Chapter 239
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: The Student Council President's Visit
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The news of the brawl between the failing students and the low-quality freshman cadets spread like wildfire.
One might wonder if such a thing could happen at an academy where the scions of noble houses—elite ones, no less—gathered. But excluding the offspring of ultra-high-ranking families that were on another level entirely, it was hardly anything new.
Of course, academy rules didn't permit such reckless fights in the slightest.
"That's why I came to you, Professor."
A pretty blonde woman said this to me.
I'd never met her before in my life.
But I'd heard plenty about her, and she knew a fair bit about me too.
She was none other than the academy's student council president.
Rhodia Rashel, the eldest daughter of an imperial noble house. Regardless of her background, her skills were outstanding, and she enjoyed thick support, allowing her to hold the position for multiple terms.
Rumor had it she was the prime minister's most cherished disciple.
"Those guys... got into a brawl..."
"It's proper protocol to report it to the supervising professor first."
Rhodia Rashel glanced at Melissa, who was listlessly licking an ice cream cone beside me with a tired expression.
"Melissa. It's great to see you again."
"You've had it rough, Rhodia."
"By the way. Any thoughts on returning to the student council? We've got two freshmen cadets this time. It'd be a huge help if you lent us your strength."
Had the student council already scouted some freshmen cadets?
"Who're they?"
Melissa, meanwhile, kept up her bored expression, showing zero interest.
"You've heard the names, right? Basara Crevad, heir to the Star of Creation, and Rubas Hontail, the youngest son of the Hontail family. Those two. Honestly, they're still full of youthful vigor and act cocky because of their talents, but deep down, they're good kids. That's why I was thinking of keeping them close and teaching them some humility."
I recalled Melissa mentioning long ago that Rhodia, the current president, had been a notorious troublemaker herself. She'd become who she was today thanks to help from her seniors.
Sometimes, you learn things from your peers that even teachers or parents can't teach.
"What about that girl from the alchemy faction?"
"She'll be my rival someday. I'm looking forward to it. I have to graduate eventually, after all."
"The responsibilities you're handling aren't exactly light, are they?"
"Oh? An organization that relies on one person won't last. By the time I graduate, she'll probably be ready to take my place."
She had some solid ideas.
Rhodia, as student council president, wasn't the type to discriminate based on foreign origins.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have put so much trust in Aurora or Melissa.
"I heard Melissa was able to return thanks to you, Professor. Allow me to offer my thanks first thing."
"She wanted to come back, so it was possible."
She let out a short "fufu" chuckle.
"The freshmen cadets will receive demerit points, at any rate. No matter what, they're cadets too, and it's clear they openly insulted their seniors."
She noted that both sides bore some fault, hence the points for all.
"That said, since we confirmed the failing students struck first, it'd be good if you imposed additional punishment at your discretion on top of the points."
Her words prompted me to ask what I'd been wondering.
"So. Did you win? Or lose?"
"Pardon?"
"My cadets. Did they win?"
"Is... that important?"
The student council president responded awkwardly.
"My big bro's got a bit of a twisted sense of common sense. Just answer him."
"Uh... well... The failing students had a one-sided advantage, at least at first. Everyone was shocked. Said it was like they were completely different people."
Hmm, well, who trained them? They have to be at that level at least.
"Anyway, the dean left a message for you, Professor."
My eyebrow twitched at that.
In this situation, any word from the dean to me wasn't a good sign.
"First, since the supervisory cadets failed in their duties, submit a report on the circumstances."
"Tch..."
"And he'll overlook some conveniences for the cadets, so in return, take a look after one cadet personally."
What nonsense is this?
I frowned and asked.
"Who's that?"
"You've met her once before, right? Ashuria Abelgard. The adopted daughter of Archmage Luteon Abelgard."
Ah, that kid who couldn't control her strength...
"Does it have to be me?"
"Well... there are circumstances. Nothing I can really share with others. To be honest, if you refuse, I can try to handle it on my end..."
"Fine, I get it. Gotta take responsibility on the surface, right?"
She gave a faint smile at my response.
"Understood then. Please take good care of my underclassmen, Professor."
I silently scanned the failing students lined up before me, sweating bullets.
