Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ９- ​𝓑𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓣𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓭

​“The name is Princess Penny Osworth. “You shall address me as ‘Your Highness,’” she says, not even looking at the crowd. Instead, she eyes her nails.

​The students all stand up and bow to her.

​“Your Highness!” they said with a formal tone.

​Flora was the last to bow down, being more shocked to see the sudden change of events.

​Serif: “Excellent. I taught you well. Your Highness, you have permission to address me as Serif. I am honored to have royalty such as yourself. But…”

​She glares at all the students

​“You brats better still address me as Teacher. I don't want my name wasted on your meat flaps you call lips.“

​She looks back at the princess

​“Your Highness, if you will, sit next to Flora Fall. She's the girl with blue hair and freckles over there.“

​She points at Flora, who shyly lowers her head

​Penny looks at Flora thoughtfully before heading there. She then sat down and looked at Flora, who looked down slightly.

​Penny: “Hmm, Fall, as in the Mage Hero, April Fall? Are you her daughter?”

​Flora could feel the pressure on her. She gulps

​Flora: “Yes… I am her daughter. “

​Penny's eyes narrow, making her feel smaller.

​Penny: “I will be expecting a lot from you. You better not disappoint me,” she says before turning forward and resting her chin on her hand.

​Flora could feel the chills on her spine. She knew that the princess was from the city, so she must not hear about the rumors in the village. It's usually the same thing when Flora walks by. She hears whispers about the “Disgrace of the Great Mage,” as they would call her.

​‘How do I survive this…?’ She felt herself shrink into her seat.

​As usual, even the other students were snickering a bit and whispering.

​

​Serif: “We all know that the effectiveness of the spell isn't dependent on the amount of mana you have, but it can help with the timing of the next cast of spells. There are other ways to recover the mana you spent quickly. What are they?”

​No one seemed to raise their hands, but Penny spoke up.

​“Serif, I think Flora should answer this question.”

​Everyone turns to Flora.

​Serif gives an unreadable expression.

​Penny: “Is that a problem? I just have a feeling Flora must be smart.”

​“No… There is no issue. I suppose it doesn't hurt…” She began hesitantly.

​“Miss Fall… Do you want to answer the question? “

​Flora grips her hands while looking at her knees. She feels a bit nauseated for being put on the spot.

​‘Is the princess testing me?’

​Mochi, who was lying on the ground, noticed she was trembling. He tilted his head before standing up and jumping on her lap, surprising her. He gave her hand a lick, calming her down a bit. She couldn't help but curl her lips upward a bit as she pet Mochi. Suddenly, having the courage, she opens her mouth.

​“The answer is…” She looks up.

​“The answer is mana potions and… mana recovery spells.”

​Serif: ”That's acceptable. And so during battle, when you run out of mana, make sure you pack—.”

​Serif rambles off with the class, turning their attention away from Flora, making her relieved.

​The issue didn't start until the spell-casting section.

​Serif: “Today we are going to practice healing spells. You see, what you have in front of you is a myconid. Don't worry, they are sprouts, so they won't attack you. I lessened their health a bit for this lesson. Just make sure you don't do anything to make them spray spores all over you. I really don't like dealing with poison. “

​In front of each student is a small fungal humanoid creature that is sitting down and lying on the desk, looking weak, as if barely clinging to life itself.

​Erica cleaned her glasses as if to make sure she wasn't imagining it.

​Erica: “Teacher…where exactly did you find these…”

​Serif acts dismissive as if not concerned

​Serif: “Don't worry about it. I just found some pests where they don't belong. So I came up with a solution.”

​“…”

​Bark Bark!

​Flora felt a tug on her leash and quickly pulled Mochi away from the desk. Granted, Mochi is far too small to reach the fungal creatures from the top of the desk, but Flora can't help but worry.

​Serif narrows her eyes.

​Serif: “I would advise all masters to keep their familiars away from the myconid. Especially …problematic ones”

​Flora looks at Mochi before retracting the leash to shorten its distance. After she ties it to her chair.

​“Stay…” she whispers to him, hoping he understands. When he didn't move, she sighed in relief.

​Serif continues

​“We'll do a simple healing. So I'm not expecting a lot of health to recover. But the main point is if anything recovers at all. That's what you should worry about. I will be grading you on that.”

​She opens a spell book

​Serif: “You must focus on the target at hand. Imagine their life force within your hand. Try to flow your energy to them. And then say the incantation.”

​“Recover this life. Elio Cortev!”

​A green light emits from her wand, and it feels like energy is flowing into the creature. And soon the creature got back on its two feet. It hops cheerfully with both legs back and forth.

