The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 123

The commercial and education districts at Silvenia Academy were full of all sorts of facilities. But among them, if you were to choose the one that was the most common, it would be ‘the square.’

The central square in the education district, the student square, the eastern square, the commercial district’s main square, the squares for each dormitory, the market street’s square, and the entrance square.

From grand, massive squares to simple and small squares. The reason the space was so common throughout the campus was to ensure that students had as many places to rest as possible.

As if taking advantage of that, there were quite a lot of students that sat out in the square—as if they were performing photosynthesis—and enjoyed the scent of late spring. Even the faculty and staff, merchants from the commercial district, and outsiders enjoyed the peaceful day as they walked through the squares.

The entrance square was like the face of the school, which you saw as soon as you passed over Mexes bridge and passed through the main gates of Silvenia.

Ed and Clarice crossed over the middle of the square. Ed was holding onto Clarice’s hand as if he were dragging her along. Naturally, everyone’s eyes were gathered towards him.

“Ed. Right now… We shouldn’t… Be doing this…!”

The two knights that were guarding Clarice were in an awkward situation as they tried to dissuade Ed. They weren’t allowed to use any force, as the moment they drew their swords, Clarice grew as angry as a fire.

Since they couldn’t use any force, they had to stand still while watching Clarice look uncomfortable.

At the moment, the job the two knights had was to take Clarice to Trix Hall. They didn’t know Ed’s intentions, but at least for now he was stopping her from driving the carriage out of the school… Because of that, they decided to watch the situation for the time being.

Though, that didn’t mean Ed was doing anything all that grand or special.

He had dragged Clarice out and sat her down at a sunny wooden table next to a tree, near the road. He then put down the drinks he had bought from the student snack bar as he sat across from her, wiping his face a few times.

The situation was sudden and bewildering for Ed, too. The information he had on him right now was limited.

Clarice suddenly claimed that she had repeatedly gone back in time. All of a sudden, she called out his military number from that past… saying that once the Joint Combat Practice ended the Holy Blue Dragon would resurrect and destroy Acken Island.

Since she did that much, he had no choice but to believe that everything the Saint was saying was true.

Needless to say, Clarice’s behavior was very strange. Suddenly finding Ed in front of Glockt Hall, grabbing his arm, and pushing him into the carriage, then heading out of the school and claiming they needed to run away.

Unless she hurt her head, she wouldn’t be neglecting her duties and acting eccentric like that.

“Right now… there’s no time for us to rest, Ed. At this rate… you will die again… This time, we have to cross the bridge and run away along the shoreline… If we head straight towards the mainland, running alongside the coast, we might be able to find a sturdier and more remote hideout… Though, the chances are slim… Still, if there’s at least something like a coastal cave, then…”

“Saint.”

As Ed called out her title softly, Clarice swallowed her breath as if she had come to her senses. Ed then spoke.

“Please calm down. First, how about you take a deep breath?”

“There’s no time for that…! Now… I don’t want to watch you die any longer… It’s so painful… every time… watching you die protecting me… I just… want to stop seeing you die… So, we have to quickly get going… Once it starts, Mexes Bridge will be blocked…! So, if we don’t go now…”

“It’s going to be alright.”

“It’s not going to be alright…! If you don’t move now, then you’re going to die painfully…! And… It’s going to be terrible…! I don’t want it to happen either…! This time… Ed… It’d be great if you can survive…”

“I told you that it will be alright.”

After saying all she had to say, Clarice’s eyes flickered as if the light behind them had returned.

Then she looked towards Ed.

He wasn’t moving one bit. In fact, he stood completely still, saying that it would be alright… Only then did Clarice get a grip of herself.

“…Ed…”

From the moment she met with Ed in front of Glockt Hall, until the end of the Joint Combat Practice.

How many times had she struggled to find a solution in that short amount of time?

It would be hard to understand from Ed’s point of view. He could only infer what it was like from the scratches on the Saint’s body.

“I… Don’t know anymore…”

Clarice lowered her head as tears flowed again. At that point, her tear glands were drying up. However, her emotions were relentless as they continued to shake her composure.

“I did everything I could think of. I’ve tried to forcefully drag you away, run away like this, hide here and there. I tried everything… I really did… I’ve tried every miniscule hope and subtle possibility there was, but nothing ever worked… Not a single thing…”

Clarice spoke as she wiped away her tears.

