The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 82

The word ‘deviation’ had a strange type of magic power to it.

Just how blissful it was to walk alone in the rose garden of Ophelis Hall enjoying the night’s breeze, or swimming amongst the crowds in the education district without a single escort.

For Clarice, each and every one of those things were all a deviation.

In actuality, none of those things are that great a deal. But just how special those little things were for Clarice… It had only been less than a week since she had come to Slovenia, but she had been so happy already at having dozens of opportunities.

“Saint, since you are always protected by the holy blessing, I won’t worry so much, but…”

The Holy Father Building was the largest and most magnificent building in the holy city.

On the day she left that place, Archbishop Verdio looked at Clarice with worried eyes.

“Nevertheless, please always be careful not to reveal your true identity. And you must always carry around the magically engineered item that I have given you.”

The camouflage magic that the followers who were magicians had put on her worked so well that Clarice herself almost flipped over seeing her reflection in the mirror.

Her silvery hair, which used to shine like glass, was now colored a warm brown—like a marten’s fur. It didn’t look like mere ‘visual hallucination’ magic, but rather a real disguise.

Her ruby-red and dazzling eyes still remained their original color, but after taking off her accessories—which were like a part of her body that she’d always worn—she simply looked like an ordinary, simplistic student. It was also much more effective and convenient than actually disguising her.

“I look like a completely different person, so who would be suspicious of me, Verdio?”

“Thanks to the skills of the magicians that are followers, you won’t appear suspicious at all, but still…”

He was less concerned about any personal threats towards her. After all, Clarice’s ‘holy blessing’ that always protected her was indestructible with ordinary methods.

“Nobody knows how things will turn out, Saint Clarice. Even if you’re fully prepared, the visual hallucination magic is perfectly applied, and in the first place there isn’t even a reason to have a hint of suspicion towards you… you can never be sure.”

“As expected of you Verdio, you’re full of worries.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being careful.”

Seeing the Saint full of excitement right before leaving for Silvenia, Verdio was very worried. However, the staff members of the Holy Father Building weren’t incompetent, so he decided to put his worries aside for now.

“I have a double and triple contingency plan in place for you, so… They will never be able to notice or suspect you unless they have been told about it beforehand.”

Clarise smiled subtly as she nodded, hearing Verdio’s words.

She also thanked all of the other followers. They had put in a lot of effort into making sure that Clarise could enjoy her school life as a normal student. As all of it was a new experience, it was just that much more precious.

What was a normal school life?

Certainly, it must be vastly different that the life of a saint, who is put on a pedestal, must be bowed to when making eye contact, must listen to the confessions of older bishops, and wherever they went turns to silence.

It hadn’t been long since she had arrived at Acken Island, and she had only visited a few places thus far, but every day was already full of new romances.

Since it was still broken, everything was still rather quiet, but in Clarice’s eyes even that leisurely academic scenery was like a bustling marketplace to her.

She walked around the busy streets alone, personally buying all sorts of glamorous goods, and sat in the corner of the student library reading all kinds of snobbish romance novels that she would have never dreamed of being able to read while living in the Holy Father Building.

Reading about the way the protagonists overcame tragic ordeals, even meeting each other’s lips, she couldn’t stop the burning and tingling sensation down her spine as she stuffed her nose into the book while carefully peeking out to see if anyone else was around her. She kept looking around unnecessarily, as if she felt she had committed a crime reading such a book.

As she sat on a wooden bench off the side of the main street of the education district, no one paid any attention to Clarice.

No one lowered their head to her, and no one tried to idolize her. Everyone was busy quickly walking off on their own way.

That fact alone left Clarice breathless, full of a sense of satisfaction.

No one could figure out her identity. So now, as a fellow student, she loved the feeling of mixing into the crowd.

Although her facial features might be similar, there was also a stand-in as the real Saint that is attending the school as well… Thus, who would ever think that Kylie would be the Saint?

At the very least, not even one of the students within Silvenia would be able to assume Kylie’s real identity.

