Chapter 120 – Elves Aren't Geniuses

The matter of Alice taking out a book involving the world's laws didn't attract anyone's attention.

There was hardly anybody visiting the sixth floor, anyway.
The library's surveillance cameras were also concentrated around the floor's entrances, hallways, and reading areas since it'd be a financial waste to set up a camera for every bookshelf.

Hence, other than Frosette, nobody else should know that Alice's group had disappeared from the sixth floor for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, after taking the elevator back to the first floor and getting the several books on the basics of magic processed, Alice left the library together with Zauna and Luna.
As for the Psychokinesis Transcendence in her bag, she naturally didn't have to get it processed since it didn't have the library's magic inscription.

To prevent people from stealing books, every book in the library had been inscribed with a magic inscription.
Although the inscription wasn't very strong, it was very complex.
If one didn't know how to unravel magic inscriptions, their only way of removing it was brute force.

However, the library had a good grasp of this point.
Those without the strength wouldn't be able to forcibly break the inscriptions, while those with the strength to break the inscriptions wouldn't lack the money these books were worth.

Thus, when Alice and the others left the library, they didn't trigger any alarms.
Naturally, nobody came to check whether they carried any unprocessed books in their bags, either.

“Tomorrow will be the opening ceremony and the official start of classes.”

Many people had also turned their gazes toward Alice on the way back.
However, probably because news of her cold attitude had already spread across the forums, nobody tried to approach her.
Thus, Zauna didn't have to act reserved, and she could freely strike up a conversation with Alice.

“Did the dean tell you which class you are assigned to?”

“He says I was assigned to Year 1's Class C04,” Alice said after recalling her conversation with the dean.
According to her previous research, every high school year had several dozen classes, a testament to the number of students attending the March Academy.
Meanwhile, these classes were categorized into Groups A, B, and C, and each group had upwards of ten classes.

Classes in Group A were mainly catered to nobles, so most of the students in these classes weren't hard workers.

Of course, that wasn't to say all nobles in Group A were good-for-nothings.
A portion of these nobles might be rejects who were faulting their wealth and influence to cover for their deficiencies, but they were only a minority.
Most of the nobles attending the academy were focused on inheriting their family businesses.
Hence, other than learning some general knowledge of magic, these nobles didn't care to learn more about magic.

Meanwhile, Group B was a special group that mainly catered to students with special talents such as light affinity.
Either that or students who researched magic.
Simply put, Group B was more focused on research, and the students here were mostly bookworms that were weak in actual combat.

Group C was the more balanced of the three groups.
It also housed most of the academy's top students.

Although Group C's students were equally talented in magic as Group B's students, they weren't complete bookworms like Group B's students.
They were students who focused on both academic studies and actual combat.
While Group C's students might not be as smart as Group B's students, they were more all-rounded and would have many more career options once they graduated.

Originally, Alice should've been assigned to Group A or Group B with her status as the princess and her affinity for light magic.
However, Catherine was well-versed with the human heart, and she had specifically asked the dean to assign Alice to the same class as Zauna.

Thus, Alice wasn't surprised when she learned that she was assigned to Class C04, Zauna's class.

“You're actually in the same class with me? As expected of Your Highness.
Even the dean dares not disobey you,” Zauna smiled when she heard Alice's answer.
The moment she learned that Alice was staying in the same dormitory with her, she had already vaguely guessed that Alice would get assigned to the same class as her as well.
Meanwhile, Alice's answer had verified her conjecture.
“How wonderful, my princess.”

After saying so, Zauna even pinched Alice's cheeks.

“But those nobles will probably be depressed.
They've all gathered in Group A's classes,” Luna, who was walking beside Alice, added expressionlessly.
She didn't have any good feelings for those noble students.
After all, she was bullied by nobles during her childhood.
“They'll have far fewer opportunities to curry favor with Alice.”

“Let them be depressed.
Although currying favor with Alice would indeed get their family a lot of help in their career, that isn't because of Alice's identity as a princess.”

Zauna might not be from a noble family, but she still understood that if a noble household managed to get into the good graces of the Hero, the household would receive a long period of stability and possibility prosperity.
However, Zauna also knew that Alice wasn't easily susceptible to temptation.

Alice might look like she operated with a goal normally, but Zauna could never tell what that goal was exactly.
While it was reasonable to believe that Alice's goal was to slay the Demon King, Zauna had a feeling that Alice's goal lay beyond that.
Although she still hadn't figured out what that goal was, she was certain that it wasn't something the nobles could help her with.

“By the way, I heard that there are international students in this academy.” When they arrived at their dormitory building's entrance, Alice suddenly thought of this matter and curiously asked Zauna about it.
“Does our class have any international students? Tell me in advance so that I can be mentally prepared.”

Alice had heard about students from other countries attending the March Academy.
Kristine, the former Hero, was the best example.
She might have studied in the March Royal School of Magic, but she wasn't from the Gryffin Kingdom.
Instead, she came from the Ymir Kingdom.

“Yes, there are a few,” Zauna said, nodding.
“Two are from the Ymir Kingdom, three are from the Milt Kingdom, and one is kind of a special case.”

After keeping Alice in suspense for a moment, Zauna smiled and said:

“The last one is an elf from the Elven Forest.”

“An elf?” Alice was a little surprised when she heard this.
Then, while pulling out the key to their room and unlocking the door, she curiously asked, “Do elves even need to come to our academy? Aren't elves natural-born magicians?”

“While it is true that elves are born with the ability to manipulate ambient mana, it isn't accurate to say that they are natural-born magicians.” Smiling, Zauna explained, “You should know that elves have a very long life span.
However, the price of this long lifespan is that they are actually…magical dunces.”

“???”

This answer was a stark contrast from Alice's perception of elves, and she was so surprised that even her hand opening the door had stopped.

“If elves are magical geniuses, wouldn't all of them be on the level of the demon race's Four Heavenly Kings if they trained for hundreds or thousands of years?” Zauna continued explaining.
“The reality is that elves only have subpar talent in magic.
Although they have an easier time manipulating ambient mana, the amount of mana they can store in their body and their sensitivity toward magic formulas are pitifully low.
They need to undergo long periods of training just to reach the average human standard.”

Seeing that Alice's hand had stopped on the door handle, Zauna stepped forward, squeezed Alice's hand, and pushed down, opening the door to their dormitory.
Then, she continued, “So, if you go to the Elven Forest and see some young elves manipulating magic skillfully, don't forget that these elves have already lived for hundreds of years.
They have spent centuries training their magic just to get on the same level as human magicians.”

“So that's how it is.”

Alice revealed a bitter smile.
However, she felt that it made sense after thinking it over.
If elves possessed great talent in magic on top of being born with excellent mana sensitivity and a long lifespan, elves would be a terrifying force in this world.

The demons might be a barbaric race that valued strength above alle lse, but even their strongest fighters were only limited to the Four Heavenly Kings.
In comparison, if the elves were talented in magic, they'd have several dozen or hundred Heavenly Kings after a few centuries.
If the elves had that kind of strength, they could sweep through the human and demon realms without facing any resistance.

“However, while their talent on average might not be anything to write home about, there will still be the occasional elf born with great talent for magic.
The international student in our class is one example.
Her talent for magic is excellent even by human standards,” Zauna said, smiling as she looked at Alice.
“You'll get to meet her tomorrow, so don't be surprised at that time.”