Hurried footfalls rang alongside the school bell.

A girl dressed in a white blazer and flowing grey mantle dashed across the empty grounds.

"Ha...! Ha...!" she panted, "I... woke up early! Too early! But when I went back to sleep, I'd overslept! Mm! That's right! It's not my fault!"

She vaulted over the low garden wall, using her wooden staff like a pole. Though she easily cleared it, the unexpected flower patch on the other side was a different question.

"Air cushion!"

A purple smoke jumped from the fingertips and formed a pillow of magic below her. And as she fell from the apex of her jump, it carried her slowly downwards, giving her enough air to clear the garden.

"Phew!" The spry young girl wiped the sweat on her brow, before racing towards the door.

Alright! Now, I just need to sneak into my classroom and-

But as she turned the doorknob, it only responded with a rigid clack.

There was a terrible miscalculation in her plan.

Ah.

Her body went limp.

That's right... They lock down the campus after morning ceremony.

She crumpled onto the floor, leaned her back against the door and sighed.

I'm gonna be yelled at again...

The Academy of Brandonbury was an elite school for the children of nobles. Its many campuses dotted the heart of the city, training students from all over the Kingdom in administration, warfare, magic and other disciplines.

Lending to its exclusive nature, it also demanded strict discipline. And today, these strictures had claimed another victim.

Grasping her staff in front of her with both hands, she rested her weary head on her wrists and closed her eyes.

How many times is this again? There was that time when I stayed up all night, and then... Uhh... I can't remember.

She whimpered.

The teach' said I'd get into trouble if I didn't shape up, too...

Then, she let out a big yawn.

Oh well. No use worrying about it now. I'll leave future problems for the future me.

She was about to drift back off to sleep when she noticed a crowd gathered outside the academy's gates.

Hm?

Curious, she stood up and took a closer look.

Stone walls ringed the perimeter of the academy. Each section was almost twice as tall as the girl, occluding her view. Even though the main gate had open steel grates, she found it difficult to see what was going on through them.

"Hmm..." A smirk fell on her lips as an ingenious plan took shape within in her mind. She yelled, "Earth spike!"

Grass and other debris blasted into the air as the dirt at her feet shot up and formed a thick stalagmite that stood nearly her height.

She grinned. "Wind Cutter!"

With a swipe of her hand, she lopped off its pointed tip. Next, she climbed onto the newly flat surface and peeked her head over the wall.

Her eyes glistened with awe from what she saw.

The road burgeoned with men in thick armor. They marched in neat rows and each of their rhythmic footsteps sent a tremor through the ground as they passed.

Meanwhile, bystanders looked on from the sides. Some merchants even seized the opportunity to make a quick buck by selling snacks and refreshments.

The girl's eyes turned to the head of the column where the lord's banners flew in the wind. There, at the very front, rode a large man on horseback, his shining armor cloaked by a velvet cape.

"That must be the Lord Hemmingsworth people talked about... wow... these are all his soldiers? I wonder where they're going?"

Then, at the back of the marching line, she saw some familiar uniforms - White blazer with black mantle.

Her droopy eyes widened.

"Eh? Aren't those... the upperclassmen?"

As they passed, she noticed the red decorative pins on their chests. As if by reflex, she rubbed her own, green, pin.

"The warlock's college... what are they doing over there?" She cocked her head and crossed her arms. "If I were to guess... they're going to war, huh?"

A stinging loneliness seeped into her soul at the thought.

"That sounds fun... I wish I can do something like that someday..."

She rested her cheek on the wall and watched idly as the procession marched away. Soon, even the bystanders returned to their daily schedules, leaving an empty, dusty road in their wake.

At that time, the school bell rang.

Yikes! It's already the next class!? How long have I been watching?

She leapt down from her self-made pedestal.

Her mantle had hardly settled, however, when she realized that she was under the shadow of a very, very large man.

Eh?

"You..." he growled at her, "do you realize how much damage you have inflicted to the lawn!?"

She shrank under his intense glare.

"Err..." she mumbled, "a small patch?"

His face contorted into a gruesome scowl. "You, young lady, have compromised the loam quality by transmuting the ground!"

With a swiping motion, he pinched her ear and mercilessly pulled her forward.

"Aaack! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" She flailed her arms in futility.

"Look at what you've done! Look! Not only did you tear a gaping hole into that perfectly trimmed grass, the soil is crystallized from forced compaction!"

"Guuu..." His booming voice sapped her of all her will, and her eyes began to water.

"You've got a lot of reflecting to do, missy, and if I were you...!"

Thus, the litany went on and on and on...

And in the end, all she could do was cry, "I'm sorryyyyy!"

Afterwards, the girl was finally allowed to attend her next class. To her dismay, it happened to be the one that she didn't mind missing.

It was the period before lunch and, as always, her stomach was rumbling and her eyelids were falling.

"Uuuu..." she gurgled, "hungry... sleepy..."

In the background, all she heard was the monotonous lullaby of her teacher's lecture, "...thus is the foundation of the theory of the Philosopher's Stone. This will be in the exam. Any questions?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Philosopher's stone, my butt. What a load of rubbish. Heck if I know what it is. I bet none of them know, either. All I've ever understood is this - no one has ever found it.