That fact alone was clear.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

And now, a raging storm. She couldn’t hear anything besides the flapping of her collar and the sharp piercing sound of the wind.

The boy sitting on the altar that was being covered by the raging wind, Ed Rothstaylor… He was looking down at Kylie with a rather apathetic expression.

***

A roar echoed from the wide-open maw of the wolf. It wasn’t the usual high cry of a wolf—rather, it was a roar closer to that of a lion or tiger.

The sound weighed heavy on their chests. Their trembling hearts sent a signal to their brain, stimulating their human instincts.

Run away.

Is he out of his mind…? That’s clearly… A high-ranking spirit…!

Even students that had spent their entire lives training in Elementalism couldn’t handle a high-ranking spirit of that level.

The level of a graduate… No, even past that. Even elementalists that were actively researching or in combat and could handle about five or six mid-rank spirits were treated like professionals and veterans. So, a mere student being able to use a high-ranking spirit shouldn’t realistically exist.

That was why Yennekar Palerover was often praised as a genius elementalist. One who was able to use a high-rank spirit.

“You have to think about this rationally, Miss Tanya! No matter what, this is a bit…!”

Kylie cried out to Tanya with a trembling voice.

In fact, Kylie was right.

Even if the situation was completely out of the realm of normal possibilities, the fact was that Ed had really managed to summon a high-ranking spirit. They should run away without looking back.

Tanya had once before been face to face with the high-ranking fire spirit Takan, which was summoned by Yennekar. Rather than a spirit, it was more like a monster that had come alive and let loose. The trauma of it all was starting to permeate through her mind again.

But Tanya clutched her trembling legs as she kept her eyes wide open.

She never lost a hold of her rationality, which was trying to fly away, and never loosened the leash on her train of thought.

High-ranking spirits were monsters that ate magic power. Somehow, he managed to use his magic power to ‘manifest’ that spirit, but that also meant he should have been out of magic power.

To summon that spirit, you would need to use elementalism… which meant that ‘spiritual resonance’ was necessary to maximize one’s magic power.

But that was easier said than done. Having that type of resonance level isn’t something easy.

“I know what level my older brother was two years ago… And it’s completely unrealistic that he has grown that much in magic power over those two years….!”

Tanya’s insight hit the nail on the head.

Regardless of what she was seeing right in front of her own two eyes, thinking about it rationally, it didn’t make any sense that Ed could handle a high-ranking spirit.

WHOOOSH!

The giant wolf, who was sitting with its tail wrapped around the headstone, leapt forward. The wind it blew tried to wipe out the whole entire area once more.

The high-ranking wind spirit Merilda landed in front of Tanya and Kylie, who were barely holding themselves together. It then let out a roar.

When it landed, the marble on the floor cracked as the debris flew at Kylie’s face. Kylie was stunned by the dizziness.

With a flick of its tail and a shake from its body, a gust of wind blew as Tanya and Kylie nearly flew back.

But Tanya had miraculously overcome her fear as she took a step. She grabbed Kylie’s wrist, running quickly to the side.

“Kylie! Listen well!”

Kyle. who was out of her mind and trembling, followed Tanya on impulse.

“We have a chance!”

Tanya’s legs were also shaking in fear, but first she took action.

No matter how strong an opponent may appear, she wouldn’t give up without trying. She didn’t want to live a life following a path of defeat any longer.

To Tanya, Ed was like a massive wall that had been blocking her for her entire life.

The reason that Ed was like such a massive wall was because he had the high status of heir to the house protecting him.

But now that status of his had been removed. She no longer had to be scared like she used to be.

“A chance… Did you say we have a chance…?”

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m sure of it! That guy, he definitely doesn’t have the skill to handle a high-ranking spirit!”

If he were someone you saw for the first time, you may think he was a man that had many accomplishments thanks to his natural talent and the blood and sweat he put into his effort.

However, Tanya already had information regarding Ed’s background.

