The bell rang, and Professor Anemone clapped her hands.
"You all did wonderfully."
She was very satisfied with her own performance today, and with the presence of that legendary king. In reality, fulfilling the conditions for the History Magic taught in this class was quite demanding.
First, one must be intimately familiar with the historical chapter corresponding to the treasure they wished to summon. They needed to summarize and write a descriptive passage about the item: its origin, function, and appearance—the more detailed, the better.
Second, one must have awakened Finger Glow, opening the channel from the mind to reality. Only then could one interfere with reality and turn the imaginary into the tangible.
The content of today's lesson was actually just to get everyone familiar with the treasure they wanted to summon and to cultivate the emotion of desire.
In the past, when she was still the Dean of History, after revealing this fact, students would force themselves to read during the subsequent study session, but their minds would wander.
Magic comes from emotion. If they already knew the facts, their hearts would accept failure as a given, and they wouldn't push themselves.
But today, because of His Majesty's presence, everyone was desperate to succeed and show off in front of him.
Even though she said it was just an "advance adaptation," they were all holding their breath, determined to prove themselves.
Still, she didn't expect anyone to actually succeed.
In fact, the praise she just gave was the prelude to dismissing the class.
However... in this classroom, there was a true Reader.
A Reader who knew every fairytale by heart and had already awakened Finger Glow.
"I got it!" Sophie's finger glowed as she plunged it into the book. A worn, foggy tinderbox appeared in her hand.
She struck it gently. A copper dog, as tall as a person, appeared out of thin air before her.
Its eyes were as big as teacups.
It spoke: "What are your orders, Master?"
Sophie was incredibly smug, but she didn't forget to test the dog's ability. "Fetch the pillow from my bedroom."
With a whoosh, the dog vanished.
Everyone, including the professor, fell silent. Like Sophie, they held their breath, waiting for what would happen next.
A moment later, with another whoosh, the dog returned with a pillow in its mouth.
"Good boy." Sophie took the pillow. Its surface was perfectly dry, without a single bite mark.
As her voice fell, the tinderbox crumbled into specks of golden light. The dog did the same.
Then, Professor Anemone led the class in applause.
She knew how extraordinary this was. For beginners of History Magic—mediocre talents with insufficient magic—the most they could usually summon were ordinary, non-magical items.
Like a teapot or a piece of clothing.
But an item like the Tinderbox, possessing magic and classified as a Treasure? Even near graduation, few students could successfully summon one.
And now, Sophie had done it.
"H-How did you do that?" Professor Anemone asked, her voice trembling with excitement.
"The story called to me." Sophie frowned. "It felt less like I summoned it, and more like it summoned me."
Professor Anemone nodded fervently. "Yes! The story chooses the Reader, not the other way around!"
"Everyone, remember this. Sophie, this book belongs to you from now on."
"Remember, for those who master History Magic, the storybook is their scabbard."
"Alright, class dismissed!"
Basil frowned as he watched Professor Anemone leave the classroom.
He felt cheated. Cheated by that damn Professor Anemone.
Aside from Sophie, not a single person pulled anything out of a storybook by the time class ended.
He did sense that magic—similar to emotional power—reacting to the story in his hand.
But that reaction was more like someone tossing and turning in their sleep because they were uncomfortable.
His intuition told him that unless he underwent the Piercing Ritual, the magic within him wouldn't fully awaken to resonate with the stories.
However, the others didn't know this.
So, for the next two days, every prince and princess walked around clutching a book, muttering to themselves.
This included Madison. Even though she didn't possess magic from Sophie's world, when Sophie wasn't around, she held Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, hoping to pull the Elder Wand out of it.
But the students at the school were even crazier.
Some even used books as pillows. Like Tedros.
They kept this up even during Survival Class.
Although they had changed into athletic wear more suitable for walking in the woods, everyone still had a book in hand.
The Survival teacher was a gnome.
He was tall, wearing clothes that looked like they were made of bark and moss. His beard and spiked hair were green, his ears pointed, and his skin pale.
