Vol. 1 Chapter 8 – The Inferior Student of Flame

I feel like I finally understood why the men around me in my previous life were so desperate to get married.

Newlywed life was just that sweet, and that wonderful.

After all, when I woke up in the morning, sleeping beside me with adorable little breaths was a beautiful girl more than twenty years younger than my original age.

Her golden hair sparkled as though it were woven from falling stars, and her clear blue eyes were like the sky seen from beneath the water’s surface. Her nose was beautiful, as if drawn in one smooth brushstroke. From her fresh, dewy lips, love for me was sung without end, and when I embraced her because she was simply too adorable, her flawless white naked body had beautifully shaped breasts.

No matter where I touched her, her body was soft, and far too sensitive. Not only did she feel wonderful to hold, but above all, when she made that melting expression with her brows lowered and adorably begged for more and more, there was nothing I could do but surrender.

Just seeing her was enough to make my desire know no bounds, and I could only be astonished at myself, wondering if I had always been this lacking in self-control.

There was not a single problem with that aphrodisiac either.

Thanks to Giselle’s treatment, its medicinal effects had been completely suppressed.

Apparently, unless I had the treatment done regularly once a month, the effects would return, but that too could probably be called one of the perks. After all, with the excuse of treating the aphrodisiac, I could hold a beauty like Giselle in my arms.

That felt incredibly good in its own way too…

Of course, it was not as though I felt no resistance to holding a woman other than my wife, but Shirley had told me,『I don’t want you to be bound only to me. If there is a girl you want to hold, I don’t mind if you take a second or third wife.』She said it would be difficult for her alone to keep accepting my abnormal stamina.

Even in the era when I had lived, many nobles had taken multiple wives, so it was not that strange a matter. Even so, I did not feel as though I could love another girl as much as I loved Shirley.

And today, the seventh day since I had taken Shirley as my wife, the two of us went outside the royal castle for the first time since becoming husband and wife.

That said, it was not exactly a date. Today was the day I would transfer into the Academy.

“Danna-sama, the uniform suits you very well.”

“Does it…? I still can’t quite get used to the clothing of this era.”

“It’s all right. You look very cool!”

Shirley praised absolutely everything about me, so I could not take her words that I looked cool entirely at face value, but well, as long as I did not look strange, that was enough.

Led by Shirley, who was dressed in her usual overly revealing knight outfit, I passed through the Academy gates. Then, without thinking, my eyes widened.

“This is… how should I put it? Amazing.”

The grounds were large enough to rival the royal castle, and within them stood a huge stone building that was not flashy, but impressive. As for the statue of Ozma riding a lion that towered over the schoolyard, I decided to pretend I had not seen it. Still, the very existence of an educational facility of this scale seemed to symbolize the prosperity of this country.

“Yes. There are around three thousand students in total. It would be fair to call this the pinnacle of spirit magic research institutions.”

“I see. That makes me look forward to it.”

Up until today, I had received a simple explanation of the Academy’s system.

There was no age restriction, and apparently, any child of a noble family who possessed spirit power above a certain level could enroll. However, graduating seemed to be quite difficult.

There were four classes: highest, upper, lower, and lowest. In order to graduate, one had to enter at least the upper class and pass the graduation exam at the end of the academic year. Furthermore, to become a royal guard knight, it seemed that the minimum requirement was to be enrolled in the highest class and also earn full marks on the graduation exam, which made it very clear just how excellent Shirley had been.

The fastest students graduated in one year. Apparently, one could remain enrolled for as many years as one liked, but most students withdrew if they could not graduate within five years. However, I had also heard that there were even people like『masters』who stayed enrolled for more than twenty years, which was truly fascinating.

If you don’t graduate, that means you can keep researching forever… Becoming a『masters』might not be a bad idea either.

As I was thinking such things, Shirley opened her mouth with a smile.

“Danna-sama, since you are a transfer student, you will be placed in the lowest class for the time being. Once every half term, the classes are rearranged according to grades, so with your ability, Danna-sama, I am sure you will be able to enter the highest class very soon.”

