The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 200

Until sunset, everyone there had to sit around and wait by the shore.

The process of the workers handing over the luggage finished quickly. The nuns sat with each other as they chatted amongst themselves.

Looking out at the beautiful coastal scenery for several hours, you would begin to get used to it, as it no longer looked as grand. After all, one’s eyes quickly adjust.

I had several conversations with Abbess Austin about her life inside the monastery while enjoying the sea breeze.

The sun was slowly starting to set.

Looking out beyond the coast, I wondered how much longer it would be before the sun fell below the height of my head… Before I realized it, the water level had dropped to the point that the sand beneath was visible.

It wasn’t a spacious trail, but it was still large enough to pass through. The nuns slowly started to realize it was time to move as they gathered the luggage.

At that moment, the door of the saint’s majestic carriage opened.

The immature and young nuns were startled. Everyone stood up, put their hands together, and bowed their heads. The workers looked up at the carriage with respect.

Clarice descended the stairs of the carriage in a calm manner, as if a messenger of God had arrived in our world.

As if symbolizing her purity, the hem of the Saint’s white dress gently swayed in the sea breeze.

Her pure white hair contrasted with her bright red eyes and butterfly hairpin, just as everyone imagined.

Within the Telos Religious Group, it was considered a great honor to see the saint even once. Most of the time, there was a large crowd that came to see her, so you could only see her small figure from a distance.

So, to be able to see Saint Clarice in such a quiet atmosphere at such a close distance was like a once-in-a-lifetime blessing.

As Saint Clarice descended onto the sandy beach, the bustling atmosphere completely subsided.

She walked to the shore with an escort of soldiers. She greeted me with a small smile as she nodded her head my way.

It was an act of simple courtesy, but as if it were shocking to see Saint Clarice treat someone like that… The atmosphere of the area froze. It wasn’t all that pleasant for me.

Clarice grabbed the hem of her dress, holding it up. The nuns who were watching offered to hold it for her, but she politely declined with a soft smile.

And, with the escort leading the way… she slowly made her way over the sandbar that led to the Cledric Monastery.

Seeing Clarice slowly move towards the large monastery in the distance under the setting sun, there was an aura that felt strangely holy.

However, I couldn’t sit still. The nuns were already starting to follow along, holding the luggage.

After sitting quietly on the shore, I slowly got up, tying the hem of my robe before I started making my way towards the monastery.

* * *

“I heard the young nobleman would be checking and taking care of Saint Clarice’s meals… I wonder if such a process is really necessary. The meals in the monastery are always just grass.”

“Still, it seems like he needs to at least do a basic check of the meals.”

“Well, being mere nuns, it isn’t our place to say anything. The saint herself is the one who personally gave permission, after all. We just need to do what she wants and give her whatever she asks for.”

As soon as Clarice arrived at the monastery, she headed to the prayer room that was located on the top floor of the spire.

That was also said to be the place where she would eat, sleep, and live. She also lived on the top floor of Ophelis Hall and in the Holy Father Building. It seemed customary to let the saint use the room closest to God.

My role was to receive reports on all environmental factors that came into contact with her. I needed to control and manage everything so that there wouldn’t be any significant issues.

It was usually a task done by a high-ranking priest of the Holy Father Building, but Saint Clarice seemed to have already told the archbishop she wouldn’t be needing someone.

It seemed like a rather important job, so it felt strange to have it entrusted to me.

However, compared to how important the job was, the workload was much smaller than I expected. That was because there weren’t many environmental factors that could take place within a monastery. It was a place that was completely empty, other than its beautiful and majestic exterior.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you a luxurious room. Well, it is a monastery, after all. Abstinence and frugality are the basics. Here, even members of the imperial family have no choice but to survive by eating leaves.”

“I already prepared myself for that before coming.”

“It’s nice that you’re not complaining. Still, I’ll do my best to make sure your meals are as high quality as possible. Of course, it would be difficult to expect any sort of feast.”

“You don’t need to. Please have them prepare me the same meal the nuns eat. We’re all the same, after all.”

“Ohh……”

The interior of the Cledric Monastery was just as grand as its exterior.

