The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 196

Skill in magic alone wasn’t enough to survive in the harsh world.

The first day she succeeded in mastering advanced magic, Trayciana returned to the dorm as she had that very thought, looking up at the moon alone.

Advanced explosion magic, Destruction.

A massive explosion that was cast only after fully concentrating on gathering magic power for several days. It had destroyed all of the several layers of barriers the professor had created for safety.

Thanks to such a feat, Trayciana rose to the position of the top student in the magic department. From then on, she was heavily praised by all of her classmates.

“……”

However, there was Lucy Mayreel, another top student in the magic department. A natural genius that had received a gift from the heavens.

As long as she was alive at the same time as her, becoming the best in the field of magic was an impossible feat.

She had no desire to be the best.

After all, it was difficult to even call the geniuses human. During her four years at Silvenia, Trayciana started to feel that wall more clearly than anyone else.

That just wasn’t the case for Trayciana alone.

The current three top students among the fourth years at Silvenia:

Combat Department Top Student, Daike Elpelan.

Magic Department Top Student, Trayciana Bloomriver.

Alchemy Department Top Student, Dorothy Whitefeld.

The general consensus of the three representatives of the fourth years was… a group of ‘regulars’.

Completely different from the first years and second years, who were known as the ‘Golden Generation’. Then there were the third years who were incredibly gifted individuals, such as Yennekar Palerover, Ed Rothstaylor, Drake, and Atalanta.

Regulars who worked harder than anyone else.

An evaluation that was both a compliment and an insult. Trayciana couldn’t deny that fact.

That was why she never tried to define her worth solely with her magic skills.

Even though she rose to the top of the magic department, which was a difficult feat for anyone to accomplish, she never grew complacent by thinking that it was everything she could achieve.

For some, it might have been a dream. But for Trayciana, it was nothing more than a process.

She was now in her second semester of her fourth year, a period where she had to look ahead towards graduation.

Graduation was a new beginning. If she were merely satisfied being a top student at Silvenia, she would never be able to grow further.

Life after graduation.

It wasn’t far away. Trayciana didn’t act hastily, either.

“……”

In her quiet room at Ophelis Hall, Trayciana closed her elemental studies book.

It was a quiet and peaceful sight. Afternoon classes were over, and everyone was relaxing in the peaceful evening atmosphere.

In half a year, she would no longer be able to see that relaxing evening view outside her window.

Once her time as a student came to an end, she would have to return to House Bloomriver to focus her efforts on reaching the forefront of magic research. It would probably be a fierce life.

Trayciana skimmed through the letters sent by the head of house, Sinir Bloomriver, in her drawer. She kept in close contact with her throughout her entire time at school, as she had high dreams of becoming the next head of House Bloomriver.

Nuisances, troublemakers, problem makers.

House Bloomriver had always been treated as outcasts because they were full of such people. Perhaps the only other house that could match the Bloomrivers in that regard was House Aniston.

In a place that was always causing trouble and incidents, Trayciana was considered an outcast because of her serious and calm temperament.

However, she wasn’t alone.

Sinir Bloomriver… The head of house who was both rational and realistic.

Thanks to her, House Bloomriver was able to maintain its recognition as a prestigious House.

And Trayciana Bloomriver was the one who was the most deeply influenced by Sinir.

“Tanya and Ed Rothstaylor…”

It seemed like the structure of power was changing drastically not only within the imperial household, but even among other noble families.

Sinir Bloomriver, the head of her house whom she greatly admired, seemed to be betting on House Rothstaylor in the drastic reorganization of power.

“Tanya Rothstaylor has come up with an interesting plan. So, we will be joining her side.”

Right at the start of the semester, Student Council President Tanya Rothstaylor returned to Silvenia.

Many people were heavily interested in her actions. At first glance, she seemed like a sharp and ambitious person… But lately, she seemed to be noticeably tired, grumbling, and sighing deeply.

