The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 79

Saint Clarice had two dreams.

One with her eyes open, and another with them closed.

One dream was planted by Archbishop Verdio, and the other by Romantic Adele.

“You must become a person that is pure, like a white piece of paper.”

“Imagine a sea beyond the horizon that is completely still, Ms. Clarice. Pursue a vast, wide-open sea that is completely silent, without even the sound of water.”

“Everything is equal under our God Telos, and no one can be taken lightly. The reason we live is for the realization of that goal.”

“I believe that sublimeness comes from strong beliefs that never falter throughout one’s life. I have no doubt that within sublimeness, there are irreplaceable values.”

That was what she was always taught during the day by Verdio.

The successful reign of Saint Karpea. Following the person of power within the religious group was Verdio… A person that had lived his entire life turning to the god, a perfect model for believers.

Even the Telos lamb Saint Clarice, who had lived her life without committing a sinful action, was ashamed of her own faults after witnessing his devout beliefs.

He was a man worthy of respect and worthy of god more than anyone else.

He had a strong, stubborn heart, yet he wasn’t conceited. No matter how weak someone was, he did his utmost to listen to their voice fairly.

So, Clarice had a dream. A life in which she lived for the will of Telos, remaining a pure girl without any flaws, just like the ever-bright Verdio.

A life as a flawlessly clean saint that the believers went to for salvation. There was surely a sublimeness in such a life that an ordinary person could never achieve.

“I’d rather die in the wastewater than live a life as a clean sheet of white paper.”

“Living a life only looking at pure white walls and ceilings, one’s vision will also weaken. The romance of a world full of magnificent colors will never be known unless one personally experiences it.”

At night, she listened to Adele’s mandolin performance, sitting by the window. On starry nights, Adele would always come.

Adele the prophet, and the self-proclaimed romantic Adele.

The dead-eyed girl that was managing the church’s torch left one day without anyone knowing the reason.

The girl had braided her hair and decorated it full of beautiful flowers as she played a musical instrument, running off into the world. Then, one day, that girl had become a minstrel that sang of romance.

Going to the land of historians to learn archeology, traveling across the continent with an instrument on her back… Eventually, she even entered Silvenia to learn magic. Once break had come, she was once again out exploring the world.

She really was a girl as free as the ocean’s breeze.

“Even our most majestic man-made structure, the Holy Father Building, is just a sandcastle in front of the strangely shaped rocks in the Lamelin Mountain Range. ♪ So will you live a life satisfied, looking up at the sky in a well? Or will you climb the walls to see the vast sea of stars. ♪”

“Did you know there can be a sublimeness in a life where you normally take classes, normally hang out with friends, and live a normal life of love? Did you know, a hug from one you love can be more valuable than the prayers of millions of believers that look up to you?”

She had no idea just how that girl went around playing through buildings, but when the world would fall asleep at night, the girl would sing by Clarice’s window. It was the top floor of the Holy Father Building, which boasted of its magnificent scale.

Regardless of Telos’ will, angels were said to freely fly throughout the world, wrapping their splendid wings around it.

Despite never actually seeing the apostle of Telos, she could imagine it spreading its glorious wings and just how holy and noble it would be.

However, before she went to sleep, Clarice was walking step by step closer to Adele’s back, which she saw from the window.

Perhaps only Clarice had seen it. A beautiful pair of wings that spread out into that starry night sky.

After that, Clarice had closed her eyes and dreamed while asleep.

Lamelin Mountain Range, Denkin wetlands, the empire’s capital Kroelon, the land of farming Pulan, the land of alchemy Krett, the commercial city of Oldek, the land of learning Silvenia, the great desert Dresstaya, the lawless region of Kohelton…

Traveling through various lands across the world, ones that she had only seen in books. Then, finally meeting someone in the end.

She couldn’t figure out their face. She didn’t know their figure or voice. Someone completely unknown to Clarice.

At the end of it, Clarice shared a great hug with that person as the two of them left on that once-solo journey together.

It was a journey full of magnificent colors that was in stark contrast to her life of pure white.

She shoved her face into her blanket as she wriggled her body around… It was the most indecent imagination that she could have.

***

“Hffff phew… I’m starting to get out of breath… I need to control my speed…”

The examination was progressing quickly. In the first place, the contents of the exam weren’t all that difficult.

Find various types of magic power stones that were scattered all over Right Mountain and then present them to the altar at the summit.

The magic power stone that was presented to the ‘Substitute Altar’ would then transform into magic power, seeping into the owner’s body. Then, the magic power seeped into the student became proof of a student’s success and completion of the exam.