A mix of marble and white bricks were exquisitely put together. After walking up the stairs leading to the entrance, I saw the sheer grandeur of the monastery… I wondered how they were able to bring all of those materials to the island back then. Though, I supposed they would have used magic.

Walking out through one of the doors, there was a small garden that was lush with greenery and a corridor surrounding it. Marble columns stretched around the neatly maintained garden.

Feeling the pleasant draft as I walked through the monastery, I started to question if it was really okay for me to even be there, as I was not a follower of their religion.

It wasn’t a place that permitted outsiders entry for personal reasons.

“I certainly feel good that the young nobleman is here. We rarely ever see any of them, after all.”

“I’m not going to praise him highly right off the bat, but…”

As I walked along the corridor, I couldn’t help but be conscious of the gazes around me.

Maybe because they were warned beforehand by Abbess Austin, the nuns weren’t approaching me recklessly.

However, there was a nun nearby with a basket full of vegetables, a clumsy one running around the garden, a child hiding behind a marble column glancing my way, and a few who I passed while walking down the corridor…

From the main lobby to the corridors, it was hard to get used to their trembling gazes everywhere that I walked.

“You are an abnormality here. You need to get used to their curious gazes.”

“Am I really the only man in this entire monastery?”

“Why? Do you feel like you’re in heaven?”

“……”

“You really can’t take a joke. Well, I guess it’s obvious that you wouldn’t be the type, or like this kind of place.”

Abbess Austin chuckled as she went into a room at the end of the corridor. It looked like she prepared a room for me as far inside as possible.

“Well, these days, the ban on males entering has become a lot stricter… In the distant past, they were always letting a famous and influential man or two inside to take a look around… Though, that was a long, long time ago.”

“If you’re saying it was a long, long time ago, just how long ago was it…?”

“Well. Have you ever heard of the war hero ‘Zellan’? He also used to stop by the monastery and donate. If you were to look even further back…there was also the Archmage Glockt.”

Indeed, she really was like a living fossil in the Telos Religious Group. All of the names she was listing were influential historical figures that only appeared in books.

Archmage Glockt, a disciple of the Great Sage Silvenia, left the world with a list of impressive achievements.

Amputator Zella was one of the three scholars who worked with Guardian Obel, leading the subjugation against the non-humans to protect the Kroel Empire.

That granny was someone who lived at the same time as such historical figures.

“Well, those two are the only ones I would consider ‘decent noblemen’.”

“……”

“I’m sure you must feel gross hearing this old lady call them decent. But it’s the truth! HAHAHA! Ah, you can follow me this way.”

The sun had just set, and it was already time to call it night.

Even in the monastery, there was an atmosphere that suggested that everyone had finished their day’s work and were now getting ready to go to bed.

In the monastery, the day started early—which also meant that the day ended a bit early.

The room the abbess showed me was much more modest than expected.

A bed, a wooden table, a wardrobe, and a window in a space that was about 177 sq ft. That was all there was to it.

The view of the coast outside the window was incredible, but it didn’t particularly make up for the small size of the room…

Still, it was much better than living outdoors back at the camp, where I needed to worry about my survival. After spending those first few months surviving the wild, where it was difficult at first to even call it a home, the room was quite comfortable.

“Well, as you know, the schedule starts tomorrow. Good luck, young nobleman. If you need anything else, just let me know.”

Abbess Austin was about to close the door when she spoke again.

“Ah, I think l already warned you before, but… make sure to lock your door…”

There was something sinister mixed in with her laughter.

Slam!

The door closed with a thud, leaving me completely alone in the room. Since there was no light source in the dark room, I lit a candlestick.

Crash, crash!

The sound of waves crashing outside my window. The sky was full of stars.

Whenever the candlestick’s flame swayed in the wind, my shadow on the walls of the room shook.

It really felt as if I was alone in the world. In an environment like that, it really was easy to forget about materialistic things and think solely about God.

I put my luggage down as I sat quietly at the wooden table, my arms crossed. Since my living environment had suddenly changed, it seemed my body also needed some time to adapt.

