WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Picked Up the Protagonist’s Heroine ◈
Chapter 7: I Was Trash No One Expected Anything From
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“Ester.”
Afternoon class.
When the teacher called her name during the lesson, she quickly raised her head.
“Yes? Yes!”
“Would you like to come up and solve this problem?”
Ester’s attendance number happened to match today’s date.
Caught off guard, she quickly examined the magic circle drawn on the board.
“One circle. Five spell formulae inside it. But this is a failed magic circle. Come up and explain why it won’t activate and what needs to be fixed.”
After the teacher spoke, Ester slowly made her way forward.
She had not listened to the lesson at all, busy studying the magic book Daywin had given her.
Even so,
“First... the magic circle’s attribute is enhancement. It consists of enhancement formulae that accelerate the user’s mana circulation.”
She deciphered the formula at a glance.
“That’s right. Good eye. But why did I call this a failed magic circle?”
“Because every formula has the same effect. Instead of increasing the effect fivefold, that would cause an error in the mana circuit.”
As Ester continued, the teacher nodded with satisfaction.
“Therefore, only one mana-circulation formula should remain, while the other four should be changed into formulae with supporting attributes.”
Ester picked up a piece of chalk and redrew the magic circle on the board.
It was exactly the answer the teacher had expected.
“Correct. Well done, Ester. Then...”
“But it cannot be said to be entirely wrong. The reason a magic circle of this form is bound to cause an error in the circuit is because we are human.”
“Hm?”
“For a target with a different mana circuit, such as... a spirit, the effects could stack as they are. A spirit can accept spell formulae that humans cannot endure.”
“...That’s true. You know quite a bit. Contracting with a spirit is not common, but Ester is right. Now, shall we try using the magic you corrected?”
“Yes? Um...”
Having answered correctly, Ester dearly wanted to show the other students what she could do.
She swallowed hard and looked at the board.
She placed a slender finger on the magic circle drawn in chalk.
‘...Activate.’
Crackle!
The magic circle lit up.
But only for a moment.
The light died like a dim gas lamp.
“You used too little mana.”
The teacher saw the reason immediately.
Her fear of a mana rampage had made her use only the smallest amount of mana.
“It’s all right. Go back to your seat.”
“...Yes.”
The teacher sent Ester back to her seat.
As she walked back, the other students glanced at her and snickered.
“Ah, must be nice. She’s a Magic Department student who can’t even use magic, but she’s popular just because she’s a little pretty.”
One girl spoke sarcastically.
“Hey, take that back. A little pretty? She’s incredibly beautiful.”
A boy immediately objected.
Normally, Ester would have felt indignation rise in her chest, but after meeting Daywin, she let the other students’ reactions roll off her.
Time was too precious to waste on needless emotions.
Thud.
She sat down and opened her book again.
More precisely, she hid the magic book Daywin had given her beneath her Academy textbook and read it.
‘All the spell formulae are unfamiliar, but the formulas themselves aren’t difficult.’
Rustle.
Ester cautiously checked her surroundings and quietly turned the page.
‘Once I learn how to convert the mana’s attribute to holy power, I can use these right away. Now, I just have to try.’
She lifted her eyes from the book and looked around.
The teacher took Ester’s failed practice for granted, while the other students looked down on her.
Yet even as she was treated so pitifully, someone had brought her a magic book.
It was the first time anyone had expected something from her.
‘I have to do it.’
* * *
Flutter.
A fairy just a little smaller than my palm, a light spirit, fluttered around me.
Since regressing, I had checked on my powers whenever I could. Summoning a spirit was part of that.
A light spirit was a gift bestowed directly by the Goddess.
Perhaps because of that, I had only ever seen one other person besides myself who could handle one.
Honestly, I had not expected my contract with the light spirit to continue even after I regressed.
The contract would last until I died.
Strictly speaking, did that mean I had not died?
“How generous of you.”
Poof.
When I clenched my fist as a signal, the spirit vanished.
It was about time to get up.
