Chapter 29: Provocation 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: Provocation 3
"Yaaaawn... Is it over yet?"
I stretched as I crawled out from under the desk. The space was cramped, so it hadn't exactly been the most refreshing nap.
"Hmm? I guess I drifted off for a second."
I looked around at the students, who were all staring at me with blank expressions. Even though I’d just woken up, it seemed my handsome face was hard to hide—every single eye in the room was fixed on me.
"Student Loki, you really shouldn't sleep during class, regardless of the circumstances," Professor Idra said, her tone rebuking. However, she couldn't quite hide the flicker of amusement dancing in her eyes.
"It’s not that I intended to sleep, but I felt it would be awkward to leave in the middle of your lecture. I hid under the desk to stay out of the way and just happened to doze off."
Professor Idra placed her hands on her hips as if to scold me. But given her petite stature and doll-like features, she didn't look intimidating at all; she just looked adorable.
"I'm forgiving you just this once, okay?"
"As expected of Professor Idra! Your heart is as beautiful as your face!"
"Ahahaha! No matter how much you flatter me, I don't have any extra credit to give you."
"Flattery? How could you say something so hurtful? I was simply expressing the honest thoughts of my heart!"
"Heehee, I wish there were more honest students like Loki."
Idra beamed, clearly pleased. Her smile made her look even cuter. Honestly, based on looks alone, Professor Idra looked younger than most of the students in the room.
"I'm sure everyone else thinks you're beautiful too, Professor. They just lack the courage to say it out loud like I do."
"Student Loki, you certainly have a way with words."
"I don't just have a way with words; I have the face to match."
While I was chatting with Professor Idra, the other students were busy whispering among themselves.
"What the... how long has that guy been under the desk?"
"Wait, does that mean he wasn't affected by the Professor's magic from the start?"
"More importantly, was that fake version of him his Innate Magic?"
"That's the first time in my life I've seen Innate Magic in person."
The students were dying to know when I had created the illusion, whether I had been immune to the magic from the beginning, or if I had somehow broken free of it.
Among them, Clara was the only one who knew I had escaped using an illusion. Since she was sitting right next to me, our eyes had met several times while I was crouching under the desk.
"Student Loki?"
Professor Idra approached me with stealthy, cat-like steps. We were already close, but now we were at a distance where we’d bump into each other if either of us took a single step forward.
"You bit your tongue, didn't you?" Idra asked with a playful smirk. It was phrased as a question, but she sounded certain of the answer.
"I really can't hide anything from you, Professor."
I knew Professor Idra was impressive, but I didn't expect her to realize I'd bitten my tongue. How on earth did she figure it out?
"Bit his tongue?"
"Is he saying he broke the magic by biting his tongue?"
"Is that even possible?"
Ignoring the students' chatter, Professor Idra reached into her pocket, rummaged around, and pulled something out.
"I know you want to do well, but you have to cherish your body. Drink this."
She handed me a small plastic bottle containing a shimmering purple liquid.
"I'm not sure if I should be the one to consume something so precious, but since you've offered, I'll accept it with gratitude."
When I mentioned it was precious, Professor Idra looked surprised.
"Do you know what this is?"
Actually, no.
"Oh, come now... anything given by Professor Idra is bound to be precious."
"Ahahahaha! Just drink it already."
Professor Idra burst into laughter and urged me on.
"Then, down the hatch!"
I downed the purple liquid. It passed right through my mask and into my mouth. As soon as the liquid touched my tongue, I felt the wound I’d made earlier vanish instantly.
"Ooh! What's with that mask? Is it an Artifact?"
Professor Idra stared intently at my mask, clearly intrigued. With her innocent face and small frame, she looked like a child who had just discovered a fascinating new toy.
"Um... Professor Idra? What do you mean by 'biting his tongue'?"
Unable to contain their curiosity any longer, one of the students finally spoke up.
"Hmm."
