The next morning...
I was on my way to the academy when something caught my attention.
A young man was crouching by the roadside, gently feeding and petting a stray cat.
...
That's unusual.
Judging from his appearance and refined clothing...
He looked like a high-ranking noble.
Yet there wasn't a single carriage accompanying him.
The cat purred happily beneath his hand.
...
I have to admit.
The cat is cute.
"Hm."
"Nya~"
A soft voice suddenly whispered beside my ear.
I turned around.
Shirohana.
...
Knew it.
"Did you decide to change your race?"
She giggled.
"Nah."
"I was just teasing you since you were staring at that cat."
She naturally fell into step beside me as if walking together every morning was the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Don't you have a carriage or something, Ojou-sama?"
She looked at me with an amused smile.
"So..."
"You want to ride with me?"
"Nah..."
"Ah... I didn't mean it like that."
"...Never mind."
She's definitely enjoying teasing me.
"By the way."
"My class is 1-A."
"What about yours?"
"Mine is also 1-A."
She smiled.
"You seem happy we're in the same class."
...
Like I'd be happy about sharing a classroom with the source of most of my current problems.
Still...
It does make observing her easier.
Understanding her motives.
That alone made it worthwhile.
We entered Classroom 1-A.
Most students were chatting with their friends.
Some quietly reviewed books.
Others simply sat in silence.
One thing was immediately obvious.
I was the only Common Class student here.
And...
Judging by the looks I was receiving...
Not exactly welcome.
...
The last row.
Second seat from the window.
It doesn't attract attention.
Perfect.
Just as I was about to sit down...
Shirohana calmly took the window seat and gestured for me to sit beside her.
...
This woman...
For some reason...
I actually sat down.
"...How did you know I was going to choose this seat?"
"Because..."
"It's the only seat in this classroom that doesn't stand out."
"Then why did you take the window seat?"
"That's my preference."
...
I sighed.
Somehow her answers always sounded reasonable...
Without actually explaining anything.
A boy walked into the classroom and sat in the seat directly in front of us.
...
The noble from earlier.
The one petting the cat.
Whispers immediately spread around the classroom.
"Hey... isn't that him?"
"Yeah."
"The one who got adopted by a high-ranking noble."
"I heard his real parents..."
"Shh."
"Don't talk about it."
...
That doesn't sound like an ordinary adoption.
Some incidents never become public.
Others are released in a version that's...
Convenient.
Though...
People naturally interpret events in whatever way benefits them.
Functional.
For whatever purpose they need.
The classroom door opened once more.
Marcus entered.
He looked around before noticing me.
His face brightened.
He walked over and took the seat directly behind mine.
"We meet again."
He immediately pulled out a sheet of paper.
"I improved it."
"It's much better for smaller-scale tasks now."
His nervousness disappeared the moment the topic became magic.
His eyes sparkled with excitement.
I examined the diagram.
...
Interesting.
A composite elemental formula.
Designed to clean cloth without leaving it wet afterward.
...
I wonder.
Could this principle be adapted for combat?
Just as we were about to discuss it further...
The classroom door opened.
Instructor Valerian Ashrune entered.
"We'll continue later."
Marcus nodded.
"Okay."
"Well then."
"As all of you unfortunately..."
"...or fortunately..."
"...already know..."
"I'm your homeroom teacher."
"Valerian Ashrune."
He lazily dropped himself into the teacher's chair.
...
Does he even have the motivation to teach?
He rested his cheek against one hand.
"Alright."
"We'll begin with the basics of magic and skills."
"I know most of you already understand this."
"But it's part of the curriculum."
"So don't roll your eyes."
"...Because I also want to close mine."
A few students chuckled.
Ashrune slowly stood up.
"Can anyone explain..."
"...what magic is?"
A noble student immediately raised his hand with a confident grin.
"Yes, sir."
Ashrune pointed toward him.
"Go ahead."
The student stood.
"Magic exists both within ourselves and throughout the environment."
"Skills are the methods we use to manipulate that magic."
"We use our internal mana to control the external mana around us."
"External mana itself has no known limit."
"However, the amount of internal mana determines how much external mana one can manipulate, as well as which elemental attributes they can use."
"The basic elements are Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth."
"Beyond those are combinations and derivative elements."
"There are also Special Skills, each requiring individual aptitude before they can be mastered."
He smiled proudly.
"And before anyone asks..."
"I raised my hand first because I used Prediction."
"I looked about two seconds into the future."
"Prediction isn't perfectly accurate."
"But with greater aptitude, both its accuracy and prediction time increase."
