The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 132

Crack!

A piece of firewood split in half as it rolled across the grass.

I picked up the split firewood as I tossed it towards a nearby pile. The firewood rolled down before it reached the bottom of the pile.

For a while, only the sound of chopping wood echoed through the camp. Thirty minutes later, the occasional chirping of the birds could be heard, as there was no firewood left to chop.

“Phew…”

I sat on an empty tree stump as I took a deep breath.

Spring was coming to an end.

In the early morning air, I could already feel summer’s characteristic heat and humidity rising. Slowly, more and more flying insects would start to come as the sweltering heat only got worse.

I had already experienced living a summer in this forest before.

I still needed to set up an outdoor tent for my outdoor activities. I also wanted to create a space where I could consistently secure cold water.

Besides that, I wanted to renovate the cabin a bit more and finish working on the wand I was planning to give Yennekar… I had a lot more to do than I had thought.

Life had been pretty hectic, but there were still a lot of things left for me to do.

Living in the camp, there were many times that I felt like I was losing my mind from the sheer amount of work I needed to get done. It would build up whenever I got just a little bit careless and lazy.

I grabbed my axe, tossing it over my shoulder as I headed back towards the camp.

***

“I’m surprised to see you looking so good. I’m glad to see that you aren’t in a serious condition.”

Two days had passed since the Joint Combat Practice.

In just a single day, there were so many absurd incidents that occurred. Because of that, the school was probably going to be busy taking care of the aftermath for some time.

Still, at least there were no casualties or major property damage. Though, there was a hole in the ceiling of the school’s cathedral and the stained glass had completely shattered… It’d probably be repaired before the end of the month.

“In the first place, I wasn’t seriously injured. Yennekar had it worse than me.”

“Is that so? Actually, the reason I came was to check on Lady Yennekar today.”

The head maid of Ophelis Hall was never idle.

There wasn’t a single flaw in her elegant posture and clean uniform, even though she must have been busy doing all sorts of work from early that morning. Still, since she didn’t look the slightest bit exhausted, I thought it was very much like Bell Maya.

The basket she was holding contained a few pieces of cut fruit, clean cloths and bed linen, medicinal herbs with antipyretic properties, and a change of clothes.

“I heard rumors that she was very sick. Since you’re taking care of her, I feel a bit more relieved. However, I still couldn’t help but worry, so I came to see her.”

Because Yennekar’s condition was rather bad, she hadn’t gone anywhere to explain anything to anyone yet.

Yennekar also preferred to stay inside the cabin rather than go to the school’s medical room. I wanted to tell her to go and rest in a more comfortable environment, but she refused and said that it would be better to recover in a place she was familiar with.

So, in the end, Yennekar was recovering in the cabin. It wasn’t so severe that she couldn’t move her body, so there weren’t any problems with me checking in on her while I took care of my own business.

After all, it wasn’t an injury that came from a disease. The only cure was time. There was no other choice but to wait for Yennekar’s magic power to recover, little by little.

Maybe it was because of her blurred vision, but I occasionally needed to help her, as she would bump into the furniture or the edge of the door. However, I’m relieved to see that her vision was slowly starting to come back.

“You didn’t have to. If it was too much for me, I would have gone and asked someone for help.”

“Young master Ed. If something like this happens, you should come and find me first.”

Her eyes were still as expressionless as always, but there was a strange glisten to them that looked rather happy.

However, Bell wouldn’t have been happy to just come and check on Yennekar’s condition. Maybe she was happy to finally have the opportunity to do regular old housework.

She preferred doing practical housework like that much more, but because she had been promoted to a higher position, she hadn’t had the chance to do so for a while. Her hands must have been itchy. Her attitude towards her work was quite admirable.

“But… Young master Ed.”

“Yes?”

“‘Is there anything else you are struggling with?’”

I had a puzzled expression on my face as I looked at Bell, putting my hand on my chin and tilting my head.

