storage room managed by the finance department to take quick body measurements and receive their uniforms.
Though the uniform would rarely be worn except during major events, it was a neat and beautiful outfit.
After making a round through the warehouse and collecting an armful of supplies needed for academy life, it was finally time to be assigned their dorm rooms.
The freshmen who were about to face the place they would call home for the next four years were filled with excitement and anticipation.
Jacqueline, of course, was no exception.
I’ll never forget this moment for the rest of my life. I’m finally going to live in Lambart! I’ve made it, Jacqueline. You’ve really made it!
Although she was scheduled to live in the dormitory all 365 days of the year, Lambart was still the capital of the Kingdom of Laurencia and its greatest city.
Shops overflowing with the latest trends and the artist district that never slept even at night!
Just imagining herself strolling through such a scenery made Jacqueline puff up with pride with her chin tilting upward involuntarily.
She tilted her head back so far she was practically looking at the sky. This made the girl walking beside her to ask in concern,
“What’s going on all of a sudden, Jacqueline?”
“Oh, huh? It’s nothing. I was just thinking. Now that I’m a proper city lady, I’m wondering what I should do first. Maybe I should get myself a pretty handkerchief. I’ll have to drop it on purpose while pretending it’s an accident.”
“Haha. You really do come up with some funny ideas.”
The girl who responded like that was Rita Ridge.
Rita was the first friend Jacqueline had made at the academy.
Like Jacqueline, Rita was also a freshman in the Department of Magic.
When Jacqueline missed the entrance ceremony and didn’t receive a guide booklet, Rita had lent her own copy and struck up a conversation.
With her twin braids and round glasses, Rita had the perfect model-student look.
Because of that impression, Jacqueline had a feeling that Rita would be good at her studies.
“Rita, what electives did you choose?”
“Well, one of them is Magical Horticulture.”
“Huh? I thought first-years weren’t allowed to take that one?”
“Mhmm. That’s true. But I told them I’m planning to major in Witchcrafting in my second year, and I wanted to take it early. So they gave me permission.”
“Oh… so you’ve got it all planned out? But how do you know all this stuff? I’m struggling just to remember what they explained today.”
“My older brother’s an academy graduate. He told me a bunch of things.”
“You have a sibling?”
Jacqueline had a younger sibling too, just a year younger than her.
Unlike Jacqueline, her younger sister was diligent, sharp, and a bit of a nag.
Right now, she was probably learning how to farm pumpkins from their father in Jacqueline’s place.
Feeling a little guilty, Jacqueline returned to their earlier topic.
“You’re supposed to choose two electives, right? What’s your other one?”
“Theory and practice of modern magic.”
“Ugh?”
Jacqueline let out a strange groan.
Because…
“Modern Magic whatever…. that’s the class taught by that professor, right? The one who gave that unbelievably annoying speech at the entrance ceremony…?”
“Yeah. That’s Professor Winter Winslet’s class.”
“You still want to take his class after hearing that speech? Everyone else was complaining about it.”
“So what? I’m kind of curious what kind of person can be that confident to say something like that at an entrance ceremony. Besides…”
“Besides?”
“He’s exactly my type.”
As she said that, Rita pushed her slipping glasses back up with one finger.
Jacqueline had thought she was just a quiet well-behaved model student, but…
Jacqueline slightly changed her first impression of her friend.
This time, Rita asked the question.
“But Jacqueline, didn’t you sign up for that class too?”
“Mhmm, I did.”
“You didn’t seem like the type… Are you secretly into good-looking guys?”
“What?”
“Well, why else would you sign up for a class taught by a professor you yourself called annoying? You must’ve picked it because of his face, right?”
“That is not the reason!”
Jacqueline jumped up in protest.
“I signed up for that class purely for revenge.”
Rita gave her a slightly baffled look.
“Did the professor murder your father or something?”
“No. But that guy called me ugly.”
“…..?”
“I’m going to become a way better mage than him and crush that smug face of his.”
At Jacqueline’s declaration, Rita opened and closed her mouth like a fish.
It looked like she held back what she wanted to say about three times.
“I hope we can both keep up with the material and not fall behind. I wonder what Professor Winslet’s classes will be like.”
While they chatted away, the freshmen arrived at the dorms.
Four large apartment-style buildings lined up side by side with a small lake behind them. These were the student dormitories.
Each year, students were assigned to one of the buildings based on their class year, so this year’s freshmen would be sharing a building with the seniors in their fourth year.
The supervising teacher led the new students to the building farthest on the left. The “Hall of Spring”.
Rita said,
“Let’s hurry and unpack our stuff first. My brother told me all the dorm beds are bunk beds. If we’re late, all the bottom bunks will be taken.”
“I actually like the top bunk.”
“Really?”
“It’s fun. It’s high up. And it has a ladder.”
“That’s perfect. I prefer the bottom bunk. We can just share one then.”
“Sounds good.”
Before the students entered the dormitory, the supervising teacher firmly addressed the freshmen.
“Do not, under any circumstances, enter the forest on the northwest side of the dorms. That includes going around it along the lakeside. Understood?”