I stopped walking and smiled back at her.

“Speaking of which, Shirley, you shouldn’t be calling me Danna-sama, right?”

“Ah, that’s right. But in that case, Danna-sama, you too.”

“Ahaha, you’re right. Elder sister.”

Actually, in order to transfer into the Academy, I was going to have my identity fabricated.

Following Her Majesty the Queen’s recommendation, I would be calling myself Oz Spinner, the half-brother of my beloved wife, Shirley Spinner, the second seat of the royal guard knights.

In this country, naming a child『Ozma』was forbidden. Even so, apparently many parents named their children 『Oz』in hopes that they would follow after the legendary great hero Ozma. For that reason, the name Oz seemed to be an extremely ordinary name in this country.

“Then, once again… ahem.”

Shirley cleared her throat and pointed her finger right at the tip of my nose.

“Listen carefully, Oz. For today, I have heard that there will be a spirit power measurement, the spirit entering ceremony and orientation. Until the spirit entering ceremony, I will be watching from the spectator seats, so if you have any trouble, then…y-your elder sister, y-you can tell Onee-chan anything!”

“Yes, yes. I’ll be relying on you, elder sister.”

“Buu…”

When I smiled wryly at Shirley’s attempt to act older, she puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

Hey, stop that. You’re making me want to hold you. Even your sulking face is too cute.

For the time being, I had tried protesting to Her Majesty, asking whether I could not be her older brother instead but she told me that would create a contradiction with Shirley having inherited the headship of the Spinner family, so it was no good.

If anything, I would rather have Shirley act spoiled toward me like a little sister.

Once again, the two of us walked side by side toward the school building, and just like us, there were students on their way to class. One of them, a male student, caught sight of Shirley and shouted,『Ah!』The next moment, the students nearby began making a commotion one after another.

“W-what is it?”

“Ahaha… I suppose it really did turn out like this.”

Shirley made a troubled face and scratched her cheek with her index finger.

The students surrounded Shirley and me from a distance. I could even hear the high-pitched voices of the female students going,『Kyaa!』When I looked up, students were peeking out from every window of the school building and staring at us.

“I-isn’t that Lord Spinner, the second seat of the royal guard knights!?”

“So wonderful! It’s Shirley-sama!”

“Who’s that guy next to her? He’s wearing a uniform, but… does anyone know him?”

“Isn’t he a transfer student? I’m pretty sure the teacher said there would be a scholarship transfer student today.”

“Then does that mean he’s related to Lord Spinner?”

When I strained my ears, I could hear those kinds of conversations.

“Shirley, you’re pretty popular, aren’t you?”

When I whispered that quietly, she answered with a slightly bitter smile.

“Rather than saying I am popular, I think it would be more accurate to say the position of royal guard knight is popular. The reason that little mustache was so abnormally fixated on me was likely not because of me personally but simply because he wanted the honor of taking a royal guard knight as his wife…”

“I see… So being a royal guard knight is that honorable of a position in this country.”

“That is how it is regarded, at least. That said, compared to the honor of being the wife of the legendary great hero, it is something like dust and scraps.”

Saying that, Shirley looked up at me with upturned eyes.

That’s why I’m telling you to stop! The knight outfit alone is already dangerous enough, so if you look at me with those inviting eyes, I’m going to get hard on!

This body was far too energetic. Just as I unconsciously shoved my hand into my pants pocket, Shirley suddenly pointed ahead.

“Ah, Danna-sama… no, Oz. There is a notice over there. It says transfer students should enter the auditorium.”

“The auditorium? Which way is the auditorium?”

“It’s all right. Please follow m…no, you may follow me, Oz!”

Exposed to gazes of curiosity and envy, Shirley and I stepped into the auditorium.

There were already several students there.

“Then, Oz. I will be in the spectator seats on the second floor.”

“Yeah. Elder Sister, see you later.”

After watching Shirley go up the stairs, I turned my eyes toward the students around me.

