Education for Ruin

The written exam itself was easier than expected. Because the test format had changed, simply remembering the setting details from the game was enough. That naturally included the personality assessment. I passed on the spot.

The sun energetically lit up the world, the Earth spun round as usual, and somewhere someone’s hair was still falling out. It was a tragic situation, but the Caribbean sun was a merciful being that refused to overlook such misfortune. Beams of light descending from the sky collided with the greatest reflective surface humanity could create. Light scattered in every direction, and many people could not open their eyes to the divinity that had descended upon the mortal realm.

“Sob… Velasquez… They say the more I use my superpowers, the more my hair falls out…”

And the man in question was left screaming about why there was no hair-loss medicine in a world that had magic. It was truly horrific, cursed, hopeless, miserable, heartbreaking, and in any case, a reality that made tears stream down one’s face. The man vanished while sniffling over his own plight, and the sunlight cheerfully evaporated the droplets he had left behind.

Given how quickly the air could have turned muggy, the reality in Puerto Rico was merely average. “The breeze is nice. It just feels like summer?” It was certainly better than the Korean Peninsula, where the Single-minded Sword of Dangun’s over-the-top national stamina test was conducted. Compared to spinning around in a fiery hell, a frozen hell, a yellow-dust hell, or just plain hell, this place was at least a fiery hell with decent ambience.

“But Sian, if we do practical training here, won’t a bunch of people pass out?”

“I don’t think so? I looked into it a bit, and the practical training isn’t held here. It’s done in Shareltea.”

Study on Earth. Practical training in Shareltea. Of course, you had to pass the Palaestra Academy entrance exam to live that kind of life. Only a handful of people could come and go from that place.

“That’s not entirely true, kids. Some practicals are held here too.”

A voice came from behind. Unlike the two of us in casual clothes, Na Sua, dressed in a suit, suddenly poked her head out. It wasn’t completely out of nowhere, though. When we boarded the plane, her seat had been directly behind ours and Cheon Mari’s. She had followed us from the airport, something she had informed us about in advance before departure. Still, no matter how many times I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why she had done so.

“Sua, why exactly did you follow us here?”

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? I came because of recruitment activities.”

“You’re rich anyway. Do you really have to come all the way to a dangerous place like this and go through the trouble of recruiting people?”

“Oh my, are you worried about me?”

Yes, I’m very worried. It was only a few months ago that I had heard she was busy helping her parents and my grandmother. There was no way that workload had vanished in just a few months, so her current actions were clearly a forced march. She already got tired from dragging me around during her usual commute; I couldn’t even guess how much more exhausted this would make her.

“You don’t need to worry too much.”

“Huh?”

Could it be that she had heard I was entering the academy and was acting as my guardian? If so, I felt I needed to stop her right now.

“The work in Korea is wrapping up anyway, and the reason I came here today is because one of the professors asked me to.”

“A professor? You have a connection at Palaestra Academy, Sua?”

“Yes. She’s the younger sister of the wife of the son of the friend of a relative of my mother.”

That’s… a connection? Isn’t that basically a complete stranger…? The acquaintance was so distant it felt more remote than a cousin eight times removed, which was enough to cause bewilderment. At the same time, I was curious what kind of favor would make her come all this way.

“What exactly was the favor…?”

“Ah, I’m thinking of taking about a four-year leave. They needed someone to cover ice-school magic during that time. So I came for the interview regarding that position.”

Isn’t that less of a vacation and more like “Dobby is free, Dobby is escaping the academy”? I had heard that some elves took a one-year leave to produce a second child, but a four-year leave was something I had never heard of. Was she planning to have two or three at once?

“But… don’t you lack any real career experience outside of politics? Can you really take over for a full professor of the ice school?”

This question wasn’t just mine; Cheon Mari looked equally dumbfounded by the appointment method that defied common sense.

“Of course I’m not coming as a full professor. I’ll be a visiting professor.”

“That’s not what I mean. Instead of promoting a postdoc or assistant professor, they’re giving the position to you as a visiting professor? Wouldn’t the complaints from others reach the sky?”

“Graduate students? Assistant professors? Associate professors? In the end they’re all just kids. I’ve been honing my magic for hundreds of years. How could children who have only practiced for a few decades dare to challenge me?”

Anyone who complained would be turned into a human donut. That seemed to be the clear intent behind her words. Na Sua then snapped her fingers and instantly activated a spell. There had been no self-suggestion at all, so I wondered what magic she had used. Something like a snowflake brushed past my eyes. When I looked up, a small snow cloud had formed above my head.

“This should be enough to demonstrate my ability, yes?”

A mini snow cloud. A small cloud that cooled off the heat. At the same time, it was an advanced spell that created a “cloud” of the “desired size,” then “fixed” it above “people.” Come to think of it, my grandmother was Na Sua’s teacher and an elder of the ice school, so it wasn’t completely unreasonable. The Korean societal triumvirate of blood ties, academic ties, and regional ties was what turned the impossible into the possible. I roughly guessed there had been some kind of deal and forced myself to accept it. Cheon Mari, however, continued to stare at her with an expression that screamed What the hell is this nonsense?

“You said you were going for an interview, but…”

“That’s just for show. All the other applicants for the professorship are scheduled to be rejected.”

Sister’s network is seriously stacked~ The academy’s corruption is seriously stacked~

“……”

“Anyway. This big sister is going to meet a professor and junior of mine on the opposite side of Puerto Rico. In the meantime, you two must pass the academy’s practical exam, okay?”

This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was why, at the start of the game, academy-trained hunters were always pushed back and beaten by the hero candidates. I expressed my gratitude for the conversation that so clearly illustrated this miserable reality. She casually reached out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and stroked my head.

“That way, when you take my class, I can change your F into an A, right? Haha.”

“Huk.”

Thinking about it again, the hero candidates overpowering the academy hunters was clearly because the academy hunters were simply incompetent. The idea that someone as pure as this sister would commit corruption through connections was obviously a ridiculous slander. Whoever ended up marrying her would be a blessed man. I resolved to give her a massive amount of congratulatory money when she eventually got married.

While I was trying to soak in that touching moment, Na Sua smiled with narrowed eyes, waved her hand, and disappeared down the street. The place she was heading was the city of Ponce. The place we were heading ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the city of Arecibo. Since they were on opposite sides of the island, we wouldn’t see each other for the next day or two.

For now, we headed to our lodging in Arecibo to prepare for the practical exam in the morning. It was neither particularly good nor bad, but it was a suitable place to review everything I had learned so far. Time flowed like the tide. Before I knew it, the morning of the exam had arrived.

While chewing on a piece of bread on my way to the testing site, I stopped in front of a sign filled with the excellent culture of the United States.

“?”

I suddenly started to hate Americans.