The newly emerged target was classified as a mid-range magic testing dummy.
Noah watched the target lock into place and immediately discarded his black iron sword.
The next second, roaring fireballs, sharp ice spikes, swirling wind blades and crackling lightning spears—various straightforward elemental attacks—materialized around him, hovering quietly in the air like obedient pets.
"Element Brilliance."
A massive cluster of mixed elements radiated with colorful light. They intertwined flawlessly without prematurely detonating.
"Even with opposing attributes, there is not a single hint of instability... Such precise mana control..." Kurono Shinguuji covered the lower half of her face, hiding a highly excited smile.
'It exists! A Blazer capable of manipulating all elements in the Natural Causality category! This is unheard of!'
Noah swung his hand forward, and the mixed elements shot out in an instant, striking the heavy target.
The three attributes of fire, ice, and lightning fused seamlessly with the wind attribute, transforming into a violent, four-colored storm that engulfed the dummy.
The target rapidly froze, encased in thick ice within two seconds.
Then, accompanied by fiery thunder and a barrage of wind blades, the armored target shattered into pieces due to its inability to withstand the rapidly shifting elemental extremes.
A royal staff member gasped in shock and rushed forward, only to kneel helplessly before the smoking debris while lamenting.
"Ahhh! Noah-sama, couldn't you have held back a little?! This equipment cost thirty million Yen!"
"..."
"Sorry," Noah scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Don't just apologize—do something about it! You are about to study abroad soon, at least repair the testing equipment before you leave!"
Kurono Shinguuji watched as the distraught staff member complained familiarly to the boy.
Suddenly, she recalled a highly specific detail in the boy's background profile: his occupation.
A boy who had just turned fifteen was officially listed as the Director of a national scientific research laboratory.
During the defense test, Noah's performance was average, holding steady at a C-Rank level.
Compared to his devastating offensive capabilities, it seemed unremarkable.
Most teachers at the Seven Mage-Knight Academies were D-Rank Mage-Knights, representing top-tier educational resources.
Occasionally, one or two C-Ranks were considered elite faculty.
Similarly, most new students were E-Rank, with perhaps one D-Rank among every ten freshmen.
A C-Rank was already quite impressive for a student.
C-Rank was indeed excellent. But Kurono's expectations for the boy went far beyond that.
The subsequent mana capacity measurement made her frown unconsciously.
Mana capacity: C+. Infinitely close to a B-Rank, but falling just short.
In this world, everyone's raw mana capacity is predetermined at birth and cannot be increased through physical training.
No matter how talented the boy was, being limited to C-Rank mana was a heavy shackle, restricting his future stamina in long battles.
Even so, he remained a Blazer with boundless potential.
...
All tests concluded.
The Chairwoman immediately approved both Stella and Noah's results and stated.
"Barring any surprises, your scores will set this year's admission record."
"Since we both passed, let's just wait for the admission letters. The next time we meet will be in Japan."
"Yes, thank you for your hard work, Chairwoman."
Passing the exam meant both were now officially students of Hagun Academy.
Stella immediately changed how she addressed the woman, calling Kurono Shinguuji by her proper title.
Before leaving, the woman gave Noah a deep meaningful look.
Noah guessed that his true age had probably never been a secret to her from the very beginning.
Was it her intuition or her vast combat experience? In every sense, that woman was very clever.
Only when they were safely alone in the hallway did Stella finally release her inner joy.
She cheered, "We did it!"
Then she immediately threw her arms around the boy beside her in a tight embrace.
"Wait, Stella..."
The princess's cushioning was so abundant that their sudden close contact made Noah's mind whirl for a second.
Few teenage boys could remain calm against such intimate softness.
'Two years ago, they weren't this big.'
In two senses.
On one hand, Stella hadn't developed to such dramatic mature proportions back then.
On the other, his own physical appearance at the time had been smaller, making people let their guard down around him.
But now, they were almost the exact same height.
Both their bodies had matured considerably and such intimate contact would inevitably provoke certain physiological reactions.
"We are going to Hagun Academy, Noah!"
"Ah, yes. We are."
"Japan! This will be my first time visiting it. I have heard their natural hot springs are amazing, even having skin-whitening and moisturizing effects! I have always wanted to try them!"
Even as a royal princess and a world-famous genius knight, the girl's heart remained that of a normal teenager.
When anticipating new experiences, she still showed an innocent, bright smile.
"Stella, your skin is already beautiful and smooth enough without needing any magical hot spring effects."
"Eh! R-really...?" Stella blushed furiously, looking away.
