The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 224

The night of the festival continued.

As night fell, firecrackers echoed throughout the school as a large campfire was lit in the middle of the student square.Back at Ophelis Hall’s main party hall, talented bands performed. Students cheerfully chatted among themselves, drinking refreshments meticulously prepared by the maids.Faculty members also enjoyed the long-awaited festival, sharing meals with their assistants and favored students.

Those working in school administration were busy managing the festivities. Student council members took turns enjoying the celebration, and many students found themselves falling in love or growing romantic under the festive atmosphere.

Like that, Acken Island was filled with celebration throughout the night.

***

Rummage.Thud.

Ayla, who had been running around the library for the past few days, continued to rummage through records related to Silvenia.

Since barely any students entered the library during the festival, she had essentially monopolized the entire reading room. She pushed her bangs aside and leaned back in her chair, letting out a sigh.

She couldn’t even give a proper response to Taylee, who kept stopping by with a worried expression. She felt apologetic, but there was something more important she needed to focus on at the moment.

Ignoring the ongoing festival, she remained trapped in the dim reading room, pouring over records day after day. She was slowly losing her mind.

Most records regarding Silvenia were already well known. With only the materials available in the student library on Acken Island, it was impossible to fully analyze Silvenia’s hidden intentions and actions.

Most of the records Silvenia left behind were fragmentary and incomplete. She had written several books, but most were either stored in the Imperial Library or considered lost treasures.

Trying to trace Silvenia’s steps using only information accessible to a general student felt like punching the air.

Something written by Silvenia herself, or a record left by someone who had personally met her—

Silvenia Academy’s treasure, theSage’s Seal, located in Trix Hall.Silvenia’sCelestial Studies Research Journal, kept in the Imperial Library.Study of Celestial Studies and the Flow of Magic Power, stored in the capital archives.Introduction to Celestial Magic, written by Archmage Glockt before his death—unfinished.And countless fragmented notes found in laboratories throughout Silvenia.

If Ayla could gain access to those materials, she might uncover vital information, but they were all priceless artifacts far beyond the reach of an ordinary student.

In the end, the only information available to her was what had been released to the public—official speeches and published research records.

If there had been anything truly abnormal within them, historians would have discovered it long before Ayla.

“This is difficult…” Ayla muttered, glancing at the pile of documents before her.

One of them was the speech Silvenia delivered before the Imperial Palace, when her exile to Acken Island was announced.

***

[“Everyone. I am a horrifically extreme fatalist. I have lived my life believing it is mankind’s duty to follow the path fate has given and find happiness within it.

A girl who was forced to abandon everything she had built, exiled to a secluded land on the southwestern edge of the empire.

Yet there was not the slightest hint of pessimism, disappointment, or frustration in her voice.

‘However, if a time comes when I must resist the fate of this cruel world—if a time comes when I must struggle to prevent a promised catastrophe—then I will have no choice but to set aside all other thoughts.

‘I am going to Acken Island. But I do not consider it exile. This is simply another step in the life fate has presented to me. You all know this as well: there are moments when cruel fate presses down on you. Times when the world forces you to suffer in order to grow. But in moments like those, you must never let your heart break.

‘Because I will fight against my fate—and I will win.’”]

***

Hearing such words, it felt as though the people of the capital were watching a general depart for the battlefield. In reality, it was the great sage leaving for Acken Island.

As Ayla reviewed the record, she frowned slightly. At that time, Silvenia had already reached the pinnacle of Celestial Magic.

Holding her breath, Ayla quickly turned back to the research records that had been made public.

It appeared that after foreseeing the future through Celestial Magic, Silvenia continued her research to prevent that future from coming to pass.

***

[“The flow of time is a variable. Thus, by twisting and breaking the flow of magic power, it may be possible to defy a predetermined future.

However, understanding the rules of a field that cannot be directly observed with the naked eye is no easy task. More than that, there exists no experiment that can be conclusively verified.

One thing is certain: Celestial Magic holds the power to twist and break the providence of the world. Of course, it is not simple. To escape a promised fate, one must introduce a ‘variable.’

A variable not bound by the rules of this world. Only then can the predetermined future be forcibly twisted and broken. Yet once the future is shattered, time itself must be reconnected and allowed to flow again. To do that… something is required.

A prophet who understands the path of the world. One who knows how to forcibly alter what has already been set.

One from another world.”]

***

***

A greedy nobleman and a daughter sold to him as a concubine.

It was such a cliché, old-fashioned story that it barely felt worth telling anymore.

Yet to Bell Maya, watching the scene unfold, it didn’t feel unrealistic at all. Not only did it mirror her own past, but what she was witnessing now felt painfully familiar.

Parents delighted that their daughter had caught the attention of a young noble—only for the story to twist into her becoming his plaything.

Moreover, the Palerovers did not fully understand aristocratic culture, having spent their lives on an isolated ranch in Torren Village.

“Well, since he’s a duke’s son, this much isn’t unusual. Isn’t that right, Ed?”

What Lortel said was not true.

