Volume 1
Chapter 3
Nozomu went to school as usual.
When he entered the
classroom, the students who had already arrived looked at him, but immediately
cast scornful glances his way.
His desk was covered
in slanderous writing, and the surrounding students snickered as Nozomu cleaned
it off.
This academy, where
thorough meritocracy was the basic principle, clearly separated winners from
losers.
The students in this
class, the 10th rank, were undoubtedly the latter, treated as the lowest in
this grade. Such losers usually found someone even weaker than themselves and
vented their frustrations on them.
He was treated like a
nuisance in this class, and they completely ignored him even if he spoke to
them.
The only ones who spoke
to him were his homeroom teacher, Anri, and Mars, a delinquent with bad
behavior and a problem child. Mars only ever thought about thoroughly putting
him down, though.
"So, yeah, that
woman had a really nice body..."
The trio of Mars and
his cronies arrived, engrossed in their lewd talk. Mars noticed him and
approached with a smirk.
Mars was tall and
well-built. His natural face wasn't bad, but his condescending expression
ruined everything.
"Yo, dropout. Did
you come to school again to do something pointless? If you ask me, you'd be
better off cleaning the toilets, at least that'd be useful to us."
"Hey, Mars, cut
it out. No one would use a toilet cleaned by this guy."
"Yeah, instead,
how about our training dummies? You'd be good for testing out our
weapons."
Nozomu said nothing.
It was the usual insults, the usual mockery, the usual start to his day.
***
Today's morning
lecture was about magic. The lecturer was the school nurse, Ms. Norn.
"As you know,
magic is a technique that manifests various phenomena by raising the magical
elements within the body, fueled by one's own mental strength. However, the
target is not limited to one's own magical elements. It's also possible to use
the magical elements in the outside world, in other words, in the atmosphere.
Especially when using
large-scale magic, you almost always use the magical elements from the outside
world. This is called ritual magic, and its origins lie in religious rites that
originally offered prayers to spirits and gods. Many people offering prayers in
the same way is also the foundation of the current incantation techniques.
In other
words..."
She proceeded with the
lecture efficiently and fluently. Ms. Anri's classes had a somewhat relaxed
atmosphere due to her personality, but Ms. Norn's classes were the
opposite—silent and tense.
I meticulously took
notes on everything the teacher said. For me, who couldn't get good grades in
practical skills due to Ability Suppression, written exams were my lifeline. In
the practical-focused end-of-year exam at the end of the first year, I somehow
managed to advance thanks to the written exam added to the supplementary exam.
The addition of a written exam to the practical exam would be an extra burden
for normal students, but for me, it was my last fortress.
The lecture ended with
the chime of the bell, and it was time for practical skills.
At Ms. Norn's call,
the entire class moved to the training grounds.
Arriving at the
training grounds, while watching everyone use their magic in their own way, I
was engrossed in the training I had only done in the first year—simply feeling
and manipulating the magic power within me.
The people of this
continent possessed magic power to varying degrees, but my magic power was
particularly low even among them.
It wasn't that low
originally, but after Ability Suppression manifested, I couldn't even use basic
magic.
That's why I just
repeated basic training and focused solely on improving my control.
Seeing this, the
surrounding students started laughing again. Spurred by this, Mars came over
and started insulting me even during class.
"What's with you,
still doing first-year training, bottom-dweller? Do you need a baby walker?
Hahahaha."
I ignored their
mockery and concentrated on my training. In the first place, I couldn't hear
their voices at this time.
When I focused on
training, I lost sight of my surroundings. This was especially noticeable
during basic training, and it was the same state I was in when I met my master.
"...Hey, why are
you ignoring me?"
Mars's mood suddenly
turned dangerous, probably irritated that I wasn't listening.
He was originally a
person with a strong desire for self-display.
He probably thought he
was being made fun of by the lowest-ranked person like me. Even so, I couldn't
hear him. I was completely shut off in my own inner world.
Suddenly, I received
an impact from the side and was blown away. Mars had blown me away with wind
magic.
The magic he cast was
"Air Burst," a type of wind magic that blew away the opponent with the
shockwave created when compressed air was released.
Still not satisfied,
Mars tried to cast another spell. But before that, Ms. Norn's magic gouged out
the ground at Mars's feet.
"That's enough.
Any further and I will have to take necessary measures as a teacher."
The magic she cast was
"Air Arrow." It was basic wind magic, but her casting speed was
faster than Mars's, and her accuracy and power surpassed Mars's, rivaling
intermediate single-target magic.
It was clear that her
Air Arrow was superior to Mars's Air Burst.
"Tch, fine, I got
it."
Mars walked away as if
spitting out a curse, and along with that, the surrounding students returned to
their training.
"Are you
alright?"
Ms. Norn called out to
me.
"I'm fine."
I answered
immediately. I had become very good at taking falls because my master always
blew me away. It was one of my few special skills.
I immediately resumed
training. Something like this was a regular occurrence. That's why,
"Someone like him
will always be troublesome. Ms. Anri is also worried about you. Come talk to me
anytime if you need to."
