YEAR 1 GENERAL MAGIC STUDY HALL
"Alright, I leave the rest to you two, I gotta run, the year 2 batch won't teach themselves." Samantha left the 2 of them and exited the study hall.
She wasn't needed, as her last words were ignored.
The matter of meeting Maya had overwhelmed Naki's mind
"(Maya...how you've grown...)"
Naki thought, captivated by the one he would willingly spend the rest of his life with if given the chance.
The one person who looked past his cursed child moniker, the stigma of the devil.
She had tied her long silver hair up.
A few strands fell by the side of her cheeks as she flicked them to the back of her ear, letting out a cute smile.
"Hi...hi there..." she muttered bashfully.
Naki had been staring too hard; after all, she was also getting embarrassed.
"(I can tell, she's not yet aware who I am, I have changed these 3 years afterall, and then there's the cloak too)" Naki exploring his options
"Ooii You 2 plan on teaching us magic or what!?" a boy with spiky hair and a couple of scars on his face yelled out
This knocked them off their stride as Maya cleared her throat and turned to address them.
"ehmm. That's enough of that."
She put on a smile as expressive as a flight attendant's, and walked forward to address the class.
"Instructor Samantha touched on it earlier, but just in case," Maya bowed gracefully.
"My name is Maya, a 3rd year in the Aquila Magic Discipline."
She lifted her hand, producing tiny bits of ephemeral butterflies in the atmosphere.
Their scales produced a substance that brought calm and warmth to whomever it touched.
'Whoa! ...that's amazing'
'it's so warm...I miss my mom'
The students whispered their feelings, all conveying admiration
But none admired Maya more than Naki, whose eyes lingered once again on the spectacle.
"(She's come so far hasn't she...)"
Naki reminisces briefly on the times Maya was just a child, and how they hung out playing in his backyard all those years ago.
Then she brought the spectacle to a close.
"That's just a taste of what you can do if you take your time here seriously, my dears, so study hard, okay?" she said with a bright smile.
"YES, MA'AM," the freshmen responded, their spirits and motivation lifted
"Great! Now then, I'd like to introduce you all to your instructor today."
"He's going to be talking to you today about the basics of magic."
Maya stepped to the side and gestured for Naki to step forward.
"Over to you," she whispered for Naki to take the stage
Naki nodded and walked forward
"(What to do...what to do...)"
Naki looked around at the eager youngsters. They were expecting another show, but he wasn't sure if putting on one would be the right move here.
"(A show will either be worse than Maya which lowers morale, or more than hers which could potential lower her morale, either way, a show is a bad move here)"
He turned to Maya, who returned his gaze with a cherry smile and a nod.
"(Revealing my identity will also be another bad move...I'd either be thrown out or worse, hunted as the cursed child)"
"(Afterall news of the circumstances around Zickler's...catatonia must have reached these paths for sure)"
The students started getting impatient. Naki was taking too long
"Umm...is something the matter?" a concerned Maya asked from behind
"(Tsk, I don't have the time to think this through, I'll just have to hammer through here)"
Naki cleared his throat and refocused
"Apologies for the delay, I was...getting the measure of you all here, and I must say I am disappointed in you lot."
"HUUUUUHHHHH," the students exclaimed
Some found this insulting, others shocking. Maya was among the latter
"Clearly, you didn't put much practice in before coming here. It's magical that you managed to pass the entry exams!"
Naki spreads his hand out and lets out an intimidating smile as the students scowl at him.
"But not to worry, I'll be here to whip you whimps to shape. We can't have you weaklings disgrace our academy for 3 years straight now, can we?"
Some of the students were visibly holding themselves back
"(Heh, nothing like an elaborate ruse to get their full attention. Nopheal was always good at riling people up)"
'Why you!' the hot-headed student before, produced simple magic - a fireball - and hurled it at Naki in anger
Naki smiled; his plan just worked, as he stood unflinching.
"(I should take this one head-on, no need for my magic right now, like Zickler would say) hm?"
As the fireball got close to Naki, a magic shield made of butterfly scales protected him.
This was done by Maya.
Then, the students turned to her as she walked gently towards Naki
"What just happened is an example of what you should never do as a student in Listeria Magic Academy."
Then she stared at the boy, her smile completely absent, making for an extremely terrifying Maya.
"I will let it go just once. Should it happen again, you will be escorted out of the premises posthaste, do I make myself clear? she said bluntly and stared around the class.
The students had their heads down.
"Yes...ma'am." This was significantly less audible than the last one.
Then Maya let out a sigh and turned to Naki.
"Senior, you should also stop teasing the freshmen like this. Magic is already hard enough to master, you don't need to rub salt into the wounds." She turned her ire towards Naki, who was shaken himself
"(whoa! what happened to my cherry Maya, this side of her is scary)" Naki smiled and nodded inconsistently to her warning
She shook her head and stepped away again.
"Alright, let's try this again - amicably - this time, if you would," she mumbled.
"Fine, we'll do it your way."
Naki walked forward, all tense but confident.
