The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 179

“I need to go out today because there’s something I have to take care of in the commercial district. So, don’t bother looking for me until tomorrow morning.

To learn just how precious freedom is, you have to lose it. Clevius was well aware of that fact.

Was the problem that he didn’t want to go back to his hometown, so he stayed in school?

Over the break, Clevius was constantly dragged around by Elvira, forced to attend social gatherings among the students and partake in basic etiquette training. He had gone through quite a rough time.

Since Clevius was gloomy by nature, just how many people would look at him favorably if he went out? Despite that, Elvira still grabbed ahold of his neck, saying that it was important to accumulate experience little by little.

Regardless of that, Clevius couldn’t fight back against Elvira and ended up spending almost all of the break with her. However, as the new semester approached, Elvira started to have less time to pay attention to Clevius—perhaps because she was busy with her own issues.

“Is this… freedom…?”

The hellish tasks Elvira forced him to go through had stopped. Sitting alone in his private room in Ophelis Hall, the familiar darkness of that lone corner greeted Clevius.

Clevius lay absent-mindedly on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. A wave of emotions came over him. The tip of his nose itched as he even sniffled.

How long had it been since he was able to lay around and do nothing? Not having to see Elvira run over to him right away, he felt relief in one side of his heart.

“……”

Like that, Clevius lay on his bed for a while.

In the darkness, at midnight.

Clevius had always been a night owl. Deciding to enjoy the quiet night atmosphere, he buried himself in that familiar darkness.

It was as if time had stopped.

Elvira, who was always causing a racket, was no longer there to barge into his quiet room like she usually did…

And yet, the only thing that remained was a feeling of emptiness, rather than rest.

“I must also be going fucking crazy.”

There was no need to become close with others. Engaging in extroverted activities that didn’t suit you… All that would create was a wound.

For Clevius, most human relationships ended with wounds. Thus, he thought his relationship with Elvira would be no different. Though, it hadn’t blown up yet.

For most of those who became close with Clevius, their end was never pretty, and they quickly came to despise him.

Clevius was well aware of the fact that he wasn’t someone that people could get along with.

That was why, for Clevius… It was normal to sit in the corner of his room and stare blankly at the ceiling.

He didn’t bother with things like going outside to create more relationships with others. To him, that wasn’t a way to live his life.

“……”

Because of that, he hardened his own shell as he let out a sigh in a gloomy voice.

Even though it was so peaceful without Elvira? It was indeed ironic.

Come to think of it, why did Elvira, who was always dragging him around, suddenly leave?

Actually, he didn’t feel all that relieved.

Wasn’t Elvira someone who always scolded Clevius over everything and always told him what she was doing?

Whether it be what she ate for a snack that day, what new store opened in the commercial district, or any other story that Clevius wasn’t interested in hearing, Elvira was always telling him about it.

So, because she suddenly stayed quiet as she disappeared to go do something, Clevius had a bad feeling about it.

Why would she go to the commercial district in the middle of the night? Going there so late, all of the facilities there would have already been closed.

Not only that, but Elvira packed tons of alchemy reagents and magic engineering equipment right before disappearing… It clearly seemed as if she was preparing to fight.

“…What useless thing did she get caught up in now…?”

While muttering, Clevius opened the window. Looking towards the direction of Mexes Bridge from the upper floor of Ophelis Hall, he could see the commercial district, albeit only a small part of it.

“Whatever. Why should I care?”

Though no one was listening, Clevius muttered as he reclined back on the bed.

Now was the time to enjoy the freedom that he hadn’t been able to get his hands on for a long time.

Clevius laid on his side as he focused on being as comfortable as possible.

However, the emptiness of the room still tickled the back of his neck.

A summer night breeze blew in through the open window. After making the curtain flutter, it crashed into the back of Clevius’ head as it scattered.

And like that, Clevius laid still, staring at the wall for a long time.

“……”

* * *

“Tell me without beating around the bush, Lortel. While in charge of the store, did you do anything that they could tear you down for? You have to tell me everything without hiding anything.”

