Characters in this chapter:
- Sapphiras Perfectio, former 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge
- Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier
- Riley Spotts, class leader of class C
After our vacation in Vanderwall, which was filled with many things, such as the discovery that my body is a bit impotent, which I didn’t want to know, and Theodore’s wedding, albeit with a lot of commotion, we returned to the royal capital.
I was expecting that the usual life at the academy would start again, and I was bracing myself for more trouble, but the goddess must have gotten bored, and every day has been very peaceful.
No strange people to get involved with, and no hordes of magical beasts to attack. Yes, this is the kind of student life I had always wanted!
As I savoured the peaceful days that had finally arrived, the time for our annual magic performance was fast approaching.
“Should we make it more flashy this year?”
Yeah, I don’t dislike flashy things.
“But I don’t think it’s all about being flashy.”
That’s a good point.
“But, if we don’t at least solidify our image soon, we won’t be able to perform in time.”
That’s true. We need to start practising soon.
“What do you think, Sapphiras?”
“Hmmm……”
Gathered at this table are Riley, who is the class leader, and the members who performed last year. Then there are the members who will be performing this year, and me as an added bonus. The three who performed last year will be the instructors this year. By the way, Miss Behati, whose father was against wands, is now a fully-fledged wand-wielding magician. Wands have become popular at the school, but apparently she has come to understand how important it is to adjust magical power. As a wand user, I am very happy about this.
We’re planning to put on an impressive magic performance like last year, but the head of the Order of Magicians has focused on magic that entertains people, not just offensive magic, and my magic performance in a neighbouring country has become a hot topic, so this year many classes are planning to put on a magic performance similar to that of class C. That’s a very good thing, but if they perform the same as last year, class C won’t be able to reach the stars.
As far as I’m concerned, I think that getting stars is secondary as long as we have fun performing, but it’s better to have a goal in mind. So this year, we’re putting together the themes that the class has come up with in order to aim for the stars again.
Although there will be three of us performing on stage, since it’s a class competition, the whole of class C will work together to create the performance. That idea has been carried over from last year.
“Excuse me for interrupting the discussion.”
A calm voice interrupted the heated discussion.
“Oh, Percival.”
“It’s time for the cafeteria to close, Sapphiras. Let’s go back to the dorms.”
“Oh, is it that time already?”
Looking around, us class C students were the only ones left in the cafeteria.
“It seems the Sapphiras’ knight has come to pick you up, so we’ll continue tomorrow.”
Wait a minute. He said my knight casually.
“That’s right. Well then, everyone, thank you for working so late.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Everyone put away the documents they had spread out, stood up, and returned to their dorm rooms.
“Is the preparation for the magic performance going well?”
“No, it will be difficult. This year won’t be like last year.”
“Sapphiras’ magic has been a big topic of conversation.”
“I’m glad that everyone has accepted showy magic, but as a member of class C, I feel a bit complicated. What about Percival’s class?”
Percival’s class is, as usual, focusing on offensive magic. They are determined to pursue stylistic beauty.
“I see, so it’s going to be a head-on battle.”
There will naturally be other classes besides class B who will be competing with their traditional magic performances. They’ll be performing well-crafted attack magic to counter showy magic. It’ll be hard to surprise everyone unless they add some kind of surprise.
This year’s magic performance looks like it’ll be interesting, but I hope they can perform something that will attract everyone’s attention again.
As I was thinking about this, Percival stopped in front of my room.
“Sapphiras, it’s fine for you to think about your performance, but I want you to get plenty of sleep.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay! I’ll fall asleep while I’m thinking anyway. I’m sure I’ll be sleeping more than Percival, who gets up early to train.”
“That’s fine, but……”
Percival stared at me intently, so I realised what was going on and raised my head a little and closed my eyes. Soon Percival’s lips met mine and then quickly parted.
“I’ll come back to pick you up tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“Yeah, goodnight.”
I watched Percival’s back for a moment before entering my room.
“……It’s not enough.”
I couldn’t help but mutter. Kisses used to be so embarrassing, but lately, somehow it’s been unsatisfying! I mean, a simple kiss isn’t so bad. But once you experience that deep kiss—!
I remembered the tingling sensation in my stomach as my body slowly went numb, and I shook my head with all my might.
“No, no, that’s not right! Percival and I are both still students! Impure! Impure!”