It looked like she had become exhausted with everything. However, in Trayciana’s eyes, Tanya was still as determined as she had been in the beginning.

“There is a chance the most influential families of the empire will fall apart and fight. When that time comes, if we aren’t on the winning side, we will be in trouble. That’s why, before things start, we need to stick to House Rothstaylor.”

Sinir always got straight to the point.

It was as if she had already read Trayciana’s mind, who was planning her life after graduation.

“We need to remain their close ally once everything comes to an end. And to become one of their closest allies, when they are the weakest and struggling the most… we have to help them. Only then will we be able to create a long-term relationship with them.”

What did Sinir Bloomriver see in House Rothstaylor?

At the moment, Trayciana had no way of knowing, but she never doubted Sinir.

In fact, Trayciana had become closer to Ed Rothstaylor after thoroughly assisting in his request.

Though, it felt like the only reason they got acquainted in the first place was because of Patriciana’s incident. Either way, it was good that she was able to create a connection with a member of House Rothstaylor.

“……”

Trayciana put down Sinir’s letter as she looked out the window at the sun setting.

After coming to Silvenia, she had become much more realistic, despite her eyes still remaining calm.

“I can’t survive in this harsh world with just magic skills.”

She said those words over and over again, deep in thought.

Trayciana, whom all fourth year magic department students looked up to. Even for her, she felt just how large a wall of real talent was.

Because of that, she had become somewhat pessimistic and realistic… But that didn’t mean she was the type to get frustrated.

“Behavior, understanding the atmosphere, and… networking.”

While she didn’t know what would become of the empire’s powers, ultimately all that mattered was who would stand at the top in the end.

She needed to think smart and bet on them. That was the only way to survive in a world where nobles were rapidly changing.

If Sinir Bloomriver bet on House Rothstaylor, Trayciana would follow.

Since she was a lot older than Tanya Rothstaylor, the current student council president, it was hard to become close to her—there was no real point of contact… but Ed Rothstaylor was different.

They were close in age, got to know each other beforehand, and Trayciana was also his direct upperclassmen in the magic department.

‘While they are still weak, we need to help them as much as possible to accumulate debt.’ That must have been what Sinir wanted.

The goal was to continue a friendly relationship with Ed Rothstaylor.

An investment for the future.

As she nodded her head, keeping that goal in mind…

Slam!!

“Sister…!”

The troublemaker younger sister Patriciana came in after slamming open Trayciana’s door.

Trayciana frowned as she turned to the door.

Patriciana, who had a bunch of loose leaves stuck in her hair as if she had just come from walking through the forest, spoke cheerfully.

“Success! It was a success! The clinical trial…! I told you it would work!”

“…What?”

“It definitely worked! It’s amazing!”

The ominous feeling she felt before had indeed become a reality.

“And it seems its effect is greater than I thought! I secretly fed it to him, and… the clinical response is definitely…”

“Are you crazy, Patrin?! You secretly fed it to someone?!”

“N-No… it was just a small amount… just to see if it works…”

“Did you get permission?!”

Trayciana shoved books and letters into her drawer as she yelled at Patriciana.

Patriciana responded, avoiding eye contact, “B-But… it’s not even a poison, so…”

“……”

“And, uhm… I wasn’t doing something bad… Just like… A missionary of love…? Cupid…? Something like that…”

“……”

Silence.

Trayciana quietly stared at her.

Patriciana began to sweat, feeling the seriousness of the atmosphere.

“B-But… uhm… you know… maybe it’s not a bad thing? If I just keep observing for a bit longer, then…”

“I told you to stop doing things on a whim and to seriously think before taking action! So, who was it?! Who did you feed it to?!”

“……”

“You need to tell me so we can apologize and fix this situation… Who did you feed it to?!”

“Uh… uhm… uhh…”

Trayciana started to feel a strange sense of anxiety.