His entrance was explosive.
He had been hiding inside a tree. When he opened his mouth to speak, you'd think the tree had grown eyes and a mouth.
Until a boom sounded, and he emerged from the smoke and dust, separating from the tree.
Leaning on an unpolished wooden staff, he appeared before everyone.
"I am Yuba, Forest Survival Expert, Gnome of the Blue Forest."
"Welcome, students. Gather round."
"I need you to register, so I know who survived and who didn't."
"You're joking!" said Gregor Charming, son of Prince Charming.
Thanks to the reforms in the School for Good, without the pressure of being transformed upon failure, he had become much more cheerful.
He even planned to escape the identity of a prince after graduation and open a general store.
Of course, no butchery—he couldn't stand the sight of blood.
But now, Yuba's words made him tremble.
However, a second later, Yuba laughed loudly.
"Haha! That was a joke! Gnome humor!"
"You picked a good time."
"Though it's a pity. The original Blue Forest had all sorts of dangers prepared for students."
"With King Arthur accompanying you, you wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt."
"Of course, I'm not too shabby myself. I've lived here for centuries and haven't died once. At least... not in my memory."
"I could have taught you some forest survival skills."
"Without survival skills, no adventure can proceed."
He sounded very disappointed.
But in the next second, his eyes seemed to light up as he saw Basil.
"Of course, that doesn't include Your Majesty." Yuba bowed respectfully to Basil.
Basil was used to this by now. Except for Beatrice, who lusted after his body, the students and teachers of the School for Good treated him with this kind of reverence.
Even Agatha, though Basil guessed her respect was more like a daughter-in-law towards her father-in-law.
In this timeline, because Sophie hadn't targeted Tedros, Agatha and Tedros's relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds.
They were just one step away from officially becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.
Basil glanced at Agatha and Tedros, who were sneaking peeks at each other.
Then he looked at their professor. His bow seemed to have a hidden meaning. "What is the Blue Forest like now? Originally, it seemed very dangerous at night, and the [Trial by Tale] took place there."
Yuba replied, "The Blue Forest is a very special forest. Good and Evil are intertwined. In the past, even during the day, beautiful pansies would bite, and harmless scarecrows could turn into terrifying reapers upon tasting blood."
"But now it's different. The dangers of the Blue Forest completely fade during the day."
"Even if you ran through it naked, barefoot, and with your eyes closed, you wouldn't get a scratch."
"Only near twilight does it revert to its old self."
"Which is perfect—"
"What do you mean by 'old self'?" Gregor gulped.
Because in a short while, it would be twilight.
And their professor, Yuba, was still standing under the tree, showing no desire to lead them to the entrance of the Blue Forest—the Red Gate.
Yuba laughed heartily. "Exactly what you think, boy!"
"Since the great Majesty is present, there are no safety concerns."
"So... why don't we depart an hour late?"
"Meaning, at twilight."
"What do you say, Your Majesty?"
Everyone looked at Basil. Except for Gregor, everyone else clearly looked forward to the Blue Forest at twilight.
Basil wasn't someone who could be morally blackmailed.
He asked calmly, "Reason?"
Yuba turned serious. "I want them to remember that the most formidable evil disguises itself as good."
He seemed to be implying something.
Basil narrowed his eyes. "Fine, I agree."
Public Chat:
Sophie: "Does he know Headmaster Rhian is actually Rafal?"
Basil: "He's lived for centuries, maybe even longer than Rafal."
Basil: "Also, he's lying. That line about 'I've lived here for centuries and haven't died once. At least... not in my memory.'"
Sophie: "He died? And remembers it?"
Basil: "I have a unique connection with plants. And on this self-proclaimed gnome, Yuba, I sense the same thing."
Basil: "Perhaps calling him a Treant is more accurate. Rafal killed him once, but his unique life form allowed him to regrow from the earth."
Sophie: "And then he played dumb, pretending to have lost his memory."
Madison: "I think I get it. You guys are going to class in that Blue Forest."
