The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 100

Faculty members had gathered at Nail Hall, the largest of the three buildings that made up the Student Center.

It was a fairly large disciplinary committee.

It was a committee in which the headmaster, Obel Forsyth, was supposed to attend due to school rules. However, due to his busy schedule in dealing with the other many incidents around the education district, he wasn’t able to do so.

The key agenda of the disciplinary committee, led by the Deputy Headmistress in place of the headmaster, was to review Lucy Mayreel’s disciplinary action. In which she had destroyed Ophelis Hall and forced many students to evacuate.

“And with that, that concludes all the facts in regard to this incident.”

The senior professor of Monster Studies, Professor Flubin—who was the highest ranking official in the education district when the incident took place—finished his report.

At the head of the conference room, Deputy Headmistress Rachel was seated as she listened to Flubin’s report.

Wearing an alchemist’s robe that was heavily and fancily gilded, Deputy Headmistress Rachel was an elderly woman that looked to be in her 60s.

Compared to Headmaster Obel, she had more experience and a longer tenure. However, she only sat in the vice seat due to his academic achievements and magic abilities. Of course, she didn’t have any complaints towards him. That was because she was a thorough meritocratic.

It was only natural for a more capable person to be in a higher position. At least, that was her values.

“Hmm…”

And that student Lucy Mayreel, who sat in the disciplinary student seat staring blankly into the air, was second to none in terms of ability.

She went beyond being the top of her department and grade. She was a person that wasn’t lacking in skills to even be considered the top of the entire school. Even some professors would fall short when compared to her in terms of magic power, strength, and skills.

The face and pride of Silvenia, Lucy Mayreel was summoned to such a disciplinary committee and forced to sit down. From the school’s point of view, it wasn’t a pleasant situation.

Lucy Mayreel’s presence alone served as a strong backbone for when Silvenia had to face off against foreign institutions or other education institutions.

Regardless of whatever representative trainee any of these institutions could bring in, there was no one that could match up against Lucy Mayreel.

In a way, Lucy Mayreel was a key pillar that supported Silvenia’s source of pride.

“Expulsion… it wouldn’t be right to even consider it…”

If you thought about it, in the first place it wasn’t even a crime that deserved expulsion.

Upon hearing the news of Ed Rothstaylor’s death, Lucy briefly lost her sense of reason as she ran to Ophelis Hall to try and personally sanction Tanya, who was accused of arranging such a murder.

In the process, she had threatened a number of maids and students. The top student of the second-year combat department and the alchemy department had gotten injured.

And what about the property damage?

Compared to the incident where the lower-ranking students had wreaked havoc at Ophelis Hall, the damage was much more minimal than one would expect. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t any damage at all.

The exterior wall of the third-floor room where Tanya was living, the exterior wall of the hallways on the other side, the pillar at the entrance of Ophelis Hall, a bit of the marble floor from the rose garden and pavilion.

Strictly speaking, it was Ziggs that had broken the hallway’s outer wall and Clevius that had broken the pillar at the entrance when he tried to restrain Lucy. But rather than worrying about the details, they had just lumped everything together. Generally speaking, everything had broken because Lucy had shown up.

Considering the facilities that were destroyed, it would take about a week to restore everything. The cost wouldn’t be small. Still, compared to the amount spent when the lower-ranking students had attacked, that was nothing.

And considering the circumstances, there wasn’t a single casualty.

According to the testimonies of those that were there, it seemed that she had run wild but still took extra precautions to make sure there weren’t any major injuries. She was not acting in her right mind in her attempt to capture Tanya, but it was still unclear to say whether or not she would have actually killed her had they met.

It seemed that her reason, to some degree, was still there—so surprisingly, it might have still been resolved through talking.

Also, after the incident she didn’t run away. Instead, she quietly sat at the scene, waiting for the investigation performed by the school’s staff to take place. It was as if she was turning herself in.

And it also helped that the only wounded individuals, Clevius and Elvira, both wrote a petition. It seemed like a reaction to them understanding the situation and why Lucy was emotionally unstable.

As a result, taking into account those and many other reasons, it ended up with them deciding to give her a light punishment. And that was only if the last reason for a reduced sentence was properly met.

A deep reflection on her mistake.

“……”

Rachel narrowed her eyes as she looked towards the disciplinary seat.

Looking at Lucy, who was looking blankly into the air and blinking every so often, she let out a sigh.

