Chapter 9: Growth
Time flew by; it has been five years since Rio was admitted to the Royal Institute.
Ever since the time Rio transferred in, he continued to face opposition which continued until now.
They said that, his outstanding academic scores were a fraud.
They said that, he extorted money from his juniors.
With the exception of the claim about the Contract Ceremony, all the other claims were baseless rumours without any evidence.
Rio did not understand why they chose to do so but it was a trivial matter for him.
The person himself had no intentions of doing anything about it.
While many of the young noble students chose liberal arts as their electives, Rio preferred electives that could satisfy his intellectual curiosity.
“Okay, let’s begin with the introduction of magic theory. As many of you already know, I will be in charge of this class for the year. Frankly because you’ve had limited exposure to magic theory up until now, many students may find the contents of this class to be challenging, but since you’re all here it must mean that you’re interested in this topic.”
Seria was in charge of the overview of magic theory class which was one of the electives Rio chose.
The elective was unpopular among the students due to magic theory being impractical and insignificant. The only reason why some students selected the elective was because a genius was in charge of the lectures.
There were 30 students in the class including Rio.
“Yes. It’s a technique used to interfere with the laws of nature and create various phenomena.”
Christina answered in a plain tone.
“Ooh, to already start with such a great answer. As expected of Her Highness the Princess.”
Hearing Seria’s praise, the surrounding students sent Christina respectful glances with expressions as if to say “as expected of Christina”.
“Magic can be defined from various viewpoints. What Princess Christina just said is the definition focusing on the nature and essence of magic. Magic is a technique used to interfere with the laws of nature and create various phenomena. This definition is from the book written by renowned magician Zera-sama.”
The students displayed interest at Seria’s words.
“Now there’s also another commonly accepted definition focusing on the invocation of magic. I wonder if everybody knows about the process of invoking magic. Let’s see, Scott?”
Called by Seria, the student by the name of Scott confidently stood up.
“Yes. Magic is invoked by reciting the incantation learned during the Contract Ceremony.”
Being chosen, Roana stood up from her seat.
“Yes. The process is divided into several major steps: creating a mental image of the magic spell, releasing magical power, and chanting the incantation. These three steps provide the basis of the invocation process.”
Roana answered without hesitation.
“As expected of Roana-san. As you said, there are 3 steps in invoking magic. However, there is one important concept supporting the 3. Do you know what it is?”
“That is… I don’t know.”
Not knowing the answer, she displayed a regretful expression and pouted her lips.
“I see, then how about you Rio?”
“Correct. As expected.”
The subtle sounds of students clicking their tongues could be heard in the class.
They were unable to stomach that fact.
To control it, it is also necessary to know the class of magic. Why do you think there are magic spells that cannot be contracted by people? Control of magical power is closely related to that.”
The students in the class were keenly listening to Seria’s explanation.
“Sensei!”
Raising his hand along with shouting in a loud voice, a boy broke the silence in the classroom.
“Yes, Stead.”
Seria turned her attention towards the student named Stead who raised his hand.
“In other words, the ones who aren’t able to complete the Contract Ceremony have poor control over their magical power right?”
Stead looked at Rio and displayed a mocking smile.
Rio ignored them and with a calm expression, continued focusing on the front of the class.
“Forgive me. I will be careful. Thank you for telling me.”
Even though he was rebuked by Seria, Stead sat down with a satisfied look.
“Alright, let us resume the lecture. In the first place…”
After that, Seria’s lecture progressed smoothly without any problems and lecture ended in a flash.
“As expected of Seria-sensei! It is worthy for a genius like yourself to have your name go down in the Royal Institute’s history. I’m greatly impressed by your deep insight.”
When the lesson ended, Stead approached Seria and began complimenting her.
During that time, Rio quickly finished packing his bag and prepared to leave class.
“Ah, Rio.”
Noticing him, Seria called out to him.
“Oi, commoner. Even though you can’t use magic, why are you taking this lecture when the only skills you possess are mere lip service and cheap tricks? You’re a despicable bastard who endangers the chastity of the women and girls in this class.”
However, someone’s voice rebutted Stead’s words.
