CHAPTER 70

Students Must Eat Well

Professor Dneuve looked puzzled.

“Farming with magic? Sure, it’s a good curriculum for basic magic classes. But why are you suddenly so enthusiastic about this?”

“Hmm, Professor Dneuve. What, are you interested in why I’m so motivated? Are you saying you care about me?”

Dneuve sighed.

“You’re not usually like this, so it’s suspicious. Why did you make the students starve?”

“Well, that way they’ll learn how important agriculture is, right? Hehe. Do you think these kids even know what hunger feels like? They all come from wealthy noble families. This was probably a great experience for them.”

“I get your point, but even if they farm now, they can’t harvest immediately. And even if they do, it’s not like they can eat it right away. Isn’t draining their energy before they even start work just tiring them out?”

“Still… changing the class focus might actually help the students.”

“Great! See? You and I understand each other!”

Sadia excitedly turned to the students.

“Alright! Everyone, finish eating and gather at the plaza in comfortable clothes for work. You have 30 minutes!”

“What about personal prep time?”

The students were flustered.

Was she seriously trying to skip their prep time and start class earlier? Some were planning to meet servants from Black Cow Village or visit the school store to buy snacks and fill up. Now that time was being taken away.

But…

“Anyone with complaints, raise your hand and speak up.”

At that one sentence from Sadia, everyone shut their mouths.

“Hmm…”

Marie had finished getting ready and was using telekinesis to lift water from a corner rain barrel into a floating ball while waiting at the plaza.

This was part of her assignment from Professor Buremhyde: water juggling.

“Ah, you’re practicing. Is that for Professor Buremhyde’s homework?”

“Idnia?! Uh, your outfit…”

Marie was surprised to see Idnia wearing her usual riding clothes.

“Riding boots are good for working in fields too. Even if they get muddy…”

With a wave of her wand, Idnia cast a simple Extraction Magic to remove any dirt.

“I can clean my clothes instantly using extraction spells, so I don’t have to worry about laundry. It’s fine to work in these clothes.”

Even Dryad Milena, an alchemist from town, praised Idnia’s extraction magic, so using it for clothing wasn’t hard at all.

“That’s true. Your extraction magic is really amazing.”

“So, how’s your juggling going?”

“I can manage one ball, but once I try two, it’s hard to keep it up. At three, everything falls apart.”

“Hmm, I see. Want to see how I do it?”

Idnia raised her wand and cast her telekinesis spell. A water ball easily formed and floated. But adding two or three balls consumed too much focus.

It was possible to summon multiple balls with one spell, but then they moved as a group—not ideal for juggling.

So what was the trick?

“First, set the telekinesis spell holding the water ball to sustained mode. That way, the shape stays without constant focus.”

“Oh…”

“Easier already, right?”

“Yes!”

Now she could keep the ball stable without focusing constantly.

“Next, set up a magic zone called a Toss Zone. It just launches anything that enters it upward. The spell is simple and similar to the continuous spin spell.”

Idnia set the Toss Zone.

“Now, when I toss the ball into the zone…”

It launched the ball upward automatically.

“Place the Toss Zone where you want it and adjust the strength…”

Each ball bounced to the perfect height.

Idnia placed two Toss Zones, scooped water into balls, and tossed them. They bounced flawlessly, juggling themselves. With the setup done, she could keep adding balls with no extra effort.

“Hmm… Right now, the Toss Zone is launching air too, so it’s using too much mana. I could adjust it to respond only to fluids, or I could tag the water balls with an ID code and have the Toss Zone activate only for those.”

“Ah, you’re enjoying this?”

Marie watched in awe.

‘She made it so easy. I was trying to do everything manually like throwing with invisible hands…’

Marie’s method required telekinetic control of every throw, like juggling with ghost hands.

Idnia’s method? Build a machine-like system, feed it magic and water, and it juggles on its own.

Marie realized the spell setup might be harder at first, but once complete, it was way easier. And with the students’ current level, they could totally manage it.

Still—what a revolutionary idea. None of the other students had thought of this. They all just practiced the basic way because, well… it was a basic telekinesis class.

‘But the professor would love this. He says mages are meant to break boundaries…’

Meanwhile, Idnia clicked her tongue and dismissed the spell.

“But this is too easy. I doubt this is the method Professor Buremhyde wants. I should try juggling with direct telekinesis, like you.”

“Eh?!”

Marie was shocked that even after perfecting one method, Idnia wanted to challenge herself with another.

‘Most people would just be happy with one solution and stop there… but not her.’

If Idnia had been a prodigy who mastered juggling right away, Marie would’ve just thought, Oh, she’s a genius.

But seeing her try new methods after already succeeding… That was true dedication.

‘This is what a real scholar looks like. She’s amazing…’

Marie was truly impressed.

“Marie, want to practice with me while we wait?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s start like this.”

Idnia picked up some stones and tried juggling them by hand.

She was clumsy—obviously had never done it before.

But Marie, who’d often played games at the convent, easily juggled.

“Why by hand?”

“Let’s replace just your right hand with telekinesis now.”

“Oh, I see!”

Marie followed along and realized it was much easier that way.

“Once you get used to that, switch the left hand to magic too.”

As Marie followed Idnia’s instructions, juggling became way easier.

‘Unbelievable! Just a moment ago, I was completely lost—and now it feels natural?!’

Idnia pointed to the water bucket.

“Now let’s try with water. If you make them into sustained spheres, it’ll be even easier.”

“…”

The same telekinesis juggling that felt impossible this morning was now effortless.

Just keep making balls, cast right-hand spell, then left-hand spell in rhythm… and that was it.

She didn’t even need to focus much.

‘This isn’t just practice… it’s Idnia’s way of thinking. Incredible.’

She felt like she could juggle all day now.

“Idnia?”

“I can do it too, thanks to you, Marie.”

Idnia had copied Marie’s rhythm and succeeded effortlessly.

At that moment, other students arrived.

“Idnia! We’re all assembled!”

The three boys from Eurus Dorm—Dupont, Athos, and Percifier—had come to report.

“Thank you. Let’s go, Marie.”

“Yes!”

Marie followed Idnia with joy after finally solving Professor Buremhyde’s assignment. Eurus Dorm had fewer students, but with Idnia leading them, they didn’t feel weaker than anyone.

Sadia opened a teleport gate and transported the students.

Last time in Professor Buremhyde’s class, they had traveled thousands of kilometers—so naturally, they wondered where they’d go this time.

But… they arrived at a farm on the outskirts of Black Cow Village.

“…Huh?”

“We could’ve walked here!”

“Oh? Then you can walk back.”

“….”

“Just kidding. You’d sneak off somewhere. I’ll just drain the energy you would’ve used instead—Energy Drain!”

She drained a student’s energy, then looked at everyone.

“Okay, attention! Apparently, the bakery ran into trouble yesterday.

Poor bakery worker. He struggled so hard to feed his little family, and now his workplace is ruined…”

She made it sound tragic.

But students remembered how terrible the bread and soup from that bakery were. They felt no sympathy.

‘Wasn’t he just scamming us with garbage food?’

‘Didn’t Lord Lorenzo buy out a nearby restaurant to serve us better meals?’

‘Come to think of it… maybe he destroyed the bakery on purpose.’

‘If so, we support Lord Lorenzo. He spent his own money for our sake. That’s what I call a real man.’

Instead of pitying the baker, the students were all thinking about how to get better food.

They basically all agreed: Lorenzo probably destroyed the bakery—and thank goodness he did.