Whoosh!! Bang!!
Beside me, Luna was throwing punches into the air as if to set the mood, and each swing visibly rippled the space around her, turning their faces even paler.
To them, Luna and I must have seemed like utterly incomprehensible entities.
Makes sense. By their standards, geniuses were guys like Basara Crevad or Rubas Hontail, who started from a different baseline altogether—not existences like us who were off the charts entirely.
"You won, so good job. Of course, thanks to you lot, I've gotta write a report, and now I'm stuck mentoring some unwanted troublemaker."
"S-Sorry!!"
The pale-faced ones cried out in panic, but I just smiled.
"From now until one day before the exam, no breaks. I'm doubling the difficulty inside the fog."
"Gaaah!!"
"D-Damn it!"
"Run! That lunatic's really gonna kill us..."
They screamed and scattered in all directions, but my spirit sword, Utopia, was already in hand.
"Open."
Krunch!!!
My second spirit sword, Utopia, was far more obedient than the first, Nakwha.
The white fog swallowed them up in an instant, and their screams echoed out.
"P-Professor!!"
"Go spin your wheels in there. I'll supply the materials."
"You demonic bastard..."
Their voices faded, engulfed by the white fog.
After that, I lounged back on the sunbed at ease.
With Luna watching Melissa, I had just one task left.
Reforming the troublemaker.
"The cadets keep multiplying. Not a great sign."
The adopted daughter of Archmage Luteon Abelgard. Ashuria Abelgard.
Currently the top among the freshman cadets, and coldly analyzing it, there were only a scant handful in the entire academy who could beat her.
She transcended the mere concept of genius—she was someone who grew stronger without even trying.
That was her.
"How'd you do it?"
When Ashuria Abelgard came to see me, I took her straight to the training grounds.
"I heard the story. You can't control your power, right?"
She looked up at me blankly with her colorless eyes.
"What do you mean? If I can control it, that means you know how it interferes with magic?"
Someone might call her a so-called genius on the surface, but she wasn't asking out of ignorance.
She just didn't care.
She had zero interest in anything outside her field.
Indeed. She possessed extreme mana affinity, manipulation ability, and computational power, but came with equally severe social maladjustment.
I skimmed the documents in my hand.
It was a rough profile of her that the dean had sent me.
Long ago, Luteon Abelgard had rescued her from cultists. With nowhere to go and no memories, he took her in as his adopted daughter.
Originally not intending to teach her magic, Luteon one day realized she'd snuck peeks at his spellbooks and learned magic on her own.
But by then, she was already at the 5th circle. How she'd fooled an archmage's eyes that long was beside the point.
What mattered was that she'd climbed the circles while skipping huge chunks of what a mage should learn.
With talent that let her just see, think, and achieve, why would she bother with the struggles or insights at each stage?
I saw that kind of talent as a double-edged sword.
Sure, it'd make her strong right away.
There was no doubt she'd reach archmage level in her twenties.
But.
If I had to sum up what I'd seen of her in one phrase...
Someone who could drop dead any day without it being weird.
In other words... destined for a short life.
For starters, she had no clue how dangerous the magic she'd learned really was.
"Let's see your skills first. Come at me."
She asked again at my demand.
"How'd you interfere?"
I wasn't an expert in handling types like her, but I decided to stick to my way.
"Beat me, and I'll teach you."
Fwoosh!!
At those words, mana residue flickered briefly in her eyes.
She thrust her hand toward me, crimson flames dancing at her fingertips before rocketing at me like bullets.
See that? A normal cadet wouldn't die cleanly if they took a hit like that.
Sssshhh!!!
But her magic evaporated before it could touch me.
"Can't see it. No idea how."
Until now, she'd probably just watched magic with her eyes, roughly understood it, and made it her own.
I acknowledged it was impressive talent.
But no matter how talented, copying even this crossed the line.
"That all you got? Not gonna teach you at this rate."
At my taunt, identical fireballs began rising around her.
This time, seven of them.
But again, they scattered into nothing before launch.
Maybe because she was self-taught. Her magic was potent, but full of holes.
If Archmage Luteon had taught her, those flaws would have been fixed.
She was the type whose overflowing talent had backfired on her.