Chapter 44 – Peaceful Midterm Week (1)

May in Parenzia, with clear skies and cool breezes, the entire city took on vivid chromatic colors as if it were painted in a painting.
In the commercial district where salons and clothing stores are located, the white and black men’s clothes of nobles, the red roses they are holding, and the yellow cotton flowers blooming along the street are all mixed together, inspiring the creative spirit of street artists.
If you take a carriage outside the castle gate and go a short distance, you will come across a wide field with gently flowing grass. It was perfect for a light picnic or to close your eyes and feel the changing seasons.

Relaxed and peaceful days where you can spend the happiest time in the world. However, this was also a time when the expressions of Parencia Academy students gradually darkened.

“Hey, Liv. “Are your exam preparations going well?”

Liv’s friend Karen spoke to Liv, who was sitting at her desk staring at her book as usual. Her eyes were level with her waist, where the curves of her bulging breasts, exposed above her black shirt, fell beautifully.

“Not really. “I’m just carrying on as usual.”
“Well, I see… ! Haha. There you are, you know, Baron Reeve. Do you have a copy of the report you submitted during Professor Glatos’ last class?”

A somewhat servile tone. As if that wasn’t enough, Karen got down on her knees. A male student sitting next to the library was shocked when he saw the scene.

“If I fail this midterm exam, my allowance will be cut off… ! “Can I help you just once?”
“…”

Yes. May is when midterm exams begin.
It was an important test where students were evaluated on what they had learned so far. The problem is that the level of wizardry required by the academy does not simply end with a few test questions.
Freshmen will simply take a written test as it is the first evaluation they take, but from the second year onwards, even that is trivial.
A huge amount of reports and thorough practical evaluations. There were even professors who required paper-level reports and people who even replaced exams with assignments that involved using previously learned techniques to use their own derived magic.

Many students thought it was no big deal, but ended up falling down and being hospitalized after repeating all their classes. The academy’s murderous level of education was so outrageous that even the apprentices who entered the Magic Tower were speechless.

“Report? “You paid that too.”
“That’s because I can’t prepare for the exam! “It was all secretly copied!!”
“Umm…”

Liv worries about what to do. That alone impressed Karen. No one at the Academy readily shares their valuable research results or assignments.
In fact, as her exams approached, more and more of her classmates came to visit her. The same was true for the arrogant nobles who implicitly stayed away from Liv due to their insignificant titles or lack of wealth.

This is because test scores do not simply affect graduation.
In the future, all organizations in the kingdom have no choice but to look at students’ grades when selecting people to participate in camp training, field trips, and various festivals outside the academy.

In particular, the Seven Magic Towers were well-versed in different fields of magic, so they had to study well in order to participate in internships and seminars held in places of their choice.

“Okay. “Please return it by tomorrow.”
“Thank you! Thank you Baron Liv!!”
“Now, wait! “Don’t hug me!!”
“I love you Liv~!”
“There! Be quiet!!”
“Ah.”

Liv, who was eventually kicked out for making a fuss in her library, let out a small sigh after breaking up with Karen.
Recently, she was in a distraught mood. The reason was that she was stressed due to her midterm exams, but more than anything, her job was gone.

‘I hope the boss is okay…’

Currently, the store is not operating. I heard that they will not only fix the broken parts but also undergo various remodeling, but the loss of not being able to do business in the meantime will be accumulated by Lewis.
Liv himself found it difficult to make money now that his store was closed, but he didn’t feel any immediate impact on his livelihood.
I was more worried that Lewis, who cared more about his stall, would be heartbroken.

‘I’d like to stop by for a moment.’

Holding her thick book to her chest, she moved down her street to the center of her academy. A pleasant breeze tickled her hair.
We’re busy preparing for exams, but wouldn’t it be possible on a day like this where we could have some tea and exchange the latest news?

Because she works part-time. At least she said hello.