There were not that many of them. Including me, there were six in total, with a male-to-female ratio of three to three. Perhaps none of them knew each other, because each of them kept their distance and leaned against the walls.

When I looked up, the second floor was set up as spectator seats, and besides Shirley, I could see the figures of several other people.

They were probably the guardians or servants of the transfer students here.

As I was looking around restlessly, a haughty-looking male student with his hair slicked back suddenly grabbed my shoulder and said,『Hey, you.』

“What the hell are you? You don’t even have a spirit dwelling in you, do you? You’re in the wrong place! This is the orientation for scholarship transfer students! The top students from each branch school are gathered here, so someone like you wasn’t invited!”

Being able to say something this rude to someone you had only just met was honestly rather impressive.

At the same time, however, it was also very much like a noble.

Even in my previous life, the nobles were all the kind of people who would suddenly change their attitude the moment they thought someone was even a little lower in status than them.

And if I let this sort of person look down on me, it would become truly troublesome later, so I needed to answer him properly, straight to his face.

“Actually, who the hell are you? I don’t remember being invited by you, but I am definitely a transfer student.”

“W-what’s with that attitude!”

Just as Slicked-Back raised his voice, foam gathering at the corners of his mouth, the entrance door opened, and several men and women filed into the auditorium.

At the front was an elderly man with a beard mixed with white hair. Following after him were three men and women who seemed to be staff members.

Immediately, Slicked-Back clicked his tongue with a 『Tch!』and let go of my shoulder, turning his back on me in irritation.

When the staff members stood at the back of the auditorium, one of them prompted us to line up.

As we formed a single line as instructed, the elderly man took a piece of parchment in hand and said,『I will take attendance』then began reading out names one by one.

“Amanda Kairos, Oz Spinner, Kiko Krisna, Chloe Lumiere, Zaza Doll.”

Those whose names were called answered in order.

Apparently, Slicked-Back’s name was Kiko.

Then, when I heard the last name that was read out, I turned my eyes toward the boy who answered.

“Thomas Balsabar.”

Balsabar? Could he be related to that Balsabar? If I remember correctly, the royal family name, descended from Feria, was also Balsabar…

However, I was not the only one who reacted to his name.

The majority of the students present turned their eyes toward him the moment his name was called.

Maybe I’ll ask Shirley about it later…

Once the roll call was finished, the elderly man opened his mouth again.

“Everyone, first of all, congratulations on your transfer. The fact that you are here means that you are the top talents from your respective regional branch schools. However, I suspect that from here onward, you will come to realize just how little you knew of the world. There may be times when you experience setbacks. But we teachers will not abandon those who have the will to learn. If anything happens, do not hesitate to rely on us.”

He sounds like he’s saying something nice, but this is intimidation, isn’t it?

It was somewhat gentle, but in a roundabout way, he was saying,『You lot were big fish in small ponds. Don’t underestimate the Academy.』

It was basically the same as recruit training. If you knocked them down hard at the start, they would be easier to handle afterward.

“Now then, first, I would like to grasp your abilities. We will measure your spirit power.”

When the elderly man said that, one of the staff members set something like a rather large crystal ball on top of the podium.

“As you know, when you touch this spirit orb, your current spirit power will appear as a numerical value. Based on this, we will consider the teaching policy for each individual.”

Would it be fine to simply think of it as something like an aptitude test?

I had no idea what kind of mechanism it used but the idea that a person’s abilities could be displayed as numbers was truly fascinating.

“The ones whose names are called, please step forward in order and touch the spirit orb. Now then, we will begin the measurement. First, Amanda Kairos!”

“Yes!”

Raising her hand as she answered, a girl stepped forward.

She was a girl with blonde hair curled into vertical ringlets and slightly upturned eyes. Judging by the impression given by her features alone, she looked extremely arrogant.

The instant she placed her hand on the spirit orb with a tense expression, it began to glow faintly, and the numbers that appeared inside the crystal started rising as though spinning round and round.

