The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 59

The report given by the company staff member…At any moment, things were going to explode.

“There’s news that the soldiers hired by Golden King Elte have entered Acken Island! It seems that they are planning to take advantage of the confusion within the academy to attempt to take over Ms. Lortel’s forces.”

“With a large amount of Elte Company’s manpower having been taken away, we are completely defenseless!”

The fact that time didn’t wait for anyone was something everyone knew without needing a reminder.

The reason that man’s time seemed to fly by like an arrow was because I’d been living such a hectic life.

Spending every minute of the day just trying to make ends meet, before I knew it we were already at the final chapter of Act 2.

It only seemed like it was a couple of days ago that Yennekar had taken over the student center, creating a mess… Taking care of my test grades, watching the storyline, and finishing any work back at the camp meant that, before I knew it, nearly half a year had already passed since that major incident.

No matter how passionately and thoroughly you lived, living a life where you were busy out of your mind meant there was bound to be something you couldn’t take care of.

Those things that you couldn’t fully finish due to your busy schedule tended to end up popping up right when you were the busiest, most out of your mind, and sensitive.

Most of Act 2 had gone well, without any major issues.

“The Occupation of Ophelis Hall” and “The Battle for the Sage’s Seal”, both of which had a slight twist to them, had still both ended up being completely stitched up.

However, in the process there was something that popped up and definitely still remained that I had to postpone, and still hadn’t completely resolved.

In the storyline, The Golden King Elte had been completely and utterly defeated, so he didn’t even have the chance to make a comeback.

Because he ended up getting demoted a bit earlier than was planned, he ended up having time to put up a final struggle. More than a resolved issue, it was better to call it a postponed one.

“Yes, that’s correct. His dismissal from Elte Company seems to have finished, but seeing as he accepted it in a much calmer and more composed manner than I had expected, it seems that he is up to something.”

“I was worried that by chance Ed might also get hurt. That’s why I called you, to see if there was anything else wrong with safety.”

“I see. Since there’s no way to know what Elte will do now that he has definitely been pushed against a corner, I’ll have to make sure to always keep my head on straight.”

Lortel had mentioned it before, when I had visited the Elte Company. I was sure that she had thought of her own ways to deal with this issue.

Act 2 was the last chance to get everything prepared in time, right before the ridiculous upcoming hardships that would start in the second half of the storyline.

It was a period of time where Taylee needed to seriously grow, to the point that he was strong enough to stand head-to-head even against the other main characters of the storyline.

Pretty soon, all of the hardships that appeared in Act 2 would be over.

Now, with Professor Glast’s defeat, Act 2 needed to be concluded neatly and surely.

I couldn’t just stand still and let remnants of the past survive to create unnecessary new variables.

I’d talked about it many times already, but my advantage was that only I could see through the entire flow of the determined future… It was my best weapon, one that I couldn’t give up to anyone. If I wanted to survive in this world with that weak body of mine, it was an absolute advantage that I absolutely couldn’t throw away.

If he is meant to leave the stage during the second act, then he will leave the stage during the second act.

Elte was a wealthy merchant that had gained numerous experiences from living in a world of business. Just how big of a variable would take place if I let him survive out there and maintain his power until the end? There was no need to explain everything in detail.

I’d already had enough experience. The butterfly effect caused by a single third-rate villain that should have been removed at the start of the story was enough to shake the entire world greatly.

That couldn’t be helped. That was because I was that third-rate villain.

I was determined to watch over and deal with the situation.

At the very least, I had to survive. It wasn’t about others, it was about me.

However, if it wasn’t about me, it was a different story.

***

While carrying Lucy on my back, I trudged along towards Taylee’s party. Lortel had followed me from behind as Yennekar, who finally straightened her head, smiled as she followed suit.

“I-If you come any closer…!”

While the hand that was holding onto his sword trembled, Taylee shouted. Elvira was also glaring at me with a cold sweat running down her back.

Shortly after, in the moment that Taylee tried to raise his sword, Ziggs had grabbed onto Taylee’s sword hilt and lowered it again. Then he walked forward, standing between me and Taylee.

“Ed.”

