[27] What Money Can't Buy (2)
Jake was cocky. See—this is what grown-up fights look like. In the end, the world rewards the vicious, the dirty, and the petty.
"Heh heh heh. Goodbye, Amy. Even if I have to fall into hell, I'll drag you down with me."
"Don't be arrogant, Jake."
Shiina opened her cold eyes and said, "I already heard from Seriel before coming. You won't be able to attend school anymore."
"Don't be so sure. I'm a teacher who teaches students, not an administrator, right?"
"What?"
"You know how much the Ardius family donates, don't you? It's more than the combined support from ten first-rank nobles. Can you really expel me over this?"
Most noble schools ran donation systems to keep expensive equipment maintained. If equipment became outdated, student performance fell. If grades slipped, a school could lose its prestigious title—and then talented students would stop applying. It became a vicious cycle.
If a school had long history and tradition it could hold out for a while, but Alpheas School of Magic was a rising institution only thirty years old; it desperately needed noble support.
Nobody knew that better than Sade, who had graduated from Alpheas. If the funding from Jake's family disappeared, the school would take a serious financial hit.
"Shiina, I think it's premature to talk about expulsion already. Isn't that something a disciplinary committee should decide?" Jake said.
"No. Jake is expelled. If we can't expel him, how can we face the students who quit? If Jake remains at the school, I will resign as a teacher."
Sade hastily dismissed the intrusive image that popped into his head of Shiina undressing. He didn't like her frosty personality, but he had to admit her magical talent was extraordinary. Her leaving the school would be a far bigger issue than expelling Jake.
Jake chuckled, shoulders bouncing. "Hahaha! You'd resign? Let's see about that! Who leaves first—teacher or me? Let's find out."
Frost flared from Shiina's shoulders. True to an ice mage, her anger was cold as ice.
"Where do you think a teacher's salary comes from? How does the library buy books? Who pays to open training grounds? What about expensive magical devices? In the end, it's money! Money! There's nothing in the world money can't do!"
At that moment Shiina swung her hand upward. Jake blinked and looked down in confusion. A cold wind brushed by, and a sheet of chill raced along the ground in a circle.
"Guhk!"
Realizing it was an ice tornado that chilled the air itself, Jake hunched and covered his face.
Tzzzzzzzt!
The vortex of cold rose and trapped Jake. As the air froze, hundreds of long spikes jutted out.
"Uuuuuu!"
Sharp icicles grazed Jake's face, shoulders, ribs, and legs. He was trapped like in a cast, unable to move a finger.
"Wow. Incredible."
Shirone couldn't help but admire it. Even mages called geniuses would find controlling freezing at a molecular level difficult. The rumors that she was the prodigy the royal palace desired were not an exaggeration.
"You're a student lecturing a teacher? There are plenty of things money can't buy."
Jake sneered. There was nothing money couldn't buy—he'd grown up seeing people turn into beasts for the price of gold.
"There are things money can't buy? Like what, exactly?"
"Talent."
Jake flinched. Shiina had struck him in the one place that hurt, and she did it coldly.
"Character. Personality. Conviction. Intelligence. Friendship. Effort. Honor. Want me to keep going?"
Jake wanted to scream. Why was this woman tormenting him? He would spend any sum to shut her up.
When Shiina snapped her fingers, the ice tornado shattered into pieces. Ice shards tore across Jake's face.
"Uuuuuu…."
Terrified, Jake couldn't even open his eyes. He imagined his face might have been smashed to pieces.
"Now do you understand, Jake? You can't buy anything with money. That's why you end up with nothing."
Shiina seized Jake by the collar and hauled him forward.
"Hngh!"
"Don't be mistaken. The school doesn't teach you because it takes your money. The school is the only place that teaches what money can't buy. You kicked away that precious place with your own feet. If you leave this school, nobody will teach you those things."
Jake's heart dropped. He had never considered the real possibility of being barred from school.
Shiina would make sure he was expelled. Then he wouldn't be able to try anything. He'd become a loser, and his life would be over.
"It's over. I…."
The sallow face gradually revealed the boy beneath. Jake's expression twisted as if on the verge of tears; he dropped to his knees at Shiina's feet and began to weep bitterly.
"I was wrong, Teacher. I was wrong. Please don't expel me. Give me one more chance. I won't do it again. I'll study really hard from now on."
Shirone and the others fell silent. They understood how terrifying it was for a student to be driven out into the world.
Shiina helped him to his feet. "When the disciplinary committee is held, apologize sincerely. It takes resolve to put everything back in place. I'll be on your side, so take it one step at a time."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Shirone realized anew how many things money couldn't buy. The students here would have to rely on their own strength to reach their goals.
What did it matter if one was a commoner or a noble?
The dreams they chased were things money could never buy.
