체험학습
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
Amid the professors opening the colossal gate, Mira stepped down gracefully in front of me, her staff lowering as she turned to us. She seemed to have lent a hand in opening the gate, but the professors were only channeling magic into a gate whose coordinates had already been calculated. In other words, they were simply filling a pre-made container with water. One person stepping away wouldn’t make a difference.
“Yes. Since you asked me to bring all my siblings, I brought them. But what exactly did you call us for?”
“Ah, thank you for coming as instructed. I’m grateful.”
Mira glanced once more, confirmed everyone was present, and offered her thanks. Before answering my question, she handed each of us a single sheet of paper.
Flick.
“This…?”
“It’s the schedule for the experiential learning trip. Since all the students will be carrying backpacks, we won’t need to stop at any lodging. We’ll divide them into efficient groups of ten, assign six professors to each group, and have them roam independently.”
“Independently?”
The sheets Mira handed out were maps of the places to visit during the experiential learning, with simple sketches. When I touched the paper, something was written on the back as well. Turning it over, I saw a list of the students each professor—my avatars, Isolde, and Morgan—would be responsible for.
“Hm?”
I scanned the list of students I was assigned and suddenly felt something was off, blinking in surprise. Maybe I’d misread it. I closed my eyes tightly, opened them again, but the text remained unchanged. Turning my gaze back to Mira, I eyed her suspiciously.
“Is this list… properly arranged?”
“Of course it is.”
Mira answered without the slightest hesitation. I examined the names once more. The students I was responsible for were Arin, Kana, Riana, Shaty, Pina, and five extra students. Excluding the extras, only students connected to me—and even chained to me—were included. The list looked strangely arranged. I gave Mira a questioning look and received a truly unexpected reply.
“Just wondering… who exactly drew up this list?”
“Naturally, I wrote every single word from beginning to end.”
“……”
“This is blatant abuse of power.”
“This is the power I reserve for special occasions~”
Mira stretched out the last word in a playful tone. The thought of her freely manipulating the groups according to her whim brought an involuntary laugh to my lips. From my perspective, though, this grouping was actually perfect. Since Mira was a mage and the academy’s principal, I couldn’t imagine she would have arranged it without thought. I fluttered the sheet in front of her.
“I’d be delighted if I were assigned to one of these groups, but if you don’t mind, could you tell me the reason you chose this particular arrangement?”
“Of course, Aria. I’m happy to explain. The reason I placed those students in the group with you and your siblings is simple.”
Mira nodded at my question and gestured with her eyes toward the students not too far away. Roughly fifty meters away were Arin, Kana, Riana, and Shaty—my list’s students. Mira pointed once, then continued.
“Talent and academic ability aside, experiential learning is nothing more than a form of play—seeing things with your own eyes, walking the path yourself, and learning. A game like that would hardly leave a good memory if paired with a teacher you didn’t get along with.”
“So those students…?”
“Yes. Every single one of them is a student connected to you, Yujia, Kama, and Meiel.”
Indeed, that made perfect sense. To the students, experiential learning was less about studying and more about having fun before actual lessons. If groups moved separately, it was only natural to pair up with familiar teachers. I had felt the same way back in the original world.
Especially since those five were so closely tied to my avatars. There was no reason not to assign them to my group. At once, Arin, Kana, Riana, and Shaty were my own class students, and Pina was the daughter of the Pope, always crossing paths with me at the temple. The remaining five extras had crossed my path often enough, even if their names were fuzzy. I could forgive a little vagueness.
I nodded in understanding and folded the paper into my pocket. “Then is this all you called us for?”
“Ah, yes. The gate will open soon, so feel free to rest.”
“Then we’ll be going now…”
We’d have to move nonstop once we reached the experiential learning site, so I wanted to rest here while I still could. Just thinking about the task ahead—finding Idea and keeping an eye on the Record Library—had already given me a headache.
“All right. I’ll go then!”
“Wait!”
“Meiel, stay behind!”
“Meiel alone!”
Mira’s voice singled out only Meiel. My eyes trembled as I looked up at Mu, who stood nearby. The desperate plea in her gaze made me press my lips together and gently pat her shoulder.
“Good luck, Meiel.”
“……”
Life was cruel— the more capable you were, the more you suffered.
