Chapter 2 - Genos Magic Academy

POV: Yonekura Miyuki.

Well, then.

I’ll continue explaining for now.

In the Republic, every town in the country has a magician’s guild, which is a support organization for mages, and a magician’s academy, which trains mages.

That is also the case with the port city of Genos which I control.

It’s the largest academy in the entire Republic, and it’s autonomous.

Well, even though we’re self-governing, we’re still a weak, developing nation, so there’s a limit to how much tax we can collect.

I don’t have a lot of money because of the principle that each town has to manage its own money and develop its own town.

Even so, it is up to each town to manage the school with the goal of nurturing future generations.

That’s why the Magic Academy is a kind of holy place for those who are trying to master magic.

The best mages from all over the Republic come here to teach.

It’s a mix of all kinds of magic and magical technology.

I’ve accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience.

There are many guilds of mages that have been established all over the continent, but the mages who graduated from the various schools gradually expanded their bases of operations and spread from the Republic to other cities.

The academies train the mages.

Some of the mages who grew up belonged to the mage guild, which protected refugees from other countries and gathered them in the Republic.

And the mages who came together grew up in the school.

They then grow and go back to their countries to recruit refugee mages.

Through this repetition, the Republic is expanding its power and protecting mages who have nowhere else to go.

Of course, not all mages belong to the magician’s guild.

There’s no rule that says you have to do this after you graduate from the school, so it’s up to you to decide what kind of life you want to lead.

But in most cases, there are four options.

The first is to join a mage’s guild and expand your base outside the country.

They’re like mercenaries, helping to keep the country safe.

The second is to join an adventurer’s guild, where you can take on various requests and procure supplies from other countries,

Some people work as what you might call “do-it-yourselfers,” exploring undeveloped areas of the country.

Hm?

What’s the difference between the Mages’ Guild and the Adventurers’ Guild?

Well～.

The difference between the two guilds is that one is state-run and the other is a private company.

The Mage’s Guild is run by the Republic, and its purpose is to help the country grow.

Basically, it trains and protects mages.

The teachers at each school also belong to the Mage Guild.

To put it simply, they are civil servants.

The Adventurer’s Guild, however, is privately run, and its purpose is to solve personal requests and missions.

It’s like procuring supplies or fighting off bandits.

That’s why some people are called jack-of-all-traders,

But since it’s not run by the government, I think they have a lot of freedom.

It’s because you get to choose what you want to do instead of being told what to do by your superiors.

It’s hard to say which is better,

But I’m sure both are necessary organizations.

Then, the third option is to join the Republic’s military.

This is a completely national organization.

Even though it’s unofficial.

Unlike the Mages Guild, which operates freely at home and abroad,

The military’s scope of activity is completely limited to within the country.

Well, that’s because if we were to go out of the country, it would be considered an invasion and we would be attacked.

It’s a unit that we keep for our national security.

While I’m at it, let me explain,

The Republic’s military is divided into three main organizations.

The army, the navy, and the border guards.

Basically, the Army is the domestic security force,

We’re deporting agents from other towns and working to improve the security of each town.

The navy is responsible for defending the surrounding waters, protecting refugees from other countries,

They’re fighting off pirates and helping with the fishing industry.

And it’s probably the Border Patrol that is in charge of the most dangerous areas.

This is an independent organization, not part of the army or the navy.

It’s also the Republic’s front-line unit, authorized to act on its own initiative in the event of a crisis.

It’s the first unit to be hit by an attack from another country, so it’s the most dangerous.

That’s why it has made a name for itself in the surrounding countries as an elit unit specializing in combat.

These three militaries are the military power of the Republic.

In case you’re wondering, the official word is that all together it’s going to be a massive force of over 200,000.

It’s just that if we actually want to mobilize the entire force,

I’m sure that financial problems will cause the domestic business to decline, though.

We haven’t had any major battles so far, so there’s no need to mobilize all the troops in the future… or so I think.

Or should I say, I hope it doesn’t happen?

No one knows when, where or what will happen, though.

I’ll leave those concerns aside for the moment.

Your last option is to join a medical organization called the Red Cross Magic Doctors.

Mages tend to specialize in combat.

