Selection Match? Going All Out (2)
The morning assembly was a little different from the usual routine where the teachers gathered in the staff room every day to discuss work. Normally the grade head and homeroom teacher of Class 1, Eun Chaekyeong, led the meeting, but today the principal had come in person. To the first-year staff room, of all places.
"Yes. The official notice already came down, so we're all familiar with it."
"But it looks like things will flow differently from what's written in the notice, so I decided to come myself."
"You came in person, Principal?"
Wouldn't it have been simpler to just call or send a work email? Cha Seoyeon couldn't understand the principal, who was smiling mischievously.
"Yes. Since I was bored anyway and stopped by the first-year staff room, I figured I'd let you know about the changes while I was at it. Killing two birds with one stone."
"Ah… I see."
She came to the staff room because she was bored? What on earth was that supposed to mean? Even though Cha Seoyeon had seen the principal wandering all over the academy, she still couldn't get used to it. They say people change as they get older. The principal's behavior was the complete opposite of her past self, and it left Cha Seoyeon feeling confused.
"The higher-ups sent a proposal. Well, it's less of a proposal and more of a recommendation. Or maybe it's closer to a demand? Even I'm not sure. So there will be a few changes to the original schedule."
"The higher-ups… you mean the Education Committee?"
"Yes. Correct, Teacher Eunji!"
"Hehe… hehehe…."
Jeong Eunji, the homeroom teacher of Class 4 who hadn't been working as a magical girl educator for very long, looked absolutely delighted by the principal's praise. After all, the academy principal held a rather high position. And praise from the principal—who had once been known as an incredible magical girl—was more than enough to boost a new teacher's morale.
But while Jeong Eunji's emotions had been lifted by the principal's approval, the other teachers' expressions remained distinctly uncomfortable.
"It feels like the Education Committee has been showing up a lot lately… It's a bit worrying."
"Teacher Boyoung, don't worry too much. I've been shutting down any excessive interference or pressure. I accepted this because it looked interesting to me too."
"That's a relief, then."
"Listen up, everyone. This is a proposal that will be incredibly helpful for the kids while also being very interesting."
Just what kind of proposal had the principal heard from the Education Committee? The principal quickly gave them the answer.
"This event has too many lectures and Q&A sessions where it's all just talking, right? So they've decided to add sparring matches between active magical girls and the children!"
"…Sparring? If the lecturers are fine with it, I think it's a good suggestion."
"It'll be a chance for the children to receive guidance from seniors who are actually out in the field and gain the motivation to work hard by treating them as role models. I approve as well."
"M-me too! So far we've only had them spar among themselves, so I was worried they might end up as frogs in a well… I hope this event gives them some stimulation!"
"Good. Everyone except Teacher Seoyeon seems to agree. What do you think, Teacher Seoyeon?"
Unlike the other teachers who were actively voicing their opinions, the principal turned to Cha Seoyeon, who had kept her mouth firmly shut. Cha Seoyeon brought a finger to her chin, thought for a moment, then asked the principal.
"Sparring with every student would be difficult both time-wise and physically. In the end we'll have to choose which children get to participate. How do you plan to handle that?"
"For now… it's up to your recommendations. You can select them by grades in each class, or you can simply choose the children you think are suitable."
"You're saying there's a limit on the number of participants per class?"
Eun Chaekyeong asked after hearing the principal's answer.
"That's right! Since one mentor will be assigned to each class, I think it's the most convenient and fair option. Or… do you have another method you'd prefer? For example… having one student face every mentor once?"
All the teachers present began to covet the principal's alternative. Any teacher would want to help their own students grow more. How often did an opportunity like going all-out against an active magical girl come along? Especially for freshmen, such a chance was more precious than striking gold. It would undoubtedly have a massive impact on their future careers as magical girls.
Even one match would be good, but four? If their student got to fight four senior magical girls, the experience points would be enormous. Although it meant stealing opportunities from the other students, the benefit of monopolizing them was simply too great.
While everyone was glancing at each other and licking their lips, Cha Seoyeon spoke.
"As the principal said, how about we settle on just one?"
"How will we select that one, Teacher Seoyeon?"
The gaze was sharp enough to be venomous. It looked ready to tear her apart the moment Cha Seoyeon failed to answer properly. Feeling the eyes of Eun Chaekyeong, the grade head, on her, Cha Seoyeon laid out her idea.
"Let's have the representative students from each class spar against one another. Wouldn't that solve it?"
"Oho… Now that's an interesting suggestion!"
The stage was set. The principal's voice was filled with excitement, as if she found the situation incredibly entertaining.
"Teacher Chaekyeong, are you okay with that? I think Teacher Seoyeon's opinion is quite good?"
"Principal… the final exams are only a short while away. There's a sparring test in the finals too. Is it really necessary to drain the children's strength beforehand?"
"Wouldn't it be better to think of it as a preliminary round for the final exams? The students will have to decide whether to reveal all the cards they've prepared for the final sparring test or hide them… They'll have all sorts of thoughts. And the same goes for the teachers here, of course."
Various strategies flashed through the teachers' minds and vanished. Ha Boyoung spoke as if she'd realized something.
"So it's a choice between gaining an advantage for the final exams or getting the chance to spar with active professionals."
"Teacher Boyoung. Do you truly believe it's an either-or situation?"
"What do you mean by that, Teacher Chaekyeong?"
What followed was a provocation from Eun Chaekyeong. A provocation directed not only at Ha Boyoung, the homeroom teacher of Class 3, but at everyone present.
"Our Yuri could win this spar and the final exam duel without any problem, you know?"
