Chapter 1

 The Well-Known Figure of the Magic Department

Rosia Willen realized she was late not long after opening her eyes.

Through the slightly ajar window, the sound of chirping birds could be heard. The lukewarm March sunlight was streaming deep into her dormitory room. It was an exceptionally peaceful morning. Except for the fact that today was the first day of the new semester.

Oh, damn it!

Lying still to gather her wits, Rosia reflexively jumped up. It was past 9:30. Even if she got ready right now and sprinted full speed, it would take at least 15 minutes.

As if it weren’t enough to greet the first day of her graduation year with reverence, she was going to be nearly an hour late? Her intuition told her this was a bad sign. Perhaps because of that premonition, even her preparation went haywire. Buttoning her blouse wrong and having to start all over again was only the beginning.

In her rushed hands, she shoved notebooks and writing utensils into her bag, only to slightly bump into an ink bottle. True to form, it tipped right over. Within moments, blue ink leaked out in streams, soaking the corner of her desk and the white carpet in an instant. Of all times, she must have failed to close the lid properly the last time she used it.

With one arm shoved into her uniform jacket and her shoes carelessly crushed under her heels, she formed hand signs to cast a restoration spell. Then her foot caught on the bag she had tossed aside haphazardly. Fortunately, she managed to avoid falling by bracing against the bed, but by then the back of her neck felt icy cold.

Something is off.

Rosia muttered to herself, running a hand through her mess of wheat-colored hair. Her acorn-colored eyes blinked blankly. Could today be that day?

The feeling that she had terrible luck, that the whole world was turning against her… The mere imagination gave her chills down her spine, and she quickly shook her head. Taking a brief deep breath, she steadied herself. Hey, I just made a mistake because I was in a rush. There’s no way it’s—

There was.

As she was locking her door, she pulled out her timetable, looked down at it, and her eyes went wide. Wait, my first class was “Understanding Others”?

I’m seriously doomed.

So, what kind of class was “Understanding Others”?

It was a mandatory general education course that students at Zenios, regardless of their faculty, had to complete in order to graduate.

Conducted as a group project in pairs with the purpose of fostering interaction and camaraderie among students, it was notorious for producing many romantic couples. She had heard that after the first day, instead of gathering in a lecture hall, partners simply met up and did whatever activities helped them learn about each other.

Studying together, going on foodie tours, or even just sleeping the afternoon away without doing anything was fine—provided you had enough grounds to convince the professor when presenting your final results on the last day of class.

You could take it anytime before graduation, and as long as you didn’t break the rules of the class, passing was practically guaranteed. Because of this, students in demanding majors tended to leave it for their very last year. For instance, students from the Magic Department.

So Rosia, just like others in her department, had kept putting it off to secure study time for her graduation exams and had only just applied for it now.

Her pre-arranged plan looked like this: pair up with a student in a moderately similar situation, and live as diligent study mates who each did their own work in the library. If she hadn’t overslept, it would have been a picture of perfection. Though now, all of that had gone down the drain.

By now, anyone decent had probably already been snatched up by someone else, and she had no inkling of what kind of people were even left. No, would there even be anyone left? What if she ended up stuck with a weird partner and suffered for the entire year? Goosebumps crawled up her arms.

Walking with brisk steps, she passed through the teleportation gate next to the dormitory entrance. The moment her vision flickered white and brightened, a familiar building came into view.

Its official name was Bertih Hall, but it was commonly called Sunflower Hall because of the flashy sunflower painting that took up one entire wall on the first floor. Because all general education classes at the university were held here, students frequented the place as often as eating meals throughout their five years at Zenios.

Since students from every faculty gathered here, the building was large, and the lounge and cafeteria were decently well-built, causing people to linger around even when they didn’t have class. In other words, it meant the place was crawling with people blocking the middle of hallways and staircases to chat when she was already dying of haste.

“Excuse me, let me just slip past!”

The students gathered in small groups and chatting cast annoyed glances back at her before moving sluggishly to clear a path. To be late for class and treated like an annoying nuisance—she suddenly felt quite aggrieved.

To top it all off, the lecture hall was all the way up on the fifth floor… Fortunately, it got progressively quieter with each floor she climbed, allowing her to pick up speed from the middle onwards. Rosia rummaged through the front pocket of her bag and pulled out her pocket watch.

9:50 AM. Even if she arrived right now, she had only 10 minutes left. Is this even real…? Just as she was sinking into skepticism, letting out a deep sigh, and rounding the corner into the hallway:

“Whoops!”

Suddenly, a solid object popped out and blocked her path. Rosia’s eyes clouded with panic. But by the time she noticed, it was already too late. Her body, which had been running at full speed toward the nearing lecture hall, crashed straight into the obstacle before her, and she immediately tumbled down in an ungraceful heap.

At the same time, the bag slipped from her hand and hit the floor, spilling its contents in a clatter. Among them was the problematic ink bottle. Although she was sure she’d closed it properly, seeing the cap open again made it seem like it wasn’t her fault after all.

No, that’s not the issue right now! Unaware of its owner’s anxious heart, the spilled ink was not only staining the blue hallway but also heavily splashing onto someone’s shoes.

“Um, I’m really sorry—”

Rosia rubbed her throbbing nose and cautiously raised her head. Past the ruined shoes, seeing beige trousers made her think it was a professor for a moment. After all, Zenios’s school uniform was black. But the moment she looked past the neat shirt and checked his face, her breath caught.

