The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 254

He must have lived a rather intense life when he was young. That was the initial impression I had of Glems, the chief of Torren Village.

He had long, grayish-brown hair with eyebrows and a beard that was turning white. He looked as if he were a man who had already passed his peak and was now in his twilight years.

Despite that, his eyes were still as bright and lively as ever. I couldn’t tell how old he was, but he looked as if he was saying he had no plans to die in the next ten years.

There were people who were able to show such a natural sense of dignity without even trying.

The village chief Glems seemed to be such a person. He was a somewhat strict and hot-tempered elder of the village who was highly respected by the people there.

“It must have been a long journey, coming all the way here. I prepared a small accommodation near the town hall for you, though I must apologize, as it isn’t grand enough for your worth, Young Master. As we are just a small village on the outskirts of a pasture, this is the best we can offer at the moment.”

From the perspective of Torren, it must have been a big event for a duke to come all the way there.

Ever since Yennekar and I entered the village in the carriage, people had been gathering and watching us come in.

Most of them were rather old, although occasionally small children and young adults also showed up. They must have all been busy working on the ranch.

However, unable to overcome their curiosity when they heard a noble was going to arrive, they must have gathered in the square to watch…

“Thank you.”

After giving my thanks, I looked around the town.

There were some stores that were around the small square. However, it was too small to call a shopping street.

In a rural village like Torren, one person needed to take on multiple jobs.

There was a general store of sorts that seemed to be selling all sorts of miscellaneous things in one place. There was another store that seemed to sell groceries and even a restaurant. It looked as if the town hall took care of everything else, as the only other buildings were ranches and farmhouses. It was quite packed together.

The scenery was beautiful. In every direction you looked, it was as if you were looking at a piece of art. It was reminiscent of the Alps or Andes Mountain ranges.

The clear sky and the greenery of the pastures. It felt as if I could sit anywhere in town and stare off blankly for hours. That would be enough to refresh my heart and wash away my worries.

“Are you going to stay here, Ed? I will probably head home first to unpack.”

“Probably. There’s no rush, so take your time.”

Yennekar grabbed her things from the carriage, stepping back down. Once off the carriage, she glanced around nervously at the townsfolk who were looking our way. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Grandpa Glems! How have you been? Is your back pain any better?”

As Yennekar greeted the village chief warmly, Glems seemed a bit surprised. He hesitated for a minute before answering, as if he were deep in thought.

Yennekar was also briefly taken aback to see the village chief not greeting her like he usually did.

Seeing this situation, I felt as if I should say something.

“You can act like you usually do.”

I figured that Glems was the type to be particularly strict when it came to manners and etiquette… He must have been wary of how to act in front of me.

Even though Yennekar had the title of baroness, since it was her hometown, no one had to go out of their way to show her a strict sense of respect. Actually, knowing the type of person Yennekar was, everyone was well aware that she would rather them treat her like usual than with a newfound respect.

But towards me, who held the grand title of Duke, it was another matter.

It wouldn’t be polite to talk casually with another in front of someone with such a large difference in status.

Rather, in such a situation, it was as if everything was flipped since Yennekar spoke to Glems with respect yet spoke with me casually.

That was why I had the most power at the moment, so I had to be the one to help them be at ease.

Seeing that, I started to understand how Yennekar was treated among the people in the village.

“This isn’t a public matter of my house. I simply came all the way to the outskirts on my own desire, so there’s no need to worry about such etiquette.”

“You are extremely merciful and understanding, Young Master Ed. This is the first time in my life a nobleman has shown such consideration and respect towards me.”

Glems bowed his head, then he spoke to Yennekar.

“Thanks for worrying about me, Yennekar.”

But then he spoke with a nonchalant expression on his face.

“But is it really fine for you to not use the same room? It’s already been a while since you two have been together.”

* * *

I entered the room that seemed to be prepared for two people.

It seemed that it was originally a double room. There were two beds and a set of simple necessities.

[I think I can see why Yennekar had become a rather shy person…]

Merilda was sitting on the other side of the bed, kicking her feet in the air with a wide smile on her face.

I unpacked my luggage, putting my clothes away. I then took off my heavy coat, folding it and putting it aside.

[I only walked around the carriage after we arrived, but I heard so much gossip. Even though I heard them with my own two ears, I couldn’t possibly say it aloud.]

After hearing Glems, Yennekar had started to blush as she waved her hand in the air, running off back to her house.

Everyone had thought that Yennekar and I would surely sleep in the same room.

[I guess Yennekar was dumped.]

Merilda spoke with a grin on her face.

She looked at me with a playful expression on her face, but as if my reaction was no fun, she turned and buried herself in the empty bed.

Saying nonsense like Yennekar was dumped. Merilda should know better than anyone else.

Merilda sighed as she lay flat on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

[I don’t think she can live without you.]

