TTND 46

Chapter 46

No Tuition Refund

“Underestimated him too much. Franz…”

Sadia smirked as she watched Crown Prince Rudolf rampaging, grabbing her wand and casting a spell.

Dimension Weave!

A silver spiderweb-like energy wrapped around and sealed the tearing space.

At the same time, Sadia cast another spell with her bare hands, without using her wand.

Energy Drain!

Her Energy Drain hit Crown Prince Rudolf.

Rudolf, who had been releasing terrifying amounts of mana and rampaging, felt his mana and vitality drained.

“Ahhh!”

Bright light mana poured out from Rudolf’s eyes and mouth.

As Rudolf lost consciousness and collapsed backward, Mari rushed over to support him.

She had stayed close by, not retreating despite the dangerous situation, worried about Rudolf, who had started rampaging due to magic.

“Tch. Franz, this bastard is crossing the line.”

“What?”

Mari was shocked by Sadia’s casual use of the Emperor’s name, as if it were a neighbor’s dog.

“It’s nothing.”

“……”

Meanwhile, Idnia, watching from afar, clicked her tongue.

‘Awakening Rudolf?

No, it’s still season one, so there shouldn’t be a deviation happening this early…

Hmm, but with more variables than in the game, anything could happen now.

Ah, Mari…’

Mari, who was supporting Rudolf, looked pale.

It had been a class event, but in the end, Mari had attacked the crown prince with magic, harming his royal body.

Though Rudolf’s personality wouldn’t hold her accountable, Mari, being from a commoner background, couldn’t help but feel a sudden fear.

“Alright, I’ll take the crown prince. Today’s class is over!

For the control-type magic, the girls will teach the boys in pairs!

Dismissed!”

Sadia said this, then opened a teleportation gate, carrying Rudolf with her beyond the gate.

The students didn’t leave immediately but stayed behind in the classroom to chat.

There were very few spaces in the academy where students could gather and talk seriously, so this was a rare opportunity.

“What’s going on? What now?”

“So, the crown prince got hurt in a magic accident, right? Is the academy going to properly manage things this semester?”

“Could there be academic suspension and cancellation of admissions… if that happens, will they refund the tuition?”

The students were trembling in anxiety.

“But thinking about it, I’ve never heard of the Dunais Academy being punished before.”

“I’ve never heard of the crown prince getting hurt either.”

“Wait, but isn’t the crown prince…? It’s unprecedented.”

Until now, the Sacred Eldar Empire had maintained a system of sovereign vassal states.

The crown prince, promised to be the next emperor, could never exist in that structure.

The Caliestra family created Rudolf, forcing support from other sovereign vassal families while they secured overwhelming power, with the intention of establishing an imperial legacy.

Students from the Zephyros dormitory, where the Caliestra family held sway in the western region, naturally accepted the existence of Crown Prince Rudolf, but students from other regions felt some resistance and discomfort.

The fact that the empire’s administration was centered around Dunais already made students from other regions unhappy. If Caliestra’s family took full control and became a hereditary monarchy with Rudolf…

Wouldn’t other regions become more and more marginalized?

The students, all from noble backgrounds, were naturally sensitive to political issues like this.

Despite the turmoil surrounding Crown Prince Rudolf’s magical accident, some students continued their activities.

“Ah, Idnia, please teach me the control-type magic.

Actually, I feel embarrassed asking because I couldn’t even do the deceptive type.”

Bolson, blushing with embarrassment, asked Idnia for guidance.

Bolson, born the son of a low-ranking soldier, didn’t know the full details.

He had just been lucky to enter the Dunais Academy, and now he wanted to use this opportunity to improve his magic skills, his inner abilities.

“Ah, the control-type is actually easier than the deceptive type. I’ll teach you.”

Idnia was about to begin teaching Bolson, but just then, something flew and hit Bolson’s clothes.

It was a piece of stale bread from the lunch hall.

“Tch. Hey, Bolson.

Carl wants to talk to you. He has something he wants to discuss with you.”

It was Carl’s four followers.

These were the same students who had stormed into the Notos dormitory, beat up its students, and ended up in the punishment room.

Bolson, despite being a northerner with a decent build, appeared like a child next to them.

“Ah, okay… then…”

“Hold on a moment.”

Idnia grabbed Bolson as he tried to leave.

