Arriving at the ‘Aquila Hotel’ owned by the Altair Foundation, we received our carriers from the bus’s luggage compartment.
Aquila means eagle in Latin, so does Altair come from the word for the eagle constellation?
Sure enough, a giant eagle emblem was engraved on the revolving door glass.
“Na-me! NoNameNoNameNoName!”
The 2nd graders who left earlier called my name loudly from inside the hotel lobby.
“What the heck, why aren’t you guys in your rooms yet?”
The bus with the elementary kids must have left ten minutes ago.
“Na-me, we waited for you, hehe.”
“Come upstairs with us!”
Yuna and Ha-ru waved their card keys in front of me.
What’s the big deal about going together? They’re such sweet kids in the weirdest way.
I lightly patted their heads, and we all walked down the silent hallway together.
“I’m visiting a hotel for the first time! It’s so amazing! Wow, what’s that?”
Yuna exclaimed, pointing at the ceiling.
Following her finger, I shifted my gaze and saw an antique chandelier hanging down.
“That’s called a chandelier—”
“Whoa! Look, Na-me! The elevator doors are so fluffy! They’re like puppy fur.”
It seemed Yuna was just curious for the sake of it, so I just smiled back.
“Let’s hurry and get our stuff organized before it gets crowded after the seniors check in.”
“Okay!”
Ding-dong—
[7th floor.]
“What room are you in? We’re in room 711.”
“Hmm… Na-me and I are in room 713! Ha-ru and Ji-hye are in 715, so we’re next to each other.”
I was placed with my peers despite being in the middle school division, given my age.
“Let’s get along well for the next two weeks, roommate Seo Yu-na.”
“Same here, nice to meet you!”
Organizing my stuff was no big deal.
Thanks to the hotel laundry service, I didn’t need to bring too many clothes, and most towels and toiletries were already provided.
“Na-me, I brought this from home. Want some chocolate?”
“Sure, just one. Thanks.”
In contrast, Yuna’s carrier seemed packed to the brim with snacks, a stuffed animal, novels, you name it.
While she was busy organizing, I opened the window to admire the scenery of Altair Academy in the distance.
If Sephiron Academy had a modern vibe, then Altair Academy, what with that chandelier, was overall exuding an air of sophistication.
[Our student council has identified three major factors that guarantee Altair Academy’s victory. The first is ‘Magic Registration’.]
The first strategy suggested by Student Council President Shin Jin-ho.
It was about causing confusion for the opponent regarding the ‘Magic Registration’ procedures to be used in the competition.
On Mondays and Fridays,
Each academic year must provide the operating committee with the magic they will use.
Then, both sides will verify each other’s magic and analyze strategies to counter them.
Surely our homeroom teacher, Jacqueline Carroll, must be on the operating committee now.
“Yuna, have you decided which magic you’re going to use in this competition?”
“Me? I’m still thinking. Anyway, isn’t it due by this evening?”
“Right.”
In the case of 2nd graders in elementary school, they are allowed to participate with three 1st circle spells.
On Monday, each one submits up to five spells, and then selects three from the approved list by Friday.
Elementary students are still novice magic users, unlike the middle and high schoolers, so their ability is restricted.
“Yuna, if it’s just for registration, how about I let you know one of my unique spells and you use that instead?”
“Na-me’s unique spell? Is that the Adela? I don’t know how to use that at all!”
Indeed, elementary school students are still too young to bluff efficiently.
As she said, Adela is a spell that requires a high level of proficiency.
It might be challenging for elementary kids to handle, but if executed properly, it’d definitely hold enough power not to be dismissed casually by the opponents.
“It’s okay; I’ll give you a rough idea of what kind of spell it is.”
“Hmm… I guess that’s fair. I won’t be totally lying! Someday I’ll learn that spell too!”
“Yeah. In the meantime, I’ll go meet the seniors, so just wait patiently, okay?”
I figured I might try a soft approach with the 3rd to 6th graders of the elementary division.
