Professor Ferzen
The academy's main building parking lot behind it was already packed tight with carriages, even though the entrance ceremony hadn't started yet. If there hadn't been a space reserved exclusively for faculty and staff, they might have had to park elsewhere and walk all the way here. Since it was the entrance ceremony, parents who'd made time for their children or other family members had come along too, and running into them would just mean they'd try to make me greet them in advance. So I quickened my pace toward the auditorium inside the lecture hall.
Even the entrance ceremony was separated between nobles and commoners. It might feel discriminatory, but from the commoners' perspective, they'd feel much more at ease that way.
“Ah! You've arrived, Professor Ferzen.”
I had no idea who that was. He must be someone listed in the documents Jeremiah had given me, but if he wasn't memorable enough to stick in my mind, there was no need to pay him any attention.
“Yes. I'll take a seat.”
Within the academy, everyone addressed each other as “professor.” Accordingly, I exchanged greetings with the nobles seated on the platform, adding “professor” to each of their names one by one, then quietly took my place.
Down below, the noble children attending the ceremony sat demurely. The conditions for noble children entering the academy were intricate with many clauses upon close examination, but fundamentally, there were three: those who hadn't inherited a title, weren't married, and had no current occupation, all between 15 and 20 years old. As a result, the age distribution among the incoming first-years varied widely.
“Ahem… The address from the First Imperial Princess will begin shortly. Everyone, please remain silent.”
By interfering with the air through his mana and amplifying the surrounding vibrations, even a simple utterance resonated like a massive voice filling the entire auditorium.
Clack.
Clack.
The First Imperial Princess, Elizabeth, soon appeared from the opposite side.
Don't look.
Judging from that hairpin incident, her sense of aesthetics was undoubtedly deeply flawed.
“Greetings. It's a pleasure to see so many heirs from distinguished families…”
The time dragged on tediously, like the morning assembly speeches from the principal back in my school days as a child on the playground. Still, the boredom lifted briefly during the introductions related to the academy.
“Now, we will take a moment to briefly introduce the faculty who will be in charge of your lectures.”
Elizabeth stepped back a few paces and turned to look at us. Starting from the left, we rose one by one and approached the front.
Few spoke at length, so it didn't take long to reach my turn.
“I am Ferzen von Schweig Ruerg, who will be in charge of the black magic lectures. When addressing me, skip the flowery titles and simply call me Professor Ferzen.”
Shorter than the others, I finished speaking and turned away.
To begin with, among those students down there, only 14 would even take the black magic lectures.
If people born with mana weren't so rare, wars would have been fought solely by them long ago.
Thus ended the roughly 40-minute entrance ceremony.
Twenty minutes before 9 a.m., I entered my professor's office, grabbed the attendance roster, and headed to the lecture room in Building A.
“…”
Opening the door, I found the students already seated quietly, not chatting, even though it was 15 minutes early.
Not all of them, apparently.
Exactly one seat was empty.
And I knew who it belonged to.
Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia.
Even if her appearance had matured since childhood, that vivid red hair would remain the same.
But none of the students currently seated had red hair.
Nod.
As I scanned left and right, my eyes met Laura de Charles Rosenberg's, and she gave a slight bow in greeting.
She still looked as fragile as ever upon second glance—a girl who inexplicably stirred protective instincts.
What I particularly liked was that, as she'd said, today it wasn't a side ponytail but simply long straight hair.
More importantly, they don't seem to feel much discomfort with the all-in-one desks yet.
Of course not—they were just sitting there quietly, so they wouldn't yet notice the unique discomfort of those desks.
Time.
As the clock struck exactly 9:00, I fixed my gaze on the attendance roster and began calling names one by one.
“Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia.”
“…”
No response.
“Three tardies count as one absence. Attendance makes up 5% of the total grade in my class, so keep that in mind.”
I marked one tardy next to Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia's name.
Setting the roster down, at that moment, the back door of the lecture room slowly creaked open, drawing all eyes to a girl with striking red hair…
“S-Sorry… I'm late.”
Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia had appeared.
Screech.
Screech.
The slow rolling of wheels.
Yes, Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia.
She was in a wheelchair.
…
The violence Ferzen had inflicted—stomping on her opposite ankle to match the twisted one from childhood—had it really caused such devastating results?
But if so, why wasn't this in Jeremiah's report?
Did he assume I already knew and skip it?
I had no idea.
If I'd known, I would have at least arranged a normal desk just for her.
Screech.
Screech.
Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia slowly approached the remaining empty seat, her expression a bit flustered. She glanced back at me slightly and bit her lip.
Then, propping herself on crutches, she tried to rise from the wheelchair and struggle onto the all-in-one desk…
Thud!
She toppled over like a ragdoll.
“Lopen.”
“Yes!”
“Help her…”
“Understo—!”
“I don't need help!”
A shrill, venomous voice.
Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia reached out with both hands alone, gripped the chair portion of the all-in-one desk, pulled her body up, and barely managed to sit by herself.
Ha… fuck.
Ever since my self fully merged with his, blunt swearing felt terribly awkward coming from me, but this time it slipped out involuntarily.
