The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 72

Lortel gave a wide grin.

She had heard rumors that there were many influential people among the incoming first years. She was able to figure out the identities of the majority of them, too.

Tanya, who had wide and bright eyes, definitely looked like her older brother.

They certainly shared the same sharp eyes and that bright blonde hair. However, the way she acted was different from Ed.

That strange sense of maturity and determination she felt in Ed Rothstaylor wasn’t there. Instead, there was the graceful demeanor of an aristocrat.

There was a sense of self-confidence in her, but not arrogance. Was it the grace that came from an esteemed daughter that spent years receiving education?

For Lortel, who was born at the bottom, it wasn’t a welcome impression. However, she still was the younger sister of Ed Rothstaylor.

Even though she had dressed up to not offend her, Tanya was only talking about getting rid of Ed.

“Have you had the chance to meet that guy, Lortel?”

“Yes. I have.”

The reason she could speak casually was because of the difference in their grades.

Since Silvenia was a land of study, even aristocrats had to—at the very least—show courtesy according to grade. Of course, it wasn’t possible to treat an aristocrat in such a rude manner. It was like a humble bow, accepting her grace.

The only people that could transcend such principles were those that were like the heart of the continent, such as members of the royal family or saints.

“Then I won’t need to give you a long explanation. After all, you should know just what type of person he is.”

“I do know him well.”

“He’s a stain on the Rothstaylor Family’s name. He is like a traitor. Growing up with him, I know him all too well. He’s a shallow person, full of bravado, that doesn’t know a lick about things like elegance and grace. And since he was the oldest, he became the heir of the House. During that time… the repulsive actions he made against the world were most regrettable.”

Lortel drank her tea as she quickly thought things over.

She was taken aback by the sudden situation, but the situation in itself wasn’t all that complicated.

The question was how to deal with it.

At the very least, straight out denying her offer wasn’t a good option.

“Still, I believe that everything in this world is flowing in the right direction. As for that man, one day he will surely become an irrelevance. In front of him, I may have acted like a quiet, young, esteemed daughter. But behind his back, I stayed up all night studying and bettering myself.”

“You must have been through a lot.”

“Still, I can’t compare to you, who worked your way up from the bottom. Either way, he is someone that shouldn’t be allowed to step foot in Silvenia. He’s a person that hurts the reputation of the noble Silvenia Academy and is a disgrace to the Rothstaylor House as well.”

Basically, Lortel was in a situation where she couldn’t deny the esteemed daughter of House Rothstaylor.

Within Silvenia Academy, Lortel might be her upperclassmen. However, in terms of social status they could never be seen as equals.

Given that she had received the favor of her father Krepin, wasn’t there a high chance that one day she would become a figure that would gain much power?

Also, Tanya clearly felt malice towards Ed, but it was impossible to know if Ed viewed Tanya as an enemy or not. If, by chance, his little sister ended up getting hurt… Ed could end up getting very upset.

In fact, there was an issue that came before such emotions.

Personal connections were much more honest than gold coins.

In direct proportion to the amount of time and effort you spent on personal connections, the value became that much more worthwhile.

And Tanya Rothstaylor would be a very good asset to have. For Lortel, who viewed everything in the world from a business perspective, there was no better investment.

That meant that the answer would be to pretend that she was cooperating to gain her favor. Afterwards, no matter what plot Tanya might be conspiring, no one had to know that Lortel was a part of it.

As expected, if she had to pick an answer, that was definitely correct… However.

“The more I hear about him, the more impossible it becomes to understand why our God Telos would give him permission to share the Rothstaylor blood. He received combat lessons since he was young, but proper results never came from them. He’s just a man full of pride. Delusional and of the belief that he is talented because many vassals gave him praise.”

“I see.”

“He has tried enduring many different fields, but he would ultimately just scratch the surface and quit. But since his self-esteem is so high, he would never admit his incompetence. He barely managed to become assimilated with magic power resonance, yet he went around bragging that he would become some kind of archmage. Then, when he somehow barely managed to get into Silvenia, he was so full of himself. Even though only a few years have passed since I saw him, he has already caused an incident and ended up like this.”

It was hard to fully describe just how Tanya felt about Ed.

Tanya had spent her life working day and night, trying to protect the Rothstaylor family’s name and dignity. Yet she had to keep living underneath Ed, who was full of vanity and couldn’t uphold his part of the deal.