Compared to magic power that was formed naturally in one’s body, magic power that was extracted from a natural object had a unique energy to it. It was harder to handle than one might think, as it was not one’s own innate magic power… But that wasn’t important. After absorbing the magic power, all they had to do was show proof of it.

Tanya caught her breath as she walked through the grass. Focusing on the middle of her forehead, in an instant she could feel the remnants of magic power permeating around her.

It had been well over half an hour since the exam began.

The students that thought it might have been a first-come first-serve basis and ran out right from the start were most likely halfway up the mountain already.

They had found the magic power stones in an instant as they sprinted to the top, so they wouldn’t fall even a little behind.

Leading the way were the two most famous freshmen of the Magic Department, Eigg and Joseph. The two seemed strangely competitive with each other.

“There are too many.”

As Tanya slowly passed through the trees, before she knew it Tanya held a magic stone of her own in her hand.

“It can’t be as simple as presenting the magic power stone to the altar. I’m sure there’s something else they prepared to distinguish between the students.”

Careful to not lose any stamina, Tanya looked around carefully, slowly climbing the mountain at her own pace.

Mountains in the winter can be slippery. If I fall down in a hurry and get hurt, I will only be hurting myself.

There was a high possibility that something else was set up on the way to the summit of the mountain. There was no reason to go up as the guinea pig to test it out.

While properly maintaining a distance in the middle of the pack, she could carefully take a look at what they had prepared, step-by-step.

“My uniform is kind of tight… Heuuuk…”

Tanya stopped hiking up and rested with her hand on her knees.

It had been more than a few months since she had started looking forward to finally entering Silvenia. As a duke’s esteemed daughter, she was always in her best behavior, but there was no end to a human’s greed.

Tanya was always taking care of her body, but it was still pure bravado to go out and order a school uniform one size smaller. She felt that she had just been unnecessarily greedy, as there wasn’t any weight left to lose.

Tanya took a breather, sitting by on a nearby rock. She didn’t have any confidence in her vitality.

Right Mountain didn’t have a very high altitude, but thanks to all of the forks in the road, it had the perfect structure to easily lose your way.

Still, since it was a mountain, you couldn’t be confused by which direction to go to get to the summit. All you had to do was keep going up the incline.

She wondered if everyone else had found their way by figuring out their own paths, given the fact that it was as complicated as a spider web. Occasionally, she could hear screams coming from the middle of the mountain.

As expected, it was clear that something was prepared halfway up the mountain.

“I’ll go towards where the sound came from… Hearing a scream means they have been caught up in something, so I should check it out and see what that is in advance…”

At the moment Tanya was organizing her complicated thoughts…

Suddenly, she looked up and found a girl as small as herself sitting on the edge of an old tree, far off in the distance.

Her dark brown hair, which fell loose down her back, and red eyes didn’t harmonize well. The two colors mixed like oil and water, appearing unnatural.

Her socks were rolled up as she looked over her smooth leg, as if she were hurt somewhere.

Thinking she might be injured, Tanya quickly rose from her seat approaching her.

“By chance, are you hurt?”

Her Silvenia uniform was neat and worn properly, just like any of the other freshmen students. However, if she were to name one distinct characteristic she had, the thing that caught her attention the most was her brown hair. It went down to her waist, curling back.

Looking at the glossiness and flow of it, she could clearly tell that it was well kept. Considering that Silvenia was filled with students from wealthy families, that wasn’t anything to be surprised about.

All of a sudden, Tanya began talking to her as the girl kept staring blankly right back at her.

Since she was worried about something for the first time in a while, she had ended up saying something. But the girl’s reaction was rather cold. In the first place, it seemed like she was missing her soul or something. She seemed strangely dull.

“If you are hurt, I will go and call on one of the teaching staff members.”

“Oh, uhm. Me?”

“Yes. I saw you rolling your sock up and looking at your leg… Did you sprain it?”

“No, it’s not that… I was just going to step on the snow with my bare feet.”

“Pardon?”

In an instant Tanya had a hunch. That girl, she was not a normal human being.

How should she say it? The atmosphere around the girl seemed to be spacey. It was like if you were to blow on her, she would fly apart like cotton candy.

“There is so much snow here. I thought it would be nice to step on it with my bare feet.”

“A-All of a sudden? Right here?”

“Oh, is that bad? Perhaps, is this not something that’s normal?”

Of course that wouldn’t be normal. But Tanya stayed completely still, given that explaining such a thing was a bit…

The girl didn’t seem to care as she took off her loafers and put her pale bare feet into the snow.

She then shivered as she let out a noise from excitement, as if she were in a good mood. It was as if she had never touched snow before.

“I-It’s cold…”

“That’s because it’s snow…”

“Here, look at this. My feet got wet…!”

