Please Delete the Midterms #7
Professor Raven, a graduate of the Magic Tower, was watching Group One with particular care—or more precisely, watching Lucian, who was in it.
Here was a noble scion who had never once cast a proper spell in his life.
He knew it was rude, but he had looked into the boy’s record just in case, and it was true: Lucian had never successfully performed even the most elementary magic.
Drawing conclusions without thorough proof was not the work of a scholar, yet under the circumstances he had no choice but to conclude that Lucian simply lacked any talent for magical manifestation.
And yet he still found himself hoping. That, too, was the absurd reality of the situation.
He already knew the boy had no gift for casting—but he also knew Lucian never stopped trying. And he had realized that, theory aside, Lucian’s grasp of magical theory already surpassed most members of the Magic Tower itself.
There was always an if. And if that if ever came to pass, the kingdom might gain another extraordinary mage overnight.
“Ice Orb.”
Originally, he had meant to set something easier for the midterm—Water Ball. But if the problem were too simple, the stronger students would finish in moments, while the weaker ones would still struggle. The gap would grow far too wide. So Professor Raven had twisted the assignment just enough to leave room for a comeback.
The moment the midterm problem dropped, the students of Group One began gathering mana. They were clearly planning to form a Water Ball first, then slightly corrupt the mana to freeze it into ice. It would take time, but for these students it was still the easiest path.
Some of their mana clusters were a little unstable; others were relatively steady. From that alone, Professor Raven could already tell who would earn the better scores.
Hmm.
With one exception.
Strange. Why isn’t he gathering any mana at all? Even so, his ability to draw mana and circulate it through his mana circuits was a cut above the average student’s.
Lucian Theodore von Deodore.
The first emotion Professor Raven had felt upon meeting the second son of Viscount Deodore had been a simple, baffled why?
With theoretical talent like that, how could he possibly be unable to cast?
It went beyond bad luck. It was a national loss.
At first he had only watched a little more carefully because a senior had asked him to. But as his teaching career went on, the fact that someone could work that hard and still show zero progress became so bizarre that he couldn’t help studying the boy more closely.
Thirty seconds already, and he’s still just standing there. Don’t tell me he gave up? That can’t be it.
Failing to cast would mean a heavy deduction. But this was not an upper-year magic theory lecture for third- or fourth-years. It was an introductory course for freshmen who had only just set foot in the formal study of magic. He was more than willing to give partial credit for effort and the will to improve.
But if a student simply stood there doing nothing at all, there was nothing he could do for them. And for Lucian—who had always worked so hard—to be acting like this made Professor Raven wonder if something had happened.
Fsssshh—!
The first student began to shape a proper sphere of ice. A glance at the clock showed nearly a full minute had passed. Students with real talent for magic generally succeeded around this mark. That was normal.
“Professor! I’ve completed the Ice Orb!”
“Hold it for another ten seconds. Dropping the spell immediately will cost you points. Maintain it!”
He kept half his attention on the other students’ magic without ever fully looking away from Lucian.
He had heard that not long ago Lucian had been at a café with a second-year when some kind of incident occurred. An ordinary student would have been one thing—but that second-year had been none other than the elf princess, Charlotte Monzen Heinrich.
What could Lucian and an elf princess possibly have talked about?
Some people whispered that there was an odd atmosphere between the two of them, but Professor Raven had personally seen how close Lucian and Rie already were. So a romantic entanglement was out of the question. That left only one plausible reason for the meeting: magic—the one field where one of them stood at the absolute peak and the other at the absolute bottom.
Something must have come of it.
Elves were called the greatest magical race for a reason. And Princess Charlotte was said to skip every intermediate step and simply manifest magic outright. Even among elves, who were innately intimate with mana in a way humans were not, that was an exceptional gift.
If Lucian had received help from a princess like that, something remarkable might still happen.
“You two may release your spells now. Well done.”
“Thank you, Professor!”
“The rest of Group One! Forty seconds remaining! Keep at it!”
Right after Professor Raven’s shout, several more students finally managed to form Ice Orbs. Even while they held their spells, others still had nothing to show. By the clock, the deadline was getting uncomfortably close. Even if they scraped in under the wire, they would not have demonstrated the required hold time, and would score lower than the classmates who had finished first.
So some things really are impossible. Honestly… the heavens can be cruel.
He felt sorry for the other struggling students, but Lucian’s case stung worst of all. With even half his theoretical talent applied to casting, he could have become one of the Magic Tower’s most celebrated mages. Heaven had apparently given him a brilliant mind for magic and not a scrap of the ability to use it.
Professor Raven sighed and checked the time one last time.
About ten seconds left. Everyone capable of casting had already done so. The remaining students included Lucian; the others had at least flickered ice spheres into existence before losing them. Lucian had not produced so much as a spark of magic.
“Final seconds. Nine, eight, seven, six…”
Professor Raven was counting down when, without warning, a chill raced down his spine.
