The professors at the Academy each have a study that doubles as a research and reception room inside the administrative building.
Melrit, who had just become a professor, was granted her own space.
The room was not bad at all in terms of floor level, location in relation to the entrance, windows, and so on.
The size was the same as any other room anyway.
But there was one thing that made her dissatisfied: her neighbor.
This semester, the new professor wasn’t just one as originally planned, but two.
This was because an additional vacancy had opened up.
It was the position left vacant when Prad Lissant was dismissed.
And in that position, Lissant’s direct disciple had taken the place.
If Lissant had pushed Melrit out as he had originally planned, it would have been this disciple who had taken the professor role.
Her name was Rachel Vermi. She and Melrit were both alumni of the Academy, and they had a long history of rivalry dating back to when they were students.
So, they were uncomfortable around each other.
For example, right now.
“Oops.”
As Melrit walked out of her study in the late afternoon, she ran into Rachel, who happened to be leaving at the same time.
They had fought so much that now they didn’t even speak to each other.
After all, emotional exhaustion doesn’t last for years.
The saying “If you’re still fighting, things are still okay between you” wasn’t meaningless.
That’s why it was surprising when Rachel, with her sharp nose raised, suddenly threw a remark at Melrit.
“That orphan girl you found, she’s taking my class.”
Both Melrit and Rachel were teaching the General Magic Language class this semester.
The General Magic Language class had a clear curriculum and a set textbook, which was designed to help new professors gain experience since they were still adjusting to teaching.
It was, in a way, a concession or a way to offload work.
More experienced professors, whose specialties were clear, preferred to teach courses related to their expertise.
Anyway, Melrit and Rachel were both teaching the same subject as that troublesome girl.
It wasn’t a pleasant situation.
But more than that…
“I wonder how much that orphan can follow the class. I’d love to see it.”
Rachel sneered, provoking Melrit.
It was almost a declaration.
“That girl you’re so proud of, I’ll make sure to torment her in class.”
But Melrit just scoffed.
“Pfft.”
Without saying another word, she walked down the stairs, leaving a stunned Rachel behind.
‘…What’s with that girl?’
Rachel clenched her teeth alone.
‘She probably thinks I can’t do anything, right? Ha, that’s funny. Just wait, I’ll make your precious girl beg to leave the Academy.’
Of course, Melrit didn’t scoff for that reason.
She just had an absolute trust.
No matter what Rachel tried, Ellie would easily crush it.
***
The weekend passed, and Monday morning arrived.
Rachel, who entered the General Magic Language class, which was the first class on the schedule for Ellie on Monday, scanned the students and smiled.
“Today, we’ll have a quick quiz.”
The students murmured.
They hadn’t learned anything yet.
Rachel quickly added, “It’s on the basics. Of course, as new students at the Academy, you should all have mastered it, but we’ll do a review with this quiz.”
Her gaze briefly swept over Ellie.
“Please clear everything off your desks except your pens.”
Rachel gave the students 30 minutes to finish, then collected the test papers.
Most of the students wrote their answers without much hurry.
As expected, the average score would be around 85 out of 100, with 3 or 4 students getting full marks.
“Shir, the TA, please grade the papers and bring them on Thursday. Now, let’s move on with the lesson, so open to Chapter 1, Section 1.”
***
Three days later, Thursday morning.
After about a week at the Academy, Ellie had gained some confidence and had started to adjust.
One by one, the students entered the classroom.
The graded test papers were placed on the podium.
“Before we start today’s lecture, Shir, you’ve organized the test papers by score, right? I’ll hand them out starting from the lowest score.”
“Yes, yes…”
The TA looked around nervously as if it weren’t his fault.
A murmur of displeasure ran through the students.
The Academy was a competitive environment, and the students all knew that.
“But this felt a bit too harsh, don’t you think? Other professors didn’t do this.”
“If she had just praised the top students, no one would have complained, but this… everyone felt it was too much.”
“So why did Rachel do this?”
“Because she was short-sighted. All she had in her mind was tormenting Ellie and getting back at Melrit.”
“Yeah.”
If she had been a more thoughtful person, she wouldn’t have concluded that she needed to torment students just because of her personal grudges.
“First, the student with the lowest score… Ellie.”
