The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 171

“Lucy Mayreel.”

About a week before school started, Princess Penia invited Lucy to her private rooms.

“It’s about time… for you to go back to school…”

In the center of the empire’s capital, Kroelon, the Kroel Imperial Palace reached all the way up to the sky.

There were a total of eleven palaces and twenty-one annexes, all centered around the central spire. Looking down from the sky, it would feel as if a large village were located there in the capital.

Among them, the Rose Palace—which was located northeast of the central spire—was primarily used as a living space for the royal family.

The marble building, located on the outermost edge of the Rose Palace, was the reception room built exclusively for Princess Penia… Inside of it, Lucy Mayreel sat, tired.

Anyone would be astonished to see her lying lazily on her back in that room.

It was Princess Penia’s private reception room within the Rose Palace, which was considered the most luxurious and refined place in the entire royal palace.

Even the highest advisors inside the royal palace would lower their eyes when they entered that room. Yet there Lucy Mayreel was, lying on the sofa with a sleepy look in her eyes.

At first, people were startled by her actions. However, as Lucy Mayreel continued to stay in the imperial palace for a long time, everyone slowly got used to it.

In the first place, she was always that kind of person.

Rather than fitting into her surroundings, she was a person that made the people around her fit her.

She was a person with enough power and skill to do that.

“……”

Lucy looked at Princess Penia, who was sitting opposite her, with blank eyes.

From Princess Penia’s position, it felt as if she were sitting at the negotiating table with the fate of the imperial family in her hands.

Since she was attending Silvenia Academy with Lucy Mayreel, weren’t they somewhat acquainted already?

The imperial palace hoped that Princess Penia would be able to persuade Lucy and send her back.

“It’s already been a few days since you caused that chaos at the imperial meeting.”

“…Is that so…? Time sure flies…”

It had been an imperial meeting to discuss what they should do with House Rothstaylor.

Selah’s opinion was that they should get rid of the members of House Rothstaylor, and that both Tanya and Ed should be brought to the imperial court to discuss the incident and be held accountable.

Penia’s opinion was that the members of House Rothstaylor should be held on standby for the time being. As they already had Tanya and Lucy representing the incident, they should leave Ed Rothstaylor alone for now.

Persica’s opinion was that House Rothstaylor should be stripped of its title and only those with abilities should be kept. She also thought that Ed Rothstaylor should be detained until the situation came to an end.

Selah, who was hostile, Penia, who was friendly, and Persica, who was relatively neutral to House Rothstaylor. The three of them were at odds. At that moment, Lucy broke into the conference hall.

With all of the entrances closed off with advanced light and elemental magic, she sat down at the conference table in front of the emperor, looking down on everyone else with cold eyes. Seeing her threaten everyone with her enormous amount of magic power, Princess Penia was dumbfounded.

She was a hero who had gotten rid of Mebula herself and saved the lives of dozens of high-ranking nobles… yet she looked so gruesome.

She didn’t like that the flow of the meeting was moving towards arresting Ed Rothstaylor.

That was how Lucy ended up committing a crime, one where it wouldn’t even be strange if she were sentenced to death over it. She somehow managed to avoid it thanks to the fact that she had accumulated a large number of great deeds at Rothstaylor Mansion.

It was no easy feat to throw away all of the praise she received in an instant, yet she definitely went ahead and did that.

“Actually… It doesn’t matter if I don’t graduate…”

The only reason Lucy Mayreel attended Silvenia Academy was because of Glockt Elderbane’s wishes.

He asked her to help deal with the crisis that would one day befall Silvenia. However, he also wanted Lucy to grow up while enjoying school life.

Though, that wasn’t happening.

“Still… You’ve already been attending for two years. It would be a waste of the time you spent there, so shouldn’t you just go ahead and graduate?”

“Hmm…”

“Don’t you want to go back to that cabin in the camp already? I’m sure the imperial palace is comfortable, but still, you spent most of your time back at the camp.”

Lucy nodded her head as she listened to Penia. Thinking of it, it’d been a while since she had last seen Ed Rothstaylor.

In fact, since she had been flung into a fit of anger, she had forgotten. Either way, she would eventually have to go back to Acken Island.

