TTND 31

Chapter 31 

Inferiority Complex

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“Who’s the strongest mage among us?”

Every student at Duenais Academy had wondered.

They had all been called prodigies in their hometowns—confident in their abilities.

But when a group of prodigies is gathered in one place, a hierarchy naturally forms.

Quietly, everyone had their own rankings.

“Isolde Folchen, of course. She’s the top of the class. Brilliant, and passionate about magic.”

“But the one who shattered the Crystal Golem was Mari of Astraea, the Saint. Who among us could face a Crystal Golem?”

“But she’s ranked last in the year…”

“Still, her raw magical power is overwhelming. Far beyond us fledgling mages. That mysterious strength—it’s the power of a Saint.”

“Then how about Karl Gustav of Oxburgh? He’s the strongest for now, I’d say. Trained by the Black Iron Warriors, and said to split boulders.”

“This is about magic. Why are we bringing him up? If we go that route, what about Crown Prince Rudolf? He’s skilled in both swordsmanship and magic.”

In their brief free time, students often debated who was the most powerful among them.

Today, that debate would be settled—at least in the domain of spirit summoning.

---

“Alright, begin!”

At Margram’s signal, Mari’s flame angel once again emitted sacred fire runes.

The air trembled from their holy destruction.

But Idnia’s spirit?
The small, odd-looking, unimpressive thing had stayed far away from Mari’s angel, minimizing exposure.

Holy runes, when in close proximity, could banish spirits in an instant.

In a spirit-vs-spirit duel, it was no contest.

Mari’s angel wasn’t just a spirit. It was also an angel.

With dual attributes, it had overwhelming firepower in spirit combat.

‘A fire spirit duel has an inherent flaw. Flame thrower abilities are mostly useless. But throw in a spirit with divine properties… hmm, what now?’

From the start, this kind of duel favored spirits with alternate attributes or overwhelming force. Normal spirits stood no chance against Mari’s.

But then—

Bang!

Idnia’s spirit opened fire.

A blazing projectile—so fast it was barely visible—shot from its barrel and struck Mari’s flame angel directly.

The first hit shook the angel violently.

Then came a follow-up burst—

Bang-bang!

And that was it.

“Huh?”
“…Eh?”

No flashiness.
The speed of the shot made it nearly invisible.

Bullets faster than the eye came with thunderous shockwaves.

With that sound, the air rippled—and Mari’s flame angel was obliterated instantly.

“…What?”

Everyone watching was stunned.

Even Margram, the Lamp Demon, was wide-eyed.

“The winner: Idnia Katche Betelgeuse. Though… that was dangerous.”

“I now understand why you refused the duel earlier.”

“As you all know, I erected a barrier to protect students from any stray spirit attacks.”

“But Idnia’s spirit attacks were incredibly fast and focused. Even though they used little energy, their impact and penetration were immense. The barrier almost broke—imagine that.”

“Idnia, what’s your spirit called?”

“Oh… the name? It doesn’t have one yet.”

“A spirit like that… doesn’t have a name?”

“It’s my first time summoning one today.”

Gasps erupted across the room.

Isolde Folchen was so stunned, she couldn’t even blink.

She had mastered low-tier spirit summoning long before entering the academy.

But Idnia… had displayed this power without any prior training, through pure innate talent.

Isolde, who had never once felt inferior in her magical career, saw two people surpass her today.

Mari, the Saint, with her unreasonable mana reserves…

And Idnia Katche Betelgeuse, with a mysterious force that even outclassed Mari.

‘You’re the noble heir of a great house, and yet you also have this talent…’

‘Unlike me, the daughter of a concubine.’

‘I don’t care about lineage or status. But the thing I wanted most—you had it and discarded it like trash.’

‘How unfair this world is…’

Many students must have once felt crushed by Isolde’s natural gifts.

Isolde used to scoff at them, proud of her superiority.

But now, even she cursed the heavens for their injustice.

---

“…Ah.”

Mari, too, was shocked.

She had been secretly delighted when her angel spirit won against others.

As a poor farmer’s daughter surrounded by elite nobility, she often felt out of place.

Despite gathering points, her disgraceful last-place entrance still haunted her.

So defeating even Isolde—the top of the class—made her proud.

But against Idnia, she didn’t even stand a chance.

What stung most was Idnia’s attitude.

She had tried to forfeit from the beginning—as if she already knew the outcome.

