Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 264 The Place Where the Soul Is

In a spiritual space where both the sky and the ground were azure, Miriam's thoughts raced as he gazed at the long-lost figure reflected on the water's surface.

Now, what should he do?
In times of crisis, Miriam's mind is clearer than ever.

As Miriam's thoughts raced, the image of Professor Ritas "teaching" him once in the kitchen came to mind.

That day, the two were trying to make a new dish together. But the final product tasted terrible.

After analyzing the situation for a while, the two concluded that the problem lay with Miriam.

He shouldn't have added the salt before the sugar, even though the interval between the two was only about three seconds.

Ritas earnestly explained the "principles" inherent in cooking, eloquently demonstrating that even a difference of just a few seconds in heat, or the seemingly simultaneous sequence of steps, could cause invisible reactions and changes within the dish, ultimately resulting in completely different outcomes.

Miriam was initially stunned, then couldn't help but marvel at how profound the principles behind cooking were. No wonder magic could be learned through cooking; the two were indeed equally profound and complex.

Then, the next time he tried, Miriam meticulously followed the recipe exactly. He genuinely believed that his mistake had caused the previous failure.

Until he saw Ritas, who put a dish into the pot that was in a completely different state than the one before.

It would be strange if there was a difference of only a few seconds between adding salt and sugar first!

Even after being caught by Miriam, Ritas remained calm and serious.

He first praised Miriam for her focus and commended her questioning spirit, saying that it was a good thing not to blindly follow so-called "authorities".

Then, he told Miriam that no one in this world is omniscient or infallible. Therefore, many times, people who seem very confident and assertive may actually be engaging in "costless probing."

How to distinguish such a test mainly depends on whether the other party is trying to confirm something.

For example, the previous dish. Ritas initially stated with certainty that following the standard steps, there shouldn't have been any errors; something must have gone wrong with Miriam. He then tried to confirm whether Miriam had made a mistake in any step of the cooking process, even a small one. Only after Miriam indicated that she seemed to have added salt first did he immediately add, "As expected."

But if Ritas were truly certain that the problem lay with Miriam, then the "confirmation" step shouldn't have happened. And Miriam's mistake shouldn't have been summarized by him himself, but rather pointed out directly by Ritas.

Ritas then stated that, having learned from this experience, Miriam will likely take an extra step of "thinking" when encountering suspected bluffing in the future. This will significantly reduce the chances of being deceived.

Finally, he reiterated his advice to Miriam not to place too much faith in this method of identification, as its success rate was likely only around 70%.

Therefore, the most crucial thing is still "learning"!
Only when you have acquired enough knowledge and gained sufficient experience can you truly learn to think independently and easily distinguish between seemingly true lies.

At that moment, seeing Miriam completely bewildered after being inexplicably lectured, Ritas simply made an excuse and ran away.

Miriam, regaining his composure, realized, somewhat speechlessly, that the professor wasn't always so serious, especially in private. Also, Ritas, who had always seemed omniscient and omnipotent, actually had his limitations. After all, he was only a young man not much older than Miriam.

As for now, Miriam sensed something "strange" from Serian's words.

Why does Teacher Seren insist on emphasizing that "the posture of the soul does not lie"?
He even deliberately said, "Don't try to make up lame excuses," blocking his way out.

The statement, "At least for those who cannot use soul magic," seems like a statement made with utmost seriousness. However, given that he clearly cannot use soul magic, such a statement seems more like an attempt to exploit his lack of knowledge and add an unquestionable weight to his words.

The most important question is, if Serian really discovered that his identity was problematic, would he have this kind of attitude?
He and Serian had only known each other for a short time, and it wasn't an offensive act of long-term deception.

So, if Serian really discovers the secret, will he just find it amusing?
Moreover, his unusual demeanor immediately made Serian suspect that there was something wrong with his identity, rather than questioning whether there was something wrong with this space itself, which was illogical!

Thinking about this, Miriam became even more certain that he could still struggle.

Miriam, still with her head down, was somewhat unsure how long she had been lost in thought.

However, he felt that this still made sense.

Upon realizing that one has suddenly transformed into another woman, the normal reaction should be to simply freeze in shock, rather than to yell or scream.

Miriam began to move. He first touched his arms and body, then his face, and then squatted on the lake surface, reaching out his hand to his reflection.

"How could this be? Is this... really me?"

Miriam scratched his head, looking quite confused. He then looked around again, finally fixing his gaze on the white mushroom in his hand.

He had initially intended to adopt an attitude of "Ah! I know, it was you who was behind this." But considering that it was illogical for Serian to immediately suspect his identity in this situation, it would be strange for him to directly confront Serian with his own suspicions.

At most, he should only have some doubts.

So he managed to rein in the flamboyant emotions that were about to spill out.

"Oh? You mean you have no idea why you look like this?"

Serian's amused voice rang out again.

Miriam felt a little nervous, as she could still sense from the tone of the voice that "the other party knows everything."

He began to consider the gains and losses.

If he tells the truth to Professor Serene, the professor might keep it a secret. But if he continues to play dumb, it will constitute deceiving the professor, and there might be no turning back.

Looking at the somewhat comical white mushroom in his hand, Miriam was genuinely wavering.

He doesn't like to deceive others.

But as past images surfaced in his mind, and he recalled the words that still troubled him to this day, he ultimately chose not to confess to Serian.

"Speaking of which, I should be in a soul state right now, right? Both Professor Seren's words and my current feelings confirm this. So, is the state of a soul necessarily the same as that of a body?"

