Chapter 1312: Light Trouble

For Raze to let Safa go off on her own in the academy, it could only mean one thing, he believed it was safe. Or at least, safe enough.

Safa trusted his judgment. If Raze wasn’t worried, then there had to be a reason for that. Maybe it was because their enemies hadn’t anticipated things turning out the way they did. Maybe they had no idea the cursed item would be used at all. Still, she expected Raze to be more cautious, especially after what they’d seen.

Even so, she wasn’t about to waste the opportunity. Safa had a good head on her shoulders, and she remembered where the Nurse’s Office was located. But when she got there, she was surprised by what she saw.

The hallway was packed. There were already five students waiting outside the room, and inside, she could see all four medical beds were filled.

What’s going on? she wondered. Why are there so many injured students? Is this because of the combat lessons… or is something else happening around here?

As Safa moved forward to get a better look, one of the students at the front noticed her and instantly flared up.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” the boy snapped. “Back of the line! Just because you’re a delicate little girl doesn’t mean you get to cut!”

He stood with a scowl, wincing slightly from a wrapped arm, but still puffing up his chest like he was ready to fight.

“Even in this state, I could take you down!” he added.

His voice drew the attention of everyone else in line, and a small crowd turned their heads to see what was going on.

“No, it’s not like that!” Safa said quickly, raising her hands. “I’m not here to get treated, I just need to talk to the nurse about something important!”

“Oh, right, right,” the boy said with heavy sarcasm. “Oldest trick in the book. You show up saying you just have a question, and five minutes later you’re walking out perfectly healed and smiling. I’ve seen it before.”

Others began to murmur, their attention locking onto Safa.

“Wait a minute… isn’t she one of the new A-Class students?”

“Yeah! Yeah, that’s her! I saw her at the assessment. She barely even did anything, right?”

A few more students nodded, nursing bruises and scrapes as they stared at her suspiciously.

“But Sting’s right,” someone else said. “Just ’cause you’re one of the new students doesn’t mean you get to cut the line!”

The shouting was escalating. Safa glanced between them, wondering how she could calm things down before it turned into a full-blown confrontation.

“Look at me,” she said, trying to stay composed. “Do I look like I’m injured? I’m not here to be treated. I just want to talk to the nurse about, ”

One of the students cut her off with a shrug. “Yeah, and how are we supposed to know that? We can’t see under all those layers. Maybe you’ve got wounds you’re hiding.”

Safa groaned inwardly. This is ridiculous.

Inside the Nurse’s Office, Diana, the head nurse, was already in the middle of a chaotic day. A woman in her thirties, she wore round glasses, and her long brown hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. She moved quickly between the beds, barely having time to catch her breath.

One student needed a prescription to heal their magic core. Another required a custom-drawn mana circle to redirect magical energy toward a damaged limb. On top of that, the enchanted blankets on the beds, which sped up healing, had already depleted their stored energy and needed recharging.

And she was doing all of it alone.

It’s days like this, Diana thought, that I start wondering why I ever signed up for this academy.

She could have taken an easier route. A cushy job at the Central Academy, surrounded by a full medical team, with the same pay and less stress.

But no, she continued bitterly in her head, I had to be the hero. I wanted to help the students that needed it most. I thought it would be more meaningful here. More fulfilling.

She sighed as she swapped out the magic blanket on the next patient.

What about my needs, though? Where’s my support? Where’s my healing?

Whether it was the same at other academies or not, one thing was certain: she had never experienced a quiet day. Not once.

Students constantly got themselves hurt, duels, pranks, accidents during magic lessons. It never ended. And half the time, it was like they didn’t even care about getting injured. They were reckless because they knew she’d patch them up no matter what.

And now, right in the middle of mending a badly broken arm, she heard shouting outside.

Her eyebrow twitched.

“Oh, come on!” Diana snapped. “If you’re injured enough to fight, then you’re not injured enough to be treated!”

Her voice carried loud and sharp. It cut through the hallway noise like a blade.

Then… silence.

Huh. That actually worked? That usually never works, she thought as she stood up and stepped toward the door.

“Hey! My arm’s half broken!” the boy in the bed whined.

“Half broken?” Diana scoffed. “Sounds like your head might need checking too when I get back.”

But as she stepped outside, she froze in place.

She saw something she never expected: a student, hands glowing softly, was moving from one injured person to the next, healing them with actual Light Magic.

That’s… Light magic, Diana realized, eyes going wide. A student… using Light magic?

Around her, students were standing perfectly still, mouths slightly open, watching the healing process unfold. Some were poking at their own injuries, wondering if they were dreaming, as the pain began to vanish.

Safa knelt beside a boy with burn marks, her hands still glowing. Right before Diana’s eyes, the burns faded, first the redness, then the blistering, until finally, the skin looked perfectly healthy.

Safa stood up, brushing her hands together.

“There. All done,” she said calmly. “Now I think all of you owe me an apology.”

The students blinked, stunned.

“I was here because I wanted to learn from the nurse. But none of you would even let me speak.”

They looked at each other, and the shame hit fast.

In the next second, the same group that had shouted at her was down on their knees.

“We apologize, dear Saintess!” one of them cried. “We’ll remember what you did for us today! We’ll spread your name through the entire academy!”

Diana stood silently in the doorway, staring. And then, for the first time in a long while, she smiled.