Waver showed a slightly surprised expression.
He hadn't expected Kayneth to be the first to voice agreement.
Moran understood why Waver thought that way.
The two of them had poor bloodlines and talent.
As a result, most of the Clock Tower had branded them as having no future. Everyone looked at them through tinted lenses.
Calling Moran and Waver fellow sufferers
was no exaggeration at all.
There were far too few professors like Kayneth in the entire Clock Tower who didn't judge others through tinted lenses.
"However, that is merely a decent point of focus. Even if your theory is correct, someone of your bloodline has no way to put it into practice."
Kayneth's words struck straight at the heart of the matter.
"Ha ha ha ha! He actually asked such a question!"
"Just as expected of a 'newbie' Magus! Even his questions are so 'new'!"
"So this is the impractical Waver? Hahahaha—!"
The entire class below burst into laughter.
They mocked Waver for asking something that even violated basic Magus common sense. Bloodline theory was an unshakable doctrine in the world of Magecraft.
In truth, Kayneth wasn't wrong either.
Take an example Moran knew.
Shirou Emiya could use Projection as though he had cheats enabled.
At the root of it, he had been born with twenty-seven Magic Circuits as a first-generation Magus.
It was a number that would practically stun anyone who heard it.
Other Magus families needed to accumulate at least two or three generations, with artificial intervention, before they could produce such an offspring.
"I believe a Magus should not be judged solely by bloodline!"
"Oh? Didn't I say that one must have a proper understanding? Bloodline and talent are realities that cannot be changed. Trying to overturn reality through mere awareness is nothing but wishful thinking!"
"If that's the case, then I'll prove to you that bloodline doesn't represent everything!"
Waver and Kayneth stared at each other for several seconds.
The former was a reformer unwilling to submit to bloodline theory, while the latter was an aristocratic realist who valued results.
Neither side was entirely right or wrong.
"Then wait until you have results before making such grand claims to me. Ideas without proof are utterly worthless!"
Kayneth's expression was harsh and stern.
What he said was indeed common sense applicable to Magi.
But that did not mean it was necessarily correct.
Just as Waver lowered his head, too ashamed to argue back, another voice sounded beside him.
"Professor Kayneth, I object."
Moran abruptly rose from his seat.
The action drew the attention of everyone in the classroom.
They had thought there was only one idiot being reprimanded by Kayneth. Who could have expected a second fool to appear?
Everyone had that thought in mind.
P.S.: Since I felt there was no particular need to write FZ, and everyone is probably tired of it already, I combined the settings of FZ and the Subspecies Holy Grail War into FSF. Just treat it as a fusion of various Type-Moon parallel worlds. I'm very familiar with Type-Moon settings, so this is stable.
The characters who should appear will still appear. I personally really like Irisviel, so I will definitely write her. Of course, Tsukihime will be included too.
A heads-up: Tsukihime is extremely important to the protagonist, and it carries a great deal of weight in the plot. I will be using the remake Tsukihime setting.
By the way, everyone, please stop PUA-ing the author. When the flowers, monthly tickets, and results don't go up, I really do cry, boohoo...
Innate Talent Does Not Determine Everything—Please Send Flowers! Please Send Monthly Tickets!
"Moran Edelfelt, which of my views do you object to? If you disagree, feel free to say so."
"You said bloodline and talent are realities that cannot be changed. I don't believe that. I believe innate factors cannot determine everything. As long as people live in this world, they can use acquired means to compensate for their innate shortcomings."
Moran's gaze was so straight it seemed capable of piercing through people.
The force and confidence contained in his words were so powerful that no one around him could even think of laughing.
His presence was impossible to ignore.
After twenty-six years in the Greek simulation, Moran had changed enormously from before.
"Moran...!"
Waver trembled all over with emotion.
When everyone was laughing at him, someone had actually reached out a hand to him in such an embarrassing moment.
At the same time, he was somewhat surprised.
Moran had previously struck him as more of a slacker, yet now his presence was astonishingly vibrant.
It was as if he had become a completely different person.
"Hmph, delusional nonsense. The means people can acquire are ultimately limited, and achieving what you describe is harder than climbing to the heavens. If I recall correctly, you are merely the son of an Edelfelt branch family. Though the main family possesses considerable strength, you, a collateral branch descendant, lack both talent and aptitude."
