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“….Do you still have the same thoughts?”

“No, I don’t.”

The stubborn rejection of his disciple, with a firm gaze devoid of hesitation, made Archmage Rockpelikan let out a small sigh.

‘Why is she so pig-headed?’

“Why on earth wouldn’t you want to go to the Academy?”

“On the contrary, may I ask why I should go?”

The girl with purple hair, Stella, asked back as if she genuinely didn’t understand.

“I hate to say this, but there’s nothing for me to learn there.”

Ugh…

Rockpelikan couldn’t retort to that statement.

Over the seven years since she entered the Magic Tower, she had grown to a point where she could hardly speak.

In just a year, she mastered the five elemental attributes, reached Tier 4 in her second year, and then learned Tier 6 magic, known as the realm of Archmages, in her fourth year.

She was undoubtedly still growing beyond that, but recently, she had hidden her level of prowess to such an extent that even her mentor could not gauge it.

‘No, she might have already surpassed me.’

For every one thing he told her, she absorbed ten, learning as if she were a sponge.

Truly an extraordinary talent, there was probably no one in the entire continent who possessed such skill.

It was no exaggeration to call it talent bestowed by the heavens—she was a genius among geniuses.

However, Rockpelikan couldn’t be wholly happy about that fact.

‘Something is off.’

Stella’s behavior had transcended the typical bounds of humanity.

Even Rockpelikan, who endured a grueling schedule of 19 hours a day, was stunned by her killer schedule.

Excluding time for meals and sleep, she was obsessively engrossed in magic research, hardly taking any breaks.

When she exhausted her magic power, instead of resting, she’d even prioritize muscle training, moving according to a strict pattern as if she were a factory running 24/7.

When she overexerted herself using magic for two days without sleep and collapsed with a nosebleed, he confiscated her pendant to prohibit magic use and ordered her to rest forcibly.

The scene was quite a sight.

According to a senior mage who came to bring her nourishing food, she wasn’t lying down but was doing sit-ups with three fingers.

In the end, he had to angrily tie her to her bed with rope and cast a sleep spell just to get her to listen.

“The Academy isn’t just a place to learn.”

To put it mildly, his disciple lacked humanity.

“The royal family also wishes to see your face.”

At that, Stella’s expression slightly crumpled.

“I’m not thinking of going there…”

“Of course, I’m not saying you should go to the royal family.”

The empire, eyeing Stella as a potential royal family mage, had been applying pressure on the Magic Tower ever since she turned 17, the age eligible to enroll in the Academy.

The Magic Tower, while independent from the empire, was led by Rockpelikan, one of the most powerful mages on the continent, and he could easily disregard the empire’s suggestions if he so wished.

“Not only the royal family but the world is watching you.”

As the cycle for the Demon King’s resurrection approached, Stella was rising as a ‘Mage Candidate’ of the Heroic Party.

Among the heroes who would defeat the Demon King, the only confirmed member was the Saint.

To prepare for the impending crisis, each nation was hurrying to find the remaining candidates.

Among them, Stella, with her unique ability [Blessing of the Stars], like that of a previous Archmage, was the most prominent candidate.

Of course, from the Magic Tower’s perspective, someone like Stella was a blessing in itself, so there was no real need to send her out into the world.

Among the elders, there were more opposing opinions as well.

However, this time, he truly hoped Stella would enter the Academy.

He wanted her to go there, meet friends her own age, fill the gap in her humanity, and become someone who could laugh and play like kids at that age.

“…Fine, I’ll join as a teaching assistant.”

“A teaching assistant?”

Rockpelikan slapped his forehead.

‘This is basically declaring she’ll just float around at the Academy.’

In reality, the tasks a teaching assistant would do at the Academy were quite minimal. It was mostly assisting professors, participating in security activities occasionally, and stating she’d manage her time by doing magic research in her free time.

“Don’t just do that; take a look at this.”

Rockpelikan handed a large stack of documents to Stella.

“What is all this? A list of Academy applicants?”

“Exactly. This year’s Academy admissions are quite unusual. Aren’t you interested?”

“…It definitely looks impressive. The second princess of the empire, the children of the three great duke families, the Saint from the Holy Kingdom, and a Shaman from the east? What is this… Is there a gold mine at the Academy?”

Stella, flipping through the list, suddenly paused.

“Hmm? What’s up?”

Upon noticing Stella’s abrupt stop, Rockpelikan showed a puzzled expression.

“…It’s nothing. Can I take this list with me?”

“The list? I don’t mind.”

“Then I’ll go in.”

“I hope you can give me your answer quickly because the entrance exam period isn’t far off.”

Thud

Leaving his room, Rockpelikan hoped to hear good news from his disciple as he sipped his tea.

‘Did I see that right?’

He thought he’d noticed a slight raising of the corners of her mouth as she looked over the list.

*

Tap tap tap

Crash

Running back to her room, Stella slammed the list onto her desk.

“What the heck is going on?”

She furiously rummaged through the papers, pulling one sheet out as if she didn’t care about the others, staring at it intently.

“Could it be a namesake?”

But no matter how much she inspected, it looked certain.

The man in the photo looked different from the person she knew.

