I'll Force-Feed You Mint Chocolate
"Can't do it for that kind of money, miss."
"Couldn't you please reconsider? Just a little..."
"I told you, no. And frankly, I'm only saying this out of concern, but a young lady shouldn't be wandering around alone. What are you going to do if something happens?"
"I—I can protect myself!"
"Every single person who says that ends up unable to protect a thing. Forget it and go home."
That made four rejections in a row.
The latch clicked shut, and Karen let out a heavy sigh.
"I've spent the entire day running in circles again..."
District 37 yesterday. District 38 today. She had even skipped classes to comb through every corner of the neighborhoods, but she had nothing to show for it. While other students were still reveling in the joyous afterglow of the Exchange Event, Karen had neither the time nor the luxury to celebrate.
I only have five hundred Sel left to my name... I have to make this last through the rest of the semester somehow.
Karen was poor. More precisely, her family was destitute. Hailing from the remote backwaters of the East, House Aswan was a noble family in name only, so impoverished that the entire household crammed into a dwelling smaller than a well-off commoner's townhouse. Crushed under debts left behind by previous generations, their already precarious finances had not merely hit rock bottom—they had tunneled straight into the abyss.
No. Don't regret it. I have to repay Father for everything.
Even amid such hardship, Karen had never given up. She had honed her martial talents with sheer grit and secured admission to the academy. But the real ordeal began after she got in. Her family's financial strain was glaringly obvious. Entrance fees, tuition, and then the dormitory costs on top of it all.
"That amount won't do, young lady. We've had a huge influx of people moving into the capital lately, so rent has shot through the roof."
"Is there really no way? What if I pay three months upfront...?"
"I said no. On your way, now. If you're dead set on finding a room for that kind of change, go try your luck past District 40. Though you probably won't last a single month out there."
And so, Karen found herself wandering.
"Why is it so impossible to find a single place for a human being to sleep...?"
She was hunting for a room here in District 38, a fair distance from the academy grounds. The reason was painfully simple: she had taken her share of the Exchange Event prize money, refunded her dormitory fees, and wired every last coin back home.
Of all the times it could have happened...
Why did the debt collectors have to start pounding on the door right now of all times?!
Their situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse. She honestly felt like bursting into tears. If she hadn't vented to Yurio earlier, she might have broken down and started bawling right in the middle of the street. It was miserable. At times, she couldn't help but resent the world. Other students attended the academy without a care, buying whatever treats caught their fancy, while she couldn't even dream of a snack—she had been forced to surrender her dormitory room just to send money back.
Her parents, of course, had no idea. They knew she had received prize money from the Exchange Event, but they hadn't the faintest clue that she had emptied her lodging fees as well. Even so, Karen didn't regret her choice. She believed it was for the sake of her family. It was the least she could do to repay her parents.
They said it gets dangerous past District 40...
Still, she needed a roof over her head, even if it was just an attic. Somehow, some way...
While Karen dragged her feet forward, someone else stepped into the boarding house she had just left.
"Welcome."
The landlord squinted at Ziel, tilting his head in mild bewilderment. "Lots of pretty young folks coming by today. You looking for a room too, lad?"
"Did a student just come here looking for lodging?"
"Hm? Why else would anyone walk into a boarding house? They're all after a room. Honestly, though, she looked so refined. What's a girl like that doing all the way out in this district trying to find a place to stay? Did her family go under or something?"
Ziel stepped back out onto the street without another word.
A boarding house.
He understood the concept in theory. According to the books he had read, it meant paying a set sum of money to reside in another person's home.
But why is Student Karen Aswan looking for one?
As far as Ziel was aware, all students resided in the campus dormitories. Even if it was not an absolute mandate, the vast majority preferred it. It was secure, fostered interaction with fellow students, and above all, it was efficient.
Was she evicted?
Under academy regulations, if a student were expelled from the dorms, the instructor overseeing the grade level had to be notified. If that wasn't the case...
Hmm.
He couldn't deduce the reason. Ziel still lacked the broader social experience to connect the dots on his own. For now, he quietly trailed Karen from a distance.
From that point on, Karen went knocking on the door of practically every boarding house left in the district, but the answers were identical.
"Young lady, I like a good joke as much as the next guy, but I wouldn't even send someone to sleep in a stable for that price. Who in their right mind would put you up for a hundred Sel a month? No way, absolutely not."
"If you head out past District 40, you might find some tumbledown shack, I suppose."