Miriam, determined to persevere, found her mind becoming increasingly clear, and discovered yet another blind spot.

"Of course they're the same. No, sometimes they're not exactly the same. But at least, a man doesn't have a woman's soul. Perhaps you don't realize it, but your body has already become a woman's."

"!"

For a moment, Miriam looked utterly astonished. But inwardly, she remained remarkably calm. "Really?!"

"Hehehe"

Seemingly pleased with Miriam's astonishment, Seren chuckled a few times.
"It's fake for now, but who knows what will happen if it continues like this~"

"So, it's not like this to begin with? Was it because you were attacked or something? That's strange. Shouldn't this just be an ability to seal someone's soul into your mental space and then control their body in the real world? How can it also make people cuter?"

Soon after, following Serian's instructions, Miriam blindly forged ahead in the azure space where he had no sense of direction whatsoever.

He was somewhat unsure whether Serian had truly stopped being suspicious.

"I also want to know what's going on. Why does Professor Seren think that my soul is inherently like this?"

After getting through the initial dangerous period, Miriam became increasingly adept at handling the situation.

After all, he had gotten used to it over the past six months.

"Because your soul shows no trace of 'change'."

Serian's words made Miriam's heart tighten once again.

He truly had no idea that "ignorance" was such a terrifying thing.

In the realm of soul magic, Seren really does say whatever he wants.
"Soul magic is also broadly categorized. This type, which takes effect immediately, often only temporarily transfers or seals the other person's soul. Then the caster uses their own soul to occupy the now-empty body, doing whatever they want. Therefore, they have neither the time nor the energy to completely change a person's soul's form. So, the question remains: are you really not a girl, but disguised as a man for some reason?"

"What good will it do me to do this?"

Miriam asked back with a helpless expression.

Even if not, let's assume.

Let's assume that Miriam is indeed a female student.

One of the reasons why it was difficult for him to be exposed was that the fact that he dressed as a boy to go to school was illogical in itself.

Doing so is neither beneficial nor meaningful, and there is no reason why it must be done.

On this continent, there are no families that have established the peculiar rule that their heirs must disguise themselves as male or female students to successfully graduate from male or female academies.

"Hmm, that's true. Even my friend, who had a restless desire for such things during his student days, has imagined things like pretending to be a male student and living in the boys' dormitory."

It would be best if they were really your friends.

"If I remember correctly, you lived with Professor Ritas. So, if you really don't, or rather, if you continue like this, turning your body into a vessel that conforms to your soul, that would be a really interesting thing."

"It's a terrible scandal!"

As Miriam spoke, he vigorously waved the white mushrooms stuck to his hands.

"Putting everything else aside, I really hope this mushroom won't grow on me."

Miriam's question seemed unintentional. In reality, it was a subtle hint to Serian: "You said the form of a soul cannot be changed, so what about the mushrooms growing on my hand?"

"Uh-huh."

"Eh?"

"Since you care more about this mushroom, does that mean you don't object to becoming a 'woman'?"

Serian's unexpected question startled Miriam once again.

We still can't let our guard down when dealing with this strange teacher.

"Rather than saying I don't resist it, I'd say I still haven't truly experienced it. Becoming a woman is just too incredible. Although I'm somewhat unwilling to not be able to, when I think about it carefully, maybe it's not so bad? After all, I didn't become a man because I wanted to be a man. So, if I could choose freely without paying a price, it might be surprisingly nice?"

Miriam, who didn't know how a teenager would normally answer such a question, initially pretended but later simply told the truth.

"Hehehe, that's a very interesting idea."

It's unclear whether it was because Miriam's answer "passed the test" or because of something else.

In short, after this conversation, Serian did not make any further probing moves.

"To put it simply, soul magic is a type of magic that can only be cast after altering one's own soul form using 'magical particles' or other powers."

"Long before the discovery of magical particles, people had been experimenting with whether they could transform themselves into something closer to or similar to 'magic,' allowing them to perceive magic more clearly and thus gain greater power."

"Those who attempted to modify their bodies unfortunately contracted diseases such as 'Crystal Lung Disease.' Few people actually gained power from it. But those who focused on the 'soul,' which is more malleable than the body, from the beginning created the Soul Magic school."

"Now that we can clearly observe the existence of magical particles, the difficulty of mastering soul magic has decreased significantly compared to the past. However, it is still a case of one in a hundred people attempting it."

After struggling for a long time with the idea of ​​Miriam's soul form, Serian finally seriously explained his current situation to Miriam.

It's not that Miriam can't live without Professor Ritas, so he thinks of him all the time.

Only through comparison can students truly understand which teachers are reliable and which are not.

Miriam felt that if the professor were here, he would definitely get the students out of danger first, and deal with everything else later. Instead, he would remain in this perilous situation, defying common sense, constantly probing and questioning them.
So here's the question: where has that reliable teacher gone now?
As Miriam drifted off into thought, Seren, the teacher who had been working at the Arigold Magic Academy until recently, continued her lessons. Aside from some issues with the teaching environment, the content of her lessons was quite commendable.

"The reason is that the first step in soul magic is to perceive the 'soul.' Apart from a few people who are born with special talents, in most cases, it is only possible to perceive the existence of the 'soul' if one has experienced a near-death experience."

"A so-called 'near-death experience' is not the kind where you're suddenly scared half to death. It requires your heart to stop beating and your breathing to completely cease. You have to truly 'die' once."

(End of this chapter)