How Pathetic.
How Pathetic.
Pfft—!
Becky unintentionally sprayed milk into the air.
Choking and sputtering for a long moment, she finally whipped her head around.
Confirming that it was Plan who had come looking for her, she let out a sharp yell.
"Wha—what's the big idea all of a sudden?!"
"Thought I'd ask for directions."
"Directions?"
"Where a student can exercise, and where to purchase supplies, including magic scrolls."
"Why come to me of all people for that..."
"Because you stood out."
Becky thought it over for a moment.
'I stood out...'
The sight of herself eating bread and milk must have looked rather pathetic. Embarrassed, Becky raised her voice for no real reason.
"Hey, I'm busy too! I have to prepare for the test tomorrow! Go look that stuff up yourself!"
"...Busy preparing, you say."
Plan tilted his head slightly.
"Isn't a test simply something you leave to your ability? There hasn't even been any notice about what the evaluation criteria will be."
"What?"
But upon hearing Plan's words, Becky's head tilted even further, more dramatically this time.
"Hold on... Plan, do you not use Trivia?"
"Trivia?"
"Yeah, Trivia."
Becky found it odd that Plan, a Magic Department student, didn't know about Trivia, which was practically common knowledge among them. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a notebook.
The cover, painted black, bore the illustration of a single broomstick, the sort witches might ride.
"Look, the upperclassmen tell you everything here."
"Hm."
With an expression of interest, Plan took the notebook and examined it.
A notebook is, by nature, an object meant to contain the past. The letters written at a specific point in time remain fixed in that past, and so long as the notebook itself does not vanish, it preserves its records precisely as they are.
*Graduate Page
*Information Page
*Auction Page
*Secret Page
*Club Page
.
.
.
But the notebook Plan had received, called 'Trivia,' was different. Trivia contained not the past, but the present.
On each page, stories befitting each category were written, and the characters even shifted and changed in real time.
"Impressive. Can this be used across the entire continent?"
"Of course not. Trivia is practically the symbol of the Magic Department. It only functions within the Magic Department's own area."
Plan quietly sank into thought.
The current extent was still limited, but even taking that into account, it was fairly intriguing.
Plan rubbed the surface of Trivia with a fingertip and attuned himself to the mana flowing within it.
"This notebook itself acts as a receiver. It extracts mana possessing a specific circuit as its own unique signal."
With a few adjustments, it might even be usable beyond the Magic Department's boundary. Plan's spirit of inquiry quietly kindled.
"Mana with a specific cir... what? No, what are you even saying all of a sudden?"
However, Plan's musings were broken by Becky, who looked at him as if he'd started speaking in tongues.
"Never mind. In any case, where is the information about the test?"
"Look here."
Becky pressed on the 'Information Page' section. A flood of posts appeared. Some genuinely looked useful, while others contained the most vile curses directed at professors.
Plan inadvertently let out a small snort of laughter.
"I'm glad this didn't exist back then."
If Trivia had existed in his former world, he could hardly imagine just how many curses would have been directed at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"...What was that. Anyway, look here."
Meanwhile, Becky's finger stopped at a corner of the page.
"Here, this."
[ Magic Department Freshmen Are In For a Rough Time ]
Looks like Violet's in charge of the freshmen this time.
Just assume you're screwed. That professor doesn't have the concept of academic years in her head. She doesn't cut any slack just because you're young.
But this professor's first test is always the same.
She just brings you out on the spot and tells you to show her the magic you're most confident in. There's always someone who cries.
If I had to offer some consolation, she does favor the Manipulation type somewhat. Try preparing something along those lines.
After checking the contents, Plan nodded.
It certainly seemed like a useful communication space among students. Then, out of habit, he flipped through the notebook from the first page to the last—flick. Something was written on the very last page as well.
[ My Posted Writings ]
[ Is this an okay outfit for a noble freshman? ]
└At a glance, looks like a commoner pretending to be a noble
└Who even uses the phrase 'noble freshman'? If you're a freshman, being a noble is the default.
Becky immediately snatched the notebook back—snap.
"Hey, hey. How long are you gonna keep looking? You're acting like it's your own."
Simultaneously, Becky's face turned as red as her hair. Plan said nothing. He was still deep in thought.
The silence was so awkward that Becky opened her mouth again for no reason. She also opened a page of Trivia and showed him a simplified map of the Academy Magic Department.
"Physical training is here. Supplies are here. Satisfied?"
And then she waved her hand dismissively.
