*CRRRRRRKKKKKK… K…KK… k…*
Mere fluctuations on the surface turned into seemingly solid opaque colors, while at least a tenth of the entire great barrier froze and frosted over.
"Oh… Good thinking with the shield before the target. Without them, I would have broken the Academy's barrier. That would be a massive mess, that thing's ancient and expensive to recreate, isn't it?"
In the absolute silence, basked in the colorful light of the barrier replacing the sun, the ephemeral wings and circle of light faded, leaving Rotsard clearing his throat and nodding gratefully towards all the teachers with the exception of teacher Karlasth and assistant teacher Hervolst.
His words, his behavior…
Rotsard was so casual about what he just did that the whole scene seemed simply unreal.
Like a dream.
Like… a nightmare…
"Please, check for anything suspicious."
"...!"
Thinking that his joke simply didn't stick, Rotsard turned around and approached the nurse he previously asked to back off and reached his hand towards her in a non-threatening manner, still making her flinch.
"...?"
"I-I mean… of course!"
The bleached-blond-haired boy raised his brow and tilted his head in confusion, which made the woman come to her senses and mutter after clearing her throat.
"...you don't have a natural mana barrier…?"
With everyone seemingly holding their breaths, the woman used a few simple spells before letting out a shocked gasp.
"Mhmm… yes. The other nurse didn't mention it? It turns out it takes a whole lot of time to heal an internal injury. Apparently, the natural mana barrier can't be restored before that."
The woman muttered, staring at the boy in pure disbelief, to which Rotsard smiled wryly and nodded while shrugging his shoulders dismissively.
"WHAT THE HEL IS GOING ON!? WHO DARES TO ATTACK MY ROYAL ACADEMY!?"
Before another word was spoken, the headmaster of the Royal Academy rushed onto the scene.
Levitating several feet above the ground, with his body shining from internal spells, with a dozen orbs of 6th and 7th tier spells on standby hovering over his shoulders, and with an 8th tier spell being contained between the palms of his hands in front of his chest, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.
No matter what anyone said, Headmaster Lazalarius was the undisputed strongest mage using the conventional magic system within the Academy.
"A-attack…?"
"ARE YOU ALL STUPID!? THE GREAT BARRIER SUFFERED CRITICAL DAMAGE! DO YOU THINK THAT THIS IS HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK!? WHY AREN'T YOU ALL RESPONDING ACCORDINGLY?! TAKE STUDENTS TO SAFETY!"
One of the teachers already present muttered, and the headmaster snapped back.
"Headmaster… there's a misunderstanding…"
"WHAT MISUNDER…!? Huh…?"
Teacher Karlasth stood up from his spot and approached the headmaster, making Lord Lazalarius roar… at least until he spotted Rotsard Vallhall standing by one of the nurses, being examined, and then moved first to the trail of frozen shards of multiple barrier spells and finally ended up on the frozen spot of the Academy's barrier.
"Wait…"
Taken aback, headmaster Lazalarius deactivated the 8th tier spell and stepped back.
"Haaaaaaaaaah…"
"...!?"
Then, he suddenly slouched and unleashed an overwhelmingly deep sigh, causing many of the spectators to flinch and shift in confusion.
One by one, the orbs of 6th and 7th tier spells hovering over his shoulders dissipated into the air as the headmaster calmed down.
"Student Vallhall…"
"Yes?"
The headmaster spoke up without raising his head, and the bleached-blond-haired boy responded in an intrigued voice.
"I do understand that your intention was to bring our attention to maintaining and strengthening the great barrier, but… please… could you restrain yourself to a verbal or written request next time? The costs and effort of reinforcing the barrier, compared to creating a new one from the ground up, are simply incomparable."
"!!!"
"?!?!"
The headmaster took a deep breath and spoke up, causing everyone present to either flinch in confusion or stare at him, at a loss for words.
"Huh? Ehem! I mean, yes. You're right, headmaster. Sorry for the inconvenience. It was my mistake."
Rotsard was taken aback by the headmaster's reaction, but he ended up shaking his head and clearing his throat before declaring and even bowing his head slightly…
"No, no. Not at all. To some extent, this was a necessary demonstration."
"!?!?"
But that made the headmaster hurriedly raise and shake his own head before assuring the boy and causing dozens of jaws to drop at the same time.
"I appreciate your words, headmaster. I will definitely restrain myself more for the rest of the exam."
"I do believe that what you've displayed warrants the highest grade anyway, so there is no need for you to bother yourself with that."
Rotsard glanced to the sides and decided to nod his head at the man one more time and reassure him, but he was surprised by the headmaster's next words.
"Isn't that right?"
"O-of course! Student Vallhall, you've passed with the highest grade! You're excused for the rest of the exam!"
Headmaster Lazalarius glanced over at teacher Karlasth, and his voice dropped threateningly as he asked, causing his subordinate to flinch and hurriedly declare while smiling awkwardly towards the student who didn't even turn his way, completely ignoring him instead.
"...I don't think that's a good…"
"I assure you that it is a one-time thing. We can't risk the great barrier shattering. I give you my word that in the future, with the reinforced barrier, there will be no exception and every single student will be graded rigorously and justly."
Rotsard furrowed his brows and shifted from side to side while muttering, but the headmaster was unwavering and added.
His explanation honestly could not be rejected without showing disrespect to his authority.
"...thank you, headmaster…"
"It's just something obvious."
With no way out, Rotsard let out a sigh while shrugging his shoulders as Lord Lazalarius smiled and nodded.
"...should I have acted more suspicious…?"
With the headmaster leaving, Rotsard muttered to himself, dispirited, unable to predict whether the reaction to the scene would be the same as in the deofol's story.
Luckily for Rotsard, the jealousy of some students was far greater than their shock at the power of his spell, and at least half of the spectators instantly assigned what happened as a display of nepotism. Those students even started theorizing that the whole scene was simply something that Rotsard pressured the headmaster into, thanks to his family backing. They would explain to themselves that the headmaster appeared at the training grounds a bit too fast, and, in the first place, Rotsard's spell disappeared into the wall, and the great barrier started freezing over with a delay…. So of course, after putting those two facts together, the answer they arrived to, was that the headmaster was the one to freeze the barrier.
"...whew…"
As the practical magic exam continued, the rumors and theories started running rampant, and only after a few minutes, Rotsard, who stayed behind to observe Justin's efforts, could breathe out in relief.
Everything was in order. The story was going in the right direction.
…now, from the main events of the 1st volume, the only one left was the confrontation of the future hero and his lover with the antagonist, Vicas Lazalarius, in the late evening…
It seemed that Rotsard's input should be over at least until next week, when the exam results would be announced.
He could relax, forget about the pressure of schoolwork and…
There was nothing that could take his mind off the death of the commoner nurse anymore…
"..."
As Rotsard walked, the light slowly faded from his yellow eyes, leaving his expression hollow like the face of a starved wolf that had long lost his entire pack…
…a week was just enough for the immediate revenge…