Ch. 4 - 【Another PoV】 Principal Glenn

Layers of light-colored stones were stacked together to construct walls, creating complex patterns. The chamber had thick wooden planks for a floor and a high ceiling. The furnishings were all antique wooden items, and the only sources of lighting were vintage magic stone lamps.

This room contained many treasured memories because everything in it had been used for a very long period of time.

A broad panorama of the vast academy could be seen through the window. This room, this space, had become so familiar that it was practically a second home.

In this space, I was sitting at an old wooden desk, frowning at documents and groaning as usual. "Why do problems keep coming up…"

My head hung down as I sighed.

I would really love to relax in this office, enjoy a cup of tea, and work at a leisurely pace. But mysteriously, issues kept coming up every day.

No, I knew the cause. I was just putting it off since it was a tough problem to solve.

The professors' extreme tenacity was one issue.

They were, after all, instructing very talented apprentices in magic. They had to be master magicians with a proven track record of studying the workings of magic.

In other words, the majority were eccentric and stubborn. Moreover, some took on teaching for the privileges of being an academy teacher, and there were even those who considered teaching classes a chore.

And then there was the issue of the students being too headstrong.

Historically, having talent as a magician was commonly seen as a promise of a stable future.

Because of this, royalty and nobility desired magical talents for various reasons, such as rising in status or preventing disaster. As a result of many years of this practice, most of the people who could become advanced magicians were from noble backgrounds.

Saying that nearly everyone with the ability to become a special-grade magician was descended from nobility wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Being born a noble and having the magical talent to enter Fiddiq Academy, which in itself was a status symbol upon graduation, led to some becoming arrogant, especially the younger students.

And when conflicts arose, both teachers and students would resort to using magic, despite the strict rules and penalties in place. They would claim it was a matter of noble pride and refuse to back down.

The most effective way to resolve this would be strict punishments regardless of status, but the academy was funded by the royalty and nobility of the Six Great Nations. Being too harsh would anger our patrons.

In other words, the system was structurally prone to problems.

In such a situation, I was holding my head over a report that I could hardly believe was written by a grown adult.

The content, wasting four sheets of expensive white paper, could be summarized in two lines:

When I finished reading the report, I sighed once again. "How am I supposed to know?"

Judging by the report alone, the second son of the duke had done nothing wrong.

But based on his prior assessments and how he behaved in class, the reality was totally different.

Indeed, Strass, the teacher, had a sullen face, a bad attitude, and a sharp tongue. However, he was a person who didn't discriminate and straightforwardly pointed out both the good and bad in others.

While he didn’t value relationships with others, he wasn’t a bad person by any means.

On the other hand, Barrel, the second son of a duke from the Karvan Kingdom, had a bad reputation. He often skipped classes he deemed unnecessary and threw tantrums whenever he was reprimanded.

In addition, Barrel was gifted in magic and excelled in some subjects. Combined with his status, more and more teachers either couldn’t reprimand him or kept their distance to avoid trouble.

"Should I expel him…"

When the actions of students had been too extreme, even royal family members had been expelled.

But of course, expulsion would inevitably cause a commotion. Experience showed it would lead to even more trouble.

… Especially since royal families and ducal families were at the top of the hierarchy.

"… What a nuisance." I leaned back in my chair and let out a breath. It was all such a headache.

At that moment, I sensed a peculiar mana. "Hmm… is this non-attribute magic? How rare."

I looked outside the window and saw a piece of white paper flapping like a bird.

Without moving from my spot, I lightly flicked my finger to open the window, and the white sheet of paper floated inside.

It landed on the desk, and I realized it wasn’t just a letter but a letter of introduction.

Seeing the name of an old acquaintance, I couldn’t help exclaiming in surprise. "Owen Millers? My, it’s been a long time… and still as terse as ever."

With a wry smile, I read through the letter of introduction.

Though the text was brief, it could be summarized simply as: I took in my first disciple, but she learns too quickly, and I have nothing left to teach her. Hire her as a teacher.

"… So, he wants to boast about his disciple, does he?" I murmured half in amazement as I stroked my beard with my fingers, tracing its outline.

The more I read, the more unbelievable the content seemed.

Owen Millers, a fellow magician and compatriot, was on par with me as a magician. No, given that he was a rare pure-blooded elf, unlike a half-elf like me, Owen's mana and magical skills were likely superior to my aged self.

Owen had taken on a disciple.

Owen, a pure researcher and seeker of knowledge, was never one to allocate time for others. This meant that this disciple was talented enough to catch Owen's eye.

"… The last time we met was thirty… no, about forty years ago. In that case, this disciple managed to absorb Owen's knowledge and experience in just a bit over thirty years at most."

Interesting.

While managing the academy, I had encountered all sorts of people of various races, but I had never met such a talented individual.

Since Owen had already given this disciple his approval, then this person certainly possessed more than enough ability to be a teacher.

With such an overwhelmingly skilled teacher, any student would surely fall into line.

"Hmm, I would very much like to meet this person. Are they already on their way to the academy? No, the letter says 'this person'. Since the letter is here, where could the letter's sender be?"

As I titled my head and turned the paper over to search for any hidden magical seals, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened from the outside, and Speyside, one of the water magic teachers, appeared.

"Excuse me." Speyside bowed deeply and stepped into the room. "Earlier, a suspicious woman threw what seemed to be a letter in this direction, so I came to check…"

"A suspicious woman… Have you seen the sender of the letter? Where is this person now?" I asked, thinking that this woman was undoubtedly Owen's disciple.

But Speyside shook his head and responded with a laugh. "I don't know. She didn’t have any ID and only asked to meet the principal, so I asked her to leave."

"… What…?" I sighed. Speyside's dismissive attitude towards the letter's sender gave me a bad feeling.

Surely, he hadn't driven her away…

When Speyside saw my reaction, his expression tensed. "Was it a mistake…?"

Speyside had a somewhat elitist attitude. I couldn't imagine he would treat someone without ID with proper respect.

Normally, a gatekeeper would be responsible for handling visitors, but it seemed Speyside had encountered her when he had some business outside the academy.

How unfortunate.

"… That person is my friend's disciple and an important visitor. She is likely still in the city. Find her and bring her here."

Speyside's back stiffened. Perhaps because my tone was slightly sharp due to my urgency, Speyside's face quickly turned pale. "I-I will find her immediately!"

Speyside hurriedly dashed out of the room.

Watching him go, I turned my gaze towards the window. "… If she knows flying magic, this could be troublesome. She might leave right away."

Sighing, I prayed that the woman would be found soon.

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