The morning after the certification exam in the Grand Hall, Tonsura Academy had transformed into a different creature entirely. Every step across the stone-paved corridors brought piercing stares from the students. Obvious, lingering gazes. Whispered murmurs. The meaning behind those looks no longer required explanation. Yahata, who until yesterday morning had been "the strange transfer student with a Mirror Crown who couldn't use magic," had become "the heretic who activated magical power without going through hair roots." He'd known it would happen. But experiencing it firsthand was another matter entirely. "That's the Mirror Crown person...!" "Is it true your luck goes up if you touch them?" "I heard if you pat their head, you pass all this semester's exams." That last one was complete nonsense. Where did that rumor even come from? Before morning classes began, as Yahata walked down the corridor, nearly ten students—the worship faction, those who'd witnessed yesterday's demonstration and half-idolized him—followed behind. Their eyes sparkled like they'd bought souvenirs from a shop on Mirror Crown Street. "Mirror Crown person, just once, let me touch your head—" "[serious]No." He answered without even turning around. "But the exams—" "[sarcastic]My head isn't an ATM. It's not a donation box either. Stop treating me like some stone Buddha at a shrine where touching it brings blessings." The crowd recoiled with a murmur. But they didn't give up. This kind of worship, once it ignites, doesn't extinguish easily. Rounding a corner in the hallway, a different group was waiting. The conservative faction. Upper-year students who viewed yesterday's exam as "blasphemy." Their expressions were entirely different. Where the worship faction burned with fervor, these eyes were cold and malicious. A single sheet of paper was taped to the entrance of the cafeteria. "Heretical Mages Prohibited — Hairroot Magical Arts Orthodox Faction" Yahata stared at the paper for three seconds. In game terms, it was a cursed map gimmick that dealt damage when you stepped on it. He stepped over it anyway. He opened the door, walked inside, and sat at an empty table. The conservative upper-year students around him froze with frustrated expressions. The paper they'd posted had become meaningless. They didn't know what to do. (Correct. Villains look most pathetic when things don't go their way.) He grabbed a piece of bread and bit into it. Then footsteps interrupted. "[angry]What are you doing sitting there so calmly...! Don't you realize the worship faction has formed a line in the hallway, the conservative faction posted notices at the entrance, and the entire academy is in chaos!?" Arishia slid into the seat beside him, her deep purple semi-long hair swaying. Her silver eyes held the distinctive weariness of a supervisor. Her sharp features were marred by deep creases between her brows. "I'm aware. That's why I'm eating normally." "[serious]That's the problem! Your very existence, just existing normally, is the source of all this chaos!" Her words had sharp edges. But Yahata noticed something. The fact that Arishia was sitting beside him in the cafeteria itself was a considerable choice from her position. It could be dismissed as her duty as a supervisor—but after sharing the atmosphere of the Grand Hall last night, Yahata had been curious about how she'd act. Her answer was to sit beside him. "[sarcastic]So you came to warn me to distance myself from both the worship and conservative factions?" "Y-yes! Especially keep your distance from the worship faction—" "[excited]Senpai! Are you sitting next to the Mirror Crown person!? Does that make you partners!?" One of the worship faction students shouted. Arishia's face flushed red in an instant. "N-no! I'm just the supervisor—" "[excited]But you're sitting right next to them! That's the partner's premium seat!" "[angry]Stop interpreting it that way! Rio, and you stop laughing over there!!" A blue short bob popped up from within the worship faction crowd. Heterochromatic eyes—gold and deep green—gleamed with mischief. Rio was pressing her hands to her mouth, shoulders shaking with laughter. Yahata took a second bite of bread. The mornings at this academy were noisier than he'd expected. --- After morning classes ended, Yahata found himself walking down the corridor of the Principal's Tower. Arishia had said with a solemn expression, "Principal Grandion is calling for you," leaving no option to refuse. The "Bald Tower" of Tonsura Academy—forty meters above ground—housed Principal Grandion's office at its peak. With each step up the stone spiral staircase, the cityscape of Tonsura spread out beyond the windows. Ceramic roofs, rows of shops on Mirror Crown Street, the spires of Crown Peak Palace in the distance. The sky held autumn's blue, cloudless. Before the door, Yahata steadied his breathing. (In game terms, this is like reaching the top floor of the final boss's castle. Though so far the final boss hasn't tried to kill me... probably.) He pushed the door open. The office was quieter than expected. Beyond the wide desk stood Grandion. One hundred eighty-five centimeters tall, his nearly completely bald head of silver-white hair gleamed faintly in the autumn sunlight from the window. Fine magical tattoos marked his forehead. Deep blue eyes fixed directly on Yahata. An ancient magical staff in his right hand. His presence was unchanged from when they'd faced off in the Grand Hall yesterday—a heaviness as if the kingdom's very order had taken human form. Four professors lined the walls of the room. All wore difficult expressions. "Sit." It was less a command than a statement of fact. Yahata pulled out a chair and sat. Grandion placed documents on the edge of his desk. Before speaking, he glanced out the window once. Whether organizing his thoughts or suppressing emotion was unclear. "We've deliberated on your