The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 110

Ophelis Hall

Staff Room Terrace.

“Phew…”

Due to the nature of being a maid, in which you have to take care of frequent tasks throughout the day, it was important to take a break whenever you had the time.

Bell Maya left for her break only after tidying up her work at dinner time in Ophelis Hall. Now she was leaning on the terrace, getting some fresh air.

The work that still needed to be taken care of before the end of the night that came to her mind was quite overwhelming. Before the students went to bed, she would have to check whether or not their bedding had been changed. She also had to check whether the final cleaning of the day was done properly.

She also had to prepare for tomorrow’s inspection from the school.

Since it was always maintained neatly, there wasn’t a need to take any urgent action. But since it was a day when Deputy Headmistress Rachel came to inspect things… It was necessary to make sure the student representatives would behave.

“At dawn… Am I in charge of night duty…?”

Although she became the head of Ophelis Hall, she didn’t miss a day of working the night shift. In the first place, it wasn’t all that difficult.

On the contrary, when she became the head maid, the number of hours the maids had to work decreased and the amount of time they had to rest increased. That ultimately contributed to an overall increase in work efficiency.

“Before then… I’ll have to bring back young Lady Lucy…”

After being released from probation, Lucy, who was running around outside of Ophelis Hall, needed to be brought back and put to sleep.

That was because in order to prepare for the school’s inspection tomorrow morning, it was necessary to start with Lucy, who was the top student and representative of her school year.

Once she captured her, it wouldn’t be a big issue since she’d just obey like an obedient girl. Still, that meant Bell would have to go all the way over to Ed’s camp in the North Forest.

Because she still had a lot of work left to do at night, she wanted to just ask another senior maid to take care of it, but… Bell quickly changed her mind and decided to go and make the time to take care of it herself.

Bell was certainly shocked upon hearing the news of Ed’s death, but was deeply relieved to hear that he had come back to life. Although there wasn’t any time to find out the details from Lucy at the time, since she was causing a chaotic wreck.

Since her work had become somewhat normalized, she thought it would be better to go and see if Ed was doing okay while on her way to pick up Lucy.

“Hmm…”

However, whenever she thought of Ed Rothstaylor, a complicated relationship came to her mind.

She would like to think that it had all been sorted out to some extent, but considering his actions she wasn’t sure about that.

Taking off her headband for a moment and leaning against the railing on the terrace, she looked up at the starry sky.

Quietly enjoying the cool night breeze of late spring, she suddenly realized that there was no time more pleasant than this to live in the wild.

What kind of person was Ed Rothstaylor?

Wasn’t he the type of person that was always living with his back against the corner, unable to afford to pay any attention to human relationships? All because he was busy trying to survive and live his own life?

However, enjoying this cool night’s breeze, she started to have a new thought.

Looking at his camp recently, she began to realize that things had changed quite a bit.

Compared to the past, when he struggled and clenched his teeth while living in the wild with only his wooden shelter and campfire… Now there was a decently built cabin, a simple warehouse made of timber, a fairly large campsite, and various tools and materials that piled up around it. Fishing tools and net farms were set up across the river, well-organized hunting traps were put here and there in the forest, and various magically engineered items that were useful for his life were also prepared.

He had many different types of food ingredients, so it seemed like he was quite good at cooking. And Ophelis Hall was helping him here and there with things like clothing.

In short, after more than a year of hard work, Ed Rothstaylor… now had a place that was ‘good enough to live in.’ Although the environment was still relatively poor, the environment had been improved to the extent that he would no longer have to live while clenching his teeth. It was the result of his hard work.

Time to relax and rest his body… That would lead to his peace of mind. It meant that he now had more time to think about things other than his survival.

“I’m not sure…”

However, Bell started to have her doubts again. In the first place, wasn’t he a man that was like an iron wall? Thinking about whether or not if someone out there could get through to someone like that, she couldn’t think of anyone. If it were possible, then just being intimate with him wouldn’t be enough.

An anomalous attack from a different direction. She wondered if a relationship forming from an unfamiliar and new point of view would be a more effective means… Though, she couldn’t think of anyone that could carry out such a high-level attack.

