I'm Really Going Crazy. Who the Hell Is Kaplan?
I'm Really Going Crazy. Who the Hell Is Kaplan?
The quiz results were finally posted.
The announcement had been delayed an entire week, and the cause was a single wall poster.
[ To the Faculty of Märchen Academy's Magic Department ]
That poster was the reason.
Lectures had been suspended all week because of it. It was no exaggeration to say the Magic Department had been turned completely upside down.
"Haah."
Becky let out a deep sigh and opened her Trivia. Something else was gnawing at her.
[ ▷ Hey, Plan. ]
[ ▷ You wrote that wall poster, didn't you? ]
[ ▷ Please reply. ]
[ ▷ The Magic Department has been absolute chaos for a week. ]
[ ▷ What if they find out you wrote it? ]
[ ▷ Can you handle it? I'm telling you I'm worried. ]
No reply came back from Plan.
And yet she was certain. Plan was the one who had written that poster.
No one else could have done it — the formula used in the extra edition incorporated several elements Becky had recently summarized and handed to him herself.
The rest of the pieces fit like a puzzle.
That uniquely arrogant phrasing, the brimming self-assurance, the elegant formula, the sheer nerve to post it on the Agora Board....
Yes. No matter how she looked at it, it was Plan.
She had already grasped that his aims and plans stretched impossibly far.
But that grasp had only been abstract — a vague notion, never this concrete. She had never imagined he harbored ideas like this one.
She couldn't say whether she liked it or not.
...It simply felt very much like Plan.
Becky retraced the panorama she had glimpsed through the poster's formula.
What had unfolded before her eyes was a kind of nostalgia she had never experienced before.
It was more like a novel than any novel, sweeter than any fantasy. The world every mage has dreamed of at least once had unfurled right in front of her.
One way or another, Becky was rooting for Plan. She was just terribly worried, that was all.
While rehashing all of this, she arrived at the lecture hall.
Inside, the A-grade students were gathered for the first time in a week. Unsurprisingly, the room was a complete cauldron of chaos.
"What now? Isn't this whole mess going to blow back on you?"
The moment Becky stepped in, Hailey's anxious voice hit her ears.
It wasn't just Hailey — her whole clique was shooting worried looks at Louis.
"No. Whatever happens, we just do our best. The fact that I'm the representative doesn't change."
Louis shrugged. Hailey's lips trembled as she shot back.
"W-well, I'm worried, so just let me worry.... It pisses me off so much. Who on earth is Kaplan?"
"Kaplan, huh. The name's kinda similar to Plan."
"Louis. Can you please not bring him up? He didn't write anything on his own for the rolling paper."
Hailey scowled as if she were genuinely furious. But Louis just smiled his easygoing smile.
"Why not? Plan seems pretty incredible at magic too. He got first place on the quiz."
"That's obviously the professor playing favorites! Look at the quiz scores — does it make any sense that he alone got a different grade?"
Becky, who had been watching their exchange, shook her head. Anyone would think Hailey was his girlfriend.
And one more thing: not everyone had been moved by Plan's formula the way Becky had been.
"No, why else would the word 'imagination' exist?"
Over in the corner, Martin was chattering away with his own group, proving that exact point. He had quite a stockpile of grievances.
"Right? We call it imagination because it can't happen in real life. What possible benefit does blowing this up bring to mages? Why deliberately start a fight with the Knight Department?"
A female student listening to Martin tilted her head.
"But isn't it true that the selection process for the representative was a little strange...? They said the professors just picked someone at their own discretion."
"Hey. You can't blame the professors for that. How many times has the Magic Department actually beaten the Knight Department? Even if they'd picked properly and trained us up, we still couldn't win."
"Is that so? I think you ought to say that after we've actually done our best."
At that, Martin thumped his chest as if exasperated.
"And what exactly can we do by doing our best? Is it a matter of attitude that we lose to knights with Inherent Abilities?"
"Look, Martin, lower your voice for a second. Louis is going to hear...."
But right at that moment, the front door of the lecture hall swung open out of nowhere.
Every student's gaze naturally turned toward the figure who had entered through it. Becky was no exception.
