The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 109

It was the period after the student council election had ended, and Tanya Rothstaylor’s new cabinet was starting to take shape—to some extent. Chronologically, it was about ten days after the election ended.

“Are you dating Ed?”

No matter who saw it, the Spiritual Studies senior professor Melina had a rather poor appearance.

Her long, plain black hair was neatly combed down, but her tired eyes and pouty mouth gave her a deeply dissatisfied look. Even the way she dressed, which showed off the curves of her body, made her look more like an inn owner than a professor.

She was holding a pipe as she breathed out smoke. She looked very intimidating to get close to.

“…What…?”

“Are you dating Ed?”

She had called Yennekar to help review the first- and second-year students’ spiritual studies assignments.

That was why Yennekar had come all the way to her private lab in the education district, but that was the first thing she asked.

With Yennekar’s personality, she couldn’t help but be flustered.

“A-A-A-A-A-All of a sudden…?? Why are you saying that…?”

“Are you joking? Aside from spiritual studies, the only class you two ever shared was elemental studies, yet you’re always stuck together. Whether you go to the student welfare facility or the student cafeteria to eat something, you’re always stuck together with him.”

“…That’s… Uhm…”

“Even if, as a man and woman, you meet at the same eye level—you’re still a girl that has all these circuits of love and dating running around your head. At this point, aren’t there already rumors going around about you two?”

Professor Melina shivered for a bit as her teeth trembled, before exhaling the smoke once more.

“And these days, whenever you have time, you start fidgeting around with a smile on your face… Even during lectures, you just blankly stare at the blackboard while smiling bashfully. You are just like a little kid that has just started dating. I can’t help but sigh. Just what the hell is with you? What are you thinking about for the corners of your mouth to wiggle around like that? That is what I’m trying to say.”

“Y-You don’t have to say that much…!”

It was definitely a sharp observation. Whether it was her absentminded humming or the airy, clueless tone in her voice, Yennekar did seem rather excited these days.

It was all because, due to Ed’s seclusion, the amount of time the two of them spent together increased quite a bit.

Basically, since Ed barely had any friends that he was close to, when he was at school he spent most of his time with Yennekar.

There were a few classes that they took together, they ate together, and they did homework together—and before she realized it, they were always sticking together.

At the very least, it was fortunate that happiness itself wasn’t lethal.

“Alright… As a professor, no matter who you meet and what you do I shouldn’t be meddling in your business. I just called you today to ask for help with grading the first- and second- year students’ spiritual resonance assignments.”

“Grading…? Me…?”

“There’s no issue, right? I’ll even give you extra points.”

As far as elementalism was concerned, it was safe to say there were a very miniscule number of people in the school that could keep up with Yennekar.

Of course, an old eagle was still better than a young crow. Since Melina was a professor, her knowledge of elementalism—her field of specialization—was unmatched.

However, it was difficult to say that the scope of her talents went beyond the realm of academics.

The spirit of elementalism. History. The ecosystem of spirits. Concepts of spiritual affinity. Resonance training methods. A deep understanding of the concept of resonance.

In terms of academics, naturally Yennekar was far behind a faculty member that had been studying her entire life… The realm of their knowledge was completely different.

But just as knowing a sport well and being good at it were two entirely different things… When looking at practical skills, Yennekar’s innate senses that let her freely handle even high-ranking spirits was enough to make even the stingy Melina bow her head.

“The joint combat practice is scheduled to take place soon, so consider this an opportunity to establish your spot within your grade.”

“I don’t want to establish something like that…”

“You really don’t even want to do that? Seriously, even in class you’re off smiling like an idiot, as if you’re the happiest person in the world. Can’t you at least get a bit of a grip? Being able to enjoy your youth with flowers blooming around you is your luck, but from the point of view of someone watching you, they can’t help but think ‘Is she really out of her damn mind?’”

After hearing her talk up to that point, Yennekar’s face started to heat up for some reason. She quickly nodded.

Once she fell into her own world, she had a tendency to be completely unaware of her surroundings. Maybe that was why people around her had started to express their concerns whenever they saw her off by herself in a strangely good mood.

In actuality, it wasn’t something for others to be concerned about. Just because the corners of her lips kept moving on their own, it wasn’t like they were going to fall off.