It was not something just anyone could do. If someone did it, it would probably have come from an accident rather than an intentional action. It went without saying, but the chances of that were quite slim.

“It’s a pity…”

With the cool breeze of late spring, Bell Maya prepared to head out.

Either way, if that man’s iron wall temperament was lowering just a little, wouldn’t now be the right time to attack? She was hoping that someone would be able to draw the same conclusion. Because right now, it felt like her heart was giving out just watching it all.

“Isn’t joint combat training coming up…? I hope no one gets hurt this year…”

Hoping that the relationships around Ed would all be sorted out… Bell prepared to go pick up Lucy.

✽ ✽ ✽

“To cast multiple manifestations, one’s resonance level itself is important. But it’s actually more heavily influenced by ‘spiritual understanding’, which is separate from resonance. In other words, the more you deal with them, and the more you manifest spirits, the better the magic power efficiency of spirit manifestation becomes.”

The day was long. It was a sign that summer was nearing.

Even after eating dinner and cleaning the campfire, when I started my spiritual resonance training, the sky was still slightly blue.

The sun set in the western sky, but there still wasn’t any sign of the moon taking over its territory. The temperature was also rising little by little, and the sound of insects in the grass started to slowly spread throughout the forest.

It wasn’t too hot either. The cool breeze that wafted through the trees, carrying the scene of grass, felt really nice.

It was now late spring. That meant there was no time better than now to live a life of camping outdoors.

“If your spiritual understanding is low, the efficiency of manifesting a spirit also decreases. When several spirits are summoned at once, the efficiency with each spirit as well as their combat power will decrease as well.”

“Is that the same for you too, Yennekar?”

“Uhmm…”

On the other side of the campfire, Yennekar twisted the hem of her blouse a few times in thought before she finally answered.

“Actually, I… Because I have a really high efficiency with spirits, summoning multiple spirits comes rather naturally…”

“That’s amazing.”

“But all of this can change from person to person. I’m sure it will be possible for you, too, after you practice a few times. Thinking about your style, I think training this way will be much more effective for you, Ed.”

“Really?”

Yennekar nodded as she then raised both hands, pointing her index finger up.

“An Elementalist… to an outsider, it may just look like we are people that deal with spirits. In truth, if you think about it more carefully, we can be divided into two different types. I’m speaking in terms of combat.”

“Two types?”

“Yes. A style in which one directly entrusts the entire battle to the spirit itself. And the other style, in which a spirit assists in the battle with various innate skills, spiritual skills, and partial manifestations.”

“Then that means Yennekar, you’re probably the former. And I have a strong feeling that I must be the latter.”

Yennekar briefly summarized the description of the two types of Elementalists as she moved her index fingers around.

“Of course, this isn’t set in stone. It’s simply a matter of what you deem important and one’s inclination. Like for me, it’s not like I can’t utilize a spirit’s innate skill. Or for you Ed, it’s not like you can’t entrust Lacia to go off and fight by herself, right?”

“That makes sense.”

“It’s not a concept that is clearly separated, but… for you, Ed, since you seem to be mainly focused on a more combat oriented fighting style, it would be good for you to pay attention to spiritual understanding and not just spiritual resonance. That’s because it will directly affect spiritual skills and innate skills.”

After saying all of that, Yennekar then gathered magic power at her fingertips.

The wind energy gathered there for a moment as the lower-rank wind spirit Charis—who was in the shape of a sparrow—appeared, sitting on her fingertip. It was a spirit that I had run into many times in the forest.

“For reference, if you reach the highest level of spiritual understanding, the magic power needed to manifest a spirit itself will become near non-existent. With all the low-ranking spirits I have made a contract with, I have the highest level of understanding with them, so I’m always able to manifest them without any restrictions.”

As Charis flew off into the sky, flapping her wings, all kinds of other spirits started to manifest behind her. Sparrow, squirrel, rabbit, snake, dog, deer… Various types of spirits were manifesting in their own forms, yet it didn’t feel like Yennekar was pushing her magic power at all.

