『New event confirmed!』
《Attending Magic Class with Nicasia Holimpia》
《Time: Class Time》
“Hey… what is that guy doing?”
“Why is he acting like that? Is he an idiot?”
“Wow… but I might be a little jealous.”
Professor Aiaie Hekati’s Magic Class turned into chaos the moment Nicasia and I entered.
Honestly, I expected this kind of reaction.
Nicasia, being of the royal family, cannot use magic. The royal family has an innate, immense resistance to magic, to the point where even receiving beneficial effects requires great effort.
If I had to compare it to another fantasy setting, it’s like dwarves. It’s both a merit and a penalty of being a royal who has the duty to protect the people from the evil and terrifying Demon Race.
“The reaction is as intense as expected…”
Nicasia twitched her eyebrows and sat down.
“It’s been a while since you attended a magic class, right, Nicasia?”
“Embarrassingly, yes. I’ve been busy until now.”
“It’s your first time since second year, right?”
“… …”
Nicasia cutely and blatantly turned her head to the side. There stood Professor Aiaie Hekati, looking surprised as she approached us.
“Miss Murmur? How did you bring the princess here…?”
Professor Aiaie’s face was a mix of being moved and utterly shocked.
“Well…”
“Nicasia is also a student of Cosmos Academy. Even if she can’t use magic, I thought she could still learn the theory well.”
“…Yes, that’s right. I sincerely apologize for not attending classes diligently until now.”
Nicasia stood up and bowed in apology.
“My goodness… I never thought I’d feel so glad to be a professor at the academy…”
Professor Aiaie rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and then patted my head.
Professor! Since I did so well, can you cancel that extra tutoring session you mentioned, like you were taking me to grad school?!
Murmur needs after-school time, you know?!
“But I’m not sure if Nicasia can keep up.”
“Nicasia is smart and a wonderful princess. I think she’ll do well with just a little help from me.”
“Ahem… I do have the minimum knowledge.”
Professor Aiaie patted Nicasia’s shoulder and walked to the front of the classroom.
“Did that guy really bring the princess here?”
“I can’t believe it! Shouldn’t the princess be fighting demons?”
“But… but! I saw it! She was eating breakfast with Murmur this morning!”
─ Murmur murmur!
The innocence of children is sometimes really cute, but it can also be a bit cruel.
Well, for me, I’m just excited about the rewards I’ll get from the ‘Attend Magic Class with Nicasia’ event that I moved up by building enough favorability!
If I get close to Nicasia, there’s a lot to gain, right? What should I ask for? Maybe an item that can quickly boost my stats, like the summoning magic I received from the Demon God?
“…So, everyone, you must follow the dosage when taking mana potions.”
While I was happily daydreaming, the magic class had already started.
It feels like a huge gap to me, seeing Professor Aiaie seriously writing on the board and explaining things I already know.
“Umm… Murmur.”
Nicasia, who had been pressing her lips with a pencil, poked my arm with her elbow and leaned closer.
I think her chest touched me a little. Should I say something?
“What’s up?”
“I’m a bit confused… Is this the page Professor Aiaie mentioned?”
The textbook Nicasia showed me was completely different from mine. What’s this? I checked the cover of Nicasia’s textbook.
“Nicasia, this is the textbook for third-year students.”
“Huh? Oh… Ah…”
Nicasia’s face turned red, and she bit her lip before rubbing her cheek with her right hand.
Our princess, haven’t you been skipping too many magic classes? Hey! You can’t just skip third, fourth, and fifth years altogether, can you?
“Murmur…”
“Let’s look together.”
I grabbed a chair and stuck close to Nicasia, pushing the textbook between us.
I could even smell her nice perfume, so I wasn’t losing anything.
“…You’re quite willing to show me.”
“Of course. We agreed to attend class together.”
“Other nobles would have asked me for a piece of land.”
“Ugh… that’s stupid.”
Nicasia covered her mouth with her left hand and laughed.
“Right? Stup─”
“Ahem! Princess? Please refrain from chit-chat.”
At Professor Aiaie’s words, Nicasia fanned her face and nodded with an awkward expression.
