The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 210

“If you want to return to Ophelis Hall, you can come back,” Bell Maya told Yennekar as she headed back to the camp after her Elemental Studies class.

She briefly stopped at the commercial district to shop for a bit, humming while holding bundles of paper bags in her arms. Heading back to the camp, she ran into Bell, who was cleaning the pathway that led to the entrance of Ophelis Hall.

When Yennekar Palerover first entered Silvenia and couldn’t get rid of her countryside mannerisms, running into trouble over the most trivial of matters, senior maid Bell Maya was the one who helped her the most.

Not only that, Bell often visited the camp to take care of Lortel’s Villa. Naturally, the two of them were close, and it was only natural to greet each other warmly whenever they met.

“What?! That’s alright, I’m fine… But in the first place, I thought I wasn’t allowed to enter Ophelis Hall because of the disciplinary action?!”

“Disciplinary procedures from the School’s Disciplinary Committee usually expire within one year. In your case, it happened last year in the spring, but it’s already the middle of autumn this year.”

From the start, the pathway that led to Ophelis Hall was already clean. Yennekar honestly couldn’t tell what else needed to be cleaned, but nevertheless, Bell continued to give instructions to the other maids.

It clearly showed Bell’s personality as someone who thoroughly managed even the smallest of details.

“With a new disciplinary committee being introduced, the school tends to look past renewing any of the previous disciplinary actions. Usually after one year, everything tends to be forgotten.”

“Is that so…?”

“And honestly, the fact that Lady Tanya is the current student council president also has a large influence. However, you’re not someone who deserves to be punished to such an extent anyway, Lady Yennekar… Though, I don’t think what happened last year bothers you too much anymore.”

Any decision the disciplinary committee came to ultimately fell on the school and the student council.

The two of them had slightly different levels of authority in that regard, but they were both capable of renewing her discipline or looking past it.

It was quite a relief that Tanya Rothstaylor wasn’t aggressively pushing disciplinary action against Yennekar.

“Not only that, but all of the students see you in a much more favorable light than before… So, if you were to return to Ophelis Hall, there wouldn’t be any major problems.”

Among the students, Yennekar Palerover was still incredibly popular.

After all, during the Glasskan incident, Yennekar was consumed by the power of a high-ranking dark spirit. It was safe to say that she was not properly harboring malicious intent… And considering the amount of petitions and sympathy the students had for her since then, there would surely be no issues if her disciplinary action was cut short.

“From the second semester of last year, you were kicked out of the dormitory. So, after the second semester finishes this year, you will be eligible to re-enter Ophelis Hall after break.”

“I see…

“Actually, even though I’m saying this, you don’t have any plans to come back, right?”

Bell Maya really was sharp.

Rumors of Yennekar Palerover living in the wild were already circulated within the school.

Even though Yennekar had only told a few people that were close to her, the fact that all of the other students were interested was rather strange.

Since she was living in the wild with Ed Rothstaylor… Some of the students thought that the two of them would be together forever.

And… It was embarrassing, but…

That misunderstanding… Yennekar didn’t hate it…!

“You seem to be rather satisfied living in the camp, so I figured bringing this up would be a waste of time… Still, I thought it would be a good idea to at least mention it to you.”

“I see…”

“As you know, Ophelis Hall is always full of applications. So, if there was an opportunity for you to return, it was only right that you were aware of it.”

“Y-Yeah… Thank you. There are definitely a lot of students who want to go to Ophelis Hall… And I know it’s not right for me to say I don’t want to go…”

Yennekar Palerover really had no desire to return to Ophelis Hall.

“You prefer living with Young Master Ed, right? Then, should I remove your name from the list of Ophelis Hall applicants? I know those rumors about you and Ed being together forever are nonsense, but you don’t seem to really hate them, either…”

“Wh-What?! What are you saying?! Those rumors would make Ed uncomfortable! And I’m completely exhausted after going around telling everyone I meet that it isn’t true!”

“Is that so? It was my misunderstanding, I apologize.”

“Okay. Wait. No. You don’t need to apologize, Bell…!”

Even though Bell apologized respectfully, it didn’t feel like she was sincere about it at all.

