Druao led Rorschach into the hallway, speaking as they walked.

"First thing: the midterm exams are coming up. We’re hoping you can prepare a test paper for the curriculum group before next month."

"I have to write the entire test?" Rorschach remembered there were other basic Alchemy teachers. ’Why am I always the one stuck with the work?’

The two of them headed toward the faculty offices, walking against the flow of students. Because Rorschach looked so young, the students all greeted Druao as "teacher."

Druao explained to Rorschach, "It’s because your class scored exceptionally well in the teacher evaluations. The curriculum group wants you to handle the core material." ’Of course,’ he thought, ’you leave right after class every day. When your colleagues get together to discuss things, they just end up piling the work onto you.’

"Fine, I’ll give it a shot. But if it gets sent back, I’m not responsible for revisions."

"We all have faith in your abilities." The former military officer continued to the second matter, which turned out to be salary. "You haven’t collected your salary for two months. You can pick it up at the academic affairs office. It’s five Lang and twelve Livre a month. The two months’ pay comes out to eleven large bills."

’I’m getting paid?’ ’I thought I was only getting an allowance from Kano...’ Rorschach realized that by rushing back to the Tower of Stars every day, he’d been missing out on quite a bit. ’Well, maybe not that much.’ With the dividends and payment from "Hercules," plus the money from the Blue Light Barrier, he was actually quite well-off.

Seeing Rorschach’s lack of reaction to this "huge sum," Druao, the former Artillery Academy instructor who had once faced starvation, sighed to himself. ’As expected, Mages are as rich as the girls at the Moulin Rouge.’

"And finally... we’re here. Rorschach Mage, please go in. I have another class, so I’ll be leaving now."

A bewildered Rorschach pushed the door open. Inside the otherwise empty office were a few chairs, already occupied by several teachers. Rorschach glanced around; there was a natural history teacher and a grammar teacher. These teachers, either Mages or Priests, were sitting in a circle, chatting idly.

"Rorschach Mage?" A Mage who was more familiar with Rorschach explained the situation. There was a student matter that required the teachers’ cooperation in an investigation—an inquiry from the school board. ’Is it... school bullying?’ That was Rorschach’s first thought. Faces of his students floated through his mind and vanished. To be honest, Rorschach was a little troubled. Although he was the same age as his students, he didn’t really interact with them much.

’I hope I don’t end up wrongly accusing a student, or letting a Demon off the hook.’

"Rorschach is here? Please come to the next room." A teacher with the demeanor of a Priest entered and called Rorschach out.

From Rorschach’s perspective, it was obvious which of the school’s teachers were from the Church and which were former Artillery Academy instructors. Their auras all had distinct, telltale characteristics. For example, this teacher’s every move had a calming effect, while the man who had brought him here reeked of tobacco.

’I wonder what we Mages look like in their eyes.’

After knocking, Rorschach was permitted to enter a small room. Two people were squeezed behind a desk, both wearing purple Mage Robes. They were a man and a woman, old enough that the wrinkles on their faces had begun to sag slightly. The pair didn’t even look at the young Mage who had entered, simply continuing to flip through a stack of papers with a self-important air that was frankly disgusting.

"Rorschach? Please, sit." The chair in front of the desk had been pulled in from a classroom, so spartan it was barely more than a stool with a backrest. Anyone sitting in this chair would immediately wonder what mistake they had made to be subjected to such an interrogation.

"And you two are...?"

"Let’s not waste time on introductions. If you were familiar with your workplace, you’d know we are the school board members representing the will of the Guild."

’Isn’t emphasizing that you’re on the school board an even bigger waste of time?’ Rorschach was growing increasingly annoyed. "As far as I’m aware, the only body that represents the will of the Guild is the Aurora Elder Council."

The female board member didn’t press the point. She simply adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and asked in a cloying voice, "Rorschach Mage, what is your impression of a student named Andre from your class?"

The male board member added, "Blond hair, blue eyes."

"Unless he’s the only Andre among my students, that description is useless. You could probably form an entire regiment with all the blond, blue-eyed Andres in this school and throughout Valuva." Rorschach replied sarcastically, "He’s nothing special. If I had to say something, I’d say I wish his name was ’Andrew’ instead."

"...That’s it?"

"There’s more. This was our third lab experiment, and he still managed to forget that he’s supposed to use tweezers to move the weights."

"What we want to know is whether the student, Andre, has displayed any Magic Talent in your class."

’Oh? Now this is getting interesting.’ Rorschach pressed them, and the two board members finally, haltingly, revealed the truth: there was an undiscovered prodigy among Rorschach’s students, someone who had managed to grasp a Small Spell all on his own.

Perhaps it couldn’t even be called a spell, more like a Trick. The student, for reasons unknown, had managed to set his textbook on fire during grammar class. This piqued the interest of Rorschach, an expert in the [Fireball Skill]. ’I didn’t realize I had a fellow member of the Five Fireballs Sect in my class.’

The grammar teacher was a Priest, and Andre had successfully managed to startle the old man, whose lectures could put anyone to sleep. The incident was reported up the chain of command, eventually alarming the school board, especially the representatives from the Church and the Guild. It turned out the kid was a graduate of a Monastery’s charity school, which made things very awkward. The Church was bound to ask, ’What kind of school are you running? My student was perfectly fine, so how did he suddenly change his class? Are you secretly teaching Magic?’

