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Chapter 1: The Autumn I Took a Swing but Kept My Virtue as a Noble

Chapter 1: The Autumn I Took a Swing but Kept My Virtue as a Noble

MY name is Misha von Ritual. I was born the daughter of a viscount and raised in a nation of snow. My fiancé, Rudolph, was a kind and gentle man, the innocent type who knew not of impurity. He had immigrated to the Lawlife lands, thick with snow, and he never quite adapted to the cold weather. He’d often be in bed half the month, but I truly believed I simply needed to work harder than ever in his stead.

I studied magic and made potions, hoping to improve his condition, even a little. I even made extra potions and sold them every day in the royal capital’s pharmacies to save up extra cash for our marriage. Just as I was about to reach my monetary goal, he brazenly approached me one day with my cousin, Lizzy, in tow and made a crazy announcement.

“So, yeah…” Rudolph muttered. “I’m sorry, Misha…”

“Rudolph, I fear that I couldn’t quite understand you,” I replied. “Could you say it again, this time in a way that’s easier to digest?”

He endearingly wrapped an arm around Lizzy’s shoulders as he repeated himself. “Lizzy is pregnant with our child.”

So, I wasn’t hearing things, I thought. He and Lizzy had a secret relationship that resulted in a child.

“Her belly isn’t showing yet, but I’m sure she’ll give birth to a healthy child,” he said. “And I want to raise that child as my own.”

Everything I believed in—my entire world—came crashing down on me with a deafening rumble. I worked myself tirelessly to the bone for his sake, and this was how I was being repaid. I couldn’t understand it.

“So, what?” I asked. “You want to cancel our engagement, then?”

“Of course not,” Rudolph replied, making me almost doubt the words that left his lips. “I still love you from the bottom of my heart as well.”

I’d never heard a less romantic confession of love before. What in the world is he saying? I stood there stupefied until he made another insane suggestion.

“Misha, I’ve got a request,” Rudolph said. “I want you to become my second wife.”

As he confessed and begged me to stay on as his second wife, it felt like a bolt of lightning had struck my head. At once, memories from my past life flooded back to me. In that life, I was born in Japan and raised in an average household. After graduating from college, I joined a major company and met a man through work. We fell in love and got engaged, but just as we were about to host our wedding, my fiancé made a crazy suggestion.

“Sorry, but I impregnated a girl at my company,” he told me. “And I want to take responsibility for that.”

“I can’t believe you!” I snapped. “Our wedding’s soon, and now you want to break up with me?!”

“No, I don’t want to break up with you. Will you be my second partner? I hear that polyamory is all the rage these days.”

My rage bubbled up like lava. Yes, now I remember! In my previous life, after my fiancé cheated on me and audaciously asked me to be his second partner, his mistress, a side piece, I snapped. I exploded with rage and told him he was selfish and insane before I called our engagement off and stormed out.

I couldn’t recall much of what happened after. I engrossed myself in work to forget my bitter experience and often worked overtime until past midnight, even though it wasn’t necessary. I staggered home, exhausted, before I misstepped and fell into a ditch. Covered in mud and dirt, I died.

After my pitiful end in Japan, I was reborn as the daughter of Viscount Ritual, who possessed a snowy fief, only to face the same fate. A second wife was practically a secondary partner; I trembled with rage.

Raised to act with grace and elegance as a member of the nobility, etiquette was hammered into me. Since I was a young child, my teachers tirelessly reminded me how unseemly and crass it was to become emotional or lose control of myself, and I’d been taught to act like a demure lady. I managed to hold myself back, but Rudolph prattled on, his insanity knowing no bounds.

“When she gives birth to our child, I’ll make sure that they’re raised to be a splendid future Viscount Ritual,” he assured. “I’ll do my best to make that happen.”

“What in the world are you on about?” I snapped back.

In this world, women could inherit titles as well. However, I’d never heard of a case where a bastard child born to a man who cheated on his wife took over the title.

“You told me that you weren’t confident that you had the energy or health to create a child,” I accused. “And yet, you have a child with Lizzy? How did that happen?”

Rudolph, a devout worshipper, regularly attended the Holy Church. He often said that making a child was an act of defilement. He was frail and possibly lacked the stamina for it, but I accepted him, flaws and all, despite his fear of child-making. Likely because someone had casually cheated on me in my past life. I was more than happy to let my little sister’s child take over the title one day, and I truly believed that we could still be a wonderful family.

I didn’t have my memories of Japan then, but I unconsciously assumed Rudolph wasn’t the type to be blinded by love and let emotions get the best of him. Yet, he betrayed me as easily as he breathed.

Until now, I had done my utmost to become the head of House Ritual one day. We weren’t the wealthiest family, so I worked hard to ease my parents’ financial burden, and Rudolph trained under my father to become my assistant one day. Never would I have imagined this outcome. Rage swirled within me, refusing to be quelled, while Rudolph seemed indifferent to my distress as he spoke of his infatuation.

“Lizzy opened my eyes and showed me what true love is!” he gushed, like he was in a trance. “I never knew that the act of child-making was something so splendid!”

Lizzy flashed an angelic, happy smile at her beloved, but when she turned to me, her grin turned malicious and devilish. She made sure to do it discreetly, ensuring that Rudolph wouldn’t notice as she flaunted her triumph.

She had always had a nasty personality, ever since she was a child. She tried to sneak in and melt everyone’s hearts, only to steal the fruits of others’ labor right under their noses. Time and again, she frustrated me as a child, and I wasn’t keen on reliving those memories. I only let out the deepest of sighs.

“Only she poured unconditional love into me!” Rudolph went on passionately.

So my devotion never reached his heart, huh… His obliviousness to my feelings, to my devotion, disappointed me. I made potions to ease his pain, nursed him through sleepless nights, made nutritious dishes for his health, and even paid for his living expenses. But perhaps, to him, it was only natural that I did so much.

Unbelievable. While I worked hard day and night, he secretly fostered a passionate love with Lizzy and even made a child with her! When he’s engaged to me! And now, he’s asking me to be his second wife and keep the engagement?! As if! That’s insane enough, but then he goes on to insist that their child will be the heir to my house! I’d had enough of his stupidity—any more, and I felt like I’d go crazy. Rudolph, however, not knowing when to stop, delivered the final, emotional blow.

“Misha, I want to use the money that we saved together for the education expenses of my child!” he declared, as if that was a plan I’d be fully on board with.

“Together?” I singlehandedly made all that money by working hard and selling potions. Rudolph spent half of every month lying in bed, claiming to be ill, and on the days he was up and about, he clung to my father to learn his work, whatever that was all about.

“You don’t have to do anything with me in bed at night,” he insisted. “Just work in the morning for our share.”

I’d had enough of his asinine remarks. My body reacted before my mind could process his stupidity. I’d been told it was unseemly to lose control of my emotions, and I couldn’t utter a thing, but as a former Japanese woman, I couldn’t take this lying down. Rage exploded through my fist, and my emotions took the reins as my knuckles aimed for Rudolph’s cheek. I swung up from a low stance, landing an uppercut. My fist almost ripped his nose clean off with the sheer force of my punch. A few of his broken teeth flew through the air like shooting stars.

“Hyaaagh!” he cried before he fell to the ground.

“E-Eeek!” Lizzy screamed.

Listen, wench, I’m the one who wants to scream here. We were only engaged due to Rudolph’s passionate requests. Here in Lawlife, strong men who could hunt and chop wood all day were preferred as marriage candidates. Rudolph, though a good-looking man, was frail. He had neither the strength to carry a log nor the skills to wield a hunting rifle. Sure, he might’ve been popular in the royal capital, but in Lawlife, no one wanted him.

Kindness was his only strong point, and though one might say that it was the bare minimum, I didn’t mind. I accepted his proposal, not once assuming that this betrayal would happen. Rudolph, downed in one punch, gazed up at me, baffled, like the heroine of some tragedy. He didn’t seem to understand why he was hit. He didn’t immediately direct his anger at me. Instead, Lizzy broke the silence.

“Hey, Misha!” she barked. “What the seven blazes are you doing to my Rudolph?!”

“Lizzy, under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t even be allowed to show your sorry face in front of me,” I quipped.

“What did you say?!”

My cousin, Lizzy, was born from a fling that my uncle had with a woman working at a tavern in the royal capital. My parents were vehemently against their union, but my uncle truly loved her.

Back then, my younger sister and I had not yet been conceived, and my uncle even offered to make his child the future heir to House Ritual should my parents remain childless. Though this arrangement was always ambivalent at best, Lizzy had strangely inherited her father’s fervent desire that never quite reached fruition. Anyway, my uncle desperately begged for my parents’ approval, and they reluctantly permitted his marriage.

It came as no surprise that his happiness didn’t last long; a few years later, my uncle declared that he had found true love, truly, for real this time, and left our family home. My aunt, now single, received sympathy from my parents, and they offered her a helping hand. But she proudly said that she needed no pity and left House Ritual with Lizzy in tow.

My aunt, however, indulged herself in romance. She switched lovers as easily as she did her outfit, and to maintain her lifestyle, she eventually pushed Lizzy onto us. Despite my aunt’s pride and bravado, she ultimately relied on us to look after her daughter. And so, Lizzy, my younger sister Claire, and I were raised under one roof.

Claire and I got along well as siblings, but neither of us quite clicked with Lizzy—I often fought with my cousin as a child. My parents treated us all equally and gave Lizzy the same educational opportunities that we received, but my cousin would argue with her instructors or skip lessons entirely. She was quite the handful.

My mother tried to correct Lizzy’s sharp tongue, at the very least, but my cousin had no intention of fixing herself. Lizzy’s uncouth manner of speaking came from her mother, who was raised in a tavern downtown. My aunt picked up vulgar turns of phrase, and naturally, Lizzy did as well.

Lizzy had always been a thorn in our sides, and she was a lot of trouble for us. I chose not to involve myself with her after one fateful day. I practically detached myself from all of her antics, but never would I have dreamed that she’d appear to cause trouble with my engagement.

“Misha, you’re to blame, you know!” Lizzy spat. “Rudolph was sick in bed, and you neglected him for so long! I had no choice but to look after him in your stead!”

“Just so you know, I took very good care of him and nursed him tirelessly!” I shouted back.

At times, I cut down on sleep to watch over him and even visited him in the middle of a storm, worried about his condition. Recently, however, Rudolph rejected my visits, claiming he could drink potions on his own and didn’t need my help. I took that to mean that he’d gotten better—that he was now strong enough to take care of himself—and decided to work hard at creating potions to sell to pharmacies in the royal capital. In hindsight, perhaps Rudolph was spending that time secretly having an affair with Lizzy.

“You chose money over love, huh?” Lizzy huffed.

“What did you say?!” I snapped.

Every now and then, Rudolph would emit a pained groan, and Lizzy would gently ask if he was okay before she glared at me wrathfully, spouting prickly words that harshly critiqued my way of life.

“How could you beat Rudolph up so badly?” she rumbled. “You’re practically the Devil.”

“Fine by me,” I replied.

“What?” Lizzy, perhaps not expecting my retort, gazed up at me with widened eyes.

“Whatever. Not like I care,” I said. “Leave this place at once.”

“H-How dare you?!” Lizzy cried. “I’m pregnant with Rudolph’s child, and you want me to leave?!”

“Of course. Obviously. Go on, make a nice, happy family with you three. Never get involved with House Ritual again.”

“How heartless can you be?! Rudolph’s in so much pain, and now you’re chasing us all out?!”

Well, if you’re begging… I took out a special potion and sprinkled a bit over Rudolph’s face. At once, his swelling went down, his nosebleed stopped, and his cracked teeth were back, good as new. This was a high-class potion even within the royal capital’s pharmacy—it was highly effective. I spotted a gardener outside my window, wandering on the premises nearby, and I asked him to drag Rudolph out of the estate.

“Lady Misha, is anything the matter? Did you fight with Rudolph?” the gardener asked politely.

“I sure did,” I replied. “He made a child with Lizzy. I don’t want to ever see his face again, so could you toss him outside the gates?”

At once, the gardener turned red and rushed over. “Rudolph! You absolute idiot! How could you do such a thing?!”

“No, I—” Rudolph started.

“Don’t make excuses! You’re nothing like the proud people of Lawlife!”

The gardener lugged Rudolph outside while Lizzy followed the two men, trying to stop them.

“Sir, please!” Lizzy begged. “You’ve got it all wrong! It’s Misha’s fault!”

“Yeah, right!” the gardener roared. “Do you know how many times I’ve been tricked by your stupid lies, Lizzy?!”

“I’m telling the truth this time!”

“And I don’t believe you!”

As my room turned quiet, their noises fading into the distance, I let out a large sigh. This was the very moment my life plans completely fell apart.

***

THAT evening, I spoke to my parents and Claire about what happened. My parents looked absolutely stunned, but Claire quietly listened with a solemn face.

“So, I’d like to cancel this engagement,” I finished.

“I told you! I knew it!” Claire said angrily as she accused our parents. “I predicted that that woman would one day bring the greatest misfortune to our family!”

My parents exchanged troubled glances. It seemed my sister was protesting the danger of Lizzy behind my back.

“Lizzy has always been like that,” Claire added. “She’s only our cousin, but she acts haughtily like she’syour daughter and orders our people around!”

Our people weren’t the only victims of Lizzy’s antics; she was apparently always condescending toward Claire and often bullied her as well. I did my best to ignore my cousin and never noticed her do anything like that in front of me.

“I told you that she might try to take over our house one day!” Claire cried. “Father, Mother, you laughed me off before, but now we see the proof right before our eyes!”

Only Claire had noticed Lizzy’s ambitions, and I felt guilty that my sister had always been worried about our future. I hadn’t been there to comfort her.

“Father, Mother, may I ask why you spoil Lizzy?” I asked.

“Well… It’s because we felt bad for her,” Father replied.

When my uncle left with his mistress, my parents desperately tried to stop him. Unfortunately, their words fell on deaf ears, and my uncle deserted the Lawlife demesne.

“It’s partially our responsibility that Lizzy doesn’t have a father,” Father said.

“We wanted to help as much as we could so that she could live in comfort,” Mother added.

My parents continued to provide Lizzy with financial support, but my aunt was infuriated by that. She’d visit our manor time and again, accusing my parents of being kidnappers while exploiting them, asking for money, showering them with complaints, and overall doing as she pleased. My parents, burdened with the guilt of being unable to stop my uncle, blamed themselves and basically granted every single one of my aunt’s wishes. And Lizzy, of course, spent her younger years watching her mother and learning from that behavior. My cousin must’ve believed that she could take everything House Ritual had—there was no doubt in her mind.

“All right,” Father said. “Misha, your engagement with Rudolph shall be nullified—” He was interrupted by sharp banging on the window. When we turned to face the noise, we spotted Rudolph and Lizzy. “Rudolph, Lizzy,” Father said. “What are you doing here so late at night?”

“We weren’t allowed inside,” Rudolph said. “Lizzy said that there’s a path to sneak in at night.”

“A path?!”

Tall walls surrounded the house of Viscount Ritual, mostly to ensure that wild beasts and monsters wouldn’t enter our manor from the forest behind us. I hadn’t known there was a route to sneak in and out, and judging from Father’s expression, he didn’t know, either. His eyes widened while Lizzy, who likely wanted to keep this a secret, hit Rudolph and sharply asked why he gave it away.

“Lizzy,” Father said gently. “Could you tell us of this secret route?”

“It’s…not really a path, y’know?” Lizzy replied. “I just sneak into the carriages that travel between the village and this manor.”

A few times a week, a merchant brought food to our manor. Lizzy would sneak into the departing carriage to visit the village where her mother lived. This time, she snuck aboard a carriage coming to the manor to deliver supplies in the evening and ultimately made her way inside the walls.

“I understand,” Father said. “It’s cold outside, isn’t it? Come on in.”

“Father!” Claire protested. “Are you allowing that man into the house after everything he’s done to Misha?!”

“I’m not forgiving him by any means,” Father persuaded gently. “But Lizzy is pregnant, is she not?”

Her child wasn’t at fault, Father seemed to imply, and his calmness quelled my sister’s anger.

“It’s still autumn, but the nights are frosty,” Father said. “Come on in.”

“Th-Thank you!” Rudolph cried with relief.

He lowered his head solemnly, but Lizzy only nodded as though she deserved to be let inside. Our butler let them in, and the maid brought cups of warm tea. Lizzy eagerly gulped her drink down, in stark contrast to my family and me. We were too shocked to eat or drink. Is it because she’s pregnant? I wondered. She even reached out for the snacks and polished off the entire plate in a flash.

All the while, Claire crossed her arms and glared at Lizzy; I made sure to clutch my sister’s hands in support and to ensure that she wouldn’t pounce on the two visitors as I’d done earlier. Neither Rudolph nor Lizzy seemed keen to start talking, and Father gently tried to encourage them to speak.

“So? What brings you both here?” he asked.

“Er, well…” Rudolph started awkwardly.

“We’re here to talk about our future, of course,” Lizzy continued brazenly. “Have Rudolph work in our house from now on. Since he’s learned the duties of a viscount, that should be easy, no?”

“Please, I beg of you,” Rudolph pleaded.

Lizzy spoke with an air of importance while Rudolph lowered his head, practically groveling—the two were polar opposites. Both my father and mother seemed troubled by this request.

“I’m a frail person,” Rudolph said. “I don’t have the stamina to be a salesperson, and I’ve only ever worked in this manor. I ask that you please let me stay here, as I have been, and allow me to work like before.”

His situation was worthy of pity. However…

“Rudolph!” Claire said sharply. “Do you even know what you’re saying?!”

“Claire, you forget yourself,” Father admonished.

My sister looked vexed as she fell silent, and I nervously watched, wondering what Father would do.

“I shall be frank,” Father finally said. “I cannot accept your request. Truthfully, I want you out of my estate posthaste.” His tone was firm and resolute, unwavering.

“H-How could you be so cruel and stern to us?” Rudolph stammered.

“I’d like to ask you the same question, Rudolph,” Father replied. “You apparently asked Misha to be your second wife, did you not? How in the world did you come to that conclusion?”

“Well, because Lizzy said that would be best.”

He received another slap from Lizzy; she likely wanted to keep that part a secret, but it was her fault for not ensuring that he kept a tight lid on these claims.

“And have you not once considered it rather odd for you to love two women at once?” Father asked. Rudolph looked as confused as ever, and Father addressed him in an almost juvenile way, as though he was teaching a young child an important lesson. “Usually, a person can only deeply love one person at one time. Romantically.”

“No, I love both Lizzy and Misha very much,” Rudolph replied.

“And I find that to be a rather twisted and toxic romantic emotion. It cannot exist.” Father then recommended that Rudolph and Lizzy move to another land.

“No!” Rudolph cried. “Are you giving us an order as the lord of this land?! Are you exiling us?”

“Not quite,” Father replied, clarifying that he didn’t want them to leave his land simply because he was infuriated. “Your body has failed to adapt to the climate here. If you can neither hunt nor chop wood, you will only experience hardships living here. You’d be far happier living elsewhere.”

His logic was sound as he recommended that they leave.

“Henceforth, our family will cut all ties with you, Rudolph, and Lizzy,” Father declared. “Please don’t ask us for aid any longer and live well and happily with your future child.”

Rudolph clung to my father, pleading, “I’ll give up on Misha! But not my job! Please! Please let me live and work here!”

“Rudolph, I may sound strict, but the moment you betrayed my Misha, your ties with our family were through.”

“But I’ve seen House Ritual’s ledgers! I can leak that information to others! Are you okay with that?!” he threatened.

“Ah, the ledgers you’ve seen are around a century old. My ancestors preserved them to use as teaching material for future generations.”

A lot could change in a hundred years. Father had no issues with Rudolph spouting a century-old secret to others.

“You raised me so dearly until now!” Rudolph wailed. “Aren’t you even a touch lonely to see me go?!”

“Indeed, I suppose I’ve educated you, but you never made it past the basic lessons, did you?” Father pointed out. “Truth be told, Claire and Maris are far more competent than you will ever be.”

“What?!”

Maris was the son of a village merchant, and he swore his heart and future to Claire. Father had become rather fond of Maris and took the young man under his wing, treating Maris like family and teaching him everything he knew.

“Even if you’re gone, nothing of value will be lost,” Father said sternly. “I only offered you respect because you were engaged to Misha.”

Apparently, Father deemed Rudolph no longer worthy of his respect. Father called for a burly servant to send Rudolph and Lizzy away. The couple screamed and cried as they were dragged off, but their voices faded into the distance, and peace settled within our manor. Truthfully, I was a bit shocked. My father was generally a rather gentle man; I assumed that he would acquiesce to Rudolph’s request, and plainly, Claire thought the same.

“Father, you were very dignified and solemn,” Claire said. “You acted splendidly and with grace.”

I nodded along with the sentiment. “I thought you would forgive Rudolph and Lizzy and let them stay. I didn’t expect you to turn them down so firmly.”

“I didn’t expect those two to understand subtlety or nuance,” Father explained. “Had I not been explicitly clear, they’d never get it. But most importantly, even I’m not gracious enough to offer benevolence and kindness after they treated my dear daughter so cruelly.”

The back of my eyes stung at Father’s words. I wanted to thank him, but tears flowed instead, and Mother and Claire gently hugged me.

“It must’ve been rough for you, dear,” Mother said.

“Sister, you’re not at fault. Not one bit,” Claire said firmly. “Forget those scum! Don’t let them get to you!”

“Thank you, everyone.” I wept.

Their kindness only made me sob harder. It took a while for me to regain my composure, but when I did, I decided to make a request to my father, now that my engagement was over.

“Father, I’ve got a favor to ask of you,” I said.

“Say it. Anything you like,” Father replied.

Not once had I made a request to my father before. Perhaps that was why he was so eager to listen. I don’t know if he’ll let me do it, but I’ll muster up my courage and say it anyway.

“I’ve actually had this dream for quite a while,” I started.

“And what might it be?” Father asked.

“I want to attend a magic school.”

The Vizer School of Magic was an institution that gathered those with magical abilities from across the nation and educated them to become full-fledged wizards or witches. Each grade had five classes, totaling two hundred people; the grades were divided by year. Teens aged from seventeen to nineteen attended, meaning a total of six hundred students attended the school. A majority of the students were nobles who were fortunate enough to be raised in an environment of magic, but commoners also managed to join the mix.

Though many magic schools existed within our nation, only Vizer had a dormitory. Since I was a young girl, I always dreamed of going to school, but as the future head of House Ritual, I never once tried to leave our domain. Now that my engagement was cancelled and the memories of my past life had come back, my urge to attend a magic school was stronger than ever. I was likely greatly influenced by a children’s book series that I read in my previous life. The main character attended a magic school, and each volume was jam-packed with the events of that school year. It had even been adapted into a popular series of movies and was loved by many. I grew up with those books, and it wasn’t an understatement to claim that I spent much of my youth dreaming about that world.

Since I threw Rudolph and Lizzy out in the cold, I didn’t doubt that I’d earn a negative reputation. No one would dare marry me now, surely. My new wish was to learn magic in the royal capital, become a renowned witch of the nation, and support my family. That was my new desire.

“A magic school…” Father murmured. “Are you sure about this?”

“I am,” I replied. “I won’t let it be a burden to you financially, either.”

The school offered a scholarship, and if I could get that money, I’d be able to attend for free. The exam was a month away, and if I signed up now, I was sure I’d make it in time.

“Oh, but I’ll only pursue it if Claire’s okay with it,” I said.

“I will never oppose your dreams, Misha,” Claire said firmly. “I know more than anyone that you’ve worked tirelessly for our family and your fiancé until now. I don’t think anyone should mind if you do as you please now!”

“Claire… Thank you,” I said. She confidently told me that she could hold the fort while I was away, and I anxiously waited for Father’s permission. “Please, Father!” I begged. “It’s always been my dream!”

Claire and Maris could take over House Ritual if they wished. And if they didn’t want to, I could return home after I graduated from school. My parents exchanged a glance, their awkward expressions difficult to decipher.

“I’m sorry, Misha,” Father finally said. “I can’t give you an answer on the spot. I must ask Maris, Claire’s fiancé, as well. Would you give me a bit of time to think it over?”

“Of course,” I replied.

My parents didn’t reply impulsively, proof that they wanted to take their time and reach a conclusion—they treasured Claire and Maris and loved them very much. If I were to leave, the strain it’d put on their work would be great, and my parents wanted to carefully mull it over. I thanked them and decided to wait.

***

LATER that night, Claire came to my bedroom, asking to sleep with me. When she lay down beside me, I couldn’t help but giggle.

“Hehe… Claire, you always used to sneak under my covers after you had a nightmare,” I mentioned.

“Oh, come now, Sister. Wasn’t that from when I was a young child?” Claire corrected.

“Was it?”

“Most certainly!”

When she pleaded her case so seriously, I burst into a fit of giggles.

“When it was too cold, and you couldn’t sleep, you snuck into my bed a few times, too,” Claire added.

“Ah, yes! So I did,” I replied.

I was the most susceptible to the cold within my family, and I always tried to cling to someone for warmth. Father, noticing my struggles, bought a device made from magic stones that warmed my bed and placed it under my covers. Ever since, I haven’t needed to sneak into Claire’s bed.

“When you stopped slipping into my bed, I felt a touch lonely and a bit wistful,” Claire explained. “You were only after my body warmth all along.”

“Goodness, how horrible I must’ve been,” I replied.

“Quite so.”

We shared a hearty laugh, her presence blowing away the pain in my heart. Ah, I should tell her now.

“I’m sorry, Claire,” I said. “I’m sorry that I asked to attend a magic school out of the blue.”

“Don’t be,” she replied. “I always knew you had a grand dream, but your circumstances prevented you from pursuing it. Now’s a good opportunity for you.”

“Goodness, I suppose you saw right through my ambitions.”

“But of course.” She gripped my hands before gently bonking her forehead against mine. “The royal capital, where the magic school is, barely sees any snowfall, it seems,” she said. “Your hands will be warm there, even during the autumn months. Don’t worry about us, and head to the exams with confidence.”

“Claire…” I murmured. I felt like crying again and hugged my sister tightly, hoping to hide my face from her. “But will you really be all right?”

“What do you mean?” she inquired.

“You might be asked to suddenly become the viscountess one day.”

“Oh, I’ll do my best alongside Maris, should that time arrive. Maris is quite ambitious as well, so I’m sure he’d be ecstatic to rise to the challenge.” She made sure to tell me that I had nothing to worry about. She would handle it all. “If you do get into that magic school, will you write me tons of letters?”

“Of course!” I vowed. “I can promise you that much.”

I wasn’t even sure if I could apply yet, but I already felt like I’d gotten into the school of my dreams. With my sister encouraging me to pursue my dreams, I knew that I had to get accepted, no matter what. For that, my parents’ permission was vital. Claire and I vehemently prayed that I’d receive their approval.

***

WITH the deadline for Vizer closing in, Father took only three days to reach a decision. Claire and Maris were present for the announcement as well.

“Misha, about the school exams,” Father started.

He flashed a stern grimace, and Mother looked sad. Claire and Maris were expressionless. I didn’t know what that meant. Are they going to reject my request? I wondered when Father said not a word and only offered me an envelope. It contained an application for Vizer.

“Father?!” I gasped.

“You need not worry about us, dear child,” he said. “Go on out there and give it your all.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

My parents nodded. Claire and Maris smiled at me.

“Oh dear… What do I do?” I murmured. “I’m so, so happy!” I clutched the application form as tears streamed down my cheeks.

“You need to get in first,” Father reminded me.

“Yes, I know! I know!” I cried.

It seemed my parents couldn’t wholly give their approval, but Claire and Maris begged them, pushing my wishes through.

“Are you two sure about this?” I asked the young couple.

“Of course,” Claire replied. “I know that you’ll get in, Misha!”

“We’re rooting for you,” Maris added.

“Thank you both, truly,” I said, my heartfelt gratitude bleeding into my words.

I felt guilty for selfishly living as I pleased, but even so, my family cheered me on. I wanted their kindness to pay off. I had to get in, no matter what. First, I had to fill out the application form—this also actually affected my chances of getting accepted. The most important bit was my innate elements.

Innate elements, as the name implies, were elements that one was born with. Four elements served as the base for innate magic: fire, water, wind, and earth. A maximum of forty students would be selected for each element.

Any other elements were called unique affinities or bases, including unusual elements such as dark, light, blaze, storm, thunder, rock, mist, and a myriad of others. Very few had unique affinities, and oftentimes, they couldn’t fill a classroom of forty students.

However, many were born without an element, and even those born with standard innate elements, also called the Four Basic Elements, were praised for their rarity. A person would know their element a year after birth when they received a blessing from the Holy Church. The bishop would usually break the news to the family. I was born with a unique element, snow, but I could only let powdery snow fall for a bit. It was quite useless.

“You’ve got the snow element!” Claire beamed. “I’m sure that you’ll get in!”

“I hope so,” I replied. “I’m aiming for a scholarship, though, and I’m not sure if I’ll make that cut.”

Vizer had shockingly expensive tuition among the schools. I couldn’t let my parents shoulder that burden.

“If you can’t get that scholarship, will you give up?” Claire asked.

“Hm, well… I might delay my attendance for a year and try again next year,” I said.

Father told me I needn’t worry about tuition and fees, but it costs a hundred gold coins a year, surely a decent blow to our finances. Luckily, Vizer’s scholarship could waive my fees, and I wanted to use that to study for free.

“Misha, actually, your Uncle Guy also attended Vizer,” Father revealed.

“Did he, now?” I asked.

I didn’t expect Lizzy’s father, the man who caused trouble when he fled with his mistress, to have gotten into Vizer.

“Guy had the snow element as well,” Father said. “I think he attended with a scholarship.”

I’d heard that House Ritual sometimes produced people born with the snow element, but I’d never dreamed that my uncle had the same element and even attended the school I was shooting for. Apparently, he withdrew from school midway, which was a shame.

“Misha, worry not about the school fees,” Father said. “Just focus on doing your best.”

“Right!” I agreed.

I first had to submit the application. I felt that I was a shoo-in for the application phase since the snow element was rather rare.

***

A week later, I received word from Vizer that I’d passed the application phase. The next step was the written exam. It’d be held in a month’s time at the royal capital. Since I was going anyway, Mother suggested we take a family trip there, but Claire and Maris declined, claiming they wanted to spend the time studying to become a viscount.

Father, likely not keen on leaving the young couple behind, decided to stay, too, and so Mother and I decided to head to the capital, just the two of us. The application phase took three months per step. Applications opened at the end of autumn, and the written exam was at the beginning of winter, as we welcomed the new year. When spring approached, the practical exam would take place, and in the summer, an interview. Only those who passed them all would receive notice of entrance in the autumn. It was such a meticulous process that I wondered if it was some kind of test to enter a major company.

Other magic schools usually had only one entrance exam to decide whether an applicant would be accepted, but my mind was set on Vizer and nowhere else for now. It was my dream school.

I studied all day in preparation for the written exam. Luckily, House Ritual had been a family of wizards and witches since ancient times, and there were plenty of books on magic. There were even reference books that my uncle once used to get in. I didn’t need to purchase any studying supplies.

***

AUTUMN went by in the blink of an eye, and our region welcomed the harsh winter. The sun rose late and set early. That meant that I required oil for my lamp and wood for the fireplace if I wished to study, and that was by no means cheap. Father encouraged me and said I could try as many times as it took, but I pushed myself into thinking that I only had one shot, which helped me work twice as hard.

For the next month, I studied hard, and time ticked by. Ten days before the exams, I set off for the royal capital. One might say that was a bit too soon, but there could easily be accidents or delays on the road ahead. I made sure to leave plenty of extra time so I wouldn’t be late. Father, Claire, and Maris came out to send me off.

“Misha, show them what you’ve got,” Father said, gently stroking my head.

“I will, Father,” I replied.

“Good luck, Sister!” Claire cheered me on.

“Stay safe on the road,” Maris added.

“I will. Thank you, guys.”

I’ll pass! I’ll do it! I was determined as I set off. It took five days by carriage to get to the royal capital from Lawlife. I knew that the bumpy roads would hurt my bottom, and I made sure to have a fluffy cushion with me as I boarded the carriage.

Even during the ride, I studied hard. I didn’t get motion sickness or anything—I was pretty tough on that end—but the bouncing carriage exhausted me, and I fought against my drowsiness as I struggled to stay awake.

***

FIVE days later, I made it to the royal capital. I remained holed up in my hotel room until the day of the exam and studied what I could. Mother had made plans with a friend and set out for some fun. I wonder if I’ll make friends in school, I thought, though I hadn’t even gotten accepted yet.

And finally, the day of the exam arrived. The royal capital was quite chilly during this season, and everyone wore thick capes and mantles. From my perspective, Lawlife always saw plenty of snow, and the royal capital had a warmer autumn in comparison. I wasn’t especially susceptible to the cold or anything; Lawlife was just extremely cold. I felt like I didn’t even need a mantle as I stood in front of the school gates.

“Oh? Can you not afford a mantle?” a voice called, catching me by surprise.

I turned toward the voice and spotted a beautiful young girl with ashy purple hair glaring at me. She wore a thick fur coat over her dress that must’ve been warm, but it would be a bit too toasty for me in this weather.

“Watching you just makes me cold,” she said.

“Does it, now?” I replied. “I come from a snowy region, so I don’t feel cold at all.”

I usually shivered year-round in my hometown of Lawlife; never did I dream that I’d tell someone that I didn’t feel cold at all.

“A snowy region… I see,” the girl said. “But just looking at you sends a shiver down my spine! You should definitely wear something warm!”

After firmly stating her piece, she turned around and left. I watched her go, the falling leaves dancing in the breeze, and I couldn’t help but voice the first thing that came to mind.

“City people are scary!”

I assumed many people at this school were like her. I dreamed of making a hundred friends, but it seemed that would be difficult.

The written exam focused on five subjects: general magic, history of magic, magical formulas, potions, and classical magic. Arguably, the most difficult subject was magical formulas, where one had to create a magic circle, but fortunately for me, that was my best subject. My issue was the history of magic. No matter how many times I read the books, question marks filled my mind. I could only try to cram my brain with all the information. It only added to my confusion when several notable wizards or witches all shared the same name—it was difficult to know which was which.

I gave up trying to understand historical events and opted to just memorize them all. After we were tested on two subjects, we took a lunch break. The cafeteria was open to all for a meal, but I wanted to use my lunchtime to do some last-minute cramming. I took the bread that I bought on my way to the exam venue and went out to the courtyard to find a quiet place to study.

The courtyard was like a forest. It was easy to get lost, but it was far simpler to navigate than the snow-white forests back home. I glanced around, memorizing the trees and plants so that I wouldn’t get disoriented, and strolled along. Just as I was about to search for a place to sit, I heard a sharp squeak. A squirrel clutched the hems of my skirt and tugged me along.

“Huh? A squirrel? All the way out here?!”

Does this school raise squirrels or something? I wondered. Back at my school in my previous life, we had chickens and rabbits, so I guess this isn’t too unusual…

“Squeak! Squeak, squeak!” the squirrel cried.

“Huh? What? You want me to follow you?” I asked.

“Squeak!”

As if answering “Yes,” it scampered into the courtyard, lush with greenery. This feels fantastical, doesn’t it? Heading somewhere, guided by a small animal… But this isn’t Japan. Maybe in this world, it’s normal for animals to guide people. The squirrel, in a bit of a hurry, dashed ahead, leaving me behind.

“H-Hey!” I cried. “Wait for me!”

I ran after the squirrel for about three minutes until I spotted a bunch of other furry squirrels there, along with someone lying on the ground. I gasped, surprised. That was shocking enough, but on top of that, fluffy friends surrounded the person like a fairy-tale princess.

I took a closer look. The man wore a black mantle with a gold chain that resembled some kind of medal. His golden locks dazzled brilliantly, and his limbs were long and slender. He was very handsome. He wasn’t wearing this school’s uniform, so he clearly wasn’t a student. When he groaned in agony and had a coughing fit, I rushed to his side.

“Are you all right, sir?!” I asked.

He was still conscious. His eyes fluttered open, but he couldn’t answer, and his eyes fell shut again. He clutched his throat, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, clearly in distress and pain. I’d brought a potion from home, keeping it on me just in case, and it seemed as good a time as any to use it.

“I’ve got something that can stop your coughing,” I said. “Would you like to try it?!”

I felt like an employee in a bar trying to offer the special on the menu. The young man didn’t react at first, but he parted his lips.

“Don’t need it,” he croaked. “It won’t work on me anyway.”

“But it’s worth a try!” I replied. “This potion is quite famous in the royal capital pharmacies for working wonders!”

I didn’t mean to brag since I made the potions myself, but since I sold them to the royal capital, people constantly asked for more. Endless customers asked for this potion; it was an instant bestseller. The air in the royal capital wasn’t very clean and had damaged many people’s throats and lungs; this potion sold like hotcakes as a result.

The young man said not a word since he had another coughing fit. A nearby squirrel grabbed the bottle from me, skillfully undid the top, and tipped the contents into the man’s mouth, letting him drink. The young man was shocked at first, but when it touched his lips, his eyes widened even more with surprise.

“I-Isn’t this…” he started.

His hacking stopped instantly, and he got up with gusto. I was relieved that the potion worked, but I didn’t have time to dawdle. I wanted to eat and study for the afternoon portion of my exam. I stood and tried to leave without a word when the young man grabbed my arm.

“Where did you buy this potion?!” he demanded.

“Pardon?”

“It’s a popular one, isn’t it? I couldn’t find it in the royal capital—it was sold out everywhere!”

There apparently was a shortage of my potions. I cut back on my potion-selling gig to study for my exams, and it seemed the stock I sold to the royal capital had sold out. I felt like it would become troublesome if I revealed that I made it, so I decided to keep that a secret. It was best to just brush him off here.

“My father gave it to me. I really don’t know anything,” I said. “If you need some, you can take my whole batch.” I offered all five bottles I had to the young man.

“Aren’t these precious potions?” he asked.

“I haven’t a clue,” I replied. “Potions aren’t really my thing.”

If regular potions wouldn’t do the trick for his issue, I couldn’t just leave him be. I decided to make more potions after my exams.

“It’s very expensive and rare,” he said. “I can’t take all of this.”

“Oh, it’s fine!” I assured him. “I’m sure they’ll start appearing on the shelves again soon!”

“How would you know that?”

“Er, uh… Call it a woman’s instinct.”

He glared at me, his petrifying gaze making me feel like prey. “I contacted pharmacies numerous times and begged them to start selling this again,” he said. “But the store owner kept telling me that this was a difficult request to fulfill.”

“I-I see…” I muttered.

That reminds me, the merchant I had handle all my sales for years visited my house. In tears, they begged me to make more potions, but I was busy with my studies and had Father take care of it for me. Was this young man pressuring the merchant? If so, I feel bad for the merchant… Still, I truly didn’t have time to spare, and I didn’t want to spend it chatting away.

“Um, will you kindly let me go?” I requested. He clutched my arm tightly, and I felt like a dog on a leash. He swiftly released me from his grip upon my request.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t think there’s any need for me to introduce myself!” I said, spouting a cliché line before I fled from him like a scared rabbit.

I heard him call out, asking me to wait, but I couldn’t waste any more time. In the end, I didn’t eat in the courtyard; instead, I munched on my bread in the square near the fountain, where people dotted the area, and studied for my exam, hoping to cram as much information as I could.

***

ONCE the exam was over, I made it back home with Mother. A month later, the results arrived, and I was relieved that I passed the written portion of the entrance exam. There were over seven hundred applicants, and four hundred were accepted. My grades ranked 320th out of the four hundred applicants who passed. Given that I was only able to study for a month, I did my best. It made me worry, admittedly, wondering if these grades would help me pass the rest of my exams, but it wasn’t as though I spent my days idly. Father hired a private tutor for me to prepare for the practical portion of the exam. I felt like I gained some confidence.

I started brewing potions again as well. I didn’t know that there was a man out there who responded well only to my potions. He came across a bit scary, but since he was surrounded by squirrels, I believed he must be kind at heart. I made quite a bit for this order, so I hoped it could ease his suffering.

I moved on from studying textbooks to practical lessons. For the next portion of the exam, I had to recite my name and origin and perform three spells in front of the exam proctor. The applicants had muttered that this year’s practical portion was especially difficult.

The first spell for the test was a levitation charm that could make an object float in the air. The second spell was Analysis, which allowed the user to detect details of an object, and the third chant was Homer, which could deliver letters via magic. The most difficult of the three was Analysis, but I’d learned this spell as a child and used it often when picking medicinal herbs. I didn’t need to practice it.

The second most difficult spell was Levitate. It was challenging to control one’s magic to lift even a single feather. My private tutor told me that those who mastered Levitate could easily soar through the skies and move massive boulders or carriages, items that a person couldn’t possibly physically move by themselves. Homer required the user to successfully analyze the recipient’s mana and create a proper magic formula to send the letter. It was tricky in a different sense.

I spent my days practicing these spells until the exam, and of course, I made sure to make potions on the side as well. Father told me that the merchant cried tears of joy when I fulfilled orders again. No doubt a certain someone was pressuring the poor merchant quite a bit, and I felt a touch guilty about that. As a side note, I only made the potions. Mother ventured out and plucked all the herbs I needed, hoping that I could spend as much time as possible studying for my exam.

My entire family was helping out so that I could achieve my dream, and I was desperate to get into the school so their efforts wouldn’t be for naught. My desire to get accepted grew by the day.

***

WINTER came and went, and spring was on the horizon, but snow still blanketed Lawlife. It would fully melt at the start of summer. An outsider might declare that it was still winter, but the locals could sense spring because snow no longer fell every day.

Mother and I journeyed back to the royal capital for my practical exam. Father and Claire stayed back again. The social season was upon us, and I invited them to have some fun, but Claire wanted to stay and study for her future duties. I left my hometown, warmly sent off by my beloved family.

Even in the carriage, my practice continued. I kept trying to make a feather float, analyze the hat of a man who sat in front of me, and send letters to my mother, who sat right next to me. Five days passed, and for the first time in three months, I returned to the royal capital. It was packed with people since it was in the height of the social season, and it was rowdy wherever I went. I checked my belongings into a hotel and headed for the city with Mother.

I needed to purchase wands, bracelets, rings, and other supplies for spells. I’d purchased a bit of white birch from a general store in a nearby village and fashioned it into my wand, but we weren’t very compatible. My wand degraded by the day.

“Misha, you can buy whatever you like,” Mother said.

“Thank you, Mother,” I replied.

She’d brought some money for herself and wished to use that on me. I wanted to find something cheap and compatible with my mana. I promptly headed straight for a shop that sold magic tools. It was filled with people, and I even spotted a few young people who were presumably applicants for magic schools. They all had servants and maids attending them, a sign that they came from noble households.

The store itself was spacious, and it wasn’t too crowded despite all the people. I spotted Mother speaking with what I thought was the store owner, so I headed straight to the wand section to pick one out. I was overwhelmed by the sheer variety.

Wands came in all shapes and sizes. The most popular type was a short bit of wood. A teacher told me that most students at magic schools chose short wands as their first tool. The second most popular tool was staves. A staff could be engraved with spells to enhance its powers, and the wielder could cast spells that strengthened their staff. There were also longstaves, which were larger than staves. Only those who’d been learning spells for several years could hope to wield one. Maces were a type of wand as well, capable of bludgeoning opponents while boasting high attack capabilities. I recalled reading in a book that a wizard or witch with a mace was one to look out for—they were dangerous.

Since I loved fantasy novels, longstaves always looked cool to me, but a tool that long would be a pain to carry around between classes. A wand was the classic and best option. Just as I reached out to grab one that caught my eye, I heard a cry beside me.

“Aghhh! Why are wands so damn expensive?!” someone shouted.

I spotted someone with ashy gold hair, closer to a hazel hue, his scarlet eyes colored with disappointment. I couldn’t tell if he was a boy or a young man, but he buried his face in his hands. Though other customers were dressed well, he was in a simple shirt and pants. Is he a commoner? I wondered. He didn’t have anyone attending to him, and he clearly was thinking out loud, but his voice was so loud that I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t hear him. I spoke up.

