The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

“Mary is a bit...”

“Kind of, yeah.”
‘...?’
Through the magic department freshmen, Ransell got a sense of the rumors about Marigold.

Marigold. She was already a well-known figure inside the magic department whom no one didn’t know.
.
.

.
———
[Fallen Noble Lady Simulation]

Schedule for the first week of March.
Mon – Dormitory assignment. (Location: Academy dormitory)
Tue – Introduction to magic affinities. (Location: Classroom)

Wed – Mana collision experiment. (Location: Research building)
Thu – Light and orb guidance practice. (Location: Training ground)
Fri – Mana gathering through meditation. (Location: Garden)

Sat – Jenise’s magic research assistant.
Sun – Jenise’s magic research assistant.
※The day of academy entrance is approaching! Will it succeed? The great mage who insults knights...!

———
“Hello!”
When Marigold first entered and was assigned a dormitory, her life wasn’t so bad.
“Who’s that?”

“They say it’s Mary.”
If you had to say, it was a good impression.
Blonde and beautiful, bright expression, with a strangely pleasant wildflower scent close by, and eyes that sparkled like jewels that captivated onlookers.

“She’s pretty.”
“A bit short though.”
“How old is she?”

“Seventeen.”
“Yeah, she’s short.”
“She’s Baroness Jenise’s disciple, they say.”
“Really?”

Though a commoner, she had a good teacher.
Though a commoner, she had cultured manners.
She was a little shy and sullen, but if you talked to her, she’d quickly warm up, creating a comfortable atmosphere.

Marigold was one of the most noticed people on her first day at the academy. In a good way.
“Yeah. Mages should get along. All working together until the day we overthrow the knights...”
“...?”

She occasionally said strange things that made those around her uneasy.
“Anyway, take care, Mary.”
“Okay.”

The problem was what happened during the week starting the next day.
—
Tuesday.

Introduction to magic affinities.
—
“Mana truly begins from the phenomenon where different attributes intersect, fuse, and repel each other. Carefully concentrate your mana and observe the effects when they collide. Very delicately and cautiously...”

“P-professor! Mary!”
“Hm?”
At that moment, a strong light and ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) heat burst from Marigold’s hand.

The tangled mana began swelling ominously. The professor’s eyes snapped wide open.
“Evacuate! Evacuate!”
Boom—!

The dull explosion left the place a mess. Desks, chairs, and floor splintered into wooden fragments, swirling wildly.
It was an explosion caused by Marigold’s failure to control her mana.
Though the professor and students evacuated safely, did this incident hurt Marigold’s reputation?

No.
Not necessarily.
Such things often happen with academy students still inexperienced with mana. It passed as a minor incident.

—
Wednesday.
Mana collision experiment.

—
“Professor! Mary!”
“Mary! Lower your magic output! Quickly!”

“No, it won’t decrease!”
“Damn, everyone evacuate!”
“Again?”

Boom—!
Though the incident repeated two days in a row, reactions were just a bit flustered but still fine.
Her peers saw Marigold as someone with natural talent but still clumsy in magic use.

“Sorry for the trouble...”
“It’s okay, Mary.”
She always apologized profusely after each big accident.

Even seeing her bow repeatedly made it hard to treat her harshly.
Only her long blonde hair was scorched by the explosions, and her curls seemed even stronger.
—

Thursday.
Light and orb guidance practice.
—

“Professor! Mary’s fighting!”
“What? With whom?”
“With the knight trainees...!”

“Damn it!”
The next day.
A fight broke out between a knight and Mary who shared the training ground.

“Why? Did I say something wrong? Wasn’t it you who belittled magic first?”
“A commoner talking back...”
Mary grabbed the collar of a male knight trainee.

Though their height difference was easily 40 cm, making it seem like his toes might lift off the ground, her expression showed no retreat.
“Say that again.”
“You want to hear it again? I said knights who think just building muscles and swinging swords is everything have no right to mock magic.”

“W-what?”
“Unlike swordsmanship, which just repeats wielding and swinging blades, magic is a far more complex and high-level discipline.”
“...Is it right for a commoner to speak like that in front of nobles? There’s a limit to how much insult I’ll take!”

“Then act like a noble. You’re the one who started the fuss, saying mages are weak and can be taken down with a single punch.”
“Done talking, brat. You insulted both knights and nobles! I am noble! Unlike you, I am noble! Of the prestigious Solaris family...!”
“Want more?”

“Get out! Outside!”
“Hmph!”
Mana flared from Mary’s body as her collar was grabbed.