* * *
The members of the Black Magishers were locked in a punishment cell and receiving treatment.
A disciplinary committee was scheduled for the next day, and Shirone's group arranged a private meeting time with the teachers.
While Sade wrote out the statement, Shirone detailed how he had subdued the Black Magishers. As expected, the teachers' eyes widened.
"What? You crushed their antimagic with a Spirit Zone?"
"Yes. I heard from Teacher Etella that a mage's antimagic is a battle of will; it's dangerous to cast carelessly. So I must have tried to hold a defensive posture without thinking."
Everyone but Amy was left speechless.
Of course, antimagic rarely achieves full effect unless it's a specialty. But even accounting for that, it had been a five-person coordinated attack.
Shirone's Spirit Zone would have to be stronger than the combined power of all the Black Magishers for such a result to be possible.
Shiina leaned in close to Shirone and lifted his eyelids to inspect his pupils. Finding nothing abnormal, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Never do that again. Antimagic is much more dangerous than you think. You got away with it this time, but next time you could lose your ability to use magic."
Even stout-hearted Shirone felt his chest sink hearing that from Shiina directly. At the time all he'd thought about was protecting Amy.
Amy quietly avoided his gaze. She'd been the cause of Shirone's danger and naturally felt pangs of conscience.
Shiina propped her chin on her hand and thought. Regardless, subduing antimagic was an impressive feat. She had known Shirone's endurance was high from the start, but not to this degree.
Sade, meanwhile, was displeased. Seeing Shirone succeed at something Amy couldn't do twisted his insides.
With that sentiment, Sade said, "Shirone, why didn't you report it right away? If something like that happens you should tell a teacher. I can't accept you going off alone to rescue a senior who's way above your class."
Shirone and Amy both knew what had to come.
Shiina didn't stop Sade this time. The Black Magishers' wrongdoing had driven students away; even a small doubt had to be addressed.
Shirone smiled and nodded at Amy, who looked at him as if to ask. Even if the secret came out, she wouldn't resent him.
Amy sighed as if she couldn't help it. "Alright. I'll tell the truth."
The person most curious about Shirone's secret was Seriel. Since when had the two known each other? Or rather, why did Amy cover for Shirone?
"Actually, Shirone and I…."
Everyone waited for her to continue, and Amy suddenly scratched her head with an innocent smile. "He's my boyfriend."
"What?!"
The room shook as if it might collapse at the unexpected answer.
Sade pressed incredulously, "Since when? You never showed interest in dating. And Shirone is a freshman who just entered school, right?"
"We met when we were little. Then fate brought us back together here. Ha ha! It happens," Amy said, playing it up on purpose. That would do. She was about to graduate; their schedules wouldn't overlap much. For the time being the school would buzz, but it wouldn't be a bad thing. Knowing she had someone would reduce the number of bothersome boys pestering her.
She thought it was an excellent improvisation.
Shirone, the embarrassed one on the receiving end, felt his heart hammer. Amy was a senior and an object of admiration. He knew it was a lie meant to smooth things over, but it was still an enormous weight.
"Right, Shirone?" Amy gave a forced grin. The strain showed. Shirone felt like a silent inner voice threatened to kill him if he didn't answer quickly.
"Ah! Y-yes, that's right."
"Eek! How could this happen? I'm so shocked—no, moved!" Seriel slapped her own cheeks and chattered on. "Hoho, I've always suspected it! No wonder he got bashful whenever Shirone was around. When did you start dating? Who confessed first?"
Even Seriel, Amy's friend, believed it, and the teachers couldn't doubt it either. If they were lovers, one could understand Shirone's rash charge against the Black Magishers in the heat of youthful passion.
Sade tore at his hair as he wrote the statement. "The victims in this incident, Shirone and Amy, are, uh, in a wholesome romantic relationship and…."
* * *
Rumors spread in an instant.
There was no student at Alpheas School of Magic who didn't know Shirone and Amy were a couple. Partly because of the poster announcing the Black Magishers' crimes, and largely thanks to talkative Seriel's tall tale that tugged at girls' hearts.
Shirone had infiltrated the enemy to protect his lover. The Black Magishers retaliated with antimagic, but he overcame it with the power of love and rescued Amy.
The villainous boss Jake, overwhelmed by Shirone's gaze, cried and begged for forgiveness. The gist was that under moonlight in the mountains they shared a passionate kiss.
"Seriel! Do you want to die? How did you spread such rumors?"
"Giggling! Why? It's pretty accurate, isn't it?"
"It's not even close! When did I kiss Shirone?"
"Oh my, such modesty. If you're dating, you must have kissed, right? If you're going to embellish, don't you think that much should be included?"
"Are you a playwright now? Why are you rewriting other people's stories?"
"Well, it's great. Those bothersome boys don't come near her anymore."