Chapter 77:  Emergency Meeting

Ｒ​ｅａ​ｄ ​ｏｎ Ｋａｔ​Ｒｅａｄｉｎ​ｇ​Ｃａｆｅ

“…So, you’re saying there’s a spatial entanglement phenomenon in the male dormitory?”

“The entire floor of single rooms is affected. We don’t know when it might collapse.”

“No, why would something like that happen? Who would do such a thing…”

“For now, we’re assuming it’s a design issue… If you interpret the dimensions on the blueprint…”

The meeting room at Steele was bustling as usual. School administrators and professors had gathered for an emergency meeting.

Though it was called an emergency meeting, such gatherings were common. They had held one during the entrance ceremony because of the “Saint’s Staff,” and now, just a few days later, another one was underway.

These meetings often felt more like a gathering of neighborhood elders than a tense crisis response.

The building, constructed by the saint’s disciples two thousand years ago, held mysteries even the current professors couldn’t fully understand. Incidents and accidents were inevitable in such a place. Thanks to the fact that only those who had made a name for themselves in the Sky Island were selected for administrative roles, the school managed to keep running. Such was the hidden side of a prestigious magic school.

“Anyway, we’ll have to move the students from the single rooms to double rooms until this is resolved.”

“I’ve set up a temporary barrier. We’ve also successfully rescued any students who accidentally wandered in. We’ll announce the details once everything is sorted out.”

“Ah… That’s a relief.”

“Then, we’ll proceed with temporarily relocating the students from the single rooms. The matter of the ‘Spatial Entanglement Phenomenon in the Male Dormitory Single Rooms’ is hereby concluded! Next agenda. Well, this is quite problematic in many ways…”

Meg, who was leading the meeting, frowned. She was the twin sister of Mel, the headmaster’s secretary, and had recently taken on the role of school guide.

As she pursed her lips, the people in the meeting room tilted their heads in confusion.

“Well, let me explain. It’s only the fourth day of the new semester, and we already have two freshmen who’ve accumulated 60 penalty points each.”

“What?”

“No, what on earth did they do…?”

“Such troublemakers are at Steele?”

Amid the murmurs, Meg spoke again.

“Well… they’re the students who came with the Saint’s descendent from the Holy Land. A girl named Sugar and a boy named Riley. The penalty points are for indecent behavior.”

“Ah… those two…”

“You mean the white-haired girl and the blond couple, right?”

“Let me continue. At this rate, they’ll be brought before the disciplinary committee soon, but since these students come from the Holy Land… there’s concern that it might strain relations between Steele and the Holy Land.”

“Expelling someone for indecent behavior… It’s a disgrace to both Steele and the Holy Land…”

“Besides, they’ve been touchy about the staff incident. They haven’t said it outright, but their attitude suggests they think we’re just borrowing miracles to cover up our incompetence.”

“How dare they doubt the great saint’s choice? They lack faith!”

“Well, the staff chose a mere student, not his Holiness…”

“What kind of education does the Holy Land provide? Grown adults acting indecently in public—”

“Alright, let’s calm down. We’ll discuss the Holy Land later.”

Someone clapped their hands, and the meeting room quieted down slightly.

“First, let’s look into the students. The boy is in the top tier of the entrance exam scores… The girl’s written exam was borderline, but her practical skills are quite impressive.”

“Do you all know about the girl’s magical properties?”

“I’ve heard rumors. Is it true?”

“Yes. I went to her class yesterday, and the purity of her internal magical energy was comparable to something I’ve refined three times.”

The professor in charge of advanced magical manipulation stroked his mustache as he spoke, drawing the attention of most of the faculty.

They were all renowned figures from the Sky Island. A city of academic research and mystical studies. Each of them was a mage, professor, and researcher affiliated with the island.

“Everyone, focus! The issue right now is the penalty points.”

“What can we do? We can’t just ignore the penalty points. It would cause an uproar about fairness. If they don’t want to be expelled, they should control themselves.”

“But they’re excellent students in terms of ability… How about giving them more opportunities for community service? Have them run errands and earn merit points. They probably don’t want to be expelled, so they’ll do it, right? This way, fairness won’t be as big an issue.”

