Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Twisted Fates, Diverging Hearts
The dryad Naili was in high spirits.
Was it because the students had cleaned all the mandragora faster than expected?
Or because she could make money?
“Alright, what are you all doing just standing around? Let’s move on to the next step!”
“Eek?”
“It’s not over yet?”
“Yes. It’s only been an hour, hasn’t it? Now, let’s move on to extracting the juice!”
Once again, the fact that this was still preparatory work left many students disappointed.
“When do we actually get to do something like real magic? This is the kind of work servants would do.”
As expected of a highborn student, Sendia Aspinal stepped forward to protest again.
“This is exactly what mage-like work is!
Everyone, magic is like a swan swimming on a lake. On the surface it looks graceful, but underneath it’s paddling furiously.
You need to prepare all the tedious groundwork in advance so that when the time comes, you can perform magic beautifully.
And if you leave the preparation to servants and the alchemy workshop explodes and someone dies, what will you do then?
Isn’t it less regrettable to die because of your own mistake than because of someone else’s?”
The students were left speechless after hearing that.
It was true that if you entrusted preparatory work to servants and something exploded and killed them, there would be nothing more frustrating….
‘She’s talking as if explosions in alchemy workshops are just normal.
At this rate, who would ever want to become an alchemist?’
Idnia let out a wry smile at Naili’s way of speaking.
The preparation work for extracting the juice was simple.
The mandragora was chopped into pieces with a cutter, then placed into a press and squeezed.
A large washbasin was prepared at the bottom of the press to collect the mandragora juice, while the crushed remains were gathered separately, wrapped in hemp cloth, and collected.
The task itself was nothing more than simple manual labor.
After all the mandragora had been pressed, the leftover pulp wrapped in hemp cloth was placed back into the press and squeezed again to extract the remaining juice.
‘The process itself is the same as what was used in Milena’s workshop. If I used my extraction magic, I could obtain a greater yield, but I don’t feel like doing that.’
Idnia considered using extraction magic, but she had already expended mana and concentration earlier in the class by modifying shield magic, so she decided to stay quiet this time.
‘I’ve already stood out more than enough so far. There’s no need to go further and help the academy for a shop benefit that may or may not increase.
No matter how you look at it, this class is a profit-driven venture.’
Idnia refrained from using the extraction techniques she had used in Milena’s workshop and instead calmly observed the others squeezing mandragora juice.
The instructor taught them how to bottle the juice, how to label it, how to collect solids using a sieve, and how to draw samples with a dropper and observe them under a microscope.
It was essentially a process of learning how to use basic experimental tools that, on Earth, would naturally be acquired through elementary, middle, and high school education.
Idnia stepped back and spent her time assisting other students.
As a result, during this class she earned 1 point for her personal shop and 5 points for the group shop. Currently, she had 9 group shop points available for distribution and 8 personal shop points.
With just 2 more points, she could go out overnight again, and the total score of the Eros dormitory had reached 23 points, placing it first among the four dormitories.
The Boreas dormitory, which had previously been in first place, had a total of 21 points, and had been overtaken in one fell swoop.
‘Wow, the rankings keep changing back and forth.’
‘I can’t keep up. Still, our dorm is in first place. That’s impressive, isn’t it? Eros only has 23 students… and Zephyrus, which has the most students, has nearly three times as many. Yet we’re winning in shop points.’
‘It’s entirely due to Lady Idnia’s personal ability.’
‘As expected of the daughter of the hero and the saint.’
The students of the Eros dormitory had no choice but to grow even more loyal to Idnia.
Not only had she earned a massive number of points through her own efforts, but as dormitory head she also had 9 points available for free allocation.
Honestly, even if Idnia had said she would keep all 9 points for herself because she did everything alone, the other students would have had no grounds to object.
‘Of course, I’m not that foolish.
These points can be used as incentives to lead the students… no need to hoard them.
Besides, I’ve already gone on an overnight stay, so I’m not that desperate.’
Idnia raised her hand gracefully in response to the gazes of admiration from the students.
At that moment, her eyes met with Crown Prince Rudolf.
“Ah… haha.”
Crown Prince Rudolf gave an awkward smile and looked away from Idnia’s gaze.
For a male student’s expression of shyness, something about it felt off.
In truth, Rudolf was suffering from a sense of inferiority and alienation he had never experienced before.
As the crown prince of the empire, the son of a prestigious house, and a being born to be loved by all, he had always been adored and admired.
Even in the original game, although his popularity ranking might not have been the highest, there was hardly anyone who disliked him.
But that was the story of a game.
In reality, Rudolf Rosenbaum Kalliestra, a being made of flesh and blood, felt inferiority toward Idnia and a sense of alienation due to the fact that she had rejected him and broken off their engagement.
And it was Isolde Polchen, who had been watching Crown Prince Rudolf, who noticed this fact.
‘Ah… my dear brother, poor brother. This won’t do. I’ll have to do something… but what should I do? Ah, that’s right. If you want to catch a general, you must first shoot his horse.’