“Are you perhaps an applicant for a magic school?” I asked.

“Huh? Yeah, sure am,” he replied tersely.

I thought so.

“Don’t ya think wands are a bit too expensive?” he inquired.

“I suppose so.”

Even the cheapest cost one gold coin, and in this world, that was equivalent to a month’s paycheck on average. Even a former Japanese person like me thought that this was a bit much.

“Man, I even cut down on how much bread I was eating to save up,” he groaned. “But I can’t afford this.”

“How did you cast spells until now?” I asked.

“Me? I just used a random branch lying around.”

“A branch…”

“I mean, they’re practically the same thing.”

They might seem the same, but they’re totally different.

“I’m surprised that you managed to cast anything using a simple branch,” I said.

“Yeah, it exploded in my face every time,” he added.

“Th-That’s quite dangerous.”

“Yep. So, that hag of a proctor told me to bring a wand for the practical exams, y’know?”

“A-A hag?”

I’d never heard that word in this world. His appearance and mannerisms made it clear that he came from a different upbringing from the posh nobles filling the shop.

“Agh, dammit!” he groaned. “Without a wand, I can’t take the exams!”

“Probably not,” I agreed.

“But I can’t buy something this expensive. I’m flat broke!”

He buried his face in his hands, and I felt bad for him. Then a brilliant idea hit me.

“Hey, do you want the wand that I’ve been using?” I offered.

“Huh?!” he gasped.

I offered the wand fastened to the belt of my dress to him.

“Wait… Seriously?” he asked.

“Of course,” I replied. “I’m actually here to buy a new one, so I’ve no need for my old wand. I don’t know if it’s compatible with you, though…”

I told him that it was made from white birch from the snowy region of Lawlife. He gingerly took it from me.

“Awesome…” he murmured. “So, this is a real wand…”

The moment he grabbed it, he claimed that his mana coursed through the wand without issue.

“Really?” he asked. “Are you really, truly sure about this?”

“Very much so,” I stressed. “I’d be happy if you took it off my hands anyway.”

“Thank you! Seriously! I owe you my everything!” He beamed brightly and thanked me like an excited puppy. “The name’s Ehr. Ehr Barre.”

“My name is Misha. Misha von Ritual.”

“Ah, so you’re a noble,” Ehr said. “Thought so.”

“I am.”

Since I spoke to him, he had assumed that I was from the upper middle class, at the very least.

“Nobles usually ignore guys like me,” he said.

“That’s a real shame,” I sympathized.

There was a clear social hierarchy in this world. That was just how society worked here.

“I don’t know if I’ll get in, but if I do, would you be my friend?” he asked. He flashed a brilliant smile and offered his hand.

“Yes! I’d very much love to be!” I said as I happily shook his hand.

“I’ve gotta go now! Later!”

And with that, he energetically left. I hoped that I’d meet him again one day; he was one of my precious potential friends at school, after all.

I switched gears and perused the wands again. Rings were smaller and more compact, but my eyes practically fell out of my sockets when I saw the high price. Even the cheapest one was two hundred gold coins. Mother claimed that the family she hailed from was wealthy, and she had plenty of pocket money to spare, but even I couldn’t beg her for something that lavish.

Some tools resembled a grimoire. The book looked old and ancient, but it was decorated with gold and silver accents, making it look quite splendid. It was around three gold coins and within my budget, but it looked heavier than the wands and rings.

I also saw crystal balls that fortune tellers used, brooms suitable for witches, daggers inscribed with spells, bracelets fitted with magic stones, and a myriad of other tools. I deemed a wand would be the best fit for school when my mother returned to my side, the shop owner in tow. The owner claimed they could choose the best wand that would be compatible with my mana. When I told the astute owner that I was of the snow element, they chose a wand that was made from solidified icicles.

“I suspect that this will be a good fit with your magic,” the owner said.

The moment I gripped the wand, it fit snugly in my hands to an almost alarming degree, and I felt my mana being stimulated very well.

“What do you think?” the owner asked.

“I’d like this, please!”

My answer was immediate. Satisfied, I returned to the hotel to practice my spells for the exam. I was able to cast them better than I had with my white birch wand, and I was quite confident I could get a good grade.

I wonder if Ehr’s doing all right with his… I was a touch worried, but since he claimed he used a random branch in lieu of a wand, the white birch would be a considerable improvement for him. I hope he gets in!

***

FINALLY, the day of the practical exams arrived. Many applicants gathered in front of the Vizer School of Magic. I even spotted the noblewoman with ashy purple hair, who scolded me about lacking a mantle in the cold. She was gorgeous and stood out among the crowd. I decided to sneak about, hoping to evade her this time.

When I looked around, I realized that a majority of the applicants were of noble birth. Practicing magic was a financial investment, and naturally, it was a privilege granted to the wealthy. But it seems like a waste if there was a gem hiding among the commoners—they might just not have the money to practice, I thought.

A piece of paper outlining the practical exam was handed out, and I was carefully reading it when someone called out my name.

“Hey, Misha! What’s up?!”

I looked up and spotted Ehr. He flumped down beside me.

“Hey, the wand you gave me is sick!” he beamed. “My spells are so much easier to cast now!”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I replied.

His voice was loud, attracting attention, and I quietly warned him that we should be a bit quieter and more considerate of others. I couldn’t blame him, though; he likely raised his voice because of his nerves. Hm, maybe this might calm him down. I rummaged around in my pocket and took out some candy to share with him.

“This candy can help calm nerves,” I said.

“Yeah? Thanks!” Ehr popped it into his mouth. “Oh… This is good.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

This special sort of candy was made from precious honey harvested in Lawlife and infused with herbs. I was thinking of selling some with various medicinal effects, so I made some prototypes for the merchant who handled my products. The candies in my pocket were leftovers.

“You’re a really nice person,” Ehr remarked.

“I’m honored to receive such high praise,” I replied.

He smiled as he chatted with me, but he soon turned glum.

“Is anything the matter?” I asked.

“Uh, well, I owe you now,” he muttered. “And I really don’t have any way of repaying your kindness.”

“Ehr, friends do not operate on profit or loss, nor out of self-interest. You’d best keep that in mind.”

“Self-interest, huh? You know a pretty tricky word.”

“Another word to add to your lexicon. Do use it when you’ve got the opportunity.”

“Doubt I’ll ever have an opportunity like that.”

The conversation fizzled out, and I did one final check before the practical exam. I polished my wand, committed the spells to memory, and practiced to the best of my abilities.

An hour later, the practical exams started. Ten applicants were called up at a time, and they had to cast their spells in front of the exam proctor. Ehr was called up before me, and he anxiously rose like a soldier who was headed out to battle. He turned around to face me one last time, and I waved my hand at him, hoping to send him some good vibes.

Those who finished this portion of the exam were sent to a different room, so Ehr and I would part ways here. If I fail here, I’ll never see him again. Maybe I should’ve talked to him a bit more… But admittedly, both of us were extremely tense and nervous. It was no time for casual conversation. I hoped that I’d get to meet him again as I awaited my turn.

Another hour passed, and finally, my name was called. An ashy purple ponytail swished in front of me—apparently, I was in the same group as that young lady. I think someone called her name… Alice von Kirsten, was it?

House Kirsten was an incredibly famous noble family and the oldest member of the Five Dukes. In other words, Alice was the daughter of a duke and of very high birth. Darn, how unlucky! It was a duke’s daughter who took an unwanted interest in me. I just hope she won’t do anything else.

We were guided to a room where the proctors waited for us. One was a middle-aged man in his fifties or so, wearing glasses. The second was a younger man, perhaps in his early thirties, and the third proctor was a beautiful elf lady with pale pink hair in waves. Her long ears were striking.

Each examinee was called up to cast three spells, and tension filled the room. It didn’t help the applicants with their test. The first one failed to cast Analyze correctly, and their face was colored with despair, knowing they had messed up. The second applicant, perhaps affected by that negativity, also failed Analyze, and a few couldn’t cast Levitate well, either. Some couldn’t use Homer right. That group was filled with people who made quite a few mistakes.

Needless to say, a gloomy and heavy air filled the room when Alice’s name was called. She cast spells using a golden bracelet and splendidly used all her charms without issue. It was an amazing feat. The spectacled proctor nodded.

“Hm, your Levitate was a bit on the low end, but you did Analyze and Homer very well,” he remarked. “I see no issues.”

Alice huffed proudly as though she expected nothing less and gracefully bowed. I was last, and I nervously stood in front of the proctors.

“Please state your number, origin, and name,” a proctor requested.

“Right,” I replied. “I’m Number 677 from the Lawlife region. My name is Misha von Ritual.”

“Lawlife?” the young proctor in his thirties wondered, tilting his head.

“I think it’s in the northern region,” the elf said in a sweet voice.

“Ah… Got it.”

It seemed my hometown was in such a remote region that even a proctor didn’t know where it was. Reality was always depressing, but I had to focus on the exam.

“First, Levitation,” the proctor said.

“Yes,” I replied as I gripped my wand and focused. “Float and drift, Levitate!”

A magic circle appeared under my feather, and it jumped into the air.

“Oh my,” the elf murmured.

“Ah…” another proctor added.

“Very good…” the third muttered.

The feather flew higher than I’d expected, and judging from their reactions, it was a decent start.

“Now then, cast Analysis,” a proctor said.

“Yes,” I replied.

A few herbs were prepared for me. I’d used them all in my potions; I didn’t need Analysis, but I had to prove that I could cast the spell.

“Assess and evaluate, Analyze!” I chanted. A magic circle appeared, allowing me to provide an answer. “This is paralysis grass. It’s a magical herb often used in potions to cure someone of paralysis.”

“Very good,” the proctor said.

The last spell was Homer. I was instructed to deliver a letter to the elf proctor. Until now, all the students were told to send a letter to the spectacled, middle-aged proctor, and I was confused about why I was singled out. The moment I saw the details of the spell on the piece of parchment, my eyes went wide with shock. I have to consolidate this into a magic formula in a short amount of time and fly it off? To me, that was nothing short of torture, but I activated all my brain cells and desperately tried to do as I was told.

“Fly forth, Homer!” I chanted.

The letter jumped up with gusto and flew forth, but then fell lifelessly right in front of the elf. I was close… Had she reached out to grab the letter, it would’ve surely fluttered into her grasp, but she rested her face on her hand and made no attempt to extend her arm. The spectacled proctor had grabbed it.

This was, undoubtedly, a failure. The applicants looked at me with pity and sympathy, except Alice, who glared at me, exasperated. I much preferred her weary gaze to being showered with sympathy. The latter made my heart squeeze with pain.

With that, my exam was over. The applicants were ushered out of the venue in one herd. I hoped to catch Ehr, but I couldn’t find him in the crowd. The best I could do was pray that I could meet him again.

***

RESULTS came a month later. I was certain I’d failed the practical portion, but when I anxiously opened the notice, I saw I’d passed. Needless to say, I jumped up with joy. The last portion was the interview. I wasn’t confident in how I would portray myself, but I wanted to do my best to act properly—put all my effort into faking it—and pass the last step.

Social season started in December and ended in August at the royal capital; it was thus a bit quieter when I returned with my mother to tackle the final portion of the entrance exam. Mother was busy socializing as usual. She met with acquaintances and friends and even tried to sell white birch syrup—a Lawlife specialty—to a merchant. She also tried to find a guardian if I got into school and worked hard behind the scenes to make sure I’d be set. This time, however, it was just the interview phase. I memorized a couple of answers for any questions and possible curveballs, but there was no need for me to study. I left my study materials back at home.

I spent my time lazing around, but even that got old. Bored out of my mind, I decided to visit the pharmacy that sold my potions. I’d never visited it before, and there’d be no harm in going out for a bit. If I had a lady-in-waiting or a maid by my side, they might’ve scolded and stopped me, but I came to the capital with only my mother. With no one by my side, I was allowed to come and go as I pleased, and I left the hotel with no issue.

I knew the pharmacy was on the central street where nobles had easy access to it. The little sign had a royal warrant, proof that the store served the royal family, and it fluttered in the breeze. The interior wasn’t very spacious, and all its items were displayed in glass cases. The candy with healing effects, a new product that I gave the merchant, was also on display behind the glass, shining like little jewels. They were lined up elegantly.

The potions I had just sold to the merchant were already sold out. I stared at the products when the shopkeeper noticed me.

“Young lady, that potion is made in a remote, snowy region,” he said. “It’ll be a while before it restocks.” He gestured to a different potion with similar effects. “This one’s cheaper and works well, too.”

“Thank you,” I said. I told him I wasn’t here to buy, and he looked at me curiously until I revealed my identity. “I’m actually the creator of the medicine from that snowy region. I was curious to see how my products were being sold, so I thought I’d drop by. I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m sorry…”

“What?! Then you’re the Misha von Ritual?!” the shopkeeper cried.

“That’s me.”

It seemed he had assumed I was a seasoned apothecary in their twilight years.

“I didn’t think you were such a young lady,” he admitted.

A different merchant frequented Lawlife and acted as the middleman, so the pharmacy barely knew me.

“I truly cannot hide my surprise,” the shopkeeper said. “Are you here for your social debut, perhaps?”

“No, I’m here for an entrance exam at a magic school,” I explained. When I told him I’d be unable to provide potions for a while if I was accepted, he panicked.

“N-No, that’d be quite the predicament for me!” he cried. “I’ve got a frequent customer—a wealthy one at that—who claims that only your potion works!”

Well, that rings a bell… The handsome young man surrounded by squirrels like a fairy-tale princess certainly comes to mind. His outfit had looked rather expensive, implying that he came from a wealthy household.

“Hm…” I muttered.

I’d perused the school regulations for Vizer. Part-time jobs were allowed, provided that we received permission, but students who entered with a scholarship weren’t allowed to work at all. They wanted such students to focus solely on school, meaning that I wouldn’t be able to sell any potions if I got in.

“It’s odd that this person only responds well to my potions,” I said.

“My client apparently looked into it before,” he said. “It’s a simple matter of compatibility. Your mana is compatible with my client’s body, is all.”

“So, it’s less about the effect of my potion and more about mana compatibility,” I mused.

Potions were made from mana and magic. In other words, its effects varied slightly based on whoever made it; if the user didn’t respond well to the potion’s mana, the effects of the medicine could easily be halved. Potions were incredibly effective, but the downside was that compatibility mattered. I couldn’t turn the other way, especially since I had a pretty good idea who this client was, but I wasn’t keen on breaking school rules, either.

“Er, well…” I muttered. “This is a difficult issue, but I’ll think about it if I get into the school.”

The best I could do was stall. I left the pharmacy with an awkward smile. The young man’s potion issue is more serious than I thought… I told the pharmacy owner to keep quiet about me, just in case, and it seems he’ll be good on his word. A few have asked him about me before, but he didn’t reveal who I was.

In any case, if I do get accepted, how do I solve this? I plodded along the street, deep in thought, when I realized I’d ended up downtown. I gasped; I was a prime target for robbery since I was in a nice dress. When I turned to leave, I heard voices in the distance.

“Is he really the crown prince?”

“Look at his golden hair and his outfit! There’s no doubt about it!”

That was a dangerous conversation in the alleyway. I snuck a peek and saw two middle-aged men and a young man or boy—I couldn’t tell which—sitting as he leaned limply against the wall. No one else was around. Only a few tumbleweeds were rolling around, like this was some kind of cowboy movie. Clearly, this was a kidnapping, and if their words were true, it involved the crown prince, no less. I couldn’t let this slide. But it’d take at least ten minutes to get to the knights on Main Street. That was more than enough time for harm to befall the prince.

I have to handle this by myself. Needless to say, I wasn’t physically strong enough to take on an adult man, nor did I have any offensive spells or items. What should I do? I opted to carefully observe the men. One was perhaps in his early forties and very scrawny. His face was red, and he staggered around, clearly intoxicated. Okay, I feel like I could take him on if he were alone…

The second man was taller and more proper. He wasn’t a noble, but he must’ve made a decent living. I guessed he’d hired someone from the dangerous parts of downtown for the job. When I tried to peer at his face, my eyes went wide with astonishment.

Isn’t that Uncle Guy?! My uncle had left Lawlife several years ago, but he hadn’t changed much. I recognized him immediately. Why is he trying to kidnap the crown prince? If he gets caught, he won’t just be killed. His entire family and bloodline might be eradicated! This mission had to end in failure. I steeled myself and raised my voice.

“Why, if it isn’t my dear uncle!” I shouted. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Huh?” the scrawny man asked.

“Who…” my uncle started before he turned and saw me. “Y-You’re…”

“It’s me! Your cute niece, Misha,” I said.

Uncle Guy paled. He glanced at his scrawny buddy, perhaps contemplating killing him off, but of course, I wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Uncle Guy, are you trying to help this poor man?” I asked.

“Y-Yeah, that’s it,” he said. “I’ll take him to the hospital, so there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“Oh, nonsense! I imagine you’re quite busy yourself, I’m sure. Father is nearby, so we can take this man to our friend’s hospital!” I drew in a breath before shouting at the top of my lungs. “Father! FATHER! Over here!”

My father was in Lawlife. He couldn’t hear me, no matter how loudly I shouted, but I wanted to make it seem like he was right around the corner. My uncle panicked.

“A-All right. I’ll leave this man to you!” Uncle Guy stammered before turning to his accomplice. “C-C’mon! Let’s go!”

“Why?” the scrawny man asked.

“Just shut up and come!”

Uncle Guy immediately fled. I was relieved that my little ruse scared him away. And now, I have to carry this man to the knights. He looked around seventeen and much taller than me. How could a crown prince be kidnapped like this? In any case, I should hurry. I shook his shoulders, hoping to wake him up.

“Nnn…” he groaned.

He furrowed his brows and looked like he was in pain, so I loosened his necktie and undid a few buttons. Even so, he groaned weakly. A glimpse under his clothes reminded me of the poor ladies forced to wear tight clothing beneath their dresses for their societal debuts. A bandage was roughly tied around his chest. Is he hurt? Based on how deep his wounds are, a potion might help him. I undid the bandage, only to be met with an absolutely earth-shattering view—I was staring at a woman’s chest.

I almost gasped but silenced myself. Oh, I should be praised for my restraint. Why is this lady dressed like a man? The crown prince of our kingdom is the royal family’s only child, I think… What was his name again? I can’t recall. But he should be seventeen, just like me. He, I mean, she, or whatever—if this person is the crown prince or related to him, I need to deliver her to safety.

Then, I recalled that I bought a stimulant at the pharmacy earlier—I thought it rude not to make a purchase. I didn’t fully undo the bandages; I just loosened them a little before buttoning up her clothes. I then had her drink the potion.

“Ngh…” she groaned.

I begged her to open her eyes as I shook her shoulders, hoping that it would rouse her. “Please! Wake up!”

“Huh?!” she gasped as she locked her beautiful emerald eyes with mine. “Where…am I?”

“Downtown. It’s dangerous here, so we should head somewhere safe.”

Her golden hair would surely attract some eyes. I placed a handkerchief over her head and tied it under her chin.

“Um, what is this?” she asked.

“To protect you from dust!” I cried.

I’m lying, I know! But this was far preferable to her getting abducted again. We had no time to lose. I tugged on her arm and marched ahead, paying no heed to the fact that she was still in a daze. Surprisingly, her footsteps were firm, and we practically raced out of there and into Main Street. I spotted a pair of women knights patrolling the street and hastily flagged them down.

“Um, excuse me!” I shouted.

“Is anything the matter?” a knight asked.

“Um, I, uh, found this man unconscious! He was lying on the ground!”

“My, oh my…”

I whispered into the knight’s ear that this was the crown prince, and the knights, who didn’t recognize the royal at first, stared at me with astonishment.

“We shall send him back to the royal palace immediately,” she said.

“Thank you,” I replied.

When I tried to leave, the crown prince stopped me.

“Young lady, it seems I’ve troubled you a fair bit. I’d like to thank you. Would you kindly tell me your name?”

If I did so, I feared that my uncle’s heinous deeds would come to light as well. I smiled and gave the royal my cliché line.

“Oh, I’m nobody, and certainly not a person worthy of an introduction,” I said. “Please, don’t mind me.”

Being accepted into the school of my dreams might also be affected if my uncle’s misdeeds were exposed, so I couldn’t get caught here. I bowed and left as fast as I could. The knight yelled at me to halt, but I wasn’t keen on being interrogated as I rushed back to my hotel room.

What a day… I wondered if I should tell my mother, but ultimately, I decided to keep quiet.

If I were to tell anyone, it would be my father. In any case, how could Uncle Guy be so foolish? Kidnapping the crown prince? I had always hoped he would live a quiet, peaceful life without bothering anyone, but it seemed reality was quite different. Hopefully, I’d never meet him again.

***

THE day of the final step in my entrance exams arrived. I ranked 230th in the practical exam and learned that only those up to two hundred would be accepted to the school. I was walking on thin ice for this last part. Frankly, I wasn’t confident I could close that final gap, but all I could do was my best.

Today might be the last day I ever cross these gates… I thought as I entered Vizer for my exam. It made me feel inexplicably lonely. No! I can’t be so negative! I’ll be in the top two hundred, get accepted, and attend!

When I got to the waiting room, I spotted Ehr, and a sense of relief washed over me.

“Ehr! You made it to the final step, too!” I cried with delight.

“Yeah, just barely got through,” he replied.

His rank was even lower than mine, and we tried to cheer each other up. I also spotted Alice von Kirsten. She was looking my way. Our eyes met for a second, but she huffed angrily and turned away. What did I even do to you? I don’t get it.

“Hey, Misha, I got you something,” Ehr said. “Here. It’s a good luck charm.”

He handed me a magic jewel with a faded green hue. It looked quite dirty, and the stone was cloudy, but with a bit of polish, it’d shine brightly in no time. Some kind of spell was engraved within, but the letters were too small for me to make out. I had no knowledge of magic stones, but even I could tell it was an incredibly splendid item.

“If it’s a good luck charm, wouldn’t you need it too?” I asked.

“Nah, I’m fine,” Ehr replied. “If I fail, I can try again next year. But the same doesn’t go for you, does it?”

I did tell him that this was my only shot. I wasn’t thinking of trying my luck next year.

“I’m really grateful to you, Misha,” he said. “You gave me a wand, you talked to me, and you even cheered me up.”

“I feel the same about you!” I replied. I wished to attend this school with Ehr, which motivated me to try hard on my exams. “Isn’t this expensive, too?”

“Yeah? Dunno,” he replied.

Magic jewels were far more expensive than magic stones and were imbued with high amounts of mana. The jewels could also take on magic of higher quality, but it seemed Ehr didn’t know about that.

“My late mom told me to hand it over to someone that I’m deeply indebted to,” he said. “If you don’t get in, I’ll never see you again, will I?”

“That’s not true!” I insisted. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Though we promised to be friends if we both got in, I already considered him a good friend.

“If I don’t get into magic school, I’m thinking of training under a bread artisan until next year,” Ehr said.

“Then I’ll be there to eat the bread you bake,” I said. “Can’t we share a bite together?”

“I’d like that. Thanks.”

The ideal scenario was for us both to get in, be classmates, and attend school together.

“But you might get in, and I might fail,” I said.

“Then I’ll head over to your place during summer break,” Ehr offered.

“That’s a promise!”

He’d be shocked that it was a ten-day carriage ride to and from the royal capital. I kept quiet about that. He was the first friend I made since I came into this world, and I wanted to keep this bond.

“Ehr, we shouldn’t think about failing,” I said. “We should think about what to do when we both get accepted.”

“You’re right,” he replied.

I imagined a fun magic school life. We’d eat lunch together in the cafeteria, borrow or lend each other some textbooks, or maybe even share ideas for reports and homework.

“Doesn’t sound bad at all,” he said.

“Right?”

I had to pass to lead a wonderful school life.

Ehr was called up first, and I waved as I watched him go. Alone, I became more nervous by the minute. Would I be able to speak well? I practiced with my mother countless times since I came to the royal capital, but my mind might go blank the moment I was at the real deal. Just as I tried to calm myself down, I heard someone call out behind me.

“Are you attending Vizer in search of a fiancé?”

I turned around and spotted Alice. “A fiancé? Why would you think that?”

“You’ve been quite…close with a man this entire time!” Alice snapped. “Everyone’s here for the exams! How could you act so uncouth?”

“Uncouth? He’s just a friend.”

“Ah, so one of your candidates out of many.”

“No! Wait, what? No, nothing like that.”

Why did she take it in such a weird direction? My head’s starting to hurt.

“Um, are you not aware that a school also functions as a place to find potential marriage partners?” I asked.

Wizards and witches had a penchant for staying indoors and keeping to themselves. Many were engrossed in their research and never tried to stand in the limelight. As a result, the number of wizards and witches decreased over the years, and the king hastily had them marry members of the nobility so as to continue this precious bloodline of magic. And so, the magical bloodline was preserved. However, noble houses tended to be very protective of their magic and secret techniques, so much so that it was often only passed down to their child. And so, many families with magical bloodlines tended to marry close relatives, keeping the magic among them—this prevented the spread of magic to other families.

The magical community was thus kept small, and the king, at his wits’ end, strongly prohibited marriage among close relatives and established magic schools as a means for the magical community to meet others. This encouraged the bloodline of wizards and witches to spread to more people. Almost all of the graduates of Vizer searched for a potential marriage candidate within the school—even if I was searching for a marriage partner, Alice had no right to pick a fight with me.

“In any case, you’re being called by the proctor,” I pointed out. “Shouldn’t you head over there?”

Her face turned bright scarlet as she rushed toward the proctor. I’d spoken with her several times now. Despite being a bit prickly, I didn’t pin her as malicious. I was going based on instinct, but she seemed like a clumsy person who just couldn’t choose the right words.

My turn was finally up. The interview was a one-on-one session with the proctor, but the proctor I’d be paired with was randomized. I hoped for the stern yet actually gentle, bespectacled, middle-aged proctor. My second choice is the young man. So long as it’s not the elf, since I don’t know what she’s thinking. Anyone else, and I’ve got this! But when I opened the doors to the interview room, the beautiful elf proctor greeted me with a wave of her hand and a smile.

“Good day,” she said in a breathy, carefree voice. “Now then, take a seat.”

“Th-Thank… No, I mean, e-excuse me! Thank you! Sorry!” I stammered.

I was so caught off guard that anyone could tell how tense I was, and I was anxious about the rest of the interview. She asked a few questions, and I managed to answer them. I breathed a sigh of relief, happy that it was going better than expected.

“Very good. You’re doing very well,” the elf said. Her praise made me hopeful, but at once, the elf groaned with concern, making me worry. “You’ve got a relative who dropped out, I see.”

Who in the?! Wait… My uncle…

“If you have a relative who has dropped out, you won’t be able to get any financial support,” the proctor said.

“Wh-What?!” I cried.

I came from a poor household—we didn’t have nearly enough money to pay the costly tuition fees of Vizer. When I desperately pleaded my case to the elf, she gave me an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry,” she said languidly. “Rules are rules. There are three types of scholarships. One is a loan to be repaid upon graduation; the second is a partial grant, where some of the student’s fees are paid; and the third is a full ride. That’s basically free tuition.”

“C-Could I hear more about the last one?!” I asked.

“It’s an academic scholarship. A very special one, at that. Only students with exceptional grades are granted this one.”

“Oh…”

The elf chuckled when she saw my reaction. “Right. As you might have guessed, with your grades, you won’t qualify.”

Which means… I won’t be able to attend. I was willing to give up if I didn’t make it in, but after making it this far, I was desperate to attend this school. The shock was great; I didn’t think that my uncle’s actions would hurt me like this.

“Oh dear, poor child,” the elf said in her breathy tone. “You could get in if you wished, but you have to reject the acceptance letter because you can’t get that scholarship.”

She told me that I could leave, and I stood up just as someone banged on the door and barged into the room.

“Oh? We’re in the middle of an interview,” the elf said.

“This is an emergency,” the newcomer replied. “The private instructor in charge of the greenhouse fled, and the plants inside are in a dismal state.”

“Oh dear, what shall we do?” The elf was apparently a potions professor and had a trainee professor who taught students in the dorms how to care for the herbs. “Oh dear… And I’ve got classes tomorrow as well.”

She didn’t seem troubled one bit, but I decided to give a helping hand.

“Um, I might be able to revive those plants,” I said.

“Can you really?” the elf asked.

“Yes. I’m actually an apothecary, and I’ve raised quite a few herbs in greenhouses back home.”

I’d faced countless issues in Lawlife. The snow piled up and cracked the glass of my greenhouse, almost destroying all my plants. I often had to nurse my plants back to health and used a potion in lieu of fertilizer to aid their growth.

“Then can you show me what you can do?” the elf asked.

“Of course.” I nodded.

Hey, at least this’ll make for a good story back home. With that, I decided to lend a hand. The elf stood and clutched my hand. A magic circle appeared under my feet, and in a flash, I was teleported elsewhere. I found myself in front of a quaint English garden, and I was mesmerized by its beauty. There was a cabin, likely for managing the garden, and a large greenhouse.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“This is the garden of herbs used for classes,” the elf replied. “It’s called Garden Plant.”

Most of the herbs within the greenhouse were wilted when we stepped inside.

“How horrible…” the elf muttered.

“These are still salvageable,” I informed her.

“Do you need anything?”

“Water and magic stones should be good enough.”

I would’ve needed holy water for more severe cases, but the plants weren’t too far gone yet. Simple materials were all I needed. I scribbled down a magic circle with some chalk and placed water and magic stones that the elf prepared for me on top. Pale light filled the room, signaling that my spell was a success, and I summoned rain within the greenhouse.

“Rain upon us, Pluvia!” I cried.

My magical rain showered the wilting plants, enveloping them in a bright glow. The greenery burst back to life, regaining a healthy, vibrant hue.

“Ah, amazing!” the elf said.

After the wilted plants were as good as new in no time, the elf gripped my hands and praised me to bits.

“You’re very, very good! I see that now!” the elf gushed in her languid way. “I’d like you to join my lab! Ah, I know! I’ll pay your tuition, so will you manage this place for me?”

“Come again?” I asked.

“You spotted the caretaker cabin outside, didn’t you? You can live there and look after these plants while you attend classes.”

“I’ll live in that cabin instead of the dorms?”

“That’s right. Oh, don’t worry! This place is close to the main school building—far closer than the dorms. It’s just a short walk.”

Apparently, the private instructor was tasked with taking care of this place while they lived here, but they weren’t very good at taking care of the plants. Time and again, they caused the plants to wilt. As though to deal the finishing blow, it seemed this elf liked to work people to the bone, and thus, the job had a high turnover rate.

“I’ve got a magic tool for laundry, so you’re set there,” the elf went on. “For lunch, you can have your meals in the cafeteria. At night, I’ll give you some money so you can either make your own meals or eat out. Will that work?” She took out a bit of parchment and immediately drafted a contract.

“While you’re attending this school, you’ll tend to the herbs of the Garden Plant,” the elf said. “It’s a simple job, don’t you agree? I think this is an amazing deal for you, you know.”

“Urgh…” I groaned.

Can I do this? Frankly, I was worried about my competency and about the news that this elf liked to work people hard, causing many to quit. Since I was up against an elf, I couldn’t hope for reasonable requests that normal humans would usually make. But this is my only chance to attend this school for free! I have no choice but to nod my head!

“Um, will you allow me to work part-time while I go to school?” I asked.

“Go right ahead,” she replied. “So long as it doesn’t hinder you from taking care of these plants.”

“Can I grow my own herbs if I see any open spaces?”

“Sure, go for it!”

Usually, I would need express permission to go off campus grounds, but she informed me that if I just wanted to sell my potions to the pharmacy, I was allowed to use the exit at the back of the greenhouse and come and go as I pleased. I had much more freedom than normal students with scholarships.

“So? What do you say?” the elf asked in her usual, breathy tone.

“All right. I’ll take your offer.”

“I hoped you’d say that!”

The elf’s name was Whipp. She was 250 years old and had been a professor at the school for a century.

“I know your uncle as well,” she added.

“I-I see…” I muttered.

It seemed he was quite the problematic student, much to the school’s chagrin.

“I wonder how you will be,” she said.

“I’ll do my best so that I won’t drop out!” I replied.

“I’d like that.”

I signed the contract. I felt like I was making a deal with the Devil, but I tried to turn the other way. My tuition would be free, and that was far too lucrative a deal for me to pass up. In any case, I got in.

Professor Whipp went on to report back to the headmaster and negotiate the creation of my admittance letter. An hour later, she returned with the documents and handed them to me.

“I’ll buy you your uniform and supplies,” she said. “Don’t you worry about that.”

The uniform was woven with magic as well. It’d fit perfectly to my size the moment I put my arms through the sleeves, and it also had some defensive spells cast upon it to protect students from injuries. It was a very special school uniform.

“Is the uniform very expensive?” I asked.

“Well, it’s around ten gold coins, I think,” she casually dropped.

Isn’t that like a million yen in Japan’s standards? Scholarships could waive tuition, but students still needed to prepare uniforms and other supplies by themselves. I was extremely grateful that Professor Whipp would prepare everything for me.

“Hee hee, I suppose this is better than a scholarship,” she chuckled. “But as the contract says, if you fail to take care of the plants…”

“I know. I’ll be kicked out of school immediately, and I’ll need to pay you back for tuition fees, daily expenses, and dorm fees, correct?”

“That’s right. You’d best commit that to memory.”

I also had a curfew, and the professor might make unannounced visits to check whether I was following the rules. But those regulations weren’t out of the ordinary. If I attended school and studied diligently, I’d have nothing to worry about. I was glad that she wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable.

I had to return to Lawlife once, pack up my things, and return to the royal capital immediately. I was tasked with living by that greenhouse a month before the entrance ceremony to take care of the plants. The herbs I revived earlier were all harvested, and the soil had to rest for a while. Nothing would be planted, and I wasn’t needed there, but Professor Whipp told me that she would plant plenty of herbs by the time I returned to the royal capital in preparation for the new school year—she told me to be prepared to work hard.

“It’s five days by carriage to your hometown and five days back, isn’t it?” Professor Whipp asked.

“That’s right,” I replied.

“Then you ought to use this magic scroll if you’d like to return to the royal capital.”

The scroll was imbued with teleportation magic, and I happily took it in my hands.

“If you use this scroll, how long will it take before you can come back?” she asked.

“I would say about a week, ma’am,” I replied.

“Wonderful!”

Claire and Maris said that they had learned how to take care of our territory, so I was no longer needed.

“Then I’ll see you in a week,” I said.

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Professor Whipp replied.

We shook hands before we parted ways.

***

I eagerly returned to my hotel with my acceptance letter in hand, unable to contain my elation. Mother was shocked that I was a special case and worried that I’d be working while going to school. Surely, that was a lot on my plate. But I was excited and determined to work hard.

When I returned to Lawlife, Father and Claire welcomed me home, and I told them the happy news.

“Father! Claire! I got in!” I squealed.

“Sister, you’re amazing!” Claire beamed. “I knew that you could do it!”

“I’m proud of you,” Father added.

“What dorm will you be in?” Claire asked. “If I recall, Vizer is split into five dormitories.”

“Er, about that…” I started.

As Claire said, Vizer had five dormitories split by the students’ elements. Those with an affinity for fire were placed in Flame, students who could wield water were in Aqua, the wind element was Leaf, and the fourth was Earth. The fifth and last dorm was for the others who had none of these elements, Arcenciel.

“Dorms are generally divided by your innate elements,” I explained.

“Since you’re snow, are you in Arcenciel?” Claire asked.

“Not quite.” I trailed off, unsure of how to explain myself, when Father spoke up.

“Didn’t you mention that results for the interview would come out in a month?” he pointed out astutely.

“That’s right,” I replied. “I was actually accepted on special terms…”

When I told them the truth, Father and Claire looked shocked.

“If you truly want that scholarship money no matter what, surely it’s no harm to try again next year,” Father said.

“He’s right,” Claire agreed. “Working while going to school? You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“Um, I’m sorry for deciding this myself,” I apologized. “But I was only committed to applying once. And I won’t be able to obtain a scholarship in the future either, so I thought that this was my only chance and took it.” My chest tightened, but I told them the truth. “Actually, if you have a relative who dropped out, you don’t qualify for any sort of scholarship.”

“Ah, so it’s Guy’s fault,” Father grumbled. “Because of him, you can’t use the scholarship program to get in.”

“Right…”

“I’m sorry, sweetie.”

I had something else I wanted to tell my father, and I asked to be left alone with him. Mother and Claire caught the hint pretty quickly and left.

“Father, I’ve got bad news,” I divulged. “I saw Uncle Guy in the royal capital.”

He didn’t seem that surprised. “I thought as much… Did he ask for some money? Is that all he wanted?”

“No, actually, I fear it’s far, far worse.”

I couldn’t speak loudly, and I instead scribbled what happened on a piece of paper. I showed it to Father, then burned it atop the ashtray.

“What?!” Father gasped.

I told him that Uncle Guy tried to kidnap the crown prince and that the prince was actually a woman.

“I suspect that some kind of revolt is on the horizon,” I said. “And I’m guessing that Uncle was persuaded by someone to act.”

“Misha, have you told this to anyone else?”

“Not a single soul. Only to you, Father.”

He came to my side and pulled me into a tight embrace. “Misha, I’m begging you. Please don’t head to the royal capital.”

“That would be a tough request for me, Father. It’s been my dream to attend a magic school.”

“I suppose there’s no stopping you…”

“I’m sorry.”

He told me to wait for a few moments and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a wooden box in his hands. Inside was a single letter. “Misha, I’m sure that you’ve been working to find the right guardian for you as you attend that school, but I have someone that I hope you’ll rely on,” he said.

“To: Oswald von Leviathan,” the letter read.

“Isn’t he…” I started.

“Yes. I’m sure you’re familiar with his nickname, the ‘Bloody Marquess.’”

The marquess had the blood of an ogre, and in the war twenty years ago, he was heralded as a hero for his stellar accomplishments. Around fifteen years ago, Father helped Marquess Leviathan at a ball, which led to them forming ties.

“How did you aid Marquess Leviathan, Father?” I asked.

“His love is actually a distant relative of mine. I simply helped him speak to her.”

Ultimately, that meeting allowed the marquess to marry his beloved, and he was eternally grateful to my father. The marquess vowed to always be at my father’s service should he require any help.

“If Marquess Leviathan is your guardian in the royal capital, it shall put my mind at ease,” Father said. “Is this acceptable to you, Misha?”

“Of course,” I nodded.

I heard rumors about how terrifying the marquess was, but a man like him would be more reliable than ever as an ally.

“I’ll ask a private detective to find Guy’s whereabouts and track him down,” Father added, mentioning that this was a difficult case to bring to the knights. “The knights generally can only do something when they catch a criminal in the act. Unless any major incidents require their attention, they don’t quite listen.”

“Which means allegations alone can’t do anything to Uncle…” I muttered.

“Precisely.”

Father assured me that once he located Uncle Guy, he would be dragged back to Lawlife by force. “I can only pray that that scoundrel won’t trouble you, Misha…” he mumbled.

“If I bump into him and he’s up to no good, I’ll call for a knight immediately,” I said firmly.

“I’m counting on you.”

My uncle’s issues were a tricky situation. If we didn’t act wisely, it might affect our entire family line as well. It was imperative that we tread carefully. Just as I thought our conversation was over, Father also updated me on current events.

“Rudolph and Lizzy apparently moved to the royal capital,” he revealed.

“Did they, now?”

For a moment, I barely recognized their names, but then I remembered my former fiancé and uninhibited cousin. My aunt was wandering the land and came to Lawlife to beg for money again and the couple headed to the royal capital with her. They left just as Mother and I arrived back home.

“I hope that I won’t run into them in the royal capital,” I said.

“As do I,” Father grimaced.

I spotted a glimmering tear in the corners of his eyes—he must’ve been reluctant to send me off.

“Father, I’ll be just fine,” I told him. “I have ample life experience, you know.”

I was rather young in this world, and my words may have felt like idle nonsense, but I had memories of my previous life. I worked myself to exhaustion, and, distracted, I fell into a ditch and died, covered in mud. That was my rock bottom. Surely, it couldn’t get worse than that.

“Don’t worry, okay?” I insisted.

His eyebrows drooped into a troubled smile, but he nodded.

***

I packed up my things in a rush and used the magic scroll to teleport back to the royal capital. My family sent me off, and in a flash, I appeared within Garden Plant. I was strolling through the garden, the sheer number of flowers overwhelming me, when I spotted Professor Whipp in a straw hat, tending the garden.

“Ah, Misha,” the elf said in a languid tone. “You were quick.”

“It’s already been a week, ma’am,” I informed her.

“Has it, now?”

Elves were known for their lengthy lifespans; perhaps a week went by in the blink of an eye for them.

“Oh, and the building you were supposed to live in is under some repairs,” Professor Whipp remarked. “The previous private instructor who fled left such a mess. I mean, really, it’s awful! I’m having a few cleaning pros take care of that.”

A few leaks also needed to be fixed, and the dangerous beasts prowling about had to be dealt with. It’d be quite a while until I was allowed to live there.

“Could you live in a hotel until then?” She handed me a hotel key.

“Um, may I ask which hotel this leads to?” I asked.

“It’s in the nobles’ district,” she replied. “The owner of that hotel offered me a room. I’m allowed to use it whenever I wish, so you can use it as you please.”

“I-I see…” I muttered. “Thank you.”

Apparently, if I showed this key, I could also use the hotel’s restaurant as I pleased.

“Work is from eight to five in the evening,” Professor Whipp said. “You can eat in the cafeteria, too.” She even prepared an ID for me that was usually handed out to private instructors. “Give that back when you get your student ID made, okay?”

“Y-You’re giving me everything I need!” I gasped.

“Hee hee. In exchange, I’ll have you work your money’s worth!”

“I’ll do my best!”

She told me that I could start work tomorrow, giving me today to myself. I took her kind offer and headed to the hotel. Right outside the back entrance of the Garden Plant was a carriage stop that made its rounds within the royal capital. It only took around ten minutes for me to reach the hotel.

Hotel Flubeart was the place I’d be staying. During the carriage ride, other passengers mentioned that it was the most expensive hotel in the royal capital and that reservations were made up to three years in advance. The exterior of this opulent building was reminiscent of a magnificent mansion from Greek mythology, and the lobby floor was lined with marble, while a massive chandelier glimmered and dangled from the ceiling.

A hotel concierge walked up to me, and when I showed him the key I had received from Professor Whipp, he promptly guided me to my room. Needless to say, the guest room was lavish and extravagant, with mahogany tables and chairs dotting the space. An expensive tea set was prepared for me along with an antique, wooden dresser filled with numerous sets of silk pajamas. The bed was large enough to easily fit three adults, and the bathroom had a large bathtub with cabriole legs and an enormous dresser. It honestly felt like a room straight out of a picture-perfect book.

I was in a daze, enamored by the luxury. A complimentary drink and some snacks were served for me when I snapped back to my senses. I didn’t have time to laze around. I had to meet Marquess Leviathan, my future guardian. I was told that a letter was sent post-haste using the fastest delivery method possible, and the marquess must’ve read it already. All that was left was for me to muster up my courage and meet him.

“I can do this!”

I amped myself up to head to the marquess’s manor. I was told that he lived on the outskirts of the royal capital. When I asked a concierge how to get there, a carriage was swiftly prepared for me. It seemed VIP guests were given premium treatment. Grateful for the arrangement, I rode the hotel’s carriage.

I decided to prepare a set of potions as a gift for the marquess. I considered bringing some snacks from my hometown as well, but food in Lawlife was meant to have a long shelf life, and frankly, they didn’t taste all that good. Potions felt more useful, convenient, and practical.