However, there was one fact that Yennekar did not take into account.

Looking at her from a third point of view, seeing her walk around the school alongside Ed and flirting with him… It would look like they were lovers. There was nothing strange with that thought process at all. One day, if the two of them were to suddenly say ‘we’re dating’, everyone would just naturally accept it.

That fact wasn’t very pleasing to some others.

* * *

“……”

Anise Haylan opened her heavy eyes with a sullen expression as she fixed her cloak… never touched her teacup even once.

Yennekar was quietly photosynthesizing while sitting on the terrace of a tea house in the middle of the student center. As if she were a stuffed toy, she smiled brightly without moving one bit. She looked the happiest in the world, a dazzling expression running across her face.

Nothing more, nothing less, she was just an idiot. It seemed even the flowers around her were blooming.

“You must have worked quite hard today, Yennekar. Today’s monster ecology assignment was quite difficult, since there was so much.”

“Hm? Uh yeah~”

“…I should eat dinner early. Before the sun goes down, I’ll have to head back to the dorm to try and decipher the ancient text that Professor Stray gave me. Hearing about it in class, it seemed difficult to take care of by myself. Still, I should at least give it a try…”

“Yeah~ That’s right~ We should at least give it a try~ The detoxification class didn’t give much homework this time though~ So it should be fine~”

“……”

As usual, Yennekar listened to Anise, acknowledging what she was saying and responding to her. But this time, Anise felt strangely angry.

Anise sat at the table across from her with a smile on her face, but it felt as though the veins in her forehead were starting to bulge.

It wouldn’t be strange for Anise to smile looking at Yennekar’s happy face, so why was she slightly angry all of a sudden?

A little reflection of her feelings would have quickly revealed the reason, but Anise didn’t deal with it right away.

“By the way, Yennekar… About that guy…”

“Hm? You mean Ed…?”

“Yeah. Yennekar, you must have known from the beginning that he wasn’t dead, right?”

At first, Anise was worried that Yennekar had lost her mind seeing her cook for no apparent reason. But she suddenly understood all her actions.

Yennekar had kept it a secret, even though she already knew that Ed Rothstaylor wasn’t dead. Since it was only Yennekar and not anybody else that knew, there must have been a convincing reason.

Anise didn’t fully understand that fact, so she was a bit upset about it all.

“I… I was really worried about you back then, Yennekar. I had thought ‘The death of that guy was causing you so much heartache that you must be struggling so much.’ After all, you’re my dear friend, Yennekar.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“That’s why… I feel a little bit pissed off right now. I was worrying about you so much, yet you knew the truth all along and kept watching me worry about you. Right?”

“N-No… Th-That’s…”

What are you saying right now to Yennekar, one of your most precious friends in this entire world? Why are you saying such a meaningless thing?

Anise didn’t even understand what she was doing. She was only saying whatever came out of her mouth.

“That, I-I’m sorry… Anise. But I really had a reason for it.”

“To the point you couldn’t even tell me…?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Then… It can’t be helped…”

Anise sighed deeply. As she kept her head down, she glanced At Yennekar’s eyes with a glare to the side.

Since Yennekar always was the kindest person in the world, she was acting restless and guilty, quickly tapping her fingertips.

She felt a sharp pain piercing her chest. A decent amount of ingratitude had the power to incite one’s deviation.

“Since it was you, Yennekar, that guy Ed must have been caught up in a serious situation.”

“S-Something like that…”

She said it was similar, but it was spot on accurate. Inferring something based on the limited information available was Anise’s specialty.

“In the first place, Yennekar… it seemed that you were only helping him every day and giving things to him…”

She felt strange because she was speaking quite directly, but either way it was still a fact.

“Yennekar, are you his maid…? Even if he was hiding, what were you doing cooking food for him and taking care of his housing…? Did you even go and give him your money or something…? Did he even give you a hug…? Even though you said that he is the first person you gave your heart to, don’t you think you’re crossing the line too much…!”

“Th-That’s…”

“Like I told you before, you can get thrown away in an instant after he no longer has any use for you…! In fact, is Ed Rothstaylor the only man left in this world…??”

“Why are you saying bad things about Ed all of a sudden…? Anise, I told you last time, but Ed is a good person…!”

“Eughk…!”

