If a boy commits a crime, he goes to a juvenile detention center. If a university student makes a mistake, they go to graduate school.
It’s a joke, but it reflects how tough and grueling graduate school can be.
One must endure extreme hardship. Struggling while studying is a given, and for those pursuing academia, it is an unavoidable path.
Does Esdinas Academy have a graduate school?
It does.
However, rather than functioning like a real-world graduate school, it’s more of a formal institution in name only.
“In reality, graduate school here is just a place where undergraduates who postpone graduation can stay at the Academy under the pretext of honing their academic skills, while paying extra fees.”
Afternoon, the final lecture of the day.
Instructor Kadisha began her introduction to the graduate school.
“Normally, once you finish your third year, you graduate and find your place in society, fulfilling whatever role you choose. That’s the responsibility given to Esdinas Academy graduates. But even in their third year, there are quite a few who haven’t found their path yet.”
She wrote a large ‘14%’ on the chalkboard—a peculiar number.
“This is the percentage of students who wish to enter graduate school after graduation. But in reality, only about 3% actually go. Now, here’s my question—where did the remaining 11% go?”
“Did they get married?”
Yunia cautiously voiced her opinion.
“They might have grabbed the first person they could find and escaped the path to graduate school through marriage.”
“It’s a chilling thought, but you’re right. That’s actually one of the five ways to escape graduate school.”
A hasty marriage or becoming a live-in son-in-law.
It’s quite different from simply dating and getting married while at the Academy.
“Some people openly declare, ‘I will live my post-graduation life through marriage,’ and rush into society. There are even those who specifically target such individuals.”
“So, they take advantage of people when they’re desperate?”
“Exactly. The choice is: do you graduate and face humiliation for doing nothing with your life, or do you confirm your feelings right before graduation, get married, have children, and build a family?”
In this world, the merging of superior genes to produce excellent offspring is considered the ultimate purpose of life.
Even if the match between genes or families seems somewhat unbalanced, what matters is that they fit together like interlocking gears. Society doesn’t tolerate a scenario where bolts and nuts are rolling around separately without connecting.
“Even if a marriage partner may seem unimpressive, at the very least, if they can graduate from Esdinas Academy, they’re competent in their own right.”
“Escaping graduate school through marriage…?”
“Then doesn’t that mean graduate school has a pretty bad reputation?”
“That’s why everyone outwardly praises it, isn’t it? ‘We are scholars gathered here for academic research. We are absolutely not just paying extra tuition to extend our stay in the Academy. If we happen to fall in love while studying and get married, that’s just an unavoidable consequence.'”
“…So, does that mean there’s no one who stays in graduate school because they genuinely want to research?”
“There are. Maybe one or two out of a thousand?”
Instructor Kadisha patted her chest confidently.
“At least among the current graduate students, very few are here purely for academic research. Whether male or female, they’re all highly capable, so many places are eager to recruit them.”
The title of an Esdinas Academy graduate.
“Right, Student Yurha? Silverstar Trading Company hires the most Esdinas graduates, doesn’t it? Even if we don’t know how much their work truly reflects their abilities.”
“There’s some truth to that, but you should know that many students apply to us first. We actually don’t scout as much as people think.”
That graduation certificate alone is enough to land a job at a corporation that controls the world economy. There’s no need to gamble on entering graduate school for a slim chance at success.
Marriage and employment.
Other paths include becoming faculty members, joining the hunter industry, receiving a noble title in a territory, or proving their worth through pioneering ventures—all alternatives to graduate school.
“I want to turn this graduate school into a serious research institution—an academic research center. More precisely, an institution that delves into the history of this continent, this world.”
Instructor Kadisha displayed a map of the Old School Building on the screen.
Though it wasn’t updated with the forest path Yunia had erased, the bird’s-eye view still showed the Old School Building at the center, surrounded by seven buildings forming a circle.
“A Magic Tower…?”
“Something similar. If the Old School Building is the central Main Tower, then these graduate school buildings are the seven towers connected to it, each representing a different element!”
