“Of course. I’ve received various education from the talented individuals, court magicians, and knight commanders that the Verted Kingdom boasts, and I’m among the top students in this academy. I am proof of our country’s excellence.”
Hearing these words spoken with such confidence, I sighed deeply.
“If that’s the extent of it, then the Verted Kingdom won’t last long either. How disappointing.”
The moment I said that, Rocks charged at me, turning his anger directly into momentum.
Does he intend to attack without using magic? Perhaps he thinks he can’t lose in hand-to-hand combat against a woman.
How underestimating.
As I was considering how to counter, Rocks pulled out something gleaming from inside his clothes.
It was a knife, no, a short sword with a blade of about fifty centimeters. The surface of the blade was inscribed with magical engravings, indicating it was quite a fine weapon.
“It’s too late for regrets! Five Crimson Spears!”
The moment Rocks infused his magic, multiple magic circles appeared in the space before him. Then, five horizontal spears of flame materialized in front of Rocks.
The air distorted with heat, making even Rocks’ smile on the other side of the flaming spears appear warped.
“Take this!”
he roared as the spell activated.
The flaming spears rushed towards me in the blink of an eye.
However, as they approached, they burst into flames in rapid succession. A wall of fire formed before me, scorching everything around it.
The power was equivalent to a lower-high-rank spell, but if those flame spears had flown separately, they would have posed a threat comparable to a special-rank spell.
A royal family treasure, perhaps. Against ordinary enemies, this magical artifact could decide the battle.
Rocks, now certain of his victory, was saying something behind the wall of flames.
“Hmph, how foolish. This is what happens when you defy me,” he said, chuckling to himself.
I sighed and cast my own spell in response.
“Frost Edge.”
As I spoke while infusing magic, a puddle formed at my feet and rapidly spread outward.
The water, expanding to a radius of about three meters beyond the wall of flames, rippled and rose into pillars.
Then, as multiple water pillars rose, they engulfed and froze Rocks’ wall of flames.
“…W-what…?”
As the frozen wall of flames shattered, Rocks stood there, eyes wide with shock.
“…Rocks Kilbeggan-kun,” I called his name.
Rocks flinched at the sound of his name.
He probably never expected his spell to be broken. He seemed unable to even speak.
“Using magic powerful enough to injure multiple students from the same school… Moreover, using fire magic against a teacher. This will be treated as a very serious matter.”
Upon hearing this, Rocks clicked his tongue, his guard up. Cold sweat ran down his forehead, suggesting the psychological damage was greater than I thought.
I smiled gently at Rocks and spoke.
“…We will have a parent-teacher conference.”
I stated clearly, but Rocks only looked puzzled.
“W-what are you planning to do, you monster!”
he shouted, his face contorted like a wild beast, seemingly trying to mask his fear with anger.
Deepening my smile at his words, I stomped on the icy pool spread across the ground.
The ice shattered completely with an impressive sound, even to my own ears.
Erasing my smile, I stared directly at Rocks’ trembling face and spoke.
“I will summon your parents here and give them a proper lecture. Prepare yourself. Be it a king or an emperor, I have no mercy for parents who have failed to raise their children properly.”
Upon hearing this, Rocks laughed as if in spasms, but soon realizing I wasn’t joking, his face turned pale.
[SIDE: Strauss]
Not only among students but also among teachers, rumors of the fearsome witch were spreading.
Some called her a righteous witch who had scolded the arrogant royalty with her power. Others said that a commoner yelling at royalty deserved more than just capital punishment.
The teachers’ opinions were also deeply divided.
Some tried to avoid getting involved, fearing retaliation from the Kingdom of Verted, while others attempted to teach Aoi about the proper way of dealing with nobles and royalty.
There were even those who suggested handing Aoi over to the Kingdom of Verted, fearing the academy might be shut down.
The common thread was that those with negative feelings all referred to Aoi as the Witch of Calamity.
“Because of what that witch did, the King of Verted is coming with his royal guard.”
“The academy will be shut down…!”
“No, the headmaster is also a noble of the Kingdom of Verted. The academy should be fine. But the headmaster might be held responsible.”
Such discussions could be heard all over the academy.
While most people feared or avoided Aoi, no one seemed to complain to her face.
Rocks had been absent for about three days, perhaps practicing self-restraint due to the uproar. Meanwhile, Aoi continued to attend classes as usual, seemingly unaffected.
“…A parent-teacher conference. To think she’d summon the king himself.”
