C52
“You know Yiruki's a member, right? All three of them are students that the academy keeps an eye on in one way or another. Although we can't interfere with who hangs out with who, the research group is not a club. Many students are absorbed in the performance evaluation, but if Shirone, at this time, joins a research group simply because he is close with them, he will fall behind.”
Thadd enjoyed the idea of a school life romance, but Siena thought differently.
'What year is he living in? Students are so bright these days. Times have changed.'
Ethella covered her mouth to hide her laugh.
“You haven't changed. Well, it's true that the three of them are promising prospects in the eyes of the academy. If his grades fall, the academy will be at a loss too.”
Siena didn't deny it.
“I do not think there's anything wrong with trying to get talented students to grow and advance forward. That's what I think education is for, after all.”
“Yes, I fully understand.”
Ethella smiled and nodded her head, making Siena regret her earlier remarks.
'She's such a good-natured person.'
She could see why students liked her.
Ethella's view of education was the complete opposite. Never favor or force someone. Siena felt that such an approach would only make the students fall behind. However, looking at the results, the kids under her care were by no means inferior to Siena's.
'Am I being selfish? I have no intention of ruining the fun of their school life… But what will be the future of the students if they end up wasting their talent?'
Siena let out a sigh.
“I don't know. I'm not sure why children who have such great potential are going down a different path. I also don't know why Shirone applied for such a place.”
Ethella silently looked down at her cup as she was lost in thought.
She was the only one who knew about Shirone's Nirvana.
The reason why she didn't report such a matter to the academy was because doing so recklessly could flip Shirone's life 180 degrees.
'It is Shirone's realm. It's his… Sigh, I had hoped that he would be able to make his own decisions for as long as possible, but it seems like…'
Siena was his instructor, and she seemed to genuinely care about Shirone, so Ethella felt like talking about it would not be a bad idea.
“By any chance, has Shirone been acting strange lately?”
Siena blinked.
“I'm not sure, but I suppose every now and then, yes. Though, I imagine it's all because he's hanging out with them. He probably even only applied to join the research group because Nade and Yiruki persuaded him to.”
“Perhaps, there is another reason.”
“What does that…”
“I'm sorry for not telling you this before, but the reason for Shirone's strangeness has something to do with the Speed Gun exam.”
Ethella told her the story of Shirone entering Nirvana during the exam.
Siena's face turned pale.
“Are you sure? That's an Immortal Function.”
Siena was shocked. After all, it was a peak state.
Though, that didn't mean Shirone had reached the highest peak of that state.
In terms of the state alone, there were recorded cases of street beggars realizing deeper degrees than mages. It was too dangerous of a concept for Shirone, who was only a student, to control.
“Why did you not notify me of this sooner? This is an extremely serious problem.”
Ethella believed there was no such thing as big problems or small problems. That's why she handed the reins over to Shirone, as she believed the difficulty of a problem was dependent on who was undertaking it.
“Shirone already knows. Nirvana is the highest quality of realization that even I have never experienced. When it comes to Nirvana, I thought there was no room for anyone to intervene.”
“I understand how you feel. We can't force others to do something we don't know about. But what if there is an Overflow? Then there will be no turning back.”
Overflows occurred when a certain talent was awakened at a mentally underdeveloped age.
In fact, some even say that the younger you experience it, the more of a genius you are. But Siena felt that those sayings were nothing more than irresponsible remarks made by gossipers.
Siena experienced Overflow at the young age of 9.
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
