Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Lost Visitor
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Mayches and Grenji finally realized that the fragmented information Doria had was passed directly to Aiel.
That made sense, since Aiel, who stayed home all the time, had no other source for secret information besides Doria.
However, there was no way a commoner like Doria would know everything about Repitelips Academy's entrance procedures.
All she had done was watch over Mayches's shoulder when he enrolled, so she probably didn't even know the difference between indirect and direct recommendations.
That's why the stamp on the indirect recommendation letter's signature line had been pre-stamped sloppily.
*Click.*
Just then, Aiel opened the door to the study and came in.
"I want to go see the academy where my brother goes."
When Aiel said that, Mayches easily guessed the hidden meaning behind her words.
*'I want to meet up with brother's friends at the academy and ask them to be my recommenders.'*
"......"
Mayches endured the ache in his heart with a deep breath.
He coldly scanned the friends gathered in Lab 3.
"You're all daring to aim for the recommender spot?"
"Bro, your eyesight must be seriously off."
Yan didn't even bother responding to Mayches.
Instead, he snatched the hair tie and examined it.
"Your eyesight really is shot. Giving something this tacky as a gift? Totally lacks taste from the start."
With his profoundly deep aesthetic sense, he scratched at Mayches's nerves once more.
But Mayches had no desire to deal with it.
It felt like his sanity was crumbling at the thought of Aiel misunderstanding him as unfit, but his friends' teasing only annoyed him without causing any real hurt.
Besides, it was time to head out now.
He needed to finish work and return before Aiel arrived for her "tour" in three hours, so he had no time for bickering.
"Anyway, make sure you all do this flawlessly."
Mayches started to continue, then remembered the principal was there and created a sound-blocking barrier with magic.
"Even if Aiel asks you all for it, I'll step in and block it. We can't just hand out recommendations like that. I'll write her a new one myself, so tell her she doesn't need anything else. So there's only one thing you all need to focus on."
"We know. Just stop talking already, bro."
"Aiel doesn't know the enrollment procedures well. So your names might suddenly end up on documents attached and sent to the registrar's office."
"You're not even listening to us, bro."
Mayches ignored them and repeated once more.
"If the principal suddenly calls you, don't panic—just sign the refusal."
In the languid afternoon after lunchtime, the announcement devices placed in every classroom and hallway suddenly rang out.
*Ding.*
It was a signal to draw students' attention before the message played.
The students glanced at the devices with bored expressions.
[Ahem. Sorry to interrupt class, but we have a lost visitor and must make this announcement.]
[Not a lost visitor, but a guardian... Ah, no...]
They had heard announcements about visitors looking for their children before.
But an announcement about a visitor who had gotten lost themselves? That was a first.
The bored students snickered.
Among them, a few who instinctively recognized the owner of that brief voice flinched.
[Hello.]
A faint, will-powered, unfamiliar voice echoed through the academy.
It was so weak it seemed about to fade, yet strangely captivating.
In the pastoral furniture crafting class, Yan, who had been dozing facedown, slyly lifted his head.
[I had someone coming to meet me, but for some reason they're not here now...]
*Crash!*
In the advanced physical training class, Calipan dropped the magic sandbag he was about to strap to his wrist.
The training ground floor cracked with a sharp *crack!*, but Calipan's flustered face was fixed on the announcement device even more.
In the herbology class, Jayhan's eyes gleamed red as they darted from where he leaned against the greenhouse wall, basking in the sunlight.
[If any of my friends could help, I'd be so grateful...]
[Are you done? Why not say who you are?]
[No. That would be too embarrassing... no... anyway, it's fine.]
In the theology class, Daluh's eyes slowly opened from the podium where he was (reluctantly) leading the representative prayer.
Bamper, who knew Daluh was pretending to pray devoutly while actually counting sheep inside, locked eyes with him across the empty space.
Daluh muttered.
"It's a bit different from what we expected..."
The students giggled, looking around to figure out who the lost visitor's guardian was.
And in Repitelips's four classrooms, five people hesitantly stood from their seats.
Eyewitness accounts from the four classes pieced together in fragments, and word spread instantly that the lost visitor's guardian was none other than Ileneias's five future greats.