Spear from Nature Ziggs. He was one of the people on Taylee’s side that would end up becoming more reliable than anyone else.

“We don’t want to fight with you, Ed. We just want to save Ayla.”

“Alright. Then go and save her. I don’t really want to fight with you guys, either.”

From his determined expression there must have been some misunderstanding, but either way I didn’t want to fight Taylee either.

“If you go straight down from here, the path will be nearly cleared. It’s annoying having to explain all of the details of the situation, so when you go and save Ayla ask her instead. Since she was the one who got kidnapped with me, she’ll be able to explain the situation to you.”

“Ed… Then…”

“There’s something that I need to urgently take care of, so I have to go. Get out of my way.”

Momentary silence.

There was a brief exchange of glances between the others that were following me and Taylee’s party, who were facing me.

Ziggs lowered his gaze, looking at Taylee for a moment before nodding his head. He lowered the arm that he stuck out towards Taylee and stepped aside with him.

With the two guys that were practically leading the entire subjugation force getting out of the way, the rest of the party swallowed their spit as they also moved off to the side.

I also looked towards Lortel and Yennekar as we trudged our way through the cleared path.

While I was passing through the path, their gazes on me stung.

With Yennekar, who had recalled all of her spirits, Lortel, who had her robe on, and Lucy, who was sleeping soundly… I took them with me as we went out towards the exit.

When I looked back, I saw Taylee and his team all staring at us as they started to regroup themselves.

“Taylee.”

He looked like he had seen a ghost. But that was understandable.

There was still a lot of work left to be taken care of in the underground waterways.

There were a few smaller named bosses and other monsters that were in the way they would need to take care of… Celestial Researcher Koom, Devil of the Underground Waterways, Cyclops, and Inquirer Glast all remained.

One of the bosses was Lortel, but… that couldn’t be helped. We are in a hurry to deal with Elte.

In the first place, Lortel was only a boss given certain conditions, so it wouldn’t matter much if they were to skip her.

Besides that, there would also be many other difficult and arduous trials. The experience and rewards from those would be very helpful and beneficial.

Especially having to endure Glast’s Celestial Magic, which would be too painful for a human’s mind to handle.

“Good luck.”

There was no need to explain the entire situation or give long words of encouragement.

Saying those two words, my party and I finally hid into the darkness of the underground waterways.

Taylee was just standing still, looking at my back as I went further and further away, but…

Until the very end, he didn’t say a word.

***

We picked up the pace.

Trudging through the water, Lortel, Yennekar, and I headed towards the exit.

“My father’s removal from the company is nearly certain already, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a means to turn things around.”

Lortel summarized the situation in a composed tone of voice.

“In the end, his removal from Elte Company was based on accountability. The main reason for his removal came from the company’s loss in terms of long-term transactions… So if he becomes free from those responsibilities, then he will be able to survive once more.”

“Then…”

“Yeah… he’s trying to get his hands on evidence that this company’s loss is fabricated.”

If it was according to the original storyline then during the Battle for the Sage’s Seal, Elte should have fallen after being backstabbed by Lortel.

There wasn’t even a chance for him to make a comeback. As soon as the responsibilities for the long-term losses were dumped on him, the notion should have been passed, settling his downfall.

However, there was news that the bill of his removal had yet to certainly pass. Hearing news that the bill for his removal had not yet properly passed…

“Is he using the forces from inside the company to fight back?”

“According to the original plan, his dismissal should have quickly passed before he would even have a chance to make such a resistance. But since the plan was moved forward quite a bit, it seems that it didn’t go all that smoothly.”

Thanks to that, Elte was able to secure enough time to return to Silvenia.

“He will go flipping over every single paper in the company’s branch, but there won’t be any evidence that will change the situation. I’m not stupid enough to leave such a piece of evidence behind like that.”

“Then will the conclusion be the same as last time?”

“Yes. The surest way would be for him to capture me and either torture me or do something else bad enough to make me spill the whole truth.”

Whatever it would take, it was certain that he would try to capture and torture Lortel, who was the mastermind behind the plan for Elte’s dismissal.

“No, Ed!”

