Lessons

“Young Alice, try to solve this one.”

The teacher grinned and tried to get me to solve a history problem. It was a very minor part of the continental history, and I would have to have read the entire continental history to answer it. Most of the students are currently tilting their heads in my direction.

“Yes.”

I remember it, so I wrote the answer and my views on the blackboard and returned to my seat. I learned this question during my prep session, and I quite enjoyed reading about it.

“… That’s correct.”

I don’t know why, but he looked at me as if he was biting a bitter bug. Was I called out to be “harassed” or something? Unfortunately, I love history books and I can remember most of what I read. If you are not satisfied with this level, you can give me a more difficult problem.

I don’t know why my brother was standing so close to me with a smug look on his face, but I have nothing to do with it. I have nothing to do with that sloppy-looking person.

“How did you learn that, by the way? There’s not much about it in the books.”

“I found it in a book called Continental History.”

“You have finished reading that… that one is impossible for me.”

Well, my Big brother is not a reader. But why did I suddenly catch the teacher’s attention? I guess he didn’t like that I suddenly became a Sorceress, but that had nothing to do with me. It’s not like I pushed for it myself.

“By the way, what book are you reading now? A history one.”

“The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Cernia.”

It’s the history of the country from a thousand years ago. It’s a history of a country that was created and destroyed naturally, without any notable industries or heroes.

“How dull.”

Big brother seems to know at least the name. Well, it was a minor country. Normally I wouldn’t look at it, but it caught my eye, so I’m reading it. You can learn a lot from it. There doesn’t seem to be anything remarkable, but I can appreciate the balance of policies.

Next up was the practical magic. The special class is only for students who can use magic in any form, so they only teach practical magic. I also like magic, so I analyze and memorize all the magic I see. I was able to create magic specialized for analysis rather easily, so I can use most of it when I see it.

“You will experience magic combat in the future. Getting used to it now will give you the means to avoid future dangers. The body is the last thing that can help you, but with magic you have a better chance of avoiding the worst. Those who can use magic should try to hit the target. Those who can use magic swords should take up their weapons and attack the target. The target is made of a material with magic protection, so don’t be too hard on it.”

I can use magic, so I hit the target… but the target was somehow different from the other students. I was hitting it with the same amount of force, but the other students were breaking it, and I didn’t get a single crack.

So I activated analysis and analyzed the target. The result was that the magic defense was 5 times higher and the material was as strong as adamantite. Harassment from the teacher?

“Other students can destroy this much, and you call yourself a Sorceress?”

“…”

I got a little angry. I increased my magic power. Then the magic started to rage around me. I didn’t lose my temper. I’m just saying that that target was suitable to awaken the fighting instinct that lies dormant within me.

“Fuse, White Flame, Flame Barrett. White Flame Bullet, loaded.”

Five white flames appeared in front of me. White Flame is an intermediate level magic. I compressed them down to the size of bullets, and they circled around my hand like a revolver. And when I commanded it to be loaded, one stopped at my fingertip.

“Shoot.”

The White Flame Bullet that was shot out penetrated the target. But they could not completely destroy it. It was that strong. However, the target was melted into mush as a result of the remaining four bullets being shot into the same spot. 

“I broke it?”

It was not so much broken as it was melted. Why do you all harass me so? I knew I would end up refusing to go to school and seclude myself in the library.

“… Good. What was that formula?”

“It’s a magician’s right to keep their formula secret.”

“Kuh! A student shouldn’t be talking nonsense!”

The teacher suddenly became very angry. Chant retention is my own method, and the lack of chanting is the result of my own efforts. I’m not going to teach it to someone I don’t know. Well, if my father asked me, I would be happy to do it, if it is limited to teaching people related to Arland, though.

But I didn’t think he would be offended by something like this. Magic is essentially a bunch of secret techniques, so not all magic is found in grimoires on the market. Each magician has their own school, and each school has its own secret magic.

“Teacher, I would appreciate it if you didn’t force my sister to do anything against her will.”

My Big brother appeared before I knew it and hid me behind him. When I looked to see what had happened to the target, it was shattered. He was so dependable. I tried to show my face from behind my brother’s back, but he pushed me back behind him. It seems that he does not want me to see.

“Did your sister come to this class by doing something shady? We are suspecting of that. Did she have help from someone else to disguise her magic?”

“That’s impossible. The King of this country has guaranteed my sister’s talent. You saw that earlier, didn’t you? She uses magic normally, and her academic ability is fine.”

Hmm. Apparently, they suspect that I got into the Special class by using shady means, and that in fact, I am not a Sorceress. Suddenly, my anger has subsided, because it is indeed rare to be able to use magic like that at my age. People are born with magic, but there is no one who could control it at my age like I do, so they are probably suspicious of me. I guess this is inevitable because I’m in the quirky and heretical category.

………… Ah!! Isn’t that Coote!?