I was meeting the Academy chairman today.
I had said before that I had no intention of meeting him, but he had invited me first.
I did not know why he had called me, but I needed to maintain a good relationship with the Academy. I should at least be courteous.
I straightened my clothes and knocked on the chairman’s office door.
“Yes, come in.”
When I opened the heavy door and poked my head in, I met the eyes of the chairman, who was seated at his desk doing paperwork.
Since we had never met face-to-face, he looked puzzled.
“I’m Daywin Hasgard. You said you wanted to see me...”
“Oh my! If it isn’t you!”
Before I could finish, the chairman shoved his chair back and noisily rose to his feet.
“You’re the person who sent Laward to our Academy!”
He approached with a deferential bend at the waist and held out his right hand, braced at the elbow by his left.
“Ah... It’s nice to meet you.”
Taken aback, I took his hand and gave it a light shake.
The chairman looked to be in his late forties.
He seemed like someone who took good care of himself. His skin was clear, and he did not have a belly.
He dressed sharply as well, a man like leather who only seemed to improve with age.
“Here, sit! Do you like tea? There aren’t many kinds here, but... I chose them myself, so they taste good.”
The chairman held out his right hand again and pointed at a soft-looking sofa, then began boiling water on his own.
I had not expected such attentive treatment, no matter how much of a sponsor I was.
I sat down, watching the chairman prepare tea.
After I waited a moment and looked around the office, he spoke as he steeped the tea.
“I hear you found Laward by chance in the slums.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
More accurately, I had gone to find him.
“There are uncut gems even in places like that.”
The chairman smiled lightly and set a teacup on the table.
“As you know, Laward’s entrance scores were the highest in Academy history. Not only that, he isn’t satisfied with his current grades and continues to work harder. How wonderful is that? A hardworking genius!”
He laughed heartily and clapped his hands.
“I say this as someone who was once an educator, but there is no better kind of student. It may be early to say so, but I believe Laward will change the world. Ha ha ha!”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of him.”
“Recently, our graduates have been performing rather poorly, and our standing has fallen. Once Laward graduates and makes a name for himself, the Academy’s prestige will rise as well. Personally, I have high expectations for Laward.”
“There are rankings? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Well, there is no official ranking, but there is one by common perception. Public opinion matters when you are running an institution, after all.”
Over the course of a few exchanges, the chairman kept going on about grades and rankings.
That alone gradually revealed what sort of person he was.
It did not seem that the chairman had called me here simply to thank me.
“Do you see the old schoolhouse over there?”
Without warning, the chairman pointed out the window.
Following his fingertip, I saw a building more run-down than the others.
“It has been there since the Academy was founded. New buildings were constructed after I took office, so it is no longer used.”
So that was the reason.
It was not merely a famous spot for confessions.
“At first, we looked for a way to make use of the old schoolhouse, but it ended up abandoned. There was simply no reason to use a crumbling building when we had perfectly good new ones.”
The chairman gazed at the old schoolhouse with an unfathomable look in his eyes.
“Its only advantage was the flower garden surrounding it, but now even that is withering away. Still, in hindsight, abandoning the old schoolhouse was the right decision. New buildings increased enrollment and improved guardian satisfaction. What matters is selection and focus.”
Ah. I see.
I had wondered why he was suddenly talking about the old schoolhouse.
“...It seems you do not like that I am sponsoring students besides Laward, Chairman.”
The chairman was comparing the old schoolhouse to the heroines.
“No, not at all. How could I possibly dislike that?”
“Is that so?”
I tipped my teacup and carefully watched his reaction.
“I am always grateful for Daywin’s generosity. It is simply... surely selection and focus are important? I hope Daywin will make an efficient and rational decision as well.”
No matter how I thought about it, that sounded like a roundabout way of saying he did not like it.
“But the scholarships you provide are by no means a small sum. If all that money were spent raising Laward...”
It was strange enough that the chairman knew Laward among all those students.
He expected far more from Laward than I had anticipated.