And the number finally displayed was『672.』

Is that number good? Or bad?

As I was thinking that, the blonde ringlet-haired girl called Amanda swept her hair up with a smug look.

Seeing the teachers nodding in satisfaction as well, it was probably quite a good number.

“Next, Oz Spinner!”

“Y-yes.”

Having my name called so suddenly, I nearly tripped over my own feet as I hurriedly walked up in front of the platform.

“Now, touch the spirit orb.”

When it was actually my turn, I felt rather nervous. Even when people talked about spirit magic or spirit power, to me, they were still things I did not really understand. If I were judged to have no talent here, that would honestly be a problem.

With a gulp, I swallowed, then placed my hand on the spirit orb. It emitted a faint, pale light, and the numbers began to spin.

100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600.

Then, when the display passed 700, the teachers and the transfer students behind me began to stir.

But the numbers still continued spinning.

800, 900.

Before long, when the display reached 999, the one-digit number began to tremble in small, jerky movements, as though it had gotten caught on something.

The auditorium grew noisy, and the people in the spectator seats also began standing up one after another while murmuring in surprise.

“Im-impossible…”

“Isn’t it broken?”

The very instant I heard those voices from the teachers…

With a shrill sound, the spirit orb suddenly burst apart into pieces.

The murmuring from moments earlier vanished somewhere, and a stunned silence settled over the auditorium.

“Wh… what in the world was that…?”

As the elderly teacher groaned that in a daze, the second-floor seats grew noisy before the transfer students could say anything.

“How about that! Amazing, isn’t it!? Th-that’s my husb… m-my little brother, you know! Look, look! Take a better look, come on!”

When I looked, Shirley was smacking the shoulder of the bearded man sitting beside her, ban ban, while raising an excited voice.

Hey…please stop that. That old man seriously looks like he’s in pain.

“Should we measure him again?”

“We cannot have another one broken. For now, record it as 999.”

I could hear the staff members putting their heads together and discussing that.

Then the elderly teacher turned back toward the students, cleared his throat with a『cough』and announced that the measurement would be temporarily suspended.

“A-anyway, we will have a spare spirit orb prepared, so all of you are to wait for a while. Please remain on standby.”

Spirit power so absurdly beyond standard that it smashed right through the measurement limit. This too must mean something had been done to this body after all.

The baby-making three-piece set, the aphrodisiac… Feria, no matter how you look at it, you packed in way too much… Just what exactly are you planning to do with me?

As I returned to my original position while thinking that, the girls walked over toward me.

“You’re Oz-kun, right? You’re amazing! I was so shocked!”

The one who raised both hands and spoke to me excitedly was a girl who looked cheerful and friendly. She had short, strongly wavy red hair, and her little fang-like yaeba was cute.yaeba¹

“Um, you were Zaza-san, right…? Yeah, I’m a little shocked myself.”

“Ahaha, we’re classmates, so just call me Zaza! Nice to meet you from now on!”

The next one to speak was a very refined-looking young lady with black hair reaching down to her waist and bangs cut straight across above her eyebrows.

“Even though you possess such tremendous spirit power, Oz-kun, why do you not have a spirit dwelling within you? Normally, I believe one would undergo the spirit entering ceremony at around twelve years old…”

‘I think she was Chloe, right?’

“Ah, my father hated me, you see. I was raised almost entirely under house arrest…Then, the other day, my father passed away, and Elder Sister, who succeeded him as the next head, took pity on me and decided to let me attend the Academy.”

This was the backstory Shirley had come up with for me.

I felt a little guilty about placing an unfounded crime on her father but if we said I had been raised under house arrest, then even if I said something a little off the mark, I would have an excuse.

However, if heard normally, it was quite a heavy upbringing.

Sure enough, Chloe ended up looking apologetic.

“That is… how should I put it… I am sorry.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it! It’s fine, really!”

When I hurriedly called out to her, Amanda, who was beside Chloe, swept up her blonde ringlets with a fasa.

