Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Settling into the B-Grade Dormitory
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"Hmm. Lize."
"Yes, Young Lady."
"I've been to Older Sister Karen's room before, right? It's a bit disappointing compared to that, but this place is pretty decent in its own way."
"I think so too."
The move was finally complete.
To even call it a move was a bit much—we'd just carried a few bags to the new room.
We'd eaten lunch outside with Lize and then headed straight to the B-grade dormitory room.
"The room has a separate living room and bedroom, and it's small, but... it even has a kitchen."
It was on a completely different level from the C-grade room.
A true single-room setup... Well, not quite that bad, but it sure felt like it.
Excluding the bathroom and toilet, there really wasn't another room, and the bedroom and living room were practically one space.
"All the furniture is set up, the ventilation is done... Once we hang the clothes in the closet, we're all good."
"I'll take care of it."
"Yeah, thanks."
Anyway, we'd finally escaped that dreadful C-grade room for a B-grade one. It wasn't enormously spacious or luxurious, but it was decent enough.
After over two months in the cramped C-grade dormitory room, the difference in space was night and day.
Compared to the rooms I'd had at the mansion, it didn't feel that big, but the C-grade had made this one seem plenty spacious.
"Business documents go here..."
The small desk and drawer in the bedroom.
Even those were far better than what we'd had in the C-grade room.
The overall size was close to two or three times larger than the old one.
"And the bed is much bigger too."
Of course, there was only one bed in the bedroom... but it was way better than the tiny thing where you'd fall off if you moved wrong.
Even so, with the move done, there were still bags to unpack and a few other things to handle.
I had to sort the documents in the bags myself, and organize the luggage we hadn't left with the academy staff.
"Young Lady, how about some juice while you work?"
"Thanks. You done sorting the clothes? Looked like there was a lot."
"Fortunately, there were multiple closets, so I could just put away the folded clothes as they were. No issues."
"That's a relief."
Until recently, it had been a squeeze to fit all the clothes we'd brought, to the point where Lize's maid uniform and my uniform had to share closet space.
Of course, this was a good thing.
"Hmm..."
Anyway, I kept sorting while sipping the drink Lize handed me.
I couldn't just dump all these documents on her.
Some of it I could've skipped, but they were mixed with important stuff.
Unlike business matters, there was no need to show her info on the Rose Family, Christina Rose, the Nordal Family, and such.
Lize would never blab to anyone, but better safe than sorry.
Trust or no trust, this was info only I needed to know for now.
*
After settling into the room, I invited my friends over.
We'd finished touring the place and checking it out.
Unlike the old room, this one was big enough that having people over wouldn't feel cramped.
"How'd you switch already...? I heard it usually takes a while to go from C-grade to B-grade..."
"Heh, Camellia aced the midterm exams...? That's probably why...?"
"...Oh."
The Rosaki sisters were lounging comfortably on the sofa in my room.
In a C-grade room, there wouldn't have been space for a big sofa like this—heck, there wasn't even a proper living room.
If it had been the old room, hanging out with friends like this would've been impossible.
"B-grade rooms are definitely much bigger."
"Right?"
Ella was looking around the B-grade room, saying the same.
She still hadn't racked up enough points for one.
Based on her scores this time, she'd probably need until the end of the first semester's finals.
"Now I have even more reason to study hard for the next exam."
"The difference is huge, huh."
"If I'd done just a bit better on the practical exam, I could've switched rooms too..."
"It's only first-year first-semester exams, so no need to worry too much. Ella's scores were already better than most students anyway."
"Yeah, true!"
Ella grinned in response.
She had gotten good marks this time—definitely top of the first-years.
Of course, as she said, the practical dragged her down, so she couldn't switch rooms like me.
"I went to Older Sister Karen's room once, and it didn't even feel like a dorm room."
"Oh..."
Anyway, I spent time showing Ella around my new room.
It was bigger, but only compared to C-grade, so there wasn't tons to see.
"Camellia."
"Yes, Lady Ivana? What's up?"
"Are all these bedding items ones you bought separately?"
"Oh, they're all from the academy shop. The original furniture wasn't to my taste, so I replaced everything when I moved in."
Ivana, who had moved to a B-grade room with me, was closely inspecting the furniture.
Unlike Ella, she'd switched rooms too.
Naturally, she'd be interested in the furniture and interior.
"There are two types of blankets, but the texture on them is kinda meh... so I just bought new ones."
"Yeah..."
"Even Lady Ivana thinks they're not great quality, right?"
"Using a priest is way better."
"Hehe, actually, when I first moved into the old room, I replaced the furniture right away too."
In both rooms, I'd bought new furniture every time.
The quality had nothing to do with the room grade; the stuff was just poor.
No choice but to replace it.
"Ladies, I've prepared some refreshments. There's plenty, so please help yourselves."
"Thanks, Lize. Why don't you sit and relax with us?"
"No, thank you, Lady Ella, but I'll stay like this."
Anyway, we all gathered in the living room, chatting comfortably.
Something utterly impossible in the old room.
"Oh, right. I heard there's a trip planned somewhere nearby before finals. You all know about that?"
"The one to the capital?"
"Lady Grace already knows. Camellia seems totally clueless though."
In the middle of talking, Ella brought it up.
A trip to celebrate finishing midterms?
I'd heard nothing about it.
Probably because I'd been sleeping through classes and homeroom.
"The academy usually takes students on a one- or two-day trip right after exams."
"Just like Lady Nordal said...! Every time exams ended while I've been here, we've gone to the capital or a nearby city...!"
"Now that you mention it, Lady Rosaki would know all about it."
"Ah."
Ivana was right.
Unlike us newbies, Karen was a senior who'd been at the academy for over two years.
Even if she kept to herself and didn't mingle, she naturally knew more than us.
"Th-that's true, but..."
"Sis, where does the academy take us on these trips?"
"It changes every time, so I don't really..."
"There's a rumor it's around the capital this time."
"It always... changes..."
"Ah, do first-years to third-years all go different places?"
"With so many students, they probably split us up."
Somehow, we'd all ended up bombarding Karen with questions.
Everyone staring at her, firing away...
It was clearly tough on the introverted Karen, but I didn't stop it.
"P-please... ask one at a time..."
In the end, all she could manage was a tiny mumble like that.
Of course... it was so quiet no one heard.
"So, Sis, who've you gone on these trips with so far at the academy?"
"Huh...?"
"You go on trips after exams, right...? So who did you hang out with...?"
"I-I wandered alone...?"
"...Seriously?"
"Y-yeah..."
...It was a bit pitiful, but the post-midterm trip news had us all hooked.
Way better than sitting bored in class.
The others probably felt the same.
Maybe not as much as me, but kids this age naturally preferred playing outside over studying.
"B-but... Grace, couldn't you go alone too...? Or not...?"
...Hmm.
One thing was clear: it'd be best if first- through third-years all went together.
This was Karen's last year at the academy, after all. I wanted her to have as much fun as possible.