​The students look amazed.

​One student spoke up.

​“Aw, it’s kind of adorable-”

​“Freva ais.” The moment Serif uttered those words, the top part of the Myconid became frozen with ice, and it collapsed to the desk.

​The kids looked horrified.

​Serif clicks her tongue.

​“Calm down. I've only frozen the part where the spore came from. You can hold it now without worrying about poison. What you definitely shouldn't do is use any fire magic on it. It will spread the spores to the air.“ She put her hand on her hips.

​“That being said, I will have you all practice on your myconids without freezing it. I think a lesson is more effective with consequences. Now show me what you've learned.“

​She passes by the desk, watching the efforts. Some students were able to recover a little HP, while some managed to heal quite moderately.

​Each time, Serif would check on their statuses to compare the amount of life recovered.

​“Tara… you only recovered about three health points. You need to practice more on your healing. But then again, you don't have a lot of mana, so just drink a potion and try again.“

​She heard the girl groan before nodding

​“Your highness…”

​She saw that the princess was already waiting for her with her legs crisscrossed. She looks rather bored.

​Penny: “I'm done,” she said in an uninterested tone.

​The woman widened her eyes as she checked the status.

​“Excellent… Highness. You healed 50 HP.”

​But the next sight horrified her. And she was not the only one.

​Flora's Myconid was burning in flames.

​Flora: “Wait…h-how! I didn't mean…”

​The older woman shouted

​“EVERYONE, COVER YOUR NOSES. IT’S GOING TO SPREAD.“

​“Freva ais.” The treefolk froze it to prevent further spread, but the spores were so visible that everyone was scared to move closer.

​Flora was worried about Mochi, so she immediately turned to find Mochi. But he was just sitting down near her chair and sticking his tongue out.

​‘Wait…does the armor prevent any poison upon the user?’ She wonders.

​“Anvaris! Neutralize the poison!” Serif shouted, and an aura completely surrounded the room, getting rid of the spores.

​Once it seemed safe, Serif spoke again.

​“You can all breathe again. However, Flora, I think you should take a break from casting any more of your spells today.“

​Flora nods, but feels disappointed in herself. She was sure she did everything right, but she didn't know how it went so wrong. She looks at Mochi.

​‘At least Mochi is safe,’ she thought.

​

​During lunch, Flora feeds Mochi his dog food before eating her own.

​Flora: “My sister is amazing. She said she was familiar with some of the ingredients and will try to replicate them. She can tell all that by her smell. You'll be able to taste more yummy food soon.”

​She smiles softly. She did not notice that in the corner, the princess was eyeing them intensely. She then turned to some classmates near her.

​Penny: “You two. What are your names?”

​Tara and Erica look surprised to see her talk to them.

​Tara: “I am Tara Hillstein”

​Erica: “Erica Knotts… Do you need something? “

​ Erica looks at the princess cautiously

​Penny: “I want to talk to you two in private.”

​The two girls look at each other nervously but agree, not wanting to upset her.

​Once they were in the clear, the princess cleared her throat.

​Penny: “That Flora girl. What's up with her? Is she always like this?”

​The two girls look at each other. Tara was the first to open up.

​Tara: “You mean a disaster or failing spells after another? Yeah. Her familiar ate mine.”

​Penny raises her brow.

​“Wait, a vicious familiar attack, and yet no one exorcized it? I thought the rule was if a familiar attacks or can't be controlled, they would take action to get rid of it?”

​Erica: “Um… Tara. Didn't you get a new familiar with the headmaster's help? She even lent you some of her mana. If anything, your new familiar is better now.”

​Tara frowns, shushing her.

​Tara: “I'm not really complaining that much. I was just explaining what happened. “

​Penny: “She sounds like a troublemaker. But it's impossible to make it to the school without passing the entrance exams and trials. I can believe she beats the written test, but spell casting?” She narrows her eyes.

​“How… how is this possible?”

​Tara: “You're not from this town, so you wouldn't know, but I heard some rumors. That Flora failed the trials, but the headmaster took pity on her and pulled some strings.”

​Tara widens her eyes, seeing the princess's expression darken.

​“What…pulling strings for a weakling like her… in this academy?… Unforgivable…” she chuckles darkly.

​Erica looks more uneasy.

​Erica: “Highness… what are you planning to do?”

​She watches as the princess grips her hair.

​Penny: “Isn't it obvious? For everyone who has to work hard to get here, she stays scot-free. I'm going to make her regret being here. That FILTHY, disgusting girl!”

​‘Mark my words, Flora. Your last days here are soon over,’ she grins.