The club application period—a time when freshmen choose the clubs they’ll be active in for the next three years—was upon us. Last year, it had been marked by Luize’s tireless efforts to recruit the confectionery club’s advisor. I, too, vividly remembered dealing with applications from two princes and a future saint during that time.

With those memories fresh in my mind, I’d braced myself for this year’s application period. The foreign students drawn by royal connections were Villar’s responsibility, and the mages flocking to Magong had been handed over to Laterre. Still, the world is full of exceptional individuals—those with …