Chapter 44: The Rhythmic Interruption

Leaf Su gazed at the wooden door, marked with “First Year B Office,” its comfortable glaze catching his eye.

The rhythmic thump-thump of his knuckles against the wood was perfectly resonant, and having once dabbled in drumming, he mused that the door itself could serve as a makeshift drum.

Despite his initial apprehension, an inexplicable rhythm took hold of him, and soon his knuckles were tapping a steady beat against the wooden panel.

Inside the classroom, the students, upon hearing the peculiar yet rhythmic knocking from outside, had their eyes gleam with a mischievous delight, as though a new toy had been unveiled. They began tapping along on their wooden desks, following the beat, and in mere moments, the classroom erupted into a cacophony.

The teacher at the podium, his face a thunderous mask, seethed at the excessive clamor in his classroom. Such boisterousness surely disturbed other classes, and a run-in with the grade director would undoubtedly jeopardize his salary.

“Silence!” the magic teacher commanded, gripping his wand. Swiftly chanting an incantation, he unleashed a blue gleam that shot forth from the tip of his wand, instantly forming a barrier that sealed away all student voices.

[Sound Barrier] This was a rudimentary spell, one even beginners could master, though it typically required over ten seconds of incantation. For Professor Potter, however, executing such magic in mere tenths of a second was utterly trivial.

A furious scowl etched onto Professor Potter’s face, his voice inadvertently boomed louder, completely oblivious to the fact that its decibel level was now bordering on public disturbance.

“What is this uproar you’re all participating in? Should anyone dare to join in such a commotion again, I’ll have them copy the entire magic dictionary one hundred times!”

As expected, copying was a universal dread among students. In an instant, every student assumed an air of perfect docility, as if their previous rowdiness had been an entirely unrelated phenomenon. The transformation was almost comically swift.

Having quelled the internal chaos of the classroom, Professor Potter’s face remained grim. He deliberately strode towards the classroom door, determined to discover precisely who had dared to interrupt his lesson.

Meanwhile, from his seat, Kohn watched Professor Potter’s deliberate approach to the classroom door, his own face contorting into a grimace.

He frantically scanned the classroom once more, and after confirming Leaf Su’s conspicuous absence, he buried his face in his hands. ‘No matter how I look at it,’ he thought, ‘it has to be that Leaf Su fellow.’

At their appointed meeting time, Kohn had waited for a while, only to find no one. He’d assumed Leaf Su had forgotten their arrangement and gone straight to class, effectively ‘pigeoning’ him (TL Note: ‘ge le’, a Chinese internet slang term meaning to stand someone up or ditch an appointment). To avoid being late himself, Kohn had proceeded to class alone. Yet, what truly astounded him was the audacity of Leaf Su to ‘pigeon’ someone even on his very first day as a transfer student.

‘Could his actual profession be ‘pigeon’?’ he wondered wryly (TL Note: A humorous extension of the slang ‘ge le’, implying someone who frequently stands people up).

He could barely bring himself to imagine the impending consequences. Professor Potter, known as one of the stricter first-year magic instructors, was already a formidable presence. Not only was Leaf Su late, but he had also brazenly interrupted the professor’s lecture with his rhythmic knocking. To make matters worse, that percussive interruption had incited the students into a chaotic uproar, severely disrupting the entire class.

Kohn had no idea what kind of spectacle would unfold next.

“Kohn, are you feeling unwell?”

His deskmate, a girl with flowing blue hair and emerald eyes, watched him with a worried gaze. Sensing that Kohn was clearly out of sorts, a faint unease settled in her heart.

“N-nothing,” he stammered, “just a bit of a stomach ache.”

Most of the students, however, wore amused smiles, their faces alight with expressions of eager spectators. They much preferred such dramatic developments to Professor Potter’s usual rigid instruction.

Several rows behind Kohn, Dendis watched the classroom door, a look of unbridled excitement plastered across his face.

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