The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 256

The full moon’s soft light seeped through the fluttering curtains.

In the dark, Ed raised his head with a serious expression on his face. Like always, he seemed as if he were deep in thought… However, no matter how rational and reasonable a man was, there was a limit.

A person’s patience was bound to break eventually.

Ed Rothstaylor’s patience and self-discipline could be considered to have surpassed human limits, but it was by no means infinite.

Yennekar’s whisper was the final blow to his remaining precarious sense of reason.

“I’m okay.”

Their warm-hearted relationship, where they understood and cared for each other, was beautiful. But it wasn’t time to think about such things. It was time to finally graduate from that beautiful, fairytale-like story.

It was like the illustrations inside the fairytale books Yennekar read as a child.

The amusing story of an incredible prince seducing the princess, raising her bangs as he leaned in for a cute kiss. Yennekar’s imagination always ran wild as she pounded on her pillows and hid under her blankets just imagining such a kiss…

However, unlike those cutely drawn kisses in children’s books, she had come to realize that in reality, a kiss was completely different.

Ed’s rough hands brushed against her forehead, leaving Yennekar nowhere to hide. Her eyes trembled nervously as her flushed cheeks had nowhere to hide. She was frozen still, waiting for Ed’s next move.

Was that what it meant to be caught up in the moment?

At that moment, she was caught up in the atmosphere and being led by Ed Rothstaylor. Being caught up in the moment and feeling as if she were committing an immoral act was a new world for Yennekar.

Ed Rothstaylor was just as nervous. It wasn’t that he didn’t have experience with women—it was because of the situation. Putting his hands on a girl as innocent and young as Yennekar… It was a different type of nervousness.

The thought of whether it was okay to do or not constantly filled his head… But no matter how rational of a person he was, he couldn’t come up with a reason as to why he shouldn’t do it.

Yennekar herself said that she was okay. Ed had already declared himself a piece of trash, and the villagers… Even Yennekar’s own family had given their approval.

He ran his hand across Yennekar’s forehead, straight towards her jawline… He continued to extend his touch down, further and further. Now, no one could stop his hand from going further.

And with no one able to stop it, it continued to go down. Ed swallowed his dry saliva nervously, unlike his usual self. He then brushed Yennekar’s bare shoulders gently as he quietly kissed her.

Her lips were on fire.

The surface of Yennekar’s skin had risen in temperature completely. She was as embarrassed as she could possibly be.

It wasn’t their first kiss. However, kissing in such a situation and atmosphere was completely different than the brief kiss they had shared back at the camp.

The illustrations in her fairytale books couldn’t compare to reality. With just their lips touching, Yennekar’s entire body trembled as her heart continued to pound harder and harder in her chest.

Love between a man and woman… It wasn’t just heartwarming and innocent scenes like holding hands and smiling at each other in a beautiful field of flowers.

Rather, there was a dangerous feeling, as if they were doing something immoral and obscene.

It was the first time Yennekar had ever experienced such a feeling.

Ed moved his lips away from hers as Yennekar took a deep breath, waiting for what Ed would do next.

Ed’s hand continued to go lower, but just as it was about to reach another area of her body… Yennekar couldn’t help but let out her voice.

“E-Ed…”

Any further and it would become a completely different type of skinship.

Just before they reached that stage, Yennekar barely managed to raise her voice.

“Is it alright if I ask you an embarrassing and stupid question…?”

“Now…?”

“Y-yeah…”

Ed paused for a moment, then he quietly nodded his head.

“A-am I… your first?”

It was as if a knife had briefly pierced his lungs, making him lose his breath. In a situation like that, anyone would stop after hearing such a question, hesitate, and think it over for a moment.

Ed was the same. He was going to think a bit about what he should say, before realizing that thinking was the worst possible thing he could do—that moment of hesitation and thinking it over was an answer in itself.

There was no reason to lie to Yennekar, and being considerate of her would only make things stranger… Ed shook his head.

“Heuk…”

He wondered if that brief reply was a major shock to Yennekar, as it looked as if she was holding back tears. Though in truth, there was nothing that Yennekar could say.

Ed had only met Yennekar after entering Silvenia. As for what Ed had done in his life before that, it had no relation to her. That fact had always been true.

Being a young master of a ducal house, he must have lived an entirely different life from Yennekar. So for Yennekar, all she could do was imagine what his life was like before entering Silvenia.

She couldn’t say anything to Ed, who had shaken his head.

“Th-this is my first time…” she said timidly. “S-so, you will have to take the lead… I r-really…d-don’t know…these things…at all…”

Even though she spoke with pure intentions, she had no idea just how suggestive those words were to another person.

“Do whatever you want, and I will follow your lead.” In front of her, no man would be able to hold himself back.

