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Chapter 12
8. You Have to Fasten the First Button Correctly (1)
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Lucien Filonia. I’ll be in charge of your class this year, and I’ll be teaching Barrier Studies among the magic subjects.”
After briefly introducing herself, Lucien slowly looked around the lavishly furnished classroom.
She could feel all sorts of emotions directed at her—curiosity, scrutiny, admiration, delight, indifference, caution, suspicion…
Suspicion?
It was coming from the black-haired boy seated beside the golden-haired girl.
Imperial Princess Estelle Daria Rudvier and Young Duke Klein Münster.
Klein’s calm brass-colored eyes stood in stark contrast to Princess Estelle’s lively crimson ones.
Right, the Münster Ducal House incident was what practically declared the end of the private tutor trend.
Having understood, Lucien continued her explanation.
“All of you will take the common subjects in the morning, and in the afternoon you’ll attend the elective classes you’ve chosen. The Advanced Division has very strict graduation requirements, so—”
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
A girl sitting by the window had suddenly begun shedding tears without warning.
What? Why is she crying?!
The bright sunlight pouring into the academy’s finest classroom created a halo around the girl, making her light brown hair, almost wheat-colored, shimmer with a faint golden glow.
It was Beatrice, the Saint Candidate.
The other students turned toward her and began whispering.
“What? Why is she crying all of a sudden?”
“Is she crying because of the homeroom teacher?”
“What kind of relationship do they have? Isn’t the Saint Candidate a commoner?”
Cold sweat trickled down Lucien’s back.
I’d like to know that myself.
She disliked all children, but she especially disliked crying ones.
If an adult cried, you could simply leave them alone.
A child, however, couldn’t just be ignored.
Forcing the words out, Lucien spoke.
“Miss Beatrice, if you’re having a hard time, it’s perfectly fine to rest in the infirmary for a while.”
It failed.
Beatrice’s green eyes trembled as they filled with even more tears.
“I’m… sniff… I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize—”
“I’m okay. Please let me stay here…”
I’m not okay.
In the solemn atmosphere, Klein Münster unexpectedly moved.
“Here. Wipe your tears.”
He kindly offered his handkerchief to the sobbing Beatrice.
“Th-thank you…”
Everyone was astonished by the action of the boy famous for his cold personality.
Even Beatrice herself looked flustered.
Without caring, Klein stood up and changed seats, positioning himself as though shielding Beatrice, who had nearly buried her face in the handkerchief.
Shielding her…
From Lucien.
What did I even do?
The way Klein stared at her was so intense that it was as if he were looking at a criminal.
I seriously can’t do this.
“Then, Miss Beatrice, take your time to calm down, and now I’ll explain this year’s curriculum—”
Once again, Lucien couldn’t continue.
Crash! Bang!
With an enormous noise, the back classroom door was violently ripped off its hinges.
“…!”
Instinctively lowering themselves and taking defensive stances, the students soon realized the classroom itself had suffered no damage.
Only the hallway where the door had once stood was in complete disarray.
“Is anyone hurt?”
A calm voice addressed them.
Lucien had somehow already stepped outside to inspect the situation.
After confirming there were no further dangers, she turned her gaze back inside.
Among the murmuring students, one person remained seated without the slightest sign of surprise.
As though she had known this would happen.
Cordelia Arche.
The girl infamous as the villainess of House Arche sat alone, with every seat around her—front, back, left, and right—completely empty.
When their eyes met, Cordelia looked startled and quickly looked away.
“So what the heck happened? Who broke the classroom do—”
As if answering someone’s bewildered question, a figure suddenly emerged from the pile of shattered door pieces scattered across the hallway.
The silver-haired boy shook the dust from himself before raising his head.
Lucien rubbed her face wearily.
“Noel, what exactly do you think you’re doing?”
Noel Ephron.
The final member of this utterly chaotic class, and the boy hailed as the future Master of the Magic Tower.
His blue-violet eyes alternated between Lucien and the place where the door had been before sparkling suspiciously.
“Huh. This year’s homeroom teacher is actually pretty capable.”
