Chapter 9: She’s quite beautiful

“Miss Lumina, please wake up… the ceremony’s over.”

I felt someone shaking me. Annoyed, I opened my eyes to see Emilia looking at me with a worried expression. Remembering that I had asked her to wake me up, I began rubbing my eyes.

“Is it over?”

“Yes.”

I stifled a yawn, covering my mouth with my hand.

“What’s next?”

As I asked, I surveyed the surroundings and noticed that we were the last ones remaining in the Great Hall.

“We need to hurry up, or we’ll be left behind! They’ve already started the tour.”

“Really? Let’s go then!”

I quickly stood up and headed toward the exit, with Emilia following closely behind. She seemed quite anxious.

(Well, I guess it was my fault for sleeping. I probably need to apologize to her later.)

I thought about this while increasing my pace.

A few minutes later, we managed to catch up to a line of students. Panting heavily, I glanced at Emilia and saw her squatting on the floor. I gave a wry smile and reached out my hand to help her. She accepted it with a slight pout.

“It was your fault to begin with.”

Her voice was faint, but I heard her clearly. Unable to refute her, I responded with a dry laugh.

***

This work is hosted on mananovel.com

The tour ended, and now we were heading back to the dormitory.

“Though we still couldn’t use most of them, aren’t the facilities quite large and luxurious?” I said to Emilia, who was walking beside me, with a hint of jealousy. After seeing all those things, who wouldn’t?

At the start of the tour, I was impressed with the facilities available to general studies students. The giant library with over 10,000 books and a soothing environment was first. Next was the classy school park located at the back of the school. Lastly, there was the open café with a tempting selection of sweets.

However, my mood took a dive during the second part of the tour. The extravagance of the elite facilities was overwhelming. First was the field at the center of the school, dedicated solely to practicing offensive magic.

Next was the Great Magic Hall, which occupied the entire right wing of the school. Although we were barred from entering, I caught glimpses through the windows and saw that it was another café, even classier and more luxurious than the one we could access. I noticed a four-layered chocolate cake on display! I felt a surge of jealousy at the sight of it, even though there hadn’t been a wedding.

As I reflected on the tour, my mood worsened. Emilia, sensing my change in demeanor, began to panic.

“I think those things are just right for them. They are elites and can use more powerful magic than us.”

“So it comes down to talent, huh… Then let’s try to beat them in academics, Emilia!” I declared, clenching my fist and facing her. She stopped walking, her expression frozen. I became a bit mischievous and poked one of her cheeks. She quickly recoiled, a nervous expression on her face.

“Won’t we get scolded if we do better than them?”

The frown on my face deepened. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“It would be the opposite. They’d praise us if we do well.”

“Eh? Why?”

Emilia’s confusion was evident.

“We’re students, so it’s our duty to study. If we excel, our results will reflect that.”

“Really?”

“Yep, really. So come to my room later tonight and bring 30 sheets of paper, a feather pen, and some ink.”

She suddenly paled. “That many sheets? Why?”

“Because I won’t just be teaching you one subject. In addition to reading and writing, I’ll also teach you math and science! We’re going to do this every afternoon until night, starting today!”

“Eh?”

“Our goal is to make those elites regret not sharing their chocolate cake with us!”

“Eh?”

I grabbed Emilia’s hands and hurried back to the dormitory.

That night, I drilled the basics of writing, reading, and some math into her. Although she learned quickly, she started to get a headache when I introduced mathematics. So I decided to postpone teaching science.

***

Despite going to bed late, I managed to wake up early. After having breakfast, Emilia and I groggily walked to our classroom. Although we weren’t in the same class, since there weren’t many of us in general studies, our classes were held in the same building.

According to Emilia, there were roughly 2,300 students enrolled in magic classes and 800 in general studies. The magic students were divided into four groups: red, blue, yellow, and green. In contrast, general studies students had no groups or leaders.

We arrived at the school building and parted ways at the stairways. My classroom was on the second floor, while Emilia’s was on the first.

I opened the door to my classroom and was surprised to find it quite classy. The wooden chairs had cushions, and the desk was wide for a single student. The deep blue curtains and the paintings on the walls made me question if this was really a place where first graders like me should learn.

Feeling a bit nervous, I entered the classroom and chose a seat farthest from the blackboard. Since Emilia was in a different class, I took out some sheets of paper from my bag and began writing with a feather pen.

I was jotting down everything I remembered about science, from the basics of the four states of matter to elementary physics.

As I continued writing, the classroom filled up and the teacher entered. There were 40 students in total, including me. The teacher looked quite dull and old, which made me lose interest, but since he was in charge, I paid attention.

He had us introduce ourselves one by one. When it was my turn, I stood up and made a slight bow.

“Good morning, classmates. My name is Lumina Chis Chem, the only daughter of a low-ranking noble. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

After my introduction, I returned to my seat. The classroom buzzed with whispers.

“How long has she been here?”

“I didn’t notice her at all!”

“She’s quite beautiful. Why didn’t I see her at breakfast?”

I felt slightly depressed hearing their whispers.

(Is my presence so insignificant? I was the first one here! Why didn’t anyone notice me?)

The teacher clapped his hands to get our attention and said he would begin the class. Since I already knew the material, I resumed writing and stopped listening to him.

Occasionally, he would make me recite numbers, letters, or read a book aloud to the class as a lesson in paying attention. Since I was already familiar with all of these things, I answered fluently. Before I knew it, the morning classes were over.