CHAPTER 100

Loyal to the Empire

Just promising a lunch feast lifted everyone’s spirits.

Especially because breakfast had been so terrible, their mood improved a lot more.

“These students are all from wealthy families and used to eating good food. Normally, it wouldn’t be possible to boost morale just by offering food like this. Maybe that’s why Dynaise Academy purposely gives us limited meals.”

Even so, Idnia thought today’s meal was too extreme. Since they had a special lunch planned, it was okay for now, but for the future, she was determined to find spices and reinvent the food situation.

Even though it was raining outside, Professor Buremhyde used his magic to create a huge dome that covered the clubhouse and practice field, so training could continue.

“Let’s first improve the quality of your telekinesis spells. That alone will make catching and throwing much better.”

He placed the students in different positions and sent high fly balls toward them using magic. Catching fast and distant balls using only telekinesis was very difficult. However, catching slow fly balls with minimal effort using telekinesis helped them improve their control and conserve stamina.

—Thud! Thud! Thud!—

Buremhyde fired the balls like a shotgun. Each became a fly ball heading toward a student.

“If only baseball teams on Earth could train like this… But…”

Idnia could catch the balls easily without using magic. But the other students struggled. Even after seeing where the ball was going, they couldn’t figure out where to position themselves. They weren’t used to this kind of training.

They used telekinesis too early, wasting energy, and still missed the ball.

“These simple—! Ahem, never mind. We’ve got plenty of time, let’s keep practicing. You’ll get used to it.”

Buremhyde held back his anger and taught them techniques calmly.

“If you use telekinesis to build a structure like a net or a big basket, it’ll be easier to catch the balls.”

He continued patiently, giving detailed advice.

“Wow, this is actually really helpful magic training.”
“Why can’t he teach like this during normal classes?”

Everyone was impressed by Buremhyde’s informal but useful lesson.

After morning training, they went to their first class.

Marie, who had learned to control her magic for catching and throwing, was tired and asked Idnia,

“I’m already exhausted… Are you okay, Idnia?”

“Yes. This much is fine.”

While answering, Idnia used an extraction spell to remove the dirt from her uniform. She had strong physical endurance and her magical strength had grown a lot recently. She could now cast demanding spells without much trouble.

“Thankfully, this morning’s class is mental training with Baroness Bylem. We’ll just be watching a video. Good time to rest.”

“…Oh. Right.”

Idnia sighed. Previously, they had watched a documentary about Wizard Ball players before the first game, which was interesting. But today, since they had lost terribly, that topic was avoided.

Instead, today’s video was propaganda about how loyal the Caliestre family had been to the empire.

“Okay. Let’s be careful and not get caught…”

Idnia split her attention—pretending to watch the video while secretly doing something else. She’d done this many times back in school on Earth—like zoning out during boring chapel sessions.

But this wasn’t just watching a video. It was a magical illusion, and Baroness Bylem could tell if a student snapped out of it.

So Idnia used advanced mental techniques to fake being under the illusion. She returned “positive values” to the spellcaster, while secretly reading a book using a touch-reading spell.

This was a high-level trick—fooling a magical system that normally detects if someone is resisting the spell.

“Hm. Idnia, are you feeling okay?”

Baroness Bylem noticed that Idnia’s reaction was different from the others.

But she didn’t press further, since Idnia often had strange reactions in her class. She assumed it was her usual problem.

“Ah, yes, I’m fine, Baroness Bylem.”

“If you feel dizzy again, let me know.”

The baroness sat down and read her own book while the illusion continued. Idnia went back to reading secretly while pretending to be hypnotized.

“Hmm… Idnia’s illusion readings are inconsistent. But her magic levels are increasing. Must be because of her noble bloodline. Still, I can’t believe the cruel Flora’s daughter is such an excellent student…”

Baroness Bylem clicked her tongue—conflicted between admiring Idnia’s progress and her dislike of Idnia’s mother.

“Long live Caliestre! Long live the Empire!”

As soon as class ended, the overly patriotic student Christian jumped up and shouted.

Other naïve students joined him in praising the empire.

“Hooray! Glory to the Empire!”

Rudolf, the crown prince and subject of the praise, looked awkward.

“Hoho, good! It seems like everyone is steadily improving their magic,”

said Baroness Bylem, pleased that her video had the desired effect.

“Let’s do a quick check. Everyone, meditate.”

She cast a spell that created a magical wind to test their magical strength and quality.

“Good. Fiona has a nice, balanced aura. Next row… Oh, Lorenzo, no need to hide it. You clearly have more magic than you’re showing.”

“Tsk, that guy again…”

Karl grumbled as Lorenzo tried to act weak.

“Karl, don’t use your aura during meditation. It interferes. Your magic is strong, but the quality is a little rough. You need more inner calm.”

Then she moved on to the next row—and was shocked.

Isolde absorbed the magic wind rather than resisting it.

“What in the world… That’s void magic. Like what demons use. Her magic’s changed—why?”

Baroness Bylem was deeply unsettled. Isolde hadn’t shown these traits before.

“She was in the Wizard Ball match. Could it be because of that?”

She made mental notes to report Isolde to the vice principal or principal. She skipped commenting aloud.

Then she turned to the next row—where Idnia and Marie were sitting.

“Ouch… that stings a little.”

Marie winced as the magical wind hit her.

“Use your magic to shield yourself.”

Idnia showed her how.

“Wow. Idnia’s magic quality is good and her mana level is high. How did she manage that while slacking in class?”

But when Marie used her magic…

A massive golden light flashed in the baroness’s vision—like a holy pillar of light.

“Incredible. This isn’t just a candidate—Marie is the saint of this generation. Her magic is pure divine energy, even more than Flora’s. But… why doesn’t Idnia feel like a saint at all?”

Baroness Bylem was amazed by Marie’s divine power, and confused by Idnia’s lack of holy energy—even though the oracle had chosen her.