Unable to take those
words at face value, I could only give a vague reply.
***
The next day, the
academy was closed, and the students were spending their short holiday in their
own ways.
Nozomu had taken a job
from the adventurer's guild that day and was working part-time in the
commercial district. The adventurer's guild arranged jobs in various cities,
and this city was no exception.
If one's rank was
high, one could take on jobs such as subjugating weak magical beasts under
certain conditions, but since his rank was low, he could mainly only take on
odd jobs.
His job was simple
luggage transport.
Many packages arrived
in the commercial district from various countries, so the more carriers there
were, the better.
Arriving at the
collection point where the luggage was gathered, he greeted the foreman and
received the luggage he was to carry. He loaded the received luggage onto a
wagon and transported it to the destination with his partner.
Today's cargo was for
a tool shop in the commercial district and a doctor in the artisans' quarter.
Apparently, they had
bought a large quantity of supplies for their shops, so the load was heavy, but
since there were few destinations, the job would probably end quickly.
"By the way,
Nozomu. Do you have a girlfriend?"
Nozomu was caught off
guard by the sudden question and its content, and he hesitated to answer.
"Eh... no, I
don't. What's wrong? Why the sudden question?"
His partner's eyes
changed, as if he had gained some certainty from Nozomu's reaction.
"No, just
wondering. Whether you do or don't, you probably have someone you like, right?
Tell me~"
His partner had a
cheerful personality and wasn't a bad person, but conversely, he was self-centered
and didn't consider the other person's feelings, persistently asking about this
kind of thing.
Every time he heard
the words "someone you like," the shadow of her flickered in his
mind, making it painful.
He had been asked
about this kind of thing before, but no one had pursued it after seeing his
reaction at the time.
"Hey, hey, hey,
is she a beauty, or the cute type? Tell me about it~"
"...Let's
go."
Nozomu immediately
urged the horse forward. He ignored his partner, who kept asking persistently.
He outwardly brushed
off his partner, who kept asking questions throughout the job, but his
expression was clearly strained.
When the job was
finished, he received his pay from the foreman, and Nozomu immediately started
on his way home.
His family was a
typical farming family, so he couldn't rely on his parents' allowance, making
this income necessary for his living expenses.
The tuition fees for
Solminati Academy were quite reasonable compared to the size of the academy,
thanks to the support from various countries.
Securing personnel
lost in the great invasion ten years ago was a matter of life and death for
various countries, which showed just how much they expected and supported this
academy.
How many excellent
individuals this academy could secure would be a major factor determining the
superiority of each nation in the future.
Therefore, various
countries spared no effort in attracting talented individuals to their own
country, coming to scout with various favorable conditions.
Especially his grade
had an unprecedented number of excellent students. There were as many as five
students who had stepped into the A rank.
The A rank was a rank
held by first-class adventurers and imperial knights, and considering that
students still in their late teens had reached this rank, their excellence
could be understood.
***
On his way home, he
encountered familiar figures walking towards him. Ken Notice and Lisa Hounds.
His former lover and
his childhood friend.
The two of them were
probably on a date. Ken was laughing happily, and she also looked very happy
and seemed to have opened her heart to Ken.
Ken looked over and
noticed him, raising his hand. Lisa also noticed him, but her face clouded
over, and her displeasure was obvious.
Seeing that, Nozomu's
heart creaked.
"Hey, Nozomu,
what a coincidence,"
Ken said cheerfully.
His expression didn't show the same disgust as hers. Ken had been friendly with
him even after he broke up with her. He had complicated feelings about her
dating Ken, but he was a little relieved that Ken treated him the same as
before.
"Ah, well, yeah.
I wonder how long it's been."
"About three
months. We haven't been able to find the time."
"It can't be
helped. Unlike me, you guys probably have a lot to do."
"Yeah, the other
day I asked Mr. Jihad for some practice, and I got really into it."
Ken spoke with a wry
smile.
As a first-rank
student, Ken had high expectations from the academy, and a corresponding level
of treatment was guaranteed.
Moreover, Ken was one
of the few students in the academy who had reached the A rank.
Therefore, he was able
to receive personal guidance from prominent figures known throughout the
continent.
While he was talking
to Ken, Lisa, who was next to him, interrupted.
"Ken, let's
go."
She said this, took
Ken's hand, and started walking. She didn't even try to look at him, probably
because she hated even seeing his face.
"Ah."
He unintentionally
tried to stop her, but her profile clearly rejected him.
Pulling Ken's hand,
she walked away, and in the end, he couldn't say anything and could only stand
there dumbfounded.
Even after returning
home, his heart wouldn't settle down. Why had she come to reject him? He still
didn't know the reason, and his feelings remained in limbo.
It wasn't as bad as it
used to be, but when he saw Lisa at school or was asked about his girlfriend,
his heart stirred, and he realized that he was still hung up on her.
He remembered the time
she rejected him. Her cold eyes looked at him. "Goodbye," she said
with just one word and turned her back.
Without answering his
bewildered questions, she left him.
Ever since then, his
feelings had remained frozen.
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