Chapter 55

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After finishing my conversation with Director Tailsmya, I decided to have lunch a bit early since it was an odd time to borrow the training grounds.

When I arrived at the cafeteria, there were still few people around. I sat at my usual seat, and a waiter came to me right away.

After placing my order, three students approached me, just as the waiter was leaving.

They stopped in front of us and, like the students in the morning, bowed their heads.

When I lowered my barrier,

"Thank you so much for helping me yesterday!"

he said, looking straight at me.

Who is he?

His cheerful smile made him look like a sportsman.

I don't have any acquaintances who are this cheerful.

"Darie?"

"I'm the one you helped yesterday."

"Hmm?"

"You treated my burns, fractures, curses, and poison."

"Oh! The last severe injury! (Oh! The last severe injury!)"

"Ah, yes, that's right! Thank you so much for yesterday!"

"Thank you!"

The two students behind him also bowed in unison.

After saying their thanks, they left.

To be honest, their excessive cheerfulness made me feel a bit dizzy.

It's not that Arlshein and the others aren't cheerful, but there's something different about them, not in their appearance but in the shine in their eyes.

"Cheerful, huh?"

"Yeah, those three, they seem to breathe a different kind of air, don't they?"

"Indeed, they seem to have lived seeing only beautiful things."

I could sense a hint of envy and sarcasm in Diegree and Yugram's comments.

"But they're all excellent, right?"

In response to Arlshein's follow-up,

"Yeah, yeah, he's from a viscount's family, has a blue magic rating, and is in Class A, which is quite rare, so there were rumors about him."

"If you're going to say that, you, a commoner in Class S, were even more talked about!"

"Ahahaha, when I was in the Junior Academy, I was often accused of using back doors and being arrogant!"

"But you always fought back!"

"Ooh, Diegree is cool! (Ooh! Diegree is cool!)"

"Ahahaha, not really, sometimes I went too far and got scolded by the teachers!"

Diegree's mischievous stories came out.

But now he seems to have settled down.

After finishing our meal, we were drinking tea and discussing our afternoon plans when,

Clang Clang Clang

the bell rang, even though it wasn't class time. As we wondered why, words appeared on the white wall above the cafeteria's serving counter.

The message said that an emergency assembly was being held, and we were to gather in the auditorium in the afternoon.

Since our afternoon plans were set, we decided to move early and left the cafeteria. On our way out, we passed by the two-timing girls.

As usual, they were holding the arms of Cavendish and the Student Council President, chatting happily with their entourage.

They acted as if nothing had happened yesterday.

The gazes of the young ladies on the two-timing girls were much colder than before, but they didn't seem to care at all.

After learning that the two-timing girl was a former Holy Maiden, Yugram and Diegree's gazes were also very cold.

Thanks to the barrier, they didn't notice us as we passed by.

The auditorium was still sparsely populated, but I spotted Shu among the few people there.

He noticed us and, after saying something to his friend, came over.

"Prince Arlshein, Keta, I heard you did great yesterday!"

"No, not really. Keta was the one who did great."

Feeling praised, I puffed out my chest, but then he messed up my hair while laughing.

"How about you?"

The students in the Knight Class were apparently doing drills in a dungeon near the capital, a den of monsters.

For safety, real knights were also dispatched from the castle.

"Ah, over here..."

"What happened? Is there a problem?"

"Not really a problem, but with the innovative new technology, the knights were so enthusiastic that they almost wiped out the monsters, and there was a bit of a conflict with the academy."

Everyone rolled their eyes at Shu's weak laugh.

The auditorium, now filled with people, fell silent as the principal stepped onto the stage.

"Everyone, today's emergency assembly is about your actions during yesterday's drill when the monsters appeared.

While our academy prides itself on being a prestigious institution, I was deeply disappointed by your actions yesterday.

Most of the students, except those who went to the forest, fled without even showing any resistance to the monsters.

I want you to reconsider the purpose of the drills.

If anyone takes such an unsatisfactory action again, I will use my authority as the principal to expel them.

Due to yesterday's drill, several groups have fallen out. Some classes held discussions in the morning, but some couldn't reach a conclusion. Classes that do not wish to change groups can disband now, but those that do wish to change and have not yet formed new groups should remain in the auditorium and reorganize, regardless of year or gender, considering only the drill location.

Your grades will naturally drop, but if you can't form a group, you will go to the drill alone.

I cannot guarantee your safety if you cannot act as a group. That's all. Classes that do not wish to change groups can now disband."

No one spoke, intimidated by the principal's stern words and even sterner gaze. Since no one in our class wanted to change groups, we left the auditorium early.

"The principal was strict, huh?"

"I heard that due to the drill, monsters chased the fleeing students and attacked the townspeople, and merchants' goods were damaged when students fled from the grassland to the town."

"Really? It seems everyone just fled without fighting. Normally, if they fought and still couldn't win, they would return to the base and report."

"It seems they just fled without reporting."

"At least if they had reported, they could have asked for help from adventurers, even temporarily."

"True, the damage could have been minimized."

"But, isn't it a bit strange? For first-year students, it's understandable to panic and flee during their first drill, but second and third-year students also fled without doing anything."

"That does sound strange. Did they receive some kind of mental attack?"

"Even if they did, the range is too wide."

"Yeah, and it's strange that only the academy students panicked and fled."

The more we talked, the deeper the mystery became.

Putting aside the unresolved discussion, the serious ones among us decided to train today.

Since our usual outdoor training ground can't be used due to the rain, we got permission from the staff room and headed to the indoor training ground.

It's smaller than the outdoor one but is about the size of four gymnasiums from my previous life.

