"Huh? There's nothing left for me to teach…"
Magic Circle instructor Agata's brain was about to short-circuit from the sheer number of things she had never experienced before.
When a talented student graduated and left her with free time, a recommendation-seat student named Alan—a commoner who was formerly a noble—had enrolled thanks to a duke's recommendation.
Just when she thought he had recreated Hellfire Magic, he couldn't even draw a basic magic circle for a while.
She had been agonizing over how such a lopsided student could exist and how she was supposed to teach someone this extreme, and then suddenly—without warning—he completed a magic circle.
And just like that, after that day and the next, there was nothing left to teach him.
He could even draw large-scale magic circles for wide-area annihilation single-handedly, within one minute.
Normally, several skilled magicians would have to cooperate for days to complete something like that.
It was as if he had instantly leaped from the very bottom all the way to the pinnacle.
There had been the occasional student who suddenly showed rapid growth after some catalyst, but this was beyond that level altogether.
It would actually be easier to accept if someone told her he had been swapped out for a different person entirely.
And on top of all that, the conclusion Alan had reached was: "I have enough power without incantations, so I probably won't use magic circles. But my understanding deepened, so I feel like my potential has gone up."
Come to think of it, Alan was an adventurer.
So he prioritized practicality—that much she understood.
She could follow the logic… but she still couldn't quite accept it.
Incidentally, she had invited him to research magic together, but he declined.
◇◇◇
He took instructor Agata's magic circle course and attended the advanced lectures for serious students, earning certificates of competence from each instructor.
Each professor asked him to join their research, but he turned them all down—sorry, but no.
I don't think I'm cut out to be a scholar or a teacher or anything of the sort.
For reference, the honors students had this to say:
"If he's a commoner? We should scout him and let him display his abilities to the fullest."
"We should also sharpen our own skills so we don't end up being looked down on by capable commoners beneath us."
That sort of thing — they chatted with me, a lowly commoner, without any ill will whatsoever.
Man, that temperature difference really gets me.
◇◇◇
I'd achieved my goal, and I should have been stronger now.
Just as I was thinking that, letters materialized in the sky above the academy at dusk.
A simple message relayed through a magic circle — nothing more.
I have no idea who sent it, but what a colossal waste of talent.
'Alain. I have captured your associate. Come to the abandoned building.'
◇◇◇
The spacious lobby on the first floor of the abandoned building, tucked away in a corner of the academy grounds.
In the center of a wide-open space — room enough to draw a magic circle — sat a pink-haired girl in restraints.
It was Melty.
"Alain-kun… you shouldn't have come!"
"Fwahaha! So the commoner girl was enough to lure you here. No wonder you were expelled from the marquis household."
Appearing behind her was a middle-aged nobleman with an air of gentlemanly refinement.
A handsome man wearing a silk top hat.
"So you're Vice-Headmaster Delta."
"Don't you dare address me so familiarly, you filth. Now then, I cannot overlook your multitude of atrocities. Come — die alongside that woman. This academy has no need for commoners!"
"I'm the one who thinks *you're* not needed. Are you a noble so important? Blue blood is nothing but a fantasy."
"What do you think nobles are?! Who guarantees the livelihoods of commoners who lack magical power? It is we who make critical decisions on a daily basis in place of those ignorant masses — people who refuse to make decisions themselves yet never stop complaining!"
Ah, right.
Quite the superiority complex.
"Lecture received. Think what you like — just don't drag the uninvolved Melty into this."
"This is exactly why commoners are... Words are wasted on you, aren't they? Show yourselves!"
From each of the four corners of the vast lobby, figures draped in black robes materialized.
Instructors loyal to the Vice-Headmaster's faction.
"Your sins are grave — reducing our colleague Armstrong to a permanent invalid and killing Katze! Submit quietly and face our judgment!"
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse][Divine Eye][Sword God][Gentleman Thief][Dark Magic][Rock-Iron Magic][Holy Magic][Spacetime Magic][Scorching Heat Magic][Frozen Ice Magic][Magic Hand][Temptation][Pain Dulling][Complete Status Ailment Resistance][Fire Spirit's Protection][Phantom Demon][Swift Thunder][Dark Spirit's Protection][Superhuman Strength][Thunder God Blade][Strong Luck][Clear Storm Magic][Humility]
Rank: Silver (Alisa: Gold)
Thank you always for reading😊