Chapter 292

“This, what is it? A drone?”

Ji Hye poked at the machine, and a sound of wind whooshed from the speaker.

The drone suddenly wobbled and performed a 360-degree spin in front of her.

[Hello, friends?]

“Ahh! What… what is this?”

Anyway, I can’t stop them.

“My friend. She agreed to take my filming today.”

“Ah… Hello…!”

[Hehe, don’t mind me, just have fun! Think of me as an invisible person, okay?]

“Okay.”

It only takes 15 minutes to walk to school.

In that time, there was plenty to talk about.

They passed by the bus stop where Seoyuna usually gets off.

“Isn’t Yuna waiting?”

“She said her legs hurt, so she’s taking her brother’s car to school today.”

“True. Yuna practices a lot and has it the hardest.”

Semaaru mentioned that he recently got his license.

Even though 95% of vehicles are autonomous now, it’s interesting that getting a license is actually much harder than it was in the first life.

On the way to school, Ji Hye received feedback on what she couldn’t cover in the Academy对抗赛 yesterday.

“Enough…!”

“And Ji Hye, you should start learning coordinate transformation soon. You can’t keep relying on magical items forever, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Go home and learn matrix multiplication today. Then I’ll teach you.”

“M-matrix?”

“It’s not a difficult concept!”

“Ugh! No!”

Time seemed to fly by, yet I felt lost wondering when these friends would grow up.

The middle school students already looked naïve like elementary school kids, and these ones still had four more years to wait until they graduate elementary school.

It felt like they’d only be able to spar in about ten years.

“Huh? What’s going on? What changed so much in a week?”

While walking along the main road, a sudden feeling of mismatch made me look around.

It wasn’t Christmas, yet decorations and lights adorned the street trees.

A few helium balloons floated high in the sky.

“It wasn’t like this until Friday?”

Even Hansaeri, the only one left in the Academy among us, tilted her head in confusion.

A banner stretched endlessly between the trees.

[Celebration for the Victory of Seviron Academy Seoul Region.]

“Wow! It looks like they decorated because the Academy对抗赛 was won! It’s so pretty!”

“Did it happen last year too?”

“Um… I don’t really remember, but it seems we lost last year and there was nothing.”

It must be a big expense for the Principal to celebrate a victory that came after eight years.

[Celebration for the Elementary Division’s 3:2 Victory.]

‘Typical of Principal Gu Onyu.’

Amid that, the elementary division had even detailed the score.

It was obvious he wanted to show off in contrast to the middle and high school principals, which made me chuckle.

However, the real shock came right after that.

“Huh? There are so many people!”

“Aren’t those all our Academy seniors? What are they doing over there?”

“Adella, climb high and take a picture, then send it to my phone.”

[Okay.]

Besides the magic circle, an electric motor operated as the drone flew high into the sky.

I was astonished at the photo Adella showed me.

A dense crowd filled the area from here to the Academy’s front gate.

‘500 people? 700 people? At this point, it’s almost the entire school!’

But the people lined up orderly on both sides, as if waiting for someone.

I made eye contact with the senior students standing at the very back.

“…!”

The noise intensified as they noticed my approach.

“Look over there, Nameya!”

“…?”

The cherry blossom tree that Seori pointed to had the largest banner hanging between its branches.

[Congratulations on Name’s Victory in the Academy对抗赛 and MVP Award!]

[From the Seviron Foundation and all of the Academy.]

“What is all this…?”

“Nameya! It’s like they are applauding for you.”

Clap clap clap clap clap—

Hundreds of students clapped together as if they had promised.

I froze momentarily out of surprise.

All their gazes were on me.

My heart began to race violently like a drum.

Such a multitude of stares was unfamiliar.

Looking down at the ground, my shadow stretched long in the morning sunlight.

“I think you should go from here on your own.”

“Seori and I will go in later!”

“Go inside quickly!”

My friends pushed me from behind.

When I looked up again, I could see friendly gazes.

The moment I stepped into the path created by the people,

The roar of applause drowned out the pounding of my heart, filling the cool autumn air.

“Wow!”

“Name! Name! Name!”

“Nameya, let’s live together at the Academy forever!”

