The Chief Student and the Last Seat (Part 1)

The youths were entirely oblivious to the complex machinations of the adults.

They did not know that the status of low- and mid-level mages was in decline.

They did not know that members of the Magic Association were losing their hair every year trying to manage job placements.

They were even less aware that some at the Royal Capital's conferences wanted to abolish magical education entirely, severing the source of students for the City of Academies.

Or perhaps they had heard whispers that "magic is obsolete," but for commoner youths like them—and their parents—merely entering the magic program at the City of Academies meant receiving a significant tuition subsidy. Not to mention the prospect of becoming a high-and-mighty mage in a Mage Tower; that was a level of respectability they never dared to dream of in their entire lives!

Silverleaf, the Chief Student of this year's graduating class at the Magic Academy of the City of Academies, thought exactly this.

Silverleaf was an orphan.

He had been sent to an Orphanage at the age of nine, but unlike the other orphans, he was grateful for his mother's death. It wasn't because that woman had been a lowly streetwalker, but because she possessed the filthy blood of a Succubus, and Silverleaf had manifested the recessive trait. Consequently, that frivolous and depraved woman had tried to sell her son as a commodity. "It's only because you're still worth something that I didn't drown you, you burden, the moment you were born!" the woman had said without a hint of shame.

In truth, after his mother died and Silverleaf entered the Orphanage, his situation did not improve much.

However, the "ideals" of the director seemed grander than those of Silverleaf's streetwalker mother, so he sent Silverleaf to school, attempting to imbue him with greater value.

"Fortunately," that director also died when Silverleaf was eleven.

From then on, Silverleaf drifted between factories and the streets, relying on various illicit means alongside the older children at the Orphanage to feed the younger "brothers and sisters."

Even in the most difficult times, Silverleaf never dropped out of school.

It was not because he loved learning, but because Silverleaf knew that the factories and the organizations on the streets were man-eating monsters. If he stayed there, he could neither save his "brothers and sisters" nor himself.

School, however, was an opportunity. Especially starting in the third grade, the Mage Tower would begin conducting Mana Appraisal on students. Children with exceptionally outstanding mana could even skip the compulsory education stage and enter the Magic Academy of the City of Academies, receiving substantial tuition subsidies.

Silverleaf wanted to gamble once on his Succubus bloodline.

This bloodline should not only bring disaster; it should also provide its master with a bit of protection.

In the end, Silverleaf won the gamble.

He passed the Mana Appraisal in the third grade and entered the Magic Academy.

Yet, it was not enough.

A few tuition subsidies were not enough to pull his brothers and sisters out of that hell. Silverleaf had struggled mightily to secure the position of Chief Student to obtain the annual scholarship, and also to ensure his own "placement."

Silverleaf had inquired clearly when he first entered the City of Academies: the Magic Academy guaranteed "placements," especially for the top-ranking students, who would be sent to the Mage Tower upon graduation.

If he became a great mage, no one would be able to bully him or those he wanted to protect, right?

Silverleaf had not expected that this insignificant hope would be as fragile as a glass tower.

Their graduating class was not assigned to the Mage Tower as the seniors had described; instead, they were sent to some alchemy workshop! Someone even found a Newspaper, discovering that the workshop seemed to have gone bankrupt due to financial issues!

Silverleaf had initially refused to believe this news, because half a semester ago, his teachers and others—including Mr. Will of the Magic Association—had hinted to him that he would secure a position at a Mage Tower southwest of Cecilia. Why had this change occurred?!

But to Silverleaf's despair, the personnel list Mr. Will checked confirmed his worst suspicions.

Aside from top students like Silverleaf, the other party had also taken away the students with the worst grades.

Including the bottom-ranked student of this year, Jack.

Whether Jack could even be considered a student of the Magic Academy was a question.

He was, by nature, someone without talent.

But his father, a fallen noble who had lost all his property after being swindled, had been desperate. In an attempt to swindle the meager subsidies meant for magic students, he had fed his son a family-secret potion.

That potion was said to forcibly generate mana. In the extremely rare case of good luck, it could produce a Grand Mage capable of forbidden spells, but most of the time, it only created a "pseudo-mage" who could not truly cast spells.

Regrettably, Jack was not that exception. Due to the effects of the potion, from the moment he entered school, huge magic horns had grown from his head—an Alien Creature spawned by mana that could not be released.

When the school discovered this fraud, they naturally wanted to expel this fake. However, the noble's remaining power and status manifested in this subtle way. After a great deal of bickering about "within the regulations" and "not prohibited," the City of Academies finally and humiliatingly accepted this fake magic-user, raising him like an Experimental Animal.

Silverleaf did not sympathize with Jack.

Sympathy was a luxury for those who had enough to eat.

Besides, what real difference was there between him and Jack?

So, when Mr. Will placed Silverleaf and Jack on the same list, Silverleaf only felt panic.

It was the panic of two animals about to be slaughtered together.

If he hadn't wanted to find an opportunity to ask Mr. Will what was going on, and if he hadn't been unable to give up that diploma, Silverleaf might have secretly fled the City of Academies before boarding the Train.

Unfortunately, Silverleaf never found the right moment throughout the journey, and then he was dragged in front of the Magic Gear Alchemy Workshop.

The grand exterior of the workshop and the bustling crowd inside did not soothe Silverleaf's heart.

If anything, he was quite frightened.

Drawing on his rich experiences from his early years, Silverleaf recognized that many of the guests appeared to be "street thugs," and since Silverleaf had spent several years trying to escape that environment, he was all the more unwilling to stay in such a place.

More importantly, the Workshop Master was actually wearing a Black Robe.

A Black Robe that, according to legend, ate children.

Although Silverleaf was long past the age of believing such fairy tales, based on his understanding of Black Robes, it didn't seem strange at all for them to treat people like Experimental Animals, slicing them up or feeding them to a Black Cat!

The Black Cat on his shoulder also looked quite eerie!

In short, his instincts as a Succubus had been telling him to run away from the moment he entered the workshop.

It was the feeling of encountering a natural predator!

Of course, his words couldn't be trusted—

"The dorms are all single rooms with private toilets. Those with girlfriends can apply for double rooms later. However, don't cook in your own rooms. The cafeteria will provide meals at set times. There is a public Resting Room and a kitchen downstairs; if you must cook for yourselves, go use those."

Couldn't be trusted...

"Someone will come to clean every room on Mondays. Remember to pack away your valuables that day to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings," Angell continued. "The bathrooms are also public. You can use the Washing Machine in the laundry room freely, or hang a tag on your dirty clothes and toss them in the laundry basket, but a cleaning fee will be deducted from your wages at the end of the month, and we aren't responsible if they get ruined."

No...

"As for wages, you will be paid one Gold Coin per month as agreed upon by the association. However, be prepared for overtime if there is a fixed workload, or bonuses if you make outstanding contributions... Additionally, if you pass the Rune Master exam, I will increase your wages to the standard of a formal Rune Master, or I can introduce you to the Mage Tower if you wish—"

...Working for a while temporarily might be fine, right!

This would allow Hannah to go to school, buy Big Head a new pair of shoes, and bring that pair of frail twins to live by his side.

While Silverleaf calculated this in his mind, his body had already overcome that strange fear of facing a natural predator and raised his hand: "Then, sir, what do you need us to do?"

That Black Robe exuding a terrifying aura glanced at him coldly:

"Hurry up and put your luggage away, then come with me to eat!"