“What do you mean?”
“N? Ha, haha, what the hell did you say? I’m saying from now on don’t come to this lecture anymore, you.”
Shi~n, the classroom became dead silent.
In the midst of that, Christina was acting as if the situation had nothing to do with her, Flora was nervously fidgeting, and Roana was pouting; they had all heard Rio’s conversation.
“I heard that you’ve been deceiving and harming the girls. You’re an existence that cannot be overlooked.”
Social status, lineage, prestige, wealth.
Since birth, noble girls were obligated to search for a suitable marriage partner.
But, around the age of twelve, it was the age when girls started developing interests in the opposite sex.
Even noble girls were not exempt from that fact.
Rio still possessed a boyish innocence, yet his androgynous1 appearance became more refined over the years.
As a result, the noble girls often made advances on Rio because it gave them the feeling of playing with fire.
Jealousy ignited in the other male students and they began spreading baseless rumours about Rio.
Convinced the things he heard were true, Stead accused Rio of perpetrating the contents of the rumours.
Even if they were just rumours, Rio found it disgusting.
“Hey. Stead, you’re a noble, so don’t accuse someone without any evidence.”
Having watched the scene unfold, Seria intervened.
“But…”
With the appearance of Seria, Stead held back what he wanted to say.
“Even if Rio is that sort of person, as a lecturer and as long as I still draw breath, I shall not allow that sort of behaviour in the classroom.”
She clearly stated.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After saying that, Rio bowed to Seria and left the classroom.
After school, Rio arrived at Seria’s laboratory room.
“Seriously, they’re detestable as usual.”
By the way, it was Rio who brewed the tea.
“I highly doubt it. Their house would never allow it even if I associated with them.”
Rio kept his calm judgement to the bitter end.
For anyone his age, the interest in the opposite sex could not be quelled so easily.
However she did not know of such a person.
As for Seria herself, she felt that he was feigning ignorance from the talk just now.
Whenever she saw him, he was alone.
Whenever she saw him, Seria would always call out to him. In her mind, she saw herself as close friends with Rio.
Seria had already discarded such an outrageous possibility.
(Or maybe he’s just ignorant. There’s plenty of evidence pointing to this. I can’t see any other possibilities.)
When Seria’s eyes moved towards the front, she saw Rio elegantly drinking tea with the refined movements of an educated noble.
“Ah that’s right. I’ll being staying in the Kingdom for now but, I’ll be going on a journey in the not too distant future.”
Certainly she never expected him to leave the Kingdom.
“…Ne~, why don’t you work as my assistant in my lab? I can’t survive without you anymore.”
Seria said that while surveying the room.
Initially, Rio found the mess in Seria’s laboratory room intolerable.
As a result, Seria was astonished at Rio’s housekeeping skills.
“I think Seria-sensei is free to decide when to marry, isn’t that okay…? Since… you’re already at a marriageable age.”4
Though Rio thought otherwise, it was common knowledge that the marriageable age for nobles were in the second half of their teens.
However, Seria was an exceptional woman with both social status and remarkable achievements. Even if her age were to exceed twenty years old, it would not be difficult for her to find a marriage partner.
“Aah—! I might get left behind! Oh dear, I wonder what the men of this Kingdom will think when a woman exceeds 20…”
But it seemed like Seria was quite worried about her age and marriage potential.
“Well, personally I think the marriage age for noble women is too young. Seria-sensei is 17 years old forever5.”
He already knew Seria’s preferences.
After associating with her for many years, he knew Seria was very particular about her black tea. Rio could boast his tea brewing skills were on par with a butler.
“Hee~. That’s impossible for me. I can’t walk that much. It’s already such a pain to walk from here to the school building.”
Seria fell limp on her desk; she grew tired from just thinking about it.
Other than for lectures, Seria rarely ever left her laboratory room.
Hearing the typical lines of a hikikomori7, Rio smiled wryly and offered Seria the finished black tea brewed to her preferences.
1. Gender neutral appearance
3. Implying he’s gay if you’re slow on the uptake
5. Reference to a VA in Japan who is referred to by her fans as 17 years + xx months (actually 30+)
7. Shut in