The carriage clattered along for an hour and a half when I finally rolled up in front of the marquess’s manor. A dense forest surrounded the estate, and the lush verdure made the area a bit dim and gloomy, blocking the sunlight. The manor was also built from blackened bricks, and an overall air of darkness surrounded the area, reminiscent of a haunted house. Had the hotel’s carriage not brought me here, I would’ve assumed that the coachman was an accomplice of the marquess and I was delivered into the terrifying jaws of this manor.

When the vehicle arrived at the enchanted gates, they automatically opened with a loud creak, further adding to my fear. The estate was vast, and the carriage was allowed to reach the entrance of the manor. I glanced out the window, curious what kind of fabulous garden they had, but I was at a loss for words when I saw the thorny vines of black roses dancing about as mandrakes ran around in the garden.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to get a better look, believing that my eyes must be playing tricks on me, but I was wrong. The carriage would wait outside for me, and I was extremely relieved to hear that. I gave the coachman some snacks I couldn’t finish at the hotel, and he happily accepted the gift. I grabbed the ogre-shaped door knocker and rapped it against the marquess’s door.

“Yes?” a voice called immediately.

The butler had a knife in his right hand, with eyes sunken like a skeleton. Someone should praise me for not screaming at the sight of him, I thought.

“And? Who might you be?” the butler asked.

“U-Um, I’m Misha of House Ritual,” I replied.

“Ah, yes, yes! We’ve heard of you! Do come in!”

I was relieved that my father’s letter had arrived safely. The interior of the manor was lined with black carpet and wallpaper—the overall darkness creeped me out a fair bit. I couldn’t understand what kind of taste the marquess had. I was guided toward the drawing room when I heard voices from inside. The butler, however, didn’t mind that he was possibly intruding on a conversation and opened the door.

“Huh?!” I gasped. “Oh, um! If this is a bad time, I can wait—”

The door opened to reveal a large man in his mid-forties inside, along with a handsome young man with golden hair—the one and same I’d spotted on Vizer’s premises.

“My lord, I’ve brought forth Lady Misha, daughter of Viscount Ritual,” the butler announced.

The middle-aged man, presumably Marquess Leviathan, whirled around, shock riddled all over his face. The young man only widened his eyes and said not a word. The marquess stood up eagerly and bowed his head solemnly.

“Ah, so you’re the daughter of Viscount Ritual!” he boomed. “I am Marquess Oswald Leviathan!”

“H-Hello,” I stammered.

He took large strides toward me, the sheer pressure he emanated overwhelming me. He was over two meters tall and towered over my small stature, his hair cut short and fluffy, reminding me of a bear. When he looked at me with his terrifying eyes, I was petrified, but the man gave a gentlemanly bow and treated me with the utmost respect, welcoming me warmly.

“I swear to you that I shall risk my life as your guardian!” he boomed.

Uh… I’m not sure if this duty is that serious… Still, I can tell that he’ll be a very reliable ally.

“I apologize,” he said. “I was waiting for you here, but then he suddenly came in through the window, and— Huh?” When the marquess turned around, the young man was gone. “I suppose he left the same way since our conversation was over.”

Um, aren’t we on the second floor? Was that young man athletic enough to jump in and out of the second floor as he pleased? If I thought too deeply about it, I’d drive myself crazy. The marquess kindly offered me a seat, and I was swiftly served a cup of tea and some snacks when I sat down. The food was quite normal, and I wondered why he had dancing black roses and running mandrakes in his garden, but I left those questions for another day. The Bloody Marquess felt like a fitting moniker for Marquess Leviathan, but he seemed to have a sunny disposition.

“I hope you’ll think of me as your father in the royal capital!” the marquess insisted in that booming voice of his.

“I-I’m honored by the offer,” I replied.

The marquess, apparently, was over the moon to receive a letter of request from my father and eagerly awaited my arrival, hoping to do well by me.

“As you can tell from my appearance, many tend to be quite distant with me,” he said sadly. Only my father dared to treat the marquess normally. “Young ladies tend to scream at the sight of me, you see… But Lady Misha, you don’t seem to fear me at all!”

Admittedly, I almost screamed when I saw the butler prowling about with a knife. He apparently was trying to get rid of rats that plagued the estate, and that seemed like a dangerous endeavor.

“It was Viscount Ritual who set me up with my wife as well,” the marquess explained.

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard that story from my father,” I replied.

Right on cue, there were a few knocks on the door. A beautiful, petite woman—Marchioness Leviathan—waltzed inside.

“How do you do?” she greeted. “I’m Emma von Leviathan. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” I replied. “My name is Misha von Ritual.”

The marchioness was my father’s distant relative, his first cousin once removed. She came from a branch of House Ritual, and her family didn’t live within Lawlife.

“What were your first impressions of our manor?” the marchioness asked.

“Huh? Uh, well…” I trailed off, trying to be polite.

“Do be honest.”

“I found it quite…creepy.”

“I hoped as much!” She smiled happily and revealed that she was a fanatic for the occult. Her dream was to make a manor of monsters akin to a haunted house. “My wonderful husband made my dreams come true,” she beamed.

Marquess Leviathan was all smiles, grinning proudly, clearly enamored by his wife. At a glance, they seemed like Beauty and the Beast, but they were ultimately a perfect match for each other. At least my question about the garden was answered. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’ll see black roses and mandrakes wriggling about in the garden, so do be careful,” the marchioness warned. “They won’t do anything if you leave them alone.”

“Y-Yes, I’ll be careful,” I stammered.

The couple warmly invited me to have some dinner, and I decided to join them. I assumed that stewed monster meat or a whole-roasted demon might appear on the dinner table, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the dishes all looked normal and delectable. I had more fun at their manor than I thought.

The marquess and marchioness had two sons. Both worked as knights. They lived in the dorms at their workplace and returned home around once a month when they could.

“I wonder if this is what our days would’ve been like if we had a daughter,” the marchioness wondered.

“Indeed, this is quite nice,” the marquess said. “It brightens up our manor.”

The adorable couple asked me to visit them for a meal every now and then. I was so grateful, and they were just so nice and welcoming that I almost shed a tear, but I’d never tell them that. They sent me off as I thanked them for a lovely evening and left the manor.

Before my days of work began, I wanted to check food prices in the city. Bread was about one bronze coin, or about a hundred yen. Vegetables were one or two bronze coins, and a cut of meat was one large bronze coin, or about five hundred yen. If I wanted to eat a meal at a restaurant, each meal would cost around three thousand in paper currency, or around three thousand yen. Eating out was an expensive luxury, likely because rent within the royal capital was expensive. If taste wasn’t a concern, I could eat at a shady store in the alleys—they were more affordable and only charged a few bronze coins, but I was worried about sanitation. I wasn’t keen on eating their food.

It’ll be more economical to make my own food. I toured the market to see which stores sold fresh vegetables and meat. Some would happily sell half-rotten food to trick unsuspecting customers, and I had to be wary of that.

***

FOR the next month, I spent my days working hard in the Garden Plant. Professor Whipp praised me highly, and I was glad I was living up to her expectations. It seemed renovations to the caretaker cabin had stalled for quite a bit, and I wouldn’t be able to enter until school began.

Then, at last, the day of the entrance ceremony arrived—Vizer’s school year began in the fall. In Japan, the new school year began in the spring, so it was a new experience for me as I walked along the school grounds decorated by the reddening leaves. I’d always dreamed of attending a magic school, and I couldn’t help but show my excitement as I took eager steps forward.

The front gates posted classes and where students were assigned. Did Ehr get in? I wondered. I instinctively searched for his name on the poster instead of mine, but with two hundred names, I wasn’t sure if I could find him.

Just then, someone aggressively smacked my shoulder.

“Hey! Misha!” a bright voice called.

“Ehr!” I was elated that he got in, too, and I impulsively drew him in for a hug, unable to contain my excitement. “You got in, too!” I squealed.

“Yep! Thankfully,” Ehr replied. He’d thought that I’d failed the exam since I didn’t show up when the admittees were announced. “I kept regretting not asking for a way to contact you.”

“As did I,” I said.

I guess neither of us thought of our next course of action if we got rejected.

“But hey, we got to see each other again,” he said.

“Truly. I’m so glad!”

I was so happy to hear that he’d been accepted—perhaps more than for my own acceptance. We jumped up and down like excited children as we celebrated our huge win.

“Your school uniform suits you very well!” I praised.

“You think so?” Ehr asked. “I’ve been pretty self-conscious about it. I’ve never worn clothes this nice before.” He lived downtown and usually purchased secondhand clothes. “It was always a pain because I quickly outgrew my clothes,” he said. “But apparently, these can shrink and stretch with magic, so that’ll save me the trouble.”

“Agreed,” I nodded.

“You look good too, Misha!”

“Hee hee, do I?”

I did a little twirl in front of him. I was positively delighted the first time I wore a mantle that only Vizer students were permitted to wear. A frilly blouse, velvet ribbon, and a long dress that went down to my ankles, along with a little jacket, completed my ensemble. The school crest was embroidered in silver thread. It seemed that excellent students or prefects were given special mantles, ribbons, and ties, and many students yearned to wear them.

“Maybe I should aim to be a prefect too…” Ehr muttered.

“You’ve got a loud, strong voice,” I praised. “I think you’re suited to be a prefect!”

“I’m not sure if the loudness of my voice alone will get me selected for the role, but… Oh, and I’ve been meaning to ask…”

“Yes?”

He asked why I wasn’t around when the admittees were announced, and I pulled him over to a more deserted space.

“I’m actually a special case,” I whispered.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m allowed to attend in exchange for helping the potions professor.”

“What the heck?! What dorm are you in?!”

“There’s a little cabin in the garden for its caretaker, and I’ll be living there.”

The building renovations were finished that morning, and I was allowed to move in today. I didn’t have time to move in all of my necessities, so I would have to organize my stuff on my days off.

“What dorm are you in, Ehr?” I asked.

“Flame.”

“Oh, you’re the fire element?”

“Yeah.”

He said he envied me as I lived alone and had more freedom. The Flame dorms were divided into two buildings, one for the boys and one for the girls. They weren’t allowed to head to the other gender’s dorm at night—all the students of the same grade would be punished if the rule was broken. They wouldn’t be served food for a day. They also had a strict curfew, and breaking that rule would subject them to a hundred-page report. If they fought, they weren’t allowed to buy snacks for a year, and if they skipped showering for a day, they had to sing in front of the entire school. It seemed they had some strict regulations to follow.

“Stricter than I thought, really,” Ehr admitted.

“I see…” I replied.

“The prefects watch over the students, but they’re terrifying.”

Every dorm was under the watchful eye of a prefect, and there were special cases where some students were elected to become prefects. There were around two or three of them per grade.

“The head prefect is in charge of all the prefects, and I’ve heard that they’re scarier than anything else in the world,” Ehr said.

There were even rumors that one’s school life was doomed the moment they were targeted by the head prefect.

“There’re rumors that they bring a dragon familiar around with them, and they watch over students like a hawk, ensuring that no one breaks the rules,” Ehr muttered.

“We ought to be careful,” I said.

I’m glad I don’t have to deal with any of that. Still, I don’t want to be hated by the head prefect, so I should lead a normal and diligent life.

“Did you check your classes yet?” I asked.

“Nah, not yet,” Ehr replied.

“Then let’s check our schedule together.”

“I’m down.”

Classes were divided so that students of fire, water, wind, earth, and the other elements would evenly mix with one another. Ehr and I were both in Class 2.

“Misha! We’re in the same class!” Ehr shouted.

“So we are!” I cried.

We held each other’s hands and jumped up and down excitedly.

“Then I hope we can get along for the next year!” he said.

“I hope so as well.”

With a firm handshake, I was elated to find that my first friend was also my precious classmate.

Chapter 2: Entering the Magic School of My Dreams!

Chapter 2: Entering the Magic School of My Dreams!

THE entrance ceremony was held in the auditorium. I looked around at my classmates, and seventy percent of them clearly hailed from the nobility. Twenty percent were from the middle class, and the remaining ten percent were from the lower class. Everyone wore the same uniform, but it was easy to differentiate nobles from others simply by how they settled in their seats and carried themselves.

Students were divided by class numbers, and I spotted Alice among the mix, sitting with my group. I almost cried out, but she noticed me first, knitted her brows, and turned away huffily. I longed to have a peaceful school life, and yet now I knew it’d involve her. I hoped that she would leave me alone for the rest of the school year.

The ceremony began with an infamously lengthy speech by the headmaster, a tradition of Vizer. Count Holgar von Hoffmeister, who hailed from a family of ancient wizards and witches, proudly took the stand as our headmaster. He was a graying old man with a long gray beard and had a gentle air about him, like someone who’d be selling roast chicken during the Christmas season in Japan.

A mere three minutes into Headmaster Hoffmeister’s speech, Ehr fell fast asleep beside me. A few professors and instructors were dozing off as well. The sunbeams that shone through the auditorium window were warm and comforting, encouraging a wave of drowsiness to wash over the room.

I was used to boring meetings in my previous life, and I knew a pressure point that would keep me awake at times like these. I pressed down on it, hoping to maintain consciousness.

“Lastly, I’ve got an announcement,” the headmaster said.

Both the new and returning students chattered among themselves, confused. Perhaps it was rare for the headmaster to make an announcement here.

“Among the newly admitted students is our crown prince,” Headmaster Hoffmeister revealed.

It must be that lady who was almost kidnapped. Why did she decide to attend this school? I wondered.

“He’s enrolled under a fake name, which I shall not speak of,” the headmaster continued. “In other words, any one of the newly admitted students could be the crown prince in disguise—it’s best to be vigilant. Now then, I hope you all get along for another wonderful school year.”

Half of us were stunned, while the other half looked excited. Ehr managed to stay fast asleep amid all the chatter. I should probably wake him up soon.

“Ehr,” I whispered. “Wake up. The headmaster finished talking.”

“Ugh… I’m so full…” he groaned blearily. “Huh?!”

I assumed he was having a nice dream and wanted to let him sleep a bit longer, but his poor behavior might catch the attention of a professor. It was our first day of school, and I wanted to keep him out of trouble.

“Is the ceremony done?” he asked.

“Not yet,” I replied. “The representative of the new students has to give a speech too.”

The highest-scoring applicant among the newly admitted students had to give a speech. I excitedly turned my attention to the front, wondering who had this prized seat.

“Representative of the first-years, Rena von Wiegert, come forward,” an announcer said.

“Here,” a soothing voice said behind me.

I whirled around in astonishment and spotted the crown prince. When I locked eyes with her, she gave me a cute wink. I wasn’t just shocked. I was dumbfounded. My jaw almost hit the ground.

“Ugh, he got the best grades, and we’re in the same class as him?” Ehr groaned.

“Are we in the same class?” I asked.

“Yeah… He really stood out during the exams, too.”

Apparently, Rena was always surrounded by girls at school, and they fawned over the crown prince. Even upperclassmen came by to catch a glimpse of the famous Rena.

Rena von Wiegert… Wasn’t the crown prince’s real name Renhalt? Doesn’t feel like much of a secret identity to me…

Prince Rena wore a male student uniform—perhaps she was hiding her gender for some reason that wasn’t public knowledge. My family ruled over a remote region, and naturally, we didn’t get much information about the royal family. I had no idea that the crown prince hadn’t made her public debut yet and that she never publicly revealed her face. Uh… I fear that I’m privy to a very important, highly confidential secret. I have to feign ignorance about her from here on out.

I’m so unlucky. I’m in the same class as Prince Rena… Had I been in a separate class, I could’ve remained hidden and made sure that I wouldn’t catch her attention, but Her Highness had unmistakably winked at me. She must’ve known that I was the one who saved her.

“Man, he’s amazing,” Ehr said. “He’s good-looking, smart, elegant, and speaks with grace. God bestowed him with several gifts, huh? Between him and me, a slum rat, the difference is like night and day.”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “You’re honest and bright. I think you’re wonderful in your own right, Ehr.”

“Thanks. You cheered me up.”

As everyone focused on Prince Rena, I gazed into the distance, hoping to never lock eyes with her again. I wondered if Alice was infatuated with the prince like the rest of the girls, but she sat prim and proper, no different from when she was listening to the headmaster’s speech.

I guess the daughter of a duke has seen her fair share of handsome men. One more won’t make her overly excited. Still, I expected her to be a bit more interested in someone like Prince Rena.

I expected the speech from the upperclassmen to be handled by the head prefect, but surprisingly, one of the third-year prefects took the stand instead.

“Huh… I guess the head prefect isn’t giving the speech,” Ehr murmured.

“I guess not.”

Maybe the head prefect is like a secret boss who never shows their face to the masses.

The school director then appeared and gave his introduction. This tall and handsome man in his late forties had golden hair and emerald eyes. He sort of reminds me of Prince Rena… People whispered around me, muttering how the director was the king’s younger brother. Maybe the hair and eye color are characteristics of the royal family… The director emanated a solemn and stern aura, his gaze piercing enough to scare you. I’m so glad that he isn’t the headmaster.

“I’m Ricardo von Lindenburg, the director of Vizer School of Magic,” he announced.

Director Lindenburg was the grand duke. The royal family established this school; it was no wonder they were involved in running it. He spoke of difficult topics, but his speech was short. Even Ehr managed to stay awake throughout it. Next, the professors were introduced to us. Our class was led by Professor Whipp, and her beauty attracted many passionate gazes from the boys. She was a high elf and extremely popular among the students.

Once the ceremony was over, we languidly headed to our respective classrooms. Prince Rena was already surrounded by a group of students, so I didn’t have to worry about her trying to make contact with me yet.

“We’ve got no classes today, right?” Ehr asked.

“I don’t think so, but we’ll summon our own familiar,” I replied.

“Oh yeah, I think I saw that mentioned on some of the enrollment documents.”

For our three years at this school, students were provided with a familiar that they formed a contract with using a summoning note. Mystical beasts, fairies, spirits, and other magical creatures would be selected at random based on whatever would be most compatible with the user. A summoning note cost around ten gold coins, and the fact that every student at Vizer got one for free from the school was a pretty awesome privilege.

“Man, I hope I can summon a huge dragon or something,” Ehr remarked.

I guess boys of any age like dragons. When I was in elementary school, I recalled seeing an image of a dragon flying against the backdrop of lightning in a sewing catalog. I feel like he’d like that.

When we arrived at our classroom, I spotted a box of supplies neatly laid on the desk. Each had a name on it, and the one at the very end, in the front, had Rena von Wiegert’s nametag. Seats were assigned boy-girl-boy-girl, and it also went by grades. Naturally, Prince Rena’s was at the front, and when I searched for my seat, I found it by the window, farthest away from the ones with excellent grades. I was at the very front of the class, too.

“Hey, I’m behind you,” Ehr remarked.

I guess Ehr and I had similar grades. We exchanged a short bow again, happy that we were sitting close together, and once we sat down, Alice entered the room. We’d just been assigned our classes today, but she was already surrounded by an entourage of girls.

“Lady Alice, it seems seats are assigned by grade,” a girl said.

“Oh, my!” another gasped. “You’re right next to Lord Rena!”

Apparently, Alice didn’t just come from a prestigious family. She had the high grades to prove herself as well. Coupled with her gorgeous looks, I was a bit envious of her. But if I stare at her for too long, she’ll glare at me. I’ll check the box of supplies with Ehr instead.

“Whoa, awesome…” Ehr gasped.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“This box won’t open until you put your hand over it and channel your mana.”

“That’s quite amazing.”

Oh yeah, the acceptance letter told us to submit a document registered with our mana. I assumed they simply wanted to keep tabs on the quality and element of our magic. I didn’t expect them to use it for magic items like these. Following Ehr’s example, I placed my hand over my box of supplies. A magic circle appeared on the surface, and it unlocked with a loud clack. I anxiously opened the lid and saw numerous supplies inside.

The first thing that caught my eye was the student handbook embossed with our school insignia in gold ink. When I flipped it open to the first page, gold letters appeared with a statement that proved that I was a student of Vizer.

“This is awesome…” Ehr murmured.

“I think this handbook can also read mana,” I said.

“Will these words not pop up if we touch another student’s handbook?”

“Let’s try it out.”

I exchanged handbooks with Ehr, and we opened them up. I didn’t spot any gold words. Instead, red words popped up, warning me to deliver this to the knights or to Vizer immediately.

“Guess that answers our question,” Ehr said.

“This is very impressive,” I replied.

Even my handbook’s magical! This is so exciting! The next page was filled with school rules and regulations, and I skimmed through them until I stopped at the last page.

“Oh…” I gasped.

“Whoa…” Ehr said.

To my surprise, the last page of the student handbook had defensive scrolls slipped inside. There were six in total: two teleporting scrolls that brought the user back to Vizer and one attack scroll for the water, wind, fire, and earth elements. The handbook went on to state that if any of these scrolls were used for anything but emergencies, the user would be expelled immediately.

“Aren’t scrolls expensive?” Ehr asked. “How can they give so many to each student? Is this necessary?”

“I imagine so,” I replied. “Greenhorn wizards and witches can be seen as golden eggs—prime targets—for some nefarious people.”

Some students in the past were abducted from schools and dragged into the darker parts of society. Even walking around in uniform might invite some malicious people to cause an incident. Even the school rules warned us to wear normal clothes if we ever left the school premises.

“Um, you should be careful too, Ehr,” I warned.

“I will,” he replied.

He grew up in the poorer parts of the city; it felt rude to mention that his old stomping grounds were dangerous, at least from my point of view.

The supplies also included a quill, a bottle of ink, paper for our essays, a leather belt to keep paper in a stack, and other stationery supplies. Just looking at them excited me. At the bottom was a discount coupon for the school store. When Ehr and I cheered for the financial help, I noticed some girls in seats nearby giggling at us.

“I guess we’re the only ones happy about this…” Ehr muttered.

“So it seems,” I replied.

Sure, I was currently the daughter of a noble, but in my past life, I was just a normal person, and I was a sucker for discount coupons.

“Did you get into this school on a scholarship?” I asked.

“No, I’m paying for it out of my own pocket,” Ehr said.

“I see.”

“My mom was friends with an uber-rich guy. He said he wanted to take me on as his adoptive son, but I didn’t feel confident that I could make it in noble society. When I told him my concerns, he recommended that I enroll in a magic school and learn how to mingle.”

I was surprised to hear about his situation.

“He said that there’re a ton of people from my part of town here, but now I know he lied to me,” Ehr sighed. “I don’t see anyone like that around.”

“Nor do I,” I agreed, casting a look around at our classmates.

Even a single textbook on magic was costly, far beyond the budget of people who struggled to put food on the table every day. It was unlikely to see someone like that attending such an expensive school.

“How did you learn magic, then?” I asked.

“From my mom talking in her sleep,” Ehr said casually.

“That’s…a very unique way of learning.”

His mother apparently tended to talk in her sleep, which led Ehr to try out some spells out of curiosity. Soon enough, he was able to wield some simple fire magic.

“And I haven’t improved much since,” he lamented. “I can only make a small flame, and that’s it.”

“Once we learn the basics of magic, I’m sure that you’ll be able to use more advanced spells,” I encouraged.

“I sure hope so.”

The bell rang, cutting our conversation short, and homeroom started. Professor Whipp, our homeroom teacher, strolled right in with a lazy smile.

“Hello, dear students,” she said. “I’m the potions professor and the homeroom teacher of Class 2—your class. Call me Professor Whipp. I’m 250 years old, but that is still rather young among the high elves.”

Her tone implied that she wouldn’t forgive anyone who dared to mention that she was old.

“All you’ve done so far is enroll in this school,” she said. “But you’re all shoved into one classroom, and I’m sure that’s suffocating. Students from all walks of life are here—those of different births and upbringings, along with different personalities and genders. We’ve all gathered here for various reasons, and I’m sure it won’t be easy for us all to get along.”

She claimed that she didn’t expect us all to be best buddies.

“You don’t have to force yourself to be friends with everyone in this class,” Professor Whipp said in her breathy tone. “But you have all braved the strict entrance exams to get into the historic institution that is Vizer. At the very least, be respectful to all your classmates, okay?”

Professor Whipp stressed that she wouldn’t let any discrimination, bullying, or insults slide. Any such behavior would lead to immediate expulsion. No one in their right mind would ever attempt such a foolish act.

“Now then, let’s start with introductions as an icebreaker,” Professor Whipp declared.

She chose to do introductions, starting from the highest marks to the lowest. Since I was in the latter half, I paid close attention to everyone’s introductions and considered my own based on them. Prince Rena went first.

“Pleased to meet everyone. My name is Rena von Wiegert. My hobby is horseback riding, and I’m good at calculating magical formulas. I want to be friends with all of my classmates. Hope we can get along!”

Oh my goodness… That was a perfect introduction, no notes. It tempted me to cheer on the future king, but of course, I wasn’t allowed to say that. I did my best to keep quiet. Since the prince had the perfect introduction, everyone followed suit.

“Hello. My name is Alice von Kirsten. I like ca— I mean, my hobby is listening to music. I’m good at wind magic. If we’ve got the same hobby, do feel free to reach out. I hope I can get along with everyone.”

Um, what? She stumbled a bit on her hobby, as if she were going to say something else, and went with music instead. Alice sat back down, as cool as a cucumber, and didn’t allow anyone to say otherwise. Maybe she’s got a really unique hobby.

The rest of my classmates quickly said their introductions as well; to my surprise, almost everyone in Class 2 was of noble birth. Is that because this class has the crown prince?

“Next, Miss Misha von Ritual,” Professor Whipp called on me.

“Y-Yes, ma’am,” I stammered. It was my turn already. I mustered up my courage and stood. “Nice to meet you. I’m Misha von Ritual. My hobby is, er, making potions. I excel at raking snow off roofs—I did that in my hometown, which is in a snowy region. I’d like to make a hundred friends. I hope we can get along!”

Ehr chuckled behind me. I was serious about my introduction, but he found the potion-making bit rather humorous. I was trying to be funny with the “making a hundred friends” part, but sadly, my joke fell flat. No one else laughed, aside from Ehr. Whatever! At least I left an impression. I quietly listened to Ehr’s turn.

“I’m Ehr Barre. Born and raised in the downtown slums, and I’m seventeen! Got any problems? I’ll hear ya out! And peace!”

He ignored the previous examples, and I chuckled at his forceful introduction. When I turned around, he looked at me proudly and smugly.

“Dammit, no one else is laughing…” he muttered.

“Oh, I thought you were funny,” I whispered back.

I’m starting to feel like Ehr might be my only friend at this school…

“All right, now that introductions are done, let’s finally get to what we’ve all been waiting for—summoning familiars!” Professor Whipp declared. She had a stack of summoning notes and handed one out to each student. “Don’t touch it yet,” she said. “Just sit tight, okay?”

Almost all my classmates patiently waited as they listened to the professor’s orders. A summoning note was placed on my desk as well. It was the size of a trading card and inscribed with a magic circle and spell. She gave us a brief explanation about familiars.

“There are four types of familiars,” she said. “Mythical beasts, fairies, spirits, and magical creatures.”

Mythical beasts were very intelligent and could be good friends with humans. Spirits boasted high mana and could support wizards and witches. Fairies had extensive knowledge of flora and could be a huge help in making potions.

“Magical creatures were created using mostly small animals like cats or dogs,” the professor explained. “They’re given mana and intelligence so that they can be familiars or messengers.”

Many had turned wild, and there were more magical creatures than mythical beasts, spirits, and fairies combined. In other words, almost all of the students here summoned magical creatures.

“If you can get a mythical beast, fairy, or spirit, you’re quite lucky,” she said. She added that there was technically one more type of creature that would answer a student’s summons, though it was very rare. “Monsters with goodwill.”

The occasional goblin, kobold, cockatrice, or other monster not driven to do evil would heed someone’s summons.

“But monsters are typically stupid and slow,” Professor Whipp explained. “They’re generally not very useful, unfortunately.”

If a student happened to summon a monster, that contract would be nullified, and they would be given another chance to summon something more useful.

“I wonder what you will summon,” Professor Whipp said in a singsong voice. “I look forward to seeing the results.”

Once she passed out all the summoning notes, she taught us how to use them.

“First, place the card onto your forehead,” she said. “Then chant your spell. A magic circle will appear, so touch that to summon a familiar. Once you give them a name, the contract will be formed.”

This summoning ritual would be done one at a time. We moved our desks to the side so that we could summon in the middle of the room.

“First, Rena. Go on,” Professor Whipp urged languidly.

“Yes, Professor.”

Prince Rena stood tall and stepped into the center of the room. Since this was our first time, I expected her to be tense, but she proudly maintained her composure and followed Professor Whipp’s steps. She placed the card on her forehead.

“Come on out! Summon!” she chanted.

A magic circle appeared in front of her, and she touched it before the circle spread throughout the floor and emitted a blinding flash of light.

“Oh?” Professor Whipp murmured. “Hee hee… I sense something grand…”

A large silhouette slowly emerged from the bright light, and we all eagerly watched on. When the light finally died down, we finally saw the creature in all its glory—a unicorn with a crystal horn.

“Splendid,” Professor Whipp hummed. “I’ve never seen a unicorn before.”

This creature was rare among familiars, but Prince Rena looked troubled. I couldn’t blame her. Unicorns were known to be unique in that they loved only maidens who protected their own purity. No one else seemed to know this scandalous tidbit and only showered Prince Rena with praise.

“You can summon and store your familiar as you please,” Professor Whipp said. “You can bring them around with you, but your creature is quite large. It might be best if they were kept stored.”

Prince Rena named her familiar Cheval and stored it away. She swiftly moved to the side of the room, sadness riddled all over her face. I knew that the prince was hiding her gender, and she must not have expected to summon a unique creature that blatantly loved women. I sort of feel bad for her…

“Next, Alice von Kirsten,” Professor Whipp called.

“Yes, ma’am,” Alice replied. She gallantly strode to the middle of the room and started her ritual. “Come on out! Summon!”

The magic circle that appeared didn’t shine as brightly as Prince Rena’s, but it was still dazzling. The silhouette was smaller this time, and when the light cleared, a white cat with a jewel embedded in its forehead primly sat in the middle of the magic circle.

“Ah, a cat fairy,” Professor Whipp noted.

“A kitty?!” Alice gasped. Her cheeks turned rosy with delight, and she practically cried with joy as she stared at her familiar. “Sh-She’s so cute!” she cried. She scooped the kitty up in her arms and hugged it tightly. “My familiar’s warm!”

She snapped back to her senses after that outburst, but it was too late. Clearly, she loved cats and doted over them. When Alice tried to introduce what she liked earlier, maybe she tried to say that she liked cats. In any case, she swiftly named her familiar Kitty and quickly retreated to the side of the room with flushed cheeks.

Rena summoned a mythical beast, followed by Alice’s cat fairy. The tension in the classroom was sky-high as everyone expected something awesome as well, but the next students all proceeded to summon a magical creature. Frogs, birds, mice, praying mantises, and land crabs answered the students’ calls.

“I guess it won’t be easy to summon a dragon,” Ehr muttered.

“I think it will be,” I replied.

It was finally my turn. I wished for anything other than a slithery reptile as I used my own summoning note.

“Come on out! Summon!” I chanted.

My magic circle let out a blinding flash of light, obscuring my vision for a few moments. My classmates all gasped and raised their voices because the light was brighter than Prince Rena’s.

“Misha! Will you summon a dragon?!” Ehr cried.

“Of course not!” I retorted.

A silhouette slowly emerged, round and large like an exercise ball.

“Huh? Is it an egg?” I wondered.

When the light died down, I spotted not an egg, but a crystal-like being sitting there. It had round, adorable eyes and a small mouth as it stared at me. It’s so pretty… I stared in awe before I noticed my cheering classmates fell silent in their confusion. I gasped and turned to my professor.

“Um, Professor Whipp, what is this?” I asked.

“I think it’s a slime,” she replied.

Slimes were considered the weakest monsters in this world. I didn’t expect to summon one as my familiar.

“Slimes are usually much smaller, but this one is very, very large,” the professor added.

Slimes would occasionally be summoned, but they were the size of a basketball, at most. The slime in front of me was larger and sat there proudly, its dignified presence clear for the world to see.

“We should return this familiar,” Professor Whipp said. “I doubt it’d be of any use.”

Yet, the slime maintained eye contact with me, almost glaring at me with exasperation. I didn’t have the courage to tell it to leave at this point, especially since I locked eyes with it.

“Um, I’d like to make this guy my familiar,” I said.

“Ooh?” Professor Whipp asked. “Why would you want to do that?”

“It heeded my call. I don’t know; I guess I’m feeling attached to it, and it’s adorable.”

I felt like this was oddly fated to be, and since it answered my summons, we would wade through life together. I passionately explained my logic to Professor Whipp, and she chuckled.

“Hee hee, if you’re willing to go that far, be my guest,” she said, granting me permission to keep it.

And so, this slime became my familiar.

“Um, I’ll call it Gem,” I said.

My slime’s eyes glimmered for a moment. It apparently took a liking to its name, and it nodded proudly, agreeing to form a contract with me. When I told it to return, my familiar refused to be stored away and sat there. Can it not understand my words? When I politely told it that it was in the way of others, Gem glued itself thinly against the wall grumpily. Did it not like being told that it was in the way? I still had a long way to go before I could understand the heart of a slime.

It was now Ehr’s turn to summon his familiar.

“Come on out! Summon!” he shouted.

A lizard appeared from the magic circle. A crimson line ran across its body, and its eyes were round and adorable.

“Nice! Thanks for heeding my call!” Ehr said. “Your name will be Lizard from now on!”

The familiar formed a contract with Ehr without issue. Now, everyone had their own familiar. Only Prince Rena and Alice summoned familiars that weren’t magical creatures, barring me, who summoned a monster. Everyone else had a magical creature to call their own.

“You’ll be with your familiar for three years,” Professor Whipp said. “I advise you to get along with them.”

And with that, homeroom was over. Some stayed in the classroom, chatting away while showing off their familiar, while others left and headed back to the dorms.

“Misha, what’ll you do?” Ehr asked. He was heading to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat.

“I’ve got some work to do,” I replied.

“Got it. See you tomorrow, then?”

“Yes, I’ll see you then.”

As everyone returned to their dorms and left the room, Gem, the slime that I summoned, remained glued to the wall.

“Gem, let’s head back,” I said.

Gem didn’t respond, its eyes still perked up grumpily as it made its displeasure apparent. Ugh, now isn’t the time for me to be dawdling… I had to bring my belongings from the hotel to my new abode, take care of the plants in the greenhouse, and make dinner.

“I’m sorry that I said that you were in the way,” I apologized. “I didn’t mean it.”

I gave a heartfelt apology, but Gem puffed out its cheeks in a show that it was still upset. What am I supposed to do? What was clear was that I didn’t have time to test stuff out and earn its approval. I decided to use force and gently peeled Gem away from the wall. It slipped between my fingers and onto the classroom floor. Okay, now I can go home, right? My familiar suddenly puffed up larger than an exercise ball before crystallizing, hardening before my eyes.

“Huh?!” I gasped. “What the… What’s going on?!”

As I panicked, Professor Whipp came over to me.

“Oh, this is a surprise,” she said. “Your little familiar isn’t a normal slime after all.”

“Wh-What is it?” I asked.

“A jewel slime. It’s quite rare, you know, and it’s a high-ranking spirit.”

“Then Gem isn’t a slime but a spirit?”

“Precisely. I think it’s been about five years since a spirit was last summoned in this school.”

One or two students per grade always managed to summon a mythical beast or fairy, but spirits were far scarcer. My familiar was very rare, it seemed.

“This is actually my first time seeing a jewel slime, too,” Professor Whipp said.

She stared at Gem, who stared defiantly right back. My familiar seems open with its emotions at least.

“Um, Professor Whipp, do you know anything about jewel slimes? I’d love to know more,” I said.

“I know a little,” she revealed.

Jewel slimes, as mentioned, were rare spirits with a high rank. They came in all sorts of elements, including blaze, ice, storm, lightning, earth, dark, and light. This type of spirit was known for taking on all sorts of shapes, like slimes, but it technically wasn’t a slime at all.

“The name, jewel slime, comes from them looking like slimes while emitting a beautiful, bright glow,” Professor Whipp said languidly. “Or so I’ve heard.”

Its scientific name was limus opalus, or rainbow false slime. I recalled being enamored by Gem the first time I saw its beautiful glow, which was why I named it “Gem,” an ancient word meaning “pretty jewel.”

“But the jewel slimes I’ve seen in books were much, much smaller,” Professor Whipp added.

Any jewel slimes that had been discovered were fist-sized at most and were preciously protected. She’d never seen one the size of Gem before.

“I wonder why a spirit so rare and precious heeded my call,” I muttered.

“Only your familiar has the answer to that,” Professor Whipp replied. She assured me this wasn’t just pure, dumb luck—there was some sort of intent behind it. “If you’d taken my advice and tossed this child away, it would’ve been awful, don’t you agree?”

“I planned on getting along with my familiar even if it was only a regular slime,” I said firmly.

When Gem heard my words, its body glimmered like a dazzling jewel, its glow indescribably breathtaking.

“I think it’s happy to hear what you said,” Professor Whipp remarked.

“I hope so,” I replied.

At least it seems happy now. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Professor Whipp, I’d like to head back to the hotel and gather my things,” I said. “I’ll take care of the plants after that, if that’s okay.”

“Oh? You can let the hotel take care of things and deliver everything to you,” she suggested. “I’ll call them and save you that trouble. Can you work on the plants instead?”

“Sure, okay.” I handed her the hotel key; its job was done. “I’d like to thank you. I spent my days in comfort.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Professor Whipp took my key and strolled out of the classroom. I realized that while we were talking, all of my classmates had left. The empty room felt spacious without the students. Reminds me of my past life when I was all alone at work, working overtime until the middle of the night.

I shook my head. I’m not in Japan anymore. This is the magic school of my dreams, and I have to live this life to its fullest.

“Now then, Gem, let’s head home,” I said.

My familiar stopped glowing, but it refused to budge an inch. I left the room and told it that I’d leave it behind, but Gem still remained put.

“Wh-Why?!” I gasped with exasperation.

I couldn’t read the expression of a spirit, but I certainly didn’t have any more time to spare. I had a mountain of work waiting for me, and I proceeded to roll Gem on the floor like a ball as I slowly walked along.

“Y-You’re heavier than you look!” I huffed, exhausted.

It feels like I’m rolling a chunk of rock around to build a pyramid or something! Gem was hefty in my hands. Luckily, I had some power in my arms, thanks to the many years I spent shoveling snow at home, and it wasn’t much trouble. As I got the hang of it, I heard students giggle when I walked past them in the halls. Surely, they thought I was being toyed with by my familiar, and today, I couldn’t deny those claims. I’ll let you guys laugh at me for now. After a bit of huffing and puffing, I managed to roll Gem into the Garden Plant and stopped it in front of the one-story cabin that doubled as the caretaker building.

“This is where we’ll be living, Gem,” I said.

My familiar, perhaps curious, glanced around. It stretched its appendages out and touched the walls, occasionally tapping them like it was trying to check the material of this building.

“I’ll be taking care of some plants and herbs,” I said. “I want you to just stay here, okay?”

Since we formed a contract, I doubted that Gem would try to run away. I headed into the cabin first—I was told a set of work clothes was prepared for me inside, and I needed to get changed. The floors and wallpaper were completely new, and the scent of a freshly built building hit my nose.

“Wow!” I gasped.

The sunlight gently trickled in through a large window, and the room had a brick fireplace. The tables and chairs were wooden, the beautiful grains accentuated in the craftsmanship, and the floor was lined with a fluffy rug. I did a quick tour and found the bedroom, kitchen, and baths. They were clean and new, as far as I could tell.

Professor Whipp, true to her word, had a dress for work prepared. It went down to my ankles and was easy to move around in. I also had an apron to protect the front of my dress and rain boots that had a water-repellent spell cast on them. I changed out of my mantle and school uniform and into the work clothes before I undid my hair and tied it into a ponytail. I fitted my hands with gloves and walked outside, where I spotted Gem still there in a daze, gazing at the garden.

“Gem, I’ll be taking care of the plants in this greenhouse,” I said. “You can do as you like, okay?” I gently petted it, and its light flickered, perhaps happy with my gesture. “I’ll see you later.”

I waved and walked off when I felt a presence behind me. I turned around and spotted Gem right behind my feet. I took a few more steps and turned back, only to see Gem right behind me again, frozen in place. It feels like I’m playing red light, green light. I wasn’t sure if Gem was playing alone, but we headed for the greenhouse while I turned around several times, checking if my familiar still followed me around.

First, I had to get rid of weeds and feed the plants a special type of water mixed with powdered magic stones. Once I plucked the herbs needed for tomorrow’s lessons, I was done for the day.

I got down to work and started plucking some weeds when Gem peered at my hands with interest. It pushed against my body rather forcefully to observe what I did. Gem looked up at me, tilting its head to one side with confusion, and I decided to explain what I was doing.

“These are weeds,” I said. “I have to pluck them to make sure that they don’t steal nutrients from the plants that I’d like to grow.”

Gem flashed for a moment as though it understood my words. I smiled and got back to work when Gem thinly stretched itself out over the garden bed. I widened my eyes with concern, confused at what the spirit tried to do.

“Huh?! What are you doing?” I asked.

It spread its body out like a thin carpet, then retracted, reverting to its normal spherical shape. I breathed a sigh of relief when Gem spat something out—the weeds that I’d mentioned. It learned what weeds were and plucked them all out in one go, leaving my precious herbs unharmed.

“Did you want to help me with my work?!” I asked in awe.

Gem gently wavered from side to side in reply.

“You’re a very good child, aren’t you?” I said with a smile.

I hugged my precious spirit endearingly when it started glowing brighter than before.

“Ugh! My eyes! My eyes!” I cried. “You’re too bright!”

The spirit at once dimmed its light to the brightness of a light bulb. My jewel slime was very understanding.

Now, I had to water the plants. I made a special blend of water infused with powdered magic stones—this was a method I’d devised to encourage plant growth. The herbs responded well to this water. I grabbed a hammer to grind the stones into a fine powder when Gem again took me by surprise. My spirit grabbed the stones I had and popped them into its mouth.

“Huh? Wait, what?” I gasped. “Were you hungry?”

Gem wiggled from side to side, clearly chowing down on the tough stones. I read that contracted familiars generally relied on the mana and magic of their owner, but Gem was a spirit. I worried that mana wasn’t nearly enough to sustain its appetite, and I decided to ask Professor Whipp about it later.

Gem spat out powdery magic stone dust, snapping me out of my thoughts. I assumed it was going to eat it, but it only provided me with powdery dust and did nothing more. Its round eyes gazed up at me as though to encourage me to move on with my next task.

“Huh?! Did you break these stones down for me?!” I cried.

The jewel slime swelled as if it were puffing out its chest proudly.

“M-My familiar’s a genius!” I cried. “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, Gem!”

I petted Gem several times again, and it flickered its light faintly. It retained what I said earlier about its bright light and dimmed it for me. My Gem’s so smart and learns so quickly!

“To tell you the truth, grinding up these stones took a lot out of me,” I said.

Our school had a tool to grind things up, but it required one magic stone as fuel to use. The alchemy professor was in charge of it and told me that I’d have to pay for it if I broke the tool. And so, while I took the easy route on my first day, ever since, I ground stones up myself. Gem might’ve been helping me on a whim, and I obviously couldn’t force it to work every day. Still, I was happy that there might be days when I didn’t have to exert myself too much.

I’ll praise Gem to bits and hope it’ll continue growing in a positive way. It might’ve been a bit overkill, but I showered my familiar with compliments.

Gem continued to eagerly help me out. When I tried to go to the well to get some water, my familiar asked me to give it some. I wondered if it was thirsty, and I gave it around ten buckets of water before it was satisfied. It closed its mouth happily, looking like it was carrying a bucketful of water now, and we headed back to the greenhouse. To my surprise, it proceeded to swallow the powdered magic stones, and I saw the water swirling around in its body like a washing machine. Shortly after, Gem spat the water out gently, sprinkling my plants in the greenhouse with the energy they needed. It was smart enough to know that I needed these to water the plants, and it did it for me.

