I Got Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble, and When I Tried to Create an All-Male Academy to Avoid a Bad Ending, for Some Reason the Gender Ratio Reversed? - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Magic Can Be Imagined, But a Fiancée’s Feelings Cannot

One week had passed since enrollment.

The new students seemed to have finally gotten used to things. Each one was joining their own communities or deciding on the path they wanted to follow.

This academy claimed to value both academics and martial arts, but in reality, it came down to a choice between two options.

Pursue the path of research, or master magic.

From the second year onward, the curriculum focused on choosing one of those and going deep into it.

By the way, people who fought with swords basically became adventurers. In the original story, a few students fought with swords too, but that was mostly because it was compulsory education and they had no choice but to attend.

In other words, the academy right now existed purely as a place for handling magic and knowledge.

When you thought about it that way, the original protagonist really seemed suited to be an adventurer. With zero magical power, there was no reason for him to attend the academy at all.

If I had been reincarnated as the protagonist, I would have become an adventurer without a second thought.

But then it wouldn’t be an academy love comedy anymore—it would turn into an adventure story.

Whether that would actually be okay was a matter of debate.

While I was thinking about such things, magic class began. Students took turns showing their magic in front of the teacher.

Because they constantly felt everyone’s eyes on them, concentration suffered, and quite a few students failed.

But in real combat, there were always eyes watching, so performance under that kind of pressure probably factored into their grades too.

“Next. Lucina Ronet.”

While I had been staring blankly for a while, Lucina got called.

As always, her expression stayed serious. Her back stood straight, and you could tell she was giving it her all.

“Here I go.”

After declaring that, she raised her hands and fixed her gaze on the target in front of her.

It looked like she was going to use water magic.

The moment she opened her eyes wide, water began gathering in the air.

It formed into a ball shape and kept growing bigger.

But in the next instant—

“—!”

With a dull boom—don!—the water burst apart.

It seemed she couldn’t maintain the shape. The splash scattered everywhere, soaking the training room floor completely.

Because of that, her classmates started murmuring.

—Sure enough, it exploded.

This time it burst early, so the floor just got wet, but if it had grown any larger, it probably would have hurt people nearby.

“—Why…”

She was fundamentally a serious person. She never skimped on effort.

She surely practiced magic every single day.

But somehow, something crucial was always missing. Things just didn’t click, and she failed.

That was both her weakness and her charm.

※

“Hey.”

Once things settled down a bit, Lucina came over.

“About that promise—can you teach me here?”

She was probably talking about the time I promised to teach her magic.

“I don’t mind.”

When I nodded, a relieved look appeared on Lucina’s face.

Class was still going on, but the other students were doing their own independent practice, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

With that in mind, I decided to teach Lucina the trick to magic over in the corner of the training room.

“Magic is all about imagination.”

I started with a feeling-based explanation.

“Picture a concrete shape, a flow, and the result. The clearer the image, the more stable your control becomes.”

“Imagination…”

“Think of magic as crafting something. You’re making an object using magical power. To practice that image, lower the output first.”

I gave instructions to Lucina, whose eyes had widened.

“Make a small ball of magical power. No need for destructive force. Keep it small.”

“Got it.”

Lucina tried several times just as I told her. She struggled to create a small water ball, but…

“No good.”

Failure.

“Still no good.”

Failure.

“Even this is no good?”

It took some shape for a moment, but it stayed unstable and popped with a snap.

“…Completely no good.”

“Don’t rush. Focus on the flow.”

Thinking she would only get more discouraged if this continued, I took her hand and directly guided the flow of magical power.

“Hya—”

“Imagine the flow starting from here. Yes, just like that.”

At first her body jerked in surprise, but Lucina’s cheeks flushed red as she quickly began to concentrate.

After repeating it several times,

a small water ball finally appeared. About the size of a ping-pong ball.

“I did it!”

Lucina’s eyes opened wide.

It wasn’t big at all, and the precision was far from perfect, but it was definitely stable.

Without question, this was the result of her effort.

“Practice this every day. Then gradually make it bigger.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Lucina nodded repeatedly while staring at the water ball. A bright light shone deep in her eyes.

“Thank you.”

“It’s only natural.”

Strengthening an original heroine ultimately helped protect the world. That was all there was to it.

“Phew…”

When Lucina released the magic, only a little time remained until the end of class.

Relieved that it hadn’t exploded, she stared at me for a while before murmuring,

“I’m saved. You’ve got a hopeless vibe, but you’re actually a good guy, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean hopeless?”

“Right now your intimidation level is insane, you know? Like a bad guy vibe? It’d be nice if you looked a bit more refreshing.”

“…Maybe you’re right.”

“If that’s just your character, fine, but because of it, I feel like only weird people keep approaching you. The crazy-obsessed girl type?”

Lucina glanced around nervously before continuing.

“From the outside, your attitude looks like the kind that attracts those dangerous girls. You’re a good person, so it’s a shame if things stay like this.”

“…I see.”

What she said made sense. In fact, I could think of way too many examples.

And throwing in a little sharp-tongued comment was also very like her.

“Though maybe you’re already popular enough… *cough* Anyway, forget what I just said. It’s none of my business. You’re fine the way you are.”

She had just given a spot-on analysis of my current situation, yet suddenly Lucina changed her opinion.

The way her eyebrow twitched made it clear something was off.

“What do you mean?”

“Sorry. I confused you, didn’t I? Just ignore everything I said.”

The moment she spoke, the bell signaling the end of class rang.

“Anyway, thank you so much.”

Lucina turned her back and hurried away as if fleeing.

Her words and attitude had changed so suddenly that it felt strange. While I tilted my head in confusion,

“…Hm?”

I felt an incredibly intense pressure from behind.

“Ol-sama?”

The instant I turned around, a familiar voice rang out.

At the same time, her hand reached forward and slammed against the wall right beside me.

With a loud don.

It was a classic wall-slam.

“Please pay at least a little attention to me too.”

Fran said it with a sweet smile.

She stood so close that her face was right in front of mine.

Being glared at from that distance, there was no way not to feel intimidated.

“T-That just now was instruction.”

“Yes, I understand. I know it’s not cheating.”

“Right, it’s not ch—”

“But possessiveness isn’t something that can be controlled by reason.”

“…”

She smiled brightly.

That expression was so beautiful—and at the same time, so terrifying.

“Romance is forbidden inside the academy.”

“It isn’t reason. It’s not reason at all.”

“…I see.”

If it wasn’t reason, then there was no helping it.

Still, I really wished she wouldn’t overwrite things like that.