First, it was because of an appearance rarely seen anywhere. With sharp jawlines and a sleek nose bridge as though sculpted by a god with great care and time, and golden eyes that shimmered faintly under the sunlight coming through the window.

Even his pitch-black hair, resembling the night sky, contrasted sharply with his smooth white skin. There wasn’t a single imperfect spot on him. This was the first time she had seen such a beauty this close up.

Rosia unconsciously admired the gods’ aesthetic sense. How could someone with the same facial features possess such a completely different presence? Unfortunately, however, the man was not a displayed sculpture, and the harder she stared, the more menacing his expression became.

Only then coming to her senses, she feigned ignorance, averted her gaze, and swallowed dryly. The man crossed his arms and tilted his head at an angle. So, if someone asked what the second reason for her shock was… Just why in the world was this senior here?

“You.”

While she stood frozen, completely forgetting about casting a restoration spell, he parted his well-shaped lips and spoke in a voice thick with annoyance.

“Y-Yes?”

“Rosia Willen?”

Wait, how does he know my name? Startled, she stole a glance upward at the man, whose mood looked extremely foul. This senior was a famous figure known to everyone in the Magic Department (in a negative way).

Yet she was merely an ordinary undergraduate student desperately yearning for a safe graduation. She had never caused trouble, and while her grades were decent, they weren’t high enough to place her in the top tier. Above all, she had zero connection with him. So it would only be normal for him not to know her…

“Um, that’s me, though…”

Afraid that dragging it out any longer would freeze her under that cold gaze, she gave a hesitant reply. At that, his expression crumpled fiercely.

“Not only are you irresponsible enough to be late on the very first day of a group project class, but you’re also running around in the hallway like a five-year-old.”

W-Well, that part was definitely her fault…

“And you’re so dimwitted you don’t even know how to close a bag properly. How on earth did you pass our department’s entrance exam?”

Wait, excuse me?

“Well, sometimes kids fluke their way through. But they’re bound to be weeded out at the graduation exam anyway. I’ve seen plenty of airheaded kids like you fail all three times and pack up crying.”

No matter how angry he was, wasn’t that taking it a bit too far?! And to a newcomer, no less!

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with such a half-baked idiot.”

A nervous gaze swept across her collar area—specifically, the green ribbon symbolizing her membership in the Magic Department. Then, as if he couldn’t bear to deal with her anymore, he turned on his heel and walked down the stairs.

A couple of writing tools crushed under his foot snapped with a crunching sound. Of course, even then, the senior didn’t look back. He simply walked on loftily, looking straight ahead.

Only after confirming that he had disappeared down below did Rosia let out the breath she had been holding. Whoa, this is seriously no joke. She had heard he was notorious for his bad personality, but somehow it felt even worse than the rumors. Since this was her first time experiencing something she’d only ever heard about, she even felt dazed.

Standing up, Rosia roughly brushed the dust off her clothes and gathered her scattered belongings. Using magic, she repaired the damaged stationery and neatly cleaned up the ink pooled on the floor.

Even though her pen was fixed clean, her mood remained foul. She glared toward the stairs with a scowl. I mean, bumping into him was my fault for running in the hall, sure. But couldn’t she at least ask if the person who fell was okay?

She hadn’t even expected him to help her up. But treating her like some inferior species? No matter how exceptional of a genius he might claim to be! Moments like that made her think the saying “God is fair” had some truth to it. What good were looks and intelligence when your character was that lacking?

Well, fine. She didn’t know why someone rumored to be the hermit ghost of the Advanced Tool Studies Laboratory was here, but she wouldn’t have to see him again anyway. She’d just chalk it up to a bizarre mystical experience.

That was what she thought.

“Ah, Ms. Rosia Willen? I was worried you wouldn’t show up until the end. I’m so glad. I was wondering what to do about Mr. Heyworth.”

“Pardon?”

Why is that senior’s name coming up here…?

“You don’t know Noah Heyworth? Students in the Magic Department all know him well. The two of you are partners for this class.”

“I figured it might be a little lonely for him alone, so I gave him permission to go ahead, but didn’t you cross paths with him on your way here?” Professor Suzanne Lorpine added casually. Cold sweat streamed down her spine. They say that when a person is extremely flustered, words don’t come out right—and it was true. This is not how I wanted to find out…

“Um, Professor. That senior isn’t even an undergraduate, he’s a research student… How is he taking this class?”

She tried her best to look calm, but couldn’t disguise her trembling voice. Flipping back and forth through the attendance register, Professor Lorpine glanced her way.

“That’s a personal matter, so it’s hard to tell you. If the number of students had added up to an even pair, I would have thought about it a bit more, but right around class time it happened to become an odd number, and we needed just one more person…”

Her blue eyes busily read the names written on the attendance sheet.

“Even so, it’s a bit of a shame the two of you are from the same department. In my class, I generally encourage exchanges between different faculties. But since the groups are already formed, what can we do?”

Still, as Ms. Willen said, since it’s a meeting between a research student and an undergraduate, it should have some meaningful significance as an academic mentor and mentee. Professor Lorpine smiled benevolently as she looked at her.

However, Rosia could not smile. The pitch-black horizon ahead seemed to foretell her future. No wonder her morning felt strangely ominous; this wasn’t just a regular failure.

Will I even be able to graduate?