The morning after the duel.
Rodelin, arriving at the student council room, was inevitably shocked.
“The duel arena… it’s been destroyed?”
No matter how much she rubbed her eyes, the words written on the document didn’t change.
-Duel arena ceiling collapsed. Quite a lot.
It had only been two months since it was declared safe.
Could it have aged so much in that time?
Nah, probably just a few bricks fell off.
“First thing’s first, I need to check it out!”
But the reality was harsh.
“The ceiling… it’s gone?”
It wasn’t just ‘quite a lot’. The entire ceiling had disappeared.
There must have been some kind of accident.
Rodelin searched through the documents to find the name of the reporter.
Reporter: Teron(1), Yuridia(1), Zero(1)
Reason: Experimenting with new magic led to an explosion. The roof flew off on its own.
Maybe it was the power of youth that they couldn’t control.
First-year students caused a massive accident.
What kind of experiment could blow off an entire ceiling?
“Flew off on its own? As if! They blew it up themselves!”
It was a relief that no one was injured, or else they wouldn’t have been let off easily.
A time for education and admonition, and a bombardment of demerit points!
But before that.
“It’s time for a meeting!”
“I’m sorry. I got curious about magic and it just happened.”
“I’m sorry too. I pushed it too far because I like magic too much. Ohohoho…”
“Keke, to me, magic is like murder. I saw it clearly with my own eyes yesterday.”
All three testimonies matched, and two seemed to be deeply reflecting.
The pursuit of knowledge isn’t a crime, after all.
The punishment Rodelin decided for them was.
“Write a reflection! And for Zero, I’ll also add 1 demerit point!”
In fact, Zero only blew off a very small part of the ceiling.
The cleanly sliced ceiling.
The moonlight streaming through was so pretty that it could have become an attraction if left as is.
However, Teron insisted it be demolished.
‘Because it was a trace of One Flash.’
Though it took some effort to enlist Yuridia’s help, it was well handled.
Teron thought a reflection was a small price to pay.
He didn’t forget to align his story with Zero’s either.
An enthusiastic(?) vice president of the student council, Rodelin, was also well deceived.
“Busy!”
Either way, Rodelin was just busy.
Identified the cause, reprimanded the students, arranged for an alternate duel arena, and completed the request for repairs.
Next was…
“The bill!”
Rodelin lifted the bill high into the air.
She bowed her head.
The bill was her responsibility, after all.
Of course, it wasn’t her own money that was being spent.
The problem was…
‘I have to get the principal’s approval stamp…’
And that principal was Dwener.
All talk and no help, fussy about money being spent.
Convincing Dwener to release the funds.
That was Rodelin’s mission and her trial.
“Bite the bullet while it’s hot.”
Rodelin strode purposefully towards the principal’s office.
Her arms were full of documents.
Reasons for the necessary repairs, reflection papers, the bill, and more.
She was prepared for an unnecessary lecture, but it was worth it.
One of the student’s recreational facilities could be lost.
“Teron, Yuridia, Zero. These three freshmen destroyed the duel arena’s ceiling. Repairs are necessary for the safety of the students.”
“…”
Dwener didn’t say a word.
Rodelin, who had expected an outburst, was ready to defend the juniors.
‘Surely he’ll start grumbling about the waste of money. I’ll assert myself from the get-go.’
Just then, Principal Dwener seemed about to speak.
“So it is. Process it as an expense.”
“No, it’s not like that! This repair is absolutely necessary… What?”
Rodelin’s face was one of dumbfounded surprise.
Had she been too busy running around? To repair it as an expense.
She must have heard wrong.
“You mean… process it as an expense?”
“That’s right. We can’t have students paying for it, now can we.”
“…?”
“An explosion, huh… Well, that’s possible. Kids are naturally curious.”
“But an experiment that destroys a building…”
Somehow, it ended up with Rodelin opposing and Dwener supporting.
The immediate instruction to treat it as an expense was that shocking.
“Kiki, Rodelin, you still don’t understand, do you?”
“…?”
“Experiments sometimes lead to buildings collapsing, land sinking, and even towns flying away. I’ve done it all when I was young.”
“???”
Rodelin wondered if her understanding was flawed.
Dwener, reading the documents she brought, suddenly burst into laughter.
“This Zero kid will surely become a great magician.”
“Yes?”
“Look at this, ‘To me, magic is like murder.’ Isn’t that quite the spirit?”
Kikikiki!
Dwener’s laughter echoed through the principal’s office.
“Yes… I mean, that seems likely. Then, I’ll take my leave…”
Rodelin quickly left the principal’s office.
She had to leave before he changed his mind.
But Dwener continued to laugh even after she left.
“Kiki, we can’t impose too much responsibility on a nice kid like Zero.”
Dwener’s small pond, where he goes when he’s troubled.
There, even today, a drink was placed.
Along with a note saying, ‘Sorry for the trouble.’
Saving Zero from a crisis.
He really was…
“Too competent.”
Dwener, smiling contentedly, got up and headed outside.
It was time for a break.
10 minutes of work, 50 minutes of rest.
A perfect work-life balance for someone as capable as him.
Click-.
“…”
The principal’s office was empty after Dwener left.
