Chapter 1149 – #273_The Last Everyday Life (5)
#1143
1.
After watching Luelle’s lecture debut go successfully, I busily moved my feet.
Actually, since I had seen Sharon and Luelle’s lectures, which were my biggest worries, I didn’t have any other concerns.
Luelle is openly a bit of a goofball, but it seems like she does well when given the stage, and Sharon, who is flustered in unexpected ways, seems to be cut out for lecturing.
Still, I am the president of the academy and her lover.
Shouldn’t I at least show my face at my girlfriend’s first lecture?
And although the probability is low, I am slightly worried about Dorothy and Rinne.
For that reason, I arrived at Dorothy’s lecture hall.
“I’m Dorothy, the prettiest professor in the Hesed Academy, who is in charge of symbols and the head of the department. Nice to meet you all~”
She was greeting everyone with a gentle smile, as if dealing with kindergarteners, without any nervousness.
Witches have high noses.
The noses of Gehenna witches are a little sharper than those of ordinary witches.
Even though Dorothy has made remarkable achievements and recently received Gehenna citizenship, the fact that she is from a public background remains unchanged.
This was the most worrying point, but as expected, she is Dorothy, my mama.
The students seeing Dorothy for the first time stared at her, half-dazed and mesmerized.
This was probably because Dorothy’s charisma, which softly enveloped her surroundings, was quite unique.
“Okay, okay~ Please give me applause and cheers too.”
-Clap clap clap
Dorothy, with exaggerated gestures, bowed left and right like a theater actor.
Even among the generally solemn witches with passive reactions, a light laugh spread.
It was clear that she was seizing and leading the class atmosphere.
“Since everyone seems eager, shall we skip the OT and start right away? Okay~ First question! You, pretty lady over there?”
“Yes, yes? Me?”
“Yes, yes, what symbolizes love?”
The witch who was suddenly asked a question opened her mouth after a short thought.
“I think it’s the heart. It’s also modeled after the shape of the heart, and conventionally, the red heart symbol is used as a symbol of love in various cultures.”
“That’s a textbook answer. I’ll give you a compliment. But instead of always looking at magic from a textbook perspective, how about sometimes deviating from it?”
Dorothy smiled and leaned against the podium.
“Usual witches who use symbolic systems have a narrow habit. They try to find conventional symbols first. Like thinking of a ‘heart’ as a symbol of ‘love’. Why is that? This time, you, cute student over there?”
“Um…! It’s because the more universal the symbol, the smoother the magic construction becomes.”
“Hmm, hmm~ Good. That’s a good answer. But in my case, shall we look at an example? For me, love is… a creaking bed, a breathless sigh, overlapping hands, a slightly bitten lip, something like that.”
The witches stared at Dorothy as if drawn into her sensual examples.
Dorothy lightly shrugged her shoulders and continued her lecture.
“How is it? It’s really personal, right? The more universal the symbol, the smoother the magic construction becomes because the image of the caster becomes clearer. We witches are also influenced by preconceptions.
But magic is ultimately the process of me changing the world. But isn’t it a bit awkward to use magic according to the inertia of ‘because it’s a symbol that everyone else uses’?”
That was also a question that Siwoo had asked Dorothy in the past.
Dorothy was greatly enlightened and admired it, and she had definitely digested it as her own.
“If I can adopt a symbol and clearly imagine it, it’s okay to use a water stone as a symbol while using fire magic. It would be good to find the most certain symbol in your own world.”
In front of the witches who were making expressions as if they had been hit by a group crowd control spell, Dorothy glanced at Siwoo and smiled bashfully.
“Like how I would think of my darling without any hesitation if I were to use a symbol of love.”
Seeing that she noticed me even though I was secretly hiding, she was indeed her.
2.
The last lecture schedule of the day is Rinne.
The Hesed Academy has expanded to have as many as 15 departments and lectures, but they are not held at the same time.
It can be said to be a consideration for academy members who want to take lectures in multiple departments at the same time.
“I am Rinne Samakiel, the vice-head of the Magic Combat Department, who will be in charge of this semester in place of Tiferet.”
The Magic Combat Department is a bit different in nature from other departments.
It is a kind of tactical consulting that allows you to learn magic combat and practical sense in the form closest to actual combat.
Of course, about half of the curriculum includes theoretical classes that optimize each magic for combat, but the purpose of the witches gathered here is the same.
In the midst of the already chaotic situation, what ultimately guarantees one’s safety is one’s own strength.
In the end, how much you hone yourself guarantees survival in the worst moments.
Most of the students were exiles who knew this well, and they were gathered in the training ground with somewhat nervous expressions.
Every time Rinne’s ink-black eyes calmly scanned the students, they all flinched.
Well, she is a cute wife now, but if I were to pick the most frightening first impression among the witches I have met so far, it would be Rinne.