It was bearable until the eldest daughter Arwen had passed away.

At the very least, Arwen was someone that held all the qualities of the perfect example of what a member of House Rothstaylor should be. Tanya lived her life thinking, as her younger sister, that if she could even follow just the steps that Arwen had taken that was enough.

However, Arwen had died in a suspicious manner, and that pathetic Ed ended up taking over as heir. After that, Tanya had cursed the absurdities of the world and suffered through much pain.

How frustrating was the fact that the future of the Rothstaylor family was left to a man that would never be able to take the place of Arwen, let alone act like a proper aristocrat?

“I used to live my life acting kind and honest in front of him, but now I don’t think there is a reason for me to do so. Not now that his true nature has already been revealed to the world. The fact that he is such a vain and conceited man, one without a grain of talent… Someone as great as you, Lortel, would definitely have noticed that in an instant.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, I do. So, this time around… uhm…”

She was talking so excitedly, but she was suddenly speechless. Tanya finally realized the unnaturalness of the conversation.

There was no sort of communication. For a while now, Lortel had only been answering Tanya with short responses.

She looked back at Lortel’s face, wondering if she had accidentally done something disrespectful, but she was still grinning like always.

She had a blue rose hairpin in her reddish-brown hair, which fell neatly around her shoulders. And the hem of her dress, which might have seemed modest but had glamorous frills, didn’t move one bit.

She looked like a still image, but still her hair swayed from the gravity pulling down.

There was no particular emotion in her expression. She was just smiling.

“I… Uhm…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… Did I do something disrespectful?”

“No.”

Since she was a girl that Krepin had selected to send on his behalf, there was a high chance that she had potential or talent in some aspect.

He wasn’t the type of person that would invest in another person out of mere attachment. At the very least, they would need to have some type of talent… Or some type of usefulness. Otherwise, Krepin wouldn’t have any expectations for them in the first place.

However, in Lortel’s eyes she had yet to see that potential.

She didn’t know just what type of talent Tanya had been born with, but it seemed that it had yet to blossom.

It seemed that there needed to be some type of opportunity to fully judge the talent that was inside of Tanya, but… there was a problem that came before that.

“Really? But… It seems that you are angry… was that my mistake?”

“Angry? What are you saying?”

Lortel was someone that could maintain a calm, composed rationality regardless of the changes in a situation or the extent of a crisis. She was famous for being a model merchant that always made the logical choice.

Tanya was well aware of that fact. That was because Krepin had warned her in advance.

However, unfortunately… there was a variable that both Krepin and Tanya hadn’t accounted for.

An Authoritative figure of the Elte Company, the Golden Daughter, the Devil that sold her soul for gold… because that girl was given so many esteemed nicknames, there was something they had forgotten… Ultimately, she was still a girl of a young age.

She was definitely someone that would never lose her rationality in the face of any sort of variable, but there was still one thing that should never be brought up to her.

The vein that was sticking out of her forehead proved that fact.

“By the way, have you finished your tea?”

Over Lortel’s cool head, she was quickly formulating a plan.

***

[ Acquiring Book: Intermediate Magic – Point Explosion. ]

[ Acquiring Book: Intermediate Magic – Origin of Wind. ]

The night before, I came back to the camp while holding a few magic books from Professor Glast’s library under my arm.

The books weren’t all that precious. If I wanted, I could even borrow them from the student library. However, the fact that I didn’t have to worry about the return date was very convenient.

“Thanks for today. All I need to do tomorrow is some simple paperwork, so please come back one more time the day after tomorrow, when we start to construct the test site. Other than that, all that’s left is helping supervise on the actual day of the exam.”

To some extent, my first day’s work as a scholarship student had ended. I felt that Anise was going through a lot more than me.

I did have a lot of work to do, which was annoying, but when compared to manual labor it wasn’t all that hard.

Before I knew it, the sun had started to set. That is how winter was. If you let your guard down for a bit, before you knew it the sky would be covered in darkness.

Thinking about heading into the cabin early, I sat by the campfire.

It’s hard to stay outside when the wind was fiercely stinging your skin, but on a day where even after the snow had fallen there was a warmth in the air, a campfire was enough to stay outside.

By habit, I tried to gather magic power and cast Ignite at the campfire.

However, the fire didn’t start.

“Ah… That’s right…”

I couldn’t use magic power. I thought I would read a book outside, enjoying the fresh air, but without a campfire it was kind of hard to do.