“I also have to go back to Acken Island before the start of term, so let’s go together. It’ll be more comfortable to ride with me back to school in a well-equipped imperial carriage.”

Hearing what Penia was saying, Lucy had no reason to shake her head.

She had ridden in Selah’s carriage to the imperial palace, but when she returned to Acken Island, she would have to ride back in an uncomfortable private carriage.

Since she was going to have to travel a long distance regardless, it was better to ride in the comfortable imperial carriage.

“Then… Should I do that…?”

Lucy spoke as if she agreed to the offer.

As Princess Penia heard that, she nodded her head and looked at the servant next to her. The servant then walked outside as they reported the news to a group of other servants waiting outside.

“The Archmage said she is returning to school!”

“Finally! She’s finally leaving!”

“Hurray! Hurray!”

“We are finally going back to our daily lives!”

“Princess Penia! It was all thanks to Princess Penia!”

Because Lucy—who was brought to the palace by Selah—gave the servants a hard time whenever she could, they all started shouting in joy.

Their shouts could be heard all the way inside Princess Penia’s reception room. Though, Lucy didn’t look as if she cared as she lay on the sofa lazily.

Penia took a deep breath. She felt relieved, as if she had finally solved one thing.

Penia, who had arrived at the imperial palace quickly… had managed to regain her loss of power to some extent.

Most people were still on Princess Selah’s side. However, it felt as if some of the workers in the palace, including the middle managers—especially those within House Rothstaylor, who were close to losing their positions—were on Princess Penia’s side.

Still, it would be difficult for her to face Princess Selah’s power head-on… Right now, the amount of power Princess Penia possessed wasn’t enough to threaten her.

“But…”

The sudden question she brought up was her considering whether continuing to attend Silvenia Academy was the correct choice or not.

In the first place, the reason Princess Penia attended Silvenia was because she had no desire for the throne.

However, if she started to confront Princess Selah head-on, then aiming for the throne became an inevitable goal.

If that happened, moving away from the imperial palace and staying on Acken Island would become a major weakness.

Nevertheless, Princess Penia decided to head back to Acken Island for now.

Right now, she needed to take Lucy back to Acken Island, and she wanted to meet with Ed Rothstaylor to check on his condition.

“Perhaps… This could be my last semester at Silvenia.”

Suddenly having such a thought, Princess Penia felt a strange feeling inside of her.

* * *

“Finally! She’s finally leaving!”

“Hurray! Hurray!”

“We are finally going back to our daily lives!”

From outside the window, the voices of the servants shouting could be heard.

“Ed Rothstaylor.”

Princess Persica’s office was located among the private offices within the Rose Palace.

In the second princess’s office, there were an unreasonable number of books piled up. You could barely see the floor and walls of the office.

A girl sat among the piles of books as she scratched her chin, thinking deeply.

After Prince Lindon gave up on the throne, there weren’t any significant variables in the competition for the throne within the family.

However, seeing Princess Penia and Selah argue over what to do with Ed Rothstaylor… It seemed that they were both holding a key that Princess Persica didn’t know about.

That wasn’t good… There must be a reason why the other two princesses were so obsessed with him. She couldn’t even guess the reason, she was so out of the loop from them.

Even Lucy Mayreel, the number one contributor to the resolution of the incident, was openly defending him. No matter how she looked at it, he was an unusual man. A variable that should not be taken lightly.

It seemed that she needed to learn more about that man. Being left behind didn’t suit Persica’s temper.

However, it was extremely difficult for her to meet with him in person. It seemed that he was currently living on Acken Island, which was located on the southwestern tip of the continent. The physical distance between them was too great.

Normally, it wouldn’t be unheard of for a princess to use her authority to summon someone. However, at that point, the decision on whether he would appear in the imperial court or not had become a major political issue. It wasn’t going to be an easy task to summon him alone.

With the situation like that, she had no choice but to personally go and see him on Acken Island. However, it would be too politically obvious if Princess Persica were to travel there all of a sudden.

Selah and Penia were constantly watching and being wary of Persica. There was a high possibility that Ed Rothstaylor would be wary as well.

Princess Penia was originally a student at Silvenia, so it wasn’t all that strange for her to return to Acken Island. Persica was an outsider.

“Right now… There’s no justification to forcefully meet with him.”

Persica fell into anguish, looking through all kinds of history books that were piled up to the side.

