Although we diverted into other topics for a moment, one might question what exactly we’re doing right now.
– Isn’t it class time?
Indeed, it is.
It’s midday on a weekday, during class hours.
However, the scene in this classroom resembles factory workers assembling something rather than a typical class.
And there’s a reason for that.
We’re actually refining raw materials, packaging, and stacking them in boxes as though we’re producing identical items for delivery.
If someone were to ask, “How is this a class?” it would be fair to say it’s a class in its own way.
“Ludmila, Evangeline. Could you both stop turning your mana skins into magic bikinis instead of magic pants?”
“Ugh.”
“That’s… that’s not what we’re doing!”
Ludmila and Evangeline look flustered, as if they’ve been caught doing something off-task during class.
“It’s magic training time anyway!”
Evangeline protests, pointing to the large text on the board.
Magic Stone Alchemy.
It’s a type of alchemy that involves reshaping a magic stone into a new form using one’s personal mana.
For the first-year students, the goal of the class is to transform a stone into a hexagonal gemstone, but our case is a bit different.
“Yes, it’s magic training, but we’re supposed to be producing magic pants, so I can apply the Kegel Technique to them.”
I pointed to the basket they were passing to me.
“What? Or are you asking me to inscribe the Kegel Technique on bikinis?”
“Isn’t it the Buxomize Technique, not the Kegel Technique?”
Yunia nudged over a basket full of magic pants to me.
“It seems they’ve both been distracted since hearing about the Buxomize Technique.”
“Hmm, seems that way.”
Normally, I’d have noticed right away, but I’ve been too focused on applying the Jerk Technique to produce magic pants for the male students.
“With today’s quota met, should we switch it up and make magic bikinis for the rest of the time?”
“Is that okay?”
“It’s Dean Ederson who set the daily production limit.”
I gestured to the boxed magic pants.
“They say that these are boosting student focus so much that even the instructors have taken notice.”
What were the instructors worried about with remote classes?
Focus.
In-person classes naturally foster focus by gathering everyone in the same space, but remote classes from dorm rooms often lead to distractions or other activities.
“The idea of quizzes on the lecture material also got a positive response. Well, not exactly positive, but they were all fired up to be the top scorer and earn another pair of magic pants.”
“Hahaha….”
“Since they’re underwear, students can’t just rely on a single pair.”
They can use a cleaning spell, but there’s still a sense of discomfort, and drying freshly washed magic pants in their dorm room can be unsettling.
Recently, a few cases of “borrowing” magic pants have quietly emerged in the male dorms.
Thanks to that, there was an unfortunate incident where the Student Council President suddenly had to go around checking if the lower body of the male students was reacting to the magic pants due to underwear theft among the male students.
The same goes for concentration during lectures.
If it’s a matter of personal interest, everyone tends to focus properly during lectures.
“Magic bikinis.”
Snap.
Ludmila and Evangeline perked up immediately.
“Shall we make some?”
“Hmph.”
“Well, if that’s what you’re really after….”
“It’s not like that!”
When I tried to pull back, Ludmila and Evangeline shot me a serious look.
“Student Phoenix, since we’re discussing magic theory, don’t you think we should test whether it’s feasible?”
“I thought Yunia was the one suggesting it, Ludmila.”
“I’m speaking for Miss Yunia as well, isn’t that right?”
“Let’s say… it’s something like that, perhaps?”
“Miss Yunia?”
Ludmila gave Yunia a betrayed look, but then bit her lip, eyeing Yunia’s mana pockets.
“Phoenix, you know, with my talent in mana, I don’t think I’d ever have trouble feeding the kids. What do you think?”
“With triplets—or even quintuplets—you’d definitely have enough to keep them well-fed every day.”
“Then if I wore this cow-patterned bikini and activated the Buxomize Technique, I could probably feed septuplets too, right?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. Even if other children start crying from hunger, usually you’d express the milk into bottles ahead of time, anyway.”
“Hey, how do you know all this? Have you had a child before?”
“It would be too late to learn all this after having kids, so I’ve just been studying in advance.”
I replied, moving smoothly past Evangeline’s suspicions.
“Let’s start with Yunia’s, shall we?”
“W-wait—”
Poof.
“Tada, here it is.”
I materialized the cow-patterned bikini for Yunia, courtesy of the developers.
“Wait a second. This isn’t a bikini, is it?”
“Well, I called it a bikini for convenience, but it doesn’t necessarily have to look like one.”
Unfolding the swimsuit, it turned out to be a bold Holstein-patterned leotard—a design that would require a fair amount of courage to wear.
“How is it?”
“I think I’d find it difficult to wear in public.”
Yunia accepted the Holstein leotard with a calm expression, standing up.
“I’ll try it on in my room later. Could you check if the size is right then?”