“I know.”

[…Wow. You just sounded like complete trash…]

Since Merilda was speaking light-heartedly, I could tell she wasn’t serious when she criticized me. She always had that smirk on her face. She was never the type to speak in a straightforward manner.

I took off my shirt, tossing it onto my suitcase. Laying on the bed, Merilda looked my way, seeing my scar-covered body. Though, she turned back around as if she didn’t care.

[Yennekar probably knows as well. That your younger sister is taking advantage of the fact that you don’t have a romantic partner yet politically.]

I sat down on my bed.

Merilda let out a sigh as she quickly sat back up on the other side of the bed.

[Yennekar isn’t stupid either. Being a baroness, she is well aware of your status and worth in regard to the political landscape of the Kroel Empire.]

[Yet she still wants to stay by your side.]

I knew what Merilda was trying to say.

While she did confess to me about the rumors that were circulating in Torren, she never explained much about them.

She had apologized greatly with a miserable expression on her face as if she were worried that the rumors of us being together had caused me trouble. After all, there was political value in the fact that I didn’t currently have a partner, and the rumors of us could affect that.

Even though Yennekar never openly said any of that, it was obvious.

[She must be too scared to learn the truth. Ultimately, she thinks that given the difference in your status, she will be pushed aside. Because of that, I’m guessing she will never be able to take that last step.]

Merilda had stopped kicking her feet in the air playfully. It seemed that at some point, she had stopped joking around and had become somewhat serious.

[You know what she’s like. She thinks she’s lucky to even be in the position she is in now. She’s happy just being by your side. She’s happily living in the present, grateful for what she has. That’s how she’s always been. But I wish she wouldn’t stay like that forever.]

“The fact that you’re suddenly talking about this… Does this have anything to do with the death of Tyrcalaques…? Earlier, you were telling us to not look any further into it.”

Merilda let out a cough as if she had been stabbed.

The remains of the ultimate wind spirit, Tyrcalaques.

Before, Merilda told me that she would tell me the location of them, and I’d been patiently waiting.

Back then, I thought she was rather cooperative in helping me with the matter. However, recently it seemed that she was less eager to do so, and even troubled at the thought.

[It’ll be easy to find its remains, but I told you already that you shouldn’t look any further into the question of how Tyrcalaques died and returned back to nature. In fact, as long as you have the remains of the spirit, that’s enough to train your elementalism.]

“My position back then and now are completely different. Now, I’m a professor who came here to conduct research for the school.”

[I know that. That’s why I’m hesitant.]

Merilda had completely gotten rid of her smile as she lowered her voice, speaking seriously.

[Tyrcalaques loved humans.]

Perhaps because we took so long to travel, the sun was already setting outside the window.

The sky was red as it turned darker, yet Merilda continued her story while lying down.

[Here in Pulan, there was a farm girl who was nothing special, but who he had fallen in love with.]

“Seeing your expression, I’m guessing the ending isn’t good.”

[Yeah. It goes without saying, but for two different types of entities with two vastly different lifespans to become closer than necessary… It’s quite dangerous.]

I remember seeing Merilda walk around a lake in the North Forest, looking up at the night sky blankly before.

If you looked up at the starry night sky yourself, you would understand why the wind spirit always looked up at the sky.

The only things in the world that wouldn’t change were the stars and the moon, high in the sky.

On the ground, everything was prone to disappearing and changing with time.

[It was a forbidden love, and once that girl died, he was unable to overcome his loneliness. Thus, he ended his own life.]

[That was how Tyrcalaques died.]

A forbidden love.

For those who lived for basically an eternity, loneliness was a disease that led to death.

High-ranking spirits that lived for many years each had to come up with their own ways to deal with that highly dangerous disease.

The same must have been true of the ultimate spirit Tyrcalaques.

Just what had to happen to break the heart of that ultimate spirit, who must have already experienced everything before?

[Just because we can manifest in the form of a human doesn’t mean you can ever mistake us for actually being human.]

“I know that. After all, you are just manifesting while imitating the person that was the most special to you.”

[That’s right. In this world, there are many more forbidden relationships than you might think. In fairytales, they often talk of overcoming that wall to love each other… But now, Yennekar knows herself well.]

There was no such thing as Romeo and Juliet in the world.

[Reality is colder than you might think, and you can never mistake yourself as a protagonist in some fairytale. Yennekar now knows that fact, too.]

Merilda had a dead-serious expression on her face.

More than anyone, the wind spirit was praying for Yennekar’s happiness. However, it was not that she didn’t understand my situation, either… She was struggling between us.

[Tyrcalaques eventually died a tragic death because of his forbidden love.]

[And I was worried what Yennekar might think after finding that out.]

I was starting to understand.

Merilda’s sudden uncooperative behavior was ultimately due to her concern for Yennekar.

