Chapter 113
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 113
If Professor Zimmer taught Basic Swordsmanship for a longer period, I’d have more time to benefit from his instruction. It would make securing an A-grade that much easier.
I agreed to Freya’s proposal.
“Fine. As long as the lectures continue in the same vein, it’s not a bad offer. But is there some problem with Professor Verdandi? Why suggest another professor take over her post?”
It was good for me, but why was she suddenly making such a proposal?
Freya slowly parted her lips.
“Professor Verdandi needs more rest. She also mentioned needing time to focus on her own training.”
“Hasn’t she fully recovered yet?”
“That’s right. The doctor’s opinion is that her external injuries are no longer an issue, but the internal injuries she sustained during the battle seem to be more severe than expected.”
Freya’s explanation helped me grasp the situation.
The demon who attacked Verdandi was Tormon, the Fighting Dog, one of Gilean’s minions.
Tormon’s appropriate opponent stat was 80 or higher. In this world’s terms, that was a Master-level opponent. His unique trait, [Loss], allowed him to steal a portion of his target’s experience points upon inflicting an injury. Victims of this trait were afflicted with a debuff that lasted for a duration proportional to the total experience stolen—a unique debuff that couldn't be cured with healing magic.
However, since "experience points" didn't exist as a concept in this world, the effect likely manifested as memory loss. That must be why Verdandi couldn’t remember the events before or after that battle.
“I understand the situation. Proceed as you see fit.”
“Yes, I will discuss it with both professors and then make a recommendation to the Dean.”
I should give Zimmer a heads-up.
That way, he wouldn’t be caught off guard and could reschedule his return to his home country. With that, our official conversation seemed to be over. As she carefully packed the cookies into a box, she cautiously spoke up.
“About… the prize for the treasure hunt event.”
“Ah, right. There was that.”
“Are you really going to use it?”
I took the box from Freya and shrugged.
“If the opportunity arises, there’s no reason not to. It’s not every day you get the chance to go on a date with an academy celebrity.”
Why wouldn’t I use it? It would be a waste.
“…”
“Besides, if I don’t use it, rumors might spread that you and I are colluding.”
Rumors that Roen and Freya had conspired beforehand to make the first-place prize vanish.
“That’s true.”
Freya gave a small nod. She bit her lip for a moment, then met my eyes and asked calmly.
“Are you really… not going to tell me how you found that note?”
She seemed to have asked this before. Persistent. I frowned slightly and replied.
“I told you, it’s a secret.”
Even if I wanted to tell her, I honestly didn’t know. As I continued to feign ignorance, Freya stopped pressing.
“I… see. And you have nothing else to say to me about it?”
“Not particularly.”
I’d confiscated all the hell cookies, too. I checked my watch and slowly rose from my seat.
“It’s getting late. I should be going. Get some rest.”
Freya, who had been staring at me blankly, finally bid me farewell.
“Yes, take care.”
I left the office with the cookies Freya had packed. Teon was waiting outside. Surely he hadn’t been eavesdropping; the iron door was far too thick. Teon tilted his head as he looked at the package in my hand.
“Lord Roen, what is that?”
I gave a bitter smile and said, “Ignorance is bliss.”
In the office Roen had just left.
“Hoo.”
Freya let out a small sigh and leaned back in her chair. Staring blankly at the door through which he had disappeared, Freya covered her eyes with her wrist and sank into thought.
Roen, what on earth are you thinking…?
Freya quietly closed her eyes and recalled that day. The events of Roen’s inauguration as Student Council President remained vivid in her mind. The Grand Auditorium had been thrown into chaos by the high-level monsters that attacked the Union. Students scattered in terror while professors moved quickly to deal with the threat.
And amidst that chaos, Roen had shielded her with his own body from the debris of a magical explosion. Thanks to his help, she had been unharmed, but Roen had been injured by the falling debris and was confined to a hospital bed for a long time.
After the situation was resolved, Freya went to visit Roen. She visited the infirmary several times, but each time she had to turn back without seeing him. The reason given was that he needed to rest his mind and body.
So, instead of visiting, Freya wrote and sent him a letter every day he was hospitalized. She wrote about their childhood, about the time before he had changed. She wrote about the memories they had shared as their families interacted. She wrote with the hope of seeing his innocent, former self once more.
While everyone else pointed fingers and cursed Roen, Freya felt differently. She believed there had to be a reason why Roen had suddenly started committing evil deeds. It could have been because of the death of the previous head of the Devalis family, Mr. Kaiser, or it could have been for some other reason. She believed that if Roen apologized to his victims and had a change of heart, they could mend their relationship.
In a corner of her heart, she believed it. Even though their engagement had been broken and the exchange between their families had grown awkward.
But contrary to her expectations, she never received a reply. Wondering if he hadn't been able to read them, she waited a few more days after he woke up. But there was no reaction. Even when he appeared at the meeting of the student council presidents, he had only appointed her as vice president, with no mention of the letters.
