First Class (1)
The top floor of Stella Academy's main building was a strictly off-limits area that ordinary students would never set foot in, even if they lived their entire lives here.
In the professors' lounge located in that hidden zone, dozens of mana crystals that had been projecting a real-time view of the grand auditorium were now flickering, their soft glow gradually fading away.
And there, watching those crystals, were the professors of Stella Academy. Each and every one of them was a talent personally selected by Principal Lustil. They were monsters who had built up such legendary achievements that it was said the number of legends here equaled the number of professors.
A small crack formed in the air of the lounge where these formidable figures were gathered.
Shhhk— The space rippled like heat haze, and the red-haired girl who had radiated overwhelming pressure in the auditorium just moments ago tumbled out from the void.
But any trace of that dignified presence from the podium was long gone. Lustil irritably undid her twin tails, her face completely drained of energy.
Her outer robe had slipped down completely, exposing her shoulders, and the way she trudged along made her look exactly like a corporate employee whose tension had finally snapped after finishing a grueling task.
“Aaaah, it’s finally over! Scaring those blood bags is one thing, but having to do this crap every single year is gonna break my back!”
“Principal, you’ve worked hard. The staging was truly magnificent. The freshmen’s eyes were completely dead.”
An elderly senior professor clicked his tongue with practiced familiarity and offered her a cup of perfectly brewed black tea. Without so much as a word of thanks, Lustil snatched the cup and downed it in one go, not even bothering to savor the aroma.
Gulp. Gulp. The crude sounds echoed through the elegant lounge.
Clack!
“Kyaah! I feel alive again! Hey, Felix. Next time, make the vice principal do this. Why are you making the oldest person here do this kind of manual labor?”
“Come now, aren’t you the best at disciplining the freshmen, Principal? Besides, the vice principal is swamped with all the paperwork you dumped on him.”
At Felix’s cheeky reply, Lustil shot him a glare before flopping onto the luxurious leather sofa in the center of the lounge. There wasn’t a single ounce of archmage dignity to be found in the way she buried herself in the soft cushions and carelessly slung her legs over the backrest.
If that noble boy who had wet himself while looking at her in the auditorium earlier saw her like this, he might have coughed up blood from the sheer betrayal.
Buried deep in the sofa, Lustil stretched out with an expression that said she was sick of everything in the world and began to grumble.
“…Well, the kids these days are getting more and more arrogant with each passing year, so yeah, you do have to come down hard from the start… But still, any of the other professors could handle something like this!”
“It’s an academy tradition, isn’t it? The principal crashing the entrance ceremony.”
That was right. In truth, this surprise attack during the entrance ceremony was a long-standing tradition passed down at the academy.
Every year, the professors and current students teamed up to prepare a brand-new type of hazing ritual for the incoming freshmen. Then, right when the exhausted new students were gasping for breath, the principal would appear with perfect timing to display her authority and whip them into shape.
During this event, even the professors and students—who normally couldn’t stand each other—worked together with one heart and one mind. Because there was no way they were going to be the only ones who suffered through it!
All the professors here were Stella Academy graduates themselves. They were seniors who had personally tasted the spicy flavor of this brutal hazing ritual down to their bones. In a way, it could be called the tearful tough love that seniors passed down to their juniors.
Most likely, this year’s freshmen would flip their eyes next year and join in wholeheartedly to create a new hazing ritual.
That aside, the principal’s endless complaints that always capped off the hazing ritual every year showed no sign of stopping.
“Calling it a tradition is nice and all, but it’s just a bad habit that torments old people! Do I really have to stand in front of those brats at my age and deliver lines like ‘I’m so bored I want to die’? Ugh, it’s so cringy! Bring me the bastard who wrote this script!”
“The one who wrote that script is Professor Elaheem, and she’s on vacation today.”
“Why is she on vacation again?!”
Lustil buried her face in a sofa cushion and flailed her legs in agony. The lines that had echoed through the auditorium earlier had actually been a script written specifically for discipline.
Felix clicked his tongue at the sight, as if he’d seen it all before.
“Still, the reaction was at its peak. Especially since this year’s batch is supposedly the greatest golden generation in history and they were all acting so full of themselves. Thanks to you, Principal, they should stay quiet for a while.”
“Golden generation my ass… They’re all just blood bags anyway.”
The head that had been buried in the cushion slowly lifted. Between the disheveled red strands of hair, those eyes that had looked sick of everything began to shine with a strange light.
“…Though there was one useful kid, I suppose.”
As she muttered that, Lustil recalled a certain face.
Amid everyone trembling in fear at the sight of her, there had been a girl in a maid uniform who remained completely calm, showing not a hint of tension. Even while Lustil’s mana pressed down from all directions, she had been casually playing around with the girl in the black dress as if it were nothing.
