Julian scowled and shook his head from side to side.
āIām sorry to hear thatā, Miss Katherina said quietly.
āI had arranged a match between a promising student and Master Julian. ā¦ā¦ā
āWhat makes a promising student?ā
Julian asked, raising one eyebrow dexterously.
āThis is Natalie.ā
āIs that ā¦ā¦ what a joke?ā
Hahaha, heās laughing, but Julianās eyes arenāt smiling.
āIām not joking, we thought a fight between the two of you would be inspiring for our students.ā
Katharina-senseiās proposal is a plan that me and Natalie came up with.
Iām aware that itās a sloppy plan, full of holes.
But hopefully itās the most effective way.
She can show that she is different from the Natalie that Julian fought in the past.
āSo me and Natalie, it seems to me that there are other reasons ā¦ā¦ā
āAs a teacher, itās natural to want to help as many students as possible get what they want.ā
āReality isnāt as sweet as you wish it to be, is it, Miss Katherina?ā
Farah interrupted their conversation.
āAre you comparing this to your past?ā
Katharina-sensei calmly replied to Farahās venomous question.
āThis has nothing to do with my past, I just want you to judge fairly.ā
Katharina-sensei said and opened her mouth to say haha and Farah started laughing.
āYou make it sound like you didnāt get a fair shake, that you werenāt good enough to be taken seriously by anyone.ā
āWe are not talking about me now, could you please shut up for a moment?ā
Katharina-sensei said with an unusually angry tone.
āDid I make you mad? Iām sorry.ā
Farah meditates with one eye, clasps both palms together, and apologizes.
But itās clear to anyone who looks at her that she doesnāt really mean it when she apologizes.
Katharina-sensei turned her body to Julian, ignoring Farah.
āPlease see what Natalie is capable of and give her a chance, sheās working hard.ā
āAs a teacher, your job is not to make people dream, but to teach them about reality.ā
Julian gives Katharina-sensei a cold stare.
Julian, more talkative than ever, conveys a feeling of indignation.
The color of his eyes is still a cold blue, but ā¦ā¦
āAre you trying to tell me that she doesnāt have the strength to make it in the mage corps?ā
āIām afraid so.ā
Julian said clearly.
Before I knew it, all the students had stopped to listen to them.
With a quick glance at Natalie in the middle of it, she slinks over to Julian.
āWhat do you know about me?ā
āThereās a lot.ā
Julian says in a calm tone.
This may have upset her, but Natalie took a shot at Julian.
āYou donāt know anything, donāt you always deny me ā¦ā¦ and talk like you know.ā
āCan you please not be so angry?ā
Is he appeasing her or making fun of her, from Julianās expression, I can take it as the latter.
I put my hand on Natalieās shoulder and whispered in her ear to keep her calm.
She takes a big breath in and lets it out slowly, as if trying to get her mind right.
āJulian-san, from my point of view, sheās what the Mage Order needs.ā
āYouāre only a student, so donāt get carried away.ā
āAre my words so light coming from a two-star?ā
The weight of a two-starās words is different from that of a mere studentās proposal.
Julian looked at me silently.
āFight Natalie, and then you can judge for yourself.ā
Julian shook his head and stubbornly refused to fight.
āOh, my God, isnāt that nice?ā
Then a helper came in from an unexpected source.
āBut ā¦ā¦ā
As expected, he choked on his bossās words, and Julian shifted his gaze to Farah.
āJust because sheās your sister doesnāt mean you should patronize her.ā
āThatās not true, the fact is sheās just not good enough.ā
āI donāt care what you think, but injustice is not good.ā
āI donāt care what they say, my answer is still the same.ā
āYouāre mixing public and private ā¦ā¦ā¦oh well, I think your little sister is qualified to join the Mage Order, so Iāll let you find out.ā
āIf thatās what you want to do, thereās nothing I can say about it, but itās a bit far-fetched for me and Natalie to be fighting, so if youāre going to find out, please do it some other way.ā
āAll right,ā Farah muttered, looking at Natalie thoughtfully.
She then moved her gaze towards me and clapped her hands with a pop.
āThen letās do it this way, Owen, who has been accepted into the group, and his sister will have a mock battle and then we can decideā¦what do you think?ā
āItās okay.ā
Farah asked, looking at me, and I didnāt hesitate to reply.
āLet me fight, I want to fight too.ā
Natalie then says with a determined look in her eyes.
Thatās what makes Natalieās eyes so dignified and powerful.
She then turns to Julian and declares.
āWatch me, brother, and acknowledge me as the bearer of House Alderath and as a wizard of one, so will you allow us to fight?ā
āDo you need my permission for you two to fight?ā
Julian said, then took a glance at Katharina-sensei.
The teacher met his gaze, looked at me and Natalie in turn, and then nodded.
āLetās acknowledge the match between the two.ā
Thus, a mock battle between me and Natalie was to take place.