CH 30

“By the way, I see that Alphana-sama is absent today.”

“Yeah. Something like… anemia, they say.”

“Is she going to be alright?”

Such a conversation reached Kanata’s ears, who propped up on his desk as usual.

The three girls sitting near each other are one of Kanata’s sources of information in the academy, but their topic of conversation today was unusual.

(Alphana usually takes good care of herself… I wonder if one can cure anemia with magic?)

Well, whatever it is, he just hoped she got better.

“I heard that Maria-sama is also on a day off because of anemia.”

“Is that so?”

“… what a coincidence.”

Apparently, Maria was also on leave today.

He was worried that something had happened to them to take a leave, but if it were something serious, there would have been a commotion.

He was tempted to visit them, but it was difficult because it was forbidden to go to the other dormitories, regardless of gender.

“… Haah, I’m kinda sad.”

Maria, sitting in another class, and Alphana, from his same class, have always been there to talk to him.

Without the two of them, there was no one for Kanata to talk to in the academy today… and that was making him a little sad.

“Are you lonely?”

“Yeah… eh?”

Kanata involuntarily got up as he felt someone whisper in his ear.

Of course, no other classmates had approached him, so none of the students spoke to Kanata.

“… Who?”

Perhaps it was a hallucination, but it was far too realistic for that.

As Kanata stood up all of a sudden, his eyes met those of the three informant girls who looked at him curiously. Kanata bowed without saying a word, thanking them for the information they’d been providing to him.

“Uh, yeah.”

“You’re welcome.”

“…”

The three girls responded by bowing their heads in response to Kanata.

Kanata was grateful for this kind of reaction, probably because there were always classmates who would normally ignore him.

Now that he was feeling good this morning, he felt fired up to do his best.

“Good morning, everyone. I have a little special lesson for you today.”

A teacher appeared and explained today’s schedule.

Up until now, magic classes have only been about casting and unleashing magic at a target, but today’s training appears to be about battling against a human opponent.

“Hey-hey… is it going to be okay?”

“No idea… but we’ll figure something out.”

Nearby, the commoner students anxiously exchanged words.

Because the training was to simulate an anti-personnel battle, the class had to wear special clothes.

“… is a little tight.”

Not necessarily because of the fat, but because it was really tight.

The clothes we put over our uniforms seemed to have a mechanism that blocked outside magic to block any magic about to touch their body safely.

“Each of you will wear this badge on your chest. Your badge will shatter if you get hit by a spell your clothes deem lethal.”

Kanata put the badge he was given on his chest.

The players can fire magic at each other and win if they can make a hit that is considered fatal to the other player.

It was very easy to understand, but several students were scared because it was their first time in combat against each other.

“I don’t care who you are. Just step forward.”

“I’ll do it first. Hey, you there, I’m ready.”

“Uhe?”

An elated noble student came forward and pointed his finger at a scared commoner student.

How would a commoner student deal with a self-confident aristocratic student while being obviously weak and bullied… the result was disappointing.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Being in the same class as Kanata means that they are promising candidates with S-rank magic power, but when it comes to fighting, it seems to be a different story.

The commoner student fell on his buttocks as he was scared, and the magic released by the noble student hit him directly.

At that moment, there was a crack sound, and the badge shattered, forcing the teacher to intervene.

“That’s enough!”

“… you dumb small fry.”

“…”

The commoner student bit his lip in frustration and walked back.

As for Kanata, he couldn’t help but think he ought to be a little more aggressive. However, since the attitude between commoners and aristocrats varied, it isn’t surprising discrepancies existed.

“Kukuk, you’re next.”

“… Ha?”

And it was Kanata who got called.

He had no particular impression, but the other party was an aristocratic student who always looked at Kanata in a way Kanata did not like. He probably wondered if today was the perfect opportunity for him since Alphana was not there.

“What happened?”

“Nothing, I’m going.”

Kanata said to the teacher and walked into the center.

When Kanata stepped forward, almost all of the students who shouted at him were aristocrats. Even some commoners looked at him as if they wanted to see him beaten to a pulp.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and come inside.”

“I know.”

He smiled ferociously as he stood before the noble student.