And above all else…
That kid reacted to my mana.
She was the only one who had responded to mana that the other freshmen couldn’t even detect. The moment Lustil had raised her finger to point at that cocky little noble brat, none of the so-called geniuses in the auditorium had sensed the subtle movement of her mana. They simply couldn’t even imagine how 7-Circle mana moved.
But that maid had been different.
The instant her mana stirred, Lustil had felt the maid’s gaze following its exact trajectory.
It wasn’t just sharp senses. She was clearly reading the path of my mana.
“…Principal?”
When Lustil’s eyes sank into deep, unusual thought, Felix, who had been watching her carefully, called out cautiously.
Lustil uncrossed her legs and slowly sat up on the sofa. A smile full of deep interest formed between her messy red locks.
“Hey, Felix.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“From this year’s freshman roster… keep a close eye on the one in the black dress and the maid who was stuck right next to her.”
“…They must be interesting children. Understood.”
As Felix bowed and withdrew, Lustil buried herself back into the sofa. Beyond the fading mana crystals, the afterimage of the girl standing so casually in her maid uniform lingered.
Perhaps something even more entertaining than expected had rolled into Stella Academy, a place already packed with monsters.
Lustil’s red lips drew a graceful arc before disappearing completely into the shadows.
The first day of the academy had dawned!
I had woken up early in the morning. There was no way I could be late for such a monumental first day at the academy.
I checked my uniform in front of the mirror… though there’s nothing to see since I can’t draw my blade! Still, this sort of thing is all about getting in the right mood.
The silhouette of my maid uniform, as perceived through Mind’s Eye, was perfectly straight without a single wrinkle. Fully dressed from head to toe, I left the room.
Oh, and as a side note, the academy dorms provided one room per person. Thanks to the fair system that assigned rooms regardless of status, I was able to receive my own independent single room—not as the young lady’s attendant, but as a proper incoming student in my own right.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded sharing a room with the young lady, but she vehemently opposed it, so we ended up with separate rooms. Is this her rebellious phase…?
I walked down the hallway and stopped in front of a door not far away.
Knock, knock.
After a few formal knocks, I naturally turned the doorknob and stepped inside.
The room was still dark as midnight because the curtains were tightly drawn. I slightly unsheathed the blade from the cane in my hand. Fortunately, Sword Saint activated even with just a slight draw. It also had less backlash this way. Not that I could use it freely… but this was the perfect time to use it!
Sword Saint has been activated.
Trial of the World has been nullified.
With my vision now brightened, I saw a massive bundle of blankets curled up like a caterpillar in the middle of the bed. I approached quietly, lifted a corner of the blanket, and there was the young lady, sleeping soundly without a care in the world.
“Mmm… mmm…”
Her mouth was moving in her sleep. The ferocious image of her tearing apart monsters in the auditorium was nowhere to be seen. Instead, with her lips murmuring and her cheek buried in the pillow, she looked exactly like a little kid.
She’s always so well-behaved and pretty when she’s sleeping, so why does she get so prickly the moment she opens her eyes? I’ll never understand it.
But cute is cute, and waking her up is waking her up. Without mercy, I walked over to the window, grabbed the thick blackout curtains with both hands, and yanked them wide open.
Whoosh—! The brilliant morning sunlight poured in through the window, mercilessly illuminating the dark room and bathing the bed in its rays.
“Mmm…”
Apparently dazzled, the young lady frowned and flailed, trying to pull the blanket over her head. I didn’t miss the chance and called out in a clear, loud voice.
“Young lady, it’s morning! Please wake up right now!”
“Ugh… Dia, just five more minutes…”
“No ‘five more minutes.’ Get up this instant.”
“I stayed up late because the bed was different… Huh?”
Grumbling at my scolding, the young lady reluctantly pushed the blanket aside and stared at me with bleary eyes. The usual sharpness in her gaze was completely gone, softened by lingering sleepiness.
Her black hair, tinged with red, stuck out messily in every direction. Sitting on the edge of the bed and staring blankly into space, she looked like her soul had half-checked out.
For a moment she remained frozen like an overloaded robot. Then her eyes slowly began to move, taking in my perfectly arranged maid uniform and the morning sunlight pouring in behind me.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds…
Finally, her brain circuits seemed to finish processing the situation. Her previously dazed eyes widened into perfect circles. She jerked her head up to look at me and asked,
“……Dia, why are you here?”
Oh dear, our young lady still hasn’t fully woken up.
Where else would a maid be if not by her master’s side? Especially after she got so sulky yesterday when I left her alone.
I pushed the young lady—who was muttering things like “I definitely locked the door” and “How did you get past the mana authentication?”—toward the bathroom.
“Young lady, we’re going to be late for the first class at this rate!”
She really is a handful.