Book 2: Chapter 1

Admission

Five years have passed since my reincarnation. I’m turning ten this year, but my physique is approximately equivalent to that of a fifteen to sixteen-year-old in my previous world.

My height has increased considerably to the point that I’m slightly taller than Tina, and I can somehow look down at her. Apparently, the physical growth of humans in this world is quite fast.

On the other hand, body aging is quite slow. In other words, the span of adolescence is quite long. Reflecting on it, being able to live young and strong for a longer time is really amazing.

Ah, but there are elves who live for thousands of years. There are also races who do not have lifespans, so maybe it’s a miscalculation to say our adolescence is long.

So let’s return to the story. I’m turning ten this year, and today is my admission to the Ifrus Academy of Magic.

Ifrus Academy of Magic is an educational institution in the Kingdom of Grendale, and it is so enormous it’s like a city by itself.

Aside from the citizens of the kingdom, there are also students from neighboring countries who came here to study magic and wizards who come to research magic. This year alone, there are already more or less 300 students who want to enroll.

“This is quite nerve-wracking.”

“The one’s who’s gonna be admitted is not Tina, right?”

Tina and I were passing through the academy gates. Basically, all students who enroll in the academy will live in a dormitory independently.

I was going to do my best to live in the dormitory on my own. In my previous world, whenever my parents were not around, I did my own cooking and laundry, so I think there should be no problem.

Two days before the admission, Father called for me, and I was handed a key. Apparently, it’s for the mansion that was built for me at the academy. In addition to that, Tina will come along to take care of me and to manage the mansion.

Ordinary students can never purchase a portion of the academy’s land to build a house there. And nobody, aside from the new enrollees, is allowed on the school’s premises. I underestimated the power of a Count’s family a little.

To think that their influence will be to this extent…

Aside from that, the robes and mantle I’m wearing signify my rank and that I’m a nob noleman. They are different from the ones those average students walking nearby are wearing.

My robe has three lines on the collar. This identifies that I’m the son of a Count. The markings are supposed to prevent ordinary students from being rude to the nobles.

“Halt-sama doesn’t seem to be nervous?”

“I’ve studied a lot, and above all, the professors are elites.”

“Fufufu, I heard the students are also excellent.”

For five years, Tina had been teaching me knowledge and practical skills pertaining to magic. I also practiced on my own while keeping it a secret from Tina.

I discovered some things during my self-study sessions.

Because of the curse, the stats are locked, and they do not diminish, but I cannot use magic that consumes more than 10 points at a time no matter how much I struggled to do so.

Thus, I decided to master low-level magic. I consulted Tina on how to invoke high-speed magic, as well as employ magical combinations.

There was one time when I tried to combine magic on my own, and it exploded, so I got scolded by Tina.

A lot of things happened within these five years, but because I was seriously dedicated to my training, I was able to master the magic attributes that exist in this world.

Of course, I was only able to do that with the lowest level of each magical attribute.

Thanks to Tina’s knowledge, my ability to control all attributes of magic, and the influence and power of the Count’s family, I don’t think I’ll be bullied in the academy.

I do not have any plans to use my parents’ authority as a stepping stone to wield my own influence. However, if it is necessary in order for me to live a comfortable life at the academy, I have no qualms using whatever I have.

So, let the fun-filled school life in another world begin.

───＊＊＊───

“Alright, I will head to the mansion first.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

After completing my admission procedures and approval of eligibility to enter the school premises has been given, I headed to the entrance hall, while Tina went to the mansion. Tina didn’t have to be with me all the time.

Technically, Tina waits in the mansion while I’m taking classes. It’s been a while since I’m on my own, so I’m a little excited.

With a spring on my step, I made my way to the building where the entrance ceremony is going to be held. When I turned, I saw a girl surrounded by three other male students jeering at her.

“Hey, watch where you’re walking! It hurts, you know!“

“I, I’m sorry.”

The one who seemed to be the leader pressed closer. The girl looked like she was about to cry.

“Hey, you! Don’t you know that this person here is the esteemed son of Baron Zordee?”

“Don’t think you’ll get away with just an apology!”

Two guys flanked the so-called son of a baron. One was tall, skinny, and wearing glasses, while the other was short and plump. The trio continued to accuse the female student.

I called on my fellow male students who were watching nearby.

“Did she bump into them?”

“No, that guy in the middle hit the girl.”

He said he saw the baron’s son purposely collide with the female student. The student being pestered was a pretty, petite girl with gorgeous sky-blue, shoulder-length hair tied into a ponytail.

Most likely, the guys wanted to use the incident as a pretext to forcefully recruit the female student into their group. The girl wasn’t bad at all, and on top of that, she’s cute.

Hey, there’s no reason not to step in and help, right?

So I walked towards the girl.

“Ah! Idiot! Don’t go!”

The male student who told me the girl’s not at fault tried to stop me. He’s probably a good guy. I pinched the three lines on my robe and showed it to him. Apparently, the boy recognized its significance, and he paled.

Leaving him aside, I then turned and approached the girl who’s on the verge of tears.

“Ah, do you have any business with mycompanion?”

“Wha-, who do you think you are?”

“Nah, who do you think you are? She’s with me.”

“Eh?”

The girl looked at me, blankly. That’s to be expected. I don’t even know who she is. Well, that doesn’t matter right now anyway.

“You, who do you think I—”

“Sir Nard, this person seems to be a venerated son of an Earl. Let us leave this be.”

Looks like spectacled fella noticed the three lines on my robe.

“There’s no problem if you want to back down. I also don’t want to make things more troublesome.”

“Tsk, you guys, let’s go!”

The guy called Nard took Glasses and Fatty with him and hurriedly left.

“You okay? It was a disaster, right. Hey, not all aristocrats are like those guys, so don’t mind it.”

“Ahm, did you just help me?”

“Yup, was I too meddlesome?”

“N, no, thank you very much. I was suddenly surrounded and yelled at, so I was scared.”

I felt relieved I was able to help this girl. The nearby male student also approached us. I showed my collar’s three-line-décor to this guy earlier.

“Excuse me. I would like to humbly apologize for my very rude behavior previously. I did not recognize you were the honored son of an Earl.”

He then did a 90-degree bow and offered a formal apology. Of course, I know he was just worried about me and thus tried to get in my way. I won’t do anything to him. Rather than that, I wanted to get along with this guy.

He couldn’t directly help the girl when that aristocrat, Nard, surrounded her, but I’m sure if that chap lay a hand on her, this dude would have definitely intervened and stopped them.

Seeing his ready-to-help stance, I’m convinced more deeply that he’s truly a good guy.

“Hey, I’m a Count’s son, right. Isn’t it outrageous to be called an idiot?”

“Ye, yes! I beg your pardon!”

“Nah, I don’t need your wordy apology. Why don’t you just show it to me—through action?”

“A- action?”

“Yeah, be friends with me.”

——–

T/N: Hello guys! ???? As you may have noticed, I frequently switched between Earl and Count to refer to Halt’s status/ Father. Well, Earl and Count refer to the same ranking in nobility; they are just different terms and their usage depends on the location. For this story’s purposes, I used Count to refer to the person, and Earl to refer to the ranking ???? Hope this note can help avoid the confusion ????Thank you so much, as always! ????