The moment the teacher started the battle, the noble student immediately sprang into action.

“FIREAAAAHHHHHHH!”

“…”

The noble student who created a fireball in his palm released it at Kanata.

Kanata didn’t react particularly well and took it head-on… but he didn’t hear the badge crack, and the fireball vanished completely when it touched Kanata.

“W-what the h**l?”

Even the teachers were awestruck by the current phenomenon.

What Kanata did was simple. He just generated a thick layer of magic power in front of his body.

“… this is how it’s going to be. Come to think of it. It’s my first time in person.”

Kanata’s magic power was infinite, so the thickness of the magic power wall was not like an ordinary person’s. 

Therefore, the level of the magic power of a mere noble student can never break through Kanata’s infinity.

(… I never thought my knowledge of manga from my previous life would come in handy like this.)

He was self-trained in developing magic, but how to use it is an application of what he learned in class and what he saw in the manga.

He believed it was worth reading a scene like this in his favourite manga, where they used magic itself to build a wall.

“Well then, I guess it’s our turn to… Fire.”

He created a fireball, exactly like the magic released by his opponent, and threw it straight at a frightening speed at the noble student directly.

The badge shattered firmly as the fireball hit him perfectly.

“Ah…”

The noble student fell on his butt in dismay and glared at Kanata with a snap as he noticed the broken badge.

If you win, you get stared at. If you lose, you get ridiculed… and it was a needle in a haystack.

“I knew you were the best in your class.”

“Thank you.”

The teacher tapped on his shoulder as he praised him.

The stares from those around him became even more intense, but Kanata also smiled, as it was not unpleasant to be praised by a teacher.

“… So frustrating. But even if the teacher says it, nothing will change. I won’t let it escalate into something that can’t be undone. You can rest assured of that.”

“I’m fine. Not everyone’s the same, and there are people who are still friends with me.”

Maria and Alphana were the only two. Sadly, he couldn’t say it.

From then on, Kanata spent his time being stared at by the aristocratic students, but it was inevitable that they would come to mock him as Alphana was not around.

“…?”

“Hey, come here.”

After all the classes were over, and when he was just about to leave, the aristocratic student from before stood in front of Kanata with four of his friends.

“Hey, stop it.”

“Shut the f**k up, b*tch.”

“…”

One of the three informant girls tried to stop him but was intimidated.

She looked apologetic, but Kanata was really grateful that she tried to protect him.

“… Hey! What do you think would happen if Lady Saint found out about this!?”

Oops, Kanata tilted his head.

Another student who intervened was one of the commoner students, and he also came to cover Kanata.

But the noble student stood before him and punched him in the cheek.

“I said. Shut up. You want me to do it to you first?”

“Hiiiiiii!”

And he quickly ran away.

Now Kanata was isolated and helpless, and although he could resist if they did something to him, he apparently had to waste his time.

(Damn it, I just want to go home and get ready for the stream.)

And he picked up his luggage to go home.

Of course, the noble students reached out to Kanata to stop him… and something strange happened.

“… Eh?”

His… no, all the time around Kanata stopped.

In the colourless gray world, Kanata alone remains conscious as if left behind.

“… what the h**l is this?”

It was more than a little frightening sight.

Kanata was the only one moving his body, while everything else didn’t.

Not only humans but even creatures like flying birds had stopped.

“…”

“How disrespectful. You are not an existence that a lowly human should be allowed to touch.”

Snap, something stuck to his back.

Kanata’s body shook with fear, but the voice sounded familiar.

“Oh, but I’d say they’re lowly, except for those who adore you.”

The voice was so clear that it made him even more scared.

When Kanata turned around to see the presence attached to his back, he was surprised to see…

“… uheh.”

Beautiful pure white wings and stunning white hair longer than her height… So good so far.

No matter how you looked at her, she had a sacred aura, but her clothes ruined everything.

[I am Haishin]

Yes, she was wearing that shirt.

Forgetting all about the fact that time had stopped, Kanata couldn’t help but be stunned, wondering who this crazy girl was.

“Let’s just erase them for the time being because they did something unforgivable.”

“Ehh――”

Pang. He heard something pop five times.