Chapter 193

Dormitory Spring Hall, first-floor lounge.

Jacqueline’s body flopped weakly onto the sofa.

Her face was blank and dazed, like someone whose soul had left their body.

Shannon who had been reading a book in the seat beside her glanced over and asked,

“What’s wrong, Jacqueline. Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m not hungry… why would you suddenly ask that?”

“Because when you’re low on energy it’s usually because you’re hungry.”

“…I can’t even argue with that, which makes it more frustrating.”

Flip, flip.

As the pages of Shannon’s book began turning again, Jacqueline flailed her arms and legs like a child throwing a tantrum in a toy store.

“My god, I still can’t believe it. Summer vacation is already over. And now we have to start studying for those hellish exams again? Shannon, isn’t there some kind of magic that can turn back time?”

“Well. Maybe a 9th-class mage could use magic like that.”

“But to reach that level you’d have to study magic anyway.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“That completely defeats the purpose……”

“Once time has passed, it doesn’t come back, so you should accept reality now.”

“Shannon, how can you be so calm about it? Aren’t you sad that vacation is over?”

“Honestly, I’m fine.”

“What?”

“This country’s summers are way too hot for me. Especially when I was working at your aunt’s candy shop, I seriously thought I was going to die.”

“Now that you mention it, there was a time you almost collapsed……”

Shannon was born in Karaf, and Karaf was a floating city.

Since it floated high in the sky, the temperature was low and the wind blew constantly, so it was inevitably cold.

Shannon who was weak in the heat no longer even tried to go outside the dorm when the sun was high in the sky.

That policy probably wouldn’t change until autumn weather arrived.

The word autumn appearing in her mind made Jacqueline slump again.

“I wish vacation had been just one day longer. I barely got to enjoy it……”

“Jacqueline, sit up properly. Your stomach is showing.”

The voice that suddenly spoke wasn’t Shannon’s.

When Jacqueline turned her head toward the lounge entrance, a black-haired girl wearing glasses was standing there.

“Oh? Rita! You’re back!”

Rita, who had gone to visit her family during the vacation, had returned to the dormitory.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now. I was on my way back after submitting my check-in form to the dorm supervisor.”

“What’s that in your hand?”

“Souvenirs. They’re for you guys. I went on a family trip during the break.”

“I’m jealous.”

“How did you two spend your vacation?”

“Shannon and I… well, we were pretty busy. We had part-time jobs.”

“That’s impressive. It was vacation and you didn’t go out to have fun?”

“We went to watch the parade after work… but, um.”

“You don’t need to say more. You were there, weren’t you? That must have been awful.”

The bombing terror attack that occurred in the middle of the royal capital shocked many people and left the city in a gloomy atmosphere.

Part of the reason Jacqueline was so frustrated was that the money she had worked hard to earn ended up never being spent on having fun.

“You didn’t get hurt anywhere, did you?”

“No. I almost got knocked down when people were pushing each other, but Shannon saved me.”

When Jacqueline looked at her with gratitude, Shannon simply shrugged.

Rita smiled and said,

“It seems like you two have gotten even closer.”

“Really?”

“More importantly, tomorrow is course registration day. Have you both decided what classes you’ll take in the second semester?”

“No. We were planning to look tomorrow and decide.”

“Then you’ll be late. Let’s go check the central bulletin board together.”

“The central bulletin board? Why there?”

“That’s where announcements related to the Magic Department get posted first. Second-semester classes are really important, so you need to plan your studies carefully.”

“There aren’t even any classes today and we still have to walk all the way to the Magic Department……”

“I don’t really want to go outside today either. It’s too hot.”

Looking at her two unmotivated friends, Rita smiled knowingly.

“Well, it wouldn’t really matter if I went alone… but a senior I ran into on the way back to the dorm said something. They saw Professor Winslet putting up a notice this morning. Apparently he started a club.”

Shannon jumped to her feet.

“Let’s go right now.”

“Well, if you two are going, then I guess I have no choice……”

The three of them walked under the blazing sun and arrived at the Magic Department building.

The moment they stepped inside, Shannon grabbed the collar of her outer shirt with one hand and fanned it while waving her other hand like a fan.

“Shannon, you’re really weak against the heat.”

“I wish winter would come already.”

“So, where’s the notice Professor Winslet posted?”

“Maybe it’s this one.”

“Spellfire Club?”

After reading the words written on the notice, Jacqueline tilted her head.

“What’s Spellfire?”

“I’m not sure. Shannon probably knows better than I do.”

“You can think of it as one of the ways mages spar with each other. It’s designed to be as close to real combat as possible while still having a few safety measures.”

“I see.”

“But it’s not really used much in Karaf. The mages there think that if there are safety measures, you can’t demonstrate your true ability.”

“What kind of place is Karaf, anyway……”

Jacqueline asked,

“But why did Professor Winslet suddenly create a club like this?”

