Chapter 023
Chapter Title: All-Class
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“Ahahahahahaha!”
Laughter echoed across the cafe terrace in the Hall of Beginnings.
Celia, clutching her stomach, convulsed with hiccuping laughter before wiping the tears from her eyes.
“So? You managed to solve one problem and then just walked out of magic class?”
“Are you done laughing?”
Leo took a sip of his fruit juice, his expression sullen.
“See? What did I tell you? I said taking a magic specialization class would be useless, didn't I?”
Celia, having calmed her laughter, lifted her teacup and spoke.
“Anyone from the Jerdinger family should be dedicating themselves to swordsmanship.”
“But I'm not a Jerdinger.”
“If someone who's learning Phoenix Breath isn't a Jerdinger, then what are you?”
Giving Leo a look of disbelief, Celia took a sip of her tea.
“Anyway, you're free until the afternoon classes, right? Want to train with me?”
“How about some physical conditioning, then?”
“......!”
The color drained from Celia's face.
Coming from anyone else, it might have been fine, but physical conditioning with Leo was akin to torture.
Recalling the hellish week at the Flove estate, Celia laughed awkwardly.
“I think I'll just practice my swordsmanship......”
“You're not trying to back out, are you?”
Leo grinned brightly.
“How disappointed do you think Uncle Jis would be if he heard you ran away because you were scared of a little physical conditioning?”
“Hey! Is this how you get revenge for me teasing you about your magic class? You petty jerk!”
Celia seethed, glaring at her cousin's wicked smile.
“Come on, let's train hard.”
“No. Let me go.”
Just as Leo grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and started dragging her toward the training grounds, Celia began to struggle in horror.
“Hey! Leo!”
Karl came running, out of breath.
“What's going on? What about class?”
“Professor Ren is looking for you.”
Color returned to Celia's face.
“The professor's looking for you, Leo. You should go, quickly.”
“Why is he looking for me?”
“You got first place on the magic theory test.”
“What?”
Leo and Celia stared in astonishment.
Gasping for air, Karl hurriedly continued.
“The class is in an uproar! The professor is furious that the student who got first place didn't even show up for class!”
***
When Karl brought Leo back to the large lecture hall, the atmosphere was glacial.
The eyes of the students who had passed the test were fixed on Leo as he entered.
Leo flinched under their gazes.
*'Why is the mood so tense?'*
“Student Leo, where exactly did you go instead of coming to class?”
Ren's assistant professor, Anna, asked quietly. Leo replied with an awkward laugh.
“I was at the cafe.”
“We announced that class would begin immediately after the test, didn't we? Why were you at the cafe...?”
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
Suddenly, the sound of applause filled the air.
Professor Ren approached, smiling.
“Student Leo! I must say, I'm truly impressed by your genius. To ignore all the easy questions, pick out and solve only the most difficult one, and then walk out of class. Hahaha! Then again, I suppose a test I created might seem trivial to a genius. Especially one who specializes in knighthood!”
His face was smiling, but his eyes were utterly murderous.
Knights and mages have long been rivals.
Take the Rodren Empire, one of the most powerful human nations, for example. There, the political landscape is divided between the knight faction, led by the Jerdingers, and the mage faction, led by the Llewellyns.
Even among Lumerne's students, there were extremists who considered their own field to be supreme.
Therefore, for the freshman representative—known to be aiming for the Knight Division—to attend a magic specialization class and submit a blank paper save for the single most difficult question, was more than enough to create a misunderstanding.
On top of that, Leo hadn't even returned to class after leaving.
Leo said hurriedly.
“Professor, I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“I thought I had failed the test. I had no idea I'd gotten first place.”
At those words, Professor Ren narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Leo's face.
Though Professor Ren was decidedly on the younger side of Lumerne's faculty, he was no pushover to be fooled by a newly enrolled freshman.
*'He doesn't seem to be lying. But why didn't he solve the other problems?'*
“I need to have a word with Student Leo. Assistant Professor Anna, please take over the class for me.”
