"Now coming to your homeroom class. I have decided to accommodate all three of you with Mrs. Yana's class." Wanda changed the topic, waiting for any particular reaction from the students.
While Chris remained nonchalant, Aron's serene expression was replaced with a smile. Wanda had been aware of his familiarity with Mrs. Yana, hence she wasn't surprised. Rather, this factor actually influenced her decision to choose Mrs. Yana's homeroom.
Still, Christina was not the same as the boys. A slight worry had made its way to her face and Wanda quickly figured out the reason. "Haha.. don't worry. I know some of our brats might have filled you on Mrs. Yana's 'unconventional' methods. But let me remind you, she is one of the best faculties we have."
Seeing both boys nod, Wanda next focussed on Christina. "There can not be a better start to your journey in this Academy. Don't listen to what others tell you. I will suggest you guys take up some classes first, later if you think you can't handle the pressure, you are free to approach me."
The lady placed her hand on Christina's shoulder, gently squeezing it to fill the girl with confidence. "Understood, Mrs. Wanda." She replied sheepishly.
"Good... Then let me know if you have any concerns you want to discuss with me." Wanda stepped back, gracefully standing at her earlier position. Aron waited for others but since no one responded, he chose to close off the discussion. "We are good, Mrs. Wanda. If there are any future concerns, we will reach you."
"Of course.. you can find me in the principal's building." With an easy-going smile, the young woman turned back. "Cecilia, can you please drop them to their class and inform Mrs. Yana of my decision."
"Yes, Mrs. Wanda." The girl in her late teenage years walked to the front after standing like a complete statue for the last few minutes. "Come with me."
The young ones thanked Wanda one last time, then followed Cecilia on their way out. "I just hope she doesn't scare them to death." Wanda stood watching the four people disappear around the edge of the assembly ground.
Although Wanda spoke the truth, she didn't tell them all the reasons why she considered Mrs. Yana as their homeroom teacher. Yes, she was one of the best teachers they had, however, it was also true that there was no shortage of talented teachers under the aegis of her institution.
Thing was, Mrs. Yana's class had an abnormally high desertion rate. This meant her class was running at a lower than commonly prescribed strength. If not for these talented young individuals, where will Wanda find the candidates to fill the vacant seats?
What's more, this time the academy didn't want to show off these recruits and possibly paint a target on their heads. Keeping that in mind, only Mrs. Yana made sense to her. Only she had such drastic control over her students that none will dare to unnecessarily reveal their identities to the upperclassmen.
Effectively, Wanda had killed multiple birds with a single stone. *Sigh* "I better get back to her. God knows what stupid plans she might be coming up with." Shaking her head in distress, Wanda left the assembly ground as well, leaving behind only a simmering black spear that was still waiting for its master.
***
"I heard you are from the Alchemy department, Ms. Cecilia." On the way to their new class, Aron started small talk with his senior. Cecilia didn't look like a girl who liked talking too much. Nevertheless, after seeing genuine curiosity in his eyes, she chose to respond.
"Indeed I am." Aron was happy to have at least broken the ice. "Ohh.. nice. Can you share something about Alchemy with me?" Thinking of the need for him to explain further, Aron continued. "You know, my friends told me I can choose more than one discipline if I have the right talent for it. Hence, I was just inquisitive about it."
Cecilia blinked her attractive eyelids. "All of you are new, so I can understand your interest in selecting more than one discipline. But let me give you a word of advice. Biting more than you can chew is never a great idea."
The girl was blunt in her answer, but Aron didn't mind her forthright attitude. Nonetheless, the Desmond twins didn't come from the same strata of society as him and hence both of them felt a little uneasy.
"Ahem.. my words might come as harsh right now, but I can't stress enough how big a mistake it is to select too many disciplines at once." Probably Cecilia too realized that these were just kids compared to her, and therefore toned down her impoliteness.
"A lot of students in their first year will get overly excited and choose every discipline they can. And once you select a discipline, you are stuck with it for the entire year." Aron listened carefully to her wisdom, choosing to put up his question only when she was done.
"But there must be some filtering mechanism on the Academy's side, making sure the deserving ones got to select more than one discipline?" Cecelia was not expecting the young boy to ask such intelligent questions.
Regardless, the final-year girl was impressed by his respectful demeanor. "For sure there are mechanisms to deal with that. Everyone is rigorously tested before they are allowed to add other magic disciplines than your core one."
"Still, I believe.. hm.. I am not sure if I should be telling you this.." All three first-years got visibly excited when Cecilia said that. Was she going to reveal some secret only upperclassmen were privy to?
Aron doubly pricked his ears, ready to not miss a single syllable coming from Cecilia's mouth. "Anyhow, I don't think it's that much of a big deal.." She continued. "I think Academy deliberately keeps the barrier of entry lower. With so many students always falling for this obvious trap, the authorities might be testing a student's resolve with this simple trick."
