Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Field Training That Decides the Winner (3)
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“Ah, Teacher!”
Late at night, after the western forest expedition ended, I returned to the canteen. Adella, sitting blankly at the counter staring into space, spotted me and waved her hand.
“Did everything go well?”
“Yeah. Nothing out of the ordinary?”
“Yep. Here's the sales!”
She handed over a handful of coins. Of course, they weren't sorted at all.
I pulled out a few silver coins from the pile and placed them in her hand. Roughly 40 silvers.
For the second daughter of the Roshiar family, this amount of money probably meant nothing, but I couldn't just use her for free.
“Good job. Here's your pay for today.”
“Wow~.”
“Oh, and starting tomorrow, you don't have to watch the canteen anymore.”
“Huh? Why!?”
“Don't you have field training? Go practice with the others.”
During the magic duel, I had to teach her myself. So Adella had come to the canteen after regular classes, missing chances to sync up with the other two.
But my well-intentioned words darkened her expression drastically.
“Teacher……”
“Yeah?”
“Am I… not needed?”
Needed? Was she asking about her value to me right now?
“Hmm……”
“Teacher?”
“Hold on. Let me think about it.”
Adella Sylvestra's necessity in my life. First, let's ignore the value of all the bread she's snacked on via radio.
Just considering the times the Roshiar knights nearly trashed the canteen and dragged me to the North Sea for a parent-teacher conference with the Snow Duke because of her—that alone was a massive minus.
Setting all that aside, what about her recent behavior?
During midterms, she stepped on every trap in front of the canteen one by one, causing endless hassle.
The student council election nearly hoisted red flags over the academy.
I was gone for just a bit to Sandalphonia, and she straight-up smashed the canteen herself.
Adella had been at Pharenchia Academy for barely half a year. Yet half of Mark's complaints today were about her.
Did I need to calculate further?
“T-Teacher……?”
My gaze shifted to the iron dogs staring pitifully at Adella. Those guys were definitely more useful, at least.
“No, right? I'm… really important, aren't I?”
The 40 silvers in her hand. It was ambiguous. Those dogs seemed a bit more valuable.
How many loaves of bread was 40 silvers?
“P-Please answer……!”
“It's okay, Adella.”
“Huh?”
“A person's value isn't determined by their usefulness.”
Right. I'm not an economist. She's plenty useful just by being by my side.
She feeds me, and I get to watch her toddle around cutely sometimes. Mostly ornamental.
“I raised a lot of sea monkeys when I was a kid.”
“What's that?”
“Something that looks gross up close but cute from afar.”
“Am I cute?”
The academy's living disaster… no, Adella sidled up to me. Her curly hair poked at my cheek.
I loosely wrapped my arm around her waist, just barely touching. She looked thrilled, a goofy smile spreading across her face.
“Hehe……”
This should be enough for now. As I tried to send the soothed girl back to her dorm, she leaned her head against me.
“Teacher.”
“What?”
“I… I just want to love you all by myself.”
“……”
“It hurts when someone else is laughing by your side. Even the canteen breaking… that was because of it.”
I knew. Jealousy was never a light emotion.
Adella, who couldn't deceive or scheme behind backs, must have lashed out directly at Liv.
“Roshiar uses unique magic paths to create their own magic circles.”
Adella formed a small, curly, but sharp spike at her fingertip.
“My heart must not be pure.”
“That's not true.”
“The two of us leaving here……”
She trailed off and shook her head.
“No. Sorry.”
A proposal already rejected. In the end, Adella kept hurting herself with her desire to have me all to herself.
“Walk me back. To the dorm.”
“……Alright.”
And I said nothing more about it. No apologies, no encouragement to get along with Liv.
It was their issue to sort out themselves. If I took sides, it'd only get messier.
If I became a noble, maybe it'd be better… but before dealing with marriage politics, sharing love properly would be ideal.
“I'll walk you.”
I held Adella's hand the whole way to the dorm.
“Sorry, Kal.”
“No! It's fine, Princess! I've already received plenty of guidance from Sir Everat, and he's leaving for further training himself, so there's no need to apologize to me!”
Erzebet apologized to Kal. The reason: her guard, Everat Windgard, could no longer teach him swordsmanship.
For some reason, he suddenly felt his swordsmanship lacking and requested to return to Hooksclo.
Erzebet felt relieved inwardly, but Kal had lost his teacher.
“I've learned more than enough already. There was no promise to teach forever, so this is plenty.”
