Chapter 12

Chapter 12: A Joke That Wasn’t Funny (2)

Theresia suddenly laughed while sitting on Pulcheria’s magic staff.

Pulcheria looked back at her with some confusion. “Is something funny?”

“No, I just suddenly remembered a joke a relative from back home once told me.” Theresia tried to press her hair down instead of letting it scatter wildly behind her head, but she soon gave up on the attempt.

“What joke?”

“A little turtle saw a little snail crawling nearby, so he asked, ‘Why are you so slow?’ The little snail said, ‘I’m in a hurry to do something!’ So the little turtle said, ‘Get on my back. I’ll take you there.’ After the little snail climbed onto the little turtle’s back, he discovered there was already an earthworm there. When the earthworm saw the snail, it said, ‘Hold on tight, this is way too fast!’”

Pulcheria froze for a while before finally managing to squeeze out a hint of a smile with great effort.

“I know this joke isn’t funny, so you don’t have to play along with me.” Theresia hugged Pulcheria tightly. The soft, yielding feeling beneath her arms kept giving her the illusion that she had not gotten a proper hold.

“I’m just a little curious. Did you realize that you compared yourself to a snail and me to a turtle?”

Theresia hurriedly shook her head. “No, no! Senior, that isn’t what I meant!”

Pulcheria felt the rustling motion coming from behind her. Without looking back, she could already guess how Theresia must have her head pressed against her back while desperately shaking it. This time, she revealed a genuine smile.

“Why are you laughing?”

Pulcheria did not tell the truth. “Because I suddenly thought that joke of yours was actually rather interesting.”

A twenty-minute journey passed in the blink of an eye under the enhancement of magic. At the very last moment before the designated time, Theresia finally arrived at the entrance of the library—and by then, some apprentices were already waiting in twos and threes outside the library doors.

Theresia hurriedly jumped down from the magic staff and bowed to Pulcheria. “Thank you, Senior! I’ll thank you properly when I get the chance, but right now, I have to hurry over and open the doors!”

“Go on. Don’t forget that you owe me three more days as my servant.”

Unfortunately, by the time Pulcheria said that, Theresia had already hurriedly summoned the library’s wisdom frog to help her activate the library management spell system. Watching Theresia and that little green frog get instantly swallowed by the apprentices who wanted to rush inside and claim study seats, Pulcheria had no choice but to shrug, then turn around and fly toward the academic district where her own classes were held.

Within the academy grounds, the vast majority of magic could only be used inside the experimental zones. However, certain spells with lower power or higher frequency of use were also permitted to be used freely. For example, there were the basic spells of various elements that could be used even by people with no affinity at all, as well as Flight Spell and the Pressurized Thermal Propulsion that Pulcheria had just used. In most cases, those two spells were solidified into mages’ magic staffs for use.

As for space pouches, which practically everyone had, they were even less restricted. But naturally, the larger the space inside a space pouch, the higher its price. Moreover, when magic was involved, many devices could not be stored inside space pouches either. For example, most of the ancient books in the library were inlaid with spells that prevented their loss. The moment someone tried to put a library book into a space pouch, the library would immediately sound an alarm. Arcane devices and solidified compound magic arrays also required aether to operate, so they would be ruined outright the moment they entered a space pouch. As a result, they could not be placed in space pouches either.

Incidentally, Theresia could not afford a space pouch at all. Margaret’s space pouch could only hold a few books, while Pulcheria’s trunk-type space pouch could even fit two sets of bedding and still have plenty of space left. However, when she normally went out, Pulcheria only used her bracelet-type space pouch. Although it was much smaller and more compact than Margaret’s handbag-type space pouch, the capacity inside was still far beyond the space Margaret could use.

By the time Pulcheria came to a steady stop in front of the teaching building, the preparatory bell signaling the start of class had just begun to ring.

Traditional Spell Academic District, Water Element Department Offensive Spell Major Course.

Pulcheria had just stepped into the classroom when she saw Rosa Kirkland sitting in the very front, saying something to several other apprentices.

The girl wearing a red-and-white hair clip looked up. When she saw Pulcheria, the corner of her mouth suddenly twitched. “Palaiologos, I went to your dormitory to find you last night. Why weren’t you there?”

“I moved out.”

“Why didn’t you tell me in advance? We have always maintained a cooperative relationship in water-element spells. Your sudden departure caused me quite a bit of trouble.”

Pulcheria simply sat down beside Rosa. “Then I truly am sorry. In addition, where I wish to live should be my own freedom. Is it really necessary to tell you?”

“It is. For example, I had a brilliant concept last night. If you had been there, we could have completed that spell last night.”

“Kirkland, you should know that it is very difficult for new magic to appear in this world anymore—‘The edifice of magic has already been built, and future mages are left only with a few decorative tasks.’”

“Mage Thomson will regret saying those words at the Royal Society because of me.” Rosa Kirkland was as full of confidence as ever.

“This is not your empire. The House of Victoria will not be willing to see you acting so arrogantly here.”

“Is that so? Those words sound truly ironic coming from your mouth.” Rosa Kirkland chuckled and tapped the table with the shaft of her pen. “You know, you and I were both forced to come here to study—and if we want to ensure that we can return to our home countries after graduation, then we have to make our home countries realize our value.”

“It is also possible that, because of our value, the Empire will continue to detain us according to the postwar treaty.”

“Your home country and mine will both refuse to give up high-level water-element mages.” Kirkland stared into Pulcheria’s eyes. “Unless you truly want to stay in this damn country for the rest of your life, in which case, by all means, cut off your cooperation with me.”

Pulcheria shifted her gaze away and did not continue meeting Rosa’s eyes. “Our cooperation has not ended.”

“That’s good. After class, we can discuss the concept I thought of last night.”

While Rosa was speaking, the lecturer for this class had already walked to the front and begun checking whether the amplification array was functioning normally. Taking advantage of the lecturer still making meaningless sounds, Rosa suddenly asked again, “So, why exactly did you change dormitories?”

“My roommates were noisy.”

“Ha, that I can understand.” Rosa looked at Pulcheria with pity in her eyes. “Then where are you living now?”

“I’m living in the work-study student dormitory.” After Pulcheria finished speaking, as though compelled by some ghost or god, she added another sentence. “Unfortunately, my dormitory is already full. Otherwise, I would certainly welcome you to come over too.”