Please! Be a calm class with ordinary students! Ordinary!

Professor Curtis was on his way towards his classroom while anxiously preparing himself. His students from last semester had all graduated, and It was time for the first encounter with the new generation. As always, his free time between semesters had been limited, and stress had already begun accumulating.

It wasn't like he hated working. Teachers around the world would kill for a chance to visit the Magic Academy, let alone work there. Curtis was no different and had reached his dream job at a young age. However, after years of mentally demanding work, he was finally getting burnt out. He had to keep going, though. His family wasn't going to feed itself after all.

Unable to hide his nervous expression from passing demons, Curtis strolled forwards along the main street. The path was paved with delicately carved stones and surrounded by a vast amount of roadside greenery. Gardens, fountains, and other fancy decorations filled most of the academy's large surface area to the point of almost resembling a park.

A bunch of newcomers were admiring scenery with amazement filling their eyes. Everybody could tell why the Magic Academy is considered the pride of Eldham just by looking around.

Despite perfect weather for the start of a new semester, the mood around Curtis felt quite unapproachable. His drained demeanour was unfitting among the excitement around him. That isn't to say his appearance was filthy in any way. In fact, his elegant white hair was neatly arranged to complement his black horns, while his white collared uniform was immaculate. Most women would describe him as gorgeous, even though he is over 30 years old. He clearly hadn't skimped on his looks.

Curtis had spent the last few years in distress, as his class had been full of troublemakers. It was hard to teach people who didn't want to be taught. Thankfully, they were now gone, and he could spend the next few semesters with regular students. Or so he hoped.

The Magic Academy is known for occupying all kinds of unique characters. Most of them join because of their passion for magic, but in some cases, nobles from wealthy households enrol their children simply because they can. These kinds of students often act disrespectfully and lack manners towards the lower classes.

Curtis had been unlucky enough to get stuck on teaching the ignorant Royal Princess. He had sent multiple complaints to the principal without success. Apparently, expelling the Royal Princess was out of the question. Her graduation ceremony had been one of the greatest joys in Curtis' career, for all the wrong reasons.

Life would surely become miserable if a bunch of misfits hijacked his lessons once again. Luckily for Curtis, it's quite unlikely to receive worse luck than he did previously. Surely, he could start teaching magic instead of discipline once again. Even still, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

After a long walk, Curtis finally faced the enormous castle-like Academy. Its white facades were polished enough to shine, while flags bearing the Academy's logo proudly waved on top of its dome-shaped pillars. For a world where technology widely resembles medieval times, the condition of this building was simply astonishing.

The front entrance had humongous wide open double doors, reaching over 5 meters in height. Curtis stepped inside, following the spacious hallways straight to the third floor. The interior layout was quite simple, even with its large size. Signs were placed in key locations to point exactly where everything is. Getting lost was a rare occurrence even for newcomers.

Curtis was late by a few minutes in typical teacher fashion. It was finally time for the moment of truth. He had spent the whole morning mentally preparing for this moment. It was time to meet the group he would be teaching for the next few years.

The classroom was relatively quiet, and not much chit chat reached outside. This was a promising sign for Curtis. He opened the door, hoping to see mannered people calmly waiting in their seats.

The classroom resembled a small auditorium more than a typical modern classroom with its curvy tiers sloping upwards. The front row was in level with the floor, while the back was elevated by a few metres. Taking a quick look around, everything seemed good. Or so Curtis thought.

The seats were filled with students of different ages, all wearing school uniforms. Everybody looked normal, but the more Curtis probed, the weirder things got.

First of all, three seats were left empty. This meant that three people in his class were stupid enough to get lost inside the academy. Curtis wasn't particularly overjoyed about having to teach idiots who couldn't even find the correct classroom, but this is just a minor complaint.

Secondly, his class had two grey horns. Technically, there aren't any rules against commoners inside the academy, but the reality is often different from ideals. The rate of commoners passing the entrance exam is unbelievably low, with often only a few people making it through. This often results in blatant racism against the minority.

