Chapter 29: A Surprising Offer from Professor Margaret

A Surprising Offer from Professor Margaret

Professor Rhonda Margaret had appeared out of nowhere.

The fact that she was now sitting next to him on the bench felt almost surreal.

If someone asked Sion to describe this moment, he wouldn’t hesitate to call it a nightmare.

“Professor… why are you here?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that first?”

“R-Right. Well, I was just… sitting on this bench.”

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a dream—it was reality.

Rhonda Margaret let out a small chuckle and pointed at the ground.

There, the names of various professors were written in the dirt, with one name, her name, marked with a distinct circle.

“And what is this supposed to be?”

“Ah… That’s just…”

“Just what? …Sion.”

“Yes…?”

She suddenly let out a deep sigh and gazed at the lake.

The sun had long begun to set, casting a golden hue over the academy’s waters.

Despite the breathtaking scenery before her, she seemed to be wrestling with her thoughts, lips parting as if searching for the right words.

After a brief pause, she finally spoke.

And her words were completely unexpected.

“I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

“To be honest, I underestimated your abilities. When a commoner enters the academy, more than half the time, it’s because they got in through donations… and those types tend to lower the quality of lessons.”

Rhonda Margaret continued speaking as she stared at the lake, her tone candid and open.

“But you were different, Sion. The Barrier Magic… you really learned that for the first time on stage, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Do you believe me? Because no one else does.”

“You don’t seem like someone who has a reason to lie. And seeing things like this, I have no choice but to believe it.”

She pulled her faculty badge from her pocket and opened the Byzantium Academy community app, Vizanity.

More specifically, she pulled up the “HOT Board,” a forum where only posts with a high number of recommendations would appear.

[Title: Another Legend Emerges in the Magic Department;;]

[Title: A Compilation of ‘That’ Magic Department Freshman’s Feats.]

[Title: Enough Already! Stop Posting About the Magic Department—I Don’t Even Care Anymore!]

[Title: Wait, This Isn’t Clickbait? This Actually Happened?]

The board was overflowing with posts about Sion.

Since his duel had just taken place today, it seemed new posts about him were being uploaded by the minute.

“You saw all of this?”

“…I just happened to come across it.”

As she hastily closed the app, Sion’s eyes caught a glimpse of her recent search history.

“Magic Department,” “Magic Department Freshman,” “Sion,” “Legendary Freshman,” “Magic Department First-Year”—and the list went on.

Her entire search history was filled with inquiries about him.

Even searches like “Rhonda Margaret,” “Professor Water Incident,” “Professor Running Away” had appeared.

Not only had she been searching about Sion, but she had also looked into every incident they had been involved in together.

…Why?

Just as Sion began to wonder—

Snap!

Rhonda Margaret swiftly tucked her faculty badge back into her pocket.

“…Did you see that?”

“Huh? See what?”

“My search hi— No, never mind.”

She fanned her face with her hand.

…Was she embarrassed because he saw her search history?

Was it embarrassment, or was it just the warm glow of the sunset making her face appear flushed?

Sion couldn’t tell.

“A professor apologizing to a student… Honestly, I respect that.”

Sion’s opinion of her shifted slightly.

Most professors would never admit their mistakes.

Especially not to their own students.

Even if they were clearly in the wrong, many believed that apologizing would damage their authority.

And there were plenty who thought, “Why should I ever apologize to a mere student?”

Considering that, the fact that Rhonda Margaret had openly apologized first—

It left a fresh impression on Sion.

Only about 30% of professors would even consider offering an apology.

Because she had mustered the courage to do so, Sion found himself feeling brave enough to do the same.

“Professor… I should also apologize.”

“There’s no need for that, Sion.”

“No, I mean… When I was learning Barrier Magic, I accidentally splashed water on you, and your clothes—!”

Thump!

Rhonda Margaret’s hand shot forward like lightning, covering Sion’s mouth.

His eyes widened in shock.

She leaned in close, staring directly at him from up close.

Even at this proximity, her face was still tinged with a slight redness.

“T-That… Let’s just pretend that never happened.”

“…Mmm?”

“Yes. It was just an unfortunate accident. A regrettable mishap. So, let’s forget about it, shall we?”

Still trapped beneath her hand, Sion could only blink in confusion.

“Even if I pretend it never happened… I wasn’t the only one who saw it, you know?”

Every first-year Magic Department student had witnessed that water incident.

Sure, it had left a strong impression on Sion since he had been standing on the stage—

But the other students had seen everything too.

For her to ask him alone to erase it from his memory—

“Forget about it. Understand?”

Faced with Rhonda Margaret’s insistence, Sion ultimately nodded.

“Good.”

“Phew…”

Only then did she finally remove her hand from his mouth.

…A faint scent of mint lingered in the air.

Was it her natural scent, or just perfume?

The thought made Sion oddly aware of it.

And just as he was about to brush it off, Rhonda Margaret suddenly stood up.

“Now then, let’s go, Sion.”

“…Go? Where?”

She extended a hand toward him, motioning for him to get up.

As Sion hesitated, staring at her outstretched hand, she tilted her head slightly.

