Volume 1: Enrollment at Magias Academy of Magical Arts
Chapter 5: My Nose Bleeds When I See Something Lewd
“Please attend the entrance ceremony alone.”
That was the instruction Magias had given its incoming students.
Aunt Coffey apparently knew about it beforehand, so she gave me only a brief farewell at the front door.
The brand-new robe I wore bore the academy crest of two dragons, the symbol of this country. Apparently, the Grand Magical Emperor Faculty was one of the few institutions permitted to use the dragon emblem outside the national flag.
A Magias uniform was already famous in its own right, but the Emperor Faculty’s robe attracted even more attention. People stared at me on my way to school and even after I entered the campus.
I’d heard that only seven people, including me, had passed into the faculty.
Thinking about it filled me with a fair amount of confidence.
But I’d only reached the starting line.
Even someone as ignorant of the world as me understood what it meant to carry the national emblem on my back.
“The Emperor Faculty receives missions from the government every now and then, but the ones that nearly get you killed are rare, so don’t worry.”
Aunt Coffey had said that with a laugh, but there was nothing funny about it. Even accounting for that, however, what the academy offered was extremely attractive to me.
Now that I’d decided to move forward, I had to be prepared—
“Oh, it’s you.”
It was the third time I’d heard that voice, so I finally remembered it.
A girl had appeared beside me without my noticing.
I’d spoken to almost no one on the day of the entrance exam, but I properly remembered her name.
The droopy-eyed girl with short, dark-blue hair.
Amae Vandenberg.
Her petite, slender body was wrapped in a dragon-crested robe identical to mine.
“You passed?”
“Y-Yeah…”
I still wasn’t accustomed to talking with girls my age, so even that simple reply came out awkwardly. Amae muttered, “Huh,” with an unreadable expression, then began walking beside me as though nothing had happened.
“And we’re in the same faculty.”
“Thank you for helping me back then. You saved me.”
“You’re welcome. Though you were probably the only person there who didn’t know what that instrument was.”
She was probably right.
That made me all the more grateful that she’d answered seriously. It wouldn’t have been strange if she’d simply ignored me.
“I’m glad you passed, though. I’m Amae. Um, and you are…?”
“Brendan.”
“Brendan, I never saw you at an intermediate magical institute. Where are you from?”
“The Decol region.”
“That’s a long trip. Where are you living now?”
“I’m staying with my aunt in the western district.”
“I see. The royal capital’s enormous, so it’s easy to get lost. When I first came here, I also—”
At that moment, an unnaturally powerful gust blew past.
Perhaps it was related to the rain that had continued until this morning.
What followed looked like something out of an old comic. Amae’s robe, which had completely covered her body, billowed upward like an upside-down rain doll. The wind lifted her skirt beneath it as well.
“Ugh… Oh…!”
Her voice clearly conveyed her confusion and panic.
Realizing this was bad, I reflexively turned my face away as soon as I saw her thighs.
“A-Are you all right?”
“…Did you see?”
“Sorry. A little.”
“…Oh…”
Amae fixed the bangs the wind had disturbed, then brushed the dust from her clothes with an expression suggesting she wasn’t especially bothered.
“Well… that was… It’s fine. No, it isn’t fine, but—”
Halfway through speaking, Amae froze.
It happened just as she turned her gaze to my face.
“What? What’s wrong?”
She was asking about something unusual happening to me.
My nose was bleeding.
“What happened? Did you hit something?”
“No.”
I shook my head and answered.
“I saw something lewd, so my nose started bleeding.”
“You saw something lewd, so your nose started bleeding???”
Amae repeated the words as though confronted with something beyond belief.
“My nose bleeds whenever I see something lewd.”
“Why???”
She could ask why, but it was a physiological reaction. There was nothing I could do about it.
Apparently, people in this world didn’t get nosebleeds after seeing lewd things. Maybe some remnant of my previous life had caused me alone to be born with this condition.
“It won’t stop for a while… Ha-ha… What a problem.”
“That’s terrifying…”
“Sorry. It must be frightening to have someone of the opposite sex look at you that way.”
“I’m not afraid of your sex drive. I’m afraid of the very concept of someone getting a nosebleed from seeing something lewd.”
“Will you still be friends with someone like me?”
“I-I’m not so sure anymore…”
Amae, who’d seemed rather low-energy until now, was genuinely recoiling. I should say something cheerful and brush this aside.