Uuuuuuung───
Three minutes after sending Meiel to Mira, the magic fluctuation of the colossal gate echoed through the bustling main square. The ground shook like an earthquake as a straight black-and-white crack appeared in the sky. I muttered, “Mu got sent off and the gate’s already open?”
“Indeed. Opening a gate of that size isn’t bad for this distance. Though calling it ‘one minute’ was a bit slow.”
“Must I add anything else?”
Mu alone had been granted permission to take as long as she needed, and she had opened the gate in an instant. The gate was complete in the short time it would take to boil a single egg, exactly as I’d been told. Isolde, who had offered a few unnecessary remarks, nodded in agreement.
The moment Isolde finished speaking, Mu—acting like a tiger responding to its master—flew toward us and landed.
“Sorry, sister… I finished filling the magic power two minutes ago… but I was late because I had to verify the coordinates…”
“It’s fine. As long as there’s no problem, it’s fine. By the way, how much magic power did you use that it took a whole minute?”
Mu fluttered her robe in the wind as she landed and apologized for the delay. I waved away her unnecessary excuse and asked the question I’d been wondering about. The figure before me was none other than Meiel’s avatar. Though weaker than Aria and Yujia, it possessed magic power and long-range firepower no one else could match. Even at full power, it had taken a full minute to fill the gate. That meant the gate consumed a staggering amount of magic.
At my question, Mu twirled a strand of her hair and replied, “Roughly… one percent of my magic power…? I think so… The reason it took so long is that if I filled it too quickly, it would unbalance the other professors’ contributions and overload the system… So I’d have to recalculate the coordinates again…”
In short, Mu could have finished faster, but the other professors’ pitifully low injection rates had forced her to slow down. If Mu’s injection was like a waterfall, the others were barely a trickle. She must have been struggling to reduce her own massive flow to that level.
The gate’s efficiency in consuming one-hundredth of Meiel’s magic was impressive, but considering the distance from the academy to the Undersea Kingdom gate zone, it wasn’t excessive. Roughly three hundred kilometers separated them. If Mu had filled half the required power, the load was actually reasonable.
Despite the terrible equipment, she had somehow completed her task. I drew Mu close and gently patted her head. “Well done, Meiel. You worked hard.”
“Yes… sister…”
The rare, gentle praise—exactly what I never gave—made Mu beam with delight. As the praise lingered, Morgan’s and Isolde’s expressions grew increasingly displeased. They were clearly irritated. I ignored them and continued stroking Mu’s head. This was simply fueling her for more efficient work. Especially today, when I needed her at 100 percent.
As my praise began to fade, Mira’s voice filled the entire square.
All please pay attention. Today is the experiential learning day for our first-years, so focus quickly and finish as fast as possible.
The amplified voice echoed. Students turned toward the source. Mira quickly focused the stragglers and continued.
“I don’t like wasting time, so let’s finish quickly. After all, I won’t be joining the experiential learning myself, so there’s no need to drag this on, is there?”
Laughter rippled across the square at Mira’s humorous remark. As someone who had watched Mira closely, I felt no special thrill—exactly like playing a game. But to the students and other professors, it was a common joke. When the laughter died down, Mira turned serious.
“As some of you may have heard, today’s experiential learning will proceed in groups. I’ll now float the professors assigned to each group on the back of your hands. You’ll be gathered together, so find your own group and go.”
The explanation was shockingly concise—yet essential. The students had no trouble understanding. The moment Mira finished, glowing professor portraits hovered above each student’s hand. They immediately began scanning their surroundings for their teachers.
Although the main square was large, most professors, including me, stood near the edges. Students found their groups in under a minute. They gathered, and familiar faces soon approached us.
“Ah, there you are!”
“Yes, we’re here.”
Arin spotted us first, followed by Riana beside her. Riana gathered the other students from the same group and joined us. Students walked confidently toward us. I raised a hand in greeting.
“Come on in. No need for introductions. Today, you’ll be under our watch.”
“Nice to meet you…”
“It’s good we’re the ones who have to take care of you.”
“Indeed. If it were anyone else, it would’ve been a pain.”
Mu, Isolde, and Morgan greeted us as well. Isolde and Morgan’s words sounded more like banter, but they contained praise, so I let them pass.
The first student to respond was Pina.
“Thank you for your service… I mean, Professor… Please take good care of us today.”
