Chapter 102: Aftermath
Chapter 102: Aftermath
The Post-nut Clarity Training Method was more effective than I expected.
I should probably use it more often in the future.
…Though it seemed a bit much for Elisha to handle.
"Ugh… Is it morning already… Hieek! Are you—are you doing it again?! The sun is already up! Stop this and go to class!"
"No, I was just going to cast Clean on you."
"Oh."
"You're so mean…."
Now, Elisha would let out a pathetic little squeal and flail her limbs if I so much as reached a hand toward her.
On the other hand, how was Carla?
Her face was glowing with a healthy radiance, like someone who had just eaten a feast, and she even beamed at me whenever our eyes met.
Perhaps my inner disappointment showed on my face.
Carla, who had already finished dressing and was humming a tune, looked back and forth between me and Elisha. Elisha, in turn, forced an awkward smile.
It was a strained smile, the kind someone gives when they're being threatened. To make matters worse, she was still naked, with the traces of yesterday’s activities clearly visible on her skin.
"Wow. That’s a smile that just makes me want to bully you more."
"Don't you think you're the one being too much?!" Elisha protested, her voice thick with a sense of injustice.
Well… to be fair, it was a natural result.
Part of it was that Elisha wasn't used to "night work" yet, but there were other factors—like her being an Ero-Elf with far too many weak points, or the fact that she used a self-destructive move just to keep up with Carla.
Elisha was bound to suffer more.
Chuckling, I cast Clean on Elisha’s body.
"I'm joking, so hurry up and get dressed. We woke up late, so we have to head out immediately."
"Immediately?"
"You looked so tired I didn't want to wake you. Oh, do you want a Vitality Potion?"
"…A low-grade one, please."
"Sure."
I handed a bottle to the strangely bashful Elisha and turned toward Carla.
"Carla."
"Yes, Master."
"Carla, Carla, Carla!"
"Yes, yes! Master!"
"Dress me~"
"Okay!"
With practiced, natural movements, Carla began putting my uniform on me.
She kept fumbling with my body as if trying to satisfy her own hidden desires in the process… but honestly, that was exactly why I asked her to do it.
It felt strangely tickling and quite pleasant.
I spent a few moments enjoying Carla’s touch as I prepared for school.
Finally, I grabbed the staff I had left in the training room and stepped out of the dormitory.
*
A day had passed, and the rumors had only grown more intense.
Though, I suppose I was partly to blame for that.
"Look at Miss Elisha… no, just look at Elisha’s face. She looked so dignified until yesterday…."
"Her expression really did change drastically in just one day."
"Even if she's a slave, what on earth do you have to do to make someone look that haggard?"
"What do you think? What else would you do all night after buying an Elf slave?"
"But Carla—the slave who used to be Senior Carla—looks better than ever, doesn't she?"
"…If you're that used to calling her 'Senior,' why don't you just call her whatever's comfortable? Besides, do you really not know? I heard you go to the library often, so I thought you'd be well-versed in this stuff. I guess you haven't looked into the deeper sections."
"What does the library have to do with this?"
"I'll tell you later. I have a book to return today anyway, so let's go together. Besides, it's obvious why only one of them looks good."
"Because she's used to it?"
"No, it's common sense that the one who was trained first becomes the one in charge of education."
"!!!"
I overheard the conversation of two female seniors in the distance. Glancing back at Elisha, I could see why they thought that.
Her face was gaunt as if she’d pulled an all-nighter, her legs were trembling like a newborn fawn, and her back was strangely hunched.
To anyone watching, it was the perfect sight to spark misunderstandings.
The contrast with yesterday, when she walked with her shoulders back and a straight posture, was stimulating people's imaginations in many ways.
Elisha seemed to realize this and tried to force herself to stand up straight. But—
"Eep!"
Something must have gone wrong, because she let out a strange squeak and curled back up.
"Is the muscle pain still that bad? Want another Vitality Potion?"
"I'm… fine. My back just twinged a bit, so don't worry, you."
"That makes me worry more."
After giving her one more Recovery Potion and one more Vitality Potion, I slowed my pace. Carla gently tugged on my sleeve.
"Master, Master."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Come to think of it, you said yesterday that you'd give me a reward if I did well, right?"
"Right. I did. Is there something you want?"
