The Supervisor's Debut and Sylvia's Hidden Resolve
Professor? Brushing cookie crumbs off my hands, I stood up from my seat.
“Ahem.”
The dazzling duel unfolded with their respective magics.
It was, as expected, a romantic sight unique to this world.
Watching from the front row was truly entertaining.
I replayed the duel in my mind once more.
Rufus had maintained a sharp offensive throughout, while the other student deftly countered every attack.
In the original story's timeline, Rufus was the head of the ducal family. Even nearing 100 years old, he had mastered magic and remained a powerhouse.
As a major character who held up one pillar of the original tale, I naturally assumed he'd win.
“Phew…”
But the result was the opposite.
Rufus was huffing and puffing, clenching his fists in frustration.
I turned to the one who'd flushed his face red.
“What's your name?”
How could a kid with this level of skill at such a young age not even get a single line in the original?
The student, who had been staring blankly into space with his mouth agape, slowly answered my question.
“…Eugene, sir.”
“Hmm…”
As expected, a name I'd never heard before.
A heavy silence settled over the corridor after the fight ended.
Feeling awkward under the four pairs of eyes fixed on me amid the quiet, I raised a finger.
It pointed down the corridor.
The gouged scars were likely Rufus's doing, and the scorch marks everywhere were Sylvia's traces.
I gathered the scattered debris on the floor with mana and fixed it back in place.
The marks of the duel vanished in an instant at my gesture.
Except for one spot.
—Clap.
It was the wall where Sylvia was still stuck.
I gave a short clap to peel her off the wall, then restored the entire corridor to its original state.
Rufus watched with a dazed expression before mumbling under his breath.
“……Is this what an academy professor is?”
Strictly speaking, I wasn't an official professor yet, but such trivial details didn't matter.
What mattered most about a title was how it made the person being called feel.
Suppressing a smile that threatened to break free, I looked back at the scene before me.
Sylvia rubbing her wrists after being freed from her bonds, the dazed Rufus and Eugene.
And Kassel standing awkwardly behind me on guard.
These were the occupants of the top floor of Solaris Dormitory.
Even sharing the same dorm, the gap between the elite third floor and the ones below was clear.
Dorm assignments shifted based on comprehensive evaluations each semester.
Judging by the skills and caliber I'd just witnessed, their positions seemed secure.
Part of the fun in the original was watching the protagonist climb from Stellaris Hall floor by floor.
Pushing aside my regret, I placed my hands on my hips and took a deep breath.
“Alright, everyone, listen up!”
At my call, the students slowly lined up in front of me.
Tension lingered on each of their faces.
“Ahem, as for me, I'm Ruen, starting today as the dorm supervisor for this Solaris Dormitory.”
Talking to these tall students made my neck ache. No dignity at all.
I floated my body up into the air to match their eye level and continued.
“I'll probably be in that room at the end of the corridor most of the time outside of lectures, so come find me if you need anything.”
I pointed to the door at the far end.
[Dorm Supervisor's Office]
“I'll skip checking cleaning status daily or managing facilities for now… too much hassle.”
Nothing else came to mind for the third-floor residents.
I couldn't just tell them 'Come to the North!' right here.
“Hmm… doesn't seem like there's anything else, so I'll check out the other floors?”
I lowered my feet back to the corridor floor and turned.
As I headed toward the door leading to the stairs, something I forgot hit me, and I glanced back.
“Oh, and if you're gonna fight again, call me first!”
I almost forgot something super important. What if I show up after hearing the noise and it's already over?
I shouted to the third-floor students and headed out the door.
From my introduction until I left, the students remained silent.
Guess they're all pretty stoic types.
After the commotion and chaos settled.
The third-floor residents, as if by prior agreement, quietly opened their doors and entered their rooms.
This wide corridor felt almost empty with only five rooms on the entire third floor.
Rooms for Eugene, Rufus, Sylvia, and Kassel. And the dorm supervisor's office.
The third room belonged to Sylvia Beljerion, who had placed third in the entrance exam.
She walked into her room and locked the door with a click.
