Chapter 3 – Catching the Bread Thief (3)

Every early spring when a new semester begins, Parenzia, a small town in the south, welcomes an unprecedented crowd of people.
This is because it is the period when students entering the academy and employees from each family leave their hometowns and come to other places.
The dirt road outside the walls was full of horseshoe marks. Commercial districts and clothing stores were also crowded.

Adela’s friend, Lina, sighed in relief as she looked at the streets and the Academy grounds becoming more and more crowded with each passing day. She would have been very confused if she hadn’t left early.

Today was the first day of class.

Some freshmen who were rushing to pack their belongings into the dormitory were still busy checking the location of their assigned classroom.

After finishing her preliminary preparations, Lina looked at Adela, who was still sitting on her bed with a blank expression on her face.

‘Wow… A picture is a picture.’

She was just a noble from the outskirts. Did she ever imagine that she would be sharing a room with the world’s Rosh Ar?
A spear of anti-demons or a flower of the North Sea.
There are as many expressions to refer to Rochear as there are stars in the sky, but at least among the expressions that immediately came to Lina’s mind, the latter was a bit more suitable.
Even though she had just opened her eyes and was in a haggard state, Adela’s appearance was more than neat, which made me think again about whether she was really wearing the same cape over her cadet uniform.
Not only her striking appearance, but also her round personality and lively appearance.

“Hey, Lina.”
“Huh?”
“Can’t bread disappear from the world?”

It would have been great if she didn’t say something strange every time she opened her mouth that made her question her intelligence.

“What do you mean…” …”
“If you think about it, if the store sold pasta instead of bread, they wouldn’t ask you to steal it. “I’ll have to make a suggestion.”
“That doesn’t even seem like something to say. Let’s go faster than that. “There are only thirty minutes left.”

Dragging Adela, who was making strange noises, she headed to her classroom.
Being late to her first class was an absolute no-no.

***

Parencia Academy’s curriculum consists of a total of three years.
In her first year, she learns the basics of magic and swordsmanship and takes liberal arts classes to cultivate an aristocratic spirit.

In the academy, which can be said to be a huge society, differences in status and wealth gradually became apparent from the moment one entered school.
In the case of children from prestigious families, they only earned the minimum credits for the first year or so and focused more on social activities.
What was important to them was the formation of human relationships.

On the other hand, in the case of lower-class nobles who had low titles, had no estates, or were always short on money, contrary to people’s vague fantasies, they had to study to death and focus on their grades.
When I really needed money urgently, I had to go to the city and work part-time, or save up money and invest it in the top.

A lecture on ‘Basic Magic Studies’ held in a classroom where students from all walks of life are seated.
The girl who sat in the front row and never took her eyes off the blackboard—Liv Greenwood—was clearly one of the latter.

“When considering the total amount of resources required for magic, that is, representative magical power, we often refer to mana. Among them, White Magic, which you will most often encounter, is a representative discipline that manifests magic through an elaborate refining process of mana.”

The professor’s lecture was the theory on magic that anyone learning magic would encounter for the first time.
It was a subject that Liv, who had taken this course last year, also knew nothing about.

“On the other hand, in this world there is another substance that is the opposite of mana. “Karma is observed in small amounts not only in the air and land here, but also in living things.”

All wizards live with two energies in their bodies. And you need to properly adjust the energy depending on the type of magic you use.
Karma increases little by little when there is intentional killing, so some students who were not yet familiar with magic already looked scared.
To reassure them, the professor spoke jokingly.

“You don’t have to worry too much. In fact, there is no difference between karma and mana as fuel for magic.”
“But aren’t murderers who kill people indiscriminately able to use stronger magic?”
“It’s not wrong, but——the total amount is extremely small. Rather, think of it the other way around. Even if you hunt demons, beasts, or monsters, your karma increases. How did the Kingdom’s most elite, the Hooksclaw Knights, become so strong?”
“Helzeb… “By hunting demons in .”
“That’s it. In fact, there is no reason to be prejudiced at all. “In addition to the white and black magic, the unique magic possessed by several families in Penheim also uses mana and karma together.”

However, the professor ended his speech with the advice not to commit meaningless killings to increase karma.
But. It was as difficult to obtain karma as to increase the total amount of mana by continuously practicing magic.

At the end of the lecture, the professor announced the materials needed for the next class.

“Now, next week we will be practicing measuring your mana and karma. “I heard that they have prepared a Litweis test paper at the store, so you can bring it with you.”
“Litweiss?”
“Yes. Lit, Vice. It’s literally a thin piece of paper that detects the color of evil. “It is originally white, but the more karma there is, the more it turns red.”
“Yes!? Then… !”
“Haha, don’t worry. “Most of you will be closer to bright yellow.”

When the lecture ended, several male students were flirting and making subtle glances.
As the professor said, the Litweis test paper was created to measure the ratio of karma and mana, but it had one small side effect.
This means that part of the subject’s memory is directly reflected on the test paper.

Most of the time it only showed a very fragmentary part of life, but if you were lucky, you might witness something very interesting.
Things like taking a bath, changing clothes, or the moment when you open your eyes to the pleasures of puberty.
People spend a third of their lives in bed, so even their sleep can be spied on.
Her ribs came out, past the group of girls who were wondering which girl’s Litvice should be in her hands.

“Hey, Adela. “Do you remember what I said yesterday?”
“Yes…”
“Oh right. After the next lecture, please bring a Litvice as well? “Let me take a look at what a magnificent mansion our Lady Rochear lives in.”
“Well, that…”
“What, are you dissatisfied!?”
“Oh, it hurts! Okay, Miss! “Please don’t hit me!!”

‘It’s pathetic.’

