SRS 65

“Oh, the headmaster isn’t coming? Because there’s class? The headmaster teaches, too?”

As much as it was important to be angry at the headmaster’s irresponsibility, it was equally important to be polite with anyone connected to the school. Yohan apologized for making her come for nothing and explained that the headmaster wouldn’t be arriving. The witch blinked in surprise and took off her beret.

“No need to apologize! It might look fine, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to fix!”

She dug into her beret and pulled out a massive paintbrush, the kind used for coating walls.

That came out of her hat?

…No, it had to be magic. It was probably an artifact.

Startled for a second, Yohan decided to just accept it as one of those magical or ritual tools. He was too tired to keep being shocked by everything in this school.

The Witch of Space floated into the air, brush in hand, and swept across the building. Wherever she brushed over the slime’s sticky residue, the filth vanished, as if wiped away by an eraser.

“Here, here, and here too!”

Humming a tune, she worked over the glass and walls, then landed with a grin.

“See? Not spotless, right? Leave things alone too long, and they start to discolor. I could fix that too, but cleaning stains is harder than erasing marks! Good thing I came when I did!”

She tucked away the brush, then paused mid-scan of the building. Her gaze was fixed on the jar Mikael was holding.

“Is that amumu?”

The little witch ran over, snatched the jar from Mikael’s hand, and held it up to the light.

“Ooh! It’s flawless, completely opaque, top grade!”

Her voice was bright with excitement. From the look on her face, it was obvious she recognized the creature. Unable to hold back his curiosity, Yohan asked,

“Um, do you know what that creature is?”

“Creature? Well, you could call it that, I guess. But amumu is used as building material in the dimension I’m from! It’s sticky, has great adhesive properties, and if you shape and harden it right, it turns a glossy jet-black! Feed it properly and it doesn’t even cause trouble, so witches use it all the time in construction!”

“……”

Yohan was speechless. What part of that sounded like a good idea?

Mikael’s hand on his shoulder turned more sympathetic.

The Witch of Space, unconcerned with the confusion she’d caused, continued inspecting the jar and murmured to herself.

“Hmm… but why is an amumu here? It’s rare and hard to find. Did it fall through a dimensional rift? Hmm… no idea! Anyway! Can I take it?”

“That, um, it’s not exactly ours to give…”

“Is that so? Then I’ll just ask the headmaster myself. Hey, Headmaster!”

She flung the window open and, without another word, jumped out.

“That’s the fourth floor…!”

Horrified, Yohan rushed to the window, only to see her flying away on a broom so thin it looked like it should’ve snapped under her weight.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

Ah, right. She did say she was a witch.

Only now did Yohan remember what they’d learned back in their early abilities class, and he laughed weakly, sinking onto the floor.

“…This place is chaos.”

A monster, a witch…

In just half an hour, he’d used up a whole day’s worth of energy. Too exhausted to keep his head up, he slumped forward, but something pink caught his eye.

It was hair.

Pink hair wasn’t particularly unusual at Fantasiademia, where beings from countless dimensions gathered, but this one shimmered like a rainbow under the light.

Curious, Yohan picked it up.

That was probably the mistake.

The strand suddenly came alive, snapping around his wrist and coiling into a bracelet.

“…Huh?”

Startled, Yohan lifted his arm, holding it up to the sunlight.

“What’s wrong?”

When Mikael approached, Yohan showed him his wrist. The white-haired student looked at the ring of hair clinging to him and sighed.

“…Looks like it’s under a tracking spell.”

“On me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“…Because the hair stuck to you?”

“……”

That was absurd. Yohan’s repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, but could only sigh in the end.

Right. He had only himself to blame for touching something suspicious in Fantasiademia without a second thought.

He exhaled again and made up his mind that from now on, no matter what he found, he’d never touch it first.

Seeing him so resigned, Mikael comforted him.

“It doesn’t look harmful, so don’t worry too much. That witch seemed friendly, nothing bad should happen.”

“…I hope so.”

“Then, shall we get going?”

Mikael patted Yohan’s back and suggested it. Yohan checked his watch and nodded.

Mikael stepped up onto the windowsill, readying a flight spell.

