The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 75

Things didn’t seem to have gotten any better in particular.

A few months after gaining the position as the new head maid, Bell came to that conclusion.

Her salary had certainly improved, but her responsibilities had become too wide. Moreso in comparison to how much her pay actually went up.

Given that Ophelis Hall was recognized as an important facility, naturally the person in charge of such a place would also be recognized for their seniority status.

Thanks to that, there were many other merits besides her increased salary. Her outfit had become much fancier and more dignified, her living and workspace had been separated, and she would no longer have to do any physically demanding tasks.

In addition to that, from a societal standpoint, things had also changed.

Being the head of Ophelis Hall, in charge of all the maids working there, even the nobles and the aristocratic children living there would have to give her respect. That was because, within their daily lives, they receive many favors from her.

Nevertheless, Bell Maya still let out a sigh.

During the time she was just a senior maid, Bell Maya took care of the working-level tasks. Now, however, she was in charge of management.

She called herself a maid and wore a maid uniform, but in actuality she didn’t really do anything that a maid would normally do.

If she grabbed a knife to chop up some ingredients, the youngest maid would come out and take the knife from her to do it herself. Or when she tried to fold the laundry, another maid in charge of it would turn pale and quickly run forward, stopping her.

In the first place, she didn’t even understand the head maid’s outfit. There were certainly luxurious rose-shaped accessories all over her frills that hung down gorgeously, but she couldn’t understand how she was supposed to do any work while wearing such a thing.

Just like when you were to go to a high-end restaurant, there were times when even the most experienced chefs didn’t cook. It was a somewhat similar feeling.

She was slowly starting to understand why the previous head maid Elris didn’t intervene much with the practical work, even though she was highly skilled. Once you reached such a status, you were in a position that could no longer be considered a maid.

Most of the work she did throughout the day was meeting the distinguished guests that came to Ophelis Hall, checking the cleanliness of the dormitory as she went about her regular inspection, and making sure that all of the maids were on their best behavior.

Other than that, she also did some administrative work like organizing papers to report to the school.

Reaching such a position at her young age, usually one would be full of pride. But Bell Maya sighed deeply as she walked across the hallway.

It didn’t seem she had the aptitude for it one bit. Above all, she was more familiar with her practical work as a maid, and it was also more fun to her. In the first place, she never even had much ambition. She felt rather empty.

She didn’t ask to become responsible for briefing the number of people in the dormitory, checking the condition of the facility, ordering the work to something wrong.

Bell Maya was able to stay working in the field for such a long time because she enjoyed tasting her own cooking, neatly cleaning and folding the laundry, and she found it worthwhile to help the students that were struggling with their school life.

Rather than disciplining the maids and making sure they were doing their work properly, she preferred waking up a student that slept in late and fixing their hair for them.

“Are you already done organizing the list of the incoming new students?”

“Yes. There are seven of them in total, including Terre Renuel, Wade Callamore, Tanya Rothstaylor, Kylie Eckner, Clarice, Eigg McHauls, and Drake.

She nodded her head at the secretarial maid, who had memorized every single incoming student.

Due to the nature of Ophelis Hall, there weren’t many students residing in it. Thus, it was a common rule that all maids should be familiar with each and every student that resided within the dormitory.

“There are still a few days left before the incoming first-year class assignment examination, so most of them have yet to start the process of moving in. Lady Tanya was the first one to move in yesterday, and I heard that today…”

As she continued to walk forwards while listening to the secretarial maid’s report, Bell met eyes with another student walking from the other end of the hallway.

He had well-kept silver hair and a golden rope wrapped around his neat attire. Even though he looked quite stylish, he still held himself upright, clearly the son of the military commander in charge of the army at the northern border.

His name was Wade Callamore, and among the incoming first years he was expected to be at the top of them.

Normally, it was customary for the head maid to go out in advance and welcome the new residents of Ophelis Hall. Since she had yet to receive a report, but he was already there, Bell was somewhat taken aback.

“Greetings.”

Seeing Wade put his arms down by his sides as he bowed politely, Bell quickly followed suit, greeting him in return.

“I apologize that I didn’t contact you in advance. Originally, I was supposed to arrive in the afternoon. However, the schedule was moved forward more than I had thought, and I ended up arriving early.”

“No… I am not even properly prepared to greet you yet, so I must apologize that we have to greet you in such a state.”

“No, it’s fine. This is my fault for arriving early without saying anything.”

Saying that, Wade lifted his head and looked up at her.