Given his accomplishments, there was something wrong.

She clearly remembered what he was like two years ago. He had terrible magic power resonance and a pathetic amount of innate magic power, so there should be no way he grew to that extent.

“A trick… he’s definitely using one!”

That was an accurate insight.

Ed had used Glast’s ring to gather magic power, but Tanya doesn’t know the entirety of the situation that had happened before and after.

But she could infer given the circumstances.

“He’s not using his own magic power at all! He’s trying to fight using only the magic power inherent in those magic power stones, which he isn’t used to! There must be a reason he was forced to use such magic power that is difficult to handle!”

***

Merilda’s gaze was directed at Tanya, who was feeling her way towards the outskirts. If Merilda were to lightly jump at her or swing her foot, then she could have quickly defeated Tanya. But she didn’t.

Rather, she shook her head, letting out a light cry looking at Ed.

“Miss Tanya! There’s no way we can defeat a high-ranking spirit!”

“No! Rather, since he summoned a high-ranking spirit, we now have a chance!”

There was no time to ask what the heck Tanya was talking about.

Tanya stared at Ed sitting on the altar as she picked up her pace.

He was still sitting still looking down at them.

He didn’t panic or fret seeing Tanya’s unwavering commitment.

However, it was certainly an unexpected situation.

The biggest reason Tanya was able to see a chance at winning was because of the fact that Ed… was exhausted.

His clothes were scorched in various places and his sleeves were rolled up. His whole body was covered in dirt and dust. He also had a few small scratches on him, and it was evident that he had repeatedly used magic power.

Because of repeated battles, Ed had already reached the limit of his strength. From the beginning, she didn’t feel his fighting spirit.

Though it was obvious from his look that he still wanted to quickly kick out Tanya and Kylie to end the exam.

It was squeezing through the cracks in his heart.

“From the start… His goal was to show off the overwhelming difference in power to make us lose our fighting spirit! If he really wanted to fight, he wouldn’t have let that giant monster loose that eats through his magic power so inefficiently… He would have tried to defeat us himself!”

“Th-Then…!”

“He has already reached his limit!”

The freshman class assignment examination.

Which student would be entitled to the honor of being placed in the honorable Class A?

The grading standard varied widely depending on the professor that was in charge.

But with the situation becoming like that, Tanya seemed to be able to provide a clear answer to that criteria.

No matter how high of a will was blocking her path, and even if she might think it was impossible to break through… she was still a person that knew how to take the first step forward.

That was something that certainly had a connection to Tanya’s life.

Tanya, who has been held back her entire life, lived by desperately searching for an opportunity. Thus, without even realizing it, she had already been influenced by a sense of defeat.

It was a habit to measure and estimate the things around her and simply give up if she didn’t think it was possible.

If she didn’t think she could win 100%, she wouldn’t bet on it at all. When a cliff was in her view, she had already imagined herself falling off it.

Living a life with a high status, you couldn’t help but live a life in fear of falling. However, that could never be the right thing to do.

It was a matter beyond position and status. There would always be a time in one’s life where you had to close your eyes and take a step into a dangerous and precarious problem.

And that is right now…!

Tanya clenched her teeth as she bravely stepped forward.

Looking at Tanya’s expression, Kylie soon nodded. She felt ashamed of herself for being afraid.

“He doesn’t want to fight with his body anymore, so he forced himself to summon a spirit! That means we won’t have to defeat the high-ranking spirit at all! He’s already exhausted, and I’m sure summoning that giant monster would have only worn out his body even more, so if we can just land a single attack on him…!”

WHOOOOOSH!

ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!

A fear of death swept over Tanya.

That was because the wolf’s paw had struck exactly where Tanya and Kylie had just been.

Broken pieces of rock flew in all directions as the wind rose, pushing the two away.

“Kyaaaaaaaaghk!”

Tanya and Kylie’s clothes fluttered in the wind as they were lifted up and thrown to the outer wall.

