Ch. 32 - First Class

With the help of Eliza and Strass telling me what was covered regarding the basics and knowledge of magic in the elementary division, I was able to decide on the content of my first class.

Nervous, I stood in front of the classroom I had reserved. It was still five minutes early, but I thought it would be good to start preparing.

I opened the door.

There, sitting at the front was Shenley. "Ah, Aoi-sensei! Good morning!"

"Good morning, Shenley-san." I returned the greeting.

I walked to the teacher's desk and looked around the classroom.

Only the trio of female students and a quiet male student were seated. The trio were looking at me with sparkling eyes.

The attendance list on the desk had only six names. It seemed that a new teacher's class still had little demand.

Nevertheless, six students came to attend my class.

I raised my head and looked at everyone's faces. "Shenley-san."

"Yes!"

I called out everyone's names.

Then I saw the last name on the list.

"Hmm? Felter-kun?" I tilted my head.

Not long after, Felter appeared through the door. "Yes."

I blinked in surprise as Felter confidently strode past me and sat down in the window seat in the front row.

"… This is not about body enhancement, you know?"

"I know," Felter replied with a snort. His attitude was brazen but somehow endearing. That might be Felter's true self at his age.

I felt the tension ease from my shoulders.

I looked around at the six students and gave a brief introduction. "I am Aoi Konominato. Since I don't have a specific subject to teach, I’ve decided to conduct a class on general knowledge and concepts of magic that anyone can easily participate in. As a new teacher, I hope you will point out anything you don't understand. Let's make this a fruitful class together. Thank you."

I bowed, and everyone applauded.

Slightly embarrassed, I turned my gaze to them. "Now, could each of you please give a brief self-introduction?"

"Yes! I am Shenley Lu Rosentiel! I come from the Maple Leaf Holy Empire! Nice to meet you!"

I clapped for Shenley, who cheerfully introduced herself.

One of the trio of female students raised her hand and introduced herself. "I am Ayle Hedge Butler! I come from the Cote Highlands Federation! Nice to meet you!"

The girl with vermillion hair bowed. She was tall, and her name and eyes felt familiar.

"Oh, are you related to Cote-kun?" I asked.

Ayle smiled happily. "Yes, I'm his proud younger sister!"

"Don't say that yourself, Ayle."

I see. They were siblings. I nodded with a smile and looked at the girl who had just spoken.

"I am Liz Stuart. I came here with Ayle from the Cote Highlands. Nice to meet you." The slightly chubby girl with light blue hair bowed gracefully. She looked older due to her demeanor, but she was probably around the same age.

The third girl spoke. "I am Bell Barclay! I came from the Cote Highlands with them! Despite my appearance, I'm good at fire magic!"

Bell, a slender girl with pale blonde hair, introduced herself with confidence.

I nodded at each introduction and then looked at the boy sitting farther back. He was a quiet-looking boy with dark green hair covering his eyes.

"Ah, yes…! I-I'm Dean Stone. I come from the Karvan Kingdom. I am the fourth son of a newly established baron family, so I'm not very noble-like. Ha, haha…" Dean added a line that might have been a joke and lowered his head.

Sympathetic to Dean, who shrank under everyone's gaze, I smiled wryly and finally looked at Felter.

With arms crossed, he shrugged his shoulders. "Felter Cairn. I come from the Bushmills Empire. If anyone tries to mess with Aoi, come to me first. That's all."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked reflexively.

Felter glared at me briefly before looking away. "… In the Cairn family, we respect those who have defeated us and strive to incorporate their strength, whether through studying under them or marriage."

"… A unique family tradition? So, Felter-kun, are you attending this class to study under me?"

"… Something like that," Felter replied, looking uncomfortable.

As I awkwardly scanned the room, Shenley looked towards the door and exclaimed, "Ah."

I turned to look and saw people entering the room noisily from outside.

"Did we make it in time?"

"Aoi-sensei! We came right after our class!"

"… Excuse us."

Strass, Eliza, and Speyside appeared.

The students and I were stunned as the three of them sat in vacant seats.

"Well, go ahead and start," Strass said with a straight face as if nothing had happened.

Eliza straightened her back with a smile.

"Why are you all here?"

Strass answered seriously, and Eliza answered with a smile.

"We’re interested."

"Me too!"

I looked at Speyside.

"… Even if it’s in name only, a senior teacher's class is valuable. I hope it will be a lesson that meets our expectations."

For some reason, it felt like a veiled insult.

I sighed and then laughed. "… Fufu. Well then, let's start the class."

I looked around and spotted Glenn peeking in through the window. My cheeks twitched involuntarily.

"I have a question."

"… Yes, Strass-san?"

After I responded to this statement that Strass had made countless times, he nodded and stood up.

"To cast a spell, one shapes mana and alters its form by chanting and activates it by reciting the spell name… I understand that the power of thought has some influence, but does it really have that much effect?"

The teachers leaned forward to listen to the answer more attentively than the students.

"Chanting is like a system developed so that anyone can use magic. Each word has a meaning, and even if the mental image is insufficient, it's a technique that leads to the activation of magic. That is indeed amazing, but it doesn't grasp the essence of magic. Think of magic as a science… No, I believe the first prerequisite to understanding magic is understanding natural and physical phenomena."

Hearing my answer, Speyside looked puzzled. "That might explain why the power of magic varies. However, research shows that the way of chanting affects the nature and power of magic. Aren’t the differences between chanting methods and mana manipulation the most important factor?"

That was the most accepted view in this academy. I nodded in agreement and cast a spell. "[Fireball, Fire]."

Everyone was momentarily surprised by the small fireball that appeared.

"This is a fire spell with only the minimum required mana and an empty mind."

I extinguished it, then carefully imagined the mechanism and focused my mana. "[Fireball, Fire]."

This time, the fireball that appeared drew gasps from everyone.

By gradually strengthening the mana with the combustion mechanism in mind, a fireball large enough to engulf a person appeared.

"The same spell can produce such a big difference. So, understanding the mechanism and usage of mana can maximize the effect…"

As I was explaining and extinguishing the fireball, I saw everyone’s astounded expression.

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