She didn’t even feel the need to compete, had tried to let Mari win.

‘Why am I angry?’

Mari, a humble country girl, knew Idnia wasn’t mocking her.
The sole daughter of the royal duke wouldn’t go this far to belittle her.

But realizing her own efforts—desperate as they were—meant nothing to someone else, stirred painful emotions.

That feeling had a name: Inferiority complex.

Mari clicked her tongue bitterly.

‘Me, feeling inferior… to the noble daughter of a royal duke?’

‘Her family once produced emperors. Her parents were the hero and saint who saved the world.’

‘How dare a girl like me feel inferior to someone like her?’

Even if she understood that in her head…
Her heart still burned.

---

While Mari and Isolde reeled in despair before Idnia’s overwhelming spirit, Margram clapped, redirecting the room’s attention.

A wave of heat pulsed from him.

“You should name that spirit. Doing so will make future summoning easier.”

“Your emotional state affects which spirits respond. If your mood changes, this spirit might not appear again.”

“Also, name your attack skills. Calling them out helps control the spirit more efficiently.”

“As promised, I’ll award Idnia one point for defeating all other spirits.”

That brought Idnia’s total to 4 points, tying her with Rudolf and just behind Isolde’s 5.

The Eurus dormitory, too, surged ahead with a total of 7 points—gaining more distance from Notos and Boreas.

“That ends today’s class. Lorenzo Medici Mazdari, please stay behind.”

“Huh? What for?”

“Nothing serious. I just have advice regarding your spirit summoning.”

Margram smiled warmly.

‘Wait, what kind of spirit did Mazdari summon again?’
‘Just a regular one. He got knocked out early.’
‘Yeah, no strong impression. But why is the Lamp Demon calling him aside?’

Everyone was puzzled.

Meanwhile, the classroom was growing unbearably hot from Margram’s body heat, forcing students in coats to flee.

---

After Margram’s class ended, the students were left conflicted.

He had mocked them openly, demoralizing their alliance.

It was a deep insult.

Yet the magic he taught was awe-inspiring.

He truly was a Lamp Demon—a being of tremendous power and wisdom, like from a fairy tale.

They had seen how his power corrupted the assistants, and still, they couldn’t help but admire his strength and knowledge.

‘Technically, those assistants just became grad students. “Corrupted” might be too harsh… sigh. I wanted Mari to become the top scorer before midterms to trigger the principal event…’

Idnia had planned to help Mari become number one before midterms, which would trigger a special meeting with the headmaster.

As a Saint, Mari needed to grow—or the future was bleak.

But somehow, Idnia kept crushing her instead.

“As expected of the Hero’s daughter. You’re amazing, Idnia.”

“As long as Idnia’s with Eurus, we still have hope.”

Eurus dormitory students rallied around her in admiration.

Even those from other dorms respected her.

“Wow. Idnia Katche Betelgeuse, daughter of a Duke.”

“The daughter of the Hero who saved the world… amazing.”

“And what’s more impressive is how humble she is, despite her power.”

“She didn’t even want to duel at first.”

“And even after winning, she didn’t gloat. If it were me, I’d be bragging to high heaven.”

Everyone was in awe of Idnia’s maturity.

Which only made her more annoyed.

‘Ugh. Can you all just stop talking? You love gossiping. I need to check on Mari.’

Idnia turned to comfort Mari, who had likely been hurt by everything.

“Mari, are you okay?”

“Ah, Lady Idnia. I-I’m fine.”

“If I weren’t, it would mean I—a farmer’s daughter—actually harbored resentment against you, the noble daughter of a royal house and the Hero…”

“How could a lowborn fool like me dare feel such competition?”

“……”

Hearing Mari’s broken words, Idnia sighed.

Her flame angel—the one thing she had summoned with pride—had been shattered.

And so had her self-esteem.

Watching Mari spiral into self-hatred frustrated Idnia.

And others felt it too.

“So… even after beating Isolde, you’re still acting like this?”

“What are the rest of us who lost to her supposed to do—go jump off a cliff?”

Sandy Aspinal snapped.

“What?! I didn’t mean it that way…”

“Then how do you mean it?”

“Hey! You idiotic saint!”

“I used to be called a genius during my tutoring too, okay? And you destroyed me.”

“And yet you only care about Idnia, like I don’t even exist. Do you know how annoying that is?!”

“But… that was just luck. I couldn’t even summon a spirit until now…”

In fact, most students tried to summon their spirits again, but failed.

