The Twin Mage

"Nice trick, by the way. Silverwing's Hexagram is an uncommon skill for an admission exam. Also, generally those capable of performing it are fighting-oriented mages, who don't apply to either the White or Black Griffon.

I must admit that I have underestimated you. I would never have expected a country bumpkin to have such deep knowledge, and to be able to exploit it to turn a good performance into an excellent one at that.

The White Griffon examining board have not seen Silverwing's Hexagram in decades."

'F*ck me sideways!' Arthur and Morgan's face and thoughts were polar opposites.

'Either Nana didn't know about this, or she set me up. Let's hope my score isn't too high. I don't want some 'school princess/prince' bothering me because of it.'

In a matter of minutes, everything was settled. New dimensional doors opened and the mages disappeared without saying a word.

Back in the Headmaster's office, Linjos gave them the result.

"Congratulations, young…" He remembered that Arthur and Morgan had no family name.

"…mage. Your admission to White Griffon has been approved unanimously with a score of 93/100. Your actual score was 88, but it has been years since an applicant was capable of performing the Hexagram, we awarded you 5 extra points."

'88/100?' they thought. 'Either I limited myself too much, or someone is really cranky today. The Hexagram proved to be a wild card, but luckily my score is still within the expected range.'

Linjos continued his speech, unaware of their worries.

"I look forward to seeing you back here in a couple of months, to start your specialization years. Here, take. It's some material you can study and review to help you make your choice."

The Headmaster gave them seven small books. The first six were about elemental specializations, while the seventh one was about item creation. They took them all avidly.

"Those are highly confidential. You are not supposed to show them or discuss their contents with anyone outside the White Griffon."

Linjos' tone was dead serious, so Arthur and Morgan gave their most heartfelt assurances.

"Perfect. Any question before I call in the wardrobe for your uniform?"

"Yes, one. What is the academy's position about bullying? As you know, I come from a backwater village, my father is a farmer, and I don't even have a last name. In my experience, even the best of us tend to look down upon me, if not worse."

They threw a meaningful look at the Marchioness, who pretended not to notice.

Headmaster Linjos puffed out his chest with pride, straightening his back even more.

"Glad that you asked. Before my time, commoner's and merchant's children had quite a rough experience. But I have established a zero-tolerance policy for bullying and violence in my academy. I hope to set up an example for everyone.

"The Queen picked me up for this position because even as a student, I fought hard to defend the rights of the less fortunate. No matter their origin, powerful mages are too precious an asset for the Kingdom to allow some spoiled brats to ruin years of hard work.

"You have no idea how many academies' alumni have defected from our Kingdom to get their revenge. The Court is giving this matter the utmost importance, that's why I expect many heads to fall in the next few years."

Just thinking of how many brilliant mages, even geniuses, had their lives destroyed by abuses of power, made Linjos' heart bleed. Once they grew in power, they had left their home country with no hesitation, turning into a thorn in the side of the King.

Their rage was unbridled, the only way to make them come back would be to wipe out entire ancient noble families, but that was something outside even the King's reach. It would start a civil war, so the Crown had to choose the lesser evil.

But that didn't mean he would let that evil stay and erode the Kingdom's backbone.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm afraid of." Arthur and Morgan didn't feel even a bit reassured by his words.

"As a hunter, I learned that a cornered beast is the most dangerous one. What if, hypothetically, I were to be harassed by one or more influential people?"

"I would stand by your side, and give them the proper punishment!"

The answer was too quick.

'Man, this guy is green. Either he comes from a fairy tale, or has not been in the real world long enough for it to bite his a*s,' they thought.

"I'm sure of your sincerity, but please, think about it. Prince whatever harasses a country bumpkin and gets reported. It's just the victim's word against someone who has at his back political and magical influence. What could you do?"

"I would order for an exhaustive investigation, listening to all the witnesses."

"And what if the witnesses get intimidated? Or if there is no witness at all? Are you telling me you could still do something?"

Linjos' long face seemed to become even longer.

"No, I could not. Prince whatever would at worst get a reprimand, and I could only ask the staff to keep an eye on the bumpkin."

"Isn't there anything at all you can do to prevent this?" they were seriously rethinking everything. Getting admitted with a high score and having just Count Lark as an official backer would make their residence a nightmare straight from day one.

"With all the magical marvels you got, isn't there some kind of alarm? A panic whistle? A 'gods please, someone, anyone save me' device?"

"Actually, there is." Linjos' words made them sigh with relief.

From one of the desk's drawers, Linjos took out a big wooden box twice as big and full to the brim of black pearl-lookalike spheres the size of a baseball.

"These spheres are actually magical items, called Guilty Ballots." The name was self-explanatory. Even in that world, justice was represented holding a scale.

"Once you imprint one as yours, just like for a communication amulet, the Guilty Ballot will record every word and action happening around you as soon as you send some mana into it.

