Saving Face
Regan looked at the mushroom clinging to his own shirt, puzzled. Ellie pointed at Nara before a similarly sized mushroom slowly appeared. Because everyone couldn’t see just how cute this purple mushroom was, so when it suddenly appeared, Nara couldn’t help but let out a short scream.
"What—what is this!" Nara looked at her friend, confused about when the other had placed the mushroom on her, and what it had to do with Ellie knowing she had entered her room!
The little purple mushroom was violently swatted away, bouncing off. Medik was the first to react; he summoned his vine to catch the little mushroom immediately and handed it back to Ellie like a father protecting his child’s toy. Ellie was very grateful to him. She took the little purple mushroom, which had accomplished its task well, and looked up at Professor Regan.
"Professor, may I trouble you to go somewhere—anywhere, really—and you don’t need to tell me. After you return, I will give you details based on what I know,"
Ellie politely requested. Although this professor carried himself with the air of a stern corporate CEO when dealing with his staff, she still sensed that Regan would not cheat her.
"You mean with this purple mushroom’s power that you secretly attached to scholarship student Nara, it allowed you to know that she entered your room?" Regan, initially indifferent to botanic powers, suddenly sparkled with interest.
If the powers of attack, support, or other types like Medik’s plant powers were uninteresting, then what power would truly be captivating?
For Regan, the most interesting power was one that other elemental powers couldn’t achieve! Or, if they could, only a few could manage it—like tracking a target. Regan didn’t have any students who could use their powers to track targets, whether they were earth, water, wind, fire, or any other special elementals. Even light elementals couldn’t manage this feat.
Regan’s excited gaze was still less intense than Medik’s!
If Regan was excited because he had just discovered a student capable of using a tracking power, Medik was thrilled because he realized that this little purple mushroom could do much more than just tracking a target!
With the special tracking ability and the power to decompose various things, wasn’t it time for the head of botanic professors to change? If in the future he had Ellie to help with tasks, no! In the future he should have Ellie as the head, letting her manage things with her powers while he worked and rested fully...
Ah...Just thinking about it, Medik felt like groaning out loud with joy!
Of course, what he knew wasn’t known to everyone. Medik was not foolish either. He knew that his student would probably use this opportunity to reveal one aspect of her power first, to establish her worthiness for teaching and to prepare herself for future missions.
Medik was pleased that Ellie chose to use this power to reveal herself. However, the power of decomposition should absolutely not be disclosed at this time. She should act as if it were unrelated and allow people to forget about this power for now; otherwise, she would certainly face severe punishment!
"You have understood correctly, Professor," Ellie responded directly to Professor Regan. However, Nara’s eyes flickered with anxiety as she was beginning to piece the story together. The 16-year-old woman looked towards Professor Lucien, who remained silent, not even interfering to stop this test. Her heart began to tremble.
Nara truly did not want to be expelled from the institution. What would her future look like if she were no longer a magician? Would she end up like the other villagers, toiling as a farmer or gardener? How could she accept living with such hardships!
Not to mention, she had never even touched gardening tools in her life. Working in the fields would roughen her hands and strip them of their beauty. She didn’t want to expose herself to the sun, which might cause her complexion to freckle and mark her as unattractive, instantly revealing her lower-class status. She didn’t want to live in the village and marry someone familiar, only to end up as a broodmare for men! She would rather die here than return to such a condition!
Nara glared at Ellie, wanting to shake her and ask why she was doing this. Was it just because she had sneaked into her room once, and now she wanted to ruin her to death?! Was she so ungrateful? When Ellie’s last family member passed away, who was it that had been there for her? Wasn’t it her? Wasn’t it this Nara who had traveled far to visit Ellie’s remote home?!
Before Nara could display any strange behavior, Professor Regan, eager to prove this ability, volunteered to test this scholarship student’s capabilities himself.
He walked out of the director’s office, entering one room after another, as if to demonstrate the extent of Ellie’s capabilities.
Only Ellie could see the blue dot that appeared in front of her. She watched the professor having fun roaming around, then had to take out a piece of paper to jot down.
She looked at the list of rooms he visited, noting the times as well. All the professors, including Lucien who had sent his own magic power with Regan to verify the accuracy, were utterly surprised.
