Sword, Magic and Academic Society

"Man, you're really becoming a maintenance freak."

I raised my voice from behind while smiling wryly. Lil' Dui, who finally noticed my presence, broke free from his concentration and said "Oh, I didn't notice you, Lil' Allen. Just wait a minute” before turning his focus back to the magic car with a serious expression.

The magic car club was able to make a small, but safe start as they received the common fuselage — one that hasn't been attuned for wind magic, basically for the common populace — and minimum equipment required for maintenance from the Elvert Workshop on the condition of their cooperation over the development of the magic two-wheeler.

"Do you see this, Allen? He hardly even rides his two-wheeler, but he would come to disassemble the machine every weekend ever since Ashim-san praised him for his meticulous maintenance. Say something to him."

Pisu, a first-year from Class A and a member of the magic car club, spoke out.

"But man, is everyone from your place so perversely talented?"

He commented with a straight expression, eliciting a hand chop from me.

Three days after classes had resumed, Lil' Dui submitted the application to create a Magic Car Club to Mujikka-sensei.

After the events at the Rune Makize buffet party, news of the club’s creation spread throughout the entire Academy in a flash and the following day, I received a flood of candidates visiting me in hopes of joining the club.

I made it clear that I was only helping out in the club creation process. The club is being created by Lil' Dui, and he would be the club president for all intents and purposes, so they needed to consult with him regarding joining the club.

I quietly hinted it was the same with the Magic Tool Development Club which Fey was in charge of, as I rarely visit them.

Lil' Dui and I brainstormed that day and in the end, we decided to go down this route. At the very least, we were hoping some like-minded individuals would join us at the start. There wouldn't be any idiot spreading malicious rumors about him then if I emphasized that I was but a mere helper.

Well, in the case of Fey's club, she was already Miss Popular even without me, so there was a deluge of applicants hoping to join the club. But the same crowd that had been so enthusiastic to join the club while approaching me dwindled faster than snow melting when tossed into the frying pan.

At the time it was created, there were only 3 members in the Magic Car Club. Lil' Dui, Pisu, and March-senpai from Class 2-D. The numbers were abysmal but instead of being dejected, Lil' Dui was rather excited to see there were at least two more students who were passionate about magic cars like him.

Afterward, as others saw how they were having fun test-driving the magic two-wheeler that was still under development, the club received two more applications — a 3rd student and a 2nd year student — in the span of two months.

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Including Pisu and March-senpai, it was originally impossible for the students like them to acquire magic cars on the basis of their families alone.

It was off-topic but approximately 90% of the students in the Academy came from either noble, quasi-noble, or even commoner families.

The more financially affluent one was, the more they would be able to focus on education, which translated to an advantage in the exam. However, the advantage appeared moot when it came to quantity. The difference between the number of students from noble families above count rank and those from below or equal to viscount rank was so drastic that the number disparity was inevitable.

There had also been many movements across the long history of the kingdom ever since its establishment, insisting on lax requirements for the high-ranking nobles in the Academy's entrance examination. However, the Yuglia royal family didn’t budge a single time from their stance.

Apparently, it was the dying wish of the first generation King Arthur, the founder of Yuglia Kingdom nicknamed 'Beloved Icon' by the people, that opportunities should never be monopolized by one stratum only.

With the nobility system in the kingdom, little was needed to be said in how Herculean of a task it might have been not only to establish a merit-based entrance system but also to preserve it. However, no words were needed to explain if the system was great or not.

Anyway, I only saw one out of the three magic two-wheelers in the garage, so I presumed March-senpai must have taken the other two to drive through the woods trail along with the newcomers.

As collaborators, their task was to test-drive the vehicles and check out what type of adjustments they needed to make the ride more comfortable, compile a report of it, and submit it to the Elvert Workshop.