“Whew… So our school life begins today.”
“It’s hard to respond when you say that while bleeding mysteriously from your nose…”
◇
Amae and I reached the entrance ceremony venue under a slightly awkward cloud, only to find an ordinary classroom.
A blackboard and lectern stood at the front, facing seven neatly arranged desks. The other five students were already seated, waiting for something without making small talk.
“Are we the only ones having our entrance ceremony separately?”
“Looks like it.”
We sat in our assigned seats. Thinking back, the other students we’d passed had been walking alongside their guardians. Perhaps only Emperor Faculty students had been told to come alone.
As I considered that, a mature woman entered the classroom and opened with:
“Right, everyone. I’m Blanchard, the homeroom teacher for the Grand Magical Emperor Faculty. Nice to meet you.”
“Homeroom teacher?”
The brown-haired student with the half-up hairstyle asked the question.
She was the girl who’d achieved the highest magical coefficient. Nine hundred and eighty points. I remembered.
“I was told Magias uses a credit system because it values student independence.”
“Your seniors have caused one incident after another in recent years, and their poor conduct has become a problem. As a countermeasure, we’re assigning you a homeroom teacher starting this year so you can acquire at least the bare minimum of social skills.”
Someone snorted at Professor Blanchard’s flat reply.
“So we’re meant to play nice?”
“Yes, Gary. Be quiet.”
Without paying any particular attention to the dark-skinned man’s poor attitude, the professor continued.
“Now, I’d like to select a class representative. I’m deciding immediately, entirely at my own discretion.”
The professor’s slightly listless eyes moved around the room before settling firmly on me.
“Brendan, would you do it?”
“What?”
I’d expected a vote or volunteers, so the nomination caught me completely off guard. I appreciated her choosing me, but someone with so little group experience couldn’t possibly handle it. I should explain my circumstances honestly.
“I grew up in an extremely remote area, so I’ve hardly ever spoken with people my age.”
“Then taking the role will help you get used to people faster.”
She had a point.
Whenever I had a chance to improve my weaknesses, I should take it.
“Understood. I’ll do it.”
“Such an agreeable boy. Very good. Then please introduce yourself.”
As instructed, I rose and turned toward the class.
My six classmates silently centered their gazes on me.
“I’m Brendan Walker, from the Decol region. My specialty is magical materials engineering. I primarily practice Refinement and smithing. If you need metal repaired, I may be able to help. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Everyone, applaud.”
About half of them didn’t.
Amae clapped quite enthusiastically.
“We’ll be asking all sorts of things of you from now on, Brendan, so thanks in advance. Let’s keep the momentum going and have everyone introduce themselves. Who can give us the most entertaining introduction?”
Then everyone began introducing themselves.
Since I was apparently the representative, I listened carefully and made a serious effort to memorize my classmates.
“I’m Mercedes Meltzeria. My specialties are swordsmanship and magical biomechanics. I look forward to our acquaintance.”
“My name is Filiestra Addison. I studied magical medicine in the Temucha region. I’ll do my best to make myself useful to everyone.”
“Gerald Whitesmith. Magical physics.”
“I am Luluk Lulu Lunlun! It is an absolute pleasure to meet all of you!”
“…Gary Rock.”
“I’m Amae Vandenberg. I’m good with medicines. Explosives too.”
This was hopeless. Too many of them had long names.
Right… Luxury Car Nine Hundred and Eighty, and Filiestra was the doctor.
The pale, blond pretty boy who looked like he’d stepped out of a girls’ comic was Gerald.
The dark-skinned, black-haired, ruggedly handsome man from a girls’ comic was Gary.
The energetic girl dressed like a witch was Luluk.
I already remembered Amae, so that effectively left five.
Good. I could manage that.
To be safe, I should organize them in my head one more time.
Mercedes. Fili… something. Gera…? Freddy…? No, that wasn’t it. Toyota? Freddie… wrong again. Hibari Misora…?
Whatever.
I’d written them down, so I could memorize them slowly.
“Everyone’s energy is a little low. Follow Luluk’s example. Being friendly with people you’ve just met pays off.”
Unlike my classmates, who seemed somewhat detached, Professor Blanchard was talkative. Her expression looked lethargic, but she spoke quite clearly.
“For now, let’s all work together as a class and strive to become respectable human beings.”
