“Hey, isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”
Carmilla felt that looking at such things was still a bit improper, as if she were tasting something forbidden.
“Oh, it’s fine! Actually, there are plenty of works like this in the community. It’s not like it’s anything shameful—”
Yuri didn’t care whether Carmilla was willing or not and immediately started recommending the manga she had read.
Listening to Yuri lecture Carmilla on which titles were good and which had the most exquisite art styles, while Carmilla actually listened intently and responded from time to time, Yuriko truly felt like a sinner.
‘I shouldn’t have started this. What if I’ve corrupted them?’
‘Wait, corrupted?’
‘If they’re corrupted, then that means…’
Yuriko almost let her imagination run wild. She shook her head again and looked at today’s course schedule.
“We actually have Magic Class today,” Yuriko said.
Hearing Yuriko’s voice, the two who were discussing manga stopped.
“Yes. Ruri, the Healing Magic you used yesterday was Intermediate Magic, wasn’t it? You must have a pretty good foundation in magic.”
“That’s one of the few spells I know how to use.”
Yuri asked skeptically, “Didn’t you say you were lost and had been working part-time jobs? How did you have the time to learn magic?”
Even in Pilgrim City, people who knew magic weren’t found everywhere.
At the very least, a Mage who had mastered Intermediate Magic wouldn’t be working at the grassroots level.
“Um, it’s because I had good luck. There was an old Mage living near where I stayed, and he thought I looked pleasant enough, so he taught me a bit of magic.”
“Then you really are lucky. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity anywhere else.”
Although Yuri said this, her tone didn’t sound like she believed it at all.
Yuriko hadn’t actually met a magic grandpa, but she did have a magic cat.
If Yuriko hadn’t been so focused on expanding her territory and busy fighting, she would have learned even more magic.
Yuri suspected Yuriko was lying, but she couldn’t prove it, so she had to take her word for it for now.
Yuriko was still very curious about what Magic Class would be like.
She had attended culture classes and Physical Education Class, but Magic Class was a course exclusive to this other world. She was looking forward to the upcoming lesson.
Under such anticipation, time quickly passed to the second period, which was the Magic Class Yuriko had been longing for.
Similar to Physical Education Class, Magic Class had a specialized classroom.
The area was quite large, enough to accommodate an entire class of people standing spread out.
It seemed designed to give students space to practice their spells.
When it was time for class, the students found their seats. Their Magic Class teacher was a very old man wearing a pointed Mage hat.
His beard reached down to his waist, covering nearly half of his small frame.
Holding a staff in one hand, he used it like a walking stick to support himself as he walked to the blackboard.
“Students, in this lesson, we will study the theoretical knowledge of Advanced Magic.”
Hearing that this class would be about theory, Yuriko’s face instantly twisted into a mask of pain.
‘Why is it this?!’
The boredom and complexity of magic theory were comparable to physics or advanced mathematics.
Even though these theories had been continuously refined and optimized over hundreds of years, learning them was still extremely difficult.
The old teacher began his lecture on the podium, and Yuriko listened with a bitter expression from below.
‘This teacher is quite good. You should listen carefully.’
‘Yeah, it feels like he explains things better than you do.’
Phantom didn’t say anything, but it bit Yuriko’s hand.
“Hiss —”
Yuriko cried out in pain subconsciously.
By the time she pulled her hand out of Phantom’s mouth, she noticed the old teacher on the podium had stopped talking.
A pair of cloudy, old eyes was staring directly at her.
At the same time, countless gazes from her surroundings shifted toward her, exposing Yuriko to everyone’s sight.
This was bad. She clearly hadn’t shouted that loudly; were the teacher’s ears really that sharp?
“You, the pink-haired student. You seem to have a lot of free time, even finding the time to play with a cat.”
Facing the teacher’s criticism, Yuriko could only lower her head and admit her mistake.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
However, her apology didn’t do much. The old teacher looked like the serious type.
He tapped the blackboard with his pointer and said:
“Since you didn’t mean to, then you must have been listening carefully. Stand up and answer this: by changing the structure of Intermediate Magic, some spells can be promoted to the advanced level. How many types of such magic are there in total?”
Yuriko thought to herself that things were looking grim. She had been talking to Phantom and truly hadn’t heard what the teacher had been saying.
‘Seven.’
Phantom transmitted the voice into her mind.
With Phantom’s hint, Yuriko immediately felt confident.
She stood up and answered, “Teacher, there are seven types in total.”
The old teacher raised an eyebrow and stroked his beard in silence, seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing the teacher say nothing, Yuriko felt like she was finished.
Even the surrounding students were shooting her looks of schadenfreude.
After thinking for a moment, the old teacher asked Yuriko again:
“You should think carefully before you answer. Exactly how many are there?”
‘Phantom, you brat, you better not be messing with me.’
‘I would never, meow! Although I didn’t hear what he said just now, what I told you is the truth!’
Phantom’s tone didn’t seem fake, so Yuriko had to brace herself.
“Teacher, there are seven types.”
Hearing Yuriko’s answer, the surrounding students thought she was talking back.
The old teacher had just said there were five types.
It would have been fine if Yuriko had simply gotten it wrong, but she refused to correct herself.
If that wasn’t intentional defiance, what was?
Just as the students thought Yuriko was about to be punished, the old teacher’s expression actually softened slightly.
He threw out another question:
“Regarding the method of modifying a Magic Circle to promote a spell, how many modification methods are there?”
Upon hearing this, even the students who had been paying attention were confused.
‘Wasn’t this part not covered yet? Shouldn’t this be in the later chapters?’
‘Three.’
“Teacher, there are three.”
Hearing Yuriko’s answer, the old teacher’s brow finally relaxed. He said to Yuriko:
“Sit down. Remember to keep your familiar under control. Even if you know the material, do not disrupt the order of the classroom.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
After Yuriko sat down, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
What just happened?
She thought she was going to be punished and was prepared to be scolded, but the old man actually let her off?
“Students, this student is actually correct. There are seven types of magic that can be promoted, but for now, you only need to know five. Once you become an Archmage and are able to read Forbidden Books, you will naturally come into contact with the remaining two.”
The old teacher’s words on the podium exploded in Yuriko’s ears like a thunderclap.
‘Phantom, I think you did that on purpose!’
‘I’m being framed, meow! How was I supposed to know he didn’t count the ones in the Forbidden Books?!’
It was too late for regrets now.
The surrounding students were already casting looks of either admiration or shock at her.
Yuriko knew what they were thinking.
Her answer, which involved knowledge from Forbidden Books, had certainly added a layer of mystery to her in the eyes of her classmates.
But how was she supposed to explain how a wandering orphan like herself knew such things?