Chapter 01
1. The Notorious Figure of the Zenios School of Magic.
Rosia Willen knew she was late almost as soon as she opened her eyes.
Birdsong came through the slightly open window. The lukewarm March sunlight was streaming deep into the dormitory room. It was an utterly peaceful morning. Except for the fact that today was the first day of the new semester.
Wow, what the hell!
She had been lying still, trying to collect her thoughts, but she shot up reflexively. It was past 9:30. Even if she got ready now and ran at full speed, it would take at least 15 minutes.
To be nearly an hour late on the first day of her senior yearāa day she should have been greeting with solemnity? She had a bad feeling about this. Perhaps that was why even getting ready was a clumsy mess. She buttoned her blouse wrong and had to start over from the beginningāand that was only the start of it.
As she hurriedly shoved notebooks and writing utensils into her bag, she barely brushed against the ink bottle, and it toppled over as if by some cruel joke. The blue ink that immediately began to leak out soaked the edge of the desk and the white carpet in an instant. Of course, it seemed she hadn’t closed the lid properly the last time she used it.
She shoved one arm into her uniform jacket and crammed her feet into her shoes, then formed a sigil to cast a restoration spell. But then her foot caught on the bag she had tossed carelessly aside. Fortunately, she managed to grab the bed and avoid falling, but by then a chill was running down the back of her neck.
Something felt off.
Rosia brushed back her messily tangled wheat-colored hair and muttered inwardly. Her acorn-brown eyes blinked blankly. Could today be that kind of day?
That feeling of having rotten luck, of being so utterly unlucky that the whole world seemed to hate herā¦ Just imagining it sent a shiver down her spine, and she quickly shook her head. She took a moment to breathe deeply and steady herself. Come on, I just made mistakes because I was rushing. There’s no wayā¦
There was.
As she was locking the door, she pulled out her schedule and glanced at it, and her eyes went wide. What? The first class is ‘Understanding Others’?
She was really doomed.
* * *
So what kind of class was ‘Understanding Others’?
It was a common liberal arts course that every student at Zenios, regardless of their school, had to complete in order to graduate.
It was conducted as a group project with students paired up in twos for the purpose of exchange and fellowship between students, and it was notorious for producing a great number of couples. After the first day, instead of gathering in the lecture hall, partners would meet up and do whatever activities to get to know each other.
Whether they studied together, went on food tours, or even did nothing and just lazed around nappingāthat was all fine. As long as, on the final day when presenting the results, they had sufficient grounds to convince the professor.
You could take it anytime before graduation, and as long as you didn’t break the class rules, it was generally a pass, so students in demanding, rigorous majors tended to save it for their final year. The School of Magic, for example.
So Rosia, like others in her school, had put it off and put it off to secure time for studying for graduation exams, and had only now registered for it.
The plan she had drawn up in advance was this: pair up with a student in a similarly reasonable situation. Then be a solid study mate, each doing their own work in the library. If only she hadn’t overslept, it would have been a picture-perfect scenario. Though now it was all ruined.
All the decent people would already have been taken, and she had no idea what kind of people might be left. No, would there even be anyone left? What if she got stuck with some weird partner and suffered all year? A chill ran up her arms.
She hurried through the teleportation gate beside the dormitory entrance. Her vision flickered white and then brightened, and a familiar building came into view.
Its official name was the Bertich Building, but because of the garish sunflower painting that took up an entire wall on the first floor, it was commonly called the Sunflower Building. Since all the school’s liberal arts classes were held there, students passed in and out of it constantly throughout their five years at Zenios.
As it was where students from all schools gathered, the building was large, and it had a proper lounge and student cafeteria, so many people loitered around even when they didn’t have class. In other words, it was a place full of people standing smack in the middle of corridors and stairways, chattering away, when you were busy as hell.
“Excuse me, just a moment, let me through!”
The students chattering in clusters glanced back at her with annoyed expressions and slowly shifted to make way. To be late for class and then treated as a bothersome nuisance on top of itāshe felt somehow wronged.
And the lecture hall had to be on the fifth floor, the very top of the buildingā¦ At least it got quieter with each floor she climbed, and from the middle up she could pick up speed. Rosia rummaged in the front pocket of her bag and pulled out her pocket watch.
9:50. Even if she arrived now, it would be over in ten minutes. Was this for realā¦? Steeped in that sense of futility, she let out a deep sigh and had just turned the corner into the hallway.
“Whoa!”
Suddenly a solid object appeared out of nowhere and blocked her path. Her eyes filled with alarm. But by the time she noticed, it was already too late. Her body, which had been about to sprint at full speed toward the lecture hall just ahead, collided head-on with the object in front of her, and she promptly tumbled to the ground in an undignified heap.
At the same moment, the bag slipped from her hand and hit the floor, spilling its contents everywhere. Among them was the ink bottle in question. She was sure she had closed it properly, but seeing the lid open again, it seemed it hadn’t been her fault after all.
No, that wasn’t the issue right now! Oblivious to its owner’s desperation, the spilled ink not only soaked the hallway blue but splattered all over someone’s shoes.
“Um, I’m really sorryā¦”
Rosia rubbed her stinging nose and cautiously looked up. From the ruined shoes up to the beige trousers, she had thought it was a professor. After all, Zenios uniforms were black. But the moment she passed the neat shirt and confirmed his face, her breath caught in her throat.