Patriciana had a talent for always making a bad situation even worse. Thus, it was Trayciana’s job to fix it.

She continued to fiddle with her fingers, struggling to say his name while avoiding eye contact.

“Ed Rothstaylor.”

Trayciana couldn’t move her face.

She finally knew what it meant to be shocked still.

Trayciana’s eyes widened, as she swallowed her breath as she closed her eyes tightly.

“I knew this would happen! I just can’t with you!”

* * *

Lortel stood in front of the bucket with a dumbfounded expression on their faces.

Today, she was extremely busy with both school and overtime work at the store.

Still, the thought of going back to her villa after finishing her work made her delighted.

Unlike living in Ophelis Hall, returning home was fun.

A home was only a place to sleep. Lortel used to live with such a thought process. The new and refreshing feeling of going home caught her by surprise.

However, as soon as she returned to the camp, the first thing she saw was Ed and Yennekar sitting side by side by a large bucket of drinking water.

“Keukkk…”

“Uhhhh… uh…”

“……”

Three people.

First was Ed Rothstaylor.

Unable to deal with his unknown fever, he covered his face with one hand as he moaned.

His other hand was gripping Yennekar’s shoulder tightly, as if to keep her by his side and ensure that she didn’t go anywhere.

Second was Yennekar Palerover.

She was blushing, awkwardly sitting next to Ed as if she couldn’t leave him.

It seemed like she was trying to do something, but she couldn’t overpower Ed’s strength, so she gave up.

Third was Lortel Kehelland.

She was simply looking at them.

“…What are you doing…?”

Flustered by their sudden skinship, she first demanded an explanation about the situation.

More than anything else, Ed’s condition seemed strange. For some reason, it looked like he was having a hard time. She was worried that there was something wrong with his health.

That was why Lortel asked Yennekar, who looked fine, about the situation.

“Uh-Uhm?! Huh?! When did you get here?!”

“Just now.”

“You came back early?! Why did you come so early?!”

“The moon is already fully out. It’s already late at night.”

“Huh? Oh, right! Why did you come so late?!”

As if she could no longer think normally, Yennekar raised her voice as she asked meaningless questions.

“It’s cold! No, it’s not the season for it to be cold! It’s hot! That’s not it either! It’s early fall now! Is it cold?! Is it hot?! Lortel, what do you think? Is it cold now? Hot?”

“……”

Yennekar Palerover… was broken…

Yennekar’s pupils spun round and round, as if her mind were lost.

It was not a very pleasant sight for Lortel.

* * *

“He drank a reagent?!”

She had brought budgeting papers with her to review before going to bed. Holding them tightly to her chest, Lortel sat by the campfire.

Because of the incident, an urgent meeting was held between Lortel and Yennekar, with Ed sitting next to them, covering his face and grunting.

After drinking a new batch of cold water and taking in the cool night breeze for a while, Yennekar finally came to her senses… She told Lortel the whole situation as they sat by the flaming campfire.

“Wh-What is this ridiculous… Despite the situation, you were just sitting next to him like that?! Don’t you think you should have put Ed in his bed and let him rest?”

“I-I thought that, too! Really!”

“But this entire time, you’ve been sitting next to him with his hand on your shoulder, with that stupid expression on your face?!”

Lortel looked at Yennekar with a ridiculous expression on her face.

“Right now, Ed’s physical condition is out of control, yet all this time you were just sitting here like that?!”

“Hey, if you say that, it sounds like I’m a strange person…!”

“Am I wrong?!”

“Uhhh…!”

She couldn’t refute it.

It was true that she couldn’t particularly do anything because of Ed’s physical strength, but… Yennekar herself didn’t really mind. So, it was still kind of her fault.

Due to her inability to lie, she couldn’t refute a single thing Lortel said.

Yennekar wiped her tears as she shut her mouth.

“Don’t… raise your voice… My head… It hurts…”

Ed moaned, pressing on his temples. Lortel looked at Ed as she sighed deeply, as if worried.

