Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: I Hate Training (1)
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"...So, just like you said, you're joining the magic club because Professor Rasha is Ray Meyer?"
"Yeah."
Zenon nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Sure, if it was really Ray Meyer, just following the curriculum would be a huge help. But the news had come so suddenly that I couldn't think straight.
A former Top Hero—the weight of that title was beyond imagination. She'd only been mentioned in passing in the original story, never appearing in the parts I'd read. For her name to pop up like this out of nowhere... I had no idea where things had gone off the rails.
Raysha didn't even exist in the original, and neither did the magic club, so it probably hadn't even been established. That must be why this unexpected name—Ray Meyer—was surfacing now.
But more importantly, how had Zenon figured her out? There wasn't a single visible resemblance. He'd given her a strange look, but if he was so certain now, he must have seen something.
No matter how I racked my brain, I couldn't think of any connection between Zenon and Ray Meyer. How on earth...? As my eyes narrowed in thought, Zenon finally spoke up.
"...I can guess what you're thinking. You're wondering how I knew."
"How did you figure it out?"
"How should I explain this..."
He propped his chin on the desk, staring off into space like it was tricky to put into words. Then he spoke.
"...I just saw her a few times when I was little. Weirdly enough, she was more interested in me than my dad."
"When you were little?"
"Yeah. She looked totally different back then, honestly I almost didn't recognize her myself... but something felt familiar. Her ability, too."
A familiar feeling—déjà vu, basically. I got that much. But even so, the physical differences between Ray Meyer and Raysha were huge. If he'd seen her as a kid, there must have been something distinctive.
It didn't feel like a lie. No reason to make one up, and no need to join the magic club over it. He probably wanted in purely because of who Ray Meyer was.
But if he could even recognize her ability from that vague familiarity, why hadn't it come up in the original? Simple answer: the magic club never existed.
Neither Aisha nor Zenon had taken it—or even heard of it. Raysha's classes were theory-heavy, so spotting the ability would have been tough.
...Anyway, I needed to meet her myself.
"You sure it's really her?"
"...Positive. I've seen it with my own eyes."
Before I could ask what exactly he'd seen, Zenon flung open the faculty office door without knocking.
"...What is it?"
A puzzled voice came from inside. The room was thick with acrid smoke—not from cigarettes or a humidifier, but something bizarre, like a witch's workshop from a novel, complete with a bubbling cauldron. I'd been here before, but nothing like this.
As I stared blankly at the transformed space, Zenon spoke quietly.
"Looks like you're not hiding anymore, Teach."
"...I showed you earlier. Figured you'd tell Aisha."
"So you dropped the barrier."
The voice from across the room was definitely Raysha's, but the usual drowsiness was gone, replaced by a sharp edge. My body tingled with an intense, searing aura. Gone was the hazy facade—Ray Meyer's cold gaze fixed on me.
"...Hey, Aisha. Here to join the club?"
She smiled like she was pleased, but something complicated lurked behind it. Her mouth smiled, but her eyes didn't. Faced with this completely opposite side of her, I just stared quietly.
"I get it. You had no idea I was here. No clue how Zenon recognized me or what our connection is. Totally normal."
"...So Professor Raysha really is... Ray Meyer?"
"Yeah, whatever. The club approval got rejected anyway, so I was planning to leave the academy. But now? Stuck here."
"...Ah."
Now I understood why Zenon hadn't recognized her in the original. She'd intended to bail if the club fell through, so she'd have left early, no further contact, no mentions. Whatever she did after was a mystery, but clearly, the plot had veered off course again.
"Anyway, Zenon filled me in a bit. Hera's got you marked?"
Mentioning Hera Carmen so casually made me catch my breath, but it was true, so I nodded. Ray Meyer scratched her head with a sigh.
"Haa, what does she want with first-years? My situation's messy, so I can't help directly. Ugh, if I hadn't blinked out right then...!"
"You can't help directly...?"
From Zenon's attitude and how freely Ray Meyer took it, they were clearly close. For her to flatly say no help meant there was a solid reason.
Her disguise, probably. But if she'd changed her appearance, why take a professor job where someone might spot her? As if reading my mind, Ray Meyer spoke.
"Reason for the disguise... can't say yet. As for the academy job? Just wanted to keep an eye on Zenon. I'd looked after him briefly as a kid, got curious how he turned out."
"So... no special reason for coming here?"
"Nope."
Made sense—she'd planned to leave if the club tanked. A letdown reason, but still, a Top Hero. Her club would be invaluable, even just following along.
I eyed the club application form, then signed without hesitation. To fight Hera Carmen, it was a no-brainer.
Once Zenon and I finished, Ray Meyer beamed with satisfaction. No rejection now—she filed the forms neatly and spoke.
"Alright, don't get too disappointed by what I say next."
"...What do you mean?"
Zenon's face twisted. His anxious, probing tone made Ray Meyer clear her throat before continuing.
"Ahem, well... you two are it for the magic club."
"Pardon...?"
"Just the two of us."
"Wait, hold on. Club limit's ten, and you said one more rejection-proof last time?"
My temple throbbed at the bombshell. Why the change? Just us two? That should've gotten rejected from the start!
"It's fine. Roster's full."
"How...?"
"Just fill in nine fake names. Honestly, I started the club to scout talent and raise them myself. Thought about taking a disciple. Then you caught my eye. Left one spot open just to reel you in."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Back when you froze Zenon and Kaiser in the auditorium? That's when I noticed you."
My heart fluttered oddly. A former Top Hero wanted to train me—it felt like validation, making me feel good. Probably because she'd fully accepted I was Aisha now; praise like this hit different.
"Now I've got two to train."
She grinned.
Club setup done, Ray Meyer said to come to her faculty office every day after classes ended. The sudden schedule made time feel tight, drawing a sigh, but no helping it.
For now, she'd focus on ability training, tailored to us for max efficiency. Brace yourselves, she warned. I asked Zenon, but he just nodded darkly, saying nothing more.
...Truth was, I'd realized ages ago my ability use was sorely lacking. I'd been utterly crushed by Hera Carmen—mid-boss of part one, basically.
Aisha's growth markers were swords one through seven. Before facing Hera, I'd aimed for three.
How to boost power? Ray Meyer said ability training, but I'd never considered strengthening it, no experience either—just unfamiliar. Academy lessons were basic: combat manuals, ability dos and don'ts.
Support items came to mind.
But they were pricey; even pros rarely used them.
Ray Meyer, former Top Hero without them? Maybe way more impressive than I thought. Reading the novel, I'd just thought "super strong" abstractly, not truly grasping it.
Made me wonder how she'd gotten outed to Zenon.
I asked him on impulse. He smirked.
"Kept staring at her face. Felt like I'd seen her before. That gut feeling's usually spot-on."
"And?"
"Tracked her down later and asked. Around when you were talking clubs with Frey, I think. Straight-up: 'Are you Ray Meyer?'"
"...No way."
Surely she hadn't answered. My guess missed, but his reply was even more absurd.
"She vanished right in front of me. Not invisibility or warp. Only one person disappears like that."
"Right in front of you..."
Using magic—her ability—in plain sight, to someone who already knew it? Busted, inevitably.
...She seemed surprisingly sloppy.