Every single proprietor shook their head. Before long, dusk settled over the capital. Karen finally leaned her back against a brick wall, blowing out a long, defeated breath.
"Should I just sell my sword...?"
Was survival more important? Or was her sword more important? It was a question both profoundly philosophical and brutally practical.
"I should just head back for now."
Selling her blade was off the table anyway. She couldn't sell it even if she wanted to—not because she held some deep sentimental attachment to it, but simply because she didn't have it on her right now.
Her heavy footsteps shuffled toward the academy as twilight crept across the pavement. Residents slipped back into their homes one by one, leaving the streets bathed in silence. Then, right in front of her...
"Hey there, missy. A girl shouldn't be wandering around these parts all by her lonesome, you know?"
"Right, exactly. What if you bump into some scary folks, eh?"
A suspicious trio stepped out to block her path.
How many times was she going to sigh today? Karen's brow furrowed into an irritated scowl.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Us? We heard a little rumor that a pretty lady carrying about five hundred Sel was strolling through the area, so we came to check it out."
"Ah."
Local thugs. Karen swallowed her mounting fury and held it down.
"We're only gonna say this once, so listen close. Hand over the cash and—gaugh!"
In a flash, Karen lunged inside the leader's guard, seized his collar with both hands, and slammed him violently into the cobbles. As the thug's skull bounced off the ground, a vivid memory from earlier that afternoon flashed through his rattled brain.
It's the exact same damn move!
That pretty-faced guy from earlier! It was the exact same beatdown he had dished out!
"W-What the—?!"
Before the second thug could finish his shout, Karen's fist buried itself into his solar plexus. The air rushed out of his lungs, and he crumpled into a heap.
As for the third...
"Where do you think you're going?"
Karen snagged him by the shoulder, swept his legs out from under him, and whipped his entire body into the dirt.
Crash!
"Guh-urgh!"
Indeed, they were the same crew that had picked a fight with Ziel earlier—or rather, three-quarters of them. They were down to a trio because one of their buddies had formally severed ties after what had happened at noon.
What kind of rotten luck is this today?!
Why does every single mark we pick turn out to be a freak...?!
Beaten by the teacher in the afternoon, and now pounded by his student in the evening. Convinced their luck was just temporarily sour, they had secretly breached the rules of the Robson Family to hunt beyond District 40... only to find someone who fought in the exact same brutal fashion.
"Oh, right."
Looking considerably refreshed after letting off some steam, Karen stared down at the groaning trio. "You guys got any cash?"
"H-Huh? U-Us?"
"Yeah. Who else is standing here?"
They had never imagined getting trounced by a girl who wasn't even an adult. Having their pockets picked clean on top of it was entirely beyond their wildest nightmares.
"H-Here..."
"What about you?"
"I... uh... this is all I have."
"And you?"
"I-I don't have a single coin, honest!"
"Want me to search you myself?"
"Actually, I found some!"
In truth, they never stood a chance. Karen had endured two months of grueling, hellish training under Ziel, and she possessed an innate aptitude for channeling mana. Now that she was formally enrolled in the academy's Sword School, three neighborhood ruffians were barely an appetizer.
"Try living decent lives from now on, got it?"
"..."
"Answer me."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
Her real personality had slipped out for the first time in a while. She had tried her best to hold it in since entering the academy, but growing up constantly belittled by other noble scions for being impoverished had forged a fierce, unyielding temper.
"Whew."
Her mood lifted slightly now that she had some free money in hand, even if it only amounted to twenty Sel.
"Student Karen Aswan."
"Huh?"
A familiar voice rang out from the shadows behind her. She turned around to find Instructor Ziel standing there.
"T-Teacher?!"
"You disciplined them well."
"Uh... do you... know these guys?"
"I met them earlier today. For the exact same reason."
"Oh."
The three thugs flinched violently, shivering in sheer disbelief. They had never dreamed they would cross paths with him again here.
"Your movements were sound."
A compliment slipped in amid the absurdity. Karen broke into a proud grin.
"It's all thanks to your guidance, Teacher."
"However, at the end, wrenching the arm to drive the opponent into the dirt is more efficient than grabbing the shoulder. Keep that in mind."
"...Are you really lecturing me all the way out here?"
"I am merely providing feedback."
"It would have been touching if you'd skipped the feedback part."
Ziel tilted his head slightly as he regarded the three men on the ground. "By the way, did you not promise to live upright lives?"
"..."
"You claimed you would work diligently as well."
"P-Please forgive us..."
"Teacher, people like this are beyond rehabilitation."