"Anyway, we should prepare in advance," Noah reminded her. "This time there won't be any royal maids following us around. Living in a foreign country means being entirely self-reliant. Before becoming Mage-Knights, we first need to develop the basic self-care abilities expected of adults, right?"
"Ah..."
The girl groaned, her romantic mood instantly shattered.
Though she didn't think she would perform poorly, she clearly understood that her ability to focus entirely on her sword training until now was only because palace servants had handled everything else for her.
From now on at school, her identity would no longer be a pampered princess, but an ordinary student.
She would have to manage trivial matters herself—deciding what to cook, washing her own clothes, folding her own blankets, with no maids to change her bedding daily.
Life studying abroad sounded exhausting.
"If only we could just live together," she murmured under her breath.
...
Hagun Academy, the day before the opening ceremony.
The largest international airport in southern Kanto was swarmed with flashing cameras and eager reporters.
To prevent massive public disturbances, Hagun Academy had sent security personnel to wait inside the airport early.
Several major media outlets were broadcasting live from the arrival terminal.
"Today, the Second Princess of the Vermillion Empire, Her Highness Stella Vermillion, will officially arrive in Tokyo..." After confirming the flight arrival time, news anchors across various networks directed their cameramen to begin their live broadcasts.
Before the cameras, they read their prepared opening statements while monitoring the VIP arrival gate.
"Having achieved the highest entrance exam scores in history to enter Hagun Academy... Princess Stella is globally known as the strongest genius knight of this generation!"
"Whoa!"
A sudden wave of exclamations erupted from the crowd.
The news hosts instantly reacted, calling for their photographers to swarm toward the sliding glass doors, forming a dense, suffocating wall of people.
"Look! It is Princess Stella!"
At this moment, the princess, seeing her path completely blocked by microphones, maintained a polite, photogenic smile on her face.
Internally, however, she was feeling a massive headache, unsure of what to do.
Even though the Chairwoman had sent school bodyguards to help clear the way, they were no match for the aggressive enthusiasm of the paparazzi.
On top of that, she had been strictly instructed by her Father not to answer any unvetted questions from foreign reporters, so she could only smile and remain silent.
In her heart, she was already screaming, 'Do something, Noah!'
Noah was right beside her, looking at the dense crowd and feeling equally troubled.
So, when the mob pressed within five meters of them, he silently activated Weaver.
An invisible, highly localized electromagnetic pulse swept outward, delivering a weak electric shock directly to all the camera equipment in the vicinity.
The pulse precisely targeted the delicate circuitry, causing all the microphones to emit a harsh static whine and the heavy broadcast cameras to briefly malfunction and shut down.
This hardware condition would take a minute or two to reboot and they would return to normal operation shortly after.
However, such a massive technical failure occurring during a live national broadcast was a major crisis for the news crews.
The reporters and photographers panicked, rushing to check their expensive equipment, causing the impenetrable human wall to loosen up significantly.
The bodyguards from Hagun Academy seized the opportunity, aggressively squeezing through the distracted crowd to clear a path.
Noah and Stella quickly slipped through the gap, reaching the outside curb where they safely boarded a sleek waiting vehicle.
"Wow, that was quite a disaster," Stella sighed, sinking into the leather seats.
As soon as they settled into the car, they saw a familiar face sitting across from them.
It turned out the Chairwoman had been sitting in the vehicle, watching the chaotic spectacle for quite some time.
"Chairwoman... if you were here, you could have stepped out and helped us," Stella complained, adjusting her skirt.
Kurono Shinguuji, however, just smiled lazily. "It seems you didn't need my help after all. Well done, Director Noah."
Others might not have noticed it, but she certainly wouldn't overlook the timing.
How could dozens of cameras from competing networks suddenly malfunction at the exact same time? That was undoubtedly a targeted magical attack, yet she hadn't detected even the slightest trace of conventional magical energy in the air.
In other words, the person who carried out the attack had such precise terrifying control over their mana that it far surpassed her own.
In her vast experience, there were no more than three people on earth capable of such a feat.
One of them was the young man sitting before her, who always wore a calm unbothered expression.
"Chairwoman, you can just call me by my name. I formally resigned from the laboratory Director position two days ago. Here in Japan, I am just an ordinary high school student," Noah replied smoothly.
Stella nodded in agreement. "That's right. We came to Hagun Academy to become stronger. Royal titles and political status don't matter here."
"Heh."
Kurono Shinguuji smiled with genuine satisfaction. "Do you remember what I said back in your country?"
"Yes! We look forward to your guidance in the days to come, Chairwoman!"
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