“To be honest… There are so many things I’ve done, I don’t know where to start.”

I pressed on my temples as I frowned. Still, I didn’t slow down.

As we quickly climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor, I saw a hole in the ceiling through which Ziggs must have come through.

Should I consider him tough or just carefree? Moonlight fell through the hole in the ceiling.

I saw the rope that Ziggs had prepared as well. It was quite long, so I was worried about whether Lortel would be okay climbing all the way up.

Looking towards her, Lortel nodded without saying anything.

“I’ll give it a try.”

“Grab my hand and climb up.”

My body wasn’t in its regular condition either, due to the recoil of the ring.

Although I had recovered a lot, I still had a slight fever and chronic fatigue. There were also many restrictions in regard to my physical abilities, such as my physical strength and magic power resonance.

Still, I thought it would be possible to at least climb the rope. So, I quickly put my feet on the wall as I pulled on the rope.

Lortel tied her reddish-brown hair back before she rolled up her sleeves and grabbed the rope.

I stretched out one arm and Lortel grabbed it, sharing the weight with me. That allowed her to climb the wall a little bit easier.

We struggled for a bit climbing up the wall in the hallway. Climbing up to the roof, there would likely be a ladder prepared by the outer wall that was normally used for maintenance. We could then take the ladder down to the first floor and escape to the camp.

“H-Heub!”

Was it because she didn’t have much strength? Lortel’s slender wrists trembled. As I helped pull Lortel up as much as I could, I reached out towards the roof.

Lortel’s frail wrist was still grabbing onto me, but I was still able to reach out and grab the roof.

I didn’t have much strength, but it was still enough to climb onto the roof relatively easily.

As I reached the top of the roof, I immediately stretched my arm out to help Lortel up.

“Is your hobby exercising at night?”

“You came.”

“I came with Ziggs. Though, I had no idea there would be such a fuss taking place here…”

Laying on the roof next to Lortel, we both looked at her.

Trayciana Bloomriver, the top student in the magic department among the fourth years, famous for being from a house of witches.

Her short, curled hair that reached her shoulders was the same as I had seen before. That bluish hair of hers reflected the moonlight as her eyes slightly shone.

“Trayciana?”

It must have been completely unexpected for Lortel.

Trayciana, the top student in the magic department among the fourth years, was a strong student who was capable of using all sorts of advanced magic from a young age.

Not only that, but she also had quite a bit of combat and practical experience as well. So, she was considered a veteran among the other students.

“Why are you here?”

“I ran right over when I heard my underclassman was in danger… is what I should have said, but I guess that answer is too pretentious.”

She was a bit disinterested, but she wasn’t particularly rude, either.

Trayciana spoke as she cleaned her wand, which was the size of her upper body.

“I owe Ed Rothstaylor a favor because of Patrin. I’m here to pay it back.”

“…Ed? You’re close with Trayciana?”

“We’re somewhat acquainted, as I bumped into her a while ago. There is also the fact that House Rothstaylor and House Bloomriver have joined hands.”

Trayciana Bloomriver was one of the strongest students.

She was someone who held the position as the top student in the magic department despite being among the fourth years, who had a high average level of magic.

She seemed to be angry quite often because of her troublesome sister. Regardless, as far as skills were concerned, she was definitely one of the best.

“I heard all of the details from Ziggs.”

After fixing the hairpins that held up her bangs, Trayciana said that I could avoid giving her a detailed explanation.

“I will wait here. Ayla will probably come up here soon, so I’ll take care of her. And when Taylee comes…”

Trayciana pondered for a moment on what to say. She then continued, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“…I will manage to do whatever I need to.”

“Thank you for coming so late at night.”

“Well, my mother did instruct me to cooperate with the Rothstaylors as much as possible. I’ll just think of it as paying off a reasonable amount of debt.”

Trayciana said that as she jumped into the hole we came through.

She landed in the hallway of the fourth floor, brushed off the hem of her robe, and looked back up at us.

“I’m stuck seeing my miserable classmates, who are always worried about the future, prepare for graduation. So, it feels quite refreshing to see my underclassmen like this. You better get going. There’s not much time.”

