The girl lying in the hospital bed did have somewhat masculine features. But she clearly had no Adam's apple, and her body was well-developed—perhaps even precociously so.
If the student beside her hadn't pointed out her true gender, Sister Callian would never have guessed that she was actually a boy.
"Are you sure?"
She couldn't help turning back to ask.
Dark looked sympathetic and nodded. "Probably."
It wasn't as if a twin sister of Robert's would suddenly pop up among the first-years, right?
"Then this is tricky!" Sister Callian drew in a breath. "In the past two years, even the most outrageous pranks have only turned people into pigs. I didn't expect anything could be worse than that."
"Turned into pigs!!"
Dark couldn't tell whether being turned into a pig or being turned into the opposite sex was worse.
But Sister Callian clearly thought the latter was worse.
Still, if they could cure someone who'd been turned into a pig, turning someone into a woman should be easy, right?
With that thought in mind, Dark asked, "Can it be cured?"
Sister Callian pulled a crumpled pair of rubber gloves from her pocket and put them on, her expression grave. "When you get right down to it, gender transformation is a kind of Transfiguration. It has something in common with turning someone into a pig, a sheep, or a toad. In theory, none of these transformations can last forever. Even if left alone, they'll wear off on their own after a certain amount of time. Of course, we can't jump to conclusions before making a diagnosis. Sylph, getting to the root of this isn't within my area of expertise."
"Sylph... Professor?"
A breeze stirred. Dark turned around and saw Professor Sylph standing silently behind him.
Naturally, the professors wouldn't ignore something like this.
Professor Sylph said sternly, "Go to class. I've already informed Jones."
"Yes, Professor."
Dark bowed and left the Hospital Wing.
The professionals could handle the professional matters.
He didn't need to worry about what came next.
"Hey, Dimon."
"Morning, Gaude."
On his way to class, Dark ran into Victor.
Victor looked dejected, his face drooping as he greeted him.
He asked without much hope, "Dimon, have you seen Robert? I mean, Broheim."
Dark replied calmly, "If you're looking for Broheim, you can go to the Hospital Wing. Though I wouldn't recommend going now. Class is about to start."
Victor immediately perked up. "He's in the Hospital Wing? Is he okay? He must have had diarrhea, right? That guy—I've been looking everywhere for him!"
Dark gave him a strange look. "Maybe."
It was better to keep this embarrassing incident under wraps.
"Then that's a relief," Victor said. "Oh, Dimon... Dimon? Hey, slow down! I'm exhausted, and I haven't even had breakfast!"
When Dark arrived in the classroom, he found that news of a girl getting pranked had already spread.
Fortunately, no one knew that the "girl" at the center of the incident was Robert. Otherwise, the Little Magisters would already have been in an uproar.
The students hadn't noticed Robert's absence, and Professor Jones arrived as usual.
She didn't say much about it and went straight into the lesson.
Today's class focused on the attributes that countered one another among Magic Spirits.
There were twenty attributes in all. Only light and darkness stood apart from the other eighteen.
"Everything has both a light and a dark side. These two attributes don't interact with the others; they only counter each other. Of course, some Ghost-type Magic Spirits dislike light. But in truth, that's a biological weakness, not an energy-attribute counter."
"By an energy-attribute counter, we mean the relationship between pure energies, which is to some extent independent of physical interactions. It's a relationship of superiority and inferiority derived from empirical science."
"For example, Ice-type counters Dragon-type."
Professor Jones shrugged.
"Who knows why Ice-type can counter Dragon-type? Because dragons are cold-blooded?"
The lesson was fairly interesting.
Professor Jones frequently called students up to summon their Magic Spirits for demonstrations, leading to quite a few amusing moments.
But when Professor Jones assigned them to copy the Attribute Counter-Chart ten times after class and memorize it for a quiz next lesson, it became a lot less interesting.
Even after class ended, no one noticed that Robert was missing.
"Ding-a-ling."
As soon as the bell rang, Victor rushed out of the classroom.
Dark thought Robert probably didn't want Victor visiting him, but he had no reason to stop him.
The second class was Arithmetic Class.
Professor Lily appeared at the back door and beckoned Dark over.
Dark put down his textbook and followed the professor out for a moment.
They moved to an empty corner, where Professor Lily patted Dark on the shoulder with a pleased expression. "Well done. You really are the student I've always had my eye on."
Dark: "..."