“Will he really come…? Surely not. I mean, the king of a country…”
“I heard he’s already in the neighboring town.”
“Hieeeee!?”
As I watched Eliza scream, Aoi showed a slightly surprised face.
“Is the royal capital that close?”
“That’s your reaction!?”
Eliza stood up and retorted.
Then, Speyside, who had been drinking tea at a distance, stood up and walked over to us.
“…I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but please be quiet in public spaces. Do you have some rule that requires you to be noisy while eating?”
Speyside spoke with a hint of sarcasm, to which Aoi immediately bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. We’ll be quiet.”
Speyside seemed somewhat bewildered, probably not expecting such a simple apology.
“W-well, your humble attitude is commendable. Even the esteemed Upper Instructor Kornominato is trembling, not believing the king would actually come…”
He tried to laugh it off, but noticing Aoi looking straight at him, he pulled his chin in and composed his expression.
Then, he smiled wryly.
“…Pardon me. You’re not the type to be so docile, are you?”
Shrugging his shoulders and muttering that, Speyside narrowed his eyes.
“…If it might be of help, I’ll use my power as a marquis to cooperate. Just this once, though.”
With those rare words of support for Aoi, Speyside left the scene.
Even Eliza was wide-eyed at this.
In fact, Aoi herself was surprised. The sight of them silently exchanging looks, clearly finding it unexpected, was somewhat amusing.
While everyone was nervous about the king’s visit, I wasn’t particularly worried.
Partly because I knew the king’s personality, but also because considering Headmaster Glen’s influence and power, I didn’t think it would become such a big issue.
The problem might be within the academy itself.
Thinking about this, I took a sip of my fruit water.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
[SIDE: Shenley]
What should I do?
Because of me, Teacher Aoi… Because I defied Senior Rocks, even Senior Court got injured…
As I kept thinking about bad things, my thoughts spiraled further and further downward, intensifying my self-loathing.
“If only I wasn’t here…”
I mumbled, on the verge of tears.
Then, a gentle voice reached me.
“Even if you hadn’t done anything, it would have ended up like this with Teacher Aoi. There’s no need for you to regret anything.”
Senior Court stood next to me, saying this.
I had been standing with my back against the wall in the courtyard, but how did Senior Court find me?
When I looked up at Senior Court, he returned a smile.
“I think Teacher Aoi cares deeply for her students. She won’t hold a grudge against you, Shenley. So, it’s okay.”
He said this, but I still couldn’t feel positive. Looking down, I couldn’t help but voice my thoughts.
“…I’m no good. I should have stayed in the middle school instead of skipping grades… Just because I learned magic a bit faster, I got carried away thinking I could enter high school… I mistakenly thought I had great talent… Someone like me doesn’t belong in this academy…”
How pathetic.
Showing my true self, my weak self to others, it’s so embarrassing and pitiful that I want to disappear.
But I can’t hold it in. I hate myself so much, I feel so pathetic… Maybe I wanted someone to listen to me.
Will they be disappointed? Will they mock me? Will they hate me? Anxiety darkens my heart.
However, Senior Court’s smile didn’t waver.
He smiled as if troubled and nodded gently.
“It’s alright. Look,”
I raised my face and looked where he was pointing. There was Teacher Aoi, running towards us.
“Did something happen?”
she asked, kneeling in front of me and peering into my face with concern.
“Ah, n-no… I-I just… felt pathetic about myself… It’s nothing…”
Feeling the genuine concern in her demeanor, I couldn’t stop my tears. But after saying that much, I remembered something important.
“Ah… I-I’m sorry…! B-because of me, Teacher Aoi…”
I apologized, realizing I had only been talking about myself at a time like this. But Teacher Aoi narrowed her eyes sharply and shook her head.
“This has nothing to do with you, Shenley. Rocks was being far too violent, so I decided to have his parents come in based on my own judgment.”
“B-but…”
“You shouldn’t worry about it. This is just a regular parent-teacher conference. Titles like prince or king don’t matter here. So, this isn’t something for Shenley to be concerned about.”
Saying this, Teacher Aoi gently placed her hands on both of my shoulders.
Up close, Teacher Aoi’s eyes shone with a powerful light. Is that what they call conviction?
For some reason, as I listened to Teacher Aoi’s words and looked into her eyes, I started to feel like everything would be alright.
I felt that Teacher Aoi could overcome any crisis. I felt that Teacher Aoi could save even someone like me.
Unconsciously thinking such thoughts, I smiled.
As expected, Teacher Aoi is amazing. She’s my hero.
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
