Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Original Story Progression?
“Ugh!?”
While she was finishing up the extraction work and moving the harvested medicinal material… Idnia dropped her magic wand and grabbed her arm.
Some of the medicine, floating through the air toward the vial, spilled.
“Wow, what a waste… no, are you alright? Student? Surely… hmm…”
Nailie, focusing her magical vision on the brooch that served as Idnia’s student ID, flinched in surprise.
“Duchess Betelgeuse?”
“Ah, yes. I’m… fine. Just tired.”
Idnia said as she looked at her hand. For an instant, she saw the illusion of her hand growing larger.
‘I almost failed to suppress the Overlord’s Temper.
I’ve been suppressing it for too long, apparently.
Come to think of it, I’ve never suppressed it for this long before.’
In the Betelgeuse capital, Orion, there was no reason to restrain the Overlord’s Temper. Even if Idnia wandered around in her Overlord form, the people of the territory welcomed her and were fond of her.
‘Suppressing the Overlord’s Temper alone didn’t cause problems, but using magic while suppressing it… this feels weird.’
Idnia took a deep breath and examined her hand. The Overlord’s Temper had shown a brief sign of ramping up but quickly calmed down. It was probably because she used magic while suppressing it.
Nailie approached Idnia and examined her body.
“Hmm. Fascinating. I can’t feel your magic veins… but the mana is boiling inside. Ah, so this is what Baroness Bulem mentioned.”
Idnia had been told that her magic veins might be pulse-type. Nailie had dismissed that notion before.
“Hmm. Duchess Betelgeuse.”
“Please call me Idnia.”
“Yes, Student Idnia. May I examine your eyes if you don’t mind?”
“My eyes?”
“Yes.”
Idnia nodded, and Nailie activated her light magic, examining Idnia’s eyes. Like a doctor checking pupillary reflexes, she checked the eye’s vessels and condition.
“Hm, pupillary reflexes are normal, and there don’t seem to be any aftereffects from the pulse-type veins… It seems there’s no health issue.”
“Is that so?”
“If anything feels off, don’t hesitate to visit the infirmary. Though… there’s that strange person there, but they’ll take care of you.”
You’re strange enough yourself. All the students thought so but didn’t voice it.
“Ah, but today’s lesson ends here. We’ve used up all the willow brought. Hehe. Next time, we’ll need to bring much more, I think.”
Nailie happily collected the spilled medicine into vials.
“Alright, today’s class is over!
Ah, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t make you work so hard to make money. Forcing you to expend mana like this strengthens your abilities as future mages. Truly. Hohoho. Now, off you go!”
Nailie joyfully moved the vials with magic. But then, recalling her duty as an academy instructor, she approached Idnia again and cleared her throat.
“Humhum. Ah, Student Idnia.
You look fine now, but if anything feels wrong, be sure to go to the infirmary. Understand? The infirmary staff is a bit strange… but they’ll help you.”
“Ah, no, it’s… fine. It seems my trained aura caused the problem.”
“Then it’s okay. But I did advise you to go to the infirmary, right?”
“Yes?”
“Even if something happens later, remember that. Consider it my duty as an instructor fulfilled. Now then. Ohhoho.”
Nailie happily gathered the vials and left.
“What kind of instructor is that?”
“Ugh, I’m dying. Can’t even stand.”
“Damn it! Where’s my sexy bromide?!”
The students who had collapsed from mana burnout slowly staggered to leave. As Gibles had warned, the afternoon session was brutal.
“Alright, maintenance time, students.
The baths are open, so wash up if you wish. The library is currently closed!
Semester schedules are posted at each dorm entrance, so if you’re interested in extra courses, take a look!”
Gibles’ voice echoed. Basically, students could wash, do personal maintenance, and check the schedule for upcoming courses before dinner. But most students were too exhausted from mana burnout to even move.
“Ugh… ohhh.”
“Kuuuuh…”
“It hurts too much. Muscle pain? No, it’s not muscle pain… nerve pain? Tingling all over…”
“It itches. It hurts, but it itches.”
“Ah, don’t say that! Now I feel itchy too!”
“It’s worse than pain! The nerve irritation is unbearable!”
They staggered like a horde of zombies. Some tried scratching, but the itch came from deep within, so scratching did nothing. Mana burnout had messed up their nerves completely.
“Ugh, still, we have to move. Free time…”
“But what do we do in free time? No food, no games…”
“There are female students, right? We gotta woo them. I came to the academy, but my family’s poor. This is the only chance to meet a girl with a big dowry.”
“…Even if I marry you after seeing your face, being given a dowry too—that’s a crime, right? Unless you somehow throw the bride’s family into the sea, who’d marry you and give you a dowry?”
