Silent Witch

Normally, the elective courses at Serendia Academy are conducted by all three grades.

However, only the third-year students were given elective courses at the beginning of the new semester, about a month and a half earlier than the first and second-year students.

Today's observation tour will mainly consist of freshmen and sophomores freely observing the classroom of third graders.

Since Lana and Claudia had already decided on the course they wanted to take, they each went off to observe their own courses.

Monica, who hasn't decided on one yet, was in the middle of touring each classroom with Casey, who had invited her to join her during lunch.

As she walked, Monica looked over the handouts she had been given in advance. Reading it over again, she was amazed at the variety of courses offered.

At Minerva, where she used to enroll, had all courses related to magic except for the basic education courses, so she had never had to worry about this much.

As Monica nodded in understanding, Casey, walking next to her, opened her mouth.

"I guess swordsmanship and equestrian courses are the most popular among boys. Especially with equestrian, since there are only so many horses available, it's often going to end up in a lottery. To tell you the truth, I took the equestrian course last year, too. And I was lucky enough to win the lottery."

"Y-You're able to ride a horse, Casey?"

As Monica rounded her eyes, Casey brushed it with a laugh as if it was no big deal.

"All the men and women in my hometown knew to ride a horse. I used to accompany my father on his long rides. I even join him on a hunt sometimes with my crossbow."

For a wealthy noble, hunting was just another form of entertainment. But to Casey, it's one way of earning a living.

Casey was amazing, Monica thought honestly.

She was energetic and capable of doing things. She was also good at cooking and embroidery. In her hometown, she used to do embroideries on days when the weather was bad and sell them to make a living.

Even without a maidservant, she had no difficulty in taking care of herself and had a good capability for living.

As Monica looked up at Casey with admiration, Casey scratched her head uncomfortably. This kind of unladylike gesture was really a part of her.

"Aw, please stop complimenting me like that, it's really embarrassing. I am not that great at all. We've always been poor because our land often heavily damaged by dragons, so we couldn't eat unless we've got skills like that."

"B-But, you're able to keep up your grades, on general academic courses."

Whether it was tea party class or ballroom dancing class, Casey's grades were never bad.

It was a far cry from Monica's almost catastrophic grades in everything but math.

"No, I'm just know all of them a bit."

"Haha," Casey gave a wry laugh before glancing at the handout in Monica's hand.

"But now that I have the opportunity to enroll at Serendia Academy, I'd like to learn things that I can't learn back home. For example… is this course."

Casey then pointed to the text in the handout.

Looking at the words, Monica rounded her eyes. Casey pointed to the "practical magic" course.

"I'm a little curious about practicing magic myself. In my hometown, we rarely see magicians. Are you interested in it, Monica?"

"Huh? Noooo, I just…"

If anything, Monica was actually one of the best magicians in the kingdom, one of the Seven Sages, the Silent Witch. Of course, there is no way she could tell her that.

If Monica was an ordinary magician, she would have been able to take practical magic courses without hiding her true identity.

However, Monica has a fatal flaw.

Monica, who can't chant properly in public, can't chant normally—in other words, she can only use the no-chant spell.

And the moment she uses a no-chant spell, Monica's true identity will be revealed. Because Monica was the only person in the world who could use a no-chant spell.

"I-I-I-I don't think I'm cut out for magic, so…"

"Is that so? You never know until you try… Wait, Monica, you look really pale, are you okay?"

"Th-that's no-not tr-true…."

"Now you're just gonna let it roll off your tongue."

Casey put her hands on her hips and gave her an exasperated look… then her eyes suddenly widened.

Her gaze was not focused on Monica, but the person behind her.

"Hello, Miss Norton. How are you feeling now?"

It was impossible to mishear his soft and gentle voice.

Like a squeaky old spring, Monica turned around to see Felix smiling at her with a dignified smile.

"Y-Your… Your Highness."

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've heard that amusing phrase."

"A-About t-that matter, I-I am thrulledly grateful, for your help."

"…thrulledly…"

In response to Monica's unusual comment, Felix covered his mouth with his hand as he quivered.

On the other hand, Casey's face stiffened and became rigid. He was the second prince that everyone adored, but being in a different grade, it was not often had the chance to meet in such close proximity, so her reaction was only natural.

Still paying attention to Casey, Monica asked him stiffly.