Anise was speechless. In the first place, it felt as if she had just been blurting out whatever came to mind. Because of that, what she was saying was incoherent and logically inconsistent.

Anise knew all too well just how decent and thoughtful Ed Rothstaylor was compared to she had once thought. That was why it was heartbreaking for her to see the conversation between them flowing in a strange direction, as if she was only talking bad about him.

However, as mentioned before, a decent amount of ingratitude had the power to incite one’s deviation. In particular, those that lived a steady life, only choosing the correct choices, could start to feel strangely attracted to the strange twists on the road once they experienced it once.

“I-I didn’t mean to say those things… S-Sorry…”

“N-No…”

Silence came over for a moment.

The atmosphere turned strangely delicate. Neither of them quite knew why things had ended up like that.

“S-Still, Yennekar… There’s nothing wrong with being careful.”

“Careful… About what…?”

“It’s a bit complicated to say. To be honest, when you think about it… Even though you are so dedicated to him, that guy Ed has never done anything in return, right? Isn’t that the case…?”

“H-He says thank you every time, though. He even patted me on the shoulder and told me that it would have been awful if I hadn’t been there… we also shook hands…”

“In the end, it’s all just talk…!”

It was starting to sound like the mindset of a wife that was domestically abused. Isn’t this too much, is what she started to think… Anise’s advice then started to take a strange turn.

“Then… It’s time to test that man, Yennekar.”

“A test… on Ed? Saying that, it seems like you don’t really trust Ed.”

“Now is the time to be suspicious of him. You deserve it, Yennekar. You didn’t help Ed just once or twice. Are you going to continue living like this? When you can get something, you need to take it! At this rate you’ll really end up a pushover.”

She didn’t really want to do an old-school push and pull strategy like the fox Lortel had done. It had been quite a while since she gave up on that.

At the very least, it would be a good idea to stop giving him things for a while and keep a bit of distance, limiting herself to a basic greeting.

“That guy, Ed… Make him a bit mad.”

“What…? Me… Why…?”

“People show their true nature when they are angry to their core, Yennekar.”

That was why she needed to do something to make him angry, to see how things would end up.

It was hard to imagine Ed Rothstaylor getting angry, but he was still human. So, when he got angry, he would surely show it.

“But… Ed has never been mad at me even once…”

Yennekar spoke while nervously twisting her braids… She didn’t know why, but for some reason, Anise was acting rather rude…!

If she were her regular self, there wouldn’t be a reason to act so rude… That was all it was.

“And it’s not polite to go around testing a person by trying to make them mad…”

The logic she was expecting had been brought up. However, there wasn’t a reason to try and argue against it.

“Yennekar. Listen well. To put it bluntly, you have a crush on that guy, right?”

“Hiccup.”

No matter how aware of your emotions you were, it’s human psychology to feel a bit shy when they were put into words.

Without blinking, Anise’s words came rushing out revealing the truth. Yennekar swallowed her saliva as she blushed.

“But now, don’t you realize that you are getting closer to him as a close friend or family member rather than his lover…?”

“Th-That’s…”

It was truly a point.

The warm and comfortable feeling that came to her mind when she thought of Ed’s face, or imagined sitting down next to him in the camp.

Imagining leaning on his shoulder, before when her heart pounded as blood rushed to her face…These days, the feeling of being comfortable, as if she were returning home, was much more prevalent.

“That’s the problem, Yennekar! That guy must be feeling the same thing…! What you two need to do is a ‘re-establishment’ of your relationship!”

“Re-establishment…?”

“That’s right… You guys need to act a little ‘unfamiliar!’ If you remain the same with each other, you won’t ever get excited!”

Anise’s words had a strange magic power. At some point, Yennekar had swallowed her saliva and started to get intrigued by her words.

“That’s why… moderately… you need to make him mad. Then the true version of that guy will show itself.”

Watching Yennekar swallow hard… Anise also started to feel a strange burning in her chest.

“W-Well then, I’ll get going…! I’ll see you tomorrow, Anise…!”

Regardless, Yennekar had already decided to take a look at Ed Rothstaylor’s spiritual resonance training later that day.

Talking about her schedule, as she saw Yennekar off at the student center, Anise sat down on a nearby bench with her face covered.

