I’m Just an Ordinary Clown at the Academy

29 – Dispute 3

“Huhhaaam~ Is it over now?”

I stretched under the desk and got up. The space under the desk was narrow, making it uncomfortable to sleep.

“Hmm? Looks like I dozed off unexpectedly.”

I looked around at the students still staring at me, even though I had just woken up. Despite my disheveled state, it seemed my good looks were still intact, as every student continued to gaze at me.

“Student Loki, even if you’re like that, you shouldn’t sleep during class.”

Professor Idra spoke in a scolding tone, but her expression revealed a hidden sense of enjoyment.

“I didn’t fall asleep on purpose; I was hiding under the desk to slip out during class and ended up dozing off. What can I say?”

Professor Idra put her hands on her hips as if scolding, but her petite build and cute appearance made her not at all intimidating, rather adorable.

“Forgiveness granted, just this once?”

“As expected of Professor Idra! Your personality is as lovely as your face!”

“hahahahaha! Flattery won’t get you anything special.”

“Flattery? Why, that’s such a bitter thing to say. I was just expressing the honest words in my heart!”

“hehehehe, I hope there are more honest students like Loki here.”

Idra laughed as if pleased with my words, making her seem even cuter. Honestly, based on looks alone, Professor Idra appeared younger than the students here.

“I’m sure everyone thought Professor Idra is pretty, just like me. They just didn’t have the courage to say it, unlike me.”

“Loki, you have a way with words.”

“It’s not just words; even your appearance is beautiful.”

While I was conversing with Professor Idra, other students were busy whispering among themselves.

“What’s up with that guy? When was he under the desk?”

“I wonder if he was never affected by the professor’s magic from the beginning.”

“More importantly, was that fake appearance he just had mimicking the unique magic he possesses?”

“I saw unique magic for the first time in my life.”

Students wondered whether I had always been entangled in illusions, never fallen for magic from the beginning, or managed to escape from it.

Among the students, Clara was the only one who knew that I had escaped from the illusion.

Since Clara was sitting next to me, our eyes met occasionally beneath the desk.

“Student Loki?”

Professor Hydra approached stealthily like a cat. We were already somewhat close, but now, if either Professor Hydra or I took one step forward, we would collide.

“You bit your tongue, didn’t you?”

Professor Hydra asked with a sly smile. It sounded like a question, but there was a conviction that I had indeed bitten my tongue.

“As expected, Professor, you can’t be deceived.”

I knew that Professor Hydra was formidable, but I never thought she would notice that I had bitten my tongue. How on earth did she find out?

“Biting your tongue?”

“Did that guy escape from magic by biting his tongue?”

“Is that even possible?”

While other students were chattering, Professor Hydra put her hand into her pocket, rummaged around, and then handed something to me.

“No matter how much you want to be good at it, you have to cherish your body. Drink this.”

What Professor Hydra handed to me was a plastic bottle containing purple liquid.

“I’m not sure if I should eat something so precious, but since you gave it to me, I’ll gratefully consume it.”

As I received the bottle and mentioned that it was precious, Professor Hydra asked with a surprised expression.

“Do you know what this is?”

No, I don’t.

“Ah~ This was given by Professor Edra, what could be more precious?”

“Ahahahahaha! Try it quickly.”

Professor Edra, upon hearing my response, chuckled and urged me on.

“Well then, I’ll enjoy it!”

I drank the violet liquid contained in the plastic bottle. As the violet liquid entered my mouth, the wounds caused by biting my tongue earlier seemed to disappear.

“Oh! What’s that mask, is it an artifact?”

Professor Edra stared at my mask, seemingly fascinated. Due to their innocent face and petite stature, they looked like a child who had just discovered a new toy.

“Um… Professor Edra? What do you mean by biting your tongue?”

A student, unable to contain their curiosity, asked Professor Edra.

“Hmm.”

Professor Edra silently stared at me. They were probably asking themselves if it was okay to speak.

