Things Got Out of Hand

Half a month later—Magic Association.

"...All the children from Third Charity School passed the magic examination with perfect scores?!"

Angell asked in disbelief.

He nearly sprayed out the tea he had just sipped.

After receiving the news, Angell had hurried to the Magic Association for the "magic education pilot project." To him, this matter was even more important than selling movie merchandise.

After all, the Mana Base Station was Angell's research project. All the money and mana he earned served it, and the students' results in the Magic Unified Examination directly determined whether Angell could build more Base Stations.

Of course, Angell believed the students had done well.

Their enthusiasm for "studying" was incredibly high. In the past half year, the mana fed into Sky Spring had expanded its area more than tenfold, enough to cover a third of the city.

It would have made no sense if practical ability like that could not pass the mana examination.

But the Magic Unified Examination did not only test meditation. There were also Magic Spell interpretation, Rune fill-in-the-blanks, Magic History essays, and a pile of other messy subjects. Angell had asked Enlise for her homework, and merely looking at it gave him a headache. He felt that even as an Intermediate Mage, without specialized review, he could not possibly score highly in such a sea of questions—let alone those little brats who essentially only wanted to play.

So... everyone getting perfect scores... how was that possible?!

After calming down, Angell quickly reached the answer. "They cheated, didn't they?"

"That wasn't cheating! How could it be cheating?! It absolutely wasn't cheating!" Agent John sprang up as if he himself had been questioned and shouted excitedly, "There were dozens of proctors present, including more than ten Beginner Mages and even three Intermediate Mages. Not one of them has evidence that those children cheated! How can you say those adorable children cheated?"

So the others suspected that the students had cheated too?

But Gnomes were famously protective of their own.

Even with evidence that one of their own was wrong, they would insist they were right. Let alone when there was no evidence.

Looking at the hopping little old man, Angell wondered whether it was really all right for someone like this to join the Department of Education.

What truly surprised Angell was that everyone else present was overwhelmingly supporting Agent John today.

"Even if they cheated, those people started it first," Mayor Owen said. There was a hint of Wrath beneath his chubby smile. "Sending more than ten Mages to oversee an ordinary Magic Unified Examination was bad enough. After the first day's meditation results came out, they started shouting that the children had cheated and forcibly took away their teachers for investigation! They deserve to see what real cheating looks like!"

So you admitted it was cheating too...

"Hmph, it really is satisfying! When it comes down to it, I've seen through them! Those people from the Royal Capital never had good intentions! How could anyone cheat on meditation on the first day? They provided the Meditation Crystals themselves, and they even brought in genuine Magic Apprentices from the Royal Mage Tower as a comparison group. When they saw the students meditating too seriously, they actually interfered with them! Yet the children still surpassed the full-score benchmark. That alone proves how hard they have worked these past six months! And they were still accused of cheating? Then let them investigate all they want!" Branch President Hume said indignantly.

Assistant Will stood behind the sofa where Branch President Hume was sitting.

Hearing this, he could not help frowning. "But the Department of Education does not plan to recognize these results. They are also preparing to send two High-level Mages to investigate..."

"What does it matter if they reach a conclusion?" said a little old lady. "They need to send two High-level Mages to figure out how a group of children who are not even Magic Apprentices cheated, and they still have the nerve? I say, no matter what methods the students used, if they could successfully fool everyone, they already proved their ability! That has always been a Mage tradition!"

Mage examination tradition was cheating...

That actually seemed right.

Angell twitched the corner of his mouth. Only then did he notice that there was an unfamiliar little old lady here today.

Or rather, Angell had noticed the stranger from the beginning, but he did not want to know who she was, did not plan to deal with her, and certainly did not want to add another unnecessary social connection.

But since she had spoken, it seemed inappropriate to keep treating her as if she did not exist.

Left with no choice, Angell looked at the old lady.

She wore a narrow, crinkled silk dress currently fashionable in Xiesse, with a bright red Mage robe draped over it. Her silver hair was cut into fashionable ear-length curls. One could vaguely tell that she must have been a beauty when she was young, though her brows and eyes seemed stern, making her look difficult to approach.

Branch President Hume finally found an opportunity to introduce her. "This is Lady Mary Yanni, City Lord of Kagefen, the City of Academies."

"Hello," Angell said hesitantly.

She really was an important figure!

Although the City Lord of the City of Academies sounded similar to the mayor of Cecilia City, the reality was far more complicated.

Cecilia City still belonged to this country, after all. Formally, Mayor Owen also needed The King's appointment. He had to obey central dispatches and could not act too arbitrarily.

But the City of Academies was different.