"That's all."
He sat back down.
Ashrune nodded.
"Correct."
He walked over to the blackboard and began writing.
"However..."
"There are two questions I'd like all of you to think about."
He wrote:
Why is it the way it is?
And beneath it:
If internal and external mana share the same structure, why can't we manipulate external mana directly?
Ashrune placed the chalk down.
"I don't have clear answers to either question."
"I'm still searching for them myself."
Marcus quietly raised his hand.
"Sir."
Ashrune nodded.
"Go ahead."
"Isn't there some force preventing us from controlling external mana directly?"
The classroom's attention shifted toward Marcus.
Ashrune smiled slightly.
"Yes."
"There is."
"We call that phenomenon 'Mana Force.'"
"But..."
"That's all we know."
"It's merely a concept."
"A placeholder used to explain why direct control isn't possible despite the identical structure."
"We still don't understand its true nature."
He folded his arms.
"For now..."
"Those questions aren't functionally necessary."
"So let's focus on what we can understand."
Marcus quietly nodded and sat back down.
Ring.
The classroom bell echoed through the building.
Ashrune stretched lazily.
"Class is over."
"Let's move to the training grounds."
The question Marcus had raised lingered in the back of my mind even after the class ended.
Perhaps because... it wasn't a meaningless question.
Even in my previous world, countless explanations existed that were functionally useful. They explained how to do something, yet rarely answered why the underlying principles existed in the first place.
This world was no different.
We understood mana.
We manipulated mana.
Yet no one could clearly explain the foundation beneath it all.
...
I should gather more information first.
There was no point trying to reach a conclusion with incomplete data.
Lost in thought, I followed everyone toward the practice grounds.
The practice field was a vast open arena covered with hardened stone tiles and surrounded by training dummies, weapon racks, and protective barriers. A gentle breeze swept across the grounds as the students naturally lined themselves into neat rows.
No one needed to be told.
Perhaps the atmosphere alone was enough.
Valerian Ashrune stood before us with his usual lazy posture, hands tucked into his pockets.
Then, with a small sigh, he straightened slightly.
"...Alright."
"Instead of calling attendance, each student will come attack me."
"You may use any physical technique or trick you want."
"But..."
"No magic."
A few students looked relieved.
Others looked excited.
Ashrune simply raised one hand.
"Student Number One."
The first student sprinted forward without hesitation.
He immediately swept low with a kick.
Ashrune lightly jumped over it.
The instant the student's hands touched the ground, he twisted his body and launched another kick upward toward Ashrune's blind spot while he was still airborne.
A clever follow-up.
Ashrune calmly pressed his foot against the incoming kick, using it as leverage to perform a backward flip.
The student mirrored him, flipping in the opposite direction before charging again.
A straight punch.
Ashrune merely redirected it with one hand.
The force completely threw the student off balance.
Before he could recover...
Thud.
Ashrune's kick struck cleanly.
The student flew backward and landed behind the line.
"...Next."
Throughout the entire exchange...
Ashrune never used his second hand.
Student after student challenged him.
Every one of them was defeated.
Every one of them was sent flying behind the line.
And throughout all of it...
Ashrune continued fighting with only one hand.
Normally...
Valerian Ashrune looked like someone who wanted to sleep forever.
But now...
His posture.
His eyes.
His movements.
Everything was razor sharp.
Not even a trace of laziness remained.
"Student Number Nine."
A confident voice answered immediately.
"Student Number Nine, Reinhardt Elthorn! Here I come!"
Reinhardt exploded forward.
Without slowing down, he slipped beneath Ashrune's guard and launched an upper kick.
For the first time...
Ashrune raised both hands.
Bang!
The impact pushed him back a small distance.
A faint smile appeared on Ashrune's face.
Interesting.
The two exchanged kicks at blinding speed, each canceling the other's attacks before they could fully develop.
Reinhardt threw a punch.
Ashrune lifted one arm to intercept.
Suddenly...
Reinhardt pulled the punch back halfway and transformed it into a knee strike instead.
Ashrune immediately used his second hand to block.
The exchange accelerated.
To ordinary students...
The fight had already become difficult to follow.
Not as fast as Shirohana or me.
But enough that they could probably hold their own against us... for a short while.
Both of them seemed to be enjoying themselves.
For completely different reasons.
Ashrune enjoyed teaching.
Reinhardt enjoyed fighting.
Ashrune blocked another knee strike.
Reinhardt immediately followed with a kick aimed directly at his face.
Ashrune lowered himself.
His body spun.