“It’s probably because of the Academy Competition.”

“The Academy Competition?”

“It’s a magic tournament held in the imperial capital once every four years. It’s also the largest competition on the continent. Only students from magic academies are allowed to participate.”

“There are magic academies other than ours?”

“Of course. A total of four academies participate in the competition. Two are in the Empire, one is located in a duchy within the Empire, and the last one is our Laurencia Royal Academy.”

“So except for our academy, they’re all in the Empire. What about Karaf? Doesn’t Karaf have a Magic Academy?”

Shannon answered instead.

“The Magic Tower functions somewhat like an academy there… but even so, mages from Karaf probably wouldn’t participate in the Academy Competition.”

“Why?”

“Because the competition was created by the Empire. The Empire and Karaf have historically been enemies.”

“Ah, I see. But if Karaf isn’t included in a competition meant to measure magical skill, doesn’t that make the rankings meaningless?”

“Well. There are probably complicated political circumstances behind it. It’s not something we need to worry about.”

“True.”

Rita raised her index finger and said,

“The important thing is that if you’re selected as a participant in the Academy Competition, the academy sends you on a trip to the Empire. For free.”

“What!”

“Well, you’d be part of the team. Of course.”

Jacqueline swallowed hard and carefully spoke.

“If I start preparing seriously from now… do you think I could participate as a competitor too?”

“It’s not impossible.”

“When is the Academy Competition?”

“It happens once every four years… so exactly one year from now, next summer.”

At the mention of next summer, Jacqueline made a gloomy face.

“That means we’ll only be second-years by then. Wouldn’t that put us at a disadvantage compared to the fourth-years?”

“It can’t be helped. Skill matters, but luck also plays a part in competitions like this.”

As Rita said this, she wore a strangely confident expression.

Jacqueline narrowed her eyes and asked,

“Rita, have you already started preparing? For competing in the Academy Competition?”

“Yeah. Not Spellfire, but another event.”

“You cheater…”

“There’s still a whole year left before the competition. I’ll help you, so let’s study and prepare together whenever we have free time.”

“Studying for exams already takes up all my time, and now you want me to do more?”

As if searching for hope, Jacqueline looked toward the notice board.

“If we join this club, do you think Professor Winslet might somehow make it work?”

“With Professor Winslet’s personality, I doubt he’d teach halfheartedly.”

“…So it’s going to be tough after all?”

“I’m joining.”

Shannon said.

Jacqueline’s eyes widened.

“What? Shannon, you’re a mage from Karaf. Are you even allowed to participate in the Academy Competition?”

“Ah.”

Shannon opened her mouth as if the thought had never occurred to her.

Rita nudged her with her elbow and teased,

“Be honest. You’re just joining because of Professor Winslet, aren’t you?”

“That’s true. So what?”

“Well, when you say it so confidently, I don’t even know what to say…”

The three of them turned their gaze to another notice.

It was a notice announcing that Professor Winslet was opening a new course.

“Let’s see. The class is called… Understanding Dimensional Magic and Familiar Creature Contract Practice? What’s that supposed to be? Is it very difficult?”

Jacqueline, who had asked the question, fell silent.

Because Shannon was staring at the notice with a serious expression.

***

I opened my second course as Professor Winslet.

For the first class of the second semester, there was no need to make a big spectacle like I had during the first semester.

The number of students who had registered for the class was very small.

It seemed that the students who had experienced the brutal skill test back in March didn’t even dare look in the direction of my class this time.

That worked out well for me.

There was no need to put on a show like that again.

“Some familiar faces.”

The roster of students hadn’t changed much either.

The trio of first-years, Jacqueline Dogwood, Shannon Quinlivan, and Rita Ridge….and a third-year Stephanie Wells.

Naturally, Luke Russeau was not there.

Aside from them, the only new students were Jamie Prowley, a transfer student this semester, and Princess Estelle.

When I gave a small nod of greeting toward the princess, Estelle quietly returned it with a glance.

Princess Estelle, who had been admitted through the headmaster’s special privilege, didn’t possess any particular magical talent.

Even so, the reason she was taking my class was because she had requested to stay close to me for protection, at least for the time being.

Though whether that choice was the right one was hard to say.

Because the content of the course I had planned for the second semester was far from easy.

I handed each of the students who were watching me with wide attentive eyes a blank sheet of paper.

“You all know that the title of this course is ‘Understanding Dimensional Magic and Familiar Creature Contract Practice’. right? Before the class begins, there’s something you need to do with that sheet of paper.”

“What is it?”

“Write your will.”

“……”

To the students, who had suddenly gone silent in shock, I explained the goal ahead of us.

“To obtain the medium required for summoning contracts, our class will be traveling to Ground Zero, the most dangerous land on the continent. A place that no one is allowed to enter without permission.”