The Cold Boy and the Fiery Girl

Shina pulled the ice crystal onto her palm.

"What is cold? What is cooling?"

Then, as she clenched her fist tightly, the ice crystal in the air shattered into pieces.

"Coldness refers to a lack of energy. There is no such thing as cold energy in this world. Therefore, while temperature can rise infinitely, it cannot drop infinitely. The state of zero energy—that is what we call absolute zero."

Realizing that the lesson had already begun, Shirone hurriedly opened his notebook.

"By extracting just a little energy at room temperature, we can create ice crystals. Ordinary ice. But what happens if we break it down at the particle level and induce convection? As seen earlier, it can create a temperature low enough to be fatal to humans."

At the mention of death, the students who had been chatting about their first loves turned pale.

"Then, how do magicians absorb energy? Why can they cast spells without any tools or devices?"

Shirone stopped writing and looked up.

"Within the domain called the Spirit Zone, a magician becomes a control tower that governs the world. You may think of it as divinity or pantheism; either works. The key point is that two godlike conditions must be met to activate magic."

Shina counted on her fingers as she spoke.

"Omniscience and omnipotence. A magician casts spells through omniscience and omnipotence. Omnipotence is locally possible through the Spirit Zone. However, no matter how omnipotent one is, if they don't know what to do or how to do it, magic cannot be activated. This is why magicians, despite having exceptional intuition, must also understand the world as scholars do."

Shirone realized why he had been unable to manifest magic so far.

'Omniscience and omnipotence.'

He had only trained in omnipotence while neglecting his studies in omniscience.

"From now on, you will be exposed to various academic disciplines with me and other teachers. The Spirit Zone is only half of magic; without omniscience, you cannot become a great magician. Now, let's begin our basic chemistry lesson."

Only then did Shina turn and start writing on the board.

It was the real beginning of the lesson, and the students' focus was higher than ever.

'Indeed, popularity alone doesn't make a great teacher.'

Trust in the teacher heightened the students' motivation, and Shirone also focused on the class.

Though some topics were difficult to understand, he didn't worry too much. The backbone of his knowledge was already in place, and from today onward, he planned to delve into various disciplines.

'Become a magician.'

5 PM.

After the last class ended, the students returned to their dorms. Shirone, feeling a heaviness in his head, trudged toward his dormitory.

Even though classes were over, the day's tasks weren't. Some students grabbed a quick meal before heading to the library, while those in research groups gathered in their laboratories.

Having no friends, Shirone chose the library over research groups. He planned to review the subjects he had learned that day.

Considering how far behind he was, even a full day felt too short. He even resented the fact that humans needed sleep.

As he walked toward the second library, thinking about developing a spell to eliminate sleep, something strange happened.

"Huh?"

His body suddenly felt light.

Before he could react, he found himself floating in the air. Someone had grabbed him from behind and was flying with him.

'W-What?!'

Realizing he was up against an overwhelming force, Shirone sensed danger.

The unknown assailant took him deep into the forest within the academy's garden.

"Ugh!"

Shirone landed hard on the ground, rolling instinctively before looking up at the masked figure who had kidnapped him. The figure hesitated, glancing around as if checking for people, then pulled down the mask.

"…Huh?"

Shirone's eyes widened.

The mysterious figure was none other than Karmis Amy.

"You… You remember me, don't you?"

"Of course! How could I forget? You tried to sell me off to some weird place and suddenly—"

"Stop!"

Amy raised her hand.

"Alright, I get it. You remember."

Then she quickly added,

"But you're misunderstanding something. I may have a bad personality, but I'm not like that. I have no particular interest in men, and what happened back then was… well, that was the first and last time something like that ever happened, okay? You get what I'm saying?"

"Uh… Sure."

Shirone answered hesitantly, making Amy shake her head.

"No, that's not what I mean. What I'm saying is that it was a really weird situation. You can spread whatever rumors you want about me, but at least understand this. No, you have to understand. Because it's the truth."

Shirone furrowed his brows.

"Did you seriously kidnap me just to tell me this?"

"…Huh?"

Amy blinked and scratched her cheek, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, that… And I was also curious about how you got into the magic academy. You might be an obstacle in the future…"

Shirone made an unexpected realization.

She wasn't good at lying.

After the last class of the day, Shirone left the lecture hall, his shoulders slumped.

'Again…'

It had been ten days since he started running errands for Amy.

Although he could cut costs elsewhere to afford the coffee, his heart grew heavier each passing day.

'Alright, let's think of this as training. I'll concentrate on making sure the coffee doesn't spill.'

Shirone suddenly burst out.

"This is ridiculous! How long is this going to last?!"

As if unaware of his misery, the nearby students whispered amongst themselves.

"Oh, there he goes, the devoted one."

"Looks like he's going to confess to Amy again. That level of dedication is amazing."

This was the biggest problem.

If they at least talked, it wouldn't be so bad. But Amy would simply take the coffee, stare into Shirone's eyes for two seconds, then disappear into the library.

The rumor had already spread: Shirone was hopelessly in love with Amy.

And the more the rumor spread, the colder Amy became toward him.

That day, as always, Amy was waiting at the library entrance with her friend.

Her friend gasped and pointed.

"Hey! There he is, your prince!"

"…Prince, my foot. I'm just teaching a junior."

By now, the spectacle had gained enough attention that onlookers gathered just to watch.

When Shirone handed Amy the coffee, the surrounding students erupted in cheers.

Amy looked down at the coffee. Then, lifting her gaze, her crimson eyes gleamed.

'Ugh, not this again.'

Those overwhelming red pupils were a trait of the Karmis family.

Amy studied Shirone's irises closely before frowning slightly.

'Nothing.'

No changes. No deception. No hesitation.

Her eyes narrowed in irritation.

"Ugh, this is so annoying."

She smacked the coffee out of Shirone's hand, spilling it onto the ground.

The crowd gasped.

Then, with a pointed finger, she declared,

"Stop bothering me. You don't need to bring me anything anymore. Just focus on your studies."

The students murmured in sympathy.

"Poor Shirone."

But inside, Shirone was overjoyed.

'Finally! I'm free!'

He was finally released from her grasp.