I was in the process of quickly organizing the situation and thinking of some sort of countermeasure.

However, Yennekar—who was following right behind me—suddenly pulled on my sleeve. It was so sudden that I almost dropped Lucy.

Yennekar stood in front of my path as she crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks out, her body shaking.

“You can’t follow Lortel, Ed.”

“Yennekar?”

“You’re going to get hurt again!”

Yennekar herself didn’t think she would raise her voice so high, startling herself and letting out a gasp.

“Did you already forget that it was only a few days ago that you collapsed from overworking yourself?”

Yennekar wasn’t good at getting mad at others.

Her body wasn’t used to having her raise her voice or question others like that, so she couldn’t help that her voice was a bit shaky.

Nevertheless, Yennekar glared straight at Lortel, which was something unfamiliar to her.

“This is about the Elte Company. Technically speaking… this has nothing to do with you… It would be great if you didn’t get hurt any more Ed…”

Even when she was angry, it was very much like Yennekar to gradually lower her voice, afraid that it wasn’t okay.

And what she was saying wasn’t wrong in itself.

Either way, Elte’s dismissal was all a part of Lortel’s situation.

If you were to look at it from my point of view, without knowing the circumstances, frankly whatever the power structure within Elte Company was—it didn’t matter to me as long as I was fine.

It was a reasonable argument, but it didn’t work for Lortel.

With how the situation was turning out, even if I acted like I didn’t know about the full situation happening to the company, Elte still would not leave me alone.

Besides that, it was also possible to use a plethora of other excuses to somehow get me involved in all of this somehow…

“What Yennekar is saying is right.”

Contrary to my expectations, Lortel agreed with what Yennekar had said. I thought the two of them were like cats and dogs, but…

“Getting you involved in this any further is purely because of my selfishness. The right thing to do is to have you moved to a safe place and take care of yourself.”

“Well, thanks for the concern, but unfortunately this isn’t just someone else’s business.”

I couldn’t get those two to understand just how important it was to kick Elte off of the stage.

If I couldn’t explain it, I had no choice but to blindly push forward. Either way, it was an urgent situation. There didn’t even need to be another condition for me to make an excuse or claim that I didn’t have time to explain.

“What did you say, Ed?”

“It’s not just someone else’s business. Now, let’s hurry up and get out of here.”

After saying that, there was a moment of silence.

I didn’t think I had said anything that amazing, but there was still this emptiness in the air where it seemed like time had stopped.

The first one to respond was Lortel.

“Just what are you talking about, Ed?!”

No, Yennekar actually came first.

Lortel had opened her mouth as she was to say something, but as if something urgent had come up she quickly took a few steps back. Her ears were completely red, like she had been caught off guard by something completely unexpected.

“Let’s just move for now! There’s no time!”

Really, if Elte had managed to already invade Silvenia’s Commercial District then it wouldn’t take long to figure out Lortel’s location and reach the underground waterways.

Everything Elte wanted was inside the underground waterways.

Lortel Kehelland, who could prove that the long-term sales loss was all just a ploy to overthrow Elte.

And the one that could support the credibility of that testimony was me, Ed.

There was even the Sage’s Seal, which he had been putting in so much effort to buy.

There was no way that the academy’s forces, led by Headmaster Obel, would just sit still as a third-party force was entering Silvenia’s grounds. But at the very least, during the ongoing chaos he wouldn’t be able to afford to care about Elte.

During that time, I had no idea what Elte will do.

“What are you talking about, Ed?! This isn’t someone else’s business?! Did you two become more than strangers?! Was it because of your contract with Lortel?! That must be it, right?! Because if Lortel loses power of the company, that is also going to disrupt your distribution of those magically engineered items, right?! Yes, if that’s the case then surely this isn’t just someone else’s business!”

It felt like her brain was suddenly spinning, but Yennekar’s ability to judge a situation seemed to have doubled.

Quickly following me as we left, Yennekar even made an excuse for me that I hadn’t come up with yet.

Yennekar… was she smarter than I thought??

“Yeah, that’s right!”

“Right! Yep, Okay!”