disposition." "[sarcastic]Expulsion or forced hair growth sentence—which is it?" "[cold]Neither." Yahata was slightly surprised. He didn't let it show on his face. "You're formally registered as a Special Observation Student at this academy. All your actions will be recorded and reported sequentially to the Bald Crown Council—the Royal Magical Evaluation Board. You'll be placed under supervision." One of the professors interjected. A man in his fifties with thick eyebrows. Judging by the baldness at his crown, he was probably mid-rank. "But Principal, recognizing a heretical magical system would be an affront to Tonsura Academy's three-hundred-eighty-year history—" "[cold]I'm not recognizing it." The words came back like a blade. The professor fell silent. "What has occurred as fact cannot logically be denied. That's all." No one offered counterargument. It was a silence where Grandion himself seemed to understand the weight of those words most deeply. After the professors left, Yahata remained seated. Grandion didn't move either. Beyond the window, faint market sounds drifted from the direction of Mirror Crown Street. After a while, still gazing out the window, Grandion spoke. "Do you know of the Great Hair Loss War?" "...I know the basics." "Two hundred years ago, when order wavered, what happened next. Seventy percent of the Crown-rank mages exhausted their magical power. Parts of the kingdom became scorched earth. The person who was my teacher's teacher's teacher also perished in that war." His voice was low, with little emotional inflection. Yet that quietness carried weight. "I fear the wavering of order. Separate from whether your theory is correct or not." Yahata said nothing. He understood what this man was saying. Whether it was right was another matter. Grandion turned to his desk and began writing something on the documents. The conversation was over—that was the signal. Yahata stood and headed for the door. After the stone door closed behind him, on the landing of the spiral staircase, he passed an administrative instructor carrying documents. The instructor looked upward while reading something. "Special... Observation... Student? Such a classification doesn't exist in this academy's three-hundred-eighty-year history..." Muttering to himself, the confused instructor continued up the stairs. As Yahata descended, he thought: Because Grandion just created it. Of course it didn't exist before. --- When night fell, the academy cafeteria transformed. Once a year, Tonsura Academy held the "Abundant Hair Festival"—more formally, the "Great Bald Crown Festival," a preliminary celebration held within the academy to honor the crown-rank mages and pledge another year of magical study. For the students, it was simply a drinking party. Long tables were arranged in the cafeteria, and barrels of ale from the tavern "The Fallen Hair Cup" had been brought in. Candelabras lined the space, making the stone cafeteria feel warmer than usual. "[excited]Here! The end table! Where nobody comes!" Rio dashed to the farthest corner table by the window and claimed a chair. Her blue short bob bounced. Her heterochromatic eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Arishia walked slowly behind and pulled out a chair, sitting down. She murmured something about "such a remote table," but ultimately settled in. Yahata sat at the outermost chair and picked up a mug of ale. The pale golden liquid swayed in the candlelight, catching the glow. Three mugs came together on the table. "[excited]Today, the world changed, right? Cheers!" "[serious]Don't say such reckless things... but..." Arishia paused. Her hand holding the mug stopped for a moment. Then, quietly, she raised it. The clink of the mugs echoed softly through the noisy cafeteria. Yahata took a sip of ale. A blend of sourness and bitterness—a calming taste. The tavern "The Fallen Hair Cup" had sourced a quality brand, and it was decent. For a while, idle conversation continued. What rumors the worship faction had spread today. How frustrated the conservative upper-year students looked when their posted notice was torn down. How Rio had caused an explosion during afternoon experiments and gotten scolded by a professor. Then Arishia's expression changed slightly. Not her usual sharp composure, but something more thoughtful, as if choosing her words carefully. "...Your method of analysis..." Arishia held her mug with both hands, her gaze shifting slightly to the side. She was looking toward Yahata, but her eyes averted just before meeting his. "I'll... acknowledge it. Just a little, mind you." Her voice rose slightly. Her cheeks were flushed—not just from the candlelight. "[sarcastic]Just a little, huh?" "Yes! Just a little! Not more, not less—" "[excited]You're totally blushing, senpai, aren't you?" Rio set down her mug and leaned in with a grin. "I mean, you're the one who flew into the underground facility in the middle of the night," Arishia's expression froze. For a moment. Then— "[angry]Rio!! Don't say unnecessary things!!" The chair scraped loudly. Arishia stood up. The moment Rio saw that, her smile switched to full escape mode. "Run!!" She kicked her chair and bolted. Arishia chased after her. Their footsteps echoed across the stone floor of the cafeteria and faded away. The surrounding students turned to look. "The Mirror Crown person's companions are doing something..." whispered through the crowd. Eyes gathered to watch, then scattered again. Yahata took another sip of ale. He looked up at the cafeteria's ceiling. Stone arches. Candlelight flickering. The noise felt distant. In his previous world, there were no nights like this. Twenty-eight years in a room. Not wanting to see his parents' faces, speaking to no one, staring only at a game screen through countless nights. He'd died without knowing what a place with warmth felt like. What existed here now—noisy, loud, two people c