Teneghan Academy.
It was the name of the academy that the Third usually attended.
This place wasn’t a prestigious academy like Tigr Academy, where Luke studied, but that didn’t mean it was completely unworthy of education.
It was simply an ordinary academy for students from average families.
That was Teneghan Academy.
However, aside from the difference in student and facility levels, Teneghan Academy had one more clear distinction from Tigr Academy: unlike Tigr Academy, which focused on theoretical magic education, Teneghan Academy emphasized practical skills training.
As a result, many races that were rarely seen at Tigr Academy could be observed here.
For example, like that child.
“……”
A small girl with a quiet demeanor was waddling down the hallway.
Ah, don’t get me wrong.
Despite her small size, she was definitely not a young student.
Her race was a dwarf.
She had a short stature suited to adapt to the low ceilings of mines and belonged to the blacksmith race, known for their keen interest and curiosity in craftsmanship.
Dwarves were incredibly adept at handling tools, strong enough to assist in that work, and formed bonds stronger than any other race.
However, since dwarves no longer had to navigate narrow tunnels and their blacksmithing work had diminished, these physical advantages were greatly diluted, and their disadvantages had emerged.
Shorter limbs provided no physical advantage to dwarves who no longer passed through tunnels.
The untrained girl’s muscles produced slightly stronger arm strength compared to other races, but it wasn’t particularly distinctive.
Additionally, the dwarves’ eyes, specialized for focusing on nearby objects, were inherently nearsighted, meaning she always had to wear oversized glasses.
Perhaps that was why the girl seemed quite frail and lacked confidence.
But if that was all there was, her school life might not have had too many problems.
She wasn’t the only dwarf attending the academy.
However, the real issue was that she had “no beard.”
In dwarf society, a beard was a standard of beauty and a symbol of pride.
Thus, it was only natural for dwarf females to have beards as well.
Yet, it was a serious concern that, at 15, she still had no beard.
At 15, male dwarves would already have heavy facial hair, while female dwarves would be able to braid their sideburn-like beards.
Yet, her chin was as smooth as a child’s.
This was her greatest source of worry.
Just thinking about a beard made her sigh.
It was a horrifying situation, akin to severe hair loss for a human.
Despite taking medicine said to promote beard growth every day, no progress had been made.
That alone was frustrating, but it was compounded by the constant teasing and ostracization she faced.
She had seriously considered getting a wig.
It was at that moment.
“Hey, the ground-dweller is passing by!”
“Hahaha! Still as smooth as ever today!”
“Giggle. Umi, when is your beard going to grow?”
“……”
The girl, called Umi, faced such ridicule again today.
By now, this was routine.
Fortunately, it seemed like they were only teasing today.
If they were just throwing out mean words, it didn’t really matter.
She could just let the words pass by.
The problem was cruel pranks.
As she thought of this, she was about to open the classroom door.
She heard laughter behind her.
“Giggle, giggle.”
“Don’t laugh. You’ll give us away.”
“So what? By the way, did you see ‘The Wheel of Destiny’ yesterday?”
“No.”
“Really? It was amazing! You didn’t see it? Dana had a moment with Tune and…”
“Hey! No spoilers!”
‘Were they laughing at me…?’
Seeing the group of kids chatting naturally among themselves, she began to shed her doubts.
Maybe this was just paranoia, she thought.
She reached for the classroom door again and carefully opened it.
The sound of the door creaking was loud, trying not to draw attention.
-Swoosh…
But then, all of a sudden.
-Clunk.
The door wouldn’t open, as if something was stuck.
What was it? She looked up and saw a rough-looking boy holding the classroom door with a fierce expression, looking down at her.
“……!”
She froze like a mouse before a cat.
“Oh no, that’s the scary new transfer student!”
She felt an overwhelming sensation of her hair standing on end.
And rightly so; the transfer student was a genuinely terrifying student, one even the teachers avoided.
The Third.
The academy’s strongest fighter, a real delinquent.
On the first day of his transfer, he had caught a ball flying towards him and crushed it in his hand, intimidating a classmate with a scary face.
He was said to be involved in fights all the time, always sporting a bandage on his face, and he supposedly smoked cigarettes during break times, sneaking off somewhere.
Even though they were in the same class, she prayed it would never lead to any involvement with him, yet that day had finally come.
She was already very afraid of what might happen.
“Uh, um…”
“What is it? Do you have something to say?”
“Uh, th-that…”
“If not, step aside. You’re in the way.”
“U-uh, okay!”
As she hurriedly moved aside, suddenly, the conversations of the children behind her stopped, and their expressions turned cold.
What was going on?
But without time to ponder, the Third swung the door wide open.
-Creak!
And then it happened.
-Thud.
An eraser fell from above, landing right on the Third’s head.
It was completely white, as if filled with chalk dust.
A trap designed to tease whoever opened the door.
However, the Third’s instinct for sensing threats reacted immediately to such a petty prank.
“……”
He swiftly caught the fallen eraser.
It was as if he had anticipated it.
Just like that incident on his first day.
“……”
“……”
“……”
The classroom fell silent, as if cold water had been thrown over everyone.
All the students were watching the Third carefully.
“……”
And the Third remained still, holding the eraser in his hand.
He was genuinely pondering why the eraser had fallen on his head.
It was a situation beyond comprehension.