"U-Um… W-Why are you here… Y-Your Highness."

"Some of the third-year students are helping to guide the first- and second-year students on their observation visits. Have you picked your elective courses yet, by any chance?"

When Monica was shaking her head, Felix said, "Oh, that's a relief," and smiled cheerfully.

She had a very bad feeling about this. Whenever his highness was in a good mood, Monica would usually end up in a bad situation.

"I think I have a course that might be suitable for you. Allow me to show you around. Your friend can tag along."

She has especially a bad feeling about this. She had nothing but a bad feeling. However, since Felix had invited her out, there was no way Monica could refuse.

The already stiff-faced Casey replied, "I-It's my pleasure."

If she knew this was going to happen, she might have just picked embroidery or musical performance at that time!

Inwardly holding her head up, Monica followed Felix helplessly.

＊ ＊ ＊

"We've arrived."

This was the very classroom that Felix had led her to. When Monica saw the sign on the door, she bawled her eyes out. Maybe her eyes had gone a little white, maybe her heart had almost stopped.

‘Practical Magic.'

It was the worst course that Monica could have chosen.

To Monica, who was shaking all over, Felix said with an oddly amused look.

"I haven't taken this particular course, but I think you might be well suited for magic."

"W-What made you think t-t-that way…?"

What made him think that way?

Felix answered Monica's sluggish question with a simple answer.

"It's said that the more math-oriented one is, the better one is at magic. You've got an outstanding grade in mathematics, don't you? So I figured you'd be good at it."

That's exactly right. Monica's ability to calculate has allowed her to create numerous new magic formulas and mastered the art of no-chant spells.

However, Monica absolutely could not allow herself to pick this course.

How can I find an excuse to leave this place? As she pondered this, Felix opened the door to the classroom and called out to the teacher standing at the podium.

"Professor Macgregan, I've brought two candidates who wish to observe."

"Hmm?"

The teacher standing at the podium slowly turned around to look at their way.

He was a small old man with thick white eyebrows and a long beard that hid his eyes and mouth… Monica recognized him.

While Monica turned pale and Casey looked curious, Felix said cheerfully.

"This is Professor Macgregan, the teacher in this practical magic course. Until a few years ago, he was a teacher at the most prestigious magician training institute, Minerva…"

P-Professor Macgregan!?

Macgregan was the teacher who had taught Monica magic when she was a student at Minerva. Naturally, they were acquainted.

She had heard that Macgregan had retired from Minerva at about the same time Monica was graduating, but she never imagined that he was teaching here!

The words "mission failed" raced through Monica's head.

I-It's over… the whole thing's been exposed…

As Monica stood there looking like a dead man, Macgregan said in a tone that was rather cute for his age.

"……Who are chuu?"

"I'm Felix Ark Riddile, the student council president."

"Oh, so you're that student council president… yeah… thanks for bringing them here… uh, are you two the visitors? I'm sorry, but I don't have very good eyesight. Are chuu boys or girls?"

"Both of them are girls."

"Ah, so they're girls. Yes, yes, more girls are taking this course these days."

His tone was cute for his age, and he spoke uniquely, referring to other people as "chuu" instead of "you", just as Monica remembered.

…and also, the fact that he has trouble seeing.

Maybe… h-he hasn't noticed? I still have a chance. I can still escape now.

To begin with, Monica came to this school not as ‘Monica Everett' but ‘Monica Norton.' Unless someone called her by her first name out loud, it was unlikely that she would be recognized as the same person…

"Ohhhh! Is that you, Monica? Are you picking a practical magic course too, Monica?"

Monica's head went total blank for a few seconds.

As Monica came to her senses, she was approached by Glenn Dudley, who was in high spirits today, and Neil Clay Maywood, another student council member.

Neil greeted Felix politely when he caught sight of him.

"Hello, President. And Miss Norton too. Are you all going to be picking this course?"

Felix shook his head at Neil's words.

"Unfortunately, I have not taken it, but I thought it might be suitable for Miss Norton, so I was showing her and her friend around."

"What? Really? I can barely manage counting two-digit addition… Maybe I'm just not very good at it?"

The fact that Glenn had also come to this classroom meant that he was planning to pick a practical magic course.

That reminds me, Glenn… is an apprentice magician, I think?

