Great Wise Man’s Beloved Pupil

Majority of the students in the Genius School of Magic came from aristocratic backgrounds and were taught etiquette and manners from an early age. Even so, as they were still at a very impressionable age, some problems couldn’t be solved through discussions alone.

As Alfie once mentioned, there were times when student disputes led to various property damages within the school. They may still be apprentice mages but the damage inflicted when they clashed against each other was far from negligible. 

The school may possess a rather large budget to restore the damaged facilities but it wasn’t infinite. In fact, the manpower required in the process was even more limited. 

For this reason, personal disputes using magic were strictly forbidden within school premises. Those who disregarded these rules were severely warned and punished accordingly.

However, regardless of how much punishment awaited them, it was impossible to expect all the students to follow the rules to the letter. This wouldn’t have been an issue in the first place if the students had that much self-restraint. And of course, the school was also aware of that fact.

And that was where the “Dueling” system came into play. 

The students were allowed to fight under the supervision of a teacher after submitting an application requesting for a duel. The only requirements needed were the consent of both students who would participate in the duel and the teacher who would be overseeing the duel. As long as the requirements were met, the duel could take place at any time. Unless, there happened to be a special event scheduled ahead of time.

—That’s why, both me and Blue Hair immediately submitted an application requesting a duel to the teacher.

In order not to interfere with the class schedules, the duel was decided to be held after school. While dueling itself wasn’t uncommon, it was still quite unusual for one to take place in less than a month after the start of a new year. Usually, the first month of the new school year was the observation phase. Only after the first month would the duels become a commonplace among new students.

“You’re one troublesome student, aren’t you?”

“Now hold on a minute. I’m not the one who initiated the challenge, I was the one who was challenged okay? Why are you making it sound like it’s my fault?”

Suddenly, I was summoned by the headmaster during the lunch break. So, I headed to his office after my lunch at the cafeteria.

“You think I’m unaware of the cafeteria flooding incident from the other day? You were certainly partly responsible for it.”

“I plead self-defense.”

“… Well, fine then. Anyway, I’ll be overseeing the duel that’ll be held after school, please look forward to it.”

“Eh? But I applied for Zest-sensei though…”

As soon as the classes started, I went with Blue Hair to submit the dueling request to Zest. Even though he looked extremely displeased by it, he still gave his consent. Seeing that, I assumed he would be the one supervising the duel.

“Well, I did a little convincing for him to switch places with me. But please be assured. Even if Reese-kun was Old Master’s disciple, I’ve no intention of showing any favoritism.”

“That’s what I wanted as well.”

Still, I knew the headmaster didn’t summon me just to say this.

“Alright, now let’s cut to the chase here, I’m sure Zest-sensei already informed you of this, but let me remind you again anyway. Please refrain from using the magic that you used during the magic power measurement class.”

“I never planned to use that against humans even if you didn’t tell me. I mean, [Full Pressure Cannon] can’t possibly be used in a duel either way.”

[Full Pressure Cannon] wasn’t a viable option for a one-on-one battle, since there would be no opportunity to cast it without being interrupted. To make it a viable option, you would need a good vanguard to protect you throughout the spell’s casting duration.

“I’m relieved to hear that. You see, the barrier surrounding the arena and the barriers deployed in the power measuring site is almost the same in terms of strength. So, if such magic was used there, it’ll be difficult to guarantee the amount of damage done to the surroundings.”

Then the headmaster raised his finger, as if to add more to it.

“Since the duel this time is a little special, I decided to have Alfie-kun be the commentator.”

“Alfie?”

“I already received his consent. Normally, one of the school teachers would be handling it when the commentary is needed in a duel but…”

I could somehow predict the next set of words coming from the headmaster’s mouth.

“Your magic seems quite peculiar, even in my eyes. So, most of the students will not be able to comprehend what they see.”

To be fair, the very concept of using [Defense] magic for [Offense] was unheard of. It was called [Defense] magic for a reason.

“And for that reason, I thought that Alfie-kun, as your close companion, would be the most fitting to describe the type of magic you use in detail. What do you think?”

My defense magic was actually implemented using the knowledge I got from him in the first place. Alfie was certainly the perfect person for this role.

“Roger that. Let him explain as much as like.”

“I appreciate it. Well, that’s all I wanted to ask from you. Is there anything else you wish to know?”

“Ah about that—, the other party seems to be a noble. I wonder if there’s a limit on the severity of injuries I can cause?”

“Oh, you needn’t worry about that, the venue was specially made for this particular duel.”

“Specially made?”

In other words, something was different from the other venues.

“I’ll let you know about that when the duel begins. Anyway, please don’t worry about your opponent and fight with all your strength, that’s the final thing I wanted to ask of you.”

— By the time the lunch break ended, Reese left the headmaster’s office and made it back just in time for the afternoon class.

After he was left alone in his office, the headmaster retrieved a document from the desk drawer. It was a list of students noted to require special attention among the new students of the year. 

Among those names, the two students who will soon be participating in a duel were also mentioned— Reese Louise and Latos Ganoark. Other than them, Alfie Lightheart and Kadina Alfire were also included in the list.

“Oh dear, looks like we got ourselves a problem right off the bat.”

There were various reasons as to why these students’ names made their way into this list. It could just be for their outstanding capabilities or just hidden behavioral issues and other complications. So, in other words, Latos also had some personal circumstances to be listed down as such.

“I’m aware of the circumstances surrounding the Ganoark family. That might be the exact reason why Latos-kun sought out Reese-kun to challenge this time.”

The headmaster was already aware of the hidden schemes of the Ganoark family in sending Latos to the Genius School of Magic. However, as the head of the institute, he couldn’t afford to offer preferential treatment for just one student. In the end, Latos wasn’t the only student with personal issues.

“… I honestly don’t know how this duel would affect Latos-kun, but I hope this will all turn out for the best.”