Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Linea Hall's Worst Mage (4)
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“Your response during today's lecture was a bit excessive.”
The moment Third Princess Celestina entered her room—resembling a miniature palace all her own—she sat down on the sofa and sharply scolded her escorts.
“Didn't I clearly tell you not to intervene recklessly during the lecture?”
The knights shrank back simultaneously at the princess's sharp tone.
She was a princess of refined grace, always gentle even with her subordinates.
That's precisely why her anger was so terrifying.
“We're sorry, Your Highness. But the situation seemed so urgent that we...”
The escort captain offered an excuse that was more of a justification, his face tense.
“An explosion rang out in a place where Your Highness was present—how could we just stand by, trusting some mere professor?”
“I know. I'm not unaware of your loyalty.”
A faint sigh mingled with Third Princess Celestina's voice.
“Just... don't act so rashly in the future.”
The escort captain and knights bowed their heads deeply in silence.
“More importantly, has the situation been properly handled?”
“Yes, we've cooperated with the academy staff to clean up. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, though repairing the facilities will take some time.”
One entire wall of the building had collapsed.
It would take quite a while to restore it to its original state.
“...Your Highness, may I presume to say something?”
“Go ahead.”
“I believe that advanced mage requires separate measures.”
Third Princess Celestina's eyes sharpened for a moment.
It was obvious who the escort captain meant.
'Lunaris Evermoon...'
For a wall to have vanished entirely, it was miraculous that not a single person was badly hurt.
Still, quite a few were complaining of mental aftereffects.
The students' accounts were all eerily similar.
It was like facing a monster.
“It was truly dangerous. That mage is a threat who could have harmed everyone in the building before we even arrived.”
Third Princess Celestina had no words in response to the escort knight's statement.
After all, she herself had been one of the victims present at the scene.
Especially that unidentified magic which hadn't merely shattered the wall but warped space itself... It felt like something out of a nightmare.
Magic that was a nightmare incarnate.
Just recalling it made her body tremble involuntarily.
But this wasn't out of fear.
“Haaah...”
If she had to put a name to this feeling...
Third Princess Celestina was a little excited.
'Such beautiful magic...'
It was the first time she'd witnessed magic of that caliber up close.
Of course, the imperial palace was crawling with so-called advanced mages.
Back in her naive youth, she'd once pestered one, toddling after him demanding a magic show.
But the advanced magic they displayed was all empty shells.
Boring.
Just vast amounts of mana scattered meaninglessly.
It made sense, really.
Advanced magic typically affected wide areas. They couldn't risk ensnaring the small, precious princess in it, so they had no choice but to hold back.
But today's magic, etched before her eyes, was the real deal.
The dizzying thrill that one misstep could shatter her body made her heart race unwittingly.
Her cheeks flushed without her realizing, and a heated breath escaped her lips—huuah.
If only she could wield that power at her command.
Unbidden, fantasies spilled from her mind past her lips.
“Truly, a talent worth coveting.”
Third Princess Celestina calmed her fluttering heart and summoned the head maid.
“Odette, did you deliver the invitation to that girl?”
The head maid squeezed her eyes shut guiltily and bowed her head.
“We're sorry, Your Highness. Lady Lunaris finishes her daily routine upon returning, does a simple wash-up, and goes straight to bed...”
“...”
In short, she hadn't even handed over the invitation.
Third Princess Celestina let out an involuntary sigh.
Then again, this was someone who hadn't even bothered showing up to the entrance ceremony half-asleep.
Expecting her to read an invitation was asking too much.
Of course, she could resort to the ultimate measure of an imperial decree to force compliance, but Third Princess Celestina had no desire to do so.
She didn't want to flaunt her authority in Elterion Academy, the equal educational haven established by her late emperor grandfather.
'The moment I act as a princess rather than a student, the other royals will surely set their sights on me.'
She'd barely escaped the palace intrigues and bought herself four years— no need to draw attention now.
Rumors that those affiliated with imperial institutions were covertly backing other royals privately also gnawed at her.
She hadn't heard yet that Albert Marselin, vice-captain of the Imperial Mage Corps, had thrown in with someone.
But pressuring Lunaris, whom he might be shielding, could earn his ire—something she needed to avoid.
Above all...
She wanted to befriend the one who would become her right hand.
That would forge a bond stronger than any oath of loyalty.
However...
“In truth, just getting Lady Lunaris to follow a normal academy schedule is overwhelming for us maids.”
“...”
“Today, we somehow managed to drag her out of bed, but...”
The head maid Odette was deeply troubled over how to handle Lunaris tomorrow.
“Understood. Everyone, withdraw. I want... to rest a bit.”
At Third Princess Celestina's words, the head maid and escorts bowed and exited.
Left alone, the princess sank into thought.
In the end, the only natural way to meet her as a fellow student was to sit next to her in class.
Lunaris's appearance in the lecture hall today had been unexpected, but she wouldn't miss the next chance.
The problem was...