"If you get it, now go. I need an A Grade. I'm busy."
But Plan did not leave. Rather, he calmly asked, as if intrigued.
"An A Grade, no matter what. Is there a reason?"
"...Do you occasionally ask about perfectly obvious things like they're fascinating?"
"You only need to tell me once. I'll remember it clearly."
With a slightly sour expression, Becky continued.
"Well, obviously, the benefits are insane. Scholarship is the baseline, the dormitory is auto-registered, and you can use the academy's internal facilities for free."
"That's decent enough."
As it happened, Plan had just been thinking that daily mental sparring with the family members would be tiresome.
If the facilities weren't bad, staying in the dormitory with fellow mages would likely be a better environment.
Becky, seemingly convinced Plan wouldn't be the one to leave first, began making preparations to leave on her own.
"I'm going now. I need to head to the lab."
"Lab?"
Plan's eyebrow twitched once as he echoed the word. It was the strongest reaction Becky had ever seen from Plan.
She answered with a puzzled look.
"...Yeah, the lab. Where else would I practice, if not a lab?"
"I'll come too. Guide me."
"Why are you coming along?"
"Because I want to."
Within Becky's common sense, Plan's words were utterly incomprehensible. But to Plan himself, it was only natural.
Above all else, to him, a place where one could research magic was the most enjoyable place there was.
"It's not my personal lab. It's a shared space used by several people, so you have to ask everyone's opinion."
"Then I'll ask."
Becky's small mouth fell open.
'What's with him? This is putting me in a tough spot.'
While Plan's suggestion was indeed flustering, the bigger issue was that the lab was such a shabby space it barely deserved the name.
At best, it was a place where a few commoner students researched with crude equipment, and it was far too embarrassing to bring Plan there.
Just then, Plan spoke up, completely unbothered.
"I will, of course, provide appropriate compensation."
"Compensation?"
"You said you're aiming for A Grade."
"What?"
"Then you must have a spell you've prepared. The magic you're most confident in."
"Well... I do have one. Why?"
Plan took a step closer.
Between the bangs that fell to his eyebrows, his crimson eyes gleamed with unusual brilliance.
For a moment, it didn't feel like a fellow student approaching, but some kind of professor. Becky instinctively stepped backward.
"If I have the time, I'll look it over."
Plan's easygoing attitude.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. After a brief silence, belatedly recalling that they were both freshmen, Becky bristled.
"Who asked you to look it over? That's seriously absurd."
"The choice is, of course, yours."
His attitude suggested that if she let this chance slip, the loss would be hers alone. That arrogance set something off in Becky.
"You... you, yeah. Now that I think about it, aren't you also not an A Grade? What are you going to review for me?"
"Grades..."
Plan was still utterly composed. He simply smiled.
"Right, I'm definitely not an A."
"I am an A...!"
The nerve of him, not even having an A himself, trying to offer advice. His confident attitude, even with a grade lower than her own, was something Becky found entirely disagreeable.
She wanted to snap something else at him, but soon gave up.
Because something had begun to flicker inside the boy's clear, vermilion eyes. Unknowingly, she was overwhelmed by that intensity.
Furthermore, new possibilities began to float up in Becky's mind, one after another.
'Non-standard Grade...?'
Through Trivia, she had once heard a rumor that such a grade existed.
A Non-standard Grade, ranked even higher than the top-tier A Grade, and the absolute highest priority target for scouting officials both within and outside the academy.
Ahem, ahem. Becky cleared her throat with a small cough.
"Plan, you... what grade are you, exactly?"
The person in question simply maintained his smile.
"You'd be extremely surprised if you heard."
"Extremely surprised?"
Becky asked again, but no answer came. Plan's easygoing expression was the only reply, if it could be called one.
'Is he serious?'
In the end, Becky nodded.
"O-okay. Fine. But in exchange, no doing anything weird once we're there."
"I promise I won't."
"...And you absolutely have to look over my spell."
"If I have the time."
Finally, the two began walking side-by-side, following Becky.
They walked in silence for a while, until Becky, as if suddenly remembering something, sniffed at her own sleeve. Then, she held out one arm toward Plan.
"This smell, is it really weird?"
Plan answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Revolting."
◈
"That's strange. I definitely followed the theory..."
"No, no. The problem is that you're applying a completely different theory right now."
The lab Plan arrived at, following Becky, was not a tidy place, but it was brimming with vitality.
Clumsy, yet full of youth, passion, and so forth. There were particular sentiments that could only bloom precisely because of that clumsiness.