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Beatrice was dressed in athletic gear that highlighted her curvaceous figure. Perhaps due to love, her talent, [Radiance], began to awaken.
Her skin, even the tips of her hair, seemed to glow. But it wasn't blinding.
Instead, it was incredibly natural, fresh, and moving.
Like a ray of sunlight piercing through an empty valley, she looked like an elf.
Aside from the cosmetic buff, her body was constantly in peak condition.
They had already walked several hundred meters into the beautiful Blue Forest. At twilight, the forest floor was no longer the soft soil Yuba claimed wouldn't hurt bare feet. It became hard, steep, and covered in tripping vines.
The surrounding trees began to tremble slightly, as if ready to attack at any moment.
So, these few hundred meters were more tiring than walking several kilometers.
Except for Sophie and Agatha, the other princesses were panting slightly.
Among the princes, Gregor was sweating a little.
But Beatrice acted as if nothing was wrong. Her weary movements were all fake, just an excuse to lean on Basil as they walked.
Basil did indeed possess supernatural control over plants. Even with their nature shifted by the twilight, the carnivorous plants that would normally attack actively submitted like subjects seeing their king, moving out of his way.
Noticing Beatrice's anomaly, he deliberately let some tripping vines stay in her path.
Yet, as Yuba introduced the dangerous habits of various plants and they began to head back—even Tedros was panting slightly—Beatrice maintained peak stamina.
So, [Radiance] keeps beauty at its peak, and physical condition is included in 'beauty'? Basil thought as he activated Beatrice's Knight Card.
His imperceptible fatigue vanished instantly.
"Seems like this isn't useless after all." Basil's eyes lit up.
To drive the magic of the Harry Potter world, he could choose to use physical stamina.
Already robust thanks to his [Red Dragon Bloodline], he could now rely on [Radiance] to keep his stamina at its peak.
The magic of the Harry Potter world couldn't be depleted (in the traditional sense of running out of mana, but rather physical/mental exhaustion).
He could choose that magic to power [Radiance].
'Consume' magic to restore stamina, use stamina to drive magic. Wasn't this a perpetual motion machine?
---
The next day. Friday.
The princes had no classes today.
The princesses, however, attended "Animal Communication" class led by Dean Dovey.
In fairy tales, princesses always received help from small animals.
In the original movie, these animals with wondrous abilities were actually students who had failed.
Waste utilization, in a sense.
But now, they were all free.
Basil was very curious if the princesses' animal helpers still possessed magical powers.
Madison was curious too. What girl hadn't dreamed of being a princess when she was little?
So, even though neither of them was there, Sophie started a livestream.
Under the bright sun, they sat on the lawn. Facing them, across a mirror-like lake, sat Professor Dovey in a gradient blue dress and purple robe.
She was lecturing on the difference between Good and Evil. "We, of course, do not hate. Villains hate; Heroes love. Villains attack; Heroes defend."
"Heroes never attack first. All we do is defend. If a Hero attacks first, they are no longer a Hero."
Public Chat:
Madison: "What nonsense is she spouting?"
Sophie: "Those are the rules. In the original plot, I used this exact rule to reverse Good and Evil, allowing me to keep my beauty while learning Blood Magic."
Basil: "This is an iron rule Rafal set using his authority as School Master."
Basil: "I only realized it after attending this school myself. These professors are powerful. If they teamed up, they would be a threat even to Rafal."
Basil: "So he set rules preventing the professors—who are nearly one with the rules and thus immortal—from violating the rules themselves to actively hunt down and attack Rafal. After all, Good can only defend."
Basil: "And Evil supports him by nature. Led by Professor Lesso, who is loyal to him."
The class continued.
"Ladies, as I said, Evil has many weapons."
"But we have animals."
"Land animals, aquatic animals."
"You picked a good time. You can learn true magic to befriend animals and cultivate bonds with them."
"Rather than simply relying on them. In the past, this worked because the failed students were turned into animals that possessed various wondrous talents."