Red, blue, yellow, green, gold, black, gray.
Not quite the colors of a rainbow, but the seven hues of mana gleamed on the map.
“Um, Instructor? Does that mean each graduate school will focus on researching magic related to its corresponding element?”
Since it involved magic, Yunia was the most eager to ask questions.
“That’s right! Yunia, are you interested in graduate school?”
“Well… If Phoenix Graduate School is an institution that studies magic, then I might be somewhat interested?”
“…That’s unfortunate. Phoenix Graduate School is slightly different from the usual Magic Towers. If Magic Towers study magic itself, the graduate school is a place for true academic research. Mostly.”
She emphasized “mostly” because, among the Old School Building’s undergraduate students, Yunia was the only one showing any real enthusiasm for graduate school.
But it wasn’t just because of its bad reputation.
“How about you, Miss Ludmila?”
“Walking the path of an SS-rank hunter suits me better, Instructor.”
“What about you, Miss Evangeline?”
“In the Ercy Empire, both men and women can ascend to the throne equally, Instructor.”
“Miss Yurha?”
“Economics, business administration, and imperial governance—I’ve already learned enough at the undergraduate level~”
“Miss Seia?”
“Inheriting the title of Marchioness of Ludvecia is enough for me.”
Everyone had a future far brighter than graduate school, so there was no reason to take that path.
“…Miss Shuri?”
“Y-Yes?!”
There was at least one person who might be suited for the graduate school path.
“I-I prefer drawing over academic research….”
“B-But wouldn’t academic research in graduate school also be a form of art?”
“O-Of course, one could argue that writing a thesis is an art in itself, but I want to pursue real art… actual painting….”
“Ugh.”
Considering Esdinas Academy’s motto—”To guide each student in nurturing their given talents and ensuring they bloom to their fullest potential”—even the faculty couldn’t force a student to change their dream.
If Shuri had no talent for painting but still declared, “I’m going to be an artist!” then it would be necessary to guide her toward another path. However, her talent had already been proven during the Vermilion Bird Class vs. Azure Dragon Class competition.
In the end—
“S-Student Phoenix?”
Like a certain blue robotic cat being desperately sought by a boy, Instructor Kadisha turned to me.
“Hah… I suppose there’s no other choice.”
“Wait a moment, Phoenix! Are you planning to make us all graduate students?!”
“No need to panic, Miss Ludmila. There are only two people here who have what it takes to be graduate students.”
“…!!”
Everyone except Yunia flinched and exchanged wary glances.
Talent could branch out in many directions, but if that talent was leading them toward an unexpected path—like graduate school—it was only natural to feel uneasy.
Even in modern times, the same logic applies.
If a stranger suddenly approached you and asked, “Have you found enlightenment?” you’d be irritated. But if a professor suddenly told you, “You have the qualities of a graduate student,” you’d be unsettled for the rest of the day.
Of course, this only made sense if the students of the Old School Building saw me as a professor…
“A-Are you serious?”
Given what I had shown them so far, it wasn’t surprising that they were genuinely nervous.
“Truly?”
“Before any misunderstandings arise, let me clarify. If I were to establish a graduate school, it wouldn’t be for mana research or historical studies.”
“…Then?”
“I would create a graduate school for baking and confectionery.”
Some sighed in relief, while others looked confused, tilting their heads.
“And to be serious for a moment—you don’t need to worry about finding academic graduate students. Those can be captured from outside.”
“C-Captured…?”
“Yes. Until we have professors for each graduate school division, we can assign one person to oversee each of the seven branches and have them… Ahem… ‘mentor’ the students.”
With the Great Martial Tournament approaching, now was the perfect opportunity.
“The tournament is officially a 4 vs. 4 team battle, but that doesn’t mean it will always stay that way, does it?”
“…Wait, don’t tell me—?”
“Exactly.”
There was a simple method to recruit graduate students.
“If a student from the Old School Building defeats someone, the loser becomes a graduate student.”
Abduction.