No, in the first place, it was way too early to sleep. Back at the camp, it would still be considered early evening. So, it was completely foreign to me how everyone in the monastery was already prepping to go to bed.

“Hmm…”

Since I had to deliver Saint Clarice’s breakfast in the morning to the top of the spire, it was better that I went to sleep early.

The religious ceremony that the various distinguished guests would attend wouldn’t happen for five days. So, before then, my goal was to completely blend into the monastery. That way, I wouldn’t feel too out of place attending the ceremony.

However, Abbess Austin’s request concerned me a bit.

“I don’t want to take away their humanity by pushing faith.”

“What I’m trying to say is, please act as their prince as much as possible.”

I understood what she wanted, but it was difficult for me to do so.

In fact, since my goal was to blend in with the monastery, there wasn’t a good reason for me to increase or complicate my relationship with the nuns more than necessary.

So, to some extent, I was thinking about giving up. In the first place, I wasn’t a good enough person to become their prince on a white horse, nor did I have the motivation to try.

Did I even have any obligation to act as their fairytale prince so as to not break their adolescent dreams?

She just had to go and make an unreasonable request… I was the only one suffering from it.

I decided to only do the basics. Just the basics. Even though my mindset wasn’t pure, who could blame me?

* * *

The prince lived in the guest room on the fourth floor of Cledric Monastery.

Rumors about him circulated that would make him cringe and want to disappear. It had only been three days since Ed Rothstaylor came to Cledric Monastery.

Though, in reality, Ed Rothstaylor didn’t do anything in particular.

At dinnertime, he went to the saint’s room, checked her condition, and had a personal conversation with her.

He would also lend a hand in taking care of the vegetable garden within the monastery, share regular meals with the others in the main hall, and assist in various chores around the place.

He did physical tasks, like digging up fields and harvesting vegetables, cleaning inside the monastery, and repairing some of the broken facilities through woodworking.

In particular, he was extremely interested in helping repair clothes. He was always visiting the repair room, where he would meet with the nun in charge of repairing, who was nearly an adult. She could barely get any sleep at night because she kept having miscellaneous thoughts about him.

Although, for him, he simply felt that he was indebted to the monastery for allowing him inside. Even though he thought it was natural, the nuns felt completely different.

The noble girls who attended the ceremony every year were always arrogant and full of themselves. They complained about everything, especially the food.

So, there were quite a few girls inside the monastery that had a strong hatred towards nobles, whether they realized it themselves or not. However, even though Ed Rothstaylor was a nobleman, he was gentle and kind. He was completely different from those noble girls.

He didn’t smile brightly, but the way he would coolly leave after helping, as if it wasn’t a big deal… It was completely different from that arrogant image they had when they thought of a noble. Naturally, it also made those girls swallow their dry saliva without even realizing it.

On the first day, he woke up in the morning, put on a leather shirt and a magician’s robe, prepared the saint’s meal, and prayed in the chapel.

As soon as he finished praying, Ed Rothstaylor went to the garden, taking care of the garden with the abbess. He even repaired the broken workbench with just a few basic tools.

As he walked around the monastery, he checked and repaired all of the loose doors, unaligned hinges, and the window frames. It was a decent amount of work, yet he somehow did it all at an unbelievable speed, finishing it all in the morning.

A high-ranking nobleman, who was even from House Rothstaylor, was sweating profusely as he held a hammer and nails with his sleeves rolled up… It should go without saying, but all of the nuns were in awe.

Then, when he started repairing pieces of furniture inside the nuns’ private rooms, they all started to come to him—asking him to fix their rooms, too, causing an uproar. Though, they all just selfishly wanted Ed Rothstaylor to come to their rooms alone.

Since it wasn’t a task he could finish in a day, he told the abbess he would take care of everything slowly. Abbess Austin had a large smile on her face.

From his first day, Ed Rothstaylor was already considered a ‘good-hearted nobleman.’

On the second day, he demonstrated some basic elementalism to a few nuns who were interested in magic.

As the monstrous-sized fire bat flapped around the garden, all of the nuns were startled and they started to applaud loudly.

