Special thanks to Soul for their generous donation, making this chapter possible.
"Ah, no, how is this possible...?"
Martin stammered as he looked at the suddenly appearing magical beast.
No matter how hard he tried to summon a magical beast, could he really succeed in such a short period of time?
'It usually takes at least six months for this process. Can it really be done so quickly?'
Martin turned around to look at Rudger with a bewildered expression.
Rudger's gaze was fixed on the student who had just summoned the magical beast.
'As expected, it's Flora Lumos.'
Flora, known for having exceptional talent, was the first to successfully summon a magical beast.
Even without the influence of the possession, she already had abundant talent, and now she had even brought forth the potential for future growth.
'Even with that, summoning a magical beast is difficult to succeed unless you have a proper grasp of your instincts.'
Flora seemed quite astonished at the fact that she had summoned a magical beast.
Rudger carefully observed Flora's magical beast.
Flora's magical beast had the form of a beast.
It was a jaguar with deep dark-blue fur similar to Flora's hair color.
The rather large jaguar circled around Flora, looking at her with an intrigued gaze and rubbing its head against her.
'So it takes the form of a beast. It's the safest choice. Although I thought that Flora might create a slightly different and unique magical beast.'
Of course, judging a magical beast solely by its appearance was not possible.
After all, a magical beast is a being composed of mana.
Its abilities are influenced by innate mana, making it difficult to speculate on its capabilities without directly witnessing them.
'Other than that, it surprisingly resembles Flora.'
Considering Flora's sharp eyes and usual behavior, she strangely resembled a cat.
Perhaps reflecting the characteristics of its owner, the born magical beast was also a feline creature.
It was huge for a cat, though.
From what I remember, jaguars were said to be the largest creatures in the cat family after lions and tigers.
'First, I'll make sure to calm everyone.'
The students around Flora also looked at her magical beast with fascination but didn't approach.
It was because Flora's magical beast emitted a golden glow from its eyes and growled.
"Martin Kandak."
"Yes? Yes."
"Return to your seat. There's no need for you to worry about what's about to happen."
Martin realized that Hugo's plan had completely fallen apart the moment Flora summoned her magical beast.
However, even considering that, he had already expressed his objection in front of everyone, directed towards Rudger.
Although it was somewhat involuntary, Martin still had his own sense of shame about what he had done.
He couldn't concentrate on the class as naturally as before.
"The conversation we had earlier was completely blocked through magic. The students have no idea what we talked about."
"But, Teacher, I... you know."
"Are you still talking?"
Rudger immediately lifted the sound-blocking magic and spoke to Martin with an expressionless face.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Martin Kandak. It seems like you were quite tired because of the class. Go and take a rest while awakening your senses about magical beasts."
Martin widened his eyes at the intentionally suggestive words.
Rudger opened his mouth faster than Martin could say anything in response.
"As a member of the Kandak family, wouldn't it be unfair if you can't summon magical beasts? Go back to your seat."
"Yes."
Rudger gazed at Martin's back as he returned to his seat with weary steps, as if he had just woken up from a dream.
'I thought he would raise his head again after some time had passed.'
Since taking the position of Director of Planning, Rudger had dealt a significant blow to Hugo's faction.
It wasn't at the principal's order.
As he had already shown his disdain for noble factions, including Hugo, he needed to diminish their hostile influence to some extent.
Taking advantage of Hugo's weaknesses in that aspect, Rudger had weakened the noble factions' voices due to internal rifts.
'I thought it would take quite some time for the rift to heal within the organization. Was I too careless?'
Or perhaps, Hugo's charisma in handling people was greater than Rudger had anticipated.
No, there was no reason to believe that Hugo, who had no remarkable achievements apart from his noble lineage, possessed leadership qualities.
But that didn't mean he was completely oblivious.
He knew better than anyone that this was not the time to act recklessly.
'Since this is the opportune moment, someone must be behind Hugo.'
When referring to that someone, they were probably the sponsors who provided substantial funding to the Seron Academy every year.
Whether it was a group or an individual, it was unclear, but it was evident that Hugo had formed a connection with them.
'For Hugo, who wanted to establish his position firmly within Seron, it was an alliance that he probably reluctantly accepted.'
Now that the balance between the president faction and the noble factions completely shattered due to my actions.
Hugo must have had the feeling of wanting to seek even the devil's help.
So he wouldn't have been able to refuse the hand offered by the sponsors.
'Instead of not being able to have it himself, he will bring in external forces, is that his plan?'
In the midst of the resulting chaos, he aimed to seize any privileges he could.
'A noble who abandons their pride and takes advantage of the situation. That's what they call a person with a sharp mind for judging the situation.'
The thoughts of the sponsors who supported Hugo were also obvious.
Seron was a massive organization.
As such, it requires substantial funding, and there are many sponsors.
However, not all sponsors are the same.
Naturally, sponsors are divided based on the amount of support they provide.
'Similar to major shareholders in a company.'
And these individuals do not sponsor Seron out of mere goodwill.
What they do is a definite 'investment.'
And they expect corresponding rewards for their investments.
Namely, the authority to intervene in Seron.
'There has been a lot of noise internally so far, but Seron has undoubtedly been able to keep external forces at bay. However, the current field study incident has caused a significant rift.'
Rudger thought the situation was strangely unfolding.
If he had been a mere new teacher, he wouldn't have needed to concern himself with such matters.
However, he had become the planning director of Seron, and this incident was not unrelated to him.
