"My, my, it seems I've shown you a rather embarrassing side of things."
"Not at all. As expected of William Academy, you have some truly incredible students here."
When I offered my honest assessment, Headmaster Shido's eyebrows gave a sharp twitch.
"Hmph, I simply cannot let that comment pass, Lloyd-kun. Gazel is certainly an exceptional student, but our academy boasts many who are even more impressive! The Swordsmanship Department has the 'Beautiful Crimson Rose,' Maximilliam-To; the Medicinal Arts Department has its fairy, the 'Fragrant Purple Rose,' Rosetta Frauen; and the Economics Department is graced by the 'Increasing Yellow Rose,' Biliard Genius... They are all the pride of this institution. You will likely have the opportunity to meet them soon enough."
"Uh... right. I see."
Even if he told me all that, I couldn't bring myself to be interested in things unrelated to magic. I wondered who the top mage here was. Was it Gazel after all?
Noticing the lack of interest written all over my face, Shido continued, his eyebrows twitching rhythmically.
"H-However! The greatest of them all is that one. The Student Council President who leads the entire student body, a prodigy the likes of which have not been seen since the academy’s founding. His magic pierces the heavens and bores through the earth; he is a genius who never neglects his efforts, a master of both talent and hard work—he is a child prodigy of magic, hailed as the second coming of the great William Bordeaux himself—"
"Tell me more. Right now."
I bit immediately. What kind of person were they? What kind of magic did they use? Where were they? Come on, hurry up and give me the details. Faster, faster.
Shido seemed slightly taken aback by the sheer speed of my change in attitude.
"U-Umu... your eyes certainly started sparkling all of a sudden... Ahem, well now. Class is about to end, so I expect he will be emerging shortly..."
As if to cut off Shido's explanation, a deep gong of a bell chimed through the air.
Then, as if to drown even that out, a massive kaboom of an explosion resounded!
I wondered what on earth had happened, but Shido didn't seem even remotely perturbed; he simply let out a weary, practiced sigh.
"...It’s a common occurrence."
"What do you mean by—?"
The question I started to ask vanished instantly.
Gazel emerged from the billowing explosive smoke, and a mass of ice flew out after him, closing in on his face. That was Double Synthesis Magic, combining water and wind—an Iceball.
"Tch!"
With a sharp click of Gazel’s tongue, the Iceball dissipated. Judging by the magical residue and the rising steam, he had countered it with his Chantless Fireball.
Behind the white smoke Gazel was glaring at so hatefully, a figure shimmered into view.
"Hmph. As usual, you rely entirely on raw mana and fight with no finesse. My foolish brother."
The person who stepped forward along with that cool, composed voice was a slender young man with long, flowing silver hair. He wore a white uniform that set him apart from the other students. Perhaps reflecting a meticulous personality, his collar was fastened all the way to the top, and gold filigree glittered at his chest.
More importantly, since he called Gazel his brother...
"Umu. He is Noah Bordeaux, Gazel's elder brother and the eldest son of House Bordeaux. He is the genius mage that William Academy is so proud of."
Shido’s face was filled with paternal pride as he spoke of Noah.
I see. Even just looking at his presence, I could tell his spell formulas were incredibly refined. It was clearly the result of endless training. I could understand why Shido spoke so highly of him.
"Shut up, you shitty brother!" Gazel roared as he charged. He swung his raised fist down toward Noah.
"Good grief. Dealing with a foolish brother is never easy."
While twisting his body to dodge the strike, Noah sent Gazel flying with a kick from his long leg. The two put distance between each other again, their shoes screeching as they gripped the floor.
Shortly after, a roar of cheers erupted! Without my noticing, students had gathered from all directions to watch the fight.
"Kyaaa! Master Noah, look over here!"
"Uooooh! Win this time, Gazel!"
Shouts and cheers flew back and forth—high-pitched squeals for Noah, and gruff, rowdy voices for Gazel.
"The relationship between those two brothers is quite poor, you see. They always get into a skirmish like that after class ends. While private dueling isn't exactly something to be encouraged, this is the Magic Department. We allow that sort of thing during free time under the pretext of technical improvement. Besides, the battles between those two are quite popular."
It certainly had become something of a public spectacle. And if I looked closely, the two of them had erected Barriers around themselves to ensure no damage was dealt to the bystanders; they weren't just rampaging mindlessly.
So it was fine as long as they followed the rules, then. Even so, normally that wouldn't be allowed—the school was quite flexible.
"Drop dead!"
Showing no sign of caring about the audience, Gazel fired off a barrage of Chantless Fireballs. Noah intercepted them perfectly with Iceballs. Steam billowed between the two, turning the area into a thick mist.
—Well, since I was using 'See-through' magic, I could observe every detail of their fight without any problem.
"Hmm. Even if it is low-tier magic, it should normally be impossible for one person to perform Double Casting. I wonder what kind of trick he's using?" Grimo mused.
"Don't you notice, you shitty angel? Look at his tongue. Something creepy is going on there," Jiriel noted with a gasp.
Looking closely, I saw that Noah had another 'mouth' attached to his tongue.
"Heh, isn't that 'Twin Mouths'?"
It was a Biological Magic Tool that connected directly to the body—simply put, an artificial mouth. With that, Double Casting was possible for a single person.
Even so, to embed a Magic Tool into one's own body... I could feel an extraordinary love for magic there. Needless to say, the surgery would involve immense pain, and one might be looked at with judgment. It required a great deal of resolve. Gazel had also clearly put in a tremendous amount of training. Hmm, I was starting to want to see more of their power.
"Master Lloyd, are you thinking of something wicked again?"
"If you use your power in front of all these witnesses, you'll be found out, boss."
It was as my familiars said, but they were in the middle of all that thick smoke. The people around wouldn't be able to see, and if I did it right, I should be able to make them think it was each other's doing.
The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't sit still.
"Headmaster Shido, I'm going to the restroom for a bit."
"Ah, wait, that's the wrong way!"
"Woof! Woof woof!"
Shiro cut off Shido as he tried to give chase.
Alright, nice one, Shiro.
Taking advantage of that opening, I ran back up the stairs and dove headfirst into the white smoke.