To avoid disturbing the students already training, we moved to a corner. Arlshein and Diegree started sparring with magic swords, and Yugram, holding a metal pipe-like rod, shot down the targets thrown by Shell.

As for me, I had nothing to do, so I just watched the training.

Someone tried to capture me from behind, but, of course, my invisible barrier blocked them, and they failed.

When I turned around, it was the teacher who treated the injured at the forest base yesterday.

"What's up?"

I was a bit surprised, so my eyes half-closed.

"Sorry, I just wanted to surprise you! It's the old man's playful side! Anyway, I have a favor to ask. Can you teach me that amazing healing magic from yesterday? Please!"

The teacher, who calls himself an old man, looks to be in his early 30s.

He's younger than me from my previous life, but maybe he feels old surrounded by young people?

"Teach? What do you mean?"

"Like the magic that doesn't cause magic repulsion, or the one that detoxifies multiple people at once, and so on, from yesterday."

"Magic repulsion is because I'm a fairy, and detoxification is because I put the detoxification magic inside the barrier."

"Calling it a race is cheating, right? And using both detoxification and barrier magic at the same time is impossible, right?"

"?"

"Can you use two magics simultaneously?"

He looked at me with a very skeptical eye.

Even though I used it several times in front of him yesterday, did he not see it?

Since he doesn't seem to believe me no matter what I say, I showed him fire magic in my right hand and water magic in my left.

"Huh? Are you serious? You're really using two magics at once? No way!"

He couldn't believe what was happening right in front of him.

When I waved my hands to dispel the magic, the teacher looked very dejected and slumped his shoulders.

"Oh, so what Mr. Tailsmya said was true. This is something only you can do! I thought there might be some secret technique, but I was too naive."

"But, can't you do it with practice?"

"No, no, no! Even the elite of the Magic Bureau can't do two magics at once!"

I pointed silently at Arlshein and the others.

Arlshein and the others, of course, usually have barriers up and use magic swords.

The teacher stared in disbelief.

"Hey, they're using multiple magics at once, aren't they?"

"They are."

"Can you really do it with practice?"

"Sure."

"Alright, I can't lose to the students! I'll do it! I'll do it!"

The suddenly enthusiastic teacher ran off somewhere.

The afternoon was spent learning that overly energetic old men are twice as annoying as young people.

After that, I received thanks from several students I helped yesterday, was surrounded by students interested in Arlshein's magic swords, played with the black cat, and took a nap.

After waking up, there was still time left. It was around 3:00 PM.

Time for a snack!

I asked Shell, who was free at the moment,

"Shell, I want flour."

After thinking for a moment, Shell gave me the flour with a big smile.

This flour was brought from the castle and was freshly milled.

I prepared a barrier bowl and cracked the eggs from the magic bag, which contained a large number of eggs. Since my small hands couldn't separate the yolks from the whites, I used wind magic to crack the top of the eggs, cleaned my hands, and took out the yolks directly.

After separating the yolks and whites, I used wind magic to whip the whites.

Whipping with wind magic is difficult to control, but it's very quick and easy.

When the whites were about eight-tenths whipped, I gradually added sugar.

The fluffy meringue was complete.

I mixed the yolks until the color changed.

I gave Shell a wooden spoon, about the size of a ladle, which was in the magic bag, and asked her to add milk and mix.

I mixed the flour into the bowl with the yolks.

Finally, I mixed the two bowls together a little at a time and asked Shell to drop the batter onto a flat iron pan barrier, which I had coated with butter and heated from below with fire magic.

It's frustrating that I have to ask her to do everything!

I covered the flat iron pan barrier with a lid barrier and waited for the batter to rise over a low fire.

Shell, who had been watching, was excited to see the batter gradually rise.

Oh, I don't have a spatula to flip the pancakes! I couldn't find one in the magic bag, so I asked Shell,

"Shell, I need a spatula."

"A spatula?"

"To flip this."

Pointing at the flat iron pan barrier,

"Ah, I see... Can you use this?"

It was a spatula used for okonomiyaki, with almost the same shape and a wooden handle.

It was a bit big for my hands, but I could manage.

After receiving it from Shell, I quickly flipped the edge of the pancake.

The perfect browning!

I flipped the pancakes one by one and covered them again.

Seeing the batter rise even more, Shell's eyes sparkled.

There's no spatula to flip it with! I searched the magic bag but couldn't find one, so I asked Shell,

"Shell, I need a spatula."

"A spatula?"

"To flip this."

Pointing at the flat iron pan barrier,

"Ah, I see... Can you use this?"

It was a spatula used for okonomiyaki, with almost the same shape and a wooden handle.

It was a bit big for my hands, but I could manage.

After receiving it from Shell, I quickly flipped the edge of the pancake.

The perfect browning!

I flipped the pancakes one by one and covered them again.

Seeing the batter rise even more, Shell's eyes sparkled.

When the pancakes were fully risen, I turned off the fire magic, but it wasn't done yet!

I waited a bit for the rise to settle with the residual heat.

Shell was standing by with a plate.

The hotcakes, placed on the plate, trembled softly and were over 3 cm thick.

After adding butter and honey, they were ready!

Everyone had gathered without me noticing and said "Itadakimasu" together.

Despite using only estimates, the hotcakes turned out well.

Looking at everyone, they were all trembling.

I had made three hotcakes per person, but only mine was left.

Was it too fast?

Maybe because they only eat hard, crispy snacks, the fluffy hotcakes were treated like a drink.

Everyone looked at the plates with longing.

Since there was no choice, I divided the two remaining hotcakes into halves and gave them to everyone, who ate them very carefully.

It seemed they enjoyed them, which made me happy.

After that, we returned to training, and I played with the black cat.