“Oh, Nicasia. Do you see this magic circle?”
This problem will come up during the promotion exam, so it’ll probably appear in the real exam in this world, right?
The tricky questions were easier if you just memorized the options.
“Are you talking about the magic that cures mana poisoning?”
“Yes, that’s right. This magic… Professor Aiaie didn’t mention it because it’s common knowledge, but there’s a key point you must remember.”
“Murmur, you know it well?”
“Magic is like a math formula. If you do the wrong calculation, you’ll always get the wrong, unintended result. You have to remember what you need to remember.”
The magic in Legend of Academy feels a bit like computer programming. That’s why you need to remember the ‘magic formula’ even more precisely. If you want to know the result of 1 plus 1, you have to bring the correct addition.
By the way, this textbook is so unfriendly. Shouldn’t they at least draw some human figures? Isn’t that the key point?
I reached out to point at Nicasia’s chest but stopped.
“Huh?”
Even though we’re both girls, I can’t just poke her chest. Even if it’s okay between us, think about the gap between Murmur, a demon, and Princess Nicasia.
I grabbed Nicasia’s hand and pulled it to my chest.
“Mu, Murmur?”
“Mana poisoning always starts from the heart. Can you feel Murmur’s heart beating beyond her chest?”
“Ah… Yes, I can feel it.”
“You need to place your finger on this heart and draw a magic circle to cure mana poisoning. No matter how big the magic circle or how precious the materials, it’s meaningless without this.”
Was my explanation too childish? Nicasia’s eyes widened, and her face turned strangely red.
* * *
“From now on, work on the collaborative task on page 67 with a friend. The method is written in detail, so everyone should be able to follow it easily.”
“Professor Aiaie!! Will this also give us points?”
“Yes, it will. Since it’s a very easy task, I’ll give points if you succeed, so take your time.”
After finishing the very friendly class, Professor Aiaie sipped her coffee and started watching us.
The collaborative task was very easy. In fact, when playing as Reoa, this even appeared as a mini-game, and no matter how high the difficulty, it was famously easy.
Anyway, it was a simple task of connecting each other’s mana and creating an illusion.
“Ugh… I’m sorry, Murmur.”
But why is our princess apologizing to me before we even start the collaborative task?
“Did Murmur do something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that. Murmur didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just…”
Nicasia looked down at her hands.
“Nicasia is a coward.”
“Huh?”
“The royal family has excellent mana resistance, but it’s not immunity.”
Looking at Nicasia, I felt a bit sorry for her. Her face was pale, as if she had eaten something bad. Her fingers were trembling.
“Nicasia, hold Murmur’s hand.”
“Don’t… don’t do it, Murmur. I’ll tell Professor Aiaie. I don’t want you to get hurt, ah…”
How can I just let this go?
I tightly grabbed Nicasia’s cold hand, interlocking our fingers so she couldn’t escape.
“Murmur!”
“Nicasia… close your eyes. Slowly, slowly… feel Murmur’s hand. Feel the warmth, realize that our body temperatures are the same.”
“I, I’ll definitely hurt you. I’ll make you hurt…”
“It’s okay. Murmur is a demon.”
Nicasia stopped breathing and stared at me with wide eyes. Her long, pretty eyelashes fluttered, and she bit her red lip before tightly gripping my hand.
“Nicasia’s hand is cold now.”
“Murmur’s hand is very warm.”
“Since Murmur is holding it like this, it’ll warm up soon.”
“If my hand becomes as warm as Murmur’s, will our mana be connected?”
I nodded carefully. As we fidgeted with each other’s hands, I could feel Nicasia’s enormity.
The royal family has immense resistance to mana and can’t use magic, but they possess enormous mana within their bodies. They can only use it in a very primitive and brute way… but this enormity was truly astonishing.
It’s like, how should I put it? It feels like looking at a vast ocean filling the horizon.
“Murmur’s… I can feel it. Your mana…”
“You did well, Nicasia. Now, let’s imagine together.”
“What should we imagine? I… it’s my first time using magic.”
