Magic Practice classroom.

As I entered, there was only one student inside.

"Hello."

The person was none other than Princess Rie, whom I had met before.

It was a class attended by just the two of us.

One might think it was the inefficient, but there was a reason for this.

Magic Practice had a significant gap in skill level between students with low and high grades.

What the low-grade students learned was an extension of the theory class.

This was because some of them didn't know how to use magic at all.

On the other hand, students with excellent magic skills could already use magic to some extent.

Therefore, there was no need to provide additional theory classes for high-grade students.

It was a more efficient teaching method to finish theory classes during theory class time and learn different spells during practice class time.

"Princess Rie, greetings."

I greeted Princess Rie with a polite demeanor.

"Hey, you don't have to be so formal. We're the same age, after all."

"No, I must."

"Hmm... Don't you want to be friends, Rudy Astria?"

Rie smiled at me as she spoke. However, I had no interest in getting close to her.

At present, I am the most outstanding individual in the academy.

The academy's brightest star.

However, to a princess who wants to become the sun, I am nothing but an obstacle.

A star brighter than the sun itself would only make her own light seem dim, providing no assistance.

What could be the reason for trying to befriend such an unhelpful person?

If delinquents were priority one to avoid, then Princess Rie would be priority zero.

She could bury me without anyone noticing.

The classroom door opened with a creak, and a professor entered.

He had messy hair and a rough, bearded appearance.

The professor placed the book he was holding onto his desk with an indifferent expression.

"Only two students this year, huh?"

The professor glanced back and forth between Rie and me.

His gaze was dry and emotionless, not one you'd expect when looking at the son of a duke and the empire's princess.

In a relationship between professors and students, the professor is the superior, regardless of status.

However, society isn't that simple.

If a student's status was high, the professor could be beneath them or even on equal footing.

But the way this professor looked at us seemed as if he was merely observing insignificant students.

"Call me Professor Cromwell."

Cromwell briefly introduced himself, only revealing his last name.

It was quite a rude greeting, but Rie and I could only stare at him.

"So, shall we see your skills?"

As Cromwell waved his hand, desks and chairs flew to both sides.

"Fight each other."

"What?"

Rie furrowed her brows at Cromwell's words.

"I said fight."

It was absurd.

There's no professor who would make students fight each other like this.

Normally, students were forbidden from fighting outside of formal duels or practical evaluations.

Rie and I had no intention of fighting.

Even if he was a professor, he couldn't force us to fight if we didn't want to.

A professor may rank higher than a student, but they are not above the established rules.

This was a classroom, not some back alley of the academy, so this act of violence could not be justified.

"Are you saying you'll ignore the school regulations?"

Rie said exactly what was on my mind.

I couldn't fight Rie.

Having only used magic briefly yesterday, I wouldn't stand a chance against the princess.

My true abilities would be exposed.

Even if using magic directly in a fight differs from its normal usage, both the princess and the professor would surely find it strange once they see the scope of my magic.

"Then are you saying you'll ignore the professor's words?"

Cromwell raised an eyebrow at Princess Rie's question.

"It means that, depending on the situation."

I absolutely could not fight.

If I fought the princess, I wouldn't be able to defend against her magic properly and would end up rolling around pitifully.

The rumor would spread throughout the academy.

There was no reason for the princess not to spread such a rumor.

The story of the top student who arrogantly disregarded everyone, getting trampled by the second seat, would be too sensational.

I made up my mind and opened my mouth.

"How trivial."

The gazes of both the professor and Rie focused on me.

"Do you mean to say that you must see us fight to evaluate us?"

I brought up a valid point.

"Professor Cromwell, perhaps you should be teaching mercenaries instead of students at Liberion Academy?"

This class wasn't about teaching us how to fight.

It was a magic practice class, teaching us how to use magic efficiently and exploring various applications of different types of magic.

That's what a magic practice class was about.

Magic wasn't created solely for fighting.

Fighting was just one of the many ways it could be used.

So, ordering us to fight each other in this class was refusable.

"This class doesn't seem worth attending."

I snorted arrogantly and headed toward the back door of the classroom.

"Are you saying you'll disobey my command?"

Cromwell spoke to me with a threatening tone.

"If you leave like this, there could be consequences."

However, if I were to back down pathetically here, I would just fall to the level of a third-rate thug.

I can't let that happen.

Even though I'm talking big, this is essentially running away.

Fleeing without a thought is disgraceful, but strategically retreating takes courage and wisdom.

I opened my mouth, looking at Professor Cromwell.

"Disobedience, you say?"