Students passed the square, watching the strange sight from afar as they whispered to each other. The soldiers guarding her also had no idea what type of situation it was, so they couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat while worrying about such an awkward situation.

Ed, who was looking at the frustrated Saint… quietly stood up before sitting down next to her. He grabbed her arm as he took out some ointment that he had bought from the snack shop, then swished it around.

“Ed?”

“First off, the Saint’s body is unconditionally always with the highest priority. It would be a major incident if your wounds weren’t to heal.”

By the time Ed had brought Clarice to the square, he had already finished thinking it through.

From Ed’s point of view, the information he had was certainly minimal. Though, he was at least able to grasp the situation to some extent.

First off, it was a strange sight to see all of those scratches on the Saint’s body. There was no way that the Saint, who had dressed up to see the Holy Father, would go to Trix Hall with her body in such a condition.

“The Holy Blessing that you wear is a power that should protect your body from any attacks that are hostile to you or meant to ‘harm you.’ I also heard that you, as someone that has received a blessing from the God Telos, are resistant to all kinds of Sacred Magic.”

Archbishop Verdio, who was always able to read another’s heart like a mind-reader. It was said that he used a Sacred Magic that allowed him to look through another’s thoughts, but that was also the reason it didn’t work against the Saint.

Those that became the Saint became resistant to all types of Sacred Magic. In the first place, when using the Sacred Magic of the religious group, the act of trying to harm the Saint—who was at the top of the group—was an impossible act.

“Then… Do you know the meaning behind your wounds…?”

“These wounds… Their meaning…?”

Now the Saint was caught up in a dead end.

She had tried any means she could, but had become frustrated at the fact that she could never escape from The Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok.

If that was the case, then the only thing Ed had to do was teach the Saint a new path to take.

“In the first place, the phenomenon of time being rewound is something that must have been created through Holy Magic. That’s why, as someone that has received the Holy Blessing, you have never lost your memories. It’s also why the wounds on your body aren’t rewound.”

“……”

“Ultimately, if you’re trying to find the culprit behind this incident, you could say that it’s someone within the religious group that is capable of using Sacred Magic.

“That’s… true, but…”

It wasn’t that Clarice didn’t consider that possibility.

In the first place, the person that had recognized the magic circle in the sky, realizing that it was one made of Sacred Magic and Celestial Magic, was Ed.

However, no matter how hard she searched she could never find the Holy Father or the Archbishop. The same went for the Magic Circle that rose up from the alleyways in the education district. Even if she went there a hundred times, she would only see the students running in fear.

Maybe if she were to search through every building, room, and corner in Silvenia… But if she were to do that during the short amount of time before the Joint Combat Practice ended… She couldn’t even guess just how many times she’d have to endure that hell. Silvenia Academy was much too massive.

Plus, if the two of them had decided to hide, then there was a high chance the Saint would unnecessarily wear herself out, unable to find them for hundreds of days. If that really was the case, then it was another dead end.

“That’s… true… The Holy Father and Archbishop must have entered Silvenia through Mexes Bridge, so the path they took has to be limited to around the surrounding area.”

“Yes, that’s right. However, seeing as you can’t easily find him, there’s a high chance he may have disguised himself, used magic to hide his actions, or taken a path that is unknown to others. For now, the place where the Holy Father’s carriage stopped… It would be easier to investigate from the carriage storage near the front gate.”

“Then, why would he do such things to hide his actions from others?”

“Looking at it, wouldn’t there be a definite reason?”

After all the talking, Clarice’s wounds were now covered in the ointment.

Ed gently patted her arm before he tossed the rest of the ointment onto the table.

When Clarice came to her senses, her trembling voice had subsided, and her tears were gone.

Then she realized it. The fact that Ed had noticed that Clarice was stuck at a dead end and was on the verge of collapsing.

It was like someone banging their head on the wall after they were trapped at a dead end over and over again.

“Do you see a new direction to take now?”

Ed was making a guess to some extent.

If Clarice really was repeating that moment in time, it would be that empty storyline that remained unknown in Act 3 of .

It had to be a part of the original storyline.However, unlike the previous events, Ed didn’t know the full truth behind it.

However, he did know the results.

The Primordial Swordsman sealed Genesis, the Holy Blue Dragon. And the Great Sage of Silveria maintained the seal.

Breaking the seal, which was a massive magic circle underneath Acken Island, wouldn’t be an easy task to do—even for an Archmage. No, most people didn’t even know of the seal’s existence in the first place.

