Chapter 19: Taming of the shrew (1)

“The words of this humble one, pffft! That is precisely it!”

Alber burst out laughing, tears welling up in her eyes as she guffawed.
Doubled over as if her stomach would burst, she pointed at my feathered cloak.

“Ahaha! O-Silkie! To call it a Silkie! The expression… the expression is too exquisite, ha-ha-ha!”

“Ah, Alber! I told you not to be rude… pfft…”

Even the Saintess, Antiopea, was desperately trying to stifle her laughter.

At this point, I felt more bewildered than offended.

Crow feathers were said to be the romance of black mages.
Had an era dawned where romance had died without my knowledge?

“Ah, I’m sorry! I just remembered what the professors said and… This is why my mother always scolds me for embarrassing the chairman.”

“…It’s fine. Don’t worry about it, Miss Garcia.”

Now I understood why Silvia de Garcia was marked as a person of interest by the professors.

‘She’s a real pro.’

I muttered, rolling the almost melted tropical candy on my tongue.

Maintaining an innocent facade, cleverly shifting the blame, and at the same time, subtly flaunting her position as the chairman’s daughter.

‘A brazen brat whose intentions are all too clear.’

“Now, now, everyone! Stop the chatter and gather around! Please move to your designated positions according to the tournament bracket!”

Just then, a teaching assistant who had finished preparing for the duels shouted loudly, gathering the students.

“The placement test is basically a tournament. The winners will continue to advance, and the supervisors will comprehensively evaluate the individual skills shown during the duels. That is all.”

At the teaching assistant’s explanation, the students who had been gathered in a huddle scattered to their respective places.
Naturally, the three women who had gathered around me also went their separate ways.

“Then I’ll see you in the finals, Hero. You too, Saintess and Professor, thank you for your hard work.”

The young girl nonchalantly waved her hand and slipped away.
I chewed on the lollipop stick, staring at her back.

“…”

I was a bit miffed at having been outsmarted, but I didn’t let it show.

After all, she was the daughter of the current chairman.
It would be different after the dormitory assignments, but for now, my position was too ambiguous to give her a demerit or discipline her.

Once I finished my duty as a supervisor, I wouldn’t have to see her again except during class.
It would be best to turn a blind eye this one time.

‘Hmph, trying to act nonchalant while getting all worked up, are you?’

A thought as I looked at the silver-haired professor standing blankly in the distance.
Silvia de Garcia, the freshman hailed as a rising star in the magic world, secretly stuck out her tongue and moved on.

‘But it’s much more rewarding to conquer these stoic types.’

‘Establishing discipline’, something she had repeated with every new teacher.
Silvia giggled mischievously, contemplating how to prank the new black magic defense professor.

Of course, she didn’t particularly enjoy tormenting others.
She had no intention of becoming a delinquent who roamed in packs or a thoughtless child who neglected her studies.

She just hated ‘old geezers’ who acted like superiors without being any better than her.

‘Teachers, seniors, it’s annoying how they act all high and mighty just because they’re a little older.’

When in fact, none of them were superior to her in terms of intellect.

It was something she had consistently felt since she was a child.
Mediocre people who couldn’t even keep up with half of what she did, lecturing her on all sorts of things just because they were a little older.

That’s why Silvia had always genuinely enjoyed undermining the authority of teachers.
At least after imprinting the gap once, they would no longer dare to look down on her.

‘You’re no different, new Professor of Black Magic Defense.’

Silvia was a self-proclaimed genius, a comet.
When others struggled to follow even one thing they were taught, she was the type of person who could grasp ten things on her own.

Didn’t even the teachers who came to educate her surrender, unable to cope with Silvia’s intellectual curiosity?

She was strongly convinced that this Anastasia would be no different.

‘Still, there were a lot of interesting rumors…’

She was sure most of them were exaggerated.
Defeating a top-class golem with a single blow using a basic spell, and using black magic without incantations.
Weren’t they all unrealistic stories that would only appear in fairy tales?