Ed continued to lower his hand, feeling her curves. Yennekar closed her eyes as she calmed her beating heart. After that, it was as if everything had happened in a flash.

The more Ed’s hands moved, the more Yennekar’s voice raised in response. At some movements, her voice was loud, showing how she enjoyed the intensity of the moment. At other times it was soft, as if she was hoping the moment could last forever. They held onto each other’s bodies tight in such a way.

Hugging each other, making eye contact, and feeling each other’s skin.

For Yennekar, who has no such experience, every little action felt as if she were crossing a forbidden line. It was the first time she had ever embraced the entirety of his large and muscular body with her own or allowed her hands to flow smoothly across his skin like water. Being up close to his mouth, hearing his every breath… Everything they did, she was always left with a feeling of doing something they shouldn’t be doing.

But only after Yennekar had gotten so close to Ed’s body did she realize the bigger differences between the two of them.

Not about status, background, values, or any of that…but more of a wild and primal type of difference. His sturdy hands, tough arms and legs, tall height, and the strength he had to completely lift her up if he wanted. Those fine muscles of his that had become well developed after struggling to survive—it was completely different from Yennekar’s thin and pale body.

They continued to kiss each other, and each time they did her heart skipped a beat. Whatever they did, she really couldn’t get used to such intimate and romantic actions. She came to realize that fact.

His hands, his lips, his breath, the warmth shared between them. She couldn’t get used to any of it. Every time she felt it, it was as if it was her first time. Her heart continued to pound, putting Yennekar on the edge of fainting.

Although Ed realized it, at that moment he wasn’t in a state to look after her.

While he was holding her close, he continued to lift up her bangs and make eye contact with her.

Every time he did that, Yennekar couldn’t bear it as she tried to avoid his eyes bashfully. However, Ed did not give Yennekar any room to run away.

Each time they made eye contact like that, it gave him a chance to regain his composure… But it was rather counterproductive for Yennekar. Seeing Ed’s face up close like that required too much of her mental strength.

He enjoyed watching Yennekar as she closed her eyes in embarrassment, only to look back up at him moments later. It was as if the two of them were playing around.

At that point, Yennekar was only half conscious.

When she felt Ed’s touch, she raised her voice. As they made eye contact with each other, they would rest, gently holding onto each other without saying anything.

She enjoyed the warmth as Ed stroked her. He moved his hands as they went back and forth between tense and relaxed.

What surprised her was that she quite enjoyed the feeling.

Even though she couldn’t move her limbs, only able to follow his lead, her heart continued to beat faster and faster.

Ed hugged her tight as he patted her head. Yennekar realized that was what happiness was.

While it didn’t seem to fully express what she was feeling, it was enough to describe that feeling of satisfaction that filled her heart.

Yennekar Palerover was in bliss. She wasn’t simply satisfied. She had a tremendous feeling of positivity and hope for her future life.

That was what it meant to spend the night together.

Being able to affirm each other’s love by holding each other close, feeling the warmth between them. It was much more than an obscene desire to simply satisfy one’s human cravings.

It was about confirming the fact that you were not alone. Whether she walked down a flowery road or a thorny one, she knew that she would always have someone walking by her side, hand in hand.

Her life wasn’t only filled with sunlight. In fact, there were many days of darkness she experienced after entering Silvenia.

The weight of other’s expectations weighing on her shoulders. The magic circle that filled the sky, calling on Glasskan. Memories of crying on top of the broken Nail Hall. The Holy Blue Dragon’s cries covering the island, with the goal of destroying the world. Friede’s roar as she soared over Acken Island. Memories of making her way through countless hordes of monsters.

And the loneliness Yennekar Palerover endured as she bled, cried, and clenched her teeth until the very end.

Even if the terrible memories of the past couldn’t be forgotten, she at least had someone by her side who understood her.

Overjoyed with a sense of happiness and relief, Yennekar started to shed a few tears.

“…Are you okay?”

“I’m not crying because I’m scared.”

“…Then?”

“Just because.”

People even cried when they were happy. She had just realized that fact.

Yennekar felt Ed’s thumbs wipe away the tears from her eyes as the corner of her lips went up.

Is she finally no longer nervous?

Ed nodded his head as he grabbed a large pillow from the edge of the bed, putting it under her waist.

Because her waist was lifted, it was as if her body was protruding upwards, emphasizing the curves of her body. She would eventually get used to it, but for the moment, Yennekar was short of breath, blushing.

Ed brushed his hand against her face, then supported Yennekar’s waist with both arms.

It was obvious what was going to happen, but she no longer cared. At some point, her mind started to feel a greater sense of satisfaction than her body.

