The Obsessive Regressor of The Academy

32. The Entrance Ceremony

Dormitory move-in occurred three days prior to the entrance ceremony.

Only for students entering Wiesel. Those assigned to other dormitories had already settled in. Move-in began with the students of lower grades, so Asel received quite a few stares while moving his luggage to the dorm.

“Is that him? The one who ran wild during the test?”

“That was Grace. He’s the mage Grace was looking for.”

“Why was she looking for him?”

“Don’t you know? Because he’s handsome?”

Most of the gazes were welcoming enough. But some were not. Those using the Phiolen dormitory, a step below Wiesel, were the primary source of these unwelcome gazes. Suspicion was more evident than curiosity. Asel sensed it, but didn’t bother to respond.

Unless they approached him first, Asel had no intention of intervening. He hadn’t even participated in the entrance ceremony, and he was loathe to get involved in anything troublesome. With this thought, Asel ignored the attention and methodically arranged his belongings in his room.

He placed the school uniform into the closet and arranged the furniture to his liking. The curtains were replaced with ones he had brought from Wiheim, and a spare room was converted into a laboratory.

I wasn’t planning on making potions or magical artifacts, but I needed to create and test spells, so I cast protection magic over the entirety of the walls and ceiling. I placed the notebook where I usually record spells on the research desk and pinned the paper with the spell formulas to the wall. The spellbooks were arranged by type on the bookshelf for easy access.

Knowing it’s best to avoid exposing my magical research, I layered shadow magic over the windows. This should prevent anyone from peering inside unless Asel specifically allows it. He nodded in satisfaction and left the lab.

He wished Eveline could have come along, but regrettably, Eveline had been incredibly busy recently. She had coincidentally discovered a talent for magical engineering and had begun to study it in earnest.

It was the result of her efforts to find out what her talents were.

That was a good thing. Asel flopped down on the bed, picturing Eveline’s face, promising to show him all the magical devices she had made when he returned. Just then, someone knocked on Asel’s door.

“Are you there? It’s the head maid.”

Before he could even figure out who it was, she identified herself. Asel sprang up and opened the dormitory door.

The first thing he noticed was the shoulder-length black bob. Her face had a slightly sharp, feline impression, and an air of solemnity dripped from her expression. It was a complete mismatch with the cute maid uniform she was wearing.

Having only seen carefree maids like Haylie and Eveline, seeing such a serious maid felt refreshingly new.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Master Asel. I’m Raisy, the head maid in charge of Wizel Dormitory.”

She slightly lifted the hem of her skirt as she greeted him. Asel responded with a smile.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Asel.”

“There’s no need for you to use honorifics with me. Please, make yourself comfortable.”

Raisy said that, but Asel gave a lukewarm expression and cleared his throat.

The Academy dormitories are divided into four halls for each grade level.

Wizel, where the students with the best grades stay. Then there’s Piolen, for students who aren’t quite the best, but are still above average, then Gail for the average students, and Wimble for the below-average students. The location for each grade is different in the east, west, south, and north, but all of the dormitories are the same, with 4 halls.

Among them, Wizel is not only used by students with top grades, but also by people of noble status. As such, many of the maids who manage the dormitory were from noble families. Even if such a person told you to drop the honorifics, it was still a burden.

So Asel mumbled something vague and asked her why she had come.

“I’ll do that when I get used to it. More importantly, what brings you here?”

“It’s nothing of great importance. I simply wanted to meet the new students staying in Wizel. The head maid I worked with before used to do this.”

“You worked in another dormitory before?”

“Yes. I used to work in the 2nd year Wizel. Thanks to the headmaster’s kind consideration, I’ve been assigned as the head maid of the 1st year Wizel this year.”

In other words, she was promoted. Was she not only of noble birth, but also skilled?

“So I intend to approach my duties with a sense of responsibility. If there’s anything you need the maids to do or ask for, please press the button next to the bed. If you have something to say to me, press the button twice. Oh, I can’t grant s*xual requests. The moment you request something like that, you’ll be expelled immediately.”