Since it was such a sudden situation, I couldn’t explain it all to Yennekar. Just by looking at what was going on, she was able to figure things out and even come up with her own judgment… She was definitely a top student.

It would have made sense for her to ask me about why I was carrying Lucy on my back, but seeing how busy I was she just grabbed her oak wand and held onto it tightly as she followed closely behind.

The first thing that had to be done was going back to Elte Company’s Silvenia Branch and figuring out the current state of the situation.

It would be good to stop Elte from doing anything strange over there, at least until Taylee is able to finish up the final chapter.

So for a while, we ran towards the exit at full speed. I would have been tired regardless, but having to also constantly carry Lucy on my back had me extremely out of breath.

As I ran through the underground waterways, which seemed to go on endlessly, I would occasionally see the traces of a battle.

I had thought that it was probably just traces of Taylee passing by. From the beginning of the underground waterways, you would already have to deal with many magic golems and a mid-boss… so it would make sense.

As we came up near the exit, there were the signs of a huge battle that took place.

Act 2 Chapter 2’s mid boss.

High-Rank Magic Golem Hayton and the top third year alchemy student, Dorothy.

The magic golem Hayton was completely smashed, fragments spread all around the entrance of the waterways. In the middle of it all was Dorothy, who was completely unconscious.

“He must have gone wild.”

The start of the second phase wasn’t all that difficult. With Taylee’s specs as they were, he should have been able to break through in a straight line with almost nothing blocking his way.

It was also the first time I had gone backwards from the secret laboratory, all the way to the underground waterways. It’s quite refreshing to arrive after the fact and see the remains of the battle.

I ran to the entrance to quickly judge the situation and look around. The magic golem Hayton had been completely destroyed.

Then, I looked at Dorothy, who had fallen with her face covered in spit and tears, as if she had fainted in fear.

If someone saw that, they might even think she had been tortured. Though, I’m sure that Taylee wouldn’t think of doing such a thing.

“That guy Taylee. How awful is he acting, not caring one bit that she’s his upperclassmen. I mean, seeing this, he really must be heartless.”

I sighed as I looked at the fallen Dorothy’s appearance. That was the Dorothy that wouldn’t be looked down upon wherever she went, so I had no idea she would have ended up being smashed in so horribly.

“Oh, yeah! You’re right.”

After saying that, Yennekar replied with an oddly shaky voice. I didn’t really say that expecting some type of response, though…?

“He must have been a bit violent! Yeah!”

“Yennekar…”

Yennekar answered, wiggling her fingers around while Lortel—strangely—pitifully looked at her.

It was like she was saying, ‘why did you lie if you’re just going to get caught anyway?’ Starting to have my doubts, I looked down at Dorothy again and noticed that the shawl that was covering her body was something I had seen somewhere before.

The shawl with those cute cosmos embroidered on it… It was definitely what Yennekar usually wore over her school uniform.

Come to think of it, I wondered why Yennekar was only wearing a school uniform, so I looked back at her. Yennekar gave a hiccup as she let out a small scream.

“Beek! I’m sorry! I lied!”

“You did this, Yennekar?”

“I didn’t mean to do this, but this and that happened, and things ended up being like this because of that! But I’m really not the type of person to be so cold-blooded…! Don’t get the wrong idea! Really… I’m serious.”

“No, I mean… I’m sorry. I said all of that without realizing that you did it.”

I felt guilty, looking at the way she was trying to defend herself while waving her arms around, so an apology just naturally came flying out.

“I didn’t have much time to explain my situation, that’s why… Ed…! Don’t get the wrong idea…! This is… I was supposed to start talking about it when Mugg flew back to me, but… D-Don’t look at me like I’m a violent person…! Don’t look at me like that!”

From my point of view, I had no idea just how Lortel was looking at her, but I still needed to listen to Yennekar’s situation.

That was because I needed to know what was going on out there while I was locked up.

“Let’s hear your story while we head towards the exit!”

Now that we’d come all the way there, all that was left was a long staircase and then we would be outside.

Being trapped in the damp and deep underground waterways, it felt like I was cut off from the outside world.