If all of the academy’s students knew how to use Adela, I was curious about how Altair would react.
I stepped out of the hotel room with a more relaxed pace.
I quietly checked the CCTV at the end of the hallway and moved my feet silently.
Bluffing is all about acting; I wonder if our student council president is good at method acting?
*
[I swear. All participants in the 2051 Seoul Regional Academy Competition aimed at friendship and exchange, proudly proclaim our status as students of Sephiron, which leads magical education in the Republic of Korea. One—]
As the oath of Altair Academy concluded, now it was time for the oath of Sephiron Academy to be read, while the operating committee’s conference room in the basement was already in its third hour of futile debate.
“Adela is too dangerous! How can we allow such magic in an elementary school competition? How dangerous must it be for Japan to classify it as A-grade magic! I mean, come on, right?”
“The reason NoName’s unique magic was given an A grade is not due to its danger, but rather because of the completeness and expansibility of the magic itself. Even though it’s just 1st circle magic, the ways to use it are limitless, and that’s why Japan acknowledged it.”
“No, it seems like Sephiron is really here to stir things up this year, but at Altair, we absolutely cannot accept this. For the safety of our students.”
The stubborn arguments of the Altair Academy teachers weren’t easily swayed.
“Hey!”
BANG—!
This was too much for Student Council President Shin Jin-ho to take, as he tightly clenched his fist and slammed it on the table.
“Safety? Did you teach the barrier spells to last year’s middle school kids? Thanks to you, our students had confusion symptoms for a while, and remember that your student was carried to the emergency room after the match due to mana exhaustion, right?”
“That was… because it was middle school…”
“Adela has been utilized in numerous matches, including the Emperor’s Cup, but not a single injury occurred. Why? Because it deals predictable damage. The judges easily intervene, like deploying mana blockers during the match.”
Even with an aura barrier encasing the match, the risk of injury was always lurking.
Yet the president insisted on the safety of Adela due to the delay times inherent in the spell, which allowed safety personnel to act quickly.
“There are far more dangerous spells that have appeared several times; I don’t understand why you’re so sensitive about Adela. Are you perhaps wary of this magic?”
“What do you mean! It’s simply because it’s a magic that’s only been out for two months now; we need to be cautious.”
“Well, that’s an issue for Altair. We have a week until the competition, so there’s enough time to prepare, right? Isn’t that so?”
“…!”
The student council president wore a smirk.
He returned the exact words spoken by that year’s Altair Academy.
“Now, it’s stamped! Are you satisfied, our Sephiron Academy student council president? Yes?”
The face of the year-end director turned beet-red as he banged a stamp on the document and angrily waved the paper.
Just as the council president was about to add another word, the teacher next to him tugged at his sleeve.
“Good job, Jin-ho. Just take a breather now. Teacher Choi, tone it down a bit and calm down. It’s only elementary school we’ve dealt with, and it’s already getting dark. Ugh, I’m hungry. Let’s take a short break and finish up the middle school magic evaluations before we grab dinner.”
With the intervention of the senior rep from Sephiron Academy, the operating committee momentarily fell silent.
Teacher Choi Byung-geon of Altair, emptying a small water bottle, noticed a young woman doodling in the corner.
She was NoName’s homeroom teacher.
“Hmmm… Is that Jackie-chan? What was your name again?”
“Oh yes, I’m Jacqueline Carroll.”
“Ah, right, Teacher Jacqueline. When did you teach these spells to the 2nd graders? They should know how to change coordinates and grasp matrices to use it. Can these little tykes really use it properly?”
The Altair Academy teachers glared suspiciously at Jacqueline Carroll, regaining some rationality.
Had the bluff already been called? For now, Jackie decided to play dumb.
“I received a lot of help from Na-me. Not just the kids participating in the competition, but they’re all eager to learn magic with me for our whole class.”
“Is that so…?”
“I wish you could have seen our class practicing during lunch breaks every day.”
“Oh, I’m not doubting the quality of Sephiron students. Just asking out of curiosity.”
