CH 12

༺ Opal Black Class (2) ༻

I finished introducing myself and immediately went up to my room. I had to prepare for the entrance ceremony taking place the next day.

By preparation, I didn’t have to do something in advance, but rather, it was closer to studying in advance about the information and essential knowledge of the academy to be conveyed to the students.

As an instructor, I couldn’t answer that I didn’t know when the students would ask various questions in the future.

I was worried about what situation the students in my charge might be in, but I didn’t go down to check. The Marquis of Kalshtein during the war said that in such situations, it’s better for the higher-ups to give some space, so that the students can naturally become friends.

It seemed that he also said that you shouldn’t stay away from the beginning… but that part was unclear in my memory. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time because it wasn’t very important.

Speaking of the students in my charge, there was still one person who hadn’t arrived at the dormitory.

Gwyn Tris. I had met her by chance even before coming to the academy. What happened for her not to come until now?

“Hmm…”

I had seen her at District 21, so I thought she would arrive safely, but I guess I should check on her just in case.

The student ID of Philion Academy has a ‘coordinate tracking’ spell cast on it in case of emergencies. Therefore, the academy can instantly identify the location of a student if necessary.

Gwyn would have received her student ID after the entrance exam. Since it is necessary to pass through the island’s gates and enter the academy, she would have kept it with her at all times.

Of course, even though it’s for safety, the student location tracking could be abused, so it’s encrypted with a magic spell, and only the homeroom instructor can access the decoding code.

Naturally, I didn’t know how to use tracking magic. But if I knew the code, I could find her. This is Philion Academy, which provides everything necessary for its students.

I took out a magic scroll with tracking magic from the instructor’s personal drawer. Then I tore the scroll and entered Gwyn Tris’s student ID number and decoding code.

“…What?”

The tracking magic was successful, but it showed a location I hadn’t expected at all.

Gwyn Tris’s location was right here, in the Opal Black dormitory.

As I wondered what was going on, the building suddenly vibrated slightly.

It was a subtle vibration that could not have been felt without enhanced senses, but the dormitory building was thoroughly protected by top-class defensive barriers, so even a slight tremor would not occur due to a moderate impact.

That meant someone was knocking on the door with a considerable force.

And yet, since there was no intruder alert, I could roughly guess what the situation was.

When I left my room and went down to the lobby, the students were gathered and buzzing. Seeing a few students looking at me with pleading expressions, I strode to the entrance of the dormitory and opened the door with a single motion.

“Uwaaah!!”

The intruder who had been pushing against the door from outside lost to their own force and spectacularly rolled on the floor.

“Ah, ouch… I finally got in… Huh? I met you before!”

I couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.

“Gwyn Tris. You’re the last one.”

Gwyn looked the same as when I met her in District 21. The only difference was that her clothes were torn in places, and there were rotten leaves stuck to them. She looked like a person who had been in distress but was dramatically rescued.

The Opal Black students seemed to feel a mix of absurdity and relief at the fact that the person knocking on the door was a classmate. There were also students with expressionless faces, their thoughts unknown.

After hearing Gwyn’s story, I learned an unbelievable fact.

“Wow, when I started wandering in the forest, I thought I was done for… But I’m glad I arrived safely. It really feels like I’ve had a narrow escape!”

He, no, she was terrible with directions. And at an astounding level.

The Opal Black dormitory is just a walk along the road from the station. She couldn’t find that road and had been wandering in the forest until now.

When I first met her yesterday, I wondered what an academy applicant was doing in District 21, but it turned out she was wandering around, unable to find her way. District 3 and District 21 are in completely opposite directions, but still.

That’s not all. Gwyn was not only terrible with directions but also seriously bad with machines. The cause of this incident was her not thinking of the simple method of holding her student ID to the entrance, and just assuming that since the door was locked, she should open it by forcefully pushing it.

“A barbarian…?”

Marian muttered with a dumbfounded expression. It was an inappropriate remark belittling foreign people, but Batar, who could actually be called a barbarian in this situation, didn’t seem to mind at all.

Gwyn scratched the back of her head with an awkward expression and laughed.

“I’ve lived in the mountains with my master, just the two of us, so I’m not very good with magical devices.”

“Even so, didn’t you hear the explanation when you received your student ID?”

“Huh? Oh, I heard something about using magic something at the entrance, but I couldn’t understand it at all because it was too difficult!”