Leaning against the door, she slid down to the floor.
She lifted her head to survey her room.
A spacious chamber.
Even compared to the room in her ducal home, it was luxuriously unmatched.
Yet until just moments ago, Sylvia hadn't been satisfied with it.
“Haa…”
Third place. Following Eugene and Rufus.
Enraged that her hated rival Rufus had outranked her, she'd challenged him to a duel not long ago.
The result had ended in a draw.
“What in the world was that…”
Sylvia cupped her face and replayed the recent events.
She recalled the final moments of the duel between Rufus and Eugene, when their ultimate spells were about to clash.
The ferocious Hail formed in Rufus's hand.
It was something she'd never seen even in their countless prior duels.
“Did he go easy on me?”
Her father, the knight commander and the empire's One Sword, had often spoken of the Delmar Ducal House's secret technique.
Its power was immense, but the chief's spell had matched it.
“Such techniques…”
And Ruen had dismantled them effortlessly in a single moment, without expending any force.
Sylvia recalled what came next.
The dismantling that seized control of the mana, the barrier that protected the corridor from the shock, the magic that repaired the shattered walls.
She could naturally grasp the precision and practicality of the techniques Ruen had demonstrated.
But she couldn't even fathom the principles behind them.
Her own training must be insufficient, Sylvia concluded, sinking into thought.
“Phew…”
Letting out a sigh, she straightened her legs and stood.
She trained in both swordsmanship and magic.
With that talent, Sylvia had long been hailed as the heir to her father's legacy.
And so, she had grown arrogant.
“……I need to train harder.”
Shame washed over her for the days she'd been pampered as the ducal house's only daughter.
Rufus, whom she'd seen as her archrival, hadn't even shown his true power until now.
There was also Eugene, who surpassed him.
And the out-of-spec monster who dismantled their ultimates with a flick of her wrist.
Sylvia felt a sense of futility.
She hated to admit it, but her third-place ranking was accurate.
Shuffling along, Sylvia headed to her bedside luggage.
“Training until dawn tonight.”
The futility was fleeting.
She had lived her life to become an imperial knight.
And for a knight, competitive spirit was as vital as life itself.
Steeling her resolve, Sylvia flung open her bag.
A worn brown leather backpack.
In stark contrast to its rugged exterior, the inside was awash in pink.
“Piyo, cheer me on.”
Sylvia pulled out a large stuffed rabbit doll and hugged it to her chest.
Piyo was the one friend-like doll that always comforted her.
The ducal house's only daughter. The knight commander's daughter. The genius destined to lead the empire.
Beneath those titles, Sylvia was just a young girl.
Liking cute things was a girl's instinct.
Sylvia rubbed her face against the doll as big as herself.
But she soon tucked it away with a complicated expression.
She knew it wasn't befitting a ducal heir to show such a side to the world.
Lingering on the pang of regret, Sylvia stared at the plush for a moment longer.
A fluffy white bunny.
It resembled someone.
“That professor's name… was Ruen, right?”
Even amid the self-loathing scenery, the name and appearance were etched in her mind.
Soft skin, cute features, a voice laced with a nasal twang.
And immense power mismatched to that appearance…
“Ughhh…!”
Sylvia tossed the bag aside and dove onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow.
She'd never understood the young ladies who trailed after her at social gatherings.
“Haa…”
Now, Sylvia understood completely.
“What classes will Instructor Ruen teach, I wonder…”
From the earlier scene, she seemed to teach magic.
Advanced or basics?
Early in the semester, who knew—but a needle in the pocket would poke through eventually.
Academy classes were elective, so they'd fill up more as the semester progressed.
But Sylvia had witnessed her power before anyone else in the academy.
And as a third-floor Solaris resident, she had one of the privileges granted only to these four students: priority enrollment.
“Hehehehe…”
Sylvia had no intention of yielding her spot.
And she was confident she could hold onto it.
“Can't wait for next week.”
Next week—the start of the first semester classes.
Sylvia lifted her pillow-buried face slightly and smiled.