From the deputy headmistress’ point of view, it hurt to see the top student look so undignified and lacking passion. Still, at least she still had proof of her talent.

Either way, as for the last reason for a reduced sentence… she couldn’t see her feeling the slightest bit apologetic. In fact, she couldn’t feel any sense of life behind those blank eyes, making it quite hard to fathom what her heart was really like.

The disciplinary committee had a major headache inducing agenda. Because, from Silvenia’s point of view, they were very reluctant to give her any strong disciplinary action such as expulsion or suspension.

For Silvenia, who had used Lucy’s name countless times outside, it was obvious they would want to avoid punishing their pride as much as possible.

Seeing Lucy like that, it was impossible to hate her. Especially for Silvenia, who was using her name to the extreme.

Their treatment towards Lucy, who was enjoying her school life to her utmost, it wasn’t completely for free.

“Yes.”

Her answer was so dull that even listening to it made you lose your energy.

“This incident can’t be taken lightly. Ophelis Hall is one of our core facilities here at Silveria. It seems that our committee will not be able to easily overlook the fact that you have damaged the facility and created anxiety amongst the students who use it.”

“…I am sincerely reflecting.”

“…Is that so?”

Even Rachel had thought that Lucy was taking into account what she wanted to hear and only answering as such.

That proper attitude of hers was a bit uncomfortable, but Rachel couldn’t say anything about it.

“Nevertheless, considering the seriousness of this incident, it seems that Lucy should be appropriately disciplined…”

Although Rachel felt uncomfortable with Lucy’s somber attitude, she carefully decided on a sentence that was not too severe yet also couldn’t be considered light.

“Disqualification of eligibility for this semester scholarship, disqualification from living in Ophelis Hall, a ten-day suspension, seventy-day deprivation of using student welfare facilities, and a two-grade decrease to your practical evaluation grade.”

It was a bit too heavy to be considered a light punishment but was also too light to be considered a heavy one.

Rachel continued to talk, but Lucy wasn’t interested in the majority of it.

Disqualification of a scholarship was meaningless. That was because she had a ‘prepaid’ tuition for all semesters until graduation as a representative of the Glockt Scholarship Foundation. As it was made according to the will of the Archmage Glockt, it wasn’t like a scholarship. Rather, it was just the sole use of Glockt’s private funds.

So, a disqualification of scholarship or a change in grade wouldn’t have much meaning. She wasn’t someone who would lose her spot as the top student just from missing a class or a drop in grades. That was because, among all the top students, Lucy was overwhelmingly the strongest. Among her and Ziggs, who was second in the magic department, there is still a massive gap between them.

Student welfare facilities… she didn’t even use them at all.

“Yes, I understand.”

In the end, the only punishment that held any particular meaning to her was that she would not be able to enter Ophelis Hall for an entire semester.

“Then, since Ms. Lucy Mayreel has no complaints about the decided disciplinary measures…”

“Wait…!!”

At that moment, someone opened the door of Nail Hall as they came in yelling.

Who was the person who rudely slammed open the door to such an important meeting, where all the high-ranking professors sat together? Did that person lack basic education in etiquette?

Rachel looked at the door with a puzzled expression on her face, as there stood the head of one of the politest groups of people in Silvenia.

The new head maid of Ophelis Hall, Bell Maya.

She was the youngest among all the elders that held power in Silvenia.

With her short bob hair, she wore a maid outfit and skirt that looked as if a beautiful flower was blooming. Even her headband, which was decorated with red roses, was neat.

“My name is Bell Maya, I manage Ophelis Hall. I wanted to attend as a witness, but I was unable to arrive on time due to my schedule in the restoration of Ophelis Hall. I offer my sincere apology.”

Bell Maya, who bowed her head gracefully, stood up as she gently closed her eyes.

However, for some reason she was on edge and seemed angry. It felt as if a bulging vein had sprung up on her temple.

Lucy Mayreel was the first to react to that appearance.

“He-Heeek!”

Lucy, who had been sitting still with a disinterested expression throughout the entire disciplinary committee meeting, had finally shown a reaction. Rachel had an interesting expression on her face as she nodded her head.

“For such a senior staff to come all the way here, what is the matter?”

“With all due respect, please reconsider the disciplinary action against Miss Lucy.”

“What?”

Lucy was already convinced at that point. Bell Maya was certainly angry.