“Seeing the Ophelis Hall, which I have heard so much about, in person… it truly is significant. Given the ones in charge of managing it are all veterans, certainly there wouldn’t be a single fault.”

“It’s because it hasn’t been long since the renovations were completed. You don’t need to speak so politely. You may speak casually with me instead.”

“No, that wouldn’t be right. I am an incoming student that has just arrived, so at the very least I should give this level of respect to you, who is always busy managing Ophelis Hall. I will also be in your care, so how could I treat you like a common maid?”

Hearing Wade say that with a gentle smile, Bell felt very uncomfortable.

Once she had been given her new position, all the people around her had only been speaking to her politely.

“You arrived quite early. Most of the students will start arriving around next week.”

“I wanted to see the atmosphere here at the school in advance. But most of all, I wanted to give my greetings to Princess Penia.”

Wade grinned as he fixed his sheath. The eagle-and lion-shape engravings on his sheath symbolized the protection of the Kroel imperial family.

“In the first place, most members of my family serve in the Central Army, so it would only be right to do my utmost to cater to the esteemed princess of the Kroel Imperial Family, Princes Penia.”

The way he expressed himself was very straightforward. However, he wasn’t particularly cynical about it either. For people like him, loyalty was something natural—like an arm or a leg.

Wade’s loyalty came from being born in a military family and raised as a soldier. His loyalty was quite admirable, to the point that he would blindly follow any order.

“Am I the first one to arrive at Ophelis Hall during the moving-in period?”

“No. Among your other classmates… Lady Tanya has already moved into her room in advance.”

“I see. Then that person… I guess she hasn’t come yet. Maybe I will get to see her face during the class assignment examination.”

“By that person, do you mean…”

She didn’t even bother to ask who he was talking about. Bell had realized it halfway through speaking.

Within the incoming students, she was without a doubt an outstanding talent. A girl that received protection from the Telos Religious Group and was revered by countless believers.

Even just carelessly speaking about her was enough to make her gulp and stop in her tracks. That person was the heart of Telos.

***

The bowl shattered as the dish fell.

That was because the soup a House Rothstaylor maid had served had a bug inside of it.

The eyes of the blonde-haired young boy glistened as he hit one of the maids standing next to him on the cheek.

After demanding the person in charge to be brought out, a servant from the kitchen came forward. With one hand, he grabbed the cheek of a middle-aged man many times older than him, slamming the man’s face into the table that was covered with scalding hot soup.

He then berated him as he wiped the soup off the table with the man’s collar.

The boy’s sister sat next to him quietly as she ate her meal.

The boy, who was training in swordsmanship, suddenly summoned a servant that was managing the garden and began to beat him with a wooden sword.

When the servant asked why he was doing such a thing, he said it was part of his swordsmanship training and to endure it as he continued to hit him.

When he complained of the pain and distress, he would berate him by telling him what would happen if he was the reason the heir of House Rothstaylor couldn’t practice his swordsmanship. With that response, the servant kept his mouth shut.

The corners of the boy’s mouth raised as he beat the fat and sluggish employee with his wooden sword. He seemed to get a strange thrill from it all.

He knew well that he had no talent when it came to swordsmanship. He also wasn’t a hardworking person, one that would train diligently. Instead, he was just beating the servant out of sheer enjoyment.

In another part of the garden, the girl that was reading her book couldn’t express her displeasure upon witnessing such a scene.

Their father was in the empire’s capital, taking care of his official duties.

The older vassals stayed quiet, as they had already given up on the boy.

After the death of the esteemed and noble daughter Arwen, the boy had already become a tyrant that claimed the mansion as his own country.

On his fifteenth birthday, the mansion was heavily decorated for a banquet.

He looked quite satisfied opening the gifts that the servants had prepared for him. Even though it was a party thrown from a forced sense of loyalty, he didn’t care about such a thing.

Only the splendor of the mansion and the grand scale of the party itself caught his attention.

Sitting in the seat of honor with his chin held high, he had a terrifying smile across his face. He then trampled over the golden amulet that all the servants had saved up their money to prepare.

Seeing the expression of the servants, who were all in complete shock, he laughed.

He then looked over at Tanya with an eerie smile as he spoke.

“Look at that. Did they really think I would be truthfully happy with a gift that those beneath me prepared? Or did they think giving me such a petty gift would be enough to calm me down?”

He then stepped down, kicking and trampling all over the banquet that the workers had stayed up all night preparing. He went as far as to even destroy all the decorations.

