Morning Assembly and the Ice-Witch Assistant
By the time the sun had fully emerged and the morning mist had completely vanished, Principal Mira was in her office, clutching her aching head.
The usually laid-back, playful expression on her face had vanished entirely, replaced by a deep frown.
Her dark circles had grown so heavy they threatened to spill onto her cheeks, and her once-firm skin had turned dull and lackluster from lack of sunlight and moisture.
And the cause was, of course, the mountain of letters that had arrived at her desk without pause over the past five days.
Naturally, the recipient was Mira, but every letter was the same: a request to summon Aria and Meiel to their respective families to solve the Sky Island crisis.
Mira's inner thoughts were, as expected, irritation.
"Why bother sending it to me when they could simply send it to the temple where the two of them are staying?"
She muttered to herself, chewing on her resentment, though she knew the reason all too well. Sending a letter to the temple might draw the Pope's ire, causing no end of trouble.
If not, it might even endanger her own position. It was far simpler and more direct to send it straight to her.
Still, every time she replied to those letters, more would appear. The inbox was now a literal hell of correspondence, and she had yet to escape it.
The only silver lining was that the king's command had arrived yesterday, ordering the two to return to the kingdom. Once they did, those letters would finally stop.
It was a small mercy, but one she clung to like a lifeline as she began sorting through the remaining stack.
"This one's from Baron Lufen... and this from Count Heylak..."
She dropped the literal mountain of letters into the fireplace one by one, without even bothering to read them.
Tomorrow, the letters would cease anyway. She only needed to reply to the higher-ranking nobles.
But as she sorted, a question suddenly arose, and she stopped mid-motion, murmuring to herself.
"Aria... how did she gain such strength? No, the entire situation with the Demon King was already strange..."
She remembered the events of five days ago on Sky Island with crystal clarity. The sudden appearance of the Demon King, and Aria's impossible leap after him.
Everything felt unreal, like a dream. But the memory burned bright.
Even ignoring the height she'd scaled, the way Aria had faced the Demon King and calmly announced "mission failed" struck her as suspicious, as if Aria had been aiming to kill the Demon King from the start.
"Honestly, if it was Aria, she might actually have meant it..." she admitted, the thought sending a shiver through her.
And yet, even after the failed hunt, Aria had only sustained light wounds, none life-threatening. With no aftereffects and a full recovery from the Pope's healing, she walked about as if nothing had happened.
Mira herself was stunned. "They were the same human, right?"
The thought that they were *not* the same human dominated her mind. It was rude to think so, but who wouldn't wonder after seeing that kind of power?
"Hmm..."
Arin and her companions had likely been completely unaware, having been under some kind of spell.
Mira was full of questions, but she soon flicked her fingers toward the fireplace, now piled high with letters.
Crack!
The flames roared to life, curling the elegant paper and quickly turning it to ash.
Watching the scene, she leaned back in her chair and whispered, "I shouldn't force what they want to hide..."
The moment the Sky Island incident ended, Aria had asked her to help it stay quiet. Meiel had even used a teleportation spell to put distance between them. Despite that, the way she had refused to dig deeper spoke volumes.
Mira, who was not one to back down, had reluctantly agreed and began throwing the remaining letters into the fire.
"Ah, but I should ask about the Demon King separately later."
She had not wanted to spread it as a major incident to the king, and Aria had not given permission to disclose it, but it was simply too important to keep hidden.
She made a mental note to interrogate them properly once she had the chance. Then, spurred on, she continued sorting through the remaining documents.
* * *
With the minor matter of the future resolved early in the morning, the rest of the day proceeded smoothly.
The letter from the king was carefully crumpled and tucked into her pocket. Miu praised her bold spirit, while Morgan and Isolde accepted their roles as apprentices with pragmatic nods.
What could they do? They had no choice. And so, with violence avoided, everything had been settled peacefully.
Now, as I reflected on that early-morning efficiency, I found myself in Room 1-A, beginning the morning roll call.
"Everyone's here. Despite the chaos, you all made it back to the academy. Well done."
At nine o'clock sharp, I opened the classroom door and began the roll call.
It was a rare, sincere compliment from me.
But the students, who had been silent for a moment, soon erupted into chatter, filling the quiet classroom with noise.
One student shouted, "I wanted to see you too, Teacher!"
Another chimed in, "Aria-sensei actually praised us..."
"Records... this needs to be recorded!"
Soon the entire class was shouting. Despite my usual lack of praise, this was hardly the reaction I expected for one simple sentence.
Startled by the sudden commotion, I stood frozen, watching the students. But the noise was louder than I thought, so I quickly slammed my desk to restore order.
"Quiet down, all of you!!!"
Crack!
In an instant, mouths shut and eyes turned to me. The five-day absence of this routine had clearly made the students remember the drill.
With a full morning roll call, there was much to say. I cleared my throat and began reciting the prepared notes, slowly and deliberately.
"As you all know, the Sky Island incident has been resolved. However, only a select few know that the entire academy was forcibly teleported there. So, keep this a secret. Do not speak of it."
The students, serious instead of noisy, nodded. They had only just realized how limited the knowledge was.
But as I said, it was inevitable that someone would leak it, whether in our class, another class, or even outside the academy. There was no point worrying about it now.
I had prefixed "almost" for a reason. I simply hoped the higher-ups would catch wind quickly and contain it.
"Next..."
I continued, informing them about the measures to prevent leaks, then summarized the routine notices I had received from Mira.
Aside from the secret, everything else was minor: small changes at the academy, reinforced defenses, and the resignations of a few weak students. Informing them was sufficient.
For our class, the most important part was the final notice.
"These students have resigned, but you all have strong resolve, so no need for concern."
The class fell silent once more as I finished.
I had not intended it, but Aria's image, the filtering, and my usual behavior had solidified me in their minds as a terrifying professor.
So, despite the heavy silence, I continued for five full minutes before handing everything to Mira. Only then did I remember the person standing behind the door and lightly tap the chalkboard.
"Everyone, pay attention! There's one more thing I need to tell you. This is important for you too, so listen carefully."
"Important to us...?"
"What is it?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure..."
The students erupted with confusion. When the entire class looked at me with identical faces, I walked forward without hesitation.
It was far faster and clearer to show them than to explain.
"Meet... From today, Meiel's magic class assistant and our 1-A homeroom... "
I opened the door wide as I spoke and stepped aside.
"My name is Isolde."
"Everyone, nice to meet you. Please take care of me for a long time."
Isolde, with her usual cold expression and flowing purple hair, entered the classroom, her bright blue eyes open wide.
The cold greeting froze the air in the room solid.