Greatest Academy's Student: Magic and Money

Daphne's eyes quivered slightly as he took a step back from Finn, who now stood upright and stared at him.

"I forgot, there's a baseball game now. That's where the students have been heading to..."

Daphne made up an excuse to escape the question and tried to turn around to walk out. But Finn halted him.

"Are you sure you want to leave without answering the question? If you're worried about others knowing your secret, then cast your darn mute spell! I'm simply curious about how you have a feminine name when you were born male. It's quite concerning; can you trust someone like that as your 'friend'? I don't think so."

Daphne turned around abruptly, his mind suggesting that Finn was starting to lose interest in becoming friends with him. It seemed he was all in on making Finn a 'friend'.

However, Finn was aware of this and was beginning to play the card.

Since he studied psychology as a police officer in his own world, he understood every single nuance of human behaviour, allowing him to manipulate the situation and gauge Daphne's reactions effectively.

He was using his knowledge to assess Daphne's trustworthiness and emotional responses, which could ultimately influence the dynamics of their potential 'friendship'.

"I n-never... I mean, please, wait!" Daphne found it very hard to compose an understandable sentence.

His wand suddenly reappeared in his right hand.

Raising it with a reluctant tone, he declared once again, "Silencio Mutta!"

The same effect that had recently occurred, contrary to the activation of the spell, repeated itself.

Finn crossed his arms and lent an ear, acting like a father about to listen to his child revealing a groundbreaking secret.

Daphne, with his head down, spoke in a trembling voice, "I'm actually not male, originally."

"Well, that's groundbreaking... feels like a plot twist, so I'm speaking with a female then," Finn's senses connected quickly. Though, he spoke with a casual tone.

Daphne was taken aback by Finn's calmness. He had expected shock, perhaps even disbelief, but Finn seemed unfazed. This unexpected reaction left him feeling strangely vulnerable, as if the weight of his revelation hung in the air, waiting for a response that never came.

He felt a pause, a draw back in himself, resisting the urge to ask why Finn was behaving this way.

He reluctantly continued, "I was born female but underwent a magical transformation due to circumstances. I don't like being male! So I kept my name, despite being told to change it. Only Princess, Aurelia, knows about this; everyone simply thinks I was named after my mother, since her middle name is 'Daphne'."

"What? This is like being a superhero secretly, covering your real identity by only using a glass to switch between identities, and foolishly, no one knows it's the same person."

Daphne shrugged, his heart was pounding hard. Finn's nonchalant response was both a relief and a source of confusion. Why wasn't he reacting more strongly?

Finn cleared his throat, and after a moment of careful thought, he decided to ask what this circumstance might be.

"Huh... I have a condition called Aetheric Dysphoria. In my female form, I'm unable to be around Aether, which exists everywhere. My feminine body can't handle it, so I have to change genders or face death. This is quite rare, and most people don't know about it."

"Tsk. That's very understandable. So now I'm confused; should I refer to you as 'he' or 'she'?"

Actually, that is truly confusing. What should Finn refer to Daphne as? Though the answer was the same as ever.

"It should be 'he'. I'm already familiar with this now; it's been over sixteen years. At least I can now cast spells without fearing the energy source."

Finn turned back to the shelf after receiving the answer he needed. He had also confirmed whether Daphne was lying or not—well, he wasn't. The eyes can't lie, despite Daphne having only raised his head a little throughout the whole reveal, which was when he shrugged and showed some sign of shock to Finn's reaction.

It was simple why Finn reacted this way; it had nothing of importance to do with him, and he did not need to know more than this.

"Do you want to know about my family?" Daphne asked, suddenly lively.

"That you're from a family of mages, right? If that's a yes, then I'm not interested in knowing more," Finn replied, now checking the third shelf in the library.

"Oh, okay." Daphne responded casually.

He instantly became curious about what Finn was actually searching for and asked, "Are you looking for a specific title?"

Finn nodded slightly and replied, " 'The Breath of the Universe' and 'How to Become a Mage'."

Without hesitation, Daphne scanned the shelves, his eyes darted across the spines of numerous books. His fingers brushed against the covers of each book until he spotted the two titles nestled together.

With a burst of excitement, he pulled them from the shelf.

That was fast...

"Here you go!" Daphne said, handing the books to Finn. "Are you interested in my teaching? I can offer more information and guidance on becoming a mage."

Surprisingly, "The Breath of the Universe" was only 40 pages long, while "How to Become a Mage" was oddly just 2 pages, resembling a newspaper but with the height of a small comic book.

Looking at this second sh*t, maybe I will need you...

Finn was referring to the second book, or rather pamphlet—How to Become a Mage.

"Oh my, I've forgotten; do you have any idea what language this is?"

Finn turned the tablet he was holding towards Daphne, who read what was on the screen—the strange language Finn knew nothing about.

Simply, he replied with a grin, "That's the Eldaric language. It's what we use to cast spells, and sometimes other things."

"Eldaric?"