Then, with a smile he said, there were still five hours left of his birthday.

“I want to celebrate my birthday in a magnificent way, so prepare a suitable birthday party for me.”

And then he looked over at Tanya, who was sitting still watching it all unfold, trying to hold back her trembling eyes.

“Do you have a complaint?”

“Don’t tell me, are you feeling some sort of attachment or pity to those who are nothing more than tools?”

“You’re still not quite an aristocrat.”

Then, with a somewhat eerie smile, he went over to Tanya and whispered something in her ear.

“In the first place, you must see me as a piece of crap.”

“Your patience is quite amazing, seeing as you are trying to hold back with those eyes full of contempt.”

“You were born in this world with your own sense of justice, weren’t you? No, maybe you weren’t born with it but came to realize it yourself?”

“But after all these years of living together, you must have figured it out.”

“You don’t even see me as a human being in the first place, do you?”

“So, what are you going to do? What can you even do? Will you try and kill me? Our sister Arwen has already left us, so once I’m dead you will take my place as the successor.”

“Alright, then try and stab me. Okay, here’s a ceremonial dagger. Now put it right through my chest. Here, just like this… I’ll put it in your hand.”

The boy put the dagger in Tanya’s trembling hand. He then raised her hand as he aimed the dagger at his chest. If she were to push with all her might, in an instant the boy would no longer breathe.

But the boy knew all too well that she would never be able to push that dagger. If she really did kill him, she knew better than anyone just how severe the responsibility would be.

The boy did all of that to enforce the difference in their statuses and warn her. Tanya lost all strength in her trembling hands as she dropped the dagger.

The boy with blonde hair glanced down at the dagger with an eerie smile, soon bursting into laughter.

He then said,

“Thank you.”

“……”

Early in the morning, in the northern forest, the chirping of the sparrows echoed through the air.

I was surprised to see the gift Tanya had given me was more luxurious than I would have thought. But thinking about her descent, a gift of that amount wouldn’t be too much for her in the first place.

“Strictly speaking, I have been excommunicated so I am no longer your older brother. But even so, I am grateful that you still came all the way here, preparing such a gift.”

“Uhm… That…”

Was she thinking about something else…? Or maybe she was just remembering the old days. Tanya hesitated as she stumbled on her own words.

“I’ll use it well. I’ll make sure to wear it when I go to school next semester.”

I took out two wooden mugs as I boiled water for some herbal tea. But when I opened up the storage container, I realized I was about to run out of herbs.

In such a penniless world, she might be the only one blood related character I could have contact with. And, seeing as she didn’t seem particularly hostile towards me, there was no reason for me to hold back on hospitality.

Well, in the first place she was an aristocrat so a single cup of tea wouldn’t be enough… But… More than the taste, it was about sincerity.

“What are you doing there standing around blankly? Come sit around the campfire.”

“Hm…? Ok…”

Taking small steps, she was completely stunned as she looked around at the surrounding camp.

I was sure there were a lot of things that caught her attention, but as expected, the first thing her eyes fell upon was Lucy lying down near the campfire.

“That… That person is…?”

“Oh, she’s… Uh… You don’t have to worry about her. She’s just a guest that comes by to play sometimes. Hey, make some room. Don’t just lay still.”

Lucy rubbed her eyes a few times as she then pushed herself up, moving over to the side. Tanya watched, wondering just what the heck that girl was doing, but she didn’t bother prying.

I held out a cup of herbal tea to Tanya. She looked hesitant as she grabbed it.

“I heard that you were looking around the school. Did you manage to meet some people?”

“Ah… Yes… I also heard… Many stories about you…”

“About me? There aren’t many people that I know, though… who could it be…? Was it someone like Ziggs?”

“Ah, yes… I did meet Ziggs, too…”

As I brought the tea up to my mouth to take a sip, I tilted my head. Other than him, it was obvious who that other person was.

“Someone I could call a friend the same age as me… Then, it must be Yennekar?”

Tanya, who was drinking her tea, smiled as she quickly put down the mug. She then trembled with excitement as she swept one side of her hair over as she nodded.

“Ah, I see… She’s nice, right? Out of everyone I know, she is definitely the nicest and kindest.”

“Yes! Yes! She is so nice! She is really, truly, certainly, without a doubt, a nice person! Seriously!”

It was unnatural seeing her suddenly jump up with excitement, praising Yennekar. I was going to ask why, but she kept bobbing her head as she continued to talk.