“…I had no intention of doing that.”

“Is that so? But because some people have actually ordered maids to fulfill their desires in the past, we’ve made it a point to announce this every year since last year. Please understand.”

Raisy bowed her head slightly as she said this. Asel nodded with a reluctant expression.

“Then I’ll be going. I hope you have a happy academy life.”

“Yes. Be careful on your way.”

She gave Asel, who was seeing her off, a soft smile before walking gracefully down the hallway. Since Asel’s room, located at the end of the hallway, was the last one she visited, she didn’t revisit the other rooms. She went down to the first floor and returned to the head maid’s office.

Asel entered his room only when her back was out of sight. He closed the door, sat on the bed, and cracked open the window.

A gentle breeze ruffled Asel’s hair. Perhaps a sign of approaching spring, the scent of flowers filled the air. The weather was clear, the sun pleasantly warm. He often went for walks on days like this, but without Ena, his usual companion, he felt little inclination.

Thinking of Ena, he suddenly remembered her words just before leaving for the dormitory.

-“I’ll be leaving Wiheim for a while. There’s been a surge in devil worshippers lately, so I need to check a few places.”

-“Ah… when will you be back, then?”

-“Before the vacation. Or I might just come to the academy myself.”

-“It’s not dangerous, is it?”

-“Don’t worry, it’s not. I’ll write often. Reply as soon as you can.”

With those words, Ena had given Asel a brief kiss on the forehead. The fullest expression of affection for her student after a considerable absence. Asel recalled the embarrassed cough Ena had given at the time and offered a wry smile.

Sending letters was done through messenger birds. Metallic-bodied pigeons brought from Wiheim. Asel glanced at one lying haphazardly on the desk and closed the window.

Without injected mana, it was merely a piece of scrap metal, but the moment it absorbed magic, it could travel swiftly to its destination, a magitech construct. It operated differently from magic tools.

He wanted to take it apart and examine it, but he couldn’t risk breaking it, lest he lose his means of contacting Ena. He had to avoid that at all costs.

‘I’ll send one after the entrance ceremony… and then one every weekend, I suppose.’

One a week should suffice. More than that would be intrusive for his mentor.

With that thought, Asel changed into the cadet uniform he had received.

A simple set of black trousers and shirt, a tie, and a black overcoat. The stark simplicity appealed to him.

It even had magic woven into it, enough to absorb a fair amount of external impact, making it suitable for combat.

‘No need to buy armor or a helmet from the smith, then.’

Was that why the smithy he’d visited to sell the dagger was so crammed with weapons? Asel loosened his tie slightly, took off the overcoat, hung it on the rack, and shifted his thoughts.

The entrance ceremony was three days away. Until then, he was free to do as he pleased. As long as he didn’t cause trouble, there would be no restrictions. Asel pondered how to use this time, eventually deciding to visit the academy library.

‘A magician without curiosity is a corpse.’

Asel repeated a saying he often heard in Wiheim and rose from his seat.

He left the overcoat behind, not bothering to put it on. The weather wasn’t that cold, a shirt was enough to keep him warm.

The library was in the basement of the academy’s main building. Asel left the dormitory and headed straight there. Some of the freshmen who had been assigned dorms earlier than him glanced at him, but Asel’s focus was already on the library. Their reactions were too lukewarm to divert a magician’s attention once it was sparked.

‘I should start by devouring the grimoires donated by the Magic Tower, then move on to magitech theory, mana academic theories, and books on formula calculation.’

After that, there was a mountain of other things to read. Asel smiled with anticipation as he arrived at the academy’s main building. Entry was easy. The academy already had the freshmen’s information. He simply showed his face at the main gate and was waved through. Asel quickly walked through the open door.

There weren’t many people in the main building. Only a few assistant professors and assistant students, like the ones he’d seen running around with Ploom.

Asel greeted them as he headed downstairs. Before long, a wooden door greeted him. Asel opened the door and stepped inside the library. At the same moment, the distinct scent of old paper tickled his nose.

