Chapter 258: Academy Students Applying for Apprenticeship

“You have a request for me, is it?”

“She says.”

After the duel, Mortena-san, who was peeking out from behind Liliera-san while having her translate, said such a thing.

For some reason, Mortena-san’s voice had completely changed from earlier and became so small that I couldn’t hear her unless she spoke through Liliera-san, who was acting as a wall.

“Hyau!?”

However, when I spoke to her, Mortena-san let out a small yelp and hid in Liliera-san’s shadow.

Hmm, she’s been like this ever since the duel earlier.

At this rate, just listening to what she has to say is going to be a struggle.

“Hey now, you’re the one asking a favor of Lexus-san, so that attitude won’t do, will it? Tell him properly in your own words.”

“O-Onee-shyama…”

“I’m not your Onee-sama.”

Rebuked by Liliera-san, I could sense her flustered presence from behind.

“W-Will you hold my hand…?”

“…Haa, alright.”

When Liliera-san gently turned around and offered her hand, Mortena-san grasped it and timidly revealed herself.

Hmm, she seems like a completely different person from the confident Mortena-san from earlier.

Just what in the world… Ah, perhaps this is her true personality.

She actually has a timid personality, but since she was challenging someone to a duel as a noble, she must have desperately put on a strong front like before.

“Mortena-sama, having regressed completely to a child out of fear…”

“Uu, how pitiful…”

The students near Mortena-san were muttering something while watching her, but I wonder what they were talking about?

“I have a requesht… Please, won’t you… teach me your magic…?”

“Magic, you say?”

“Hya!?”

Mortena-san stiffened with a start at my words, but this time she didn’t hide in Liliera-san’s shadow.

“I-I am from a family of magic nobles who protect the country with magic. Sh-sho I musht become an exchellent mage, shtaking my family’sh pride on it…”

Trembling with a purupuru, Mortena-san told me her reason for wanting to learn magic.

Fumu, if she’s from a noble family that achieved distinction through their exploits using magic, I can somewhat understand that.

“But wasn’t that only if you beat me in the duel?”

“Y-You are exactly right…”

At my point, Mortena-san dropped her shoulders, thoroughly dejected.

“I will give you the magic book as the price for the duel. But ashide from that, I am ashhking again if you would teach me your magic, Lexush-shyama.”

Mortena-san was asking me to teach her magic anew, promising to properly pay the price of defeat.

“Ash a future Court Mage, I musht sherve the royal family. But even though I challenged you with my family’sh shecret technique, I wash defeated by your magic, Lexush-shyama. However, a powerlesh magic noble ish shomething that musht never exisht!”

I see, it is true that even as a student, if someone destined to bear the defense of the nation loses so easily, the overall strength of the mages in this country will undoubtedly be questioned.

That is precisely why she wants to ask for instruction from the one who defeated her.

I understand her logic, but still, asking me just doesn’t sit right.

I think it would be better for her to learn normally from the teachers.

After all, the teachers are experts at teaching people.

“…Hey, won’t you let me join that conversation too?”

It was then. Surprisingly, even Sden-kun came up to me and asked me to teach him magic.

“Sden-kun!?”

“I was truly amazed watching the duel just now. To think someone who uses such incredible magic exists outside the academy… Even though I thought the academy was the cutting edge of magic research.”

At his words, the surrounding students nodded in agreement.

“My heart trembled watching you fight. Even though you aren’t that much older than us, I wonder why you can manipulate magic so freely.”

No, I’m really not that amazing of a person…

As for my magic skills, I had to learn them in actual combat during life-threatening training, so I had no choice but to get stronger…

Yeah, remembering it, those masters were truly awful…

“So please. I want you to teach me your magic too. Of course, I will separately pay an appropriate price for it.”

Paying no mind to my inner thoughts, Sden-kun looked straight at me and earnestly made his request.

“H-Hey, will you, will you teach me too!? I’ll pay money properly!”

Moreover, it didn’t end with just Sden-kun.

Hearing his words, the other students began asking me to teach them, one after another.

“T-Teach me too! I’ve never seen such amazing magic before! My territory doesn’t have much money, so I’ll offer special local products instead!!”

“P-Please teach me too! I want to be able to use magic like that!!”

“Wait, like I said, I’m…”

It would be one thing if it were Jairo-kun and the others, who are my adventurer companions, but teaching magic to students who are already learning from experts is definitely problematic…

“Me too!”

“Me too!”

“Me too!!”

” ” ” Teach us magic!! ” ” “

Everyone’s glaring eyes stared straight at me.

U-Umm, overwhelmed by everyone’s tremendous enthusiasm, I couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

I appreciate their motivation, but I don’t understand why students of the Magic Academy, the most advanced institution for Attack Magic, would go out of their way to learn from a mid-term transfer student like me.

The Meteor Sun Fall I activated had decent power, but it isn’t that rare a magic on the battlefield.

It’s the kind of magic they’ll eventually learn from the academy teachers, or from their parents or private tutors back home…

“…Could it be.”

At that moment, I suddenly realized a possibility.

Have I been making a massive misunderstanding?

Until now, I thought this academy was an elite school specializing in teaching Attack Magic.

But what if it was actually the opposite?

Yes, in other words, what if this is an academy for teaching Attack Magic to people who are bad at it!!

Thinking about it that way, it makes sense that Instructor Quantro was teaching the absolute basics of magic.

Normally, there are children who have a higher aptitude for Healing Magic or Support Magic, or whose personalities simply aren’t suited for handling Attack Magic.

But as long as they are children of nobles, depending on their family’s circumstances or the times, there are situations where they must learn Attack Magic even if they have no aptitude for it.

Especially for children from military families, or those whose territories border enemy nations or powerful monster domains, whether or not they can use Attack Magic is directly tied to protecting their lives.

I see, as nobles, they can’t just run away because they’re bad at it.

It’s precisely because they have to learn it out of sheer willpower that they are desperately studying the magic they struggle with at the academy.

And that’s why they are even bowing their heads to a commoner like me to learn Attack Magic.

“I see, so that’s how it was.”

Ah, they are facing their duties as nobles head-on.

In my previous life and the one before that, aside from a few who truly had unavoidable circumstances, there were so many who ran away from such noble duties.

Sadly, I was shown an abhorrent amount of people who twisted the duties of nobles using money and power.

But the people here are different.

Even knowing their own inexperience and weaknesses, they still don’t turn their eyes away from difficulties.

What a splendid noble spirit!

Truly, noblesse oblige! The mission of the highborn!

I can’t possibly trample on their resolve.

If anything, dampening their current motivation when they’re burning with the desire to learn would be more problematic.

In that case, it would be best for me to teach them what I can for now, and leave it to the expert teachers when the time is right.

“I understand! If you’re fine with me, I’ll gladly cooperate!”

” ” ” Ooooh!! ” ” “

“Th-Thank you sho much, Lexush-shyama!!”

When I agreed to take them on, Mortena-san and the others thanked me with truly happy faces.

“Awawawa…”

“Th-This is a disaster…”

“They’re going to disappear. The nobles are going to disappear from this country…”

“It’s over. In various ways, it’s over.”

“Oh God, please grant peace to their souls…”

But for some reason, I could hear Liliera-san and the others panicking behind me.

Why is everyone reacting as if the end of the world has come?