Chapter 16

2.5 Intermission: Instructor Freya’s Diary

†TH OF ○

Got a message from Big Sis today. Apparently she’s going to be staying in Gilbadia for a while. Something about discovering Dark element magic in the heir to the Gilbert house. I mean, come on! Like, I know that rare elements are amazing and all that…but she’s just so selfish! She’s always been this way, ever since we were kids. She’s usually so clever, but she always gets way too worked up about some things. Whenever a research topic catches her eye, that’s it! Nothing else matters. Like, she’s still living in my house and everything…

Not that that’s not okay! I mean, I bet she just thinks of me as a convenient servant anyway! Ah, it feels good to get this off my chest! Um…I guess I can also admit this here: I do get a little lonely sometimes. I’d never tell her that, though.

☆ th of ○

I’m getting letters from her almost every day now, which does make me happy, I suppose…but why do they all say the same thing?! It’s all “Luke’s incredible!” and “Alice is amazing!” and “Dark magic’s seriously out of this world.” It never ends! I get it, okay?! Tell me a bit about how you’re doing, won’t you?!

Like, come on! This page, that’s mostly just the phrase “oh boy, oh boy, oh boy” over and over again, doesn’t even count as a letter! Come home already, you big magic-obsessed dummy!

○ th of △

After around a year in Gilbadia, Big Sister’s finally come home. Hurray! …Yeah, to be honest, I’m pretty happy about this. I was lonely, you know? But, like…the moment she comes back, she starts talking about working as an instructor for the next three years?! What the heck?!

Like, wait a second now, this is all happening way too fast! Man…I’m her little sister, and even I’m getting tired of how free-spirited she can be. I mean, I get it, that Luke kid and his newly discovered Dark element are super interesting, I know that. But come on…she’s moving way too fast! Who even knows if he’ll pass the entrance exam or not?

It’s an amazing magic academy too. It’s not like you can become an instructor there by just walking up and asking nicely…but I bet Big Sister could do it, if she really wants to. I mean, she’s already managed to climb to the position of Magic Knight, which is amazing, given how lazy she is when she’s at home. I had to work so hard to get my Magic Knight position, so we’re nothing alike in that. Ah, Big Sister, you’re so focused on the things you like, and you never compromise on them… I gotta say, I do respect you for that.

△ th of △

Today was the day of Aslan Magic Academy’s entrance exam.

Yep…Luke really was amazing. I did wonder, since Big Sister won’t shut up about him, but he definitely passed the exam with that performance. He settled every one of his fights in an instant during the practicals, so I was a bit disappointed I didn’t get to see more of his magic. Honestly? He’s just like my big sister in some ways. Both of them are the real deal with their immense raw talent. Yeah, Dark is a powerful element, but it’s not just that. If he didn’t have the magical aptitude to wield it effectively, it wouldn’t matter how good his element was. But he’s got a massive amount of talent… Both of them do. They’re special.

It’s just…those gifted kids who can do just about anything on the first try can be surprisingly sensitive. That’s what worries me… Which is why I’ve got to support him as one of his instructors, I suppose! All right! I’m starting to get fired up!

But, like…see…I love kids, but I always get super nervous around them and end up being strict instead…trying to play it cool, I guess? It’s such a shame…I’ve been totally pigeonholed at the academy as one of those mean teachers.

No! Don’t give up, Freya!

This is the year I’m going to get closer to the students! I’m going to be the one they turn to! The one they ask for advice about all their problems!

And so it was that I set in motion my “Cool Homeroom Teacher Debut Plan.”

JK.

# th of â€

Finally, finally, finally!

I got the first-year homeroom teacher position! All right! I’m, like, super stoked about this! I’ve always wanted to be a homeroom teacher, so I really am happy about this. But…also a bit nervous.

This academy isn’t just a place for having fun… Everyone gets really brutal because of that rank-system stuff. Every single year, a handful of first years will inevitably transfer out…

Oh man, just thinking about all this is making me even more nervous! What do I do? Am I really going to be able to do this? Whenever the kids come talk to me, I panic and end up being super formal with them… Argh, I’m really in my own head about this. Like, I think I’m going to make a massive mistake somewhere. I don’t know if she’ll be able to help, but I should ask Big Sis about this later.

○ th of ○○

Tomorrow…it’s finally the big day, when all the new students come in for their orientation. I’m so freaking nervous… I’ve been thinking about this so much. I’ve had this little stabbing pain in my stomach the whole day I’ve been here at the academy. It’s not like it hurts that much, but it’s more like one of those constant little torments. Like hell, I suppose. Oh, help me, Big Sis… I’m always so jealous of how well she seems to sleep. Be a bit more nervous about all this, won’t you…?

Like, even if I was being charitable, I wouldn’t say you’re much good at teaching people, Big Sis! Geniuses are the worst! They always get things instinctually and leave the rest of us behind. Ever since I was little, she’s been looking over my work and trying to teach me magic…but I never learned a thing from her, y’know? She overloads you with too much information at once…like so much background knowledge and advanced stuff that it makes your head feel like it’s going to explode.

She’s even worse when it comes to magic…just gives you a long stream of mouth noises like “You have to bwoosh here! Not like a fwsh-fwsh-fwsh!”

Seriously, I have no idea how she manages to write essays. I’ll never understand how geniuses feel so long as I live. Ah…but I guess thinking about her has calmed me down a bit.