In the end, Freya let go of her last hope. She went to him, bought him a sword, and treated him coldly. She told him it was the last favor she would ever grant him.
But since then, Roen had started to change, little by little. The territorial war, the practical exam, the sports festival. And then, he had even found the note she had hidden.
It was as if he had counted every single one of the seventeen letters she’d sent. In locker number 17 of the Grand Auditorium—the very place where the inauguration incident had occurred—he had found the treasure hunt note she had hidden.
But Roen himself refused to tell her how he had found it. He acted as if he knew nothing at all.
“…”
Freya couldn't figure out what Roen was thinking, nor how she should treat him from now on.
“Hah.”
She sorted through her thoughts with a deep sigh. Freya finished her reflection and opened her eyes.
Still.
Roen was changing. He had stopped his past misdeeds and was gradually showing a different side. And thanks to that change, it felt as if the memories of her time with the old him were coming back to life.
The childhood memories of exploring the forest and the castle, playing together. The days they played with toy soldiers with the other children of their families, getting hurt, laughing and crying together. And the slightly embarrassing memories of exchanging flower rings and linking their pinkies in a promise.
The hazy days she had vowed never to recall were slowly resurfacing.
“…”
Gazing at the empty cookie plate, that was what Freya thought.
The next morning.
Waking up in my quarters, I saw that the package I had left on my desk was gone and broke into a cold sweat.
Where did they go? The cookies.
Surely Ciel hadn't picked up and eaten Freya’s hell cookies. She was much tougher than me, so it probably wouldn't make her sick, but still.
With an anxious heart, I finished my morning routine. Mana breathing, physical exercise, purifying the mana orb in my body, and grinding my alchemy levels. By the time I was done, it was 8 a.m.
Ciel came to the Student Council office. When I asked about the cookies, Ciel replied bluntly.
“I found a hazardous object on your desk, so I took care of it.”
“Did you throw it away?”
“I am still storing it just in case, but it is scheduled for disposal soon.”
“Don’t dispose of it. Put it back on the desk.”
“…Are you planning to eat that, sir? If you require refreshments, I will bring you some. Please refrain from eating strange things you find lying around.”
Ciel spoke as if to ask why on earth I would eat such a thing. I slowly shook my head.
“No, I’m not going to eat it. I’m just going to store it separately. Out of respect for the effort of the person who made it.”
They were, after all, Freya’s monumental handmade cookies. Better to store them safely in a freezer than to throw them away.
“…Understood.”
Ciel stared at me for a moment before pouring me some tea and changing the subject.
Trickle—.
“How are your exams going?”
The nuance seemed to be asking if I could achieve the grades required to maintain my position as Student Council President. I accepted the teacup and sat comfortably in my chair.
“Smoothly. So far.”
According to the preliminary scoring, I got over 90 on the Divine Studies exam, and I also passed the standard for the swordsmanship course. Not to mention my other elective classes. The remaining important exams were Easy-to-learn Understanding of Spiritology and Introduction to Intermediate Magic.
I had studied hard for both subjects, so there was nothing to worry about. After studying tedious subjects like Korean, English, and math in the real world, encountering these mystical subjects was enough to spark interest where there was none.
Anyway, the A-grade was in the bag. If I could just survive this semester, I’d eventually obtain the legendary-grade item, the [Sage's Glasses], so I wouldn't have to worry about grades anymore. If there was something I didn't know, I could just ask the sage's spirit.
“The theory classes are no problem.”
The problem, if any, would be the competitive matches, which were a practical evaluation.
Unfortunately, my own martial prowess is still stagnant.
I quietly clenched my fist. Until now, I had managed to defeat opponents by exploiting their weaknesses, but that was just a fluke. There was no way such luck would hold in the competitive matches where grades were on the line.
The competitive matches weren't a single-bout system; they determined one's true skill through continuous duels with students of similar rank. It was best to think of it like a ranked ladder. You might win a couple of matches by luck, but if you keep playing, you eventually end up where you belong.
To get a top-10 result from my current rank, I need to win at least 10 consecutive matches.
I might be able to win the first three or four by relying on the boosts from potions and the strength of my gear, but I couldn't keep depending on such flukes. And as I continued to fight, more students would analyze my combat style and try to exploit its weaknesses.
To fight through all those adversities and seize victory—that was what it meant to be in the top 10 strongest at the academy. Ultimately, to achieve that, I couldn't be lazy in my own training.
Having finished my thoughts, I asked Ciel.
“Have the items I ordered arrived?”
The items I ordered from the black market. Now, instead of having to go down to the underground city every time, I could just send a list of what I wanted, and Alfredo would handle it. He even delivered right to my door, like a magical rocket delivery service. All I had to do was bring what was left outside the Student Council President's office to my lab.
“Yes, I’ve moved them to the lab.”
“Good.”
I nodded with a small smile. Now that I had dealt with most of the problems piled up before me, the time had come to break through to the next stage of alchemy, which I had been putting off for so long.