“You can do so much!” I cried happily.

Until now, I had to make around ten trips to the well and bring the water back to the greenhouse, but thanks to Gem’s help, I was done in a flash. Still not finished, it stretched its appendages out and plucked all the herbs and plants I needed. It took three to five hours to take care of these plants myself, but Gem did it in a matter of thirty minutes, much to my pleasure and surprise.

“I can’t believe it! Thank you!” I hugged my familiar again, and instead of glowing, I felt its warmth permeating throughout my body. “You’re so warm.”

I wasn’t too cold, but I felt like I was hugging another person, and it soothed me for a while.

“Gem, I hope we can continue to get along,” I murmured.

My familiar, in response, became warmer still, until…

“O-Oh, that’s hot!” I yelped.

I hastily released my grip on my familiar and told it that it was a bit too hot, and Gem obediently nodded in understanding. Now that my work was promptly done, thanks to Gem almost singlehandedly doing it all for me, I placed the herbs I needed for tomorrow’s lesson in the designated basket to bring to Professor Whipp.

“Gem, I have to head back to the professor, okay?” I said.

The jewel spirit wriggled about in response as though to send me off. I walked off and turned around, wondering if it was going to tag along again, but this time, Gem stayed put. I really can’t understand what it’s trying to do.

The research room, where Professor Whipp spent most of her time at school, was a short five-minute walk from the Garden Plant. I passed by some students who were doing club activities after school—they wore white uniforms, likely esquires of the magic knights. These men belonged to the knights during their stay at school, and in the future, they would be promoted to fully-fledged magic knights. There was also the alchemy club, the research of magic history club, the spell inventions club, and a myriad of other groups available to students. I technically belonged to a club headed by Professor Whipp, and the house and office I now lived in was considered a club building.

Several club buildings were available. When work required a lot of time, such as before culture festivals or other events, students were allowed to spend the night in the building, provided that they filed an application that was accepted. Since I had to take care of plants every day, I was given special permission to live here. The sunroom that jutted out of the school building was where Professor Whipp had her own research room.

“Excuse me, Professor Whipp,” I said.

“Yes?” she asked. “Oh? Is something the matter?”

“No, I finished work, so I’m just here to report back.”

“Huh? Already?”

When I gave her the basket of herbs, she took it with clear surprise in her eyes. She practically couldn’t believe it and used a crystal ball to see the greenhouse, worried about its condition.

“Ah, well, I guess you did your work,” she said. “The greenhouse looks clean, and you watered the plants, too. Did someone help you?”

“Gem, the jewel slime, practically did it all for me,” I revealed.

I told her how it plucked weeds in a flash, ground up magic stones for me, and carried water. When I told her everything, Professor Whipp gasped, delighted and elated.

“That’s absolutely splendid,” she said. “The paragon of all familiars.”

“I truly agree,” I nodded. Thanks to Gem, I had some time to spare after school. “But I suspect that Gem only helped on a whim,” I said. “I can’t imagine that it’d help me out every day.”

“Fair enough,” the professor replied.

I want to do something to pay it back, though. Something to express my thanks and make it happy.

“Is there anything I can do to return the favor?” I asked.

“Well, it’s a jewel, isn’t it?” she replied. “Why not try polishing it with deerskin or something?”

“I see… Thank you, Professor Whipp. I’ll give that a try.”

“I do advise you to consult a jewelry store, though,” she advised. “And? How is your new house? Everything good?”

“It’s amazing! I can’t thank you enough for everything that you’ve done for me.”

“Glad to hear it.”

I really didn’t expect to be treated so well, and I expressed my gratitude.

“You’re even paying my tuition,” I said. “You’re doing so much. Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t mention it,” she waved me off. “It’s a lot cheaper to pay for your tuition than it is to hire a private instructor.”

Private instructors in Vizer were future professors at the school. They would teach students in dorms to gain experience and would later emerge as proper professors. However, that alone wasn’t enough experience, and they certainly weren’t making enough either; these instructors thus helped professors while they taught a class to gain more hands-on experience and a small salary.

“It really is a fair bit of hassle to hire and pay private instructors,” Professor Whipp said. “And plants are fragile, so some can’t even take proper care of them.”

It seemed the professor went out of her way to teach greenhorns well, but rumors spread that she worked people to the bone or was terrifyingly severe. As these bad rumors circulated, no one wanted to become her assistant.

“I wonder if I’m that strict,” she murmured.

“Um, I don’t think so, personally,” I replied.

But perhaps I wasn’t a fair judge since I was used to taking care of plants. Professor Whipp was usually laid-back and cheery, but when it came to herbs and plants, she wouldn’t even crack a faint smile. Even the tone of her voice lowered. Some people might mistakenly assume that she was angry.

“In any case, you’re doing well,” the professor said. “You need not worry about money, okay?”

“Thank you,” I replied.

I didn’t expect to receive high praise, and I practically skipped out of the building, overjoyed by the compliment. Suddenly, something emerged from the shadows, grabbed my arm, and dragged me away—I was pulled into a small space between the buildings with my back against the wall as this mysterious figure slammed their hand near my face. They covered my mouth, much to my panic.

“Please. Just stay quiet,” the voice whispered in my ear.

I jolted with shock. I recognized the voice all too well—it belonged to Rena von Wiegert, the crown prince of our nation. Why’s she pinning me against the wall? I broke out in a cold sweat and jumped to horrific assumptions. Did I unwittingly do something disrespectful? No, I don’t recall doing anything like that. And even if I did, a knight would cart me away, not the crown prince herself. But with my mouth covered, I couldn’t even ask.

“Misha von Ritual, I’d like to speak with you,” she said. “Can I have some of your time?”

Her voice was calm and gentle, and she even knew my full name. The whole thing was a bit forceful on her end, but I nodded my consent. Prince Rena flashed a relieved smile, her beauty having no parallel, but now wasn’t the time to be enamored by her. She wanted to speak with me, after all.

“There’s a restaurant called Ruhig located on the highest floor of the school building,” she said. “Only special students are allowed to frequent that place. Could we head there?”

I nodded, and the prince took out a magic scroll from her pocket. She ripped it without hesitation, and the scenery in front of my eyes spun before I landed atop a red carpet. I was teleported.

“Over here,” she said.

She walked away, seemingly having no intention of restraining me. I jogged after her until we reached a private room. A waiter arrived, pouring me a glass of water that I suspected was around 800 yen by Japanese standards—they bowed and left.

“Have you had dinner yet?” Prince Rena asked.

“No,” I replied.

“Then let’s talk while we have a bite.”

I wanted to leave as soon as I could, but I also couldn’t fight against the urge to eat extravagant dishes that a royal might enjoy. And I was very hungry.

“Is this an inconvenient time for you?” the prince asked.

“N-Not at all!” I stammered.

My stomach growled, and I gave in to my hunger. I glanced around but couldn’t find a menu, and I noticed that the royal was already making an order to the waiter.

“Would you like wine?” she asked.

“No, thank you,” I replied.

“Then I’ll have some delicious grape juice prepared instead.”

The legal drinking age for this kingdom started at fifteen, but my face tended to turn red very quickly after I took a sip of alcohol, and I’d become drowsy as well. I refrained from drinking if possible. Prince Rena’s quick to make choices and is polite—anyone can see that. I wonder why she acted aggressively to get me here. I looked at her quizzically, and the prince, as though she read my mind, apologized.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was panicking earlier, so I was rough with you.”

“Oh, um, I understand,” I replied.

I didn’t tell her that it was all right, especially since I didn’t want her to do it again. Prince Rena flashed another look of apology.

“I wanted to speak with you before, but you ran off,” she said. “I was afraid that I’d lose my chance again.”

Fair… I did run from her before when she tried to speak with me, and she must’ve assumed that I’d flee again. I apologized for my insolence—that was no way to treat a royal.

“I’m sorry about what I did before,” I said. I couldn’t tell her that I didn’t want to be interrogated because it might affect my chances of getting into school.

“Don’t be,” Prince Rena replied. “You saved my life. You’ve no reason to apologize.”

“No, I did nothing that grand,” I replied.

An awkward silence settled between us, and unable to stand the quiet, I tried to keep my mind occupied by counting the stains on the wall. But of course, in a restaurant as fine as this, there wasn’t a stain in sight.

“Um, I had no idea that there was a place this grand here,” I said. “I assumed that everyone frequented the cafeteria.”

“I don’t blame you,” Prince Rena replied. “Would you like me to make arrangements so that you can come here?”

“Oh, no, no, no! I’m certainly not worthy to be here!”

“That’s not true.”

Her kindness touched my heart, overwhelming me with guilt. I wanted to head back home as soon as I could.

“You don’t ask about me,” she said. “You haven’t pried into my affairs.”

“E-Er, well…” I stammered.

Just then, dishes were brought to our table. For hors d’oeuvres, I was served duck in aspic along with a ham-and-cheese soufflé. They were followed by pumpkin pottage soup and veal-wrapped vegetables paired with some glazed carrots. I had sorbet as a palate cleanser before I was given stuffed clams for my fish course. The bread was warm and freshly baked, and the grape juice had a fantastic flavor as well. For dessert, I had a crepe drizzled in an orange sauce, and my entire meal was nothing short of delectable.

“How was your meal?” Prince Rena asked.

“It was very, very good,” I replied.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Once our plates were carried away, we received an assortment of chopped fruits and tea to finish our meal. I was already full, but the tea here was apparently delicious, and the grapes were in season. The prince recommended I try them, but secretly, I yearned to go back to the Garden Plant. I was worried about Gem, too. Just as I tried to take my leave, the prince smiled at me.

“So. Why don’t you ask me anything despite knowing that I’m a woman?” she asked.

I drew in a sharp breath, not expecting that question. Talk about getting right to the point! Surely, she could’ve tacitly implied it, but she must’ve known that I was the type to be evasive and avoid conflict if I had the choice. Still, I wanted to keep myself safe and decided to feign ignorance.

“A-Ah ha ha…” I laughed dryly. “What? You? I haven’t a clue what you’re on about.”

“When you saved me, you undid my clothes to give me some breathing space, and you tried to unravel my bandages as well,” Prince Rena said. “You must’ve noticed it then.”

“N-No idea what you’re saying.”

She stared right at me. Normally, I would have an excuse or two at the ready, but unfortunately, my mind went blank.

“A strand of your hair actually fell inside my shirt,” the prince revealed. “When I looked into it, it matched with your mana.”

She apparently used the data that I turned in to the school when I received my acceptance letter. This is like getting DNA tested, but with magic… In any case, since the royal family established Vizer, it was probably easy for the prince to get her hands on all this information.

“You’d go that far?” I asked.

“But of course,” the prince replied. “This matter pertains to my future.”

“Fair enough…”

Another awkward silence fell upon the private room, and I steeled myself. No longer could I play dumb.

“Indeed. I know that you’re a lady, Your Highness,” I replied. “But I deemed this to be a national secret, and I decided to turn a blind eye to it. I’ve no intention to reveal your secret to others, so I hope that gives you some peace of mind.”

Prince Rena seemed absolutely stunned by my words. “You’ve grasped a weakness of mine. How can you look the other way?”

“I’m not an ambitious person. I’m not interested in using that intel.”

My desire was to live a normal school life filled with fun and ultimately become a royal witch. I had no other dreams. I didn’t want to form connections with high society, nor was I interested in being fancied by a lovely, handsome man. None of that intrigued me.

“You may cast a spell on me so that I won’t blab,” I offered.

“Oh, I won’t go that far,” Prince Rena replied.

“You won’t?”

If I were kidnapped or put into harm, I might easily expose her secret to the world. If she wanted to protect it, it would be best if she cast a spell on me to seal my lips for good.

“I’d have to tell a witch or a wizard my secret as well to keep you quiet about it,” Prince Rena said. “Which means someone other than family would learn about my secret. I’m not keen on doing that.”

“I see,” I replied. I had no intention of continuing this conversation, but it seemed the prince had other ideas.

“Isn’t it weird? I have to fake my gender.”

“Surely, you have a good reason to do it.”

“I do.”

Perhaps she was incessantly told that she was a boy the moment she was born. I felt bad for her—that was no easy life to lead.

“This nation only allows men to take the throne and become king,” Prince Rena said, her eyes darkening as her tone became low. “I’ve got no other choice.”

No doubt she was forced to give up on all sorts of things to continue acting as a boy. It must’ve taken a lot of self-sacrifice to keep up the ruse.

“Truth be told, only my mother and a few ladies-in-waiting know of my secret,” she revealed.

“I-I had no idea…” I murmured.

So, even the king doesn’t know about this?

“I was able to fake it all until now, but I’m sure things won’t be so easy in the future,” she muttered.

Boys and girls tended to change and mature once they reached adolescence, and the physical changes were especially hard to ignore. The prince, who’d already turned seventeen, stopped growing taller, and in exchange, she felt her chest growing larger.

“The queen has claimed that she’d use magic to keep my appearance concealed, but then what?” Prince Rena opined. “Will I have to marry a princess somewhere?”

Her Majesty apparently claimed that she had a plan in mind, and the prince had nothing to worry about.

“My mother always had a fragile body,” Prince Rena said. “She couldn’t hope to give birth to another child, and after much agonizing, she’s taken this route, failing to recognize her own foolishness.”

The queen knew that she couldn’t keep this act up, but she also didn’t know what else to do.

“I suspect that a horrific future awaits me,” the prince muttered.

“That can’t be…” I replied.

“I’m sure of it.”

She wished to at least have a bit more freedom and act like a kid her age. And so, Her Highness enrolled in magic school.

“But I didn’t expect the headmaster to reveal that the crown prince had enrolled in my grade,” she muttered.

The people who surrounded her knew she was the crown prince. Maybe the headmaster simply wanted to tell the students to treat each other with respect since any one of them could’ve been the crown prince; above all, the royal family and the school must’ve had some sort of agreement behind Prince Rena’s back.

“I’d hoped to make a real friend one day, but…” she trailed off.

The royal’s wish was simple. She just wanted friends to have fun with. But those around her who knew her real identity tried to curry favor with her, and the prince was crushed by the cruelness of reality.

“I’d like to make a request to you,” she said.

“I’m not sure if I can grant it, but I’ll happily hear you out,” I replied.

The prince burst out laughing. “Yeah, I think you’re the best fit for the role. Won’t you be my friend?”

“You want to be friends with me, Your Highness?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“You said that you wanted a hundred friends, didn’t you?” the prince replied, answering my query. “Just make me one of them.”

Right… I did make a silly introduction like that. Frankly, I wasn’t keen on being close to a royal with dangerous secrets. I’d have to act overly considerate around her, and more importantly, my uncle was the one who tried to kidnap her. But I’d learned the prince’s secret, and I felt like I couldn’t refuse.

From Prince Rena’s point of view, she’d feel more at ease if someone who knew her secret was with her; plus, I felt guilty about what my uncle had done. I don’t think I can say ‘no’ to her… I noticed that she stared straight at me, her eyes clear and twinkling beautifully. She must have a strong sense of justice. I’m sure she can treat everyone equally and has done her best to act properly as a benevolent future ruler. Rejecting her request will be nothing short of insolent.

“I understand,” I replied. “If you don’t mind me, I hope we can get along as friends.”

“Thank you,” Prince Rena said.

She almost burst into tears as she smiled at me, and when I saw her expression, I knew that I’d made the right choice. I’m glad I accepted.

“Now then, I can escort you to your dorm room,” the prince offered. “Which one are you in?”

“Er, uh, I don’t live in the dorms,” I replied. “I’m living in the caretaker cabin at the Garden Plant.”

“The caretaker cabin?”

I briefly told her about my special circumstances.

“I see, so that’s what happened,” the prince murmured.

“Yes,” I replied.

She didn’t pry further and used a magic scroll to teleport us to the Garden Plant. The moment I landed in the garden, I spotted Gem glittering beautifully like Christmas lights.

“What is that?” Prince Rena asked.

“That’s Gem, my familiar, Your Highness,” I replied.

I was certain it was angry since I left it alone for a few hours. I tried to rush over to comfort Gem when the prince held me back.

“Misha, I’ve got another request,” she said.

“A-And what might that be?” I asked.

“I’d like for you not to be so formal with me. We are friends, aren’t we?”

“Er… Um… I’ll…try.”

“Thank you.”

The prince hugged me, and before I could ask why, she used the teleporting scroll and left. What a day it’s been… But I shouldn’t dwell upon it. I didn’t have time to be in a daze. It was imperative that I remained on Gem’s good side. I rushed over to it and tried to apologize, but it turned its face away from me angrily.

“I’m sorry!” I cried with a bow. “I really didn’t mean to leave you alone for so long!”

It was Gem who decided to stay back, but the moment I was whisked away by the prince, I should’ve called for my familiar instead of neglecting it. I apologized profusely when the slime grew very hot. I stepped away from my partner.

“I’ll take you around with me, wherever I go,” I said.

As I made my promise, Gem turned to me and nodded. I was glad to see that it wasn’t angry with me anymore.

“Then let’s head home,” I said.

It flickered in response, but Gem refused to move from its spot. Knowing that it’d probably be upset if I left it behind again, I decided to roll its body along as I did before. Gem glimmered happily.

“Um, do you like to be rolled around?” I asked.

The jewel slime wriggled about in response. I wouldn’t think this was fun for it. I can’t understand a spirit at all.

My belongings were delivered from the hotel along with some food; Professor Whipp must’ve made some arrangements for me. I gratefully accepted the delivery and decided to take a warm bath before heading to bed for a good night’s sleep. I stepped into the bathroom and twisted the magic faucet. A heater under the bathtub could warm up the water using magic stones. That would be a decent expense if I used magic stones every day, and I did my best working within the budget the professor gave me.

I could spend more on food if I didn’t bathe every day, but as a former Japanese, I couldn’t stand skipping a day. I sighed as I prepared my magic stones when Gem, to my surprise, jumped into the bathtub.

“Huh? What are you doing now?” I asked.

A moment later, Gem’s body turned red, and steam began to rise from the water that I’d already put into the tub.

“Are you heating the water up for me?!” I gasped.

Gem nodded, but I noticed the water begin to bubble—it was boiling hot.

“Thank you, Gem,” I said. “But I’m afraid this is a bit too hot for my liking.”

Gem was capable of using ice magic as well and immediately adjusted the temperature, making it very comfortable for me. After I took a nice, long bath, I tried to open up my textbooks to review some material, but I was too excited to do so. I was less physically tired and more emotionally drained; too many things happened today, and I couldn’t keep up. From my entrance ceremony and summoning to work in the greenhouse to a meal with the prince, it was a whirlwind of events. I wanted to head to bed early, but when I went to the bedroom, I realized an important detail that I’d missed.

“I-I don’t have any bedding!” I cried.

Only the bed frame was in the room, and even I struggled to sleep directly on the floor. But since no stores were open so late at night, I decided to lay some cushions out instead. I slumped my shoulders when Gem suddenly jumped onto the frame.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

A moment later, Gem thinned itself out like bedding and stretched out across the floor.

“I-Is this like a waterbed?!” I gasped.

I gingerly touched it. The spirit was nice and firm to the touch, and Gem used one of its appendages to beckon me over.

“Can I sleep on you?” I asked.

It gave me a thumbs-up.

“Then I’ll take your offer,” I said.

I carefully laid down and felt the warmth. In lieu of a blanket, Gem used its own warmth to keep me nice and toasty. It was poofy enough like a pillow, and even when I rolled over, Gem supported me well.

“Gem’s special waterbed!” I cried. “This is really nice!”

I thanked my familiar before I was whisked off to dreamland.

Chapter 3: A Trial at Magic School?!

Chapter 3: A Trial at Magic School?!

A rapping on my window and the loud, energetic chirping of birds stirred me from my slumber.

“Mm…” I groaned.

I rolled over in bed, unable to get up, when the rapping turned into pounding. A bird was using its wings to get my attention.

“Okay, okay, I’m getting up…” I grumbled.

I slowly sat up, grabbed a bit of rye bread from a table nearby, and blearily opened the window. Colorful birds had gathered on the windowsill. I outstretched my arm, but no bird was friendly enough to land on me for a little chat, as I’d often seen depicted in fairy tales.

To be fair, I wasn’t all that popular with animals in my past life, so I guess this is the harshness of reality, I thought. That reminds me of that young man I spotted in Vizer’s courtyard and at Marquess Leviathan’s house surrounded by squirrels… He must be so happy to be surrounded by furry friends… I started to grow envious of him.

Unfortunately, animals not being naturally drawn to me was one thing out of my control. I felt a bit hollow inside as I tore off pieces of rye bread and scattered them on the ground. The birds happily pecked away at my offering. I actually had a deal with these birds. They’d wake me up every morning in exchange for some bread. They were smart enough to take requests, such as waking me up by the crack of dawn or when the sun was rather high in the sky. I lovingly called them my alarm clock subscription service.

Since I wasn’t confident I could wake up on my own, we had a monthly agreement. And they’re really useful. I think I’ll subscribe next month, too.

“Mm!” I groaned as I stretched my limbs. Gem copied me and used its two appendages to stretch too. “Thank you for being my bed last night, Gem,” I said. “Was I too heavy for you? Was it uncomfortable?”

Its round body jiggled happily as though to tell me it was all right.

“Thanks to you, I slept very well,” I said, petting its body.

Gem flickered happily, and I loved to see it. I went to brush my teeth and wash my face. The water was cold in the morning, and the iciness made me nearly cry out, but I endured the biting temperature. After I put on a thin layer of makeup, I tied my hair up with a ribbon, and I was ready for the day.

My stomach growled, so I decided to prepare some breakfast. Professor Whipp had ingredients prepared for me, so I had no shortage of food. I could eat at the cafeteria, but it cost money, and that was an expense I didn’t want. It was far cheaper to cook for myself every day. Bread was also readily available at the school store, but I heard rumors that it was expensive and hard to buy—everyone went nuts for it. I’ll just have a nice, relaxing breakfast here.

I peeled some potatoes, chopped them up into thin slices, and placed them in water. While I boiled some macaroni, I decided to make tomato sauce. All I needed to do was put a tablespoon of olive oil in a pot and add some diced tomatoes. Once they were cooked, I added bacon, diced chili peppers, and chopped oregano from the garden. After the tomatoes were stewed into a watery paste, I added salt and pepper to taste. I actually wanted to add plenty of garlic cloves as well, but since I had classes later in the day, I had to hold back—I didn’t want to reek of garlic. I ladled some boiled macaroni into my sauce, and I was done.

I took out my potatoes, removed the excess water, and dusted them with potato starch. I had a pan with plenty of oil and thinly laid the potatoes to fry them until they were golden brown, turning them over every now and then. And with that, my potato galettes were done. I could sprinkle some salt over them if I wished, and if I added some baguette slices, I’d have an extravagant breakfast.

I would’ve loved to have some soup on the side, but there weren’t any consommé cubes in this world, and I didn’t have time to make stock in the morning before classes. I happily poured a cup of tea, eager to eat, when the birds outside began to tweet and chirp loudly again. Confused, I opened the door and saw an uneasy Prince Rena standing there, surrounded by the birds.

“Oh, good morning,” I said.

“Good morning, Misha,” she replied.

I asked if anything was the matter, and she said that she was waiting for me so that we could head to class together.

“I came early so that I wouldn’t get surrounded by the usual people,” Prince Rena said.

I wondered if that was the proper thing to do, but Prince Rena beamed proudly and triumphantly—I didn’t wish to rain on her parade. Maybe she thought of them more as guards or watchdogs, and I could see how exhausting it would be being surrounded by people like that all the time.

“I see,” I said. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“Nope.”

“Then would you like to join me?”

The prince shook her head.

“Why not?” I asked. “You won’t have energy if you don’t eat breakfast. Or are you not hungry?”

Prince Rena’s stomach growled in response to my question.

“Looks like your body can’t lie,” I laughed.

“Er, well…” the prince muttered. Her face turned bright scarlet with embarrassment as she quietly said, “Recently, the more I eat, the bigger my chest gets, so…”

“Well, of course. You’re still growing. Skipping a breakfast or two won’t stop your body from maturing, so I suggest you give in.” I took the prince’s arm and dragged her into my house. The tea was just about ready anyway. “Do you have any dislikes or allergies?”

“None,” Prince Rena replied.

“Thank goodness.”

I was glad that I fried more potato galettes than usual. I had enough for her share, and I gave her plenty of macaroni as well. There was some whipped butter for the baguette, too.

“Think you can eat this?” I asked.

“Yeah, this looks scrumptious,” she replied as she glanced around the cabin.

“Is anything the matter?”

“I wondered if you had a dorm parent or something.”

“Nope, just me.”

“Then did you make this meal yourself, Misha?”

“I did.”

I’d never cooked just for myself in this world before, but I still retained my memories from my past life and made do.

“Go on, dig in,” I urged.

“R-Right.”

She looked quite troubled, and I wondered if something was still on her mind. Wait, I didn’t taste-test it yet!

“I’ll take a bite first!” I told her. “I assure you it’s not poisoned or anything!”

“N-No, I’m not worried about that,” she rushed to assure me. “This is the first time I’m eating a meal that a friend made. I’m just a bit…moved.”

“Oh? Well, I’m glad you think that way!”

She still sat there, frozen, so I decided to take a bite first. The macaroni was nicely boiled and had picked up a lot of sauce. Delicious! Prince Rena saw me eat and took a forkful of macaroni too.

“This is delicious!” she echoed my thoughts perfectly.

“It is, isn’t it?” I replied.

Apparently, whenever she ate, someone would always taste-test to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. By the time the meal was ready to serve, it was cold.

“I didn’t think piping hot meals were this delicious and satisfying,” she said.

“I’m glad it suits your tastes,” I said happily.

We polished off our plates, and our bellies were satisfied.

“Misha, thank you for this delicious breakfast,” Prince Rena said. “I hope this is enough.”

I was handed an aedile gold coin, a currency worth more than a normal gold coin. One of these was around 500,000 yen in Japanese standards.

“Huh? What is this?” I gaped.

“Fee for breakfast,” Prince Rena replied.

“I don’t need money!”

“But…”

“You treated me to a feast yesterday, didn’t you? This is my way of paying you back.”

Prince Rena seemed reluctant to have a free meal, but I viciously shook my head. I couldn’t take her money. And so, she ultimately gave in and took her money back, much to my relief.

After I tied all of my textbooks into one bundle, I was ready for class. I eagerly stepped outside with Prince Rena, but I immediately froze.

“Is anything wrong, Misha?” she asked.

“Um, I wonder if your entourage would push me aside if they found me with you,” I muttered.

“Hm, yeah, that’s a little dangerous.”

The prince may have slipped away in the morning, but the group would surely rush for her if she were spotted. I could easily see myself being shoved away and trampled.

“Then how about this? Cheval!” Prince Rena called.

A magic circle appeared, and her familiar, the unicorn named Cheval, proudly appeared.

“We should ride Cheval to class,” Prince Rena offered.

“Atop a unicorn with a prince…” I murmured.

Will I be allowed to ride on its back? I’m not confident that I’m worthy… The prince told me that it wasn’t an issue, so I gingerly approached her familiar. I gave a sheepish introduction to which the beast proudly huffed in response.

“There’s no saddle, though,” Prince Rena said. “Misha, have you ever ridden bareback?”

Oh, so there isn’t a saddle…

“Never,” I replied. “The snowy region where I’m from isn’t suited for horses anyway. I’ve never ridden a horse before, actually.”

“All right… Then does your region have any other creatures suitable for riding?” Prince Rena asked.

“Yes, we’ve got elk. They look like large deer.”

When I told her that there were elk as large as the cabin I lived in, she looked at me with disbelief.

“Wow, I had no idea,” she said.

I was about to suggest that she head to class first when Gem, who was behind me, surprised me again. It bounced a couple of times before it landed on Cheval’s back and transformed into a saddle. It even stretched its appendages out to form reins as well.

“Ah, this works great,” Prince Rena said. “Your familiar’s a genius!”

“Yes… I agree,” I replied.

I thought that I could avoid heading to class with the popular prince, but I wasn’t so lucky. Thanks to Gem, I could ride on the back of a unicorn with Prince Rena for the first time. I was worried I’d get thrown off, but that didn’t happen. There weren’t any opportunities for me to ride a horse in my previous life when I worked in Japan, so this was a new experience for me, and it naturally came with some anxiety. Prince Rena held the reins in one hand and wrapped her arm around my waist with the other. It was surprisingly stable, and I felt safe if I didn’t try to lean too hard in one direction or the other.

Cheval started off with a slow walk before gradually picking up speed. The breeze felt nice against my face, and I enjoyed a higher vantage point than usual. The familiar only needed to rush in a straight line—an avenue lined with trees led to our class. Ginkgo leaves on the ground dyed the path golden. It was a more stunning sight than usual on the back of a unicorn. When I saw the maple leaves changing colors up close, I let out an enchanted sigh.

The students who arrived for class noticed Prince Rena at once, but they couldn’t approach her since she was on Cheval’s back. Her plan had worked, but I quickly noted the dubious glares of my classmates.

“Who’s the lady with Lord Rena?” one asked.

“I don’t know… I don’t recognize her from the new class of students.”

I’ve been here since day one! I felt the urge to shout my existence to the world, but I held myself back and faced the ground so that I wouldn’t stand out more than I already did. Prince Rena’s entourage was already waiting for her in front of the shoe rack located at the entrance to the building where our class was held.

“I came here on Cheval to avoid them… This is a conundrum,” Prince Rena muttered.

“Shall we enter the building from the courtyard?” I asked.

“That’s a great idea.”

She told me to brace myself, and I did just that as she gave a strong tug on the reins. Cheval let out a neigh and leaped over everyone.

“Whoa?!” I gasped.

The school building was four stories high, but Cheval leaped over it as if it were nothing and landed in the courtyard. I would’ve fainted had I not been a fan of roller coasters. It was quite a thrilling ride for me. When I dismounted from Cheval, my legs wobbled, and I couldn’t even stand up straight as I sank to the ground.

“Misha? Are you all right?” Prince Rena asked.

“I-I am,” I replied. “I was just a bit surprised, that’s all.”

Gem reverted to its usual spherical state and used its appendages to support me as it propped me up on my feet. It took a short while for me to calm down enough to walk toward the roofed corridor. I was grateful that Gem obediently tagged along today.

When we reached the school’s shoe rack, the prince’s entourage wasn’t around, just as I’d presumed. I quickly switched into the shoes the school required before heading to class. It was a peaceful moment to enjoy without anyone crowding around, and the other students only stared at us from a distance.

“I wish it were always like this…” Prince Rena muttered under her breath.

I guess it’s not easy being royalty.When we reached our classroom, classmates swarmed the crown prince, and I squeezed through the crowd to head to my seat, Gem rolling behind me. Ehr was already seated, and he raised a hand in greeting.

“Hey, morning.”

“Good morning,” I replied as I plopped into my seat and sighed.

“Why did you come to school with Rena today?”

“Some stuff happened.”

Rumors had already begun to circulate within the classroom about how Prince Rena and I came to class atop a unicorn. When I turned toward the royal and somehow locked eyes with her, she winked back, flashed a faint smile, and even gave a subtle wave in my direction.

“When did you start getting all chummy with him?” Ehr asked.

“I bumped into him yesterday after school,” I explained.

“I see…”

He didn’t pry further and switched topics to today’s breakfast. The dorms had a buffet-style breakfast, and students were allowed to eat whatever they wanted to their heart’s content. Prefects, however, kept a watchful eye, ensuring that students weren’t taking more than they could eat or spending too much time talking. A single glare was all it took to put the other students in their places, and Ehr sat in the corner and quietly munched away so that he wouldn’t stand out.

“What did you eat for breakfast?” Ehr asked.

“Macaroni with tomato sauce and potato galette,” I replied.

“Sounds amazing. That’s more than enough—no need to be overly fancy for breakfast anyway.”

When Ehr lived downtown, it wasn’t rare for his breakfast to be a slice of bread and a glass of water. When he started drinking rich pottage and munching on Danishes made generously with butter, he would get an upset stomach.

“I’m used to it now, though,” he said. He mentioned that my rather simple breakfast was plenty lavish enough on its own.

“You should visit and grab a bite sometime,” I offered.

“I’d love to, but if I sneak out of the dorms before the bell for classes rings, I’ll get punished,” Ehr grumbled.

“I see… I didn’t know that there were so many rules like that.”

Prince Rena used magic scrolls liberally to get around campus, but I suspected that she was a special case that gave her a bit more freedom than others.

“Then I’ll make you a bento next time,” I said.

“A ben-toe? What’s that?” Ehr asked.

The commoner way was to eat a meal or two at most; it was common to skip lunch, and thus, no one really brought a packed lunch. I feel like in my past life, Japanese people often carried bentos around, but other nations tended toward eating at the employee cafeteria or just bringing something basic. Not that I can speak to everyone out there.

“A bento is a packed lunch,” I explained. “We can place homemade dishes into a container and carry them around to eat in the afternoon.”

“Huh… I had no idea that nobles had that sort of culture,” Ehr remarked.

“It’s not really a noble custom either. I think it’s a foreign one.” I told him I had read about it in a book, hoping to hide the fact that I retained memories from a past life.

“A bento… Sounds nice,” he said. “I’ve heard that the bread at the school store’s super competitive and hard to buy. A bento will let me spend some lunches in peace without any worries.”

The cafeteria was expensive, and everyone wanted bread. A bento was the solution to both concerns.

“I can make you a bento for tomorrow,” I offered.

“Really?” Ehr asked. “But no, I’d feel bad for imposing…”

“Okay, then in exchange, um, can I see your notes and stuff?”

Ehr was actually quite the studious type. He would study in the mornings and receive some tips from private instructors.

“Deal!” Ehr said with a grin.

And with that, he happily lent me his notes.

Professor Whipp, as gorgeous as always, finally arrived at our class. Both the boys and girls of our class were captivated by her, but the professor, perhaps used to enthralled gazes, paid them no heed. She expertly pushed homeroom along until it got to the topic of picking a class representative.

After a quick round of voting, Prince Rena amassed the majority vote. The other boys seemed vexed by the outcome, but the royal had excellent grades and was kind. She was popular. No one was confident they could win against her. Once that was decided, the professor handed us some sheets of paper. These documents discussed how our classes would be going forward and included a questionnaire about our future.

First-years were taught the basics of magic, divided into five subjects: general magic, history of magic, magical formulas, potions, and classical magic. We spent one year hammering these basic principles into our heads before we moved on. In our second year, we were allowed to freely choose what to study out of over ten different subjects based on what we wished to be in the future. For example, an aspiring magic knight would learn magical techniques and magical martial arts required for combat, while a hopeful royal apothecarist would learn advanced potions and herbal foraging.

We had to choose our future courses during our first year and submit our choices to our homeroom professor. We were allowed to have up to three potential career paths, but I only had one that I set my heart on—a royal witch.

Only the best of the best could become a royal witch or wizard following graduation from school, and it was a highly competitive field. I was determined to study hard for the next three years and become a splendid royal witch of my own. I was quick to jot down my desires, and I was idly sitting at my desk with time to spare when someone poked my back with their quill—Ehr.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“I’m just at a loss,” Ehr admitted. “I don’t know what to write down for my future.”

Ehr was born and raised in the slums downtown. He hardly had any ties to magic throughout his life; the thought of getting a job with magic was baffling to him.

“I can tell you about potential opportunities in the library,” I said.

“Really?” Ehr asked.

“Of course.”

And so, we agreed to head to the library to find books on different jobs in the magic industry after he made a beeline for the store to buy some bread for lunch.

Our first class of the day was general magic, where we learned the basics of magical properties. Our professor was the middle-aged man with spectacles that I met during the interview phase of the entrance exam—Professor Girm.

“You will learn the origins and development of magic in the history of magic,” he said. “For today’s lesson, you will cast a few charms as you learn. If you have any questions, be sure to ask your private instructor once you return to your dorms.”

This lesson wasn’t kind enough to answer any of our questions along the way. It felt like a private instructor was required—Professor Girm quickly went through the lesson, explaining certain concepts without ever stopping for a breath, and erased the notes he had written on the blackboard to add new ones. I could barely keep up. If I didn’t have the notes that Ehr let me copy, I would’ve been left behind.

“Before I let you all go, I’d like to do a little pop quiz,” Professor Girm said. “There’ll be a writing and practical component.”

“E-Eep!” I let out a small shriek. Luckily, the professor didn’t hear me, but Ehr most certainly did, and he glanced my way, concerned.

“You all right?” he whispered.

“P-Perhaps not,” I stammered back.

The lesson was far more difficult than I expected, but those in the dorms had a safety net—they could ask their private instructors if they wanted. I had no such luxury; I had to go about this alone, and I had my own limits, no matter how hard I tried. I had to do something, lest it be too late and my grades become unsalvageable, but when I took the written part of the quiz, I felt like I understood seventy percent of the questions. I hung in there. Barely.

The practical portion required students to call forth a staff from afar. This was an application of the charm I used during the entrance exam, Levitate. As classmates and the professor watched on, I called for the staff.

“Return to my hand! Levitate!” I chanted.

The staff jumped up and flew out like a rocket.

“Ack!” I cried.

I crouched in place and tried to protect my head, unable to handle the speed, and the staff whizzed past me. Did it sink into the wall behind me? I wondered. But when I whirled around, Gem had caught it for me, and Professor Girm watched the entire event as he gave me a grade.

“Thirty-five points out of a hundred,” he barked.

“F-Fair…” I murmured.

Honestly, that was a pretty reasonable mark, and I noticed that out of all of our classmates, only Prince Rena, Alice, and Ehr managed to catch the staff.

“You’re amazing,” I said.

“Heh heh, I practiced in the dorms with my private instructor!” Ehr boasted.

It became painfully apparent how detrimental it was to have no one to teach me.

***

I managed to make it through the fourth period of the day, and Ehr and I headed to the school store. We flew out of the classroom the moment the bell rang, but the store was already crowded with students.

“You’re kidding…” Ehr muttered.

“I can’t believe it,” I gasped.

The crowd was primarily comprised of boys. The girls were nowhere to be seen. It was like a charge in a game of rugby, and Ehr immediately determined that girls would’ve been pushed away.

“Misha, I’ll score us some bread,” he said. “Could you wait for me here?”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah. No way I’m letting you dive into this hellish mess. I’ve got this.”

“Thank you.”

Ehr charged forward and tried his luck. Currently, the upperclassmen were fighting among themselves for bread, and Ehr was a lot smaller in comparison. I nervously watched, hoping that he was safe. Simply going in would cause one to be pushed away and fall on the ground. He made several of these attempts, but to no avail, and realizing that waiting would do him no favors, he lunged furiously into the crowd and squeezed forward. He used his petite frame to do his best. Five minutes later, he managed to get through the crowd and returned with bread and bottles of milk in his hands.

“I did it, Misha!” he crowed.

“That was amazing! Thank you!”

We went to the courtyard, but all the benches were already taken, and we didn’t have a blanket or anything to sit on. We settled directly onto the ground and ate our bread. It was a normal, round loaf that came with a pat of butter to spread. The bread itself was quite dry, but that was where the milk came in; they complemented each other nicely.

The bread was half a silver coin, and the milk was the same price; I’d already paid Ehr in advance. The food was pricey, just as rumored. A simple meal—if it could even be called that—such as this would’ve been one bronze coin for both the bread and milk back home. Ehr turned to Lizard, his familiar, in his pocket, and gave it some breadcrumbs that fell on his uniform.

“Your familiar likes human food, it seems,” I observed.

“Yeah, looks like it,” Ehr replied.

When he agonized over his plate of food at the dorm, which he failed to finish, Lizard had popped right out and polished it all for him.

“I asked a magical creatures professor if familiars were allowed to eat human food, and I was told that there are familiars like that every now and then,” Ehr explained.

“I see…”

Lizard looked delighted as it nibbled on the crumbs, and Ehr petted it.

“Your familiar seems very friendly,” I remarked.

“Yup. Cute little thing, don’t you think?”

And when I see it up close, its eyes are round and cute, I thought. I reached out to pet the familiar, only to be interrupted when Gem headbutted me.

“Whoa?! Gem?!” I gasped.

“I think your familiar’s jealous,” Ehr said.

“That can’t be…”

I glanced at Gem, who frowned angrily, its body dyed red. It seemed Ehr was right on the money. My familiar’s jealousy was so adorable I felt compelled to pet it, but I held myself back—no doubt Gem was hot to the touch right now.

“Gem, I’ve only got eyes for you,” I reassured it.

At once, the spirit turned back to its transparent hue and wiggled from side to side. Frightfully simple, this spirit is…

Once we finished our bread, Ehr sighed in satisfaction, but frankly, I was still a bit hungry. One small loaf of bread wasn’t nearly enough to sate my hunger, and I was determined to bring a bento starting tomorrow.

***

AFTER lunch, we headed for the library. Vizer boasted the second most extensive library in the royal capital, and its shelves were filled to the brim with rare and unusual books. The library was often flooded with requests from graduates-turned-researchers seeking to borrow some volumes.

“Apparently, if you send a request to the administrative office, you can borrow books even after you graduate,” I said.

“Huh… Vizer’s generous,” Ehr replied.

Needless to say, this was a privilege granted to students with good conduct, but that wasn’t a very high bar—so long as the student wasn’t suspended during their time at Vizer, they were considered trustworthy enough to borrow books. The library was the second largest room after the auditorium, and its tall, dome-shaped ceiling made it seem spacious and massive.

“Whoa! This is awesome!” Ehr gasped.

“And there’re more books here than I thought,” I murmured.

Walls were packed with books, and the spiral staircase railing was also made of shelves stuffed with precious volumes.

“Look! There’s some kind of flying bug carrying a book,” Ehr pointed out.

“That must be the librarian’s familiar,” I said.

It used its tiny body to carry books as it set returned books on the shelves. In the middle of the library were several tables where students could work.

“Is everyone engrossed in their studies?” Ehr wondered aloud.

“I think they’re copying down books that they aren’t allowed to check out.”

“Ah, makes sense.”

Not all books in the library could be checked out. Some books were heavily restricted, limited to students who took certain subjects, and there were even forbidden books that required the express permission of the headmaster.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to find what I’m looking for with so many books to choose from,” Ehr muttered.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” I replied. “There’s a magic tool that helps us find what we need.” I gestured to a stone slate nearby. “We can input the information of the books we need on here, and the search will be a cinch.”

“Huh… You really know your stuff.”

“This was written in our student handbook, you know.”

“I haven’t read it yet.”

“I encourage you to skim through it, at least. There’s some interesting stuff in there.” All the while, I scribbled on the stone slate. “Books about jobs that use magic…”

The stone slate glowed for a moment before emitting a sliver of light aimed right at a certain bookshelf.

“Looks like it’s that way,” I said.

“Got it.”

We followed the ray of light and found the book we were looking for. The moment I took it in my hands, the light vanished.

“Huh… That’s neat. And mighty convenient,” Ehr said.

“Sure is,” I said with a nod.

We flipped through the book and found more than enough information we needed.

“We should check this book out,” I said. “We use our student handbook for this.”

I returned to the stone slate and placed the book on top. I put my student handbook onto the inscribed spell and finished checking it out.

“We can check out up to five books at once, and the due date is one week,” I explained.

“I learned a lot today,” Ehr replied. “Thanks, Misha.”

“No problem.”

Once we left the library and strolled around campus, I spotted some students training.

“Look,” I said. “Do you see those people swinging their blades around? They’re aiming to become magic knights.”

They weren’t just whirling swords around; they used a combination of their weapon and spells to fight.

“Whoa! That blade exploded like a bolt of lightning!” Ehr exclaimed.

“I think they’re students learning to endow lightning magic onto their weapon,” I said.

“Huh… Sounds tough.”

Generally, boys who went to magic school dreamed of becoming a magic knight at least once in their lives, but it seemed Ehr wasn’t so interested in the field. We then headed to the science rooms. An alchemy professor was preparing for their next class, and they threw various items into a huge cauldron, causing smoke to billow out with gusto. There was a loud boom, and a slimy substance oozed out.