The thought was about both of them standing in the hallway.
It was just as pathetic as a magician who was bullied despite having the name of a great family, and an aspiring knight who trusted another family to look after him in the same way.
At the beginning of the semester, I thought that the ranking of nobles was a bit extreme or shady, so I passed on it.

‘Money… ‘How much is left?’

Liv reached for her purse, which was as light as a pebble.
You probably have enough money to buy test papers.
The scholarship should come in as soon as possible, but this damn academy has a reputation for being slow in administrative processing.
With a small sigh she headed towards the concession stand. It would soon be lunch time and it would be crowded, so I walked quickly.

***

— Here, give me a sausage bun!
— One Partagas mild cigar. If you have a spark stone, please ask.
— Do you have any parchment left?
— What is sold on the second floor?
— Man, leave your money here!

I’m so fucking busy.
It’s crazy busy.
Since I, the owner, was the only person in the spacious store, the lunchtime snack bar was constantly filling up.
The long line of people was very chaotic, with students and servants running errands mixed together.
The rules for using the cafeteria, which were written in a lot of school rules, were useless during lunch time, when students pushed through the power of pages.
Especially since the semester started in March.

“Yes, I put it here for you! If you look at the stand, the ignition stone is at the bottom left! If you want to purchase cigarettes, please write the name of the salon where you debuted and your family name there! “The parchment is just to the right of the study, and you must not go up to the second floor!”

— Man, that’s money… !

“It’s not you!”
“…”
“…”

A little silence. But it soon became noisy again.
Since my main customer was a social worker, I was usually quite polite.
As Kano had feared, he only occasionally spoke informally in front of nobles. A representative example is when he caught the moment of stealing something from a store.

“You know what? Over there, on a small peninsula in another dimension far away, there is a unique method of counting one’s age. I’m from a foreign country, but this is the Kingdom of Penheim, right? In Rome, there is a saying that you should follow Roman law, right? Then I’m still 28 years old…”
— Okay, just take the money. Uncle, sell a lot!

Ugh, let’s not talk.

It took quite some time for the large crowd to leave.
What kind of trouble is this since I am retired?
As I was taking a sigh of relief as I sorted out the coins pouring out in front of the counter, something suddenly rose above the counter.

“Please give me a packet of Litweis test papers. “And bread.”

A calm, indifferent voice.
Even though the surrounding noise had not completely subsided yet, the words that came out of her mouth were right in my ears.
That’s why I immediately recognized the owner of the voice.
Greenwood. They were the only family I remembered, not even knowing Rosiard, a great northern noble family.

“What kind of bread would you like, Baron Greenwood?”
“If you have any leftover from yesterday’s baking, please give me that.”

Maybe it was because I didn’t have a good school experience before coming to this world, or maybe it was because I saw so many sad lives disappearing on the battlefield, but I had a strong image of a person that I wanted to treat well.

Study hard, or else fight hard.
A student must study to be a student and a gangster… No, a knight was a knight if he did not back down and drew his sword.
His former colleague Wiblett also spoke. The way knights fight for honor is always worthy of respect.
Now that I think about it, I heard that he was awarded a first-class medal and a title, but I haven’t heard from him since then.

Anyway, the kids who go to the academy these days—the nobles—are so withdrawn.
Although it was said that an era of peace had arrived, the future of the kingdom was bleak as people were filled with thoughts of dancing instead of magic and stealing bread from the canteen.

In that sense, Baron Greenwood’s legitimate son was very desirable.
Liv Labre des Greenwood. He was a second-year student at the Ministry of Magic and quite a prodigy.
It is said that he was the top student in the entrance exam.
Just looking at the fact that he re-registered for the basic magic class that first-year students take, you can’t say that he has no enthusiasm for studying.

“… And the school rules say that all cadets, except royals, must observe equality of rank. “Please refrain from referring to the Baron.”
“I understand, Baron.”
“…”

Also, perhaps because he wasn’t raised like a noble, it was quite cute how his face would turn bright red when I called him that every once in a while.
Honestly, everything I put in front is nonsense.
The reason is obvious, as I remember encountering more students than any professor or wizard working at Farencia Academy.

Because it’s pretty. That’s scary too.

Black hair hanging in two braids and obsidian-like eyes that would make even eye contact seem impolite.
Even more important than this visible beauty was the clothing that was visible even under the cape.
Her slim, delicate forearms and curved waist line were visible as she thoughtfully counted the coins in her palm, putting aside her small breasts that were not at all frivolous and not flashy.
None of the students standing behind were able to quickly calculate and tell them to get out of the way, so they just stared blankly at their backs.

“Hmm… “I think I counted it correctly. Please check.”
“…”
“Mister?”

I came to my senses when I heard a voice calling me. The pain of hearing him call me ‘uncle’ didn’t seem to go away.

“Oh, wait a minute. The bread is here, where did you put the test paper…”

No matter how tight money was, I felt bad about giving her day-old bread that was outside of her, so I packed the pizza bread that she had brought in a few hours ago.
And just as I was about to put on my gloves to take out the Litweis test paper——

‘Huh?’

I saw a familiar figure up ahead.
The bread thief whom I let go after teaching him last time.
Adella glanced toward the counter and gently placed her hand on the day-old bread that Liv had requested from the counter.

— Hey, lunch time is over! Come fast!
— Ugh, huh! Ah, what kind of academy is this big! Here you go! Do you have anything to drink!?

To make matters worse, another group of students came into the cafeteria.

“Here’s the test! Come back later, Baron!”
“Yes? Uh…”

At this rate, I felt like I would miss her as she slipped away.
I quickly handed over the items and jumped over the checkout counter.