I opened the back door.

"Am I a dog that obeys?"

Hearing my words, Cromwell lowered his head.

"Hehehe..."

As I tried to leave, Cromwell suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha..."

He laughed out loud.

Princess Rie stared at Cromwell with round eyes.

"I apologize. You're right. You're not dogs. Come back to the classroom."

Seeing this, I furrowed my brow.

What's he trying to do?

"Don't worry, it was just a test. Come in."

A test...?

I realized the eccentric professor's intentions.

"My intention was slightly different, but you both chose not to fight, so I think that's the right answer."

Cromwell continued with a smile.

"You two are the strongest students among the first-years at the academy. Being the strongest students means you're the strongest among your peers in the Empire. Such powerful individuals should not recklessly use their strength. You always need to think about whether you're on the right path."

Princess Rie looked at me with a surprised expression.

No, I didn't think about that when I decided not to fight...

"You shouldn't use your power recklessly. If you wanted, you could kill people as easily as crushing ants beneath your feet."

Cromwell looked at me with a sinister expression, giving me a smile.

"The meaning of using one's strength was what I intended to teach in the first lesson. Even under pressure, if you think you're wrong, you shouldn't use your power. That's the basic mindset of a wizard. However..."

Cromwell gestured, and two of the desks that were put away earlier flew to the center of the classroom.

"It seems there's nothing to teach you about mindset."

"…"

Did I achieve a good outcome?

"Well, that's enough about mindset. Let's see your true abilities."

Then, Professor Cromwell handed us each a piece of paper.

"This class is a practical one, but you need a basic understanding of theory to use magic effectively. So, let's have a short test to see how much you know about theory."

Ah.

I'm screwed.

I should have just fought Rie.

I have almost no knowledge of magic in my head right now.

I'd rather fight a messy fight...

With a gloomy heart, I received the test paper.

"This test won't count towards your evaluation, so don't feel pressured."

Hearing those words, I felt somewhat relieved.

After all, only Professor Cromwell will know the score...

So it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Professor Cromwell's office.

"How interesting."

Cromwell was reading about the students after class had ended.

Rudy of the Astria duchy and Rie, the First Princess of the Empire.

There had been a few students like Rie so far.

However, it was hard to say that those students had any strong convictions. They could simply be model students who followed the school rules.

What Professor Cromwell wanted in a student was not someone like them.

He wanted someone who could refuse to comply even if the Empire's laws forced them.

Someone with their own beliefs.

In that sense, Rudy Astria was intriguing.

Arrogant and haughty.

However, that didn't matter.

Originally, talented wizards were arrogant and haughty.

No, those wizards were not arrogant.

How could they help it if the people around them were genuinely inferior and not on the same level?

It's only unfair for the lion when the ant claims it's showing off while acting as a lion should.

"…?"

When Cromwell tried to grade Rudy Astria's exam, it was completely blank.

It was not a test that affected his grades, but he hadn't written a single word.

Was the test too easy? Or was he still angry about being tested?

Cromwell simply moved on from that exam.

After all, he was the top student of the academy, so he must already know the content.

The reason for evaluating theory in practical classes like this was due to students who were bad at theory but good at using magic.

Those who simply used magic by intuition.

Such students have high practical scores but low overall grades.

The test was originally prepared for those students.

But, after all, weren't those two the first and second seats? There was no need to worry about them.

Knock knock

"Come in."

A woman holding several documents entered as Cromwell spoke.

"Professor, I came to receive a recommendation letter."

A woman with neatly tied-up red hair. She was very neatly dressed.

"You're already here for it?"

Although his words sounded slightly cold, his face was smiling.

"Isn't it better to get it done quickly?"

The woman also smiled, familiar with his tone, and handed over the documents.

What was written on them was a recommendation letter for the student council president.

"Wouldn't it be difficult to maintain the top seat while holding the president's position?"

"I just need to reduce my sleep."

She said nonchalantly.

Cromwell chuckled and signed the document, handing it back to her.

"Thank you."

She smiled brightly and accepted the document.

"Are you not having a hard time with this year's first-year students?"

"Are you worried about me?"

She playfully shrugged her shoulders.

"There's an interesting guy."

"An interesting guy?"

She asked with a slightly puzzled face.

"Rudy Astria."

Her face showed surprise, but it soon broke into a smile.

***

Here are two chappies. I think I'll be doing 4 chaps a week.

I'll also be going back to re-edit the previous chaps. I think they're pretty badly done compared to these two. I'm not sure yet but I might have some peeps joining me so there should be more novels.