An Unexpected Savior Appears!
An unexpected savior had appeared!
“Before that, I find it questionable whether there even exists a branch of mathematics that can be learned without number theory.”
“A fine point, but that is not the answer I wanted. This is a Witch academy. This person is not your private tutor, nor a general education instructor, and certainly not a nanny. I have no intention of cooperating with you young ladies when you solve problems for fun with your friends, calculate probabilities to gain an edge in gambling or card games, or train for social display and party tricks. Answer again, von Letiaponk.”
Does this person hate me? What’s with her?
Zophy, who had been watching me tilt my head in confusion, leaned close and whispered in my ear.
“She’s trying to establish discipline. If you subdue the strongest one in the group, you secure authority that lasts a lifetime.”
After hearing Zophy’s explanation, it made a little more sense. In truth, this place was a garden of lilies where more than twenty daughters from the empire’s most prestigious families had gathered in one spot. It was far thornier than a cactus patch and more lethal than a bed of poisonous mushrooms. Naturally, the professors had their work cut out for them. Even ordinary teachers dealing with helicopter parents in a world without class systems tore their hair out daily from complaint stress. So why wouldn’t a teacher want to seize control on the very first day and dominate the entire class?
If she singled me out and crushed my momentum, most of the young ladies would fall in line. I mentally admitted that Professor Machtopf’s idea wasn’t entirely unreasonable and was actually rather clever.
“But Erika’s here, you know.”
“She gets paid by the imperial family, after all.”
“I was quietly acknowledging it, but hearing that makes her sound like a spineless cheapskate, so never mind.”
“Can’t be helped, I guess.”
“You there, Duke’s daughter. Stop chatting with your maid. If you remain ignorant, even Polinbaroque cannot save you.”
“Ah, I apologize, Professor. You just said you wouldn’t take on nannying duties, but I happen to have one right here, so I ended up acting spoiled. I’ll correct myself.”
Ah, damn it. The quip had slipped out on instinct. To think I couldn’t control my nonsense in a situation like this. Even Zophy stared at me with a dumbfounded expression, and I could hear a few young ladies failing to hold back their giggles. When I glanced over, Erika was looking at me with an exasperated face, tongue poking out slightly before she turned away. I gestured for her to focus on the blackboard.
Fortunately, the professor didn’t seem particularly angry at my absurd joke.
“Give me your answer, Maria von Letiaponk.”
For some reason, the fact that she wasn’t wearing a glove on the hand holding the chalk bothered me. Just as I opened my mouth to come up with something plausible, unexpected salvation arrived from behind me.
It was a very distinctive, heart-stopping laugh: Wahahahaha!
“Wahahahaha! It is such an easy question, yet the answer takes so long to come, so this humble one shall intrude here!”
“Lillia Cosette.”
The mathematics professor narrowed her eyes and looked at Lillia, who had suddenly shot up from her seat. Even Elena Kerru, sitting beside her, widened her eyes in surprise. Despite every gaze in the room instantly locking onto her, Lillia showed not a shred of embarrassment as she cried out brightly.
“Please forgive this rudeness! However, the reason Maria von Letiaponk does not answer such a simple question… is precisely because the question is so simple that it wounds one’s pride! That is the answer of this Lillia Cosette! If that is the case, then it is only proper for this insignificant little shrimp to answer in her stead!”
“You really are quite small, student. But truly insignificant people do not step forward so recklessly.”
“…It lies somewhere between insignificance and importance, that is what it is. As is the case with most humans…”
What kind of answer is that?
Anyway, I was too busy feeling relieved that I had escaped trouble to bother analyzing whether Lillia’s behavior made any logical sense. Zophy also seemed simply relieved that she wouldn’t have to put out the fire on my head.
“Very well. Then you shall answer, Baron Cosette’s daughter. In which field of magical research does number theory truly shine?”
“The absolute basics of encryption… In the field of sealing magic, where one must draw precisely calculated mana circuits under the most controlled conditions, becoming a master of numbers is the most fundamental of fundamentals. In other words, the correct answer is sealing magic! Is that right?”