“Never mind. When you do this kind of work for a while, you start to have these useless speculations. It’s like an occupational disease.”

“Useless speculations?”

“It’s just… The Saint and Lucy have been asking about you these days… And uhm… Well, I don’t think it’ll be good if I talk about it in much detail. For now, it would be better to go and take care of Yennekar.”

I sat by the fireplace, cleaning the fish and shellfish as Bell bowed her head slightly and walked past me.

Before opening the door to Yennekar’s cabin, she suddenly turned around and spoke.

“I’m only saying this just in case, but you must definitely not enter or try to spy on us. I might be wiping off her sweat or changing her clothes, that’s why.”

“Of course…”

“Well, I guess there’s no way that young master Ed would make such a mistake.”

After saying that, Bell opened the door as she entered the cabin.

However, before she completely went inside… she suddenly said one more thing with her upper body halfway outside the door.

“Come to think of it, I wonder if there is even a reason why you shouldn’t be making such a mistake.”

“……?”

“Isn’t this a time of curiosity and passion for you? When else would you have the chance to make such a mistake? Just being a little curious about things like this isn’t a sin worth dying for. So, I think it’ll be fine for you to listen to your inner voice every so often…”

“Stop saying stupid things and go help Yennekar…”

“That’s a shame. Ah, young master Ed.”

Bell’s expression drastically changed just before she closed the door. There was a strangely refreshing feeling from her.

“You just spoke casually to me.”

Her tone of voice, which was pleasant and refreshing, left quite an impression. She looked like a relieved yet ecstatic gladiator that had just won a round.

Slam!

“……”

From inside the cabin, I could hear Yennekar making a fuss. The sound of Yennekar screaming, telling her to ‘lock the door’ and ‘what in the world are you talking about?’ I could also hear Bell ranting, telling her to ‘open the door, because you don’t know how important ventilation is in a patient’s room.’ The two of them fought back and forth for a while.

“Is there anything else you are struggling with?”

I sat still as I swung my dagger in the air.

Looking at the burning campfire, I recalled Bell’s meaningful question.

Bell was the person that managed all of the students living in Ophelis Hall. She probably asked such a question after speculating on things after seeing the reaction of Saint Clarice and Lucy, who were in Ophelis Hall.

Bell herself said that she worried about too many things and dismissed that habit of thinking deeply of others, saying that trying to get involved to help them was a mere weakness of hers. However, being on the receiving end of her kindness, I only felt grateful towards her. In all sorts of ways, Bell had helped me a lot.

“Lady Yennekar! It’s a crime to put a patient in such a dusty environment! At this point, it’d be better for you to go to the school’s medical room! Even if you don’t like it, you don’t have a choice! For now, I will open the door to let in some cool air and ventilate this place! Alright, let’s go!”

“Why are you doing that all of a sudden nooow?!”

I couldn’t help but feel confused hearing the commotion they were making inside.

***

“I-I was wondering… If I can ask you a rather rude question…? If you think I crossed the line, you can stop me with your fist. No, if I end up clearly crossing the line, then… You know, as another man it’s also extremely difficult for me to bring this up and ask you about it. However, I’m just going to tighten my stomach and ask you. Don’t worry, since I’m pretty confident in taking a hit.”

After classes were over, Ziggs came to visit me.

“So, did you do it?”

“……”

“…Heub…!!!”

“……”

“…I-I… Apologize.”

As the cool evening wind blew, I brought Yennekar outside and sat her down to get some fresh air.

Bell, who wiped down Yennekar’s body and changed her clothes, had already left, looking rather exhausted.

It seemed like she was trying to send me some kind of signal earlier, but I didn’t bother trying and making a mistake. I wanted to maintain my good relationship with Yennekar. Plus, I wasn’t _actually a teenage boy, so there was no real desire for me to go and peek at a woman’s body.

Still from the point of Yennekar whose vision was blurry, her ears were bright red as she tried to cover her eyes.