“This is what an alchemist does,” I explained. “They combine several items to make a completely new substance.”

“That sounds too complicated,” Ehr said. “And it looks dangerous…”

As the words left his lips, the professor whirled around to face us, causing Ehr and me to jolt with surprise.

“Crap!” Ehr said.

“Let’s run!” I cried.

We bolted as the professor stepped out of their classroom.

“Hey! No running in the halls!” they barked.

We flew up the stairs, two at a time, and made it to the second floor, short of breath. I huffed and tried to steady my breathing; I’d instinctively fled to the second floor, and I noticed that Gem was right behind me. How in the world did it manage to climb the stairs? I wondered. I would’ve loved to see that.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” I said.

We spotted an evangelist offering prayers in the prayer room, researchers investigating magic, and inquisitors who looked into evil witches and wizards while pursuing justice and casting judgment upon them. The myriad of options that graduates of this school could go into was enough to paralyze someone who was unable to make a choice.

“H-Hey, that’s the private instructor for my dorm,” Ehr said.

The private instructor followed a professor around and was entrusted with some odd jobs as we watched.

“Private instructors are for those who want to pursue the field of education and become a professor,” I said. I noted that it took five to ten years of shadowing a professor until the private instructor could become a proper educator.

“It takes that long?” Ehr asked in disbelief.

“So it seems. But professors make good money, so a lot of people are adamant about becoming one.”

However, even those who steeled their resolve gave in under Professor Whipp’s instruction.

“Speaking of private instructors, I’d like someone to teach me after class,” I said.

“Want me to ask Mr. Jeere, then?” Ehr asked.

Jil Jeere was the name of the private instructor who taught Ehr.

“That’s okay,” I replied. “I think it’ll be difficult for him to help me since I’m not in his dorm.”

Private instructors were also tasked with maintaining peace and order in the dorms; they didn’t just teach students. They patrolled the dorm while offering some precious life advice to the younger generation as well. They were extremely busy in the evening and at night.

“I’ll ask Professor Whipp about it,” I said.

“That might be best,” Ehr replied.

We toured quite a few jobs, but I wonder what Ehr ultimately settled upon.

“We have to turn in our career questionnaire by the end of today,” I said. “Have you at least decided on a direction?”

“Hrm, nah… Not really,” he admitted.

I couldn’t blame him; it was difficult to decide one’s future immediately after enrolling in school.

“What’d you write down, Misha?” he asked.

“I want to be a royal witch.”

“Then I’ll write the same thing.”

Um, I’m not sure if you can be that devil-may-care about your choice… Still, this questionnaire didn’t set your future stone; it was better for him to fill something out instead of turning in a blank piece of paper.

“Thanks, Misha,” Ehr said.

“I was happy to help.”

I quite enjoyed this tour as well; I was able to explore many facets and areas of this school.

***

A day went by in a flash, and it was already after school. I parted ways with Ehr, and just as I was peeling Gem away from the walls, someone called out from behind me.

“Misha, can we go home together?” Prince Rena asked.

She smiled at me; meanwhile, I noticed her entourage behind her, shooting daggers at me. It seemed I had become their primary eyesore even though the school year had just started. Still, I stuck out like a sore thumb this morning, and I knew I could neither run nor hide from my fate.

“I’d love to!” I gushed enthusiastically as I stared into the distance.

The sunset loomed behind us as I walked alongside Prince Rena—she told her entourage that she wished to walk back with me and wanted some privacy. I was shocked by how straightforward and firm she was as her followers were forced to leave us be.

“I suppose you spent your whole day with that boy behind you—Ehr, was it?” Prince Rena asked.

“That’s his name,” I replied.

It seemed Prince Rena wanted to invite me out for lunch, but because Ehr and I made a mad dash for the store the moment the bell rang, she didn’t even have the opportunity to call out to me. She sulked a little.

“Are you two…in a special relationship?” she asked.

“You can say that,” I replied. “I met him during the entrance exams, and we became close.”

She must’ve wanted to know if we were dating. Ehr was special to me because he was my first friend; I didn’t want to make him out as just a simple buddy.

“He sort of feels like family to me,” I clarified.

“Ah, so you aren’t dating him,” Prince Rena confirmed.

“I’m not.”

Vizer was a place for witches and wizards to meet each other and form romantic relationships; I couldn’t blame others for jumping to conclusions when a boy and a girl stuck together.

“Friendships between the opposite gender are rare, so it seems many have misconstrued your relationship,” she said.

I didn’t have many friends of the opposite gender who hung out together during my school days back in Japan either. Curiously enough, I could hang out with Ehr without worrying about that kind of thing.

“I see us as equals,” I said. “Gender doesn’t really matter. I’d like to think that our relationship goes beyond that.”

I kept walking until I noticed that Prince Rena wasn’t next to me anymore. When I turned around, she stood there with tears dripping from her eyes.

“Wh-What’s wrong?!” I rushed to her side and took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her face.

“It’s nothing. I’m sorry,” Prince Rena sniffled. “It’s just that… I’m very envious of you and Ehr. It seems gender doesn’t stop you from forming friendships. My circumstances prevent me from doing stuff like that…”

I didn’t know how to make her tears stop, so I pulled her into a tight embrace.

“No matter who you are, I promise to always be your friend,” I said.

It was all I could say. Prince Rena squeezed me back through her tears.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

The glares from the other students stung, so I told the prince we should hurry back home. In a flash, she used teleporting magic to bring me to the Garden Plant.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

She turned to leave, but I called out to stop her. “Um, would you like to join me for breakfast tomorrow?”

“But I have nothing to give in return aside from gold coins.”

“Hm, okay. Then will you bring me some ingredients to cook with? That’d be a huge help.”

“Like what?”

“Potatoes, carrots, and rashers of meat would be great.”

I didn’t want her to bring a ton and made sure to tell her that I only needed one or two of each ingredient, at most.

“Okay,” Prince Rena said. “I’ll bring them tomorrow.”

“I’m counting on you,” I replied.

And so, I promised to have breakfast with the prince tomorrow.

***

NATURALLY, I had work every day. I changed into my work clothes and headed to the greenhouse to take care of the plants. Luckily for me, Gem was kind enough to help out today as well, and I finished my work in about half an hour before I reported back to the professor. I used that opportunity to ask for a private instructor as well.

“Hm, I suppose you’d need someone to teach you…” Professor Whipp said. “But I don’t know if the person I hire will stay around for long…”

Professors had to personally scout a private instructor, negotiate with the school, and enroll them into the system.

“I would love to teach you myself, but as you can see, I’m swamped,” she said in her breathy voice. She gestured toward a stack of ungraded test papers that was piled high on her desk. “But if I hire someone new, I’d be able to take care of more students,” she pondered. “It’s a good idea.”

Professor Whipp’s classes were immensely popular, and from second-years onward, her elective classes were constantly full to the point where there was a lottery system to claim seats in her lessons. If she had an assistant instructor to help her, she could give more lessons to students.

“But will you be all right, um, budgetarily?” I asked.

“Oh, that’s fine,” she replied. “The school’s been asking me to take on a private instructor and even claimed that they’d give me financial aid for that.”

Professor Whipp said that she’d teach me when she had the time until an instructor came in, but since I had more free time thanks to Gem’s help, I decided to study hard on my own and do what I could.

“Will you be okay?” she asked.

“I think so. I’ll do my best.”

I bowed my head and said I’d ask for help if I needed it. Then I took my leave. From there, I got ready to head into the city to shop for some necessities.

“Gem, I’m going shopping,” I said. “Would you like to tag along?”

My familiar flashed brightly in lieu of an eager nod.

“All right, let’s go.”

I worried that Gem might not fit in the carriage, but it changed shape to be narrower as it expertly got in. First, I needed to buy some bedding. Sleep was important, and I knew it was one point that I couldn’t skimp on. I headed to the nobles’ district and bought some quality bedding. The delivery was scheduled for tomorrow, so I needed Gem to be a bed for me for one more night.

After that was done, I decided to buy some ingredients for dinner. Many markets were about to close, meaning they were ready to offer discounts on ingredients that had to be sold by the end of the day. I took advantage of these steals and returned home with a smile.

When I got back, I readied dinner. I got some small trout that were on sale and fried them up in butter, seasoning them with dried parsley, salt, and pepper. I placed the trout meunière onto a bed of mashed potatoes and added some rosemary as garnish. I also scored some baguettes that a bakery sold before closing—the bread had become rock-hard. I wanted to protect my teeth, so I cut off the outside bits and baked the insides. I was delighted to learn that the bread turned crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, exactly like freshly baked bread. The outside bits that I cut off could be used as breadcrumbs, and I decided to grind those up later.

Gem wiggled about as it watched me eat dinner. I first dug into the trout. The skin was crispy, the meat was fluffy and soft, and the herbs provided a lovely aroma. I usually never garnished dishes I made since there really was no need for that kind of luxury, but plenty of rosemary was growing in the garden, so I decided to take advantage of that.

Lawlife saw a ton of snow from autumn through the start of spring, and herbs were thus incredibly rare and difficult to come by. Using them as a garnish seemed a waste of these scarce herbs, but the restaurant meal I enjoyed with Prince Rena generously used herbs as a garnish, and I wanted to copy that a little. I haven’t been in the royal capital for long, but it seems like I’m acting like a city girl by the day.

After dinner, I had to prepare breakfast and a bento. Since Prince Rena would come over, I knew I needed to whip up some soup. I bought a chicken carcass at the market and washed it with water, removing any remaining meat. I then tossed it into a pot of water, removed the scum, and added celery, carrots, onions, and herbs. I let the chicken stew for a while to get my broth. Once I finished some prep for the bento, I reviewed my homework and notes while I kept a watchful eye on the fire.

I opened the textbook and started reading, but everything felt like gibberish. I could hardly believe just how little I knew—I didn’t even know what I didn’t know. I can’t do this by myself. I gave up halfway through and decided to spend the rest of my time praying that Professor Whipp would find a private instructor soon.

***

I woke up early the following morning thanks to the birds. Gem’s bed provided me with another comfortable night’s sleep.

“Thank you, Gem.”

My familiar returned to its spherical shape and bounced up and down happily. All right, I thought. I’ll make breakfast and the bentos. I boiled some eggs the night before, and I peeled them, sliced them in half, and removed the yolks. I put the yolks in a bowl with some sour cream and chopped fresh herbs, added pepper, and gave it a good mix. Once the mixture was neatly placed back into the egg whites, my deviled eggs were complete.

I then took the crushed breadcrumbs, which I had soaked in buttermilk, and laid them in a tart mold. I fried up some spinach and bacon in butter, added salt, pepper, parsley, egg, and cream, and poured it into my mold. After I topped that off with some cheese, I placed it in a hot oven to bake, and my spinach and bacon quiche was done.

I had one more dish prepped last night—some chicken thighs marinated in olive oil and herbs. I fried them in a pan, skin-side down, to crisp them up nicely, and finished my roast chicken thighs with herbs. Once all of these dishes had cooled, I packed them into my basket. Even I thought they looked delicious.

Next, I worked on my pottage. I boiled some pumpkin, ground it into a paste with a mortar, and added it to my strained bouillon. I used more butter to cook flour on a low heat, then mixed it into my bouillon with a splash of milk. With that, my pumpkin pottage was done. I placed the deviled eggs, quiche, and roast chicken with herbs for my bento onto a plate and added a small salad. A hearty breakfast that all fit on one plate was ready. I know I’m biased, but I feel like this can be served in a chic café.

Just as I finished changing into my uniform, I heard Prince Rena’s voice.

“Good morning, Misha,” she called.

“Good morning,” I replied.

She dazzled brighter than the sun, as she always did.

“Here are the ingredients, as promised,” she said.

“Woooow!”

She brought a wooden box filled with fresh vegetables, meat, and fish. Right… I promised to eat breakfast with her in exchange for ingredients. It had slipped my mind when I went shopping for food. I wouldn’t need groceries for a week, but I gratefully took them. I placed them in a magic fridge, so I had no worries about them spoiling.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m so happy!”

“Thank goodness,” Prince Rena said.

I welcomed her inside to serve her breakfast.

“This looks delicious,” she remarked. “Did you make all this yourself again?”

“Sure did. I prepped the dishes the night before and cooked them this morning.”

“I see…”

We said grace, offering thanks for the food, before we dug in. The pottage was rich and smooth—it was worth the effort of mashing the pumpkin. The deviled eggs also had a lovely, smooth texture, and I felt like I could eat a plateful. I was tempted to just grab my quiche and stuff it into my mouth, but I had to be proper in front of the prince, so I took a knife and fork to elegantly cut myself a bite. The chicken was fragrant and juicy with crispy skin.

Prince Rena’s eyes sparkled with every bite as she voiced how delicious it all was. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast. After we were satisfied, I was tempted to take some time for tea, but unfortunately, it was time for school.

“You’ve got a lot of baggage today,” she remarked.

“I made a bento—a lunch,” I replied.

“Why’d you do that?”

“The cafeteria is expensive, and it’s practically a warzone to get some bread at the store. I thought a homemade lunch would be easier.”

“You’re eating quite a bit.” She pointed to the two baskets I was holding.

“Oh, one’s for Ehr,” I said.

“You take good care of your friends, I see,” Prince Rena said.

“I guess you can say that.”

Ehr was my friend, of course, but every now and then, I felt like his mother. I just couldn’t leave him be, and I worried about him at times.

“A homemade lunch… That sounds nice,” Prince Rena said. “I might ask the personal chef in the dorms next time.”

Wow… I guess someone as amazing as her even gets a private chef. The chef was likely hired to provide nutritional meals and to ensure that no food was poisoned. A school established by the royal family undoubtedly had all its bases covered, enough to be meticulous about whatever touched Prince Rena’s lips. I worried that people would faint on the spot when they learned that she also ate meals that I cooked.

“What excuse do you give to your chef or dorm parent about breakfast?” I asked.

“I tell them that I’m not hungry and sneak out.”

She had been worried about her body’s growth—especially her chest—recently, and she had been skipping breakfast. It wasn’t particularly unusual for her not to have a few meals.

“And what about those who attend you?” I asked.

“I managed to slip out of their watch.” She claimed that she used a magic scroll to teleport here directly from her room in the dorms.

“Um… I won’t be beheaded for serving you breakfast or anything, right?” I asked.

“Don’t worry,” Prince Rena assured me. “I’ll risk life and limb to protect you.”

That heroic line would make any maiden’s heart race in a manga, but I was up against a crown prince who faked her gender. Why is she so cool and handsome? Since I had to carry the bentos, I didn’t want to ride the unicorn today—we stood out immensely as it was, and I feared the backlash.

“Then let’s walk to class,” she suggested.

“I’d like that.”

She kindly offered to carry one of my baskets for me, but I couldn’t possibly ask the crown prince to carry my belongings. I politely declined. Then, Gem reached out with its appendages to carry both baskets for me.

Were the prince’s fans waiting for her at the shoe rack again? I cautiously took a peek, but no one was around.

“Huh? Your minions— I mean, your friends aren’t around today,” I remarked.

“They aren’t my friends,” Prince Rena muttered. “They learned of my identity from their parents and are just trying to earn my favor.”

“H-Hmm…”

I couldn’t say that she was wrong. The prince apparently told them that she’d break off her friendships with them if they continued to pester her and follow her around. Nothing was scarier than a threat from the future king of the nation.

When we arrived in the classroom, far fewer students dared to approach her; only those who genuinely wanted to be her friend and didn’t know her identity tried to chat her up.

Ehr was reviewing his homework diligently this morning as well. “Morning, Misha,” he said.

“Good morning,” I replied.

I told him that I had a bento ready for him today and pointed to the basket that Gem carried. For some reason, my familiar looked proud of itself as it handed Ehr the basket.

“Yay!” he cried happily. “I’m so excited! Thanks!” He swiftly pulled out a notebook. “Here. I copied this to review. If you return it to me after the last class, I’ll get tomorrow’s notes copied down here, too.”

“Really? Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yup.”

I gratefully took the notebook from him. “I tried to review by myself yesterday, but it was way too difficult for me.”

“I bet. If I didn’t have a private instructor helping me out, I would’ve been lost, too.”

I skimmed the notes, and, to my delight, the part I was stuck on last night now made perfect sense. I was so elated that I almost shouted, “Yes! Yes! I can read the book now!” Thanks to Ehr’s support, I could understand lectures without issues, much to my relief.

When lunch rolled around, we stayed in the classroom since all the other students had left. I had a magic bottle, a thermos essentially, and I poured us each a cup of tea. When Ehr looked in his basket, he gasped with awe and surprise.

“This looks amazing! Is this all mine?!”

“That’s right,” I said. “Do dig in.”

I ate these dishes with Prince Rena that morning, so I knew they tasted good. Ehr stuffed his cheeks, and it was nice to see him eat so voraciously. He finished off his food in a flash.

“That was amazing,” he said. “You’re a genius!”

“I’m honored to receive such high praise,” I said.

I can spend lunch in peace if I make a bento. I’ll make one tomorrow, too.

Once classes were over, I tended to my usual duties in the greenhouse. During this season, I was raising a ton of herbs that the second-years used for ointments during their lessons. They resembled plantain plants, which looked like weeds, but they were splendid herbs that were useful for potions. Even if I picked a basketful, they’d be used up in a day.

I stepped outside when I spotted a Steller’s sea eagle, Professor Whipp’s familiar, resting on the signpost of the Garden Plant. It was clearly waiting for me. The professor had told me I needn’t drop by for a report today. This familiar would deliver the herbs for me.

“I-I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” I said.

I bowed respectfully as I offered the basket to the eagle, raising it high in the air like I was making an offering to a god, and the eagle gripped the handle with its talons before it flew off. Once it was gone, I pressed a hand against my chest and breathed out a sigh.

When I saw that eagle up close, its face was sharp and terrifying; I couldn’t help but tense up. It left behind a few feathers, and I wanted to make quills out of them. I leaped with joy when I collected three whole feathers.

When I turned around, Gem was right behind me. I could hardly feel its presence, and my heart almost jumped out of my chest. Please don’t do that, Gem, I prayed. It stared at me intensely, and I wondered if it was angry that I gathered the feathers when it flickered as though it was trying to tell me something.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

It whirled around and rolled away. It stopped midway, turned back, and flickered at me, signaling me to follow, and so, I did just that. As I walked along, I spotted someone in the Garden Plant glancing around curiously.

“Oh…” I muttered.

This area was a part of Professor Whipp’s research room, and students were generally not allowed inside. Usually, only the professor or Prince Rena dropped by, and I rubbed my eyes to make sure that it wasn’t a trick of the light or something. A tall man stood a short distance away with his back turned toward me. I couldn’t tell his age from behind, but several birds were perched atop his shoulders and head, and a few hedgehogs scampered past my legs, presumably headed straight for him. I was shocked; I’d never seen hedgehogs in the Garden Plant before. For a moment, I wanted to know who he was and why he was so beloved by animals, but my mind immediately went to another man who seemed to be blessed with this amazing gift.

He looked familiar; I’d met him before in the courtyard forest and spotted him again at Marquess Leviathan’s manor. He was wearing a black mantle decorated with a golden chain, just as he had before. Only now did I notice that his golden filigree was in the shape of a two-headed eagle—the school crest of Vizer. He wasn’t intruding. He had ties to this school somehow.

“U-Um,” I called.

The man whirled around, his handsome face unmistakable. In his hands were a few textbooks for first-years. Wait, is he…

“Um, are you perhaps the private instructor sent by Professor Whipp?!” I asked.

“Huh?”

“I’ve been behind on my lessons, and I really need some help!”

Thank goodness! I was so happy that tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Why are you crying?” he asked.

“T-To tell you the truth, I’ve been so scared of my grades falling,” I said. “I just can’t keep up with the rest of the class.”

I never thought that I was smart, but I’d been making potions for ages, and the merchant also viewed me highly. I was sure that I could at least keep up with classes, and admittedly, I was being naïve. The lessons were designed assuming there was a private instructor to help out; I was inevitably left in the dust.

“I’m so glad that an instructor is here to help…” I wept.

He kindly handed me a handkerchief that was pleasant to the touch, and I gratefully took it to wipe my tears.

“I’ll wash the handkerchief and return it to you,” I said.

“No need. Just toss it.”

Do high-ranking nobles not reuse their handkerchiefs? Or is it considered trash now since I, practically a commoner, used it? The instructor emanated an air of high nobility that was reminiscent of Prince Rena’s aura. Why’s he a private instructor? Isn’t their salary low? And why is he aiming to become a professor? Usually, a man of his status could’ve easily become a professor through a recommendation from the director himself. Maybe he has his own reasons… I won’t pry.

“Oh, I haven’t given you my name,” I said.

“You’ll tell me?” he asked.

Huh? Wait, right… When I first met him, I think I said something like I didn’t need to give him my name before I fled…

“Since you’re my teacher, I think it’s only right to introduce myself,” I said.

“Very well. Go on then.”

He sounds awfully high and mighty, but with birds on his head, he doesn’t feel very intimidating.

“I’m Misha. Misha von Ritual.”

“Ritual…” he muttered. “Ah, the family on the frontier who owns the Lawlife lands.”

“That’s us!”

Even a few professors had never heard of my family name, but I was happy that he had.

“I’m Vil…” he trailed off and gazed into the distance before he turned back to me. “Just Vil. Call me Mr. Vil, or teacher.”

“O-Okay,” I stammered.

Looks like he doesn’t want to state his family name. He must be in a complicated situation of his own.

“Mr. Vil, I’ll be in your care from now on!” I beamed.

“Sure,” he replied.

When I offered a hand, he looked a bit troubled but gently shook it.

This was technically my third meeting with him. Little did I know that Mr. Vil was the son of the director, Grand Duke Lindenburg, and also the head prefect of this school.

“How are you feeling lately?” I asked.

“Fine,” Mr. Vil replied. “The medicine is being sold regularly again.”

“That’s good to know.”

He had an extreme coughing fit during our initial meeting, and I’d been worried ever since. Professor Whipp had gotten permission from the school for me to work, so I was able to make potions on the side. I was relieved to hear that he was slowly getting better as a result. Just when I thought our time together for the day would end with exchanging introductions, he said that he’d teach me right now.

“What dorm are you in, Ritual?” Mr. Vil asked.

“I don’t belong to any dorm,” I informed him. “I’m staying in the Garden Plant’s caretaker cabin.”

“Are you serious?” His eyebrows soared in surprise.

“Did Professor Whipp not tell you?”

He furrowed his brow and shook his head. “I’m just confused about the whole situation. Can you elaborate for me?”

“Sure. Oh, um, have you had dinner yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Then would you care to join me for a meal while we talk? I’ve got a potato pie and some soup prepared.”

“Prepared? Do you cook for yourself?”

“I do. I live here by myself, and I’ve got no dorm parent.”

“Why are you living like this?” He shook his head. “I suppose you’ll answer me later.”

“I will.”

I tried to invite him inside, but he remained as still as a statue.

“Is something wrong?” I asked gingerly.

“If you’re the only one living here, I can’t possibly enter your home unsupervised,” he said.

Right, there’s a rule among high society that young, unmarried men and women can’t be in a private room together. Mr. Vil must have that rule hammered into him to the point he abides by it even when no one is around.

“Then I’ll bring out the table and chairs,” I offered. “We can have class outdoors.”

“I suppose that works,” Mr. Vil allowed.

Lugging furniture around was a pain, but I didn’t want nasty rumors to swirl about us and inconvenience him.

“Then I’ll bring them out in a moment,” I said.

“No, I will,” he insisted.

“But you can’t enter my house, right?”

“If you stay right where you are, I doubt there’d be any issues.”

“Oh… Okay.”

Meanwhile, Gem decided to make itself useful. It rolled between Mr. Vil and me and transformed into a table and chairs.

“Whoa, that’s amazing!” I gasped.

The surface of the table had Gem’s face, and when I praised it, it beamed happily and proudly.

“What is this?” Mr. Vil asked.

“Oh, Gem’s my familiar,” I replied.

“I can see that. I mean that it doesn’t look like a normal slime.”

“Gem’s a jewel slime, a spirit.”

“A spirit?!” He gasped and stared at Gem with disbelief. “I’ve never seen a student with a spirit as their familiar.”

“Yes, Professor Whipp did mention that it’s been five years since she’s seen one as well.”

“Am I dreaming?”

Is it that rare to see a spirit familiar? I feel like the surprise hasn’t sunk in for me.

“I’m surprised by how blasé you are, even though you’ve got a spirit as your familiar,” he remarked.

“It’s not unusual to see spirit-like creatures roaming Lawlife,” I shrugged. Spirits felt like neighbors to me. “Um, I’ll prepare the food in a flash, so could you wait here?” I asked. “If you’re thirsty, I can bring you a drink.”

“No, I’m fine,” Mr. Vil replied.

“All right.”

I asked Gem to warm Mr. Vil up so that he wouldn’t be cold. My spirit looked like it was up to no good, so I decided to give it a warning.

“Don’t be mean, okay? You mustn’t burn him,” I warned.

Gem immediately warmed up the seat for Mr. Vil, and he looked at my familiar, astonished.

“My back and bottom feel warm…” he murmured.

“That’s Gem’s power.”

I was certain that he wouldn’t catch a cold outside thanks to Gem’s help, so I went inside to prepare dinner. I just needed to bake the potato pie, and the vegetable soup simply had to be warmed up. The most cooking I had to do was make French toast. I had some slices of yesterday’s rock-hard baguette soaking in a mixture of milk, sugar, and egg. I prepped them the moment I returned from class, so I knew that they absorbed the mixture nicely.

I melted some butter in a frying pan and added my slices. When they turned golden brown, they were done. I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top and garnished it with pieces of mint and a skewer of oranges to make it look a bit fancy. All the while, my soup had warmed up, and my pie was done too. Since we were eating outside, I sliced up the pie and added some leftover orange slices to my drink for a nice, fruity tea. Once that was all done, I brought the dishes outside.

The sun was already setting, and it was getting dark out. Gem glowed faintly, so we didn’t have to worry about the light. The birds, perhaps done for the day, had left Mr. Vil’s side. I was secretly worried about the birds being around since dinner was vegetable soup made from chicken stock—I felt a bit awkward drinking that around them. But thank goodness they’re gone.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Vil,” I said.

I told Gem I was laying some plates out before I placed the dishes in front of my private instructor. Mr. Vil’s eyes turned wide.

“Did you make all this yourself, Ritual?”

“I did.”

“Why is the daughter of a noble so skilled in the kitchen?”

“Er, well…”

Because I was a commoner in my past life. Obviously, I did regular chores from cooking to cleaning and laundry, but I can’t say that… He won’t believe me. I need a proper excuse.

“I did some charity work at an abbey, and the nuns there taught me,” I lied.

“I see…”

I was relieved that he bought my lie.

“We should eat before the food gets cold,” I urged. “Please, have a bite.”

“All right.”

I went for the steaming-hot bowl of vegetable soup first. I used the leftover scraps I had, and the vegetables were soft and practically melted in my mouth. It was a simple but comforting taste. I wasn’t sure if the son of a noble household like Mr. Vil would take a liking to my food. He noticed my nervous gaze as he took some spoonfuls.

“It’s good,” he said.

I then went for the potato pie. I created the crust using crushed biscuits and layered some thinly sliced potatoes and bacon on top of each other before finishing it off with a topping of cheese. I used the block of bacon that Prince Rena gave me, and the juices from the meat overflowed when I cut into it. The crust was crispy, and the cheese had a nice pull; the potatoes were soft and creamy, and they soaked up the flavor from the bacon nicely. The quality ingredients elevated this dish to another level.

The French toast was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside; I could hardly believe it was the hard baguette I bought yesterday. Mr. Vil polished off his plate as well.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was so engrossed in eating that I forgot to talk.”

“You’re fine,” he replied. “That’s exactly what I did as well.”

He again praised the taste, which made me happy. I decided to speak with him after the meal.

“I don’t know where to start…” I muttered.

“From the beginning will be fine,” he said. “I’d like all the details.”

“Okay…”

And I did just that. I started all the way from the beginning, with Rudolph and Lizzy’s incident—it almost felt nostalgic now.

“It all started when my fiancé cheated on me with my cousin,” I started. “And he ultimately got her pregnant.”

Mr. Vil furrowed his brow and frowned with obvious displeasure. I felt bad about the gloomy start, but I didn’t want to skip out on any details.

“And? Did he ask to cancel your engagement?” he inquired.

“No, he requested that I become his second wife,” I said dryly.

“No way!”

Yeah, that was what I thought, too.

“He even said that he wished to make my cousin’s child the future viscount,” I went on. “I’d been making money by selling potions, and he wished to use my earnings, which I planned to use on my wedding, as educational expenses for his love child.”

Mr. Vil placed his right hand on his forehead with utter exasperation as though he couldn’t believe his ears.

“He then told me that I didn’t have to worry about serving him in the bedroom,” I added with a look of disgust. “He insisted that I would work for two people during the day, and that would be the extent of my wifely duties. And so… I punched him.”

I thought this confession of violence would take Mr. Vil aback, but he instead folded his arms and nodded.

“Well done,” he praised.

Um, I didn’t expect a compliment here…

“Er, don’t you find me to be a barbaric, violent woman?” I asked.

“Admittedly, violence generally isn’t the answer to one’s woes,” he agreed. “That being said, your fiancé took a deep jab at your dignity. He practically waged war on you as a person, and you valiantly fought back, Ritual.”

No matter the reason, violence is wrong. I would occasionally think about that day and blame myself for going a bit too far. But when Mr. Vil called it a war on me, I decided to no longer fault myself for talking with my fist.

“Thank you,” I said. “Your words have soothed me and justified how I acted on that dreadful day.”

He said not a word, but his gaze softened, and he nodded.

“Back on topic…” I started.

I didn’t dare tell him that I retained my memories from my past life. Doing so would only trouble him for no good reason.

“I then asked my parents to not only nullify my engagement but to also grant me my wish—I’d always dreamed of attending magic school.”

Thanks to my reliable little sister, I was able to enroll in the school of my dreams.

“Since this was a selfish request, I didn’t want to trouble my parents any further,” I revealed. “I wanted to earn a scholarship to ease that financial burden.”

However, my uncle crushed that dream.

“My uncle had actually enrolled in this school once, but he was expelled after causing trouble, apparently,” I said. “And applicants with relatives who were expelled can’t qualify for a scholarship.”

It was then that Professor Whipp lent me a benevolent helping hand.

“If I stayed here and took care of the herbs for lessons, she said that she’d pay my school fees,” I said.

“So, she gave you a very absurd condition,” Mr. Vil surmised. “I find it concerning that she’s forcing extra labor upon you while you attend school.”

“It’s certainly something, but I made potions for years back home. I’m used to taking care of herbs, so it’s no trouble at all. And I’ve got Gem with me, who helps immensely with the work.”

But of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. My biggest issue was keeping up with my studies and classes.

“It seems everyone has a private instructor in their dorms to supplement their lessons,” I said. “But since I don’t have that and I’m not the brightest, I’m naturally left behind in my lectures…”

“That’s the fault of the school, frankly,” Mr. Vil said.

It seemed almost mandatory for students to have private instructors—this system also helped instructors quickly gain teaching experience. Most professors thus created a curriculum with that in mind, assuming most students attended extra lessons.

“I don’t fault you for not knowing when the system is stacked against you,” Mr. Vil said.

“I’m relieved to hear that.” A doubt suddenly rose to mind. “Mr. Vil, are you a graduate from here?” I asked.

“I…haven’t graduated,” he said with a long pause.

“Are you perhaps from a different school?”

“No, I’m enrolled in Vizer.”

“I see…”

Seems like I stepped on a landmine. It felt like he wasn’t speaking from the perspective of a professor at this school, so I assumed he was a recent graduate or something. If he was enrolled in Vizer but hadn’t graduated, it was likely that he was expelled for one reason or another.

“Um, may I ask your age?” I inquired.

“How old do I look?”

“Around twenty or so.”

“I’m nineteen.”

Actually, he looked like he was in his early to mid-twenties, but I knew that it was better to go younger during times like these. My gamble paid off since Mr. Vil was younger than I’d thought. Since he was a noble of a high-ranking family, I assumed he had the higher-ups of the school on his side, which allowed him to take on the role of a private instructor. I have to be sure not to pry too deeply into his personal affairs, though. I swear it.

“Well? Do you want to study for your next lesson?” he asked.

“I do!” I shouted.

I had four classes tomorrow, and I had to study beforehand lest I get left behind again. For two hours, Mr. Vil gave me tips and pointers, and his lessons were very easy to follow. I was confident that I could understand tomorrow’s lesson.

I used Homer and sent a message to Ehr telling him I had an instructor starting today to supplement my classes. He gave an elated reply as though this victory was his own. I smiled, happy to get a good night’s rest thanks to Mr. Vil.

***

THE next day, I woke up bright and early thanks to the birds, and I made breakfast and lunch in advance. After I enjoyed a quiet meal with Prince Rena, we headed for class. Ehr was already there and greeted me with the same high energy as always.

“Morning, Misha!”

“Good morning, Ehr.”

The topic quickly shifted to my private instructor.

“What kind of teacher are they?” Ehr asked.

“He’s a very young one at nineteen. He’s also a great teacher. He broke down difficult concepts for me so that they were easier to digest. I think I can keep up with today’s lessons!”

“That’s good to hear.” He slumped his shoulders a tad. “I was going to show you my notes in exchange for that bento…”

“Oh, I’d still like to see your notes. At least until the bell for class rings.”

“Seriously? Why?!”

“Instructors can teach the same subjects differently. It’s important to have different viewpoints to learn from, I think.”

“Oh, good point!” Ehr happily handed his notes over to me.

“Would you like me to lend you mine?” I offered.

“Then it won’t be a fair exchange for your bento.”

“If you say so…”

I took Ehr’s notes and read them carefully before homeroom. The first class of the day was general magic taught by Professor Girm. It was a subject that gave students a shallow yet vast understanding of the concept of magic, briefly touching upon all points he deemed important. For today’s lesson, we’d learn about how to find magic stones and use any remaining time in the lesson to actually search for some. This was the first time I’d have a class outside, and I was excited for it.

“Two students will form a pair to conduct the scavenger hunt,” Professor Girm said. “Students will draw lots for pairs. It’s one draw per student, so don’t take multiple.”

A box with lots circulated around the class, and I picked one when it reached me. Students who drew the same picture would form a pair.

“What picture did you get, Misha?” Ehr asked.

“A cat.” I showed him.

“Darn. I got a dog.”

“Aw… Such a pity.”

“Seems like a good chance for you, though. You want to make a hundred friends, right?” He smiled.

“Right.”

I peeled Gem from the wall and rolled it up into a sphere to carry under my arm. I nervously awaited my partner. The professor began reading a list of animals he’d written down.

“Next, students who drew cats!” he boomed.

“Here!” a dignified voice echoed.

I turned toward the voice and spotted Alice, the duke’s haughty daughter. I reluctantly replied as well, secretly regretting that I was paired with the worst person in class for me. I expected her to frown and grimace with displeasure when she found out I was her partner, but she approached me with indifference. She looked like she was in a daze, her face pale.

“Um, are you okay?” I asked.

“Pardon?” Alice replied.

“You look like you’ll faint any moment.”

“I’m okay.”

It was unlike her to give such a normal response. Usually, she’d glare at me as though the mere presence of a lesser noble offended her eyes, and her thorny remarks also pierced my heart. It was almost concerning to see her so neutral.

“Are you really okay?” I asked. “It’ll cause a scene if you faint during the outdoor exercise…”

“I’m fine. You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Alice insisted.

I couldn’t do anything more since she insisted that she was okay. Just to be safe, I also told the professor that Alice looked unwell. Professor Girm exchanged a few words with her, but ultimately, she was allowed to join without issue.

For this exercise, we would head to the forest—the school’s teleporting door would send us there. The door actually felt oddly familiar and reminded me of an anime that I’d watched when I was a kid.

“Anywhere…” I murmured.

“Is anything the matter?” Alice asked.

“Oh, uh, nothing.”

Back in my previous life, there was a cat robot who used a door similar to this, but making a parody of that wouldn’t earn a laugh from Alice, who obviously didn’t know about it. I chased away my old memories and quietly waited for our turn.

“Next, Team Cat,” the professor called.

“Yessir,” I replied.

The professor opened the door, and Alice and I held hands so that we wouldn’t get separated. The moment I stepped through, the scenery changed in a flash.

“Wow!”

This teleportation was more seamless than the scrolls or spells that I’d used before; at once, I was surrounded by a dense forest. When I turned around, the door I had come out of had already vanished.

“Alice, is this your first time using a door like this?” I asked.

“No, I’ve got one at home,” she replied.

“I see…”

Well, she is rich and powerful, I thought. I was certain that she lived a life of opulent luxury that I could only ever dream of. Gem had been nestled under my arm for the trip, and I placed it back on the ground, only for my familiar to take its usual spherical shape. When I asked it to follow me so that it wouldn’t get lost, it proudly bounced.

“Let’s search for the stone,” I said.

“Let’s,” Alice agreed.

“I’ll use the spell first. Could you handle the second half of this exercise, Alice?”

“Sure.”

I took out my wand and chanted a spell to sense nearby magical energy.

“Seek mana, Inspicere!” I chanted.

Light emanated from the tip of my wand like a fish finder and spread out all around me. If a magic stone were nearby, my spell would react to it. The professor had stated that he hid a magic stone in this forest, and I waved my wand left and right in search of any sort of signal. Gem, who rolled in front of me, suddenly flickered.

“Gem? Is something the matter?” I asked.

It turned around with a magic stone in its hand.

“Gem! Amazing work!” I cried. “You did it!”

We were instructed to use magic to find the stones, but there was no explicit rule prohibiting students from using familiars. I considered this a huge win, as we found the stone without issue.

“You’re so smart! You’re so good!” I praised emphatically.

My familiar squinted happily and flickered with delight. Since we only needed one stone per pair, our work was done. I smiled and turned around to face Alice, who walked behind me.

“We found the stone!” I reported.

“Huh? Oh. Well, that’s nice,” Alice muttered.

She was clearly dazed and not all there. I couldn’t watch her standoffish behavior any longer and voiced my concern.

“You’re acting odd,” I said. “Usually, you’d be annoyed that I found a stone before you.”

“That’s not true,” Alice replied. “You’ve been working very hard, so I’m not surprised.”

She was so kind and honest that it almost scared me. When I inspected her closely, I noticed her eyes were red and puffy—she’d been crying. She must not have rested well the night before.

“You should call it for today and head home,” I insisted.

“Why are you so worried about me?” Alice asked.

“We’re partners, aren’t we? We’re both on Team Cat.”

At once, tears rolled down Alice’s pale cheeks.

“Huh?! What?! Why?!” I gasped.

I wasn’t sure what to do, but Gem swiftly used its appendage to reach into my pocket and give me my handkerchief. I took it from my familiar and wiped her tears.

“Ugh… Ngh…” she sobbed.

What in the world happened to her? I gently rubbed her back, hoping to soothe her and stop her crying. She claimed that she wasn’t sick or anything, and though she looked pale and frail to me, she firmly denied that she was ill. She seemed like the type who tried to tough it out even if she was unwell, but she had no reason to do so against a professor; something else must’ve caused her to lose her usual gusto and energy. As she sobbed away, I rubbed her back and waited for her to regain her cool.

“What happened?” I asked.

“This…is my problem,” she muttered.

“That might be so, but you shouldn’t keep it all bottled up inside you. Talking about it might lead to some kind of solution.”

Alice pursed her lips at my soft words before she slowly but surely began to speak. “M-My familiar, Kitty, has been missing since last night…” she revealed.

“What?!” I gasped.

No wonder she cried when I mentioned that we were on Team Cat. It must’ve reminded her of her familiar.

“I’ve been brushing her every night, and I hug her when I sleep,” Alice said. “But my familiar vanished last night…” She reported it to her dorm parent and the prefect, and they all searched for Kitty, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Isn’t your familiar tied to your mana?” I asked.

It was like a leash on a pet. If we called for our familiar, they had to appear in front of us.

“I tried it, but Kitty wouldn’t answer my call,” Alice sniffed.

If the familiar was too far away, it was more difficult to summon it to us.

“Kitty’s very cute,” she said. “Someone might’ve kidnapped her!” Alice burst into tears again. “Wh-What if she’s all cold and freezing to death?! I wouldn’t be able to stand it!”

“I can imagine…”

Did Kitty leave because she felt like she was being smothered by Alice’s affection? I’ll never say that, though.

“I’d like to help you search for her somehow…” I muttered.

Hmm… What can I do? How can I… Wait, what about the spell that we just learned?

“Alice, why not use Inspicere to search for your familiar?” I suggested.

“A spell to search for her?” Alice asked.

“I think it’s worth trying.”

For today’s lesson, this spell was meant to search for clumps of mana so that we could locate magic stones. It was a simple spell, but with a few tweaks, I hoped that it could be applied to a formula to search for Kitty’s mana. Maybe we could find her then!

“Why don’t we test it out?”

“O-Okay,” Alice replied.

“Could you first convert Kitty’s mana into a magical formula?”

“I’ll try!”

She took out her student handbook from her pocket and began scribbling. True to her status as the second-best student in class, she finished writing the formula down within five minutes. I would never have been able to come up with a formula that fast.

“Let’s give the signal and head back to class,” I said.

“Okay,” Alice agreed.

I launched a simple firework into the sky, and the teleporting door immediately appeared in front of us. I looped my arm around Alice’s, supporting her as she staggered through the door.

“Team Cat, that was qui— What happened?!” the professor gasped.

“Professor, Alice really isn’t feeling well,” I said. “Can she head back to her dorm?”

“Very well.”

The professor tweaked the teleporting door’s settings so that Alice could be brought directly to her dorm.

“I’d like to tag along with her for a bit, if that’s okay,” I said.

“Sure,” he replied. “Come back to class once she’s all settled down.”

He handed me a magic scroll that would teleport me back to class. Before Alice and I went through the door, I handed Professor Girm the magic stone that we collected.

“Ritual, speak with her dorm parent,” he said. “We can get a doctor over immediately.”

“Okay. Thank you, sir,” I said.

We passed through the door and arrived right in front of Alice’s room. The ceiling was high above me, and a plush carpet lined the hallways; beautiful paintings decorated the wall, adding a tasteful flair to the area. There weren’t any doorknobs I could grab, and perplexed, I waited for Alice to place her hand on the door to her room. A magic circle appeared, and the door automatically opened for her.

The room used rococo-style architecture, was all-white, and very lavish. The cabriole legs on the table, the elegant vanity table, and the draping curtains felt like everything that a girl would dream of—truly, a room fit for a princess.

“It’s a lovely room,” I said.

“Thank you,” Alice replied.

Dorms were usually shared by two to four students, but students with good grades, like Alice, could have a room all to themselves.

“What dorm are you in?” I asked.

“Leaf,” Alice answered.

“Which means you’ve got the wind element.”

“That’s right.”

I feel like I shouldn’t just be asking questions.

“I’m the snow element,” I said.

“How unusual,” Alice replied. “Are you in Arcenciel, then? I believe that’s where students of other elements gather.”

“No, um, I’m actually living in the caretaker cabin at the Garden Plant. I have my reasons.”

“I see.”

I can tell her all about it later. For now, Kitty is our top priority.

“I’d like the spell to have as wide a range as possible,” I said.

“Then a magic circle should be good for that,” Alice said.

We headed for the dorm’s yard; it was far wider than this room. The Leaf dorm was rich with greenery and verdure. At the entrance, a building was encased in glass reminiscent of a greenhouse. No prefects or instructors were around at this hour. If we were wary of the dorm parent, we could head to the yard undetected. We snuck about the dorm, reached our destination, and scribbled the magic circle with a wand.

“A magic stone would be great as a catalyst for this spell…” I muttered.

“Yeah…” Alice agreed.

Is a magic stone conveniently nearby somewhere? I glanced around when Gem took the initiative and rolled into the center of the magic circle. It flashed proudly, signaling that it was ready.

