Not Guilty, Cheep
Lucia's remark sent the professor into a fury.
"What did you just—"
"—Lucia, that was amazing!"
Chloe grabbed Lucia's hands in both of hers and shouted.
"You made that spell yourself? From the mana control to the finishing of the formula, every part of it was incredible!"
Once Chloe's radiance swept over the room, the professor found herself unable to open her mouth. It hadn't been made public yet, but Chloe carried some rather important blood in her veins. Anyone else might've been fair game, but around Chloe, the professor couldn't help turning insufferably sweet.
"The formula is complex and impressively high-level, but I can follow some of it. Whoever designed this must be a truly extraordinary archmage."
Chloe's reaction set the other students abuzz. All of it was nothing but admiration for Lucia. When the academy's superstar had personally given her praise, there was no chance a chorus of jeering would form.
"Did you learn it from someone? Or don't tell me you taught yourself…?"
"…."
"Wait—Lucia, is that spell really your own creation? If so, that's honestly—"
"—I learned it from someone else."
Lucia had kept up her wall of silence the entire time, but for that one moment alone, she cut Chloe off. It was as if she couldn't bear to let that be misunderstood.
"Someone else? Your teacher, perhaps?"
"Yes."
"Could you tell me who they are?"
"No."
Moreover, once the topic shifted, she even answered a few of the questions—who she'd learned from, who her teacher was, and so on.
What are her criteria?
I'd spent thousands of hours analyzing Lucia's psychology, and even I couldn't crack it.
Diiiing. Diiiing.
The bell rang just as the class was being thoroughly razed to the ground.
"Oh! Now that I think about it, we're in the middle of class… I'm so sorry, Professor. Seeing the magic got me so excited, we drifted off topic the whole time…"
"…No, it's quite all right. Feedback between classmates is valuable in its own way. Let's wrap up the lesson for today."
Most professors melt into endless softness the moment Chloe appears. Why? Because she's the protagonist, that's why.
"Lucia, my next classroom is a bit far, so I'll head over first. Let's talk more later."
With that, Chloe was gone. Lucia, for her part, didn't seem particularly interested in talking anyway.
***
Somehow, I'd gotten away with hurling informal speech at a professor, no consequences attached. The Basic Magic Theory Professor? What could you possibly do in front of the protagonist?
It being a required course means it'll be awkward later, but…
It felt good, so didn't that make it worth it? Ideally I'd have cracked the professor's skull open while I was at it, but that's firmly in criminal territory now.
And if someone's going to do it, better it be me.
The Sword Saint Archmage would be watching over her from here on out. Anyway—time passed, and lunch hour arrived. We headed for the cafeteria.
[Lucia.]
Of course, I was still sealed inside her pocket.
Bzzt.
Her mana vibrated once. That was probably her version of saying yes.
[You did well in class.]
Lucia paused for a moment, deliberating… then—
…tap.
She nudged my body once with her finger. It was an utterly exasperating way to hold a conversation, but I was the man who'd logged thousands of hours analyzing Lucia's psyche.
[You're thanking me for the compliment?]
Tap. She nudged me again.
She's cute.
But there was one small mystery in this exchange. When she answered, she either vibrated her mana or nudged me with a finger—and I couldn't figure out what determined which. Probably doesn't matter.
After a few more rounds of this, we found ourselves at the cafeteria before I knew it.
"…Oh, isn't that her over there?"
"Huh? It really is."
Lucia was stealing every eye in the room. Part of it was her infamy and her looks, but—
"That's the girl who used ancient magic, right?"
The sole owner of a delisted ancient magic. In the span of just a few passing breaks, that rumor had already spread far and wide. Lucia had been famous to begin with, and the scene she'd shown was nothing if not memorable, so word traveling this fast was only natural.
"Lady Lucia, would it be all right if I sat with you?"
A female student cautiously tried to join her.
"It's just—about the ancient magic you demonstrated, my lady… Ah, s-sorry."
Lucia hadn't said a single word, but the girl panicked all on her own and made herself scarce. Emitting a silent aura of do not approach me was one of Lucia's signature talents. I'd wanted to see what her face looked like while she did it, which was a shame.
Can't be helped.
Over the course of her meal, Lucia emitted that killing intent a total of four times. For the record, one of the victims was the Basic Magic Theory Professor, who'd been walking past without saying a word. Had she simply decided they were enemies for life?
Anyway. We left the cafeteria and arrived at a sparsely populated spot.
"…Master, you can come out now."
Lucia held the mouth of the pocket open. I climbed up over it and—
I am a famous sparrow, you know.
-flap-flap!
A few wingbeats later, I touched down on the ground. I looked around. It appeared to be a walking path with barely a trace of human presence.
"There's no one here. You can speak freely."
[How do you know no one's coming at all?]
"This is a construction zone. Entry is prohibited."
[…?]
"Ah, of course, there's no work scheduled today either. I checked thoroughly, so please don't worry."
That's not the point I was making, though.
"It must have been uncomfortable, staying in my pocket this whole time. There's a bench here, too."
Lucia pressed on before I could get a word in.
Well, it's fine, I suppose.
There was something more important on my mind right now.
[What are you going to do about that class?]
We sat side by side on the bench as our conversation continued.
"Which class, Master?"
[The one where you cast that defensive spell.]
"Ah, you mean the Basic Magic Theory class?"
[Yeah. Seems like you two are off on the wrong foot from day one.]
Lucia tilted her head as she answered.
"It's not worth attending. It's the class of a person who insulted your magic, Master."
Her attitude said: why would you even ask something so obvious?
[?]