An eraser?
Seriously?
He wanted to see the face of whoever had played such a childish prank.
If someone was trying to set him up, what could an eraser possibly be?
Shouldn’t they at least throw a brick?
The Third quietly opened his mouth.
“Who’s the mastermind?”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The children’s faces showed panic, but they remained silent.
They thought that if they spoke now, the blame might land on them.
Was there really no snitch?
This classroom had a certain bond among its members.
“Fine, silence then.”
The Third nodded.
He didn’t mind that.
Having grown up in the backstreets, he valued such bonds.
However, it couldn’t be helped that he found this irritating.
The Third gently tossed the eraser towards the blackboard.
With a bang, the eraser found its rightful place, puffing a cloud of chalk dust into the air.
“If I see anyone pulling silly pranks like this again, I’ll find out who the mastermind is.”
And the Third already had a suspicion.
Swish.
“Ugh…!”
Turning around, the Third made eye contact with a boy who visibly flinched.
That boy was probably the mastermind.
“……”
However, he didn’t feel the need to approach and confront him.
It seemed bothersome, and there would likely be no worthwhile conversation with someone like that.
Moreover, the priority now was to manage the Circle.
The Third sat in his chair and looked down at the ring on his finger.
That was his way of paying respects to his master.
With that, the Third leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
The classroom was exceptionally quiet, making meditation quite easy.
——-
“How is it, delicious?”
An identically shaped cake.
It was a dessert menu made by the baking club students.
It tasted just fine, but for some reason, Luke had a puzzled expression.
-Munch munch…
As he savored the cake, he murmured.
“Something’s odd.”
“What is it?”
“No matter how much I eat, the taste seems the same… Is it possible the spell went wrong?”
“That can’t be! It’s a spell for making it delicious. It’s for serving to guests.”
Despite Luke’s questioning, Kaila merely kept watching him with a sly smile.
The said spell involved drizzling syrup in a heart shape on the cake and chanting, “Become delicious, Moe Moe Kyun,” while forming a heart with a small cane.
Luke tried following along, but there was no magical significance in either the action or the incantation.
Seriously, “Become delicious, Moe Moe Kyun”? That was clearly not a proper spell.
“Hmmm. No, something must be wrong.”
“Really? Then should we try it again? You might have messed up.”
“I messed up?”
Luke pondered for a moment.
Was there anything he did wrong?
Well, if something was wrong, it would likely be Kaila’s incantation and actions.
His imitation was surely flawless.
However, Luke couldn’t directly tell the young girl (even though Kaila was a 17-year-old girl much taller than him) to “You’re wrong, so stop doing such pointless things.”
In the past, he wouldn’t have thought about other people’s feelings, but now he had become far too sensitive.
They had spent a long time discussing it with the other members, so how could he say, “That’s wrong, so quit it”?
“Hmph.”
Still, the idea was interesting.
‘A spell that makes food delicious… Let’s think for a moment.’
Luke decided to create a “real spell for making things taste good” on the spot.
‘What if I draw a support magic circle with syrup while using the taste-disturbing incantation “Feista”? The magic circle should be as simplified as possible, like an irregular dodecahedron, and drawing two horizontal lines…’
Kaila found Luke’s suddenly deep contemplation quite amusing.
‘Luke really trusts people a lot.’
In truth, it was evident that it would have no effect at all.
After all, that was intended as a joke service.
So, it was only natural that making a heart with the cane was just for show.
However, Luke took the spell very seriously, as if it might genuinely make the cake delicious.
Naturally, it was inherently amusing.
‘Did they say he was 10 years old? Hehe, he really is like a little kid.’
Physically, he seemed quite advanced for a 10-year-old, but he still was a 10-year-old at heart.
His serious demeanor over trivial matters was adorable, making her want to pet him.
It was at that moment.
Luke opened his mouth quite seriously.
“Then, how about altering the incantation a little?”
“Alter the incantation? Why?”
Luke smiled at the puzzled Kaila.
“You’ll see.”
“Huh?”
Then, Luke began to draw the magic circle he had envisioned with syrup on the cake while reciting a slightly altered incantation.
“Become delicious, Feista Call Ahelm.”
His earnest and confident demeanor resembled that of a conductor leading a grand orchestra.
While it was quite cute to see him so serious over a spell meant to make things delicious, of course, there was no change in the cake.
At least, not visually.
“Hmm? What did you just do?”
“A spell that really makes it delicious.”
On the unchanged plate, Kaila still appeared skeptical.
Her doubt was entirely reasonable.
She couldn’t see the magic in action.
However, Luke, having seen the effect take root, was pleased as he carved the cake with his fork.
“Alright, let’s taste it.”
“U-um, okay.”
Kaila nodded with a mixed expression.
Luke’s overwhelmingly confident demeanor made her feel she might actually believe in the spell that made it delicious.
As soon as she put the cake in her mouth, Kaila could only widen her eyes in shock.
“Whoa, what the heck! It’s super sweet!”
Spit, spit.
Kaila immediately spat out the cake onto the classroom floor.
It had become too sweet.
It was enough to make her tongue curl.
“Ow, it’s so sweet. What the heck did you do? Did you secretly pour sugar while claiming it’s a spell to make it delicious? Why is it suddenly so sweet?”
“……”
In conclusion, the spell for making things delicious had failed.
