“Riiing—”
The bell signaling the end of class finally chimed, long overdue.
Grom stood on the wooden box, looking around the classroom with a gloomy face. His already round, bulbous eyes narrowed dangerously, especially when his gaze swept over the few Regal Department freshmen who had been whispering earlier.
“That is all for today.”
“Also, let me remind you one last time. The academy admitted you so you would learn how to use your brains.”
He paused, tapping his short, stubby fingers twice on the magic affinity crystal.
“As for those clever people who think that just because they have a mouth, they are qualified to make decisions for the Academy Council... you can come find me tomorrow for private extra lessons.”
“I've already thought of a name for the course.” Grom bared a mouthful of stark white teeth.
“《Structural Mechanics Analysis of Dwarven Warhammers and Human Craniums Under High-Speed Collision Environments》.”
He waddled out of the classroom, huffing and puffing, but quickly remembered something, doubled back, and carried off his precious stepping box, which was a full size larger than he was.
The scene was somewhat comical for a moment, like a bearded potato trying to carry away its own French window.
Once the professor left, the whispers that had been forcibly suppressed surged back up like a released spring.
However, with Grom's warning before leaving, no one was stupid enough to discuss it loudly in front of Irene.
Most of it was just casual glances cast while packing books, or a lowered voice whispering, “You saw that just now, right?” when passing by a companion.
Or perhaps a few people huddled together, repeatedly confirming that utterly absurd result in a volume only they could hear.
“...One bar.”
“I really can't believe it...”
“Did something go wrong during the garden sorting test? How could...”
A large empty space suddenly cleared around Irene as she bowed her head to pack her books. Most of the fawning Regal Department freshmen from before excused themselves unnaturally.
The white-haired dumpling bit her lip and said nothing, quietly tending to her own things.
“Young Master...”
Lilian squeezed over, holding a few books.
For once, the pink-haired dumpling didn't immediately obsess over the knight novel she had hidden between the pages of her textbook. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes and peeked over the crowd toward Irene.
At this moment, Irene was packing her things with her head lowered.
She picked up a thin textbook, then put it down. Seeming to feel that the edges weren't perfectly aligned, she rearranged it again.
Then came the second book, the third... Though it was only a few books, she spent a long time fussing over them.
Anyone could see that she simply didn't want to look up.
Lilian pursed her lips. “Miss Irene... seems very sad.”
Lynn followed her gaze, then raised an eyebrow after a moment.
“You actually noticed?”
“Young Master!”
The pink-haired dumpling immediately puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. “I'm just not very good at studying, I'm not an idiot!”
“Right.” Lynn nodded solemnly, though his gaze casually swept over the book tucked inside her copy of 《Basic Elemental Theory》.
The large characters peeking out from the cover were faintly visible, seemingly titled...
《The Villainous Young Noble Lord Wouldn't Fall in Love with a Commoner Maid Like Me?》
Hmph... Young Master always brushes me off like this...
Lilian stared suspiciously at her young master for two seconds before finally returning her attention to that white head.
“How about... we go check on her?”
“When someone is sad, they'll definitely feel worse and worse the more they dwell on it.”
Her initiative in this regard was always remarkable. As she spoke, she had already hugged her books and jogged toward Irene's seat.
“Miss Irene—”
Whoosh!
Before she could even finish the word “Irene,” the white-haired dumpling sitting in her seat suddenly stiffened.
In the next second, hugging her books, standing up, and turning around—all actions were completed in one smooth motion.
Immediately after, a white afterimage zipped past Lilian's eyes like a gust of wild wind, precisely navigating a gap between the rows of students who had yet to disperse, and slipped out of the classroom in the blink of an eye.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap—
The sound of rapid, hurried footsteps receded down the hallway, quickly fading away completely.
“M-Miss?”
Lilian was left standing stupidly in place, her hand still raised in a greeting gesture.
“Young Master... did Miss Irene... run away?”
Seeing Lynn give her a "what do you think" look, the pink-haired dumpling immediately looked hurt.
“But I didn't even say anything yet!”
Lynn wasn't surprised. He could more or less understand little Irene's current state.
Faced with the doubts of strangers, she could still curl up like a hedgehog, trying her best to bristle all her quills and put on a front of "I don't care at all."
But if someone familiar actually caught up to her and asked in a caring tone, “Are you okay?”...
“Sometimes... the thing that breaks down a person's mental walls is often just a single word of concern.”
“Let her be alone for a bit.”
Lynn reached out and grabbed Lilian, who was still preparing to chase after her.
“But...”
“Let me ask you one thing... can you even catch up to her?”
“...”
Lilian seriously recalled the white figure that had just pushed the limits of the human eye, then looked down at her own chubby, short legs.
The pink-haired dumpling fell into a shameful silence.
...
...
Irene ran away, but unfortunately... some words wouldn't disappear along with her.
Initially, the students leaving Classroom 201 merely related what they had seen with their own eyes:
“That White Garden student of this year's batch only has one bar of element affinity.”
That was all. There was no exaggeration, nor were there any outrageous conspiracy theories.
But the most interesting part about rumors is that even if everyone only adds half a sentence, by the time it passes through ten people's mouths, it is no longer in its original form.
By lunchtime, the contents of this elemental theory class had already spread through more than half of the freshmen.
Lynn's 9.9 went without saying; such a once-in-a-century, exaggerated figure naturally became a hot topic at the dining tables.
But compared to "just how talented a certain genius could be," another topic seemed to make people even more curious...
Why did the White Garden Chief only have one bar?
“Maybe her talent isn't in elements at all?”
“Then what would it be?”
“Who knows.”
“The academy hasn't made it public either?”
“No.”
“...”
No one knew what Irene was good at.
In fact, from her enrollment until now, no one had actually seen where her so-called "White Garden-level" talent manifested. Thus, all explanations would ultimately get stuck at the same point.
Nobody knew.
And humanity had always lacked sufficient patience for things they "didn't know."
By the afternoon, a piece of gossip of unknown origin quietly slipped into those doubts.
Irene Durandal didn't seem to know magic at all.
No one knew who had said it first.
Perhaps it was a random guess by some student.
Perhaps it was some well-informed noble child who "heard it from an upperclassman."
Or perhaps, it was just a casual “I heard it too” from a certain follower of a self-proclaimed handsome, red-haired noble.
In short, it appeared, and it appeared at just the right time.
With only one bar of element affinity and an inability to answer even the most basic theoretical questions, if she originally didn't know magic at all...
Then everything seemed to make sense?
The rumor hadn't reached the point where everyone believed it blindly. Most people, upon hearing it, would only ask skeptically:
“Is that for real?”
And then, after receiving the answer of “Who knows, but that's what people are saying,” they would temporarily store this sentence in the depths of their hearts.
But by the next day, it met its first piece of supporting evidence.
Rate on N.U.