“Gem, will you lend me your power in lieu of a stone?” I asked. My familiar nodded. “Thank you,” I said. “I’ll need your power just a little, okay?”

I gripped my wand in one hand and used my other to grab Alice’s hand as I chanted the spell.

“Find Kitty’s location! Inspicere!” I shouted.

The magic circle emitted a pale glow as a radar appeared in the skies. I was able to cast this spell over the entire Leaf dorm, and I inspected it closely when I spotted a blip—a signal that indicated Kitty’s location. We could hardly believe our eyes.

“What?! Kitty’s there?!” Alice gasped.

“Let’s head there!” I shouted.

We raced up the dorm’s stairs, our shoulders bouncing as we caught our breath. It seemed both Alice and I had depleted our mana with that spell, and we were a bit dizzy, but now wasn’t the time to catch our breath; we bravely marched on in search of Kitty.

“Please, please, please! Please be there, Kitty!” Alice prayed.

To our surprise, the signal stated that Kitty was still in Alice’s room.

“I can’t believe she’s here,” Alice muttered. “The dorm parent, prefect, and I searched every nook and cranny of my room. We practically turned it upside down searching!”

Alice had called for her familiar countless times and even tried to summon Kitty with mana, but to no avail.

“Then maybe she returned to your room,” I suggested.

“That can’t be,” Alice replied. “That door only reacts to my mana. Kitty couldn’t have possibly opened it by herself.”

“Right…”

Then there’s only one other explanation for the signal in her room.

“Kitty never left,” I said slowly. “Maybe she was always in your room.”

“But I searched all over for her!” Alice cried.

“Even so.”

Back in Japan, I kept a cat as a pet. To be more precise, it was my family pet back at my hometown before I left for the big city, and once a year, the cat would vanish.

“I used to take care of a cat, so I know their tendencies,” I said.

Back in Japan, I’d lived with a cat for more than two decades. Oftentimes, when my cat vanished, I turned the house over in search of my beloved pet, only for her to suddenly appear a couple of days later as if nothing had happened.

“I once observed a cat for a week for my summer vacation homework,” I said.

I’d tailed my cat before, curious about how she spent her days and where she liked to go. I diligently recorded her tendencies throughout the week.

“Cats are very moody creatures,” I said. “They don’t really have a set routine.”

One moment, my cat could be curled up fast asleep behind a curtain, only to be found in a pot that my mom left out in the next. I would find her atop the bathtub’s cover for warmth one moment and squeezed between two dressers the next.

“Cats like dark and narrow spaces,” I said. “Kitty might be in the last place you thought to search.”

“Let’s look for her,” Alice said.

We scoured her room again in search of Kitty. If I could use Inspicere again, the search might’ve been a cinch, but unfortunately, we were both out of mana—I could only rely on my experience of living with cats for two decades. Alice pulled out the drawers of her vanity table and called her familiar’s name. I knew it was a long shot, but I asked Gem if it could pinpoint an area with high mana—a location that Kitty might prefer. My familiar quietly rolled toward a trunk where Alice stored her clothes and dresses.

“Is she here?” I asked.

Gem nodded. I opened the trunk and spotted several fluffy dresses. I waded through them like I was pushing brush aside and searched for Kitty. Near the bottom, after I pushed all the dresses aside, I spotted a small, fluffy cushion. It stirred just a bit, and I smiled.

“Found her!” I shouted.

I gently scooped the familiar in my arms. The cat had triangular ears, almond-shaped eyes, a long tail, and beautiful, soft fur.

“Kitty!” Alice cried. Tears streamed down her face as she rushed over, and she drew her familiar close to her chest when I held the cat out for her.

“There you are!” she said.

Kitty tilted her head to one side and gave a small, adorable meow. Alice was adamant about giving her familiar a good lecture once she was found, but she only cried with delight, tears trickling down her face. There wasn’t an ounce of anger in her face.

“Thank you, Misha!” Alice exclaimed. “Thanks to you, I was able to reunite with Kitty!”

“Don’t mention it.”

I was painfully aware of how worried and sad an owner was when they lost their cat. I’m so glad that we found her.

“But why didn’t she answer when you called for her?” I wondered.

“I think she just wasn’t in the mood,” Alice said.

Kitty apparently only answered Alice’s calls once every five times, and that was on a good day. Alice also set the potency of her summoning powers on the weakest level so that she wouldn’t put a strain on Kitty’s tiny body, making it more difficult for the familiar to heed the call.

“I’m sorry,” Alice apologized. “I panicked and forgot all about that.”

“I don’t blame you.”

After she calmed down, she served me a cup of delicious tea. The teacup was decorated with a cat, and the snack she served, langue de chats, was shaped like a cat’s tongue. She really loves cats, huh…

“To be honest, I never thought the day would come when I could spend time like this with you, Alice,” I said.

“Oh? But I’ve always wanted to get to know you better,” she replied.

“Wait, really?”

During the entrance exams, she came up to me smugly and implied that I was too poor to afford a mantle.

“N-No, I said that out of kindness,” Alice insisted. “You didn’t have a mantle, so I was offering to lend you some money if you needed it to keep you nice and toasty.”

“Oh… I see…” I murmured.

Her sharp tone made me misunderstand her intentions.

“Then why were you glaring at me during the exams?” I asked.

“I was just staring at you out of curiosity,” she replied. “I heard rumors that you came from a faraway region for the exams, so I wanted to help you out if you ever needed some assistance.”

“G-Got it…”

An incredibly beautiful lady like her was intimidating, even if she only stared; it was my fault for misinterpreting her intentions in all the wrong ways.

“And when you disapproved of my relationship with Ehr?” I asked.

“I’d heard that he was born and raised in the slums,” Alice explained. “I… Well, I doubted him and his motives. I’d assumed that he was after your money… I was wrong; I know that now. I should be ashamed of myself for judging someone solely due to their origins… I deeply regret what I said.”

So, she was worried about me and warned me in a roundabout way. Now all her actions make sense. I was the first applicant she spotted, and so, she wished to become my friend. She tried her best to act considerate, but it backfired.

“I just didn’t know how to interact with you…” she admitted.

Until now, people flocked toward her, and she was always the center of attention. But when I didn’t approach her, she wasn’t sure how to come up to me and clumsily did her best.

“I was desperate, and I suppose I came off harsher than I hoped,” Alice said.

“Don’t worry about it,” I told her. “Honestly, I got more worried when you lost that gusto.”

“I-I’m not normally that sharp, I’ll have you know, my dear.”

“Oh? But no matter the case, I hope you can act as you please without hiding your true self. We’re friends now, aren’t we?”

Alice’s large eyes widened with astonishment.

“Why do you look shocked?” I asked. “I thought you wished to become friends with me.”

“Y-Yes, but you do not like my attitude, no?” she asked.

“I’m used to it. I don’t mind.”

I offered a hand as a sign of friendship, and Alice gingerly but gently shook my hand in reply.

***

MR. VIL dropped by today as well with his army of hedgehogs. He arrived at the Garden Plant, right on time, and little birds flocked around him as his lesson began. Gem was our dinette again, and when the sun grew a bit too bright, it even made a parasol for me. I was so grateful.

“Tomorrow’s classes will be on defensive spells…” Mr. Vil muttered.

“Yessir,” I replied. “I skimmed the textbook for tomorrow’s class, but I’m confused about quite a few things.”

At least I could point out where I was stuck and avoid not even knowing what parts gave me trouble. When I asked him about an issue that I was particularly puzzled about, he broke it down into easily understandable parts. Two hours passed by in the blink of an eye, and Gem’s parasol became a lamp that illuminated the table for me as the sun started to set.

“Thank you for teaching me until this late,” I said.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Mr. Vil replied.

I invited him to dinner again, as I did yesterday, but he scrunched up his face in response.

“Um, if it’s inconvenient for you…” I started.

“No, that’s not it,” he replied. “It’s just… Isn’t it a pain to cook for someone else all the time?”

“Oh, please don’t worry about that. I made a lot, so I’d love it if you ate your fill.”

Since I insisted, he graciously accepted my invitation. Tonight’s dinner was simple: cream stew, whole grain herbal biscuits, and macaroni and cheese. Though there wasn’t much variety, I added plenty of ingredients to the stew. We stayed warm thanks to Gem as we dug into our food. The potatoes were soft and creamy, and the carrots were very sweet. The tender meat almost melted in my mouth, and I loved soaking my biscuits in the stew.

“How does it taste, Mr. Vil?”

“It’s good.”

Apparently, he felt better after he ate the meal I prepared last night.

“I usually feel sluggish every day, and I’m plagued by constant migraines,” he admitted. “I’m a bit of an insomniac as well. But yesterday, my body felt light and energetic, and I was able to rest well.”

Yesterday, he told me he had been feeling better lately, but clearly, he wasn’t. He was hiding plenty of health problems.

“I’m surprised you acted so normal yesterday,” I said.

“This is the new norm for me,” he said. “I’ve always been sick.”

He wasn’t born with this condition—he started to be constantly plagued by health problems a mere three to four years ago.

“I went to a few doctors, but they all said that I was fine.” He then suspected that perhaps he had far too much mana for his body to handle, making him feel ill. He went to a magic doctor in search of a solution, but no luck. “I was told that while I do have a bit more mana than most, it’s not so excessive that my body can’t handle it.”

“Hmm…” I muttered.

I guess ailments with no proper explanation exist in this world, too.

“I actually had a headache since this morning, but after eating your food, I feel a lot better,” he said.

“I’m glad to hear it helped.”

If he feels that much better, why did he decline my invitation for a meal?

“Um, didn’t you think about testing your theory out?” I asked. “Like you could eat my meal today, too, and see if it makes you feel better again. Why did you initially decline my invitation?”

“Miracles don’t happen twice,” Mr. Vil replied. “I’ve learned that the hard way. And yet, here I am, blessed with a second miracle.”

He asked if I was imbuing the dishes with some sort of special spell, but I shook my head.

“I haven’t done anything like that, but… Hmm…”

“What is it?” he asked.

“I did make these dishes out of the ingredients that my classmate, Rena von Wiegert, gave me.”

“Rena von Wiegert…”

“He’s the top student in our grade.”

Mr. Vil nodded in recognition. “Yes, I know him. Maybe I’ll ask if the ingredients were anything special the next time I see him.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

Mr. Vil’s friends with the crown prince? What in the world? Clearly, he’s either a royal or very close to them. It might be worth having good ties with him. I invited him to dinner tomorrow, my ulterior motives rearing their ugly head.

“Why don’t you have dinner with me until you can find the cause behind your improved condition?” I offered.

“You don’t have to do all that for me,” Mr. Vil said, turning me down.

“You can pay me back when you become a big shot.”

He looked at me, surprised by the offer. “All right. I promise to repay you one day.”

“I look forward to the day.”

And so, our little get-togethers now had the additional objective of tracking down the mystery behind Mr. Vil’s chronic pain.

***

THE following evening, when I returned home, two wooden boxes sat in front of the cabin. I wondered if the boxes were actually stuffed with worms as some kind of mean student prank, but I spotted a note on the lid.

“Um… ‘I asked Rena von Wiegert about the ingredients and had him prepare the same items. I’d like you to use them for tonight’s dinner. -Vil,’” I read.

Ah, so you were behind this… I thought. The situation reminded me of a popular fairy tale about a fox bringing food to a hunter every day. But enough about that… I’ve got some testing to do. First, I wanted to make some different dishes and wondered if any would help Mr. Vil. Since I found a magnificent slab of meat, I decided to make steak tonight. Once I took care of the plants and prepped dinner, Mr. Vil arrived.

“Did you get the ingredients?” he asked.

“Yessir,” I replied. “The groundwork for dinner is already prepared. I just need to grill the meat.”

“I see… Thank you.”

I then studied with him for two hours before I went back inside to make dinner. I kept the steak a little rare and cut it into bite-sized pieces. I set out bread, steak, and salad on the table, along with herb butter made from chopped herbs from the garden. They paired very well with steak.

I nervously watched as Mr. Vil brought the meat to his lips. When he swallowed, he clapped his hand against his mouth.

“Oh no?! Mr. Vil!” I cried. I had a bucket ready nearby and put it in front of him.

“What’s that bucket for, Ritual?” he asked.

“So that you could, uh, spit out the food if needed.”

“I won’t do that. The meat was good.”

I was stunned. “You were being really misleading, sir!”

“Can you blame me?!”

Yes, I can. I held the bucket in front of me, befuddled by his earlier reaction to my food.

“I ate the exact same meat for lunch,” he explained. “But my migraine didn’t go away, and I still felt fatigued and sluggish. But the moment I ate your food, all of my ailments vanished, and I feel so much better…”

I pressed my hand against my lips, perplexed. The owner of the pharmacy had told me that my mana was compatible with Mr. Vil’s, but that alone didn’t explain why his condition suddenly improved. Unless…

“Um, Mr. Vil… Are you…perhaps being poisoned?” I asked cautiously.

“Poisoned? Impossible…”

For the past three to four years, he almost ate daily at Vizer, and that was exactly when he started to feel ill almost every day.

“If I were poisoned, it means that someone’s been doing it every single day,” he mumbled.

“Where do you usually eat?” I asked.

“At Ruhig. It’s a restaurant on the highest floor of the school.”

I’ve dined with Prince Rena there before… Mr. Vil had dined there and had some steak for lunch. He gasped with recognition, the blood draining from his face like he was about to faint.

“Now that you mention it, I felt a lot better when I took a break from school…” he muttered.

“Which means you only felt ill while you attended this school,” I concluded.

I asked why this possibility never crossed his mind when he turned to me and dropped a bombshell.

“His Ma— I mean, my uncle has shown similar symptoms,” he admitted. “I thought this was some kind of chronic ailment that plagued my family.”

Which meant that Mr. Vil’s uncle also suffered from chronic migraines, dizziness, and insomnia. The uncle was in worse condition than Mr. Vil and was now bedridden.

“I pray that this is some kind of illness…” Mr. Vil muttered. “Or else…”

This implied that someone was targeting his life. Instead of using a high dosage that could immediately be fatal, the culprit gave small doses to evade detection and slowly but surely chip away at his life.

“Mr. Vil, we should visit Professor Whipp!” I urged. “We can definitively find out if you’ve been poisoned!”

“But she’s—” Mr. Vil started.

“Hurry!”

I tugged on his arm and headed straight for Professor Whipp’s office. I was relieved the lights were still on as I marched through the door.

“Excuse me, Professor Whipp!” I shouted.

“My… This is an unusual pair,” Professor Whipp said in her usual languid tone. “Since when did you two get so close?”

“That shouldn’t matter,” Mr. Vil muttered.

Right. We should get right to business. Mr. Vil stepped forward and gave his story.

“For the past few years, I’ve felt sick almost daily,” he confessed. “I visited physicians and magic doctors, but I was told that there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Oh dear… Perhaps you’ve been poisoned,” Professor Whipp suggested.

“Ritual just told me that today, and only then did the possibility hit me.”

“I see…”

He asked if there was a way to check whether he was poisoned, and she nodded.

“Of course,” she said. “I’ve got white leaves. They don’t really circulate the market, but you just need to give one a drop of your blood, and if there’s poison, it’ll turn black.”

White leaf could absorb any and all poisons and toxins. It was generally used to remove poison from someone’s body by rubbing it into their wound, but it also reacted to trace amounts of poison.

“Could you put a drop of your blood here?” she asked.

Mr. Vil didn’t hesitate. He took a knife and made a small cut in his fingertip. When a bead of blood formed on the surface of his skin, he gently smeared it onto the white leaf. At once, the pale plant turned darker than void.

“Poison?!” Mr. Vil gasped with shock and astonishment.

“That’s your answer,” Professor Whipp said in a singsong tone. “Someone has been poisoning you, but I wonder whoooo…”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Hee hee, that’s how it goes. People tend to earn others’ envy or ire without noticing.”

He asked if there was a way to analyze the poison in his body, and he pulled out a potion that I sold to the pharmacy.

“Oh? This potion…” Professor Whipp muttered.

“It’s a potion that’s very compatible with me and stops any attacks that I suffer from,” Mr. Vil said. “Could you look into this as well?”

Professor Whipp knew I had made this potion since I gave her one to get permission for my part-time work. She glanced at me, and I shook my head, implying that I wanted to stay quiet about it. She nodded back with understanding, but I was more curious about why my potion in particular had the power to stop any attacks that Mr. Vil suffered from. Even then, I’m not keen on telling him that that’s my potion.

“It’ll take a few days, but I’ll do my best to look into it,” she said.

“Aren’t you busy?” Mr. Vil asked. He claimed that he could ask someone else and tried to take the white leaf on the table, but Professor Whipp swiftly snatched it from him.

“Now, now, your life is at risk, is it not?” she asked. “I find it most unwise to put so much faith in another person.”

“You’re…right,” he muttered.

“I’m busy, but I’m not heartless enough to turn a blind eye when your life is in danger. Don’t worry. I’ll handle it, so just leave it to me.”

Her laudable words almost moved me to tears. This sort of kindness must’ve been one reason why she was so popular among students.

“You’re an incredibly good professor, ma’am!” I cried.

“Oh? What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“Er, um… Your tone and constant smile make it seem like you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve… I…can’t help but feel like I’m being tricked somehow.”

When she asked me to take charge of the greenhouse plants, I suspected she was giving me too sweet a deal and was actually deceiving me somehow. But in reality, she was just worried about me and even lent me a hand whenever I needed it.

“I-I’m sorry,” I apologized.

“That’s all right,” she replied. “You’re not the first, and you certainly won’t be the last to suspect that I’m up to no good. It’s this face and tone of mine, I suppose.”

I guess everyone sees her that way. Really, I’m sorry.

“But back on topic, don’t tell anyone about the poison yet,” she stressed. “It should be kept among us.”

Mr. Vil nodded solemnly, and I also promised to keep quiet.

“And you should eat at Misha’s place when you can,” the professor added.

The best course of action for now was to minimize the poison that Mr. Vil was ingesting.

“You should visit her every day,” she said.

“Are you saying that to me?” Mr. Vil asked.

“Who else would I say it to?” She poked his arm playfully, but the two maintained a mask of indifference that was a bit scary.

“But if I’m in her care every day, it’d only cause her trouble,” he insisted.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Professor Whipp reassured. “Misha’s a hard worker. Aren’t you, my dear?”

“I sure am!” I exclaimed.

She even offered to pay for his food expenses, so I had no complaints on my end.

“I know! Why don’t you change the location of your base?” the professor suggested.

“I can’t do that,” Mr. Vil said with regret. “I have duties that I must fulfill.”

“I see… A man with a strong sense of responsibility, huh? It’s important to do your work, but…” She smiled as she tapped her index finger on his chest. “You’d best protect your life as well.”

Mr. Vil gave a solemn nod in response.

***

AT night, nocturnal animals flocked toward Mr. Vil. There was an owl on his right shoulder, a horned owl on his left, and a family of weasels following him.

“Um, Mr. Vil, I’ve been curious, but are all these animals…yours?” I asked.

“Huh? No. I’ve no clue where they come from.”

He apparently was well-liked by animals ever since he was a kid. He’d looked into it before, but all he could conclude was that this was some sort of gift bestowed upon him by God. Is a blessing some kind of special ability that few people receive? I wondered. I’d heard stories that heroes, saintesses, and those destined to be kings would receive this sort of blessing, but I felt so detached from any of that. I would’ve never expected anyone so close to me to be blessed.

“Frankly, it’s troublesome to be forced to have a blessing like this,” he grumbled.

“Animals have never really liked me, so I do envy you.”

“I’d like to give this power to you, blessing and all.”

Whenever he scolded a student for breaking a rule, rabbits would often follow him, which really undermined his authority. Even when he was indoors, animals flocked to his window and stared at him intently, distracting him immensely.

“Is that so… But surely, everyone’s voiced how envious they are,” I said.

“No, you’ve been the first to mention it, Ritual.”

“I-I see…”

Looks like everyone else pretends to look the other way. Should I have done that, too? I felt bad for not reading the room—when I inspected the animals around him more closely, I realized they were magical creatures.

“They’re not just regular animals…” I muttered.

“So it seems. If wild animals liked me too, I wouldn’t be able to lead a normal life.”

I imagined Mr. Vil frozen in place, surrounded by squirrels, and let out a small giggle.

“Oh… I’m sorry,” I said. “This is no laughing matter for you.”

“I’d rather you laugh away,” he replied. “I’d feel better about it than have you whisper behind my back.”

Though I didn’t know what family he came from, it seemed he was a high enough rank that everyone tried to earn his favor and was abundantly careful with their words. And I related to how much I preferred a frank person to someone who awkwardly tried to get on my good side.

“Do the animals listen to your orders?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Have you never tried to talk or play with them?”

“Of course not.”

Though they were magical creatures, it wasn’t as though they were his familiars. They meant no harm, so he treated them like they didn’t exist.

“Is that a problem?” he asked.

“Er, I just thought that you might be able to ask them to look into the poisoning,” I said.

“That’s an impossible ask.”

You think so? The animals that gazed at him all hummed with energy as though they awaited his command.

“Um, could you try it out, at least?” I pushed.

Mr. Vil turned to the animals. Perhaps he felt overwhelmed by their glittering eyes as well. With a reluctant sigh, he crouched down and spoke to the family of weasels that had been tailing him.

“Could you guys look into the poison that’s been tormenting me?” he requested.

A magic circle appeared above the weasels before it popped.

“Squeak!” the weasels cried. They turned right like seasoned soldiers and scampered off into the darkness.

“Um… Mr. Vil… You saw that magic circle, didn’t you?” I asked.

“I did…” he muttered. “It’s one that indicates a contract…”

“Which means…”

The magical creatures who approached him were under his contract.

“I’d been told that it was just a blessing that made me popular with animals…” he muttered.

“Maybe it actually allows you to form contracts with wild magical creatures,” I guessed.

An unlimited magical creature subscription!

Meanwhile, Mr. Vil turned to the owls on his shoulders and made the same request. A magic circle appeared above them before they flew off into the night sky.

“Well, that seals the deal,” I said.

“I can hardly believe it…” he groaned.

Still, this was a huge plus. He could use animals and sneakily investigate.

“I think you should tell your uncle about the poisoning as well,” I suggested. “He suffers from the same symptoms, doesn’t he?”

“You’re right,” Mr. Vil replied. His face darkened, likely thinking about the possibility that someone close to him was after his and his uncle’s lives.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Vil,” I said firmly. “I’m on your side! You’ve got Gem and Professor Whipp, too! We’ll help you out whenever you need it!”

I gripped his hands and stared into his eyes, hoping to send him some energy. My family often did this for me during my exams, reassuring me that I would surely get in and that I had nothing to worry about. They filled me with energy and courage.

“Thank you, Ritual,” he said.

The biggest worry was that someone was lacing his food with poison.

“What will you do about meals?” I asked. “I have breakfast with a friend, and I make bentos for lunch.”

“You need not worry about breakfast and lunch. I’ll handle it somehow.”

He claimed that he’d investigate who was poisoning him, and he had some canned and preserved food in his room. He would be fine for a while.

“But for dinner, I’ll be in your care,” he said.

“Of course,” I replied. “You can count on me for dinnertime.”

Professor Whipp gave me more money to cover food expenses, and I wanted to prepare the best dishes to help cheer Mr. Vil up.

***

I had the day off today. After my daily routine of tending the plants, I took the clothes from my dresser and laid them out on my bed.

“Hrmm…” I groaned.

I only brought one dress from home. I purchased it a year ago and made several adjustments to make it last. It was decent enough for a gathering with a few folks out in the countryside, but it wasn’t fabulous enough for a leisurely stroll in the royal capital.

I needed a nice dress because Alice invited me for a cup of tea today. Back in Lawlife, I would’ve never thought about joining a tea party since it was expensive to warm up even a cup of tea in those snowy lands. I’d never been invited to a tea party before. Of course, these occasions had a proper dress code, even if it wasn’t explicitly stated. The standard attire was a feathered hat, some gloves, a tea dress, and a lacy parasol. Women generally wore lavish dresses as the feather in their hat wavered around, an intricate lace parasol in one hand, while elegantly enjoying a cup of tea. Unfortunately, I had no such attire.

If I wore the shoddy dress I had, people would doubt Alice’s taste in friends, and I couldn’t let that happen. I’ve got no dress! I internally shouted, but I had an ace up my sleeve—my school uniform. It was proper attire for any occasion, and I was genuinely glad that I was a student.

In Japan, “students” generally referred to those in college. Elementary, middle, and high schoolers were called “pupils.” But in this world, everyone who went to school was a student, and there weren’t any strict rules on how we were called.

I wore my school uniform and grabbed the handkerchief that I had worked hard to embroider the night before. As I shoved it into my pocket, I asked Gem if it wanted to tag along. It wobbled from side to side—it was staying back this time around.

And so, I headed to the Leaf dorm by myself. The campus was incredibly large, to the point where one had to use a carriage to head from one side to the other. I walked half an hour to the dorms instead to get some exercise, and when I reached the entrance, a young female instructor glared at me. I showed the entry permit that Alice gave me.

“You have to leave in three hours,” she warned. “Don’t forget it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.

Autumn roses were planted in the greenhouse-esque entrance of the dorms, and their aroma hung thickly in the air. When I glanced around, taken by the tall ceiling, Alice approached me.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Misha,” she called.

“I just arrived,” I said.

She wore a gorgeous, crimson dress. I guess she wears dresses on her days off, too.

“That looks lovely on you,” I said.

“Thank you,” Alice replied. “I see you’re in your uniform, but did a professor call you out on a day off?”

“No, I just like uniforms, that’s all.”

“I see…”

She didn’t pry further, much to my relief. I’d assumed that the tea party would be held in her room, but she instead guided me to a door that stood straight from the entrance.

“What room is this?” I asked.

“A reception room,” Alice answered.

She placed her hand on the door, and a magic circle popped up. It automatically made way for us, revealing a sunroom where gentle rays trickled in. The carpet was plush, obviously, and the elegant low tables and sofas added a pleasant touch. The marble mantelpiece, however, caught my eye the most; the upper area had a large mirror, and when I peered into it, it reflected the shimmering chandelier above. They must’ve carefully calculated the positioning.

“Misha, do have a seat,” Alice said.

“Thank you.”

A few finger foods and snacks were prepared for us, including violet cake, a berry tart, a chestnut pie, and other baked sweets, along with fruit, cucumber, and ham sandwiches. This was a lavish spread by itself, but I also noticed minced meat pie, stew, roast beef, and other savory dishes.

The fine china was also opulent with engravings, reliefs, and filigree. I didn’t see any layered cake stands, an item that I’d often spotted for teatime back in my past life. I recalled some elegant ladies in the hotel lounge chatting away that tiered cake stands allowed one to display as many foods as possible in a tight space, providing variety for guests. Hence, celebrities and the extremely wealthy had no need for cake stands since having enough space for food without cramming it in one place was a sign of wealth. These women loudly expressed surprise at the cake stands, so it left a lasting impression on my mind.

Even with that knowledge in mind, today’s tea party was extremely extravagant and expensive. As I gazed at the spread, a woman in a maid’s outfit arrived—apparently the assistant to the dorm parent. She carried a silver tray with freshly baked scones and poured a fresh cup of tea from the china teapot. As the aroma hit my nose, I felt like an elegant noble. I felt like I was in a fairy tale and almost lost sight of reality for a moment.

“Misha, let’s enjoy ourselves,” Alice said.

“Y-Yes,” I replied.

This is actually my first time enjoying afternoon tea like this. I’d seen it in hotels before, but I’d never experienced it for myself. This event was like a dream come true for people with a sweet tooth. A proper one would cost around 5,000 yen per person. I lived a rather frugal life, and I would’ve fainted if I heard of a little afternoon treat that expensive. Thus, in my past life, I could only gaze at the wealthy ladies from afar. I didn’t think I’d get to experience it here.

“Misha, how do you like your scones?” Alice asked.

“Pardon?” I asked.

“People are rather split on how they’re eaten.”

“Er, um… I haven’t really had many scones.”

In Lawlife, dairy products were precious, and I rarely got to eat scones that had a ton of butter in them.

“Then what do you usually enjoy with your tea?” Alice asked.

“Bread baked with a ton of dried fruits,” I said. “I’d shave off small slices and savor that.”

Because it was a waste of firewood to reheat food, I usually placed the bread atop my teacup to warm it up before eating.

“I see…” Alice said.

“So, I’m really looking forward to these scones,” I replied. “But how are people split on how to eat them?”

“Some like to spread some clotted cream first, while others like to do it later.”

The first method was to spread the clotted cream onto the scone and add some jam on top. It was tough to spread the cream on top of the jam, so this was the simplest and most effective way. The second method was to spread the jam first, then the cream on top. Supporters of this method claimed that the cream would melt on a hot, fresh scone and would lose its aroma; a layer of jam was needed as a buffer to protect the cream.

“I like to spread the cream first and then the jam,” Alice said.

“Huh…” I murmured.

I decided that my first bite would be plain. It was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. It’s like a sata andagi treat!

“No, not quite…” I muttered.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, nothing.”

The two seemed similar but couldn’t be more different, though both treats made my mouth turn dry. I then took a bit of clotted cream and layered the jam on top. I had another scone the other way around—the jam was on the bottom. I ate both, switching between bites, but couldn’t decide.

“Both methods are delicious!” I cried.

I spread the clotted cream and jam, took a bite, then took a sip of my tea. The aroma of flour remained in my nose for just a moment. This must be the scone that those wealthy ladies in Japan ate!

“Watching you eat the scones makes me feel silly for picking a side at all,” Alice said.

“The most important thing is to enjoy your food,” I said firmly.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

We enjoyed a lovely tea party as the minutes ticked by, and I savored my time with Alice.

***

WHEN I returned home, I found a package sent from my family. Inside was Claire’s lingonberry jam, a scarf from Mother, and some money from Father. The care package also had an invitation to a societal debut. A ball would be hosted at the royal castle in a month, and my father sent me more money than usual with a letter telling me to buy a nice dress. I felt like I was nowhere near ready to debut and didn’t expect an invitation; I wasn’t confident I could attend by myself, and all the seamstresses must’ve been fully booked by now. I think I’ll decline this invitation this time around. I only had one chance to make my debut, and just the thought terrified me.

As evening rolled around, Mr. Vil dropped by. He spent the past two days pretending to eat the food that the school served him while discreetly tossing it out. To his surprise, his condition improved immensely.

“My headaches and sluggishness have improved,” he said. “As you said, I think my food’s been poisoned somehow.”

“Did you contact your uncle?” I asked.

“I sent a request to my father, but no reply yet.”

“I see…”

I guess he can’t meet his uncle so easily. I just pray that he noticed the poison, too, and has been taking his own measures, I thought. Mr. Vil also took the food that he suspected was poisoned and gave it to Professor Whipp. She claimed that the poison was difficult to analyze and required a bit more time. Guess there’s nothing more we can do for now.

After my lesson with him drew to a close, we debated our next step when the magical creatures that Mr. Vil had ordered last night appeared in front of us. I heard hooting as a bird descended.

“That must be the owl from yesterday,” I said.

“It’s got something,” Mr. Vil observed.

Just as he’d said, the owl had gripped something in its talons, perhaps a small animal.

“Is it here to brag that it caught a rat or something?!” I gasped.

“It’s not a cat,” Mr. Vil replied.

Right… I narrowed my eyes to get a better look and saw that it was hairier than a rat. Whatever it was, the fur fluttered in the wind.

“What is it, then?” I wondered.

“Not a clue.”

The owl dropped the hairy object onto Gem, who had turned into a table for me. As the hair flopped in front of us, Mr. Vil tilted his head to one side in confusion, but I quickly realized what it was.

“What is this?” he asked.

“A wig! This is a wig!” I yelped.

“What?”

“I’m sure of it!”

The owl must’ve taken the suspect’s wig and dropped it in front of us in hopes of securing evidence. Mr. Vil flipped it over and spotted a magic circle engraved on the inside of the wig.

“It’s…” he muttered.

“What is it?”

“It’s under a special charm that ensures that we can’t find traces of the wearer’s mana.”

“Which means that the culprit was wary of the fact that their wig could be blown off. They made sure to cast a spell so that they couldn’t be found.”

“I think so.”

If we couldn’t trace the mana, we couldn’t find the owner of the wig. Then how can we search for the culprit? We can’t act it out like Cinderella and fit everyone in a wig, hoping to find the right head…

“Maybe this wig is custom-made,” I suggested.

It was clearly of high quality. The hair was nice and silky, and it even had a proper hair whorl. Not to mention that it was enchanted.

“Then maybe the owner will want it back,” Mr. Vil said. “I’ve got a plan.” He whispered a shockingly bold plan into my ear, and admittedly, I couldn’t hide my surprise.

***

THE next day, an incident occurred at school. A falcon flew around the school with a wig in its beak. Needless to say, that was all a part of Mr. Vil’s cunning plan. Since the falcon stood out like a sore thumb—I mean, how could it not?—he was certain that the owner would frantically try to retrieve it.

Students and professors tried to capture the falcon, but not as we’d hoped. They tried to chase the bird away for causing a fuss, but none of them tried to retrieve the wig. Finding this plan a bust, Mr. Vil carefully had the falcon retreat. We then made lost-and-found posters about the wig and even asked Professor Whipp if any employees wore a hairpiece, but our efforts were for naught. We ultimately resorted to carefully studying everyone’s heads to see if any of them might be secretly wearing a wig, and three days passed with little results.

After class, I met with Mr. Vil in the courtyard. It was the clearing under the big tree where I initially encountered him, and I had Gem stand guard a short distance away to ensure that no one was sneaking up on us. An army of squirrels had gathered by Mr. Vil’s feet, and the animals looked at me like I was some kind of vixen intruding, but I ignored them to listen to his report.

“I decided to give the wig to the school,” he said.

“Really? It’s a valuable piece of evidence, isn’t it?”

“I gave them a fake wig. The real one’s still with me.” He even cast a charm on it to track anyone who tried to steal the fake wig.

“You’re so smart!” I praised.

All we could do now was pray that the culprit would fall for the bait.

As Mr. Vil had predicted, the wig was stolen that night. Thefts were often covered up at Vizer so as not to cause an uproar. Mr. Vil had sent a magical creature to eavesdrop on a conversation the headmaster had with someone.

“I sent some mice to listen in on the school,” Mr. Vil said.

“You’ve got your bases covered.”

But why is the headmaster involved in covering up a theft? I wondered. Normally, an incident like this would be reported to the knights so they could launch an investigation.

“The headmaster didn’t steal it, did he?” I asked.

“Who knows,” Mr. Vil mumbled.

He wasn’t sure who the headmaster was talking to, but he tracked down where that fake wig ended up. I stared at him with disbelief.

“The royal castle,” he revealed.

“What? I-I don’t understand why it would go there…”

“Me neither.”

He said that his father worked at the castle and suspected that someone close to him was the culprit. It came as no surprise that the castle and its nearby areas were under a barrier that obstructed all sorts of magic and spells; Mr. Vil was only able to get a vague location of where the wig was. If we wanted to delve deeper, we had to enter the castle.

“I’d like to head to the castle, but it’s not a place where I can swing by for a visit,” he grumbled.

I gasped. “Mr. Vil! I was actually invited to a societal debut ball that’s hosted there!” If we could sneak inside, I felt like we could investigate further. “I planned on declining the invitation, but maybe it’s a good opportunity for us to do some snooping.”

“Huh? Wait, why did you plan to decline?”

“Er…”

I gazed into the distance, but a nearby squirrel urged me to speak instead of making silly excuses.

“Um, these debuts cost a lot of money,” I said.

My father gave me enough money to buy a normal dress, but that wasn’t nearly enough—after all, a dress for a societal debut was an expensive occasion. A normal dress wouldn’t cut it; it was tradition to wear a pure-white one with long hems. Each dress was a custom, made-to-order outfit. I couldn’t just buy one on the fly.

“And I need a chaperone as well…” I added.

Usually, a married woman took care of the younger lady making her debut. She’d find proper dance partners and chase away any men whose societal status didn’t match the lady’s. She’d also try to introduce the young lady to men who were her match and act like a mother sending her baby chick down the right path into adulthood.

One had to request a woman to be a chaperone a few years in advance so they would have more than enough time to prepare for the young lady on her big day. Since I assumed that I’d marry Rudolph, I had no intention of making a debut in society and told my mother as much. I thus had made no preparations.

“Debuts are usually events where young men and women find a marriage partner,” I said. “Since I had a fiancé back then, I didn’t plan on attending.”

Mr. Vil furrowed his brow and let out a loud sigh.

“Um… Did I say something odd?” I asked.

“You’ve only said something odd,” he griped. “A societal debut isn’t just a place to find a marriage partner. That’s more of an add-on.”

“Oh…”

“Your governess or someone probably told you that these debuts are only for romantic reasons, so I don’t blame you, but…”

My wet nurse did mention that it was an occasion to meet my fated man, and it was a place to act like a beautiful noblewoman so that I would be fancied by a splendid man. Hence, I always just assumed that debuts were used for nothing else.

“In our nation, a debut allows a family to introduce their daughter to the king to prove that she has matured into a lady,” Mr. Vil explained. “Not all nobles are invited. It’s an honor to simply receive an invitation.”

“R-Right…” I stammered. I felt embarrassed for being so wrong about debuts.

“It’s not your fault for not knowing,” he said. “Had you been in the royal capital, your image of the occasion would’ve been different.”

Households with ladies who would make their debut would prepare a year or two in advance, and it was often a popular topic.

“My younger sister is making her debut this year, and it’s been quite chaotic with her preparing for it the past year,” he added.

“Ah, you have a younger sister…”

He always seemed to be in his own world, so I assumed he was an only child. Mr. Vil’s younger sister was seventeen, the same age as me, and was attending a finishing school.

“Will you be attending her debut with her?” I asked.

Generally, a man would act as a guard when a lady made her debut, and family members were perfect fits for that role.

“With my sister? You’ve got to be kidding,” he spat.

“Then, will she attend with her father?” I asked.

“Who knows?”

Sounds like he doesn’t really get along with his family or have much to do with them. Still, it seems like I should attend this occasion. My biggest concern is the dress.

“Even if I order a dress right now, I doubt I’d make it in time,” I muttered. “And I’m sure ready-made ones are already all sold out.”

Could I gather up all the lacy fabric in my house and stick it onto a white dress? If someone squinted from afar, one might think that I was a lady making her debut, but even then, it’d be a cheap costume at best. I certainly couldn’t wear such poor attire in front of His Majesty the King.

“Wh-What do I do…” I mumbled.

“Why not rely on Marquess and Marchioness Leviathan?” Mr. Vil suggested. “He’s your guardian and the one to rely on in the royal capital, no?”

“Yeah. How do you—” I cut myself off with a gasp of recollection. Mr. Vil had been at the marquess’s house when I went to visit.“Are you friends with Marquess Leviathan?”

“You can say that,” he replied.

It sounded like he didn’t want me to pry further, so I shut my mouth.

“The marchioness was the queen’s former seamstress,” Mr. Vil said. “I’m sure she can fix something up for you.”

“I had no idea…” I muttered. “But I wonder if I can just suddenly pose such a difficult request to her.”

“Why not? I think they’ll be happy to hear it.” He urged me to act quickly and suggested we head to their manor immediately.

“Um, but I should prepare a carriage to head there first,” I said.

“I’ve got that covered,” Mr. Vil replied. He used his fingers and let out a shrill whistle. A massive shadow loomed over us.

“What?! Eep!” I shrieked.

A strong gust of wind hit me and almost blew me away. Even the army of squirrels braced themselves and stayed put, but I could hardly stand for much longer when Mr. Vil grabbed my arm and drew me close, supporting me at my waist. He was so close that I immediately felt embarrassed, and my heart began to pound.

BAM! A massive dragon descended before me in all its glory. It was larger than a truck, and its snow-white body was dazzling.

“Wh-What is this beautiful creature?!” I cried.

“My familiar, Sacred,” Mr. Vil said.

Its name meant “holy beast,” and it was apparently a divine dragon. A dragon stood at the top of all familiars and boasted supreme power. The squirrels also looked surprised; they must’ve never seen it before.

“If we fly on Sacred, we can get to the manor in a flash,” Mr. Vil said awfully casually.

“Can we fly on a dragon?!” I gasped.

“Sure can.”

I’d only seen people riding on dragons in manga and anime; I never would’ve dreamed of experiencing it for myself. In this magical world, anything seemed possible. Sacred lowered itself so that we could climb on its back. Mr. Vil jumped on first and told me to get on.

“O-Okay!” I shouted. “Gem!”

My spirit, who’d been keeping watch, rolled over to me. It didn’t seem particularly surprised or amused when it saw a sacred dragon.

“Mr. Vil, can Gem get on, too?” I asked.

“Sure, but won’t it roll away?” he inquired.

At once, my familiar leapt up and turned into a saddle on Sacred’s back.

“Gem! You’re so smart!” I cried.

The saddle would provide more stability in the skies. With Mr. Vil’s assistance, I climbed on Sacred’s back; Gem turned into a seatbelt of sorts to ensure that I had a safe trip in the air. At my private instructor’s signal, Sacred flapped its majestic wings and took to the azure sky.

Chapter 4: A Fabulous Debutante Ball

Chapter 4: A Fabulous Debutante Ball

I assumed that riding on the back of a dragon was more thrilling and terrifying than a roller coaster ride, but I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. I didn’t feel the wind violently blowing in my face; it was a smooth, non-turbulent flight. I was told a barrier constantly surrounded the dragon for our comfort, and I almost felt like a first-class passenger enjoying an elegant journey among the clouds. I’d never ridden first-class before, so I could only imagine the similarities.

After Sacred descended upon the square near the fountain so that we could get off, Mr. Vil petted its cheek lovingly. I decided to thank the familiar too.

“Sacred, thank you for flying us here,” I said. “You’re great at flying, aren’t you? It was a very comfortable ride.”

I wasn’t sure if it understood me, but the dragon turned its round eyes toward me and let out a small squeak.

“Mwee!”

That’s an adorable cry. I didn’t expect a big dragon to make a sound like that.

“Is something wrong?” Mr. Vil asked.

“I just thought that your familiar has a very cute cry.”

As I chatted with Mr. Vil, I heard an adorable meow behind me, almost like a kitten begging for my attention. I turned around and spotted Gem.

“I thought I just heard a kitten,” I said.

“Meow! Meow!” Gem cried, trying to get my attention.

“Are you making that sound?!”

“Meow!”

Gem’s been pretty quiet until now. Why’s it making adorable cries?

“W-Wait, is it because I mentioned how cute Sacred sounded?” I asked. “Are you trying to compete?”

“Meow!”

The cry was similar to Alice’s familiar, Kitty. Perhaps Gem used that as a reference; it was too proud to copy Sacred’s cry and tried something else instead.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured my familiar. “I know that you’re the cutest in the world. You don’t have to meow if you don’t want to.”

I petted my beloved slime, and it jiggled happily as it flickered faintly in front of me.

“Mr. Vil, surely we should’ve notified Marquess Leviathan before we visited,” I said, hesitant about showing up out of the blue.

“No need,” he assured me. “He and I are really good friends.”

“If you say so…”

I felt like even close friends would’ve appreciated a heads-up, but I wondered if this Japanese tendency just didn’t carry over to this world or culture.

***

WHEN we arrived at Marquess Leviathan’s manor, I again spotted mandrakes running around happily and poisonous-looking vines of black roses wriggling about. It only took one glare from Mr. Vil for the roses to visibly contract and the mandrakes to freeze in place. We weaved our way through the front garden, and Mr. Vil rapped the knocker on the door. A few moments later, a familiar skeleton butler showed his face.

“Welcome,” he said.

“Hi there,” Mr. Vil said.

“Ah, why if it isn’t Vilfri— Mmmgh!”

Mr. Vil immediately clapped his hand over the butler’s mouth to cut the skeleton off.

“Just take us to Marquess Leviathan,” Mr. Vil ordered.

