Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 221 Sister and Sister

A new week begins.

At noon, the students of the Purplewood Class arrived at the classroom on time and saw An already waiting in front of the podium.

Incredibly, the students of the Yewwood House have now become accustomed to the presence of an instructor dressed in a maid outfit with wings on her back in the classroom.

One can only say that the power of "it has always been this way" is truly terrifying.

"Professor Ritas is absent today due to some personal reasons. Therefore, I will be teaching today's class in his place."

Before the course officially began, the students didn't show any unusual reaction when they heard An say this.

Is it strange that the mentors of the Purplewood Class are absent now?
It's better to say that it's just "personal reasons" rather than "hospitalization," which is already good news.

In addition, the tutor's assistants also skipped work as if it were perfectly normal, and they were used to it.

More curious about the wings on Anne's back than about why Ritas and Adeline didn't come today.

Yes, it has increased.
Or rather, it would be strange if it had only been one-sided before?
Just when the trainees were becoming increasingly unable to distinguish what was normal and what was strange.

Seeing that no one objected to his status as a substitute lecturer, An stood on the podium.

"Now, before the course officially begins, Crafoord students, please stand in the hallway."

"?"

On the main road leading to the eastern part of Spring City, a magical railcar, which is currently in trial operation, is speeding along.

Currently, the magical railcar, which can accommodate about fifteen passengers, incorporates the latest magical technology of the Holy Kingdom of Libera and is hailed as a vehicle that will completely replace horse-drawn carriages within five years, bringing various conveniences to the residents' lives and transportation.

However, after the trial operation began, many fatal flaws of the Magic Railcar were exposed one after another, resulting in a poor reputation for it.

Therefore, in the public's perception at present, the Magical Railcar is more like an expensive and carefully maintained toy prepared for wealthy people who want to experience new things.

Inside this magical orbital vehicle, a blonde young woman is looking at herself with a troubled expression in front of a small mirror.

This woman was clearly dressed up carefully; both her makeup and clothing were impeccable.

But when it comes to the hair, a few naturally curly strands seem to have their own ideas, always stubbornly breaking out of the scope of hairstyles.

"Why today of all days?"

For nearly half an hour, the young woman, who had been struggling with those few strands of hair while holding a mirror, couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

Her helpless expression and inexplicably tragic voice made the passenger opposite her cover his face and chuckle.

"Excuse me, I've been fiddling with this for a while, has it been bothering you?"

The space inside the magic-guided railcar is quite spacious.

Therefore, even when sitting face to face, there is enough distance between the two customers so that they will not disturb each other.

Even so, the blonde woman, who seemed to come from a good family, still asked politely.

"No, no. I'm the one who's really sorry for doing something that seemed like I was making fun of you. But please forgive me, I didn't mean that. I just found it amusing because I've never seen such stubborn hair before."

The passenger opposite the blonde woman also responded politely.

Even at some distance, it can be somewhat awkward for strangers to be face-to-face. Therefore, the blonde woman had been looking away and avoiding eye contact with the passenger opposite her.

Based on her rough impression, she felt that the person opposite her was a very "unique" person.

He was dressed entirely in black, with long black hair, and even his gloves and shoes were black.

Given the other person's dejected demeanor, the blonde woman suspected that she might be on her way to a funeral or similar event.

After a brief conversation, the blonde woman naturally began to observe more things.

She realized that the person opposite her was probably a young man of similar age. Moreover, in contrast to his all-black attire, his face was exceptionally pale, even sickly pale.

However, even with such a stark contrast, the black-haired woman's fair complexion was not previously noticeable.

It's hard to describe the blonde woman; she has the same kind of dark hair as a dark-haired woman, as if it's absorbing the light from her surroundings.

Is it because the woman's hair is dry and lacks shine?
Aside from these things, the more you observe a woman with black hair, the stranger she seems.

For example, her luggage consisted of two suitcases. However, unlike others, she didn't place them on the luggage rack or under the seat. Instead, she placed them on either side of the seat, sandwiching her between them.

For example, aside from a slight chuckle while covering her mouth earlier, this black-haired woman seemed to have remained motionless since sitting down. Even the direction of her gaze was consistently straight ahead, almost without changing its trajectory.

The blonde woman's gaze wavered for a moment; after all, it felt strange to frequently make eye contact with strangers. However, she quickly realized that although the dark-haired woman's gaze remained forward, she wasn't staring at her. The other woman was simply looking directly ahead.

This stiff, almost bizarre feeling gave the blonde woman a sense of déjà vu.

But after observing the black-haired woman for a moment, she noticed that the woman blinked less often, but she did blink, and she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

As expected, it was just an illusion.
Moreover, if she had to put it bluntly, the figure she remembered was more like a piece of wood or something. This black-haired woman, on the other hand, resembled an exquisitely beautiful doll.

Despite the worrying issues, the journey on the magic railcar was undoubtedly boring.

So, the blonde woman, who seemed to have a relatively outgoing personality, thought about striking up a conversation with her travel companion whom she had just met across the street.

The reason she hadn't thought of it before was because that dark mass naturally exuded an atmosphere that seemed to be resisting everything.

After a brief exchange, and finding the other person to be surprisingly ordinary, the blonde woman's mind began to stir.

Since the other party found her stubborn "cowlicks" interesting, she decided to demonstrate a special skill that could only be shown at certain times.

Meeting the gaze of the black-haired woman, or rather, simply following her direct line of sight, the blonde woman first slightly opened her hands, flipping them over a few times to show them off. It was as if a magician, before a performance, was making sure the audience was aware that there were no hidden mechanisms.

Then, she forcefully pressed down the hair strands that stood upright on the left side of her head. The next second, on the right side, which her palm didn't cover, a new ahoge (cowlick) "emerged".