A gaze as though he were looking down on everything in the world, and a stature that made it seem as if he actually could.
The crisp academy uniform without a single wrinkle or speck of dust, and the bridge of his nose and sharp jawline that shone even more clearly in profile.
Plan.
The one Becky had been searching for until her neck practically snapped had finally shown himself.
But Plan headed silently toward the chalkboard. Not a single crack of hesitation marred the act of checking his quiz results.
If the concept of 'dignity' were given human form, he would be it. His expression, his spirit, his stride, his gaze... every element was exactly that.
[ Plan — A+ ]
[ Louis — A ]
[ Trixie — A ]
.
.
.
Though the prodigies whose names constantly rose from students' mouths had all received an A, his grade alone was different.
The only reason this wasn't being talked about was that everyone's attention had been swallowed whole by the wall poster — otherwise, it would certainly have become a major topic on its own.
"...Tsk."
Plan, however, clicked his tongue as if it wasn't even worth his time.
Wearing an expression that said he found it tiresome, he signed next to his own grade to indicate he had confirmed it.
The motion of signing with telekinesis was elegant, and so was the handwriting of his signature. Becky spaced out for a moment just staring at it.
"Ugh, damn. Thought he was a professor for a second."
"Why does he use the front door to enter the lecture hall?"
The other students voiced their complaints a good five beats late, and only then did Becky snap back to her senses and hurry over to Plan.
"Hey, Plan!"
Plan shifted only his eyes toward Becky.
Not a trace of worry sat on his face. Even now, while every mage was in turmoil, he alone was perfectly composed, as if he belonged to a completely different world.
"What."
"Not 'what'...! Why don't you read my messages!"
"Am I obligated to read them?"
"N-no, that's not... that's not what I meant."
She had asked urgently out of concern, but getting a blunt reply made her feel unreasonably wounded.
Plan pulled out his Trivia from inside his pocket and opened it.
The moment he closed the Trivia again, Becky immediately blurted out.
"I knew it. You wrote it, didn't you, Plan?"
"No one else could have."
"Aren't you worried at all? Or anxious? The professors are holding a meeting with the Chancellor today."
"A meeting, is it."
Plan thought for a moment.
"They sure are quick about it. It's been a week."
With that, Plan turned away.
"Uh, hey. Plan! Wait a second!"
Becky chased after him like a chick, pitter-pattering at his heels.
Then Plan stopped abruptly, and Becky bumped her nose squarely into his back.
"Ow!"
Plan spoke up.
"Come to think of it. That question about whether I can handle it."
Plan, who had turned around, now directed his gaze at Becky.
"Becky. I have been by your side longer than anyone else at this academy."
"Uh, huh? All of a sudden?"
Becky's face flushed faintly red.
This was the first time they had looked each other in the eyes from such close range. Inside his red irises, something like a heat haze flickered.
Blazing.
Looking down at Becky with his brilliantly burning crimson gaze, Plan murmured.
"And yet, you still don't know me."
◈
Magic Department Conference Room.
A heavy atmosphere filled the space where professors sat in a ring around a single head chair.
The silence was broken by Brody, the professor who specialized in Summoning.
"I'm seriously going to lose my mind. What the hell is Kaplan playing at?"
Visibly irritated, Brody scratched roughly at his head and went on.
"We've only got a week left until Chejeon, so what's the point of all this? It's not like we can accomplish much in this short a time...."
"Professor Brody."
Violet spoke in a measured voice.
"Don't talk as if we would have done something if the period had been longer. To be frank, the Magic Department professors haven't done anything at all."
"Professor Violet, what are you implying in front of everyone...!"
"Am I wrong? You've all been sitting on your hands."
"No, is this even the sort of thing we can lay hands on? I am a mage myself before I am a professor, but let's just admit what needs to be admitted plainly!"
"And what exactly is it that we need to admit?"
"Think. What do you think? Inherent abilities are innately and unavoidably superior to magic. The starting line is completely different from the get-go!"
Professor Brody thumped his chest in exasperation.
As if they could no longer hold back, several other professors began to echo Brody's opinion.
"Professor Violet. We all understand your desire to try hard. But what's going to change by doing something for one week?"