Strictly speaking, it was me, Murmur, who was actually casting the magic. It felt like a huge auxiliary battery connected to a smartphone called Murmur.
But Nicasia’s perception wasn’t wrong. From now on, we had to align our thoughts as much as possible.
“Let’s create a cute animal as an illusion.”
“What kind of animal does Murmur like?”
“Hmm, how about a rabbit?”
“A rabbit? What color should it be? Black?”
“Wouldn’t white be prettier?”
Nicasia slightly raised the corner of her mouth. She tickled the back of my hand with her index and middle fingers and nodded.
“A white rabbit. I like white rabbits.”
“Murmur will think of a white rabbit too.”
─ Fluffy, crackle!
A white and purple light began to emanate from our tightly held hands.
“Wow… it’s pretty.”
“Can Princess Nicasia use magic too? How?”
“Is, is this illusion magic?”
Between Nicasia and me, a pure white rabbit appeared in an instant.
“Why did you think of a hat?”
“It reminded me of a novel I read recently…”
Nicasia couldn’t help but burst into laughter. When we slightly lowered our hands, the floating rabbit illusion crackled and turned into stardust, disappearing.
“I’m glad… this time, no one got hurt.”
“Murmur is a demon, after all.”
Nicasia raised the corner of her mouth and brushed her hair to show her ear.
“Then… let’s tell Professor Aiaie to give us points─”
“I, I can’t accept this! You coward!!”
Esme shouted as she appeared, pointing at me.
“Collaborative tasks require at least three people, right? Connecting mana gets harder the more people there are!”
“That’s right… the princess did it with just Murmur.”
“Maybe… did Murmur do it all?”
“Maybe! Maybe!”
Esme twitched her eyebrows and glared at me.
“Murmur, stay here alone! Princess? Let’s do the collaborative task with us! We’re all excellent students, so you just need to hold our hands!”
Esme reached out her hand to Nicasia.
It’s the jealousy of a child. She’s angry because someone she dislikes is doing well with someone she admires.
“Murmur tricked the princess! You can’t get points by doing a collaborative task with just two people!”
“…Esme isn’t wrong.”
This was true. Connecting mana with two people is different from connecting with three or more.
“Hmph, you know your place, huh?”
I’m familiar with this flow. Esme always picks fights like this.
This child is a kind of device. In the world of Legend of Academy, she shows how much the Demon Race is looked down upon.
Esme has her own story too.
Esme is just a child.
In the end, she’ll pick a fight with me, and we’ll end up fighting. Is it wise to let this go?
“Princess, don’t play with this dirty demon. Come play with us.”
“Esme, refrain from such words.”
“But she tricked you, right? Pretending to do a collaborative task to get close to you and hold your hand?”
Nicasia looked oddly flustered. Well, if you know a wave is coming, you can’t just stand still.
“Anyway, Murmur! Don’t wag your tail at the princess, you dirty demon… Ah, what’s with that face? Do you have a problem?”
Esme made a fierce expression. It was kind of cute to me.
“If you have a problem, then Esme Bloodberry will properly─”
I know the next line. Whenever you attend a magic class with Nicasia, there’s always a chance Esme will barge in and pick a fight like this.
Alright, let’s do it. There’s a child’s way to handle a child.
We’re still soft.
Not rigid.
We can change anytime.
“Esme!”
When a wave comes, you just have to dodge it!
I grabbed Esme’s hand and brought her to the table where Nicasia and I were sitting.
『New event confirmed!』
《Attending Magic Class with Esme Bloodberry》
《Time: Lecture Time》
“Wh, what are you doing?! What are you doing?!”
“If you want to play together, just say so. If Murmur, the princess, and you, Esme, do the collaborative task together as three, it’ll work, right?”
“…Huh?”
Esme, who was expecting a cool duel with me, made a dumbfounded expression and alternated looking at me and Nicasia.
“Ah, were you jealous?”
“I, I’m not jealous!”
“Esme, you should learn to be honest, Murmur thinks.”
“I, I’m not jealous!! I hate demons!!”
Esme, cutely protesting, still didn’t want to miss the chance to hold the princess’s hand, so she sniffled and plopped down on the chair!