Chapter 86. The Approaching Midterms

While Radel, Tunia, Inette, and Gusto were talking about the future, two people were watching them from a short distance away.

It was Armandy and Pirenzo.

“Are you going to report this to the higher-ups?”

Armandy asked Pirenzo.

As an agent of the Ability Management Bureau, he knew just how valuable the information about the 8th Prince, who had brought down an assassin's guild, was.

On top of that, it was a matter involving two agents who were supposed to be monitoring the 8th Prince.

It was a problem whether they reported it or not.

Seeing Armandy's complicated expression, Pirenzo asked back.

“What about you?”

At that, Armandy shut his mouth.

The two fell silent for a moment.

It wasn't as if Pirenzo had a brilliant solution either.

But what was certain was that this incident had lightened his heart.

He was someone who, even while living as an agent of the Ability Management Bureau, had constantly recalled the events of his past.

Until now, he had habitually rehashed his past as the heir to an assassin's guild.

Now, there was no need for that.

Because today, he had faced his past without avoiding it.

‘It is thanks to the 8th Prince that things turned out this way.’

Bringing Pirenzo here one way or another and having him participate in the raid.

Thanks to the 8th Prince, he was able to correct a transgression he didn't even know he had left behind.

He was honestly grateful to the 8th Prince for that.

Pirenzo broke the silence and opened his mouth.

“We'll have to do it, I guess.”

Not reporting it would be abandoning his duty as an agent of the Ability Management Bureau.

Pirenzo said as he got up.

“Still, I don't regret this.”

Even if he were to be disciplined for getting involved in the 8th Prince's affairs, Pirenzo was willing to accept it.

He had disobeyed the higher-ups' order to only observe the 8th Prince, but he had a premonition that he would make the same choice even if he could go back.

At Pirenzo's words, Armandy's feelings grew even more complicated.

Since that guy, who seemed to have muscles for a brain, was acting like that, he had nothing to say either.

Pirenzo pointed a finger at Tunia, who was conversing with Radel.

The two of them had just seen Tunia tear up her withdrawal letter. They couldn't not know what that meant.

“See? She decided to keep attending the academy. I'm just going to think of it as saving one student.”

Armandy retorted to Pirenzo's words.

“You've become a real academy professor.”

He wasn't like that at the Ability Management Bureau.

It was dumbfounding.

* * *

Radel stopped by the Grade Representative Office.

As soon as he opened the door, a small firecracker popped, and confetti scattered.

Pop!

Pasion and Anesha were looking at Radel with expectant expressions.

Radel assessed the situation in a brief moment and began to act surprised.

“Wow, you startled me.”

At that, Anesha giggled.

“I know you weren't surprised at all, you know? See, senior. This is getting old.”

“Why do you think classics are classics? The basics are the best, even if they seem the simplest.”

Pasion, who had been excitedly talking about how surprising the magic that went off when opening a door could be, looked at Radel and grinned.

“Anyway, I heard the story. You went out for field training this weekend and caught a medium-to-large monster?”

“I heard you were the fastest among the first-years?”

It was something Radel always thought, but these two seemed to hear the rumors circulating in the academy really fast.

“How did you know?”

“We have our ways.”

“Indeed, indeed.”

It seemed they had some kind of information source only they knew about.

Shartea, who had been quietly sitting by the window drinking tea, opened her mouth.

“I heard you caught a Green Drake.”

“It's thanks to the advice you gave me last time, senior. My teammates' help was also a big factor.”

Radel answered politely.

In fact, the hour-long conversation about swordsmanship he'd had with Shartea last time had been a great help.

Thanks to that, he had been able to catch the monster without leaving a large wound on its hide.

Though, it was also true that they caught it faster because Armandy, with a somehow somber expression, had been wildly firing off magic with enough force to overturn a mountain range.

As if Radel's words weren't half bad, the corners of Shartea's lips slightly rose.

“It would be good to do some swordsmanship training together next time.”

“It would be an honor, senior.”

It wasn't a bad proposal for Radel either.

According to Inette, Shartea was not only the most skilled in swordsmanship at the academy but also frequently sparred with the knights of the Imperial Knights.

It was also true that Radel, who had only learned Basic Swordsmanship so far, was growing interested in Shartea's sword style, as he hadn't had a chance to encounter other forms of swordsmanship.

Watching Radel, Anesha and Pasion exchanged glances.

‘They seem to have gotten much closer, don't they?’

‘I know. It's strange.’

Considering how Shartea had been as cold as the biting wind when Radel first came as a grade representative, it was an astonishingly different appearance.

Still, if they left them be, the conversation could once again drift into a discussion about swordsmanship with no exit, so the two quickly changed the subject.

“Junior, with this, isn't your midterm grade basically secured?”

“That's right. This was a substitute assignment for the midterm Combat Magic practical exam, wasn't it?”

Hearing Anesha and Pasion's words, he clearly recalled that this field training was indeed a substitute assignment for the midterms.

It wasn't that he had focused on the field training because of Black Fang, but…….

“Now that you mention it, Professor Lilian did say it was a substitute for the midterm practical exam.”