The former heir to the Rothstaylor family, and a man who was once famous for being a fool. Though, recently his reputation had begun to recover.

However, since she had never met him in person, Persica felt as if Ed Rothstaylor’s entire existence was hidden mysteriously under a veil.

Either way, she thought that she needed to remain particularly conscious of his existence. In some ways, it seemed like he would greatly influence the competition for the throne.

As such, Ed Rothstaylor was slowly becoming a major factor that the three princesses were contending for.

* * *

“Are you expanding the camp?”

“For now, I only want to make it a little more decent. Most of it I’ll take care of myself, but there are definitely some parts that are going to require a helping hand.”

“Hmm…”

The next day, Lortel returned with a different impression than expected. Though, it wasn’t a dramatic change.

Her foxlike eyes and cunning appearance were still there, but her reddish-brown hair, which was tied to one side, seemed slightly longer than before.

Was she consciously growing her hair out, or was the hair that came down her back just fluffier than before…? Either way, rather than the clean and precise feeling she gave off before, she felt a bit warmer.

As a merchant who even used her appearance as a weapon, I thought that there was likely a reason for the change.

“Of course, I’m not saying that I want your help for free. Since I am now the top student, I have a lot of leftover money from my tuition. So, I’m planning on investing that money into the camp.”

I felt that it probably wouldn’t be polite to talk about business with Lortel, as she had just returned. At the same time, I felt as if Lortel actually preferred to talk about money and business. She had always been that type of girl.

“Well, we can use a spare carriage to help procure the materials. It’s not like you’re going to be building a large building, so the construction of the cabin should be finished quickly. It won’t cost all that much.”

Lortel’s personal belongings, which were brought over by the store’s employees, were piled up near the bonfire.

The wooden house Lortel built wasn’t big enough to call it a villa for the wealthy. That was because Lortel was well aware that building a large villa by herself would make it feel out of place.

Lortel’s Villa, which fit perfectly on one side of the camp, had been cleaned by Bell Maya the day before.

I took a sneak peek inside. The space inside was a little bigger than my cabin, and there was clean furniture inside as well.

It wasn’t all that luxurious, but it felt like it had everything.

“If you are going to make a second floor… Do you plan on putting your personal workshop on the second floor as well?”

“You really are sharp.”

“While we’re building it, should I go ahead and add a room for me as well?”

“……”

I didn’t bother answering as Lortel smiled bewitchingly.

“I guess you can’t take a joke. Anyway, it won’t cost that much, so the store will go ahead and take care of it.”

“No, you should take my money.”

“What?”

After thinking for a bit, I finally handed Lortel a leather pouch with some gold coins inside of it.

“Oh my, I didn’t realize you would be paying me so casually like that. Weren’t you trying to save as much as you could?”

“I feel like I keep owing you more and more, so I’m planning to pay you back in any way that I can.”

As if not expecting me to say such a thing, Lortel looked at me for a moment with a puzzled expression on her face.

After a while, she quickly fixed her expression and smiled as if she knew what I was thinking.

“If you keep giving me favors, I’m going to start taking it for granted. If you aren’t careful, people will quickly start to look down on you.”

“Oh, my. You’re right, but… I’m not sure.”

Lortel then smiled brightly. I had no idea she could make such an expression.

“I’m still not going to take your money.”

“……?”

“If I did, wouldn’t it feel like we’re drawing a line because of a business relationship? People who are close usually borrow a small amount from each other without expecting them to pay it back.”

“Did you, of all people, really just say that…?”

Wasn’t she a demon that carefully calculated every single cent and chased after those that owed her until they reached hell?

In fact, I heard that the recovery rate of Lortel’s loans in the Commercial District exceeded that of 90%. In other words, unless there were unavoidable circumstances or a natural disaster, she would make sure to get it all back.

“Take it.”

“It’s fine. I don’t need the money.”

“I said take it.”

“I won’t take it.”

We continued to argue with each other for a while. It felt as if something about her really had changed.

Wasn’t Lortel someone who used to always ask for money in return?

I even heard stories about how she demanded Silvenia pay her back and argued all the way to the penny during negotiations about deliveries… It was strange that such a girl didn’t want to take my money.