“Didn’t you want to reach the 2nd Circle?”

“…!”

“Don’t look so surprised. I just… overheard you when I was sitting next to you earlier.”

“Ah…”

Sion suddenly realized.

Before he had noticed Professor Rhonda Margaret sitting beside him, he had been talking to himself.

—Well, putting that aside… My top priority is reaching the 2nd Circle.

If she had heard that, then her words made sense.

She was offering to help him achieve the 2nd Circle.

But… was she really willing to help him?

After all, he was the one who had humiliated her in front of the first-year students.

But refusing… I want to reach the 2nd Circle too badly.

Right now, Sion’s ultimate goal was to advance from the 1st Circle to the 2nd Circle.

The benefits were endless.

Better mana quality, the ability to learn 2nd Circle spells, an increase in mana reserves—

Every single one of these benefits was exactly what Sion needed.

“When are you planning to get up? It’s already evening, so we should head to my faculty office.”

“Ah….”

“You do want to reach the 2nd Circle, don’t you?”

Professor Rhonda Margaret waved her outstretched hand once more.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Sion finally took her hand and stood up.

Even now, her face still seemed slightly flushed.

Inside the Professor’s Office

“Sit anywhere you like. It’s a bit messy, though…”

“Ah, y-yes.”

Creak.

Sion stepped into the research office assigned to Professor Rhonda Margaret in the Academy’s Magic Department.

The nameplate on the door read “Rhonda Margaret.”

…Professors get research offices this big?

The room was spacious, about the size of two standard high school classrooms combined.

Expensive-looking staffs and magical artifacts were displayed all over the place.

It was almost unbelievable that a single professor was assigned such a lavish workspace.

“What are you standing there spacing out for? Come in already.”

“Right… Uh, but… Where are the others? I mean… your graduate students?”

Sion glanced around the room, scanning his surroundings.

There were desks partitioned off in sections, cluttered with books and writing utensils—

But no people.

It wasn’t even completely dark outside yet, and yet there wasn’t a single graduate student present?

…Wait, is this some kind of hidden paradise?

Sion’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

Occasionally, there were professors like that—rare exceptions who actually treated their graduate students like human beings.

Even in universities where “graduate student = professor’s s*ave” was the unspoken rule, there were those rare, saintly professors who treated their students well.

No way…! Is the notoriously strict and cold Rhonda Margaret actually one of those ‘angel professors’?!

Maybe I’ve been judging her too harshly based on her lectures… Maybe she’s actually a great person outside of class!

Just as Sion was starting to reevaluate his opinion of her—

Professor Rhonda Margaret shattered his illusion with a brutally honest truth.

“Don’t mind that too much. Most graduate students who study under me quit within a few months.”

“Ah, I—”

“…”

“…Huh?”

“Students these days have no perseverance. They pull a few all-nighters and immediately beg for a break, whine about not being able to shower for a few weeks… Well, it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to worry about that, Sion.”

She spoke as if it were nothing, but Sion was utterly dumbfounded.

A few weeks?!

At Sion’s university, it was common for students to be forced into all-nighters or to be kept from going home.

But weeks?

That was something he had never heard of.

Not only had he never experienced it himself, but he had never heard of any graduate student enduring such an insane period of time.

It was only then that Sion realized something critically important.

This isn’t the modern world… This is a medieval fantasy world.

In modern times, human rights awareness was high, and legal systems were well established.

Professors were generally expected to treat their students with basic decency.

But here?

This was a brutal, unforgiving medieval world.

If modern graduate students were slaves, then graduate students in this world were closer to tools or disposable parts.

That realization made Sion’s face turn pale.

“Sion? Are you feeling unwell? You don’t look so good…”

“N-No… It’s… nothing.”

“…I don’t know what’s on your mind, but… You can still attempt the 2nd Circle, right?”

Click.

Professor Rhonda Margaret pressed a button.

Immediately, a circular magic formation embedded in the floor of the research office began to glow.

The sight of the intricate, luminous spellwork was so mesmerizing that Sion forgot all about the horrors of graduate school.

It was beautiful.

“Sit here.”

“…This is safe, right?”

“It’s completely safe. Many of my students have used this to challenge their Circle advancement. Not just the 2nd Circle—some have even reached the 3rd or 4th.”

“Ah…”

Step. Step.

With a dazed expression, Sion approached the glowing magic formation.

This… this is it. I can finally reach the 2nd Circle…!

He had longed for this moment.

With his 1st Circle heart, simply watching battle skills and magic had allowed him to learn them instantly.

That meant—

If he reached the 2nd Circle, he would be able to instantly learn 2nd Circle magic as well.

If he could cause this much of a stir with just 1st Circle magic—

How much more powerful would he be once he had access to the 2nd Circle?

The thought alone made Sion’s vision blur with excitement.

He stepped onto the magic formation, half in a trance.

“Hehehe… Good. Go ahead. You need to reach the 2nd Circle, don’t you?”

Professor Rhonda Margaret gave him a little push forward.

Completely consumed by the thought of advancing, Sion failed to notice—

“…Heh.”

The way her lips curled ever so slightly into a smirk as she watched him step into the magic formation.