Gwyn probably heard an explanation like, ‘Register the magical pattern of your student ID at the entrance, and the door will automatically open. Be careful not to lose it.’ I received similar instructions when I got my instructor ID from Lirya.

The problem is that Gwyn didn’t understand the simple explanation, which even I, who had lived without any connection to magic, understood. The other students’ expressions seemed to say, ‘Is she really that clueless…?’ without actually speaking the words.

As an instructor, I have to take care of this situation.

“Gwyn, go in, wash up, and change your clothes first. Those clothes are too worn out.”

“Yes! I look forward to working with you, milord… No, Instructor!”

Gwyn went to her room with an innocent smile. Since it was almost lights-out time, I sent the other students back to their rooms as well.

And the day of the entrance ceremony dawned.

***

Since the role of the academy is to gather a small number of talented individuals and use the Empire’s vast resources to nurture them into the elite of the elite, the number of students is inevitably small compared to the large campus.

Even so, when recruiting talented students from all over the continent, a staggering number of applicants are bound to come. In the Shangria Archipelago alone, there are about 150,000 young people; even if we only take one in a thousand, that’s already 150 students from within the archipelago.

As a result, the number of new students at Philion Academy this year, selected through entrance exams, exceeded 1,000.

About 300 students each came from Diamond White, who grew up with good education and environment since childhood, and Garnet Red, which is the majority commoner class in the Empire. In Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green, which are composed of priest class, theological students, immigrants, and different races, there were about 200 students in each class.

In contrast, the number of students in Opal Black:

A total of 8.

“……”

The stares are sharp.

It was no wonder that they stood out. It was a hot topic that a new class has been created, and the number is only 8. The composition of the students was also quite glamorous, including a princess, the granddaughter of the Empire’s general, a prince of another country, and an elf princess.

Since it’s a new student entrance ceremony, current students are not obligated to attend, but a significant number of them attended, driven by curiosity to see what kind of students they were.

Most were watching the students, but many eyes were on me as well. They seemed curious about who I was, as an instructor with a name they had never heard before.

The students of Opal Black seemed somewhat burdened by the concentrated stares and the strange murmurs. The only person standing calmly with an unfazed expression was Elizabeth. Perhaps, as a princess, she was already used to people’s gazes.

I caught the eye of Instructor Lirya, who was watching us. She was standing in front of the students wearing red badges, as she was in charge of Garnet Red. Her small smile seemed to encourage me, and I nodded my head lightly in response.

Soon, the entrance ceremony began as Dean Heinkel took the podium.

Unfortunately for the Dean, not many students were paying close attention to his speech.

***

After the entrance ceremony, I led the students to the Opal Black classroom in the lecture building.

“Elizabeth will serve as the temporary class leader for Opal Black. If there are no other candidates after a week, she will continue as the class leader.”

“Yes, Instructor.”

After observing for a while, it was clear that a considerable number of students already treated Elizabeth as an implicit leader. Whether it was due to her status as a princess or her natural charisma, I couldn’t be sure.

“You all must take five mandatory general courses and three major courses. Choose the courses you want to take and submit your choices to me by the designated time.”

General courses are conducted within the class, while major courses are held separately in different lecture buildings, with students from different classes gathered according to their major.

Among the subjects I’m in charge of, ‘Basic Physical Training’ is a general course, and ‘Combat Practice’ is a major course.

Gwyn raised her hand and asked.

“Instructor, how many courses can we take at most?”

“There’s no limit to the number of courses. However, you’ll need to carefully consider your timetable.”

Since the academy is large, students must also consider the time it takes to move between lecture buildings. Moreover, taking too many courses means more things to pay attention to, making it more challenging to achieve high grades, and eventually not doing well in anything.

In conclusion, choosing and focusing on specific courses is essential. If you want to master swordsmanship, taking all courses like swordsmanship theory, swordsmanship practice, internal mana manipulation, mana enhancement, and combat practice would not be enough even if you had two bodies.

It would be wise to create a timetable considering each student’s needs, such as prioritizing physical training in the first semester and developing mana in the second semester.

Understanding this, the students began to seriously consider their course choices, holding their papers.

“Students who need consultation can come to the faculty office.”

I left the classroom to give them time to think on their own.

And shortly after, Marian came to find me.