The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 176

Three days before the start of school.

The students began to return to the dormitories one by one, and news of the catastrophe that took place at Rothstaylor Mansion also started to reach Acken Island.

As students who had visited their hometowns returned to Acken Island, they also brought the news with them, so it began to spread.

After going to the Elte Store to see how things were going, I returned to camp when people started to contact me from all over.

The reorganization of power within the Elte Company was deeply connected to the reorganization of power within the Imperial household. The people behind the incident were also powerful and influential people, so it was difficult to ask others for help.

“I also heard that the student council president will return to school soon. I hope that everything worked out.”

Still, I thought I should gather people who could be of help right away and share information about my plan with them…

“Ziggs, you… Why are your cheeks like that?”

“I fought Elka.”

“So even the two of you fight sometimes …”

“It’s a bit of a long story…”

Ziggs Eiffelstein, the second-year runner-up student in the magic department, had swollen red cheeks with palm prints on them.

There was no need to ask who did it, as he wasn’t the type of person to get slapped by just anyone.

“Back at Lorail Hall, I went there trying to help Elka with her daily life, but… I guess that was being too ‘wildly friendly’…”

“What the hell did you do to get slapped by that gentle librarian?”

“Whenever we were at Islan’s Mansion or Ophelis Hall, I always had a servant there helping me wash my body. So, I thought that since Elka was having a hard time, I should personally go and…”

“Never mind, forget it… you don’t have to say anything else. It’s entirely your fault.”

One of the first people I contacted after returning from the Elte Store was Ziggs.

That was because I heard that Elka had returned to school early due to a conference, so Ziggs had also returned with her.

“I heard from Yennekar that you ran into each other at the docks.”

“Yes. We returned to school around the same time as Yennekar. We ended up talking about various things at the dock.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Uhm…”

“What we talked about isn’t important! Forget about it! It’s nothing important! Ahh! Ahhhhhh!”

It just so happened Yennekar was also sitting around the campfire.

It was a bit strange to see her desperately try and move past what Ziggs and her had talked about at the docks, but it wasn’t all that important, so I moved on.

Aside from Yennekar and Ziggs, there was one other person.

“I was a bit surprised to see you come and ask me for help like that, Ed.”

The top student in the alchemy department for the second-year students, Elvira Aniston.

It must have been rather strange for her to come to the camp for the first time, but after seeing Ziggs and Yennekar casually sitting around the campfire, she came over and sat down as well.

She was definitely a person who adapted quickly.

“Even though you said you need our help so desperately, what exactly happened for you to feel bad about having to ask us?”

I spent a full day walking around Lorail Hall, Trix Hall, and Ophelis Hall.

Those were the locations where I had contacts with all sorts of people, but… there were only a few people that I could ask to come to my camp to help.

Because break wasn’t over yet, there were quite a few students who hadn’t returned to school. Most of the faculty members hadn’t even started going back to work yet, either.

“This time, it’s something much more troublesome than I thought. And it seems like it might also put you guys in an uncomfortable situation as well.”

The Elte Company’s Silvenia Branch was nearly in the hands of Dune.

Because of the support he was receiving from the Elte Company’s main branch and the other influential figures behind him, he was able to recruit the workers within the company one by one.

Still, the scale of what he managed to accomplish over a month’s break was massive. Then again, if you considered the people behind him, it wasn’t completely incomprehensible.

The second princess, Persica. The next director of the Elte Company Slogg. Even the deputy headmaster, Rachel.

Even considering Dune’s skill at measuring the distance between people and what they wanted, it mustn’t have been easy to convince all of the employees in the store right away.

Even for me, my brain had briefly stopped hearing him bring up early graduation, financial support after graduation, as well as long-term support in the future from the Elte Company.

“Still, I’m not asking for help for free. I can promise you a commensurate monetary reward. As you can see, now I am… a member of the Elte Company.”

I stood up, showing the cloak that had the Elte Company’s design on it.

The facial expressions of everyone gathered by the campfire were strange. Among them, Yennekar’s expression stood out the most.

“Ed… So, you become a full-time employee of the Elte Company?”

“That’s the case for now.”

“F-For now…?”

After saying that, I sat down on a wooden workbench near the campfire.

I looked down at all the people who were gathered together sitting on a tree stump. This was a good position to brief them on the situation.

“Lortel Kehelland will soon be removed from her position as the Elte Company’s deputy director. She was stabbed in the back.”

Everyone has a different reaction upon hearing that girl’s name.

