Chapter 31

Older instructors possessed looks of disapproval at the relentless debate. Nevertheless, the reason they remained silent was because the rank of the two that were arguing was higher.

Siena and Thadd were both active as certified Grade 6 mages while only being in their mid-20s. Not to mention Ethella, who was also the pride of the Alpheas Magic Academy.

The argument showed no sign of abating. Ethella tried to intervene, but no side yielded.

Alpheas was just smiling. If you didn’t have a passion to teach, it was impossible to fight like that.

Thadd wanted the development of his alma mater, while Siena wanted the growth of her students. If one was an instructor, they would have to side with Siena, but it wasn't that they couldn’t understand Thadd’s side as well.

"I’ve heard both of your opinions well. I understand your positions, so let's stop and take a seat."

As soon as Alpheas' words fell from his mouth, Siena and Thadd listened and stopped arguing like two obedient puppies. The only thing they had in common would be their respect for Alpheas.

"I find both sides' arguments and points to be valid. Ms. Siena’s words are logical, but we're also instructors. Shouldn't we avoid prejudice and favoritism?”

"That's exactly what I'm saying, headmaster."

Thadd laughed and Sina was expressionless… But Alpheas wasn’t done. After carefully devising something, he revealed his idea with a big smile.

"That is why we should… How about it?"

* * *

A single official notice was pinned on the bulletin board of the Intermediate class building.

Dozens of students gathered in front of the bulletin board and were shocked at the contents of the official notice.

This was the first time in the history of the Alpheas Magic Academy that a promotion was open to a whole class. In this case, Class 7.

The main gist of the notice was this.

We are providing an early promotion opportunity for all of Class 7. We will only pick one person who is eligible for promotion and the moment they pass the exam, they will be promoted to Class 5. As we fully acknowledge the students’ concerns, this evaluation will be graded in terms of magic and not Spirit Zone.

The subject of evaluation is teleportation.

"T-Teleportation? I don't know how to do it. Can you do it?"

"No, of course I can't. It's an official Class 5 designated magic.”

"I've done it once. But it was so scary that I don’t dare to try again.”

"You stupid! It's easy if you follow the original formula. The problem is that it’s just so difficult to apply."

The noisy children suddenly died down. Shirone was walking their way. Arriving at the bulletin board whilst under many different stares, he read the official notice. This was the conclusion reached by the instructors.

‘Teleportation.’

Shirone engraved the word and concept in his mind.

* * *

The so-called Class 7 bullying incident interested the upperclassmen. In particular, because the target was Shirone, there was a lot of talk due to that fact.

"Oh my God! Something like that happened? Amy, did you know?”

Amy, who only checked the bulletin board at the end of the day, read the official notice and frowned. When Sharelle informed her of the specifics of the rumors, her knuckles turned white.

‘You were being bullied? Is it because of me too?’

According to Sharelle, some of her classmates don’t even make eye contact when looking at Shirone. Moreover, there were some who even antagonized Amy during integrated classes.

"What do you think? I mean, they are kids from Class 7. Actually, I went through something similar, but since I was promoted quickly, nothing happened."

“ Bullying and Isolation are not things that can be excused just because one is young. If we start thinking that it’s okay, then shouldn’t we be doing the same things? After all, we’re also young.

"We're in Class 4. Magic requires maturity and a lot of mental and emotional control, so age can’t matter.

Amy didn't want to argue about this or that. In fact, she couldn't think of anything because her mind was a mess. Amy was just angry that Shirone was being tormented and was suffering.

"Stupid! Why didn't he tell me?”

‘If he had been honest and discussed it with me, we could have come up with a better solution!’

She was certain they would have. Popularity aside, she was still at the top of Class 4. And Shirone was ‘dating’ her. Thinking about the possible things Shirone had to go through angered Amy. She was angry in fact that one could mistake her for the victim.

"I need to go see Shirone.”

"That’s no problem, but what are you going to do?"

"Well first, I’m going to hit him once. Then I’ll get all of Class 7 to assemble. I should be able to do at least that since we’re in a relationship.”

"What? Are you crazy?!"

"What do you mean? So you want me to sit still and do nothing? This happened because of me."

"Gosh, you really don't know men. Do you know why he didn't tell you? It's because it would hurt his pride. What do you think will happen if you go and assemble all of Class 7 hmm?”

Amy couldn't understand. The only reason he didn’t even make eye contact with her was because he was scared of Class 7 children?

It was Amy whose pride was hurt by this incident.

"Men, you know, like to be recognized. Men live for pride and die for pride. But since he’s getting bullied, do you think he’d tell that to the girl he likes?”

There was some truth in what Sharelle was saying, but that was only in the case of those who were in a really loving relationship. How could she know that Shirone and Amy were in a fake relationship?

‘He must be thinking that he stepped on poop because of me. That's why he’s avoiding me.’

Sharelle viewed the school's initiative positively.

"But isn't that a relief? If he passes the promotion exam, he will enter Class 5. They did really well in choosing teleportation as the subject of evaluation. All of the Class 7 students will need to learn from scratch.”

Amy's thoughts were different. There was a difference between having a broad understanding of the magic type and understanding the specific spell.

And what’s more. It was teleportation magic.

When learning teleportation, the most important thing was to overcome fear. It was on a whole other level compared to flight magic in terms of speed and the perception of things during transit. Just knowing of the fact that you could teleport into something and lose your life was deterrent enough for many.

"Come to think of it, isn't this a very dangerous test? What are the teachers thinking?"

