Chapter 3

On the day of the new student orientation.

Noel was among the new students gathered in the auditorium.

—Finally, I’ve made it... It was a long journey.

She looked at the new students in front of her. A variety of hairstyles lined up.

Blond, red, brown, silver... truly diverse.

—I must have had it harder than most, I’m sure.

There were many tall new students, probably because the National Academy’s Knight Program was popular among aspiring knights.

The Royal Academy also had a Knight Program, but it was famous for attracting the children of nobles who aimed to become royal guards, trained in manners, social skills, and textbook-perfect swordsmanship, but not particularly strong.

Very few of them excelled in the national swordsmanship tournaments.

Is it really okay for the royal family’s protection to be entrusted to such superficial knights? I can’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

If you want to gain the practical skills to work in the knight corps, the National Academy’s Knight Program is the better choice.

She learned this from the gossip in the cafeteria after moving into the dormitory.

About three weeks ago, on the day the acceptance results were announced.

Noel found out she would receive a scholarship and immediately went through the procedures for enrollment and dormitory entry.

She tried to submit the form with the guardian signature section left blank, but of course, it was caught.

Reluctantly, she had to return home.

Her father wasn’t there, so she asked her mother to sign, saying, “It’s needed for school enrollment.”

Her mother glared at her and grumbled, “Why do I have to do such a troublesome thing?” while signing.

I can’t believe a parent would find it so troublesome to sign their own name. I only realized this now.

Anyway, she got the signature and headed back to the academy.

Thanks to the extra transportation costs, she had to walk part of the way home.

With the remaining copper coins, she could only afford a short-distance shared carriage.

It took about an hour to walk home, so it was fine.

Since she needed transportation money for dormitory entry, she went to sell some hand-me-down clothes again.

She recalled how difficult it was.

She informed the butler on the day she moved into the dormitory.

“I’ve been awarded a scholarship and will be attending the National Academy. I’ll be living in the dormitory, so goodbye.”

The butler was speechless, eyes wide open.

She left the mansion while the butler was still in shock, so she didn’t know what happened after that.

Actually, she didn’t want to tell him where she was going. After much hesitation, she ended up telling him.

Now, I wish the butler would forget. I don’t want to go back to that house or have anything to do with those people.

While she was spacing out, the orientation proceeded.

—Oh no, I wasn’t paying attention.

She pulled herself together and looked at the stage where the teachers were being introduced.

The magic teacher, the history teacher, the math teacher, the law teacher... she lost consciousness halfway through.

It seems she fell asleep.

Come to think of it, she didn’t sleep well last night.

A few days ago, she had the idea to make a "bag with spatial magic function" as described in a book and spent time on it.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

She might not be able to do it in the future either.

Perhaps, she needed to have the magic attribute of spatial magic to do it.

Instead, the leather bag became unusually durable. She didn’t know why.

It was an unnecessary feature.

While doing such foolish things, it got late, and she didn’t sleep well, probably due to the excitement of starting school.

She fell into a deep sleep and woke up suddenly.

She realized her body was leaning unusually.

She noticed she had been sleeping with her head resting on the armrest.

The chair was quite grand, and Noel was quite small, so she had curled up inside it.

Unconsciously, her hair had fallen on the arm of the student next to her.

She quickly straightened her posture.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Noel apologized softly.

She wanted to praise herself for not shouting out loud despite her shock.

The tall boy next to her was smiling.

—H... Handsome?

She didn’t want to cause any more trouble, so she bowed again and turned her gaze to the stage.

Thanks to her nap, she was able to listen to the rest of the talk properly.

That day, she confirmed her classroom and listened to the homeroom teacher, Ms. Lara Doyle. Lara was a nervous-looking older woman, and Noel found her a bit intimidating. The strict atmosphere reminded her of her mother.

Noel had already moved into the dormitory about ten days ago when the preparations were ready, so she had already scouted the school facilities.

She was thinking of stopping by the library before returning to the dormitory.

While putting the distributed textbooks into her bag, she was called by her homeroom teacher, Lara.

“Noel Vione. There’s something from the administration, so go to the third conference room.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

—What could it be?

The lack of explanation made her anxious.

The third conference room was on the second floor of the administration building. It was a small conference room.

She sat in a chair near the door and waited. After a knock, a tall man entered.

She recognized him.

—The examiner...

He was one of the two examiners who supervised her practical exam, the younger one who made her go fetch an egg.

He had chestnut hair and amber eyes, a familiar face.

She also remembered that the other older examiner had dark brown hair and purple eyes.

Noel stood up hurriedly.

“No, please sit.

Noel Vione.

I’m Arnaud Rocher, the magic teacher. I teach the upper grades.

Do you remember me from the exam?”

“Yes, I remember. The younger one.”

Noel, flustered, said more than she needed to.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Arnaud chuckled, sitting down and continuing his explanation.

“The magic practical exam sometimes results in accidents due to nervous students, so experienced mages are assigned as examiners.

It just happened to be me for your exam.

The reason I called you here is that you managed to cast a protective barrier.

Enchanters are rare worldwide.”

“Huh? No, that’s a misunderstanding.

I’m not an enchanter; I’m just good at barriers.”

Noel was anxious that Arnaud had a major misunderstanding.

She knew about enchanters.

They were mages who could cast enhancement spells on weapons and armor.

But all Noel could do was cast a barrier on an egg for a short time.