It looked like she wanted to ask if I had peeked at her, but it was difficult to ask me directly, so she was hesitating and blushing. It was certainly a strange feeling, seeing her try to avoid eye contact.

Even though she believed in me, she couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious about it. That being said, if she were to ask me directly, it would seem like she was suspicious of me.

She must have overheated by thinking of such things. I wouldn’t have cared if she were to ask me bluntly, but that overly-kind and considerate response was very much more Yennekar-like.

I was already ready to tell her that I didn’t peek at her, but she was already preoccupied with her own thoughts. However, since she wasn’t asking me about it, the awkward atmosphere wasn’t going away and the strange stalemate between us continued.

From an outsider’s perspective, it would have been hard not to say anything about the situation.

“Actually, I came today under the orders of the student council president. She said she wouldn’t be able to come in person because she’s rather busy, so she sent me instead.”

“Tanya did?”

“Yes. She seems to be worrying a lot about you. Actually, there were some rumors going around Ophelis Hall because the people close to you were acting strangely worried.”

“That’s hilarious. What are they even worrying about? Anyway, thanks for your concern, but I’m really doing fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Ziggs titled his head as he looked at me.

It looked as if he was trying to read my expression. He continued to glare at me for quite some time, but of course he wouldn’t find anything strange there.

In the end, Ziggs only nodded his head as he agreed.

“You must have fallen behind in your camp work, is there anything I can do to help?”

“There’s nothing right now. I’m grateful, but you don’t have to worry about me. You’re already busy with your own work.”

“Hey, I can still take care of my work and lend you a hand. Well, since you said you’re fine, I’ll go and finish my work.”

Ziggs brushed off his clothes as he stood up.

“Ah, that’s right. Das Lortel visited you?”

“Lortel? No, she hasn’t come to the camp.”

“Hmm…”

Ziggs tilted his head at my answer.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, not particularly. She was quite worried about you, so I was just surprised to hear that she hadn’t come to visit you. Even though she was so worried, and her complexion was completely pale, she didn’t come to see you… Well, she must have been busy with her work.”

“Yeah. She is a valuable person, after all.”

“She is, but… Looking at the Elte Company’s recently reported documents, it made me wonder if she really did have that much work to take care of.”

Come to think of it, I had seen her before, when time rewound.

A scene where the Elte Company’s carts filled Mexes Bridge. They were probably wagons filled with supplies that were supposed to be delivered to the Elte Store.

“Well, now that I’m a member of the student council, I can’t help but be curious about what Lortel is doing. Either way, since you said you’re doing good I’ll go ahead and report it. Please take care of yourself.”

“Alright, good work.”

***

After that, I spent the rest of the day taking care of Yennekar until the sun set. It felt like time had passed pretty quickly.

Then, later in the night, the next person to visit me was Clarice.

As I sat down in the middle of cleaning a boar’s carcass by the fireplace, she showed up wearing her robe.

When she took off her hood, she looked like a girl of noble status with brown hair and cute facial features.

However, when she untied the pendant from her neck, her dark hair disappeared and turned into elegant white hair that flowed down.

Looking at her hair shining softly under the moonlight made me realize just why that girl was considered the most elegant and noble girl within the Telos Religious Group.

I quickly tried to throw the blood-stained dagger behind the boar’s corpse and to hide the protruding intestines from her sight by pushing them away with my feet. Though, I ended up doing it rather late.

However, surprisingly Clarice didn’t seem to be surprised or bewildered by the sight. She just actually sat on the tree stump opposite me as if she were relaxing.

“Hello.”

I washed my hands in the stream before I came back and sat across from her. I handed her a mug that was on my workbench. It was an herbal tea that I made with the herbs that Bell had brought over.

The sound of the bugs in the grass rang out through the cool night air. And just like that, the two of us sat still for some time.

Wondering when the silence would break, Clarice finally spoke first.

“Archbishop Verdio has now been officially expelled.”