"Teacher Chaekyeong. You're overflowing with confidence, aren't you?"
"It's the truth. She already took first place in the midterms, so there's no reason she couldn't do the same in the finals."
Eun Chaekyeong knew just how rapidly Yun Yuri's skills had been growing lately. Watching her student improve so steeply under her guidance had sent Eun Chaekyeong's pride soaring through the roof.
But Ha Boyoung possessed just as much pride in her own student. Although she had tasted defeat in the midterms, she had poured her know-how into intensive lessons afterward and dramatically raised her students' level. She had endured it all with the spirit of grinding an axe until it became a needle and lying on firewood while tasting gall.
Ha Boyoung, who had patiently endured Eun Chaekyeong's subtle boasting all this time, finally gave up on holding back now that the stage had been prepared.
"The title of prodigy isn't omnipotent, you know…."
"My, my. Teacher Boyoung… It seems you have something you're relying on this time?"
"Of course. I deliberately held the children back during the last midterm to gauge their level. This time will be different, so please look forward to it."
"U-um. Our students aren't to be underestimated either!"
Jeong Eunji, who had been quietly listening to the senior teachers' war of nerves, suddenly shouted.
"O-our Yesol is practicing dual swords now instead of a single blade! It's her secret weapon. The final exams won't be as easy as before!"
"Why are you revealing all of that, Teacher Eunji…."
"Teacher Boyoung. That might actually be a high-level bluff."
"Is that so? Hmm…."
The atmosphere in the staff room was growing sharper by the minute. There was one week left until the event and three weeks until the final exams. From now on, the staff room was going to be a rather uncomfortable place. Cha Seoyeon felt a headache coming on that hadn't been there before.
"It's nice to see the teachers of each class competing like this. But I hope it remains a fair competition? I don't want to see any unfortunate incidents arising from an overly heated atmosphere. I'm sure you all understand as teachers."
The principal's words were a reminder to engage only in healthy and proper competition. The veteran teachers and Cha Seoyeon, who knew the principal's personality well, immediately understood her true intentions. It seemed they didn't need to worry about cheating.
"Then it's decided! I'll go inform the committee about this. Everyone, have a good day today as well!"
With that, the principal left the staff room with bouncy steps. A storm had just blown through. But everyone knew this was only the beginning.
"Everyone… let's end today's assembly here."
At Eun Chaekyeong's words as grade head, the teachers returned to their seats and began preparing for class. The tension between them remained thick in the air.
"And that's how it ended up being you, Kim Jihye."
The teacher's explanation had been rather long, yet it was concise.
"I suggested it to Seyeol and Miju as well, but they all stubbornly refused. It seems they thought you were more suitable."
"Haa… I don't need anything like this."
"To be honest, I feel the same way. You're already complete, after all. You."
The counseling room was well soundproofed. The academy's strong desire to respect the students' privacy as much as possible—even using magic for it—was clearly evident. Thanks to that, the teacher had been able to speak about fairly deep topics, and I responded to them calmly.
"That's true."
"Aside from your lack of mana, you're already complete, so you won't gain any benefit from this event. That's why I wanted to recommend other students, but since they all refused, I'm in a difficult spot."
"Should I try persuading the kids?"
"I'd appreciate it if you did. But it doesn't seem like they'll be easily swayed by your persuasion. At least that's how it feels to me."
"That sounds right too. …Haaam."
The kids usually listen to me well, but they each have their own stubbornness in strange areas. It looked like that stubbornness had kicked in this time.
…The teacher really has it rough.
"Will you be all right?"
"…Well, I don't like it, but I don't have much choice. Not when the teacher is asking me like this."
"No. My request isn't important at all."
"Huh?"
To my puzzled self, the teacher pointed at my body with her finger.
"What's important is your body. Your body that has almost no mana. You mustn't push yourself and collapse again."
Ah…. That's true. It would be troublesome if I unnecessarily drained my strength and fell into a deep sleep again. Not only would it worry Jiah, but everyone around me too.
The teacher, worried about me, mentioned the alternative she had come up with.
"We've decided on only one person to spar with the active professionals. To choose that student, the representatives from each class will gather and spar this Wednesday. You can deliberately lose there. While holding back."
"That's a tempting offer."
"It's the best-case scenario. There's no need to waste strength when the final exams are so close. Of course, you can just go through the motions for the finals too. You don't particularly care about being top of the class or your grades, right?"
"That's correct. I'm not interested in grades or getting a job."
"…What will you do, Kim Jihye?"
I thought about the teacher's proposal for a long time. Everything she said was correct and reasonable, so following it seemed like the smart choice. But something kept nagging at me. Maybe it was because of that nightmare I'd had before.
If you're going to make them walk the path of a magical girl, take responsibility.
The kids wouldn't want to see me lose helplessly in a match. They hadn't yielded this opportunity with that kind of intention.
At some point, I had become a guide for the kids. A guide showing them the path they needed to walk ahead.
But if I betrayed their expectations by using my body's condition as an excuse…
Of course they would understand. They knew my physical state well.
However, that was separate from the disappointment they would feel. Disappointment in me running away for the sake of my own safety.
This is why raising disciples is difficult and annoying. Because disciples follow their master's footsteps whether awake or asleep, always watching.
For that reason, I had never raised a disciple even back in Magica.
"Huu…."
As the senior magical girl these juniors look up to, I should show them something cool.
"I'll do it. I'll work hard without pushing myself too far."
I conveyed my determination to the teacher. And the teacher seemed quite satisfied with my answer.