Chapter 7 - He Was Trash Nobody Expected Anything From

“Esther.”

It was afternoon class. Hearing the teacher call her name, Esther abruptly looked up.

“Huh? Yes!”

“Would you come up and solve this problem?”

As luck would have it, Esther’s class number matched today’s date. Caught off guard, she quickly examined the magic circle drawn on the board.

“One circle, with five magical formulas inside it. But this magic circle is a failure. Come up and explain why it won’t activate and what needs correcting.”

At the teacher’s prompting, Esther trudged forward. She had been so busy studying the spellbook Daywin had given her that she hadn’t listened to a word of the lesson.

Even so...

“First... this is an Enhancement circle. It consists of Enhancement formulas that accelerate the circulation of the user’s mana.”

A mere glance was enough for her to decipher the formulas.

“Correct. Well spotted. But why did I say this circle was a failure?”

“Because all the formula patterns produce the same effect. That won’t multiply the effect by five. It will cause an error in the mana circuit instead.”

The teacher nodded approvingly as Esther continued.

“So we need to keep just one formula for accelerating mana circulation and replace the other four with supporting formulas.”

Esther picked up a piece of chalk and drew a new magic circle on the board. It was exactly the answer the teacher had expected.

“Correct. Well done, Esther. Now...”

“But we can’t say the original is entirely wrong. The reason this kind of circle inevitably causes a circuit error is that we’re human.”

“Hmm?”

“On something with a different mana circuit—for example, a spirit—the effects could stack as they are. Spirits can accept formulas that humans can’t withstand.”

“... That’s right. You certainly know your material. Contracts with spirits aren’t common, but Esther is correct. Now, why don’t you try casting the spell you’ve corrected?”

“What? Well...”

Having answered correctly, Esther was eager to show the other students what she could do. She swallowed hard and looked at the board, placing her slender fingers on the circle she had drawn in chalk.

‘... Activate.’

CRACKLE!

The magic circle shone—but only for a moment. Like a feeble gas lamp, its light went out.

“You used far too little mana.”

The teacher had recognized the cause. Fear of her mana running wild had made Esther use only the tiniest amount.

“It’s all right. You can go back.”

“... Yes.”

The teacher sent Esther back to her seat. As she returned, the other students cast sidelong looks at her and snickered.

“Oh, some people have it so easy. A magic department student who can’t even cast magic, yet she’s so popular just because she’s a little pretty,” one girl sneered.

“Hey, take that back. A little pretty? You mean exquisitely beautiful,” a boy immediately retorted.

Normally, Esther would have felt a surge of indignation. But after meeting Daywin, she brushed off the other students’ reactions. Her time was too precious to waste on pointless emotions.

She dropped into her seat and opened her book again. More precisely, she read Daywin’s spellbook hidden beneath her academy textbook.

‘I’ve never seen any of these formulas before... but the formulas themselves aren’t difficult.’

RUSTLE

Keeping an eye on those around her, Esther quietly turned the page.

‘Once I learn how to convert mana into divine power, I should be able to try these right away. All that’s left is to do it.’

She looked up from the book and surveyed the room. The teacher took her failure at practical magic for granted, and the students looked down on her for it.

Yet even while she was being treated so pitifully, someone had gone out and found a spellbook for her.

For the first time, someone expected something of her.

‘I have to make this work.’

007

FLUTTER

A fairy slightly smaller than my palm—a light spirit—fluttered its wings as it circled me.

Since returning to the past, I had been checking my abilities whenever I had a spare moment. Summoning my spirit was part of that process.

Light spirits were gifts bestowed by the Goddess herself. Perhaps that was why I had only ever seen one other person who could command one.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected my contract with the light spirit to survive my regression. The contract was supposed to last until my death.

Did that mean, strictly speaking, I hadn’t died?

“How generous of you.”

With a flash, the spirit vanished at the signal of my clenched fist.

It was about time I got moving. I had an appointment with the academy’s chairman today.