She was not naive enough to seriously believe such fantasies.

‘Look forward to this semester, Professor Anastasia.’

Smirk. Silvia muttered with a smile that others would mistake for innocence.

‘I’ll peel away those rampant rumors with my own hands for all to see.’

The placement test finally began.
The freshmen of Group A fought with all their might to draw out their maximum potential.

The placement test was an important test that guaranteed as much glory as the entrance exam.
Although the ranks could change later, the benefits of the initial ranking could not be ignored.

Weren’t the dormitory housemasters already bombarding the promising prospects who performed well with all sorts of special treatment?

At the very least, they had to fight desperately to get a full scholarship.

However, unfortunately for Group A, there were two waves that could not be overcome with willpower alone.

“Hieek! S-surrender! I surrender!”

“Wahahat! My skills are the best! You small fries should just kneel quickly!”

Alber, brandishing a terrifying halberd and threatening her classmates.
Every time she swung her axe, her opponents were swept away like falling leaves.

Even the students who had passed the entrance exam with high scores couldn’t even stand up to her, like frightened puppies.

“Ugh… I’ll surrender. You’re amazing.”

“Hehe, you worked hard.”

The same went for Silvia, who was dueling on the other side.
The difference in their basic abilities was so great that the matches were decided without even having to use magic seriously.

Seeing her defeat her classmates with a few simple applications, I understood why the housemasters were drooling.

“What do you think, Professor Anastasia, now that you’ve observed them yourself?”

The Saintess, who was waiting by my side, asked.
She was looking straight at me with a gentle smile.

“Those two are on a different level, right? Aren’t you tempted as a housemaster?”

“I’m just here as a supervisor. The students’ safety is my priority, and I don’t have the luxury to consider my own personal interests.”

“Heeh, is that so.”

Antiopea’s eyes gleamed with a subtle light at my business-like answer.
She seemed to be lost in thought after hearing my answer.

Of course, since I couldn’t read minds, I could only wonder what she could possibly think differently after hearing such a mechanical response.

“By the way, the other dormitory housemasters sent a lot of packages our way.”

Antiopea interrupted her thoughts and asked in a subtle tone.

“But there wasn’t a single one from Obsidian. Is that perhaps for the same reason?”

…What? Is she dropping hints because I was the only one who didn’t send a bribe?
Or is she protesting that she felt ignored by the Obsidian dormitory?

‘What kind of materialistic Saintess is she?’

From now on, I’ll call her the ‘Bribe Saintess’.

“I came here to teach defense, not to compete with others over a student.”

I unwrapped a new candy without showing any sign of annoyance.
Then, lick. I popped it into my mouth and gave the most exemplary and faultless answer.

“Above all, I believe that such actions will have a negative impact on the students’ future. The academy, which should treat and educate everyone fairly, would be drawing lines between classmates and promoting discrimination from the very beginning.”

“…”

“I’m just a barbarian from the uncivilized country of Hriulia, so I don’t know the ways of this place very well. But I have no intention of going along with such a custom.”

Flick! I flicked the lollipop wrapper into the trash can and concluded.

“At the very least, I plan to treat all the students under my care equally.”

Smirk. Antiopea, who had been listening intently to my words, slowly raised the corners of her lips.
Then, she muttered something in a small voice that I couldn’t hear well.

“I’ll give you two extra points.”

“Pardon?”

“Hehe, it’s nothing.”

She seemed to be in a good mood.
I had just chosen the orthodox method to avoid any room for criticism, but it seemed she had felt something after hearing it.

Thanks to that, I, who had been worried that she would ask for a bribe, felt quite embarrassed.

‘Is she surprisingly fickle?’

I thought to myself, glancing at the Saintess standing with her hands behind her back.

“Match over! Winner, Alber Cornelian Tarrasque!”

The semi-final match that was just underway had ended.