“Who do you think you are, interrupting our class? And throwing bread crumbs at me?”

“What?”

Carl’s followers, the four from Boreas, were taken aback.

They had thrown the bread at Bolson, not Idnia, but Idnia was claiming that they had thrown it at her.

“No, it hit Bolson, didn’t it?”

“That’s because Bolson threw himself in front of me to protect me. He acted as a shield for me, so he got hit instead. Who can say if you aimed for me or him?”

“……”

“That’s not true…”

Bolson muttered without realizing.

Idnia slyly stepped on his foot and continued speaking.

“Of course, you honorable warriors of the Black Iron Warriors would never throw bread crumbs at me just to harass me.

But tell me, is it really that easy to aim and throw something like bread crumbs in a precise manner?

Throwing something so light, which could blow anywhere, to me, just to mock someone…

What would have happened if it hit me?

Or were you planning to insult me because my family’s status is slipping?”

“Uh…”

“Do you think you can throw bread crumbs at someone talking to the crown prince and mock them too?”

Carl’s four followers were silenced.

They had walked right into a trap.

If they said yes, they would have been told to throw the bread at the crown prince.

If they said no…

That would imply they thought less of the crown prince than they did of Idnia.

“…Ah.”

Carl’s followers—Eirik, Rivald, Olsongard, and Durbin—looked at each other nervously.

Rivald, quick to act, knelt down.

“I’m sorry, Idnia. We didn’t mean to do that. It was thoughtless of us.”

“Ah, please don’t. My family’s status is meaningful outside the academy, but in here, I’m just like any other student.

Isn’t it a bit much for students to kneel while apologizing to each other?”

Idnia said this, then helped Rivald stand, though they weren’t fools.

‘When she says her family’s status only matters outside the academy, she’s implying that it matters outside.

Tch, I shouldn’t have touched that.’

They all realized they had messed up and broke out in cold sweat.

Just then, Idnia smiled and patted Rivald’s shoulder.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“Idnia, Carl asked to see you. He wants to discuss something important about the future.”

“Even so, shouldn’t we prioritize helping our fellow students with their lessons? It’s difficult to teach control-type magic outside of class, but shouldn’t we prepare them before the next lesson?”

“Ah, don’t worry. We’ve been thoroughly preparing the students for review and practice.”

“Alright, then. I’ll meet with him.”

Idnia agreed and followed them.

They didn’t have to go far.

In the same classroom, the Boreas students had formed a barrier with their bodies, blocking the path.

Once they moved, Idnia saw them setting up tables and spreading out snacks.

Carl was heating water with his wand, and one of his followers was steeping tea leaves.

“Fermented tea from Milan. A northern person serving southern tea to a southerner like me.”

Rivald, sitting across from Carl, looked at the snacks on the table.

They were simple snacks from the academy’s cafeteria.

Not luxurious, but to someone who had been eating poor food recently, they tasted like heaven.

“So, why did you call me here?”

Idnia asked as she took a piece of the snack and ate it.

“Ah, thank you.”

She received the tea and took a sip, then picked up another snack.

“So, about what happened to Rudolf. Do you know how much mana he released when he went berserk?”

“I’m not sure, but the space distorting effect was definitely a great spell. What’s more surprising is that it happened in Dunais Academy. Dunais has a powerful defensive barrier against spatial movements and teleportation.”

Rivald was also impressed by the sight of Rudolf’s rampage.

“So, what’s the plan for cooperation then? That’s why I called you here…”

Crunch, crunch…

As Carl spoke with a lowered voice, the sound of Idnia eating the snack was unusually loud.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Hmm.”

Idnia paused, stopping herself from eating.

“We’ve already discussed cooperation, haven’t we? But now, after the whole situation has been ruined, why bring up cooperation again? If you wanted cooperation, you shouldn’t have attacked the Notos students.”

“I’m not talking about cooperation in the dormitory point system. Rivald. Let’s be honest. You came here to investigate Dunais Academy, right?”

“……”

“Dunais Academy has existed since before the founding of the Sacred Eldar Empire.

Here, everything related to humanity’s domain is collected, and if someone were to obtain it, they could reach the divine realm.”

“So, you created smuggling routes and intentionally got caught by students, pretending to be someone who just wanted snacks, when in fact you were spying on the academy’s secrets?”

Carl said this while picking up another snack, and Idnia saw this as the moment to continue eating.