His mind barely had time to wonder what it was before his body moved on pure instinct—casting a defensive spell to block whatever was pouring out that freezing pressure, and to shield the students around him.
At the same instant, a flash of blue-white light erupted. From around Lucian—who until that moment had done absolutely nothing—transparent shards of ice exploded outward in every direction.
“Hah… hah… hah!!”
Rie was sprinting as if her life depended on it.
Classmates in the hallway called out greetings; she passed professors she would normally acknowledge. She had no room left for any of it. After the extreme training she put herself through, almost no physical exertion left her breathless anymore. The reason her lungs felt ready to burst now was not her body—it was the shock hammering through her mind.
— Did you hear? Lucian’s in the infirmary right now.
— Something went wrong during the magic exam. Even the professor couldn’t stop it, they say.
The first image that slammed into her was Lucian lying unconscious in the infirmary the way he had before.
She knew the professors prized safety; every magic exam, they kept defensive spells ready for emergencies. But “just in case” existed for a reason, and nothing was ever perfect.
Lucian had been so happy when he finally started using magic. If he had lost control of his mana because he still wasn’t used to handling it—even if there were no external wounds—the internal damage could be severe.
She tore through the halls at a speed that turned a normal ten-minute walk to the infirmary into two. Her heart hammered so hard it felt ready to explode as she burst inside—and saw a man lying deathly still on one of the beds.
“Ah…”
How badly was he hurt? Had he really taken a serious internal injury?
Her hands and feet began to shake. Her mind went white. Her vision blurred. Her heart, already pounding past its limit, left her unable even to stay on her feet—
“Rie?”
A voice she knew better than her own spoke from behind her.
Half-convinced she was hearing things, she turned. Lucian stood there looking perfectly fine, a water bottle and a cup in his hands, filling her entire field of view.
“Uh… are you okay? You look a little rough.”
“…I heard you were hurt… that you’d been hurt…”
“Ahh. It wasn’t me—Professor Raven got hurt. Because of me, actually. Time was almost up, so I was screaming inside my head, trying to force any kind of magic out, and then everything just flashed. When I came to my senses, the other kids had all fallen over in shock, the professor was unconscious on the floor, and the whole area around me had turned into an ice field… It was a complete disaster.”
Now that she looked properly, the person on the bed was wearing a professor’s robes, not a student’s uniform. She had been too frantic to even register that much.
Strength drained out of her all at once. Her body swayed—
Lucian set down what he was holding and caught her in a quick, steady embrace.
“Ah.”
“…Sorry. I scared you, didn’t I?”
“….”
“It’s written all over your face. You’re still asking if I’m really okay. I’m fine. I’m the one who’s worried. Because of me the professor got hurt and everyone else got so startled they fell over. I’ve never properly used magic before, so for a second I completely forgot how dangerous it could be.”
“You’re really… you’re really not hurt anywhere?”
Lucian nodded and gently patted her back. The simple motion flooded her with relief. She trembled hard and her legs gave out. Luckily Lucian was fast enough to catch her and lower her into a chair; otherwise she would have ended up on the floor staring blankly into space.
Trying to calm her, he poured a cup of water and urged her to take a sip. Her face was still deathly pale, so he lifted the cup himself and carefully set the rim to her lips, the way one might help a feverish patient drink.
“I’m really okay. Nothing’s wrong, so you don’t have to worry.”
He murmured it while he helped her drink, and only then did she manage a few swallows. After a little time, color returned to her face and her racing heart began to settle.
“…What kind of magic did you even use to cause a mess like this…”
Still nestled against him, Rie grumbled in a voice that was half a sob. She was embarrassed, relieved, and—held like this—her heart was fluttering a little too. Whatever else, the thing she had been terrified of hadn’t happened. That alone was wonderful. More than wonderful.
“You’re not going to believe how stupid it was. I just desperately wanted ice—ice—ice!! And suddenly the whole area turned into an ice rink. If Professor Raven’s defensive magic hadn’t been there, the other students would’ve gotten hurt too. I owe him a huge debt.”
“Please be more careful… Don’t ever let me see you get hurt again…”
She could endure her own injuries. Watching the person she loved get hurt was something she could not bear—not even a little. It was a feeling that belonged to anyone in love, man or woman.
Lucian nodded as if to say he understood and kept soothing her with quiet, steady care.
And then…
…People who’ve never been in a relationship are going to die of loneliness watching this, Student Lucian.
Professor Raven had actually come to a little earlier, but Rie’s dramatic entrance had robbed him of any chance to sit up. Now he watched Lucian diligently comforting his girlfriend through half-lidded eyes and heaved sigh after heavy sigh.
If you’re going to talk about debts, could you at least take the public displays of affection somewhere else?
How was a single man supposed to live through this? It was so sickeningly sweet he thought he might lose his mind.
Fine. I’m getting a girlfriend out of pure spite. Mark my words, Student Lucian!
The words rose all the way to the base of his throat. With heroic effort, he swallowed them back down.