Professor Lily was still excited. "I've already heard what happened. You handled it very well. Broheim can be a handful, but it would be too cruel for him to carry that kind of shadow with him from his first year. No one knows his real identity now, and we'll treat the whole incident as an ordinary prank."
Dark asked with concern, "What about the culprit... I mean, do we know who did it?"
Professor Lily replied, "Broheim has woken up. He said someone knocked him out while he was out after curfew last night. He didn't see anything."
She changed tack and added, "But you don't need to worry about it. The professors will handle things properly. Also, Professor Kazel asked me to pass along a message: the matter you asked him about has made progress. By the way, what did you ask him?"
Dark hesitated, then said after a moment, "Nothing much. It was just a question for verifying a small experiment."
Had Professor Kazel decided not to tell the other professors about the Flower Card?
But if he didn't want anyone to know, why had he asked someone to pass along a message?
Dark was still pondering it when he returned to the classroom.
Just before class began,
Victor came back in high spirits, with Robert, who had recovered, beside him.
"Robert, I'm glad you're okay."
"It was just something I ate. Don't say it so loudly..."
Dark glanced over and happened to meet Robert's eyes.
Robert immediately gave him a pleading look.
Dark quietly made a gesture, then winked.
Robert nodded gratefully.
Victor noticed something was off. "Robert, what's wrong with you?"
Robert replied, "Nothing. A mosquito bit me near the corner of my eye."
Victor said, "A mosquito? Why didn't it bite me?"
Robert replied, "Maybe my blood tastes better?"
Victor laughed. "Ha ha."
During this lesson, Professor Lily taught the "multiplication table" she'd coaxed out of Dark.
Of course, this world had multiplication, but because education hadn't been widespread in the past, no system of basic instruction had developed. Convenient calculation methods for beginners, such as "long multiplication" and the "multiplication table," had never been invented.
In any case, after class,
Dark could hear the Little Magisters reciting as they walked along, bobbing their heads: "One times one is one, one times two is two..."
Dark Dimon's Quest for Knowledge
Robert, having just learned his lesson, behaved himself.
Without Robert egging him on, Victor stopped causing trouble, too.
The afternoon History of Magic class passed peacefully, with the Little Magisters nodding off.
After class, Dark didn't head to the library as usual. Instead, he went straight to Professor Kazel's office.
He hesitated for a moment, then knocked.
"Knock."
"Come in."
Professor Kazel's voice came from inside the office.
Dark turned the doorknob and went in.
Professor Kazel sat behind his desk, which was piled high with assignments that clearly weren't from first-years.
"Dimon? You came at just the right time."
Professor Kazel put down his pen and hopped off his tall stool.
Dark asked, "Professor, have you made progress on researching the Flower Card?"
"Exactly." Professor Kazel opened a drawer, took out a Flower Card, and waved it at Dark.
He looked like a child showing off a new toy.
Dark couldn't help smiling slightly. Then he shut the door and hurried around to the other side of the desk.
The professor handed him the card and said proudly, "Here. Try putting some magic into it."
Dark first picked it up and examined it carefully.
This wasn't Professor Kazel's original Green Rose card, but another one from who knew where.
"A student gave it to me," Professor Kazel said with a wry smile.
Dark blinked. Professor Kazel gave in. "All right, someone was playing with it in class, so I confiscated it. Anyway, don't worry about where it came from. This is something I made with care last night."
The card showed a pinkish-purple Butterfly Orchid, a kind of orchid whose petals resembled butterfly wings. Its flower language was "I love you," and it symbolized a noble, elegant love.
Dark channeled a little magic into the card, and the Butterfly Orchid depicted on it turned into lifelike butterflies—not Butterfly Orchids, but butterflies!
Pink and purple butterflies fluttered gracefully around. Dark merely waved the Flower Card, and they seemed drawn to it, circling around it.
A faint, pollen-like glow trailed from the butterflies' tails, as if they were dragging long streamers of light.
It was already breathtaking in daylight. It was easy to imagine how beautiful it would be in the pitch-black night.
Dark asked in surprise, "Professor, how did you do this?"
Professor Kazel smiled. "A little trick. This doesn't count as a Magitech Card. If you like it, you can have it. It shares its origins with the Flower Card, and it might guide you to where it all began. There are many secrets in the Academy. In principle, we encourage students to explore them for themselves. Of course, don't forget curfew at midnight."
Dark left the office with a hint of unease.
Professor Kazel's words hadn't made him feel all that comfortable.
Had he already investigated and confirmed there was no danger? Or had he... already dealt with the danger?
Before you continue