Chapter 45 – Peaceful Midterm Week (2)

“It’s a gift.”

Bill, who came back with the previously reordered materials loaded on his wagon, presented me with a familiar item he had seen on Earth.

“Huh? This?”
“It’s red ginseng. “The head of the family sent me.”
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“You just sent it. “He told me to eat it all and not leave anything behind.”

Ten pieces of red ginseng the size of a human forearm, accompanied by a scroll with a preservation spell. When are you going to eat all this?
Although it was scary, I didn’t refuse it because it was good for my health. When I was young, I wouldn’t even eat red ginseng candy, let alone red ginseng, but these days, perhaps as I get older, if someone gives me something good for my body, I eagerly take it.

A potion that helps relieve fatigue, a goldenrod that is good to eat on dog days, a germanium bracelet that emits negative ions…
I didn’t wear the last one because it seemed a bit ignorant. I’m sure it’s in a drawer somewhere, but if you look through it, you’ll find it.

“Tsk, tell him I’ll eat well.”
“All right.”

I quickly caught up with Bill who was about to say hello and leave.

“Oh right. Can I get a knife? Something sturdy.”
“A knife? Hmm… “I feel bad saying this, but the horse gear supplied by the workshop contracted with the merchant will not be enough to please Louis.”

The amount of goods traded by Ruhilen merchants was by far the largest in Farencia, but that included agricultural products and textiles.
There is a separate place that handles expensive items sold to a small number of customers, such as perfume, artifacts, and magic goods.

Bill suggested I go to the auction house.
His opinion was that most of the high-quality ones would be found at the auction house, since the price of a horse made from magic stones was high.

“If you show me this card, you will be able to go in right away.”

I went to the auction house with a wooden plaque similar to a pass from him and was surprised to see that there were more people than I expected.
Unlike the underground auction house in Alsace where Lehel was detained earlier, a large market with a fairly bright atmosphere was formed in Parenzia.

Circus and theater companies were also visible here and there. The gambling table was still there, and some people were seen playing poker on one side.
And the familiar white hair there too——

“Ah? Boss~!”

Could it be that he couldn’t hold back and hit him once? Lehel approached, waving her fingers, all five of which were still intact.
Her waist-length hair was flowing and flowing, contrasting with her old, worn-out robe.

“What are you doing here?”
“I came to the auction house to look at some items.”
“Something?”
“Yes. “I want to buy some swords.”

The color drained from Lehel’s face when she heard what I said. Then she lowered her shoulders and began to sob.

“Chairman?”
“Huh… !”

Lehel wiped her nose and wiped her teary eyes and looked around her. She then took off her robe and folded it neatly.
She takes one of her arms out of the thin top she was wearing underneath and sweeps it down.
I only came to my senses when her white belly, which I wanted to press, was exposed, and I quickly stopped her.

“What are you doing!?”
“Okay, I’ll do my best. Sniff! Even if it’s in front of people, I’ll take off everything and bow… Please just…”
“No, what are you saying! Calm down! “Put your clothes back on!!”

Anyone who sees me will think I am threatening her. In fact, several people were looking this way.
In her haste, I showed her wooden plaque to the guard guarding her auction house and came inside with her lehel. I stopped her from repeatedly trying to hit her head on the ground and said,

“What on earth is so unusual?”
“The world… Perish… “Sniff!”

Did I say I was developing some sort of nuclear weapon? I just said I would prepare a sword.
Just looking at the reaction, it almost felt like I had heard an all-out war speech announcing World War III.

“Just like last time, you never know when the canteen might become dangerous.”
“Don’t you think it’s more dangerous for the boss to hold a sword?”
“How dangerous is that?”

If you want peace, you must prepare for war. In this world, there are no nuclear weapons, but there are many monsters who use magic.
Unlimited increase in power, including mutually assured destruction, will be the bridgehead to protect peace in Parenzia.

Parabellum. Search and Destroy.
Isn’t it a beautiful tone?

“Since you’ve come this far, let’s go and watch the auction. “I was just going to look at the things here, but they stopped me and made me want to buy more.”
“Oh, no! Hella… I created hell… !”

Does history repeat itself?
The prayer of Yunhoe-gong, who seemed to never believe in God, was very similar to the complaint of a grief-stricken scientist who witnessed a nuclear explosion. Ah, I like that sword.

— This is Yodo Beauchevin! Once you start swinging, there is a blood curse that won’t stop until you kill all enemies around you!

“Hey!”

— Next is Mordred, the cutting sword! It is a terrifying object that creates a storm that swirls around the user as his anger grows stronger!

“Heeeee!!”

— If the world’s strongest swordsman holds this sword, Parencia might be torn to pieces!!

“Hiyaaaaagh——!!!”

I watched the auction, enjoying Lehel’s increasingly angry reactions.
It was a peaceful daily life that I had enjoyed for the first time in a long time.

***

“Wow, that’s a shame.”
“Hehe, hehe, hehe…”

As I left the auction house, I quenched my appetite. Should I say that it was a natural result, but the sword was prohibitively expensive for the level of money I wanted.
I was planning to install defensive magic and traps to deal with intruders at the store, but if you count the cost, it would have been a waste to spend hundreds or even thousands of gold on a sword. There wasn’t that much money to begin with.

