episode_0075

The day after Sarah left the academy. When I entered the classroom and saw that Seria and Sarah’s seats were empty, I felt an absolute sense of freedom.

It felt like one of the hands that was strangling my neck had disappeared. I felt like I could breathe easier. This sense of liberation, apart from satisfaction, gave me new joy.

I didn’t know it would be so convenient just because I had one less thing to worry about. As I was smiling and gently fanning myself with satisfaction, Hermel, who had been lying down next to me, yawned and got up.

“Haaam… … . Class is over… … ?”

“No, we haven’t even started yet.”

“Ugh, I don’t like it――”

Hermel, slouching on the desk, sighed heavily. I thought about going back to sleep, but the strange stinging sensation on my face felt like it was looking at me instead of sleeping.

Why are you taking such a long time to say something again? … . He was waiting quietly for him to open his mouth, but Hermel didn’t say anything until the professor came in.

But that doesn’t mean he opened his mouth after the professor came in. When the professor came in, he just took his eyes off me and sat up straight in his seat.

… … done. Never mind. If you care, you will lose. Thinking like that, I covered my mouth with my fan.

“… … .”

What is this discomfort?

I put down the fan and gently touched my cheek to see if there was something on my cheek, but I couldn’t feel anything. There was nothing on my hands.

I glanced at Hermel to ask him directly, but decided to just leave it at that. If there is business, I will open my mouth first. I sighed deeply and looked ahead.

The first class of the day is potions. This is a class taught by a cute aunt who hates me more than anyone else.

Priscilla, standing in front of the teacher’s table, glanced around the classroom, but as soon as she made eye contact with me, she turned her head away and opened something that I couldn’t tell if it was an attendance register or a book.

“I will call attendance.”

It was also an attendance register. I might get used to it in about a month, but I can’t get used to that thick attendance list.

Well, it makes sense. Excluding the theology students, Priscilla is the only one who invites the attendance of nearly 200 students.

As I watched Priscilla resting her chin and calling each student’s name, I was thinking about how to roast that stubborn woman, and before I knew it, my name came out of Priscilla’s mouth.

“――Charlotte La Rochelle.”

“Yes.”

The voice was sharper than when calling other students’ names, but no one except Hermel noticed it.

As proof, when Priscilla called my name, only Hermel, who was sitting right next to me, twitched his eyebrows.

Hermel, who was quietly looking at Priscilla, wrote something down in a corner of his book, then tore off the written part and handed it to me.

[That teacher, he seems to hate you. Why are you doing this?]

I don’t know. He shrugged his shoulders with a face like that.

Hermel pouted his lips and wrote something again to show it.

[Are you not even angry?]

I smiled slightly as I looked at Hermel, who handed me the book, as if asking me to write my answer here.

[I’m not really angry. You are familiar with reasonless jealousy and malice, right?]

[No, that’s a story that only happens at noble banquets. The one standing over there is a professor. Is it okay for a professor to show that he doesn’t like a student for no reason?]

well.

[There is nothing that cannot be done.]

When I wrote it down and showed it to her, Hermel frowned at me. His face looked as if he was serious about what he was saying.

As I blinked as if there was some problem, Hermel touched his forehead and sighed.

[Are you really a fanatic?]

[No, I just don’t really care. It’s not like he did any harm to me.]

[That’s true, though.]

Hermel, who was tapping the corner of the book with his pen, sighed and continued writing.

[done. Do whatever you want.]

“Hermel Rey del Trueno.”

“Yes.”

I smiled while looking at the writing Hermel wrote.

As we were talking and writing to each other on paper, before we knew it, Priscilla had covered up the attendance sheet she was holding, as if all attendance had been called.

“Hmm… … . I know that student Seria can’t come out because of the duel, but where did student Sera Petra go?”

The students were busy looking at each other as Priscilla spoke, and no one was able to answer her question.

There was nothing strange. No, in a way, it was a natural thing to do, so I didn’t bother to come forward.

“… … If anyone sees Sarah Petra, please tell them that if she is absent without permission for more than a week, she will be suspended.”