“The difference in status between the Spinner family and my Kairos family is far too great, but if you are a gentleman with this much spirit power, I may be able to persuade Father.”

“That’s fast… That’s way too fast, Amanda. It’s still the first day, you know?”

When Zaza shrugged her shoulders as if exasperated, Amanda spoke as though looking down on her.

“What are you saying? For nobles, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Academy is a place to search for one’s future spouse. It is common sense to stake a claim early on a promising prospect. His spirit power is extraordinary and his face is to my liking as well.”

As the blonde ringlet-haired girl swept up her hair with a『hmph』Zaza and Chloe gave strained smiles and went,『Ahaha…』

Beyond the noisy, chattering girls surrounding me, Kiko the Slicked-Back spat out a bitter『Keh!』

‘Well, of course he wouldn’t find this amusing…’

Honestly, I had no desire to get along with this guy, but if he kept picking fights with me, it would become troublesome in various ways.

And beyond Kiko, who was openly showing his displeasure, I could see the other male student, Thomas Balsabar.

He was a boy with the air of a golden-haired noble prince. With looks that could be called handsome, he remained completely still with his eyes closed, as though he were concentrating his mind.

Honestly, he was the one I was most curious about.

‘Balsabar, huh…I wonder if he’s that guy’s descendant?’

Even if he was, I could not find any resemblance in his appearance. Balsabar, who had been my archenemy in my previous life, was a huge man like a bear.

When I turned my eyes toward the second-floor seats again, Shirley, who should have been making a huge fuss earlier, was now staring fixedly at me with gloomy, narrowed eyes like a sand fox.

‘H-huh? Could it be that she doesn’t like seeing me surrounded by girls?’

In the first place, she was the one who had told me to take more wives. And yet, somehow, there was a jealous sort of atmosphere dwelling in her gaze.

As my face involuntarily stiffened, the elderly teacher walked over toward me.

“Spinner-kun. You honestly surprised me. Her Highness Princess Frederica personally asked me to look after you, but to think you would be such an exceptional talent…”

“From Her Highness the Princess!?”

Zaza raised her voice in surprise.

“Ah, no. You know, Elder Sister is a royal guard knight, and apparently Her Highness the Princess also went out of her way to help with my enrollment.”

When I glossed it over like that, Amanda, who had been listening at my side, twisted her mouth into a faint smile.

“Connections with the royal family as well… This is becoming even more…”

“Spinner-kun, you still do not have a spirit dwelling within you, correct? Hmm. Until preparations for resuming the measurement are complete, let us at least confirm your attribute.”

Saying that, the elderly teacher reached his hand toward my forehead.

However, after a short while, he made a complicated face and muttered quietly.

“Your attribute is… flame.”

‘Yeah, I thought so…’

This was completely as expected. Or rather, if someone told me that Crimson Ozma had been water attribute, I feel like that would have been rather unbearable. It was a matter of identity.

However, the moment the teacher said『flame attribute』the atmosphere around me changed completely.

“Ah, ahaha… f-flame, huh.”

“Ah… um, how should I put it…”

The expressions on Zaza and Chloe’s faces somehow grew stiff, and as for Amanda, she looked openly disappointed.

‘What…?’

The moment I tilted my head, Kiko suddenly burst into loud, shrill laughter.

“Hahahahahahaha! I figured it’d be something like that anyway. Talk about a waste of treasure. Flame, he says! Don’t make me laugh!”

Ignoring Kiko, Zaza and Chloe took my hands and spoke to me as though trying to comfort me.

“I-it’s okay. See, even with flame attribute… you know, there’s… something… see?”

“Please don’t be discouraged. I-it’s all right, so, you know…”

‘No, even if you keep saying『you know, you know』like that…’

Since I had absolutely no idea what was going on, I could only feel bewildered.

Then Amanda opened her mouth, looking at me as though she were looking at something filthy.

“Hmph…What a dud. I wasted my expectations on you! Please do not speak to me anymore!”

