“That’s right. With just one of those relics, you could turn the tide of battle. It’s one of the four relics in our country.”
Aoi nodded several times and responded.
“…A relic.”
As she muttered this, Middleton looked at Aoi.
“The threat of relics lies in the fact that anyone with sufficient magical power can activate intermediate or higher-level magic. And without an incantation, at that. This can be used for assassinating important figures if the time and place are right. Countries with many relics are invariably strong in war.”
As Middleton spoke, Glen narrowed his eyes.
“…Information about relics is kept secret by each royal family. Even if it’s known that a relic exists, the threat is diminished if the attribute of the magic is unknown. However, Aoi easily dealt with the sudden appearance of fire magic. And with water magic of an advanced level or higher, no less. This means…”
“We’ll discuss that another time.”
Aoi cut off Glen’s seemingly long-winded speech. She straightened her back proudly and turned off the projection.
“Right now, we’re discussing Rocks’s usual behavior and violent actions. Talk of tools of war is irrelevant.”
Glen and Middleton’s eyes widened at Aoi’s firm declaration.
In the quiet room, Aoi’s words resonated.
“At the core of Rocks’s behavior is an excessive pride in his royal status. He believes that royalty is superior to everyone else and that it’s acceptable to look down on others. Is this a result of your education?”
Questioned thus, Middleton and Lea struggled to answer.
They exchanged glances with complex expressions, and Lea looked at Aoi with a bitter smile.
“…Aoi? I’ll tell you this out of goodwill, but disrespect towards royalty is punishable by death. You should refrain from such strong statements…”
Lea said this with a somewhat testing look, but Aoi glared back and responded.
“That’s what’s fueling Rocks’s misunderstanding. Even royalty are just human. If he insults non-nobles and faces retaliation, he could easily lose his life. As for his education as a student, how appropriate is it for a royal to behave in a way that makes enemies in this academy where royalty and nobility from other countries are present?”
Lea’s expression turned cold at Aoi’s words, which showed no regard for royalty.
“Ice Twin Blade Assassin Edge.”
As soon as the small whisper was uttered, a large amount of magical power gathered at her neck.
Three layers of magic circles appeared in the air, and huge ice blades materialized on either side of the sofa where Lea and Middleton sat. They were curved swords with thin, rounded edges that sent shivers down the spines of onlookers. The tips of the two curved swords were pointed at Aoi’s face.
Staring at them without blinking, Aoi muttered.
“Scorching Circular Heaven Flare.”
Immediately after Aoi spoke, several red traces ran through the air. The red lines of light flew around Aoi in circular patterns, and the huge ice blades that touched them instantly melted and shattered.
“W-What…!?”
Aoi stopped Glen, who had started to stand up in excitement, with a single glare.
“Don’t move. Assume you’ll die if you touch this red light. I can’t dispel it for at least ten seconds.”
Hearing this, Glen sat back down slowly, breaking out in a cold sweat.
In the silent room, Aoi gazed at the speechless Middleton and the others.
“…Forgive my rudeness, but I must say this. Just now, you two were on the brink of death. Your Majesty King Middleton, Queen Lea. Your royal status did not protect you from me, a commoner. Of course, if you had done something, I would have no choice but to leave this country and go to another. Perhaps even to a country hostile to the Kingdom of Verted, potentially involving myself in war.”
By the time Aoi finished speaking, her magic had completed its activation, and the light disappeared.
Silence dominated the room for a few seconds.
Finally, Middleton opened his mouth.
“…You got us. We admit defeat. However, although you may have been angered, please remember that Lea’s advice was out of concern for you.”
“Yes, I understand.”
In response to Aoi, Lea took out a necklace from her chest and showed it.
“It seems even our royal family’s secret treasure had no effect on you. It’s frustrating, but being so thoroughly defeated is almost refreshing.”
“I should apologize as well. And I’d like to entrust Rocks to you, Lady Aoi. Your words were bitter, but there’s much I agree with. Looking back, we’ve entrusted his education only to those with strong loyalty to our royal family. Surrounded only by those who revere oneself, one might start to feel like a god… I’m sorry, but if I directly punish Rocks, it could cause unnecessary rumors and conflicts. It’s troublesome, but you’re the only one who can speak harshly to Rocks.”
Seeing the two speak this way, Aoi blinked in surprise.
