<b>? End of the Second Semester (1) ?</b>


    Since returning to M?rchen Academy, a series of unbelievable events had unfolded before Eve.


    Recently, there was a tremendous incident that almost led to the destruction of a chunk of the Empire, including M?rchen Academy.


    After a brief break where the situation stabilized, the academy resumed sses.


    Magic Department, Orphin Hall. Second year ssroom.


    Eve Ropenheim, a girl with silver-blue hair tied to the side, was tapping the desk with her fingers, lost in thought.


    When she turned her head to look out the window, suddenly, the massive ind floating in the sky came to her mind.


    The despair she felt when she realized it was the Floating Ind was utterly indescribable.


    “…”


    And Eve remembered the horrifying sh that urred on the Floating Ind.


    The ck Monster. It achieved victory in its battle against the Floating Ind.


    And M?rchen Academy, its people, and her younger brother Isaac were all safe thanks to it.


    Eve’s fingers, who had been tapping the desk, suddenly stopped.


    She had seen Isaac’s proficient magic skills in the joint practical evaluation.


    Outstanding physical abilities.


    Ice Element.


    And…


    ─‘I can’t ept that you attacked me out of nowhere and tried to take Sir Isaac away from me.’


    Those aggressive words were spoken by Kaya Astrea, the second seat of the Magic Department freshman.


    “Sir, Isaac…”


    Eve muttered to herself.


    When she first met Kaya, she was not in her right mind due to her fear, but…


    After regaining her rationality, she continuously felt that something was very out of ce.


    A student who was a second seat in M?rchen Academy’s Magic Department respectfully called her brother, ‘Sir Isaac’…


    “…No way.”


    As Eve entertained absurd thoughts, she quickly shook her head.


    …There was no way that Isaac could be the ck Monster.


    The ck Monster was an Archwizard. A monster among monsters.


    Even if a guy like Isaac, who had no magic talent, worked himself to death, he could never reach the level of the ck Monster.


    After all, she had spent so much time with him for it to be true.


    As his older sister who spent her childhood with Isaac, she could vouch that he wasn’t the ck Monster.


    As the professor entered the ssroom, she cleared her mind.


    Eve tore her gaze away from the window and threw her thoughts aside before returning to reality.


    * * *


    Recently, my time exercising had suddenly increased.


    It was because magic training was excluded from my daily routine. After all, I was currently in a state of mana depletion.


    My condition was at its peak every day and my sleep had be incrediblyfortable.


    I now realized how strenuous my magic training used to be and the amount of fatigue it imposed on me.


    Although it seemed perfect in this time of readjustment…


    ‘I really can’t get used to this.’


    Creating simple ice or rock constructs used to be as easy as riding a bike whenever I was bored.


    Fatigue was like some passive skill that always apanied me.


    <b><i> So, how did it feel to have my body so refreshed while unable to use magic, you ask?</i></b>


    It didn’t even feel like my own body.


    After finishing sses, I was walking underneath the afternoon sunlight.


    If I nced around, it seemed like nothing had happened and time at M?rchen Academy was flowing peacefully.


    ‘The break due to the Floating Ind onlysted for three days as well.’


    After a three-day break, sses resumed.


    Today marked the beginning of the third week since I had defeated the Floating Ind.


    The aftermath of the Floating Ind incident was still being pitifully handled by the academy staff.


    Well, absolute chaos had erupted.


    ‘The Floating Ind got utterly annihted after all.’


    The Fortress of the Heavens, the Harbinger of Destruction, Paradise and Hell.


    The Floating Ind was first on the Zelver Empire’s subjugation list.


    A mysterious and gigantic ind with unimagine power suddenly appeared in the heavens, turning the entire area into a wastnd.


    The human and property damage caused by the Floating Ind throughout history exceeded any imaginable scale.


    However, in one night, the enormous entity disappeared without a trace and despite the Empire quickly organizing a subjugation force, they couldn’t reach the Floating Ind to defeat it.


    Throughout history, humanity had suffered from the Floating Ind, but…


    The unknown creature that resided in M?rchen Academy, the ck Monster, had eradicated it. And he had done so all on his own.


    ‘That conclusion was reached by the academy based on the circumstances of the incident and Dorothy’s testimony.’


    The news had spread worldwide.


    The ck Monster, who defended the Empire by destroying the Floating Ind, began to be revered as an ‘unnamed hero’ because of the most recent incident as well as its previous exploits.


    After all, forget the academy, it had realistically saved humanity itself.


    ‘The results were beyond expectation.’


    I couldn’t keep hiding the fact that I was the ck Monster forever.


    As such, I had the intention to show a stance that the ck Monster was undoubtedly on the side of M?rchen Academy in advance… The groundwork for that wasid out very well.


    However, I could see how much the academy staff, including the Headmistress, were struggling. After all, the emergence of demons was already a headache, but now, they also had to deal with the attention of the entire world focused on them due to the ck Monster.


    Unfortunately, spring wouldn’t find them until the Evil God was defeated.


    It wouldn’t have been strange for the academy to shut down due to these continuous series of events. However, as expected, the academy was still relentlessly rolling forward, adhering to its ideology of guaranteeing educational opportunities for its students no matter what.


    ‘Of course, that’s just a secondary issue.’


    <b><i> Screw ideology.</i></b> In the first ce, M?rchen Academy was in a situation where they couldn’t close even if they wanted to.


    As I mentioned before…


    ‘Influential figures from all over the world are paying attention to this ce.’