Curtis had nothing against talented commoners. In fact, he admired their efforts. However, as their teacher, he would have to go through the trouble of dealing with conflicts among his classmates.

And lastly, something was off about two black horned kids in the middle. They looked seemingly normal at first, but Curtis felt disturbed just looking at them. He couldn't quite recognize them, but their faces reminded him of the unfathomable Royal Princess.

Curtis sighed internally, hoping his worries were just his brain playing tricks on him. After silently eyeing down the class for a while, he finally started class.

"First years, I welcome you to the Magic Academy! I am Professor Curtis, and I will be your homeroom teacher from today onwards. I've been a professor in the academy for seven years, during which I've taught all kinds of students. My class will cover everything from magic theory to history. Other subjects such as alchemy or combat practices have been marked down in your schedules!"

Curtis made his introduction quick, setting an example for students. He wanted to end class quickly without spending hours getting to know each other.

"We'll start with introductions! As all of you know, using aliases or nicknames is allowed inside the Magic Academy. However, you cannot change your nickname later on, so pick wisely. You may introduce yourself however you see fit, but make it swift."

The first one to present herself was a girl with long orange hair. She looked to be in her early twenties and had a beautiful mature body shape. Her stage appearance and stunning black horns definitely stole the attention of the opposite gender.

"Hello! My name is Helena! I came here in hopes of learning alchemy and improving my skills. I'm glad to be here, and I hope we all get along!"

Her voice was soft, yet she spoke with confidence. Looking satisfied, she returned to her seat. This was exactly the kind of introduction Curtis was hoping for. Maybe he could even end the class early and spend time with his family instead.

Next up was one of the grey horns Curtis was concerned about. He had blond hair tied to a ponytail and carried a longsword tied to his belt. His facial features hinted towards serious nature and a respectful attitude. All in all, he looked well mannered despite being a commoner.

"I am Alex from the small village of Whitten! I have been taught the sword from a young age and came here to sharpen my technique. My goal is honing down my skills and one day surpassing my master!"

He bowed down for a second before returning to his seat. Curtis wasn't sure what a sword freak was doing at the academy, as they mostly taught magic instead. Maybe he wished to become a magic swordsman. Either way, Curtis wasn't one to pry.

The introductions continued smoothly. Most of the students were your average rich kids hoping to become the next big hit, and others just wanted to learn magic for their own convenience. Curtis was fairly happy with the results so far. Now only three people remained. One of them was a masculine grey horn with black hair, and the other two seemed to be twin brothers from some noble lineage. For some reason, something just felt off about them.

Next up was the former, but he didn't seem to realize it was his turn. He had a somewhat mysterious air around him while he quietly secluded himself in the uppermost corner. Curtis gave him some time before calling out. The grey horn finally realized it was his turn and spoke up.

"Uh... Well, you can call me Rupert. Nice to meet you."

He didn't bother leaving his seat or even standing up, just muttering an introduction from the comfort of his seat. This wasn't against the rules but slightly off-putting nonetheless.

Rupert was exactly the kind of student Curtis disliked, but this wasn't the worst possible situation. From his tone, it didn't seem like he felt superior to others. Rather, he just didn't care about introductions. Also, unlike a Royal Princess, he could easily get expelled for acting out. Curtis tried not to judge and moved onto the next person.

Now only two remained. The twins had blond hair and were undoubtedly nobles from a rich household. Their faces were almost indistinguishable from each other, having only minor differences here and there. They had smug looks as if they were waiting for this moment.

"I am Larry, the Second Prince of the Royal family!"

"And I am Louis, the Third Prince!"

!?

Curtis almost fainted upon hearing "Royal family". The two princes have been so irrelevant among politics that nobody realized their identity before now. So long for the hopes of a calm semester. Trying to avoid showing weakness, Curtis quickly regained his senses and let the two continue.