Being able to feel as if they both valued each other more than anyone else in the world was the purest type of happiness a person could feel.

Yennekar held a thought tight in her heart the entire night. Would she ever be able to feel so happy again? A mix of joy and regret filled her heart.

Yennekar held onto the pillow in ecstasy.

Clenching the sheets, holding up her body, hands around the back of her neck, looking up at the ceiling…

After a long time passed, Yennekar realized two things.

One was that her body wasn’t as flexible as she had thought. Secondly…was that Ed’s stamina, which seemed to go on forever, also had a limit.

Was it almost the end? Ed put his hand against her cheek, holding onto her waist tightly. Yennekar raised her arms, wrapping them tightly around his shoulders.

She didn’t want him to run away, so she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. Yennekar pressed her face into Ed’s wide chest until the very end.

* * *

Quiet, but full of vitality.

Even though it was a contradiction, the village at dawn held that strange feeling.

Because of the fog that came down from the mountains, you couldn’t fully see the majesty of the large mountain range. However, the lively noise that filled the village started to grow louder.

Even in the early morning, when the sun had yet to rise, the village was starting to wake up.

As the smoke from my tobacco rose into the air, Merilda kicked her feet.

Merilda was watching the beautiful mountains from the roof of my accommodations. She then looked down at me smoking in the early dawn, smiling mischievously.

[You look tired.]

I sat quietly on a tree stump in front of the accommodations as I listened to the bugs in the early dawn. I was thinking about how to answer her.

Yennekar was completely exhausted, having fallen into a deep sleep. I had put the blanket over her as I came out. It wasn’t even five in the morning yet, but people were already starting to leave for work.

“You have a rather mischievous side to you, Merilda.”

[I thought you knew that all along.]

Merilda jumped off the roof, landing on the ground and holding down her skirt as it fluttered in the wind.

She pulled her white hair back as she came over to me. She looked down at me as I continued to smoke, her voice teasing when she spoke.

[You piece of trash.]

I was going to say something in return, but kept my mouth shut, deciding it would be better to avoid trying to deny it. In fact, Merilda herself egged me on, so it wasn’t like she could say much about it either.

[I don’t like having to leave Yennekar alone, but I don’t want to pressure her either… Well, I’ll admit that you did your best, given your unusual position…]

Merilda sat next to me on the tree stump as she continued to speak.

[Yennekar may have given her permission for you to go off and get involved with other women later on… But I’m sure that, because of that, she’s going to have a difficult road ahead of her…]

“Hey!”

[Who knows how things will change? One day you might suddenly see someone else in a new light.]

Merilda smiled in an irritating manner as she cast wind magic, dispersing the smoke from my tobacco.

I knew she was a spirit with a playful temperament, but she seemed to be in a much better mood than usual.

And I knew why.

“We should start investigating Tyrcalaques soon. I need to finish my work quickly and head back to Acken Island.”

I put away my tobacco as I spoke to her.

Merilda listened, then responded with an expression of mixed emotions.

[Did you know?]

“What?’

[Here, the flowers that bloom across the mountain ridges are called Wind Flowers.]

“Is that so?”

The refreshing early morning breeze passed them by. The cool breeze that came down from the mountains always felt amazing.

Merilda looked up at the mountains as her white hair fluttered in the breeze.

[Why do you think they call them that?]

“Because they’re always swaying gently in the wind?”

[Close, but slightly different.]

With a somewhat serious expression on her face as she looked up at the mountain, the wind wolf spoke softly.

* * *

“Can I get you something to drink?

After smoking, I went back to the accommodation. There, the owner kindly asked me if I needed a drink. After giving my thanks, I climbed the stairs and opened the door. Maybe because I didn’t get much sleep the night before, I wanted to lie in bed a little longer.

Yennekar had just woken up and was curling her toes.

It seemed that she was too embarrassed to show her face as she hid under the blanket. It had to be what they called ‘Post Nut Clarity.’

I sat opposite her on the bed as I placed a kettle on the small table nearby. After pouring a glass of water, I quickly drank it all before putting it down.

For a while longer, it remained quiet. Sitting in that silence for a while, I decided to say something first.

“Y-Yennekar.”

As if she was surprised to hear me call her name, she started to tremble and her toes wriggled around.

She then carefully poked her head out from under the blanket, resembling a squirrel hiding in a burrow.

“We should start the investigation.”

I felt sorry after seeing her tremble under the blanket. Because of that, I decided to come up with a reason for us to get up and go out.

When there was something you had to do, even if you didn’t want to, you got it done.

Yennekar wrapped herself in the blanket as her head came out. She brushed her messy hair back as she looked my way, struggling to raise her voice.

“A-alright…”

Her voice was completely gone.

That couldn’t be helped.