Thanks.

†th of ○○

Oh boy… Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

This is messed up. Today’s my first day as a homeroom teacher, and they’re already doing rank duels: Luke and Abel, the top of the class against the bottom. This fight’s only going ahead because they just arrived. I sort of got carried away and gave them permission to duel without checking first, and, man, did I get shouted at for it…but I don’t have a single regret. I mean, they were both ­amazing! Their duel was just awesome, totally nuts! I mean…they fought with swords, y’know?! Both of them! Luke pulled out his sword, and I had no idea what was going on. And Abel fought with enhancement magic stacked on himself… That kid’s a total mystery. He really is amazing, though I feel like he’s still getting kicked around by his own spells a bit. His movements are too direct, and there’s no mana in his sword just yet. He might be able to make up for that with magic tools someday, but he’s never going to win without any Anti-magic to cut through spells. He absolutely needs that if he’s going to make his style of swordsmanship work. Yeah, there’s a lot for him to work on…but I’m really looking forward to it. Maybe Abel and Luke are going to change the accepted wisdom that magic users are only meant to fight with their spells. Like, they could be spell-swordsmen maybe?

Luke is…just incredible. Really, truly something else. The one real advantage Abel had over him was his speed—I couldn’t even keep track of him myself. If I were Luke, I think I’d try and attack him with some long, wide-ranged spell. Most people with the Dark element would do the same, probably. Doesn’t matter how fast you can go if there’s nowhere to run.

But Luke…he kept it simple, fighting with his sword! He didn’t even enhance himself at all! I really have no clue what he was doing. I don’t know the first thing about swords, but even I could see how talented he was. Then there was that Dark spell he used right at the end! That thing was so incredible, it made my mind go totally black for a second! Big Sis told me that Dark was an element that absorbed. Sure…but I never thought it’d be so powerful! I was so smitten by it, I didn’t even think to manipulate my mana to resist him, and he sucked me half dry. He broke all the magic tools that were deploying Magic Barriers around the arena too. I think I understand why Big Sis is so obsessed with him now. I mean, he’s so special, you can’t help but notice it at a glance.

Uh-oh…I also completely failed my quest to be an approachable homeroom teacher. I’ll be going with the “cool instructor” character this year too.

How…depressing.

☆ th of ○○

A few days have passed since classes started. Everything’s going really well, to be honest. Seems like the students are getting along in the dorms too. Though the hierarchy system means they’re all rivals, they do need to work together as classmates too, I suppose. They’ll never beat the upperclassmen if they don’t actively share information with each other so they can all better themselves. Well…I suppose there are exceptions to the rule every year, though.

Anyway, Mia and Lloyd’s rank duel is coming up tomorrow. It’s the first official freshman duel that the public is going to get to see. I bet they’re both nervous…I wonder if there’s anything I could do to help. Honestly, I’m not actually in favor of rank duels for first years. In my opinion, it’d be much better if they could begin in second year. These students need to grow up a bit first, y’know? Plus, that would probably cut down on the number of transfers in the first year.

Sadly, though, I’m not in any position to change the systems of this academy. So, in that case… Mia! Lloyd! Both of you try your best out there! I’m rooting for you!

◇ th of ○○

Lloyd ended up winning the rank duel. Mia’s got three elements, and she’s undoubtedly talented. She’s got no less potential than Lloyd, and the duel really just came down to her indecisiveness and poor mental fortitude. Also, Lloyd only has one element. That put her at a disadvantage as well… There’s a unique sort of late blooming that comes from having so many talents.

You might consider her a bit of a disappointment if you only got a look at the results, but I think both of them did really well. It was a fantastic duel, and I’m sure the experience will spur some serious growth in both of them. Lloyd’s good at fighting. He doesn’t have multiple elements, so that really limits his choices in a duel. That’s why he puts his enemies down with overwhelming firepower before they can do anything to counter him. It’s simple, but I think it’s the best tack that he’s got. It makes a lot of sense for him to fight the way he does.

Mia…I’m kind of worried about how she’ll handle this. I think this is probably the first real frustration she’s faced in life. I wonder if she’s okay? I thought about going to see her, but I decided to let her rest for the day. I don’t think anything I tell her now will really reach her, and I think if it were me, I’d just want to be left alone.

I will go see her tomorrow, though.

□th of ○○

I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished, I’m finished.

Mia came to ask for permission to use one of the magic training areas today. Man, she’s back on her feet quick! I thought. I’m still cursed though…still trying to play the cool teacher, and so I ended up saying something pretty insensitive to her. I wanted to apologize, so I went to the training area to see what she was up to.

When I got there, she and Luke were talking about something together. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but something was clearly off. I mean, like, Mia started crying partway through, and then she was clinging to his leg. I sort of gave in to my curiosity and just watched them for a while, but then Luke came walking toward me. I panicked, ended up hiding in one of the cleaning supply lockers, and that’s about where my luck ran out.

He found me.

I was so panicked, I came out with this mysterious line, like…

“There is an instructor hiding in a locker that is meant for cleaning supplies. The chances of such a thing occurring are not high, of course, but they are by no means zero. What you see is an uncontested fact. It is a reality that is not up for debate.”

…To be honest, I don’t even know what I was saying. Then I just left.

Aaaaaaah! My cool teacher image! How am I supposed to go to school tomorrow?!

Big Sis! Help meee—

(The rest was illegible.)