Glenn has performed his flying magic several times in front of Monica. It's not an easy technique, so Glenn must have some talent.

As Monica was thinking about this, Macgregan cleared his throat, "Ahem."

"Don't stand there talking at the entrance, please come and take your seat. Also, on the subject of what makes someone is suitable to become a magician and what doesn't, I'll explain it to you so that it's easier for the other students to understand."

Macgregan urged Monica and the others to sit down at an empty seat.

Even Felix, who was not a candidate, sat down next to Monica with an amused look on his face. She hoped that he could back to his job of showing the students around as quickly as possible.

"Okay, ahem. First of all, to become a magician, all you need is these three talents. It's ‘amount of mana', ‘ability to comprehend magic formulas', and ‘skill to manipulate mana'."

Macgregan wrote the three aspects he had just mentioned on the blackboard and circled the words ‘the quantity of mana' first.

"Whatever you say, the most important talent is the amount of your mana. Without it, you couldn't cast any spells in the first place. Nowadays, it's easy to measure with a mana measuring tool, but to be an apprentice, you need to have about 50 points of mana. Over 100 is pretty good, over 150 and you could become one of the Seven Sages."

When he mentioned the word of ‘Seven Sages,' Monica's heart jumped again.

Oh, how bad for the heart!

"Next is ‘ability to comprehend magic formulas'… magic formula is like mathematical equations. As chuu all said earlier, this is the reason why children who excel in mathematics are suitable for magicians. The magic formula is ‘the blueprint and framework of magic,' that is. The more you comprehend the magic formula correctly, the mooooooore accurate your magic will be. It was what the Silent Witch had said, though."

*Monica shriek internally*

"Oh, incidentally, many of magic formulas that "Silent Witch" created, often appear on written tests, so keep that in mind."

Please don't keep that in your mind!!

"Well, it's no exaggeration to say that she's an amazing magician that turned the theory of modern magic upside down."

That's an exaggeration. Please stop with that praise!

Monica's complexion was no longer pale, but ashen. She would like to escape from this place right now if she could. Next to her, Casey whispered, ‘Monica, are you okay?' but Monica could only give a small nod with a strained smile on her face.

"Finally, ‘skill to manipulate mana'. This refers to the process of weaving mana based on a magic formula, and it requires a great deal of sense. A girl with excellent sense can effortlessly turn mana into a spell, while a girl with poor sense will always end up losing her mana. In many cases, a child can use spells to some extent, even if their understanding of the magic formula is low if he has excellent ‘skill to manipulate mana'. In crafting, even with a rough blueprint and framework, you can still create some kind of form. Well, you can't expect a good product out of it."

Perhaps Glenn was that type of person. Even if this type of person does not have a good comprehension of magic formulas, they can formulate a spell to a certain extent with their natural sense.

"Well, it's preferable to have all three of these talents. The basic premise is that you can't use magic if you don't have mana. All the students who want to take this class have to have their mana measured."

Macgregan then placed an armful ornament on the podium. It was a metal base with a clear crystal ball on it. The pedestal has a number scale from 0 to 250 on it.

"This is called a mana measuring tool, and if you put your hand on this crystal ball, it can easily measure your mana. Here, just like this."

When Macgregan placed his hand on the crystal ball, the crystal ball glowed a pale blue, and the number on the scale moved to 158.

His mana numbered 158… he's unquestionably at an advanced magician level.

"My mana is 158, with blue light, so my best attribute is water… You can easily find out what your mana is like. Pretty impressive, isn't it? Okay, you two, take turns touching it."

………….do I have to?

Monica's heart beat fast with an unpleasant sound.

The general guideline for the quantity of mana is as follows: 1~49 is for ordinary people with no talent, 50~99 is for apprentices and low-level magicians, 100~149 is for intermediate magicians, and 150 and above is for advanced magicians. Over 200 is rarely seen.

And since Seven Sages are required to have mana of 150 or more, they must be measured once a year. Therefore, Monica knew exactly how much mana she had.

M-My last measurement was… 202.

Since the amount of mana grows at its peak in the latter half of the teenage years, there is a possibility that it may have increased even more if things went badly.

And having mana over 200 was not a common number by all accounts.

W-W-W-W-W-What should I do!?

Monica shuddered as her whole body was drenched in cold sweats.