Come See Me Later.
Come See Me Later.
Two days flew by while I researched dungeon-related materials and sorted through usable scrolls.
The Märchen Academy Magic Department's main square. Students had gathered for group assignments, but I was too absorbed in Trivia to notice.
The usual adolescent fare—love troubles, club promotions, humor posts fishing for peer validation...
Obviously, it wasn't because I found any of that garbage interesting that I clung to Trivia.
The auction board.
What had caught my attention was the auction board. The fascinating thing about this board was that there were no restrictions whatsoever on what could be auctioned.
[Selling textbook: Magic Through Culture.]
[Selling my voice. Life counseling offered.]
[Clearing out clothes I don't wear.]
.
.
.
Even the posts that caught my eye at a glance were like this.
Here, sellers would propose something to sell, and those who needed it would bid on it as if at an auction, with transactions actively proceeding to the winning bid.
Lately, I had found myself needing to resolve a financial issue.
Receiving an A Grade had brought me various tuition reduction benefits, but that didn't change the fact that I still needed money.
The reason was simple: because I received no financial support from my family.
Scarlett had said she would provide none, and I had readily agreed.
I intended to resolve every problem directed at me solely by my own power.
'Is this all I can auction off right now.'
[ Magic Teaching Auction. ]
I wrote a post consisting of only seven letters. Literally, I planned to provide magic-related instruction and receive compensation in return.
It was distinctly different from a tutoring auction. It meant I wouldn't go out of my way to hold someone down and make them understand.
"Hey."
Someone suddenly jabbed my arm with their elbow.
"Put Trivia away, won't you? The professor's about to arrive. Have some sense."
The overpowering scent of cosmetics, pink hair, sharp nails, ears full of piercings....
It took me a long moment to finally recall that her name was Aria Fontaine.
Dealing with her was irritating, and I was done with Trivia anyway. Instead of answering, I shoved the Trivia device into the inner pocket of my uniform jacket.
"I hope we get a good group... Ah, I'm nervous."
"Can't they just let people who want to be together form their own groups?"
The square, packed full of A Grade freshmen, was fairly noisy. That was only natural, given they were all facing a major assignment.
"Any sign that Agora Board problem's been solved yet?"
"Gonna take a while. It's only been two days."
Aria chattered ceaselessly with the female students around her. Unsurprisingly, talk of the Agora Board came up frequently.
Talk of that damned Agora Board followed me everywhere.
"Isn't it kind of petty that they're the only one staying anonymous?"
"It is petty, but honestly, I've got nothing to say. If you're jealous, solve it yourself."
"Well, that's true. Anyway, whoever it is, they're really amazing... I wonder if even Trixie can't solve it?"
"Hey, hey, quiet. Trixie's here."
Following Aria's gaze, I casually turned my head toward Trixie.
Trixie, was it. Surely she was... that drunkard who couldn't even handle herself when plastered.
Yet the girl who entered my field of vision bore not an ounce of resemblance to the word 'drunkard.'
There wasn't a single trace of disarray. Looking severe enough to chill anyone watching, the blue-haired girl stood in one corner of the square.
Dark circles had faintly formed under a face as blank as drawing paper.
"Everyone, pay attention."
At that moment, a voice—familiar, if one could call it that—rang out.
Simultaneously, a professor wearing a large conical hat revealed herself. It was Violet.
"Before I explain the exploration assignment, I'll reveal the group assignment results first. Don't worry—they were strictly randomized."
As if strict randomization only made them more worried, the students around me swallowed nervously.
Violet snapped her fingers—crack!—and a Mana Board materialized before our eyes. Students' names were grouped in sets of three.
A mixture of joy and despair, exclamations burst out from all around. There were voices of relief, and there were some close to screams.
"I'll give you three minutes. Gather with your group members. Exchange introductions, too."
The crowd began to move, murmuring. Only then did I check the names of my group members.
[ Group 11 ]
▶ Trixie von Fritz
▶ Martin Luke
▶ Plan
The very fact that I was assigned to a group, and that there were students assigned alongside me, felt foreign.
Not a particularly welcome arrangement either. I had no desire to drag a drunkard around with me.
I had no particular wish to exchange introductions either.
While I simply stood in place, there was suddenly a commotion on Trixie's side.
Surely she wasn't causing a drunken scene again. I shifted my gaze toward Trixie.
Fortunately, Trixie wasn't causing a scene; some male student had just latched onto her and was talking busily.
"Looking forward to working together! I'm Martin Luke. Hahaha~ Trixie in the same group? This exploration assignment's going to be a breeze, huh?"
Short in stature, and his smile was rather greasy. That guy's probably Martin Luke.
"Shut your mouth."
"Huh...?"
"Shut. Your. Mouth."
"Ah, yeah. Okay."
The guy clamped his mouth shut but beamed brightly nonetheless.
He was gauging Trixie's mood like a little dog circling its master. In contrast, he didn't so much as glance my way.
That was when I became convinced. Group 11's composition was the worst.
"That's enough introductions. Focus up, everyone."
Having manipulated the ground to arbitrarily create a platform, Violet stood looking down at the students.
"No one here doesn't know what a scroll is, I take it."