For Yennekar, she had complicated feelings towards her.

For Ziggs, she was just a fellow classmate in Class A and a merchant he didn’t know much about.

For Elvira, she wouldn’t have been all that interested, but it was still a famous name she had heard before.

“I don’t know what you guys think about her, but I’ve received a lot of help from her in the past… So, I can’t pretend that I don’t see what’s happening.”

I then briefly told them about Dune’s plans to take over the Elte Company’s Silvenia Branch.

The problem was what I would do about it.

“But right now, it isn’t good timing for me, as my body can’t use much magic power right now… Which is why I desperately need your help.”

“Aha! So, you’re saying you want us to break into the Elte Store and break Lortel out?”

Elvira smiled as she spoke playfully, though what she was saying was quite grim.

“That is quite the request, Ed, but… Don’t we have to think about our school life as well?”

Both Elvira and Ziggs had a point.

Even if we broke in, attacked them all, and managed to secure Lortel’s body, it would all be meaningless unless we solved the fundamental issue: the reorganization of power within Oldek and the support from Princess Persica.

“That’s true. It won’t be easy for us alone to have a major impact on the trend of politics that is taking place. However, there is someone else who is capable of that.”

“Someone else?”

“I received a letter that Princess Penia will be back before school starts. She’s bringing Lucy, as well.”

The carriage, which departed from the capital Kroelon, was currently heading towards Acken Island with Lucy on board.

Once we had Lucy, we wouldn’t have to worry about the manpower… And with Princess Penia as well, we would be able to rely on her to stand on equal footing against Princess Persica in terms of politics.

“We just need to hold out until Princess Penia arrives. With her power as a princess, we will be able to somehow stand on equal footing with them.”

“I don’t really like Lortel all that much.”

Suddenly, a comment struck me.

The words came from an elementalist who was hugging her knees tightly by the campfire, warming up.

Ziggs, who was sitting diagonal of her, swallowed his dry saliva as he looked at Yennekar.

“Y-Yennekar.”

“To put it bluntly… I hope that you won’t take the risk to go and save Lortel, Ed.”

For a moment, there was silence in the camp. Elvira alone tilted her head, as if she were relaxed.

When I suddenly looked at Yennekar, she had a grumpy expression on her face, with her cheeks puffed out.

It looked like she wasn’t happy and willing to agree with me saving Lortel without a fuss.

She said she would do anything to help me, but it seemed like she was in a bad mood because she would have to help rescue Lortel.

Though in reality, it wasn’t like Yennekar was heartless.

No matter how much she fought with Lortel, if she were in a situation where she was on the verge of being thrown into the gutter… she would do something.

However, it seemed that even though Yennekar wanted to help Lortel, she didn’t want me to endanger myself.

“But Ed… If you are still determined to do so even after I say that, I will support you.”

“……”

“Ah, I can’t live…” she sighed.

Once again, silence.

Ziggs was looking at Yennekar strangely. The moment I was about to say something… Yennekar raised her voice again.

“So, what I will do is make sure that you are in less danger, Ed.”

“It seems like you always end up worrying about me.”

“No, that’s not it. Actually, I always worry about everything. So… What are we going to do?”

Yennekar’s eyes lit up.

She didn’t like Lortel, but she made the distinction between her personal and private life clear.

More than anything else, Lortel was a person who always treated me kindly. So, from her position, it was better to have her as the head of the Elte Company for my sake.

She came to that strange conclusion, but… In fact, it was all just self-compromise.

Yennekar was only taking action because she sympathized with me. I should just be grateful for that fact.

“Like I said, even if we break Lortel free, the timing is important.”

“Do we even need to break her free? Can’t we just report everything to Princess Penia when she comes to school?”

“Unfortunately, time doesn’t seem to be on our side.”

I couldn’t get all of the information at the Elte Company.

At that moment, I didn’t know ‘how’ Dune was planning to bring Lortel down from her position as deputy director.

After all, politics was a fight for cause.

In order to drag Lortel down from her position, there needed to be a cause that could make it happen.

However, although Lortel was cold-blooded, she was always a principled leader.

There were barely any flaws that you could fault her for. And to be honest, Dune was much dirtier than she was.

There was no way that someone like Dune, who always planned things out well, would do something like that without any guarantees.

He took action because he was convinced that he could create a cause that would force Lortel from her seat.

“Soon, the school break will be over, and a new semester will begin at Silvenia. Until then, if we can continue to make sure she is unable to do anything, things will work out.”