In , there was no event about resurrecting the Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok during Act 3.

The Holy Blue Dragon Velbrok was the very final boss.

It shouldn’t have appeared yet, and even if it did there wasn’t a way to stop it.

In fact, it was only defeated in the very final part of the storyline of the game. So, if the Saint were to subdue it or even manage to kill it here, that wouldn’t match the storyline.

So… that meant there was only one possibility left. Preventing the resurrection from happening in the first place. Going back in time, to a point where it never even happened.

That was why there was only one suggestion Ed wanted to make to the Saint.

“Running away isn’t the answer. You have to find the root cause of the problem and get rid of it.”

He understood. It was a mythical dragon that ripped the island in half and tore a hole through the sky. It was a monster that could turn the entire island into hell with just a few attacks.

Should a regular person encounter such a monster, the only thing they would think of would be running away. All humans were the same in the face of a great disaster.

But right now, it wouldn’t work if that was all she did. He had to remind her of that.

“Even if we succeed in escaping, if time were to rewind again… wouldn’t things just go back to the way they were…? So, what would be the point of that?”

“I know that… But… I don’t know what to do… The only thing I can do… is run away…”

“Calm down, get a firm grip on yourself. You’re too exhausted right now. Saint, you’ve done a good job doing this much so far.”

Clarice looked exhausted. As Ed patted her back, he spoke softly.

Clarice swallowed her breath as she fell back into his arms.

From Ed’s point of view, it was extremely embarrassing. From the point of view of the people and escorts watching them, it was a ridiculous thing to witness. However, Ed slowly scratched his hair, trying to hide his embarrassment as much as he could.

“In the first place, how many times has time rewound?”

“I don’t know… I was definitely counting at first, but… After doing it more than ten times, I just… forgot…”

“You’ve gone through a lot.”

Clarice sniffled as she buried her head in Ed’s chest, standing still for a while.

***

There were people that you could turn to for help. Ed definitely said that.

Clarice wondered about the situation—just how helpful would the people she could ask for help be…? But Ed had already given her some meaningful words already.

“Listen well, Saint. In the end, the main goal is to find the Holy Father and the Archbishop. Once you find them both, before you can make any further progress, you’ll have to figure out the truth behind the time rewinding Sacred Magic. That’s because right now, in this school, they are the only two that are capable of using such a level of Sacred Magic.”

Clarice wrapped her left arm around Ed’s right tightly, holding him close. It looked as if she were afraid that Ed would disappear.

From Ed’s point of view, the skinship was much too close. However, considering the mental hardship the Saint was going through, he couldn’t push her away.

“I’ve tried looking for them a few times… However, I’ve never heard anything about the Holy Father or Archbishop. How are the actions of such high-ranking people so hidden? There should have been many eyes and ears focused on them.”

The gazes of the people around them were getting heavier. The sight of Saint Clarice holding onto Ed was one that was difficult to determine if it were a dream or reality.

For Clarice, he was a classmate that had saved her life countless times, dying in the process. But for the other students, it looked like they had only become close in a single day. Though, that was actually the case… So, Ed was having a hard time.

Ed headed to the student center in a cold sweat.

The place Ed was walking to was Nail Hall, the place where the first and second year students were having their Joint Combat Practice.

“Saint… You have to slowly start letting go of me… It’s fine when we’re outside, but… In the arena, where all the students are gathered, we won’t be able to enter like this…”

Ed tried to persuade her, but Clarice shook her head with a sad expression on her face.

In the first place, Clarice and Ed’s relationship would go back to how it was in the beginning after things were resolved. From Clarice’s point of view, she wanted to indulge herself and stay close to him for the time being.

She had to get ahold of herself and become strong. But for now, while she had the time, she couldn’t help but want to stick close to Ed.

Once the Joint Combat Practice was over, he would somehow die trying to protect Clarice again.

“……..”

Ed swept his hand over his face one time, then he hardened his heart and stepped through the arena door of Nail Hall.

Clang! Boooom!

Whoosh, Hwaaaaaak!

Act 3, Chapter 5. The Joint Combat Practice was in full swing. In the arena, Wade and Taylee were exchanging blows.

Wade swung his sword to try and defend against Taylee’s sword attack in some way, but Taylee, who was steadily getting stronger, didn’t let him.

Though Wade’s defense wasn’t all that bad, eventually Taylee decided to use the beginner Swordmaster’s Skill, and Wade lost his will to fight as he dropped his sword.

