What was this? Wasn’t the teacher here to scold them? And what was an Assistant Student?
Her questions went unanswered because after tossing the key, Shasta left on her own, walking quickly while muttering discontentedly.
“Seriously, running so fast… made me walk extra steps from the teaching building…”
This interlude came and went quickly. Not just Ximo, but the onlookers also hadn’t fully processed what happened.
“As-Assistant Student? Instructor Shasta took a student as her Assistant Student?”
Weila was the first to react, covering her mouth in surprise. Ximo shot her a puzzled look.
“You don’t know Instructor Shasta?”
Weila was astonished. Shasta was mysterious and famous at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy. The surrounding freshmen, including Jackson, clearly recognized her, yet Ximo had never heard of her?
“Instructor Shasta is the most senior teacher in the academy. Following her will definitely make learning magic much easier for you.”
Weila was genuinely happy for Ximo and no longer mentioned changing majors. She smiled and helped collect Ximo’s completed form.
But the person in question, Ximo, was still in a daze. Or rather, there were too many points to tsukkomi that she didn’t know where to start… You mean that little kid about Malisi’s size was the most senior teacher in the academy?
Moreover…
Ximo tilted her head, recalling the back view of Shasta hurrying away with the parasol. For some reason, she felt this figure looked familiar. Had she seen this person somewhere before?
But Ximo quickly picked up on the key words in Weila’s words. “You mean… that Instructor Shasta just now is a really impressive teacher at the academy?”
Weila nodded vigorously. As a graduate, she could have left campus already, but with the Student Council busy during opening season, her kind heart made her stay two extra days to help. She hadn’t expected to witness such explosive gossip.
Shasta’s mystery was a hot topic among students, and the usually reclusive teacher who rarely interacted with students had suddenly appeared and taken an unknown freshman as her Assistant Student.
“I see.” Ximo nodded and turned to pat Jackson’s shoulder. “Hope you meet a great teacher who takes you as an Assistant Student too.”
Though she still didn’t know why Shasta had suddenly picked her, Ximo hadn’t forgotten Jackson’s earlier words: “I bet no teacher will want to teach a waste like you after classes start.”
The surrounding freshmen immediately burst into laughter. This gossip was too dramatic—Jackson had just mocked her, and she got slapped in the face right after.
The jeering laughter embarrassed Jackson greatly. This sudden twist left him unable to retort, and Ximo’s clear mockery fueled his anger.
But before he could think of a comeback, Ximo, having submitted her form, hummed a tune and walked away, leaving him standing there awkwardly.
Ximo knew the way to win arguments perfectly, just like hitting someone—land one extra blow and you’ve won. After her final mocking line, she left, which would infuriate him even more.
If Jackson couldn’t take it and chased after, fine—she’d already submitted her form. If he had the guts, he could chase out and re-queue to fill it again.
Sure enough, though Jackson was about to explode, he could only glare as Ximo left.
Not far away, Melrose, who had watched the whole thing, curled her lips into a smile. She’d thought Ximo was about to get bullied, but this little maid was surprisingly sharp-tongued.
And Instructor Shasta taking Ximo as Assistant Student? From their conversation, Ximo didn’t seem to know her.
Interesting. It seemed this little maid had more secrets than she’d thought. She was growing more and more interested in Ximo.
—
“Instructor Shasta? Took you as her Assistant Student?”
Back at the dorm, Ximo straight-up asked what she didn’t understand, leaving Xiliya dumbfounded.
Unlike Weila, Xiliya quickly calmed down and carefully explained to Ximo what an Assistant Student was.
Got it—this was like the closed-door disciple in wuxia novels… Ximo nodded, quickly understanding, but she still couldn’t figure out why this happened to her.
Why would Instructor Shasta pick her? She hadn’t even touched magic before. If Shasta was truly the most senior teacher, why take an illiterate like her as Assistant Student?
Ximo inexplicably recalled a phrase: Fate’s gifts always come with a price tag hidden… Like in some plots where “come to my office after class, teacher will give you some private tutoring♥.”
“It’s fine. Instructor Shasta just randomly picked a student as Assistant Student. You got lucky.”
Xiliya confidently reassured Ximo. She wasn’t as surprised because this had happened in her previous life too.
In her previous life, during the freshman orientation, Instructor Shasta had suddenly emerged from the teaching building and picked an unfamiliar freshman as Assistant Student. Later, Xiliya learned it was due to academy teaching reforms requiring each teacher to have at least one Assistant Student.
Shasta was notorious for avoiding trouble, so she’d just grabbed a random student. Of course, in the previous life, it had been someone else.
Could Ximo’s presence have caused a deviation in events that were supposed to happen? Xiliya wondered inwardly.
“It’s fine. This is good for you, Ximo. Instructor Shasta is a great teacher in the academy.”
Xiliya patted Ximo’s shoulder. This was indeed good news for Ximo—the teacher was the most senior one in the Academy. Even if she found it troublesome, she wouldn’t completely ignore her own Assistant Student.
However… Xiliya knew that it wouldn’t be long before Instructor Shasta got dragged into a very serious incident. Still, this matter probably wouldn’t involve Ximo.
Mira sat on the bed nearby, pretending to read a book, but she had already perked up her ears. Her attention was nowhere on the pages.
Mira wanted to gossip too, but she couldn’t bring herself to lower her pride and chat with the two of them. She could only pretend she hadn’t heard anything and keep reading on the side.
By the way, only three people lived in Ximo’s dormitory right now. According to the dorm supervisor, when they were assigned to this dorm, there were exactly three spots left. Their four-person room was indeed the one at the very end of the dormitory hallway.
“Right, this medicine—twice a day. Remember to take it every day.”
Xiliya suddenly remembered something. She pulled out a small bottle and handed it to Ximo.
