Chapter 235 - 【Different Perspective】 At Fiddiq Academy 2

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"...Hm? I hate to think about it, but could that be it?"

Rox, who had moved from the lecture room to the main gate, muttered as he saw a crowd of people arguing at the gate. Felter and Cote, who had been walking side by side behind him, looked up.

At the main gate stood over a dozen men in knight-like armor. There were also two or three men in magician-like robes. Further back stood a distinguished-looking man wearing a black cloak embroidered with silver thread.

As they drew closer, they could hear voices—it seemed an argument was underway. Thinking that, Rox grimaced in annoyance and spoke.

"Hey, what's the commotion about?"

Rox asked a man standing nearby who appeared to be a Fiddiq Academy student. The man looked surprised to see Rox, Felter, and Cote, then quickly explained the situation.

"They tried to enter the academy for the first time today, but they're arguing because the receptionist told them they couldn't bring weapons inside."

Hearing that, Rox placed a hand on his forehead as if nursing a headache. ℴ

"...Why would they bring armed guards to the academy? Surely they don't intend to take Aoi back by force..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing!"

When the student inadvertently asked back at Rox's muttered words, Rox flushed red and shouted. Startled by his fury, the student fell silent, and Rox gave an embarrassed snort before turning his gaze back to the main gate.

"The old man at reception probably doesn't care, but the people around him will get nervous. I'll put a stop to it."

When Rox announced that, Felter raised the corner of his mouth and lightly rolled his arms and neck. Cote hastily spoke up.

"W-wait a moment. Let me go ahead and hear them out first."

When Cote said that, the two turned back with dissatisfied looks.

"...They're already pretty hostile. Can you handle it?"

"...I'll give you five minutes."

Surprisingly, the two seemed to respect Cote's words and showed signs of waiting. Relieved, Cote nodded and passed between them to step forward.

As he walked to the main gate, Cote grimaced slightly at the commotion, which had grown louder than before.

"I am telling you, Lord Hos MacKay of the MacKay Marquis family has graciously come to enroll as a student at Fiddiq Academy! It is a problem that he should be treated the same as commoners like this! Why can you not understand that!?"

A middle-aged knight shouted with trembling lips in rage. In contrast, the elderly receptionist nodded several times with an unchanged expression and replied.

"Well, that's quite the big deal... So then, please write your names on these reception forms in order. We'll hold onto your weapons, and you can stop by again when you leave."

As the man answered, the knight grew even more enraged.

"You're not listening to a word I say!? I'll show no mercy! I'll cut you down!"

The knight drew his sword while shouting. Even Rox, who had been watching, showed signs of alarm.

"W-wait...!"

He ran forward, raising his voice. But the knight, evidently short-tempered, immediately pointed his blade at the receptionist.

"Let us through now, you old fool!"

The moment the knight yelled, the elderly man placed one hand on the desk and spoke.

"...Stone Prison—Rock Jail."

As the man chanted a single verse followed by the spell name, countless stone spears erupted from the ground in front of the reception desk in an instant. The stone spears, bursting forth with enough force to cause the ground to rumble, surrounded the knights like living creatures and ultimately solidified into a square cage.

All of this took only one or two seconds.

Even Rox, who had rushed to intervene, stood frozen in astonishment.

"Wh-what just happened...!?"

"What is the meaning of this!?"

"Let us out, you bastard!"

As the suddenly imprisoned knights shouted in outrage, the man waved one hand and laughed.

"I'll let you out if you follow the rules and complete the reception properly. Come on now, all of you write your names and home countries here."

Even in this situation, the man carried out his duties like a proper receptionist, and even the battle-hardened knights fell silent, unable to retort.

"...Fine. Give it here."

"Oh, just continue from here."

The man said that and slid the reception forms through the gaps in the cage. The knight snatched them and silently began writing down everyone's names.

"There! Happy now!?"

The knight handed the paper back with a shout. Taking it carefully, the man checked the contents written on the form.