I would understand if there was a student who burst into tears and ran out saying, ‘I want to give up this class!’
“Those who are eaten by fear in actual combat die. The most important thing in combat is to separate emotions from your fingertips.”
Rinne, speaking more like an instructor than a professor, drew her greatsword.
The wide training ground was so quiet that the cold sound of metal rang out.
“If I attack, you will counterattack. That’s the end of today’s class. Ryu, come out.”
“Yes!”
At Rinne’s call, a witch who was already standing at attention raised her hand and stepped into the center of the training ground.
Perhaps she was a witch of the elemental type, as she was holding a blue crystal in her hand.
She seemed to be around the 19th level, and judging by her modern clothes, she was an exile. She had a confident look.
To be precise, she was forcing herself to be confident to overcome her shrinking heart?
“I will hold back. If you succeed in ‘counterattacking’, you will pass.”
Ryu’s expression became much lighter at the added explanation.
If you are an exile, you are bound to have experienced small and large skirmishes, and Ryu was no different.
The opponent is that scary sword witch, and just facing her makes your legs tremble, but if you succeed in counterattacking, it’s a lenient cut-off line, isn’t it?
It’s an opportunity to leave a good impression as the first one.
“I’m ready.”
Ryu raised her magic power and said.
What she had prepared was a water elemental counterattack technique that was activated by using the crystal as a sacrifice.
But Rinne shook her head.
“Prepare more.”
“Huh?”
“It’s okay to prepare more.”
Ryu was puzzled.
To use an analogy for Ryu’s current situation, it’s like waiting with a pistol drawn from its holster in a gunfight.
But Rinne is urging her to aim and put her finger on the trigger.
No matter how much she wants to show off her strength, it doesn’t make sense.
‘Did she choose me because I look easy?’ she wondered.
“I’m ready.”
Ryu, who was half-provoked, narrowed her eyes, and Rinne lightly lowered her sword.
Rinne leaped without any special signal.
“……!”
Everyone was watching Rinne, and everyone captured Rinne.
Contrary to expectations, her speed was not that fast.
But the moment she saw Rinne, who was running with a menacing aura with her sword at her waist.
Ryu’s magic, which was trying to calmly initiate a counterattack, suddenly froze.
Even though she didn’t use any special magic, the area around Rinne, who was leaping, seemed to be distorted by a strange ripple.
Dense bloodlust.
That was the only way to express the oppressive feeling.
A spirit like an ogre, which did not seem to belong to a human, stretched out and tightened her heart.
Even though she knew this was a mock battle.
Even though she knew that Rinne was holding back.
Her thoughts stopped like a mouse in front of a snake.
Instead, only one firm intuition took over her mind.
She was dead.
-Thud
The back of Rinne’s sword lightly brushed past Ryu’s neck, who was standing like a stone statue.
“You’re out.”
Rinne’s cold declaration.
Ryu, in despair, checked that her neck was still attached and sat down on the spot.
She couldn’t hear the whispers around her, ‘Why couldn’t she do that?’
It was obvious that those on the side wouldn’t understand.
Rinne had only run with a handful of magic power to strengthen her body.
The menacing aura of the sword witch running head-on was something that only those who had faced her could feel.
What had just happened was not a difference in level, nor a difference in power between the two.
It was the difference in spirit, mindset, and practical experience that Ryu had been confident in.
She was crushed by Rinne’s intimidation and couldn’t even attempt a counterattack.
“Next.”
The results were similar.
Except for a few excellent students, they faced Rinne with the look of ‘Why can’t they do that?’ and were soon swallowed by the intimidation of the sword witch and heard the declaration of elimination.
Among the students who were sitting down or sweating, Miyu and Cocoa of the Hot-Blooded Duo, whom Siwoo had previously subdued, were busily walking around, handing out wet towels.
Rinne, who had not said a word until now, gave a short piece of advice only after all the students had been evaluated.
“Don’t inflate the enemy within.”
It was a vague piece of advice if it was just words, but it was a teaching that you couldn’t help but nod your head at after experiencing it.
A sigh of admiration erupted among the students.
“It’s really… different.”
“I think I can become stronger here.”
“There’s a reason why the Hesed Academy is highly regarded.”
I was pleased.
Rinne, who turns into a spoiled daughter in bed, is so dignified outside.
It seems like she’s not teaching as violently as before, and she’s probably balanced it out appropriately.
That thought was a hasty misconception.
“Those who passed are done with the class. You may go home. Those who failed, prepare again.”
The students, who had gained a mental burden comparable to a life-or-death situation and a refreshing realization, stopped abruptly.
Isn’t this enough?
Are they telling us to experience that terrifying thing again?
That was the look on their faces.
Should I say that Rinne is Rinne after all?
That day, the first class of the Magic Combat Department set a record of 18 hours and all students passing.
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