“There might not be as many 'next chances' as I'd hoped.”
The Magic and Magitech Departments shared lectures only on Mondays and Thursdays.
And on Thursdays, Lunaris didn't show up to the hall.
Raymond Cloud, head of the Magic Department, had created a special lecture just for her and semi-forced her into it.
That left only Mondays once a week.
The issue was that Lunaris had received special permission to end her afternoon classes early.
Ultimately, only half a day per week remained.
And if the maids failed to wake her on time, the whole week was wasted.
A faint alarm bell rang in her mind.
All Third Princess Celestina could do at this point was silently cheer on the maids.
“Should I donate some anti-magic equipment to Linea Hall...?”
Something that would horrify Lunaris to the point of tearing her hair out was brewing.
Wednesday arrived after skipping a day.
The score in my battle with the Linea Hall maids stood at 1 win, 2 losses so far.
Yesterday, I'd successfully outmaneuvered those damn battle maids.
Thanks to my secret weapon: the 'fake illness' spell.
–I used too much mana... I'm not feeling well... *cough cough!!*
–Pardon?!
–Mana exhaustion... Urp, uweeeek...
–Kyaa! Lady Lunaris!!
Mid-lecture, I claimed exhaustion from overusing advanced magic and collapsed dramatically.
Combined with the on-site evidence of the auditorium wall in the main magic building crumbling entirely, my Oscar-worthy fox-like acting left no one suspecting foul play.
But today, that tactic failed.
–Ugh... I'm not feeling well again today...
–That's odd. With mana exhaustion, your body should be burning with fever, right?
–...Ah. Busted.
–I'll help you prepare, milady.
The sharp-eyed head maid caught on.
Same tricks don't work twice, so I'll need to research new strategies.
Today's lecture was a Magitech Department exclusive in the annex auditorium.
The professor on the podium looked utterly exhausted the moment I entered.
Dark circles under his eyes suggested at least two sleepless nights.
Glancing wearily at the students, he spoke in a fatigued voice.
“Good, everyone's here today. Yawwn... Since someone skipped last week, I'll briefly recap.”
The professor's gaze lingered slightly on me.
“Magitech Department major courses follow a master-apprentice system. Second-years act as masters, taking first-years as apprentices, and produce one magitech item per semester.”
In short, second-years were getting free labor from first-years.
This might be a hassle... Tch. What a pain.
“Alright, second-years, come on in.”
Soon, the Magitech Department second-years flooded into the auditorium.
Perhaps due to the high commoner ratio, the vibe was distinctly eccentric.
The professor beckoned one student abruptly.
“Yaaawn... Hey, top student. Come here a sec.”
“Yes, Professor~”
A petite girl with brown bobbed hair stepped onto the podium.
The drab black-and-white auditorium suddenly felt brightly lit.
“Truth is, I rushed here mid-important experiment. Handle the rest, yeah?”
“Huh? Can I really do that?”
“Better than a lowly prof like me—you're the 'Star of Magitech' for these rookies, right?”
My ears perked at the title from the professor's mouth.
Star of the Magitech Department.
A familiar phrase.
Definitely from the original story.
Who was it again...?
“Ahaha~ Professor, such embarrassing praise...”
“Anyway, just check the teams and dismiss them. Good luck.”
The professor waved dismissively and hurried out.
Left alone on stage, the senior scratched her head awkwardly, then cleared her throat—ahem.
“Well~ With prof gone, let's wrap this up quick and head to the workshop. Sound good?”
The first-years looked baffled, while the second-years cheered.
“Yeees—!”
Not a second-year, but I joined the cheers.
Suddenly full of energy. Half a day might be pushing it, but an hour? Sure, I could muster some motivation.
Magitech Department—what a great department.
“As the prof explained, Wednesdays mean us second-years join you juniors. Such a beautiful tradition! The tight bonds only Magitech offers...”
Jeers and boos erupted at the rambling.
“Speech too long!”
“Boo— no fun.”
“Get down already, dude!”
“Hey, come on! Don't I gotta tell the juniors how awesome Magitech is? They're probably down from dealing with Magic Department snobs!”
The senior on stage cleared her throat again—ahem—and continued.
“Sigh. Fine. Let's get to it. I'll announce teams now. Note: profs assigned them based on your entrance exam scores arbitrarily.”
So no whining for changes, she added with a playful grin.
“First up, my apprentice. Lunaris! Come on up?”
The students buzzed at once.
Someone muttered softly, “That advanced mage?”
Scratching my head, I walked forward.
I'd half-expected this. Top student gets the top pick.
“Nice to meet you!”
As I reached the podium, the smiling senior facing me extended her hand.
“I'm Estelle Myers. Looking forward to working with you this year, junior.”
An involuntary “Ah—” escaped my lips.
Hearing her name jogged my memory.
I hadn't recognized the title alone because she was a minor character who appeared briefly early in the original.
Estelle, Star of Magitech.
She wouldn't be here by the end of next semester.
In the original, she was the main villain of the first major incident.