'Whose doing is this? It can't be the royal family or Mage Tower.'
Considering Princess Eileen's personality, Rudger judged that she wouldn't join forces with Hugo.
If Eileen also wanted to have Seron under her influence, she would have taken a slightly different approach considering her prideful nature.
Mage Tower, on the other hand, was a viable option, but he believed it would be difficult due to constraints.
New Tower, Old Tower, and the Association of Schools.
Their influence on Seron was equal.
They had perfectly divided shares, and they would have been even more dissatisfied considering the field study incident.
If any one of them had ill intentions, the other two organizations would hinder them.
But it didn't mean the three of them would collaborate to carry out such actions.
On the contrary, while pretending to collaborate, they would consider betraying each other.
The relationship between the three organizations was so complex that even Rudger had to trust them deeply in a sense.
Despite using the process of elimination to remove significant factors, there were still many suspects remaining.
Rudger sighed, he couldn't help it with the lack of clues at the moment.
"Teacher."
At that moment, with a creaking sound, Flora's voice came through.
"I succeeded."
Flora tried to sound composed, but her expression couldn't hide her slight excitement.
While others might not have noticed, Rudger could tell.
"Well, you succeeded faster than anyone else."
"Well, of course. I was born with exceptional talent."
"Your success will serve as an example to other students. Just don't become too conceited. Summoning a magic beast is not only challenging during the process, but also after the summoning."
In other words, Flora was now standing at the starting line.
Flora was well aware of that.
She only said it like this to receive praise from Rudger, even if it was just that.
"...I know."
Rudger's response felt somewhat distant to Flora.
She thought they had opened up to each other to some extent, but was that just her own misconception?
When Flora was about to turn away with a slightly disappointed feeling, Rudger spoke in a small voice that only Flora could hear.
"Well done."
"What? What did you just say..."
Flora tried to ask, but Rudger had already started walking away.
"As you can see, training in this manner can bring you guaranteed results. Since you're all grasping the feeling, it probably won't take long."
Flora's success had actually benefited the surrounding students.
There were some doubts about this lesson, but Flora washed them away as if to prove something.
Of course, some students still couldn't erase their suspicions that Flora, as a senior and a genius, was able to achieve it quickly.
Nevertheless, it was clear that the atmosphere of the class had improved compared to before.
The students closed their eyes once again and entered a state of meditation.
Perhaps the fact that someone had succeeded breathed hope into them.
No one was slacking off.
Especially Martin Kandak, who remained seated and exerted the utmost effort.
His efforts finally paid off.
"Uh, uh? Martin, you!"
His friends, who usually hung out together, stared at Martin with surprise.
However, Martin couldn't pay attention to their reactions.
His gaze was captivated by the mysterious creature that appeared before him.
It was the form of a girl smaller than a human head.
She had a small and short body, and her head was disproportionately large, but that made her look cute in a way.
The girl, composed of magic, wandered around Martin while looking at him with transparent eyes.
"So, in the form of an anthropomorphic being."
At that moment, Rudger, who approached after witnessing Martin's success, spoke while observing his magical beast.
"Anthropomorphic, huh?"
"Yes. Magical beast usually take the form of animals, plants, or tools, but occasionally, there are also entities that resemble human beings like this."
Rudger carefully observed Martin's magical construct.
"Typically, it's even rarer than beasts in the form of tools. It might be a magical beast befitting the Kandak family, which specializes in dollcraft."
"...Do you know about my family?"
"Yes. It's true that nowadays, with the advancement of mechanical engineering, automatons have developed more than dolls. But once upon a time, I heard that the Kandak family was unparalleled in doll manufacturing."
Martin was extremely surprised that Rudger knew such a fact.
It turned out that it wasn't just an empty statement when he said he remembered all the students in his class.
In reality, Martin's family was on a path of decline due to the development of automatons and golems.
Controlling dolls with magic, as before, was considered outdated.
Martin's father had tried various changes to revive the family.
However, change requires significant energy and funding.
The declining Kandak family didn't have enough resources to support such changes.
The Burtag family offered their support, leading the Kandak family to accumulate a significant debt to the Burtags.
"If it's an anthropomorphic magical beast, does it have any other special qualities?"
"The abilities of a magical construct stem not from its outward appearance but from the user's will and magical inclination. However, since it's not something commonly seen, there's a high possibility that it possesses unique abilities that others cannot perform. There haven't been many cases of anthropomorphic magical beasts being weak so far."
Martin's expression brightened.
If Rudger, who rarely speaks kind words, said it to that extent, it clearly seemed like an exceptional case.
"Don't get overly excited. Remember, the duration and enhancement of a summoned magical beast solely rely on the magician's efforts. In fact, such moments demand even greater dedication and hard work."
"Yes! I understand!"
Martin nodded earnestly.
Seeing his expression, it seemed unnecessary to lecture him any further, so Rudger nodded his head once.
Martin's success truly fueled the determination of the students.
While it was understandable for Flora, who had exceptional talent, Martin, who previously had no significant presence, succeeded.
The students poured their efforts into summoning their magical beasts, their eyes burning with determination.
They didn't hesitate to spend their mana, even without Rudger's instructions.
This was an unexpected development for Rudger as well.
And the outcome was equally impressive.
Three days after Martin and Flora's success.
All the students attending Rudger's special lecture had successfully summoned their own unique magical beasts.
This remarkable feat was achieved within a mere two weeks.