    Emperor Carlos of the Zelver Empire was tantly supporting M?rchen Academy.


    And the Helize Church was also keeping an eye on M?rchen Academy.


    The Pope of the Helize Church was recognized as a secr authority and the territory he governed was ssified as an independent Holy Land.


    He held a position that could only bepared to Emperor Carlos within the Empire. After all, even an emperor could not stand above the realm of God.


    Moreover, the eastern country, ‘Horan, Land of the Fire Blossoms’, with national powerparable to the Zelver Empire, was also paying attention to this ce.


    Next year, the Princess of the Imperial Family, the Saintess from the Church, and the Shrine Maidenx from the eastern country were all nning to enroll at M?rchen Academy, so…


    The higher-ups at the academy had no choice but to continue running the school.


    In the end…


    Under the protection of the Emperor, they would n to ensure the safety of the students as much as possible and just roll with it no matter how they did so.


    In the first ce, all the students desired the elite education and diploma of M?rchen Academy, so everyone’s interests were aligned.


    I silently expressed my condolences to the center of the academy’s administration, Bartos Hall.


    ‘Well then, now…’


    <b><i> Time to grind.</i></b>


    sses were over and there was not much time left until the written exams after all.


    I headed to the library.


    M?rchen Academy’s library was quiterge in scale. There were always avable seats, even during exam periods, so I didn’t have to worry about seat avability.


    I took a seat and ced five books on the table. Since I had already read these books three times each, I could quickly review them.


    After taking a deep breath, I recalled my days of studying for the state examination as I immersed myself in the contents of the book.


    * * *


    ‘That person… He’s here again.’


    Although M?rchen Academy’s library was quiterge, it seemed like the silver-blue-haired male student always caught the eyes of the female student who worked as a librarian.


    He had been visiting the library every day as the exam period approached.


    These days, he would study untilte at night with frightening concentration, only leaving the library when the librarian announced it was closing time.


    Sitting at the librarian’s desk, the female student rested her chin on her hand, staring intently at the silver-blue-haired male student. It was inevitable that attention would be drawn to him.


    Magic Department freshman, Isaac. Among the freshmen, he was known as amoner with Grade E mana. He was the very definition of the weakest among the weak.


    However, he silently and steadfastly honed his skills, showing tremendous growth despite the condescending gazes around him.


    Now, it wouldn’t be wrong to say he was on par with ss B students, if not surpassing them. The gazes of the students towards Isaac were gradually turning into one of admiration and respect.


    Since he was someone who used to be looked down upon because he was amoner with Grade E mana, the change in perception was even more dramatic for the female student working at the library.


    ‘So cool…’


    A subtle blush appeared on both her cheeks.


    Love often came unexpectedly, especially among students.


    The young man known as Isaac was arousing the interest of the student librarian.


    “…!”


    However, as feelings of yearning began to surface, the female librarian’s breath suddenly caught, almost choking her.


    It was because it felt as if a giant shark was staring at her from the depths of the ocean.


    An eerie sensation of an unknown origin. Her survival instinct was terrifyingly warning her not to like that man.


    And suddenly…


    A pretty female student with rose-gold hair that flowed out appeared behind Isaac.


    “Ta-daa, Luce is here.”


    She bent her upper body and swiftly slid in beside Isaac without hesitation.


    Despite her mischievousness, her seductive tone made it seem like the air itself was swaying.


    Even the students around, who were supposed to be studying, couldn’t help but sneak nces at the girl with rose-gold hair.


    After all, she boasted such a beautiful appearance that anyone could briefly lose their mind at the sight of her.


    Luce Eltania. She was the unrivaled top seat out of the Magic Department freshman.


    “Ah, Luce.”


    Isaac turned his head, looking at Luce who was leaning onto his shoulder beside him.


    Close distance. Luce smiled brightly, making eye contact with Isaac.


    To anyone watching, they looked no different from a couple.


    Nearby, the hands of the male students holding books began to tremble.


    Although there were already several couples studying together, Isaac, in particr, evoked strong jealousy and envy among the surrounding students.


    “Isaac, let’s study together.”


    “I don’t mind.


    Ah, Luce. Did you understand this part? I’ve read this book four times but I still don’t get it.”


    “Oh yeah. I know. It made sense after I memorized everything up to Intermediate Theory.”


    “…Your brain is a cheat.”


    Isaac red at Luce with envious eyes.


    After exchanging a few words, the two sat side by side and began studying together.


    While Isaac passionately studied, silently lip-syncing the contents of the book…


    Luce, on the other hand, casually flipped through the pages with the elegance of a swan.


    Luce could memorize and recall anything after only seeing it once anyway.


    It was just that she was deliberately reading the book at a slower pace to match Isaac’s studying speed.


    ‘Too much…’


    The student librarian smacked her lips before turning her head again.


    It felt like the wall protecting Isaac was way too high to harbor any affection for him.


    “…”


    At that moment, Luce nced at the female student librarian.


    And then resumed reading the book expressionlessly.


    “Isaac.”


    “Hmm?”


    “Let’s be together all day today. Suddenly, I really feel like studying a lot.”


    “We only have 4 days left until the written exam and you’re talking about wanting to study a lot now…?”


    To Isaac, who felt like he was dying from studying, Luce’s brain was enviable.


    Luce yfully tickled the back of Isaac’s hand with a pen. Then, after briefly teasing him, she went back to reading her book.


    Thest exam of the second semester; the end-of-semester evaluation was not far off now.