Kayneth remembered the information of every student in the classroom.
He believed he understood Moran's foundations very well.
However, that only applied to the Moran who had entered the school.
"Heh, what if I can prove it?"
Moran still showed not a trace of fear.
Even his tone remained exceptionally calm.
"Ah, how tragic. I never expected my classroom to contain more than one student who believed in such delusions. If I do not correct this at its root, it would damage my reputation as an instructor as well..."
Kayneth believed Moran was speaking empty words.
Subconsciously, he placed Moran and Waver on the same level.
There was no malice in his sharp rhetoric.
As a Magus professor of the aristocratic faction, he was simply using practical theory to tell his students what could not be done.
As a genius, Kayneth believed in his own understanding.
At the same time, he knew the cruelty of the Magecraft world.
If he did not teach these two students a sufficient lesson, they would likely struggle to survive in the Magecraft world in the future.
Though part of it was to preserve the honor of the El-Melloi classroom and teach these wet-behind-the-ears youngsters a lesson,
that did not change his ultimate intention.
Kayneth's fundamental starting point was still for the sake of his students.
"If that is the case, then very well.
As a teacher, I am not cruel enough to deny my students the chance to prove themselves. Student Moran, I will give you and Waver an opportunity to prove yourselves, so that you may understand what reality is and what impractical delusion is!"
Kayneth's gaze was as sharp as a blade.
Like an enforcer delivering judgment.
The others in the classroom could hear the pressure in his words. Most of them barely dared to breathe.
Who would have thought Moran had such nerve?
He actually dared to openly challenge a Lord.
This was no longer stupidity. This was madness!
Kayneth was, after all, the Lord of El-Melloi. They simply could not understand such blatant provocation in the middle of class.
And so, amid an exceptionally tense atmosphere,
everyone watched Moran casually sit back down in his seat.
No one even dared to laugh.
No one wanted to get caught up in the dispute at such a time.
"Moran, you argued with Professor Kayneth so confidently. You must have some trump card, right!"
Waver's face was filled with tension and worry.
He had never expected things to escalate so badly.
Kayneth had actually said he would correct and teach them a lesson. This was absolutely not something an ordinary student could bear.
Waver had bet his entire fortune on attending the Clock Tower.
If he were expelled from the Clock Tower like this,
then he really would have no choice but to beg on the streets for a living.
"A strategy? No.
I never thought about something like that from the beginning."
Moran clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair.
He looked utterly heartless and completely unaware of the situation.
Moran had learned quite a bit of Magecraft while spending every day with Medea, and modern Magecraft seemed quite shallow to him.
As for bloodline theory, he did not acknowledge it at all.
If Medea were to help, she could casually come up with a whole pile of methods for ordinary people to succeed through acquired means.
Even if she used only modern materials,
she still had the ability to accomplish that.
"Ah!? You provoked Professor Kayneth without even thinking it through? It's over, it's over! Am I really going to be thrown out of the Clock Tower now? Boohoohoo..."
Waver could already imagine his miserable future as a drifter.
He had absolutely no countermeasure.
His rebuttal against bloodline theory earlier had been entirely driven by passion. He had no evidence or examples at all.
"Don't worry. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally find a way through. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how Professor Kayneth plans to teach us a lesson~"
Moran looked completely entertained.
He was entirely unlike the flustered Waver.
His rebuttal of Kayneth had not merely been a spur-of-the-moment impulse. There was a deeper reason behind it.
Bloodline—when Kayneth mentioned that word,
Moran first thought of Medusa.
Was there truly no way for people to resist the unfair fate brought about by innate factors?
No, that could never be the case.
Even the monstrous nature rooted in bloodline could be suppressed.
Moran refused to accept that innate factors determined everything.
Even though he possessed the Simulator, it had merely opened a door for him.
Moran himself was the one who had truly walked the path to its end.
His twenty-six years in the Simulator had all been spent giving his blood and sweat. The three fixed skills he possessed now had been earned through acquired effort; they were not things he could obtain easily.
Even without the Simulator, as long as he developed the desire to protect someone.
Before you continue