"Hmm hmm... Looks like the numbers are right. Alright then, weapons over here too."

The man said that with a laugh, pointing outside the cage. The knights silently complied and placed their swords and blades outside the cage. After confirming them, the receptionist sat back down in his chair and nodded.

"Alright, good enough."

The moment the man said that, the stone cage crumbled into fine sand and disappeared. As the sparkling sand scattered in the light, the knights finally regained their freedom and let out sighs of relief without addressing anyone in particular. The receptionist watched them with a chuckle.

"Now then, head on in. The next person's been waiting for a while now."

Hearing that, the knight looked up, but noticing the many onlookers around him, he could only click his tongue in silence.

"...Let's go quickly."

"Out of the way, all of you!"

A noble-like man called Hos, standing behind the knights, gave the order in a low voice, and the knights hurriedly shouted at the crowd to clear a path. As the MacKay Marquis family's knights entered the academy with their arrogant demeanor, Rox shot them a glance of irritation.

Hos noticed Rox's gaze and looked up, but perhaps due to the surrounding attention, he quickly averted his eyes and passed by. Watching them go, Felter and Cote walked over to Rox.

"...I'm surprised you didn't punch anyone."

"I fully expected you to grab someone by the collar."

Felter and Cote said that as soon as they approached. Rox's eyes narrowed in anger.

"What do you take me for?"

As Rox complained, Felter and Cote looked at him with similar expressions.

"...A short-tempered, violent man."

"I thought you solved everything with force."

The two summed up Rox's character in a single sentence, and Rox stomped the ground and shouted.

"You've got some nerve, you two! Besides, I don't want to hear the word 'violent' from you, Felter!?"

"...Hmph."

At Rox's remark, Felter snorted and turned away. Glancing at that, Cote walked alone toward the reception desk.

"Excuse me, are you all right?"

When Cote called out, the receptionist let out a puzzled "Hoh?" and looked up. Recognizing Cote, he waved a hand and laughed.

"Oh, a student. No problem at all. Those knights who just shout loudly don't scare me one bit."

The man answered as if it were nothing, and Cote let out an admiring gasp.

"...I stand corrected. By any chance, were you a faculty member before?"

Cote asked, and the man laughed and nodded.

"You bet. What do you know, I was the first senior faculty member. I wanted to retire and live at my own pace, but the headmaster asked me to stay at the academy a while longer. I said teaching was too much trouble, but if it was reception or odd jobs, I'd be fine with that, and the next thing I knew, they really stuck me at the front desk."

The man said that with a wry smile, and Cote's eyes widened.

"A senior faculty member... Indeed, that spell just now was, if anything, perhaps even better than Fore-sensei's..."

Cote murmured in amazement and understanding. At that moment, a new visitor approached the reception desk.

"Oh, here comes another guest. Well then, student. See you around."

"Ah, yes. Thank you for your time."

Cote bowed and returned to Rox and the others. Meanwhile, a tall man in a robe who had just arrived at the academy was now at the reception. The white robe bore the crest of the Maple Leaf Holy Kingdom. When he removed the robe, disheveled pale green hair appeared and swayed in the wind. The man completed the reception using hands clad in gray gloves inscribed with magic circles.

The receptionist confirmed the details and read them aloud.

"...Crown Windsor, is it? A court magician from Maple Leaf? My, my... What business do you have at the academy?"

When asked, Crown scratched his disheveled hair with one hand and gave a wry smile. Then he began to speak.

"Well, you see... I wanted to come much sooner, honestly. But my superiors kept piling on work like they were doing it on purpose, so I couldn't get away at all! And before I knew it, I heard that an elf had become a faculty member, and I thought, this is it—I absolutely must go to Fiddiq Academy now...! I left a note and fled Maple Leaf immediately!"

"O-oh. Sounds like you had quite the ordeal... Well then, welcome to Fiddiq Academy."

Crown rattled off his reason for visiting at a breakneck pace, and the receptionist, slightly taken aback, nonetheless granted him permission.