"Hehe… well, you see…."
She crept closer and whispered only after glancing at Elisha.
"I know you're already busy learning all sorts of things… but would you like to start learning the Lindelheit Arcana soon?"
"Ah."
Now that I thought about it, I had somehow ended up learning the secrets of the Sylvan Magic Tower first instead of the Lindelheit family's.
Even though she was my slave, Carla was also my teacher, so she must have felt a bit neglected.
She had been quite serious whenever she taught me magic, after all.
I let out a small chuckle and nodded.
Most of my current training involved learning new spells and mastering how to use them in the right situations… but since I had reached a certain level of proficiency, I could afford to put that aside for a moment.
"Alright. But is it something I can even learn right now? Don't I need higher proficiency with my core first?"
"Probably? I thought it was too early for you until now, but after seeing you learn element combination from Lady Iris the other day, I think you might be able to do it."
"Good. I'll give it a try. But this is just moving up something we were going to do anyway. It doesn't really feel like a 'reward.' Is there nothing else you want?"
"Hmm… not really?"
"I'm stopping by the market street after school to buy Elisha a fan, so tell me then if you think of something."
Shrugging, I stepped into the classroom we had finally reached.
Unlike the outside, where the whispering was loud enough to be annoying, the Class A students merely flinched when they saw me and didn't say a word.
There were several reasons for this… but the biggest was likely Iona’s daily Magic Combat class.
With Elisha out of the lessons for now, there was no one in this room who could stand against me.
They probably didn't want to get hit multiple times before being eliminated when they could just get hit once and be done with it.
Besides, the 1st Year Class A students, regardless of their department, generally felt they owed their lives to Elisha and me.
In fact, the instances of me being looked down upon for being a commoner had decreased significantly.
Helena and Vincent, who were on my team during the dungeon practice, greeted me warmly every time we met.
Thinking about it, it was quite strange. No matter how much the game tried to pair me with people I wouldn't get along with, why did it stick me with two people who were recruitable allies in H&A?
For reference, in H&A, there is one male and one female ally character per class.
While two per class might not seem like much, there are other departments, and the grades go up to the 4th year.
Since some professors can also be recruited and there are characters you can meet outside the Academy, there are actually quite a lot of options.
However, they don't all become Sword Masters or Archmages just by being left alone.
You have to properly grow them in dungeons, dump all sorts of elixirs and equipment onto them, and resolve the obstacles in their individual stories to trigger their awakening.
Even after growing them to max level, facing a fully descended Evil God is suicide, so you have to constantly crush cultists to sabotage their plans.
Before class started, I closed my eyes and organized my thoughts.
The rumors that had spread through the Academy at an impossible speed.
That could just be natural.
As Carla said, the entire Academy was already buzzing.
But as Elisha suggested, someone might be maliciously distorting the rumors.
If such a person existed….
They were likely a believer of the Boiling Silence.
They were the type to infiltrate the Church of the Good God and even the Levantine Imperial Family.
There was no way they hadn't infiltrated the Academy.
It happens in the mid-to-late game, but there was actually an episode where the player is framed and branded a criminal.
Thanks to that, I knew exactly what kind of spies the Boiling Silence had hidden within the Academy.
I also knew very well that I was currently a "hot topic" among the cultists after defeating Edmerec.
But was this really their handiwork? And would catching them now just make them more cautious for no reason?
On the other hand, how much would I gain by publicly exposing the Boiling Silence's spies and awakening people's vigilance?
I crunched the numbers in my head, but a clear answer didn't emerge.
Since I have the "descendant of a secret society" setting anyway, would it be better to deliberate on this with Carla or Elisha?
No, Iris would be better for this kind of thing.
She has 500 years of experience and the wisdom of a Tower Lord.
Because I was being careful not to reveal that I was from another world, the idea of sharing my game knowledge came a bit late.
From now on, I should share what needs to be shared.
By the way, it was a bit of a shame I couldn't bring Iris to the Academy.
It looks like I'll have to wait until this weekend.
The only silver lining was that while my reputation had soured a bit and I heard whispers when I walked by, there was no further damage.
Leaving it for three days shouldn't cause any major problems.
…Or so I thought, until I saw Fay in a dark alley of the market street, surrounded by nameless seniors and getting slapped across the face.