Chapter 18: Dispute Between Students

"Magic barriers? That's a quite ambitious thing you want to learn."

"Will you teach me about it then?"

"Hmm~ I am quite proficient in usage of mana so this falls under my area of expertise."

Master! I am calling her 'master' from now on!

In this land of evils, she is the one and only goddess, who has descended from heavens to purify my soul! You are literally my idol now!

"However, I won't teach you that."

"Why!?"

"Well, have you forgotten about our promise? I left you alone to rest for the past few days. But, I can't delay my lesson on medicines anymore. We are starting from now."

"I-I can't refute that."

Indeed, she left me alone for the past few days in consideration of my condition. I had also totally, forgotten about the reason, she let me use those mana crystals. So, it's a fair point.

I wanted to move along the plan for the counterattack, but learning medicine is not bad too.

It is nighttime, and Christiana & Harald have already left.

We went inside one of the closed rooms.

I sat at a sturdy wooden table, surrounded by shelves filled with jars of herbs and dried plants. The air was thick with the earthy scent of medicinal herbs, and the warm light from the fireplace cast flickering shadows around the room. Cecille looked at me with a curious expression, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Complex spells like magic barriers and circles take quite an amount of time to be mastered. That is due to their inherent nature of being confusing. If you are really eager about them, then I would give you a beginner's book regarding barriers after this lesson. So rest assured and focus on botany for now."

"Understood."

After those words that seemed like consolation, she started her explanations.

Basically, it was about morphology and anatomy of medicinal plants, a very fundamental topic to start with. She explained in detail about various parts of root and shoot system of those plants, then moved to the 3 main types of tissue systems. I was quite familiar with these concepts as I was preparing for entrance exam in my previous life. Apart from a few more new terms, almost everything is similar, which is a relief.

Now that I think about it, I don't have to appear for that insanely hard exam in this life. On top of having too low passing rate, the questions were insanely tricky. I bet, everyone must have thought once about this type of scenario or of the exam getting postponed or something like everyone being given a passing mark. Well, that's just fantasy, nothing more.

Even if I have died and left my previous life, I am still yearning to get back to it because this is not the place where I belong.

Anyway, after teaching the whole topic in a marathon session of 3-4 hours, she gave me a list of herbs and their effects on our body to memorize.

"Eh? Isn't this list a bit too long? Do I need to remember this much right away?"

"Yes, you have to do at least this much if you want to master the techniques of medicines."

I understand that, but somehow it feels like she is rushing me for some reason, like she doesn't have enough time. Well. it's not like I know about the teaching methods of this world. Maybe they are very strict in case of memorization due to unavailability of proper preservation techniques of knowledge and books.

"Oh! It's nearly midnight. We haven't even had dinner!" Cecille exclaimed being reminded of the amount of time already passed, looking at the sand clock.

"I will go make dinner right away."

"...It's quite late, so why don't you stay here for the night."

Yes! Literally an angel! Her kindness traverses through dimensions and can cross a black hole.

"Thank you very much. By the way, do you have any type of meat?"

"Meat, huh? I don't buy any of those as I don't cook often. So, there shouldn't be any. Why do you ask?"

"This is very important for a balanced diet. Relying wholly on vegetables would lead to various nutrition related diseases. So I would go buy some tomorrow."

"Yay! We can have a new dish!"

After a hearty dinner and some pleasant conversation with Cecille, I felt a strange sense of comfort that I hadn't experienced in a long time. Despite the ongoing chaos and my precarious situation, it was nice to have a moment of peace.

Cecille's house truly provided a sanctuary away from the turmoil. As I lay in bed, I couldn't help but reflect on the day's events. Learning about medicinal plants and their properties might seem mundane, but I knew it could be useful. Plus, it was a nice break from all the intense planning and strategizing.

But tomorrow, it was back to business. The terrorist threat was looming, and I had to be ready. For now, I allowed myself to drift off to sleep, enveloped by the cozy warmth of Cecille's home.

***

Inside a dimly lit storage room in the academy, a group of students from Course 2 had gathered. The room was cluttered with old books, broken chairs, and various discarded items, creating an atmosphere of secrecy and rebellion. Among them stood their leader, a tall, imposing figure with sharp features and a determined expression. His name was Edwin Arkwright.

"Thank you all for coming," Edwin began, his voice steady and commanding.

