CH 61

[The first half is from Alice’s POV and the second half is from Ray-sensei’s POV]

Alice’s POV

After finishing our meal and having a sip of tea, I started talking about the afternoon schedule.

“Ray-sensei said that Headmistress Ortensia was called out at lunchtime…is something going to change?”

“Hmm…I feel like it. I feel a mysterious responsibility…I wonder what’s going to happen.”

Even though she’s kind of like a loli-hag storybook character, it’s unlikely that the curriculum will be drastically changed just because of it.

However, the fact that Ray-sensei was being called seemed to confirm that he would do something.

It probably would not be a loss for those who wanted to learn magic, but I was scared and embarrassed to think that I had something to do with all the ruckus that was happening…

When I mentioned the situation to my aides at the next table, their eyes began to sparkle as they listened to the chatter with some strange looks on their faces.

“This is as good as it gets, Alice-sama! You’ve already earned the Headmistress’ attention!”

I felt like I was being looked at in a very strange way.

“Our Alice-sama is a really hardworking person, so it’s only natural.”

“Yes, that’s right. I hope this is an opportunity for everyone to see just how wonderful Alice-sama is…!”

Oh no, it’s really not that great—?!

It’s true that for a six-year old, I had been studying many hours and getting some decent results, but it was probably normal for students in my past life. Wasn’t this a bit much you guys?

I was glad they all saw it as a good thing, but I didn’t want them to see me as something so sacred…Well, it was the role of an aide, so maybe they were just consciously lifting me up.

“…Well, let’s leave that story aside. We’ll find out what’s going on this afternoon, and we’ll all get together again after school to talk about the future. That means Brother Will can come too.”

“Yes, understood!”

I nodded to the three of them who responded in a good-natured fashion.

By the way, I should mention that Laurier-sama and Letitia-sama saw this whole scene and were muttering, “I want such honest and loyal aides soon too…”

Mm-hmm. My aides are really cute, you know? I don’t mind people being more envious of them!

***

Ray-sensei’s POV

“Headmistress Ortensia…Seriously?”

“Yup. I’ve made up my mind.”

The conference room was in chaos.

I, too, was upset by the Headmistress’ statement and determination.

“Allowing partial skipping and recommending research activities…?”

Someone ruminated on the words of Headmistress Ortensia.

It’s been a little over a year since Headmistress Ortensia had taken office.

Since then, there had been many times where this person had come up with outlandish things to say, or forced herself to do things and then aborted them.

And each time, I had been…

However, the spirit of the Headmistress and the innocent sign of a kind of sacredness, had never been seen before.

“Look at this answer sheet.”

With that said, Headmistress Ortensia presented a few answer sheets in a piquant manner.

There were several sheets of solved problems from the second grade and, for one part, the third grade. Apart from that, the ones that caught my attention the most were the ones that had solved problems from the fourth to sixth grades.

There were several different handwritings, suggesting that they belonged to different people.

“Many aristocratic children enter the school after they have done their prep work to ‘Be like a nobleman.’ But the progress varies. Most of them only do simple preparations so that they don’t stumble during the first year of school…But by nature, there are differences between individuals, and there are a certain number of young children who have a high level of academic aptitude.”

The Headmistress looked around at everyone’s faces at that point and continued.

“However, it was forbidden at the three-school conference to skip grades.”

The three-school conference was a meeting where the heads of the three major schools—Lovaine, Advenzia and Mystico—met to discuss and set policies on education.

At the three-school conference, it was decided that skipping a grade would not be allowed because it would be a ‘hindrance to networking.’

In short, it meant that one should have good classmates in school, have youth, get in trouble, and become an aristocrat with a good network of contacts. That was a big deal for an aristocrat because it was a matter of life and death.

So just what is a ‘partial skipping?’

“As you know, skipping entire grades is forbidden for the sake of networking and moral education as an aristocrat. I can’t deny that. However, we cannot call this school a school if we simply let the outstanding ones rot in lukewarm water. This school must not be one that nips potential in the bud.”

The staff room was quieted by the powerful words of Headmistress Ortensia.

I turned my face down at those serious and stern words.

“The content of the academy’s classes has changed for a variety of reasons. But compared to the founding era, which was called the heyday of magic, there are too many lost skills now. There are many reasons for this, but there is no doubt that it has declined significantly…And while I was away from the school, the standards have dropped even further…It seems to have changed a lot.”

There were some who looked upset at the words, and others who looked overtly uncomfortable, and so on.

“Therefore, at the next three-school conference, we should propose partial skipping…or rather, we should propose to allow exemption of some classes in place of recommended research activities during free time. It will take effect after the winter break. The proposal is to keep the grades the same, but with a rigorous screening process, and those who pass the tests we’ve vetted will be excused from certain classes. The students will be allowed to use the free time they have to study. If necessary, we will provide space and equipment for them to study. Also, the results of the research will be made public.”

“Headmistress! May I give an opinion?”

The headmistress nodded to one of the teachers who stood up with a clatter as if he hadn’t thought of it.

“With all due respect, Headmistress, they are still young children. We should be able to control them and make sure they are free to live their lives in peace, without any kind of superiority, victory or defeat. If you do that, there will be…competition. There are also factions, so they will be tested competitively, and will be forced to submit research results and win or lose, and the peace will be broken. It is very possible that a number of children may become mentally unstable. If that happens, how will you take responsibility for it!?”

Upon hearing that, the headmistress muttered, ‘hmm…’

“Is that what you experienced as a teacher in the field?”

“Eh……”

The headmistress quietly told the slightly flustered teacher.

“Is that opinion the opinion of the church you adhere to? Or your Lord’s opinion of the children that he saw, felt and predicted? What do you think? Are children so weak and stupid in your eyes?…Is it really that harmful to compete with one another—sometimes losing, winning, and enhancing each other? Are the ones who lose no longer able to recover and the ones who win are always conceited and intelligent?…Answer these thoughts, Hegel.”

“Well…I’m not the one who decides whether it’s a bad thing or not. Besides, it’s fine if only those who join Mystico can study and compete with each other! Excessive desk learning and competition is not what we want our children to do, and the doctrine includes…”

“I have not heard about the doctrine…Rather, do you truly feel that nothing is at stake with the concentration of those with a lot of knowledge…that is, that those who have privilege and power are only in Mystico? Only a handful of noblemen enter Mystico.”

Hegel was about to say something, but after a moment he was silent, unable to answer.

Whether this was because he was admitting defeat or because he had something else planned was not clear at first glance.

“Does anyone else have an opinion? If you don’t, I will put this agenda up to the three-school conference. You may think about it properly and speak clearly now about what you want to stop.”

Even those who would have disagreed fell silent as if they were thinking about something else after seeing Hegel earlier.