Tanya was quick to cast beginner wind magic to minimize the impact, but her right hand was shaking in fear.

“Then… We just need to get close to him once, right?! By getting past that wind wolf!”

“E-Exactly! If we could make a gap just once…”

“Then I’ll take on the role of bait!”

Tanya was suspicious of what she had heard. She wanted to be the bait to catch the attention of that wolf. It was no different than saying she was going to kill herself.

“I told you before, but my constitution is a bit unique… So, unless it’s a very special occasion, I can never die!”

“B-But even then, won’t you get seriously hurt?!”

Kylie shook her head.

“Not at all! I won’t get hurt! You can count on me!”

Normally, she would have just dismissed that as nonsense.

However, Tanya saw her on the way up to the altar.

The top second year student in the combat department, Clevius Nortondale, had really swung his sword at her, but… he was knocked away by an unknown light, knocking him unconscious.

Holy Blessing.

That was the greatest self-defense amongst all the holy magics that borrow from the god Telos’ power.

It was a blessing that even the head of the Knights of the Cathedral trained their entire lives, honing their holy magic to initiate it similarly. However, Kylie was born with it surrounding her body from a young age.

She was a girl that was specially blessed with the love of the god Telos. It was like a law of the world itself that protected the girl. So, even without her guards escorting her, she was never in any great danger in the first place.

Holy Blessingstruck every hostile being that tried to harm Kylie with intermediate or higher holy magic.

The speed of it was so fast that it was hard to react to. Because Kylie appeared to be a weak girl that couldn’t do anything, the average person was thrown back and knocked out. After all, they had no reason to expect her to counterattack.

Since it was something that Kylie herself didn’t know how to control, she didn’t try to antagonize anyone in the first place.

Of course, Tanya couldn’t have known such details. But there wasn’t any time to pry. However, she couldn’t help but be convinced upon seeing the certainty across Kylie’s face.

“Are you really sure?!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll create a gap with the wolf for you… So, please land a counterattack…! Since you said he is a really bad person… That guy…!”

A bad person.

Only then did Tanya feel certain. Coming all the way here, trembling in fear was meaningless.

Between the legs of the wolf that was letting out a howl, she could see the boy sitting far away on the altar lowering his head. He looked completely exhausted, as if he no longer wanted to move.

Wasn’t now the perfect time to land a proper hit on him? Tanya nodded as Kylie ran out towards the wolf without even answering.

***

Tanya admired Kylie for her sudden courage, but… it was time to put away that evaluation of her for the time being.

“HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

She ran out, half crying, guarding her head and looking absolutely terrified.

No matter how confident she might be about not getting hurt, running right into that giant wolf was still something like suicide.

Also, she said that ‘unless it was a special exception’, she wouldn’t get hurt… That didn’t mean that she wouldn’t get hurt at all.

The fact that there was such a small possibility, she couldn’t help but still have a sense of fear.

Yet the decision to clench her teeth and run out there, Tanya would end up seeing it again.

Tanya quickly ran over to the other side.

There was no telling just how big a gap Kylie would be able to make, but right now all she could do was to go over there.

The wolf was caught off guard for a moment.

In the first place, it was just a class assignment exam. It was highly likely that there was no real intent to harm or even kill them.

So, what was she supposed to do with that girl running right at her like she is trying to kill herself? It would be too difficult to bear the consequences if she were to crush her with that massive front paw of hers.

Yet, she couldn’t just sit still there, considering that she would end up with a minor injury… so Merilda lightly swung her front paw.

But it was Merilda that ended up getting wounded.

Boom!

There was a puff of smoke, but Merilda’s front paw didn’t even land a single scratch on Kylie.

Kylie’s charge right at her was cute, but… it left a major injury on Merilda.

On her stomach and side, there were claw-like wounds. The red bloodstains dripped onto the ground, leaving a mark.

ROOOOOOOOOOAR!

Merilda roared as she grumbled about the unknown attack.

The roar trembled the air for a moment.