An environment crafted to avoid my compulsions' outbursts.
And a victim of past misdeeds who had no choice but to feel its inconvenience.
Was this the villain's fate?
My head throbbed.
* * * * *
Laura de Charles Rosenberg.
The girl who remembered her past life appeared to be listening attentively to Ferzen's words on the surface, but inwardly, her mind wandered.
Because she assumed the lecture held little value.
“Black magic's Corpse Servitude excludes mana prowess and is largely influenced by comprehension, familiarity—proficiency or bloodline.”
In truth, he began spouting tedious common knowledge.
The students without the means to hire renowned black mages for private tutoring with their own funds seemed focused—about five of them.
“Here, I will mainly lecture on comprehension-related topics, accompanied by various external experiences.”
Experiences?
“Some… no, most of you are probably wondering inwardly. But this will undoubtedly be helpful to you.”
Ferzen, dressed in a clean suit free of gaudy accessories, rolled up one sleeve and took the chalk.
He wrote two words on the blackboard: territorial war and war.
“Over time, a black mage's prowess came to depend not just on talent, but on the quality of corpses possessed. This isn't wrong, but neither is it entirely right.”
“…”
“Long ago, during frequent wars, infantry wielded not swords or spears, but blunt weapons like maces. Do you know why?”
“To increase damage to corpses, lowering the manifestation rate when black mages animate them.”
Laura knew too, but didn't answer.
She was a stutterer.
“Correct. Within the limits of given mana, enemy or ally corpses endlessly revive to kill you, so black mages hold great sway on the battlefield. But to do so, the key is how many corpses you can animate and autonomously control.”
Autonomous control.
Meaning corpses act on their own to external stimuli and visual cues without the black mage splitting consciousness.
Comprehension naturally played the biggest role in this, based on pre-death habits, quirks, movements, and such.
“Back then, enemy elemental mages desperately tried to incinerate ally corpses beyond recognition, and enemy Aura Knights prioritized killing ally black mages.”
The pleasant mid-low timbre paused slowly.
Then Ferzen's red eyes swept the room, carrying a hint of pitying disdain.
“So, even if not full war… in a territorial skirmish now, how many corpses could you lot animate and autonomously control?”
“…”
“Forget autonomous control—you'd be lucky to force 3 or 4 with mana, and even then, without it, you'd split your consciousness and die to stray arrows.”
Ferzen's words were a sharp rebuke to modern black mages who devoted themselves to studying elemental mage or Aura Knight corpses to maximize manifestation.
“The maximum pre-death ability manifestation is 90%. Even fully animating an elemental mage or Aura Knight corpse at peak output won't match the living equivalent of the same rank. Thus, most black mages today have diminished value as combatants.”
“Professor Ferzen's words… seem to have a slight flaw.”
The eyes of Laura and the other 14 students turned as one to Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia at the back.
“A flaw, you say.”
Ferzen's brow furrowed slightly.
Not from the rebuttal, but from her rude interruption of his timing.
“Yes. In the past, when wars were rampant, the unique circumstances naturally heightened black mages' pre-death comprehension of ally soldiers, so we…”
“Do you think I don't know that, Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia?”
“…”
“Answer.”
“Yes…”
“Then, without war experience or comprehension, do you plan to incite countless territorial wars, driving your territory's people repeatedly to the battlefield to gain it?”
“That's not what I—!”
“Your argument has a contradiction. 'War's uniqueness' isn't entirely wrong, but pre-accumulating comprehension and experience that way yields poor efficiency in actual battle now. Because back then, prolonged wars made such experience a huge part of one's life.”
Yes, and that's why black mages could achieve high manifestation rates with soldiers' corpses then.
“Even if you master that experience and comprehension now, without prolonged catastrophe, the efficiency is negligible.”
Finishing, Ferzen sighed.
“What a pathetic notion. I thought your rude interruption meant a good question… but with Euclid-rank promotion in sight, have you fallen into self-delusion?”
“That's not—!”
“If not, it's even more pathetic. To think that rebuttal came from genuine anguish…”
“…”
“Also, if you have a question, wait until I'm done and raise your hand quietly. Where did you learn such manners? I assumed you'd know basics like this; etiquette isn't taught in Building A…”
At Ferzen's tongue-clicking voice, Lizzy bit her lip, bowed her head deeply, and trembled.
Watching her, Ferzen thought he'd sufficiently suppressed the emotion surging in his chest.
Good thing he had the reins; without them, he'd have made her stand and lectured her harshly.
And Laura realized how gentle he'd been with her that day, compared to this sharp, icy demeanor.
That said…
As her back began to ache, Laura tried to rest her arms on the desk and lean forward, but the chair wouldn't budge—she realized with a start.
This was an all-in-one desk; she couldn't pull the chair.
To rest her arms and lean, she'd have no choice but to perch her hips on the chair's edge.
What kind of garbage desk is this?
Did someone from the imperial family lobby for it?
She hadn't seen other classrooms yet, so Laura naturally assumed as much.
If all classrooms had these…
Could her frail, weakened present body endure it?
Such worries suddenly flooded her mind.