Nonetheless, with his youthful black hair and tall stature, his captivating black eyes, she was sure.

“Why are you showing up here, Nova?”

Could it be—[Whether you go to the Academy or wherever, I’ll follow you.]

Her face turned red at the thought.

“Oi… No way, is it really because of that promise from back then?”

Seven years had passed since then. There was no way he’d remember a promise made that long ago.

As she thought about it, she shook her head.

“But that guy really has grown well.”

Lying on her bed, Stella stared at the photo with focused intent.

“While I’m stuck in this girl’s body, he’s off having a tough time thinking I’m a boy.”

While it had been 16 years since she started living as a woman and she no longer found it uncomfortable, she did feel a bit uneasy about her recent growth in chest size but found it hard to complain about her height.

She had once been over 180 cm, but now she had stopped growing at 151 cm.

“By the way, does he know how to fight?”

Thinking back to their time living together, she realized she had never seen Nova fight even once.

Perhaps because of her childhood perspective, she hadn’t felt that he had any talent for it either.

“If it’s really because of me that he’s taking the entrance exam…”

Anxiety crept in. While it wouldn’t be a life or death situation, the gates of the continent’s most prestigious institution, ‘Aegis Academy,’ were not light.

There was a chance he could get injured or, at worst, suffer trauma from the experience.

‘There’s no way I can stand by and let that happen.’

Stella checked the entrance exam schedule.

“Tomorrow is the final day for entrance applications.”

To be honest, she hadn’t planned on applying to the Academy.

But if he, by chance, did apply…

“Ugh… Should I just sneak in for a look? But… what if I run into him again?”

By no means was it her intention, yet it would be their first meeting in seven years without a single word spoken in the interim.

If he were to blame her for not showing her face even once, she wouldn’t know how to respond.

“… Maybe I shouldn’t go after all…”

She buried her face in her pillow and rolled around.

Then she observed the face on the list once more.

“… but I really want to see his face after such a long time…”

After a round of pondering, Stella suddenly said “Aha!” and slapped her palm.

“I can just sneak in to see!”

As long as she decided to hide her presence, even the Academy overseers wouldn’t be able to find her.

Stella moved to her closet and opened the door.

Inside hung several identical wizard robes arranged meticulously.

“Hmm… What should I wear?”

‘It’s not like we’re going to see each other face to face.’

While that thought crossed her mind, she spent half an hour in the closet.

*

Knock knock knock

“Who is it?”

Erica, one of the mages from the Golden Tower and Stella’s senior, opened the door to verify the visitor.

“Oh, it’s you, Stella. Long time no see.”

“Eh… What, it’s you, Stella?”

“Why did you say ‘eh’? It’s not like I’m a rare species or anything, right?”

“What do you mean? You only come around when you need something.”

Erica responded sullenly while crossing her arms.

“What is it this time? I’ll let you know in advance, but I can’t help you with your research anymore. I got scolded pretty badly by the head of the Magic Tower last time.”

“This isn’t about that!”

“Hmm? Then what is it? Are you trying to use me as a sparring partner? No way!”

As Erica was about to slam the door shut, a small hand gripped the edge tightly to prevent it from closing.

“It’s not that! What do you take me for?”

“Well, then what is it? I’ll decline if it’s going to be an unreasonable request.”

“It’s nothing major, just… which of these outfits looks better to you?”

“…Outfits?”

Did she hear incorrectly? Stella was concerned about what she wore?

Looking at the clothes she was holding, they hardly seemed different.

But then again, considering the nature of the mages in the Magic Tower, who lived in robes year-round, it wasn’t too shocking.

Among them, Stella wore the same outfit throughout the year, indicating her disinterest in fashion.

“Did you get a boyfriend or something?”

“What… What are you talking about?! I’m not interested in that sort of thing!”

Stella’s face flushed as she shouted.

“Even if that’s not the case, why are you worrying about clothes? And isn’t your closet full of robes? You’ve been wearing those baggy pants and the same old clothes every day; you might look like a girl on the outside, but your fashion sense is like an uncle’s!”

“Y-you! I shouldn’t have bothered speaking to you!”

Fuming, Stella slammed the door shut and haughtily stormed out.

“… Did I go too far? Next time, I should buy her some clothes.”

It was strange to see someone who had devoted her entire life to magic research and physical training, without showing any expression, suddenly express such emotions.

As Erica, who had watched her for a long time, found it very peculiar.

“It seems apparent she has a boyfriend now.”

‘After behaving like a machine that seemed destined to live alone, it looks like I should slowly ask her about this next time we meet.’

With that thought, Erica chuckled at finding it amusing.

*

The next day at the Aegis Academy entrance exam site, located at the center of the empire, as befitting the continent’s top Academy, the place was bustling with people.

I hid my presence as I looked around the exam site.

“According to the list, today should certainly be the day of the exam.”

While scanning the area, I finally spotted a familiar back after seven years.

Even after all that time, I could recognize him at a glance.

“There you are!!”

For a moment, I nearly dashed over in excitement, but the next moment, I had to freeze in place.

As I approached, I saw him joyfully chatting with a girl with long black hair standing beside him.

What’s up with her?

 

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