It was a sound she screamed, taken aback by surprise from the unexpected shock. However, even the fragile Kylie flew back from the size of the shock.

“Kyeaghk…!”

Her thin, pale white limbs weren’t suited for combat. After just a few instances of being thrown on the floor, she was drained of her energy and could no longer operate properly.

Clang!

Meanwhile, the sound of items falling from Kylie’s body and rolling on the floor were heard.

Anyway, she had succeeded in somehow stopping Merilda’s movements for a moment, thanks to the blessing around her body.

That brief moment was Tanya’s final moment to go all out.

She was already fully charging to land an attack on Ed. The range of Tanya’s beginner magic was extremely short.

However, he was already completely exhausted after fighting all those battles, and he was completely out of magic power after calling upon that high-ranking spirit… If even a single attack landed on Ed, it could have been a serious blow.

The image of the boy sitting relaxed on the altar grew little by little.

Kylie didn’t squander that fleeting opportunity as she barely managed to overcome her fear and somehow created that little bit of time for Tanya.

Basic Wind Magic,Release.

It was one of the few spells that Tanya had properly mastered. A magic that released a strong wind around the caster, destroying the movements of surrounding enemies and making them fly back if strong enough.

With it, she was going to push Ed off of the altar and quickly present her magic power stone. That was the last chance for her victory.

As Tanya held her breath and reached the altar, she could finally clearly see all of Ed.

Clenching her teeth, Tanya then shouted out.

“You really thought I’d give up…?!”

From the beginning, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. She grit her teeth as she yelled at him, then a chill ran down her spine.

The rising magic power was her final attack. Tanya’s last means to overcome the overwhelming difference in power.

Ed’s gaze, which looked down at her coldly, wasn’t panicked at all. The scariest part of it all was his eyes.

They didn’t move one bit, as if there was nothing wrong. However, it was too late to be intimidated by his gaze now. The dice had already been thrown.

The rising wind magic struck Ed, who didn’t move. And just like that, Ed went flying back as he disappeared from the altar.

“Haah… Haah…”

Ed had been completely knocked, disappearing from view. She was about to feel a moment of joy that the magic had worked against him, but…

The phenomenon of him ‘disappearing’… Tanya felt that something was wrong.

Swoosh!

An arrow. The shape of it was blurry. As soon as two or three arrows made of magic power hit the floor, they disappeared without a trace.

“Eeeghk!”

Tanya was so surprised she stepped backwards, tripping and falling onto the floor… Only then did Tanya see the ‘apparition disks’ that were scattered across the floor of the altar.

It was too difficult to produce such advanced machinery with basic magic engineering knowledge, but at the very least it was possible to improve them if they were slightly broken.

While it wouldn’t be able to show a powerful apparition that came from the purple disk, it was still possible to salvage and convert to show a ‘weaker apparition’.

Showing off Ed in a rather weak, exhausted state to make someone believe it was really him… doing that much with an apparition wasn’t all that difficult.

In the first place, knowledge on magic engineering was in a completely different world from Tanya. Also, Tanya had no idea that Ed had any knowledge in magic engineering in the first place.

What she could infer was that at least quite a few students must have been defeated using that method.

If that was the case, then where was Ed?

Tanya looked towards the direction the arrows came from. The trees and their branches were unnaturally bent as they faced towards the direction of the altar.

From among them, a boy jumped out.

After struggling to land properly, Ed brushed himself off as he stood up. He was in a worse state than what she had seen in the apparition. It was at the point she wondered how he was able to even move.

In one hand was a hurriedly constructed bow.

On both ends of the branch that managed to somewhat become an arrow shaft, he was pulling tightly on a thread of magic power, covered in a bluish light.

He can do that…? Just how much did he trance in magic power resonance…?

No, in the first place… He knows how to use a bow…? Wasn’t he someone who couldn’t even hold a sword properly…?

Tanya, who was sitting on the floor, tried to push herself back to her feet with her hands. However, her legs—which had completely lost their strength—didn’t plan to do their part.