“I see.”

“And the Holy Father Eldane acknowledged his complacent attitude. He said that he was now seriously thinking about what direction the religious group should head towards due to the changes of time. As he should be doing, Rather than being swayed by the voice of an Archbishop, we should all be moving according to the Holy Father, who rules over the Holy Capital, Karpea.”

“Do you think things will be okay?”

Clarice slowly closed her eyes as she spoke, looking up at the distant starry sky.

“He must have struggled for a long time between his faith and the cause. It’s unfortunate that he spent so much of his later life as a bystander, but this event may become an opportunity for him to turn to a new direction.”

“……”

“So, I’m going to try believing in him just one last time. Holy Father Eldane has always been a devout believer ever since he lived in a monastery in the Lamelin Mountain Range. So, I think it’s too early for me to fall into a pit of distrust.”

Clarice lowered her head as she spoke.

She looked down at a tea leaf floating in her cup. Above her, the bright moonlight poured down as she watched that leaf float back and forth.

“And… Adele…”

Clarice was suddenly unable to speak anymore. And with that, the silence returned for a while.

I continued to sit still, waiting for Clarice to continue speaking. And yet, she remained speechless, looking down at her teacup.

“She died smiling.”

I didn’t try to look at Clarice’s expression.

“I’m certain of one thing, Saint Clarice, you must have been the meaning of her life.”

Adele wasn’t a bard in the first place. The reason she decided to wander across the world and become one was because she didn’t want to lie to Clarice about what she had said. Even if it was after the fact.

Clarice was the reason for Adele’s life, which was without any family, friends, or lovers.

“I don’t know if you know this, but you were her reason for living in a world where she didn’t have any close connections.”

“……”

“So, there’s no need to be too hard on yourself or feel guilty. You did your best.”

After talking, I closed my mouth. Clarice continued to stare down at her teacup for some time… And then she slowly started to shiver.

Beyond the sound of the bugs, I could hear the sound of a girl swallowing her breath.

As I sat in front of her… I continued to stay with her for some time without saying a word.

“It’s going to be summer break soon.”

Clarice stood back up, getting ready to head back. If she were to spend any more time at the camp, the trail back would become too dark.

Though, the trail was already pretty dark. So, I made her a torch by soaking some cloth in oil.

Clarice took the blazing torch as she said her thanks.

“Will you be staying here at the camp over break?”

“I probably will, as there’s nowhere else I can really go.”

“Then I will visit often. Not as Clarice, but rather as Kylie Eckner…”

“That sounds good. I don’t mind at all.”

Clarice looked at the torch for a moment before she asked in a hesitant tone.

“A-And, I have a small request.”

“A request?”

“When I’m not Clarice, but rather Kylie… I was wondering if you could treat me as your underclassman…”

Right now, she was a holy girl with white hair and red eyes, but when she was a regular student she was just a normal aristocrat that went by the name Kylie.

“……”

“Is it a strange request?”

“No. In fact, since there are so many eyes around school, it would be more natural to treat you as my underclassmen. That’s what I planned on doing anyway.”

“Oh, is that so?”

I didn’t know why Clarice looked so satisfied as she smiled softly.

Now that it was time for her to really start heading back, she lowered her voice and said one last thing.

“Actually… I was worried about you, too.”

“You were worried about me?”

“The person that did the most to try and save Adele was none other than you, Ed. Until the very end, it was you…”

I heard that there were a few people worried about me in Ophelis Hall. Clarice was one of them.

There was also Bell and Ziggs. Both of them came by, asking if I was doing alright.

My answer was the same to all of them.

“I’m fine. In fact, I’m not having a hard time at all.”

“That’s a relief…”

“I tried my best, but it didn’t work. If I only let that regret eat at me and suffer on my own, I’ll just run out of time to do what I need to. So, I try to not worry so much.”

Clarice glanced at my face as she nodded. She then squirmed a bit as she awkwardly walked up to me.