Lillia declared triumphantly. Even Zophy, who had said she prepared diligently for class, seemed caught off guard by the answer and gave a slight twitch of her eyebrow. However, Lillia’s attitude was absolutely not that of someone who had given a wrong answer. Sure enough, the professor let out a sigh, softened her voice, and acknowledged that Lillia had answered correctly.
“An excellent answer. It is precisely what I wanted. You will be studying sealing in my class this year. It is a new addition starting this year. Most of the young ladies who have passed through my classes over the past several years did not even know that my specialty was sealing arts. That is because, for the last few decades, the study of seals has been a neglected field. Why? Dungeons are meant to be smashed open, while seals are only used for special purposes. They were never considered a universal skill everyone should learn.”
As she spoke, Professor Machtopf began writing a simple sealing formula on the blackboard with chalk. Then, as if something important had suddenly occurred to her, she whipped around to look at Lillia.
“However, student, your desk is empty.”
“…That is correct.”
“Where is your textbook? Let me inform you in advance that excuses such as not receiving the information or being unable to purchase it will not be accepted. I am well aware that the Cosette family resides near the imperial capital, granting high access to information, and that their access to books is the best in the entire empire.”
“That is… that is…”
I saw sharp sparks, crackling with fire, rising from the mathematics professor’s hand. This professor was clearly quite annoyed that her plan to torment me had been thwarted by Lillia. Besides, wasn’t the reason Lillia didn’t have her textbook my fault…?
“It has been magnificently shattered to pieces!”
“Why?”
“…Due to personal carelessness… Ow ow ow ow!”
Ah, it finally came out. The punitive hair-burning.
In an instant, a single flame shot from the professor’s fingertip and struck Lillia squarely on the crown of her head. Everyone gasped as they watched Lillia leap into the air with fire blazing on her scalp. Without thinking of anything else, I quickly removed one glove and aimed at her with my bare hand.
Come to think of it, this was sealing. I knew nothing about number theory or algebra, but when I recalled the concept of sealing magic, something felt like it might click…
“Yah!”
With a sudden flash of intuition, a square pink magic circle shot toward Lillia’s head. The circle I fired spread out like a net exactly over her crown, snatching the flame and drawing it back into my hand. I clenched the small flame trapped inside the sealing orb with my bare hand and crushed it out.
Lillia Cosette collapsed limply into her seat with an utterly drained face and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“Someone check if her hair got burned.”
At those words, Elena carefully stroked the top of Lillia’s head, but her hair appeared to be perfectly fine. The professor spoke.
“If I truly enjoyed burning people, even someone of my stature in the mathematical world would not be able to stand here right now.”
So it was a kind of imitation flame that left no real damage. From Lillia’s reaction, the heat had been genuine, but at least her hair had not actually caught fire.
“If it were hair as magnificent as the Duke’s daughter’s over there, I might feel tempted to singe it a little. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to…”
“Still, I consider it fortunate, Professor.”
Erika stepped in directly, perhaps to wrap up the situation. The professor, who had been acting arrogantly just moments ago, flinched visibly when Erika spoke and gave a slight bow.
“Thanks to her, we were able to witness an excellent example of sealing magic directly related to the class content. In my opinion, Maria von Letiaponk does not seem unaware of the importance of the lessons you teach. She was surely prepared to answer the question as well.”
“There are students who occasionally submit math test papers without writing out the solution process.”
The professor replied.
“And this person does not deduct points simply because there is no solution process if the answer is correct. I must acknowledge it, von Letiaponk. It was a splendid seal. It seems that even if you submit only the correct answer without any solution on test day, it will not be a point deduction. Your brain already knows how to reach the answer by skipping the process.”
For some reason the professor seemed a bit deflated, and I felt a touch of pity. But the one who was truly pitiful was Lillia Cosette, the Baron’s daughter, who remained in a dazed state and could not regain her senses until the end of class.