Even if she managed to somehow force herself up, the fear within her body had already reached its limit.

Ed was narrowing the distance as he walked forward, but both of her legs had already given up.

Whoosh!

Before she knew it, the giant wolf, having finished defeating Kylie, was now behind the bow-wielding Ed.

Sitting down and looking up at the sight of a giant wolf painted right in front of her, Tanya was certain that they no longer had a chance of winning.

“Eeeeghk… Eeek…!”

Ed had moved right in front of Tanya as he looked down at her.

His body, which was a wreck, was covered in bruises and injuries. There were also traces of blood here and there.

Even though he was covered in dust and dirt and completely exhausted, he still didn’t show any signs of hardship.

That cold glaze that looked down on Tanya as she sat… once again, Tanya’s trauma started to rise.

That dagger in his hand that she saw at the Rothstaylor residence. The one that piece of trash used as if he was some protagonist.

The servants that screamed in pain with eyes full of fear.

Like a flash of lighting, it swept through Tanya’s mind.

A chill as cold as that gaze ran down Tanya’s back as it spread throughout her body. She couldn’t control her body from trembling.

As Ed reached his hand out, Tanya tightly closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry. Even though you tried so hard in your own way. I also have my own reasons.”

WHOOOOOOSH!

Once again, a violent wind blew by… and then when she came to her senses, the shape of the giant wolf had disappeared.

What Ed now had in his hand was the magic power stone that Tanya had been holding.

Tanya’s body was still shaking as she opened her eyes just a little to see Ed breaking the magic power stone.

At that moment, she had failed the exam.

“I can’t just let you pass for free since we are family. Even if I did, knowing your personality, wouldn’t you have been even more upset?”

“Wh… What…?”

“But I got to see it again, Tanya. You also have that side to you.”

Ed released the magic power from the bow he had built in a hurry. The magic power thread was broken, and the branch went back to its ordinary shape as he threw it away nearby.

Ed let out a sigh as he looked up at the sky. The sun was setting. The freshmen class assignment examination, which was difficult for everyone, was finally coming to an end.

The Tanya Rothstaylor that Ed knew was someone that held onto the pride of her house dearly, thus showing up in the student president pre-election before taking her leave… She was nothing but a minor disposable villain.

He thought that she would run away in fear after seeing the high-ranking spirit… But unexpectedly, she was a strong individual.

“If our positions were switched, I would have run away without looking back. It was really amazing seeing you do whatever it took to land that attack on my worn-out self. Not everyone could do that… You can take pride in yourself. You are quite amazing.”

“Uhm… Uh…”

She was already completely exhausted, and the relief that the situation was over now rushed into her head. Soon, without realizing it, Tanya’s emotions began to well up inside of her.

“Uhm… Sniff… Sniff…”

Ed felt rather awkward. He didn’t expect her to have that type of reaction.

Anyway, the exam was over, and he broke Tanya’s magic power stone.

Since he didn’t want to fight anymore, he was thinking about how to go and comfort her.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

Then, a girl pushed herself in between Tanya and Ed… Her face was caked in dirt and dust as she quickly blocked Ed.

Seeing her tremble like crazy, with her arms spread wide, it was as if she ran between them in fear of Tanya being harmed.

Kylie was extremely fearful at the sight of the boy that looked more like a warrior than an aristocrat. But no matter what, she wanted to keep Tanya safe.

“I-I’m telling you… Well, I’m… If you are hostile or aggressive towards me… Uh… Some bad things will happen to you! I’m serious! D-Don’t move any closer…!”

Seeing her beg for Ed to believe her while she kept on trembling and stuttering, it was impossible to tell just who was threatening who.

Since Ed had no intention of harming her, he just let out a deep sigh.

However, as soon as started to lower his gaze just a bit… Ed’s eyes suddenly widened in an instant.

Ed, who hadn’t been taken aback since the exam began, suddenly had trembling eyes for the first time. He then quickly started to look around.

