Episode 95
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 95
Inside the Prefect Office. Two men stood with their hands braced on a desk, cautiously watching Elysia, who was staring intently down at it.
Without a word, they had each carefully folded their own report cards and hidden them out of reach before exchanging glances.
How did she do? I don't know, I'm scared to death. You must have some idea. No, I really have no clue...
The two men, silent on the outside but screaming internally, flinched at Elysia's sudden, quiet words.
“Wow, I failed.”
“What?!”
“For real?”
As if her words were a signal, the two men rushed to her side and frantically looked at the neatly placed report card. Of the five subjects, four had top scores. And the last one...
“Elysia, how could you get a score like this? You aced all your major subjects...”
Elysia remained silent, just staring down. Adrian began to wail.
“How could you fail <Character Education>, an elective that's supposed to be a free pass?!!”
She scratched the back of her head awkwardly and pressed her lips together. After a long silence, Elysia mumbled.
“Still, I got all the ones you told me about right... I did good, right?”
“What good is that?! You still failed! How can anyone fail this subject? I seriously don't get it!”
“I just answered the test honestly.”
“Elysia, even hypocrisy is a virtue.”
“Haha...”
Adrian, who had been groaning with his head in his hands, shot his head up. Evan, on the receiving end of his desperate gaze, raised an eyebrow as if to ask, What?
Adrian pointed a finger into the air as if calculating something and said.
“The <Character Education> class—it's possible to make up for it, isn't it?”
“It is.”
Really? Two pairs of eyes, sparkling with hope, flew to Evan. He gave a vague smile and muttered as if something was bothering him.
“But... it's going to be a bit... tough...”
*
Elysia leaned weakly against the back of the rattling carriage, covering her mouth. This was the full story of why she was currently bumping along this gravel road.
♥ Summer event: ‘A Midsummer Night's Memory’ has begun!
You will be staying in a village a day's carriage ride from Minerva to participate in a charity project!
What kind of events will unfold here with the capture targets?
!Summer Event Special! Capture Target exposure rate increased by 36% ♥
“Ugh, this is all so pointless...”
“What's pointless?”
Siene, whose face was pale from motion sickness, poked her in the side and asked. Elysia, who almost gagged involuntarily, hunched over and muttered.
“All of this.”
“We're going to make up for your failing grade. It better not be pointless.”
“...What was the name of this event again?”
“‘Dovre.’ It means ‘duty’ in Alean.”
Minerva is both an educational and a research institution. Students can not only learn specialized knowledge that is difficult for the general public to access but also receive support to conduct their own research. Surprisingly, all for free.
Because this is a kind of privilege, an event called ‘Dovre’ was held every season, following the founder's belief that this privilege should be given back to society.
It involved students who expressed their intent to participate visiting villages so isolated that they had little access to modern civilization and offering their talents. For students who received a failing grade in the elective <Character Education>, participating in this event would waive their failure.
...In other words, it created the irony that an event meant for those with the strongest spirit of volunteerism was bound to attract all sorts of morally bankrupt individuals, including Elysia.
“Anyway, you didn't fail. Why did you come along?”
“Why do you think?”
Siene snapped back with a "Hmph," turning her head sharply to look out the window. Elysia irritably threw open the window and breathed in the outside air before asking.
“Why is that guy Lucian here? Did he fail too?”
“No, he... followed me.”
Elysia thought of Adrian and Evan, who were in another carriage, and let out a dry laugh. That meant four people who hadn't failed were joining this charity project just to follow her.
At this point, shouldn't I get credit for being a good influence? Elysia was thinking, but she bit her tongue at the sudden mention of an unexpected person.
“But I heard Senior Ror came too?”
“They said they come every year.”
“Of course...”
Listening to Lucian and Siene's conversation, Elysia tried to calm her queasy stomach and asked.
“What do you mean, 'of course'?”
“How should I put it... they're the textbook example of a model student? That's the vibe they give off.”
Lucian replied, then stuck his head out the window to take a breath of fresh air before continuing.
“Most people who participate without having failed just donate money and don't actually show up in person.”
“Then why are you here?”
At Elysia's sharp question, he was at a loss for words and stammered.
“Well...”
“You came with ulterior motives.”
“That's not true!”
Not true, my ass. Elysia scoffed in disbelief and fell into thought.
To get a failing grade waived, you had to participate in person, but just getting your name on the list could be done with a donation. For the heir of the Ducal House of Ror, of all people, to come in person was definitely conspicuous...
As if reading her thoughts, Lucian shook his head and said.
“Anyway, it just shows they're truly the heir to a ducal house.”
“Why would they do that? It's a compulsion.”
Startled by Siene's blunt remark, Lucian hurriedly closed the window. She casually ignored his gesture to lower her voice and shrugged.