Rachel smiled widely and picked up the test with the highest score.
“Ellie, please come up and get your paper!”
And then…
“…?”
“??”
A new feeling entered the classroom, replacing the vague hostility.
It was embarrassment.
“Um…”
In the center of the classroom, a male student hesitantly raised his hand.
“That’s… mine…”
“…?”
Rachel, flustered, looked at the test paper.
The first and last names were written there.
It clearly wasn’t Eli.
For a moment, she thought maybe she had mixed up the direction, but the score was 45 points.
It was the lowest possible score.
“Ah, uh, sorry.”
“No, no…”
The student really came up to the front, deeply embarrassed, and returned to his seat with his head bowed.
His friends comforted him from the side or gave him concerned glances.
And, as expected, the hostility toward Rachel grew even more.
“Ugh…”
Now that things had turned out this way, Rachel regretted making a mistake.
She should have checked the name before handing it out.
Now she had earned hatred from a student who had nothing to do with it.
Maybe it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t arranged the students by their grades in the first place?
What if she hadn’t decided to pick on Eli beforehand?
She didn’t consider these two questions.
Rachel Vermi was that kind of person, and because of that, she was despised by Melrit.
“Well, then…”
Rachel checked the name again, thinking that this time it would definitely be Eli, but her face stiffened. Once again, it was a different student.
“Is, is this strange? Wait a moment?”
Rachel began flipping through the test papers one by one.
Chris, Misha, Ainya, Bridgick, Levan… Even though she kept turning the pages, there was no test with the name ‘Eli’ written on it.
‘What is this?’
Rachel gritted her teeth in anger and glared at the grader, Sir.
“Sir, I think a student’s test paper is missing. How are you going to take responsibility for this?!”
“Y-yes…?”
Sir had a weak impression, short stature, and a delicate, almost feminine face.
When Rachel suddenly shouted, he trembled and asked back.
“I-I don’t think any test papers are missing… I’ve checked it several times—”
“Don’t lie! The student who’s supposed to be at the top is not here!”
“U-um, could it be… someone else—”
***
At that moment, a voice echoed from a seat by the window.
“Professor Vermi, if you’re looking for mine, it might be faster to count from the other side.”
It was Eli.
She had been watching from the window seat, basking in the morning sunlight, but as the situation escalated, she decided to step in first.
“What…?”
Rachel was speechless, but Sir actively shouted.
“That’s right! Eli is one of the five students who got a perfect score!”
“?!”
Rachel quickly checked.
It was true.
‘This…’
‘Could it be cheating?’
But Eli was quick.
“If you suspect cheating, you’re welcome to have me take the same test again. And it could be observed by several professors as well.”
In truth, this was Eli’s mercy.
Rachel mentioning cheating or anything like that would only worsen her own embarrassment, so Eli decided to bring it up first and end it there.
However, Rachel wasn’t the type to pick up on such intentions.
“…!”
She just gritted her teeth and glared at Eli.
Eli sighed, seeing Rachel’s reaction.
‘This isn’t going to work.’
She had heard it from Melrit.
The professor in charge of Common Magic might try to harm her, so if she wanted, Melrit offered to help her change classes.
But Eli had refused.
She believed that one should face conflicts head-on rather than avoid them, and that a professor disliking her wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
She had even told Melrit before.
An A+ given by someone who dislikes her holds more value than the same grade from someone who likes her.
So, Eli’s original plan was to soothe Rachel to a reasonable extent and keep going until the first semester’s grades were out.
‘This isn’t going to work.’
There was no way she could deal with this kind of person for an entire semester.
Even if she kept quiet, the other students wouldn’t stay silent.
It was clear that this situation would only build up resentment over time.
‘Three months? Four?’
By then, it was obvious she’d be kicked out.
The difference would just be whether it was resignation or dismissal.
In that case…
‘There’s no reason to leave it as it is.’
Eli decided to actively bring Rachel down.
The chaos of a professor change at the end of the semester wasn’t ideal, but it was also an opportunity to gain new experience.
Stella, sitting next to Eli, noticed her friend’s expression and realized.
Ah, she’s thinking of causing something big without a care in the world again.
It hadn’t been long since they first met, but anyone who spends enough time with someone begins to develop a sense for their thoughts quickly.