Then she buried her face in my shoulder. It was too embarrassing for her to talk while looking at my face.

“Even if others don’t know, I remember everything clearly.”

“……”

“I know how hard you struggled with your teeth clenched, doing your best. Even if everyone else forgot, I will never forget. I will remember it til the day I die.”

With her face buried deep in my shoulder, not lifting it up… I had a hard time reacting.

“There’s not much I can do, but if you ever need it, please ask for my help. I’m not confident, but I’ll do my very best to help you as much as you helped me… I’ll do everything that I can.”

“I’m grateful for the thought. It’s almost curfew, so you should head back.”

Clarice raised her head, which was buried deeply in my shoulder… she forced a smile.

And then she laughed as hard as she could.

***

Thank.

After meeting with Clarice, I sat by myself on a tree stump by the campfire.

I was grateful for each of them personally coming to visit me because they were worried. Everyone seemed to be worried that I might be hurting.

I shook my head, telling them there was nothing to worry about. Over and over, I told them that I was doing fine. There was nothing good that came from worrying them, or from showing a weak side of myself.

What I needed to do was add firewood to keep the campfire going as long as possible. I also needed to cook the meat that I had trimmed.

While picking up a good amount of firewood and throwing it in, I tried to take in the early summer night air through my mouth.

Then, a heavy feeling of weight fell on my back.

There was no need to look back.

I could feel the blood running down my spine.

A girl had leaned her back against mine as she sat on the tree stump. The bard that I had seen a few times before.

With a soft smile on her face, her life came to an end. And now, she was quietly leaning against my back. I tried to use more strength to carry the weight that was pushing down on my body while I picked up a few more piles of firewood, throwing them in.

According to the original timeline, she was a girl that should have died anyway.

The only reason I tried to save her was because I couldn’t leave a person that was about to die all on their own.

If I had to give a reason for not saving her, I could name several.

In the last regression, it was a race against time. I was busy trying to move far away as fast as I possibly could. I didn’t have the time to waste taking care of Adele first.

Clarice must have had no idea where Adele was. It was a fact that I was the only one capable of knowing that Adele’s starting point was in the hallway of Glockt Hall. But because of the pressure of time, I couldn’t even tell anyone of it in advance.

In the first place, it was impossible to expect that Adele’s strength and vitality would hold up in the final regression. Since she told me she could probably do it at least one more time, I had just assumed that she would be heading to the school’s cathedral like she always did. That was because she had continuously done that dozens of times before.

However, I was also aware that all of those reasons I was thinking of were just a self-defense mechanism.

Whatever the case, Adele Cerise had died. Even if she met her death with a smile on her face, the fact that she died didn’t change.

I didn’t have a particularly special relationship with her. The only reason I tried to save her was because of my weak conscience. That was the case, but still…

I had tried to save her. But the fact was, I couldn’t do it.

Dealing with the weight pushing down on my back, I continued to throw piles of firewood in for some time.

“Ed.”

Suddenly, I shook my head, hearing my name being called.

“You put too many in.”

When I looked at the campfire, there was already a lot of firewood piled up, being burnt.

Beyond the flames, Yennekar was sitting at the edge of the campfire.

It must have been difficult for her to move by herself with her blurry vision. She was probably able to do it because the camp structure was already engraved in her head to some extent.

“Ed.”

Yennekar softly called my name.

“It’s okay.”

“Yeah.”

As I used the poker on the fire, I looked up at the flames.

“Still, it’s an experience I never want to have to go through again. Never again.”

“Yeah.”

Then, I remembered… the time that I spent next to Yennekar, looking up at the sky from the half-destroyed Nail Hall.

Back then, it was early summer.

The Joint Combat Practice ended, and it was summer break.

There was still a lot of work to be done.

Yennekar didn’t try to hastily comfort me, nor did she try to give words of encouragement.

Looking up at the flickering lights, she sat with me until the long night’s darkness passed.