Well, of course he did.
He was the protagonist, after all.
Even if he did not become a paladin, whatever path Laward chose would lead to the top.
It would become a royal road, a red carpet.
“As you said, Laward was born with talent for the ages. Naturally, I have high expectations for him as his sponsor. But I do not intend to give up on the other students.”
“Still, if you focused on Laward, in many ways...”
“Shall we make a bet?”
I turned my head, cutting off the chairman.
“A bet?”
“It is simple. If any of those students achieves a notable result before the vacation, you will grant me one request.”
“I do not know whether you are aware, but there is not even a month left until the closing ceremony.”
“That is enough. Will you do it?”
“Hmm...”
The chairman thought for quite a while before speaking.
“Very well. And if the opposite happens, I assume you know what you must do.”
“Yes. I will give up on the other students and raise only Laward. Of course, I will follow the Academy’s direction for his development.”
I knew Ester could master holy power and healing magic.
This was a bet I could never lose.
“You said I found an uncut gem in ‘a place like that.’ Those five may be underachievers now, but Laward himself was once a delinquent nobody expected anything from. He was one piece of trash rolling around in the slums.”
“...”
“Please have a little more faith in your students.”
“Yes... I understand. I will watch and see...”
“Thank you for the tea.”
I left the tea, of which I had taken only one sip, and stood.
Creak.
The moment I opened the chairman’s office door and stepped out with a bitter feeling,
Tap tap tap!
Someone ran away.
When I turned toward the sound, a figure that looked like a female student disappeared around the corner.
“Hmm.”
Had someone been listening in?
* * *
Two weeks later, at night.
Ester took her magic book to the old schoolhouse.
She had the worst memories of the place, but it was the most suitable place to test healing magic.
Since no one cared about it, she could practice without being discovered.
The old schoolhouse had been abandoned after the new buildings were constructed.
And around it was a flower garden.
‘It would be dangerous to test it on a person or animal from the start...’
The withering flowers would be the target of her first healing spell.
Even if she failed, no one would mourn if the gray flower garden shriveled a little more.
“...Phew.”
She closed both eyes and gathered mana.
She held the book with one hand and extended the other toward a flower bowing its head.
Hummm.
Light poured from her outstretched hand.
The dark night regained its color around her hand.
‘How long has it been?’
How long had it been since she had decided to use magic wholeheartedly, with all her strength?
It felt like the first time since the incident in her childhood.
She could feel mana leaving her body.
Even as she thought she should stop now, a desire to finally change rose within her.
With fear and anticipation sharing her face, she let the mana flow.
Vwoooom.
Mana gathered until her right hand felt heavy.
From this point on, she could not stop even if she wanted to.
She poured in everything.
Ester squeezed her eyes shut.
She imagined herself mastering healing magic and making a name for herself.
The future she had kept imagining since hearing Daywin’s words seemed a little clearer now.
“...Heal.”
The spell she uttered after hesitating, finally finding her courage.
The mana gathered in her hand burst forth.
How much time passed after that?
She could sense that she had succeeded.
But she still could not open her eyes, lacking the courage to confirm the result.
There had not been the slightest error.
Everything had been perfect, just as she had prepared and practiced.
So just a little more, believe in yourself.
“Believe.”
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
Rustle!
The withered flowers in the garden raised their heads all at once.
Like streetlights turning on in a row, like fireworks spreading wide, they bloomed together.
The flower garden that had sunk into gray was dyed like a canvas drenched in paint.
“Wow...”
Her immense mana soaked the dry ground and lifted broken stems.
Flowers and trees connected and came back to life, and the old schoolhouse regained the vitality of its thriving days.
Ester had transformed the old schoolhouse, which had given her the worst day of her life, into something beautiful with her own hands.
Thud.
Unable to believe the sight before her, she dropped the magic book in her hand.
When she lowered herself to pick it up, her legs gave out.
She did not even have the strength to stand again.
She sat there, staring blankly at the flower garden.
“...It’s beautiful.”
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