As expected, the next Hero, Alber, had easily won without any major upsets.
She descended from the dueling stage with a triumphant air and asked the teaching assistant.

“Now, what about the final match? Does it start right now?”

“Uh, well… that is, normally there should be a 30-minute break before the finals, but…”

The teaching assistant, looking at the schedule, cautiously opened his mouth.

“This time, the match ended too quickly, so it’s a bit ambiguous. If Miss Silvia has no objections, we will proceed immediately. What do you think?”

“Yes, that’s fine. There’s no need to drag it out.”

“Phew, alright.”

After getting Silvia’s consent, the teaching assistant let out a nervous sigh and wiped his sweat.
Then, he sent the two beasts, Alber and Silvia, up onto the prepared stage and shouted.

“The final match of Group A will now begin! Students who have finished their matches, please move back a safe distance in case of any accidents!”

At the teaching assistant’s warning, the group of freshmen hurriedly moved away from the dueling stage.
Having been defeated by either Alber or Silvia, they all seemed to sense the danger.

And the moment they faced each other and took their fighting stances.

“…”

Antiopea and I also remained silent, staring intently at the scene.

This fight was a bloody battle between two prodigies who had easily defeated the other talented freshmen.
If a safety accident were to occur, it would inevitably happen in this one match.

“Hehehe. I’ve been waiting with bated breath to fight you, human.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Alber, brandishing a halberd that an ordinary person couldn’t even lift like it was a straw, bared her fangs.
Excitement, joy, and a competitive spirit burned brightly in her emerald eyes.

“The rest of the small fry were so boring they made me yawn, but you’ll be on a different level! I’ll face you with all my might!”

“Hehe, it’s an honor. The next Hero is going to fight me with all her might.”

Blue mana flowed from Silvia’s hands, responding to the challenge.
Then, the space around her began to distort and shimmer like a summer haze.

Everyone present reacted with astonishment at the remarkable scene.
Even the Saintess of the Greatsword, Antiopea, flinched in surprise and frowned.

“Spatial distortion due to mana? At such a young age?”

A temporary distortion of the spacetime axis due to the emission of powerful magic.
It was a feat impossible for anyone but a highly trained magician.

A supreme skill that even academy upperclassmen, let alone graduates, could not easily demonstrate.

And a young girl, who had just taken her first steps in the path of magic, was accomplishing it as if to show off.

Of course.

‘Well, not bad.’

As the supervisor, I wasn’t that impressed.

‘How about that? Isn’t it amazing?’

A thought as I looked at the space that had begun to tremble around me.
Silvia puffed out her chest, listening to the rising admiration of the audience.

An enormous mana capacity that her peers could never imitate.
It was a fragment of the genius that had made every instructor hired by her mother shake their heads.

‘You’ll get a better idea now, won’t you, Professor?’

Just how amazing a student you are facing.

With that sneer, Silvia shifted her gaze towards Professor Anastasia.

The distorted faces of shock and fear that everyone had made in front of her.
She arrogantly glanced at the new professor’s expression to savor and enjoy it.

“…Huh?”

But the moment she actually saw her face, Silvia’s expectation was completely wrong.

‘Why is she so calm?’

The young professor, with no change in her expression, was just licking her candy as if she hadn’t seen anything.
It was a reaction completely opposite to that of the people she had met so far.

Because of that, Silvia’s mood instantly soured.

What’s with that woman?

‘Is she blind? Or is she a fool who doesn’t even know how outstanding this is?’

The only daughter of Chairman Forte, and a prodigy who had been praised as a rising star since she was a child, Silvia de Garcia. For her to show such a bland face when she was showing her full power?

“Hmph!”

It doesn’t matter. Once the duel begins, she would unleash even more brilliant spells in succession.
She wouldn’t be able to maintain her pride and pretend not to see that.

‘Just you wait, Professor Silkie.’

Step. Silvia shot back in her mind, taking a step forward.

I’ll make sure that smug nose of yours is broken soon.