“Ed… The world isn’t all about money…”

“Is that something you should say?”

“One’s heart is more beautiful than money. How could someone try to evaluate others’ favor with money? It’s not a good habit to put a price on everything.”

Unfortunately, putting a price on everything was Lortel’s specialty.

“To be honest, I want this debt to be placed on your heart, Ed.”

“What does that even mean?”

“If I treat you favorably and don’t take your money, even when you open your wallet so casually like that… Then you’ll feel a debt in your heart, right?”

Lortel sat on the other side of the campfire. Just how many tricks and hidden schemes did she go through while spending her break at Oldek?

Seeing her look even more like a fox, I let out a gasp as I nearly bit my tongue.

“To me, that’s more valuable. And it’s the habit of those who live in the world of business to invest in the more valuable things.”

“…What happened in Oldek?””

“……”

Without beating around the bush, I bluntly asked her about it.

It seemed that regardless of how good Lortel was at speaking, she didn’t expect me to say something that would stab her so deeply… She was completely speechless for a moment.

Lortel sat across from me at the campfire as she stiffened for a moment. She then smiled casually again.

“It’s not good to surprise me like that, Ed.”

“I’m just asking.”

“I can’t say. Something may have happened, or maybe nothing happened at all. To me, I was just doing my regular work.”

Lortel gently lowered her hood. Only then did I see all of Lortel’s hair.

The hair that gently flowed down the back of her neck looked even fuller… It made Lortel look much more mature.

“While I was away, people that were supposed to be my close aides filled their back pockets.”

“Are you saying you’ve been betrayed?”

“Actually, it’s a bit too dramatic to say I was betrayed. In the first place, this is a place that’s full of people who are desperate to get their own share and run away, even if it means selling an eye. That fact is also true for those I thought were my close aides.”

Lortel raised one hand as she rubbed her thumb and index finger, continuing to speak.

“No matter where I am, if I leave my seat for a period of time, this type of thing happens. Embezzlement, information leakage, damage to goods, spies… When I went back to Oldek for the first time in a long time, the company was in quite a bit of chaos… Though, I managed to fix things quite a bit.”

“Is that why you felt bad? Because your employees stabbed you in the back?”

“No way. Do I look like someone who would feel bad because of something like that?”

There was definitely no sadness hidden behind Lortel’s smile.

However, that didn’t mean she was fine.

Constantly getting betrayed and harassed, she had come to think of it as normal.

“Everyone is just trying to take just a bit more to survive. I also used to do that quite a bit before I took my seat.”

“……”

“It’s just been a while since I’ve gone back to Oldek and seen such a thing… I just felt as if many people were trying to harm me there. But at the very least, here on Acken Island… How should I say it? There is this unique romance in the air.”

The scenery of students gathering at Silvenia Academy to study… It certainly made those who were harmful and stubborn relax.

While you were there, it was definitely not easy to maintain that grit you once had. People were more influenced by their environment than they realized.

“I told you, we are the same. Coming back after a long time and seeing your face, I’m reminded of that thought again… I guess I’ve become somewhat emotional.”

“You’re now emotional? In what way?”

“I’m not sure. It’s just…”

Lortel started to quiet down at the end. I wasn’t sure what she was trying to say.

No, it felt a little different than that.

The reason Lortel was strangely hesitant was because she was still reluctant to expose her weaknesses truthfully.

She lived in a world where it was common sense to take advantage of those who exposed their weaknesses.

However, did she only stop herself temporarily?

I watched her wrap her arms around her knees as she spoke self-deprecatingly.

“I have a strange desire to give and receive unconditional favors.”

A cold-blooded person who was desperate to steal everyone’s money, even if it was just a single penny.

It was a rather harsh evaluation for a girl, but the people in the commercial district all looked at Lortel like that.

However, she shook her head, refusing to accept even a single penny of my money. If you were to find the reason for her actions, ultimately it would be related to her lonely life.

“Well, it’s not the first time I’ve spoken about it… So, there’s no reason for me to be so shy.”

“If you keep acting like that, people will treat you as a pushover.”

“Who will? You will? To me?”

Lortel shook her head as she pointed at herself. She then started to giggle. Seeing that refreshing smile of hers, she felt like a completely different person than before.