She held a single scroll in her hand and began speaking.
"Here's a question, then. This assignment is an Open Scroll event. Why might that be?"
Perhaps because it was Violet asking, an atmosphere of reluctance to answer hung in the air.
But then, suddenly, Violet looked directly at me with eyes demanding an answer.
She showed no sign of looking away, so I had no choice but to answer.
"Because the students' level is low."
At that, Violet's eyebrow twitched. Come to think of it, I'd been blunt again—it was a habit.
"What's he saying?"
"Must be crazy. Who does he think he is...?"
The students standing nearby began to murmur as well. But I had merely stated a brutal fact.
A scroll—a formula engraved onto mana-infused paper—is a fairly useful item for a novice mage.
It allows you to experience magic you could never use with your own capabilities, and serves as a countermeasure for emergencies like mana depletion or Mana Stagnation. That much is clear.
But in other words.
The students gathered here have not, by any means, attained the ability to wield a variety of magic. Hence, they were given an Open Scroll assignment.
I don't much care for scrolls to begin with. I consider it a mage's duty to show there exists a unique domain of magic that can never be captured by mere scrolls.
"Eyes over here, everyone. Look at the professor."
The students' shocked gazes turned back toward Violet. The professor stared hard at me as she asked a question.
"The level is low, you say. What do you mean by that?"
"The very fact that you must utilize scrolls is low in standard and shameful."
And if you overcome it without using scrolls, it would be doubly impressive.
But that was when it happened. Someone shot their hand straight up and shouted.
"Professor Violet!"
A girl with pink hair and a deeply crumpled expression. The owner of the hand was Aria Fontaine. In an agitated voice, she continued.
"I find it incredibly insolent that Plan, of all people, would say something like that. He seems to have no idea of his place!"
Violet looked back and forth between me, standing there perfectly nonchalant, and Aria, who was seething with indignation.
Then, with the corners of her mouth subtly curling upward, she wore a meaningful expression.
"In that case, Student Aria, why do you think this test is an Open Scroll event?"
"Scroll technology is advancing by the day. Mages must now keep pace with the flow of the era. Increasing proficiency in scroll utilization to heighten quick-thinking is a matter of course."
Aria shot a sharp sidelong glare at me as she continued.
"Thinking that using scrolls makes a mage's level low? That's a notion befitting mages from a bygone era. Doesn't he have some serious catching up to do on what era this is?"
Violet's lips curled higher and higher. She turned her head and asked me again.
"Student Plan, what do you say to that?"
I showed no reaction. I was gradually growing tired of humoring them.
"You should give Student Aria an answer, should you not?"
But Violet pressed me. I let out a sigh internally and parted my lips again.
"That sounds to me like a declaration that you've given up on all further development. You'll never be able to use a magic that doesn't exist on a scroll in your lifetime."
"What did you say...!"
A vein bulged on Aria's forehead.
"Are you out of your mind? You're going to end up using scrolls on this test too, aren't you? What on earth makes you act so special all by yourself!"
"Student Aria. Calm down. Calm down."
Smiling, Violet calmed Aria down. She had already given up on hiding her smile.
"Student Plan. What Aria said isn't entirely wrong. If you're going to participate in this test but keep insisting on that attitude, it would be a bit inconsistent. Does Plan intend not to participate?"
"I will participate."
At that, sparks practically flew from Aria's eyes.
"Then shut your mouth and participate quietly! Why are you stepping up and acting out?"
"I will participate without using scrolls."
"......!"
A stillness fell, as if time had stopped.
Aria's eyes widened into circles and her words cut off abruptly. Violet, too, wore a slightly dumbfounded expression.
Violet asked me in return.
"It's an Open Scroll test. Are you saying you'll participate without scrolls?"
Instead of answering, I nodded. Violet now fully burst out laughing.
"Your resolve to keep your word is admirable... but are you confident you'll earn a high score? You need to think this through carefully. You have two group members, after all."
"I am."
"Very well. Good."
She cast a look around at the students once as she continued.
"Since he's volunteered for a penalty, there ought to be a reward as well. If Plan earns the highest score, Group 11 will be exempt from the next written exam. This is what I propose—any objections, students?"
No one raised a hand.
The students' horrified stares had already transformed into looks mixed with mockery and sneers.
"Very well. Then that is how it shall be."
With a crisp snap, Violet flicked her palm once.
In that instant, scarecrows wearing conical hats appeared at regular intervals across the broad square, and numbers were inscribed onto the students' nameplates.
"I'll inspect each person individually to see if you're properly using scrolls. The rest of you, wait for your turn and begin self-study."
At Violet's words, the students dispersed in orderly fashion.
Even then, one blatant gaze was fixed on me—naturally, Aria Fontaine's gaze.
Staring at me, she shook her head from side to side.
I scoffed and started walking.
"Hey. Plan."
Or rather, I tried to walk, but Aria's voice stopped me. I turned only my head slightly to look at her.
"You. Come see me later."
I briefly pondered what to say in response. Aria pressed me.
"Come see me later, I said. No answer?"
I thought about what to say, and thought about it some more.
In the end, I couldn't help it—a snort of laughter escaped me.