"Indeed. It is not as though we never had such passionate days ourselves. But if something won't work, it won't work. Draining your energy over pointless things only leaves you exhausted."
The professors who kept their mouths shut didn't seem to think much differently. They were all casting disapproving glances at Violet.
At least Professor Audrey was an exception. She looked around the room anxiously with worried eyes, gauging the atmosphere.
Even in the midst of that, Violet did not shrink back in the slightest.
Her sharp eyes scowling, she spoke again.
"All that time spent in a state of giving up and resignation must have been time wasted, then. This time, we must do something."
"Professor Violet!"
Eventually, Brody shouted.
That was when it happened.
"Everyone, enough."
It was the voice of Chancellor Conet. The professors rose from their seats in unison.
White on the outside, black within. Conet appeared, her signature two-tone hair scattering as she moved.
Seated imposingly in the central head chair, Conet spoke, her face expressionless.
"How are things. Have you exchanged words in my absence?"
Brody immediately opened his mouth.
"Madam Chancellor. This is Brody of the Summoning field."
"Professor Brody. Please speak."
"At this juncture, we have scarcely more than a week until Chejeon. To start attempting something now? Our position is that it is preposterous."
"Is that so."
"Of course. Is the Chancellor's thinking not similar to ours?"
Brody muttered while clicking his tongue in frustration. Conet remained expressionless.
"I wonder... Are there any with differing opinions?"
At that, several professors sent signals to Violet.
They narrowed their eyes as sharply as possible, loading their gazes with the warning that on no account should she open her mouth.
Violet cleanly ignored those warnings and spoke.
"I am Violet, in charge of the first-year A-grade."
"Yes. Please speak."
"We must, even now, select a representative based on standards that are thoroughly prepared. That is my view."
The moment her words ended, the sharp glares of the other professors pierced into Violet.
"Well... one could certainly think that way."
Conet lifted the corner of her mouth slightly.
"However, why do you think that, Professor Violet?"
"Ah."
"Here is what I am curious about. At this point, with less than a week until Chejeon, can the Magic Department actually accomplish something?"
Every gaze in the conference hall remained fixed on Violet. She swallowed once and spoke.
"The Knight Department prepares for Chejeon in a systematic fashion. Magic is by no means inferior. If we, too, establish a system and step forward...."
"No. Professor Violet. That is not what I am asking."
Conet cut Violet's words short. Smiles crept onto the faces of the watching professors.
But the next words Conet released were rather shocking.
"I am simply asking for your own subjective view."
"Pardon...?"
"Professor Violet. What is your honest opinion? Is one week a sufficient period for a mage?"
"That is...."
Violet clenched her fist tightly.
It hurt. The wounds on her palm where her nails had dug in days ago had still not healed.
She was afraid, too.
In truth, the other professors' thinking was the ordinary one. Violet herself was well aware that she was the one closer to the anomaly.
If they failed, the Knight Department would scorn the Magic Department even more. She would also have to quietly endure the contempt of her fellow mages.
However.
Even so.
"Madam Chancellor. Have you read the wall poster?"
A voice so confident it surprised even herself came out. Violet met Conet's eyes without flinching.
"Of course I have read it."
"I agree with the opinion expressed in the wall poster. And furthermore, I believe that there is raw gemstone within the Magic Department worthy of that opinion."
"So?"
"That is why I think we must select the representative properly. If we unearth that raw gemstone, I believe the Magic Department can win this as well."
Violet concluded without a tremor.
The conference room fell silent as a grave. Before she knew it, every professor was staring at Violet with dubious looks.
"Well now."
It was Conet who broke the silence. She was smiling.
"It is regrettable for the other professors... but I share Professor Violet's opinion."
The professors' eyes widened as if they might pop out at any moment.
Conet blinked once, and a bundle of white papers flew into the conference room like a flock of doves.
They landed in orderly fashion in front of each professor.
The Head of the Magic Department, Conet, spoke again.
"I have already prepared the criteria. Go and select the Magic Department representative properly."
The conference room was engulfed in shock. Into the heavy stillness, Conet added one more remark.
"As for whether we expand the board further... we will decide after seeing the representative student in person."