As she walked down the path that led to her canteen, Liv’s mind began to compile several stories that she had not heard from Louise while she was away in Farencia.
He is surprisingly knowledgeable about language and history, so it would be good to talk about the exam.
When Liv arrived at the concession stand site with the [Under Construction] Sign on it, she carefully tried to ring the bell in front of the door——

— Hehe, teacher. Would you like to go somewhere with me?
— Are you not studying for the test?

Someone’s voice came from inside.

***

Spending one night with Adela didn’t bring that big of a change in my daily life.
The Countess of Rocheire, who had tried to kidnap her, seemed to have given up on her halfway, but there was no movement of any kind, and her academy also regained stability.
The director went to see me just in case and asked, ‘Ah, did you bring him back? ‘I’m glad~’ he replied indifferently. It seemed that her Mon King Hall, reflected in her crystal sphere, was much more important to her.
I swear, if Lehel bothers me with gambling one more time, I will cut off her finger.

Anyway, Adela apologized to me for destroying her stall, but after a while she took advantage of the lack of customers and started coming in and out more than usual.
His attitude toward me didn’t change at all, so much so that I wondered if the fascinating sight that night had all been a dream.
But I guess not.

“Teacher?”

A water-colored gem was sparkling in her right ear as she looked at me with an innocent expression.

Moreover, even though there are many other places to sit, it is strangely different from before in that a folding stool is brought inside the counter and stuck next to me, and the fact that two of the buttons on my shirt are undone.
Even while talking, he would shake his hips and sometimes lose his balance, and when I held his waist, he would blush and gently bring his knees together, which bothered me for no reason.

However, other than these minor changes, she herself has not made any significant progress. She even felt dumber than before.

“Don’t you have a lecture after this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Aren’t you studying for the test?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you practicing to awaken your unique magic like I said last time?”
“I don’t know.”

So what does he know?
She was worried that if this continued, she would be expelled from the real academy. If you think about it, she wouldn’t have anywhere to go if she was kicked out of the dorm.
When I thought it couldn’t go on like this and was about to kick her out, someone suddenly opened her door and came in.

“Baron?”
“Hello, boss.”

When I saw her frown, I became nervous again, wondering if there was a salary I had forgotten to pay.
Liv made eye contact with Adela for a moment, and she spoke in a more deadpan and emotionless tone than usual.

“Are you with the daughter of the Rochear family who destroyed your ‘precious’ canteen?”
“Yes? Well… “Yes.”

Even the students who didn’t know that Rochear’s purpose was to kidnap Adela knew that they had caused a commotion at the academy.
However, the airflow between the two is a bit subtle.
Liv is a cafeteria and Adela is a cafe. Still, I thought we knew each other since we worked in the same space, but the reaction was as if we didn’t have any friendship at all.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to. “No one knew until they came to Parencia.”
“Still, it’s better to be careful. “You never know what other tricks they may have.”

He was obviously talking about the Roshoard family, but his eyes were fixed on Adela.

“You could be putting on a mask and pretending to be innocent.”
“Oh, no way.”

I also don’t know exactly what this guy who was listening to our conversation was thinking, but it was absurd to think that Adela was actually hiding her smarts or hiding a surprising side of her.
Aren’t you still chasing flies floating in the air with blurry eyes?

“Adella. “Are you hiding something from me?”
“… Yes.”

After hearing my question, her head turns this way.
She seemed to be shaking her head for a moment, then looked alternately at her Liv standing over the counter and my hand holding her waist.
And then——

“I don’t know~”

He fell into my arms and pressed our cheeks together. Look. What are you hiding? If Adela had that kind of intelligence, she wouldn’t have been caught stealing bread.

The stool swayed and her arms around her waist gained more strength. Baron Reeve’s expression became even more stiff.

“You seem very worried, it’s okay, Baron.”
“Still…”
“They probably won’t attack again in the future.”

Because I already left everything behind.
If you attack once more, Archduke-flavored popsicles will be distributed at the Parencia Academy store that day.

