Moonlit Night Raid
Meals at the Imperial Academy were always served outside the dorms. You could bring food back to eat, sure, but no deliveries. This world didn't have much of a food delivery culture anyway. The dorms did provide simple porridge, but that wasn't gonna fill a growing girl's belly.
"Haa...☆ What a painful world, no delivery food~ That's insane, for real☆"
No choice but to throw on a robe and head to the student cafeteria for a quick bite. The night sky was crystal clear. Out in the fields where the cafeteria loomed in the distance, some club was hosting a newbie welcome party. Honey wine and castella cake were flying everywhere, the sweet scent wafting over. Small gatherings like this were popping up all over the academy fields, inside buildings, even some dorms—reminded me of college life from my past life.
I'd never been big on clubs back then, huh? Those were the days... That nostalgic thought bubbled up.
Suddenly, it hit me. Could I blend into that crowd and have some fun? Academy life might be nice and all... but nah, nothing beats home for real research. My past-life college was full-dorm too, but I never partied. Same deal this time around. Just like before, I wanna chase the pinnacle of magic in this life. Defining those mathematical proofs I couldn't crack before and manifesting them as spells? How romantic is that?
Wouldn't it be amazing to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for the flow of that stream over there? Magic can make abstract math visible, after all.
Gazing at the brook trickling by the path, feeling all poetic, and boom—the cafeteria was right in front of me. The Imperial Academy's dining hall had that ancient vibe. Surrounded by park-like woods, it felt like you were deep in a forest, and inside was no different.
Stepping in, dinner was laid out buffet-style like a fancy hotel. Looked dazzling from afar, but up close... my short height made grabbing stuff a chore.
"All height and no reach— this is impossible...?☆"
And every table was ridiculously tall. Magic was banned indoors except in special spots like the sparring grounds, so no flying. Standing on tiptoes to scoop food, then climbing onto the chair like it was a mountain—but I made it to the table. Settling in with a river view, the mood was perfect. Solo dinner time like in my past life... this is the life.
"Kesera."
"...What do you want?"
"Saw you grabbing dinner, so I came to eat together~"
Trouble latched on. No idea why this girl sticks like glue. Trying to mooch knowledge now that we're 'friends'? She wouldn't keep up even if I spilled a tip or two.
I speared some meat with my fork and chomped down. Mmm~ tender. Not bad at all. But seeing her plop down across from me... kinda cute, in a derpy way. Her face has this haughty vibe, but there's something endearingly clumsy about her. Problem is, even staring at that cute face does zilch for any romantic sparks. Whatever, I never cared about that stuff in my past life either.
"Heard there's a fireworks party tonight. Wanna go watch?"
"Fireworks? That's for kids who love boom boom☆ stuff."
"You're such a kidult. These are magical fireworks~ Come on, Kesera, let's go."
"What~☆ Totally lame."
Perfect timing—I'd polished off my plate. Ditched the clingy nuisance trying to hog my attention. Naru kept yelling from behind, "Hey! Come on!", but tonight was for a casual stroll and early bed.
But she scarfed half her food and stuck to my side anyway.
"Aww~☆ Scared of the dark? We're friends, right?"
"Friends my ass! Call me sis!"
Treating her harsh didn't faze her one bit. Unlike the mansion where I ruled supreme, this academy really drove home how things worked here. Ignoring her tailing me, I cast flight magic the second we stepped outside and floated off for more wandering. Can't use time magic, but a bit more flying would count as training too.
Then, a weird vibe surged from the woods. Something like void magic leaking from deep inside. The mana flow violated natural laws—like a nonsensical problem twisted by force. Idiots might call it jumbled magic, but not me.
No professors around to handle it. Why was this happening in the academy's woods? Curious, I followed the subtle distortions in the darkening sky deeper in.
A bit further, and I spotted a massive beast and spider locked in a deathmatch—carcasses everywhere, stench assaulting my nose.
"Eughhh... creepy☆"
I'm not some wimp who freaks at gore. Getting scared of this would make me a pathetic loser☆. The chaos mana had subtle coordinate-disrupting spells mixed in. Fog thickening, visibility dropping. Was that rot or chemicals? The academy's old as dirt, full of weird relics. The woods were ancient too—monsters and illusions popped up sometimes, they said.
"Ack...☆"
Flight magic glitched; nearly lost balance. Gotta focus. Heard rumors the woods got spooky at night, but that's kid talk. Just piques my curiosity.
Further on, swamp and lake appeared. Good thing I was airborne—would've sunk ankle-deep in mud otherwise. That's when it sank in: this forest was dangerous.
Right then—boom! Fireworks from the cafeteria area. The blast shattered my magic calculations; ears ringing, vision blurring like I'd gone deaf. Floating dazed midair, helpless...
That's when someone appeared behind me.
"Hey, top scorer?"
A creepy voice scraping my eardrums. Turning, not even 10 meters away: a boy with hollow, possessed eyes. Black hair like that parasite senior, but his face was way darker.
"Who the hell are you."
Instinct screamed: Danger. But damn, it thrilled me. Magic making me feel fear?
"Name's Luca. Fellow freshman, same year as a prime bloodline like you."
"You lame loser behind this? Not bad."
"That smug mouth ends tonight."
Loser gripped a two-handed staff, tipped with unfamiliar black jade. A real weapon, like a proper blade. I whipped out my platinum wand from my cape—Mom made it special for me. A top-tier wand's like a super calculator: chalk for drawing, infused spells boosting computations.
"You lame piece of—☆"
"You'll scream my name as you die. Krkr...!"
Filthy staff unleashed chaos. Color evoked void magic like visualized calculus, but it was messy, corrupted mana.
I cast flight on myself, veering sharply. The chaos tracked me like a homing missile. Didn't expect that... no normal spell pulls those trajectories. Felt like a common sealed tome buzzing around the house. As a kid, I couldn't predict its path—tough stuff. But studying it? Easy analysis. Mom asked how I stopped one...
"Die! Die already, you noble brat!"
Steadily waving my platinum wand, I dissected the chaos. His filthy magic poured one-note. But my eyes spotted the weakness instantly☆ Dodging between trees, calculations done—I landed lightly on dry ground.
"Feeling like dying yet?"
Trajectories of those chaotic bullets? Solved. Fourier transform yielded the general solution; counter-magic circle from my wand nullified it right at my nose. If only my brain was as sharp and quick as my past life, it'd be faster. Eh, good workout.
"...What?"
"Hmph~☆ Pathetic. Attacking me with that lame crap?"
"How... the chaos...!"
"Simple~☆ Wanna try harder? Come on, step it up~☆ This is fun~"
"But it's fine. Hahaha!"
Something possessed the loser for sure. His mana reeked of illogic from the start. Better I wipe it out myself than leave it to weaklings—then wire Mom a report.