“Oh…”

Achel absorbed the library’s vista, a gasp escaping his lips. A repository of knowledge rivaling Weihime’s public library, even the Witch Council’s archives, unfolded before him.

Dozens of bookshelves, reaching for the ceiling. Walls plastered with books, and magic circles etched in geometric patterns, perpetually rotating. Grimoires returning to their shelves on their own accord, and spirits settled in nooks and crannies.

In sheer size, even Weihime’s library paled in comparison. How much time would it take to see it all? Achel, buzzing with excitement, began to wander the library’s depths.

He first grabbed grimoires on fire and ice magic, then claimed a spot. To wield ice magic freely and smoothly, he needed a complete understanding of the theories behind both.

The fire magic Achel used possessed qualities distinctly different from the common kind.

The fire magic handled at the Ignis Magic Tower only used the caster’s mana as kindling. It relied on a method of pre-heating mana and explosively releasing it.

In contrast, the fire magic Achel had learned could use the caster’s mana, external mana resources, sparks, temperature, even abstract concepts, as fuel.

Furthermore, unlike typical fire mages, whose magic weakened as their mana’s heat diminished with use, the Witch Council’s fire magic did not lose potency, even pushed to its limits. It could project the same formidable power as the initial burst.

It wasn’t without its drawbacks. The Ignis Magic Tower’s fire techniques, even used to their absolute limit, didn’t drastically impact the caster. But the Witch Council’s fire techniques, pushed to the brink, would consume the caster as fuel, reducing them to ashes in an instant.

‘Meaning a misstep could easily lead to suicide.’

Balance was crucial. A runaway technique would incinerate the caster.

It was an unusual magic, trading stability for a significant boost in destructive power, and the price for failure was steep.

Of course, it was a risk Achel wouldn’t have to face. He conjured a flame in his hand, and kept reading the fire magic grimoire. The same branch, but an entirely different kind of fire magic. Still, as he read, he managed to glean some knowledge.

How long had passed?

Just as he was starting to get a feel for the precise flow of ice and fire mana, the library’s attendant approached Achel and spoke.

“E-excuse me…”

“…?”

“The, the library is closing… Could you please… leave soon?”

“Ah.”

Had it already gotten that late? He’d been so absorbed in his reading that he’d lost all track of time.

Achel apologized to her, then returned all the books he had taken to their proper places.

‘Simultaneous manifestation of mana at opposite extremes. I’ve got a rough sense of it, all that’s left is to reinforce the concept by rereading the grimoires I brought from the Witch Council, and test it through the theory of mana fusion.’

He’d only just begun to consider ice magic and already it was about to bear fruit. At moments like these, Achel was always reminded of his own talent and let out a wry smile.

If he hadn’t been able to unlock this talent, and had remained languishing in the slums, what kind of life would he be living? Perhaps, even now, he would be captured by Zerbil, being tortured as a test subject. The more he thought about it, the greater his gratitude towards Ena became. He traced his fingers over the spot on his forehead where Ena had last kissed him, and a faint smile touched his lips.

“Maybe I’ll write a letter when I get back.”

He’d planned to write it after the entrance ceremony, but he should write it as soon as he remembered. Achel stretched, easing the stiffness in his body.

As he shifted his gaze, a bookshelf filled with novels caught his eye. He noted one of the titles and squinted slightly.

’50 Ways to Train Her? What a flamboyant title for a book.’

As Achel turned away, he saw someone swiftly pull the book off the shelf. He casually, without thinking, looked at the owner who had taken the book.

Ash-grey hair cascading down to her waist. Golden eyes resembling those of a raptor, and slightly downturned, captivating features.

She had a familiar face. A mage who, back during the entrance exam, had been partnered with a fellow named Paul, wielding Celestial magic.

“Ah.”

Acel spoke the sound without thinking, a dawning realization. At the same instant, she startled, whirling around to face him.

“…?!”

“…”

Their gazes collided in the empty space between them. Celine promptly hid the book she was holding behind her back.

She knew perfectly well it was already too late.