Since there was no particular secret, I nodded my head.

“As expected, Loki is a good student.”

After saying that, Professor Edra walked to the front of the podium, as if planning to address everyone at once.

“Since everyone seems curious, I’ll tell you all at once.”

All the students looked at Professor Edra, intrigued and silent.

“Loki hasn’t avoided my magic. As soon as the magic hits, Loki bites their tongue to snap out of it, then uses their unique magic to create a fake and hides it under the desk.”

Applause filled the room.

“Indeed, it’s Professor Edra. Not a single mistake, absolutely accurate.”

After Professor Idra finished her explanation, I clapped and said, “Well, that wasn’t much of a big deal, was it?”

“Chewing your tongue to snap out of it, I could do that much too, right?”

Other students seemed to think that my action was easy, as they started saying, “I could do that too.”

Honestly, I thought the same. Chewing your tongue isn’t that difficult.

But for some reason, the students from the special class and Professor Idra didn’t look pleased.

“Why? It’s not like I said anything wrong.”

“Then would anyone like to try it again? Those who succeed this time will receive a higher grade.”

“Of course!”

All the students except those from the special class agreed to the proposal, while the special class students refused.

“Then only the challengers should come forward.”

As Professor Idra finished speaking, quite a few students stepped forward. Honestly, since it wasn’t difficult, I would have gone forward too.

“Then I’ll cast the spell.”

Professor Idra kindly explained when to use the spell.

All the students who stepped forward immediately prepared to chew their tongues.

“Screaaam!!!!”

As the spell was cast, the students screamed, clutching their heads.

“Now the students who chewed their tongues should be released.”

“Screaaam!!!!!!”

However, contrary to my expectations, the students were not released by the spell; instead, the screams grew even louder.

I approached Clara, curious about the reason that hadn’t been solved, and whispered, “Clara, why do you think we failed?”

Clara looked at me in disbelief. “Are you really asking me because you don’t know?”

Even beyond her disbelief, Clara seemed bewildered. I really don’t know. It’s as simple as biting your tongue when the magic activates. What’s so difficult about that?

Before I knew it, the screams had subsided. When I looked ahead, it turned out that Professor Idra had halted the use of magic, leaving the students sitting hesitantly.

I still couldn’t understand why the students had failed. Could it be that Professor Idra had cast a stronger spell?

I was able to understand the reason for the students’ failure through Professor Idra’s words. “The spell I used is simply to induce a headache. But due to the magic tool, its power increased, and it’s not easy to bite your tongue while experiencing such a strong headache.”

Although I could understand the reason for the students’ failure through Professor Idra’s words, I couldn’t quite comprehend it. “It’s just a headache. Can’t they endure it?”

After Professor Idra finished speaking, about three students raised their hands. “Even though we bit our tongues, we couldn’t break free from the spell. Why is that?”

Only three out of many students had bitten their tongues? Even other students looked at the three with admiration. What, is this a hidden camera?

“Roki, come forward.”

“Yes!”

I walked forward as Professor Idra called me. The gaze of the students looking at me had changed slightly.

“Would all three of you stick out your tongues?”

The three who had raised their hands earlier all stuck out their tongues as Professor Idra spoke.

A little blood was flowing from the tongues of all three.

What? Did they get bitten by a bug?

But can a bug bite the tongue?

“Now, you can put them back in.”

After Professor Idra stuck out her tongue and spoke to the students doing the same, she turned to me, who was still confused about the situation.

“How hard did Loki bite?”

How hard did he bite?

“Well, he must have bitten as hard as he could, expecting it to be cut off, right?”

To escape from the magic that causes headaches, it was natural to experience a greater pain than the headache itself.

Even if, by any chance, the tongue is cut, it is treatable because the infirmary has a new acolyte waiting.

‘But why can’t I do it?’

Suddenly feeling someone’s gaze, I looked at the other students.

For some reason, they were looking at me with eyes full of fear.