Oh yeah, I never heard his full name… I thought. My guess was that something had caused him to be expelled from school, and he redirected his energy into becoming a private instructor. I couldn’t blame him for being reluctant to share his true identity with a stranger like me.

“E-Er, my lord actually has a guest…” the butler said.

“That’s unusual,” Mr. Vil remarked.

“It’s election season at Vizer. The one that happens once every four years.”

“Ah, I see.”

I must’ve looked obviously perplexed because Mr. Vil patiently explained it all to me.

“There’s an election for a new director once every four years,” he said. “And only heads of noble households who graduated from the school have any right to vote.”

“Huh…” I muttered. “I had no idea.”

The guest that Marquess Leviathan was entertaining was running for director and must’ve wanted his vote. We were guided to a guest room and waited for a short while until the butler announced that the guest had finally left.

“I’ll head in first and give him an explanation,” Mr. Vil said. “You can just wait here, Ritual.”

“Okay,” I replied.

I poked Gem and played around until the marchioness arrived to greet me.

“Ah! Good day, Misha!” she said benevolently. “I trust all is well?”

“G-Good day, Marchioness Leviathan!” I stammered. “Yes, I’ve been well!”

She smiled and drew me in for a gentle embrace and a warm welcome. She seemed shocked to see Gem at first, but when I told her it was my spirit familiar, her eyes twinkled curiously.

“A spirit?” she asked. “I would’ve never dreamed of laying my eyes on one! Oh, how very beautiful it is!”

Gem seemed to like the compliment, as it glowed in a different manner than usual. The marchioness was enamored for a moment, her glittering eyes fixed on Gem, but when she locked eyes with me, she cleared her throat and acted more reserved.

“I’ve heard from Vil,” she said. “I had no idea that you didn’t plan on making your debut.”

“Y-Yes,” I admitted.

“I’m so glad that you reconsidered your decision!”

These debuts were also an opportunity for a parent to brag about just how splendidly they raised their beloved daughters.

“Frankly, I’m a bit embarrassed,” I said. “I’ve learned that I totally misunderstood what a debut was supposed to be.”

“Oh, you’ve no reason to be ashamed!” the marchioness said warmly. “The Lawlife region is far from the royal capital, so it seems a bit silly to go through all the trouble just for one day! I don’t blame you for initially choosing to skip this event entirely!” She grabbed my hands gently. “Won’t you please let me help you prepare for your debut?”

“Are you sure? Is it no trouble?”

“None at all! I would love to help!”

I almost burst into tears, moved by how kind she was to a girl like me, who wasn’t even her daughter.

“Vil said that he told you that I used to be a seamstress for Her Royal Highness, and so, you came to ask me for my aid,” the marchioness said.

“That’s right,” I replied.

“Hee hee, that was two decades ago…”

The queen, formerly a princess of a neighboring nation, came to our country around twenty years ago to marry the king. Because she was the eldest princess of her home nation, she was given the respectful title of “Her Royal Highness.” Queens were addressed differently based on the nation, but in our country, they had no political power. And so, she wasn’t referred to as “Her Majesty.”

Other nations might give a queen a different title, including “the wife and consort of our sovereign,” “the king’s wife,” and other forms of address. Perhaps only the Empire, located in the middle of the continent, was where a king and a queen held equal power and ruled their nation as equals, earning the queen the title of “Her Majesty.” This world had a different set of cultures and history from Earth. Any knowledge I gained in Japan was utterly useless here.

“It seems the king is very unwell this year,” the marchioness mentioned. “Her Royal Highness has agreed to attend the debutante ball in his stead.”

“That’s good to know,” I replied. “What kind of person is the queen?”

“She was kind and reserved. One might even get an evanescent impression of her.”

The marchioness spoke as though she was recalling a time long ago—halcyon days she could never revisit. It’s as though she’s implying that Her Royal Highness has…changed somehow over the years. Or maybe since it’s been twenty years, the marchioness just doesn’t know much about the current queen.

“Oh, and for your dress, Vil’s younger sister will be more than happy to provide you with one of her spares,” the marchioness added.

“R-Really? Are you sure it would be all right for me to accept?” I asked.

“She had around twenty dresses made for the occasion, so really, she’s more than happy to get some off her hands.”

I guess richer families make countless test dresses for their daughters’ debutante balls. Mr. Vil really must come from a very wealthy and powerful family.

“I’ll just take your measurements for today,” the marchioness said.

“Please do.”

She skillfully measured me and jotted down the numbers. Since it’d been decades, I wondered if her skills were rusty, but when she placed the measuring tape by my body, I saw how she expertly went through the motions—years of practicing her craft made the skillset second nature to her.

“All right, I think I’ve got enough,” she said.

“Thank you.”

Gem, perhaps thinking it was up next, proudly presented itself in front of the marchioness. She realized what Gem wanted and swiftly placed her measuring tape around my familiar.

“Gem, your bust is around thirty inches, I’d say,” the marchioness said.

Around 76 centimeters… Gem, happy to be measured at all, bounced up and down with delight.

“Marchioness Leviathan, thank you for humoring Gem as well,” I said. “I really do appreciate it.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” she giggled. “I had fun, too.”

Glad to hear it. Whew…

“Vil said that he’d send a dress over right away, so I’ll do my best to get it done before your big day,” she added.

She invited me to dinner as well, but I couldn’t impose any more. I visited without notice and even asked her to make my dress at the last minute; I had already caused more than enough trouble for the Leviathans. Mr. Vil had already declined the invitation as well, and the marchioness visibly deflated like a lonely cat.

“I do hope you’ll stay the night the next time you visit,” she said.

“I would love to,” I replied. “Thank you. Your words really mean a lot.”

Mr. Vil sent me a card telling me to head home first—he had some business with the marquess to attend to. House Leviathan provided a splendid carriage to take me home. I wanted to at least greet the marquess before I left, but he seemed busy talking to Mr. Vil, so I headed home for the day. The butler politely sent me off, and as I walked out the front door, a man rushed toward me, desperation riddled all over his face.

“Marchioness Leviathan!” he cried. “Please! Let me meet with your husband!”

“W-Whoa!” I gasped.

He almost pushed me to the ground, much to my shock, but Gem turned into a transparent board to protect me. The man rushed into my familiar and fell back down with a groan, croaking like a frog.

“Um, excuse me, good sir,” I said. “I’m not the marchioness.”

“Huh?!” the man cried. “O-Oh… You aren’t.”

The man, appearing to be in his mid-forties, looked up at me from the ground.

“Er, may I ask why you’re here?” I inquired.

“The marquess told me that I can’t meet him anymore, so I decided to negotiate directly with the marchioness.”

“Huh…”

The man introduced himself as Count Raid and explained he was running in the election for Vizer’s director. He asked for Marquess Leviathan’s support but was rejected. The count, not one to give up so easily, visited this manor, where he was ultimately no longer allowed to meet the marquess.

“Y-Young lady, you’re from Vizer, I see,” Count Raid said. “Does your father perhaps have a vote he can spare?”

“Oh, I’m not quite sure,” I replied. “He’s a lord in the countryside, ruling over land on the frontier. He rarely visits the royal capital.”

“I-I see…”

When I told him that the marquess had a visitor today and likely didn’t have time for another, the count plodded away, resigned, his footsteps heavy. I could only sigh and board the carriage.

When I returned to school, I took care of the plants and prepared dinner. Today’s menu was French onion soup, salted pork steamed with herbs and spices, and a vegetable quiche. I prepared Mr. Vil’s share too, but I wasn’t sure if he’d show up. Right when I finished cooking, he arrived.

“I’m back,” he said.

“Welcome back,” I smiled.

That felt like an exchange between family members, and the thought alone embarrassed me to no end. Mr. Vil must’ve thought the same, since the corners of his ears were turning the faintest shade of pink. Flying squirrels swarmed toward him, grabbing his back and arms with sheer looks of enchanted delight on their little faces. Mr. Vil didn’t seem to mind becoming their perch. Is he used to animals clinging to him or something?

I’d hoped that at least one of them might mistake me for a tree and land on me, but none of them dared to come close. Ugh, I’m so jealous of him! Look at all the animals around him! Gem again came to my rescue. It formed a table and some chairs for me to set the dishes on, and Mr. Vil and I sat around the food. The French onion soup had finished baking just as he arrived, so it was still piping hot.

“I highly recommend today’s soup,” I said.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I stewed an entire onion into the soup and sprinkled some cheese on top. I baked it just a bit to let the cheese broil.”

“A baked soup… I’ve never experienced that before.”

And of course, I couldn’t tell him that it was my favorite dish in Japan. Mr. Vil seemed unsure how to eat it and watched me take the first bite. I sank my spoon into the soup and scooped up some onion. The onion was soft and melty since I stewed it for so long, and it easily gave way to my spoon. I took a spoonful, the cheese stretching with my soup, and carefully placed the bite into my mouth. The soup was hotter than lava. I had to huff a few times to cool it in my mouth, but the taste was divine. The tender onion slices and rich cheese were amazing. Old reliable. The same great flavor that I know and love.

“It’s hot, so be careful,” I warned.

“All right,” Mr. Vil said.

He carefully placed a spoonful into his mouth. His eyes grew wide for a moment before he nodded along and reached for another spoonful. We ate in silence, only stopping for breath when we were finished.

“How was it?” I asked.

“I’ve never had anything like it before,” Mr. Vil replied. “The soup was delicious.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Then I’m happy I made it. For dessert, I made some apple biscuit pie, and we shared what happened at the marquess’s manor between bites.

“I’ve decided to switch bases to the marquess’s manor from here on out,” Mr. Vil said.

“That seems wise,” I replied.

After all, he’d been poisoned for years without ever noticing it. Clearly, someone at school was the culprit, slowly chipping away at his life. The mere thought of not being able to trust anyone was terrifying. With the culprit at large, it was dangerous and scary for him to remain at school. Mr. Vil said that he’d sneak around a bit. He would carry the minimum number of items out of his room to make it seem like he still mostly stayed at school and would only head to Marquess Leviathan’s manor at night, when everyone was fast asleep.

“I could’ve stayed at the manor today, but I wished to speak about this with you, Ritual,” he said.

“So, you dropped by for my sake?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

Don’t get conceited. He probably feels a sense of responsibility as my instructor. I can’t think that I’m special to him, because I’m not. That’s all this is.

“Will you report this to the headmaster or director?” I asked.

“I’ve got no plans to do so,” Mr. Vil answered.

At this point, he could trust no one. Everyone at the school was a potential suspect, and Marquess Leviathan advised him to keep a tight lid on this information. It was best if very few knew.

“You’re right,” I said. “You should trust no one, not even me, and keep a watchful eye.”

“You’re the last person I’d doubt,” he remarked.

“I’m just saying it as an example.”

“I know.”

If you knew, you didn’t have to refute me. But when he looked at me with his deadpan expression, I didn’t know how to react.

“Maybe it’s best if you didn’t leak any more information to me, either,” I advised.

“Why would you say that?”

At once, his tone turned icy and cold, like he was censuring me. A shiver ran down my spine, and I struggled to speak.

“Um, like, what if I get kidnapped?” I eked out. “If someone threatened me to speak with a blade pressed against my throat, I’d probably spill the beans without a second thought.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Mr. Vil said. “I’ll protect you, Ritual.”

Now, his tone was warm and kind, and the differences in his demeanor almost gave me whiplash. I’m not even sitting that close to him, but he makes my heart race… He’s got the charisma and looks to make people swoon. But it’s so weird… Rudolph was just as handsome as Mr. Vil, and yet, he never made my heart skip a beat like this. I shouldn’t dwell on this feeling much longer. I’ll shove it away in a corner and pretend I never noticed it.

“Uh, on my end…” I started. “Right! Yes, thank you for lending me your sister’s dress! I’m so very grateful.”

“Don’t mention it,” Mr. Vil replied. “It’s no big deal.” Despite his words, he crossed his arms and gave a triumphant smile, as if he were happy to be thanked.

“The marchioness said that she’ll have it ready by the ball.”

“Then you’re all set on that end.”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

When I tried to draw our conversation to a close, Gem, who was my table and chair, flashed red like a warning signal.

“What the?”

“Did something happen?” Mr. Vil asked.

A TV-like display suddenly sprouted from the table, and I watched on with confusion when Gem projected a video onto its screen.

“What?! Gem…” I started.

“What is this?!” Mr. Vil asked.

Moments later, the display showed me heading out of Marquess Leviathan’s manor to board the carriage when Count Raid rushed at me—the exact scene that had occurred earlier in the afternoon.

“Is this a record of what happened earlier today?” Mr. Vil asked.

“So it seems…” I muttered.

“I’ve never seen records shown like this before.”

“Y-Yeah…”

While crystals, mirrors, and other forms of magic could project videos in real time, that was a rarity in this world. Of course, I’d seen stuff like this countless times back in Japan; I was more shocked that Gem could basically serve as a video recorder.

“That’s Count Raid…” Mr. Vil observed.

“Yes,” I said. “He mistook me for the marchioness, it seems.”

“I had no idea this happened… Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Er, um, truth be told, I totally forgot about it while I was making dinner. I think my hunger took precedence…”

Mr. Vil let out a lengthy sigh. “I didn’t think that he had even made contact with you and the marquess…”

“In my case, I think it really was just a coincidence.”

It seemed Mr. Vil knew of Count Raid. He’d been the director of Vizer for a decade until Grand Duke Lindenburg, the current director, took the seat.

“He’s probably desperate to regain the director’s seat for this election,” Mr. Vil muttered.

“His eyes were bloodshot,” I said. “It was frankly a bit scary.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean for you to go through something like that.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

My simple question caused his eyes to widen ever so slightly, a subtle sign that he regretted a slip of his tongue.

“Er, had I been with you, I think you could’ve avoided an encounter with him,” Mr. Vil said.

I don’t doubt that he wants to protect me, but I suspect he has another reason… Is there some problem between him and Count Raid? Some sort of feud? Or maybe it’s an issue between their families. In either case, I should play dumb and let it slide.

“So, shall we start studying?” he asked.

“Tomorrow, we’re supposed to do some volunteering, so our class will be held outside,” I explained. “I don’t think I have to review anything. I’m sorry. I should’ve said that sooner, so you wouldn’t have had to come all the way here.”

“No, even if there was no lesson today, I would’ve dropped by to speak with you anyway. I should apologize for making you prepare dinner for me.”

“Oh, but I quite enjoy eating with you, Mr. Vil.”

“You enjoy eating with me?”

“Yes. You always talk about interesting topics, and it’s funny to see you act totally fine despite being covered by flying squirrels.”

Mr. Vil gasped and stood up. He gently peeled every flying squirrel off his body and placed them onto a nearby tree.

“Go on. Go back into the forest,” he said solemnly.

Yep. Straight out of a fairy tale.

***

THE next morning, I ate breakfast with Prince Rena as usual. Since she seemed awfully worried about her growing chest, I opted to provide a nutritious and healthy breakfast. I served what was left of yesterday’s French onion soup paired with spelt, apple, and beet salad.

Spelt was an ancient, relict grain. I soaked them overnight in water and boiled them, and they were ready to eat like other grains. I’d left my debutante ball invitation out on the table, and the prince glanced at it before she turned to me apologetically.

“Are you making your debut this year?” she asked.

“I am,” I replied.

A lady could make her debut between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. It was up to her family to decide upon the perfect timing.

“I’m actually going to attend this year, too,” Prince Rena said.

“Really?!” I asked with surprise.

Since the prince had her own issues, I should’ve just let it slide, but I couldn’t hide my utter shock.

“The king won’t be in attendance this year, so I have to go instead…” she said.

The crown prince’s public debut was typically held when the royal turned twenty, and until then, Prince Rena had said that she would avoid public occasions, but the queen had urged her to be there this time.

“His Majesty also told me to do the crown prince’s ceremony there, too,” she added.

“His Majesty won’t be in attendance, but he still wants you to do it?”

“Yeah…”

It was apparently exceedingly rare for a king to be absent from a societal debut event. He thus suggested conducting the crown prince’s ceremony there to put everyone’s mind at ease.

“I’ve been hiding my identity at school until now, but if I do that ceremony, there’s really no way to keep that up,” Prince Rena said.

Er… Honestly, I don’t think you’ve been fooling anyone, I thought. They’ve noticed; they’re just turning the other way. Prince Rena couldn’t possibly hide her royal aura and grace.

“I knew that some girls at this school would make their debuts this year, but I didn’t know you would, too, Misha,” Prince Rena said.

“Well, I didn’t plan on attending at first,” I admitted. “But my private instructor convinced me otherwise.”

“You planned on skipping it?”

“Yes.”

She stared at me, befuddled, further lending credence to the fact that it was rare for noblewomen to miss a debutante ball.

“An instructor who could convince you must be a very good one,” Prince Rena said. “What dorm are they from?”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s their name?”

“Mr. Vil.”

“Vil?”

Since he visits every day to teach me, maybe he doesn’t belong to any set dorm, but what do I know?

“He gives you private lessons?” Prince Rena asked incredulously. “I can’t believe it.”

“Is that weird?” I asked.

“Yeah. Private instructors still generally teach two or three students at a time. Students don’t get to have one all to themselves.” She insisted that no instructor would teach only one student for a few hours at a time. “Who in the world is he?” she wondered.

“I don’t know, but I’ve been told that he works under Professor Whipp,” I said. “I don’t think he’s anyone suspicious or anything like that.”

“Professor Whipp… Ah, she counts as a special researcher at Vizer, so perhaps he assists her in that line of work.”

“Maybe.”

I decided not to pry deeper into Mr. Vil’s identity for now, but I recalled him mentioning that he was good friends with Prince Rena.

“Huh…” I muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Prince Rena asked.

“Hm? Oh, nothing.”

She must have enough on her plate as it is. It’s probably best if I didn’t pursue this topic further. The best course of action in my mind was to turn a blind eye.

***

FOR today’s classes, I would spend the whole day at the local orphanage. Almost all of my classmates were nobles and had engaged in charity work at least once, but unfortunately, I’d never done anything like that before. There weren’t any orphanages in Lawlife, and we were a poor family. We really didn’t have enough to make a sizable donation. It might’ve been odd for a viscount’s family to be tight on money, but we resided in a snowy frontier region, so we did our best with what we had.

We did, however, distribute bowls of free soup during the harvest festival, and I imagined that this charity work was of the same ilk. When I glanced around, none of the students were scrambling to review their notes before class as they always did. Everyone was more laid-back, like we were on a field trip. The students chatted away excitedly, barring Ehr. It was rare for him to frown so deeply as he rested his face on his hand and let out a deep sigh.

“What’s wrong, Ehr?” I asked.

“It’s just… This is kinda weird for me,” he admitted.

“Why’s that?”

“Five years ago, when my mom died, I was almost dragged to an orphanage by an employee there.”

Five years ago… He was twelve. He said he never had a father in his life, and he led a humble life with his mother up until then.

“My mom was kinda…well, eccentric,” Ehr said. “She had a frail body, too, so it was difficult for her to go out and work.”

Ehr’s current guardian ensured that both Ehr and his mother could survive in this cruel world. The guardian owned a splendid manor near downtown, and he was known to be rather wealthy.

“Is that your mother’s friend that you mentioned before?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Ehr replied. “He’s a good guy, truly. I once casually mentioned to my mom that she should marry him, only for her to start crying.”

Maybe she still had feelings for her husband. Only she could ever say, but she’s no longer with us.

“When she died, the people at the orphanage dropped by almost immediately,” Ehr went on. “They tried to drag me there.”

He recalled how forceful and violent they were, and Ehr was terrified of how he might be treated at their institution. When he found an opening, he took it to escape and asked for help.

“I begged my mother’s friend to save me,” he said.

And so, the wealthy man insisted on becoming Ehr’s guardian.

“He said he wanted to adopt me, and I’m grateful, but…” Ehr started.

“Yes, you mentioned that you weren’t sure if you could make it in high society,” I said.

“Yeah. Plus, I couldn’t forget my mom’s words. She cried and told my guardian that he’d surely become unhappy if he continued to offer us assistance.”

This guardian, in hopes of aiding Ehr’s future, offered to help him enroll in magic school, but Ehr declined both that and his offer of adoption.

“Then he gave me a new name, house, and work so that I could live a humble, quiet life,” Ehr said.

“I had no idea…” I murmured.

It seemed this man still hadn’t given up on his mission to give Ehr an education fitting for a gentleman. The guardian even helped Ehr enroll in this school. Ehr drew close to me.

“Misha, um, my real name’s actually Ehrhart,” he whispered into my ear.

“Huh?” I asked.

It was a dignified and fitting name for the heir of a noble household. I drew back with surprise. Ehr placed an index finger on his lips, asking me to keep it a secret. I glanced around, but no classmates were nearby, and no one seemed interested in our conversation.

“Wh-Why did you tell me?” I whispered as quietly as I could.

“Because you’re my best friend.”

“B-But you changed your name because you didn’t want to use it, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s a bit lonely for no one else to know my real name aside from my guardian, don’t you think?”

“I guess, but…”

Maybe Ehr’s mother originally hailed from a noble household, but something caused her to live downtown. Her friend—the old man—knew her circumstances and decided to lend a helping hand. Then what’s Ehr’s origin, anyway? No, no, I shouldn’t delve deeper into his personal affairs.

“If I’d been dragged into the orphanage back then, I don’t know where I’d be right now…” Ehr muttered.

Personally, I’d never heard of cases where orphanages were violent with children. Did they treat him roughly because he didn’t listen to their instructions or something? Maybe their hands were forced.

“What kind of people were they?” I asked.

“Hmm, I don’t remember much, but they were dressed in black from head to toe,” he recalled. “Really shady, honestly.”

Yeah, I bet. That attire makes no sense. Orphanages were generally run by people of the church at the behest of the nation. Most of them were nuns and monks, and they knew how to handle kids well.

“Ehr, are you sure that they came from an orphanage?” I asked.

“Well, that’s what they told me,” he replied.

“That’s what scammers say!”

I inadvertently raised my voice and hastily clapped a hand over my mouth. My classmates were too busy heading through the teleporting door to go to the orphanage that they didn’t seem to care about my outburst. I didn’t think I’d run into scammers that lie about where they come from to deceive people in this world, too. I guess crimes like that are rampant anywhere. There’ll always be someone with nefarious ideas and cunning tactics to trick unsuspecting, innocent people.

“Huh… So those people weren’t from the orphanage?”

“I don’t think so,” I replied.

I explained that nuns and monks were generally kind and thoughtful people, and Ehr let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

“That’s good to hear,” he said.

We then walked through the door and teleported in front of the orphanage gates in an instant. The monks were already there, waiting for us with warm smiles. The students were tasked with cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, and playing with the kids. We drew lots to get our roles, and I was in charge of playing with the children. Ehr was on cleaning duty, and Prince Rena got laundry duty. I was admittedly terrified of seeing the crown prince do laundry, but we were all students and treated equally.

When Gem sensed the presence of kids nearby, it immediately turned transparent. I could sense its mana, so I knew that it was beside me, but it couldn’t be seen. Perhaps it knew that it’d be treated as a toy by kids. When we split into groups, I found Alice on the same team as me.

“Are you in charge of watching the kids, too, Alice?” I asked.

“Ah, Misha,” she replied. “I suppose you are as well.” She looked visibly relieved as she explained that the classmates she was close with had been assigned to different teams. “How should I play with the kids? Do you know?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” I replied. “You just need to ask them what they want to do, and they’ll tell you, I’m sure.”

“Is it that simple?”

“That’s right. You don’t have to think too deeply about it.”

Alice and my other classmates looked nervous as we stepped onto the orphanage’s premises. We met up with the nuns and were guided toward the kids; the children gasped with awe when they saw us.

“These big brothers and sisters attend magic school,” a nun explained. “They’re future wizards and witches, you know. They’ll play with you today, so be sure to get along with them.”

There were about thirty kids in the orphanage, all between the ages of five and seven. Older kids attended school and weren’t around during this time of day. Once the nun finished her explanation, the children rushed toward us; Alice and I were surrounded by five or so girls in an instant.

“Look, a princess!” a girl chirruped.

“A princess!” another shouted.

They all pointed at Alice and called her a princess, their eyes twinkling with excitement.

“Um, no, I’m not—” Alice started, but I hastily placed a hand over her mouth.

“I don’t think you should ruin the dreams of these kids,” I whispered into her ear.

She nodded back, and I let go of her.

“G-Good day, little ones,” she said. “My name is Alice.” She placed a hand over her chest, pinched the hems of her skirt, and did a little curtsy, much to the delight of the children.

“I knew it! She’s a princess!” one said with delight.

Alice only stood there looking troubled, so I crouched down to match their eye level.

“What should we play today?” I asked brightly.

“Pretend princess!” a child in front of me shouted energetically.

Yeah, I thought so. I glanced at Alice, who shook her head with a straight face as though she had no idea what to do.

“Misha, how does one play this game?” she asked.

“Hmm, well…”

The kids gazed up at Alice with excited twinkling eyes. I feel like they’d like it if we just greeted each other like nobles…

“Oh, I know!” I said. “Alice, do you know how to act in front of an audience at the debutante ball?”

“Well, of course,” Alice replied. “I made my debut last year.”

“Wow! You made your debut before me! I’m actually going to that ball this year, but I don’t quite have all the basics and etiquette down. Would you mind teaching me?”

I joined the kids and looked at her expectantly. Alice finally gave a sigh of resignation.

“Very well,” she relented.

“Big Sister Alice will teach us a ritual on how to become a princess!” I told the kids. “Isn’t that fun?”

The children jumped up and down eagerly.

“What do we do first?” I prompted.

“Ladies must have a splendid coiffure,” she replied. “First, we tie our hair up.”

She explained that women who haven’t made their debut yet would leave their hair down, but those making their debut would have their hair styled in a lovely way during public occasions.

Alice produced some velvet ribbons and hairpins from her pocket and carefully combed each child’s hair before tying their locks up neatly. I clumsily tied my own hair into a braid behind my head.

“I’m surprised you carried all this with you,” I said.

“I planned on giving them to the kids as a present when we became close,” Alice answered.

“That’s so nice of you!”

The ribbons were of excellent quality. The kids would surely treasure them.

“We should probably send everyone a ribbon so that they won’t fight amongst themselves later,” I suggested.

“Ah, indeed,” Alice replied. “Goodness me, I failed to notice that.”

That wasn’t her fault. She likely never had to fight for food or items among her siblings, and she had no reason to envy them for their material possessions.

“First, we greet His Majesty the King,” Alice instructed.

She bent her knees low and bowed. Her movements were fluid and elegant, but she went so low that I almost thought she was sitting down. When I observed her intently, she was frozen beautifully in place inches above the ground. She reminded me of a swan gliding across the lake’s surface; though swans seemed to be elegantly swimming across, underneath the water’s surface, they were actually furiously paddling with their legs.

The fact that Alice could do this so easily and elegantly was the result of practice. I clapped with awe, and even the children voiced how impressed and amazed they were as they joined me in applause.

“These are the very basics for a noble,” Alice said. “Any noble can do it as easily as they breathe.”

“I-I had no idea,” I muttered.

“Now then, shall we all give it a try?”

So began a hellish training lesson. Alice taught us how to bow, handle our skirts, act with elegance, and even dance. This pretend play felt far more realistic than I thought, and it became lunch hour in no time.

Those in charge of cooking handed out tea and sandwiches to everyone. Alice and I sat with the kids under a tree to enjoy lunch. The bread was tough, the ham was paper-thin, and the tea was so weak that I wondered whether they reused tea leaves several times. The poor food and drink weren’t because the cooks messed up or anything; this was a normal lunch for those at the orphanage. Alice was surprised the moment she took a bite.

“I suppose this is normal for the kids here,” she said.

“So it seems,” I replied.

When I told her I had similar meals back home during the winter months, she gazed at me sympathetically.

We played pretend princess into the afternoon. As the minutes ticked by, more girls gathered around, and we were all dead serious as we tried to act like princesses. I gave up midway and planted my bottom on the ground in defeat, but the kids’ passion and admiration for princesses was on a whole other level. And Alice’s ardent teaching matched their energy.

The day was over in a flash, and it was soon time for us to leave. Alice, who at first didn’t know how to interact with children, was now close friends with them, smiling happily. We returned to Vizer under the watchful eye of the children who saw us off. I was happy to have this experience. In fact, Alice and I agreed to visit the orphanage again on our days off.

***

MY busy days and daily life at school went by. The foliage in the Garden Plant turned red and brown, the colors of autumn, and the cold wind also notified me that the colder months were near. Students had changed into their winter mantles and breathed puffs of white while murmuring that winter was around the corner.

I was used to the cold. Even during fall, I didn’t wear a mantle, but a professor I walked past in the corridor sharply told me to wear one lest I catch a cold. Since students wore mantles year-round, I thought I could get by wearing a lighter one in the warmer months, but I couldn’t deceive the eyes of professors who had worked here for decades.

Kinder professors offered to lend me money to buy a mantle for the winter and invited me to visit them in the employee lounge, but I told them I wasn’t cold since I was used to it back at home. They all looked at me with disbelief that I could tolerate this cold.

I think it was around this time last year, when I was at the entrance exams, that people were concerned I wasn’t wearing a mantle… In any case, my days at school were fun, stimulating, and very fulfilling. I couldn’t have enjoyed my time at Vizer more.

***

A month passed by in a flash. It was already the day I’d make my debut in society, and House Leviathan’s carriage arrived early in the morning to take me to their manor. I was busy preparing for the ball. The marquess and marchioness greeted me with welcoming smiles.

“I’m happy you’re here,” the marquess said.

“It’s so early in the morning, so I’m sure it must’ve been troublesome for you to make the journey,” the marchioness added.

They took turns pulling me in for a tight embrace, and I truly felt like I was their daughter.

“Misha, your dress is done,” the marchioness informed me.

“And I’ve no doubt you’ll look gorgeous in it,” the marquess said.

“Thank you,” I replied. “I’ve been looking forward to it.”

Mr. Vil, who was temporarily living in the marquess’s manor, was summoned by his younger sister and returned to his family home. He said that he would be back before I departed for the ball.

“If Vil doesn’t arrive, I shall be your escort,” the marquess reassured me.

“Oh, that’s a lovely idea!” the marchioness cheered.

Marquess Leviathan had a threatening, terrifying visage. I’d be very safe with him.

“We can chit-chat all we’d like later,” the marchioness said. “Misha, let us prepare you for your big day!”

“I’d like that,” I replied.

The marquess was reluctant to let me go, but the marchioness ushered me toward the dressing room. When she opened the door, a snow-white dress greeted me.

“Wow… This is gorgeous!” I gasped.

The stunning gown reminded me of a dollop of whipped cream. It was paired with a veil decorated with feathers and was absolutely gorgeous.

“I’ve also added some silver embroidery to your skirt,” the marchioness explained. “I thought it would make your lovely silver hair pop out.”

“Silver hair?” I asked. “Your flattery makes me so happy. I’ve always thought that my hair looked like a cloudy sky.”

She giggled. “Nonsense! Your hair is a beautiful silver, my dear! And take a look at the embroidery, if you will.”

“A snowflake pattern!”

“That’s right. You’ve got a sharp eye!”

Since I came from a snowy region, she added a snowflake design to the dress. Long dresses were unique to high society debuts. Some of them were nearly four meters long; it was unseemly to drag the hems of one’s dress on the ground, and women usually carried it as they walked around. I’d heard how painstaking it was to walk around with these hems. However, the dress in front of me had hems around a meter long, at most. That would make it easy to move around in.

“Now then, let’s have you try it on,” the marchioness said.

“Please,” I said.

First, I had to slip into shapewear, an undergarment that shaped my silhouette.

“You’re slender, so this won’t have to be pulled so tight on you,” the marchioness said.

I was secretly worried that I had put on some weight since I had eaten a lot of meat and fish recently, but apparently, I had nothing to worry about.

“Now that your corsage belt is on, you must wear your petticoat before we put your dress on,” she explained.

A petticoat was like a pannier, which formed the dress into a pretty shape. After that, I could finally wear my long-hemmed dress. Some petticoats were designed to be the actual bottom skirt of a dress, and it all depended on taste. After I finally donned my attire, it was a bit loose around my stomach.

“Did you lose weight since a month ago?” she wondered.

“Maybe the corsage made my waistline a bit smaller,” I suggested.

“Ah, that must be it.”

When she removed the corsage, the dress fit me perfectly.

“Goodness… You see, ladies normally have to squeeze themselves into dresses like these,” she explained. “Many go on a diet months before so that they can fit.”

“I see…” I muttered.

“I suggest you eat more delicious dishes. There’s so much amazing food in the world!”

“U-Um… I’ll try my best?”

And I bet my small, healthy breakfasts with Prince Rena don’t help… I thought. Maybe I’ll add another dish to the menu or something.

The marchioness took a step back to check her work. “Misha, you look absolutely gorgeous! You’re so beautiful!”

“Thank you.”

A lady-in-waiting brought over a full-length mirror to check my appearance in. Even I was surprised by just how stark a transformation it was. It was a gorgeous outfit, and whenever I moved a little, the fabric swished, and the silver snowflake embroidery dazzled magnificently. It reminds me of the diamond dust I used to always see in the early mornings on cold days.

“Wow…” I murmured. “This dress is just…stunning. Thank you for making something so beautiful in such a short amount of time.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” the marchioness replied. “Never would I have imagined that I could help a lady out for her debut!”

She gushed about how much fun she had making preparations, and I was internally relieved that I wasn’t too much of a burden on her.

“All that’s left are the accessories to match your dress!”

“U-Um, about that…” I started.

A lady generally wore a tiara, earrings, and a necklace during her debut. I sent my mother a letter and asked to borrow the set of pearl accessories she wore for her debut, and she graciously sent them to me. They were supposed to arrive the day before yesterday, but…

“Lawlife is currently being tormented by an unprecedented amount of snow,” I said. “I haven’t received my accessories yet.”

“Oh dear!” the marchioness cried.

Yeah, this is looking bad for me.

“Wh-What shall we do?” she stammered. “I’d love to lend you a set, but I have nothing fitting for a lady’s debutante ball.”

Accessories generally had to match the dress. Since the formal attire for this occasion was white, pearls and diamonds made a lady look purer and more proper. However, the marchioness had rubies and pink diamonds—both were far too flashy for a debutante ball.

“I’m so sorry…” the marchioness said sadly.

“Please, don’t be,” I replied. “I asked Gem to save the day and be my hero.”

“Gem?”

My familiar had been quiet until now, but it bounced forward and practically rammed into me. Its spherical body shifted in the air, and in a flash, it turned into a magnificent pearl tiara, earrings, and necklace for me.

“It’s a faux pearl set made by a jewel slime,” I said.

“Oh my!” the marchioness gasped. She gazed intently at my jewelry, wide-eyed.

“You can touch it if you’d like.”

“May I, Gem?”

My familiar glowed faintly, signaling its consent.

“This…is fabulous!” she gasped. “It feels like a real pearl!”

Gem, happy to receive the praise, jiggled my necklace from side to side with elation.

“I’m surprised that you had this ingenious idea!” she said.

“It was Gem’s idea, actually.”

I read yesterday’s papers and learned that the northern region of the nation was assaulted with record snowfall, shutting down roads and transportation. That was when I knew I wouldn’t receive my mother’s package in time. When I was at a loss, Gem jumped to the rescue and proudly turned into accessories.

“But how in the world was it able to turn into such fine, modern jewelry?” the marchioness asked. “This design is the latest trend.”

“I went shopping in the city the other day with Gem,” I said. “We dropped by an accessory store to view some jewelry, so I suspect that’s where it saw some designs.”

Of course, I felt bad copying the exact design I saw at the store, and Gem changed things up a bit to make it look more original. My familiar was a genius.

“Pearls really suit you,” the marchioness noted. “Your skin is so pale and pretty, and it will only be accentuated by the pearls.”

“Huh? Oh, um… Thank you. I appreciate the compliment,” I replied bashfully.

My skin was only so pale because I could barely leave the house during the winter due to the heavy snowfall. I remained holed up in the manor like a hermit. Snow was reflective, and on sunny days, one could still get a tan, but there were hardly ever bright days in Lawlife—my skin might’ve been paler than most.

“Ah, yes, and this dress has a little contraption,” the marchioness said. “If you give a little tug on the ribbon around your waist, the hems will tie up into a ribbon.”

A lady-in-waiting brought out two more mirrors so that I could see it from various angles.

“I-It’s so cute!” I gasped. “And easy to move around in!”

“Exactly! That’s what I was going for, dear!”

She revealed that during her debut, she stepped on the hems of her dress and tripped. Ever since, she’d been experimenting with ways to ensure that the hems wouldn’t get in the way and came up with this ribbon idea.

“Thank you, truly,” I said.

“It’s my pleasure,” she replied with a proud laugh. “But we’re not done just yet. Preparations have only just begun.”

I’d assumed that I was basically all dressed up, but this was only to test out the dress. I was to take a bath, clean my skin and hair, and get a massage before putting on makeup, tying my hair up, and completing the finishing touches.

“Good luck, Misha! Let’s do our best for your big day!” the marchioness declared.

“O-Okay!”

For the next whopping five hours, I was getting ready. The marchioness ordered her ladies-in-waiting around expertly and made me into a lovely noblewoman. Never had I dressed up to this degree, and when I looked at myself in the mirror, a different person stared back at me.

Mr. Vil arrived in the evening, and he looked like a dashing gentleman in his lavish tailcoat. He gazed at me expressionlessly, as if I were a weed on the side of the road. Oh, come on. I’m at my best here! Let me strut my stuff a bit! I did a little twirl and tried to look pretty; thanks to the marchioness’s ribbon contraption, I could move as I pleased.

“Don’t you think I look prettier than ever before?” I asked.

“Yes, I suppose. You’re very pretty,” he muttered as he placed a hand on his lips.

I expected a sharp retort from him, insulting me for getting too cocky, but when he just nodded and affirmed my comment, I felt bashful and embarrassed. I snapped my mouth shut, my face red. Marchioness Leviathan, perhaps noticing the awkward air, encouraged us to head to the venue. I nervously headed out. It was already dark out, and Mr. Vil lent me his hand so that I wouldn’t trip.

I was so glad that I wore gloves; if I hadn’t, he would’ve noticed how clammy my hands were from anxiety. The carriage was dark inside, and that eased my nerves a bit; I felt bad that I hadn’t complimented him back, and I decided to share my thoughts.

“Mr. Vil, you look very handsome yourself today,” I said. “You remind me of a prince.”

“Sounds like I don’t look so great normally,” he replied.

“Your usual self is very good-looking, of course. But you’re more handsome than usual today.”

“Hmm…”

The carriage was dark, and I couldn’t make out his expression. His tone was casual and normal, making it hard for me to sense any changes in emotion.

“Totally off topic, but how many years has it been since you last visited the palace?” I asked.

“Oh, this is my first time,” he replied.

“It is?! Have you never attended a banquet or ball hosted by His Majesty before?!”

“Never. I’m not a fan of loud places.”

“O-Oh…”

I’d assumed that the son of a high-ranking noble would’ve been used to these evening events.

“Don’t worry,” he added. “I’ve hammered the layout of the palace in my head.”

“Wow… Uh, that sounds very reliable…”

I gazed out the carriage window as I chatted away with him. I spotted some ladies outside in fluffy mantles, their footsteps eager as they prepared for their debut. They must be walking to avoid carriage traffic.

“There must be a lot of carriages near the castle,” I mentioned. “I wonder how long it’ll be until we can get in.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Mr. Vil said. “We’ll use the noble road, a path reserved for those of the upper class. We should be able to enter the castle grounds in no time.”

He’s the son of a powerful noble, all right. He even gets special treatment on the road.

“Ah, and before I forget, just call me ‘Vil’ for the ball,” he said.

“Huh? Why?”

“You’ll see.”

Or, you know, you could just tell me. I guess now’s not the time for him to tell me yet.

“Then I shall call you ‘Lord Vil.’ How does that sound?”

“No, just call me by my name.”

“Er, but…”

“I’m not someone worthy of being called ‘lord’ anyway.”

Looks like he’s pretty set on this one.

“All right, Vil…” I said awkwardly. “I hope that’s okay.”

He gave me a satisfied nod, but internally, I felt weird calling my mysterious private instructor so casually by his first name. In exchange, I’ll have him call me by my name, too. Whenever he called me by my last name, I’d sit up straight like I was being called in class. Since he was my teacher, I tolerated it until now, but I just couldn’t get used to my last name being called.

“Then I’d like for you to call me by my first name too,” I said. “Call me Misha.”

“All right,” Vil agreed.

As the streetlights shone into our carriage, I saw him more clearly. His arms were crossed in front of him as he gazed into the distance, and his expressionless visage made me wonder if he really understood my request. Then, I noticed a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel glued to his shoulder. It’s so cute… I mean, when did it get there? It’s the same color as his jacket, so I didn’t notice it until now.

“What’s wrong?” Vil asked.

“Oh, nothing!”

Maybe he’s got a good reason to have that creature on him. I’ll just turn the other way for now.

I noticed a fork in the road ahead, and we took the path toward the gates that were protected by guards. I guessed that this was the noble road. It only took a mere five minutes for our carriage to roll up in front of the castle’s back entrance.

I’d always gazed at the castle from a distance and never dreamed of seeing it so close; it stood solemnly and proudly, towering over its surroundings. The night sky masked most of its majestic glory, but the brick walls gave the building a historical feel, like a soldier who had braved countless years.

When we stepped inside, the royal chamberlain guided us toward a waiting room where we’d spend our time until the ball began. I didn’t expect to be left in a room alone with Vil. Since we had no other attendants, the chamberlain must’ve assumed that we were engaged to each other. I’d managed to avoid situations like these until now, but I currently had nowhere to flee. And since Vil wants to investigate the castle, it’s not like he’d refuse to head in… This is awkward. Oh, maybe I can talk about the flying squirrel.

“Um, Vil, you’ve got another squirrel on your chest,” I said.

“Yeah, I brought this guy along to scout the area.”

“Ah, so it’s here for a reason.”

I advised him to hide the squirrel so that it wouldn’t stand out, and Vil gently grabbed the creature like a ball of mochi and plopped it into his pocket.

Ugh… What else can we talk about? The silence is deafening… Oh! Right, I received a letter from Professor Whipp earlier. Now seems as good a time as any to read it—I think it’s a report on the poison. I’d received a letter from her just as I was about to leave school, and I didn’t get a chance to read it.

“Vil, may I read a letter I received from Professor Whipp?” I asked.

“Go right ahead.”

“Thank you. Er, it’s actually in my garter belt, so I have to lift my dress up a little. If you don’t mind, can you turn the other way for a few moments?”

“Why in the world would you keep a letter there?”

“Dresses don’t have pockets.”

He sighed and turned the other way. I used that chance to quickly lift my skirt and reach for the letter sandwiched by my garter belt.

“Thank you. You can turn back now.”

“Just read the damn letter,” Vil muttered.

“Right.”

I cut the envelope open and unfurled the letter. As I thought, it informed me that poison was detected in Vil’s blood and food. I quietly handed the first page of the letter to him, and Vil, perhaps already expecting this outcome too, maintained his composure as his eyes scanned the paper.

“As expected, someone mixed poison into my food.”

“So it seems.”

The analysis report came back as positive for million ore. This ore was actually used to treat certain ailments and was a highly effective cure for those sick with a certain disease. However, the ore became toxic to those who weren’t sick, and they would immediately fall ill. This poison accumulated and remained in one’s body; if they ingested too much over the years, it was fatal.

“I…didn’t expect this poison,” Vil muttered.

The culprit was slowly but surely chipping away at Vil’s health until he would inevitably die. Professor Whipp had assumed that the culprit used some kind of plant or monster’s blood—substances that were known to be purely toxic for humans—before she realized that she was looking at it from the wrong angle. Hence, why it took so long for her to pinpoint the substance. She also mentioned that the potion I made had some qualities that served as a mild antidote to the poison—it wasn’t enough to completely cure the user, but it definitely alleviated some symptoms and also helped remove some of the poison that accumulated and stayed within one’s body.