“Understood, Professor.”
Assistant Professor Anna bowed her head and stood at the lectern.
Professor Ren led Leo to the prep room at the back of the lecture hall.
“Why didn't you solve the other test questions?”
“Well......”
Leo hesitated.
“Did you think the problems were too easy to be worth your time?”
“It's not that... It's just......”
Leo's eyes darted around as he muttered to himself.
*'Ah, this is so embarrassing. Do I really have to admit that I—someone who was on the level of a great archmage in my past life—couldn't solve problems that teenagers can?'*
But he couldn't lie.
If this continued, his school life could get complicated.
In the end, Leo answered in a barely audible voice.
“The problems were too difficult, so I couldn't solve them.”
“What did you say?”
He solved the hardest problem but claims the others were too difficult? What kind of nonsense was this?
“I studied magic formulas on my own at home, but all we had were very old grimoires. So I only studied the old formulas. I had no idea modern magic formulas were so complex. As you said, Professor, I think I took this magic specialization class too lightly, and I was too embarrassed to come to class.”
After saying all that, he asked with a puzzled expression.
“But what do you mean I got first place? I barely solved one problem.”
*'So, he didn't know the structure of activation formulas, which is why he couldn't touch the summation problems... and in the end, he gave up and only solved the last question?'*
The explanation made a certain amount of sense.
It was certainly possible he wouldn't know activation formulas if he'd only studied from ancient magic books.
Activation formulas, while the latest trend, did not have a long history.
*'If he's only been studying formula interpretation, it's not impossible.'*
Professor Ren picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a magic formula on the small blackboard in the prep room.
“Solve this. Then I'll believe you, Student Leo. And I'll also tell you why you got first place.”
As his anger subsided, his interest was piqued.
The younger generation is sensitive to trends.
It was no exaggeration to say that activation formulas were so deeply rooted among young mages that they were no longer a trend, but the mainstream.
In that sense, one could say Leo was behind the times.
However, he possessed a strength not found in the mages of the current generation.
*'A solid foundation. The basis of magic, after all, is the ability to interpret formulas.'*
A tree with strong roots will eventually grow tall, even if its growth is slow.
Professor Ren suspected that Leo was already in the process of building his 'own world of magic.'
While there is only one correct answer in formula interpretation, there are many paths to reach it.
He grew intensely curious to see how a student of such a rare type in this day and age would approach solving a formula.
The process of solving a formula could also reveal a mage's philosophy on magic.
*'Let's see just what kind of interpretation method he uses.'*
His eyes shining, he watched Leo's back as he stood before the blackboard.
Leo silently looked at the problem Professor Ren had written and reached for the blackboard.
Clack-! Tap! Tap!
With every sound of the chalk, Professor Ren couldn't help but shudder with excitement.
Having written the full answer, Leo turned his head.
Professor Ren had been unable to see Leo's solving process.
“I'm done.”
Because Leo had solved the complex magic formula entirely in his head.
***
*'Why isn't he coming out?'*
Assistant Professor Anna glanced toward the prep room, puzzled.
A warning or an expulsion.
She had expected a quick resolution, whatever the outcome, but it was taking longer than she'd thought.
Among all of Lumerne's magic professors, none was more passionate about magic than Professor Ren.
Though not widely famous, he was hailed as a genius in the world of magical academia.
Anna herself had come to respect him after reading his magical theses and had applied to be his assistant professor.
*'Though my image of him shattered a bit after I became his assistant.'*
The normally dignified man would engage in all sorts of eccentric behavior whenever magic was involved.
Bang-!
And, as if to confirm Anna's worries, the prep room door flew open violently.
The students jumped in surprise.
Seeing Professor Ren's face, Assistant Professor Anna looked up at the ceiling and lamented.
*'There goes his fit again. I just hope he doesn't make a scene in front of the freshmen.'*
Fortunately, however, Professor Ren immediately left the classroom.
Leo slowly emerged from the prep room.
“What did the professor say, Student Leo?”