“Is flame attribute considered a dud?”

When I asked Zaza that, she made a troubled face.

“Ah… so you don’t know that either… I see. Umm, well…”

Then the elderly teacher cut in, as though throwing her a lifeline while she hesitated over what to say.

“I will explain.”

“Ah, Sensei, please!”

“Spinner-kun. Spirit magic is magic that calls forth the power of spirits from the spirit world in exchange for the spirit power within one’s body, but…”

“Only the power… is that what you mean?”

“Indeed. For convenience, we use the expression『to dwell within』but I would like you to think of it as possessing the right to draw out that power.”

“I see.”

It was a little different from what I had imagined.

I had thought it was something like summoning magic from my previous life.

“Depending on the amount of spirit power one possesses, the rank of the target spirit whose power can be drawn out changes. This is only a guideline, but up to 400 is a lower spirit, up to 700 is a middle spirit, and beyond that, you may consider it possible to wield the power of an upper spirit.”

‘I see. So Amanda, with a spirit power of 672, is one step away from being able to wield the power of an upper spirit.’

However, the elderly teacher then made an apologetic face and said this.

“But there are no upper spirits for the flame attribute.”

“Huh?”

“…That is how it is. No matter how high one’s spirit power may be, with the flame attribute, one can only use power up to that of a middle spirit.”

Something that existed for the other attributes did not exist only for the flame attribute? That was an extremely unnatural story.

As I tilted my head, Chloe timidly cut in.

“A-according to one theory, the upper spirit of flame took flesh and became the great hero Ozma, then came from the spirit world to this world. Because of that, it is said that no upper spirit of flame exists. That is why, even in the doctrines of the Orthodox Church, God, Ozma, and the upper spirits are said to be one and the same…”

“Huh… So Ozma was an upper spirit.”

My voice became flat without meaning to. Of course, there was no way that was true.

If you asked whether I was disappointed after hearing all this, the answer was not at all. Rather, I thought it was a story that stirred my desire to research. That was not sarcasm, not sour grapes, not anything of the sort. It was my true feeling.

Why did the upper spirit of flame not exist? Did it truly not exist? If it truly did not exist, was it possible to change one’s attribute? Was it possible to have two attributes dwell within one’s body? And so on. One research-worthy theme after another began overflowing inside my head.

‘This is it, this! Great! This is getting ridiculously fun!’

When I could not help snorting in high spirits, Kiko raised his voice in displeasure.

“What? Were you so shocked that you broke? Can’t blame you. Hey, you trash bastard! If you’re trash, then act like trash and hurry up, pack your things, and go home!”

The moment he said that, Zaza and Chloe snapped at Kiko as though protecting me.

“Hey! Isn’t that way of saying it going too far?”

“That’s right! Just who do you think you are!”

When Kiko showed a momentary flinch after being attacked by the girls, Amanda shrugged her shoulders.

“Oh my, calling him trash is not incorrect, is it? As proof, those with the flame attribute are not normally allowed to enroll in the Academy. Aside from that man, the only other person with the flame attribute is Her Highness Princess Arvin. And that too is only because of Her Highness’s position.”

‘Those with the flame attribute are normally not allowed to enroll? Arvin… If I remember right, she was the black-haired princess. So Her Highness is an exception…’

Apparently, the situation surrounding the flame attribute was even worse than I had imagined.

While all this was happening, the new spirit orb arrived, and the spirit power measurement resumed.

Then, while the remaining transfer students were being measured, I was accompanied by Shirley and underwent the ritual to have a spirit dwell within my body in a separate room.

When I heard『ritual』I had braced myself, but in reality, it was extremely simple.

A sister from the Orthodox Church, who had been waiting in the separate room, placed a finger on my forehead and offered a prayer while reading aloud from the scriptures.

In terms of time, it took a little over ten minutes. I wondered if it was really all right for it to be that simple, but according to Shirley,『Today is only to connect the pathway. To actually use spirit magic, proper training is necessary.』

In other words, it was merely preparation.

