“Fairies dwell inside of all things, and one is able to awaken them with the power of magic . Fairies that you awaken you’re able to, at will, set to work to do all kinds of things for you . That power however depends on the fairy you rouse . Fairies that dwell in old objects, or in places of great power and magical history, are usually stronger and richer in diversity . It’s said that such fairies transform into spirits easier as well”[1] .

This was Fairy Magic cla.s.s . The teacher, Keiron Sensei, conducted the lecture while walking around the room, textbook in hand, weaving between the desks as he talked . While this was going on, a single piece of chalk danced around busily, all by itself, writing magic letters on the blackboard at the front of the cla.s.sroom .

Keiron Sensei had seemingly cast some kind of magic on the piece of chalk to make it move by itself .

Lynn’s hand moved quickly as he struggled to keep up with the chalk, copying the content of the blackboard into his notebook .

“The most general types of fairy magic manipulate fire, water, and air . Fairies’ strong points are in changing the temperature of air, and in moving things which are very light, or have no weight . For example, fairies that live within metal- such as iron, let’s say, are exceedingly hard to awaken . You wouldn’t be wrong if you described them as quiet, or shy even . Therefore when a wizard wants to move something heavy, or create metal, either mechanical magic with the use of a staff[2], or Metal Magic with the use of a magic circle are used . Now then, on to the difference between fairy and spirit magic-” .

Just as Keiron Sensei began turning the page of the textbook, the bell that signalled the end of the cla.s.s rang .

“That will be all for today . This was the first cla.s.s so there weren’t any tests or a.s.signments today, but do expect those things to start from next week . If you fail a test or an a.s.signment even once, you won’t be able to get any credits from this cla.s.s… I’ll update your academy journals later on with the details of your first a.s.signment . That will be all for now . ” .

Keiron Sensei elegantly bid the students goodbye, and with a sudden rus.h.i.+ng sound, his figure disappeared from the cla.s.sroom in the blink of an eye .

From the spot he occupied just moments ago, a magic circle now slowly floated up from the floor, before dissipating .

Released from the hard work of taking notes, the students began quickly tidying up the cla.s.sroom[3] .

Finished tidying their desks, the students began filing out of the cla.s.sroom one by one, and headed for their next cla.s.s .

Lynn too, like many of the other students, let out a sigh of relief when he finished copying the blackboard .

Theo called over to him from the adjacent desk .

“The cla.s.s was surprisingly normal” .

“Yeah” .

This was the boys’ first cla.s.s in wizard academy .

The teacher talked and the students took notes . All in all it was a fairly traditional cla.s.s .

Lynn had in fact been feeling quite nervous- . Just what kind of strict and rigorous training would he now embark upon, he had wondered to himself . However he now felt relieved .

Before leaving the cla.s.sroom Lynn decided to double check his time table .

“Appear, academy journal” .

Lynn recited the incantation and a thick book appeared in his hand .

This was a new piece of magic that students of the academy could use .

Inside the book was all kinds of information that was essential for an academy student, such as one’s time table, important information about subjects, a map of the academy and so on .

Information such as changes in the scheduled start time of a cla.s.s, or correspondence from teachers could be found in the academy journal, and it was even updated in real time .

Lynn turned to the page that featured his time table .

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“Next is… ‘Basics of Contrivance Magic’ . It’s room 58, on the 58th floor” .

“Alright then, let’s go” .

After Lynn and Theo checked the route to their cla.s.s, they exited the cla.s.sroom and found the elevator that would take them to the 58th floor .

“Remind me, just what is this cla.s.s all about again?” Theo asked .

“Basics of Contrivance Magic? It’s that cla.s.s that if you attend you can get paid” .

Theo struck his right palm into the cup of his left hand, remembering now, and exclaimed “Ah yes . That one…The shady one that was promoted like some kind of suspicious commercial” .

“That’s the one” .

“Then we’ll have to be careful” .

Elective cla.s.ses held tutorials at the beginning, so students were able to make their minds up if they wanted to enroll or not after seeing what it was all about .

If a student wanted to cancel, they had to drop out before the second cla.s.s was held .

For the time being, Lynn and Theo intended to attend the tutorial session before making a decision .

For some reason, Lynn found himself looking forward to this cla.s.s, the Basics of Contrivance Magic .

A high cla.s.s skill wizards could use to earn money… Lynn felt himself drawn to the idea .

Until very recently Lynn had no particular interest in money . So long as he earned enough in the factory to get by, he was perfectly content with his income .

What made him hungry to earn more was the academy city of Allfrid, and it’s beautiful streets .

