Chapter 112: Leave of Absence

Muen walked along the familiar phoenix tree path, making his way back to his dormitory.

It had only been a few days, but the dormitory building that had been destroyed during the recent battle had already been restored to its original state. Not only was there not a single trace of the fight left, but the tiles on the outer wall had even been redone with a new pattern.

It was a little pink pig. Kinda cute, actually.

Marveling at how magic really could do just about anything, Muen stepped into the dormitory building.

The dorm manager lady was, as usual, sitting in the small booth by the entrance, filing her nails. When she saw Muen, she called out to him.

“Hey, hey, you—Muen, kiddo.”

“Hm?”

Muen turned his head and, as always, flashed a bright, sunny smile.

“Is something wrong, ma’am?”

“Your dorm room key.”

The dorm manager’s cheeks turned a little red as she handed Muen a key.

“Your room was destroyed before, right? The door and everything else got replaced, so here’s the new key.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Muen offered his thanks—only to see the dorm lady’s face flush even redder. After a brief hesitation, she suddenly turned her head away and said, bashfully:

“Muen, you were... really cool back then!”

“......”

Muen was speechless.

Unbelievable.

He’d tried to show off and act cool, and he didn’t manage to charm a single cute girl—yet somehow he’d attracted a horde of middle-aged ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) ladies and gay guys.

Had he accidentally skewed his Charm stat in the wrong direction?

Shaking his head helplessly, Muen ignored the bashful expression on the middle-aged lady’s face and quickly headed upstairs.

The dorm that had been wrecked by those jacked musclehead brothers had been restored to its original condition. Even the daily necessities were back in their usual spots.

For nobles like Muen, who came from well-off families, most valuables were kept in personal storage artifacts, so there was no risk of an embarrassing incident like Rayne’s, where the repair staff touched something they shouldn’t have.

After scanning the room to confirm there were no issues, Muen entered the bathroom and took a shower first, washing off the lingering medicinal stench from his time in the infirmary.

Then, refreshed, he threw himself into study.

Now that the upperclassman had opened the door for him, even without a teacher, Muen could manage a certain degree of review and preview on his own.

After all, Professor Meladomir’s requirement wasn’t just to catch up—he also had to pass.

The Introduction to Magic Foundations exam coming up in a month would obviously include a large portion of second-year material.

But thanks to the upperclassman’s explanations, Muen now understood just how deeply layered this subject was.

If he didn’t thoroughly digest the earlier knowledge points, he’d be completely lost later on.

So right now, the most important task was to finish absorbing all the first-year content.

During this period, all other studies could be put on hold—including the nightly slaughter sessions in the Black Book.

For this one month, everything would yield to this one subject.

...

The next day.

Without giving Muen any extra time to rest, the Academy’s classes had already resumed.

The first class on the schedule was one Muen was very familiar with—Martial Arts.

But before Martial Arts began, Muen sought out Instructor Kaide.

“You’re applying for a temporary leave of absence?”

Kaide looked at Muen, visibly surprised.

As a magic academy, Saint Maria naturally didn’t only offer dry theory and rigid lectures. There were also many field practice courses and club research activities.

And because those courses could run long and frequently clashed with normal classes, a leave system had been put in place.

Students could apply to the instructor in charge of a course for leave. As long as the reason was valid and the instructor approved, they could skip class temporarily without losing credits.

Of course, they still had to take the exams.

That said, because fieldwork and research activities were usually reserved for upperclassmen, Kaide rarely encountered second-years applying for leave.

Especially not someone like Muen, who hadn’t taken classes seriously before.

Something about this felt fishy.

Was this brat trying to skip class just to chase girls?

As that thought occurred to him, Kaide—who was still single to this day—suddenly narrowed his eyes sharply.

“So, what’s your reason?”

“Uh, well...”

Muen scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.

“Kaide-sensei, you know I only got three points on the Magic Foundations exam last term, right?”

“I know. That little achievement of yours has already become something of a legend among the faculty. Alongside your other miraculous feat—learning the Illumination Spell in a whole year—it’s considered one of the Academy’s two great mysteries.”

What the hell are the two great mysteries? That’s seriously become an Academy urban legend?

Muen mentally griped, then continued,

“...So, I’d like to put my focus on studying Introduction to Magic Foundations for a while. I want to patch up that class first.”

“In other words...”

Kaide’s gaze sharpened, his tone grave.

“You’re abandoning the path of the Warrior... to pursue magic?”

“Eh? No, I’m just—”

“That’s not okay, Muen Campbell!”

Before Muen could even finish explaining, Kaide slapped a hand down on his shoulder, eyes bulging, and barked:

“I’ve seen your type before! Just because you had a little setback with Martial Arts, you run off to study magic because it seems easier and less sweaty. But in the end, you don’t learn any real magic, your Martial Arts get rusty, and you become a useless waste with nothing to show for it. All you can do is go home and inherit the family fortune. Muen Campbell, is that the kind of person you want to be?!”

“No, no, no, I’m not abandoning Martial Arts. I just... for certain reasons, really need to catch up on Magic Foundations first.”

Rubbing his shoulder where he’d just been slapped, Muen smiled wryly.

“Besides, Kaide-sensei saw it too, right? My current martial strength puts me among the top tier of second-years. Taking a break from class for a bit shouldn’t be a problem.”

“It’s exactly because you have talent in Martial Arts that you absolutely shouldn’t give it up!”

Kaide seemed to have fully convinced himself that Muen was turning his back on the warrior’s path. Gripping Muen’s shoulders, he shook him, looking utterly pained.

“Look at you. Just two months of hellish training from Duke Campbell over break, and you’ve improved this much! If you keep going seriously on this path, I won’t make any grand promises about how great your future will be, but you’d definitely have potential! Now think about your magic scores. Three points on the Magic Foundations exam! That’s not something a normal person could pull off! I bet even my three-year-old niece scribbling randomly would score higher. So that brain of yours—clearly wasn’t made for studying magic!”

“......”

Muen’s mouth twitched.

He knew Kaide was trying to help... but why did everything he said sting so much?

Still. Bottom line—

“Kaide-sensei, even if there’s some truth to what you’re saying, and I really might not be suited for studying magic...”

Muen sighed, pried Kaide’s hand off his shoulder, and looked him in the eyes with unshakable seriousness.

“But—I have my own reasons. And for the next month, I have to pour all my energy into Introduction to Magic Foundations. So whether you approve or not, I won’t be attending Martial Arts class for the time being.”

“—As for the credits, if the Campbell family is willing to donate a little extra to the school fund, I think Dean Pink Bear would be more than happy to throw me a few.”