“That is because you buried your feet in the snow…”

Tanya was completely dumbfounded, and she could only respond as it was. The girl nodded her head as if she were saying, ‘I see…’

The first thing Tanya couldn’t help but think was,Does she have a mental problem?

However, at the very least the Silvenia uniform she wore was proof that she had skill.

Tanya stood still, dumbfounded as the girl quickly put her arms up, waving them as if to say, ‘That’s not it.’

“Ah, this… it was one of the things on my wish list. Walking around in the snow barefoot.”

“A wish list…?”

“Yes… Since I wasn’t in a position to do such things… I always looked out the window, imagining what it was like. It’s softer than I had thought.”

The smile in her eyes looked so holy. It was a smile that wasn’t appropriate, given her age. One full of benevolence and purity.

Then, when she was brushing off her snow-covered feet, the bottom of her feet had become as white as the snow.

Tanya cleared her throat as she straightened her back. She then gently closed her eyes as she quietly spoke with a pristine voice.

“I wonder if during the middle of the exam is a good time to be exchanging greetings, but… I am the second daughter from House Rothstaylor, Tanya. It looks like we are classmates.”

Usually, when she gave that much of an introduction, the other person would have already lowered their head.

Silvenia, the land of learning. You couldn’t ask to be treated courteously and with respect, but at the very least you would try to avoid any mistake that could offend the other person.

Tanya smiled rather elegantly at the girl. She definitely looked rather simple. Tanya was secretly looking forward to her recognizing the Rothstaylor name and changing her attitude to be more polite.

But instead, the girl was rather excited as she started clapping.

“House Rothstaylor!”

She was so excited that she raised her voice. Suddenly, as if she realized that her voice was too loud, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

“Uhm, I see… House Rothstaylor… Since I come from the border… I should show my respect, right…? So, I mean…”

“It’s fine. Here in Silvenia, where there are so many people who come from respectable houses, if you were to only show your respect to me, I would look rather fussy.”

“Is that so…? I guess that makes sense…! Right, this is Silvenia!”

Watching her hold her hands together and nod her head, she looked so innocent. Tanya stared at the girl from a moment before nodding her head.

She had finished figuring things out, somewhat. The girl had said that she came from the borders, so the one that has to take the initiative in the relationship was Tanya.

“My name is Kylie Eckner. I am from a small city-state in the east under the Duchy of Terene. I don’t know much about the world, since I have been raised rather sheltered. So, in case I do anything wrong, I apologize in advance. I’m not really used to places like this…”

Tanya then stuck her chest out as she flauntingly and proudly responded.

“Don’t worry. I’ve also just arrived at Silvenia not too long ago, but since I arrived first, I’ve pretty much already got the hang of this place.”

“Really…? I really don’t know anything… I know I need to figure things out, but I also have a limit when it comes to that…”

“That’s not good…!”

Tanya spoke in a determined tone.

As if she were lecturing her, she had her arms crossed tightly.

“You said your name was Kylie, right? Hmm… Since we are classmates, should I speak casually with you…?”

“Of course!”

“……”

As if speaking casually was such an amazing thing, the girl looked at her with a brightly lit face.

Tanya wondered just what was with that girl, but she continued on.

“Not only is this place full of talented young individuals, but there are also students of the most honorable status that you shouldn’t treat carelessly. If you don’t check beforehand and aren’t careful, you can end up in big trouble.”

“Ah, I see. I guess that could be the case?”

“Saying ‘I guess’ isn’t the right attitude!”

Tanya didn’t like the fact that Kylie looked like she didn’t have an ounce of nervousness in her.

“Will it take you accidentally acting close to the Princess or the Saint and facing the consequences for you to come to your senses?!”

“Is… Is that so…?”

“Technically speaking, even with me… Actually, no forget it…”

Even in front of Tanya, she shouldn’t have been acting so light-heartedly or casually, but Tanya didn’t want to bring it up and make her feel like she was pressing her status.

Anyway, there was a high chance that they would see each other often.

Seeing her attentively listen to Tanya, who had ended up standing up straight and lecturing her, she didn’t seem that bad.

However, there was no sense of crisis within her that she might end up meeting a person of an even higher status than her. If she continued her school life while acting like that, one day she might commit a major mistake.

“Keep this in mind. Even if Silvenia claims that the virtue of learning comes before anything else, there are people that are so honorable and respected that they can even break that unwritten rule… So don’t stay so relaxed! The one that will end up getting hurt is you. You!”

“I see… I will keep that in mind. I guess you were greatly worried for me.”

“I… I guess I was worried, but…”

Tanya was frustrated seeing Kylie still act so strangely mushy, despite the fact she had just spoken so bluntly to her.