“A-And she’s not just nice, but she’s also very strong! The… The high-rank fire spirit! A lizard that is the size of a house! Even able to throw mercenaries around like they are toys! And even though I wasn’t speaking properly, it wasn’t like she was going to scold me. Rather, she was polite and kind as she gave me words of encouragement formyschoollifehereattheacademy…”

“Just take a breath and speak slowly.”

Suddenly while drinking my tea, I had a minor suspicion.

“By the way, did you really see her take out a high-ranking spirit? I didn’t think she would summon any spirit higher than mid-rank, given how much of a burden it is in terms of magic power.”

“She didn’t summon it! She really didn’t do that! I had just made all of that up with my imagination! They were just rumors about what her high-rank spirit looked like, so I thought about it as I said those things! Please don’t misunderstand me!”

It wasn’t anything that important, so she really didn’t have to keep on denying it so desperately.

After I told her that I got it, I glanced over at Tanya again.

She didn’t look as confident as I thought, seeing her looking down at the ground and clutching the mug.

Surely the Tanya Rothstaylor that I knew of was much more arrogant, always full of confidence and acting like the esteemed daughter she was.

Seeing that something was a little strange, I started to think that my previous judgment was wrong.

I thought that I would have lived a hardworking and honest life back in the mansion, but… Maybe that was too much of a guess.

Anyway, it was hard to think that the pathetic third-rate villain Ed Rothstaylor would have no ill feelings towards Tanya. That hesitant attitude of hers was proof towards that conclusion.

“Hey, Tanya. Back when I was living in the mansion, I was a bit pathetic and awful, wasn’t I? I regret a lot of things that I have done, and there are also many things that I can’t ever make up for, but… I really am sorry. I don’t really know what you might think of me, but right now I’m doing my best to live. I hope you won’t look at me too poorly. I’ve already been excommunicated for my mistakes, and…”

Tanya Rothstaylor was nothing more than a villain to raise the nobility of Princes Penia in Act 3, Chapter 3.

Although it was partially because every character from the Rothstaylor house was a villain, the nature of the storyline itself wrote them as expendable characters.

“I heard that you are aiming to be the next student president, so I will support you. I won’t be of much help, but I know just how hard you’re always trying. So, cheer up and hang in there.”

I might have been saying that, but I already knew …Tanya could never beat Princess Penia.

And it wouldn’t be a good thing if she did, either.

The overwhelming support that Princess Penia received from the school couldn’t be flipped over just because of some new candidate.

Right now, she hadn’t expressed her desire to be the student president. However, once Princess Penia participated in the pre-election, all of the other candidates would be swept away like a low tide.

It was a shame, but it couldn’t be helped.

Still, Tanya Rothstaylor was the only blood relative I had contact with after transmigrating into this world without any other connections.

There was no need to explain in words just how reassuring the existence of a blood related family member was in a land with no connections.

Of course, there was still some time left before Tanya would leave the storyline. But still since she made her leave relatively early on… I couldn’t help but get attached to her.

“……?????”

Her eyes looked as if she had no idea what I was saying, but I kept my mouth shut because I really couldn’t tell her anything more.

***

Among the goals I aimed to complete over break, only 4 remained.

After Tanya left, I spread out the magically engineered items and other various materials I received across the floor.

After checking through the documents that Lortel gave me one by one, she really did provide me with quite a lot.

Even if I were to sit myself down in that secret library with full determination to practice magic engineering, I thought I’d be able to make a lot of useful items.

After next week’s incoming first-year class assignment examination, it would be a good idea to set up a training course for magic engineering.

Not only that, but it seemed that my proficiency in my combat-type skills also needed to be taken care of. Compared to other affiliated proficiencies, it had fallen behind quite a bit.

In the first place, with my body there was a limit to how many combat-type skills I could use. I thought it would be more efficient to just pick and train the ones I really needed.

Among all of them, I really want to learn the special archery skill Magic Power Arrows. More than anything, it would let me shoot arrows using magic power, so I won’t have to painstakingly take care of my arrows anymore.

Every time I shot an arrow, I had to go over to collect it. Then, I had to constantly repair the arrowheads and the arrow shafts each and every time I use them, which required a lot of physical labor. That was the reason I didn’t like using my bow when I went hunting.

Although I was forced to use my bow for proficiencies in archery-type skills, once I became capable of Magic Power Arrows, I thought I could stop training in archery, as implementing a spiritual spell or elemental spell into the magic power arrows would have become a lot easier.