Strictly speaking, the city did not actually belong to the Central Kingdom. It merely temporarily used the country's territory. Since the Magic Era, it had recruited students from every region and race on this Plane. At its height, even the next queen of the Elf Race had to study there. Even now, heirs to nearby small kingdoms studied there, so it was essentially a neutral city.

In fact, the City of Academies had declared independence during several Plane wars, acting as an envoy to mediate relations among the races. By custom, students studying there possessed wartime exemption.

The identity of such a city's leader was naturally extremely complicated.

Yet Lady Yanni had none of an important figure's reserve. She warmly took Angell's hand and smiled. "Hello. I've heard Hume mention you many times before. I've always wanted to meet you sooner!"

"Meet me? Why?" Angell asked warily.

Unprompted kindness meant either treachery or theft!

Yanni did not mind Angell's caution. Smiling, she asked, "Would you be interested in building a Mana Base Station in the City of Academies?"

"Is that possible?!" Angell immediately clasped Lady Yanni's hand in return.

What was caution? Could it be eaten?

Mithril, hiding in Angell's shadow, scratched the back of Angell's neck with its claws. Only then did Angell finally avoid throwing away his brain.

He asked somewhat hesitantly, "But why? You don't really believe there was nothing wrong with those students' examination results, do you?"

"There was nothing wrong with the students' results!" Agent John muttered unhappily.

"They have already proven their improvement through their meditation scores. Are those later theoretical scores really that important?" Lady Yanni said slyly. "Magic education does need reform, but it absolutely should not blindly copy another system."

At this point, Lady Yanni's expression grew serious. "Kagefen, the City of Academies, was built through magic, and this world's history was written through magic. We have always used magic to study the origins of this world. Even if a new solution has appeared, or even if this method called 'science' is indeed correct, what we should do is not throw away the old method of solving problems—magic—and mindlessly copy the new one! We should fundamentally study why others do things that way. If we are wrong, where are we wrong? How should we think and learn correctly in the future?"

...You are absolutely right. As expected of a Great Educator, but I only want internet access.

Angell smiled politely.

Lady Yanni somehow interpreted Angell's smile. In any case, after taking a breath, she said excitedly, "These past few days, I visited the pilot school. I believe the new magic teaching method proposed by Mr. Angell is an effective and interesting direction for experimentation, and I hope to conduct a pilot in Kagefen! The City of Academies can accept equivalent contractual terms and can even provide a Magic Well left behind from the Second Magic Era for your research!"

"Cecilia will do the same!" Mayor Owen immediately said, unwilling to fall behind. "Even if the Department of Education declares this examination unqualified, we will provide your Mana Base Station with relevant policies and resources in the name of a municipal project. Whatever you need, just ask!"

That was also because Angell had brought enough benefits.

Even leaving magic education aside, the surrounding factories Angell supported already gave Owen enough reason to support him wholeheartedly without hesitation, let alone the tourism economy that Magical Girl☆Maya would drive next.

Instead, Angell felt a little dizzy.

"Wait a moment. Let me think about it," Angell said quietly.

The pie was too big, but his stomach was too small. What if he could not eat it all at once? Waiting online! Urgent!

*

Meanwhile, at the Department of Education.

"Magical Girl again! Have these stupid Commoners become so obsessed with Witches that they can only find meaning in life by staring at them? Back in the Magic Era, Witches and Black Robes were people who should have been hung on stakes and burned!"

Minister Payson tossed the Newspaper aside and spoke while clearly aiming at someone else.

Recently, this outwardly amiable Minister of Education for the Eastern Territory had found it increasingly difficult to maintain his kind smile.

Every piece of news related to Magic Gear irritated him, yet every Newspaper was reporting on that damned Movie.

They were merely a group of talentless people!

Minister Payson thought angrily.

Payson had always been extremely dismissive of the "education pilot project" jointly organized by Owen, mayor of Cecilia City, the Magic Association, and an Alchemy Workshop.

Although he felt that using a Magic Well as the foundation for magic education was indeed an extravagant move, and that any Black Robe who sponsored such a thing must have something wrong with his brain, he also believed that talentless people using a Magic Well was merely a waste of resources.

This was also the common understanding in Royal Capital magic circles.

Since the First Magic Era, some people had believed that magic talent was a God-Chosen power, not something Commoners could casually learn or possess. Only those selected could master this power.

The greatest Magic Emperor in history, Mythril, had built his magic kingdom based on this theory.

Even now, Mage Towers still used the Mana Detection Crystals made by the Magic Emperor to search for talented people—within a Crystal's range, any talent with potential above the low tier would be selected and sent into a Mage Tower to study.

Everyone else was a lowly commoner.

They were inferior products abandoned by the gods, feed used to nourish this disordered world.

