When I went outside the academy, I saw a group of people dressed in clothes I had never seen in the city.
More than twenty people were gathered, all in white robes with hoods pulled low, and over half of them were armed.
People nearby were wary of the group, keeping their distance.
"Excuse me. Are you from the Maple Leaf Holy Empire?" I called out to the man at the front.
He turned towards me, his robe swaying. "Oh, so you're finally ready to meet. It took long enough. I didn't expect to be kept waiting this close."
The man spoke with a half-smile as he raised his face. However, due to his considerable height, his gaze passed over my head.
"… Hm?" He briefly looked around before finally lowering his gaze and finding me. "Oh, here you are."
In that one sentence, my brain registered this tall man as an enemy. I glared up at him silently with hostility, and he removed his hood to reveal his face.
He had long, conspicuous, light green hair. Despite his unexpectedly well-defined appearance, there was an unusual aura about him. Although he didn't seem to have any conspicuous weapons, he couldn't hide the presence typical of a magician.
"A female teacher from the academy with black hair…" the man murmured while staring intently at my head, then raised the corners of his mouth. "Are you the magician named Aoi?"
Before I could answer, the other robed figures around us spoke up.
"… No way, this girl?"
"Impossible."
"When I heard 'witch,’ I imagined a terrifying old hag or a beautiful, bewitching mature woman…"
I glared at the man who had likely said the last one. Did I really have to guide these rude people?
The question floated in my mind, but they were official envoys of a nation. I couldn't simply brush them off in anger.
Pushing down my brief internal conflict, I raised my face. "Principal Glenn is waiting. Please follow me."
As I turned to head towards the academy, the man with light green hair called out to me. "Wait a moment. I am Crown Windsor! You are Aoi Konominato, right? Please! Show me your power as a magician! I came here for that!"
"Can't that wait?" I turned back to check.
The man who called himself Crown didn't back down. He stepped forward and raised one hand in front of his face. "Look at this. It's a medium I created for manifesting magic."
On Crown's hand was a peculiar glove. Made of a white leather-like material, it had a wide silver ring on the middle finger and silver patterns on the back of the hand.
"It's an item for mana circulation and directionality. The attribute is ice, I presume. It's well-made." I shared my impression.
Crown's eyes widened slightly, and he nodded. "Y-yes! I didn't expect it to be seen through at a glance. Well, if you're researching from the same perspective, it makes sense! You must be doing similar research. I'll show you my specialty magic. So, please, show me a few of your spells!"
Without waiting for my response, Crown began to gather mana.
As he chanted, the others around him finally noticed that he was about to use magic and immediately became alarmed.
But they had no time to evacuate or take countermeasures. Crown's chant was only two verses long. Judging by the content, it seemed to be advanced magic. He might be on par with Glenn.
Even so, using magic on the street was extremely dangerous.
I quietly concentrated my mana.
"Freeze, [Iceberg]."
The moment Crown finished his chant, a mountain of ice began to form between us. The surrounding spectators showed expressions of shock as they sensed the magic being activated.
Glancing at them from the side, I also cast my spell. "[Frost Column]"
A huge crack formed in the growing ice mountain. In the next moment, the ice mass Crown was creating shattered into pieces.
In its place appeared the ice tower I had created. It was intended to be a column, but it was so massive that it looked like a building.
Crown's impressive spell vanished, and the people around us were all wide-eyed and stunned, but Crown himself was different.
"Huh?! What is this…?!" His voice trembled with excitement, and a crazed smile appeared on his face.
Frowning at his reaction, I said, " Well then, everyone, please follow me obediently this time. The use of magic without permission is prohibited. Next time, I will punish you at my discretion. Understood?"
Hearing the displeasure in my voice, the white-robed people nodded rapidly, and Crown himself nodded with a meaningful smile.
Behind them, a particularly large man who had been silent until now suddenly spoke. "Hmm, this isn't going to be easy."
Despite the content of his words, his tone was oddly amused.