“Enough, enough!”
“I’m trying to talk!”
The next moment, a fist collided between Mary and the knight.

“Kaeng!”
Mary’s face was left with a large red bruise.
She was helpless as the punch came before magic could activate.

“She lost.”
“Mary lost.”
Both departments punished her by confiscating lunch and snacks that day.

Still, this was not the decisive reason for her reputation’s collapse.
The real problem happened the next day.
 
“Nightmares?”

“Yes, nightmares.”
Ransell heard unexpected news from the magic department freshmen.
“Nightmares spread throughout the dormitory. They couldn’t sleep at all the whole weekend... ugh.”

The fresh magic student shivered, wrapping their arms around themselves, just thinking about it.
‘Nightmares?’
The content of the dreams varied by person, but there was one common factor:

The nightmares triggered the moment Marigold fell asleep and lasted until she woke up.
All the commoner mages sharing the dormitory suffered the same phenomenon.
“Though they knew it was a nightmare, they couldn’t wake, and though they wanted to run, something kept chasing them...”

“Eek!”
They reacted almost like trauma victims.
Humans get sensitive after a single sleepless night. Having experienced that for several days, even Ransell wouldn’t be happy.

“Was it Mary’s doing?”
“Yes. That was confirmed. They say it’s because of the meditation she learned Friday...”
Meditation.

“A simple practice to concentrate mana around the body, which Mary apparently practiced every night. It sounds like diligent mage training, but unfortunately...”
“Caused nightmares.”
“Yes. Professors say the mana Mary gathered during meditation acted as some kind of high-level spirit magic...”

If that was talent, then so be it.
“Hmm.”
Through that week’s events, Marigold became an outcast.

Commoner, orphan, Jenise’s disciple, novice mage, a half-ugly kid, awkward to be around, apprentice mage who constantly causes accidents, the girl who brings nightmares...
All these impressions formed within just one week.
There were even rumors she was directly bullied by knight trainees.

Considering her gathering things from the pond, those rumors were probably true.
If anyone could ruin academy life in a week, this would be it.
‘Marigold is utterly isolated.’

.
.
.

“The perfect world where no one gets hurt.”
“No. It’s all your own fault.”
Ransell replied, looking at the girl with tangled hair.

“...Sniff...”
Marigold buried her face in her knees.
“You’re right. It’s all my fault. I’m just a problem child who can barely do magic. When Lord Ransell said he’d come as a temporary professor, I wanted to look cool when I saw him again, but I ruined everything.”

“Pull yourself together.”
“Ouch!”
Ransell removed a leaf stuck in Marigold’s crown.

“Hmm.”
He picked up the sandwich Marigold had dropped. She had started avoiding the dining hall and carried her own food.
‘What should I do about this?’

He took a bite of the sandwich, pondering.
“Ah, my lunch...!”
“Want a bite?”

“No, I’m okay.”
Marigold buried her face in her knees again.
‘Her talent to become a great mage seems certain.’

Yes.
She had caused widespread spirit magic just by meditating.
The nightmare incident was only a consequence. Marigold’s magic talent itself was real.

============
—Air is not your friend, Marigold! If you can’t make friends, your three years at the academy will be dark!
※Status ailment ‘Loneliness’ triggered. You feel ashamed that Lord Ransell Dante sees your pathetic self and want to die. Marigold’s grace, sensibility, morality, and faith decrease. Condition worsens greatly.

============
‘Isn’t this dangerous?’
Not good.

If Ransell left Marigold in this state, things could go wrong again.
Especially if her stats were affected directly, the worst ending would surely await her.
Yes.

For example, her condition.
Ransell already knew very well what would happen if Marigold’s condition dropped below double digits.
An ending ranked among the three worst in the game.

‘I must avoid that ending!’
Special measures were necessary.
“Mary, starting today, your goal isn’t to make 100 friends, but to become the goddess of the magic department. Got it?”

“Huh?”
Ransell set out immediately.
“Lord Ransell? No, Professor Ransell?”

In his hand was the sandwich Marigold had been eating.
A hollow rumbling followed him.
“So, Lord Ransell means to bring the magic department into the knight department’s training?”

“Exactly.”
Training where knights and mages learned together.
The professors in the knight department were dumbfounded by Ransell’s proposal.

“This is... just a plan to make knights and mages fight.”
“Growth always begins with competition and conflict.”
“That’s nonsense. The two groups already have bad relations, and this is just stirring the pot.”

‘Sharp.’
That was precisely the intention.