Professor Idra glanced at me silently, seemingly asking for permission to explain. Since it wasn't some grand secret, I simply nodded.
"Loki really is a good student," she said before walking toward the podium to address the class. "Since everyone seems curious, I'll explain it for all of you."
The students fell silent, focusing intently on her.
"It's not that Student Loki was immune to my magic. As soon as the spell hit him, he bit his tongue to snap his mind back to reality. Then, he created a decoy with his Innate Magic and hid under the desk."
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
"As expected of Professor Idra. You got every single detail exactly right."
I applauded her explanation.
"What? That's it? It's not that big of a deal."
"I could snap out of it by biting my tongue, too."
Thinking what I did was easy, the other students began boasting to those around them. "I could do that in my sleep," one muttered.
Honestly, I thought so too. Biting your tongue isn't exactly a complex feat of magic.
However, for some reason, the students of the Special Class and Professor Idra had grim expressions on their faces.
Why? It’s not like they’re wrong.
"Then would you like to try it? I'll give extra credit to anyone who can withstand the spell this time."
"""Of course!"""
Every student except those in the Special Class jumped at the proposal.
"Then, those who want to take the challenge, please come to the front."
As soon as Professor Idra finished speaking, a crowd of students rushed forward. Honestly, since it seemed so simple, I would have gone up too if I were in their shoes.
"Alright, I'm casting the spell now."
Professor Idra kindly gave them a heads-up. All the students standing at the front braced themselves, ready to bite their tongues the moment they felt the magic hit.
"""Aaaaagh!!!!"""
The moment the magic activated, the students clutched their heads and screamed in agony.
Now the ones who bit their tongues should be breaking free.
"""AAAAAAAGH!!!!!!"""
Contrary to my expectations, the students didn't break free. Instead, their screams grew even louder. Curious as to why they were failing, I leaned over and whispered to Clara.
"Clara, why do you think they're failing?"
Clara looked at me with an expression of pure disbelief.
"Are you seriously asking me that?"
She looked beyond baffled—she looked genuinely flustered.
I really was asking because I didn't know. The magic activates, you bite your tongue. Is that so hard?
Eventually, the screaming stopped. Thinking the students had finally succeeded, I looked toward the front, only to see that Professor Idra had simply ended the spell.
"""" Pant, pant... """"
The students were all slumped on the floor, gasping for breath.
I still couldn't figure out why they had failed. Did Professor Idra cast a stronger version of the spell?
I finally found the answer through Professor Idra's words.
"The magic I used is a simple spell that induces a headache. However, its power was amplified by a magic tool. It is not easy to bite your own tongue while experiencing such an intense migraine."
Her words explained why they failed, but I still didn't quite understand.
It's just a headache. Can't you just endure it?
After Professor Idra finished speaking, three students raised their hands.
"We bit our tongues, but we still couldn't break free from the magic. Why is that?"
Out of all those students, only three actually managed to bite their tongues?
What's more, the other students were looking at those three with eyes full of admiration. What is this, a prank show?
"Student Loki, come to the front for a moment."
"Yes!"
I walked forward at Professor Idra's call. The way the students looked at me had shifted.
"Could the three of you stick out your tongues?"
At the professor's request, the three challengers stuck out their tongues. All three had a tiny, microscopic bead of blood on them.
What is that, a mosquito bite? Can you even call that a wound?
"Alright, you can put them back in now."
After speaking to the students, Professor Idra turned to me. I stood there, still failing to grasp why everyone was making such a big deal out of this.
"Student Loki, how hard did you bite yours?"
How hard?
"Well, naturally, I bit down with all my might, prepared for it to be severed."
To escape magic that causes a headache, it was only logical that I had to experience a pain greater than the headache itself. Even if I were unlucky enough to have my tongue cut off, there was a priest on standby in the infirmary who could heal it.
But why can't they do it?
Suddenly feeling a heavy gaze on me, I looked at the other students.
For some reason, they were all staring at me with eyes filled with pure terror.