This explained why Vil felt so much better when he took my potion. I didn’t recall ever adding an antidote to any of my products, but the professor hypothesized that I had a blessing as well. In my mind, a blessing was flashier than that. It could help the hero defeat the Demon Lord or a saintess bring forth a miracle to cure fatal wounds and sicknesses—the blessing I received felt rather dull in comparison.

“What else does the letter say?” Vil asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you seemed pretty shocked.”

“H-Ha ha, um, er…”

Right, I didn’t tell him that I made the potions yet. I kept quiet about it because I didn’t want to get dragged into trouble, but now that I’m in the thick of it, I might as well just say it.

“Truth be told, the potion that you’ve been taking was actually made by me,” I revealed.

“What?! Really?!” he shouted.

“Yes… You can ask Professor Whipp if you don’t believe me. She’s been giving me permission to continue selling my potions.”

He crossed his arms in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me about that until now?”

“Er, I don’t know… I just couldn’t really find the right timing to bring it up.”

He let out a loud sigh, and I took my chance to mention my blessing.

“Um, Professor Whipp also mentioned that my potions are blessed with some antidote properties,” I added. “And it’s very compatible with you.”

“That makes sense…” he muttered.

“Yes, though it’s a bit of a shame that my blessing seems rather dull.”

“Your ‘dull’ blessing saved my life, though. I’ve almost completely rid my body of that poison, apparently.”

“Right. I guess I can see it as a miracle.”

In any case, I could now see why my potions worked so well on him and that Vil was certainly being poisoned by someone.

“I’d like to talk about this more later,” he said.

“O-Okay.”

We have to focus on our investigation first.

“Let’s catch the culprit,” I said firmly.

“Yeah,” Vil replied with a nod. He noted that he already knew where the wig was. “The wig’s been moving around, so I suspect the culprit has it on their body and is on the move.”

“That narrows it down considerably!”

The culprit was currently in a special section of the royal castle. Normal bystanders weren’t allowed in that area, but that information alone was more than enough to narrow down our list of suspects. Vil was sitting tight for the moment so that he wouldn’t raise any suspicions, but he planned to act the moment the ball started. But who in the world is after his life anyway? I’m sure we’ll confront them today, but still…

“It’s almost time,” he said.

“Yes, it is.”

He stood up and offered me a hand; it felt less like an invitation to a graceful dance and more like a knight offering help to a comrade in arms on the battlefield. I accepted his hand and together we strolled into the battlefield known as a debutante ball.

***

A lot of ladies gathered in the grand hall, waiting for their debut. A platform oversaw the venue with two chairs on it, likely where the queen and the crown prince were scheduled to be seated. Ladies had gathered around this stage in a neat row to have their audience with the royal family.

“Vil, is the culprit nearby?” I whispered.

“Not yet,” he replied in a low voice. “But they’re headed here.”

“Then shall we confront them first?”

“That’s a good—”

He placed a hand on his lips and frowned, deep lines creasing his brow. Did something happen? I wondered. A moment later, Vil drew me in close and whispered into my ear.

“I lost the signal.”

“What?!” I hissed.

Did the culprit see through our plan?!

“I still sense the mana, but it’s difficult to sift through in this large crowd,” Vil whispered.

“Then you should head off by yourself,” I suggested. “I’ll stay here and try to blend in with the crowd.” I couldn’t move nimbly in this dress, and I wasn’t keen on slowing him down. It would be best if he moved on his own for now.

“But…” he started.

“Don’t worry,” I told him. “I’ve got Gem with me.”

I gently touched my pearl necklace, and Vil widened his eyes.

“All right,” he whispered. “Wait for me in the corridor.”

“Okay.”

Vil expertly weaved through the crowd and left the grand hall. I waited for a few moments before following him, but I wasn’t as skillful in pushing through the crowd. Thank goodness he left first. I would’ve definitely slowed him down. It took fifteen minutes before I managed to wade through the people and out of the grand hall, but the corridor was also packed with those waiting for others.

Maybe I’ll have a bit more room if I walk away from the grand halls… As I walked ahead, I ran into a door that was guarded by a knight.

“Only VIPs are allowed from this point forward,” he said.

“Oh? But I came in through the back entrance, I’ll have you know,” I replied haughtily.

“Pardon me! Please, go on ahead, my lady!”

I just went for it, and I’m surprised I’m allowed in, just like that. The security here isn’t very tight, is it? But I’m grateful since it was getting stuffy and suffocating with all these people. As I glanced around, hoping to find a spot to rest until Vil returned, I spotted a young girl in a dress crouched on the ground.

“Are you okay?!” I called out to her.

She wore a white dress, so I assumed she was going to make her debut today as well. And since she was in this restricted area, she was a noble of high rank. When I approached her, she raised her face; her golden locks and emerald eyes were dazzling. Her stunning beauty almost made me freeze on the spot. But she looks oddly familiar… No, I don’t have time for that, do I? The girl looked surprised when she saw me, but she immediately faced the ground with a pained grimace.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Does it hurt somewhere?”

The girl pressed against her waist, her clenched fist a telltale sign that she was enduring the pain. Maybe her shapewear is too tight…

“I think it’s better if we loosen your shapewear,” I suggested. “Shall we head somewhere else?”

I lent her my shoulder and tried to bring her into a nearby room. This was a break room for VIPs, and there was a refreshment table with wine, fruit, and cheese.

“I’ll loosen your shapewear for you,” I said. “Excuse me…”

I received no response, and the girl appeared unable to breathe, so I didn’t wait for her consent. I undid the buttons on the back of her dress and tugged on the ribbon of her shapewear—her body had turned red from the shapewear being too tight around her. It must be painful to even stand like this. I quickly undid the ribbon, and the girl let out a relieved sigh. She’ll probably be fine with a bit of rest. But as I was inspecting her carefully, she began to have a coughing fit.

“Oh no! A-Are you okay?” I stammered.

She coughed so much that I feared she might’ve been poisoned. Her voice slowly became feeble and hoarse, and I knew this required some kind of emergency medical attention.

“I’ll call a doctor right away!” I cried.

As I tried to stand, the girl grabbed my arm—she was much stronger than she looked, and her voice put me to a screeching halt.

“Dammit! Stop!” she roared.

“Huh?!” I gasped.

I was shocked to hear the low voice of a young, adolescent man, not the adorable, shrill cry of a lady. I gingerly turned back and locked eyes with the girl, her dress half undone, and noticed that her chest was completely flat.

“A-Are you a ma—mmph!”

Before I could get my sentence out, she silenced me and tugged on my arm, forcing me to sit on the sofa.

“You’re the little vixen stuck to my brother, aren’t you?!” she snarled.

“Vixen?! And what brother?!”

“You heard me, you mutt!”

What animal am I? I mean, that’s not what I should focus on here!

“Your brother?” I asked. “Are you Vil’s—”

“Younger sister,” she replied.

“Y-Younger sister?”

But your voice is so low, your chest is flat, and you don’t really look like a woman at all…

“M-May I ask what your name is?” I inquired.

“Noah. Noah von Lindenburg.”

“Wait, Lindenburg?!”

I only know one family with that name—the house of the grand duke. Ricardo von Lindenburg, the current director of the school and younger brother of the king… Which makes Vil… I let out a cry and buried my head in my hands. If Vil was the director’s son, it meant he came from House Lindenburg—he was a member of the royal family. He wasn’t just some son of a high-ranking house; his house belonged all the way at the top! I made someone like that teach me, and I made him eat my simple meals! Now that I think about it, he’s got golden hair and emerald eyes, a clear characteristic of the royal family! I noticed it when I saw the director; how did Vil slip past me?! I hated how stupid I was.

Since the grand duke was his father, Vil was Prince Rena’s cousin. I should’ve realized he wasn’t just some noble the moment he claimed he knew the prince quite well.

“Hey,” Noah growled.

“Ugh… I’ve committed so many sins…” I groaned.

“Hey! Swine!”

“Y-Yes?!”

And now I’m a pig. He really has a sharp tongue. Vil did mention that his younger sister was making her debut this year, but was he referring to Noah? When I asked him if he was going to be her escort, he looked a bit uneasy… Maybe he felt awkward faking that his brother was his sister so that Noah could make his debut… Why was Noah raised as a woman anyway? Something complicated must be going on…

“Just keep the string of my shapewear loose, and rebutton my dress,” Noah ordered.

“S-Sure,” I replied. “But are you sure you’re okay?”

“Just do it.”

“All right, all right.”

As I turned to face his back, he took out a piece of candy. He undid the silver wrapper and popped it into his mouth, all while maintaining his elegance. I tried to do as he asked and loosely tie the ribbon of his shapewear before fastening his buttons again, but…

“Oh dear,” I said. “I can’t do your buttons unless you tighten your shapewear.”

“That can’t be right!” Noah snapped.

“I’m being serious.”

Boys around this age grew out of their clothes quickly, and I couldn’t blame him for outgrowing his dress. Men and women had a different frame as well, so it was nigh impossible for a growing boy to fit into a petite dress sewn for ladies.

“Was this dress sewn after you wore your shapewear?” I asked.

“Duh?” Noah replied. “How else would I be able to look cute in a dress?”

Fair enough… A lot of dresses do look beautiful on slender women, but…

“Dammit!” he spat. “Just when I’ve got something important to do!”

He was probably going to meet the crown prince… But he can’t even stand properly if his shapewear is loose… Hmm… What can we do here?

“Wait, what if we remove all the buttons?” I suggested. “We can weave your ribbon through the buttonholes and tie it up. Your back might show a bit, but you’ll be able to breathe, and it’d look better than this.”

“Let’s do that!”

He swiftly removed his shapewear and the ribbon while I took a nearby fruit knife and began cutting the thread that tied the buttons. Once I got them all off, he handed me his ribbon.

“Hurry,” he urged.

“I know,” I replied.

Why am I even doing this for him? But he did lend me the dress I’m wearing—he doesn’t seem to realize that, though.

I felt a bit guilty about borrowing his clothes and couldn’t turn down his request. This is to thank you for the dress. I quickly slipped the ribbon through the holes. Noah had a beautiful back, and even if it showed a bit, it wasn’t at all offensive to the eyes.

“And done!”

“Well done, clever mare!” Noah praised.

I’m not even sure if that counts as an insult anymore, but whatever. At least I was able to help him out. Noah bit down on the candy he was eating and gulped; he pressed a hand against his chest and coughed a few times. I’d assumed he was eating a cough drop or something, but I was taken aback when he parted his lips again.

“Hmph, I suppose I’ll thank you,” he said in a beautiful, singsong voice that was alluring. “You did well.”

“What happened to your voice?!” I cried.

“Didn’t you know? This candy can change one’s voice.”

“I had no idea…”

Now that his voice was high-pitched and elegant, he perfectly fit the bill as a beautiful young lady. I’d thought that his low voice would immediately give him away, but the candy masked it completely. I didn’t know you could do that! What an invention!

“And if you dare tell anyone that I’m a guy…” Noah started. He drew his face close to mine and flashed a bewitching smile. “I’ll destroy you and your household with false accusations.”

“Eep!” I shrieked. I shook my head vehemently, swearing that I wouldn’t tell a single soul.

“What’s your name, crabby girl?”

I’m a crab now? I sound kinda delicious… I was reluctant to give my real name, but I feared what would happen if I lied to him.

“Misha von Ritual.”

“Hmm… Ritual,” Noah mused. “A low-tier family, huh?”

Yeah, yeah, I know. Just let me leave already. I prayed to God that he’d leave my side, but he grabbed my arm. You’ve failed me again, God…

“My hems are stupid long, and they’re in my way,” he groused. “Carry them to the grand halls for me.”

“Er, um, I’m supposed to meet up with Vil in the corridor…”

He glared at me. “I knew it! You’re the one who’s been trying to seduce my brother, huh?! I wasn’t sure since I only saw you guys from afar, but what you just said sealed it!”

I guess he saw me with Vil. Noah’s awfully rude and ill-tempered with me, but maybe it’s because I’m close to his brother.

“Just listen to what I say, you chicken!” he barked.

Now I’m a chicken! At least he adds variety to his insults! Plus, these animals can turn into food, so I’m feeling like a snack now! I couldn’t deny that I was sort of enjoying my exchange with him. I knew that this beautiful tyrant likely wouldn’t listen to me, so I reluctantly tagged along with his antics. When I picked up his hems, Noah gave a satisfied nod.

“Where is your chaperone anyway?” I asked.

“Gave them the slip.”

“Wh-Why would you do that?”

“‘Cause they kept tagging along with me like some kinda clingy shadow.”

“What the?!”

I almost insulted him, but I stopped myself short. Still, I should at least give him a word of warning.

“You do know everything I’ve done for you should’ve been done by your chaperone, right?” I asked. “If you didn’t give your chaperone the slip, you wouldn’t have been in this conundrum!”

“I wasn’t in any conundrum. I mean, you’re here to help me,” he replied.

“You little…”

I wish you’d give me the slip! But no amount of scolding would get this child to listen.

“What kind of relationship do you have with my brother?” Noah demanded.

“Huh? We’re just friends.”

“You’re not engaged to him or anything?”

“Of course not! Even if the world flipped upside down, I doubt we’d ever get married!”

“Misha,” a familiar voice called. “You didn’t have to exaggerate that much.”

“Huh?! Ack!” I was surprised he suddenly appeared behind me. He must’ve finished his investigation and returned; we were lucky enough to reunite here. “Um, Vil…” I started.

“Brother!” Noah cried happily as he clung to Vil.

What the?! Now he’s acting all cutesy?! Noah had acted like a devil mere moments ago, but now he was smiling like an angel.

“Don’t you have an important role to fulfill?” Vil asked.

“I do,” Noah replied. “I feel more at ease now that I was able to speak with you.”

My jaw dropped; I couldn’t help but give an exasperated sigh at his change in demeanor.

“Where’s Countess Mayfair?” Vil asked. “I thought you were with her.”

“I lost her in the crowd…” Noah replied, tears shimmering in his eyes.

Unbelievable… The countess must’ve been his chaperone, and he was lying through his teeth about losing her. He not only called her a clingy shadow but even revealed that he had given her the slip. But Noah glared at me ferociously, forcing me to silence.

“Truth be told, Lady Misha here saved me when I was in a spot of trouble,” Noah said, his back turned to his brother. He feigned his sobbing, but he glared at me like a little monster. “If she hadn’t been here to save me, I dread to imagine what would’ve happened to me…”

Clearly, he’ll kill me if I spill the beans.

“I didn’t know that you were acquainted with her, Brother,” Noah said sweetly. “Are you two close?”

“I suppose we are,” Vil replied.

Noah discreetly intensified his glare at me, and I frantically shook my head to deny those claims. You’ve got it all wrong!

“Hee hee, I had no idea you were close with such an adorable girl!” Noah said with a giggle.

“Yeah, so get along with her, all right?”

“I would love to! Oh, I’m so happy!”

Noah gripped my arm, clinging so tightly that I thought the blood wouldn’t circulate to my hand. Oh my god… Just give me a break. Please! All the while, I realized that it’d gotten late, and the time to be granted an audience with a royal was over.

“Um, Noah, I think you lost your opportunity to be granted an audience,” I said. “Shouldn’t you have gone over there sooner?”

“Oh no, I’m about to right now,” Noah replied.

Now? Huh? As I mulled over his words, the crown prince’s ceremony began. The cardinal, the strongest church authority figure, arrived and draped a red gown—proof of the crown prince—over Prince Rena’s shoulders. Just like that, she was publicly declared the crown prince of our nation, and I spotted the queen nearby, smiling at her daughter.

The queen turned forty this year, but her beauty and youth made it look like she was in her early thirties at most. In fact, if she claimed that she was in her twenties, I would’ve believed her. It was almost astonishing to know that she had a child in her teens.

“I’ve got a blessed announcement for the nation today,” the queen said loudly, gathering the attention of the room.

Is there something more blessed than the coronation of the crown prince? We all watched her, confused, as she beamed proudly.

“I would like to introduce you to the future fiancée of the crown prince and our future king,” she said. She gestured with her hand, and as people followed her gaze, we all landed on one lady. “Noah von Lindenburg!”

I almost screamed, but I managed to keep my mouth shut. Noah flashed a dazzling smile as she executed a beautiful bow.

What in the world?! Okay, so Prince Rena is dressed like a man, but she’s actually a lady, and she’s now engaged to Noah, who’s a man dressed like a lady… As I tried to organize my thoughts, I realized why Noah acted like a lady. Admittedly, I’d always been concerned about the crown prince’s fate as well; when she became king, she couldn’t simply traipse around like a man forever, but it seemed this was the solution to her woes.

If she were engaged to a man dressed like a lady, she would have no issues forming a union. Members of the royal family usually married a prince or princess of another nation to solidify international ties, but in Prince Rena’s case, she needed a trustworthy noble of her own nation who could keep a tight lid over the truth. The house of the grand duke was related to the royal family and could maintain her secret. While everyone was clapping warmly and blessing Prince Rena and Noah’s engagement, I felt Vil lean closer to me.

“The culprit’s here in the grand hall,” he whispered in my ear.

At once, I shuddered. I guess Vil came back since he tracked the faint traces of mana. All we needed to do now was find someone wearing a wig, but that was difficult to do in this crowd. The wig was brown, the most common hair color in the nation, and I could only look at the sea of heads in front of me and pick out which hairline looked fake. I guess I just have to look closely… Is anyone’s hairline askew? Or does it look fake?

I glanced around desperately while Prince Rena and Noah formed a happy couple to wave to the guests. Everyone was eager to catch a glimpse of this royal union, and they pushed forward, hoping to burn this scene into their retinas.

“Aaaah!” I cried.

“Misha!” Vil shouted.

The wave of people jostled me and almost pushed me down, but Vil jumped to my rescue and pulled me close to him. As the crowd shoved one another more violently, a small riot broke out. The knights tried to control the guests, but that was a tall order; the long-awaited reveal of the crown prince and her ceremony, combined with the announcement of an engagement, made everyone eager and excited. No one was calm enough to listen to the knights’ orders.

Still, I tried to keep my mind on the task at hand, though I could barely remain on my feet. Then, I caught something glimmering from the corner of my eye. A diamond necklace? No… That gleam was…

I whirled my head around and noticed a man with thick hair readjusting his glasses. He was the only one who didn’t seem at all interested in Prince Rena and Noah as he kept his posture low and headed toward us. He was wading against the crowd, and a large man, possibly finding this bespectacled gentleman a nuisance, gave a sharp tug on his hair to yank him away. I didn’t miss it—the hair of the man in glasses clearly shifted. A wig!

“What?!” I gasped.

The man, undeterred, expertly weaved through the rest of the crowd. It was then that I noticed a glimmer of cold steel—he had a knife in his hand. He drew his arm back to thrust it into Vil’s body, and I barely had time to react. Knowing that Vil wouldn’t be able to dodge in time with all the people around us, I turned to my accessories.

“Gem! Please! Please protect Vil!” I shouted.

My familiar acted instantly. It stretched toward Vil’s torso and formed a shield. A sharp clang implied that Gem made it in time and blocked the attack before it stretched out like a thin rope, grabbing the knife and the assailant’s arm and locking the culprit into place.

“Aaahhh! An assassin!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Even I was surprised by how loud I could scream. The people around me whipped their heads around to see the fuss. They noticed a man with a knife in his hands and shrieked as they fled from us. Vil just stood there, stunned by the series of events.

“Vil!” I cried. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Thank goodness!”

All the while, Gem stretched out one of its appendages and smacked the bespectacled man’s head like a mother giving a harsh scolding. The blow whacked the wig and glasses away, along with some hair extensions underneath. His disguise busted, the man was revealed before us, clear as day.

“You’re Count Raid!” I gasped with surprise.

“I-I’m not!” he stammered.

But the crowd murmured to themselves, agreeing that he was unmistakably the count.

“You’re the one who tried to murder Vil,” I accused.

“I-I-I was not!” Count Raid insisted.

I’m appalled that he could deny it when the blade is still in his hand.

“Were you trying to kill me during my time at Vizer as well?” Vil asked.

“I-I’ve never poisoned anybody!” Count Raid shrieked.

“I never said anything about poison.”

And that sealed his fate. Under Prince Rena’s orders, the knights restrained Count Raid and escorted him away. Still, the count refused to give up and kept shouting that he was being falsely accused.

“Vil, are you all right?” Prince Rena asked as she rushed over to us.

“Yeah. Misha saved me just in the nick of time,” Vil replied.

“That so…”

Vil claimed he didn’t notice his assailant, but with the hustle and bustle of the crowd, I couldn’t blame him.

“Count Raid crouched low when he approached you,” I said. “He was barely in my line of sight, that’s all. I was just lucky I noticed him.”

“Misha, thank you. Truly,” Vil said.

It seemed he needed to be questioned for a bit, and he went off with Prince Rena and the knights to head to a separate room and explain his side of the story. I was left behind, all by myself, when someone gently tugged my dress. I turned around and spotted Noah.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“What for?”

“Thank you for saving my brother.”

“B-But of course.”

I was a touch surprised he acted so meekly while he thanked me, but I noticed the hand tugging my dress trembling ever so slightly.

“We’ll be questioned as well, just to get our side of the story,” I said. “Shall we go?”

I clutched the frightened and frail hands of Noah as I guided him into a different room.

***

A few days passed after the ball, and I could hardly believe how fast the time passed. Count Raid was arrested for his crimes, and he was awaiting trial. His motive for his violent and reckless act was to reclaim the director’s seat. I was at first curious why Count Raid felt compelled to go that far, but I almost sighed with exasperation when his reasoning felt so juvenile and silly. The count had assumed that Grand Duke Lindenburg secured the seat of director, in no small part due to his son, Vil, who was so excellent in his studies that he was chosen as a prefect during his first year at school.

If Vil was dead, Count Raid thought that Grand Duke Lindenburg would have no other reason to remain in his chair. The count’s reasoning was almost laughably simple, and because he aimed for Vil’s life on several occasions over a prolonged period, his actions were calculated and cunning. Prince Rena claimed that this was a very heavy crime, and the count likely couldn’t avoid the death penalty.

Since that incident, Vil had taken a leave of absence from school, and I hadn’t met with him once. Thanks to my meeting with Noah, I now knew Vil’s identity and learned that he was a student, not a private instructor. He was the grand duke’s eldest son, the future lord of House Lindenburg, and the head prefect, to boot. Yet, when I mistook him for a private instructor, for some inexplicable reason, he went along with it and taught me. I’ll probably have to ask him about that next time, I thought.

After this whirlwind of an incident, my worries continued to pile up, but school kept going, not once stopping for me to take a breather. I headed to class with Prince Rena, which had now become a daily routine, and gave my morning greeting to Alice and Ehr. Though the official ceremony of the crown prince was widely publicized, it wasn’t particularly news for the students—after all, the prince couldn’t hide her regal air—and it didn’t become much of a fuss. Still, quite a few students visited our classroom to catch a glimpse of the royal, and Prince Rena didn’t seem to mind. She was used to the attention.

“I didn’t think that the crown prince would be in our class…” Ehr sighed.

“It’s shocking, isn’t it?” I replied.

As we chatted away, the homeroom bell rang, and Professor Whipp arrived in the classroom as usual.

“Today, I’d like to introduce a new transfer student,” she said.

It’s been more than a month since the school year began. Who enrolls so late in the year? As I was lost in my thoughts, the classroom door opened with a loud clatter, and a stunning beauty with golden locks and emerald eyes entered the room.

“Pleased to meet you,” he said with a smile. “I’m Noah von Lindenburg.”

His dazzling smile captivated both the boys and girls in class, and I almost screamed with astonishment. And it seemed I couldn’t hide; Noah noticed my presence and mouthed, “Found ya!”

Why is he a student here?! Why am I in this situation?! It seemed the peaceful school life I yearned for was long in the past. I had a funny feeling that as the school year went on, I’d get dragged into more troublesome incidents, and I vehemently prayed to a deity—any deity, really—that my hunch was wrong.

Side Story 1: Let’s Head to a Cat Rescue Café!

Side Story 1: Let’s Head to a Cat Rescue Café!

WHEN I arrived at school one morning, I noticed Alice glaring at me. She swiftly looked away despite making eye contact. I walked to my seat trying to figure out what was up with her.

“Hey, Misha,” Ehr said energetically. “Morning!”

“Good morning,” I replied.

The moment I settled into my chair, Ehr drew close to me and whispered into my ear. “Uh, Misha? Don’t you think she wants to talk with you or something?”

I followed his gaze and again locked eyes with Alice, but she hastily ducked for cover behind her upside-down textbook.

“She was definitely looking at you.”

“So it seems…” I replied.

“Maybe she wants to talk with you.”

“That’s what I assume too.”

Normally she would just talk to me. Surely, she had good reason to stare at me instead. I stood back up to speak with her, but the homeroom bell rang, prompting me to sit back down. As our school day went on, I’d occasionally feel a piercing gaze, but I knew it was improper to look around in the middle of a lesson, and I was fairly certain it was Alice, anyway.

When the bell rang for a quick recess, our classmates immediately surrounded Alice before I could get to her. But what if she wants to talk to me about a more personal and private matter? I didn’t want to push her in front of the other students, so I decided to give it a rest for now. Just as I started to review for my next lesson, Ehr patted my shoulder.

“Misha! Misha! Psst!” he hissed. “Alice is gazing your way again!”

“She really is…”

Her line of sight weaved through the crowd of students and landed on me. All right, all right… I stood up and headed toward her.

“Alice, do you have a moment?” I asked politely.

“Misha?!” she gasped.

“I’d like to speak with you for a bit, if you don’t mind.”

She probably wanted to speak with me, but I decided to invite her instead.

“If you’re busy now, it can wait until later,” I added.

“No! I shall hear you out right now!” Alice insisted.

She stood up with gusto, apologized to her classmates, and headed out into the classroom halls with me. I opened a nearby window and gazed out into the courtyard.

“I’m sorry for cutting you away from your friends,” I apologized.

“Don’t be,” Alice replied. “We weren’t talking about much.”

I should cut to the chase before our break is over.

“Alice, do you perhaps have something to say to me?” I asked.

“H-How did you know?!” she asked with surprise, clearly unaware of her passionate gaze flicking my way throughout the day.

“I can hear you out, if you’d like.”

“I-I wanted to do some charity work on my days off. But the application requires a minimum of two people… Misha, will you please go out with me?!”

She said the last part loudly, attracting the gazes of others; an innocent bystander might assume that she was asking me out on a date, so I raised my voice a little in reply to dispel any rumors.

“For your charity work, I presume?” I asked.

“Y-Yes.” She sheepishly took out an application form. I scanned it and saw that it was for a café that rescued magical cat creatures.

“Ah, for cats,” I said.

“That’s right.”

This café sheltered wounded magical cat creatures, treated and groomed them, and helped them form contracts with wizards and witches who weren’t particularly adept at summoning familiars. Alice confided in me that she had always wanted to do charity work there.

“I, um… I haven’t really had anyone whom I could truly call a friend…” Alice admitted. “But I’d hoped that maybe you would go with me, Misha…”

“Of course,” I replied. “I’d love to.”

“A-Are you absolutely sure?!”

“Very much so. Aren’t we friends?”

“Thank you! Thank you so much, Misha!”

She hugged me with great excitement, again causing a stir among the other students. I gently guided her back into class before we caused a bigger scene.

After Alice received a permit to leave school grounds and applied to the café for her charity work, we settled on a day to go. I found myself in front of a fancy store in the central district; its red bricks gave it a chic appearance that was pleasing to the eye.

“Look, Alice! Cats! Sitting in the windowsill!” I squealed.

“You’re right!” she gushed back.

A beautiful cat sat there with emerald fur and golden eyes; its unnatural color made it clear that it was magical.

“Oh, it’s so adorable!” Alice cried.

She stood in front of the shop window, enchanted. It took some time for me to drag her into the café. When we stepped inside, the interior was in a sorry state. The tablecloths were torn to shreds, cat litter was strewn on the floor, and kittens shot out around our feet, unable to contain their energy. A lady in her mid-thirties came out from the back, looking weary about the miserable condition of the store.

“I-I’m terribly sorry,” she apologized. “We don’t open for another two hours.”

“No, we’re here to do charity work,” Alice replied.

I nodded along. At once, the owner fell to her knees and prayed as if she were in the presence of her savior.

“Oh, blessed saintesses,” she said. “I thank you for your benevolent hearts.”

I thought she was exaggerating a bit, but we had to clean everything up before the store opened.

“What shall we do first?” I asked.

“C-Could you please sweep the floor and wipe the windows and furniture?” the owner asked.

“Maybe we should do something about the cats first.”

“Ah, yes…”

Every night, she placed the cats in their cages to rest. Whenever she let them out in the morning, they would run around and tear the entire place up.

“I don’t know what happened to them…” she murmured.

“Are they normally more docile?” I asked.

“They are.”

Then why the sudden shift? I wondered. I glanced around until a gift celebrating the store’s opening caught my eye. It was a pot of silver vine.

“I-I think this is the cause!” I cried out.

“This plant? How can that be?” the owner asked.

“This plant can intoxicate cats and put them in a state of euphoria. It excites them to no end.”

“I-I had no idea…”

The owner was only told that this plant was popular with cats, and I suspected that whoever gave the gift didn’t know much about it either. Unlike Japan, the concept of catnip and similar goods wasn’t widespread knowledge here. I placed the silver vine outside the store and worked on capturing all the felines.

“And gotcha!” I said. “Whoa!”

I tried to keep a grip on one of the cats, but it slipped out of my grasp like some kind of slime. With every attempt, the cats just slithered away. Cats really are liquid… I don’t think I can grab any of them. Alice, however, always the most impressive at whatever she applied herself to, swiftly captured cats one after another. I gave up on my endeavor and swept instead.

An hour and a half later, the store was finally clean enough to welcome guests.

“Alice! Misha! Thank you! You’ve been such wonderful help!” the owner cried.

The cats were resting in their cages; they were tired after breakfast and were snoozing away.

“Please, I insist you enjoy a free meal here,” the owner said.

“But…” I started.

“We’re only here to do an act of charity and nothing more,” Alice explained.

“Then will you taste test our latest menu?” she suggested.

“Well, when you put it that way…” I conceded.

“I think we can call this another act of charity,” Alice concluded.

And so, we were graciously allowed to taste the newest menu items—these additions were slated for next month.

“Thank you for waiting,” the owner said.

“Wow!” I cried.

“It’s so cute!” Alice squealed.

She gave us cat-shaped pancakes, and we could hardly contain our excitement. Alice’s pancakes were garnished with bananas and chocolate in the motif of a brown tabby cat. Mine was flavored with honey and shaped like an orange tabby cat. They were both incredibly adorable and delicious.

After we finished our meal, we decided to rest for a few moments before the store opened. The cats began to stir from their cages and approached us. Some hopped on the table and rubbed their bodies against us in hopes of earning some pets. I almost trembled and fainted from the cuteness as we enjoyed a blissful moment unlike any other.

We promised the owner that we’d come back as customers and left the store. The emerald cat sat by the window and watched us leave.

“Misha, thank you for spending your precious day off with me,” Alice said.

“Oh, I was happy to do it,” I replied. “Charity work looks good on a resume, so I’ve been meaning to do some anyway.”

The cleaning was a bit hectic, but the pancakes were delicious, and the cats were adorable—this was a very fulfilling day.

“If there’s anything else you’d like to do in the future, feel free to invite me,” I said.

“Are you sure?” Alice asked.

“Absolutely. I’ll invite Ehr too, next time.”

“Please do!”

She flashed a smile brighter than the sun and nodded eagerly. And so, my first charity work outside what was mandated by the school came to a close.

The next day, Alice came to class looking glum. When I asked if something had happened, she said that her familiar, Kitty, scolded her. Kitty had smelled the scent of other felines on Alice and pushed her away. The two always slept together every night, but yesterday, they slept separately.

“But I’ve always been faithful to Kitty!” Alice wailed.

I did notice her passionately staring at the emerald cat and doting over other kittens in the store, practically rubbing her face against them, but perhaps she did so subconsciously. I didn’t think she’d get scolded for touching another cat though… Cats truly were moody creatures and difficult to predict.

Side Story 2: Let’s Head to the Witch Market!

Side Story 2: Let’s Head to the Witch Market!

ONE evening, as I was drinking some herbal tea sourced from the garden, I heard gentle rapping against my window. Did a nocturnal animal arrive for some treats? I wondered. Puzzled, I stood up to check it out, and Gem handed me a club. I asked if it was for self-defense, and my familiar solemnly nodded. Right, it might not be an animal.

A powerful barrier surrounded Vizer that shielded students from outsiders, but it was better to be safe than sorry. But where did Gem get the club anyway? When I looked more closely, I saw that the club came from Gem’s body; my familiar had fashioned itself into a blunt weapon. The quiet rapping didn’t stop. I raised the club above my head as I cautiously peeked outside. I noticed a small, white carrier pigeon on my windowsill.

The pigeon, perhaps startled by my attack posture, stared at me, bewildered. I noticed a small messenger bag hanging from its neck, with an envelope peeking out. The bag was decorated with a wreath of periwinkles—I knew this mark very well.

“Is this from the Witch Association?!” I gasped.

The association was formed by a group of secretive witches.

“I only thought that they existed in fairy tales!”

I opened the window, and the pigeon expertly grabbed the envelope with its beak and handed it to me. After I safely received its message, the bird flew off in a flash. I wanted to offer it a glass of water or something, but the bird likely wasn’t keen on staying long at the house of someone who was ready to swing a club around.

The front of the envelope read: “To Misha von Ritual, we cordially invite you to the Witch Market.” For a moment, I thought I was being invited to the association, but I was wrong. What’s a Witch Market anyway? As I mulled over it, I cut the seal on the envelope and was startled when a magic circle appeared before me. Letters began to appear in the air from the enchanted envelope.

“We will host the 705th annual Witch Market,” I read aloud.

The Witch Market appeared to be an event that invited those who deeply appreciated magic. The message went on to state that witches’ familiars were dispatched throughout the world, observing fellow witches and ensuring we weren’t up to any wrongdoing. Those who used their magic for good were chosen by lottery and invited to this annual market to reward their good deeds. Which means this is a valuable invitation!

“I’m so happy!” I cried.

The market occurred on a weekend night, and since it was the day before my day off, I was certain I could get permission to leave campus. I apparently had a plus one, but that person had to be judged worthy by witch paper. Witch paper determined whether a person used their magic for good or ill; if pasted on another person, it would react like a litmus test.

On the day of the market, I simply needed to toss the envelope on the ground, and a magic circle would form to teleport me to the venue—the envelope also contained three pieces of witch paper. I was dying to attend, but I wondered if this was some sort of elaborate and cunning trap to kidnap witches. Just to be sure, I decided to consult with Professor Whipp.

The next day, after classes, I dropped by her room to deliver the herbs and told her about the invitation.

“An invite to the Witch Market?” she hummed. “How unusual.”

She claimed that only a select few ever received an invitation.

“I used to be a member of the Witch Association,” Professor Whipp revealed.

“You aren’t anymore?” I asked.

“Hee hee… I was expelled from it.”

She was caught cultivating dangerous herbs and was kicked out of the association.

“The association supports others very generously, and it’s also filled with compassionate people,” she added. “They were a reliable ally to have, but frankly, they have a lot of rules, which felt suffocating.”

Witches who had inherited unique abilities and spells from their families often earned the jealousy and ire of others, which led to the envious spreading false rumors that resulted in the persecution of innocent witches. Because of this dark history, rules were strictly enforced to protect their members.

“Surprisingly, being a teacher suits me very well,” Professor Whipp said. “I’m thankful they kicked me out.”

“R-Right…” I muttered, unsure of how to respond.

She assured me the invitation was the real deal, which was a considerable relief.

“Can I go?” I asked.

“Of course!” she beamed. “It’ll be an invaluable experience for you, I’m sure!”

“Who can I bring?”

“Whoever you like!”

Vil came to mind, but it didn’t feel right to invite the head prefect—I was in no position to do so. Maybe I’ll invite Ehr or Alice. But before I could leave to do that, Vil showed up, and Professor Whipp told him about the market.

“I wouldn’t want her to go off by herself, so it’d be great if you could tag along with her,” she said.

“I don’t mind, but are you all right with that, Misha?” Vil asked.

“Um, are you okay with that?” I inquired. “Surely you’re busy and all…”

“No, I can go.”

Attendees were required to pass the test of the witch paper, and Vil obliged.

“You see, this paper turns red if you pass and purple if you don’t make the cut,” Professor Whipp said. “Like so.” She pressed it against her chest, and it turned purple in a flash. “As you can see, I’m not allowed near any of their events.”

“What in the world did you do?” Vil asked.

“Hee hee, that’s a secret.”

She apparently wasn’t keen on telling Vil what she’d just told me. She winked at me, secretly asking me to stay quiet.

Vil took a paper next, and it turned red. “Looks like I’m good to go,” he said.

“Isn’t that great?” Professor Whipp smiled.

And so, Vil and I were set to go together.

***

AS the weekend approached, the day of the event I eagerly waited for arrived as well. Vil and I wore matching mantles as we stood in the courtyard. Professor Whipp lent us pointy hats, claiming they would let us blend better with the crowd. Gem, perhaps wary of the witches, decided to stay back. It waved a white handkerchief in front of the door to bid us farewell, and as usual, I had no idea what it was up to. But I’m ready to head out, I thought.

“Vil, let’s go,” I said.

“All right.”

I dropped the invitation envelope onto the ground, and in a flash, a magic circle appeared. It emitted a golden glow as though it were some kind of special teleporting spell, and with a few crackles, the scenery in front of my eyes changed. Stores lined a narrow street, much like you might see in the royal capital’s downtown area.

“Wow!” I gasped.

“It sure is crowded,” Vil muttered.

The street was packed, but these invitees were all good people since they’d been selected—they all gave way to each other or apologized and stepped into smaller streets to avoid getting in the way. I felt like I was in a world of kindness.

“Let’s go too,” Vil said.

“Okay!” I replied.

The stores were lined with various magical wares meant for witches.

“Would you like this mirror? It shows your future self,” one seller said.

“Check out our scrolls to have winged felines do your bidding!” another cried.

“Would you like some pie made from cream extracted from clouds? Nice and fluffy!” a third shouted.

I’d never seen or heard of any of these before, and I could hardly believe all the rare items before me. A painting caught my eye—the seller claimed to have cut out a portion of the sky for it.

“This painting will always change depending on the weather,” the seller, an elderly witch, said.

When I gazed into it, I spotted clouds slowly drifting by.

“It can rain, lightning can sound, a storm can approach, or it could be a sunny day,” she explained. “You can enjoy a variety of sights.”

But it must be expensive, right? I checked the price. Ten million…blan?

“I’ve never seen this kind of currency before,” I remarked.

“Oh, this is the currency decided upon by the association,” the lady replied.

Judging by the curious look on his face, Vil wasn’t familiar with this type of currency either.

“Now, Missy, why don’t I check and see how much you have?” the elderly witch offered.

“Pardon?” I asked. “I don’t have any blan on me right now.”

“Oh, blan can’t be seen by the naked eye.”

Excuse me? Both Vil and I stood there, confusion plain on our faces. The elderly witch pulled out a magnifying tool and stared at me through it. She gasped.

“Ah, you’ve got ten million blan exactly,” she said.

“Huh?! How?! Why?!” I cried.

“It’s a number given to those who’ve worked very hard. You’ve got ten million, and the man beside you has twelve million.”

What kind of system is this? And it sounds fishy, but it seems like I’ve got just enough…

“So? Would you like to make a purchase?” she asked.

“Erm…” I muttered.

This painting is nice, and I’d like to decorate my room with it, but I’m busy with school every day. I’m not sure if I’ve got the time to sit down and gaze at paintings. When I told the seller as much, she smiled, nodded, and sent us on our way. Frankly, I didn’t feel like I had any money at all since I couldn’t really see it, and neither Vil nor I felt like we could purchase anything.

I was thinking I wanted a souvenir to commemorate this event at least. That’s when Vil handed me a bracelet fitted with green stones—it warded off evil.

“You were staring at this, weren’t you?” he asked.

“Yeah… It’s pretty, just like your eyes, you know?”

“I bought it when you were looking at something else. Could you lend me your wrist? I’ll put it on you.”

“You’re giving this to me?”

“Of course.”

He neatly tied the string around my wrist. The three jewels glimmered under the enchanted lights.

“I actually bought a matching pair,” he said, showing me a bracelet fitted with blue jewels, just like the color of my eyes. “Could you tie this around my wrist, Misha?”

“Of course,” I said. I’d never done anything like this before, and it took some time, but I felt like I made a neat knot. “I’m done!”

“Thank you.”

It’s a bit embarrassing to wear matching bracelets. I offered to buy him something too, but he shook his head.

“Any of the items we buy here will disappear soon enough,” he said.

“Th-They will?”

I heard a loud bell toll in the distance as though to signal the end of the night. The bracelet around our wrists glimmered and disappeared. As I stood in awe of my vanishing accessory, a magic circle formed beneath our feet, and in a blink, we returned home to the Garden Plant.

“Th-That scared me,” I confessed. “Did you know that everything we bought would just disappear?”

“The store owner told me when I bought the bracelets,” he explained.

“I see…”

The event was an illusion, a spell cast by the witches; the only souvenirs we could bring back were our memories. The smells and textures were simply a very realistic illusion spell.

“If you would like something similar, I can get it for you,” Vil offered.

“No need! I think we should just treasure it in our memories.”

“You’re right.”

I’d never forget the time we fastened the bracelets on each other—my Witch Market experience with Vil was an enjoyable memory and a priceless treasure for me to keep.

Afterword

Afterword

HELLO, I’m Mashimesa Emoto! Thank you for picking up the first volume of Fun Magic School Life! This series revolves around Misha, a reincarnated Japanese woman who dreams of becoming a witch—she attends a magic school, only to get wrapped up in all sorts of incidents. I hope you’ll stick along for the ride and watch the various characters go through some entertaining character growth!

I’d been writing this story for two years since November, and though I received several offers, quite a few obstacles prevented me from getting it published. Ultimately, I pleaded with the editor of GC Novels, who helped publish my other series, Expedition Cooking with the Enoch Royal Knights, and managed to get this series officially published.

The moment they handled the series, it got published quickly and smoothly. I’m so grateful… And I was able to deliver this title in the best way possible. I am genuinely elated!

Nitou Akane handled the illustrations for this book. I’m so indebted to this artist; they drew illustrations for Isekai de Café wo Kaiten Shimashita (published by AlphaPolis), and “Ou no Saien” no Kishi to, “Yasai” no Ojou-sama (published by Hobby Japan). This is my third time working with them, and once again, they do not disappoint with their beautiful, lovely illustrations!

Misha is portrayed as a lively, energetic girl; Vil is drawn as an incredibly beautiful man; and last, but certainly not least, Gem the jewel slime is drawn impeccably, true to its name as a beautiful jewel. The other characters are drawn splendidly, too. I feel absolutely blessed to see my characters portrayed this way!

This series will also receive a manga version! Misha and Gem will tackle the world in the manga as well—I truly look forward to seeing them there!

While I don’t have any particular updates, this August marks my tenth anniversary since I debuted as an author. I’d love to write a fantastic series to commemorate this occasion. Luckily for me, I’ve got plenty of ideas and stuff I’d like to write about. I’ve never had writer’s block in the past decade.

Looking back, this decade went by so quickly… It was jam-packed with so many events, and I’ve been supported by so many amazing readers like you. I would’ve never been able to make it through the past decade alone.

I’d love to repay this favor to you all by writing even better and more interesting stories. I hope to continue writing stories you can enjoy and burst out laughing at!

I wish nothing but the best of health to each and every one of you. Truly, that would make me happiest. And as I go on to welcome my eleventh year as an author, I’d appreciate it if you would continue to support me, Mashimesa Emoto, as an author.