An upper kick shot toward Reinhardt's chin.
Reinhardt blocked.
Without stopping the rotation, Ashrune continued the momentum into another spinning kick.
Unable to adjust in time, Reinhardt took the second strike from the side.
He was thrown backward...
Yet landed perfectly on his feet.
Just as he prepared to rush forward again—
"Student Number Ten."
"...Tch."
Reinhardt looked around.
Only then did he realize...
He had already been forced behind the line.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he returned to his place.
The remaining students continued one after another.
Most barely lasted seconds.
Some managed a few exchanges.
Some landed gracefully after being thrown.
Others crashed onto their backs, completely open for a finishing blow.
"Student Number Fourteen."
Marcus stepped forward.
His defeat came almost instantly.
Even so...
The movement he attempted before losing...
...was surprisingly impressive.
With proper timing...
And enough speed...
It could become a dangerous technique.
"Student Number Seventeen."
Shirohana quietly stepped forward.
Ashrune still kept one hand behind his back.
She simply walked toward him.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Ashrune didn't move.
The instant she entered range—
Slash.
Her hand cut upward with incredible speed.
Ashrune's eyes widened.
He disappeared ten meters backward almost instantly, finally pulling out his second hand.
Behind him...
The reinforced barrier had been sliced cleanly in half.
A perfectly vertical line.
Silence spread across the field.
Shirohana hadn't even drawn a weapon.
Ashrune slowly smiled.
This time...
He attacked first.
He rushed toward her.
His fists blurred through the air.
Shirohana merely avoided every strike using a single hand.
She didn't even move her feet.
"...You're strong, aren't you?" Ashrune chuckled.
"Ara."
"If you already know that much..."
"Then why not admit defeat?"
Ashrune laughed.
"I'd honestly love to."
"I could go take a nap."
"But..."
"I'm standing in front of students, you know."
He lowered his stance.
Then—
He vanished.
Even Shirohana looked mildly surprised.
A punch appeared before her.
She tilted her head and avoided it.
A knife-hand strike came from the side.
She lowered herself.
Ashrune immediately spun into a rising kick.
For the first time...
Shirohana was forced to move her feet.
She stepped backward.
A faint seriousness entered her expression.
Ashrune smiled.
He launched another kick.
Shirohana slipped past it...
Caught his leg...
And with one smooth motion...
Threw him behind the line.
Ashrune landed perfectly upright.
"...Okay."
"Shirohana wins."
"Student Number Eighteen."
He dusted off his uniform as though nothing had happened before calmly returning to the center.
Shirohana quietly walked back to the line.
Several more students challenged him.
None succeeded.
"Student Number Twenty-One."
My turn.
I walked forward.
Ashrune once again hid one hand behind his back.
...He's underestimating me.
Fine.
I'll borrow Marcus' unfinished idea.
I threw a straight punch.
Just as Ashrune moved to redirect it—
I pulled it back.
A low kick followed.
He jumped.
Exactly as expected.
Using the momentum, I planted one hand on the ground, rotated behind him, and fired a back kick.
This time...
Ashrune finally used both hands.
He caught the kick.
Using the impact, he flipped over me.
Already expecting that, I balanced on one arm and launched another kick upward toward the center of his body.
Ashrune crossed both arms to defend.
The force pushed him backward several steps.
I can't just win.
I need to demonstrate enough skill that the students accept my position as president.
...
Still...
Some of them are looking down on me.
Hmm.
Perhaps...
Shirohana had already set the standard.
Now everyone was comparing me to her.
And on top of that...
My social class wasn't helping.
Then...
I'll aim somewhere close to her level.
Not equal.
Just enough.
I gradually increased my speed.
Ashrune matched it.
Our attacks collided continuously, each canceling the other before either could gain an advantage.
A small smile appeared on Ashrune's face.
"...You're acting even more fox-like than your 'wife.'"
...
...
...
That single sentence completely threw off my rhythm.
My next strike carried slightly more force than intended.
Ashrune slid backward.
He laughed.
"So that got under your skin."
Before I could respond—
He suddenly closed the distance.
Too close.
Pure instinct took over.
I pivoted...
Grabbed the opening...
And kicked him cleanly behind the line.
Ashrune landed without losing his balance.
Making me...
The second student after Shirohana to push him back that far.
As I turned to return...
Ashrune placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Didn't I tell you?"
"Power comes in many forms."
...
Right.
Message received.
Whether this attracted attention in a good way or a bad one...
Only time would tell.
A grin appeared on Reinhardt Elthorn's face.
"...You're my next target."