"Group psychology?"

Shenley blinked as she repeated my words. I nodded and looked at both of them.

"Group psychology, sometimes called crowd psychology. As numbers increase, people sometimes start carrying out actions with extreme content that they normally wouldn't, as if it were completely ordinary. At that time, the crowd enters an excited state and loses its calmness."

As I explained, Solare's eyes narrowed.

"...So are you saying it was inevitable because of that state...?"

Hearing those words, I was a little surprised. I had only given a simple explanation about mental or psychological states, but Solare seemed to grasp the mechanism of group psychology.

"No, I'm not saying you should forgive them because of group psychology. However, taking that into consideration broadens your perspective and can change how you see things. Perhaps there were people who were just afraid of the strong-willed students leading the bullying and couldn't oppose them. Of course, going along with the bullying without resistance is wrong, but considering that feeling, it might not always be necessary to punish them as strictly as the primary offenders."

I spoke honestly about my own feelings. However, Solare was not convinced.

"...I don't think so."

It was a clear denial. For Solare, the primary instigators were obviously enemies, but he probably saw those who went along with it as enemies too. It was a matter only the person who experienced the bullying could decide.

"But Headmaster Glenn wasn't involved in that, was he? Why do you direct hostility towards Headmaster Glenn as well?"

When I asked, Solare furrowed his brow.

"...I tried talking to him at first. I appealed to him, saying I wanted help, telling him what they were doing to me. But he didn't help me. Because he's the headmaster, because the academy was more important than me, he sided with the royal and noble students...! And it was the same even with the elves who left the academy midway... Even though they were the ones who called me defective...!"

Solare laid bare his emotions, speaking as if the words were tearing from him. Tears welled in his eyes, and anger and frustration seeped into his voice.

"Isn't that a misunderstanding? Headmaster Glenn is very worried about you, Solare-kun. I believe his affection for you is genuine."

I tried to cover for Glenn, but Solare's expression didn't change.

"Even when I was told horrible things, had stones thrown at me, and was attacked with magic... he did nothing. That fact doesn't change. To me, he is not an ally."

Not an ally. That's what Solare said. Glenn should be his only remaining family. And yet, even if he didn't see him as an enemy, he couldn't see him as an ally either. It was profoundly sad.

What could change Solare's feelings? First, I might need to guide Solare's feelings in a more positive direction. I was sorry, but mending his relationship with Glenn would have to wait. In Solare's current state, no matter what anyone said, everyone probably just looked like an enemy.

Thinking this, I looked Solare in the eyes.

"I see... So, Solare-kun, what do you want to do? Do you want revenge on the people who bullied you? Or do you want to complain to Headmaster Glenn?"

When I asked, Solare looked down, troubled.

"...I just don't want to be involved anymore. I have no intention of ever attending lectures at the academy again." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Solare withdrew into his shell, rejecting contact with the outside world. No, perhaps his refusal to attend lectures applied only to life within the academy.

I fell silent for a while, turning the thoughts over in my head.

Forcing him to attend lectures in this situation might only make him withdraw further. The fact that we could still have a conversation like this meant there was a thread to grasp for a solution. It would be a disaster if I pushed too hard and he refused to see us at all.

"...Understood. In that case, let's have lectures outside the academy. The instructor will be me. The only students will be Shenley-san and you, Solare-kun. How does that sound?"

When I confirmed this, they both turned to look at me simultaneously.

"...Is that even possible?"

"Outside the academy...?"

They both voiced their doubts at the same time.

I smiled back at them and nodded.

"It's fine. Leave that to me. Let's study magic in a way completely unrelated to Fiddiq Academy. In fact, I'll show you plenty of magic you've never seen before."

When I said this, Solare's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

The expression on Solare's face as he said that was filled with the hopeful eyes of a boy his age. Indeed, this boy loved magic. That must be why he could develop magic ordinary people couldn't even conceive of.

Thinking this, I smiled back at Solare and nodded.

"Yes. Of course."