Bell Maya could clearly see Yennekar Palerover’s feelings. Even though she was acting embarrassed about it herself… from Bell’s point of view, it was obvious what she was thinking.

To be able to act shy and embarrassed about something like that, it was a privilege that was given to girls her age.

She needed to enjoy it as much as she could for now… Once you realized the world was burning and people’s hearts turned cold, you could never taste that thrill again.

Bell Maya, who had such an opinion, could never find a romantic partner or experience her youth due to the hardships of her life. Missing the timing, she would never be able to get those experiences.

Seeing Bell having mixed feelings… Yennekar fiddled with one of her braids.

“Anyway, a more festive atmosphere is starting to take place within the school. Ophelis Hall will also be holding a small banquet, tea parties in the garden, and a large bonfire at night with singing and dancing. Even though you are not a resident of Ophelis Hall, you can still participate. Please come and visit during the festival with Young Master Ed if you have time.”

“Yeah. Okay! Thank you!”

Saying that, Yennekar held the paper bags in her arms tightly.

Bell then said, in a bright tone, “These days, it seems as if you’ve been able to rid yourself of all your worries. And your expression looks much better. I’m happy for you, Yennekar.”

Bell spoke to Yennekar right before she ran off… And Yennekar could only shyly nod her head in return.

* * *

Walking down the education district at sunset relaxed one’s heart.

After the students finished another hectic day of schedules, they all walked down the education district to the commercial district, chatting amongst themselves. It was a warm sight to see from afar.

With the reddish glow of the sunset, a sense of peace filled the school. It was as if the school had become an entirely separate world that had nothing to do with the turbulent battle for power happening outside.

Regardless of the era, Silvenia Academy had always been like that.

A land of learning, where students always came first.

Of course, being a student did not mean that there were no worries. Students worried about grades, career paths, and all the homework they had to take care of.

Yennekar Palerover used to be the same, but recently she had been able to overcome all of the worries that had been bothering her for a while.

She no longer had to worry about grades, as she was no longer the top student. Though, she was still a student with high grades.

And she had never seriously thought about her career path. To be honest, she could do whatever she wanted. There were no issues going back home and taking over the farm, either. Though, the professors would definitely cry, thinking it was a shameful waste of her talent.

The expectations and pressures that fell on Yennekar’s shoulders had also eased considerably after the position as top student moved over to Ed Rothstaylor.

Because of that, it felt as if she had a bit more freedom.

So, what was her daily routine like?

Since she lived with Ed Rothstaylor anyway, both the start and end of her day was with him.

She couldn’t help but mention Ed Rothstaylor, and if she had to pick one reason why she was happy with her life, she couldn’t help but say the name of that boy.

Having ridiculous thoughts that no one was listening to, Yennekar walked down the sunset as she gently fiddled with her fingertips.

A life without worries was what everyone dreamed of.

Since Yennekar felt as if she was doing that every day, she couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with happiness.

“Oh my, more than half of this semester has already passed…

“No way… I have to start preparing for my graduation next year… But I’ve been so lazy…”

“I’m also worried about failing my classes. Now that I’m a third year, the difficulty of the classes really did jump up.”

“Well, I guess I did study a lot in my second year as well. At this rate, will I even be able to become a fourth year…?”

Her classmates passed by as they shared their concerns with each other.

They happily greeted Yennekar, who only nodded back with a shy smile.

Do I… Really have nothing to worry about….?!

She really wanted things to stay like they were. Just thinking about her daily routine recently, her entire days were filled with happiness and joy from beginning to end.

It might sound ridiculous, but that was what she genuinely thought.

Still, it was inevitable for humans to live a life with one or two genuine concerns.

However, Yennekar Palerover was a person with no greed or ambition. She was satisfied with good grades, good relationships, eating well, and sleeping well.

There was no issue with that. However, she did have something she was worried about.

Ed Rothstaylor.

Yennekar was satisfied with her daily life, praying alone at night to let it be the same the next day.

But lying in bed like that, one day she opened her cabin door slightly to look at the campfire outside.

Ed Rothstaylor always went to bed late.