[Well, I won’t be unfair towards you either, Ed. House Rothstaylor has risen a lot, but it wouldn’t be surprising if something were to happen, stripping your power away as well. I understand your situation. But… At the same time, I can’t help but feel bad for Yennekar.]

I would eventually have to face that question. How did I really feel about Yennekar Palerover?

Did I see her as a partner in life? Could I imagine starting a home with her and accepting her as my partner?

“The reason I can’t give an answer… Don’t you already know?”

Just because someone said something didn’t mean it would happen. That was the truth.

In truth, I didn’t care about the political advantage of having the position of my partner vacant. Her filling that spot didn’t bother me in the slightest.

Yennekar Palerover was also a good person. She didn’t lack in any areas when it came to being a great partner. She was also someone who would devote herself to me until the day she died. I couldn’t deny that in some ways, I also feel a great romantic interest in Yennekar as well.

However, Yennekar was also well aware of just how much House Rothstaylor would lose for her to become my partner. She was well aware of just how much needed to be sacrificed for it to happen.

Yennekar Palerover was a girl who became burdened by others.

If she did whatever she wanted, ignoring the situation of everyone else around her, she would live with a feeling of debt and regret for the rest of her life.

That was the type of person she was. When someone sacrificed or gave her something, she never forgot.

But was a relationship where she was constantly conscious of such a debt meaningful? She would need to live under that pressure for her entire life. As my partner, she would also have to stand on the bloody political front, helping to represent House Rothstaylor. However, she was just an innocent girl who had lived in the countryside her entire life.

Would such a life make her happy? Or would it make her unhappy?

[I knew you would say that.]

Merilda was lost in thought for a moment before suddenly smiling again.

[Kahaha. You’re just worried about Yennekar, aren’t you? That makes me feel at ease.]

“Shouldn’t you be more worried? I don’t think Yennekar’s life will be all that great after getting involved with a person like me.”

[I think the opposite. You know, Ed. From my point of view, I think this will all work out if you just find the determination. Find the determination to sacrifice yourself.]

“Determination? What determination? And what do you mean by sacrifice?”

Merilda laughed before speaking in a playful voice.

[The determination to become a piece of trash.]

What are you even talking about? Right when I was going to ask her that question, Merilda smiled as if she found the matter amusing. At that point, to some extent, I realized what she was trying to tell me.

I glared back at her, though Merilda continued to laugh as if she didn’t care.

* * *

“Uhm… Hey, Ed.”

After about an hour, Yennekar came to my room with her luggage.

She told me that she was going back home to unpack her things, but for some reason, she had come to my place with her bags.

“I got kicked out of my house…”

“What?”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head upon seeing Yennekar’s exhausted face in the doorway.

The moon was already high in the sky. It was already pretty late. I wondered if it made any sense to kick someone like her out of the house at such a late hour…

“My mom complained about how they prepared a room for two people… and she kicked me out…”

Saila Palerover… I couldn’t help but be in awe at that woman’s determination.

“Sh-She’s too much… She locked the door and completely got rid of my bed sheets… She told me to come here and sleep instead…”

I continued to listen in awe.

“I thought of going to a friend’s house instead, but… With all of the rumors that are spreading around… I thought it might be strange to go anywhere else…”

Yennekar Palerover was a genius Elementalist and the baroness of House Palerover.

I couldn’t help but be in shock upon seeing a person with such a status being treated as such.

“Alright. Come inside… We can sleep together tonight…”

Since I couldn’t leave her outside my door, I helped her with her bags, bringing them inside.

She came inside as she put her luggage in the corner of the room.

I quickly gathered the elementalist textbooks that I had laid out on a small table and put them away. I then sat down on my bed.

Yennekar crawled into the bed opposite me, lowering her head and blushing.

“Uhm… I guess…the situation somehow ended up like this…”

It was the middle of the night, where only the sound of the grasshopper outside the window was heard. There was only one small light in the room. Our shadows danced on the walls as the candle flickered.

“I-I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve been bothering you so much recently… Ed… Because of this and that, I’ve made you do so much for me…”

“There’s no need to worry. Like I always tell you, there are many things I owe you as well. So, there’s no need for you to feel so burdened. For now… You must have sweated a bit after walking around all day, so…”

I didn’t mean anything else by it. I was just trying to tell her as naturally as possible.

“How about you take a bath?”

An awkward silence followed.

“Did I say something strange?”

“No! Not at all! Definitely not at all!”

Yennekar stood up quickly. She went over to her bags to grab some things before heading to the bathroom.

After she left, I sat on the bed alone. I let out a sigh, wiping my lips. Then I slowly lowered my head, falling into deep thought.

Merilda’s words filled my head.

The determination to become a piece of trash.

The determination…to become a piece of trash…