First, let’s get out, breathe in some fresh air, and then think of a course of action to take right now.

While thinking that, I quickly ran up the stairs.

Lortel and Yennekar quickly caught up to me, following behind.

After walking up the long staircase, we eventually exited the underground waterways.

The fresh air filled my lungs and I could look up and see the vast, open night sky. Finally leaving the stuffy underground waterways, the feeling of openness filled my heart, but…

“……”

The sight that was in front of me was different than I had expected.

The marbled entrance underground waterways were extremely large.

Right in front of it, there was a wagon that was parked… It was clearly Lortel’s.

Before she entered the underground waterways, did she order her staff to stand outside the entrance?

But the vast majority of those staff members had already been subdued.

One, two, three… A large number of mercenaries, more than I could count, besieged the entrance to the underground waterways.

“You were faster than I expected, Father.”

“After threatening an employee of the company, they had told me that you were heading to these waterways. You still have a lot of holes in your personal management, Lortel.”

Regardless of the starry, bright night sky, the around the entrance of the underground waterways was covered in a thick darkness.

Normally, the academy would never have allowed that number of mercenaries to enter.

However, the majority of the academy’s faculty were busy repairing the damage at Trix Hall… While the rest of them had been sent out in search of Professor Glast.

Taylee was the first one to find Professor Glast, quickly chasing after him after gathering some classmates. But as for the faculty members, who only heard the news through a documented report? They were late to respond and take action.

In the first place, if Taylee tried to slow down to work with the faculty members it might have already been too late, and who knew what would have happened to Ayla. Considering that, it wasn’t impossible to understand why Taylee had taken the initiative.

However… At the very least, I wished that the faculty would have stopped Elte from entering the academy grounds.

That kind of mistake… Elte was a meticulous person by nature, so he must have taken advantage knowing that.

“How did you pass over the bridge leading to Acken Island? There is only that one entrance.”

“You don’t have to use a bridge if you can travel over the water.”

Taking advantage of the darkness in the night, several small boats full of the mercenaries were taken into the academy. He was as meticulous and sneaky as a snake.

“The academy will make a large-scale issue out of this.”

“At the very least, it’s better than losing my life. Don’t you agree? If we can finish all the work relating to the company here, later on I will accept any wide-scale condemnation or responsibility in regards to this issue.”

His splendid and brilliant appearance had faded quite a bit.

Just from a brief look, Elte’s appearance looked as if he had run out of money, as he was suddenly now wearing a plain, unobtrusive outfit. Some of his ornaments were still as valuable as always, but compared to his former prowess, it was a fact that he definitely looked much shabbier.

He was a person that was holding onto a loose rock on the edge of a cliff, on the brink of falling into the abyss.

There was a sense of desperation, so there’s no need to recklessly try and predict his actions.

Seeing him lead a mercenary group of that size to merely deal with three or four students… Indeed, to a stranger they might think of it as an overreaction.

“If Headmaster Obel comes forward, a mere merchant like me would be subdued in an instant. That’s why I need to finish handling all of this before that happens.”

“Taking advantage of this chaos and even getting your hands on the Seal, could there be anything better than that?”

Elte responded with a smile at Lortel’s question.

The chaotic situation that was happening within the academy was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Elte’s eyes.

If he didn’t make good use of that moment, he wouldn’t get another chance.

“I don’t feel like leaving the stage quite yet, Lortel.”

I stood still, raising my head to look at Elte.

Act 2’s fake boss. In the end, he was a villain that got backstabbed by Lortel as he left the stage.

When I saw his determined face… I didn’t feel as much animosity as I had expected.

Selfish, evil in nature, willing to even murder for his glory and prosperity, and someone who uses others without hesitation.

I knew it well.

Whatever the story might be, the existence of such a described villain was essential.

If there was a protagonist that was good-hearted and noble, influencing the others around him, then there needed to be a villain that was born evil, with an ill-hearted personality that met his demise.

It was ironic that, in life, it was easier to be a villain than it was to be the main character.

Even when you were just taking care of your own life, to other people there were many times where you might just look like a cold-blooded villain.