Ziel pondered the matter for a moment, then cast an icy gaze down upon them. "You broke your promise to me."
"S-Spare us—"
"If you break it one more time, I will force-feed you mint chocolate until you die."
"Teacher... what on earth does that even mean...?" Karen stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.
"I recalled the most horrific thing I could imagine."
"That's... the most horrific thing you know?"
"Yes."
It was the absolute pinnacle of threats Ziel could muster.
It tastes atrocious.
To him, there was no torture more agonizing than being forced to consume something unpalatable.
"How is that supposed to scare any—"
"P-Please, have mercy!"
The trio trembled uncontrollably, terrified out of their wits.
What the hell is mint chocolate?!
Is it some kind of poison they use for torture?!
Their ignorance only amplified their terror. District 38 had no such confection; it was an exotic delicacy that had trended among high nobility before making its way into the academy.
"They appear frightened."
"I... suppose they do..."
Though bewildered by the exchange, Karen couldn't deny that watching the three ruffians prostrated in absolute terror felt thoroughly satisfying.
"Sigh. Let's just go, Teacher."
Once the brief commotion settled, Karen glanced sideways as they walked. "Um, so... what brought you all the way out here, Teacher?"
"I came to purchase expedition equipment."
"Ah, I see! What a coincidence! I just came out for some sightseeing!"
She lied with an innocent smile, but Ziel was merciless.
"You were looking for a boarding house, Student Karen Aswan."
"...Ugh, you saw." A defeated sigh escaped her lips. "Fine, yes. I was looking for a room. There's no point lying to you, so I'll just be honest."
"Why are you searching for a boarding house?"
"Because... I can only stay in the dorms until the end of this month."
"Are you dropping out?"
"What?! No!"
"Then were you evicted?"
"No, that's not it either..." Karen finally hung her head and confessed the whole truth. "...Yeah, money's the culprit. That's just how it ended up."
"All your funds went to your family."
"That's right."
Even to Ziel, whose grasp of economics was still rudimentary, the amount she described sounded significant. From what she explained, the sum she had managed to scrape together was nowhere near enough to clear the debt.
"And did you find lodging?"
"No... Rent is insanely expensive. I figured it would be cheap once I came all the way out to this district." Another weary sigh trailed off. "I even skipped classes to look around. At this rate, I might really have to cross past District 40."
"You did not skip in secret. I was fully aware of your absence."
"Well, yes, but... wait, did Yurio rat me out?"
"No. He appeared to feign ignorance."
"I knew it! The guy actually has loyalty. Wait, no, that's not the point! Teacher, if I can't find a boarding house, I'm completely out of options."
"Do you intend to board indefinitely?"
"Just for this semester... Once it ends, I'll head back home for the break..."
"That is not a sound plan."
"It's the only option I have..."
"No. There is another way." Ziel cast a brief glance toward the darkening sky. "Let us return first. The main gates of the academy will close soon."
"Okay..."
"If something like this happens in the future, inform me."
"I know living in a boarding house is worse than the dorms, obviously. But there wasn't anything else I could—"
Karen mumbled her excuses, but Ziel cut in with a placid tone.
"You are my student, are you not? I am an instructor. I was taught that an instructor must look after the hardships of their students."
"...!"
Karen dropped her head immediately, burying her face.
Damn it... this is so embarrassing.
Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. It was a kind of warmth she had never once experienced since arriving at the academy.
"We simply need to find a solution."
"...Right. But what kind of solution? If you're planning to pay for me, Teacher, I swear I won't accept it!"
Ziel shook his head. "I have no such intention."
A single semester's dormitory fee amounted to roughly half of tuition. Even with the money Ziel had saved, covering it would stretch him thin. While he possessed Dikelen Silver Coins, that currency was strictly confined to the underworld. Spending it out in the open would only invite unwanted attention.
"There is a favorable policy outlined in the academy regulations."
"A policy...?"
"A system designed to support impoverished students."
Karen's ears instantly flushed crimson.
Impoverished...
It was a reality she tried so desperately to conceal, and hearing the word spoken aloud stirred an unavoidable prickle of shame. Yet because it came from Ziel's mouth, it somehow didn't sting.
"Is that... something I could actually receive?"
"I do not possess the authority to finalize it. However, I can write a recommendation."
"Teacher..." Karen looked on the verge of crying right then and there.
"It is what should be done for my student."
"...I'll work really hard."
"Rather than merely working hard, doing well is preferable."
True to form, Ziel thoroughly ruined the touching moment right to the very end.