"To be honest, even I don't know why I was chosen for the exchange team."
As she spoke, a look of distress crossed Layla's face.
"I heard the original plan only included the four seniors. But just before we set off, for some unknown reason, our Principal personally named me to come along. I'm really not that outstanding in the academy..."
Hearing this, Descartes felt there was likely a deeper mystery at play.
"Fairy Academy and the Royal Capital Magic Academy are the two premier magic schools in the Kingdom of Fiore. An opportunity to gain experience as an exchange student isn't something just anyone gets. If your strength isn't particularly prominent as you say, then..."
"Could it be that you have a relative who knows the Principal? Or maybe you did something good in the past, helped someone out, and the Principal happened to find out?"
Wait, what?!
There's even an angle like that?!
I never even considered it!
As expected of a high-profile figure at Fairy Academy, he's really sharp...
The look of admiration in Layla's eyes deepened.
"I come from an ordinary background; I don't have any powerful relatives. As for doing something good that the Principal might know about..."
Layla sank into thought, only to give up with a wry smile after a long moment. "I really can't remember anything!"
In truth, she had done plenty of good deeds, but she didn't think any of those small, scattered matters were significant enough to alert someone at the level of the Academy Principal.
"Hm... if it's not because of background, strength, or personality, then only one possibility remains."
"What possibility??"
"Your magic!"
Descartes looked down at Layla, who was staring up with wide, bewildered eyes. Her head was round, and her long blonde hair was tied into a bun that looked very tempting to pat. It gave him an involuntary urge to mess up her hair.
Cough, cough...
Impulse is the devil. Must endure, must exercise restraint!!
"What is your primary magic?"
"My magic? Celestial Spirit!"
It's actually Celestial Spirit magic?!
Descartes' expression shifted instantly. If that was the case, the reason Layla was chosen might truly be related to her magic!!
"What is it? You seem very surprised to hear I use Celestial Spirit magic."
"It's nothing; it's just that my family has a bit of history with Celestial Spirits."
Layla couldn't help but ask curiously, "What kind of history?"
What kind of history? The kind where four generations of my family have been collecting the keys to the Twelve Zodiac Gates, that's what!!
"I'll... tell you about that later. It looks like your seniors are here!"
Layla was startled and looked up to see the famous "Four Heavenly Kings" approaching together from a distance.
"Layla! So sorry to keep you waiting!"
Ur was the first to sprint to Layla's side, offering a very sincere apology.
"It's okay, Senior Ur. But why were you all so slow?"
Layla was a gentle and kind child, so she wouldn't harbor resentment over someone being late, but she couldn't help but wonder about the reason.
"It's all because of that idiot Brain!" Ur immediately began to complain. "That guy suddenly said we had to have some emergency meeting."
Brain??
Descartes thought for a moment before remembering that was the name of the lead teacher for the exchange team.
Ur patted the bun on Layla's head and said softly, "I originally wanted to come tell you first, but he said there was no need to go out of the way for you, and that going back and forth would waste too much time. So we just waited until the meeting was over."
"Are you alright? You weren't taken advantage of by anyone while you were here alone, were you??"
As she said this, she suddenly shielded Layla behind her, eyeing Descartes warily.
Descartes' mouth twitched.
"Hey, hey, hey... Miss Ur, she wasn't here alone; I was with her. Also, why do you keep staring at me when you say 'Taken advantage of by anyone'? Do I look like the type who takes advantage of kids?"
Kids... Layla felt a strange spark of annoyance in her heart.
"Um... Senior Ur, Senior Descartes didn't take advantage of me! He took great care of me. Look, he even bought me things to eat and drink!"
At this, Serena suddenly jumped forward, striking an exaggerated, chuunibyo pose with every word as usual.
"Don't be fooled by him, Layla! I bet he saw how young and gullible you are and approached you on purpose, trying to fish for intel on my God-magic to prepare for the duel!"
Layla puffed out her cheeks and muttered, "But he didn't do that at all."
Descartes chimed in, "Exactly. I would never do something like take advantage of a girl! What about the two of you?"
Descartes' gaze landed on the final two exchange students.
"Hahaha..." The man with short black hair laughed while scratching his head. "It's only our second day here; we aren't familiar with you, so how could we have an opinion? But I really like that last thing you said! Since Serena mentioned a 'duel' just now, you must be the Descartes who's supposed to fight him here, right? Hm... you look a bit more handsome than the rumors suggest, though you're still a bit behind me."
Where do you get that confidence? I'm clearly the more handsome one!
"And who are you??"
The short-haired man realized his mistake. "Oh, right! We haven't introduced ourselves yet! My name is Silver Fullbuster. I've been assigned to the Year 3 class, one grade above you. We'll probably be seeing a lot of each other for a while, so please take care of me!"
Descartes was silent for a moment before responding, "I am Descartes Lagrange. Please take care of me as well!"
Silver Fullbuster...
He seemed like a very hearty and easy-going person. His personality was a bit like Gildarts'; if they met, they'd probably become good friends.
"Hey, you say something too!" Silver elbowed the final member of their group—a tall individual with dark skin and a long braid.
However, this person was clearly not easy to get along with. In the face of the friendly atmosphere, he gave only a two-word answer:
"Boring."
"..."
"Don't mind him; that's just Bluenote's personality." Silver chuckled, trying to smooth things over. "His temper is indeed a bit rough, but he's very strong. Among the five of us, he's probably... ranked third."