“Well, it will take a while for the store to reopen, but if you need anything, please let me know. “All the items are in the warehouse.”
“Yes…”
“It’s late. By the way, are you going back to the dormitory? “Please take him with you on your way.”

I pulled Adella away and pointed to her ribs.

“You too, follow your senior and go up.”
“Yes?”
“Yes? What are you doing? And don’t come back until the exam is over. Look at that. “Baron Liv is studying with a thick book, what are you doing?”
“Yes-!?”

Why should I be surprised? I’m busy too. While construction of the store is underway, security measures must be taken and new swords must be obtained.
In particular, based on what I tested on Everat last time, I think it would be difficult for me to use it unless it had a decent amount of strength. Even if it’s not a holy sword, I have to get a more decent weapon…

“I hate you! “I hate it!!”

While thinking about this and that, I saw off the two people walking at a distance from each other. Adela cried out in sorrow, but he ignored it and locked the door.
I don’t know about Liv, but wouldn’t it be quite helpful for Adela in college if she had a good senior who could teach her magic?
I can’t thank you for introducing me… Anyway, I hope they get along well.

***

The road to the dormitory. Liv and Adela did not exchange a single word, did not look at each other, and walked in one direction, adjusting their strides so as not to step on even the fading shadow of the sunset.

“…”
“…”

Many students watched in fascination as the two beautiful women passed by, but in reality, all that passed between them was a cold, bone-like energy.

Widely.

Liv and Adela arrived in front of the dormitory and looked at each other before parting ways.

“Go and study. “Don’t bother the boss for no reason.”

Whatever Adella’s intentions were, Liv found her detestable.
Look at how she smiles brightly in front of Lewis even though her store is broken because of her family.
Taking advantage of the fact that he is kind, they approach him as if he is innocent and only take care of his own interests.
On a subject where I am not smart enough to understand Lewis’ extensive knowledge or past experience.

Her clothes are also obscene, as if she was determined to be very seductive. She only had two buttons undone, but that’s how Liv saw it.

“Teacher, you didn’t say you were bothered by me at all?”

Adella also didn’t like Liv.
She was a promising candidate at the academy who was smart, exemplary, and had good friends.
As for her, Lewis openly mentioned that she was the perfect fit for his ideal type, that she was a sharp-minded woman, and even just looking at her next to her, he could tell that she paid a lot of attention to her even though she was just a part-time worker.

Despite his elegant clothes and appearance, he has a cool personality that somehow stimulates the desire to dominate. For Adela, she was dead and it was an area that could not be followed even after she woke up.

“Wouldn’t it be more annoying to have to take care of a student who doesn’t have money?”
“A fool who was abandoned by his family will have more trouble.”
“Who says I’m stupid?”
“I guess you’ve forgotten what happened last time when you unleashed magic.”
“Oh, that~?”

Adella took out her wand and she drew a magic circle of 2nd tier water magic 〈 Flood 〉. At that time, she just made a mistake because her stomach was full of karma.
In the first place, she pretended to be an idiot her whole life and deceived everyone around her. At best she wasn’t foolish enough to make a mistake with a second-tier spell!

“Would you like to take a look?”

I will pour water on that expressionless face and distort it a lot. Thinking like that, Adela immediately chanted magic.
However–

Sigh!!!

“Puhhe!?”

Contrary to her confident appearance, a bucket of water poured down on her head before her magic was complete.

“… What. Pathetic.”

Liv canceled the 3-tier magic he was quietly preparing: 〈 Elemental Explosion 〉, 〈 Barrier 〉, 〈 Blink 〉, and 〈 Blade Storm 〉.
Was she pretending to be stupid or was she really stupid.

“Take care of your own business when you’re next to the boss.”

The results will tell anyway.

“If you repeat more than half of the courses you take in a semester, you will be expelled.”

With her final words of advice to her junior, she returned to her dormitory.