Of course, Elte had gone too far. He has crossed that bare minimum line of morals that you should never cross, over and over again.

Nevertheless, I had no animosity towards him.

The reason that Elte was so stubbornly blocking our way was… ultimately, just to survive.

He didn’t want to be left alone as a villain that fell off the stage after being defeated and dying off.

Just like that… he was surviving.

That had nothing to do with how clean of a human he was. That was just something any living person would crave.

For me, it was definitely not a story that was much different from mine. I was in the exact same situation.

Therefore, I didn’t morally condemn Elte.

However, I also had no intention of conceding to him.

Rumble!

Boom!

Suddenly, an earthquake struck with no warning.

Elte, the mercenaries he brought, the company employees he captured, Yennekar, and Lortel were all completely caught off guard, not expecting it. They quickly lowered their body because of the sudden shock.

It was completely different from when Lucy’s attacks would hit the ground.

While it seemed as if the sky and earth were shaking, I quickly fixed my posture.

With a flash of light in the sky, lightning suddenly struck all over Silvenia.

Clearly seeing the Seven Large Stars forming in a straight line in the night sky, Glast could have been using the Celestial MagicDevildom’s Arrival.

It was the largest and most wide-scale of Professor Glast’s Celestial Magic.

The huge amount of mana that was circling in the air had met with Professor Glast’s Celestial Magic and responded with the various Celestial Magic Circles that were engraved throughout the academy.

Soon after the explosions, huge towers made of magic power began to rise. Just looking at how tall they were hurt my neck.

The scale was greater than anything you could imagine. Each tower seemed to have pierced through the clouds. It was so high that it would take at least half a day just to reach the top of it.

That was Professor Glast’s tower of magic power construction event, which took place as soon as Taylee and his party entered the secret laboratory.

To continue chasing after Professor Glast, who fled towards the towers made from magic power, they would have to head into the deepest part of the secret laboratory—where the entrance to the towers was.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each of the towers acted as an antenna, absorbing the Celestial magic.

There wasn’t just one but two… three… four…. ten that would be built up.

To twist and ignore the very providence of the world, you would need to do at least that much.

As if trying to say that, the final stage of the story was starting to rise.

Flick!

Lucy, who was still on my back, flicked open her eyes as if she was responding to the massive amounts of magic power.

“Resurrection of the dead?”

She then raised her head, looking up at the sky and muttering those words to herself.

I stood upright under the procession of dark red mana that was filling up the entire night sky.

While the world was shaking, Elte stared straight in our direction.

Right behind us, the rest of the stage was taking place.

I understood his intent to grit his teeth and do whatever he could to survive and make it back up onto that stage.

Unfortunately, Elte’s journey would have to come to an end.

It wasn’t a beautiful story about good triumphing over evil on a well-designed stage.

In a filthy contest between two villains that had died off… It was ridiculous to try and argue about what was good and what was evil.

Elte no longer had a role to play.

He was a person that was not favorable towards me, with no possibility of having a positive influence or acting as a means of strength for me in an emergency.

I was afraid that he would have to leave the stage, because I didn’t feel like leaving the stage myself.

After all, I also had to survive.

***

Boom!

Taylee’s party was able to push through an early straight line from the underground waterways, straight to the monster research room.

The monsters that were blocking their way weren’t all that strong, but more importantly, all the large pathways were already fully cleared.

Ed Rothstaylor had probably cleared the way as he had escaped.

The traces of the battles were clean, as if he didn’t waste any unnecessary movement.

They were wondering if perhaps he had set up some sort of trap to try and sabotage Taylee and his party, but there was not a single trace of it.

Even by the Soul Library, Ed had completely cleared the entire area with not a single enemy left.

Ed Rothstaylor… Did he really just support and cheer on Taylee and his party?

If that was the case, then just what was the ‘emergency’ that he was talking about when he quickly ran out of the underground waterways?

In the situation in the education district, where a student had been kidnapped and even the Seal had been stolen… Just what could be more urgent for him to take care of?

With that suspicion in mind… Taylee and his party continued to push deeper into the secret laboratory.

They needed to save Ayla now.

That fact was more important to them.