[Emergency! Lost Visitor at Repitelips Academy]
Numerous adults who received signals like this from their children wondered what was going on.
A viscount who watered flowers as a hobby instead of the gardener tilted his watering can with a *drip drip* as he thought.
"What do they expect me to do... go help look for them...?"
But with the signals coming one after another, the viscount—and all the guardians scattered across Ileneias—were left stunned, dropping whatever they were doing.
They clung to their magic communication devices.
And they read and reread the new signals, eyes glued.
[Responders - Ileneias's Future Greats: 5 (Rudelriz Excluded)]
"The tea smells especially fragrant today... By the way, have you heard anything about this poor lost visitor?"
Repitelips's excellent informants—its lovely young ladies and heirs—swarmed into the cafeteria the moment class ended, like a hive of bees.
They figured the cafeteria was the prime spot where the lost visitor (special note: enigmatic networking queen) and the future greats would head.
"The bakery items are outstanding overall today. I wonder how they ended up connected."
"We should stock this fragrant tea at home too. Could the person who was supposed to meet them be a count, perhaps?"
"I know a dessert that would pair perfectly with this tea—who on earth got those five to gather?"
The young ladies and heirs padded their words with polite cushions, pretending it was just an elegant tea time on the surface.
They had received strict orders from their families: [Make contact with that lost visitor no matter what.]
They were already planning to anyway, even without being told.
Truth be told, the young ladies and heirs cared less about family politics or vested interests—they just thought Ileneias's future greats were cool.
They had always dreamed of getting close to them someday, but since there were so many like themselves, they had only ever watched from afar.
And now, out of nowhere, a golden opportunity appeared right in the center of that network!
*'Social connections are bridges linking bridges...*
*'Get close to one person, and naturally, you get closer to those around them too.'*
But there was one problem.
*'The issue is... the other five will be with the lost visitor. How do we approach and befriend them...?'*
Ironically, those very specific individuals made the lost visitor the hardest person to talk to right now.
*'Somehow, it feels like the main guest and hosts got flipped...'*
While the young ladies and heirs racked their tangled brains,
*Whirr.*
The cafeteria door, which had opened and closed countless times, swung open again, revealing a small figure at the entrance.
The students facing the door lit up as one, and those with their backs to it caught the signal too. The lost visitor was here!
They pretended to pick up dropped items, refill empty teacups, or adjust their seats, all while sneaking glances at the entrance.
But...
"...She's alone?"
A child in a white, fluffy cloak was walking in alone.
*Step.*
The child had the hood pulled down tight.
Not just pulled down—the strings were tied securely, leaving only vague features visible through the round hole.
The heels of her shoes were crumpled like slippers, making her walk awkwardly, stepping carefully one foot at a time.
*Step. Step.*
The students were momentarily speechless at the oddly mysterious sight. Then they snapped out of it.
*...No? Actually, it's kind of mystical. Just like the lost visitor we've been waiting for.*
*'Most importantly, the lost visitor walked in... alone.'*
The young ladies and heirs immediately locked eyes, timing their move.
Meanwhile, Aiel, who had entered the cafeteria, felt a bit revived by the warm indoor air.
Mayches's friends had escorted her to the building and told her they had to fake early dismissals, so she should go ahead and grab a seat.
Deeply impressed by their diligent rule-following, Aiel had agreed without suspicion.
Aiel peered into the cafeteria through the hole in her hood.
As Mayches's friends had tipped her off, the table right next to the window seat at the very back was empty.
*Step—Step—*
Aiel shuffled toward the window table in her slippers.
Seeing this, the young ladies and heirs finalized their timing.
The moment the lost visitor sat at the window table, they'd approach with, "Oh my, that seat has an owner—you can't sit there~."
The cafeteria didn't have assigned seating.
They had just agreed among themselves to leave one table—the one Ileneias's future greats often used—empty and unspoken for.
It felt a bit thuggish to mention it to the lost visitor and make her move, but they weren't kicking her out—they were inviting her to their own table. What was the harm?
*'Just sit down, just sit down!'*
As the young ladies and heirs' elegant chatter grew increasingly forced,
Aiel fiddled with the tightly tied strings and loosened them.
The air was so warm that the stuffiness outweighed the comfort, making her want to take off the hood.