"I’m sure they will adjust the difficulty level appropriately. They could also just be testing the students' passion and bravery. More than half of Class 7 will probably take the test.”

"What? That much even though they’ve never been taught teleportation?”

"The passing reward is being raised up to Class 5. And it's all about learning from scratch. If I were in their position, I would totally go for it.”

Amy couldn't get rid of the uncomfortable feeling. Perhaps the students who took the test would practice intensively with help from their seniors or a dedicated teacher. It was clear that the students who were planning to take the exam would practice intensively with the help of their upperclassmen or with their exclusive instructor.

Shirone, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Having an exclusive teacher was definitely out of the picture, and he did not even have any friends to ask for advice.

‘At this point, what if he doesn’t succeed?’

Although Shirone’s talent was acknowledged, in the short run, the exam could never guarantee his passing.

"Right! Amy, why don't you help? Take this opportunity to make up with him."

"Hmph! He didn’t even say a word about being bullied, you think he’ll accept my help? I’m just going to keep pretending like I know nothing."

"Ugh, you guys are really something. If you like each other, just like each other. What’s the problem with you two?”

"Mind your own business, this is our way of dating. It’s not like I'm free anyway. The Advanced class promotion exam is just around the corner."

"Oh, right! I forgot about that. Sorry."

Nothing was more important to a student than promotion. No matter how smart Amy was, she couldn't afford to lose focus if she wanted to overcome the high barrier of being promoted to the Advanced class.

"He’ll be fine on his own. If he can’t do even that, he shouldn’t be allowed to be called my lover."

Turning away from the bulletin board, Amy continued to speak inwardly.

‘Even if he’s a fake one.’

* * *

Around midnight.

A masked figure infiltrated the garden of the men's dormitory. As they moved forward, no sound could be heard, not even the rustling of grass. When they checked that the light on the 7th floor of the building was on, they scratched their head in annoyance.

‘I am NOT doing this because it bothers me. I'm only helping because I feel a sense of responsibility!’

Amy ground her teeth. Even though she tried to forget and move on, she couldn't concentrate on her studying because she was worried about Shirone.

"Y’all better watch your backs! I'll make you all kneel and beg for forgiveness once Shirone passes!"

Amy climbed the wall to the 7th floor. If rumors spread that she had crossed the threshold of the men's dormitory at night, she would not be able to carry her head high anymore. But at the same time, her old playfulness went nowhere.

‘Hoho, since this is already happening, may as well surprise him enough to make his heart jump out of his ribcage.’

Amy did a forward roll as soon as she opened the window. The calculations were made upon her landing. She was going to subdue Shirone and throw him on the bed. Then twist his arm to the point that it would make him scream.

"Huh?"

But Amy couldn't even take one step. Shirone stared at her with eyes that screamed surprise. And next to him was Ms. Siena, who was sitting on a chair.

"T-Teacher?”

"Are you… Amy?”

Siena adjusted her glasses and looked again. It was clear that the trespasser was Amy as she was the only student with red hair and thick, double-eyelid eyes.

She knew Amy was dating Shirone, but she thought that they were both focusing on their own goals. However, after she thought about it once more, and considering the current situation, she couldn't help but feel that what they were doing was absurd and deceitful.

"Do you guys meet like this all the time? Pretending you don't know each other during the day whilst secretly enjoying meetings at night?”

"I-It’s a misunderstanding! That is a huge misunderstanding!"

Siena hurriedly placed a finger over her mouth.

"Shh! The room over will hear."

Amy covered her mouth and looked at the room next door. This was the men’s dormitory. If rumors spread that a woman's voice was heard in Shirone's room, the first suspect would unconditionally be herself. Well, even if that happened, she had nothing to say.

"No, wait! Forget about me for a second, what brings you here? At this hour?"

Come to think of it, it was Ms. Siena who didn't fit in this situation the most. This was because there was no reason for a teacher to come in plain clothes at night.

"Please, do say. Why are you here at this hour?”

Amy's reasonable misunderstanding flushed Siena's cheeks. However, she quickly returned to her original state and spoke coldly.

"I'm here to give Shirone some advice about the promotion exam. I didn’t think it would be good to stand out by showing everyone that I’m helping him, so this is how I do it."

If the promotion test was the reason, then Amy had nothing to say. It was because she went for that same exact reason herself.

"Um… Excuse me, senior."

Shirone, who prepared tea, held out a cup to Amy and spoke.

"First, here’s a cup of tea…”

"Hmm…"

Amy took the cup and savored the aroma. As a polite lowerclassman, he had the basic posture of welcoming a guest.

"...As if! This all happened because of you!"

"S-Sorry!"

As Shirone apologized, Amy was even more annoyed. Because of that nice temperament of his, he was currently being pushed around by those lowlives.

"Sit down for now. I want to finish what we were talking about.”

Siena offered a seat. Amy sat next to Shirone and quickly turned her body away from him. Because although she did come because she was worried, she was still angry with him.

"As you guys know, the evaluation will be on teleportation. The headmaster made the decision himself."

"The headmaster?"

Amy finally understood the situation. She thought it was a test that was not suitable for Class 7, but since it was the playful headmaster who decided it, that explained it all to her.

"Yes. To be honest, I don't understand his intentions either. Teleportation is a dangerous magic.”

Amy asked.

"The test will probably be done at 'The Bridge That Cannot Be Crossed', right?”

"I’m not quite sure, but that’s the only place I can think of."