Their connection to the fire realm had weakened after moving away from Margram.

“It’s not just you!”

“None of us can summon now! Probably because we’re no longer near that Ifrit or Margram’s influence!”

“So why are you acting like you’re the only one suffering? Do you think the rest of us aren’t scared too?!”

Sandy scolded Mari harshly—usually she was reckless, but this time her words hit home.

Mari had indeed lost her composure.

“That’s enough. Both of you.”

“Our dorm is small. We won’t survive without unity. I don’t want to be the reason our morale crumbles.”

“But…”

Just as Idnia was trying to mediate—

“A fight broke out!”

“What?!”

“In the dining hall!”

“……”

Even Sandy, Mari, and Idnia had to pause their argument at that.

As the word “fight” spread through the hallway, the students instinctively turned their heads toward the dining hall.

“Let’s go!”

“If it’s a fight, we can’t miss it!”

Students began rushing out one by one, their earlier emotions temporarily cast aside by the excitement of commotion.

Even the emotionally charged Mari and the irritated Sandy trailed behind the others, curiosity overtaking tension.

Idnia sighed, following last.

‘I should really be fixing things with Mari right now, not running off after a random fight…’

But whatever was happening in the dining hall was clearly loud enough to distract everyone—and perhaps serious enough to require intervention.

By the time they reached the wide marble-floored cafeteria, a crowd had gathered in a circle.

Two students were standing in the middle, locked in confrontation.

“Who is it?”

“Lorenzo Medici Mazdari and Prince Karl Gustav.”

Gasps.

Even Idnia furrowed her brow.

Those two weren’t ones to fight over trivial matters—or so she had thought.

“You bought out all the ingredients from the Notos kitchen again, didn’t you, Karl?” Lorenzo spat.

“So what if I did?” Karl folded his arms, exuding indifference.

“So what?! My entire dorm has been eating watery gruel for three days now! Do you think you’re above the rest of us because you’re from Boreas?”

Karl snorted.

“If you wanted ingredients, you should’ve been faster. It’s called capitalism, Mazdari. I paid with points. Fair and square.”

The crowd murmured in rising tension.

Lorenzo’s face flushed with frustration. “You manipulated the market using your ranking. That’s not capitalism. That’s extortion.”

“I call it smart strategy.”

The two glared at each other, magical pressure beginning to ripple subtly in the air.

“Should we stop them?” Mari whispered to Idnia, clearly still emotionally frayed.

“No need yet,” Idnia replied, her voice calm. “Let’s see how far they’re willing to take it.”

Students from all dorms stood in the circle—Notos, Boreas, Eurus, and even some from the rarely seen Zephyrus—watching as academy politics, pride, and resource tensions exploded in public.

Isolde had also arrived, arms crossed. She said nothing but stood beside Rudolf, who was calmly observing the conflict with narrowed eyes.

Rudolf turned to Isolde. “Should we report this to a faculty member?”

Isolde smirked faintly. “No need. Let them show their true colors.”

Just as Lorenzo raised a spark in his palm and Karl tightened his stance, a third party stepped between them.

It was Instructor Nialy—tall, severe, and more intimidating than either boy.

“Are you children seriously about to duel over vegetables?” she snapped.

The magical tension in the air vanished instantly.

Everyone in the crowd straightened.

“Back to your seats. All of you. Points will be deducted for dorms involved in unauthorized combat, and trust me, I’m watching.”

With that, the circle dissolved.

Lorenzo looked away, gritting his teeth. Karl shrugged and turned on his heel.

The fire was gone—for now.

But the atmosphere lingered like smoke.

---

Later that evening, in the Eurus dormitory common room, Mari sat with her back against the window, hugging her knees.

Idnia approached quietly and sat beside her.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Outside, the sun was setting in gold and crimson streaks.

Finally, Idnia spoke.

“I never wanted to outshine you, Mari.”

Mari didn’t answer at first. Then she whispered:

“I know. But that doesn’t stop me from feeling like I’m standing in your shadow.”

Idnia let that sit.

Then she said softly:

“Let me walk beside you, not ahead of you.”

Mari blinked and turned to her. Her voice trembled.

“You really think I can… be the real Saint?”

“I do. And I’m going to help you believe it too.”

In that moment, Mari cried—not out of shame, but from the warmth of finally being seen.

And for the first time that day, Idnia smiled with genuine relief.