The Magic Guild was just as baffled, which led to this interrogation. Someone suspected that the teachers might have been incorporating too much "magic-related content" into their lessons.

Rorschach thought this was ridiculous. ’You were the ones who approved the textbooks and lesson plans in the first place. What does a student suddenly learning to play with fire have to do with us?’ "Is there a problem with Andre awakening his Magic Talent? You could just recruit him into the Tower of Stars as an Apprentice, right?"

"It’s not that simple! If more students awaken their Casting Ability, are we supposed to accept all of them? What will the Church think?" The male board member, seemingly provoked by Rorschach, slammed his hand on the desk.

"Then let the students choose for themselves whether they want to be Mages or holy rollers. Besides, being able to cast a spell has no necessary connection to whether one can receive divine grace. What grounds does the Church have to interfere?" Although he said that, Rorschach knew things weren’t that simple. The Tower of Stars wasn’t a place you could enter just because you could cast a spell.

"Do you think the Tower of Stars is a place anyone can just waltz into? Things are getting more and more out of hand these days. All sorts of people think they can just get in..." The male board member’s voice trailed off into an indignant mutter.

Hearing her colleague’s "nonsense," the Female Mage quickly changed the subject. "Rorschach Mage, we have re-examined your lesson plans and found some unsuitable content. We believe you don’t know Andre well, so his awakening has nothing to do with you.

However, we cannot rule out the possibility that your teaching material may have inspired him and other students toward the path of magic. We believe it is unwise to continue with these standards."

"I refuse." Rorschach was blunt. Seeing the slightly stunned expressions on their faces, he replied decisively, "I will absolutely not modify my teaching plan. I do not believe my content involves magic excessively, and even if it does..."

He unbuttoned his coat, revealing his badge. "I personally don’t see this as such a serious problem that it warrants you two acting like you’re facing a major enemy."

"The current procedure is based on the Guild’s long-standing policy! We insist on controlling the spread of magical techniques! It has been this way for centuries!"

"Stop hiding behind the Guild. You might be able to fool some merchants, but you dare claim to represent the Guild in front of me? On what grounds? The two of you are ancient, and you’re still just Middle Level Mages." Rorschach’s disgust had reached its peak.

"I’ll say it again: as far as I’m concerned, the only body that can represent the Guild is the Aurora Elder Council. And as it happens, my teacher is a member. I will discuss this matter with him myself."

Rorschach stood up on his own accord. The male board member shot to his feet as well. "Fine! Since you have no respect for the Guild, I, in my capacity as a school board member, order you, Teacher Rorschach, to submit your lesson plans for review!"

"Then I’ll just quit being a teacher here. The paltry sum they pay me isn’t enough to make me sit here after class and listen to your nonsense." The young man stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

...

Rorschach didn’t return to the Tower of Stars. Instead, he took a carriage straight to the research building. He knocked on the door of the top-floor office, and sure enough, Kano was inside. Pascal was there too, holding a large stack of documents and just about to leave. He was startled by his junior brother’s thunderous expression.

"So what gives them the right?" Rorschach fumed, sipping the tea that Master Kano had poured for him personally. His anger hadn’t fully subsided.

Master Kano just chuckled. "Those two have been kicking around Valuva for so long with no hope of advancing to Great Mage. We discussed it and thought we’d arrange a place for them to retire."

The Mages’ Guild is, after all, an organization where strength matters. That man and woman had no hope of a breakthrough, nor did they have the research capabilities to make any meaningful contribution. Over time, they became marginalized. Kano still remembered how they were ecstatic yet trying to act calm when they were appointed to the board. "Even if it’s just being one of the board members, they want to savor the taste of power as much as they can."

"What happened with that kid who awakened his Magic Ability, Andre?"

"Our people spoke with him. He just fell asleep in grammar class, had a nightmare, and unconsciously lit his book on fire."

"He’s a talented one. Too bad he’s too old." Rorschach took another sip of tea. Kano wanted to ask how he could possibly be considered ’too old,’ but then he looked at the Middle Level Mage before him—who was barely two years older than the student in question—and swallowed his words.

"So what does the Guild plan to do?" In truth, Rorschach knew that the obnoxious board member wasn’t wrong. At least in the Holy Kingdom, the Guild had always opposed the proliferation of magic. His first conversation with Kano about the "seven in ten thousand" was still fresh in his mind.

"Nothing. We’ll just scare the student a bit. Tell him he’s already past the age for learning magic and that casting spells without authorization could get him burned to death. Tell him to just attend his classes normally and not get any funny ideas." Kano sat down and poured himself some tea. "And don’t you bother with those two board members. The other members all have a very high opinion of you. Just keep teaching your classes as you have been."

Rorschach stared into his teacup. "I’m starting to understand Teacher Caroline more and more."

Kano stood up and patted the somewhat dejected Rorschach on the shoulder. "Just build your own Magic Tower. Then you can recruit whoever you want as an Apprentice, even those with no Magic Talent."

"Really?"

"Really. And as I said before, the Guild will give you its full support."