Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Linea Hall's Worst Mage (2)
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Week 2 at Elterion Academy.
I stepped out of Linea Hall for the first time.
No, to be precise...
...I was dragged out.
"Don't even dream of running away, Miss Lunaris."
Hey... don't give me an opening to run and then say that, not while gripping my arms so tightly from both sides...
And these maids were even equipped with full sets of magic defense gear.
They remembered how I'd once used Telekinesis Magic to send them flying bodily and had come prepared this time.
Tch. Talk about thorough preparation.
In truth, I could have shaken them off if I'd pushed a little.
The problem was that this wouldn't end with just today. I still wasn't fully awake anyway.
And so, I was meekly(?) escorted all the way to the lecture hall.
There wasn't even a moment to dawdle. The moment they shoved me inside, silence fell over the lecture hall.
Dozens of gazes turned toward me all at once.
I mean, I'd probably stare too if I saw maids dragging someone in.
I shook off the lingering sleepiness as best I could and glanced around.
Whispers leaked out here and there.
"That's her? The top overall scorer?"
"Looks like it."
"...She looks so young. Same age as us?"
"So she really has been attending the academy..."
"But why'd the maids drag her in? Did she cause some kind of trouble?"
Most reactions were ones of curiosity, but a few students were openly sneering at me.
"She's really lazy."
"I heard she's some street rat with no connections..."
"That's why she pissed off the Magic Department professors during the interview and ended up in Magical Engineering."
I let the itchy whispers slide off my back and headed to an empty seat.
Truth be told, what bothered me was the senior maids from Linea Hall still clinging to my arms.
They were sticking right by my side, on guard in case I bolted. What tenacious people.
Only when I sat down did the two senior maids finally release my arms.
They left after saying just to have a good day.
"Uwaaah..."
The moment the maids were gone, I stretched my arms across the desk and flopped down.
"Ah... so hard..."
Damn it. How am I supposed to sleep here?
It was so uncomfortable that even if I did sleep, my body would just ache all over, but there was no helping it. I'd woken up way earlier than my usual time, so I was short on sleep.
With my arms as a pillow and my eyes closed, breathing softly in shallow gasps, I sensed movement from the front of the lecture hall.
A low voice came with faint footsteps.
"Hmm, so Lunaris ended up in my class after all..."
The professor must have arrived.
"Hah... for an upper mage to attend a class like mine..."
I cracked one eye open and peeked at the podium.
The professor standing in front of the blackboard was trembling for some reason.
Was he feeling unwell? Well, it was that time of year for colds.
If he wasn't feeling well, he should have just canceled class.
Having such a strong sense of duty was a problem too.
As I stared blankly at him, one thing stood out.
For some reason, the professor's gaze kept drifting my way more often than not.
He'd glance over repeatedly, as if checking on me.
And whenever our eyes met, he'd flinch.
The reason was obvious.
I was the only one blatantly sprawled out before the lecture even started.
Of course, I had zero motivation to sit up straight.
This was an act of God.
My whole body felt heavy; I just couldn't sit upright.
"In the end, magic is the direct mimicry of power from the spirit realm..."
I worried he might wake me up, but thankfully, no such disaster occurred.
"It must be backed by an understanding of natural phenomena..."
Instead, the professor seemed to be lulling me to sleep with his gentle voice, like a boring lullaby.
All my worries about sleeping in such harsh conditions proved unfounded as drowsiness quickly washed over me.
My eyelids grew heavy.
The professor's voice faded faintly into the distance.
My consciousness... drifted...
away...
...Zzz.
-...Hey.
Tap tap. An unfamiliar touch brushed my elbow.
I couldn't easily pull myself from the depths of sleep.
I'd sunk so deep, my body felt leaden.
Once more, drifting...
"Hey, wake up."
A small hand gently shook my shoulder.
The unfamiliar sensation disrupted my dream, forcing my heavy eyelids open against my will.
A hazy green light filled my vision.
Soon, it came into focus.