“……”
An icy silence filled the room, interrupted only by Beatrice’s occasional sniffles.
What a disaster.
Lucien glanced around the classroom.
Q. Describe what would happen to the teacher in charge if high-ranking nobles’ children, including the Imperial Princess, were injured in an accident that occurred inside the classroom on the first day of school. (1 point)
It was worth only one point because the question was that easy.
The answer was too depressing to bother writing out, so it would be omitted.
Lucien, who had nearly become the answer herself, secretly took a deep breath.
Good thing I installed them beforehand.
Last night, she’d even volunteered for overtime to thoroughly set up every protective measure she could.
Well, it looked like he only intended to tear off the door in the first place, not send it flying into the classroom.
Considering how spectacular the accident had looked, the way it had so precisely avoided hurting anyone was rather unique.
“Noel, I asked what you think you’re doing.”
Taking Lucien’s outstretched hand, Noel stood up with a grin.
“I just opened the door.”
Sighs echoed throughout the classroom.
Unbothered, the boy casually brushed the dust off his clothes.
Wood dust.
From the door he himself had destroyed.
Lucien remembered the advice given by last year’s teacher, whose voice had become permanently hoarse from shouting at him.
“Just… don’t provoke him. You never know where he’ll bounce next. Dealing with him only raises your blood pressure.”
His first impression certainly was overwhelming.
Looking at the missing doorway and the devastated hallway, Lucien silently counted how many incident reports she would have to write.
“You don’t appear to be injured, so come inside first. And be more careful about doing something this dangerous.”
“I could tell the classroom had multiple layers of barriers and protective magic on it. If you still couldn’t stop this, then that would just mean you’re incompetent.”
In other words, he openly admitted that he had calculated everything beforehand and caused the incident on purpose.
Lucien calmly nodded.
“I see. So this is all the work of the incompetent Noel.”
“……”
Noel raised one eyebrow.
Compared to her calm demeanor and delicate appearance, the new homeroom teacher’s personality was anything but ordinary.
“Is a teacher really allowed to say that?”
“To a student who smashed the classroom door, yes.”
Invisible sparks flew between Lucien and Noel.
“Now then, shall we all take our seats? We were in the middle of cla—”
At that moment, mana swirled once more in Noel’s hand.
Let’s see if you can stop this too.
The spell he intended to unleash—a refreshing downpour inside the classroom—never even fully formed before disappearing.
“…What? What did you do?”
“Noel Ephron. Using magic on people inside my classroom is not permitted.”
As she spoke, Lucien finally understood why the Headmaster had assigned Noel to her class.
Sadly enough, she truly was the most suitable teacher to protect the other students from this magical genius and notorious troublemaker of the Magic Tower.
Noel realized it at the same moment.
So she really does specialize in barrier magic…
That strange sensation he’d felt when entering the classroom…
He had noticed a barrier separating this space from the outside, but he hadn’t expected it to be powerful enough to suppress his magic.
Who would cast such high-level barrier magic over a tiny classroom?
What an absurd waste of talent—and mana.
It was ridiculous.
What an interesting person.
Ignoring her warning, he gathered even more mana than before.
This time, he intended to overwhelm and shatter the classroom’s barrier with sheer force.
But once again, the mana refused to obey his will.
Instead, it condensed violently in his hand, on the verge of exploding.
Lucien quickly reached out and wrapped her hand around his.
“You’re someone who shouldn’t get hurt either, Noel.”
At the same time, the raging flow of mana quieted as though something had blocked it.
She stopped even this?
Noel let out a low groan.
It seemed he’d ended up with an incredibly troublesome teacher this year.
On top of that, she didn’t even get angry.
How boring.
Yet his curiosity soon outweighed his frustration.
“How did you do that just now?”
Lucien smiled gently.
“If Noel is truly a genius, I think you’ll figure it out yourself. But first, you’ll have to sit down.”
“You’re the one who said I should figure it out myself. Don’t regret it later.”
At last, the final student in the class grumbled his way back to his seat.
Regret? As if. Just how did the Magic Tower raise this child?
Making sure no one noticed, Lucien took another deep breath and repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hands, now cold from tension.
