Fairy Whispers and the Eve of Battle
I'm a man. A man, and yet... why.
Tears laced with regret trail down my cheek and plop onto the floor. Lying on my back, I swallow the wave of sorrow crashing over me. The dampened sheets are ice-cold against my skin, and the image that flashed in my mind is crystal clear. That total loser's face... why...♡
"Haa...♡ Totally grossing myself out..."
It's over now. It's only been a week, but I can feel myself becoming more and more girly by the day. These unfamiliar sensations, ones I never noticed as a kid, are seeping into me like they've always been there. I press my hand hard against my chest to quiet my pounding heart, but it ignores me and keeps thumping away.
Whoosh—whoosh—with every breath I exhale, the swell of my chest rises and falls in my field of vision. I never should have used time magic. No wonder even the archmages avoid it. And the price of slathering it all over my own body... it's this enormous.
The next day dawned bright as always. Did I pass out on the floor instead of the bed...? My throat's parched, so I sit up and grab the ever-present water bottle by the bedside. Gulp, gulp—
"Kyaaah~☆"
This thermostatic magic bottle always keeps the hexagonal water at a refreshing 4 degrees. Downing a glass of the ice-cold water snaps me right awake. A glance at the clock shows it's only 7:30. Plenty of time to pack up and slack off a bit before heading out.
Let's see... what's on today's schedule? In order: Understanding Herbology, Northern Script, Imperial Ancient History, and Intro to Coordinate Magic. The coordinate one is a 300-level course, but the timing worked out. Eh, classes will fly by anyway. And once today wraps up... tomorrow's the ranking match.
That fucking loser punk☆ I'm gonna crush you so bad you won't make a peep☆
I stuff my bag, slip into my academy uniform, and toddle out the door. Understanding Herbology is outdoors, so it's in the shallow woods near the academy forest—not the deep part I wandered into before, pulled by that weird energy, but the outskirts close to the trails. Still, it's a forest through and through; strolling the paths brings a nice fresh breeze. Amid the intoxicating spring forest scent, I hear whispers from the trees.
I look up, wondering what it is, and spot flashes of light—fairies murmuring echoes.
"There she goes."
"That's the freshman, right?"
"Total eyesore~ for real."
"How dare a little brat go after our dear Egail—!"
Those pint-sized pests are just fairy echoes, parroting what students said. So... someone was badmouthing me as I passed. No idea which loser it was, but I can't pick a fight with an echo. They're just traces of dying, mindless fairies, after all.
"Look how rude the Egailas are."
"Saying stuff like that to such a cute kid?"
"Haa~ check out that haughty glare. Getting chills already from a little girl like that."
"You're Kesera Sera, right?"
Another cluster of light appears after the first fades. Que sera sera... is that my fan club's name? Funny choice. I think I heard it a few days ago, but I didn't expect it to stick. There were other names too, but whenever I catch ones with that meaningful ring from my past life, it gives me a fresh, nostalgic buzz.
The echo lights vanish quick. So... rumors about me have spread that far already? Seeing them take physical form again is a solid reminder to watch my words. Not that I'd ever slip up around you total losers☆~
Herbology was taught by the forest keeper prof—an ogre hybrid whose bulk looks like it could squash me flat several times over. I've read so many books at home that nothing new came up. It's only been a week since I rattled off the appendix, so they're just getting into the real stuff now.
As herbology wraps and we head down, I spot clusters of losers huddled here and there, chatting. They sneak glances and glare as I pass—moodily, of course. No surprise those looks aren't friendly. Whatever☆ I couldn't care less about those nobodies—☆
Gail's fan club, the Egailas, especially shoot me outright hostile stares. Probably 'cause the ranking match is tomorrow. Like I give a damn what you losers think.
But... hearing Gail, Gail, Egail nonstop makes it impossible not to care. It drags my mind back to that shameful night, picturing that fucking loser's face. I let out a pathetic sigh at myself.
"Miss Kesera, why the heavy sighing~?"
And right on cue, that languid loser's voice drifts over—the prof's, that is. It's right after lunch, prime post-meal drowsiness hour, and the class is history, the ultimate sleeping pill taught by the terrifying dorm supervisor of White Class Dormitory: Isolen Le Jerna Solarrius.
"If you're sleepy, go stand in the back. It's that time of day. Feel free to step out, wake up, and come back."
"Hah... got it☆"
The spinster prof keeps needling me, so I get up and head to the back. Even here, the stares aren't exactly welcoming. This class is mandatory for freshmen—no pass option—so most are newbies. But I'm not competing with idiots like you in the first place. Those pitiful, rival-glaring eyes are seriously annoying.
At least the last class gave me a breather.
—Intro to Coordinate Magic
Not the new lecture hall, but a small building in the old wing where third-years mostly hang out. In that classroom, at least, no Kesera Sera or Egaila chatter. The prof's a new face too—curly hair, classic round glasses, name unknown.
"Miss Kesera, this course might be tough for a first-year?"
"Yup☆, even for a loser subject☆ I can handle it☆"
"Good attitude. But without the prereqs, even third-years struggle, so that's why I'm asking if you have the background. Third-years without it, drop now."
What prereqs could it possibly need? Coordinate magic's just plotting functions on a coordinate plane. And for an intro class, it'll be basics like what functions are or some equation nonsense. When even Void Magic, the pinnacle of modern magic, only scratches the surface of calculus.
"As you all know, our founding president Xeron specialized in coordinate magic. He said studying it requires understanding two or more dimensions."
Old news to me. Total predictable loser class~ as expected☆
"That's why proving the non-existence of a general solution in replication magic, per Oslo's thorny replication magic conjecture, is a holy grail of coordinate magic systems. Don't you all want to prove Oslo's thorny conjecture?"
Now that's getting interesting. Oslo's thorny replication magic conjecture... that's Fermat's Last Theorem. I even sketched a rough proof after coming to this world—saw some promise. It's a 300-page paper, so refreshing my memory'll take time, that's all.
"But it's been unsolved for 800 years. Still, coordinate magic is essential for precisely applying spells in specific spaces, so today we'll cover first-order curve magic."
Not like I'd step up to solve an 800-year unsolved problem here. In a world of idiots, playing dumb keeps life easy. Proving it now would spell disaster. Maybe save it for the archmage exam? That could be fun.
Such thoughts carried me through the day before crushing that fucking loser in the ranking match.
✦ ✧ ✦
As soon as classes ended, Gail headed straight for the library. The walls of the Library Arch Bridge were plastered with posters from his fan club, the 'Egailas,' hyping tomorrow's ranking match. The upstart 'Kesera Sera' club was pushing back hard.
"...I really don't get why I'm doing this."
Plenty pointed fingers, mocking a fifth-year seeking revenge on a first-year. But to quash the massive incident, he had to prove to everyone that his opponent was a true once-in-a-millennium genius. Only then would he seem less wronged.
He'd rewatched the crystal orb footage, but Sera's void magic still baffled him. Paradoxically, countering void magic required ballistic formulas. He'd panicked then... but this time, he'd respect—no, acknowledge—her power and face her head-on with his full strength.
Sure, she was just a 7-year-old, but to Gail, Sera was an unreachable goal. Since entering the Imperial Academy, he'd studied harder than ever; he was determined to win this time.
As Gail passed, Luca tailed him secretly. After exams, Luca had done a street gig handing out newspaper extras. The front-page pic of Gail looked familiar, and turns out he was White Badge elite. Curious about how White Badges studied, Luca slipped into the library after him.