That made sense. She was one of the maids of Ophelis Hall, who had always taken care of Lucy. But all of them ended up getting trapped inTime Prisonfor a long time in the middle of the rose garden that they took great care of…

“I am the maid that has served Miss Lucy since she was a first year. I can say with confidence that I know her the best.”

“Th-That may be the case, but…”

“I don’t believe that Miss Lucy will sincerely reflect with this type of discipline. The disciplinary action… I think it should be revised as follows.”

Then, after gracefully smiling, Bell Maya’s suggestion of change to the disciplinary action was unprecedented.

Getting rid of all the useless disciplinary measures and instead replacing it all with thirty days of probation.

“Thirty days of probation… That doesn’t seem like something deserving of this disciplinary case…”

Probation was a lighter punishment than suspension. Along with all of the disciplinary measures that were listed, there was also ten days of suspension… Did it make sense to get rid of all of this just for probation?

Even though there were circumstances that led to the incident and the overall damage was minor compared to the scale, it was still not a small incident.

However, as soon as Lucy heard that proposal her complexion began to turn green.

And the reason came from Bell’s mouth.

“It is a reward, rather than a punishment, to let Miss Lucy leave Ophelis Hall, Deputy Headmistress. If you really want her to reflect sincerely, it would be much better to leave her under the supervision of the Ophelis Hall maids.”

And Bell strode over, looking at the list of disciplinary actions that had been decided, shaking her head.

“And rather than suspension, a sentence of probation that minimizes entry outside the dormitory is a more appropriate punishment for her. You won’t have to worry about the enforcement of the sentence. Us Ophelis Hall maids will do our best to stay on watch and closely monitor her 24 hours a day…! We will do a perfect job in making sure that she doesn’t go outside at all.”

“Wait, no! I’m just going to sign the disciplinary action that was already decided! Give me the paper! The suspension! Give me the suspension!”

Lucy, who had always maintained her disinterested appearance, had suddenly stood up from her seat and was waving her arms in the air. Seeing her sweat with her eyes bouncing around, it really made everyone wonder if it was the same girl.

Rachel was shocked by the drastic change in Lucy.

“Th-Then… After listening to the advice of the head maid… We will proceed with thirty days of probation…”

In the end, from the school’s point of view all they wanted to do was impose as light a punishment on Lucy as possible.

“N-No…! I’m sorry! I am sincerely sorry, from the bottom of my heart! Just not that… Please…!”

“Now, Miss Lucy. Sign here.”

Looking at Bell, who had a wide smile on her face, she looked over the document that had scribbled out all the important details with a quill. It had been aggressively revised to now enforce thirty days of probation.

Bell grabbed a hold of Lucy’s wrist, forcing her to sign the papers with the quill. Even if she was forced to sign the paper, no one said anything.

Then, after the paperwork was signed, Bell grabbed Lucy. Since she was light as a feather, she wasn’t heavy to hold onto at all.

Bell only gave a satisfied smile as she spoke to Rachel with a bright voice.

“Thank you for listening to my opinion. Then, starting from today we will be implementing the probation. I apologize for having disturbed you in such a way, where many high individuals have gathered. Then, I’ll be off.”

“No! Nooo! Please reconsider one more time…! Even being locked up for a week, I couldn’t breathe… Does it make any sense to give me probation for a month…?!”

Bell continued to trudge towards the exit of the room while holding onto Lucy.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaghk!”

Slam!

As the heavy door to the conference room slammed shut, Lucy’s screams were also cut off.

As long as she wasn’t wielding her magic, Lucy’s strength was the same as that of a regular girl. And Lucy wasn’t one to wield her magic against the maids.

With things ending as such, the figure of Lucy being dragged out like a sacrifice disappearing beyond the gates of hell, they had no choice but to remain silent for a while.

“……”

“A-Alright then. Let’s move onto the next item.”

Rachel trembled for a moment, as she felt that a strange power had snatched Lucy away.

“Then, the event that is planned for next week… The student council president election.”

***

“That’s why, for the time being, Lucy is on probation.”

Two days had passed since the chaos that took place at Ophelis Hall.

After taking care of most of the issues of that day, I returned to the cave in the Northern Cliffside as I started my secluded life with only a few necessities.