“Hahaha. Don’t worry. I still have a line that I need to keep. So, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“I didn’t plan on doing that, either. I intended to receive your favor as a favor.”

At least from my point of view, there wasn’t much confidence I could instill in Lortel. All I could do was hope she did what she needed to do.

“Anyway, I still have to pay for this. This is a personal issue of mine, not yours.”

“You’re quite stubborn in that regard. Well, I guess I can take a few coins from you.”

Lortel smiled softly as she continued to speak like usual.

“Still, why don’t you treat me like a pushover?”

“What?”

“Even if I’m a pushover, there’s more of a difference than you think between knowing I am one and not.”

Lortel had an expression on her face as if she were relieved, so it was a bit difficult for me to say anything back to her.

“I’ll let you use me while I know about it. So, for the time being, you can speak to me without holding back.”

“……”

“I must confess, you’re the only person around me that I treat like this. At the very least, it’s been a long time since I could laugh so sincerely like this.”

Lortel closed her eyes as she felt the breeze of the forest.

She seemed rather relaxed, so I didn’t want to bother her.

“It feels good to be back on Acken Island. The air is much cleaner, and the environment is more comfortable than in Oldek.”

For a while, Lortel enjoyed the breeze of Acken Island to the fullest.

“By the way, once the construction of the cabin starts, he won’t have a place to sleep.”

Bell Maya, who had finished most of her work at Ophelis Hall, carried Lortel’s luggage as she placed it inside the villa.

Lortel was used to calling upon a servant to assist her. She sat by the campfire silently as she warmed herself up.

The cool autumn wind passed through Lortel’s reddish hair.

“I guess that’s true. I’ll have to find a solution for that.”

“Why are you looking so far away? My villa is right next door.”

“This isn’t the time to joke. I might really end up sleeping on the streets.”

“Oh my…”

Lortel held her chin as she smiled bewitchingly.

“I wasn’t joking, though.”

“……”

Although Lortel’s villa wasn’t massive, it is still quite spacious for Lortel alone.

That said, there was no way I was just going to move in and live with her.

“Even after I said that, you still don’t seem to be all that surprised. Hmm…”

“Why have you been making comments like that for a while?”

“I just wanted to see you panic for once. If I keep flirting with you like this, then surely you will be left speechless, right?”

“In the first place, what would you even do if I said I really planned to move in and live with you?”

“But you don’t want to do that.”

“What if I do?”

Lortel laughed softly as she brushed her hands over her clothes.

As I sat quietly watching her… she slowly started to tremble.

“…Eek…”

“……”

“R-Really…?”

Since she was someone who always attacked others, she had a rather weak defensive wall. That was the characteristic of someone who was good at pushing but bad at pulling.

Anyway, I really didn’t want to move in with her. However, imagining what it would be like if I really did move into Lortel’s villa, spending a few days with her, I felt a strange sense of reality hit.

I took a deep breath as I lowered my head. Lortel calmly fanned her face as she regained her composure. It seemed that the conclusion to that question had been reached.

Lortel let out a sigh, as if the situation was ridiculous. She then took a moment to calm her breathing.

And the moment she was about to say something…

Flop.

As Lortel and I looked at each other through the campfire—

Suddenly, another girl came and took a seat.

She had been stuck in her cabin all day, hitting the wall and throwing her pillow.

Perhaps she had finally calmed down, as she barely managed to walk over and sit down at the campfire.

“……”

Although more than a day had passed since that major incident, her cheeks were still bright red, as if she hadn’t calmed down yet.

Perhaps because she heard the conversation that I was having with Lortel from inside her cabin, she had come out. Dragging her body over, she sat down, wriggling her finger around.

Maybe she didn’t want to leave me and Lortel alone by ourselves? It clearly felt as if she was thinking that as she came out and sat down.

As for me, I was also worried about Yennekar’s condition, which had become a mess after rolling around in bed all day… Though, I was currently more concerned about her mental health, as her cheeks resembled a bomb that was about to explode.

As we all sat there, unable to say anything first… An awkward silence remained for a while.

“……”

Yennekar blushed as she tried to figure out what to say.

Lortel, who was watching her from the other side of the campfire… finally ended up saying something.

“What is this?”

I couldn’t tell if she was talking to herself or to someone else.

“What is… with this atmosphere…??”