“……”
Pina’s face flushed slightly despite being at the academy. She was simply too excited. We liked her, so seeing us all together stirred a wave of emotion in her chest. She had nearly called us “travelers” by mistake. Sweating slightly, I accepted her greeting. The others followed in turn. Arin and the others offered heartfelt thanks for joining the experiential learning, while the extra students greeted us normally, clearly surprised by our gathering.
Though their tones varied, everyone was clearly glad to be with us. I stepped back. “First, ten of you. Line up two rows deep. It’s better to stand before going than to stand while walking.”
“““Yes!!!”””
The first thing to do in the experiential learning was establish order. The Undersea Kingdom was a large nation similar in size to the Fhara Kingdom, so maintaining discipline in such a crowded place was essential. I led the students into formation.
“We’ll be going too. No point in lagging behind.”
“Yes, Professor!”
“Isolde, come sit beside me and Meiel. Morgan, Yujia, and Kama—protect the students from behind.”
“Understood.”
“That’s easy.”
Isolde fluttered over and sat beside me and Meiel. Morgan took her subordinates and moved behind the students. One demon general in front, one in back—arranged to spot any sudden appearance of Idea. Although separate groups were no longer a big deal, I wanted to ensure we didn’t fall behind in discovery.
I watched the neatly aligned line and began leading the students forward. “All right, let’s go!”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
“Hurry, Professor!”
Leading the excited students, I slowly entered the gate.
Above the deep blue sea. Wherever I looked, only water stretched endlessly. Small points floated in the air. Closer inspection revealed they were the silhouettes of fifteen men and women with pale skin. Among them, a woman with lavender hair and ice-blue eyes like glacial pools sat at the center, tapping her staff as she spoke.
“Haphras, Tydrop. Everything ready?”
“Yes, Idea-sama.”
“All preparations are complete.”
The two men and women bowed deeply in unison. They were the Demon General brought by Idea and the highest-ranking combat force among the demons—aside from the executives. They remained bowed as they replied.
“We’ve already placed assassins from our army around the Record Library and eliminated the surrounding buildings.”
“We are currently waiting in the gate zone to monitor the academy’s movement toward the Undersea Kingdom.”
“Hm? Good work. Efficient as always.”
No playful drawl or teasing tone today. Exactly one day after Idea’s precious little brother was taken by the human race, her usual mischief vanished. Since losing Isolde, only vicious anger and the grief beneath remained in her eyes. She listened to Haphras and Tydrop, nodded, and spoke.
“The mission we sent our assassins on has been completed successfully. We have seized control of the buildings around the Record Library and are monitoring the academy’s movements.”
It would take a few days for the building seizure to be discovered, but it didn’t matter. Idea would only stay in the Undersea Kingdom for today. Hiding in her lair and blocking the academy’s personnel was enough.
“The order from the Demon King is to prevent anyone from entering the Record Library and to steal one of the books kept there.”
The Demon King’s command to Idea. She must either keep everyone out of the Record Library or steal a single book from it. The tasks ahead were clear.
“Everyone, enter. From now on, we will kill every single one of these human females who dared abduct my brother.”
Gazing at the twelve men and women behind her, Idea declared. Ten elite demons and two Demon Generals—strong enough that even combined they couldn’t match Idea alone. But against the academy’s runts, the difficulty was negligible. Perhaps even excessive. She pulled the hidden killing intent from the depths of her eyes and shouted at them.
“Our goal is simple. To fulfill the Demon King’s command, we will conquer the Record Library and slaughter the human filth who kidnapped my little brother.”
The words dripped with rage. The demons slowly sank into the deepest part of the sea, heading toward the Undersea Kingdom.
The Undersea Kingdom was, as the name suggested, a kingdom located in the deep sea. As a normal human, I would never have visited. Yet how had so many tourists come here? The answer lay in the kingdom’s extreme openness. The residents were merfolk—humans whose bodies had changed through ancient magic in the deepest ocean. They possessed fins on ears, arms, and legs, and scales on their skin. But they could breathe underwater and breathe normally on land. Curious about the outside world, they had opened their doors to other races and grown into a bustling hub.