Kylie felt a great discomfort at the sight, but she didn’t lower her trembling hands. She didn’t even relax those eyes of hers that were staring right at Ed.

“The exam is over! Ed! Help me out here! Clevius is completely knocked out…!

“Assistant Professor Cleoh…! I need to update my grading sheet first…! I also have a ton of other things I need to take care of…! Starting from the beginning of next semester, there is the student presidential election…!”

Suddenly Assistant Professor Cleoh’s voice came from the entrance of the altar. Hearing Anise and Onyx voices as well, it seemed like they were slowly all coming up to clean up the aftermath of the exam.

Ed threw the last magic power stone at the altar. A sudden surge of magic power then enveloped Ed’s body.

Then, a tiny fire bat was ‘manifested’ as it flew about Ed’s head.

“Wh-What are you doing…?! The exam is already over…! What are you still planning to do…?!”

Kylie shouted with a trembling voice, but Ed sent the fire bat flying towards the vacant space by the altar without caring one bit.

There was no reason to fight anymore. It seemed like soon the other staff members would come up, so all she had to do was stand by and protect Tanya from any harm until they arrived.

As Kylie thought that, she held onto her chest with her mouth tightly closed. And then… she became aware of the unexpected.

As she started to look at her body, she realized what the cause of the disharmony was. The tips of her brown hair were slowly losing their color as they started to turn more silver.

The ‘Visual Hallucination’ magic that the followers used on her was maintained thanks to the semi-permanent magic engineering item, ‘Crescent Brooch’, that she brought with her to Silvenia. As long as she always carried it around, the effects of the magic wouldn’t ever wear off.

Clang!

Only then did Kylie realize what sound she heard when she fell down in her fight against Merilda was. It was the sound of her crescent brooch falling and rolling on the floor.

“Th-This is…!”

Right before the staff were about to come up, Kylie felt goosebumps all over her body. In an instant, her heartbeat grew louder as it became more difficult to breathe. Kylie quickly turned her head towards the empty space by the altar.

However, the fire bat that Ed had sent off was already flying back, bringing the brooch with him.

Ed quickly grabbed it as he put it in Kylie’s arms.

“Be careful not to–not to lose anything.”

It was the first time she experienced someone putting their large hands against her like that. Given that it was already a situation where she was panicking, Kylie stepped back in horror.

She was starting to breathe in and out rapidly, and just looking at Ed made her feel like all the blood was rushing to her head.

The brooch he had put into her arms started to give off a subtle glow as Kylie’s hair, which had been turning silver, regained its brown color.

“Uh… Uhm…”

It was such a sudden situation that Kylie couldn’t even think of anything to say in response. Since her words kept getting stuck in her throat, she couldn’t say anything.

“I’m on my way!”

“Oh, shit! Ed! Why… Why did you get hurt so much…?!”

Ed got rid of the spirit as he struggled to walk over to the other staff members with that worn out body of his… Kylie had no choice but to stand completely still, just like that.

What was fortunate was… Since Tanya was having a hard time coming to her senses given the chaotic situation, she didn’t seem to have realized what had happened in that instant.

Kylie… stayed dumbfounded, completely still for a while.

Maybe it was just a simple coincidence. That was a possibility.

Maybe it was just a friendly act, taking care of something she had lost in a timely manner.

However, Ed Rothstaylor, who was always astute, was still a person in the end.

It was a very sudden situation, and he had to deal with it quickly, so there was a momentary mistake.

It was nothing special to ordinary people… and it might have just been a very minor mistake. It was such a trivial and meaningless one that it was hard to even notice.

But for Kylie, who had lived in reverence her entire life, the size of that mistake was different to her.

“Be careful not to—not to lose anything.”

Just now… He was going to speak formally…

The setting sun signaled the end of the class assignment exam.

Underneath the world that was turning red, with Kylie’s ruby-like eyes… she stared at Ed’s back as she moved further and further away.