“See? The midterms are coming up soon, so you're probably going to have a headache preparing for the written exams.”

At his seniors' words, Radel was at a loss as to what to do from now on.

He might be fine with the practicals, but he hadn't prepared anything for the written exams.

In the first place, the academy's professors didn't particularly emphasize theory.

Adding a few words during lectures was all they did.

‘I did take a pop quiz in Summoning Magic yesterday, though.’

Come to think of it, Professor Marianne had suddenly given a pop quiz without any prior notice, causing all the students to panic.

Radel was flustered too, but since it was content he had heard in the lecture, he was able to solve it one way or another.

The midterm written exam was bound to be more difficult than that.

“I've never studied theory properly, so I am a bit worried about what to do.”

“Haha, everyone's like that at first.”

Pasion and Anesha grinned with expressions that said they knew everything.

“The professors have never told you to open a book during lectures, have they?”

“No. They haven't so far.”

“That's the academy's way. You'll find out from now on.”

Radel nodded at his seniors' words that he had to prepare for the written exams on his own.

It seemed the academy's way was to teach the practical skills, but studying theory was up to the individual.

Indeed, was self-directed learning the standard for students of the Empire's top magic academy?

It seemed there was a reason it was famous for its high academic standards.

While Radel was coming to an understanding on his own, Anesha asked.

“Junior, you haven't been to the library yet, have you?”

“The library?”

Right, it seemed going to the library would be good for studying. The problem was that the academy was so vast he didn't know where the library was.

Most of the first-years, who were still adjusting to the academy, probably didn't know the library's location either.

“No. I haven't been.”

“Then you should definitely go. It'll help with the written exam.”

Radel didn't take his seniors' advice lightly.

The advice from the Grade Representative Meeting, in particular, had been very helpful to Radel so far.

Just as Radel was thinking he should definitely stop by the library, Pasion, who was leaning back on the sofa, added a word.

“Ah, but you might need some preparation to go to the library.”

Preparation?

Did going to the library require some sort of special preparation?

While Radel was deeply pondering what it meant, Shartea, who was pouring tea into a cup, added.

“……Be sure to take your sword.”

A sword, to go to the library.

The advice was even more incomprehensible.

* * *

Summoning Magic lecture time.

“I will now announce the scope for this midterm's written exam.”

After the lecture ended, Professor Marianne brought up the topic of the midterms.

What was bound to come has come.

Radel picked up his pen so as not to miss Professor Marianne's words.

“It will cover Understanding Summoning Magic, Volumes 1 through 3.”

The first-years had bewildered expressions.

It was the name of a book they had never once learned about during Summoning Magic lectures until now.

That was flustering enough, but the scope wasn't small either.

Not just a few hundred pages, but three whole volumes.

One student raised their hand and asked Professor Marianne a question.

“Um, Professor. Where can we get that book?”

“You should be able to find it if you go to the library.”

Following that, another student asked a question.

“There isn't much time left until the midterms, and the scope seems too broad. Could you possibly reduce it, even just a little?”

At the brave person's question, the other students' expectations grew.

It was the hope that perhaps the professor might hear those words and have a change of heart.

However, upon hearing those words, the look in Professor Marianne's eyes changed in an instant.

Her violet eyes having darkened to jet-black, Professor Marianne wordlessly picked up a pebble from the floor.

“We have already attained much enlightenment while learning Summoning Magic.”

At the words of Professor Marianne, whose gaze had changed, the students all shut their mouths without exception.

They all remembered the time Professor Marianne had picked up a pebble while guiding them to the Black Falcon Dormitory.

The surrounding air somehow felt chilly.

Professor Marianne placed the pebble on her palm and continued speaking.

“I do not think that the students who have taken my lecture would not know that. I'm talking about the fact that the enlightenment you've learned so far is neatly stacked within you. The knowledge of Summoning Magic, that is.”

The students could not understand Professor Marianne's words at all.

Since when did we start accumulating knowledge……?

No matter how much they thought back, they couldn't recall what they had learned about Summoning Magic.

But Professor Marianne seemed to think differently.

“You might forget for a moment. But I am not worried. Because with just a little stimulation like this, you should be able to recall it.”

Saying so, Marianne clenched the pebble resting on her palm.

A cool magic power enveloped her hand.

Crack!

The sound of something breaking was heard from within Professor Marianne's hand.

It was the sound of the pebble turning to dust.

That's not a little stimulation, Professor…….

The students' thread of hope, which they had held while watching with bated breath, also crumbled to dust.

“Like this.”

As she said that, Professor Marianne squeezed the pebble tightly, and something trickled out from between her knuckles and fell to the floor.

Drip!

It was a drop of water from the pebble.

It was the second time they were seeing this sight, but it was still a scene they couldn't get used to.

The first-years felt their bodies tremble strangely.

“Black Falcon Dormitory students must never fail a single subject. That is the fourth rule of our proud Black Falcon Dormitory. I trust you all remember it.”

A silence fell among the first-years.

No one dared to even think of asking another question.

Radel looked at the drop of water that had fallen on the floor and resolved to go and study quickly.

Studying was the only way to survive.