The Undersea Kingdom had welcomed humans, fairies, and elves with open arms and quickly became a metropolis of multiple races. While the Fhara Kingdom gathered adventurers and students, the Undersea Kingdom’s visitors were mostly for tourism or commerce. In any case, the modern Undersea Kingdom was born from this fusion. A growth-oriented kingdom that absorbed other cultures alongside the history of magic. Thanks to this, it had grown to the size of the Fhara Kingdom in a short time.
The Fhara Kingdom was so vast that crossing from one city wall to the opposite took a full day. It was divided into several districts, with the east, west, south, and north clearly distinguished. A nation of similar size, open in the deep sea, was destined to become a famous tourist destination. At the same time, it was a kingdom that had existed since the dawn of magic—the beginning of all magic. The academy visited it frequently for study.
Since it had no land connection, the only way to enter was through the gate magic. Every day, the Undersea Kingdom’s gate zone generated and vanished gates. I stepped out of one.
Guuuung──
I felt the gate’s pull like passing through thick pudding. “Sigh… Hah…”
The first thing my nose registered was the scent of the sea. Moments ago I had been breathing air mixed with inland grass. Now it was rich with salt. The air’s humidity moistened my nose, followed by cold air cooling my lungs. It felt refreshing. My body felt washed clean. Behind me, Mu, Isolde, and Arin’s group did the same, inhaling deeply wherever they stood. I took one deep breath and slowly opened my eyelids.
It was an instant, yet my eyelids felt lazy. Slowly, slowly, the scenery entered my vision. When I finally opened my eyes fully, I exhaled in amazement at the brilliant green landscape filling my sight.
“Ooh…”
“Wow…”
“What a beautiful scene.”
The first thing I noticed was the endless road stretching ahead and the buildings lining it. Underwater city? The materials unique to the deep sea created a beauty I couldn’t look away from. But when I finally tore my eyes from the endless buildings and looked around, I saw an enormous air bubble enveloping the entire kingdom from the bottom to the sky. It must be generating oxygen while blocking sea pressure. Above it floated a magic circle radiating light as bright as sunlight—insufficient to call it a small sun for the Undersea Kingdom alone.
Students who had pictured a dark deep sea without light stared in open-mouthed wonder. They gaped so wide one could fit a worm inside. I kept my calm face and stored the surging admiration in my heart.
“I never imagined it would be this beautiful. Indeed, it is.”
I had seen the same scenery countless times in the game and become bored. But seeing it directly with eyes, nose, ears, and skin was a different dimension entirely. The monitor’s flat image couldn’t compare.
“Exactly the same… but the dimensions are different.”
The emotion I felt was one I had never experienced in the game. I nodded honestly. Just as I began to organize my swirling feelings, someone tugged my sleeve.
“Professor! Where do we start?”
“Hm?”
I turned and found Shaty pulling my arm. Shaty, who lived for the history of magic, had a much more excited expression than usual. “The scenery is magnificent, isn’t it?”
The other students’ faces were no less eager, though none matched Shaty’s fire. I hadn’t received the order to depart yet, so I tilted my head in confusion. Only after noticing the other groups did I understand why Shaty was speaking that way.
“All right, everyone, let’s go!”
“Yes, Professor!”
“Then shall we go too?”
“Where to?”
“Let’s go together~”
“Yes!”
Other professors were already moving, carefully guiding their students. I had expected at least a high-tier professor to instruct us on departure, but with Mira absent, they simply began moving the moment we arrived. I let out a small sigh and pulled the neatly folded paper from my pocket.
“Then we’ll go too. Wait a moment.”
I gave the students the order to wait and unfolded the sheet, scanning the tourist spots listed by Mira. Among the many places, I deliberately left the Record Library for last. I couldn’t risk any trouble there. I looked at the most eye-catching location among the others and widened my eyes.
“This looks good.”
“Where…?”
Mu asked, having overheard me. I pointed to the spot I had chosen. Mu stroked her chin and hummed in agreement. When she opened her eyes, she nodded. “I think it’s fine…”
“Really? Then let’s go there.”
Once Mu agreed, the destination was set. I folded the sheet and looked at the students still gazing at me with eager eyes. Honestly, they probably wouldn’t love every spot, but this was a place that had to be visited—different dimensions from the game.
“From now on, we’ll travel unarmed.”
The largest weapons shop in the Undersea Kingdom—one that adventurers always sought. I smiled faintly, hiding the departure command in my words. Since money was involved, I might as well give them a weapon or two.