“Go in and rest. I’ll go to the store and bring some painkillers.”

“No, that’s okay… you don’t have to run to the store at this hour.”

Although it looked like he was having a hard time, Ed refused Lortel’s favor.

“You shouldn’t be running around at night. I just need to somehow manage to get over the effects of this reagent… So, Lortel, you should rest… Keuk…”

“B-But Ed. Still…”

“You’ve been busy all day between your classes and the store. There’s no need for you to take care of me over something minor like this. I’ve already received too much from you, so I don’t want to be in your debt even more. Rather, I want to pay it back.”

“Wh-What…?”

Ed covered his face as he struggled to speak.

Hearing Ed, Lortel took a deep breath.

“I know that you’re struggling yourself, so how can I ask you to suffer more?”

“Th-That’s not it…”

“I’m grateful for you, so don’t worry too much about me… You should get some rest. If you push yourself too hard, it’ll also be difficult for me.”

“Uhh….”

Lortel tried to say something, but she was completely speechless as she turned her head.

As if her face were hot, she spoke to Yennekar, flustered.

“Wh-What is this…?!”

“……”

“Th-This might be a bit dangerous…?”

While she could figure out Ed’s inner thoughts somewhat, having him speak to her honestly like that was definitely a new level of intensity.

In the first place, Lortel was—surprisingly—not immune to such direct attacks.

She wasn’t used to seeing Ed in that drunken state, treating her so softly. It wasn’t enough to just call him ‘sweet.’

The gap that came from a gruff person suddenly speaking from their heart… It wasn’t easy for Lortel to endure such a fatal attack.

From Ed’s point of view, he simply couldn’t afford to beat around the bush at the moment. However, for Lortel and Yennekar, the way he spoke to them had a completely different meaning and effect.

It went beyond making them feel good!

His kindness… who knew it would be so powerful…?!

“……”

“……”

Yennekar looked back at Lortel.

Lortel, who had been questioning Yennekar until that moment, was now avoiding her gaze.

“Ed has to go to class tomorrow. What should we do…?”

“Since he’s in such a condition, wouldn’t it be better for him to skip class?”

“That’s true, but… he doesn’t only have classes… He also has plans to go to Cledric Monastery with the saint…”

“…What? Cledric Monastery…?”

Lortel doubted her ears.

Lortel was much more knowledgeable in terms of news than Yennekar. So, of course she knew about Cledric Monastery, a sacred location of the Telos Religious Group.

Taking Ed to a famous religious area that was off limits to men… It was a ridiculous thing to do, but since it was Saint Clarice’s orders, it was possible.

The only thing to be worried about was…

“In this state… He’s going to Cledric Monastery…?”

Ed was a regular boy who was always both rational and calm. He never needlessly got into trouble and behaved himself perfectly.

However, with the way he was having a hard time controlling his body and acting unnecessarily sweet and kind… If he went to a place like Cledric Monastery, a major disaster would definitely happen.

However, Saint Clarice’s authority within the Telos Religious Group was at a level that could pierce the sky.

If it was her on direct orders, he couldn’t easily refuse.

“……”

Blood began to drain from Lortel’s face.

Yennekar, unaware of the circumstances, tilted her head with a confused expression on her face. Lortel calmly regained her sanity.

“Hey, I think we need to watch over Ed until he is somehow able to overcome the effects of that drug.”

“Uhm, yeah… I agree with that…”

“Then, if possible, it would be better to have him rest back at the store. The medical facilities are good, we have a lot of medicine on hand, and if I look through the inventory, I might be able to find another drug that could neutralize the reagent’s ingredients.”

Lortel naturally tried to take Ed to the Elte Store using a logical reason, but…

“H-Hey, that’s not right…! It would be better for him to lie down and rest in a familiar environment! And even without Ed having to go there, you can find medicine to help…!”

