CHAPTER 100
CHAPTER 100
Empire Loyalists
The promise of a lunch gathering alone was enough to raise morale.
Especially since breakfast had been so poor, it raised morale even further.
‘Come to think of it, they’re all from noble households who grew up eating only good food. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to boost morale with something like this.
In that sense, the Dunaise Academy must be deliberately restricting meals.’
Still, today’s meal felt a bit too much. It was fine for today since there would be a lunch gathering, but for the future, Idnia resolved to procure various spices and somehow recreate proper dishes.
Even though rain was pouring down, Vilem Baroness formed a massive dome with her magic so that no rain fell over the training grounds or the practice area, and morning training began.
“First, let’s improve the quality of telekinesis magic. That alone will improve basic catching and throwing abilities.”
Vilem Baroness assigned students to each position and launched fly balls into the outfield, having the students catch them.
Catching home run-level balls with telekinesis magic was far too difficult.
In situations with high speed and long distance, it was hard to instantly grab a ball that looked no bigger than a grain using telekinesis magic.
However, fly balls that descended at a steady speed and were easy to catch could be handled even without magic.
Training consisted of using telekinesis magic to catch these kinds of balls while minimizing physical strain.
That alone was enough to improve the quality of telekinesis magic.
Tak tak tak!
Vilem Baroness fired balls like a shotgun, and they all turned into fly balls that flew toward students positioned at each station.
Seeing her train all the students’ fly ball handling alone…
‘If a baseball team on Earth could train like this, that would be great. But…’
Idnia could catch the ball without even needing to use magic.
However, the other students struggled.
Watching the ball fly, they had no idea where it would land and flailed helplessly.
Because they had never practiced such training before, even after seeing the ball fly, they could not predict where it would fall.
So they ended up using telekinesis from far away, which consumed a lot of mana, and still missed the ball due to their frantic movements.
“Such simple…! …Ah, no. Right. Well, we have plenty of time, so let’s practice. You’ll get used to it with time.”
Vilem Baroness suppressed her irritation as she looked at students who could not even handle simple fly balls.
“And if you make good use of telekinetic constructs, you can create something like a net or a large basket to easily catch the ball.”
Holding back her frustration, Vilem Baroness carefully taught practical techniques in detail.
‘Wow, this is helpful as magic itself.’
‘They should teach like this in regular classes.’
Everyone admired Vilem Baroness’s unconventional lesson.
After finishing Wizard Ball training during the morning maintenance period, they moved on to the morning classes.
Marie, who had learned catching, throwing, and telekinesis control, was catching her breath from running and asked Idnia.
“I’m already tired… Are you okay, Lady Idnia?”
“Yes. This much is….”
Idnia replied while using extraction magic to remove the dirt from her uniform.
She was unfazed by this level of morning exercise.
Her stamina had always been excellent, and her mana reserves were increasing these days as well.
At first, she had also suffered from mana shortages, but recently her mana had been growing, so even using mana-intensive extraction magic did not tire her much.
“Fortunately, the morning class is Baroness Vilem’s mental training. Since it’s an audiovisual lesson, we can rest physically.”
“…Ah, yes.”
Idnia groaned inwardly.
Previously, it had at least been interesting, like a documentary about a Wizard Ball player’s life. That program had been shown because everyone—the professors, staff, and even the people of Blackcow Village—had been filled with anticipation before the team’s first match.
After completely botching the first match, there was no way they would mention Wizard Ball the next day.
As expected, today’s broadcast was a propaganda video explaining how the Caliestra family had devoted themselves to the citizens of the Empire.
‘Hmm. Good. I’ll tread carefully so I don’t get caught.’
Idnia carefully balanced her awareness while splitting her consciousness, avoiding being disrupted by the illusion crystal.
Pretending to watch while doing something else.
Something she had often done back when she attended school on Earth.
In other words, similar to goofing off during uninteresting classes like chapel.
But what made this different was that the illusion crystal was, after all, an illusion, and Baroness Vilem, who cast it, could detect when someone broke out of the illusion.
In other words, Idnia had to split her consciousness while pretending to be under the illusion in a way that fooled the caster.
This was a highly advanced technique.
High-level illusion or mind-control magic includes a return-value mechanism to prevent opponents from pretending to be affected and setting traps.
It reports whether the target has been affected by the spell.
Idnia manipulated that return value, sending a favorable result back to Baroness Vilem while simultaneously reading a book with her hands.
It was a contact-reading spell.
Not particularly difficult, but Idnia was dividing her mind—pretending to be under the illusion while secretly doing something else.
“Hmm. Idnia student. Are you alright?”
Baroness Vilem noticed that Idnia’s reactions fluctuated differently from the other students and asked.
It was indeed difficult to completely deceive a mage of Baroness Vilem’s caliber.
However, since Idnia had been known to occasionally have episodes during this basic mental training class, Baroness Vilem assumed it was her usual condition and did not approach her.
Idnia quickly set the book aside and replied.
“Oh, yes. I-I’m fine, Baroness Vilem.”
“If you feel like you might have another episode, feel free to let me know.”
Baroness Vilem infused mana into the illusion crystal with her wand and sat down to read a book herself.
Idnia once again deceived Baroness Vilem while continuing to read.
‘Hmm. Unlike the other students, Idnia Kache Betelgeuse’s return values are unstable.