Isolde Polchen turned her attention to Marie, Idnia’s roommate from Astraea.
‘Hmm. Rudolf’s condition is strange.’
Idnia also sensed something off about Rudolf.
In the original game, Rudolf had been completely without shadows.
Of course, there were events where he did show signs of distress, but those were mostly scenes where he worried over his fiancée Idnia.
In the original story, Idnia’s tendency to bully students or establish strict control and form factions was Rudolf’s main concern, leaving him unsure how to handle his troublesome fiancée….
But now that such a villainess fiancée no longer existed, he still seemed to be carrying worries.
Idnia approached Rudolf.
“Are you alright, Rudolf? Are you unwell?”
“No, no. Idnia. I’ve simply come to realize my own inadequacy.”
“Ah. You mean because of the competition through the shop system.
You need not worry.
This is simply a difference caused by my familiarity with standardized processes in factories and logging operations. All of you are talented students, so with what you’ve seen today, you’ll soon catch up.
That’s what a school exists for, after all. We study together to share and improve each other’s strengths and weaknesses, don’t we?”
Idnia regarded her own lead as something trivial.
And her words were entirely correct.
Even Rudolf himself believed that, given what Idnia had demonstrated, the gap was not something impossible to close.
Many of the outstanding students in the Zephyrus dorm had already begun practicing transforming shield magic into tools like strainers.
If mandragora cleaning were to be conducted again next time, they would now be able to participate quickly.
However, closing that gap did not mean Idnia’s flexible thinking and leadership could be taken lightly.
On the contrary, the fact that Idnia remained unfazed even while knowing she would be caught up only made her more formidable.
Rudolf could only marvel at the depth of Idnia’s mind, which he could not fully grasp.
‘How should I put it… she’s remarkable. Mature. It’s hard to believe she’s a student my age.’
Up until now, whenever Rudolf encountered such exceptional individuals, he could admire them purely and sincerely.
After all, he was an imperial talent.
Those were people who would one day belong to him, so he could gladly accept their brilliance.
But Idnia was someone who had rejected their engagement.
Because of that, he could not purely rejoice in her excellence.
Rudolf himself hated this feeling, but emotions were not so easily controlled.
And Idnia had noticed it as well.
‘In the game he was just a gentle crown prince, but he has sides like this too. Maybe the conditions have changed?
As expected… he must be troubled by his father’s affection. His father treats him as a mere tool and has even placed a powerful curse on him. That must weigh on him. And now, being outmatched by me in ability must be deepening his distress.’
Observing Rudolf as he experienced feelings of inferiority and defeat belatedly, Idnia associated it with the emperor’s curse.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince—no, Rudolf.”
“Yes?”
“I believe in you… that only you can properly lead the empire through the coming crisis.
Even if you are sometimes shaken, or suffer from unattainable affection, I have no doubt that your essence is that of a kind person.”
“……”
Rudolf let out a wry smile upon hearing Idnia’s words.
“Unattainable affection, you say?”
“Yes.”
Idnia had been referring to Emperor Franz’s affection, but Rudolf interpreted it differently.
Words and hearts often diverge, twist, and pass each other by, giving rise to countless misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
No matter how much one lives a second life beyond death, it is not easy to perceive such distorted misunderstandings.
A saint was a kind of antibody that appeared when demons began to manifest in this land.
When beings of another dimension, the demons and their followers, appeared, humanity responded by producing saints as an immune defense within the human race.
These saints wield powerful divine magic and the ability to fix dimensions, gathering the strength of humanity and playing a major role in subjugating demons.
Thus, within the Holy Eldar Empire, such saints were regarded as extremely valuable assets.
However, since they were also human, they could not be stored like resources in a warehouse or wielded like weapons at will.
Therefore, the empire and the church provided both mental and material support to saint candidates, educating them at Duanice Academy while allowing them to build connections with the empire’s upper classes during their training.
In the original game, the majority of male characters were favorable toward the protagonist precisely because of this background.
However, the environment that was supposed to be that way had changed.
Instead of one saint candidate per generation, there were now two, and one of them was Idnia Katze Betelgeuse, the only daughter of a princely elector house.
In this case, her family background was simply too powerful.
Idnia’s status made her difficult to control or use as a tool; rather, she was in a position to weaponize herself. So most would likely give up on the unreachable tree and focus on Marie instead….
The problem was that the two existed in the same place.
Idnia shone so brightly that the shadow cast upon Marie became too deep and dark.
“Haah…”
Marie let out a long sigh as she watched Idnia, who had once again excelled in this class.
Idnia had mostly taken care of her, but she had stepped away to speak with Rudolf at the moment.
At that time, someone approached her.
It was Lorenzo, prince of Mazdari.
“You must be Marie of Astraea. The saint candidate.”
“Oh, yes. Hello, Prince of Mazdari.”
“Please, call me Lorenzo. If you don’t mind, may we talk for a moment?”
“What? About what…?”
“It’s something only I can tell a saint candidate like you.”
Lorenzo smiled meaningfully and led Marie into the black market managed by the students of the Notos dormitory.