"A second mana pulse will trigger a call for help, alerting the academy staff that something is wrong. It would also work as a beacon for Warp Steps, allowing us to intervene immediately."

'Warp Steps, uh?' they thought. 'I'm a person of tradition, dimensional door sounds much better, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do.'

"Thank you very much! That's exactly what I hoped for." They grabbed one without a second thought.

"Wait, there is a reason I didn't offer it to you immediately."

They weren't much interested, but had to keep up appearances.

"Is there any side effect?"

"No, the Ballot itself works perfectly, it has been made by the best Forgemasters, after all. The problem is that its use is socially frowned upon, by both students and teachers. I must warn you that it's much more famous as the 'coward's end.'"

They hid their mouth with a hand, pretending to be in deep thought, while actually grinning in disgust.

'Yeah, right. I had enough of this bullsht back on Earth. "You need to learn how to stand up for yourself," they said. "A little bullying helps you build your character and prepare you to face real-life" and all that crap.'

Seeing no reply, Linjos continued.

"Very few students have picked up a Ballot, and even those who did would usually return it after just a few weeks. Isolation and ostracism are another form of violence I can do nothing about.

"And for someone away from home for the first time, a bad friend is better than none at all. It could prevent you from socializing, keeping everyone away from you, even those who could actually become your true friends.

"Please, have faith in me, I will stand by your side, no matter what. All the teachers I handpicked share my vision and will do all they can to help you."

Arthur and Morgan wanted to sarcastically laugh in the face of his groundless optimism and wishful thinking.

"Thank you very much for your concern, but as I see it, it would be a thorny path with or without it. Besides, I decided to join your academy to quench my thirst for knowledge, not to make friends.

"Without the Ballot, I would be in the hands of fate. With it, instead, if you are right, I will never need it, nor ever be forced to reveal I do possess one. If I am right, we both will have our backs covered, and you will have what you need to pursue your ideals.

"It's a win-win situation."

They tried to be polite and accommodating, but in their mind, they could see several flaws in Linjos' pep talk.

'He admitted that he is not able to purge all the bad apples, this means that I need to be wary of both students and teachers. Not to mention that we barely know each other. How can he possibly be so naïve as to expect me to take his word at face value?

'For all I know, he might just as well be a strawman with no actual power, that a rotten system has put into this place just for marketing. Only time will tell me if this guy is just a frigging paint job on a rust bucket or the real deal.'

Linjos sighed, but insisted no more. It hurt his pride and spirit seeing such a young person being so cynical. When he had started as a Headmaster, he had always pictured himself as a charismatic figure, capable of instilling trust in his pupils.

But being a mage, he was more pragmatic than idealistic, and recognized the truth behind their words.

'After Linnea destroyed their future, it's natural for them to be biased. I'll show both to them and the Queen that my methods work. The Ballot is a sad relic of the past, born because of the incompetence of my predecessors.

'Nobles and commoners can and will go along!' Linjos thought.

After concluding that matter, Linjos summoned a wardrobe clerk into his office. The clerk delivered a uniform that was way too big for their size. It consisted of a white shirt, blazer, pants, a robe, and black shoes. The embroideries instead were of a pitch-black color.

"At the moment, the uniform is at its biggest available size. Our Forgemasters enchant them so that they are able to perfectly fit their wearer. As you grow over time, it will expand, so you will not have to change it.

"The uniform has many other properties. They are all described in a note inside the chest pocket, with one exception."

Linjos brought their shirt's cuffs close to an unused Ballot and the black sphere suddenly disappeared.

"You do not yet possess any dimensional object, and you cannot walk with a Ballot in your hand the whole time. So, our uniforms' cuffs possess a hidden function: a very small dimensional storage that only applies to Ballots.

"As far as I know, aside from us and the Forgemasters, no one is aware of its existence."

They nodded, sending mana to the Guilty Ballot in their hand. The magical item absorbed the energy greedily, imprinting their mana as its master. In many ways, it was similar to other magical items, yet the differences were like heaven and earth.

The Ballot needed their mana to function, not to live, and it was incapable of absorbing it on its own. Through their mana flow, they were capable of making it start/stop recording, projecting the recorded images and sounds.

'This thing is dead as a doornail. It's just like some kind of CCTV and I'm the power plant. The uniform though, has some pretty sweet properties,' they thought while skimming the instructions.

Before leaving the Headmaster's office, they received even more booklets that described the academy's history, its forest, how the student point system worked, and so on. There was enough to fill a small library.

Thankfully, the Marchioness offered to carry them for them in one of her dimensional pockets.

'Dammit, if it wasn't for my abilities, it would take me months to read and memorize all this stuff. Between knowing the White Griffon rules and regulations inside out and the Guilty Ballot, I should have what I need to survive the next two years. Maybe.'