However, there were some things that I could infer from what Dune said.

When the ‘new semester’ began, Lortel would be removed from her position as deputy director. In other words, we needed to break Lortel free before the start of the new semester.

“Then, are we going to head in there together and beat them all up to get Lortel out?”

As Elvira spoke without sugar coating anything, I shook my head.

“No, I’m not going to have you guys participate in that.”

Hearing those words, Elvira smirked. She had a confused expression on her face.

“It’s too much to expect you guys to spit in the face of a member of the Imperial household and a wealthy merchant of Oldek.”

“I don’t mind, but I’m afraid that Elka or House Islan will be affected.”

“I feel the same. I’ve already caused trouble for House Aniston more than once or twice.”

“That’s why I’m having you guys ‘join’ in the plans of the Elte Company. Not to fight against them.”

Hearing what I said, Ziggs and Elvira tilted their heads. It seemed that they had no idea what I was talking about.

“Your role is… to stop Taylee.”

What did you say?

Before they could ask, I raised my hand and stopped them. They had to be wondering about the nonsense I was spewing.

“I’m going to kidnap Ayla.”

* * *

Lorail Hall

Middle of the Night

“E-Ed… Is this really alright…? Is this really okay to do…?”

Lorail Hall, a dormitory for honor students, was much larger than the luxurious Ophelis Hall dormitory—even though the facilities were not as good.

Unlike Ophelis Hall, which was only one building, Lorail Hall was made up of a total of five buildings. So, it was difficult to see the entirety of it at a glance.

The reason it was so large was simple. It was because there were a lot of students who used it. However, compared to Dex Hall—the general dormitory—it was rather quiet.

There was still a bit of the break left before school started, so the majority of the lights in the rooms were off. Still, some students had returned early, and their rooms were lit up. Looking at the second floor, although some of them were lit up, our target’s room wasn’t.

After looking around for a while, I was able to find Ayla’s room.

“Don’t worry, Yennekar. Because I have a plan for everything.”

After I declared that I was going to kidnap Ayla, Yennekar followed me in surprise.

“I took care of everything myself to make sure there isn’t a mess leftover afterwards.”

“Th-That…! What do you mean…?”

Yennekar was following me, but it seemed like she was having a major internal conflict.

No matter what, kidnapping people wasn’t something that should be done, no matter how you look at it.

I was not a person who lived such a clean life to the point of being able to judge what was right and what was wrong. That was why it was kind of ridiculous that I felt a bit guilty at that point.

However, Yennekar seemed to be in the middle of a major conflict, as if she were hesitant to drag an innocent person into the current situation.

She said that she would do anything for me, but if I were to ask her if she could really commit a criminal act with me, one that would surely harm another… It was only natural that Yennekar would feel conflicted.

“Okay… Well… Since it’s you, I’m sure there’s a reason for all of this…?”

“It’s a bit much to trust me so blindly like that…”

It was better to show her directly than to explain in detail.

However, Yennekar clasped her hands tightly, as if she finally managed to settle her internal conflict by herself.

“Alright… Let’s go, Ed… I already told you… But whatever you ask of me… Yeah…”

Rather, after seeing her look more determined than necessary, I ended up swallowing my dry saliva.

“Let’s go… We’re going to do it…”

After saying that, we headed to the second-floor window to Ayla’s room. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought, since we could ride a spirit that Yennekar had quietly manifested.

So, as I approached the window on the second floor of Lorail Hall, I quietly lifted it up. The window wasn’t locked, so it quickly opened.

“We’re going in.”

Yennekar closed her eyes tightly as she slipped inside. I also went in with her at the same time.

Inside a student’s personal room in Lorail Hall.

I could see the entirety of Ayla’s room, which was neatly organized.

It wasn’t very spacious, but the room had everything one would need. A desk to study, a closet, a bed, a small table, and even a private bathroom.

It was a room that looked strangely girly. There were a few cute dolls, portraits of family members from her hometown, and things like hair combs and hand mirrors scattered all around.

The moonlight was the only source of light illuminating the room. In the center of the room, Ayla Triss, a girl with brown hair, sat quietly.

Seeing her look straight at us as we crawled in through the window, she looked completely fine and rather creepy.

“H-Heub…!”

As soon as she made eye contact with Ayla, Yennekar shivered in surprise.

She was immediately caught after breaking into someone else’s room without permission. Maybe she thought that Ayla was sleeping, since the room was dark?

