Episode 28: Townsperson A Attends Class

It has been exactly one week since I enrolled in the Higher Academy. As expected—or perhaps I should say, as planned—I’ve been completely isolated. Not a single soul has spoken to me.

I am a total, quintessential loner.

Amy, the only person who bothered to talk to me on orientation day, seems to have successfully triggered her "First Encounter" event with the Crown Prince. Since then, she has lost all interest in me.

The Crown Prince has been constantly hovering over her, saying things like, "As a former commoner, Lady Amy, you must be struggling with so many unfamiliar customs. Allow me to assist you." Meanwhile, he has absolutely no use for me—an actual commoner—and ignores my existence entirely in the classroom.

Since I’m required to bow my head whenever we pass in the hallway, there’s zero opportunity for conversation anyway. Even in the dorms, while we’re provided with private rooms, the noble and commoner buildings are completely separate. Our paths never even cross.

I expected to be ignored by the student body, I thought, but being befriended by someone like Amy only to be dropped the moment I was no longer useful... well, it stung a bit more than I anticipated.

In any case, today was supposed to be the day of the event where Amy, possessor of the [Healing] Divine Protection, reveals her restorative magic. Now that the initial orientation has settled down, the real curriculum is finally beginning.

First up: magic practice.

I followed the cluster of young nobles out to the training grounds.

"Alright, everyone. We’ll begin the lesson now," the instructor announced. "This may be tedious for those of you who can already cast, but please focus on mastering your control first."

After the brief explanation, the teacher addressed the class. "Those who can already use magic, please raise your hands."

A scattering of hands went up in response. I raised mine as well.

Wait, I realized suddenly. Didn't we have a magic portion on the entrance exam? Shouldn't everyone here already know the basics by the time they're enrolled? Can you actually get into this school without being able to cast?

Damn. Not that my training was a waste, but it feels like I over-prepared for nothing.

"Very well. Then, Crown Prince Karlheinz, would you care to show us something? A simple spell will do."

"Hmph. Leave it to me."

The Crown Prince stepped forward with absolute confidence and began his chant. I was too far away to catch the specific words, but he manifested a fireball, launched it at the target, and scored a direct hit.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

As applause broke out among the students, I decided to go with the flow and joined in.

As a side note, the Crown Prince possesses the Divine Protections of [Fire Magic] and [Hero]—the literal kit of a story protagonist. In the game, the [Hero] blessing functioned as a passive buff for the user and their party members whenever they were leading a group.

"As you can see, with proper control, you can hit a target even at that distance," the instructor explained, moving on to the safety lecture. "Conversely, if your control is lacking, you’ll miss—or worse, the spell might detonate in your hands."

The teacher scanned the group again. "Next, Lady Anastasia."

"Yes."

Anastasia stepped up to the mark as her name was called. I noticed that she and the Crown Prince didn't exchange a single word; they didn't even make eye contact. Actually, Anastasia gave him a polite bow, but he pointedly ignored her.

Apparently, their relationship was already quite strained.

Anastasia manifested an arrow of ice and loosed it. Her projectile didn't just hit the target; it shattered the wood entirely before slamming into the earthen rampart behind it.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

Once again, the class erupted in applause. It seemed that, at this stage of the story, Anastasia’s raw magical ability was actually superior to the Crown Prince’s.

Anastasia’s Divine Protections are [Ice Magic] and [Knight]. She and the Prince are the only characters in the game who start with two blessings.

However, the Prince apparently felt that his fiancé had made him lose face. His face turned a deep, angry crimson, and he demanded a do-over.

"Anastasia... even though I held back to set a baseline, you went and destroyed the target. Do you intend to humiliate me?"

"No, nothing of the sort... I apologize."

Anastasia lowered her head and remained silent.

"Fine. I’ll show you my full power."

The Crown Prince began to chant again.

"Your Highness, stop!"

Anastasia tried to intervene, but it was too late. A massive fireball surged into existence between the Prince's hands.

"Ngh... ugh...!"

"Your Highness!"

The Prince let out a pained groan, followed by a cry from Anastasia that bordered on a scream.

A moment later, the spell went critical.

The fireball exploded in his palms, sending a wave of heat and flame outward to engulf the area. Before it could spread, however, Anastasia instantly froze the surroundings, snuffing out the runaway blaze in a heartbeat.

"Your Highness!"

"Lord Karl!"

Amy rushed to the Prince's side, her voice saccharine yet laced with performative worry. She immediately activated her magic and began treating the Prince’s burns.

"What...?"

Anastasia watched the scene with a stunned expression. The instructor didn't move to stop the treatment, either.

It took about ten minutes for the Prince’s burns to be completely, flawlessly healed.

Wait, did it really take that long? I wondered. Maybe the game just didn't show the passage of time during the scene?

"Amy, this is..." The Crown Prince stared at the girl in genuine shock.

"Your Highness! Are you alright?"

Anastasia stepped forward to offer the Prince a handkerchief, but he brushed her off. He stood up and placed his hands firmly on Amy's shoulders, looking her straight in the eye as he thanked her.

Ah, right. I remember that event CG.

"Thank you, Amy. You have a truly wonderful power."

"O-oh, it was nothing. I just... I was so worried about you, Lord Karl..."

I saw Anastasia’s eyebrow twitch. She didn't say a word, however; she simply turned her back and walked away.

Amy caught her eye for a split second, and for a moment, I thought I saw the corners of her mouth curl into a smirk. Was that just my imagination?

"T-today’s lesson will end here," the instructor stammered, clearly eager to be elsewhere. "I believe you’ve all seen the reality of magic. We will begin diligent training starting tomorrow. Dismissed!"

The teacher beat a hasty retreat from the training grounds.

So, that was the "Event." The teacher was incompetent for failing to supervise, and the Crown Prince—after letting his childish pride ruin the lesson and nearly cause a disaster—ignored the fiancé who actually saved him to shower Amy with gratitude instead.

Even by the standards of a lazy, plot-convenience-driven otome game, witnessing this farce in person left a bad taste in my mouth.

Not that there’s anything I can do about it right now, I thought.

I turned and quietly left the field.