"Together, we're here to steal first and second place to rival the strongest mages alive!"

"Don't you mean, I'm taking first place!"

"No, that would be me! I'm the second prince, after all!"

The two growled at each other for a moment before realizing this probably wasn't the best time to argue.

It seemed like they weren't afraid of showing childish behaviour using their family name. No wonder everyone favoured the first prince over them. Curtis' mind was trying to comfort itself in this dire situation. Obviously, this was far from the ideal chill class he was hoping for.

He took a quick look around the classroom and compared it to the previous generation. After thinking about it, this year actually wasn't as bad. Yes, he had to teach two princes, but the twins barely even counted as being a part of their families. More importantly, everyone other than Rupert showed interest in learning magic. His struggles last year had mostly been from teaching the princess, who wasn't even slightly interested in learning.

This year should be feasible if he used experience from previous years. It was going to be painful, but maybe he would still have a chance at spending time with his family every now and then.

"Alright... Now that introductions are out of the way, we can start the lesson!"

"In order to pass the entrance exam, all of you have proven to be capable of handling mana. However, that doesn't mean you're ready to become mages just yet. Before I can teach any advanced spells, you will have to learn the fundamentals. The basics are always the most important element in casting, and without them, spells will always turn out sloppy."

Curtis spoke without much emotion as if reading a script. He didn't have the energy to fake enthusiasm in this situation.

"What I'm talking about, is of course the three essentials, flow, shape, and control. As you know, these three together form the foundation for spellcasting. The first step for any aspiring mage has always been to master the three essentials. That's why..."

Suddenly, the door burst open, interrupting Curtis. Three hooligans entered the classroom along with a strong odour. Curtis had already forgotten about the three absences and was certainly startled.

"Sorry, we're a bit late!"

A bespectacled red horn with brown hair yelled out discourteously. Upon seeing him, the two princes looked like they'd just seen a ghost, with pure fear filling their faces. Their arrogant attitudes disappeared as if they'd never said anything about taking first place.

Curtis couldn't figure out what made the three so scary. To him, they were all just delinquents. The mysterious red horn was the only sane-looking out of the three. His facial features were unusual, to say the least, and his glasses didn't quite suit his face. Behind him were two lifeless commoners. One of them looked like a farmer dressed in the Academy's uniform. His face screamed 'dehydration' as if he'd just crossed a desert without any water. The other was a spaced-out tall blond woman. Unlike the farmer, she didn't look like a commoner at all, despite having grey horns. Many would even consider her pretty if not for her lifeless expression.

Curtis has never had anything against commoners, but these three might single-handedly change his view. They were undoubtedly idiots who got lucky on the entrance exam. He cursed internally, as this meant more work on his part.

"Sigh... Have a seat..."

"Yes!"

"Guys, we're here! There's no way you're still this high... Oh, sorry!"

The red horn yelled at the two commoners and apologized to Curtis for interrupting class. The two both came back to their senses and followed the red horn. It almost felt like they had been enslaved and would only work on command.

Curtis already knew what he'd be doing after class ended. He would go straight to the principal's office and get the three expelled. The Magic Academy is no place for such ignorant students. Until then, he would just ignore them.

The three grouped together on the empty seats, still looking completely dead. Most teachers would send them to the infirmary straight away, but Curtis didn't consider it, mostly because they looked sleep-deprived or hungover rather than ill. The mood became quite unsettling for a while after their arrival. Curtis decided to skip dealing with more introductions and continued where he left off. Getting to know them would be pointless, as they would soon get expelled anyway.

"So, where was I..."

Before Curtis could even start, he was once again interrupted. This time it was because of the farmer, who started laughing for seemingly no reason. Quickly afterwards, his master chuckled as well before shutting him up.

"Haha, Rogg shut the fuck up! We're in class!"

Curtis was about to lose it. He couldn't wait to have the three expelled.

This isn't going to be a calm year is it...