【Shenley】
I sat quietly at the edge of the classroom, trying to be as inconspicuous and quiet as possible.
At this academy, magical ability was important, but so was noble status. The same went for race.
In the junior section, I was good at magic. My mana wasn't particularly strong, but I was often praised as a quick learner.
Maybe that was why, even though I had few friends, I thought I was pretty normal in the junior section.
But when I started the senior section a year early, my world flipped on its head.
I started being criticized behind my back and experienced harassment. Even though my grades were good in the junior section, they were below average in the senior section. Furthermore, as a beastkin and a daughter of a viscount family, my existence was practically worthless.
When I made a mistake, I was ridiculed and insulted. Even when I tried to stand out, I was told I was getting ahead of myself and was harassed. There were times I was pushed down the stairs and had my clothes set on fire with fire magic on my way home.
In just a few months, my nerves were exhausted, and I couldn't do anything anymore. When I tried to use magic in class, the fear of failure made me so nervous that my body trembled, and the magic failed to activate.
I knew it was a vicious cycle, but there was nothing I could do. Even though I secretly practiced magic at night, when I entered the classroom, my body would shrink uncontrollably, and just being in everyone's gaze made me tremble and want to cry.
I thought about dropping out of the academy, but that would bring dishonor to my family. It might be better for me to die in an unfortunate accident.
If I could just disappear like that, if I could sleep and never wake up, how happy would I be?
Amidst such painful days, a small change came into my life.
I met Aoi-sensei, who had become a senior teacher at a young age. A normal teacher would have treated me as if I were invisible.
But Aoi-sensei spoke to me. Just that alone saved me.
Unfortunately, I only had one class with Aoi-sensei. But when I secretly waved at her, she smiled back at me.
I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt like I had found my place.
Whenever we passed each other in the corridors or the dining hall, I would always greet Aoi-sensei, and I would receive a greeting in return. Even my junior section friends had stopped greeting me out of fear of the senior section students.
So when I saw Rox-senpai badmouthing Aoi-sensei, I couldn't stand it.
"That woman must have something behind her. There are rumors that she can use special-grade magic, but she has never shown any magic when I told her to. In other words, she needs some kind of trick to use magic. She became a senior teacher through deception and dares to act as if royalty is beneath her. She might be a threat not just to this academy but to the Six Great Nations as well."
Hearing those words in the corridor, I felt a mix of sadness, frustration, and a tightness in my chest.
Rox-kun was a prince of the Verted Kingdom and was hailed as a genius because he was capable of using advanced magic in the primary four elements of fire, water, wind, and earth. His influence was unmatched.
Such a person was mocking Aoi-sensei.
"We must crush her. Well, no one will miss such a nasty commoner if she's gone."
He laughed joyfully, and those around him laughed too.
Seeing that scene, I couldn't hold back anymore. "Aoi-sensei is a wonderful person! Rox-senpai, you're the worst for insulting someone like her!"
I said it. I yelled at royalty while crying.
"... Woman, say that again."
Rox-kun's voice was full of anger, and the faces of the senior noble students around him turned amused as they began to mock me.
My knees almost gave out in fear.
But I couldn't hold back, so I shouted in a tearful voice, "Don't bully Aoi-sensei!"
【Cote】
Aoi Konominato. Now matter how I looked at her, she looked like she was in her twenties, but her magical abilities were undoubtedly at the level of a senior teacher or court magician.
If all the rumors I had gathered were true, she might be on par with the principal.
However, her background was unknown. Even after I ordered a search, there were no records of where she had lived until recently. She might have been hiding in a small country instead of one of the Six Great Nations.
In the Six Great Nations, all magicians would be identified and recorded at birth. The only exceptions were children conceived in secret by prostitutes or outlaws in remote hideouts.
In such cases, neither of those types of people would hide the fact that the children they conceived had magical potential. Those children could bring in money, and they were often sold into slavery.
In that case, why did Aoi come to the academy from a small country? If she revealed her background and served one of the Six Great Nations as a magician, she would be able to attain a noble status and wealth.
"Why did she come to the academy as a teacher? If she had been researching magic on her own, she might be a noble's child. But she claims to be a commoner..."
I'd like to attend more of Aoi's classes, but unfortunately, I didn't know which classes she would be teaching.
So far, I had only attended one of her classes, but it seemed she would be assigned more classes soon. I hoped they were classes I could attend.
While thinking about this, I heard a girl's scream from down the hallway.
Surprised, I walked down the hallway and turned the corner to see a girl lying on the floor and Rox Kilbegan standing there.
Around him were the usual upper-class noble children from the Verted Kingdom, laughing joyfully.
The girl was coughing and trembling on the floor, clearly in pain. She was quite small, so she might be a junior section student.
"... Did something amusing happen? Everyone seems to be having fun," I interjected gently, disrupting the atmosphere.
They were children of nobles from another country. Rox, in particular, was royalty. My Butler family held the highest position in the Cote Highlands Federation, but the Federation was an alliance of small countries concerned about the growing power of the five great nations and wished to maintain independence.
The balance of power was different.
If my country had a confrontation with the Verted Kingdom, it would undoubtedly be divided. Some might even offer up the Butler family to try to make peace.
In other words, completely opposing Rox was risky.
There were a few people I had to be careful of, but I had been maintaining a good distance from all of them.
I should be able to handle this situation well too. With that in mind, I glanced at the girl and approached Rox.
"Did something happen?" I asked again.
Rox said with a hint of irritation, "Hmph, Cote, is this fool an acquaintance of yours?"
"No, I don't know her. I'm just interested because you, the future leaders of the Verted Kingdom, are having such a lively conversation after class."
Rox snorted and pointed at the girl. "This fool defied my words... So, Cote, why don't you join us? I'm thinking of crushing that Aoi woman. She needs to learn what happens when you disrespect royalty."
Rox smiled sinisterly.
That sounded interesting.
I thought I would say that and smile ambiguously.
But different words came out of my mouth. "What a petty and pointless game. It really shows the level of the Verted Kingdom."
"... What did you say?" Rox's eyes flashed with anger.
For some reason, I found myself laughing at his threatening expression. "I mean, that's what the second prince is like, right?"
Rox's eyes burned with rage, and he began chanting a spell.