However, they have also developed their own healing arts.

That’s why there are many mages who work as healers in hospitals and institutions around the country in collaboration with ordinary doctors and pharmacists.

And that’s about it.

The Mages’ Guild, the Adventurers’ Guild, the military, and the Doctors’ Guild.

These four organizations are probably the main places for mages to work.

Of course, there are those who don’t belong to any of these organizations and work freely as individuals, and there are those who work ordinary jobs.

But that’s a small percentage.

Most of the mages belong to one of the four organizations.

As the organizations grow in size.

The Republic has also grown in size.

So I guess you could say that the existence of the Magic Academy is an indispensable part of the Republic.

…Well, I think I’ve gone off on a tangent.

The important thing is that many students have enrolled in the Magic Academy in the port town of Genos, which I rule, this year.

The season is spring, when the petals of cherry blossoms are flying.

The date is April 1st.

As for the day of the week, it’s Sunday, so it’s a holiday in general.

But it has nothing to do with the school.

The school is a boarding school and there are so many students that we can’t shut down the facilities and functions of the school.

So we don’t really have any holidays.

Maybe at the end of the month?

On the last day of every month, all operations are shut down for inspection and maintenance of the various facilities.

As expected, that’s the only day I’ll be completely off.

But other than that, the school is always in operation regardless of the day of the week.

This year, more than a thousand new students are gathering at Genos Magic Academy for the entrance ceremony.

In case you’re wondering, that’s where I am, too.

This is a ceremony hall used only for various ceremonies.

It’s a large hall that can hold up to 5,000 people.

But today, it’s open for the entrance ceremony.

Not only the new students, but also the parents and teachers of the school will be there.

Of course, it’s the freshmen who are getting the most attention in all of this.

Some of the boys are still very young, and some of the girls are a little more mature.

There’s a young man with a strong body,

There are women who are nervous and uncomfortable, and I think there’s a wide variety of girls in the hall.

If you only look at the miscellaneous atmosphere, it seems that the new students do not have any sense of unity.

This is a natural result.

The Magic Academy is just a little bit different from normal educational institutions.

Unlike most educational institutions where students are classified by age

The only thing that matters is whether you’re a mage or not.

So while there is a minimum age requirement,

Anyone can enter the academy by taking a simple exam.

In particular, the entrance requirements for the Genos Magic Academy, which I run, are very simple.

First, ‘You must be a gifted mage’.

There is no problem as long as you have magic power.

Second, ‘You must be at least 15 years old and no older than 20.’

In other words, you must have completed your compulsory education.

I mean until they come of age.

That’s all.

So, although there is an entrance exam, you will not be denied admission to the school based on your score.

In conclusion, you can get in with a perfect score or a zero.

So, what is the test for? Well, I guess you could say that the entrance exam is just a measure to see how good the new students are.

That’s why there are variations in age and ability.

It’s also natural that there will be differences in appearance.

You are free to enter, you are free to leave.

And you can choose your classes.

You can hone your fighting skills,

You can study as a doctor,

Or work as a researched to advance the field of magic,

It’s all up to you.

It’s just that graduation is suitably challenging.

However, the graduation exam itself can be taken whenever you want.

In that sense, you will have a great deal of freedom at the school.

The only restriction I can think of is the age of the students.

The maximum age you can be enrolled in the school is 22 years old.

This simply means that you have to make your own decisions in life.

The Republic is not a wealthy country where you can be an adult student forever.

You need to work and pay your taxes.

The school is a state-run institution, after all.

We need you to follow the government’s policies.

So if you don’t graduate by the age of 22, you’ll be forced to drop out.

It seems that many of these students don’t join any organizations and end up working ordinary jobs.

Well, since their talent as mages is so low that they can’t graduate, it can’t be helped that it’s difficult for them to join big organizations.

However, it seems that some of them go astray and end up committing crimes.

Those kids are usually captured by the army security forces and sent to settle the underdeveloped areas as forced labor.

Well, such children are very few and far between.

However, as a matter of fact, there are a number of children who fail to graduate every year.

Even so, the Magic Academy of Genos recruits a lot of students with the aim of cultivating as many mages as possible, so the number of applicants for admission is quite large every year.