She frowned.

And as far as I'm concerned, no one ever will. What is the point of turning things into gold anyway!? Gold is, like, the most boring thing you could make! It doesn't explode, it doesn't catch fire, it doesn't even glow in the dark!

I look around and see all this enthusiasm for a fantastic object as useless as that... I just get annoyed! You're all born into rich families, aren't you!? You wouldn't be in the Academy otherwise! Then why are you so obsessed in this thing that only makes money!?

She sighed.

I just don't get it.

As soon as she closed her eyes, her consciousness faded.

"...this is so stupid," she muttered.

For a moment, she felt as though she were falling.

Then, a loud bang followed.

Her head recoiled from the impact. A sharp pain then propagated from her forehead, out to her temples.

"Aghiii!" she screeched.

As a result from her sudden misfortune, her seatmates burst into laughter, sending a contagion at the speed of sound across the room. In no time at all, she was on the receiving end of the mockery of all her classmates.

"Quiet! I said, quiet!" yelled the teacher, before zeroing in on the girl, "Miss Luna Velosa! I'd long given up having you stay awake for this class, but if you aren't going to listen, then at least do not bother your classmates!"

"E-eehh...?"

I'm getting scolded!? Even when I really hurt myself...?

Even as tears collected at the corner of her eyes, she felt a secondary sting from the lingering snickers around her.

Tucking her head down, she mumbled, "S-sorry, ma'am..."

That afternoon, the girl, along with her two friends sat around a table in the campus grounds as they did their homework.

"Luna," said a girl beside her, wearing glasses, "you should really try a bit harder."

Oblivious, she lifted her head from her notebook and gave her friend a blank look. "Hm?"

The girl sighed, twirling the lock of golden hair slumped on her shoulder. "Stella, you tell her."

On the other side, another classmate closed her notebook and took a deep breath. "You're doing poorly in Alchemic Theory. Don't come crying to us if you get held back a year." These words, she said with a sunny smile.

To others, it might have looked like a gap in her personality, but to Luna, it was a familiar quirk that sent shivers down her spine. "U-ueh!?" she stammered, "I'm sorry...! Y-you know I don't want that..."

"Then do as Sham says and try harder."

The girl in glasses nodded. "I don't want us to be separated either..."

"But..." Luna twiddled her fingers.

"Come on, if you're really finding it hard to stay awake in Miss Leonard's class, why not just drink coffee or something!?"

"But I hate bitter..."

"What are you, a kid!?"

"A-am not!" She then retreated and wrapped her arms around Stella. "Look! Sham is bullying me again!"

"You are a kid, after all...!"

"There, there." Stella patted Luna on the head. "It's strange, though... you're doing really well on other subjects, especially practical exams."

"That's true." Sham begrudgingly admitted.

"Maybe you're just not cut out for alchemy?"

"Eh...?" Luna looked glum. "But... I do like alchemy."

"Says the girl who slept so soundly that she banged her head on her desk."

Luna puffed out her cheeks and flailed her arms at Sham. "Don't! Say it!"

"Ahahahaha!"

"You're so mean! Come to think of it, you were also laughing at me earlier, weren't you!?"

"W-was not!?" she quickly replied, averting her eyes.

"Liar! Terrible liar!"

"Anyway..." Stella cut in between them before they leapt at each other. "Why is that, Luna?"

"Eh...?" Taking the question seriously, the blue-haired girl quickly simmered down and wondered, "I just... I don't care about theory at all. All we talk about is philosopher's stone this, philosopher's stone that. We've taken this subject for two years already, and we're still going at it...!"

"Well..." Stella scratched her cheek. "can't help it if the search for the philosopher's stone is the foundation for alchemy..."

"But it's boring!"

"Err... I can at least sympathize with you there."

"I got into alchemy because I saw my papa do it when I was a kid! And when he did it, it wasn't something boring like other magic - making a fireball from out of your hand or freezing air into a hailstone..."

"So that's... boring...?" Stella muttered as her shoulders slumped down.

"...What he made for me - now that was real magic! He just mixed these few liquids, and this and that..." Slowly, her voice built up, until she reached a roaring climax, inspiring her to leap out of her seat as she yelled, "And then there was a hilarious explosion!"

Startled, the two tried to calm her down. "Alright, alright, we get it!"

As the adrenaline flushed out of her once more, she began to think back.

Maybe if I took the warlock's course instead...

Her mind wandered to the dignified forms of the upperclassmen she saw earlier.

...I could be joining them right now...

But as she did so, her eyes turned once more to her friends.

Nah... if I didn't become an alchemist, then I wouldn't be with these guys.

With a tiny smile on her lips, she looked both of them in turn with her droopy gaze and said, "Sham. Stella."

"Hm? What is it?" they answered.

Then, she threw her head onto the table, brought her hands together into a praying position and grovelled, "Please teach me theory for the coming exam!"

"Eeehh..." Sham winced. "I guess should have seen this coming..."

Meanwhile, Stella giggled. "Of course. Let's get you through Alchemic Theory and let's do our practicum together, okay?"

Finally, droopy eyes gleamed and with a light hop, she said, "Alright!"