Saying that, she quickly put on her hood.

She lowered her head as she raised her wand. She wore a magician’s robe that had a somewhat oversized sleeve and collar. Under the dazzling moonlight, she looked rather impressive.

Under the moonlight coming down from the hole, Trayciana stood quietly. I looked at her before grabbing Lortel’s hand.

For now, the goal was to get Lortel as far away as possible. Whatever Dune had planned, we could stop it as long as Lortel didn’t fall into his hands.

With that in mind, I ran towards the ladder attached to the exterior wall.

* * *

“Elvira, why are you…”

“I have my reason. Unfortunately, I can’t let you go forward.”

Taylee and Elvira were close classmates.

There had been many times when the two of them were caught up in various incidents together. They had shared quite a bit of time together, so they could be considered close acquaintances for a long time.

But now, Elvira had suddenly appeared and blocked Taylee’s path. From Taylee’s point of view, he couldn’t do anything but open his eyes wide in shock.

“I’m sorry, but I’m completely on Ed Rothstaylor’s side this time, Taylee.”

“What?”

Taylee’s pupils trembled.

The front garden of the store was full of unconscious employees. Fixing her hair, Elvira then opened up her alchemy bag.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Turning it upside down, all kinds of reagent bottles and magic engineering supplies poured out.

Elvira had lost all of her magic-powered equipment after fighting against Lucy last break.

However, in just one semester, she managed to re-make an absurd amount of magic engineering equipment. Looking at how many reagents there were as well… You could easily tell how much she immersed herself in her personal research.

Elvira picked up the now-empty bag as she threw it aside.

She then pulled out a Shock-Enhanced Wave Ball, activating it quickly… A powerful shock wave was then emitted from around her.

Hwaaaaak!

Clang! Crash!

All of the fallen items around Elvira were blown away by the shockwave. The items that Elvira had made were spread across the front garden of the store. Various reagent bottles and magic engineering equipment were everywhere.

From Taylee’s point of view, all of them were items that were beyond his knowledge.

It was impossible for him to know how they would affect the battle, or what would happen if he made one wrong move and accidentally broke a reagent bottle or activated the magic engineering equipment.

Only Elvira knew all the effects of the devices and reagents.

For the moment, the battlefield had completely become Elvira’s realm.

“Do you even know what Ed Rothstaylor is planning?”

“He kidnapped Ayla to try and use her as a sacrifice to research Celestial Magic? Well, it’s a bit violent, but it can’t be helped. Research sometimes requires the use of a sacrifice.”

“You…”

Taylee looked at Elvira in disbelief.

He thought that Elvira was at least a researcher who kept to the line. She wasn’t a person who would have such absurd beliefs.

“I never imagined… you would say something like that.”

“Let’s keep the conversation short. I’m here to stop you and end things.”

“Elvira!”

Taylee ground his teeth as he glared at Elvira. In an instant, his pupils widened as his eyes became violent.

Elvira swallowed her dry saliva.

Elvira had traveled beside Taylee more than Ed had. So, more than others, she knew that Taylee’s swordsmanship skills were growing at an unbelievable rate.

Could she really directly fight against him and win? She couldn’t say for sure.

Elvira wasn’t the type that was good at fighting. The Alchemy Department in Silvenia didn’t study for the purpose of combat. So she was only capable of combat to a certain extent.

Fwoosh!

With just one leap, Taylee had already arrived right in front of her. Elvira definitely felt it.

Taylee intended to subdue her even if it meant using violence. Of course, he didn’t plan to kill her… But if she was careless, she could be seriously injured.

With a flick of her foot, Elvira activated the ‘Typhoon Emitter’, which was next to her.

Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooosh!

Suddenly, a strong wind blew, creating a dust storm around her and obscuring his view.

Taylee swung his greatsword widely once, blowing the dust away with the wind. However, Elvira was no longer there.

Elvira created distance between them as she took the ‘Red Paper Glue Reagent’ off the ground, then began to pour it out.

After seeing that the reagent was seeping into the ground, Elvira threw the empty bottle aside.