Jacqueline shot her hand up and asked a question.
“Why not? Is it a forbidden forest or something? Are there unicorns or werewolves in there? Right?”
“No. There’s faculty housing on the other side of the forest. People coming and going trample the grass, which is why it’s off-limits. Entering without permission will result in penalty points.”
After hearing the explanation, Jacqueline turned to Rita and said,
“Did you hear that? Let’s sneak in there tonight.”
“What?”
“Or maybe tonight’s a bit much?”
“Jacqueline… you did hear the explanation just now, didn’t you?”
“Oh, someone really pretty just walked by. She’s blonde! Looks just like a doll! What’s her name?”
Rita let out a sigh.
***
Teaching as an academy professor.
By the time I had finished planning what and how to teach the students, the sun was already setting outside.
Since I had dinner plans, I got off work and headed to a high-end restaurant in the city of Lambart.
There were three guests inside, and since I had reserved the whole restaurant today, they were clearly there to meet me.
“Ah, Professor Winslet.”
“You’ve arrived.”
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
These were academy officials who had close ties with Winter Winslet.
To put it bluntly, they were his lackeys.
Each of them held senior positions within the Academy departments. One was the Deputy Dean of the Academic Affairs Department, another was the Deputy Dean of the Administration Department, and the third was the Dean of the Research Support Department. From that alone, one could tell just how much influence Winter Winslet wielded within the Academy.
“Wow, thanks to you, Professor, I get to visit a place like this in my lifetime. Truly touched, I am.”
“We’ll have to start meeting more often, won’t we? It helps foster cooperation on the job, too.”
“When we’re all in the same boat, there’s nothing more important than teamwork, wouldn’t you agree?”
They were really putting on a show.
As was often the case with those living off royal salaries, their income didn’t match the level of authority they held.
That explained why they were so dazzled by the luxury restaurant.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
“Yes, thank you very much…”
I had invited them here to gather information.
The plan was a relaxed one. It was to hear about the happenings around the Academy, and wait with a fisherman’s patience to see if anything came up related to the Heptagram Society.
And in the meantime, enjoy a good meal.
As I took my seat, the staff began to bring out the prepared courses.
The appetizer was a champagne blended with peach puree.
Its sweet flavor and fizzy bubbles whetted the appetite. Then came a light appetizer, followed by soup and a rotation of fish and meat dishes.
The three men who followed Winter Winslet didn’t bother hiding their appetite. They devoured the bright-red lobster bisque, grilled sea bass fillet, and tender beef tenderloin with no restraint.
And as they ate, they naturally brought up Academy news that they thought might interest me, which allowed me to get a sense of what was going on behind the scenes.
“Did you hear that the royal family is planning to award a medal to the Academy Headmaster? He’s clearly being backed for being a royalist.”
“Instead of giving a medal to just the Headmaster, they should hand out bonuses to the people on the ground. That would actually be more helpful in the long run.”
“Exactly. It’s always people like us who do the real work and get nothing for it.”
Knowing full well what they were really up to, I couldn’t help but scoff.
The thing these three were most diligent about at the Academy was laundering money.
They would channel the annual budget allocated to the Magic Department through various so-called investments and support programs, only to eventually transfer the funds into Winter Winslet’s secret account.
And every time Winter Winslet’s vault filled up a bit more, a portion of it would trickle down to them. That’s why they were more devoted than anyone else when it came to stealing state funds.
As the meal progressed, a server brought out dessert.
One of the men, the Deputy Dean of Academic Affairs, scraped up every last bite of the ice cream served as a palate cleanser and spoke up.
“I happened to hear something. It sounds like a new Dean will be appointed to the Magic Department sometime soon.”
According to the last faculty meeting, the Dean position at the First Magic Department was currently vacant.
He had reportedly been ousted at the end of last year for falling out of favor with Winter Winslet.
“What kind of person is the new Dean?”
“I heard he’s from the Royal Magic Department’s Life Support Division. Word is, he managed to line his pockets pretty well even there. But they say he’s a bit difficult to deal with…”
“Difficult how?”
“They say he clashed a lot with those around him. He engaged in power struggles with neighboring departments or abused his subordinates. He supposedly lost a lot of favor because of it but still managed to achieve decent results. Maybe he just knows how to get people to work.”
“Well, no matter who it is, wouldn’t they behave properly in front of Professor Winslet? Unless they’re crazy or stupid, that is.”
“Come on, instead of just waiting, why don’t we try greasing the wheels a bit in advance? It’s the start of a new semester, and Professor Winslet is bound to be busy.”
“I like that idea.”
“Speaking of which, I heard Professor Winslet’s class is drawing a large number of students. Is there anything you might need? Just say the word, and we’ll prepare whatever it is.”
At the mention of “whatever”, something came to mind.
When I said it, the men’s faces turned uneasy.
“Huh? Are you asking us to have a healer on standby in case there are injuries during class?”
“And you mean… all the medical staff at the Academy?”
“What kind of class are you planning to run…?”
There was no point in hiding it.
I answered briefly.
“A skills test. A simple one.”
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