What type of bullshit did she tell her? To go and piss the guy off first? Then she made up some plausible reason like re-establishing their relationship? But in the end, it was all rubbish for Yennekar to worry about.

That… that was surely human nature.

Her behavior was so embarrassing that Anise had to sit down on the wooden bench for some time to cool off.

But… on the other hand, another question started to arise in her heart. A question that at the very least neutralized her strangely rising feeling of being an immoral and guilty person.

In the first place… Was it even possible for Yennekar to make him angry…?

“……”

In conclusion, it was absolutely impossible.

In the first place, Yennekar wasn’t the type of person who could do something like that. That was just the kind of person she was.

Even more so if the person she was trying to make angry was Ed Rothstaylor.

“Seriously… doing something useless…”

Anise slapped her cheeks, then swept her hand over face.

* * *

[

Technical Proficiency: 6

Magic Engineering Understanding: 7

Fast Production: 4

Collected Production Formulas:

– Weak Wind Generator: Lvl 4

– Loud Noise Generator: Lvl 3

– Automatic Resonance Magic Power Chessboard: Lvl 1

– Greenhouse Crystal Ball: Lvl 3

– Blue Magic Orb: Lvl 2

– Claw Fingers: Lvl 3

– Craigle Magic Ink: Lvl 2

– Permeating Photosphere: Lvl 3

– Onia’s Hellfire: Lvl 1

– Telos’ Frosted Blessing: Lvl 1

– 1000-year-old wooden wand struck by lightning (cannot be crafted)

– Glockt’s Eyes (cannot be crafted)

– Dell Heim’s Hourglass: Lvl 1 ]

I skimmed through the list of various magic engineering items that I could craft.

Among them, the one I was most interested in right now was the ‘1000-year-old wooden wand struck by lightning.’

First off, the production method itself was really simple. There wasn’t much of a process to go through, and the power rating of it was quite high for an item that didn’t have a high difficulty to make.

The reason for it was simple. The materials needed for it were very difficult to obtain.

A branch of a tree that had lived for more than a thousand years, which was then twisted by lightning. It was a material that you would have no idea where to ever get it just by hearing its description.

In , it was a reward item that just showed up in your inventory for the final chapter of Act 3. Now that it has all become a reality, I was at a complete loss at where to even find it.

Well, if it wasn’t there, I’ll just have to make it.

Trees over a thousand years old were rare, but there was at least one in the North Forest. All I needed to do was attack a branch of the tree with lightning.

The tree was ‘The Guardian Tree of Merilda.’ If I asked her for a branch, I was sure she would go ahead and pluck it for me.

As for the lightning, there was an advanced lighting spell called Divine Judgment that Lucy used. For Lucy, using advanced magic was something she could do while picking her ears, so she should do it if I just asked her to.

“Hmm…”

[ 1000-year-old wooden wand struck by lightning (Very Rare)

Increases the resonance rate of all elemental spirits. Increases the magic power efficiency of spiritual-related magic. ]

Looking at the information and description of the magically engineered item, it was a highly coveted item.

In the first place, the resonance stat was unique in the sense that its strength was already set. It was a stat that was difficult to amplify without the use of a magically engineered item or enhancement magic.

Resonance stats were expressed only by a character’s intrinsic strength. One of the few exceptional items that broke that core principle of was that wand.

While using a poker in the campfire, I developed a plan to procure other materials besides the branch struck by lightning.

Most of the rest could be purchased if I just headed over to the Elte Store. Organizing everything like that, it seemed to be a surprisingly realistic plan.

“Hmmm… I guess it won’t take as long as I had thought.”

In the first place, it wasn’t something I was going to be using.

I thought of the oak wand that Yennekar was carrying around like it was a part of her own body. It’s definitely a wand that didn’t have a poor performance, but it was pretty worn out after its prolonged use.

Was there some reason she only used that wand, even though there were many others that family and friends had given her as gifts?

But still, if there was an object that can further enhance one’s potential, it was only right to utilize it. Regardless, I wanted to repay Yennekar for the many things she had helped me with.

If I could afford it, I wanted to make one for myself, too… The higher the rank, the worse the magic power efficiency became when re-making it. That was a measure used to prevent the infinite mass production of high-efficiency magically engineered items.