“Hmm… I knew that understanding had a strong effect on various places, but I didn’t know anything about the specifics of it.”

I focused my thoughts as I tried to summon the low-ranking fire spirit, Mugg.

A flame began to blaze in the air. It soon began to spread its wings as a bat bloomed.

[Ohhh-l]

He flapped his wings, coming over to sit on my shoulder.

[There’s no need to worry so much about your spiritual understanding, young master Ed…! Who am I? I’m none other than Mugg, your right arm that has been fully fulfilling my role as a part of my master. The one who has endured countless hardships right by your side since last winter!]

“Low-ranking spirits are relatively quick and easy to raise your understanding with. Since you spent a lot of time with Mugg, you must have already become quite proficient with low-ranking spirits, right?”

With my dry eyes, I glanced over at the bat that was sitting on my shoulder. It was quite a sight to see him flapping his wings around, posing as if he were happy that I was paying so much attention to him.

“By the way, it’s been quite a long time since you first made your contract with Mugg. It seems like the two of you are getting along really well. Being able to constantly be on the same page in every battle without losing any magic power means that it was a really good contract. Usually without much experience with them beforehand, when I make a contract with a spirit for the first time I’m not able to handle them properly.”

“I’m sure that I’ve heard about that before.”

“Yeah. It seems that there are things that you are very talented in as well, Ed. Even though Mugg may look like that, there are very efficient aspects that come with him.”

[This useless Mugg of yours is the most honored! Receiving such compliments, I don’t know how to control my body…!]

Seeing Mugg make a fuss like he always did, Yennekar smiled and laughed out loud.

“The last thing I wanted to point out was about… a spirit’s change of status.”

“You mean going up to the next level? Low-ranking spirits becoming mid-ranking and mid-ranking spirits becoming high-ranking?”

“Oh, it seems that you know it quite well already. I guess you’ve been training in Elementalism for quite some time already, after all.”

Hearing those words, Mugg’s eyes began to dazzle brightly. Probably for spirits, a change in status must be like a dream come true.

“But… I’m not sure if Mugg will be able to become a mid-ranking spirit. Even though I deal with many different spirits, I’ve rarely ever seen a spirit that I made a contract with to be able to grow their abilities to the extent they had a status change.”

“What level is Mugg?”

“Well… Although he’s quite well-rounded for a low-ranking spirit… I don’t know if he’s quite at the level of a mid-ranking.”

[Ooof… Thank you for being so straightforward with me! This worthless Mugg of yours will devote myself even more…! Of course… that doesn’t mean I’m not hurt, but still…!!]

Yennekar looked as if she was smirking as she said ‘alright, alright…’

“There is a theory that a change of status is affected by one’s resonance level and understanding. Still, the most important thing is the spirit’s own growth in skills… I guess it can’t be helped but to wait a little longer and see how things turn out.”

“Alright… Anyway, things are starting to make a lot more sense. Thanks, Yennekar.”

“N-No, it’s nothing… I was just telling you what I’ve heard…”

Yennekar fiddled with her fingers, her chin tucked in with her cheeks puffed out.

[

Technical Proficiency: 25

Power Amplification: 5

Infusion Success Rate: 95

Fire-related Spiritual Proficiency: 7

Water-related Spiritual Proficiency: 3

Wind-related Spiritual Proficiency: 5

Contracted Spirit: Low-Ranking Fire Spirit Mugs

Spiritual Resonance Level: 31

Spiritual Understanding Level: 34

Innate Skills: Blessing of Fire Fortune, Explosion

Contracted Spirit: Mid-Ranking Water Spirit Lacia

Spiritual Resonance Level: 12

Spiritual Understanding Level: 10

Innate Skills: Water Lioness’ Blessing, Manifestation of a Water Source

Contracted Spirit: High-Ranking Wind Spirit Merilda

Spiritual Resonance Level: 5

Spiritual Understanding Level: 3

Innate Skills: Storm’s Blessing, Updraft ]

For the majority of my stats related to elemental skills, information about things like spiritual understanding could be found under the spiritual infusion section of my production skills.

It was something I’d already pointed out several times while training in spiritual skills, but I didn’t think that it would have such a direct impact on combat.

