�If you don�t want to come out, don�t.�

Maria did not answer.

However, the fact that he didn�t try to turn the handle and start yelling at her calmed her a little.

Amidst the silence, Thadd looked up at the sky.

�Still the same.�

The blue sky of the Alpheas Magic Academy that he so hated during his academy life.

�Mr. Thadd.�

��Yes?�

�You hate me, right?�

�Don�t you know? I don�t hate girls.�

�Why is the world so unfair?�

�Why? Cases where someone is born as pretty as you are rare. You�re not lacking in any way.�

�You, someone who�s called a genius mage, wouldn�t know what it means to have no talent. Even if I do my best, despair is always waiting for me ahead. It feels like anything I do just� goes down the drain. Nothing feels like it�s working, I can�t seem to do anything. Do you know what that feels like? Do you know how daunting that is?�

��Of course. I know that feeling very much.�

Maria turned her head toward the iron door.

�You do?�

�I graduated when I was 22, so it�s already been four years since I�ve become an instructor. When you entered the academy, I must have been in the Advanced class. You know I�m a graduate from here, right?�

�Yes.�

�Then do a bit of thinking. Have you ever heard of a student named Thadd attending this academy?�

Now that she thought about it, she couldn�t remember a single time she heard his name during his time as a student.

Shirone was an outlier as he was the topic of the students� gossip as soon as he entered the academy.

�No, never.�

�And that makes perfect sense. My grades were low, I didn�t have any talent, and in addition to that, I wasn�t from a big, rich family. In fact, I used to always go start fights outside of the academy.�

�You did?�

�Yeah. It took me an average of two years to go up a class. Hell, when I got into the Advanced Class, it started taking me three. Though, I know things are a little different for you.�

Thadd continued while imagining Maria sulking.

�But aren�t our situations quite similar? Unless you are the best period, everyone is bound to fail or be defeated someday. The same principle applies to me. I had gotten into the Advanced Class, but I flunked my classes every time without fail.�

�But how��

�How did I become who I am now? It�s all luck. Luck. I met a wicked mage who yelled and scolded me. You know, I convinced myself that I was doing my best, but compared to others, that �best� was nothing. And struggling to defeat someone was something I got sick of. But one day, that same wicked mage, told me this��

Thadd recalled that time. JrNovels.com