“You’re the best! Thank you, Name! You know your older sister really loves you!”

From third-year high schoolers to second-year, first-year students.

Mature students shouted my name at the top of their lungs.

Who orchestrated all this? My face turned completely red.

And I went down to the middle school.

“Whoa! Na~me Na~me Na~me! Na~me Na~me Na~me!”

These kids took it a step further, creating a song with my name.

Among them were seniors who participated in the Academy对抗赛.

“What’s going on… Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?”

I couldn’t make out their response over the noisy crowd.

But judging from their bright smiles, I could somewhat guess what they meant.

“Nameya, congratulations!”

“Our elementary division is the strongest! Go, Noname!”

“The Demon Lord Name is here! Make way!”

“The Demon Lord, woohoo!”

Elementary school students with clear voices, still untouched by puberty, shouted loudly.

Just as my embarrassing feelings were coloring into happiness, I barely reached the entrance.

At the end, all the Academy teachers were gathered to form a finish line.

Principal Gu Onyu and my homeroom teacher Jacqueline Carroll raised their hands to welcome me.

“What’s all this? Did the principal arrange this?”

“It’s traditional to celebrate like this when we win the Academy对抗赛.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“It’s set from this year onward. I’m the principal, so it’s not an issue, right?”

Holding a wand that leaned against the wall, Principal Gu Onyu drew a magic circle on the ground.

Alongside her, Ms. Jackie helped cast the spell by drawing a small circle.

“Once again, congratulations on winning the Academy对抗赛, student Noname.”

[4th Circle Spell: Fireworks (煙火)]

[5th Circle Wide-Field Spell: Barrier – Total Eclipse]

A massive barrier enveloped hundreds of people,

And the sun gradually lost its light as the boundaries of shadows became indistinct.

Darkness descended.

Into the pitch-black sky where not a thing could be seen, six fireworks shot up, spewing flames as they floated higher and higher.

Phew—

The small spacecraft defying gravity exploded upon meeting the ceiling of the barrier.

“…!”

In that moment, a festival of light, fire, and stars unfolded.

Lights gathered to form embers, embers gathered to create stars, and stars emitted light once more.

Boom!

Pop!

From the explosions of the stars, many tiny stars announced the sound of birth.

[N]

[O]

[N]

[A]

[M]

[E]

Six clusters adorned the night sky.

They formed the letters of the alphabet, representing my name.

“Wow…”

It was like sprinkling gold dust on a black canvas.

And those starlights slowly began to fall upon us like snow.

Rubbing my eyes in disbelief at the stunning sight, I continued to gaze at the sky.

As I looked, familiar figures began to appear one by one, including Ms. Jackie.

The once dark skies regained their blue hue, and the magic circle dissolved into nature.

“Welcome sincerely to Seviron Academy, Miss Noname.”

Yet, I felt that the ephemeral illusion would be forever etched in everyone’s hearts.

I suddenly thought that this might be the reason why humans learn magic.

“Thank you… for providing me a place to belong.”

* * *

In front of the stairs in the first-floor lobby.

Principal Gu Onyu stepped into the principal’s office, while I had to head to 2nd Grade A Class, so our brief companionship ended there.

Adella’s condition for filming at the Academy was approved, and everything was going smoothly that day.

As we were about to part with smiles on our faces, I suddenly asked the Principal a question.

“But, Principal. Does the Seviron Foundation approve the budget? I’m just curious.”

“I’m using my own money, so why should they care?”

“Ah, I see.”

That’s right, Principal Gu Onyu was extremely wealthy.

But I was certain the principal’s wand had been inside the boundary…

“Are you sure you used that magic outside the academy grounds?”

“Huh? U-uh…?”

“I was just asking to confirm.”

“J-just a moment…? Did I cast it from inside?”

Principal Gu Onyu took out her phone, hastily checking something.

Her face turned pale.

“I messed up…”

And without a word, the principal turned around and dashed back to the Foundation headquarters.

The head of the budget, Kim Yong-sil, would probably be very surprised.

“Adella, our class is this way. Let’s go.”

[Wow… The school is really a mess.]

My dear Seviron Academy had to hear such comments from Adella.

I truly couldn’t hide my unfortunate sentiment.