I had said before that I had no intention of meeting the man, but he had invited me himself. I didn’t know what he wanted, but I needed to maintain good relations with the academy. I ought to be polite.

I straightened my clothes and knocked on his office door.

“Yes, come in.”

I opened the heavy door and peered inside, meeting the eyes of the chairman as he sat working on documents at his desk. Since we had never met before, he looked a little puzzled.

“I’m Daywin Hasgard. You said you wanted to see—”

“Well, well! Look who it is!”

Before I could finish, the chairman shot noisily to his feet, practically flinging his chair aside.

“The very man who sent Laward to our academy!”

He sidled over, bowing obsequiously, and offered his right hand with his left supporting its elbow.

“Yes... a pleasure to meet you.”

Taken aback, I grasped his hand and gave it a light squeeze.

The chairman looked to be in his late forties. He must have taken good care of himself: his skin was clear, and he had no paunch. His clothes were tasteful, too. He was like leather that grew more handsome with age.

“Please, have a seat! Do you like tea? I don’t have much variety here... but I chose them all myself, so they’re quite good.”

He thrust out his right hand again to indicate a plush-looking sofa, then began boiling water without waiting for an answer.

Sponsor or not, I hadn’t expected such lavish hospitality. Watching his back as he began preparing the tea, I sat down.

I spent a little time looking around his office while I waited. As the tea steeped, he spoke.

“I hear you happened to find Laward in the slums.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

To be precise, I had gone looking for him.

“Even a place like that can hold a diamond in the rough.”

The chairman chuckled and set the teacups on the table.

“As you know, Laward’s entrance scores were the highest in our history. And I hear he isn’t content with his current results—he keeps striving to improve. Isn’t that splendid? A genius who works hard!”

He laughed heartily and clapped his hands.

“As a former educator myself, I can tell you there’s no better student. Perhaps it’s too early to say, but I believe Laward will change the world. Ha ha ha!”

“Thank you for thinking so highly of him.”

“Our graduates haven’t been making much of a showing lately, so our ranking has slipped. But once Laward graduates and makes a name for himself, the academy’s standing should rise as well. I have great hopes for him personally, too.”

“There are rankings? This is the first I’ve heard of them.”

“Well, they aren’t official rankings, but there’s a generally accepted order. When you’re running an institution, public perception matters.”

In the course of our brief conversation, the chairman kept bringing up things like grades and rankings. That alone was gradually giving me a picture of his character.

Apparently, thanking me wasn’t his only reason for inviting me here.

“Can you see the old school building over there?”

He abruptly pointed out the window. Following his finger, I spotted a building shabbier than the others.

“It’s been here since the academy was founded. We built new facilities after I took office, so it isn’t used anymore.”

So that was its history. It wasn’t just a popular spot for love confessions.

“At first, I tried to find some way to put it to use, but it ended up being neglected. We couldn’t find a reason to use a crumbling building when we had perfectly good ones available.”

The chairman gazed at the old building with an inscrutable look.

“Its only redeeming feature was the flower garden surrounding it, but now even that is withering. Still, looking back, abandoning the old building was the right choice. The new facilities increased enrollment and improved guardians’ satisfaction. What matters is choosing where to focus our resources.”

Ah. I see.

I had wondered why he was suddenly talking about the old building.

“... You don’t approve of my sponsoring students other than Laward, do you, Chairman?”

He was comparing the heroines to the old school building.

“No, not at all. Disapprove? How could I possibly?”

“Is that so?”

I took a sip of tea, quietly watching his reaction.

“I’m always grateful for your generosity, Lord Daywin. It’s just... surely choosing where to focus is important? It would benefit you to make an efficient, rational decision as well.”

However I looked at it, that sounded like a roundabout way of saying he disapproved.

“After all, the scholarships you’ve provided amount to a considerable sum. If all that money were spent on nurturing Laward...”

It had struck me as odd in the first place that, out of all those students, the chairman knew Laward by name. His expectations for him were far greater than I had imagined.

Well, of course they were. This was the protagonist, after all.

