Performance Evaluation Day

Inside the classroom, tension was palpable.

The cadets' attention was focused solely on one person: Professor Sans-Cullotte.

He was a middle-aged man with long silver hair and sharp eyes. As the bishop of the Rune Order and the head of the priest class at Holy Academy, he was known for his past as a knight of great renown.

Standing nearly two meters tall, his thick muscles were clearly visible even beneath his heavy clerical robes.

However, it wasn't just the professor's menacing appearance that overwhelmed the cadets. Known for being strict and meticulous in everything he did, he surveyed the cadets with an expression that revealed no emotion or anticipation.

"…As I announced, today is performance evaluation day. The evaluation will be conducted in the form of a pros and cons debate, as most classes have done so far."

A deadpan perfectionist; no sentence better described him. It was said that among the countless graduates who had passed through Professor Sans-Cullotte over the past dozen years, not a single one had received a satisfactory score.

His classes were notorious among students for being extremely brutal.

Soon, Professor Sans-Cullotte began writing the discussion topics for the performance evaluation on the blackboard.

[Which is better to learn, white magic or black magic?]

The chalk moved smoothly across the blackboard, and soon the cadets' mutterings filled the classroom.

"Which is right, white magic or black magic?"

"Of course, it's white magic, right? The subject seems a bit strange…"

"What I'm saying is, who the hell advocates black magic?"

But Professor Sans-Cullotte seemed indifferent to the cadets' reactions.

He looked at the students silently and opened his mouth in a solemn voice.

"White magic side, stand on the right; black magic side, stand on the left."

As soon as he finished speaking, the students hurriedly rushed to move forward.

Urrrrrr—.

The left section was completely empty, unlike the crowded right section.

There was not a single cadet who advocated black magic.

Finally, after a brief silence, Professor Sans-Cullotte opened his mouth.

"It seems like I expected too much from the clergy class and from first-year students at that. Listen carefully."

Soon, he began to look at the students with a cold gaze.

"I believe you have heard the saying, 'Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.' Who said this?"

Then a hand was raised among the cadets gathered on the right.

"These are the words of Count Simurgh, a military strategist from the Warring States Period!"

A clear voice echoed throughout the classroom.

Emma, the class president of the Silver Owl Class in the first year of the priesthood, spoke up.

The professor nodded slowly in response.

"You're smart."

"Thank you…"

"If you don't just memorize the meaning of the words but understand and master it accurately."

"…."

Emma lowered her hand, looking slightly intimidated.

Professor Sans-Cullotte continued speaking.

"To win, it is important to know your enemy. And it is also important to know yourself. If you miss either of these two, you cannot defeat your enemy. How much do you know about divinity?"

No one opened their mouth easily.

It was obvious that if they acted rashly, they would end up embarrassed like Emma.

On the other hand, Emma's eyes sparkled, and her lips moved as if she wanted to answer this time too.

Then, the professor pointed to Emma again.

"…Tell me about the history of white magic."

Emma opened her mouth in a confident voice, as if she had been waiting.

"666 years ago, there was a holy warrior who defeated the disaster that befell the empire, and the group that has been performing miracles on behalf of the gods to countless people since then is the Rune Cult, the mother group of the empire…"

"Okay. That's enough. Of course, you know. But only what's written in the textbook. So how much do you know about the black magicians, the main enemies of our Rune Cult?"

"…."

Emma shut her mouth.

The same was true for the other cadets around her.

It was a question even Emma, who had never failed to get first place in any exam since entering school, would find difficult to answer, so it was only natural.

A heavy silence filled the classroom.

Only Professor Sans-Cullotte continued to speak with a serious expression.

"Are black magicians bad? Just because they are our polar opposites? That's why they can't be good priests. You need to understand the other person's position and logic and know what conflicts with you to distinguish between enemies and friends. It's foolish to hate others just because they are your enemies. Therefore…"

The sharp gaze of the professor, as if questioning their sins, froze all the students.

"…In this performance evaluation discussion, half of you will have to become warlocks."

"…!"

"Of course, this doesn't mean you have to become a true warlock. Just defend warlock magic from the perspective of a warlock and convince the other party of the advantages of warlock magic."

Emma raised her hand again and asked a question.

"Professor, I have a question."

"It's you again? What is it?."

"This performance evaluation… So, what exactly are the grading criteria for the discussion…?"

"Don't muddle through and just state your opinion."

"I'm curious about how performance evaluation scores are calculated!"

In the first place, there weren't many students who could confidently ask questions in front of a professor like Sans-Cullotte.

Emma's courage was an example to all the cadets.

"Since this is a debate class, you should naturally win the debate. Even if you lose, you will be given partial points based on how logical your argument and evidence are. By the way, the total of the partial points may be greater than the points for winning the debate."

"Then how are white magic and black magic decided?"

"That's my choice. I'll divide it randomly."

The students who were listening to the explanation of the Sans-culottes began to pray earnestly.

'Please let me be assigned to the white magic department.'

'Why is black magic right? Is there such a thing?'

'Even if it is a forced debate, how can I defend such a bunch of idiots!' 

'I can give him a thousand reasons why white magic is right... ... but I don't know a single reason why black magic is right.'

Soon, Professor Sans-Cullotte spread out the attendance book and began calling each person's name one by one.

At the same time, he pointed with his finger to indicate which side the cadet would belong to.

The joys and sorrows of the cadets intersected vividly.

"Yay!"

"Ah..."

"Hurray! That's enough!"

"No, defend black magic..."

"Yes! Thank you, God!"

"... It's ruined."

.

.

The cadets assigned to the white magic side breathed a sigh of relief, while those assigned to the black magic side let out deep sighs, looking as if they had lost the world. At that moment, the last student's name was called out by the sans-culottes professor.

"Zane Cromwell, it's the black magic side. You can just sit there."

With this, you and I, enemies and allies, were all divided.