episode_0089

There were quite a few things going on, but anyway, the semester started. Starting this year, my group, including myself, decided not to take classes that use the training grounds, and in reality, there was no reason for the three of us, who already had skills that surpassed those of average knights, to take classes.

However, even though it was a knights’ class, it wasn’t that there was no theory at all, so I made sure to take it. Especially Mathias hated studying so I made him promise to take it. In any case, I could feel that there were noticeably fewer students in the lecture room where the class was being held than before. There must have been casualties among them, and there may have been nobles who dropped out because they didn’t have any problems living without an academy diploma.

While I was taking classes halfway through, I suddenly had this thought. Why did I want to come to this academy? There must be many reasons, but when I think about it, the reason was that I wanted to live like a normal girl. So I took many classes, made many friends, and had a fun school life.

‘I ended up not having many friends even though I was in the 4th grade.’

As soon as I thought about it, all the strength in my body suddenly drained away. In addition, the gossip around me was also quite stressful. Most of them were about me, and they were talking about how I had been killing students who had been influenced by the Sashin cult during the uproar last year. It was annoying to be talking about something that happened more than half a year ago, but it was also annoying that I was the only one being targeted.

Who was it, Roberto? That guy must have killed a few people like me. Why is it okay for him and not for me? Even I didn’t kill any ordinary students. I only killed those who clearly intended to kill me in self-defense. I felt wronged.

As I walk through the academy branch, he pulls out his sword, saying that he’s the friend of someone you killed, and he’ll take revenge, and even when I tell him that he tried to kill me first, he doesn’t listen and just swings his sword… Can’t you at least bring a teacher with you and formally challenge him to a duel? I just cut his tendon in his arm and saved his life. As long as you get to the hospital on time, it’s a life-threatening injury. I don’t know if he’ll be able to swing his sword again, though.

I really don’t feel like going to the academy.. Are there any fun events? When I was in the lower grades, the students who seemed to be in the 4th and 5th grades all seemed very busy and fun..

“Princess, what are you doing? Class is over.”

“Ah..”

I was absentmindedly thinking, and didn’t even realize that the professor had left until Cosette called me. I got up awkwardly and followed Cosette out of the classroom. I couldn’t concentrate because it was a class I didn’t need to attend in the first place. Why would I learn something I already knew? It was also unclear whether I should make friends now. In fact, most of the students were nervous when I approached them.

I just want to throw it all away… But it’s not like I have anything to do. I absentmindedly linked arms with Agnes and slowly walked behind Cosette, and I was able to meet up with Ayla and Mathias, who were waiting faster than us. I listened to the three of them talking about this and that, and slowly walked on.

After finishing my meal in that dazed state, I was absentmindedly eating the herb-flavored cake when I saw Ayla staring at me.

“..Do you have anything to say?”

“The princess doesn’t seem to be feeling well today. What happened?”

“It’s not that there’s anything wrong… It’s just that there’s nothing. I’m bored.”

I sighed softly and put the cake in my mouth. Classes were boring, and there were no fights here and there, so there was nothing to see, and now that Cosette and Mathias were quite strong, it was less fun to play with them, and it was getting boring to beat up Agnes with Gidbin. What the hell is there to do at this academy? Isn’t there an illegal gambling house or something? If all the punks from each family were gathered together, there would be one…

If you gamble, you’ll get another one. If you calculate the odds or count, and if you secretly use your magic to blow cold air into the marbles, you’ll probably win almost unconditionally in roulette. Of course, that’s assuming you don’t get caught. If you get caught… you’ll just have to run away.

While I was having absurd fantasies, Ayla snickered and sat up straight. Wasn’t this Ayla preparing to tell me something pretty important? I was startled and half-lost my mind, but I regained it. It was to focus on Ayla’s story.

“It’s true that the Academy is really boring these days. Even the Knight Undergraduate Tournament was canceled.. Anyway, that’s a shame, but there’s also good news. No, this could be bad news, but it’s definitely a pretty fun story.”

“You must have gotten your information from somewhere again. Where on earth do you get such good rumors?”

