Oversleeping and the Kindergarten-Level Magic Class☆
Ugh— classes are the worst☆ Thanks to cranking my recovery to the max with time magic, I managed to get out early, at least. Being treated like a little kid is just pathetic treatment, and I hate it…☆ So anyway, now I'm back at the dorm. Alright, let's see. I open the door, and whoosh— an avalanche of letters piled up in the entryway comes spilling out.
"Haa…☆ Useless junk. Being popular is such a hassle☆"
Most of it was fan club letters from total losers☆. But… I had a feeling there might be something important mixed in, so I checked every single sender's name. Like, maybe that pathetic jerk sent something—
"No—!"
Tch, why the hell am I even looking for a letter from that total loser? Hoo, get it together. I just kicked the letters roughly back inside with my foot.
Classes start tomorrow— Third Day, as confirmed. Except for the two 3-credit and 4-credit courses on Fifth Day, most are split between 1st/3rd Days and 2nd/4th Days. So for the next three days, I'll hit every class once to cover the whole semester. Oh, and the only other change is the ranking matches got pushed to this Saturday— Moon Day? My memory's not great, so recalling stuff like this is a pain. Blame the fever I had as a kid; it slowed my brain development.
Come to think of it, since enrolling, I've only gone between the dorm and the student cafeteria? Glancing out the window, it was already afternoon. Academy students were swarming toward the lecture halls. The White Badge dorm's close to the lecture buildings, so I could see them heading to class pretty clearly.
Even in my past life, I hated classes. Basically, you have to kiss up to these easy profs who can't even handle magic as well as me. Having to suck up to those pathetic professors…☆ It pisses me off, but I gotta get home quick, so no choice. For now, I headed into the practice room attached to my room.
The infirmary prof called it a mana plate? The muscles that use mana were sore but feeling recovered now. She said overusing it could make them grow back ruptured and cause problems later. Having to prove countless magic formulas with my tiny chalk stubs would be a nightmare.
In the practice room, I closed my eyes and checked the mana dwelling inside me. Then I drew out just a bit and tried a standard topological proof again. I'd already confirmed back at the mansion that I could implement these with magic. I wanna leverage my past life's expertise in analysis to verify a few more things.
I spent the day confirming the relationships in proofs doable with small amounts of magic. I jotted all the details in my diary.
-knock knock-
"Ugh…"
-knock knock-
"What is it, you meanie…♡"
-knock knock-
"Eeeugh…♡ I'm getting up, okay—!"
I sit up in bed, and my pillow's soaked with drool. Wait, that's not the point. I grab the clock nearby in a panic— it's almost 10 o'clock. So…
"I totally ditched."
First class was at 8, so I skipped at least one. "Haaah—♡!" Still growing, so I need a ton of sleep—what can ya do? They told me to rest till tomorrow anyway, so skipping class is fine, right?
But who the heck is waking me up like this? That creepy sweet-talking spinster dorm mom? Or which total loser☆ is pissing me off this early in the morning?
-knock knock-
"Ah! Which pathetic☆ loser is waking me up?!"
I yell and fling open the door, and there's Naru from the room next door standing there. She's way taller than me, and I'd have to call her "big sis," but… we're both newbies, right? Plus, she's just a 12-year-old brat anyway.
"Kesera, get up already. We have the same class, don't we? I heard you got to the dorm yesterday, so I came to wake you personally."
Naru smiles and holds out her hand to me. That looks super suspicious—can I trust it?
"Eh~☆ A loser like you in the same class as me? Hard to believe~?"
"Kesera, you signed up for the same subjects. We're taking 2nd-year Four Elements Usage, right?"
"Yeah, what does that have to do with a loser like you~☆"
Naru purses her lips and furrows her brow a bit. But she seems unfazed by my taunts now and just grabs my hand, pulling me along.
"Come on already. You don't know the lecture hall. We have to go together anyway?"
Hey, what's with her? Well, I mean, I'm the eldest daughter of the Ascentrius family with this stunning beauty, so it's understandable if she's charmed by me…☆ Guess I'll follow since I don't know the way either.
"You're really taking the same class as me?"
"I said yes? You don't believe me?"
I wondered if Naru was plotting to tank my grades or something… but nope, she really was enrolled in Four Elements Usage, Building 200 series for 2nd years. Normally, you learn basic arithmetic for fire, water, wind, and earth in 100-level intro courses, then usage the next semester. But~ since I'm such an exceptional mage, I skipped most 1st-year stuff☆
Entering the new lecture building, it was quite the sight—had me going "whoa~"☆ without thinking.
"This is the latest building using the Serianstris method with floating candles in the air. Designed by Architect Konis himself. See how those skylights in the ceiling light up the whole place with minimal magic?"
"Yeah~ so what~☆"
"It'll be on the test, y'know. You have Imperial Academy History class too."
"…"
Are you my stalker or something? Anyway, holding Naru's hand, we made our way to the lecture room. The door had a portrait of a blue-haired woman with striking eyes—probably the patron who funded this new building.
"Hello~ kids."
"That's Grand Mage Tiasa, one of the Five Rulers."
Is that Tiasa? She looks kinda different from the portrait…? Whatever, no point arguing with a painting, so we went inside. It was a huge auditorium-sized lecture hall.
"Let's sit here. No assigned seats—first come, first served."
"Ew~ I hate the front row…☆"
"Just do what I say! I'm gonna compete with you fair and square."
As if a common brat like her could. Naru was burning with rivalry toward me, flames practically shooting from her eyes. And yeah, front row sucks. Attention's bad enough without being that obvious☆
"Whoa, White Badges over there."
"New freshmen, huh? Hi~"
"Hello, seniors~!"
Has Naru already buddy-buddy with the older academy losers? Some 2nd-year Reds and Yellows came in and greeted her. Maybe club seniors or something☆?
A bit after we entered, the room filled up with 2nd-years—packed. About 100 students total. I even spotted some 4th-year Blacks who failed this class before. Whoa~ ammonite☆
"Hi kids~! Shall we get started with class today?"
Then in comes this tiny professor who barely looks like a student. Rare female prof at the Imperial Academy, wearing an oversized witch hat that doesn't suit her and dragging a staff, climbing onto the podium with its big step stool. So… she's really short. Like me. And like all mages, she's got that pretty, cute look. Kinda likable for some reason…
"Oh, a new face I haven't seen before?"
Why's she looking at me? Instant dislike. Still just an assistant prof at best—pitiful☆.
"Hi! I'm Esti Le Jerna Narelliseis—call me Professor Esti!"
She zips over using acceleration magic and sticks out her hand. Suddenly, feels like all 100 pairs of eyes are on us. Getting attention is normal for me, but from these nobodies? Kinda boring~ No choice, I shake her hand, and the weird tiny prof beams before heading back to the podium. Fixing her crooked witch hat after almost tripping.
"Hehe, before we start, roll call~"
I already thought the profs here were all weirdos, but this lady takes the cake.
"Kesera~ Kesera? Oh, what a pretty name!"
"…Yes."
"Wow! Such a cute voice too!"
Not off to a great start… The class vibe was weird too—like, is this an academy or a kindergarten?
"Okay, everyone listen up~ Today we're learning magic that adds wind power to the fire element! Super important, so memorize the order! It'll be on the test?"
But the content from this tiny prof was stuff I knew inside out—boring as hell. I mean, droning on about addition and subtraction like for elementary kids? No wonder it's dull. Even if the little one's on tiptoes drawing magic circles with all her might, it's so basic it's yawn-worthy. Sleep was already creeping in thanks to the mana imbalance from overusing time magic for recovery… Kinda… tired… zzZ