Unfortunately, due to several Demon Race invasions and Plane wars, humanity's power had become far too insignificant among these Foreign Races. The noble Mages had no choice but to tolerate those lowly people peering into magic's secrets. Yet even so, all the mortals learned was the most superficial knowledge. They even came up with the stupid practice of Alchemy, thinking they too could control mana.

Some Mages were actually influenced by this. They abandoned the dignity of being God-Chosen People, built the rebellious city of Kagefen, taught magic to all races, and treated noble magic knowledge as though it were scrap paper.

There were even Mages whose brains had gone bad enough to build Mage Towers near the Abyss, using their God-Chosen bodies to protect those stupid mortals, and even calling that city the "Magic Capital" or something!

Did they not feel that their actions were trampling on magic's dignity?!

In recent years, it was also these people who had proposed Compulsory Magic Education, actually attempting to make even more mortals learn magic.

Mortals should learn mortal knowledge!

Since these mortals believed that steel could fly into the sky without relying on magic, then let them indulge in their stupid dreams!

Fortunately, those mortals were ultimately useless mud that could not be plastered onto a wall. How could people whom the Mana Detection Crystal had judged to lack potential possibly truly master magic?

As Compulsory Magic Education expanded, more and more money was invested while fewer and fewer Mages emerged. At last, even some neutral Mages could no longer bear to watch, and more and more people chose to support abolishing Compulsory Magic Education.

Of course, the Traditional Mage Faction had made plenty of "efforts."

Letting children encounter magic meditation early, memorize the entire Magic History, forbidding excessive practical magic training in the name of safety, and studying Magic Spells and Runes without a foundation of mana—these were all perfectly open "strategies."

Magic Apprentices had to learn these things after entering Mage Towers too!

It was just that talented people found it easier to touch upon magic's core secrets, making it easier for them to endure. Those without talent could not find a direction even if they worked hard and could only give up.

Even the faction promoting widespread magic education had no solution to this.

And according to the Royal Mage Tower's expectations, these years were the most crucial.

As long as the Magic Unified Examination results became a little worse, people's interest in magic grew a little lower, and the public believed magic was a little more useless, those stupid masses would ask to abolish Compulsory Magic Education themselves, lest it occupy their "precious" time.

That was why Orthodox Mages from the Royal Mage Tower, such as Payson, had been sent to the Department of Education in the Eastern Territory.

Payson had indeed done well in the past few years.

The Charity School students of Cecilia City had seen their scores in the national Magic Unified Examination decline continuously for five consecutive years.

If this "terrible" situation continued, Minister Payson would naturally be removed from office and return to Royal Capital magic circles "in disgrace," but even the hardline Owen would no longer have any grounds to demand continued compulsory education!

Therefore, although Minister Payson was extremely dismissive of the "education pilot project," he still adopted the approach of strategically despising the enemy while tactically taking them seriously.

While Payson encouraged his foolish half-Gnome subordinate, who only knew how to ruin things, to contact the Magic Association and gather intelligence on the pilot's latest progress, he also arranged this Magic Unified Examination at a location the Magic Association absolutely could not interfere with, "to ensure the accuracy of the pilot results." He sent proctors completely biased toward his side and even used a group of genuine Magic Apprentices about to enter a Mage Tower as a comparison group, all to avoid making the examination results too conspicuous.

Yet somehow, the other side had cheated. Those mortals' meditation scores had actually surpassed the Magic Apprentices'!

Payson immediately detained the teacher leading them and demanded that he explain the cheating method.

Unexpectedly, on the second day, those students became even more brazen and produced perfect scores, confirming the fact that they had cheated!

What infuriated Payson most was that he knew very well that whether the students had cheated was no longer important. Because of that highly publicized proctoring strategy, even if he could investigate and identify the person who had instructed them, the simple fact that "mortal students successfully cheated in front of Mages" had already become an indelible stain on Payson's record!

"No! This cannot continue!"

If the "education pilot project" succeeded, then as Minister of Education for the Eastern Territory, he would have to remain in this unlucky position in this remote borderland for the rest of his life, never able to return to Royal Capital magic circles.

But merely finding out how those little brats had cheated would not help. Not to mention Owen, Hume, and the others clearly intended to protect them, and even the City of Academies had inserted itself into the matter.

How could he break this deadlock?

Payson thought irritably, his gaze falling upon the Newspaper on the desk again. "Those damned Black Robes and Witches..."

Right, Black Robes—

If it was merely a case of a Charity School pilot school collectively cheating to pass the Magic Unified Examination, that definitely would not work. Without catching them in the act, anything he said afterward would be pointless.