I could tell that they were having a blast from their smiles, and as much as I wanted to enjoy the winds of youth together with them, I needed to wait until I confirmed that the club could perform with just Lil' Dui and the like-minded club members for now, lest my entrance disrupt their rhythm.

Lil' Dui and I had once visited Ashim-san to properly express our gratitude for the Elvert Workshop's generosity.

Ashim-san was quite a handsome man with a lean build, which didn't betray my image of him since I assumed as much from Furi-senpai's looks. He easily dismissed our appreciation with a laugh, saying 'Don't fuss over it. It was just a minor task for the young one's dream.'

Furi-senpai later told us that Ashim-san was impressed by Lil' Dui's idea to bring together like-minded passionate students while hiding my name.

Just like how it was Lil' Dui's own fears that made him concerned over what strangers would say about him, or if they would mock him for making a club under my name, it was his idea to bring others together as well. All the major decisions were made by him.

'Lil' Dui had passion, excelled in Body Strengthening magic, and had surplus mana, so there was little fear of injuries. Plus he could write concise reports and was capable of doing simple maintenance by himself. If anything, we should be paying him for being our test-rider. It was hardly a question why my father decided to lend him a helping hand,' said Furi-senpai while winking at me.

"I'm fine with just maintenance, since there's rest of you to do the test-ride stuff. Sorry to keep you hanging, Lil' Allen. Do you need something?"

"Well, yeah. I was thinking that it's about time I joined you guys as well. I mean, I can't take it anymore! It burns me from the inside seeing you guys having so much fun together."

A smile appeared on Lil' Dui’s face as I announced that.

Though, before he could reply, Pisu joined in the conversation and spoke with a smirk.

"Oh-ho, so you're finally joining us, Allen. It's fine, I have gained quite a considerable amount of experience in these two months of driving the magic two-wheeler. As your experienced Senpai, I’ll fill you in about the basics."

Kukuku.

I haven't remained idle in these two months as well and have perfected my driving skills on the test course of the Elvert Workshop. The countless feedback I provided in the last two months was also reflecting on my machine.

I knew it was childish, but I couldn't wait to see his jaw drop once I displayed my original, custom-made two-wheeler.

"It would be an honor to learn from you, Pisu-senpai!"

Perhaps he sensed something, Pisu's expression stiffened as I looked at him with an impish grin.

◆◆◆

In the not so near future, Duid Moonlit would submit his article titled 'My Overhaul' to the kingdom's sole magic car magazine 'Key Driver’, raising a commotion amidst the specialist car drivers.

The magic two-wheeler was remarkably cheaper and easier to manufacture than the four-wheeler. Plus, its small frame and insignificant maintenance cost were a boon to the common populace.

In contrast, the performance of the two-wheeler was understandably weaker than the four-wheeler. However, it wasn't something a bit of money and some labor couldn't fix.

One reason for the cheap availability could be said to be Allen and Duid's obsession for expanding the reach of magic cars to the ordinary populace as well.

The magic car, which had been a symbol of wealth all this while, had finally made its way among the less affluent crowd, who had always adored them, in its two-wheeler form.

Coincidentally, around the same time that 'My Overhaul' made it to the magazine, the Elvert Magic Workshop collaborated with a certain mid-scale magic car manufacturer to start manufacturing their first two-wheeler model 'FATA-01'. The FATA-01 had barely hit the market when a crowd of enthusiastic people immediately made reservations, fully booking it until at least the next year.

One of the crucial factors that pushed its popularity was the occasional glimpse of the Royal Academy’s Magic Car Club members riding the two-wheelers on the outskirts of the Royal Capital.

Meanwhile, the booming popularity of the two-wheeler soon found many prominent magic car manufacturers jumping into the fray to become the next dealer.

On the other hand, the composition of Duid Moonlit's 'My...' series, seeped with his passion and deep knowledge for the magic cars, remained a fan favorite of the crowd for a long, long while, which became one of the factors behind the expansion of the magic car culture and its development in the kingdom.