Episode 35: “Except for Yuria-san”
The magic academy’s uniform was built around a base of red and black, with a deep wine-colored cape worn over it for formal occasions like ceremonies.
On the day of her entrance, dressed in full formal attire, Fiine found nothing but discomfort in her own reflection in the mirror.
(Is it that it doesn’t suit me, or more like the clothes are wearing me…?)
Compared to other girls her age, she was noticeably small, and nothing about the outfit quite settled right on her.
“…This is probably going to draw attention, on top of everything else.”
Gleaming at her chest was a pendant set with a brilliant red ruby.
It was a pendant the academy awarded each year to the top ten students by grade, with the type of gemstone varying according to rank.
The pendant’s owner changed with every exam, but the current one reflected her entrance exam results.
“Maybe I can hide it with my hair. Ah, more importantly, I should eat breakfast soon…”
Stepping away from the mirror, she hurried off toward the kitchen.
“Let’s see… I’m supposed to eat a good balance of vegetables, meat, and fish…”
With her enrollment at the magic academy, Fiine had started living on her own.
Burkhardt’s estate was close to the academy, but he’d said it wouldn’t look right for an instructor and a student to live together.
He’d told her she could live anywhere she liked, but she’d chosen a cheap apartment instead.
(As long as it keeps out the rain and wind and I can sleep soundly, anywhere’s fine.)
The apartment she’d ended up choosing was old and shabby in terms of its age, but well-located, and she was reasonably fond of it.
She pulled dishware from the cupboard — brought over from Burkhardt’s house.
“Vegetables, meat, and fish… I guess I should cook the meat first.”
She lightly seared the meat she’d pulled from the pantry using fire magic, then cut it into bite-sized pieces with wind magic.
She put it on a plate and mixed it together with vegetables and canned fish.
It didn’t look appetizing, but the nutritional balance ought to be fine.
This, plus bread, should be enough for breakfast.
She carried the plate and bread to the table, pressed her hands together, and said her thanks before eating.
“…It’s bad. And it doesn’t even have any flavor…”
Still, it wasn’t so bad she couldn’t eat it.
Shoveling the food down as though pouring it straight into her stomach, Fiine finished the meal and then realized something.
“Maybe it didn’t taste good because I forgot the seasonings.”
She decided to pick up some seasonings in town on her way home that evening, then hurried out the door.
◆
Fiine’s academy life, predictably, didn’t get off to the smooth start she might have hoped for.
“My desk… it’s gone…”
The first bit of harassment had been her textbook going missing.
The magic history textbook she’d kept in her locker never turned up again, and in the end, she’d had to buy a replacement through the school store.
After that, she’d put a barrier spell on her locker so no one else could touch it — but it seemed whoever was behind it had simply switched tactics to hiding her desk instead.
She had no idea who was doing it.
There were several classmates who disliked her, after all.
The classmates snickering quietly around her were probably hoping to see her flustered.
(But it’s not really a problem — I can just make a new desk with creation magic.)
Before Fiine could even draw her wand from inside her coat to trace a magic circle, a girl’s voice rang out across the classroom, shouting who did this?!
Pink hair, and eyes as clear blue as a midday sky.
Yuria von Cornelius.
The only classmate who’d ever spoken to Fiine at all, since the day she’d enrolled and found herself isolated.
Having only just arrived at school, Yuria made her way straight to Fiine, then shouted even louder at the entire class.
“I’m asking who did this! Should I report it to the teachers?!”
“…The teachers aren’t going to care about some commoner’s desk going missing.”
Someone muttered it under their breath — just one voice, but several students clearly agreed.
If she actually consulted him, Burkhardt would surely handle it properly.
But no one yet knew about the connection between the two of them.
“I-I’m fine, really. But, um… thank you, for worrying about me.”
“‘Fine,’ she says… Understood. In that case, let’s go borrow a spare desk together.”
“No, that’s — that’s really fine too.”
Fiine mustered a smile to reassure a visibly puzzled Yuria, then traced a magic circle in the air.
She could use magic of every attribute, but creation magic was, above all, the one she was best at.
The classroom floor warped for an instant.
The distorted floor twisted and reshaped itself into a desk. Since it had been made using material from the floor itself, the floor as a whole ended up a little thinner, though not enough to cause any real trouble.
“I can just make a desk myself, if it comes to that…”
“You can use creation magic?! Weren’t you using fire magic in class yesterday?!”
“Anything simple enough, I can use any attribute for, really…”
“Seriously?!”
“W-we just haven’t covered it in class yet. I think anyone could do it, once they learn how.”
It had come as a surprise to her, but the magic academy’s coursework started from fairly basic content.
They were still at the stage of each student identifying their own strongest attribute; presumably, before long, everyone would be able to use other attributes too.
“No wonder, coming in first on the entrance exam…”
Saying “it’s really nothing” only earned her glares from her classmates, and acting too pleased with herself would just as surely invite more complaints.
Being the holder of the ruby pendant had made Fiine stand out far more than she’d ever wanted.
(Thanks to that, no one besides Yuria-san even says hello to me anymore…)
If Fiine had been the daughter of some prestigious noble house, she’d probably have found herself surrounded by hangers-on in no time.
But Fiine was a commoner, and it was only natural that the nobility wouldn’t think much of her.
The chime rang. First period would begin shortly.
This morning was written subjects; the afternoon would be hand-to-hand combat and magic practice.
(If I get up from my seat, they might hide this desk too. Ah — I know.)
Quietly casting a spell, Fiine fixed the desk firmly to the floor so it couldn’t be moved.