“From what I know, spiritual understanding with a spirit increases the more you spend time with them, use them in battle, and overall just interact with them. As I said before, the lower the spirit’s status is, the easier it will be to raise it.”

“That makes sense. I’ve been with Mugg for a long time, so my understanding with him has been trained quite a bit. With Lacia, it hasn’t been long since I made a contract with her. And Merilda, of course my understanding with her is horrendous.”

“Uhm… To put it lightly, the problem is that right now, you’re not an Elementalist at the level of handling Merilda yet…”

The method I used to sign a contract with Merilda was basically through a trick after all.

For high-ranking spirits, they were at such a level that even Yennekar would have to concentrate quite a bit to manifest them.

“But in the first place, the amount your resonance level increased over just one year is unbelievable… For an Elementalist that just opened their eyes to spiritual resonance, it would take three to five years for them to be able to deal with a mid-ranking spirit.”

Of course, from my experience playing , I was already used to being able to properly distribute stats and properly utilize the growth curve while playing.

In addition to that, I also had the help of various magically engineered items. It was fair to say that I was in a completely advantageous situation.

“It would be good to raise your resonance and understanding with a high-ranking spirit as much as you can. Regular people wouldn’t even be able to do it in the first place, as they wouldn’t be able to even make a contract. That’s your advantage, Ed.”

“Alright… I just have to use them more and interact a lot more with them, right…? But Merilda tends to disappear from time to time.”

“Ahaha… Merilda does have a habit of wandering around, doesn’t she…”

Even now, because of Yennekar my camp was full of all kinds of spirits… but Merilda was still nowhere to be found. I already knew that wandering around everywhere was her hobby. She showed up when it was really important, so it didn’t really matter… Still…

“Anyway, as long as you can steadily raise your understanding with Merilda, she will become a major source of power for you in the future. You already know the strength of a high-ranking spirit after all, right Ed?”

The power that came with a high-ranking spirit… I definitely felt it before.

***

Crackle, Crackle

After finishing my basic Elementalism training, it was already nearing midnight. The curfew of the dormitory Yennekar was staying at was nearing.

After slicing various ingredients, throwing them into an iron pot, and boiling them, Yennekar and I both had a bowl of meat soup to take care of our late-night hunger.

“Hello.”

Bell Maya always appeared out of nowhere without warning.

The characteristics of a maid were that they are always quiet and attentive. Because of that, she is always extremely quiet, and I couldn’t help but freak out every time I ran into her in the forest. When she was just a senior maid, she used to come by all the time to collect various medicinal herbs and plants. But ever since she took the position as Head Maid, she’d rarely come around to the North Forest.

Even after becoming the head maid, was she still taking care of Lucy herself…? Every so often, she would come out to the North Forest to look for Lucy.

The same was true now that she had suddenly just appeared in my camp.

“…Did you come to find Lucy?”

“…Yes. There will be a school inspection of Ophelis Hall tomorrow. Deputy Headmistress Rachel will be coming, so Miss Lucy, who is the current head of her grade, must also be present.”

By the time she finished talking, Lucy had already been pulled out of the hammock and was now held in Bell’s arms.

…She already looked completely domesticated, and no longer showed the will to resist. For Lucy, just what did the Ophelis Hall maids mean to her…?

While holding Lucy in her arms in a courteous manner, Bell gave a greeting with her elegant hair falling down her neck.

“When I heard the news of your death, I was very surprised. But now that I see you’re alive and doing well, I’m quite relieved. I feel like I can finally rest at ease.”

“I’m sorry for uselessly worrying you, Bell. I had a reason to do all of it.”

“Is there even something for you to apologize for? Also, did you know? Another official notice was issued by the school. It seems that the discipline of low-level maids that were supposed to assist the students have become rather lax. It’s a virtue of a maid to always take a lower position. It’s quite deplorable.”

“I see… Still, I won’t start speaking casually with you…”

“…In any case, it’s a sensitive issue at the school right now, so it’s necessary to take advantage of this moment to reestablish the hierarchy of the employer and employee relationship between the students and the maids. As well as thoroughly check their work—especially when it comes to speaking politely.”