If I stayed awake like this, I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to think of anything good. I’ll just go to bed as Percival said. After taking off my uniform and changing into my night clothes, I quickly slipped into bed.
***
“Ha? What?”
While I was having a discussion with the members of the Magic Performance Task Force in the cafeteria after dinner, several young men came in.
“I said, we want Sapphiras-dono to be removed from teaching Class C.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Riley stood up vigorously, so I pulled him by his sleeve and guided him back to his seat.
Everyone was confused by their incomprehensible request, as they didn’t even know each other, and naturally I was confused as well. But I’ll at least listen to what they have to say for now.
“Why?”
“Well, you performed magic in front of King Tornx, didn’t you? It’s not fair that someone like that is teaching.”
What on earth are they talking about, saying it’s not fair?
“……Look, if you want me to stop performing, I can understand that. But I don’t think it’s right to tell me to stop teaching.”
“After all, you have knowledge on how to use special magic and the class that you are in will be in a position that’s overwhelmingly close to Stellas. That doesn’t make us equal, does it?”
“You seem to be misunderstanding something, but I don’t use any special magic. If I was special, then why would the representative of class C be able to use that magic? Besides, we’re not equal in the first place. Everyone has different amounts of magical power, and there are students who invite magicians to teach them how to use magic before enrolling. Well, I was told I had no magical power since I was five, and now I’m using magic like this, so in that sense I might be special, though.”
Though, it seems like my magical power is different from everyone else’s. But I’m not acting, so that doesn’t matter at all.
“B-but! You performed magic as a representative of the country, so there’s no doubt that Class C will have the advantage under your guidance!”
“Ehh……”
It’s not like I went there to perform magic on behalf of the country. Aurora asked me to do it, so I took it on personally.
Even so, he’s really bothering me. I know he wants the stars, but instead of wasting time on me, wouldn’t it be better for him to think about what kind of magic he can do with his classmates to surprise everyone?
Just because I teach them, it’s not like the fate of the stars will change that much. After all, even Class B got a star last year when they performed magic in the usual way.
“May I have a word?”
The young man sitting nearby stood up and interrupted our conversation. As expected, it was a face I didn’t recognize.
What, what’s this? Are you helping them?
“I overheard what you were saying so I’ll just say something, but isn’t it wrong to tell him to stop teaching?”
“Ha?”
The guys who had asked me to stop teaching were puzzled by the words of the person who was on our side.
To my surprise, he was on our side.
“Just as Sapphiras-dono said, we all have different abilities. Isn’t it part of the competition to see how we make up for that in our performance?”
“Th-that’s…….”
The students who came to tell me to stop teaching looked at each other in bewilderment.
“Last year, Class C was awarded stars because they proposed a magical expression that no one had ever tried before, and their magical manipulation that made it happen was highly praised. Sapphiras-dono’s guidance may have played a part in that, but I think his different perspective and ideas are something that all of us students need.”
Good point……
Just because you don’t think you can win, it’s not right to ask someone to line up with you.
“Ex-excuse me.”
The students, unable to say anything back, quickly left.
Haa. It seems they finally realised how selfish their arguments were.
“Thank you. Even if I or the rest of class C had told them, they probably wouldn’t have backed down, so that really helped.”
I stood up and thanked him for interceding.
“No, I was just saying the obvious. Besides, if I didn’t help you when you were in trouble, Belisario1Yes, this was said without any honorifics, implying that they’re probably very familiar.. would glare at me.”
“Eh?”
The young man looked at me and laughed for some reason.
“Let’s both do our best in our magic performances. Well then.”
As I watched the young man put away the tray with the cups and leave the cafeteria, the classmates behind me all spoke up.
“……He’s from class B, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, that’s for sure.”
“Sapphiras’ knight really has no oversight.”
“Huh? What do you mean no oversight?”
I turned around to ask, and everyone looked at me in amazement.
Eh? What do you mean? Explain it in a way that I can understand.
melon: Hey guys! For those who are not on the discord and missed my announcement, I actually went to Japan for 3 weeks. I came back last week but needed some time to unpack and rest after a long trip. I’m sorry for the long absence!
Unfortunately I have a bunch of work to catch up with + another ongoing translation project so I might not be able to make up the missed chapters. I will still try to update every 3 days and will try my best to squeeze in extra chapters when I have time. On the bright side, we are only 5 chapters behind 😬