Still, I think I did a good job of feasting my eyes on seeing a lot of pretty valuable items. What is a weapon… First, should I buy a bunch of iron swords from the blacksmith and use them for one-time use?

“Hey, this…”

As I was about to go home, Lehel tugged on my collar. She presented me with the ‘Wind Bead’, an auction item she had purchased with the money she had left over from gambling.

“Take this, sword… “Please don’t buy it.”

It is like a sea otter handing a cherished seashell to a human. Should I get this?

“They say it makes me wake up refreshed in the morning. If you put it on your back, your back pain will go away…”
“I will accept it gratefully.”

My back is fine, but it would be good to keep it as it is good for your health. What… I’ll have some use for it later.

***

“You have 60 minutes. Please keep in mind that if you are caught cheating, you will receive the lowest score. “Then, let’s begin.”

The first exam of the new semester has begun. Adela took her test paper and stared at her name written in the corner of her test paper for a while. It was because I was afraid to look down there.

[Basic Magic Studies midterm]

[One. Academically define the topological changes according to the satellite of mana and karma through ‘Verdun’s theorem.’]

[2. Describe the three main levels of magic and discuss the differences in the operation mode of the magic and the output stability based on the first level magic 〈 Lightning 〉.]

[3. Describe the six formulas according to the mixing ratio of mana and karma applied to the ‘reversal technique’ and the meteorological conditions that make the two techniques implemented using them operate in a three-dimensional coordinate system.]

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Time limit is 60 minutes. There are as many as 30 descriptive questions that cannot be found even if you look for short answers.
What on earth is all this? I couldn’t understand whether the black thing in front of me was writing or an earthworm.

Adella thought that all this time she had been acting like she was a fool.
She had deceived everyone with it, and in fact, she believed that if she put her mind to it, she would reveal to the world her true self, a rational, cool-headed, older sister-like person.
However, the sound of students’ notes echoing incessantly in the classroom and the test paper in front of her, which was impossible to understand at her level, were talking.

You are stupid.

“No Miss!!!”
“What’s going on there?”
“Yes? Oh, it’s nothing…”
“If you scream one more time, I will send you out. Be quiet.”
“Yes…”

Emotions were quickly controlled. Adela, downcast, picked up her fountain pen with her trembling hands. She then began scribbling down the answers she knew on her test sheet.

[One. Academically define the topological changes according to the satellite of mana and karma through ‘Verdun’s theorem.’]
— Verdin… Because I’m good at organizing things… If you hire a cleaner at a store…

[2. Describe the three main levels of magic and discuss the differences in the operation mode of the magic and the output stability based on the first level magic 〈 Lightning 〉.]
— Sky, Earth, People(?)

[3. Describe the six formulas according to the mixing ratio of mana and karma applied to the ‘reversal technique’ and the meteorological conditions that make the two techniques implemented using them operate in a three-dimensional coordinate system.]
— The charm of a twist… In front of the teacher… ?

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Even when I thought about it myself, it was definitely not the right answer. Adela fell on her desk, clutching her head.
Because I had been doing method acting for too long, I lacked magical skills, and to make matters worse, I didn’t even attend classes properly in my first year.

Have I really become a fool?

Alarm bells rang in my head.

After submitting the almost blank answer sheet, Adela carefully headed towards Erzsebet, who was in the same classroom.
She was having a casual discussion about a problem with other students.

“Princess…”
“Adela? “What happened?”

As Adela approached, she asked, putting her Piyi, who was waiting outside her classroom, on her shoulder.

“Did you do well on the test?”
“I do not know. Rather, princess.”
“Yes?”
“You know…”

Adela crossed her fingers and asked Ergébet, the person who had seen her most closely so far, other than Luis.

“Am I stupid?”
“?”

After hearing an incomprehensible question for a moment, Erzsebet’s head tilted slightly along with Piyi’s.
She picked up the original exam paper in Adela’s hand and carefully read her answers.

“Pi—.”
“No matter what, it’s not something you should say to someone.”
“Pi—.”
“Where did you learn such bad expressions? Louis is that person!?”

Erzsebet said, holding Adela’s hand warmly.

“That’s not true, Adella. In fact, it’s better than before.”
“Yes?”
“Really stupid people don’t even know they’re stupid.”
“Yes?”
“Although Adela declined Sir William’s invitation, now I think my insight was short-lived.”

It is short-sighted to only look at harmony between families when predicting the future of the kingdom.
It remains to be seen how much talent the next generation will inherit from their parents ——

“We try our best little by little. “First of all, let’s study the remaining subjects as much as we can.”

Erzébet, who did not want to say anything that would hurt Adela, decided to offer her help, however feeblely, to prevent her from repeating a grade.

‘Thank god. ‘I’m not stupid.’

Thanks to her comfort, Adela let out her sigh of relief. If you think about it, the reason she failed her magic last time was because she failed to calculate the error that reduced the amount of her karma.

“I understand, Miss!”

If you put in a little effort, you can easily beat that second-year student, Liv Labre.
Adela, who had completely forgotten about the exam she had just taken, returned to her triumphant expression.