“Indeed… I see what you mean… But still, I will speak to you politely…”

A moment of silence.

It was refreshing to see her staring daggers at me like that. After all, Bell always has a modest and emotionless expression on her face.

How long would that meaningless war of nerves last…? No one could say for sure. After coming that far, it unknowingly started to feel like a battle of pride.

But what the hell were we fighting for…? I had no idea, but strangely enough, I didn’t want to lose.

“I’m glad that young Lady Yennekar also seems to be in good health since she transferred to Dex Hall.”

“Yeah…! Compared to Ophelis Hall, there are quite a few inconveniences, but it’s still not all that bad being able to live with my friends…!”

Yennekar started to smile brightly as she radiated positive energy towards Bell.

Bell was the maid that Yennekar had the closest relationship with while living in Ophelis Hall. Back then she was only a senior maid, but they seem to be happy to see each other after such a long time.

“Anyway, I need to go and prepare for the inspection. I also need to clean young Lady Lucy up. I hope that the both of you take good care of your health and that there won’t be any major problems with your studies.”

Bell then gave her final farewells as she held Lucy, leaving the camp through the grass.

Being the head maid, she must already have a lot of paperwork from taking care of all sorts of business. The fact that she was personally taking care of Lucy, and even doing chores like laundry and cleaning, her hands must be completely full… Within the school, there probably wasn’t anyone as hardworking as her.

There was definitely a reason as to why she was always treated so well compared to her age, and her income was also quite good. I wondered just what type of person she would be and what she would do with her life after she retired from her position as head maid one day.

All of a sudden, Yennekar slapped her palm as if she had thought of something. She then started to suddenly twist her body.

“You know, Ed.”

She then suspiciously called out my name.

Sitting side by side on a large tree stump, I tilted my head to look at Yennekar. Thinking about it, now it was just the two of us at the camp.

“Uhm… Can I ask for a strange request?”

“Strange request…?”

“Uhm… How should I say it… It might seem like a joke…? Like we’re playing… Or what is that feeling… Uhm… Anyway, so… I have this strange request…”

Yennekar twirled her braided hair as she put down her bowl of stew and spoke.

“H-How about we try speaking politely to each other…?”

“Politely…? For no reason? But why?”

“I-It’s just, to give it a try. Redefine our relationship… saying something like that sounds too grand…! Just to try and widen the distance between us, and then we will narrow it back again… Anyway, it’s just the trend these days…! It’s like role-playing…!”

“…Everything is the trend these days. And in the first place, we’re already close with each other. What’s the point of it…?”

Yennekar grabbed a hold of my forearm as she looked me in the eyes, shaking her head, begging me to do it just once.

As for me, I’ve already received so many things from Yennekar, so it was a bit difficult to reject her when she was acting like that. In the first place, Yennekar wasn’t the type to express her opinion in such a manner to others without a good reason.

“Well, it’s not difficult to do…”

“Right? We’re just giving it a try…! We’re just going to do this as a little joke for a while, so no need to take it too seriously…!”

I wondered just what the heck she was talking about, but it would be rude to grunt and complain when Yennekar was speaking like that.

I nodded my head as Yennekar began to twist her body again. Suddenly, she stood up straight. Just why did she do that, hurting her knees for no reason when she could have just sat comfortably.

“So… rather than just speaking politely to each other… uhm… let’s act like it hasn’t been long since we first met… Something like, we’re classmates that met for the first time at school… or just… don’t be too awkward… just respectful and polite…?”

“…I’m sorry if you thought I wasn’t being respectful and polite to you… I only acted this way because I thought we were close, but if you didn’t think that way…”

“No, no, no! I didn’t mean it like that…! You know I’m not the type to say things in such a manner…! Don’t get me wrong, that really isn’t that…!”

Yennekar acted startled all of a sudden, making a fuss and trying to tell me that wasn’t the case.

“I-It’s just… I’ve always wanted to try something like this.”

“……”

I nodded as Yennekar kept her face downward.