“Miss Y-Yunia?”
“What’s wrong?”
Ludmila, flustered, called out to Yunia, who simply shrugged, layering her “Magic Skin” over herself.
“It’s all to prepare for when I have kids later, isn’t it? Right, Phoenix?”
“Your future kids are lucky. They’ll experience Yunia’s warmth completely.”
“And maybe I’ll even ask my future husband to confirm it first, to make sure it’s a healthy taste for the child.”
“…Oh, my.”
Evangeline covered her face with her hands.
“Is this Academy really okay with this? Instructor Kadisha, is this really all right?”
“What’s wrong with a cow-patterned bikini?”
“Instructor?”
“Someday, if you find someone you love, you’ll end up doing much more. Especially if it’s a boyfriend or husband, wouldn’t you?”
With the instructor in charge showing interest in cow-patterned bikinis, Evangeline seemed to be at a loss for words.
“…Phoenix.”
Ludmila, with a resolute expression, called my name.
“Does it have to be a cow-patterned bikini?”
“Hmm?”
“I mean, if it’s just about clothing style, what about something I could wear regularly, like a tank top or leggings?”
“There’s no reason it can’t be done.”
I subtly handed the cow-patterned bikini over to Evangeline.
“It just requires a bit more mana to produce fabric clothing. It’s more a matter of time and effort.”
“In that case….”
“Ah, sorry to interrupt, but—”
Instructor Kadisha took off her glasses with a serious tone.
“We’re under attack.”
“A… an attack?”
“Is it Angels?”
“No.”
As the special class female students instantly assumed a battle stance, Instructor Kadisha gave a wry smile.
“I suppose you could call it an attack, or maybe a threat….”
“??”
“Student Phoenix? I have a question for you.”
Instructor Kadisha pulled up a panel, expanding it into a large magic screen.
“If you were to sell magic pants, how much would you sell to them for?”
“…Them.”
“Silverstar?”
On the 65-inch screen, at the entrance of the Old School Building, a lone golden carriage with the Silverstar insignia was displayed.
[I’m saying I want to go inside, so why are you stopping me?]
In front of it, several faculty members were awkwardly shifting glances, stumped by a tiny girl.
“That’s….”
“Wow, impressive.”
I couldn’t help but clap at the sight of the girl with soft platinum blonde hair dressed in a frilly dress.
“I never thought I’d see someone with such mana pockets at Esdinas Academy.”
“Ph-Phoenix?”
“It’s unlikely she’s a student, and certainly not faculty. Instructor Kadisha, is she who I think she is?”
“Hmm, you know her?”
“Yes, I know her.”
I turned my gaze to Yunia.
“Miss Yunia, do you remember the food we had at the Southern Terminal?”
“Yes.”
“We were talking about how ridiculously expensive it was, weren’t we?”
“Yes… Wait, are you saying…?”
“That girl is the head of the hotel division of the Silverstar Trading Company —or rather, the Silverstar Group.”
She oversees not only the hotels but other areas as well.
“In terms of management rank, she’s considered AAA-level—one of the ‘Seven Stars’ of Silverstar.”
Her dress fell straight from her neck to her abdomen, like a sheer cliff.
“Alhena Silverstar.”
A figure unable to attend the Academy.
And at the same time, the greatest rival of Yurha Silverstar.
The reason is simple enough; Alhena harbors a deep jealousy toward Yurha.
After all, just being a “person who couldn’t even enter the Academy” is reason enough.
“Instructor Kadisha, is Silverstar here to buy the magic skins… or rather, the magic pants Phoenix created?”
Evangeline asked cautiously, her voice full of suspicion.
“I don’t think so.”
Ludmila replied.
“More precisely, they’re here to ‘control’ it.”
“Control…?”
“Yes. To them, Phoenix’s actions are something utterly incomprehensible.”
“Understood.”
An item that, with consistent use and effort, could help anyone reach 17 cm.
Even if priced at a billion won per pair, there would still be someone willing to buy it, even on a ten-year installment plan.
“If we sell it, we’d make a fortune.”
But right now, we’re practically distributing these magic pants for free to the Academy’s male students.
“Phoenix, what are you going to do?”
“What else?”
Of course.
“I’m going to sell them.”
I mean, I will sell them.
“We can’t just keep sitting here making these every day, right?”
To distribute magic pants—and the coveted 17 cm—worldwide, we’ll need a large-scale production facility.
“But.”
The buyers will be carefully chosen.
“I’m not selling to someone who looks like they’d starve a kid.”
I’ll decide who gets them.
“Senior Yurha could easily feed three children and still have some left over.”
Still.
‘Not that I wouldn’t make sure she’s taken care of.’
If she looks like she’d let a kid starve, well—
We’ll just have to raise her until she can feed them properly, won’t we?