They still wore suspicious looks while tilting their heads.
Once the evaluation of the elementary school magic concluded, the adjustment committee members entered the lounge, taking a breath.
“What do you think? We let them pass for now, but… I really feel this is just a bluff…”
“Do you think Sephiron would act like that for two hours? And what if they actually show up? If they use Adela in the Emperor’s Cup, it’d be a total win. There’s no counter for anything except Adela.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Sigh, figuring out a counter seems like a waste of time if it’s a bluff, but leaving it unattended feels uneasy too…”
It was all because of that kid called NoName.
The mere fact that they developed a unique spell at that age seemed like sheer luck, naturally making my head spin since that magic had an unstoppable reputation in Japan.
“So, did NoName do anything special?”
“They were seen wandering around various spots in the hotel room even before the oath ceremony.”
“What? That makes it feel like something’s up!”
“Let’s do at least some minimal preparations, Teacher Choi Byung-geon.”
“Sure. There’s no magic without a counter. The kids’ magic isn’t perfect anyway.”
Once the break time ended, the teachers re-entered the conference room with its long table.
President Shin Jin-ho, appearing much more relaxed, warmly welcomed them.
“I apologize for losing my temper earlier, Teacher Choi Byung-geon. I sincerely apologize.”
“Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just how our operating committee rolls.”
“With middle school still ahead, I’d appreciate your full cooperation this time too.”
“Although middle school has unrestricted magic use, it usually ends up being the same old boring spells, right? Ha ha, it’ll finish in about 15 minutes…”
“No. This year will be a bit different.”
President Shin Jin-ho held a mountain of documents from the floor and distributed them to the Altair side.
He couldn’t hide his satisfied smile.
THUD—!
The low rumble of the wood changed the atmosphere of the conference room.
“What’s all this?”
“This is the list of spells our middle school will be using for this academy competition. We’d appreciate your speedy approval, Altair Academy.”
The teacher who casually glanced at the paper squinted.
“Don’t joke around, Mr. President. How could this all be—”
“This is not everything. Please take a closer look.”
Following President Shin Jin-ho’s words, the teacher returned to the first page and turned to the next one.
“NoName?”
“Yes. Somehow, I’ve found myself participating in this competition as part of the middle school division.”
“Oh? Middle school, huh. You must be quite confident?”
The fact that NoName was entering the middle school competition was fantastic news for Altair Academy.
By now, she had reached a level unattainable by her peers, and it had long been accepted that the victory for the 2nd grader from elementary school was out of reach, but it could definitely compete among the older grades.
But what on earth was this ridiculous thickness of the documents?
“Are you saying you can cast all these spells by yourself?”
[Name: NoName]
[Date of Birth: 43/06/11]
[Requesting permission to use magic up to 2nd circle and below: Total 483 spells]
The eyes of the Altair Academy teachers were on the verge of popping out like frogs.
Now everything was certain. The student council of Sephiron Academy had come with a plan to disrupt the operating committee.
“Do you not know that submitting a false magic use application can lead to disqualification from the competition if necessary?”
On the other hand, President Shin Jin-ho struggled to suppress his laughter.
“We got tangled in the middle. Please review it properly and get back to us by tomorrow morning.”
*
“Oh no…”
“What now…?”
“I knew this would happen.”
“Ah… Na-me…”
In the basement of Aquila Hotel, there was a small training arena.
It wasn’t wide enough to run around, yet not too narrow to be cautious – just the right size.
With the oath ceremony completed, we had some free time and quickly headed down to find something fun to do.
Watching others spar and claiming I wanted to fight as well.
“Uhhhhh…”
The boy below me, sprawled out with his eyes rolled back, was likely a 6th grader from elementary school.
“Are you okay, senior? Must have hurt a lot. I’ll help you, so just get up already. There are a lot of eyes watching; aren’t you embarrassed?”
He was from Sephiron Academy like me.
I could have sworn he was from Altair.