No matter how powerful a nobleman might be, he still had to exercise caution when it came to women. Relationships and social associations directly impacted authority. Even if one had a lover or two, they were kept discreet and carefully protected.

A noble openly keeping dozens of women as playthings was something that belonged to centuries past.

In short, Lortel’s outrageous remark was meant to confuse the Palerovers, who were ignorant of such matters.

“Quit joking.”

There was no way Ed Rothstaylor would agree.

He lightly pressed her head down as she grinned, gripping her mug tightly so it wouldn’t spill.

“Please don’t misunderstand. I would never do something so absurd.”

Lortel hadn’t expected the joke to work anyway.

Still, it left an impression—what was known as a difference in status.

Even though Lortel Kehelland had once been a commoner, she had climbed to a position of great power through her abilities alone. It emphasized how distant she was from those who raised sheep and cattle on a rural ranch—and just how far removed Ed Rothstaylor was as well.

As the son of a duke, even living with multiple women would not seem strange from a commoner’s perspective. Aristocratic lifestyles and values were fundamentally different.

Realizing that, the Palerovers once again felt the weight of the gap between them.

“I-Is that so…?”

“Don’t put too much meaning into Lortel’s words.”

“Th-Then… if you’re not in a special relationship, why are you living together like this…?”

Ed fell silent.

Because… it was true.

Yennekar lived next door. Lortel owned a villa nearby. Lucy Mayreel regularly crawled into his blankets to nap. And yet, none of it was romantic.

Objectively, however, it looked as though he were heartlessly playing with the feelings of three girls.

Of course, Ed had his own reasoning.

Yennekar chose to live in a cabin due to circumstances at Dex Hall. Lortel simply purchased land and built a villa. Lucy was, quite literally, a trespasser.

Ed Rothstaylor was merely trying to survive.

Yet what would happen once he escaped the looming crisis threatening his life?

He wanted to graduate from Silvenia, avert the catastrophe facing the world, and finallylive—not merely survive.

Since the moment he had possessed Ed’s body, he had worked tirelessly toward that goal without wavering.

But would such reasoning convince anyone?

“J-Just… how many have you made cry…?!”

Saila instinctively covered her mouth.

It was an incredibly rude thing to say, but at the moment, Ed looked like the enemy of women everywhere.

“Ah—! I-I apologize, Young Master Ed!”

“Saila! Think before you speak!”

“I-I’m sorry! Honey! I was just… too shocked…!”

“I also apologize for her words, Young Master Ed. And as for me… well, I understand what it means to live as a man!”

Orte suddenly launched into a passionate monologue.

“Like a wolf roaming the grasslands alone, seeking the perfect place to settle. Such a wolf must experience countless lands before choosing one… Isn’t that a necessary journey?”

“Honey, what are you saying?! With your wife standing right here?!”

“Uh—uhm—b-but I only have you now, Saila, my dear! P-Please don’t misunderstand! I just mean I understand Young Master Ed’s life!”

“B-But our daughter Yennekar is involved! Our precious daughter must never be hurt!”

“Well… yes… that’s true…”

The couple continued arguing in confusion.

Ed didn’t know what to say.

Meanwhile, Yennekar—who had become the center of attention—had retreated to a corner of the camp, sitting beside Merilda.

Her face burned as she buried it in her lap.

“Hey, Merilda… If I’m embarrassed by my parents… does that make me a bad daughter?”

[I understand how you feel.]

Yennekar was completely overwhelmed.

In the end, Bell Maya was the one who resolved the situation.

She explained that Ed Rothstaylor had been living in the wilderness since his excommunication, and that while he had crossed paths with many people, it had never been for indecent reasons.

Thanks to Bell’s calm, soothing voice, the Palerovers gradually settled down.

“So you don’t need to worry. You may return to the visitors’ quarters for the night. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“O-Okay… Miss Servant. We’re sorry for causing a scene, Young Master Ed.”

“There’s no need to apologize. It couldn’t be helped.”

Ed maintained his gentle demeanor until the very end.

From that alone, it was clear he wasn’t someone who would mistreat the women around him.

In other words, Yennekar was fighting a battle for love—not being sold off as a nobleman’s concubine.

When the Palerovers realized that, tears welled in their eyes.

Yennekar… you’ve been fighting alone all this time…!

Saila felt the weight of her daughter’s loneliness—and as her mother, she could not remain idle.

What the couple didn’t realize was that their love would become Yennekar’s undoing.

There was a strange determination in their eyes as they glared at Lortel.

For the sake of Yennekar Palerover—the pride of Torren—the village would unite.

Lortel tilted her head, watching them.

I suppose I’ll need a different approach.

She smiled.

***

“Oh.”

Lortel sat by the campfire, holding her mug and smiling.

It had taken only half a day to win over the rancher couple. Threats hadn’t worked—so persuasion had.

There was more than one way to move a heart.

Just as she relaxed, a presence emerged from the forest.

“…What brings you here?”

“That’s what I should ask. I didn’t expect to see you here either.”

Ed was away checking the fishing nets.

Standing in his camp, completely out of place—

Was the First Princess of the Kroel Empire.

Selah Einer Kroel.