This time too, the students only gave perfunctory answers or nodded and did not show much of a reaction.

It was extremely satisfying to see no one care about Sarah.

“… … .”

Except for the prince sitting in the front who looks uncomfortable.

The crown prince seemed quite uncomfortable, perhaps because he was anxious about not being able to see Sera, or because he was confused about the situation not going as he expected.

Of course, to other people, it will just look like an expressionless face. It seemed clear to me.

I know. Because you think too deeply, you end up hurting yourself, Crown Prince. I laughed at him inwardly and turned my gaze towards the blackboard.

“There is nothing else to convey, so let’s proceed with the class right away. Close the book. If there is someone who opens it, I will give you a penalty point.”

She said that and picked up the chalk.

“What I’m going to tell you today is how to make a potion.”

-at las!

―I thought I was going to die after hearing about potion ingredients for a month… … .

-What are we making? Should we start with practice right away?

“Please be quiet.”

Priscilla said that and shook her head.

“Just because it’s a potion recipe doesn’t mean you can start practicing right away. As we have continuously emphasized from the first class until now, potion making is a very delicate task.”

―Then what is the exam?

“The test will of course be done by making potions. I’ll tell you more about that later, so please focus on class for now.”

Priscilla wrote down the recipe for the potion. Priscilla wrote down the necessary ingredients, how to prepare the ingredients, water temperature, and the order of adding the ingredients on the blackboard. Then, click the period! After making a sound, he looked back and said.

“We’ve been talking about potion ingredients for a month. If so, please try to guess what kind of potion this is using the ingredients listed here.”

―Can I just look it up in the Basic Potions book?

“Do not open the book. As I said before, the person who opens the book will be penalized.”

Priscilla said that and stepped back as if to take care of it herself.

I already know what the answer is, but I didn’t bother to raise my hand and announce it.

I have absolutely no desire to show off my knowledge and be revered in a place like this. If I did something like that, all I would get in return would be Priscilla’s hostility and useless interest in me.

All you have to do is quietly perform well on the test and that’s it. As I was quietly looking at the blackboard with that thought in mind, Priscilla suddenly looked at me and said.

“Charlotte La Rochelle student.”

“Yes.”

Suddenly I looked up, wondering why I was calling, and Priscilla turned her head towards the blackboard and said.

“You said you were the valedictorian this year, right? And, he also showed his ambition to become the top student in his grade.”

Priscilla, who said that, looked at me again and said.

“Would you like to solve it?”

Priscilla, can you do it? They were looking at me with the same face.

Naturally, the students’ attention focused on me, and in the end, it became a situation where I couldn’t leave or leave.

Yeah, well… … . If I didn’t need unnecessary attention, I shouldn’t have entered the school at the top of my grade in the first place. What can I do? It’s a result of my choice.

I quietly got up from my seat, looked at the blackboard one more time, looked at Priscilla, and answered with a grin.

” Dimorphoseca, which means healing, and almond tree flowers, which symbolize recovery. Isn’t this the recipe for a low-level healing potion made only from plants? ”

“… … you’re right. You guessed it correctly. Please take a seat.”

-Oh oh… … .

―Is it true that the senior entering student is different no matter what?

I sat down and listened to the other students’ sugar-coated words with one ear, and because I gave the correct answer, the class that had been paused for a while started again.

Of course, since I knew everything about it, I was hearing it in one ear and letting it out in the other, and once again, I felt a strange gaze from Hermel.

When I glanced at Hermel, Hermel pretended not to notice and turned his head in the opposite direction. If this is the case, even if I try not to pay attention, I can’t help it… … .

I took a deep breath and, just like Hermel had done earlier, I wrote in the blank space of the book and showed it to Hermel.

[Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?]

Hermel took one look at what I wrote, pouted, and wrote a reply.

[No, you seemed to be in a good mood today so I was wondering if something was going on]

Ah, then the thing I’ve been staring at since a while ago… … . Was it because you were curious why I seemed to be in a good mood? Be cute.

He smiled and patted Hermel’s head.

[There is such a thing]

Well, I won’t tell you.