Cosette said in amazement. It was quite surprising that they were able to obtain such amazing information from here and there, even though they were not from any intelligence agency. Of course, it was not information that required much confidentiality, but the fact that no one but Ayla knew about it meant that it was not common information.

“I guess it’s because of the wide network of friends I’ve made over the years? Anyway, the important thing is that quite a few guests will be visiting this academy soon.”

“Guest? Is that good or bad news?”

“That’s right. If you say they’re ordinary guests, then it doesn’t really matter to the students. Regardless of their grade, they come to us to get involved, so it’s news related to us first and foremost, and those guests aren’t ordinary people…”

What kind of guests would come? If we only think about the information that Ayla gave, it seems quite interesting. It could be good or bad, because we don’t know what kind of influence these guests will have on the students. Ayla slowly read our expressions and revealed the answer.

“The answer is… wizards. They said wizards are coming to the academy.”

“…Ouch.”

In the silence, Cosette’s words echoed softly. Wizard, it was a very exciting word, and it was clear that they were elites with much greater knowledge than ordinary nobles. However, the word itself had a rather negative connotation, and I had heard it from Yugram before, so I had a rough idea.

But since I didn’t know why on earth, I slowly raised my hand and asked Ayla.

“I don’t know much about wizards, but… why are their evaluations so negative? If someone is very good at handling magic and creates magic that helps people in life, shouldn’t they be respected?”

“Hmm.. The princess is right. Actually, I haven’t actually seen a wizard, so this is just my own interpretation of the common sense I learned since I was young..”

Ayla crossed her arms and hesitated to speak, while Agnes looked at me with a look that said, “He doesn’t even know what a wizard is?” Well, isn’t it stranger to know all this information about a profession you’ve never encountered?

“There’s a saying that all wizards are like that, and there’s a saying that even wizards don’t really deny it?”

While I was eating the cake, I thought for a moment. What does that mean? Without paying attention to me, Ayla continued to speak.

“They say that wizards are all single-minded people, so they like everything to be precise. But I guess they can’t refute the fact that they’re crazy. I don’t know if this is just a joke or the truth, but it’s somewhat believable. Just like Princess or Agnes, the smarter you are, the more irritable you tend to be. If those smart people spend all day solving difficult problems that they can’t handle, and they don’t talk to people and just get irritated, wouldn’t their personalities get worse?”

“Wait a minute, there was something I couldn’t ignore.”

“I don’t know about the princess, but why am I going in?”

I pinched Agnes’ cheek, who naturally agreed that I had a bad personality, and protested to Ayla with my eyes. Ayla spoke with a face that seemed to say, “What are you talking about now?”

“At least, I don’t think there’s anyone here who thinks the princess is kind or has a good personality. Even I, who’s saying this, am not particularly kind… Anyone can see that the princess has a bit of a bad personality.”

“What is that..!”

I looked at Mathias in surprise. Perhaps Mathias, who had the most upright and pure heart here, would refute that vicious Ayla’s words? However, Mathias desperately avoided my gaze with an embarrassed expression on his face no matter where I looked.

“..Mathias?”

“..”

“Mathias, look into my eyes. This is an order.”

“..I’m sorry, princess.”

Mathias bowed his head, and that was tantamount to admitting that my personality was bad, so I stumbled and dropped my fork. Oh no. I glanced at Yugram out of the corner of my eye. My eyes met Yugram’s eyes, which showed no emotion. Those eyes spoke to me.

‘You know now?’

Oh my…

I closed my eyes and tried to overcome the immense shock. After a moment of composure, I took a sip of my tea and continued to ask Ayla.

“Huh.. So, you’re saying that most wizards have bad personalities?”

“Yeah. It’s just… a mess, right? They all have similar personalities, and it’s not like they’re all bad, so you’d think they’d be nice and talkative, but there are also some who go crazy in a strange way… That’s what they said. So if possible, you shouldn’t get involved with wizards.”

“I’ve heard that before.. but it would be fun to hear it.”

I don’t know why these guys come to this academy, but I thought it would be quite fun. It would be the energy that would help me endure the boring academy life. When on earth would they come? Only then did I let go of Agnes’ cheek and put the cake in my mouth.