I raised my head, looking around the camp. I looked up in the trees, on the roof of the cabin, the flat rocks, and so on. However, there wasn’t anything that stood out in particular.

After thinking it over for a while, I got up from my seat and headed towards the cabin.

I opened the wooden door of my cabin, heading inside and looking towards the bed. Under the blanket, there was something bulging out.

Before, she would show up in various ways and in all sorts of places—ones that I couldn’t even imagine. In recent days, however, it felt like she had fallen into a pattern. Or maybe it was because I had become used to it and could see through all of her movements.

“Hey, Lucy.”

When I took off the blanket, Lucy was curled up underneath, sleeping. Seeing her sleep comfortably like that, it definitely seemed like it was her house now.

As I lifted Lucy’s witch hat, her small hand reached out, grabbing it.

“Please make me a fire.”

Lucy, who sat up with her still half-asleep eyes, tilted her head. When I took out a piece of jerky in front of her, she took a bite of it as if it were nothing.

Then she raised up both of her arms, as if she were asking to be carried. Since I was the one that needed help, I didn’t feel the need to complain. Either way, Lucy was extremely light, so it wasn’t much to do.

As I went out to the campfire while carrying Lucy, a fire rose before I could say anything. I thanked her back. Suddenly, she grabbed hold of my collar.

“I want to be outside, too.”

“All right.”

Anyway, while I couldn’t use magic power, I was planning to ask Lucy for help with things often. At least when it came to getting through the winter, I was going to need her help.

Without much complaint, I headed over to a flat rock near the campfire. After I put Lucy down first, she sat on it excitedly and patted the empty space next to her.

As I grabbed the magic books and sat down next to Lucy, she buried her head in my lap and laid down with her arms stretched upwards. At that point, I didn’t know if she treated humans like pillows or pillows like humans.

Crackle, crackle.

I’d heard the crackling of the burning campfire so much already that it felt as if it were being filtered out by my ears.

Since a bit of time had passed, it was already somewhat dark. I frowned, wondering if it was too much to try and read a book with only the light from the campfire. Then a flame started rising up in the air, floating around my ear.

It was warm and also provided a working light source, perfect for reading books. The person that had cast that flame magic laid on my lap, resting while staring blankly up into the air. That kid… With things like that, she was strangely delicate…

The winter forest, when there was no wind, was especially calm.

The sound of the turning pages of a book. The sound of the campfire burning. Those two things were all you could hear.

Even the sound of the grass bugs, which have been crying all year round, could barely be heard. Sitting down in the cold air, it really felt as if the entire world had stopped.

“Hmm…”

I continued to review the theories written in the book, flipping the pages. I was already familiar with most of the theories, since I had already learned them during my Elemental Studies Class. Realistically, if you wanted to acquire a particular intermediate magic, you needed to have deeper knowledge and make further preparations than just a basic knowledge of it.

Since each student had their own intermediate magic that they wanted to learn, it wasn’t easy to properly practice in a class that is so inclusive.

Ultimately, some self-study was necessary.

Since I couldn’t use magic power at that moment, I couldn’t practice by myself. However, I could still at least familiarize myself with the theory… By the end of the break, I might even be able to use intermediate magic.

My goals were Point Explosion and Origin of Wind.

Based on my numerous experiences while training, the combination of those two magics were the best if I wanted to effectively increase my combat ability while properly combining both fire and wind magic.

After learning intermediate magic, you could refer to yourself as an individual that was a fully-fledged expert in that particular magic anywhere you went. The most important point of it all was how many you could learn. Surely learning two was a good start.

“Something smells like perfume.”

Lucy, who was lying still, spoke suddenly.

“Really?”

Since I spent the entire day working at the school with Anise, that fragrance of flowers probably came from my body. It had probably happened when Anise had accidently slipped, falling onto me at Right Mountain.

Lucy sniffed the sleeves of her own clothes, then started to sniff my chest. Then she pushed on my chest, sitting up and tilting her head.

“Do you have a fever? Are you sick?”

“Can you tell?”

“Don’t get sick. If you get sick, you can even die.”

I was currently living with a low-grade fever. It was a side effect from using Professor Glast’s ring.

It seemed similar to the last time, when I fainted from overworking, but Lucy hated it to an extreme measure when someone around her collapsed due to an illness. Maybe it was because she had lost someone to an illness previously.