Ed could easily predict what was going to happen afterwards.

The next opponent would probably be the top student of the Alchemy Department, Claude.

He would pressure Taylee using all sorts of hallucinogenic reagents and beginner magics, though he would ultimately be defeated.

Unable to overcome his competitive desires, he would end up drinking a forbidden reagent. Those events were still taking place just as Ed had expected.

However, Ed’s goal wasn’t to watch the duels.

As Nail Hall was relatively large, that also meant there was a large number of spectators there. Since they were by the door, which was only slightly open, they didn’t attract much attention. Only a few students, who were also near the entrance, were looking towards them. But when they saw the Saint clinging onto Ed, unwilling to let go, they were in shock and their jaws dropped.

Either way, time would rewind. Ed convinced himself of that as he gritted his teeth and ignored their gazes.

He walked through the group of students that were busy watching the duel before finally finding a student that was watching in the opposite corner with her back against the wall. A girl wearing a dark red school uniform overcoat and a robe. A second-year student and one in A class, at that. She was someone that probably already had a lot of fighting experience.

Ed stood next to her as he looked up at the arena stage, speaking quietly.

“Sell me some information.”

In response to his voice, the girl raised her eyes for a moment with a strange look of surprise.

In the first place, Ed wasn’t someone that would have normally been there. He should have been at Glockt Hall in his own combat practice. There wasn’t any reason for him to suddenly appear at Nail Hall, where the first and second years were dueling.

“Oh my.”

However, the girl didn’t ask for details. She simply continued to look at the arena stage while standing next to him, playing with her reddish-brown braid.

“It’s nice to see you here. Is this a new way for me to make money?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

That girl—Lortel Kehelland—always smiled like a fox.

Even though he showed up so suddenly, she didn’t panic. That thorough rationality of hers never disappeared, regardless of what unusual events took place.

The young merchant, who only worked in the dark, looked rather feeble. However, if you were to look into the truth, you would learn she had the entirety of Silvenia’s commercial district in her pocket… She was one that held strength under the water.

All the information that went through the commercial district went through the Elte Company.

And all the information that went through the Elte Company went through the ears of the deputy director of the business, Lortel Kehelland.

‘Saint… People from the other side of Mexes Bridge came to do an inspection now. They said that right now, trade goods from the Elte Company are currently crossing over the bridge. Things are quite chaotic because of the wagons holding merchandise, as well as all the mercenary escorts, so they’re asking you to wait for a while.’

When they came back to the Student Hall from Mexes Bridge, Ed saw the Elte Company’s distribution procession taking place over the bridge. Considering how crowded it was, it wasn’t something that would be finished in just an hour or two.

In the first place, didn’t they say that the Holy Father and the Archbishop had also come through Mexes Bridge? The reason the procession was delayed was probably because they had to stop work on the road as the two distinguished guests passed the bridge.

That meant… The numerous merchants from the Elte Company must have seen the Holy Father travel with their own two eyes.

Not only that, but the staff that worked at the carriage storage, who must have been in charge of the Holy Father’s carriage as well, were also members of the commercial district. So, no matter where they went in the commercial district, they shouldn’t have been able to avoid the eyes of the merchants.

The entirety of the commercial district was Lortel Kehelland’s. As long as she was alive, not even a single gold coin rolling on the floor could escape her watch.

That was why he had asked her directly. There was no way to find out which way the Holy Father had gone faster than asking her.

So… Ed was willing to give Lortel whatever she asked for. After all, time would be rewound.

“I have someone I need to find urgently. We need to find them before the Joint Combat Practice finishes, at least. I’ll give you however much money you ask for.”

“What…? It’s a bit sudden, but…”

Lortel turned, looking away from the arena as she slowly stood up and turned her head towards Ed.

Although it was a rather sudden request, she still looked quite relaxed. Yes, Lortel Kehelland had a strong volition that was capable of maintaining her composure in any given situation, but…

“…Huh?”

Seeing the Saint hold onto Ed’s arm tightly while looking at him with that bright look in her eyes… She couldn’t help but lose her breath.

Even after wiping her eyes and looking at her again, it really was the same Saint Clarice that was at the top and respected by all the followers of the Telos Religious Group.

“……?????”

No matter how cool-headed she was or great her insight was, it was still difficult for her to ever predict such a sight.

Ed knew that fact, too, as he wiped his face a few times… He waited a bit for Lortel to process the situation that was taking place right before her eyes.