Pop!
Suddenly, a lid opened in a corner.
A lid opening in a corner? An impossible description.
But anyone seeing the current situation would describe it that way.
“Phew. Tha-thank goodness.”
The one who emerged was none other than Rezé.
Dragged by Godner, saved by Luna.
A girl with bangs long enough to cover her eyes.
Now, she was inside a box.
A box perfectly matching the wall pattern of the principal’s office.
So well-matched that no one could notice.
‘Thank goodness. Luna didn’t get punished.’
She had been hiding, worried about the punishment for someone who helped her.
Since dawn today.
And since then, Rezé had been thinking about one thing.
‘I want to get closer to Luna.’
But for someone as timid as her, it seemed impossible.
Rustle-.
The box containing Rezé began to move.
“Where’s Teacher Caron?”
“He’s on leave again today?”
“What? Another free period?”
The morning class ended as soon as it began.
Because Caron was absent from the academy.
‘Where did he go at such a crucial time?’
It had been a week since Caron disappeared.
If he had been around, he could have easily resolved the recent incident.
“Hey, look at this!”
Click-.
A camera in Luna’s hand flashed.
A camera powered by mana stones.
But snapping a photo without giving time to pose.
“Oh! It came out well.”
“Keke, but my eyes are closed?”
“Your eyes are always closed, you fool.”
Ah, right. I have slit eyes.
I should use ‘Eye Opening’ next time.
Photos with closed eyes just don’t look good.
“Oh my! Looks like they made up!”
“Marital spats are like cutting water with a knife. I knew it would happen.”
“I’m so glad Luna is safe. I thought there was a huge problem yesterday.”
The kids looked at us with pleasant expressions.
What? Was I married? When did that happen?
Will there be a baby soon too?
‘…I don’t even know anymore. Let it be.’
Click! Click!
“Keke, Luna… Taking unauthorized photos is a crime.”
“What? Between us?”
Luna, behind the camera, puffed her cheeks.
Was it because of yesterday’s incident that she felt less burdened?
Her expressions became much more diverse.
Well, she’s cute, so I decided to let it slide.
“No class, so shall we go out?”
“Hmm… Before that, could you help me out for a moment?”
“Help?”
Luna nodded emphatically.
A little later.
The place Luna took me to was the training ground.
A specialized training ground with shock-absorbing magic.
She seemed to have reserved it.
‘I have a rough idea of what kind of help she’ll ask for.’
It was likely a request to help with training.
Before chapter 1 ended.
Since I had nothing else to do, I was more than willing to join in the training.
After all, I had something in mind.
‘But before that.’
I spoke to Luna, who was warming up.
“Luna, I couldn’t say this yesterday because you were crying, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
“I wasn’t crying. It was just water in my eyes.”
Luna, we have a social consensus to call that ‘crying’.
“Soon they will react. I laid a trap yesterday.”
“A trap? We agreed to keep quiet about what happened at the duel arena, didn’t we?”
“But Teron, Daike, and Yuridia are aware of it.”
“What do you mean?”
Teron’s Vyuern family, and Yuridia’s Rownter family.
“If any of those families were involved in annihilating the Lester family or collaborated, there will be a reaction.”
“They swore to keep it a secret on the honor of their families. How can you…?”
“…Would those who frame other families and destroy them really value the honor of their family?”
“Ah, I see. I mean, they’re the kind of people who don’t hesitate to kill, so keeping a promise is unlikely.”
Luna nodded vigorously.
Suddenly, her face turned pale.
“Wait! Then you’re in danger!”
It was natural for Luna to worry.
It was me who used [One Flash] in front of them.
“Keke, it’s intentional.”
“What?”
“I’ll be the bait. The bait to draw them out.”
“That’s too dangerous, you fool.”
Luna grumbled and tapped her foot on the ground.
Whether it was dissatisfaction with me acting without consulting her, or because I was in danger.
I couldn’t tell which.
“Luna, you promised.”
“…What?”
“That you would protect me. I’m just trusting that promise.”
Tears welled up in Luna’s eyes.
“Fool! You’re really a fool!”
“Keke, and Luna is a crybaby.”
“I’m not crying! It’s just water in my eyes!”
Luna thumped my body.
Ah, yes. This is it.
The beating(?) from Luna that I hadn’t felt for two days.
It seems I’ve become a body that can’t live without it now.
Of course, I’m not a masochist.
It’s just that Luna’s beating massage is exceptional.
That seems like a reasonable explanation.
“Anyway, be careful of anyone approaching you.”
“I understand. If anyone does, I’ll tell you right away. Well, since no one really talks to me, it must be the culprit, right?”
Indeed, as Luna said.
There were hardly any people who talked to her.
‘Luna’s bodyguards are a bit of a concern, though…’
They preferred to cheer from a distance.
Respecting our alone time, or so they say.
In my opinion, those kids were the real weirdos.
“By the way, what is it that you need help with?”
“Aah, perfect timing. It’s actually related to what you just mentioned.”
Luna put on a serious face.
Then she pulled out a sword from her spatial pocket and pointed it at me.
Swoosh-.
“Let’s have a match, Zero.”
–TL Notes–
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