However, when I actually took part in the ritual, there were far too many things I wanted to retort about, and by the time it was over, I was unsteady on my feet and completely exhausted. Mainly mentally.

As for what exhausted me so much, first of all, the sister’s appearance was far too indecent.

Even the fact that she was a plump blonde Onee-san was already dangerous enough, but her see-through, transparent clerical robe was, as expected, outrageous. That was no good.

Even though I was supposed to be undergoing a sacred ritual, for some reason, I was leaning forward.

What made it even worse was that, as far as I knew, that sister had the biggest breasts I had ever seen.

I had previously heard from Shirley that a sister’s rank was determined by the size of her breasts, but I see, once someone reached the priest class, they would become the size of large watermelons. I could not help being impressed.

Since those large melons were swaying tayun tayun only a few centimeters in front of my eyes throughout the ritual, there was no way I could endure it. On top of that, the areolas that were asserting themselves through the see-through fabric were huge.

I leaned forward even more. I was practically folded in two.

I still thought their heads were definitely messed up, but at the same time, I felt like I understood why such a messed-up religion had expanded its influence enough to become the state religion.

Men really could not resist breasts after all.

After seeing how I looked at that time, Shirley later sulked and criticized me endlessly.

According to her,『Danna-sama, you really do like big breasts, don’t you!』

But that was wrong. That was not it.

I simply also liked big breasts. Everyone was different, and everyone was good.

And what delivered the finishing blow to me, who was already completely drained at this point, was the content of the scripture that was read aloud.

What was read aloud before the ritual ended was Chapter Twelve. During that single chapter, the legendary me attacked and destroyed a northern country together with a mysterious silver-haired little girl, skewered an ice magical beast, split the sea, flew through the sky and held forty-five women.

‘Please, show some restraint! Legendary meeeeeee!’

That was Ozma’s cry from the heart.

It was an extremely suspicious-looking ritual but after it ended and I was taught how to call forth a spirit and how to sense spirits, I was honestly surprised.

First, when I focused strength into my eyes and looked at a person, I became able to see a faint glow around them. Apparently, this allowed me to understand the type of spirit dwelling within the other person.

As a test, I looked at Shirley and she was covered in a very vivid green light.

If it was flame, the light was red. If it was water, blue. If it was wind, green. If it was earth, yellow.

Apparently, once I got used to it, I would also become able to roughly judge the strength of someone’s spirit power from the vividness of the light.

Next was the use of spirit magic. According to the sister, I simply had to imagine opening a hole in the part where I wanted the power to dwell and pulling it out.

When I tried producing a flame above my palm, I managed it surprisingly easily.

However, apparently, that too was abnormal.

“Wh-why can you do it!? N-normally, it takes days of practice before someone can finally manage it!”

The instant the startled sister’s chest swayed tayun in front of my eyes, the flame vanished.

Apparently, just like conventional magic, it was no good if my mental concentration was disturbed.

‘But this means I’ve finally made it to the entrance, right…?’

Honestly, I was happy. I was excited. I wanted to hurry up and try all sorts of things.

When I returned to the auditorium after finishing the ritual, the remaining transfer students had just finished their measurements as well.

“How did it go?”

When I asked Zaza that, she answered with a dejected look.

“Uu…I got 521, so I’m the lowest. I thought I’d get a little higher than that, though. What I really can’t accept is that Kiko, even though he’s so unpleasant, got 604 and ranked above me. After that… Chloe got 583, and Thomas-kun surprised everyone with 812.”

“Heeh…”

I turned my eyes toward Thomas.

If he was in the 800 range, that meant he could access upper spirits with ease.

However, despite producing such a number, Thomas showed no sign of pride. With an easygoing attitude, he lightly brushed off Amanda, who was fawning over him from a superior position.

“Spinner-kun seems to have returned as well, so we will now move to the classroom. Those accompanying the students, please wait in the waiting room until the orientation is over.”

Following behind a young female teacher wearing glasses, we began moving in a group.