"We stand at the precipice of change. For too long, we have endured the discrimination and condescension of the Course 1 students. They believe their noble blood makes them superior, but we know the truth."

The students murmured in agreement, their eyes fixed on Edwin with a mixture of admiration and determination.

"We are just as capable, just as worthy," he continued, his voice rising with passion.

"The Royal Magic Academy should be a place of equal opportunity for all, regardless of one's lineage. We must stand together and show them our strength, our resolve."

A cheer went up among the students, their spirits lifted by Edwin's rousing words.

"We will not be silenced, we will not be oppressed," Edwin declared, raising his fist.

"We will rise and demand the respect and recognition we deserve. Together, we will make our voices heard and bring about the change this academy so desperately needs."

The students clapped and shouted their agreement, the energy in the room palpable. One by one, they left the storage room, their hearts filled with hope and determination.

As the last of the students exited, Edwin remained behind, a sly smirk creeping across his face. "Fools," he muttered to himself.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue sapphire-like stone, its surface glinting in the dim light. Holding it close to his lips, he whispered a few words. The stone pulsed with a faint blue light, and he waited for a response.

After getting his response, his eyes lit up with excitement.

"This academy will soon be ours, and with it, the power we seek."

The light in the stone faded, and Edwin tucked it back into his pocket. He glanced around the empty storage room, a sense of satisfaction washing over him. Everything was falling into place.

With a final, triumphant smirk, he turned and left the room, the weight of his plan heavy in the air. The uprising was just the beginning, and soon, the entire academy would feel the impact of their machinations.

***

The next day went as usual. I trained at the daytime by running, swinging my dagger and using magic for sometimes. Then, I had to memorize the plants that Cecille had given to me. Not to mention, I could only remember about 10-15 names.

The most exciting thing was the book about magic barriers that she lent me. I am not sure I understand the whole concept now, but this is really interesting.

As I completed my daily routine, I went on a stroll towards my favorite and the only one I had visited, food stall to buy the vegetable stew.

The hateful gazes I get have not been subsided, but now I am used to it.

Water for drinking and bathing was not a problem to begin with because of the river. Though, I still have to wear my academy clothes and wash them continuously. The one that was stained with blood couldn't be cleaned completely. So I wear that one when I am around my home.

Now, I am discussing about what to do for next day with Christiana.

"What are you spacing out for?" Christiana shot me an annoyed gaze and brought me back to my senses.

"Nothing. Anyway, do you have any clue about the students' uprising?"

"I am trying to get through their hideouts. As most of the course 2 students are commoners and country side nobles, they don't cooperate with us that easily."

"I am just guessing here. But its obvious that the day they would start their protest, that day would be suitable for the terrorists to do do something."

"Do something? Don't be too vague now. It is clear as day that they plan to attack the whole academy and take the students as hostages. Then, why don't we report it to our principal instead of the school management?"

Perceptive as always, aren't you?

"....I don't trust anyone."

Well, not like I can tell you that my objective is not to literally counterattack the terrorists, but to save Emmeline.

"Then, why are you telling me all of this?"

"I feel like we have gone through this conversation before. Anyway, I trust you for now."

"For now huh?"

"So, I am telling you the things that you need to care of. Your first priority should be finding the leader of course 2 students. Or if you find any other clue regarding that, report me about everything. Secondly, do you know anything about the personal maid of Emmeline?"

"Hmm, I have talked with her a few times. I think her name is Eris. What about her?"

"Keep an eye on her. If possible, find out what she does during nighttime."

"Okay."

If Emmeline is really up to something, then she would not do the work herself. So tailing her maid would definitely give us some lead. Moreover, I have a general idea of what to do with that uprising of course 2 students, just waiting for some more clues.

"One last thing I want to ask. Have you talked with Kevin before?"

"Kevin? The one you tried to bully?"

"....Yes. Have you 2 talked before?"

"Not exactly. What does he have to do with anything?"

"No actually, this is the last line of defense. If the subjugation happens at an unexpected time, then your only option remaining would be fighting back. And for that reason, training harder won't be sufficient. You have to gain powerful allies. He will be a great option, so keep that in mind."

".....Are you making fun of him right now?"

"No....Anyway, as I said keep that in mind."

Okay! That's settled for now. All that's left to do is making both of these stronger using my knowledge of this novel.

Then, tomorrow, I am gonna get that thing.