"(Lionel was always good with pressure, this is nothing I can't handle if I use some of his techniques.)" Naki closed his eyes to steady himself, then he addressed the class.
"If you're here to learn magic, you're in the right place."
"If you wanted the best instructor in the academy, you've also got him."
Maya stared at him, impressed "(A bold claim 'best' instructor)" she told herself
"(If they believe I'm the best, they'll take their studies seriously to be the best)"
Naki stretched his left hand forward
"I am Naruki, the genius magic instructor of Listeria."
"By the end of this session, you will have graduated from passengers to potentials this school will be proud of."
The students, previously skeptical of this 'new' instructor, were strangely motivated by his words.
Their excitement and anxiety were clear.
They had resolved to listen to Naki and everything he said.
"(Heh, bingo!)" Naki let out a satisfied smile and turned to Maya, "huh?"
Maya was not impressed. Instead, she was lost in thought, hand to chin, looking at the ground
"(Naruki?? that's weird. I was quite certain instructor Samantha said the student-instructor's name was Irauki...)" she thought and then noticed Naki was staring at her
"(Ooops, now's not the time to be distracted, maybe something happened. Afterall, Habiki was supposed to be here instead of me)"
Maya nodded with a fake smile to assure Naki everything was fine.
"(hmmm...I know Maya's fake smile when I see one. I must've messed up somewhere)"
Naki turned to the class
"(No matter, whatever doubts she has will be addressed once I complete my first lesson)"
"(With my knowledge from grandma's books, theories from the failed instructors I got, and Lionel's expertise in communication, there's no way I can go wrong here in basic magic lessons)"
"Alright everyone, let's get class underway."
Naki said with a wide grin, he planned to take the route of a proud instructor.
Hours later
Samantha stepped in to check how everyone was doing
She couldn't believe her eyes
"Oh my!!"
Many students were controlling magic spheres
Others juggling fireballs like circus clowns, while others were practicing attack and defense.
They all portrayed a great deal of confidence in their actions, and not a single student was fumbling.
Some female students practicing magic with Maya and improving their casting times
Naki watched them on like a proud father his only successful son.
"(Good, everything is going according to plan. Maya is also impressed with my training methods.)"
"(Should make it easier to approach her under that pretext, and we can finally catch up)"
"AMAZING WORK HERE!!!"
Samantha approached Naki, clapping her hands in celebratory mood
"I can't believe you managed to get everyone here to master the basics in such a short amount of time!"
"Oh, it's you, Instructor Samantha, I can't take all the credit. These lot are quick learners," Naki replied, not getting carried away with the praise
"Hahaha, a humble soul are we? How did you do it? I have to admit, even I didn't manage the first batch as good." Samantha confessed embarrassingly
"You wouldn't believe it, instructor!" Maya interrupted, running up to her.
"His techniques and explanation are top-notch. His explanation of the 3 factors governing our magic and development of Pshi gates was super accurate, and he even managed to make some year 2 techniques super easy to pick up for the freshmen."
"Oh-hoo, Going by your high praise, is it safe to say even you learned something from this session, Maya?"
"Yes! I've learned of some intriguing shortcuts to casting. It improved my casting time by 30% already." Maya exclaimed in delight
Samantha stared at Naki in disbelief
"Hahaha, you guys exaggerate, it's nothing special really." Naki tried to play it down, scratching the back of his head casually
"(This is not good, I may have impressed a bit too much)" Naki thought, concerned about the direction this was going.
"Hmmm...would you come with me for a moment, Irauki?" Samantha said, heading out
"(Irauki? who's that?)" Naki turned to Maya, who smiled and waved
"Hehehe, she thinks you're Irauki, Naruki, I'm sorry for the confusion, things change here so fast sometimes even instructors can't keep up."
"You should go with her, genius instructor. I have a feeling there's good news to be delivered."
Maya said, egging him on.
"(Going by what Maya says...it'd seem Irauki is the student-instructor I've replaced)"
Naki nodded reluctantly and chased after Samantha
"(How should I play this, do I keep the facade of Naruki, or play with the mask of Irauki and explain to Maya later)"
Naki stared at Samantha as they walked through the corridors of the hallway
"(Either way, I need to keep this fake persona on, as long as it gives me the opportunity to speak to Maya)"
"Irauki, this school is short of instructors; I'm sure that comes as no surprise to you."
"Yes, I'm aware," Naki muttered, "(I should play along for now)"
"Thus, we can't let someone of your talents go to waste now, don't you agree?" Samantha said as they reached a big, sophisticated magic door
"Umm...I guess?" Naki said raising a brow, "(What is she up to...)"
she chuckled lightly and turned around
"I know what you're thinking, what is she up to right now?"
Naki eyes widened, "Can you read minds?" he asked
"Hahahaha, I can do no such thing, just a wild guess. Understandable, but all shall become clear when you meet him"
She said and removed a talisman from her pocket, then place on the door
"him? who are we talking about?"
"our esteemed headmaster Frowart" She smiled as the magic door squeaked and opened up