First, it was because of his looks, which were rarely seen. A sharp jawline and a sleek nose bridge, as if carved by a god with long and careful effort, and golden eyes glinting mysteriously in the sunlight coming through the window.
Black hair like the night sky, contrasting with smooth white skin. There wasn’t a single imperfect feature anywhere. It was the first time she had seen such a beautiful person up close.
Rosia unconsciously marveled at the god’s discernment. The same features, so how is the presence so different? But unfortunately, the man was not a statue on display, and the more she stared, the more his expression darkened.
Only then did she snap to her senses, averting her gaze as if she hadn’t been staring, and swallowed dryly. The man crossed his arms and tilted his head. So, if you asked what the second reason for her surprise wasā¦ Why on earth is this senior here?
“You.”
She was frozen blankly, not even thinking to cast a restoration spell, when he opened his shapely lips and spoke in a voice thick with irritation.
“Y-yes?”
“Rosia Willen?”
Wait, how do you know my name? She flinched in surprise and glanced up at the man who looked thoroughly displeased. This senior was, if you were in the School of Magic, a famous figure known to everyone (in a negative sense).
But she was just an ordinary undergraduate longing for a peaceful graduation. She had never caused any trouble, and while her grades were good, they weren’t top-ranked. Above all, she had no connection to him whatsoever. So it would be normal for him not to know herā¦
“Um, that’s meā¦”
Afraid that if she stalled any longer she would freeze under that cold gaze, she managed a hesitant answer, and his brow furrowed deeply.
“Late to the very first group project classāwhat a lack of diligence. And running in the hallway like a five-year-old.”
Th-that’s definitely my fault, butā¦
“And not even able to close a single bag properlyāwhat a deficient side to you as well. You, how on earth did you pass our school’s entrance exam?”
Excuse me?
“Well, there are occasionally kids who pass by sheer luck. Though they’ll obviously get filtered out at the graduation exam. It’s not once or twice I’ve seen dim-witted kids like you fail all three times and pack their bags in tears.”
No matter how angry you are, that’s a bit harsh! And saying that to someone you’ve just met!
“What am I even supposed to do with a half-wit like this?”
His irritated gaze swept past the nape of her neck. Specifically, past the green ribbon symbolizing membership in the School of Magic. Then, as if he couldn’t stand being near her any longer, he stepped away and headed down the stairs.
A couple of writing utensils crushed under his feet snapped with a crack. Of course, even so, the senior didn’t look back. He just walked on, aloof, eyes fixed ahead.
Only after confirming he had disappeared below did she finally let out the breath she’d been holding. Wow, he’s really no joke. They say he’s famous for his terrible personality, but somehow he seems worse than the rumors. It was the first time she’d experienced firsthand something she’d only ever heard about, and she was even taken aback.
Rosia got up, brushed the dust off her clothes, and gathered the belongings scattered across the hallway. She fixed the broken writing utensils with magic and cleaned up the ink pooled on the floor.
Even though the pens were neatly repaired, her mood was still foul. She glared at the stairs with furrowed brows. *No, even if bumping into him was my fault for running in the hallwayācouldn’t he at least ask if I was okay after seeing me fall?*
She didn’t even expect him to help her up. But treating her like some inferior being on top of that? Even if he’s some exceptional genius himself. Seeing that side of him, maybe it’s true that God is fair after all. What good are looks and intellect? His humanity is that lacking.
Well, whatever. I don’t know why the so-called resident ghost of the Golemancy Research Lab is here, but I won’t be seeing him again. Let’s just treat it as a peculiar experience.
That’s what she thought.
“Oh, Miss Rosia Willen? I was worried you might not come all the way here. What a relief. I was concerned about what to do with Mr. Hayworth.”
“Pardon?”
Why is that senior’s name coming up hereā¦?
“You don’t know Mr. Noah Hayworth? Everyone in the School of Magic knows him. The two of you are partners for this class.”
I told him he could go ahead since it seemed awkward to keep him waiting aloneādid you perhaps not run into each other on the way? Professor Suzanne Lorphin, who had greeted her with a beaming face, added calmly. Cold sweat ran down her spine. They say when a person is too flustered, words momentarily fail themāand it was true. She hadn’t wanted to find out like thisā¦
“Um, Professor. That senior isn’t even an undergraduate, he’s a researcherā¦ How is he taking this class?”
She tried to act calm, but she couldn’t hide her trembling voice. Professor Lorphin, who had been flipping through the attendance book, glanced over at her.
“That’s a personal matter, so it’s difficult for me to say. If the number of students had come out even, I would have deliberated more, but unfortunately it became odd right before class, and I happened to need one more person, soā¦”
Her blue eyes busily scanned the names written in the attendance book.
“As it happens, it’s a shame the two of you are from the same school. In my class, I generally encourage exchange between different schools. But the groups are already formed, so what can I do?”
Still, as you said, Miss Willen, since it’s a meeting between a researcher and an undergraduate, it will have its own meaning as an academic mentor and mentee. Professor Lorphin looked at her and smiled kindly.
But Rosia couldn’t smile. Her vision, gone dark and distant, seemed to foretell her future. No wonder things had felt so ominously off since morningāthis was no ordinary disaster.
Can I even graduate?