A female student appeared before me.
She looked anxious as she stared at me.
I jolted in surprise and whipped my head back.
"Hweh?!"
Now fully awake, I realized the lecture hall was eerily quiet.
Uh, um... what was going on here?
I blinked slowly, shaking off the fog.
The blackboard was covered in a complex magic circle alongside what looked like practice problems.
The professor at the podium alternated between looking at me and the board with a flustered expression.
"...Aha."
I got the picture.
This was that classic scenario.
Wake the kid sleeping in class and make them solve a problem.
"So... I just need to solve that one? Yawwwn..."
"N-No... not right now..."
I casually flicked my finger.
A chunk of chalk on the corner of the desk floated up smoothly at my command.
It stuck to the blackboard and began writing out the solution.
"...?"
"???"
The moment the chalk started moving on its own, the lecture hall fell into stunned silence.
Scratch scratch—the only sound in the hushed space was the quiet scratching of chalk.
Soon, the board was filled with the step-by-step solution.
The chalk snapped in half with a crack after writing the final answer and fell to the floor.
"Yawwwn..."
I stretched my arms wide, yawning.
Having crushed this fantasy version of Brain Stretch right after waking up seemed to have chased away some of my sleepiness.
"Whoa..."
"Same freshman year?"
"N-Not undeserved top scorer..."
Amid the murmuring students.
"...Th-That was the homework assigned for next week... and she solved it in under three minutes..."
The professor muttered to himself, looking utterly shocked for some reason.
An awkward silence stretched on for a while.
The professor finally snapped out of it and cleared his throat.
"Ahem! No homework this week. Instead, copy down Miss Lunaris's solution carefully. There'll be a pop quiz, so memorize it perfectly."
As the other students scrambled to take notes at the mention of a quiz, I flopped back down on my arms.
Nothing for me to do, so might as well sleep until the lecture ended.
That's when the girl next to me hesitantly spoke up.
"Um... Lunaris, right?"
I turned to look at her.
It was the same student who'd woken me.
Her brown hair was tied up in round curls, and her green eyes were strikingly clear.
"Yeah. That's me."
She smiled in relief, then bowed her head abruptly, flustered.
"Sorry! You were sleeping so soundly, I thought I should wake you."
Hmm... Did she think I'd get mad? I wasn't annoyed at all.
If anything, waking me at the right time was a favor.
"It's fine. Thanks to you, I woke up nicely."
"Phew~ Good thing... I was worried you'd be mad."
The girl hesitated, lips twitching like she had more to say.
"Got any plans after class?"
"Was gonna find somewhere to nap until the next lecture."
What do you do after waking from sleep?
Change position and sleep again—that's the proper sequence.
That's when my stomach let out a loud gurgle.
...Come to think of it, appetite was one of humanity's top three urges, just like sleep.
And I was very faithful to my urges.
"Know where they serve food?"
"Huh? You don't know where the cafeteria is?"
"Nope. I don't know anything about where stuff is around here."
"How'd you even get to the lecture hall then...? Oh, right, the maids dragged you..."
Let's not say she should've at least gone out once to look around.
This was all the academy's fault for being needlessly huge.
They said you couldn't see everything even if you spent a whole month wandering. Why would I even feel like going out?
The academy was to blame for killing my motivation. Anyway.
"Then I'll show you to the cafeteria! Wanna go together?"
I nodded slightly. I was used to accepting kindness.
"Thanks. Um... what's your name...?"
"Me?"
The girl blinked, then beamed and extended her hand.
"I'm Claire Lauren from the Magic Department."
An unfamiliar name.
Well, that made sense. Most of the 'protagonist generation' in the original story were Kyle's classmates.
Seniors a year above rarely appeared unless there was some connection.
I stared at Claire's outstretched hand for a moment before gently taking it.
This person was safe.
"Hi. I'm..."
"I know. Lunaris Evermoon, right?"
Claire burst out laughing, saying no one at the academy—especially in the Magic Department—wouldn't know me.