“Still, if that’s the case…”

“N-No! No way…!”

Yennekar shook her head at Lortel’s opinion.

After all, it didn’t make much of a difference whether he was resting at the camp or at the store. In fact, the camp was a much more familiar environment for Ed.

Also, Yennekar wanted to avoid leaving Ed alone with Lortel while he was in a rather emotional state.

“B-Besides… it’s better if he’s somewhere where he doesn’t have to meet with more people than necessary…. So, it’s better he rests alone in the camp! Ed wouldn’t want to be in this state in front of anyone else, either…!”

“……”

“Th-That’s why… Someone he can trust… Yeah! It’s better if he’s in a place where someone he can trust can take care of him!”

Yennekar raised her voice as she spoke.

Seeing her flushed face and her pouting cheeks… Lortel naturally ended up fighting back.

“I’m sorry, but you seem like the most dangerous person right now…!”

“Me? I do?!”

“Am I wrong?!”

“How can you…”

How can you… yet she can…!

Even in such a situation, she couldn’t fight against her innate nature, unable to lie. It couldn’t be helped, as she was Yennekar Palerover…

“Still, just because you can think that doesn’t mean that I am necessarily dangerous!”

“See that! You’re trying to fool yourself with rubbish again!”

Lortel also began to raise her voice. It was extremely rare to see her—always so calm and serious—suddenly act like that.

“K-Keuk…”

Ed started to groan louder as he pressed on his temples while sitting in front of the campfire.

After a moment of silence, Yennekar and Lortel looked at each other again as they calmly made up their minds. It wasn’t the time to argue.

“Th-Then… If neither you nor I should take care of him, shouldn’t we find a reliable third party?”

“What time is it now? Is there someone with that kind of free time? I don’t know if there is such a person available.”

“Y-Yeah, but… we can’t just leave Ed alone like this…”

After the two of them thought it over for a long time…

“What are you two doing?”

Did help finally arrive?

Someone Yennekar and Lortel could both trust… She had suddenly fallen from the sky.

“……”

Did she come to find Lucy, who didn’t come back despite curfew?

Or did she come to manage Lortel’s villa, in accordance with her contract?

The head maid, Bell Maya, who made time to come to the camp despite her busy schedule. She had just come out of the bushes, holding a bunch of discarded clothes for repair practice.

After finishing her work at Ophelis Hall to some extent, she came to the camp to stop by.

She was going to send another maid, but Bell Maya ended up bringing the clothes herself.

“……?”

The two of them looked as if they had just seen their savior. Bell couldn’t help but have a puzzled expression on her face.

* * *

“The Rothstaylors, the Bloomrivers, and the Callamores are likely to join sides with Princess Penia.”

Within the Kroel Imperial Palace, in the second hall of the Rose Palace, was Princess Persica’s private room.

“The Elpelans, the Whitefelds, and the Nortondales seem to be on the side of Princess Selah.”

A man who served as the leader of the Imperial Knights Templar. A man with an old beard and tall stature, whom everyone within the imperial palace bowed their heads to just hearing his name.

The only ones who didn’t have to bow to such authority were the royal family.

As if to prove that fact, behind the man stood a girl who looked up at a large landscape painting of the Rose Palace without moving an inch.

It was a landscape painting by a painter from the Pulan region, depicting the majestic appearance of the Kroel Imperial Palace.

The details of the piece were so beautiful that even Persica, who had seen all sorts of works of art, looked at it in awe.

“Princess Penia and Princess Selah have already gathered the support of influential families. Is it truly okay for us to stand still like this? I humbly ask for your opinion, princess.”

Princess Persica looked at the landscape painting quietly as she smiled.

“I think we should look at the atmosphere a little more.”

Everyone within the imperial household was paying close attention to the rapidly changing power structure.

Yet in the midst of it all, Princess Persica was acting strangely relaxed. Seeing this, the Imperial Knight Commander Dylux felt very uneasy.