“…Was this planned from the beginning? Whose idea was it? Don’t tell me even Headmaster Glen was in on testing me…”
As the gaze turned to him, Glen smiled awkwardly and averted his eyes.
Seeing this, Middleton and Lea laughed bitterly.
“Actually, we’ve been receiving reports from Marquis Glen for a while now. Well, the content was much softer than what Lady Aoi just said.”
“Yes, it was somewhat… excessive content. Haha. I never expected to be scolded so severely.”
As the two laughed together, Aoi furrowed her brow, looking slightly sulky.
“…I was quite nervous about this, you know.”
To Aoi’s complaint, Middleton grinned mischievously.
“Forgive us. We needed someone trustworthy to entrust Rocks to. Through this exchange, we’ve learned that Lady Aoi is a genuine teacher who simply wants to correct a student’s behavior.”
As Middleton laughed heartily and Lea covered her mouth to laugh, Aoi let out a deep sigh.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Aoi was to accompany them for the afternoon class observation.
Since Rocks was attending a water magic class, the teacher was Speyside.
When they entered the classroom, they found a nervous Speyside checking attendance while sweating profusely.
“Oh. There are surprisingly many students. I thought the advanced level would be quite limited.”
As Middleton said this while entering, a commotion arose among the students.
And Rocks, sitting in the top row, smirked when he saw Aoi entering with Middleton.
“Today, we’ll be conducting a class on advanced water magic. Since all the students present can handle this magic, the main objective of the class will be to shorten the incantation by one verse,”
Speyside explained the class content with unusual politeness, and the students looked somewhat amused as they glanced between Speyside and Middleton.
Lea, who had entered the classroom last, nodded as Speyside’s face twitched upon realizing he was being made fun of.
“It’s a high-difficulty class, isn’t it? So at the advanced level, being able to perform magic alone isn’t enough?”
Aoi tilted her head slightly at these words, but Speyside continued with a relieved expression.
“First, we’ll activate the magic with the usual incantation.”
Saying this, he performed a five-verse incantation and created a small water sphere. The sphere contained high-density magical power and could create a flash flood with a large amount of water flow.
“This magic will disappear if not directed at a target. Now, let’s all try it.”
As Speyside gave instructions, everyone began their incantations.
However, Rocks crossed his arms and smiled smugly before speaking out of turn.
“…Teacher Speyside. It’s a waste of time to dawdle like this. We have the advanced instructor, Teacher Aoi, right here. Why not split into two groups for teaching?”
Saying this, Rocks began his incantation and activated the magic in just three verses.
Some students were genuinely surprised by this, but Middleton and the others furrowed their brows.
Floating a water sphere in the air and deepening his smile, Rocks looked down at Aoi.
“Or is it that Teacher Aoi can’t teach? I thought it would be easy for an advanced instructor, even if only in name, but was I mistaken?”
Rocks, unusually full of himself, said such things while puffing out his chest. Middleton and Lea’s eyes grew sharper, but he didn’t notice at all.
“Of course, Aoi-sensei can use magic with a shorter incantation than me or Teacher Speyside, right? You seem good at hiding your incantations, but if you’re going to use different types of magic consecutively, you’ll have to chant in front of everyone. How about activating a basic fire magic spell, and then a water magic spell?”
To Rocks, who was inexplicably giving orders from a superior position, Aoi sighed and opened her mouth.
“This is Teacher Speyside’s class right now. Please refrain from speaking out of turn.”
When Aoi told Rocks to quiet down, ignoring his claims, Rocks’s eyes widened.
“What? Are you talking to me!? To me, a member of the royal family!?”
As Rocks pretended to be shocked in an exaggerated manner, the wrinkles between Middleton’s eyebrows deepened. And Lea’s smile froze.
“… As I’ve said before, within the academy, royal family, nobility, and commoners are all irrelevant. Rocks, you are a student, and I and Mr. Speyside are teachers. Listen to what we say and attend the class…”
As Aoi tried to reason with him to calm him down, Rocks interrupted mid-sentence and shouted.
“What did you say!? You’re telling me, a royal of the Verted Kingdom, to listen to commoners!? Do you know who’s standing next to you!? You don’t know, do you!? Shall I tell you!”
Rocks shouted back at Aoi’s warning and began to loudly assert himself.
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