“Yes!”
Ririi’s energetic voice echoed throughout the classroom.
It was early in the morning, and Ririi immediately responded when her teacher Esmeralda asked ‘is there anyone here that can already release magic energy?’.
Ririi was brimming with motivation, so just responding was not enough. She also raised her arms and stood up from her chair.
She was a little shorter than her classmates, and had a little trouble getting up on her chair, but she always forgot about it.
Even in a class like the first class of the first year of the Nastassja magic school, that was in many ways a gathering of problem children, Ririi Frenberg stood out. Her overprotective father went as far as to use advanced transparency magic to create an unofficial parents’ day all to himself… But that was not it. Her mother was not only a lady of the Floyd family, that was influential even in a place like the capital, but also the assistant director of the ministry of magic… But that was also not it.
Ririi was a surviving high elf. A race thought to be extinct. Even Esmeralda Eisenburn, a leading person in the capital in terms of sheer talent, who also used slightly illegal means to slip herself into the position of teacher in charge of Ririi’s class, never believed in the existence of high elves until recently. They could be said to be legendary beings.
“Miss Esmeralda! Ririh can make magic come out! Itchy…”
“You don’t have to do that now.”
“Yes! Umph…”
Ririi understood that it was not the time to display her magic, so she faced her chair, and after a lot of effort, got her knees on it, turned around, and sat down.
Most chairs were too big for the short Ririi, so this was the technique she devised. Weiss was deeply impressed when he saw it for the first time, calling his daughter a true genius.
In the middle of all this, one person watched her closely.
“Stare…”
This silent but intense stare came from her neighbor, Lain Florencia, the only child of the Florencia family, one of the most famous families in the capital.
She was sent to the first class because no one wanted to take responsibility in case anything happened to her, but Lain herself was a normal girl. She was a little self-centered, and liked to show-off, but compensated with her intelligence.
Said intelligence also led her to understand that her mother’s expectations were distorted, despite her being a first grader.
(Ririi… What are you…?)
All Lain saw when she looked at her was a kind of childish but otherwise normal elf girl. Ririi’s blue hair was a strong distinctive feature, but that was all it was.
She had an unusual hair color and a shiny, beautiful staff, and she stood out because for some reason she was the only one in that class who wore a hat. That was a little interesting, but still.
(Why did mom tell me I can’t lose to her?)
She was nowhere near having enough information to decipher that. She decided to abandon trying to understand her mother’s intentions for the time being, and instead raised her right arm high. She could also release magic energy.
“Miss Esmeralda, I can do it too.”
“Ooh, we have a brilliant first year class here.”
“Thank you very much, Miss Esmeralda.”
The word brilliant made Lain squint. She loved it, even if she did not often hear it from her mother. The Florencia family was a whirlpool of trickery, and Lain knew that to establish herself firmly in it, being brilliant was the way to go.
She did not need her mother telling her. She had no intention to lose to Ririi, or anyone else for that matter.
(Fufun, I really am brilliant.)
She looked around the classroom, but saw few hands raised. That made her feel even better. Reading through magic books in her family’s library was worth it. That caused her to not sleep very well lately, but Lain saw it as a necessary expense.
She would spare no effort to be brilliant, which oddly enough made her similar to the magic bookworm her mother made fun of, Sieglinde.
“Well then, let’s get right to it. The ones who can’t do it yet, follow me.”
Said Miss Esmeralda as she left the room, with most students behind her. This left the classroom shrouded in silence.
“Wait. Ririh’s going too!”
Perhaps she did not hear it, because she hurried after the others.
“Hey! You don’t have to go!”
“!?”
It was Lain who stopped her.
“The ones who can’t release magic energy are going out to learn.”
“Ah, Ririh can!”
“Right? So you just have to wait here.”
“All right… Thanks! Hum…”
“Lain.”
“Lain! I am Ririh!”
Weiss made sure to drill the words ‘I am Ririi’ into her head, for when she introduced herself. They came out pretty smoothly after they practiced so much.
“I know. Can you wait quietly?”
“Yes!”
Ririi went back to her seat, and climbed on the chair. Watching her made Lain question once again why her mother was so insistent on her not losing to Ririi.
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