“I’ll head out first.”

“Yes. Good luck with class.”

“You too.”

With a small smile, Mikael used his magic and glided toward Building 1’s courtyard. Yohan pitied him a little, after all this, Mikael still had to go back and teach.

But Yohan wasn’t exactly in a position to pity anyone.

“Ahhh!”

“Argh!”

“Save us!”

Drained in body and mind, he headed toward the back mountain for Herbology class, only to find his classmates being chased by ice boars released by Professor Will.

“……”

He was at a loss for words.

A trembling sigh slipped from Yohan’s lips as he once again massaged his forehead.

Were all the professors in this school suffering from some illness that prevented them from living like sane people?

Yohan wanted to cry.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“Yohan, are you alright? You look even more worn out than usual today.”

After finishing all his general education classes and returning to the dorm, Yohan had washed up and flopped face-down on his bed. Suhyeok, worried, tried to talk to him. Yohan only nodded weakly without saying a word. The blanket rustled with each motion of his head.

“So you don’t even have the strength to talk?”

Nod, nod.

“I told you not to save Melek. That guy’s been causing even more trouble lately. I swear, he’s the real trouble student, not us.”

Nod, nod.

“…Alright then. I’ll stop bothering you. Rest well.”

Yohan continued moving his head without a word, and Suhyeok clicked his tongue softly before returning to his seat. For another half hour, Yohan stayed perfectly still like a corpse before finally managing to roll over.

“…Ha.”

He turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling, and pressed his palms over his eyes. His roommates, noticing how drained he looked, exchanged worried glances.

“Yohan, if you need it, I can go get some mandrake.”

“…No, that’s not the type of exhaustion I’m dealing with.”

He was just mentally drained.

“…When’s the next day they accept withdrawal applications again?”

“Two weeks and three days, I think? But Yohan, you can’t withdraw, remember?”

“…Yes, I know. I was just asking.”

He answered gloomily. Thud! Kylus hit Suhyeok on the head and clicked his tongue, trying to lighten the heavy mood. The one who finally managed to change the atmosphere was Mikael.

“You still look awful.”

The student came out of the bathroom, towel-drying his dripping white hair before using magic to completely dry it. He sat down on Yohan’s bed.

“Tired?”

“…I’m a bit worn out.”

“Physically? Or mentally?”

“…The second one.”

When Yohan mumbled, Mikael thought for a moment, then opened the window and turned back to him. The evening breeze ruffled his hair gently.

“Then how about we all go out? It’s not even eight yet. We can stay out until nine.”

The unexpected suggestion made Yohan and the other students of Room 304 stare at Mikael in surprise. They never thought he’d be the one to propose something like that.

“…Where?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Yohan asked, and Mikael’s eyes curved as he smiled.

“The Sky Garden. You like griffins, right? Playing around with a few of them might help you recharge a little.”

It was too tempting to turn down. Yohan’s eyes widened before he nodded.

“I’m in. And Kylus says he’s coming too.”

Suhyeok immediately chimed in, speaking for Kylus as well, then muttered something about striking while the iron was hot and grabbed both of Yohan’s arms, pulling him up.

“Do you need me to carry you?”

“…No.”

No matter how tired he was, he could still walk on his own two feet. He refused, and Suhyeok just laughed, giving him a gentle push from behind to get him moving.

“Come on, come on. Let’s go before the dorm supervisor shows up! We’ll sneak out, have some fun, and come right back!”

Encouraged by the his bright tone, Yohan found himself heading toward the window. When he stepped onto the ledge, Mikael offered him a hand.

“I’ll cast group flight magic. You won’t fall, but if you get nervous, just hold on to me.”

“Oh, good idea.”

“…Suhyeok, I don’t think you’re holding on because you’re nervous.”

Suhyeok immediately latched onto Mikael’s leg, making the white-haired student frown in exasperation. Suhyeok just snickered, and Kylus sighed as he pulled him off. Yohan, who was watching couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Before meeting Cheplen, he’d never had real friends. So this strange, chaotic bond with these eccentric people was both unfamiliar and strangely comforting.

For all its absurdity and madness, this academy didn’t feel so hellish with them around.