“Miss Tanya, you’re a good person. Even though we met for the first time, thank you for worrying about me… You even gave me some sincere advice…”

“Hearing you say it like that is embarrassing… Anyway, we shouldn’t be doing this. We have to head up the mountain quickly! We are in the middle of the exam!”

“That’s right… We are in the middle of the exam right now…”

She had met all sorts of nice people, but she had never met anyone that carefree before.

Tanya tied her hair up for a moment as she then let out a heavy sigh.

“But I’m not greedy about my grades… If I get into Class A, I will only stand out unnecessarily…”

“Does it matter if you stand out…? If you don’t have any desire to learn, then why did you come to Silvenia?”

“Certainly… I do have the desire to learn, but… I think it’ll be better for me if I slowly go up from the bottom, right?”

“If that’s what you think, I can’t tell you otherwise…”

It felt like if she let out another sigh, she would pass out on the floor.

Tanya then thought that she should hurry and take her leave to finish the exam.

“Since I don’t think the same… I need to hurry on and head up to the summit.”

“I see…”

Kylie nodded her head as she suddenly clasped Tanya’s hand.

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“…Huh? But you said you weren’t interested in the exam.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Kyle hesitated for a bit before continuing to talk. She gulped before confessing everything, as if she were throwing up.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever had a friend of the same age.”

“……”

Certainly, seeing the things the girl did… Of course she wouldn’t have any friends!

Tanya forced herself to hold back such harsh words.

“I’m not that interested in the exam, but… I’ll help Miss Tanya with her exam!”

“……”

“Then our relationship will become even more special and close, right…?”

Just how many social skills was that girl lacking for her to try and make a friend like that?

Since the thought itself sounded tiring, Tanya shuddered. For a while, Tanya stared a hole straight through Kylie.

Just how could she continue to act so friendly and carefree, knowing that the person in front of her was the esteemed daughter of the Rothstaylor Family?

She thought about reminding her the difference in their status, but… the strangely mushy atmosphere prevented her from doing such a thing.

She started to think that the girl was rather pitiful in various aspects, so she should at least be kind to her.

Anyway, she was indeed a strange person.

***

Given that the class assignment exam contents were so straightforward, the time limit was also clear.

The big reason was because Assistant Professor Cleoh wanted to finish everything quickly. However, the students wouldn’t ever know about that.

It had been almost an hour since the exam had started, and there was still no sign of a student stepping foot anywhere near the altar at the summit.

Clevius gulped.

At this rate, I think I’ll be able to just stand here for a bit, then I can go back…

That was what he’d hoped for, but…

“Keughk, aghhk. I-I thought I was going to die.”

“WAAAHK! They’re finally here!”

The first-year student that had gotten through the many magically engineered items that were set up halfway up the mountain was now the first to reach the entrance to the altar.

A boy with short, reddish hair, smaller than the average male, was wearing small glasses on the tip of his nose.

Eigg, the successor to the Locken Mercenaries. He was a boy that could be considered a top-ranking magician within the first-year magic department students…

“J-Just die….!!!”

“Kyeeeeeeeeeeeeghk!”

The terrified Clevius grabbed his sheath as he ran at the boy, who started screaming horrific noises before fainting as is.

He just escaped the apparitions but had already fainted.

“Haah… Haah… Haah…”

Of course, Clevius didn’t attack any of his vitals or strike a fatal blow, but still—for the first year that was exhausted having to deal with the apparitions, it was a rather heavy blow.

With the unconscious Eigg in front of him… Clevius trembled, breathing heavily.

“Ahhh… Shit… Fucking scary… Why did he suddenly…? I just jumped out and… Seriously… Haaah… Haah… Haah…”

Although it was sad, Eigg wasn’t guilty of any significant crime, but he had been struck down so abruptly.

It was just a sin to have been there at that moment.

“Th-This is quite surprising…?”

He started to think that maybe it wasn’t right to suddenly defeat the students that came up with an ambush like that.

From the student’s standpoint it was extremely unfair, but… he then started to think that maybe putting them in such a sudden situation would test their ability to adapt quickly.

In fact, it was also a fact that the title of being a member of Silveria’s Class A wasn’t something that should be obtained so easily. When he thought of the current second year students in Class A, regardless of who it was, they would be able to handle that much easily.

With such a mental triumph, Clevius clenched his fist.

It’s a bit mean but…! It’s cowardly, unseemly, and pathetic but…! What can anyone do about it…! Let’s just keep doing this…!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

However, despite what Clevius was expecting, a loud roar came from the northern entrance of the altar.

The northern entrance guarded by Anise… It was open.