“I’m an academy student. So is the girl I meet here. She might be educated, but she’s not sane.”
“……”
Despite these harsh conversations, when free time came, the students reluctantly began moving, enduring the pain of mana burnout.
Meanwhile, Isolde Polchen was fine. The mana burnout she caused was minor, only a temporary distraction, and she still had enough energy.
However… the shock of losing unexpectedly in her strongest field to someone else did not fade.
Idnia, who had caused Isolde’s first-ever feeling of inferiority, had no particular thoughts.
She just wanted to ease her Overlord’s Temper a bit. It felt like loosening a tightly cinched belt to breathe freely. So Idnia, in a secluded part of the courtyard, released the suppression of her Overlord’s Temper.
Her fearsome Overlord form, transformed into a towering warrior, let out a relieved sigh.
“Ah. I feel alive. Haah.”
She stretched in her massive form. Despite her size, she was flexible. Her muscles creaked and flexed freely.
“Ahh, this is so comfortable….”
While enjoying this rare freedom, she sensed someone approaching.
“Oh.”
Startled, Idnia hid in the bushes. Then, she saw it: a huge wolf near the dorm courtyard forest.
Almost calf-sized, it growled at her.
“Oh my? What’s a wolf doing near the students’ dorms…?”
The wolf lunged as if to tear her neck. But Idnia, in her Overlord form, reached out, and with a snap, grabbed its neck.
“Ugh… Sorry, but this is near the students. Can’t help it.”
Reluctantly, Idnia closed her eyes and restrained the wolf.
-Click.
Like opening a soda bottle, she twisted the wolf’s neck with ease.
‘Tch. Mr. Gibles, instead of indulging your shady desires with students, focus on your own work. Now I’ve had to kill a poor creature.’
Idnia hid in the bushes, observing. She saw the Saint Candidate, Astraea Mari, had arrived. And… Marquis Lorenzo of the Mazdari family was approaching her.
‘Ah? Could this be the original story’s progression?’
Idnia held her breath, watching the scene.
“Hmm. I tried my best…”
Saint Candidate Astraea Mari let out a long sigh.
She had used a lot of mana and was tired. But compared to other students who collapsed from burnout, she was in good condition.
The fact that she remained okay despite using so much extraction magic revealed her exceptional mana reserves. In normal circumstances, this talent would be revered… but in front of Idnia Katze Betelgeuse, even her talent seemed dim.
Of course, Mari later stepped back, sweating, unable to fully control her magic. Something seemed off. Was she unwell?
‘Still, the precision of her magic, even compared to Isolde Polchen, was remarkable. Even I, not skilled in magic, could see her immense potential. I’m glad Idnia is supportive of me, but for the bishop and the townspeople who expected great things from the Saint Candidate…’
Mari felt complex emotions. Until now, she had never competed or quarreled with anyone. She had never felt jealousy or inferiority. But now, in front of Idnia, she felt exactly that.
‘She’s admirable. A noble princess who treats commoners like me with respect…
Haah. She’s talented in magic and of excellent character. She must be the true Saint.’
Just then, someone called her.
“Ah, there. Saint Candidate, right? Surely Astraea’s…”
“Huh?”
Being called a Saint Candidate just as she questioned her qualifications… Mari looked up and was surprised.
“Excuse me. Forgive my rudeness for not introducing myself, miss. I am Lorenzo Medici of the Mazdari family.”
“Ah… Marquis Mazdari?!”
Mari was flustered. The son of a marquis from a ruling family spoke to her? What an honor.
‘Wow, seeing him up close… he’s handsome. Slightly older than me…’
For a country girl like Astraea Mari, such a dazzling urban nobleman was almost alien.
“Your mana volume was impressive. Also, that sacred magic was remarkable.”
“Ah, no, it’s just…”
“You’re from the Euros dormitory, right? I’m the head of the Notos dormitory.
It’s a shame. If we were in the same dorm, we could become better acquainted. So, if the opportunity arises next time, please forgive my rudeness in advance. After all, we’re not strangers now, are we?”
“Eh? You mean you’re inviting me?”
Being invited to a noble, even a prince’s party… any girl would dream of that. But Mari never expected that, in such a moment of uncertainty, a noble would approach her.
“So… your answer? I enjoy waiting for a beauty’s reply, but as a student, I can’t wait forever.”
“Ah, no. Sorry for the delay… I’m honored.”
Daring to make a peasant-born girl wait like a nobleman? Mari quickly replied, flustered.
But then a mocking voice came from behind her.
“Tch-tch. No self-awareness, Saint Miss.”