“Still…… Ah! Have you formed your field training group yet?”
“Pardon? Ah, not yet.”
“Then team up with me? Consider it a small token of apology.”
Kal doubted his ears.
From southern Bachran, he was a minor noble with no proper title or land.
To take the finals with the princess. And Erzebet had top grades so far.
“R-Really? How could I possibly……”
“It's fine. Among our year, there aren't many who handle the sword as well as you anyway. Even without this, I would have asked you first.”
“Th-Thank you! I'll do my absolute best.”
“Great, looking forward to it.”
She'd secured a solid frontliner. With field training replacing finals, competition for talent was fierce.
Erzebet, planning to recruit a skilled mage stronger than herself for the last spot, stood up immediately.
“Then for the last one, I'll ask someone from a renowned magic family I know……”
Grip!
At that moment, someone from the next seat clutched her skirt. Adella, blankly propping her chin and staring out the window.
“Adella?”
“……”
“D-Did you… not find a group yet?”
Nod.
Cold sweat beaded on Erzebet's forehead.
“Oh dear, you should find one quickly. We need to hurry too……”
“……”
“L-Let go, Adella! Finals aren't like midterms! I need skilled people!”
She wouldn't let go. Her grip had frozen solid onto the fabric.
Adella opened her mouth with unfocused eyes.
“Magic… renowned family.”
“O-Of course Roshiar is renowned in magic, but you're not! Let go! Piy, help!”
“Piy—!”
“Ack! Why attack me again!? Piy! Stop! Aaaah!!”
Erzebet secured two teammates without moving from her seat.
At the same time, Karen stepped off the mana train and stretched lightly. The platform buzzed with second-years returning from magic seminars.
While Professor Vincent did a final headcount, she deeply inhaled Pharenchia's air for the first time in ages.
“Haa~ I can breathe now. Coming from that foggy place to here, it's like I can finally breathe. Right…… Liv?”
“Yeah. Totally.”
Her attitude toward her best friend felt off. Karen sensed a strange distance from Liv.
“Karen? Something on my face?”
“Huh? Oh, no…… Nothing.”
In that short time, Liv had changed somewhere.
At a glance, nothing seemed different, but the aura emanating from her slender frame was entirely new.
Her once dull black hair now shimmered with alluring purple hues depending on the angle, and the fragrance from her body drew every eye on the platform.
“Let's hurry. Gotta unpack and rest.”
“Uh, yeah.”
The relaxed smile on her pink lips, her already pretty calm voice—all elevated her charm several levels.
Karen had no idea what happened at the magic tower and could only guess.
She borrowed contraceptives last time. Did she get a boyfriend?
Back at the academy, Liv unpacked right away, grabbed some souvenirs, and headed to the canteen.
A staff twice as long as before, made of yakgim wood, hung at her waist.
In the quiet afternoon, she knew Louis napped lightly behind the counter when no customers were around.
As she quietly entered, the two iron dogs noticed her approach.
“Shh.”
She raised a hand lightly, and her presence vanished completely. Fooling the guard dogs perfectly, she slowly sat beside Louis.
His gentle hand brushed back his hair, and he opened his eyes immediately. Seeing his slight surprise, Liv beamed.
“Baroness Liv?”
“I'm back, Boss.”
She handed over a small bracelet from the magic tower, saying it was a gift. He thanked her, took it, and tucked it in a drawer.
Liv had no clue what Louis liked or his hobbies.
But as expected, he disliked cumbersome things. Thinking that, she pulled out one more prepared gift.
“I bought this for you too, Boss.”
“What's this?”
“A puzzle. The famous magic puzzle from Pekda Magic Tower.”
A jigsaw puzzle measuring 1160x850, titled Baldur's Nightmare.
Over 3,000 pieces of white fog-shrouded fragments, with hellish difficulty—and even its purpose was hard to fathom.
“Oh, looks fun. I'll play with it slowly when I have time.”
Yet he seemed to prefer such toys that kids might like.
As she inwardly swelled with pride at her success, Louis asked her.
“By the way, Baroness. Are you joining the first-years' field training?”
“Ah, that?”
She'd already heard from Professor Vincent on the mana train. Unlike first-years in groups of three, second-years just waited in the dungeon—one per group. Naturally, fewer needed, so opting out was fine.
Especially for Pekda returnees, the schedule might be grueling, so professors generally let them rest—but
“Yes. Of course I am.”
Liv declared her participation on the spot. Because
“It's the perfect chance to educate the juniors.”