Just like that? That coolly?
***
Basic Magic Theory. It was a required course, true—but there was really no need to sit through it.
The only downsides: earning a bad reputation with the professor and the other students. Completing a slightly substantial pile of homework every week (dozens of A4 pages' worth). And having to self-study all the magic theory without lectures. Truly minor inconveniences, all told.
Whatever the case, there was no real need to attend.
…Come to think of it, this actually works out pretty well.
Bad reputation—already irreversibly earned. Self-study—I could simply help her, like a ChatGPT. The mountain of homework… okay, that one I couldn't cover.
"Sitting through that professor's class would be far worse than just doing the assignments."
I decided to respect Lucia's opinion. If she wanted to do it herself, there was no reason to stop her.
"You can file the withdrawal after today's classes are over… Ah, wait—lunch is almost over, isn't it."
Lucia looked down at me, courteous as ever, and asked,
"Will you be returning to my pocket? Or would you prefer another arrangement…?"
This was a point that absolutely had to be settled. Stuck in a pocket, I couldn't keep track of what was happening. But neither could I sit beside her desk attending class.
…Oh? Wait. I've just had a wonderful idea.
[Lucia. May I ride on your shoulder?]
"Of course. Anytime."
Lucia raised her hand to lift me, but I hopped up on my own. The Sword Saint Sparrow's jump power exceeds that of your average human, after all.
[Lucia. I'm not heavy, am I?]
"No."
She answered while looking straight at me.
Uh, this framing is a little violent.
I realized her face was far too close. Roughly a hand-span of distance. Generous by sparrow standards, but by human sensory standards, this was kissing distance.
Hmm.
Not bad, not bad.
This was not a judgment colored by any personal bias of mine. If we're to travel together naturally, this is the only way. Nothing to be done about it.
[From now on, let's get around like this. If anyone asks, say I'm your familiar. A magic sparrow who can't talk and can shoot a single small fireball. That's the cover.]
"Understood, Master."
The perfect roleplay was complete.
Just as we were about to move—
-grrrrrowl…
"…Master?"
The sound came from my stomach.
[Ah.]
Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten a thing since yesterday.
***
Evening, after every class had ended. Lucia and I returned to the dormitory together.
"Master, please lie down here."
With Lucia's careful support, I collapsed onto the bed. Sure, it was just her palm carrying me over—but still.
Starving.
I'd been fine a few hours ago, and then suddenly I was hungry enough to go mad.
"While you rest, I'll go buy you some food. What would you like?"
I racked my brain at speed. Anything a wild sparrow could plausibly eat—pass. I'd rather starve to death than touch that. But eating human food was a different kind of terrifying.
[Lettuce or spinach? Any vegetables should be fine.]
The Central Plaza was full of shops. Whatever ingredient I wanted would be there.
"Very well."
Having taken my order, Lucia stepped out of the room.
No strength left. None at all.
I didn't even have the energy to think. All I wanted was to eat fast and sleep—
-click.
Barely tens of seconds after Lucia left, the door swung open.
Forget her wallet or something?
Didn't seem like her style, though.
"Let's finish this fast and get out."
"Relax, if the door opens we just hop out the window. Fifth floor won't kill us."
"True enough."
Two strange men had broken in. And one of them was the blonde noble delinquent I'd seen at the entrance ceremony.
But something's off here.
What's worth stealing in a dorm? Or—don't tell me—a creepy stalker fan after the pillow that carries Lucia's scent? Ah. If that's the case, the odds are genuinely high.
Not the pillow. The pillow is off-limits.
In defense of my rights… no, to protect Lucia, I got down off the bed. The intruders were ransacking the living room.
…Do they seriously think a pillow would be in the living room?
"There's definitely material on the ancient magic here somewhere."
"That Lucia girl—praise her face a little and she acts all high and mighty. Infuriating."
They'd mistaken what she demonstrated in class for genuine ancient magic.
Easy to believe, I guess.
I could predict exactly what the blonde noble delinquent was thinking. It stung that Lucia, who'd dismissed him, outranked him—but he couldn't exactly go around telling people he'd gotten beaten up by a sparrow. So he was resorting to something like this.
In the original story, the guy had been a textbook villain, too.
Unpleasant.
I stepped out into the living room and observed them. Too busy tearing the place apart to notice me.
Weak.
Assessing their level, I moved my mana. My heart wanted to kill them, but that wouldn't do—so I settled on a light warning. The target: the window.
If they don't run, I'll have to hit them.
That would count as legitimate self-defense, after all. To start, I'd just crack the window open. Nothing more.
Hoo.
Mana took shape. I traced out the formula that rose to mind, and aimed the spell at the window beside them—
-KWAAAAAAAAANG!
With a colossal roar, the entire wall collapsed.
Which left one whole side of the living room open to the sky.
…I'm sorry, what?
What is this.
"H-holy crap! What the—?!"
The two of them had gone into full panic mode, slumping to the floor and shaking like leaves.
Only then did tens of seconds pass—
-CLICK!
"What in the world is going on here?!"
Hearing the commotion, the dorm matron burst in. The scene spread across the living room must have been quite the shock to her.
"…How on earth did you shatter a wall reinforced with high-grade protective magic? Even the combat instructors would struggle to break through that."
"No, that's—"
"And why, to begin with, are male students in this room? This floor is reserved for female students only, is it not?"
…Hm.
I drifted serenely back into the bedroom, climbed onto the bed, buried myself in the pillow, and closed my eyes.
Sounds lively out there.
The sparrow who'd been sleeping soundly on the bed was, officially, guilty of nothing.