"?"

The dark-haired woman watched this scene with disbelief. But as the blonde woman continued her performance, the dark-haired woman's expression changed from confusion to suppressed laughter.

It wasn't until the blonde woman unleashed her ultimate technique—pressing down one hair and having two grow back, then pressing down two and having four grow back—that the dark-haired woman finally couldn't help but laugh.

The blonde woman, whose eyes lit up at the sight of the black-haired woman's smile and who had successfully made the other woman laugh, was also taken aback.

The woman with dark hair was already very beautiful, and the heaviness and sorrow that always surrounded her made her smile all the more radiant.

"Are they alive?"

"Sometimes I have the same doubts."

After a somewhat exaggerated sigh, the blonde woman burst into laughter.

She felt a strange sense of closeness to the dark-haired woman. Because the woman and the familiar figure in the woman shared many similarities. Even their sense of humor was peculiar.

The blonde woman could hardly recall what the person she knew usually looked like when he smiled, but she remembered one time when he pointed at her messy hair that he could never manage, clutched his stomach and said, "Why are they so unruly?"

However, it was rare for that person to laugh so happily, while she was...
Shaking her head to banish these thoughts, the blonde woman began chatting with the dark-haired woman.

"Oh, so this is your first time riding the magic railcar."

"Well, I was at the magic academy in the Western Territory before. There's very little magic-related stuff there. So, let alone magic-powered trains or anything like that."

"Is the magic academy in the Western Territory the Bayano Military Magic Academy?"

"Yes. You seem to know quite a bit about magic academies."

Inside the moving magic-powered train, the black-haired and blonde women, who didn't seem like strangers meeting for the first time, got to know each other with great enthusiasm.

"Isn't Bayano Academy one of the top five universities? You're so young to be a researcher or lecturer at Bayano, you must be an outstanding mage."

"Hmm, pretty much a researcher or lecturer. Compared to me, do you ride the magic-powered railcar quite often?"

The blonde woman, as if stabbed after being told she was so "young" to take a job at the Bayano Academy, struggled to cover it up before awkwardly trying to change the subject.

"Due to work, I need to travel frequently to different places. Therefore, wherever there are tracks, I will prioritize the magic-powered railcar. Even though it has many flaws, as long as it saves travel time, it is impeccable. Moreover, the magic-powered railcars nowadays are much more comfortable than before."

The dark-haired woman responded in this way.

"Hey~ Are you busy with work?"

Looking at the dark-haired woman who was about the same age as me, she exuded the air of a career woman. Her dry-looking hair and dark circles under her eyes, almost like eyeshadow, were also clear signs of a busy life.

The blonde woman, thinking of her own predicament, felt an invisible sting.

"So, this trip to Spring City is also for work?"

"There's work involved, but the main reason is to meet someone."

The black-haired woman spoke, a gentle expression appearing on her face.

"Oh? What a coincidence. I also went to Spring City for work. But the main purpose was to see my family whom I haven't seen in a long time."

At this point, the blonde woman seemed to suddenly remember something and started taking out a mirror again to scrutinize the strands of hair on her head.

"What would it feel like to reunite with family members you haven't seen in a long time?"

The gentle expression on the face hadn't faded, but a hint of worry appeared on the black-haired woman's face. She asked softly, in a voice so low it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was talking to herself.

"Well, it's probably like, 'These guys are still the same as before'? The more you expect something new from them, the greater the disappointment will be when you meet them. But at the same time, you'll feel a sense of relief. And overall, you'll be happy."

It seems like the blonde woman, unable to perform many actions simultaneously, forgets to play with her hair when she's thinking.
"You seem a little worried about reuniting with your family?"

Although the dark-haired woman initially said she was "meeting someone," the blonde woman, based on the direction of the conversation, implicitly assumed that the other person was also meeting family, just like her.

"Yes, some."

The dark-haired woman did not deny it.

“We separated when we were very young. And I haven’t seen him since. He’s a very outstanding person, so even though I’ve never met him in person, I’ve always heard rumors about him. I’ve been trying my best, but I never had the confidence to be worthy of him. Originally, after so many years, I shouldn’t bother him anymore. But, thinking that he’s my only family in this world, and that I just happened to have an opportunity, I couldn’t resist.”

The black-haired woman lowered her head and said this with some guilt.

The blonde woman scratched her head and asked, puzzled.
"Isn't it a bit strange to talk about 'being a good match' among family members? It's not like we're getting married. Besides, it's perfectly normal for a family to have all sorts of different people. Presumably, only by embracing all of them can we become a true family. So, you don't need to worry too much. If your relative is really as outstanding as the rumors suggest, then they will definitely understand and accept you."

Although it's unclear where her confidence came from, the blonde woman still spoke with unbridled bravado.

The black-haired woman seemed to have truly taken these words to heart, and with a slightly brighter look in her eyes, she smiled and nodded.

"How is your relationship with your family? By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet, so it's a bit inconvenient to address each other as 'you'."

"I wouldn't say we're really close, would I?"

The blonde woman answered in this way, then lowered her head and began to fidget with her fingers.

"I have a terrible guy in my family, but thinking about it, I'm actually far worse and more awful than him."

After saying this, the blonde woman took a deep breath as if to reset her mind, and then began to introduce herself with a cheerful expression.

"Beautiful lady, my name is Charlotte. Charlotte Elson. May I ask your name?"

The blonde woman, or rather Charlotte Elson, asked playfully with a touch of drama.

"Of course, this equally beautiful lady. My name is..."

"Wein".

With a smile, the dark-haired woman, or rather Wayne, replied in the same style.

(End of this chapter)