The half-up-haired girl—Mercedes—raised her hand modestly once more.
“But Professor Blanchard, shouldn’t our highest priority be the pursuit of magic?”
“Your seniors prioritized it so heavily that they’ve recently become a social problem.”
“More than ninety percent of the Grand Magical Emperor Faculty’s tuition is funded by taxes, so this is simply envy from the masses, is it not? I cannot accept stricter rules for us scholarship students merely because of a minority opinion.”
“No more questions right now, Mercedes. Your teacher isn’t answering any more.”
“Hee-hee. My apologies.”
Mercedes placed a hand elegantly over her mouth and smiled fearlessly. Behind her, Gary had such terrible posture that sitting that way looked more difficult than sitting normally.
“With that settled, your first lesson outside the classroom will be a field trip.”
“What about the entrance ceremony?”
“You don’t have one.”
Professor Blanchard immediately answered Amae’s question and continued.
“Walk to the destination I’m about to name and deepen your bonds with one another. I bought snacks earlier. Brendan, can you hold on to them?”
“Uh… Sure.”
“I need to prepare, so I’ll go ahead and wait for you. I’m leaving the group in Brendan’s care. Everyone must reach the entrance of Aruan National Park by noon.”
Leaving only those words behind, the professor went whoosh and vanished.
Her movements had been strangely rubbery.
A lot had happened in a very short time, but no one seemed particularly disturbed.
“Right… Then…”
Stare.
Six sets of eyes gathered on me.
No, five. Mercedes was looking out the window.
“…L-Let’s go too. Does anyone here know the streets of the royal capital?”
For now, I’d guide everyone as instructed.
“Mm.”
Amae raised her hand.
She was probably trying to help me.
“I only just arrived and don’t know my way around. Could you help guide us?”
“Sure, but if we walk normally, the destination is about two days away.”
“So they expect us to use magic to travel.”
“At minimum, we’ll need to enhance our physical abilities and run.”
The professor had called it a field trip, but apparently the real task was to arrive under our own power while observing the deadline. I judged that my role was to ensure everyone arrived safely and at the same time.
“Is there anyone here who can’t reach it by noon?”
I asked just in case.
As expected, no one said they couldn’t.
Judging by the map I’d received, leaving now would get us there before noon.
All that remained was to check how each person traveled and set a pace for the group, which would at least prevent anyone from becoming separated.
Getting lost worried me more than arriving late.
And that concern immediately proved justified.
“Let us make it a race. I shall go on ahead.”
Mercedes made the proposal.
She abruptly rose and walked toward the exit, wearing an aloof expression that showed no consideration for my suggestion.
“We have the opportunity, so why not go together?”
Before I could accept the lifeline Amae offered, Mercedes answered with a scornful smile.
“I have no interest in the weak. If you wish to socialize, kindly catch up with me first—if you are capable.”
Crackle.
For a moment, I imagined a spark flashing in Amae’s sleepy eyes.
“I see. How amusing.”
In no time at all, the handsome blond man Gerald rose. Standing revealed just how tall and slender he was.
“Brendan, was it? I shall go ahead as well. You have no objection?”
“Uh…”
While I struggled to answer, Gerald and Mercedes promptly departed. The black-haired Gary immediately followed them.
“…After hearing something like that, I can’t exactly stay quiet either.”
“Wait, just a—”
“Sorry, shorty. I’m going ahead.”
“What?”
Ignoring Amae’s frown, Gary left the classroom.
Somehow, less than a minute after we began, three people had gone missing.
That left only Amae, Filiestra, and Luluk.
This was already a problem. I should’ve simply stopped them.
The situation was my fault, but I should honestly rely on someone else.
“Amae.”
“What?”
“I’ll catch the three who went ahead. Sorry, but could you guide the other two?”
The remaining two seemed relatively willing to cooperate. I felt bad relying so much on someone I’d only recently met, but if I didn’t hurry, I wouldn’t catch the advance group.
“I can, but are you sure? There are a lot of strange people here. Why don’t the four of us just go together?”
“If it comes to that, I’ll turn back and do exactly that.”
I was uneasy, but surely those three would understand if I spoke to them.
Probably.
“Then take this. It’s a map to the park. Follow the road I marked, and you’ll arrive.”
“Thanks. I’m heading out too.”
And so, my first lesson after arriving at Magias Academy of Magical Arts began.
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!