What was so embarrassing that she needed to keep her head down like that while sitting up straight and being quiet?

It wasn’t anything major, and it wasn’t like we would be doing it for very long.

I thought that we would only say a few things to each other before I politely said farewell and she went away. Dex Hall’s curfew was nearing, so it wouldn’t be much longer before she would have to leave.

Yennekar took a few deep breaths, as if she was about to do something important, before suddenly put her arms on her knees and sitting modestly. She cleared her throat.

The heat was starting to well up on her face. She seemed to be rather embarrassed about what she was going to do. Suddenly, when she managed to finally say something, her voice was quiet and barely distinguishable. Seeing her like that now, the gap between her usual bubbly and vivid self was too extreme.

I underestimated the destructive power of her following words.

“Greetings… Ed.”

Was the problem with her head being down like that, as she looked around like she was avoiding me and trying to hide her embarrassment just a little?

In the first place, emotions were contagious. No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem like it would be a big deal. But seeing her twist her body around like that embarrassed all… It was inevitable that I would also start to be affected.

“Ah, yes…”

After saying that, silence.

If anyone were to ask me what there was to be so embarrassed about, I could only tilt my head, unable to answer… Because the reason my voice wasn’t working well wasn’t something one could identify easily.

Above all else, although she had only changed her words slightly, the sense of distance between us and our relationship with each other started to be objectified.

We were friendly with each other and had a special relationship, so I didn’t realize it, but… When we looked back at our relationship after taking a step away from each other, we are acting like completely different people.

Yennekar was always smiling brightly and acting friendly, but from an objective point of view, she wasn’t someone that you could easily approach.

To say that she was beautiful was the least you could do, but in fact that was only a secondary issue.

She was one of the most talented people in school, one that could even handle high-ranking spirits casually. She was easily recognized as being one of the most talented and was bound to do something great after she graduated.

The reason I had forgotten about that fact was because our relationship had become too comfortable, like family. Looking past the fact that she was always acting so friendly, a sudden strange realization came from an unfamiliar feeling that made me aware of just who she was again.

After exchanging only a few words with each other, we had been quiet for nearly three whole minutes.

“I… Uhm…”

Since I had been cooperating with her thus far, maybe she felt that she had to say something else. So, Yennekar tried to raise her voice and…

“N-Nevermind…”

Once again, that small, quiet voice of hers returned as she lowered her head, looking down… I couldn’t help but also be nervous seeing her like that. Although we had talked with each other time and time again, I couldn’t quite understand why Yennekar was suddenly so nervous just because we were speaking politely to each other.

I then started to hold my breath. I didn’t know why, but it felt like we were fighting each other in a game of who could hold their breath the longest.

It would be great if she would just let out a heavy exhale, and laugh bashfully before saying we should end things there… then we would talk about how it was already so late. We would put away the dishes, and she heads back to the dormitory after briefly talking about tomorrow’s schedule…

How long would she hold her breath? That crazy awkward atmosphere between us wasn’t going away.

By the time I realized it, the flow of emotions had already crossed the line. Yennekar’s face was clearly as red as an apple, and she held her knees together with her head lowered.

Yennekar suggested it herself, but she had no idea it would be that difficult. And after trying it out, the emotional gap was so much deeper than she had thought. She had no idea how to fix it now. She was like a novice driver that couldn’t figure out the position of the brake.

So, I decided that it was only right for me to clench my teeth and make the first strike. Then,

“Ahh, look at that! It’s almost curfew.”

Yennekar quickly stood up, kicking the floor and putting on her shawl with the pretty embroidered cosmos on, before picking up her oak wand.

“Ah… Uhm… So…”

Then she chose the worst option: running away. In other words, ‘to keep the situation as it was.’

“Th-Thank you for today. S-See you tomorrow.”

Grasping the wand with both hands, she bowed her head before saying farewell as she quickly ran through the grass.

With that, Yennekar disappeared from sight in an instant.

“……”

A camp with only the sound of the buzzing bugs in the grass.

After sitting alone at the campfire for a while… I wiped my face.

“Talking politely like this… Are we going to continue it…?”

A cold sweat ran down my back.