For the nuns who never even left the monastery in the first place, the fact that he was a top student at a prestigious school like Silvenia naturally made him an object of admiration.

In particular, the nuns who had a strong interest in magic and sacred magic often watched him with sparkling eyes. They often asked him for advice on how to train and raise their magic power resonance. Every time they did, Ed Rothstaylor answered sincerely and positively, saying that as long as they worked hard, it would work out.

His status of being a noble overshadowed the fact he was also talented in magic and elementalism.

He looked reliable and strong when they saw him do so much repairing and woodworking, despite being a nobleman. And yet, he was also a top student in Silvenia Academy’s magic department. He not only had beauty, but he even had brains.

In addition to that, there was a feeling of mystery around him, as he directly assisted the saint. That meant he was already successful, despite his age.

At that point, Ed Rothstaylor was starting to go from being considered a handsome nobleman to being a full-blown ‘Prince’. One that had wisdom, virtue, and the visuals of a prince straight from a fairytale.

A wonderful prince, one that definitely rode a white horse. He might have been in the monastery at the moment, but they were sure that when he returned home, he would be greeted at a splendid palace with numerous servants.

Yet he also had a kind personality, always listening to everyone. He knew how to wield a sword and shoot a bow, yet he continued to train in magic. Where in the world was there another prince like him? Only a person as perfect as him was suited to be a real nobleman.

‘Can’t he just wrap his arms tightly around my body once? He could easily lift me. If he hugged me like a princess, it would be like flying through the sky.’

They were the kind of awkward compliments that made you want to cover your face.

Everyone in the world wanted to be complimented, but too much became poison.

Though, from his point of view, it was only natural to act like he was. It was out of courtesy and etiquette—but that was only what he thought.

There was one variable he hadn’t accounted for. When a group of girls came together with their girlish delusions… they lost all sense of reality and started to run wild.

Naturally, they started to idolize him. Forgetting about all his shortcomings and putting him on the pedestal of a mythical being that never needed to use the bathroom, let alone produced any eye gunk.

“I heard that Young Master Ed is so talented in magic, he’s strong enough to destroy the entire outer wall of the monastery with a single motion.”

“I heard that Young Master Ed is well-versed in elementalism, to the extent that he can even handle an ultimate spirit.”

“I heard that Young Master Ed can even cut through the sea with one arrow!!!!”

“Does that make any sense??”

“Uhm… N-No…?”

“B-But it still might be possible, since it’s Young Master Ed, right?”

“It’s possible! It’s absolutely possible, because it’s him!”

“I-Is that so…?”

It would have been better if it ended there.

“When you hear his voice, your brain will stop working and your eyes won’t be able to move! Be careful!!”

“Did you know? Young Master Ed once killed a bear with his eyes alone!!!!!”

“I heard that he knows how to stand on top of a horse!!!!”

“I heard that when he looks at water and commands it to, it will completely freeze into ice!!!!”

“I heard that, if he wanted to, he could read all of the books in the library in just one night!!!!”

“There are even rumors that Young Master Ed isn’t being taught at Silvenia, but he’s teaching there!!!!!”

“As expected!!! That’s Young Master Ed for you!!!!”

“……”

On the morning of the third day, Ed finally heard all of those rumors.

Abbess Austin, who ran into Ed as he was leaving the saint’s room, was barely able to stop herself from bursting into laughter.

“Good morning, Ed. The one who can kill a bear with his eyes, can perform horseback stunts, command water to freeze, read the entire library in one night, and is a Silvenia teacher.”

“……”

“You look embarrassed. Are you not used to the imagination of nuns who know nothing of the world? I’m curious what will happen when you leave after the ceremony. You might even reach the same level as our God Telos.”

In a place where teachings of Telos were held, what would happen if a new religion was born?

Ed Rothstaylor glared at Abbess Austin.

“Well, they’re just having fun with their rumors, so don’t worry too much. I already warned them to control themselves… But when it comes to the imagination of a young girl, it can really run wild…”

“Is the monastery always like this?”

“Naturally, things are usually more lax. This is just a place to show your faith. Things have just become more exciting because of you. But… Well… things are pretty much the same as before.”