When he had first stepped foot outside the academy and into the city of Allfrid, what he saw before his eyes was a whole different world . Ever since, he noticed a hunger well up inside him that he had never felt before .

From the rows of vivid red roofs that towered high above one’s head in the shopping district, to the yet even taller and fabulously constructed buildings that reached even higher into the sky above the bustling streets of shoppers below, Lynn was mesmerized by what he saw . Even the clothes that the citizens wore on their backs were luxurious . The city of Renryll just didn’t compare . On top of this, he noticed that the main mode of transport in the city seemed to be horse drawn carriages .

It didn’t take long at all before he began to fantasize about living there .

He might have gained access to floors 50 to 99, but one simple fact hadn’t changed- he still lived like a common rat in a cramped dorm room in Renryll .

With his current income it was impossible for him to afford to live in Allfrid . He felt frustrated .

Just maybe, the cla.s.s ‘Basics of Contrivance Magic’ would let him realize his fantasy of living there .

At any rate, in this cla.s.s it was said that the only cap to your earnings was the amount of work you put in .

When they arrived outside the cla.s.sroom, Lynn felt his chest swell with excitement, and he opened the door .

The cla.s.sroom was huge, with the capacity to accommodate more than 100 students .

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The large, open s.p.a.ce was crammed full of desks, but despite this most desks were already taken .

“Looks like we won’t be able to sit together” .

“It can’t be helped . Let’s sit separately” .

Lynn and Theo parted and searched separately for a place to sit .

As Lynn was weaving in and out between the closely packed desks, he noticed that every student he saw wore gold clasps on their robes, meaning everyone here were commoners like himself- the room now had a rather sorry air about it .

Lynn wondered about restlessly, trying to find somewhere to sit . He made his way deeper into the room .

At last he found a s.p.a.ce to sit . However, at the adjacent desk sat a strange student who appeared dirty and unwashed .

He wore a crimson robe that was proof he was an apprentice of the academy, but here and there it was covered in soot . Lynn noticed the clothes he wore under his robe were stained, and had one or two tears . It was as if this student had worn this same set of clothes for a number of years, without changing out of them even once .

Lynn felt this student wasn’t very approachable, but despite being a little bit afraid, he decided to talk to him anyway .

“Excuse me . Is this seat free?” .

“Ey, it sure is . Sit, sit”

“Oh, thank you” .

Lynn chose to take him at face value, and so accepting the invitation to sit, he let himself sink down into the chair at the empty desk .

He looked over once again at the unusual fellow next to him .

He had black hair that fell down to his shoulders . His unshaven face was covered in p.r.i.c.kly stubble .

He certainly didn’t look presentable, but more than that Lynn was troubled by the fact that he looked far too old to possible be in the same cla.s.s as Lynn .

“Umm” .

“Huh? What is it?” .

“The thing is, I’m actually a first year student . I’m not in the wrong cla.s.s, am I? Perhaps this is a cla.s.s for high cla.s.s wizards, or…” .

“What? Nah, this is a beginner cla.s.s” .

Lynn c.o.c.ked his head in puzzlement . This person appeared to be considerably older .

No no no . It’s not good to judge people by their appearance . Maybe he’s just started growing facial hair faster than most people . We might even be quite similar in age .

Lynn tried to fish for more details .

“Don’t you get the feeling that there are a lot of senior students in the beginner cla.s.ses?”

“There’s a lot of people who keep repeating their year, never able to progress . To be perfectly honest with you, I myself am one of them” .

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“Wh-what?” .

Lynn stumbled over his words as he searched for an appropriate response .

“I haven’t seen your face before . First time taking this cla.s.s?” .

“Yeah, that’s right .

As if remembering his manners, Lynn quickly added “-I’m a first year student . My name’s Lynn” .

“I’m Shadeef . I’ve been enrolled at this academy for about… 20 years now” .

“Twe- Twenty years! You’ve been stuck in beginner cla.s.ses for 20 whole years?” .

“Well… It is what it is . I’m part of the so-called long service folk” .

“Wait, to put it like that though…” [4] .

“You should be careful . Slack off at this academy and it becomes a bottomless swamp . If you take too many pointless cla.s.ses you’ll end up like me” .

End up just like him… Or like that old guy at the factory in Renryll .

Lynn recalled the old man at the factory, who had a misguided obsession with buying cheap stuff [5] . Looking around the room, Lynn realized that everyone, including Shadeef, looked down and out, defeated by life and left with little fight in them . He quickly remembered his initial sense of dread he had about this cla.s.s .

—–

The cla.s.s reached its conclusion with little more being revealed about its syllabus than what was written in the course description that Lynn and Theo had already read . They simply received a simple explanation, or an introduction if you could call it that, of the course .