Although her reasoning seemed too farfetched, it did make some sense. Then again, Cecilia had spent years here and her words carried a lot of weight.
Cecilia was not expecting the young ones to not question her speculation and this won them her goodwill. "Still, don't let my words discourage you. I have heard a little about you three getting some great scores on the boards."
"As such, if you feel like it, don't hesitate to go for other disciplines as well if you feel like it. After all, commanding multiple types of magic can help you develop into a powerful mage in the long run. Just maintain a balance and not choose more than two extra disciplines, that will be my advice."
"Thanks a lot, Ms. Cecilia. You cleared a lot of doubts." Aron revealed a beaming smile, prompting even Chris and Christina to express their gratitude towards her. Probably not used to such situations, Cecilia can only awkwardly wave her hands to make them stop.
"That's not necessary. I think you earlier asked me about Alchemy." Cecilia changed the topic, focusing her attention back on the raven-haired boy. "But first tell me what is your core skill."
Aron didn't know how it was relevant but shared it nonetheless. "Well, currently I am gravitating more towards Necromancy magic." Cecilia raised her eyebrows. "Necromancy you say.."
Her stiff expression didn't instill confidence in the slave boy. "I don't want to break your heart but you can not enter the Alchemy department without first having some competency in fire magic."
"Fire magic?" Aron repeated after her. He knew next to nothing about Alchemy at this point. Among Julia's group, only Sophie had some knowledge about this lavish discipline. And to his bad luck, he never got a chance to have an extended interaction with her.
"Yes. Well, it doesn't specifically have to be fire. Since alchemy basically involves heating medicinal plants to create pills and potions, we must have some technique to generate the required heat to make our cauldrons work. Source of heat doesn't matter as long as you can have precise control over it."
Aron can only stare in wonderment at Cecilia, who patiently explained the alchemy concepts to him. Although it was a piece of bad news for him, at least he was more aware now than he was when their conversation started.
"Haha.. I guess there is nothing that can be done then. For now, I don't have any way to generate the heat you speak of."
Cecilia saw the boy laugh without any worry. Being a senior, she can very well tell this revelation from her was certainly a setback for whatever the kid had planned. Nevertheless, his positive perspective on life didn't allow it to dampen his mood.
For the first time in the day, Cecilia's facial muscles relaxed into an easy-going smile. "I won't say alchemy is easy. But yeah, it's one of the most respected professions you can take up. So don't give up without giving it your best shot."
"For sure." Aron replied with an even bigger smile. They exchanged a few more pleasantries when Cecilia stopped in front of one particular classroom.
Although this section was part of the Necromancy department, now Aron knew Mrs. Yana was actually working as the homeroom teacher for most of the time.
"Please pardon the disturbance, Mrs. Yana." Cecilia stepped through the door, followed closely by the three new students.
Dressed in her signature long black garments, Mrs. Yana took a break from teaching to listen to Cecilia. Noticing the face appearing behind the girl, she broke out into a smile.
"I guess these guys are going to join my class then." Yana seems to have already figured things out. Otherwise, she must have known what decision Wanda was going to make because there was no particular reaction from her.
"That's is what I brought them here for, Mrs. Yana. Another thing.." Cecilia took a pause after answering positively. Turning at a perfect right angle, she now faced the entire classroom.
"Pertaining to the last incident only this year. Principal Madelyn would appreciate it if the identities of these young fellows is not revealed. Not in this year at the very least."
Everyone can make sense of this decision. While some might argue that Hera's case was different because of her extreme potential directly threatened the inflated egos of the senior classmen. Rather, the issue would never have escalated as much as it did have she not continued to wipe the floor with every next opponent of hers.
Hence it might have been her undefeated spree that blew the matter out of proportion with the seniors fighting for their very pride. Nonetheless, it wasn't too out of character for the Academy to not take any chances this time around.
"Hohoho.. You can rely on my students. They are the most obedient, obviously they will never disclose what doesn't need to be disclosed." Yana ended her sentence with a wide grin spreading from her ear to ear. Shivers ran down the spine of the kids facing her and they nodded their heads in unison, each too scared to fall out of line.
"Thank you, Mrs. Yana. I believe I can let them be in your care now. Please allow me to take my leave." Cecilia took a bow and turned on her heels. Taking a last look at the juniors, which signified her telling them to do their best, she walked out of the room.
"Hm.. As you three heard her say.. My name is Yana Ignis. I am going to be your new homeroom teacher. Let's have a lot of fun together." Aron can't tell about the siblings, but he had never been happier.
Yana Ignis. This was the first time he heard Mrs. Yana's full name. 'Why does she look even more beautiful now that I know her complete name?' Needless to say, Aron was lost.. charmed by the lady of his dreams.