Abbess Austin took Ed’s coat as she burst into laughter.

“But there’s another strange rumor among the nuns these days. That the monastery is haunted or something.”

“…Haunted?”

“Last night, some of them heard a thumping noise between the walls and the sound of someone walking on the ceiling. Not only that, a few ingredients from the kitchen went missing and some of them claimed they saw a strange shadow down the hallway at dawn… A bunch of the younger kids were crying at night, saying they couldn’t sleep alone.”

Ed had briefly heard rumors about that, too. At night, the shadow of a small person often appeared by the windows.

“It’s not good for rumors of a ghost to circulate around the monastery that serves our God Telos. We’re already busy preparing for the ceremony that will take place soon, so this extra chaos isn’t great.”

“I see… you must be going through a lot.”

“Still, thanks to you, the atmosphere here isn’t all that bad. I’m sure playing the role of a prince for these nuns is tiring, but I’m going to have to ask you to keep it up for a few more days. When you leave, I’ll prepare a small present for you.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter to me… But recently… the eyes of some of the nuns looking at me seem to be a little dangerous…”

“It’s up to you to take care of your chastity. Hang in there!”

She laughed jokingly as I glared back at her.

“That’s right. I had something to tell you. I can’t believe I forgot.”

As if she belatedly remembered, Abbess Austin then delivered some important information.

“Princess Persica is said to be arriving at the monastery later today.”

* * *

Regardless of whether you were a member of the imperial family, you still had to wait for the tide to lower to enter the monastery. So, she could only sit by the beach, watching the monastery from afar.

It was also a period of time that was meant to have one clear their mind and prepare themselves before entering the monastery.

Princess Persica who didn’t have a personality that cared for such things, simply sat there casually.

Sitting quietly in a large royal carriage, she spoke about the situation with her aides. She heard some news about what was happening inside the monastery.

“Ed Rothstaylor is in there. The man who is deeply involved in the House Rothstaylor incident and is said to be one of Penia’s most powerful supporters.”

“Yes. I heard that he came to assist Saint Clarice, but I am unsure of how he was given permission.”

“Well, it’s something I’ll have to see and judge for myself… Still, there is too little information about that man.”

Persica was a cautious person.

Selah and Penia. Since he was someone on the radar of both of the other princesses fighting for the throne, Persica knew there had to be something special about him.

The reason Princess Persica strongly urged Emperor Kroel to let her visit the monastery was to find Abbess Austin’s weakness as an elder of the Telos Religious Group.

And it just so happened that, at the same time, Ed Rothstaylor had arrived at the monastery a few days in advance. Was it really a coincidence?

Princess Persica only had very limited information about him.

Information that could be obtained by using her authority as a princess. The man’s history, background, and position in Silvenia. That was it.

Even when he was involved in the war of nerves within the Elte Company, the only thing she could conclude was that his sense of judgment was extraordinary. Ultimately, detailed information on someone else could only be gathered after seeing them in person.

However, nothing good would come of meeting him without preparation. Since he was highly important, she had to approach him all the more cautiously.

“Tune.”

“Yes, Princess Persica.”

“It seems that man has already been living in the monastery for a few days already. That means he must have already gotten closer with the people inside.”

With an alluring smile, Persica looked at her aides in the carriage as she spoke.

“His family and Silvenia Academy may have been able to keep their mouths shut about him, but the monastery is completely out of his realm. After all, it’s a place where only a few people are able to move as they please.”

“That is true.”

“When I enter the monastery, I will be able to gather all sorts of information about him. Much more than we were able to gather from the school and his family. We need to use this chance to squeeze everything we can out of him.”

Princess Persica stretched out her hand and squeezed it tightly.

“Since he’s a key figure on Penia’s side, this’ll be a good opportunity to take control of him. Whether we have to persuade him or force him.”

“Yes… I understand…”

There was still plenty of time until low tide.

Princess Persica was gathering her thoughts as she stared out at the massive Cledric Monastery.

The Holy Father Building, the headquarters of the Telos Religious Group. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that it was the next largest place after that building.

It was truly a magnificent sight.