I should still be able to make a second wand, but it might take more time.

When I thought about remaking a legendary item like Dell Heim’s Hourglass… that would take nearly a whole two months.

Of course, it was something worth investing that amount of time into. In the meantime, I’d also be able to make various other magically engineered items.

First off, before the end of the semester I wanted to make another legendary rank magically engineered item. ‘Glockt’s Eyes.’

[ Glockt’s Eyes (Legendary)

Temporarily increases the proficiency of all resonance-type abilities. The effectiveness of cure-type magic is halved. Defensive magic cannot be used. Immune to elemental magic. ]

Among the items that directly affected resonance-type abilities, it was the highest level magically engineered item.

At that point in time, I didn’t know how to make it, but… It was worth taking the time to give it a try. In particular, being completely immune to all elemental magic meant that I would have an overwhelming advantage when fighting against other magicians. It was a bit difficult to get, but it was still a cheat-like item. It was also an item that could only be obtained at the very end of the storyline.

Above all else, Glockt’s Eyes wasn’t a consumable item. There was a cooldown time, but it was still an item that could be reused. Once I made it, it would actually act as a complete increase to my specs.

“Alright… Phew… First off, rather than a distant goal I should achieve a goal that’s right in front of me, step by step. First, It would be great if I can quickly make that wand.”

Of course, it would be difficult on my own. I lifted my head and looked toward the cabin. There wasn’t anyone in particular that caught my eye.

I turned around, looking across the camp as I spotted Lucy taking a nap in the hammock that was connected to a tree next to the cabin.

“Hmpff.”

I quickly got up and walked towards the hammock.

I put my head up close to Lucy’s nose to check if she was getting a pleasant sleep.

Lucy was sleeping soundly, but if there was something to say then she would wake up. Either way, Lucy was always half asleep, so waking her up when she was sleeping didn’t change much,

It was also something that she herself doesn’t really care about.

“Hey, Lucy.”

When I called out her name like that, Lucy quickly woke up and sat up, just like usual.

No, actually, it wasn’t like ‘usual’ at all.

“……”

“……!!!!”

Her eyes, which were right in front of my nose, suddenly widened. She then took a deep breath as she suddenly bounced away, flying in the air and landing on a large branch.

“Wh-Why…?”

“…Are you that surprised…?”

The number of times Lucy, who was sleeping, suddenly woke up was too many times to count with two hands.

When I asked her if it was something to be so worked up about, Lucy shook her head side to side.

“…Never mind. I’m sorry for abruptly surprising you like that. It’s not something that’s necessary right now, so I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Y-You can tell me now… I-It’s alright…”

“No, it’s alright. Come to think of it, I have something to do now, anyway.”

Explaining the various circumstances as well as why I needed Lucy to cast lightning magic… I could do that at any time.

However, thinking back on it I just realized that I had already asked Yennekar to take a look at my spiritual resonance training. She said that she would arrive at the camp after her classes—around 7—so I had to start preparing.

I waved my hand at Lucy, telling her it was fine, as I returned to the campfire. Sitting near a rock as I read a book on elemental studies… I waited for Yennekar for a long while.

Crunch, Crunch.

After I had flipped the pages of the book five or six times, Yennekar appeared through the grass.

“Hey, Ed…!”

Maybe it was because she had come through a rather rough path rather than the clear one she usually came from, but some leaves were still attached to Yennekar’s collar. Why did she do that…?

“Oh, Yennekar. You’re a little late.”

“Yeah. I’m about ten minutes late…!”

“Did something happen?”

After I said that, Yennekar suddenly crossed her arms and spoke while striking a rather arrogant pose.

“Nothing… I wasn’t late for a particular reason…!”

“……”

“I… I was just late!”

Saying that, she then added a cough at the end that sounded like ‘ehem.’

“……”

I was thinking about what type of reaction she wanted and how I should answer her…

“Well… that can happen. You are quite busy after all. I’m just grateful that you still came here to help me with my resonance training.”

After I said that, I closed the book and stood up, brushing off my clothes. Since it was just resonance training, I wouldn’t have to use my body too much. But still I stretched my shoulders a bit.

“……”

I wasn’t sure why… But Yennekar was standing there in a cold sweat, still holding that arrogant-looking pose.