Still, her mana itself seems to be increasing smoothly. As expected of the Betelgeuse royal lineage.
Ah. To think that the daughter of that ruthless Flora could be such an exemplary student…’
Baroness Vilem clicked her tongue as she observed Idnia’s unstable illusion state.
Her feelings were mixed—admiration for an outstanding student and for royal blood, intertwined with her aversion toward Flora.
“Long live Caliestra! Long live the Empire!”
As soon as Baroness Vilem’s mental training class ended, an excited Christian stood up and shouted.
Innocent students often became absorbed after watching propaganda videos, unable to contain their rising emotions.
“Waaah! Long live the Empire forever!”
It wasn’t only Euros where such innocent students existed, and many students joined in response to Christian’s shout.
“…….”
The Crown Prince Rudolph, who was the object of their praise, wore an awkward expression.
“Hohoho. Excellent. Very good. It seems everyone is steadily increasing their mana.”
Baroness Vilem looked satisfied.
Aside from Idnia causing some dissonance, the other students were steadily being influenced by her instruction as intended.
“Now then, shall we do a mid-session check? Please begin meditation. The students in the first row…”
Baroness Vilem cast her spell to roughly gauge the students’ mana levels.
By releasing a powerful flow of mana and having them meditate against it, she could assess both the quantity and quality of their mana.
“Good. Progress is smooth. Fiona student has very pure and fine mana.”
“Hoho. Lorenzo student, there’s no need to hide it. The quality of your mana is excellent—there’s no way the quantity would appear that low.”
“That guy again…”
Karl clicked his tongue as Lorenzo tried once more to hide his true ability.
“Karl student, please refrain from releasing aura during meditation. It interferes with assessment. Compared to your mana quantity, the quality is slightly lacking. Of course, it is still better than most students, but try to maintain a calmer mind. Equanimity and inner reflection are important. Now, next row… huh?”
Baroness Vilem was startled as she released the flow of mana toward the next row.
Other students naturally wrapped themselves in their own mana to resist the pressure and avoid being pushed back.
However, Isolde Polchen was instead absorbing the mana flow.
‘What is this ominous… It resembles demonic magic. Void mana? This wasn’t the case before—why has the quality of her mana suddenly changed?’
Baroness Vilem was surprised by the sudden shift in Isolde’s mana quality.
‘I believe she participated in the Wizard Ball match… Could it be because of that? Hmm. This is concerning.’
Unlike her evaluations of other students, Baroness Vilem could not even begin to comment on Isolde Polchen.
‘I should report this later to the vice principal or the headmaster. Now then, next row…’
The next row included Idnia and Marie.
Baroness Vilem directed the flow of mana toward the row where Idnia and Marie stood together.
“Ah… I feel a tingling pain.”
Marie was startled as she received the mana flow.
“You’re supposed to circulate your mana.”
Idnia demonstrated by circulating her mana.
‘Oh. Both the quality and quantity are quite good. Even while taking classes so poorly, how…’
Baroness Vilem was impressed by Idnia’s mana output.
But when Marie circulated her mana…
For a moment, Baroness Vilem had an optical illusion, as if a massive golden pillar of light had appeared before her eyes as she observed the students.
‘Good heavens… what is this now. This is beyond Flora. Golden mana mixed with divine magic.
No need to doubt it. She’s not just a Saint candidate—she is the Saint of this generation. Come to think of it, Idnia student doesn’t feel particularly saint-like…’
Baroness Vilem was astonished by Marie’s mana.
In contrast, Idnia felt rather unremarkable.
Given that she had accumulated plenty of stats, there should have been something noticeable, but oddly, her response was weak.
‘Strange. She shouldn’t be able to deceive a divine oracle, so why does Idnia student lack any sense of saintliness? Hmm. Even when exposed to the flow of mana, her response is underwhelming.’
After Baroness Vilem’s class came Vice Principal Dneuve’s magic theory lecture.
Baroness Vilem quietly briefed Dneuve on the events of her class.
“Ah, I see. Understood. I’ll take it into consideration.”
“W-wait, I don’t think that’s enough.
Shouldn’t we report this to the Empire?”
Baroness Vilem wanted to submit a report to the Empire regarding Isolde’s unusual mana, Marie’s divine mana as a Saint candidate, and Idnia’s complete lack of divine magic traits.
However, Vice Principal Dneuve objected.
“Baroness Vilem. While Dunaise Academy is in a cooperative relationship with the Holy Eldar Empire that governs Dunaise, fundamentally the Academy does not pledge loyalty to the Empire. As you know, the Academy follows only its own laws.”
Although Vice Principal Dneuve was also a citizen of the Empire, she prioritized harmony between the Academy’s principles and the Empire.
However, Baroness Vilem, a staunch imperial loyalist, disagreed with Dneuve’s stance.
“That may be so, but without a nation, humanity itself cannot exist, can it? The headmaster may be that kind of person, but at the very least, we should feel a sense of mission to nurture the Empire’s future pillars….”
“Yes. I understand your sentiment. But I believe everything will be fine. Please do not worry too much.”
Vice Principal Dneuve reassured Baroness Vilem and proceeded to her class.
Still, Baroness Vilem remained unconvinced.
‘As expected, the vice principal seems loyal to the Academy itself. In that case, I will personally offer counsel to His Majesty the Emperor.’