It felt like a different hideout when compared to my cabin in the middle of the forest or the library. Of course, the living environment wasn’t great when compared to that. Still, as the northernmost part of Acken Island was a place with little to no people, there was no better place to live a secluded life.

It was a natural cave that could only be seen by descending the cliffside, landing on the rocky area, and heading all the way inwards. It really was a strangely isolated place that one would never search for unless they knew about it beforehand.

A very appetizing stew simmered over the campfire by the exit of the cave.

After the cooking was finished, Yennekar, who added the final seasoning, put the lid on the pot. All it needed to do was boil a little more before serving it a bowl and eating it up.

“Lucy will also be going through a hard time. She’s the type where, if she isn’t able to go around outside, she will die in pain.”

“Yeah. Still, as you said Ed, the disciplinary committee didn’t say anything in particular and tried to stay quiet as much as possible. I don’t know why the disciplinary committee acted in such a way, though…”

“It was probably because they didn’t want to give Lucy a big punishment.”

Compared to the impact that Lucy caused while making a ruckus, the damage itself wasn’t major.

Even taking that into account, the fact that it only ended in probation seemed like a miracle… It seemed like they took her temperament into consideration. It was like someone that was specifically well aware of Lucy’s temperament had taken revenge against her.

No, that couldn’t be the case.

To an extent, my body had regained its energy. I raised my upper body as I stretched.

As for Yennekar, she was helping me so much that I was wondering if it was really alright.

On the first day, she brought me my basic daily necessities from the hut and library. She then brought food from the commercial district and cooked it for me. She even brought the materials for class that were given out in the education district.

Also, since I couldn’t currently take care of my laundry, I was just going to live in my filthy clothes. However, every time she came, she would wash my clothes and give me something clean to wear… I felt as if, at the very least, I should pay her back with some money.

So, every time I had to ask her to help me with something with a half sorry and half thankful heart, she shook her hands in the air as if to tell me not to worry about it. Looking at that, I could certainly tell that she was a really good person.

“Volla~!”

Thinking such thoughts, Yennekar cheerfully exclaimed as she came into the cave with two bowls full of stew.

I could at least prepare my own meals, but she stubbornly insisted on doing it for me, so I had no choice but to entrust it all to her.

“This is a beef stew that I often ate back at home. It’s a dish that I am personally very proud of~!”

I took one of the bowls as Yennekar took the other, placing it onto her lap. She then put both hands on her hips, as if to show that she was especially proud of it.

I responded rather, then picked up the bowl as I fixed the way I was sitting.

“……”

“……”

Recently, I felt that when I was alone with Yennekar there would be these sudden moments of silence that came without warning. It wasn’t like we were particularly awkward with each other, but the strange quietness came every so often. Neither me nor Yennekar knew the reason for it.

“W-Well then, shall we eat…?”

“Y-Yeah…”

As things had become rather awkward, we quickly grabbed our spoons.

I ate a few spoonfuls and it really was delicious. Even if it weren’t good, I would still have thanked her and compliment it, since she went out of her way to make it for me. But even without such pleasantries, I could honestly say that the dish was really good.

I thought that Yennekar would be genuinely happy if I told her how I felt, but…

“This is really good, Yennekar. You’re really great at cooking.”

“Y-yeah…”

The reaction she had was subtly different from what I had expected.

The way she frowned while lowering her head, and the way she fiddled with the tips of her fingers, made me think she was somewhat embarrassed.

With that reaction, I didn’t really have anything else to say afterwards… Once again, we had to experience that ‘strange quietness’ between us.

“I-It’s a dish I often made with my famileee—”

As for the reason she randomly misspoke, it seemed to be because she had bit her tongue while eating the stew. Yennekar looked as if she would cry as she moved her mouth around, letting out a sigh.

“On the topic of family, I haven’t found Tanya yet.”

“……”

Tanya has been missing since the day she escaped from Ophelis Hall.

After everything had settled down, Ziggs and Yennekar searched for Tanya. In the end, they couldn’t find her.

And since it was late at night, there were only a few eyewitness accounts. Even after the incident reached its conclusion, she still didn’t return to the dormitory and her luggage was still inside the room.

“Hmm…”

“Don’t worry too much, Ed. I’m sure she is doing fine.”

Yennekar comforted me by saying such words as she awkwardly ate her stew while blushing.

I put the spoon down for a moment, thinking about it.

Certainly, with the way the situation was currently heading, things weren’t looking good.