Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Lately, I've Been in a Great Mood
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Lately, I could confidently say I'd been in really good spirits.
To be honest, it was something trivial—like the fact that I'd grown taller and my body had filled out more—but it just made me happy.
Even though it was nothing special, it lifted my mood so much that I kept unconsciously lifting the corners of my mouth and smiling.
"Hehe..."
"...You're acting like an idiot."
"You think so?"
Ella, who had been reading a novel in the club room, even pointed it out.
Maybe not just Ella, but most people in the club room thought the same, but that didn't dampen my spirits at all.
"Hehe... Today, I'll even let you get away with pointing that out, Ella."
"...Have you finally lost it?"
"Hehe."
Normally, I definitely would have argued back a bit against responses like that from her, throwing out a few retorts.
But today was different.
After all, I had grown even more than before, developed further.
In simple terms... I was Camellia version 1.5, something like that!
Of course, I still needed more growth, and I was smaller than everyone else in the club room... but still?
"Stop smiling so weirdly."
"Oh? Was I smiling strangely?"
"...Tch."
Grace made no secret of her annoyance, but today, I didn't tease her back with a joke or poke fun at her reaction.
If this had been the usual me... I definitely would have messed with her right after Ella's comment earlier.
Wasn't this a huge leap forward—no, real growth?
"By the way, everyone here seems to be reading a lot of books?"
It really felt like everyone in the club room was reading more than I'd expected.
Right now, I was lying on the bed, and most of the others... surprisingly, were sitting quietly at their desks reading books.
Ella reading her novel, Ivana quietly studying her own notes. Then Karen studying her textbook, and Grace watching over her from the side.
For some reason, the club room felt like a reading club.
Weren't we supposed to be the Business Planning Club... just a front for free time?
Seriously, why? Why was everyone reading so diligently...?
"...Hmm. Somehow, I feel like the only delinquent student here."
No, it really felt that way.
I was the only one lounging on a bed full of dolls, while the other members were all at the tables... Though, to be fair, I was actually a delinquent.
But feeling it so starkly like this... wasn't exactly a great feeling?
"You really are a delinquent."
"Of course, hearing it from you doesn't hit too hard, Ella."
"...Do you even realize how idiotic that sounds?"
"You say weird stuff about me all the time anyway. I'm pretty used to it by now."
"...Sigh."
I was pretty accustomed to harsh words from Ella and Lize, so it didn't faze me much.
Truth be told, I already knew my academy life was pretty delinquent-like, just as Ella said.
"Hmm... Grace. What are you doing?"
"...What."
"Just curious? Karen's studying hard, but you're just sitting quietly next to her. Can't help but wonder."
Sure enough, talking to Grace when I was bored and had nothing to do was the most fun.
In fact, most of the dopamine in my recent daily life came from her.
"If you're bored, want to study for midterms together?"
"What?"
"We still have a little over a month left... How about we study for midterms together while we're at it."
Teasing her was the most fun... but of course, there were plenty of other ways to gauge her reactions.
Plus, midterms were actually creeping up at the academy.
Of course, I hadn't paid attention in class and just slept through it all, so I didn't know the exact scope, but it was basic stuff anyway.
Honestly, it wasn't hard, and I wanted to help out the club member I'd only teased—a fellow Karen little sister.
"What do you think?"
"You sleep through every class. What makes you think we should study together? Wouldn't I lose out?"
"Oh."
Was that true?
"You really just sleep all the time... Who are you to teach anyone?"
"Ah... Yeah, fair point..."
True enough.
Excluding Ella and Lize, I really had no idea.
I had some knowledge of practical classes, but that didn't mean I knew my written exam performance.
I'd slept through classes, so teachers never even questioned me.
Ella's reaction made total sense.
"Hmm... Well, shall we try anyway? You don't have anything to do, and everything Karen's looking at is third-year material, right?"
Let's be real—you wouldn't understand it anyway?
I might, but Grace was truly just an academy freshman, first-year.
"...I do."
"Hmm... Really?"
"......"
"I think the textbook Karen's reading right now is Advanced Mana Studies, part two. One of the contents there is the Emithart Count's theorem, Stiano's law..."
"W-what are you getting at...!"
"Hmm... I'm just surprised you know that."
It was pretty advanced stuff, and honestly, some of the content in that textbook was high-level.
Most of it was used in advanced magic, fusions, combinations with other spells, that sort of thing.
"Then Grace can teach me?"
"What?"
"I sleep through class every time. If someone super smart like Grace, who studies so well, teaches me... it would definitely be great."
Of course, Grace wasn't actually that great at studying.
Not that she was bad, but her grades weren't top-tier, nowhere near top of the class.
But considering how she underestimated me, plus her personality...
"Unless... you can't?"
"Hah!?"
The result was predictable.
*
"So, what's the answer to this one? Options two and three contradict each other. Isn't one of them right?"
"Uh... that's..."
"The fourth emperor of the Solchemia Empire expanded territory southward with victories in all three wars, and the fourth emperor died after a major defeat in the south. Which is it?"
"This part... is on the midterm this time..."
She gripped her pen hard, stabbing at her notebook as she pondered intensely.
It was impressive.
And fun.
I was just sitting next to Grace, asking her questions, but it was definitely entertaining.
Her efforts to pretend she knew the ones she didn't were endearing, cute, and made me want to tease her more.
"I swear we learned this last time...!"
She even whispered that to herself quietly.
"I think it's three. What do you think, Grace? Right answer?"
"T-that's...! Uh... Wait a sec. Let me check if that's really correct...?"
"Yes, go ahead."
Actually, this was a chance to tease Grace more.
If I pressed her, saying I knew the midterm scope and asking if she hadn't reviewed last lesson... it'd be even more fun.
But pushing her like that might be too much since she seemed to be struggling, and I was already enjoying myself plenty.
"...Three is correct."
"Really? Good thing."
"...Well, you said guessing isn't real skill...! Don't brag about nailing one problem by luck!"
"You're right, Grace. I picked this one because even I was confused, so thinking one lucky answer skyrockets my grades would be silly."
"Exactly. Y-you're... sharper than I thought."
"Hehe, thanks."
Teasing Grace on the sly with questions like that, I noticed one thing.
Grace and Karen were definitely sisters.
"T-this problem... uses the three laws from the Basic Mana Studies textbook to..."
She was quite different from Karen, who was introverted, passive in relationships, and quiet by nature.
As a Rosaki child, she was well-known, and so on.
But... in a situation like this, where she was extremely, seriously stuck, Grace surprisingly acted like Karen.
"Plug the numbers into the equation..."
"Yes."
"Th-then... ugh...!"
Had I teased her too much?
I'd just picked the hardest-looking one from the workbook, but I hadn't expected her to try this hard.
If she didn't know, she could just say so.
"This one's easy once you solve the equation and plug in the mana inputs one by one. Inside mana formulas, it's just calculations, then convert the injection amounts..."
I started explaining step by step.
I'd known it from the start, already solved it, so explaining was easy.
"Y-you...!"
"Yes, Grace?"
"You knew it all from the beginning...?"
"Yes."
I answered honestly. I'd known it all along and had just stayed quiet on purpose.
Plus, she'd judged me carelessly first.
"Hehe."
"........"
"What? Surprised?"
I smiled at her and asked.
Of course, she got a little mad at that.
"...Sigh."
Ella, reading a book across from us, gave me a pitiful look and sighed, but teasing Grace was so much fun that I didn't pay it much mind.