Throughout the day, he read books on his own, trained in magic power resonance, or did basic maintenance chores around the camp… But at the very end of the day, he sat there by the campfire with a blank expression on his face, lost in thought.

The late night with stars that fill the sky…

Yennekar watched Ed Rothstaylor’s serious expression through the crack in her door.

Unlike Yennekar, who was always happy and satisfied with her day, Ed Rothstaylor still seemed to be carrying a large burden and various concerns.

Fixing the firewood with the poker, Ed always ended his day lost in his thoughts.

She had experienced many incidents with Ed, but he somehow always managed to resolve them.

She had even gone with Ed back to his home to deal with an Evil God.

It was too many hardships for one person to go through, yet Ed managed to overcome them all.

Now that his family affairs had been taken care of, Tanya was now the student council president, and his reputation within the school had been recovered to some extent…

It still seemed as if Ed was full of concerns and a heavy burden was settled on his shoulder… Whenever night came, he was always lost in thought.

The contrast between Ed’s concerns and her own happiness was like heaven and earth.

Yennekar started to think that maybe she shouldn’t feel so happy. Even after going through so much, it still looked as if Ed had a mountain to climb.

Realizing that truth… she didn’t want to stay as a girl who was ignorant of the world, smiling happily like a kid.

It was unreasonable for her to have such thoughts about her happiness. However, she was still too young and immature to realize that herself.

* * *

“I received a letter from Princess Penia. Not just me, but you as well, Yennekar.”

“What…?”

Yennekar was completely surprised as she suddenly stood up.

I was sharpening my bow when I looked at Yennekar. She had a completely bewildered expression on her face.

I had been practicing Bow Crafting for four days already. As long as I continued trimming the wood Lortel sent me as practice, I was sure something useful would come out of it in about a week’s time.

“What?! A letter? To whom?!”

“It’s not a big deal, Yennekar. It looks like you were thinking quite hard about something?”

“Y-Yeah… I had something to think about.”

“Something to think about? What is it?”

“About you, Ed.”

She responded naturally to my question as we sat by the campfire.

However, her answer didn’t make much sense. Yennekar held her breath, as if she realized she misspoke.

“…About me?”

“Th-That’s not it! It wasn’t anything weird! I can’t believe I said something like that! Haha! Well, I guess it is true that I was thinking about you! But it wasn’t anything important!”

Seeing her act so surprised like that, it was obvious that it was something important.

Yennekar really couldn’t lie. Since she usually spoke truthfully, you could easily tell when she was lying.

“I can’t believe I said that! I usually think things through before I speak, but when I’m with you, I just say whatever comes to mind!”

“Well, I don’t know what you were thinking, but… For now, I’ll talk about the letter.”

I put down the bow I was working on as I took out the letter from the royal residence I received that morning.

“It seems that… Emperor Kroel is going to end the exhausting race for the throne by the end of the year.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. It’s already been a while since Prince Lindon suddenly gave up his right to the throne without any reason. I’m guessing he’s trying to clean up the mess as soon as he can. Only after choosing a successor will he be able to educate them and reorganize all of the power within the imperial household to fall under her rule.”

From Princess Penia’s point of view, it wasn’t a time she could sit still.

After going that far, she had to try and get the emperor’s throne for herself.

“With Princess Selah coming to Silvenia during the Grand Crestle Festival, it seems that it’s time for her to take action.”

“But what does that have to do with us?”

“I’m certain… That she will want to use us.”

The royal residence, which served as the residence of Princess Penia, sat firmly on the western cliff of Acken Island.

Since I’d even gone inside of it a few times already, it was not difficult for me to find.

“We’ll have to go and see what she wants in person. Since she asked for you, too, let’s go together tomorrow morning. Do you have time between your classes?”

“Y-Yeah… Alright.”

I nodded as I put the letter back into my pocket.

Starting the next day, the school would begin preparing for the festival in earnest.

I also had to start preparing.

However, Yennekar was acting stranger than usual… And it was bothering me.

…In fact, I could guess what was bothering her.

Pretty soon… It was going to be time to tell Yennekar everything.