"......"
Aside from Becky and Plan, the lab had only two other members, both commoner girls. As soon as they saw Plan, they stopped their research.
And one of them immediately yanked Becky over.
"Boyfriend?"
The eyes of the two girls asking the question sparkled, and Becky, the subject of the question, went wide-eyed.
"Are you crazy? What are you talking about?"
"Ah, right. No way you'd have found yourself a noble boyfriend."
The girl with the striking orange hair and freckles, Tir, looked discreetly relieved. Becky shook her head.
"He's not a noble, and he's not my boyfriend."
"Oh... yeah? He's not a noble?"
They hadn't been particularly rattled by the news that Plan wasn't Becky's boyfriend, but the revelation that he wasn't a noble stirred them considerably.
The two, excluding Becky, stared quietly at Plan.
A high nose bridge, fair white skin, and a deeply displeased expression — as if something had gotten seriously on his nerves — all of it seemed impossible for any commoner.
Most of all, his mere presence was transforming this shabby little space into something of a higher class.
'Can a commoner really pull that off?'
His brow was furrowed so tightly that they were the ones suddenly feeling self-conscious.
"Hey. What's your name?"
The navy-blue, short-haired girl. Linne asked outright.
Her attitude, as if addressing a child much younger, left Plan slightly irritated.
"Everyone here is an upperclassman except for Becky. So, anyway, what business did our freshman come here for?"
"Hmm."
"This isn't a place for hanging out, you know. If you're interested in Becky, come back another day."
Regardless of that, Plan's gaze was fixed on her hands.
Shortly clipped nails — but no scorch marks. Becky stepped forward to make an excuse, trying to say that Plan wasn't here for that reason, but Plan's words were quicker.
"You specialize in the Destruction type, I take it."
"What?"
"Do you not handle explosions, or can you not handle them? Your fingertips aren't scorched."
"That's... because I haven't handled them yet."
Linne trailed off, subtly putting her hands behind her back.
"Three people use this lab in total, then."
Becky quietly nodded.
Plan narrowed his eyes slightly and looked around the lab. The flasks were blackened and caked with burned residue, and dust clung generously to his finger when he ran his index finger across it.
Plan blew the dust away—whoosh—and murmured.
"That's pathetic."
"Ah, um, well, that is, you see."
Fortunately, Becky was quick on her feet. She thrust out both palms and wedged herself between Plan and Linne.
"There's a grade placement test for Magic Department freshmen tomorrow. I brought him because he said he'd look over mine. We'll just take a look and be right out."
But Linne's expression had already soured.
"Who's looking over whose? Becky, you're letting him look over yours?"
"No, ma'am. Plan is looking over mine."
"He's... looking over yours?"
Linne's sharp gaze swept over Becky from head to toe.
"Didn't I look over yours enough already?"
"Ah, well, so. It's absolutely not that I don't trust you, senior. It's just... I thought we freshmen ought to try matching up a bit among ourselves too..."
This was bad. She'd stepped in to mediate, but had only ended up needling Linne's temper.
Linne's attitude, which had gone ice-cold, was nothing short of frightening to Becky. Before she knew it, a cold sweat had beaded on her forehead.
"I'm the one who proposed looking over it first."
But at that moment, Plan interjected in a flat, indifferent voice.
Becky, her face gone pale, turned and mouthed words at Plan.
S-t-a-y. Q-u-i-e-t.
But neither Linne nor Plan seemed to have Becky in their consideration any longer.
Linne, sitting at the desk as if she found the whole affair ridiculous, crossed her legs.
"He's offering to look over Becky's magic, too. Chased her all the way to the lab. All I see is a guy puffing out his chest because he's interested in Becky."
"Puffing out my chest?"
"Yeah. And barging in to criticize someone else's lab like that is a little irresponsible."
Linne continued in a tone that seemed to be forcibly suppressing her anger.
"So, what makes you so great? If you want to impress the girl you like, you should have something to back it up."
Clack, clack. Linne walked past Becky and finally came to a stop right in front of Plan's nose.
"...I already looked over Becky's. You confident you can do a better job than me?"
"Depends on Becky's capability. Still, I'm not lacking in confidence."
Hah. With a derisive snort, Linne's gaze turned toward Becky.
"Go ahead. Becky."
"Huh? What..."
"I said show the magic you're going to use in tomorrow's test. The way I taught you."
"Ah... yes, yes."
Becky gulped and focused her mind.
Soon, her mana began to swirl and surge within the lab.