"…Then, I'll see you next time, Ophelia-sensei."

"Come by whenever you like. I'll always be here waiting."

"That’s good to hear. It'll be easier to beat you if I'm in good condition."

"I doubt it. I’ve already figured out all your habits, Princess."

"My habits?"

"Think about it slowly. If you can recognize your own habits, you might be able to beat me someday."

I figured that was enough of a hint.

As I saw Stella off, I left her with plenty of clues on how she could improve and eventually beat me.

Even if she thought it was nonsense right now, even if she believed she had no habits to change, that was fine. In fact, it might be better if she thought it was nonsense.

Growth comes from self-discovery. No matter how much I pointed out her flaws, it wouldn’t matter unless she recognized them herself.

When others offer advice, it often feels detached or irrelevant. What truly matters is understanding things on your own.

If I forced her to change her habits without her seeing the need, she would just revert back eventually.

"Is it over?"

"Ah, Leo."

"I’m impressed, sensei. Talking so naturally with the princess like that."

Leo looked at me with sparkling eyes, clearly impressed by how easily I conversed with Stella.

"This is the academy, after all. As long as you show basic respect, it’s fine."

"…Isn’t that more of a formality than reality?"

"Not really."

I knew what Leo was getting at. Many students believed that the rule about everyone being equal inside the academy was just words on paper, meaningless in practice.

"But… even if no one says it, there are differences, right?"

"True. But that’s something people choose to be cautious about."

Everyone is equal inside the academy.

But outside?

You never know what kind of retaliation might come. That kind of thinking is ingrained in everyone.

Leo was pointing out the unspoken differences that arise from this mindset.

Most of the lower-status students don’t stand up to the nobles because of this.

But the nobles never directly enforce such behavior. They are bound by the laws set by the old emperor.

The nobles know the laws well, so even if they dislike them, they have to follow them. If they were caught treating a commoner like a servant, the punishment would be severe, perhaps excessively so.

"Being cautious isn’t a bad thing. Even though Orca isn’t a noble, everyone is still cautious around her, right?"

"Th-That’s because… they think she’s dangerous…"

Leo glanced at the bed behind the drawn curtain.

…I had wondered why I hadn’t seen Orca. It seems she was sleeping there.

"Whether from a commoner's perspective or a noble's, it's natural for both sides to be wary. So, as long as you’re polite, everything will be fine."

"…"

I was sure of it.

The way Leo was reacting meant something had triggered him.

…It seemed the main quest had begun.

Leo’s unease around nobles usually coincided with the start of his main quest.

"Don’t worry too much, Leo. That noble isn’t going to cause you any trouble."

"H-How do you know that, sensei?"

"Because the rumors are already all over the place."

That was a lie.

There weren’t any rumors, nor had I heard anything about recent events.

The student traffic had been slowing down lately.

Orca came to the counseling room every day, but she wasn’t involved in any gossip.

So how did I know?

Simple. There was only one reason why Leo would look at me that way while I talked to the princess.

The main story had begun. Leo’s main storyline.

No wonder he had been hanging around the counseling room for so long today.

Even while Orca and Stella were playing chess, he had waited outside, too anxious to leave.

It seemed he wanted to talk.

"It’s hard to get accurate information just from rumors. Why don’t you explain the situation to me?"

"O-Okay…"

Leo was attending his class as usual.

"So, when you move the mana this way, the magic circle forms like this…"

It was a basic lecture on magic.

Leo didn’t need to take this class since he wanted to become a knight, but he thought it might be helpful, so he signed up.

He figured that knowing at least the basics of magic might help him someday if he ever had to fight a magician.

…Of course, he also wanted to get his money's worth, considering the academy’s high tuition fees.

He had worried that other students might give him a hard time for being a swordsman in a magic class, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Everyone understood his reasons and accepted him into the class.

But the problem came from an unexpected source.

After the morning class, during lunchtime, a group of familiar boys approached him.

Nobles and their followers.

They might claim to be friends, but everyone knew that was just an excuse.

"…Allen."

"Allen Miller. Use my last name."

"…"

"I’m tired of repeating myself, Leo. Go to the cafeteria. I can’t stand it anymore."

"But I don’t have enough money. If you could wait just a week…"

"I’m telling you to fix it now! I can’t stand it any longer!"

Leo relied on his meals to replenish his energy.

With the academy’s demanding schedule, plus the additional magic classes he hadn’t originally planned for, his stamina was quickly running out.

Naturally, he started eating more than usual, and soon he ran out of money.

"I’m sorry, but I really don’t have any money."

"Then at least eat that smelly meat outside the classroom!"

He wasn’t without emergency funds.

Leo had saved up money by working hard before enrolling in the academy, just in case something happened.

But the academy turned out to be more demanding than he had expected.

His savings, as a commoner, were limited, and they quickly dwindled as he needed more food than the other students.

Shocked by how fast his funds were disappearing, Leo had found a part-time job that fit around his academy schedule.

…If only his pay hadn’t been delayed by a month, all paid at once next week, this wouldn’t have happened.

When his boss had apologized profusely, Leo had just smiled and said it was fine.

But now, he regretted not insisting on getting paid earlier.

"It’s distracting! Eat outside, I said!"

"But the rules say it’s forbidden to eat outside the cafeteria or classroom…"

"I don’t care about the rules! I said it’s distracting!"

There’s a saying that wizards have particularly sensitive personalities, and it’s mostly true.

Maybe it’s because they spend so much time working with magic circles?

Even though Leo had heard this, he didn’t think it would apply to him, but it did.

In the cafeteria, you had to buy meal tickets to eat. Outside food was prohibited.

But since Leo didn’t have enough money, he couldn’t buy meal tickets.

So, he was forced to eat in the classroom…

That’s when the trouble started.

Most of the time, it was fine. The classes Leo usually attended didn’t have many sensitive people.

But the problem arose on days when he had morning classes with the wizards.

They often spent their lunchtime working on magic circles, and it was an unspoken rule that the room should be quiet during that time.

So, when Leo’s food started wafting smells through the room during lunch, Allen began to complain that the smell was too distracting.

"…Alright. I see you’re not going to listen."

And finally, today, Allen lost his temper.

"A duel, Leo. If you win, I won’t bother you about this anymore. But if I win, you stop attending this class."

"…That’s what happened."

"I see…"

It didn’t seem like anything had changed.

The situation and the opponent were exactly as I remembered.

The solution to the first chapter was very simple.

Since the issue was that Leo didn’t have enough money for food, I could lend him some money and tell him to pay it back after his paycheck came in.

Or I could cover his meals for a few days. That would solve the problem.

If Leo apologized and promised it wouldn’t happen again, Allen would probably calm down.

"…I know I was wrong, sensei, but I had no choice. I didn’t have enough money, so I had to prepare my own meals."

"I understand."

"What should I do?"

"What should you do?"

But I didn’t say any of that to Leo.

Sure, that would be an easy solution, but it wouldn’t help Leo grow.

I once heard a saying: "Don’t give a starving man a fish; give him a fishing rod."

If I solved this problem for Leo, he wouldn’t grow.

He needed to solve it on his own.

"You need to put him in his place. Just win the duel."

"What? But he’s a noble…"

"If he loses the duel and tries to retaliate behind the scenes, his reputation will be seriously damaged. The scenario you’re worried about won’t happen."

Fight, fight.

Keep fighting.

Even if you lose, I’ll make sure you keep fighting until you win.

I smiled at Leo.

"So don’t worry and just fight."