“That senior is in a position where they have to prove themselves. I might be clueless about this stuff, but that incident was a huge deal, wasn't it? Even I know about that.”
“What incident?”
Siene's face showed neither scorn nor pity. It was a simple, matter-of-fact attitude—one that could only come from someone indifferent to everything but art. She closed her eyes for a moment as if to suppress her nausea, then opened them and said.
“That senior wasn't originally acknowledged as the Duke's child. They were brought into the family after all the other children died from an epidemic. They're the irreplaceable heir, but they're in a position where they have no choice but to prove themselves.”
“Aren't you being a little too direct?”
“You have to know to avoid sensitive topics. Didn't you see the participant list? It's full of kids famous for their bad personalities. We need to be careful.”
“Siene, we're not exactly excluded from that list of people famous for their bad personalities.”
“Be quiet, Little Count Violante. Anyway, Senior Ror has that kind of background, so watch your mouth.”
Unlike Lucian, who shared the same nationality as Ror, Siene, being from Lyne, spoke relatively freely.
Quietly listening to their conversation, Elysia suddenly recalled a scene. Cain, staring at her with a shocked expression, as if struck by lightning, at a careless remark she had made.
“A young master raised with a silver spoon? That's a lie.”
“...Aha.”
Letting out a short exclamation, Elysia touched her forehead. So that's why he went berserk back then. There was a reason for it all.
She fidgeted with her fingers, feeling uncomfortable. Siene, who didn't know the full story between Elysia and Cain, assumed she was nervous and offered a blunt sort of comfort.
“Nothing's going to happen. Honestly, no one would dare mess with you. That guy you beat to a pulp at the beginning of the semester—”
“Please, just forget about that...”
Lucian, who had hastily cut Siene off, had to stifle a groan as she glared daggers at him and pinched his arm.
The carriage was gradually slowing down. Sensing they had arrived at their destination, Elysia prepared to get out. The moment she was shaking out the wrinkles in her blue skirt, a system window appeared before her eyes.
♥ SYSTEM: Welcome to ‘Fragola Village’! ‘Fragola Village’ has been added to your ‘Map’. ♥
Stepping out of the carriage, she looked up at the violet-tinged sky. They had left early in the morning, but the sun was already sinking behind the mountain ridge.
Elysia watched it for a moment, and as soon as she turned her head, she found Evan standing right in front of her and barely managed to swallow a scream. Evan spoke, his eyes filled with concern.
“You look pale. Are you okay?”
“The road was pretty rough.”
“You didn't throw up?”
“It wasn't that bad...”
“That's a relief.”
She stared blankly at the man's smiling eyes, then hastily shook her head. Why am I being so pathetic? Tearing her gaze away from his face, Elysia looked at where they had arrived.
An abandoned house?
Noticing signs of life and bright lights through the windows, she rubbed her eyes. The building, so dilapidated she had almost mistaken it for an abandoned house, turned out to be a temple upon a second look.
It seemed not much money had been spent on its construction; it was a simple structure with no ornate decorations to speak of. What few carvings it might have had were so worn down by the wind and rain that their shapes were barely recognizable.
Priests dressed in long, flowing white robes stood in a line before them.
“You'd need a place the size of a temple to accommodate this many people.”
Evan explained lightly, having read her confusion. An elderly man, who appeared to be the oldest among the priests, stepped forward and gave a polite bow. At the head of the receiving line stood Cain.
Cain, who received the bow, raised the corners of his mouth into a smooth smile and said.
“We'll only be imposing for about a week. We won't ask for much. Just providing a place to stay is enough.”
“How could we do only that? The amount of the donation you sent was immense. We will do our best to ensure you have a comfortable stay.”
So even in a place where we came to volunteer, it all comes down to money. The moment she thought this and let out a small laugh, she turned and her eyes met Cain's. Unlike Elysia, who immediately scowled in displeasure, Cain beamed.
Hearing the innocent female students standing near her whisper in excited voices, she sighed. So annoying...
Although the place was large, it wasn't big enough to assign one room per person. Elysia was helping Siene—who had naturally stuck to her side and been assigned the same room—carry her luggage when someone tapped her on the back. She turned around, glaring.
“What?”
“Elysia, save your strength.”
Whatever he had heard, Adrian was already pale. Elysia quickly righted Siene's art supply box, which was about to topple over, and asked.
“What's wrong?”
“We're dead starting tomorrow.”
“Didn't you know it was going to be tough when you came?”
“It seems like it's going to be even tougher than expected. Just consider us dead.”
At his grim tone, Elysia, who had been walking lightly, stopped in her tracks and whipped her head around. Her face was that of someone who had just realized the hell that awaited them.