“I’m not going to die, don’t worry.”

“If your magic power was twisted, I’ll untangle it for you.”

Saying that, she pressed down on my chest and quickly realized something unusual.

For a moment, Lucy’s face looked as if she was wondering what was wrong with me. But shortly after, as if she fully understood, she nodded her head.

“…What a reckless thing you did.”

“Well, I can bear with it.”

“When winter is over… You will become a lot stronger…”

Lucy, who muttered under her breath, started to relax her body and once again laid down on my lap.

Anyway, over the winter there was so much work that I needed to take care of. The snow is falling over the forest in a peaceful manner now, but there would definitely be days where there would be cold snaps, heavy snow, and a stinging wind that fell over the camp.

My cabin needed to be reinforced. I could manage the food supply somehow, but as for the durability of the camp itself… I had no choice but to do some work.

“You know… Can I ask for a weird favor?”

“Weird favor?”

Lucy flicked off her witch hat and ran her finger through her white hair.

“Can you pat my head?”

Looking back at her with a dumbfounded expression, she grabbed my wrist and put it on her head.

I patted her back and forth as Lucy slowly fell asleep.

That appearance of hers, as if she were reminiscing about something while slowly falling asleep… it was as if I had seen it many times before.

Once the peaceful winter came to an end and spring arrived, without a doubt she would wake from her hibernation.

In a way the winter… It was a break that Lucy Mayreel would never see again.

“……”

How much time had passed? I could hear the sound of the grass moving from the forest.

It was Lortel, with her hair tied to one side. Unlike her usual flashy attire, she was wearing a modest semi-robe instead.

I’d often heard that the Elte Company became ridiculously busy once the vacation season began. Because of that, I thought that the work related to the magically engineered items I asked for last time had been pushed back. However, there was nothing that could be done about that.

“Oh, Lortel.”

“It’s been a while, Ed. I came here because there are a few things I needed to tell you. There was also something I wanted to ask.”

“Are you talking about the things I asked for last time? If you had just called me over to the Elte Store, I could have visited you myself. After all, it must be inconvenient for you to keep coming to this camp.”

“Ah, no, that’s not it… I’m fine…”

As Lortel was speaking she suddenly got lost in her thoughts for a moment.

Holding her chin, she kept staring blankly at Lucy for quite a long time.

***

“That’s everything.”

The guardian over nature in the north, who was taken in and raised by House Islam.

The Spear from Nature, Ziggs Eiffelstein.

He was one of the ones recommended to Tanya by the Golden Daughter Lortel. Among her upperclassmen, who would soon become second years, she had heard he was the strongest in battle within the magic department when you discounted the genius magician Lucy.

The amount of magic power he was born with wasn’t special, yet the force of his magic was enough to keep him from falling behind the other students in Class A… She had heard that his combat sense when fighting in one-on-one battles was unmatchable.

Not only that, but he was very popular. He was supposedly the student that the soon-to-be second years all trusted deeply… Lortel’s recommendation was that, if she wanted to win over the soon-to-be second years, the first step was getting Ziggs on her side.

You couldn’t be satisfied with just one small fish, you had to go for all the big ones as well. Indeed, that advice was very much like her.

The location was on the outskirts of the commercial district. The path on the way to the entrance of Lorail Hall, a dormitory for honor students.

Her first impression of Ziggs was overwhelming. He was carrying six or seven bags the size of the upper half of a human body all by himself.

Behind Ziggs was the librarian, Elka Islam, who was trudging along while holding a small amount of luggage. It looked as if the two of them were completely moving away somewhere.

“The story was a bit long, so thank you for hearing me until the end. The offer I’m making is simple.”

Tanya smiled as she greeted them politely.

“If you follow me in punishing that man, I will do the most to compensate you. This can be promised in the name of House Rothstaylor and notarized by the Elte Company. There can be all sorts of ways that I can compensate you. For example… House Islam has many reputable archaeologists, correct? We would be willing to share many of the antiquities that are kept in our warehouse with you.”

“Really?! …Oops.”

It was Ziggs’ lover, Elka Islam, that had responded first.

Ziggs and Elka were busy organizing their bags, as they were planning to go back home over the break.

Ziggs put down all of the luggage he was holding, sitting on a large wooden bag and listening as he frowned.

“Alright…”

Ziggs suddenly stood up, walking over and getting up close to Tanya.

