The Hero Dia answered everyone, saying, “I baptize you with water, but one mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with Holy Spirit fire; His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Lydia Gospel 3:16, 17
“Welcome, Class of Year 557 to the Academy!”
With arms wide open like a show host, the Chancellor made her entrance.
Wackfar Harknockjook.
But, come on…
With those tiny little child-like limbs, can you really call that a host-like appearance?
Though she may have passed her forties and hold the title of Duke, her appearance is nothing more than an ordinary child. A child… about elementary school age?
As the head of the Academy, perhaps a character created with various intentions in mind.
Among the [Deus Ex Machina] users, she had a significant following among certain user groups.
Of course, despite that appearance, it was evident she intended to act as a host with her entrance.
She probably made a spectacle like this every year.
Still, what’s up with the Chancellor?
Generally, you’d expect someone in such a position to carry a little more weight.
Well, I guess a Chancellor who looks like that can come off as cute and thus more attractive.
“Chancellor?”
“Harknockjook!”
“That little kid is the Chancellor?”
“No way.”
“Seriously, yes! My brother said the Chancellor looks like a kid!”
“They say historically all Academy Chancellors look younger than their actual age.”
“Still, that’s too young, right? She’s way younger than us!”
“It’s just a façade. I bet she’s an old hag on the inside!”
“Seriously!”
The banquet hall got thrown into confusion at her appearance.
Well, I knew about her already, but how shocked must they be?
In this fantasy world where the dignity and face of the nobility are valued above life itself.
To think the one leading the Empire’s only and best academy would act like that!
She supposedly holds the title of Duke, after all.
Or maybe it’s just that her youthful appearance is so extreme.
“Nice to meet you, everyone!”
Snap
As the Chancellor snapped her fingers, the lights in the banquet hall came back on.
“Hmm… it’s a bit too noisy.”
Snap
Snapping her fingers again, silence fell over the banquet hall.
Among the new Academy students were those who had learned magic, those with anti-magic artifacts, and those with stellar physiques, yet all fell silent with just one magical snap.
A grand wizard with a definite skill, contrary to her usual antics and child-like appearance.
Sunny, who was sitting next to me, seemed to find the silence amusing, her mouth moving as if to speak.
How often would you see something like this, where such an extensive high-level silence spell is cast?
In [Deus Ex Machina], the protagonist had never arrived late and missed such a spectacle; this really is refreshing.
“Alright. Nice to meet you. Welcome to the only! And the finest institution of higher education in the Empire! Calandra Academy!”
Boom
Puff puff puff boom
Magic explosions erupted from both ends of the banquet hall like fireworks.
It was beautiful.
Is this the vibe of events in a world with magic?
…This is fun.
Huh?
Am I imagining things?
Is that woman’s gaze… directly on me?
It must just be her looking over the new students, right?
“For the next four years, you will live in this academy. As you all know, your education is for the future of the Empire, to lead in accordance with the will of the first Emperor. So, please adhere to the academy’s rules and avoid unnecessary incidents.”
No, wait? Is she seriously looking right at me?
Oh! Could it be because of Sister Seiren?
Given the chaos she caused at the academy, I wouldn’t blame her for feeling that way.
Had the Chancellor not intervened back then, she might have been able to wreak more havoc.
Finishing her words, she fiddled with the fish-shaped necklace around her neck.
A fish?
Did Wackfa always wear such a necklace? Why does it seem so unfamiliar?
I activated my magical sight to take a closer look at the necklace.
Then, I noticed the words engraved on the fish.
ΛΧΘΔΣ
…! Did I read that wrong? ‘Riktous’? No way. Wackfa too? When did that even happen?
The five characters of ancient Celestial.
The initials of ΛουκΧριστός, Θεοῦ Δεός, and Σωτήρ create a symbol of sorts.
Translating it means ‘Luke Christos, Son of Deus, Savior.’
It’s a symbol typically used among the high-ranking members of the Deus cult for secret identification.
It’s a symbol that can only be used by someone at least of Elder rank, making its existence extremely confidential.
In fact, very few even among the Christos know of this symbol.