Even if he didn’t become a paladin, whatever path Laward chose would lead him to the top. It would become a royal road, a red carpet.

“As you say, Laward was born with a once-in-a-generation talent. Naturally, as his sponsor, I have high hopes for him too. But I have no intention of giving up on the other students.”

“Still, focusing on Laward would have all sorts of—”

“Shall we make a wager?”

I turned my head and cut him off.

“A... wager?”

“It’s simple. If any of those students produces a noteworthy result before the vacation, you’ll grant me one favor.”

“I’m not sure whether you realize this, but there’s less than a month until the closing ceremony.”

“That’s enough. Will you accept?”

“Hmm...”

The chairman considered it for quite some time before answering.

“Very well. And if the opposite happens, I trust I don’t need to spell it out.”

“Yes. I’ll give up on the other students and support Laward alone. Naturally, I’ll follow the academy’s direction for his development.”

I knew Esther could master divine power and healing magic.

This was a wager I couldn’t lose.

“You said I found a diamond in the rough in ‘a place like that.’ Those five may be nothing more than underachievers right now, but Laward himself was a delinquent nobody expected anything from. He was one more piece of trash lying around the slums.”

“...”

“Have a little more faith in your students.”

“Yes... I understand. Let’s... see how they do.”

“Thank you for the tea.”

I rose, leaving behind the tea I had only taken a single sip of.

CREAK

Feeling bitter, I opened the office door and stepped outside.

PATTER-PATTER!

Footsteps sounded as someone ran away. I turned toward the sound just as a figure who looked like a female student disappeared around the corner.

“Hmm.”

Had someone been eavesdropping?

One night, two weeks later, Esther visited the old school building with her spellbook in hand.

Though it held her worst memories, it was the ideal place to test her healing magic. No one paid it any attention, so she could practice without being discovered.

The old school building had been abandoned when the new facilities were built. A flower garden surrounded it.

‘Testing it on a person or an animal right away would be dangerous...’

Those withering flowers would be the subjects of her first healing spell. Even if she failed, no one would mourn the gray flower garden shriveling a little more.

“... Whew.”

She closed her eyes and gathered her mana. Holding the book against her with one hand, she extended the other toward a drooping flower.

WHINE

Light poured from her outstretched hand. Around it, the dark night regained its color.

‘How long has it been?’

How long had it been since she had committed herself to casting magic earnestly, with all her strength?

It felt like the first time since that incident in her childhood.

She felt the mana draining from her body. Even as she thought she ought to stop, the desire to finally change blossomed within her.

With fear and hope mingling on her face, she let her mana flow.

HUMMM

So much mana gathered that her right hand felt heavy. Now she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to.

She poured it all out.

Esther squeezed her eyes shut.

She saw herself mastering healing magic and putting it to use. The future she had imagined ever since hearing Daywin’s advice rose in her mind.

It seemed a little clearer now.

“... Heal.”

After all her hesitation, she finally found the courage to utter the spell.

The mana gathered in her hand burst forth.

How much time passed after that?

She could feel that it had worked. But she still couldn’t open her eyes, lacking the courage to see the result.

There hadn’t been the slightest error. Everything had gone perfectly, just as she had prepared, just as she had practiced.

So, just a little more... in myself...

“Believe.”

Very slowly, she opened her eyes.

RUSTLE!

The wilted flowers lifted their heads in an instant. Like streetlights coming on in a row, like sparks spreading from fireworks, they burst into bloom all at once.

The garden, once sunken in gray, filled with color like drawing paper drenched in paint.

“Wow...”

Her immense mana soaked the dry earth and straightened broken stems. Flowers and trees mended and revived, restoring the old school building to its days of vibrant life.

With her own hands, Esther had made the place that had given her the worst day of her life beautiful.

THUD

At the sight she could hardly believe even with her own eyes, she dropped the spellbook from her hand. As she bent down to pick it up, her legs gave out.

She didn’t even have the strength to stand again. Remaining seated on the ground, she gazed blankly at the flower garden.

“... It’s beautiful.”