‘Through practical work, students will study and acquire practical skills needed to succeed as a wizards of Contrivance’ .

‘Students’ work in cla.s.s is considered as work via the commision scheme, and pay is allocated accordingly’ .

The cla.s.s now finished, Lynn and Theo left the cla.s.sroom and headed for the elevator that would take them back to Renryll .

This was the end of their cla.s.ses for today, and so they were on their way to their favourite cafeteria, Kitchen Gumorie .

“What’s the deal with that cla.s.s anyway? We were only told what we already read on the course description . What was the point in even going?” .

“I know, it was kind of pointless . So what do you think of it then?” .

“Well, there were a lot of older people” .

“Right? I was talking to the person next to me . Apparently there’s a lot of students who keep repeating their years . Just as we thought, there’s something off about that cla.s.s . It’s suspicious” .

“Hmm… We won’t know for certain unless we actually enroll and- Wait, I think there’s a notification in our academy journals” .

The pattern on the back of Theo’s hand was glowing- a sign that some new information had been delivered to their journals .

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“Appear, academy journal . Looks like we have an a.s.signment for Fairy Magic” .

“Really!? What does it say?” .

“Let’s see… ‘Memorize 50 basic fairy awakening incantations . These will appear on next week’s test . A 10,000 character report on the difference between fairies and spirits . A 5,000 character report on the threshold of water quality in which fairies can well in . A 5,000 character report on Fairies’ flame temperature and colour’ . What the h.e.l.l! We have to do all of this by next week?” .

Theo cursed out loud in disbelief .

Lynn too was bewildered .

By no means, would they really have this much coursework to do for each cla.s.s, every single week?

“This is crazy . We’ve gotta economize our time management . We don’t have time to be dilly-dallying about like this . We’re going to the library right away” .

Theo turned around and headed in the direction of an elevator that would take them to a library, but Lynn pulled him back by the shoulder .

“Theo! Look, it’s that girl” .

In the direction Theo had tried to go in, Lynn had spotted a character that he recognized straight away .

Theo looked at where Lynn was pointing . It was Yuven, the girl they had crossed paths with just before their entrance ceremony .

It seemed as though she was about to attend one of her cla.s.ses- and on this floor nonetheless .

Seeing Yuven’s figure not too far away from where they were standing, Theo groaned . He had a pained look on his face .

Yuven was walking down the corridor quietly, with her master at her side . Her refined posture and way of carrying herself was indeed befitting of a n.o.ble family such as hers, of the aristocrat .

Theo whispered to Lynn urgently . “Hey, don’t look her in the eye . Pretend you don’t see her as we walk past” .

“Ok” .

Lynn also wasn’t exactly in the mood to see her either . He felt he would be embarra.s.sed if she saw him in his current clothes .

In the eyes of those of higher social status, the aristocrats, Lynn felt like he was stripped naked . Just a glance was usually all it took for them to see he was just a commoner, and then they changed their att.i.tude towards him instantly . It was like a switch . Just how he should handle the aristocrats, he still did not know .

Next time… Chapter 16, ‘The Battle of Two Camps’ .

TRANSLATION NOTES

[1] Fairies are spirits with form and that posses their own will . Spirits, at least in this case, are more like forces of nature that don’t have their own will, but can inhabit all kinds of things . How exactly the author will portray both kinds of magic, well we’ll just have to wait to find out, seeing as Keiron Sensei ran out of time before he could tell us this time .

[2] I’ve chosen to translate the j.a.panese word 杖 as ‘staff’ for this novel, though the previous translator translated it was ‘cane’ . ‘Wand’ would be my personal second choice over ‘cane’, but I’ve seen the ill.u.s.trations and what they use look like staffs to my eyes at least, so I’ve gone with that .

[3] There’s a custom in j.a.panese schools where students clean the cla.s.srooms after school, or maybe perhaps after some lessons (I’m not sure on this point though) . This is common practice up to high school at least .

[4] The oddball Shadeef referred to himself as part of the so called ‘long service’ . Lynn thought that phrasing it that way made it sound like a good thing, and was uncharacteristically exasperated . I thought it was quiet funny seeing Lynn for a brief while drop his usual politeness .

[5] In a previous chapter one of Lynn’s co workers at the factory, an older guy, approached Lynn to ask him how he managed to pa.s.s the entrance exam on his first try . When Lynn explained the merits of buying a more expensive ma.s.s staff to complete factory work quicker, which would allow one to spend more time studying, the older guy proclaimed that buying cheap was the only way . Despite being an understudy, stuck below floor 50 for years, he was still unwilling to take advice from Lynn, who had made it into the academy and above floor 49 .

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