Compared to his sturdy body, Ziggs’ frame wasn’t all that overwhelmingly large. Still, compared to the relatively small Tanya, all she could do was gulp.

She could clearly feel the flow of magic power throughout his body. She couldn’t help but get goosebumps at seeing Ziggs look down at her with those cold eyes.

“You said… You’re Ed’s little sister?”

“Yes… Hiccup.”

Tanya quickly replied to Ziggs. In doing so, she swallowed her breath quickly.

However, in that serious atmosphere Ziggs suddenly let out a laugh.

“Haha, did you hear that, Elka? This girl says she’s Ed’s little sister.”

The atmosphere was strange.

By the time Tanya had noticed, the situation had completely flipped.

Ziggs reached into his pocket, taking out a magically engineered item that was shaped like a round marble.

Tanya was nervous, wondering just what was going on. Soon after, Ziggs put that magically engineered item in her hand.

“This is a magically engineered item that is used in one of the mandatory classes for incoming students. Don’t go and buy a new one, just use this instead. When you use it for training magic power resonance, it will be convenient since you won’t have to apply a new basic adaption setting.”

“…What?”

“Ah, right. Elka, did you bring Professor Delof’s Elemental Studies hand-me-down textbook?”

“Yes, I did bring it. I almost threw it away.”

“Here, take this too. There’s a big difference between using this textbook and buying a new one. Your efficiency in understanding the class will probably be different, too. Here, all the notes have been gathered here. You should take this, too.”

“Hm? Eh? What?”

Tanya was bewildered as she accepted all the piled notes and documents.

“Here, this is Professor Feld’s magic power efficiency training textbook. The important sections have all been marked, so it will be better this is the wand for the Monster Ecology Class. I’ve modified the searching magic to fit the topography of the Right Mountain, so it will be better if you just use this instead. Here, take this.”

“Ah, uhm? Okay…”

“Here, take this too. Ahh… I don’t think you’ll need this one, actually. Ahh, I’m not sure. Take it just in case. If you don’t need it, you can just throw it away. Do you still have the corolla from Professor Harlen’s Class, Elka?”

“Yes, here it is. And take this, too. It’s an annual membership for Laplace Bakery in the commercial district. It’s so popular that even nobles and aristocrats have to wait in line. There is still some time left to use it over winter break, so you can use it. After all, I’m going back home this break. Here, take the corolla.”

“Yeah, take this. Oh, wait, your hands are already full. Mr. Servant. Can you take this for her? This and this will also be useful for you. This necklace and corolla… Here, I’ll go ahead and put it on your head.”

After spending a while giving her useful items and tips for her life at school, Ziggs and Elka wiped the sweat off of their satisfied faces.

After they gave Tanya all of those items, she couldn’t help but be left completely dumbfounded. She did her best to stay balanced, as all of the luggage she was holding could make her fall over at any given moment.

“Uhm… Did you really listen to the offer that I made you?”

“Hm? Uhm… That thing you want me to do with Ed, right…? Alright, I got it. I guess siblings will always have a relationship like cats and dogs. In any case, the relationship between you two isn’t all that great. Well… Given that Ed’s personality can often be misunderstood, I guess that makes sense.”

“Ziggs! The ship is going to leave soon…! If we want to send off all of our things in advance, we have to go now…!”

“Alright, I got it, Elka. Anyway… You said you were Ed’s younger sister right…? Well, it was nice to meet you. I’m Ziggs, a soon-to-be second year. And my relationship with Ed is that of a junior and senior.”

Ziggs picked up all the bags, one at a time.

“Well, we’ve known each other for a while, and we owe each other a lot so it is a special relationship. It’s nice to see you come to the school so early, meeting and getting to know everyone. Just like your older brother, you look so strong and determined. I guess it’s a blessing, being born in such a great house with such a great family. Yeah.”

With a proud face, Ziggs tapped his cute underclassmen on the shoulder a few times before he clenched his fist and shouted in a lively manner.

“Anyway, Let’s go…!! Together now… 1, 2, 3… Let’s go…!!”

After saying that, Ziggs quickly left for the dock, holding onto all of the luggage.

Then came the calm after the storm.

A sense of embarrassment started to rise up as time passed.

“……”

“……?”

“……???”

“……?????”

Holding onto all sorts of things she had been given, Tanya looked around in bewilderment.