“Why? Are you so surprised that I’m on Ed Rothstaylor’s side?”

“You… You’re not that type of person, Elvira.”

“I have my own reasons.”

Elvira looked at Taylee with sad eyes.

“I have no reason to explain it to you.”

From Taylee’s point of view, she was too far gone. There was no reason to give her the benefit of the doubt any longer.

Taylee rushed forward holding his greatsword, trying to narrow the distance between him and Elvira. However, after a few steps, his foot stuck to the floor—no longer budging.

“Ugh?!”

Taylee, who lost his balance because of the weight of his greatsword, stumbled a bit.

At that moment, Elvira cast the beginner elemental magic, Water Ball.

Water that gathered under intense pressure then struck Taylee’s body. The impact caused him to clench his teeth tightly.

“K-Keuk!”

Elvira’s elemental magic wasn’t that powerful. However, that didn’t mean it wouldn’t have some impact.

Taylee clenched his teeth, enduring the pain. He then stood up straight. However, his legs still didn’t move from the ground. It seemed the effects of the reagent that she put on the ground were still active.

‘Red Paper Glue Reagent’.

An alchemy reagent had the power to grab everything that touched the ground in a nearby area. It was a reagent mainly used for traps.

“Taylee, you were born with a tremendous fighting power and potential, but there is one thing you overlooked.”

Elvira looked around her as she spoke. All around here were her inventions.

“You have little knowledge of alchemy. Right now, you can’t predict where and what types of variables will take place.”

All of the inventions nearby were only able to be properly utilized by Elvira.

“This has already become my territory.”

Taylee gripped his sword as he clenched his teeth. Seeing Elvira pat her skirt, surrounded by all sorts of items, he gritted his teeth.

However, Elvira didn’t care as she pulled out a small wand from the alchemist skirt she wore.

Elvira’s fighting style was always like that. Taylee knew that well.

However, he never imagined the possibility of facing her as an enemy. That was only natural.

Because he thought that Elvira would always be his ally.

* * *

“There’s no time to get the keys! Just break it down and go!”

Dune led the employees all the way down to the basement of the store. He quickly judged the situation.

Some employees were instructed to keep the entrance closed while others were ordered to search the upper floors.

He then quickly decided to bring the rest of them with him as he quickly headed down to the basement of the store.

The most probable solution at the moment was… To personally secure Ayla, who was locked up in the basement of the store.

Taylee McLaure’s target was Ayla Triss. So, if Dune could get his hands on her, he would be able to negotiate with him easier.

No matter how much he thought about it, Ed Rothstaylor’s actions were suspicious. Since he had disappeared alongside Lortel, Ed’s actions were definitely unusual and hard to trust.

From Dune’s point of view, he was having trouble understanding what it was.

Dune judged that Ed Rothstaylor was by no means an emotional person. At least, not to the extent that he would give up on a major profit because of personal emotions.

He was the type who always remained rational, clearly discerned reason and emotions, and appropriately calculated his interests.

Dune was certain to some extent that under those conditions, Ed would stick by his side.

However, Ed Rothstaylor’s actions were completely different from Dune’s expectations.

Did I judge him wrong?

Dune had been a merchant for more than just a day or two.

So, was it possible that Ed had a change of heart over that brief moment?

To him, Lortel Kehelland should have been nothing more than a simple business owner who helped him.

He never thought something like that would happen. That was because Dune had met Ed in person multiple times and continued to carefully judge his character and disposition.

He was like an eagle devouring corpses on the battlefield.

A stubborn person who was willing to devour any corpse if it meant he could fill his stomach to survive.

It was simple to see that he had lived such a life in a war, looking at his actions and values.

Crash!

Anyway, there was no point in regretting his mistaken past judgments now. He simply needed to do what must be done.

After violently smashing through all of the doors leading to the basement, Dune arrived at the underground cellar.

He ran down, bringing the employees with him to where Ayla was being locked up. He yelled out to bring some rope to tie her up with.

The workers responded with a loud voice as they followed.