Anyway, the winter would likely be the starting point for my growth. It was a cold and difficult time, but if I could withstand it, spring would come.

I sat in the forest, gazing up at the trees stretching out into the sky as I calmed my breathing.

Soon, it would be the incoming first-year class assignment examination.

The test was so unreasonably difficult that not a single student would be accepted into class A… But in the end, it was still a test, so I needed to supervise it diligently.

Either way, the work assigned to the scholarship students wasn’t all that important. Most of the important tasks were taken care of by Assistant Professor Cleoh and, occasionally, Anise… All I needed to do was whatever they told me to do.

It was cold.

It would be great if spring came soon.

***

It didn’t feel like anything was making sense.

All sorts of things felt ambiguous. But more than anything else, she didn’t understand Ed the most.

Tanya was in anguish as she walked across a hallway in Ophelis Hall. Her thoughts weren’t organized at all.

Tanya was the person that grew up right next to Ed, so she has been watching his growth more closely than anyone.

That man, who was like a tyrant, wouldn’t have come to his senses just because he had been excommunicated and lived by himself for a year. Human nature wasn’t something that could be changed so easily.

However, the way that he had comforted Tanya with such a candid tone… It felt like she really had just met a dependable family member. For a moment, she had almost opened her heart to him.

However, even if everyone else in the world believed in him, Tanya could never believe him so easily. He had been living with that trashy nature inside of him for years.

Suddenly, as she was walking across a hallway in Ophelis Hall, the sight she had witnessed the night before coldly crept into her head.

The Guardian Tree of Merilda in the center of the northern forest. Underneath the dimly lit crescent moon’s moonlight, the elementalist with a strange sadness in her eyes.

After speaking ill of Ed in front of her, Tanya almost literally got burnt to death by that flaming lizard.

She didn’t really have the intention of killing her, but… Tanya was convinced by the sight of that girl, who was genuinely angry.

At the very least, that elementalist girl truly believed in and followed Ed.

Even though she wondered just what she saw in a person like him, at the same time it wasn’t unconvincing when she thought about the Ed that she had just witnessed.

But it was still strange.

In the first place, he wasn’t a good actor. After being with him for a year, they should have all witnessed his worst side.

Nevertheless, it was strange to see just how many people’s trusts he had earned.

“First off…. I should go rest in my room… then I will sort my thoughts out… I’ve just been out of my mind ever since I came to Silvenia… I can’t keep acting like this…”

Whatever it might be, slowly thinking things through and organizing your thoughts was the most important thing to do.

Tanya took a deep breath.

Ever since she arrived at Silvenia, it seemed as if she had only been taken by surprise or confused.

Let’s regain my composure.

Repeating that to herself, she was about to enter her room when–

Whoosh, flap.

The sound of a fluttering collar.

When she turned her head looking down the hallway, a petite girl was wobbling her body side-to-side as she walked forwards. It was the same person she had seen at the camp. At first glance, she seemed to be particularly close to Ed.

Her white hair hung down both sides as it fluttered along with her body. She was wearing an oversized uniform and she held onto the witch hat on her head with one hand. She then grabbed the doorknob next to Tanya’s room.

Apparently, she was another honorable resident staying in Ophelis Hall. But still, not having a maid take care of her and living her life so carefree… No matter how she saw her, all she could think of was how pitiful she was.

In the first place, that was how her clothes made her seem. Her clothes were full of wrinkles and quite disheveled, so even from a glance you could see that she was quite clumsy. There was no sign of elegance to be found in her.

The girl suddenly shook her head as if she felt Tanya’s gaze when she tried to enter her room. She then returned to her swaying gait as she looked up at Tanya with a dull expression on her face.

“……?”

“Are you his younger sister?”

There wasn’t any strength in her dazed voice. Wondering just what the heck was up with her, Tanya nodded her head slightly.

The girl trudged forward a bit, tiptoeing as she patted Tanya’s shoulder a couple times.

“Tell me if you’re having a hard time.”

After saying something so cool, she opened the door next to Tanya’s and went inside.

“……”

Anyway, the girl was now Tanya’s next-door neighbor. She wanted to at least know her name, so she looked at the nameplate hanging on her door.

It was a gold nameplate that symbolized that she was at the top of her grade.

Room 302 – Lucy Mayreel.

“???????”

Tanya was frozen stiff, a stunned expression on her face.

Anyway, it seemed like it would take some time before she could get used to Silvenia.

Although, that wasn’t exactly her fault.