But if there were a bigger conspiracy and a more eye-catching motive for cheating, then could he not simply bury this matter?

For example, the Black Robe's Mana Base Stations were actually mind-control devices!

The children and even the teachers had already been completely brainwashed by him!

He had orchestrated this cheating examination in order to further expand the reach of his Mana Base Stations!

Under a conspiracy of this scale, Owen and Hume would be unable to protect themselves and would have to take responsibility for this incident, wouldn't they?

"Haha, perhaps I might even become a hero who exposes the Black Robe's conspiracy!" Minister Payson sneered.

Of course, Payson knew that simply making such accusations was useless. He needed more solid "evidence."

He had to personally visit the Magic Well at the "education pilot project" site. If necessary, he would also have to personally visit the Magic Gear Workshop and obtain "evidence."

But when the Royal Mage Tower had sent Payson to such a remote borderland, it had not expected him to fight alone. It had assigned him the corresponding resources and support personnel to assist him.

Normally, Payson did not contact them in order to avoid exposure.

But after such a major mishap, and now that he intended to move against that irritating Black Robe, he naturally did not trust intermediaries to notify them.

"Forget it. I'll go myself!"

Minister Payson muttered, picking up his coat and hat before heading outside.

Seeing Minister Payson emerge, several Department of Education agents came forward. "Minister, do you have any orders?"

"...I'm going to visit the Mage Tower. There are several High-level Mages there whom I know well. I'll see if I can invite them to investigate the 'cheating case.' That should put everyone more at ease," Payson said with his usual friendly smile.

"Ah, I see. Minister, you've worked so hard!"

"Those people from the Royal Capital were causing trouble from the very beginning. I think they just do not want things to go well for us."

"Those Royal Capital scum... Ah, Minister, we weren't talking about you. Although you are from the Royal Capital too, you are completely different from those lofty people!"

The Department of Education agents all spoke at once.

This showed just how successful Payson usually was at conducting himself.

Despite causing such a huge mess, not a single person in the Department of Education suspected that their minister had arranged the procedures for this Magic Unified Examination. They believed that higher-ups did not support the education pilot and had deliberately caused trouble, so they instead took the students' side. Quite a few people were secretly cheering, just like Owen and John.

There were even those who resented the Royal Capital for sending High-level Mages to interfere in Eastern Territory education matters.

Someone immediately asked enthusiastically, "Minister Payson, do you need me to accompany you?"

Listening to these words from his "loyal subordinates," Payson was so angry he felt like vomiting blood, yet he still had to maintain an elegant smile. "No need. I'll use magic to travel to the Mage Tower. It will be faster!"

"That's right, our minister is a Mage too! An Intermediate White Robe!"

"How could those students possibly cheat under our minister's watch?"

"That's why those Royal Capital people are so stupid, hahaha!"

"..."

Payson's expression twitched as he fled the Department of Education and transferred to the Mage Tower.

He released a signal near the Mage Tower, but no one responded, nor did anyone come out to receive him.

"What is going on today?"

Payson had no choice but to cover his body with a White Robe before sneaking toward the target Mage Tower and ringing its door bell.

The Mage Tower's door immediately opened, and a young woman wearing a Mage robe stood in the doorway.

Strange, why was she not dressed as that tasteless doll today?

Payson thought dismissively and asked the woman,

"Beling, is your master here?"

"...Of course he is." The woman curled her lips into a sweet smile.

*

On the other side, the Black Robe was preparing to leave the Magic Association.

After all, building Mana Base Stations was a major matter. Although Mayor Owen and Lady Yanni had expressed their intentions, they did not plan to force Angell to agree immediately. Everyone needed time.

"Oh, right, regarding those students..."

"They didn't cheat," John reiterated.

"I know they didn't cheat, but could you at least show me their test papers or some other information? I need some peace of mind!" Angell demanded.

Although the Mana Base Station Order delighted him, Angell still wanted to find out how those students had achieved their current "results." After all, the "magic courses" he had arranged shouldn't have had this effect.

Agent John did not refuse the request.

He handed Angell a thick stack of materials stuffed into a document folder and said quietly, "Don't leak this."

"I won't. It has nothing to do with me anyway, right?" Angell said. He glanced at the top document in the stack—and froze.

A photograph was clipped to it.

It was probably a group photo of the students before their exam or something. In any case, the reason it had been taken was not important.

The problem was that the students were wearing uniforms and little hats, each of them looking adorable.

The Little Jester Hats especially seemed to be a new Design. They were stylish and novel, so much so that they looked rather out of place with the old uniforms. Who knew which major manufacturer had made them.

Angell's eyelids twitched violently on the spot.

...Fuck, this really did have something to do with him!