As long as he secured Ayla Triss, all he would have to do was return her to Taylee if the situation couldn’t be fixed.

That way, he could quickly fix the situation. Just having that option available gave him a pretty clear edge in the current situation.

Crash!

Dune, who finally reached the room Ayla was being held in… doubted what he was seeing.

Ayla, who should have been held captive and tied up… Wasn’t there.

There was only the employee, who was supposed to be monitoring her, knocked unconscious.

“What…?”

Dune paused for a moment with a trembling voice.

Ayla was just a scholar with no combat skills at all. She knew how to use magic, but she shouldn’t have enough power to easily subdue an employee.

Because Dune knew that fact, he only deployed the minimum amount of manpower in the area. As long as the reporting system was in place, there was no reason to invest too much manpower in surveillance.

However, the person who was supposed to be watching her had been beaten and sat there, unconscious… He was at a complete loss for words.

“This… how…?”

Dune then found a plate rolling down on the floor. Even though she was a hostage, they didn’t want to starve her to death. So, they had given her a minimum amount of food to survive.

I really enjoyed the meal…

There was a memo written in neat handwriting, thanking him for the meal in Dune’s hands. It was definitely Ayla’s handwriting.

Since she was acting polite, he started to become even more worried.

Magical engineering supplies such as ‘Magic Power Cutter’, ‘Shock-Enhanced Wave Ball’, and ‘Power Discharger’ were lying around.

While Taylee was causing a scene, she had taken out the magic engineering devices she was hiding to subdue the employee and escape.

While doing all of that, she still had the time to leave behind a thank you note?

It was true… She really was a person who had a lot of experience when it came to being kidnapped. Even after doing all of that, she ate a full meal and drank some cold water before escaping. She had the calmness of a professional.

Thinking of Ayla letting out a small burp as she blushed in embarrassment, afraid that someone might have heard it, before leaving the prison… Dune ground his teeth.

Ayla had been tied up ever since she was captured by Ed. So, it shouldn’t have been possible for her to have prepared magic engineering equipment to escape.

…In the first place, she had hidden all of it inside of her clothes since she had been caught.

Ayla Triss was working alongside Ed Rothstaylor. So, it was natural to think that Ed Rothstaylor had also provided that equipment to her.

Seeing everything that was happening as if planned in advance while Taylee created a chaotic situation… Thinking about it, it all made sense.

“Ed… Rothstaylor…!”

Dune raised his eyes as he gritted his teeth.

From the start, Ed Rothstaylor had no desire to join Dune’s side. Everything was planned by him.

To ruin Dune’s plans, help Lortel escape, and turn the Elte Store into Taylee’s battlefield… It was something he had entirely drawn up.

“Go to the upper floors! Find Ayla Triss, Ed Rothstaylor, and the Deputy Director!”

He ground his teeth as he ordered the employees to action.

The situation wasn’t over yet. As soon as dawn arrived, the imperial carriage would come. Until then, he needed to secure both Ed Rothstaylor and Lortel Kehelland.

* * *

“It’s going to rain.”

Lucy, who was sniffing, suddenly spoke.

“…It’s going to rain? But isn’t the sky clear?”

“It smells like rain.”

Lucy Mayreel was able to determine when it would rain as if it were a supernatural gift. Of course, since Princess Penia wasn’t aware of that, she thought that what she was saying was nonsense.

“…By the way, we are going to arrive at Acken Island soon. Where should we drop you off when we arrive?”

“Aren’t we heading to the royal residence?”

“Before we arrive there, we can stop by wherever you want to drop you off.”

Of course, it was considered common knowledge to follow wherever the princess went, but Princess Penia was being considerate of Lucy Mayreel.

Lucy didn’t care about trying to read the intentions of her actions, so she answered bluntly.

Lucy looked up at the late dawn sky through the window… she let out a fleeting sigh, imagining the rain that would soon fall.

“Near the North Forest.”

Penia was also expecting that answer to some extent.

“I want to go to the camp.”

The royal carriage continued to move.

At the very end of their field of vision, they could barely make out Mexes Bridge, which led to Acken Island.