Chapter 786: The Lively El-Melloi Classroom

After finishing afternoon tea with Lorelei, Shinji, as usual, donned his disguise and left her office. Although Shinji had some interest in the mastermind behind recent events, it wasn't something that concerned him directly. Lorelei had promised to send someone to investigate, which allowed him to remain at ease. The Fifth Holy Grail War was about to begin soon, and peaceful days were becoming fewer. Why bother worrying unnecessarily? He wasn't like Waver, the workaholic who was likely to die from overwork someday.

Once the Fifth Holy Grail War was over, Shinji planned to search for a treasure to improve Waver's constitution; otherwise, Waver might not even live past forty.

As fate would have it, just as he was thinking about Waver, Shinji saw the man with waist-length hair smoking by the window.

This wasn't an unusual sight. The general education department of the Clock Tower was akin to a beginner's village; every newly admitted magus had to undergo basic training here before applying to specialize in one of the eleven departments, based on their grades and preferences.

Because the Modern Magecraft Department was the youngest and smallest of these, it was naturally assigned the worst location—right next to the Department of Policies. The ideological differences and power struggles had given the Department of Policies a bad reputation in the magical world. So, even though the location, structure, and orientation of the room were all quite good, no department was willing to choose it.

But having had plenty of interactions with Lorelei, Waver didn't mind. The intimidation factor of the Department of Policies meant that no one would dare cause trouble here—except for the troublemakers in his classroom.

Waver was silently smoking in the hallway precisely because of his students' antics.

There were no scheduled classes this afternoon, so Waver had brought Gray to the main building, where he handled some administrative tasks while she helped with the cleaning. This was how they usually spent time together.

It's worth mentioning that Waver hadn't initially intended for Gray to do any cleaning. His principle was to fulfill his duties as a teacher and avoid making his students do chores unless necessary. This applied even to Gray, who was as close to him as a daughter.

Gray chose to clean entirely of her own volition and interest.

Yes, interest.

This introverted, shy, and insecure girl found great satisfaction in achieving small, unnoticed tasks. For her, wiping dust off narrow window frames, polishing floors until they gleamed, and neatly organizing well-maintained shoes were all joyful activities.

Every time she saw the results of her efforts, she would smile brightly. And when someone offered to help, she would react with clear resistance, like a kitten guarding its food—this was Reines' assessment, as she sometimes teased Gray for this. There was no malice; Reines simply found this side of Gray adorable.

Over time, Waver accepted Gray's help with the housework and even allocated a portion of his salary for her as compensation, as well as to cover any expenses incurred. Compared to those in the mundane world who saw exploiting students as a teacher's privilege, Waver was practically a saint.

As it was nearly time for afternoon tea, a new student came to visit, applying to join the Modern Magecraft Department.

When this new student walked into the office, Waver's eyelid twitched. Sometimes, being too perceptive wasn't necessarily a good thing, especially when you were used to dealing with problematic students.

With just one look, Waver could tell that this student was going to be as much trouble as Svin and Flat—if not more.

Yes, even in appearance.

Her eyes sparkled like amber jewels. Her golden, curly hair, adorned with a cerulean ribbon, seemed to have been crafted by a master artisan. Her delicate lips were like flower petals. Without a doubt, she was an exceptionally beautiful girl. Beauty often came hand-in-hand with trouble, as evidenced by the recent incident involving the Iselma family.

After seeing the girl's request to reserve an entire floor of the dormitory and watching her Mohawk-headed butler take the lead by brewing tea, bringing his snacks, and inviting him to join them for afternoon tea, Waver was further convinced that the girl before him was nothing short of trouble.

But the real trouble was yet to come.

Halfway through their tea, the office door suddenly burst open with a bang.

"Professor! Is it true that Luvia's here?!"

Waver felt a vein throb in his temple—another troublemaker had arrived.

The rash behavior, the spontaneous way of speaking, and the habit of giving people random nicknames were all Flat's trademarks.

And the Luvia he mentioned was the girl sitting across from Waver—Luviagelita Edelfelt, who had experienced the Castle Adra incident alongside Shinji and Gray.

"Ugh, you—!"

Seeing Flat, Luvia suddenly stood up. Her butler, who had also participated in the Castle incident, calmly steadied the tray she nearly knocked over, letting Flat approach his mistress. From his demeanor, it was clear these two golden-haired youths knew each other.

"I heard you were visiting the Clock Tower, so I had to stop by and say hi! You're planning to join the El-Melloi classroom, right? That would make me your senior, and it's common courtesy to greet your seniors, after all!"

"When did I give you permission to call me Luvia?!"

Luvia protested Flat's overly familiar behavior, but everyone knew that Flat's natural charm would eventually win her over.

"Flat! Can't you greet your juniors properly for once?!"

Next, Svin, who was inseparable from Flat and constantly argued with him, appeared.

Waver's face darkened.

"You lot…"

"No, no, I do care about our juniors—ah, Gray-chan! Ahhh, Gray-chan's lovely scent! Today, it seems to be a bit of a melancholic, square blues flavor!"

Gray, frightened, hid behind Waver, and with that, Waver's previously decent mood was thoroughly ruined.

"I've told you not to approach Gray."

"…Okay…"

Hearing Waver's words, Svin instantly became dejected. Even his curly hair drooped, making him look like a dog with its ears down.

Meanwhile, knowing that words would be useless, Luvia resorted to physical force.

"Call!"

"Playball!"

Flat was not one to back down easily, and the room quickly descended into chaos. If the headquarters' rooms hadn't been specially reinforced, and if Flat didn't prefer a defensive fighting style, the office might have been destroyed.

Amidst this fierce magical battle, an even more troublesome guest arrived.

"…It's so noisy in here."

Reines appeared at the door, a cheerful smile on her face.

Waver was on the brink of collapse.

"If it's so noisy, couldn't you say something?"

"Oh my, if I did that, it would undermine your authority, wouldn't it? As a virtuous and well-behaved little sister, I must consider my brother's dignity in the workplace."

"You just want to see me suffer."

"Oh dear, you've figured out my true intentions already? How unromantic of you."

Reines didn't hide her malice, her smile growing more amused by the second.

Thus, Waver decided to flee before he was tormented to the point of developing a stomach ulcer, leaving the minors in chaos.

However, even after stepping into the hallway, he could still hear the ruckus—apparently, the soundproofing spell had been ruined during the earlier scuffle.

"I told you not to call me Le Chien!"

"Can't you two behave like proper seniors?"

"Ahaha, don't say that. Isn't there anyone more senior than Le Chien and me? You can ask me anything about the Clock Tower—oh, by the way, I forgot to tell Atrum about the improvements needed for his weather magecraft."

"Enough already!!!"

Finally, the most obedient and well-behaved girl had had enough and intervened to restore order.

"Wah, wah, Gray-chan, please put down the broom. Don't hit me on the head!"

"Gray-chan, I didn't do anything wrong, please don't hit me!"

"Why are you hitting me too…"

"Brother dear, save me! Your apprentice has gone mad!"

Waver pretended not to hear and continued smoking in the hallway.

At this point, Shinji approached him and teased, "It seems lively in there. Aren't you going to step in?"

"Do you think I could?"

Waver shot him a disdainful look.

"True. Want me to handle it?"

"No need. Gray's already taken care of it."

"Not bad, not bad. She's learning to ease her master's burdens. Looks like my lessons with her haven't been in vain."

"Come with me; I need to ask you something."

Sensing the seriousness in Waver's voice, Shinji didn't say anything more and simply nodded silently.