It wasn’t that impressive.

“Being good at barriers and being able to cast them on inanimate objects are completely different.

Noel, it seems you don’t understand.

Also, what you said earlier caught my attention.

You told Professor Michelle—she was the other examiner—that your family’s funds were exhausted because your sister attended the Royal Academy, and if you didn’t get a scholarship, you’d attend a municipal school.”

“Yes, I did say that.”

She had blurted it out in a moment of desperation, but now she felt quite embarrassed.

—But it’s true.

“In the documents recording your information, it was noted that you came to the application alone.

For a noble, coming without an escort suggests a lack of concern for the safety of the child, which is a matter that needs to be confirmed.

Additionally, you said you’d attend a municipal school if you didn’t get a scholarship.

To be honest, municipal schools are quite lax in terms of security. It’s not ideal for a noble girl. A tough-looking boy might be okay.

In other words, your family, the Vione family, is listed as a potentially problematic household by the National Academy.”

“Ah...”

Noel gave a blank response.

“So, we wanted to consult with the Vione family about your potential as an enchanter...”

“No, please don’t!”

Noel found herself shouting.

“So, you don’t want to?”

Arnaud chuckled.

“Yes... that’s right.”

“Can you tell me more about your situation?”

“Um... what exactly do you want to know?”

“I want to understand your family’s situation.”

“What will you do if you understand it?”

“If improvement is needed, I can offer help.

However, in cases of intentional abuse, we need clear evidence of a crime. Without solid proof, we can’t take action.”

“So, you can’t take action based on my testimony alone?

It’s impossible to get solid proof, isn’t it?”

Noel’s words sounded more mature than those of a 12-year-old girl.

Arnaud frowned.

“You’re quite level-headed.”

“I’ve thought about it a lot.

I’ve thought about it so much, always thinking.

Is there a way to escape from my sister, who uses violence, and my mother, who makes me do housework that feels like abuse?

The servants are all on the side of the masters, and my father, who is always absent, treats me the same.

I’ve gone to the town library and read materials about the causes of children’s deaths.

I’ve seen several times that it’s not uncommon for children to die due to parental abuse.

What caught my attention was the number of children who die in the home for unknown reasons.

It was a different number from the number of children who die from abuse.

I confirmed this multiple times.

The number of children who die from abuse. And the number of children who die for unknown reasons.

The latter was higher.

So, I wondered.

If a child is hit or mistreated, and the parent says, ‘It’s not my fault,’ who will help them?

Who will be believed, the dead child or the noble parent?”

Arnaud sighed inwardly, realizing he couldn’t dismiss this.

“Is there a reason why you’re treated poorly?”

Even if there was a reason, the parents were still in the wrong, but Arnaud asked anyway.

Noel began to answer calmly.

“I received my magic appraisal at the age of four.

The priest said it was early.

But my sister, Zeraphi, could use a fire spell at the age of three.

So, my parents assumed I would be able to do it too.

However, the appraisal showed I had almost no magic power.

After that, I was treated worse than the servants.

At the age of six, I was told to carry a large number of potatoes from the estate to the warehouse.

My sister used me as a target for her fire spells.”

Noel rolled up her sleeve to show the burn scars.

They were from protecting her face and head with her arms. Zeraphi’s fire spells were stronger than Noel’s barriers, but without the barriers, it would have been much worse.

Arnaud’s eyes showed pain.

Noel continued, unaware of his reaction.

“There are more burn scars on my back. I can’t see them well, but I was burned more often there than on my arms.

That’s how I became good at barriers. It’s my specialty.

That’s all it is.

I’m not an enchanter just because I can cast a slight barrier on an egg.

But either way, I don’t want the family to know. They’ll use it for their own purposes.

Even if I turn out to be an enchanter, if the family finds out, they’ll just exploit me.

If you tell the Vione family, I’ll run away to an orphanage.”

Noel spoke quickly.

Arnaud was deep in thought but had a general plan.

He wasn’t averse to separating this talented girl from a problematic family.

He needed to consider how much to tell her, but Noel was mature enough to handle it.

“Noel, as I mentioned, enchanters are rare worldwide.

Our country has never had an enchanter. There’s no record of one.

If enchanters can enhance weapons and armor, the knight corps’ strength increases. Therefore, enchanters are often monopolized by the state.

Some work independently, but the enchanted weapons and armor are expensive, so they are all wealthy.

They live in well-secured environments and rarely meet people.

So, there’s very little information about them in our country.

We will confirm if you are an enchanter. Until then, your situation will be kept secret.

Only the principal, myself, and the other examiner, Theo Michelle, know.

If you are confirmed to be an enchanter, we will need to report it, but I promise to discuss it with you first.”

“So, I can continue attending the academy until then?”

“Yes, I hope to fulfill your wish to graduate from the academy.

However, if it’s known that you are an enchanter, there’s a risk of kidnapping.

You need to be very careful to avoid that, or your school life will be difficult.

At least, I believe you are an enchanter.

Because the egg you enchanted still has your barrier, even a month after the exam.”

As he spoke, Arnaud took a small bag from his documents and then an egg from the bag.

The egg seemed to float slightly in his palm.

The egg was being levitated by Noel’s magic “box.”

Unbelievably, the barrier’s magic remained as long as Noel didn’t absorb it.

—No way...

Noel was flustered and nodded, even though she didn’t fully understand.

“I understand.”