At some point when Lydia was establishing and expanding the cult, she sent me a letter.
She often sought advice, and I would provide it based on the memories of my past life.
Having received higher education in my past life, my counsel, relative to what I knew, greatly boosted Lydia’s trust in me.
So, I figured this was more of that kind of advice, but oddly enough, she requested a symbol that could exhibit as a believer of the Lord, as a servant of the Lord.
In response to that request, I reached back into my past memories and created the symbol. Drawing inspiration from ‘Ichthys’, which early Christians used on Earth, I named it ‘Riktous’ and crafted a new symbol for the Christos.
I presented it in the form of a fish.
Afterward, the core members of the cult started carrying the symbol ‘Riktous,’ but I never thought that the Chancellor Wackfa would be affiliated with the cult.
How terrifying, Lydia.
…Huh?
But why was she fiddling with ‘Riktous’ while looking at me?
Was she checking if I was a core member of the cult?
Just a mere new student like me? Why?
Surely Lydia wouldn’t have told her my identity.
For a while, the Chancellor continued her generic speech, utterly devoid of substance, while watching me, then finally averted her gaze.
“…Well, it must be too painful for an old woman to keep talking. Now, let’s begin the entry celebration feast! Enjoy yourselves!”
Snap
As she snapped her adorably tiny finger again, delicious food appeared one by one on the banquet table we were at.
And just like that, the wide silence spell was lifted.
“Food! It has appeared…”
Sunny muttered, astonished next to me.
“Right? Food appearing out of thin air.”
In [Deus Ex Machina] backstory, it would probably start cooking somewhere else, then get summoned here by magic.
It’s not magic that creates the food, but to have such a vast summoning spell? That’s pretty shocking too.
*
Unfortunately, the table we were sitting at was filled with extras that I had no interest in.
Well, while I chatted with them a bit during the banquet, I couldn’t find them interesting either.
The people I wanted to befriend were them from [Deus Ex Machina].
And the banquet unfolded with everyone eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves, concluding the entrance ceremony.
Wait, what kind of entrance ceremony ends without oaths or introductions of the faculty?
I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like since it didn’t appear in [Deus Ex Machina]. They set it up quite lazily for not-bothering parts, huh?
Once the banquet concluded, the first day at the Academy began.
The first week of the Academy is the orientation week.
Numerous classes are held, and students are free to attend the classes assigned to their year.
If a class turns out to be appealing, they then formally apply for it.
That’s how the class schedule works here, resembling university life from my past.
Though, it does feel much freer than that.
However, there was one mandatory class to attend, and that was the ‘Combat Self-Defense’ class.
Created based on the first Emperor’s beliefs, it’s a class all academy students must take every year.
They say those who are to lead the Empire should be able to protect themselves without the help of others.
Thanks to this, even during times where there aren’t incidences such as attacks from followers of ‘Chaos’ in [Deus Ex Machina], students still get the experience of combat.
Yet, the ‘Combat Self-Defense’ class is scheduled for two days from now, so today was all about attending classes I wanted to.
I had meticulously memorized the schedule and planned out the classes I wanted to attend dozens of times.
Classes taught by my favorite characters or professors.
Oh, speaking of which.
“Sunny, have you decided which class you’ll attend first?”
“Class?”
“Yep. The orientation starts today, so you should pick a fun-looking class. Is there anything you’d like to attend?”
“……I’ll go where Luke goes.”
Going where I go? That feels odd.
Though Sunny seems laid-back, she actually lives quite methodically.
Going after me? How would she know what class I’d attend?
“Alright. I’m thinking of attending ‘Understanding Magic Engineering’ for the first class; want to join me?”
Nod
Sunny nodded eagerly.
Well, thinking about it, if I’m attending class with her, it works out; good is good.
*
“Chancellor! You can’t just skip the entire entrance ceremony and head straight to the banquet! The staff was all prepared to introduce themselves! Are you just messing around? …Chancellor? Chancellor~?”
No, it’s not a prank.
Upon seeing him, she simply panicked and forgot everything.
Why did I sense that familiar aura from that student?
Why do I feel the Holy Spirit…?
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