Soon, Regan returned. He looked at Ellie, who welcomed him with a smile, while the expressions of others clearly showed their curiosity.
Nara was probably the most anxious. She prayed that Ellie’s details would be incorrect. Just one wrong location would be enough for her to find an excuse for Ellie’s unskilled use of her powers. However, after Regan came in and read out his locations and the times she had noted, he had to widen his eyes in excitement.
"This! This is excellent data," Regan praised, although Lucien, hearing this, could not help but frown.
As Nara had hoped, Lucien followed to check the situation more clearly, and he discovered that there was one location that Ellie had incorrectly identified.
"Professor Regan, is it possible that not all of this information is accurate?" Lucien’s cool, deep voice made everyone pause, including Regan himself.
"What do you mean?" Regan asked gravely.
"It’s not that I fear you would compromise your honor, but I simply do not wish to overlook minor issues that could cause my disciple to suffer injustice due to sympathy for another’s student," Lucien stated, lifting his chin proudly.
Why wouldn’t he know the tactics Medik used in this battle?! Claimed him as a person of worth, thus honored by all professors, while he himself was regarded as lowly and ignored!
Hah! Thinking to gain sympathy points, you’re a hundred years too early!
"Professor Regan, please check all the locations again and specify how the details on this paper are incorrect," Lucien said with dignity. However, Regan just shook his head.
"Professor Lucien, if you have concerns, it’s better to speak them out. You’re not trying to dishonor me now, are you?" When Regan realized that Lucien had followed him because he did not trust him, he felt his honor was being insulted by a mere novice.
As the two professors glared at each other, Professor Gwen intervened once again.
"Lucien, please explain."
"Yes, ma’am..." Lucien no longer looked at Professor Regan or the others. He stared ahead as if he were an old man who had seen too much of the world. Normally, when he posed with such dignity, everyone would respect him and think he was behaving appropriately. However, in this situation, both Regan and Ellie, who knew better, thought that “Lucien’s demeanor is so amusing!”
"I also sent my own light magic power to verify, to see if the botanic elemental scholarship student’s abilities were as extraordinary as claimed and if they implicated my disciple unjustly. After checking, I found that there was one location of Professor Regan’s that the scholarship student misidentified, and it is this..."
"Between going to Professor Raz’s temporary office and the restroom, Professor Regan actually went to the hall first," Lucien said confidently. Regan, trying to suppress a laugh, couldn’t hold back any longer.
"Haha, Lucien! No! Professor Lucien, I thought you were like a god who could do no wrong. Who would have thought that you were just like anyone else, only slightly more talented. Yet, your attention to detail is even less than that of a first-year student!" Faced with such scorn, how could Lucien maintain his image?
His thick eyebrows furrowed in displeasure, even his gaze towards the outdoors showed an expression of a child who couldn’t control himself.
"Are you saying I’m inferior to a first-year scholarship student?"
"Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying!" Regan replied just as forcefully. Professor Gwen watched the two now radiating a hostile aura, realizing it was time for someone with the talent for mediation to really step in.
"Professor Regan, you ought to clarify your statements, not make such vague accusations," said the acting director immediately. He did not want a bloodbath involving some of the institution’s most prominent professors on his watch! It...would be utterly embarrassing!
"Of course, I have reasons for my statements!" Regan looked at Lucien, who did not show the proper respect for a senior. He seized this opportunity to teach him a lesson.
"What Professor Lucien saw was actually just a decoy of mine. You may not be aware that this Regan has magic devices capable of creating illusions. To test the accuracy of this scholarship student’s abilities, I created a decoy and had it dressed exactly like me, while I used my own speed to alter my appearance to that of an ordinary student."
"I thought the scholarship student would surely be deceived and think that my decoy had first appeared in the hallway before going to the restroom. After that, I went back and changed into my original clothes. I expected to see the amused face of the scholarship student, but instead, I saw only your face...Lucien!"
"You are indeed talented and skilled, but you are not always the best at everything! You should view the world with humility, and then you will learn much more." When Regan finished, he saw Lucien’s face turn a deep shade of green.The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. Lucien was unwilling to admit that he had been easily fooled, while the scholarship student had accurately tracked Professor Regan. If he accepted what had happened...where would he place his own face from now on?!