It’s not uncommon for the number of applicants to exceed a thousand, like this year.

…I wonder if this year has gotten less applicants.

On average, there are about 2000 people every year.

And something we get more than 3000.

That’s why the biggest disadvantage of the school is that the entrance fee is much higher than other schools in order to maintain the school’s facilities.

Basically, anyone who has the qualifications to be a mage can enter the school easily.

If you have the money, that is.

The freedom of admission is one of the characteristics of this school.

To put it another way.

One of the factors that make Genos Magic Academy different from other educational institutions is the graduation exam.

As Genos Magic Academy allows free admission, it also allows a lot of freedom when it comes to graduation.

Of course, in the history of the school, no one has ever achieved such a ‘feat’ that could negate the very existence of the school.

You can take the graduation exam on the day of the entrance ceremony.

The content of the graduation exam is also explained at the entrance ceremony.

For those who are planning to study as a magician, it’s impossible to pass the exam no matter what.

Everyone has the right to take the final exam.

You can take it as many times as you want.

In reality, it’s a final goal that takes years of hard work and growth to reach.

Normally, it takes several years to hone one’s skills as a mage, and then it is adjusted so that one can steadily work towards graduation.

However, the reason why the school allows students to challenge the graduation exam from the day of the entrance ceremony is to prevent them from overconfident in their own abilities and running wild.

It’s also a way to teach those who are overconfident in their own abilities and can’t see what’s going on around them how to be a frog in a well.

It has two meanings: it teaches them how to be a frog in a well, and it also teaches them how difficult it is to graduate from the school.

In a nutshell, it means “don’t get carried away”.

Of course, there are children who fail the exams even if they make a real effort, so it also means that they should try harder.

I try to make the exams so that students can graduate if they work hard and figure out where they want to go.

That’s why I’d rather see students who graduate than those who don’t.

That’s why we have more students who graduate than those who don’t.

Well, that’s how it is at Genos Magic Academy, which has various philosophies.

Since the entrance ceremony will be held this year as well, I, as the representative of the Republic, am scheduled to attend the ceremony and address the students as the Governor and Chancellor.

Well, well.

I wonder what kind of children have gathered this year?

I don’t know if I should say this myself, but I thoroughly enjoy these festivities.

This is the second time for me to give a speech at the entrance ceremony this year, so I was taking it easy.

However, last year’s freshmen were not so good.

I’m hoping for the best this year.

Last year we had a record number of 3,800 freshmen, but unfortunately none of them were of any interest to me in terms of ability.

No matter how many there are, if the quality is poor, it’s meaningless for the school.

Well, we’re still lucky that we didn’t end up with too few and too poor quality.

Anyway, how is it going to be this year?

We have a low record of number of applicants, 1024.

I’m looking forward to seeing how many of them will be able to graduate.

But first, we’re about to start the ceremony.

Curious, I look around the hall where a thousand new students are gathered.

There’s no one in particular I’m interested in at this point.

The nervousness of the new students seems very cute.

They’re all quiet at first.

Once they get used to life at school, they’ll probably forget about the tension they’re feeling right now….

But you know.

That’s why they call this kind of thing primitive, don’t you think?

The scene in front of you now is a scene you can only see now.

Personally, this is only my second time, so I can’t help but think about it, but the same thing happens every year at the school.

If that’s the case, I wonder if there will come a day when we take this sight for granted.

I’m sure the people watching will get used to it.

Many of the teachers who represent them are in attendance, but what do the others think?

At first it was adorable, I wonder if they’re thinking about how much they’re going to hate them eventually?

I don’t know if that’s actually true, but I’m sure there are conversations like that in the staff room.

Well, as a manager and not a teacher, I rarely go to the staff room and talk to the teachers.

I think it’s a question I’d like to ask at least once.

Well, I wouldn’t ask such a question in this situation, as it would be inappropriate.

Anyway, while I’m waiting for the entrance ceremony to start, I’ll try to sneak a look at my surroundings while holding back a sigh.

And just as I was about to check the time, I heard a small click and the hands of the clock read 9:00 a.m.

Finally, the entrance ceremony is about to take place.