“The class we’ll be entering is the lowest class, right?”

“Yup. Apparently, about half of the students from the lowest class were promoted in the recent promotion exam and we’re the replacements.”

In other words, the students who had failed to get promoted would be starting over from scratch together with us. That was quite a harsh educational policy.

While I talked with Zaza and Chloe, Amanda clung to Thomas and Kiko walked at the very back with an unamused expression. In our own ways, we followed behind the female teacher down the corridor.

Before long, we arrived at the classroom at the very back of the second floor of the main building.

When we stepped into the classroom, students were sparsely seated in about half of the available seats.

“First, please take any seat you like.”

After watching us take our seats, the female teacher stood in front of the teacher’s platform and opened her mouth.

“My name is Almeida, and I will be the homeroom teacher for this class. Since the promotion exam was just held recently, this lowest class currently has sixteen students. Including the six who transferred in today, that makes twenty-two students in total. Until the next promotion exam, you will all be studying together as classmates, so please get along with one another.”

‘I see. So this is how people study in something called an Academy…’

In the era when I had lived, the mainstream method of learning magic was to become a disciple under a master. The level of education also depended entirely on the master’s personality.

Thinking back to Her Majesty the Queen’s words, she had said that『Feria graduated at the top of the Empire’s Academy.』This Academy format might have originated from the Empire.

‘…This means the overall level of education gets raised, right? No wonder we couldn’t win.’

Setting aside the cheat known as magic, there had been no contest at all between the Empire and the Kingdom of Edvard.

Now that I thought about it, that may have been due to the difference in education.

Once the explanation about the Academy was finished, next came the transfer students’ self-introductions.

What caught my attention during the self-introductions was that Amanda introduced herself as the eldest daughter of the Kairos family, which carried Ozma’s bloodline. The Kairos family was probably one of the noble families Shirley had previously mentioned, the ones who claimed to be descendants of Ozma.

Another thing was that Kiko’s father was apparently this country’s Minister of Justice.

Also, when I introduced myself as Shirley’s younger brother, the classroom erupted into commotion.

After the self-introductions ended, the homeroom teacher clapped her hands with a pan and urged everyone to stand, then instructed us to split up by attribute.

As instructed, the students moved toward the four separate corners of the classroom.

The students who had originally been in this class had an air of『this again?』Meanwhile, the transfer students all looked uniformly puzzled.

From what I could see, the most common was the water attribute. Chloe and Zaza were there.

Next was the wind attribute. Kiko the Slicked-Back was there.

Surprisingly few were earth attribute, with only two people there. Amanda and Thomas.

And then…

“Could you not come over here?”

“Even if you say that…”

Her Highness Princess Arvin glared at me with a sullen expression. As for me, I had no choice but to smile wryly. After all, the only people with the flame attribute were me and her, so even if she made that kind of face at me, I was at a loss.

“Regarding your studies from tomorrow onward, you will generally work in pairs. Please form a buddy pair with someone of the same attribute. Ah, for those other than the transfer students as well, there are some whose buddies were promoted in the recent promotion exam, so everyone, please pair up again. The numbers should match for each attribute, at least.”

At the homeroom teacher’s words, Zaza raised her voice in dissatisfaction.

“Ehh…Do we have to be the same attribute? I wanted to pair up with Oz-kun, though!”

Then the homeroom teacher smiled and shook her head.

“No. The purpose is for you to teach each other, so if your attributes are different, the tricks are different too.”

“Uu… Then I’ll make do with Chloe.”

“Make do…? Zaza, isn’t that a little rude?”

Chloe pouted her lips. Of course, I, Thomas, Amanda, and Her Highness the Princess had no right to choose our partners. There was only one other person with the same attribute.

“Um… I look forward to working with you.”

When I said that to Her Highness Princess Arvin, the instant she glanced at me, she snorted with a『hmph』 and turned away.

‘As expected… she hates me, doesn’t she? I guess you could say the road ahead is going to be rough…’

Would I really be able to get along with her…?