“He told me to attend class.”
“Yes, please take your seat. We will now resume the lesson.”
Assistant Professor Anna paid it no mind and picked up her chalk.
The students' expressions turned peculiar.
A professor who stormed out of the classroom during the very first lesson, and an assistant professor who seemed completely unfazed by it.
Something was strange.
Unlike the other students, Leo reacted with indifference.
Of course, Leo had no idea why Professor Ren was acting that way either.
*'Then again, it's not like mages acting like lunatics is anything new.'*
Leo understood the creature known as a mage better than anyone.
***
Bang-!
The door to the Magic Division's faculty office flew open violently.
The professors, busy with their work, looked up.
Recognizing Professor Ren, they returned to their work with expressions of resignation.
“Professor!”
Professor Albi turned his head, his face impassive.
“Thank you! Professor! You've given me an incredible gift!”
Professor Albi grabbed his approaching junior's face and tossed him aside like a piece of trash.
Then, without a second thought, he walked out of the office.
He knew that getting involved with Professor Ren would only lead to exhaustion.
Professor Ren, who had fallen to the floor, scrambled back to his feet and followed Professor Albi out.
“What's with him today?”
“Just ignore him. It's the usual.”
Their fellow professors reacted with similar indifference.
“Professor! I'll treat you to a meal soon.”
“I'd like to hear the reason for this fuss.”
When Professor Albi questioned his junior's sudden expression of gratitude, Professor Ren grinned.
“Leo Flove, the student you recommended as the year representative.”
“What about him?”
“Student Leo is a magical genius.”
“......? But he's in the Knight Division.”
“No. Student Leo must come to the Magic Division.”
Professor Ren spread his arms wide.
“A magical genius like him in the Knight Division? Oh. Oh. That's the most absurd joke I've ever heard. That boy is not a vessel meant for swinging around pieces of metal. Sending such a student to major in knighthood is a blasphemy against magic, Professor.”
Professor Ren then recounted the events of the first class, spitting with excitement as he spoke.
After hearing the whole story, Professor Albi also wore a look of surprise.
“Professor! That student, Leo, has mastered formula interpretation on par with a fifth-year, all through self-study! If that's not genius, what is?”
“What do you want from me?”
When he asked bluntly, Professor Ren smiled meaningfully.
“Please use your influence, Professor, to ensure that Student Leo chooses the Magic Division.”
“The choice of division is up to the student. And if he's that talented, he'll choose magic even without me saying anything.”
“I suppose you're right.”
Professor Ren nodded in understanding.
“Because anyone with that much talent who doesn't choose magic would have to be an eccentric.”
“I don't think you're one to talk.”
***
Time flew by after the freshmen enrolled.
Before they knew it, the last day of provisional classes had arrived.
After school.
The students were seated in their respective classrooms.
Now, they would choose their majors and begin their lessons in earnest.
Unbeknownst to the students, homeroom teachers had already been assigned to each class.
The teaching assistant who had been in charge of the class during the provisional period began to explain.
“We will now begin major selection and course registration. As I've already explained, there are no elective liberal arts courses in the first semester of the first year. Your entire schedule will be filled with required subjects.”
From subjects necessary for a hero, like Combat and Heroics, to Language, Mathematics, History, Etiquette, and Ethics.
There were a total of seven subjects that the class would take together, and the schedule was fixed.
In between those, they had to register for their major-specific classes.
The students of Class 5 quickly began filling out their major application forms and course registration schedules.
The assistant stood at the desk, meticulously checking the forms the students brought up.
And when he took the last form, he froze for a moment.
“Student Leo?”
“Yes, Assistant.”
“You've filled out your major incorrectly. You've written down three of them.”
The assistant smiled kindly and handed the form back.
Leo pushed the form right back toward the assistant and said.
“No, I filled it out correctly.”
“Pardon?”
“I'm going to take all three majors.”
In that instant, the gazes of his classmates fell upon Leo.
Leo stated calmly.
“I'm an All-Class, you see.”