“Our Alchemy Department finally has its own core technology!”
“Whoa!”
“Hey, no fair getting a head start!”
Before the words could even settle, the senior who spoke first had already lunged forward. She hugged Merlinlia tightly, who was surrounded in the center of the crowd, and affectionately rubbed her cheek against Merlinlia’s long, blue gradient hair that flowed like shimmering moonlight.
“That’s enough!”
A soft cry of annoyance rang out. It wasn’t a harsh reprimand, yet it carried an air of authority.
Merlin puffed out her cheeks slightly, a hint of helplessness flickering in her eyes.
Is the sense of personal space among girls always like this?
Leaving her mother aside…
Why did every girl she met seem to have a broken sense of distance?
Surprisingly, the only one Merlin felt had a normal sense of distance was Marie.
Then again, as someone who had served the temperamental Lucia for a long time, Marie probably would have been killed long ago if she didn’t understand personal boundaries.
The girls still respected the princess’s anger and let go one after another.
“But…”
Merlin sighed, her slender fingertips straightening her rumpled collar. She looked toward the tiered lecture hall where Mahina was already inside.
Princess…?
“Isn’t Mahina the Duke’s foster daughter? A princess?”
“Oh, the foster daughter of Duke Talan is practically no different from a princess.”
“I see…”
As a newly enrolled student, Merlin didn’t know much about these complex details yet.
Even though she was called a princess, her common knowledge might actually be worse than a commoner’s. From the moment she was adopted by Ophelia, Ophelia hadn’t taught her anything except alchemy.
Initially, Merlin thought such a life was easy and happy, but now that she had become a princess, she was suffering the consequences.
Who would have thought such an absurd thing would happen to her?
“The Magic Department has Mahina, the Swordsmanship Department has Lucia, and from now on, our Alchemy Department can hold its head high and say we have Merlinlia! Our princess will surely lead us to revitalize the Alchemy Department!”
“Ahaha.”
“Exactly! Our princess is just as beautiful as the other two.”
“Alright, it’s time for class.”
Merlin noticed the conversation was heading in an awkward direction, her fair earlobes already flushed a faint red.
If this continued, it would turn into a praise-fest for Merlin by the alchemy students. It was too embarrassing…
Students from other departments were still around.
Merlin took the first step into the classroom, and the alchemy students followed her.
As she entered the tiered lecture hall, Merlin knew she would attract everyone’s attention. She averted her gaze, fearing Mahina might be looking at her.
Merlin didn’t want to lock eyes with Mahina.
“Merlinlia, over there.”
A fellow alchemy student gestured with her eyes toward some empty seats. Judging by the chest pins, that area was filled exclusively with alchemy students.
It was the same distribution as the entrance ceremony.
Even if the tiered classroom wasn’t intentionally divided into zones, the Magic Department still sat in clusters in the center, even for elective classes unrelated to magic.
Swordsmanship was on the left, Magic was on the right.
Of course, a few Magic and Swordsmanship students sat together, likely very close friends or master and servant pairs.
This was natural; it was the reality of the magic world.
There might be swordsmen capable of taking on a hundred enemies or performing dangerous solo missions.
But magic was simply more straightforward and powerful.
It seemed the gap between the departments was deeper than imagined.
Merlin began to understand why the alchemy students were so excited.
They had always been suppressed by the other departments, especially since the others had such shining leaders.
For a long time, they were overshadowed by the other departments—particularly the flourishing Magic Department, which had a nearly perfect leader like Mahina.
And the Alchemy Department? Not only were they obscure with a thin presence in the academy, but they previously didn’t have a single representative figure who could stand on equal footing with those two.
Now that Merlinlia had chosen to stay in the Alchemy Department, at least the students there could proudly say:
“Our Alchemy Department has an Elven Princess.”
Sigh… it didn’t matter to Merlin. As long as she had a seat, she was fine.
It hadn’t caused her much trouble yet, so she didn’t mind going with the flow and being the princess of the Alchemy Department.
She was, after all, the first-year representative for the Alchemy Department.
“Merlinlia, please sit here.”
The girls enthusiastically guided her, pushing her toward the center of the row by the window.
They giggled and surrounded Merlin. Someone couldn’t help but gently grab her slender wrist and give it a squeeze, while another took the chance to give her shoulders a quick hug from behind before letting go.
Merlin was pushed into the center of the right section amidst the cheerful atmosphere. The students then began to bicker over the seats next to her.
“Please keep order in the classroom! Or I’ll get angry!”
Merlin didn’t mind the girls taking liberties with her just now, but in a situation where departmental barriers were so high, being too rowdy might further lower the reputation of the Alchemy Department.
The classmates were a bit too excited today…
“Okay…”
Out of the corner of her eye, Merlinlia cast a discreet glance toward the center of the classroom. Mahina was currently tilting her head slightly, whispering something to a girl from the Magic Department next to her.
A perfectly poised smile played at the corners of her mouth, touching Merlin’s heart once again.
Once upon a time, that smile belonged only to her.
Forget it…
The representative of the Magic Department and the representative of the Alchemy Department were now in the same room. The atmosphere was as delicate as a needle swaying on a precision scale.
As Merlin took her seat, the alchemy students felt more confident. The magic students, meanwhile, pretended not to see her, looking away and continuing their conversations.
The atmosphere was truly subtle…
If Lucia were here too, it would be even more awkward.
Fortunately, Zelion was the top academy in the Empire, and the students were all quite studious.
As the explanation of today’s course content began, the faint tension and confrontation from earlier finally dissipated, replaced by the silence of focused listening.
“In Elven legends, all Elves originate from the same tree, which is why all Elves share the surname Helier.”
“Lia is said to be the most bountiful fruit from the canopy, and thus they are called the royal family.”
“Elves are born with the strongest affinity for magic; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them the darlings of magic.”
The professor had never expected Merlinlia, a princess, to choose her class. She was so terrified that she thought the girl was there to pick a fight, just waiting for her to make a mistake to call her out. This made her lecture a bit more stiff today.
“Also… because of the Elven characteristic of being eight parts soul and two parts flesh, Elves are skilled in magic… that is partly the reason. Their constitutions are naturally born with an affinity for magic. To maintain this special stability, Elves condense a crystal core in their chests to keep their bodies stable.”
The professor glanced at Merlinlia. It seemed the princess wasn’t angry.
“This is a classroom, and knowledge should be taught comprehensively. I am only saying this here. Absolutely do not talk to an Elf about their crystal core in person, because…”