Ayla slowly raised her head, looking at us as she said,

“So, you came.”

“……”

“Wait a minute, I’ve packed some things. I’ll just grab my bag quickly. Eugh, ugh…”

Ayla took out a suitcase that she had prepared in advance without looking the slightest bit surprised.

“A change of clothes should be enough…? Should I be bringing toiletries as well? Are you going to tie me up with rope or something? I think it would be better to wear clothes that won’t tear, if that’s the case…”

“…We’re not here to play, so just keep your things to a minimum.”

“Still, I don’t know what kind of environment I will be living in after being kidnapped… It’s best to prepare as thoroughly as I can.”

Indeed, she really was a skilled teaching assistant.

And it wasn’t like she had only been kidnapped once or twice… Seeing her so prepared for it, as the kidnapper seeing her like that… was rather strange.

“……??”

“……What’s with that strange expression?”

“……????”

Yennekar looked as if she had lost her soul as she looked back between me and Ayla. It seemed like she was asking why the two of us were acting like the situation was completely natural.

“Well, there’s the issue with the Elte Company and the thing with Taylee… It’s all a bit complicated to fully understand, but… Since you asked for my help, it can’t be helped. After all, there are many things I owe you for. If all you need is this worthless body of mine, then by all means, Ed…”

Looking at Ayla, who spoke so politely towards me, Yennekar had an absurd expression on her face.

Checking Taylee’s growth, helping him grow as much as possible, and taking care of the Elte Company all in one go.

With that one plan, I aimed to get rid of all of my worries regarding the scenario, the power dispute within the Elte Company, my curiosity about Taylee’s current specs, and the preparations for the upcoming battle against Velbrok…

I quietly brought Ayla outside.

“Ah! Wait! I forgot to fold my blanket! If the supervisor catches me, I’ll get deducted points. Can I go back and fold it quickly?!”

Adding up all the time it took to drag Ayla out of her room after all of those minor problems… We ended up a bit delayed.

Could that really… be called kidnapping…??

Wasn’t it rude to real kidnappers, who worked up a sweat doing their best to abduct people…???

* * *

An agreement arrived in the form of a document.

It was an agreement reached with the Elte Company’s Silvenia branch. When she opened it up, it was about the behind-the-scenes details of Ed Rothstaylor, a current student of Silvenia, and Dune Grex, a working employee at the Elte’s Company’s Silvenia Branch.

Oh my…

In the private room of the second princess, within the Rose Palace located in the Kroel Imperial Palace, Princess Persica looked at the documents she had received from her close aide with interest.

It was clear that Dune Grex was a man of great resourcefulness and wit.

He quickly figured out the worth of Ed Rothstaylor within the current Imperial household.

By giving him an offer to join the Elte Company and form a close relationship, naturally the princesses aiming for the throne would want to get their hands on the Elte Company.

He was using Ed to raise his own value. That was the characteristic of someone who knew how to succeed in life.

Because of that, Persica began to become more and more interested in the name, ‘Ed Rothstaylor’.

A surviving member of House Rothstaylor, the fallen aristocrat whom the hero Lucy Mayreel was obsessed with, and the one whom so many within Silvenia Academy were trying to win over to their side.

Did that wealthy merchant Slogg also make his own plans?

The wealthy merchant Slogg, of the Elte Company, supported Princess Persica.

She lent her hand to him for a bit to help him become the next director, and it seemed that he had created a connection with Ed Rothstaylor as proof of his loyalty towards her.

As a result, if the Elte Company ended up falling into the hands of Princess Persica, she would finally be able to officially meet with Ed Rothstaylor. After all, Ed Rothstaylor would also be a member of the Elte Company.

I want to meet him.

Princess Persica didn’t even know what Ed Rothstaylor looked like. She only heard news of him.

However, according to the recent situation… it was clear that he was definitely an extraordinary person.

He was important enough for even Princess Selah and Princess Penia to pay attention to his every move. However, for Persica, he was completely unknown and shrouded in darkness.

Princess Persica smiled quietly, imagining Ed Rothstaylor.

The scary thing was that one’s imagination always unfolded to their ideals.

Thinking of how to ideally use him… Princess Perscia quietly folded the document.

The competition for the throne would intensify.

It wasn’t the time for her to get caught up in a wall of delusions like when she was stuck in the library, reading tons of books.

Persica quietly got up from her seat as she headed out of the Rose Palace.

Times were changing, and the power structure was also ready to be changed.

Persica… She had no intention of giving up her power.