“Hmm. But wouldn’t they just continue their indecent behavior while happily earning merit points?”

“What can we do… It’s not like they’re committing crimes. It’s better to avoid conflict with the Holy Land.”

“They’re the ones who sent those weirdos here…”

“Oh, calm down.”

“Then shall we proceed in that direction? If anyone has a better idea later, we can revisit it… Yes, then the matter of the ‘Indecent Freshmen’ is also concluded! Next agenda. There have been many complaints from professors about the frequency of emergency meetings, so this has been added to the agenda…”

*****************

A pink-tinged white-haired girl tossed and turned in bed.

Morning had arrived as usual, and the sunlight streaming through the window was blinding.

It was the fifth morning since enrollment.

Sugar stretched and rolled around before finally getting out of bed. Time to get ready.

After showering and changing, she pulled on her stockings, which clung snugly to her legs.

Finally, after tying her hairband and donning her cloak, Sugar left the dormitory.

Outside, Riley was waiting under the sunlight. As usual, he was neatly dressed and clean-cut. Girls leaving the dormitory glanced at him as they passed.

Sugar immediately ran over and hugged Riley’s arm. She pressed her chest against him and rubbed her cheek against his.

“What are you doing?”

“Morning greeting.”

“Penalty points.”

“Hmph.”

She made a disgruntled sound and let go, instead holding his hand.

Holding hands wasn’t considered indecent, or at least it was easier to manage than hugging.

Let’s see.

The two headed toward the main building for class, their intertwined hands looking quite affectionate.

However, both were more alert than usual, as if searching for something or being cautious.

Suddenly, Riley stopped in his tracks.

“Professor-level magical energy ahead.”

He whispered, and they immediately let go of each other, stepping a pace apart.

Soon after, a cheerful-looking woman with long ears passed by. It was the herbology professor. The two bowed their heads, and she acknowledged their greeting.

After the professor passed, the two sighed and held hands again.

“Hehe…”

Sugar laughed, clearly in a good mood.

A few days ago, Riley had suggested keeping their distance, leading to a conflict. Sugar’s endless melancholy had made Riley relent.

‘Can’t we at least hold hands?’

‘…’

‘Huh? Riley.’

‘…’

‘You crossed the line… licking my ear, l-like you were devouring it—’

‘When did I do that?!’

Through such conversations, Sugar had managed to get Riley to agree to “just holding hands.” He even actively cooperated. If they sensed a professor’s magical energy while walking, they would quickly distance themselves and then once the professor passed, they would reunite.

What a pitiful pair.

By the way, the reason their penalty points had gone from 30 to 60 was because Sugar had gone on a rampage before that conversation. After making up, she got carried away and rubbed her thighs against him in public. It was deemed too obscene, and they received double the penalty.

“…What’s so funny? You should be thinking about earning merit points.”

Riley grumbled, annoyed by her laughter.

“I do have a plan, Riley. Listen, we should take the initiative with the professors. Ask if they have any tasks or errands for us. We’ll do them and ask for merit points in return.”

It was an idea from the original story. Considering the countless side quests and the importance of professors in the game, this was definitely feasible. Professors at a magic school always needed students to assist them.

“Will that work? …Well, considering the Holy Land’s influence, they might agree.”

“We have to try.”

As Sugar rubbed their intertwined hands, Riley tightened his grip. It was his way of saying he agreed.

“Ah, right. Students!”

Just then, the herbology professor who had passed earlier approached them.

The two quickly let go and stepped far apart. It was as fast as Sugar in her past life pressing Alt+Tab to hide a risqué video during an online lecture.

“You’re Sugar and Riley, right?”

“Yes… that’s right.”

“We didn’t do anything. Really, we didn’t. We’re not being indecent.”

Riley answered awkwardly, while Sugar shook her head vigorously in denial.

“I’m not here to give you penalty points. Could you help me with something? I’ll give you merit points as a reward. How about it?”

Huh? The unexpected question made both of them blink in unison.

Soon, their faces lit up.

***************

“You two are sensitive to magical energy, right? You’ll have to move these by hand. Since you have classes, just finish moving them by the end of today.”

“…”

“…”

Well, fine. Moving the pots outside into the greenhouse. It wasn’t a difficult task, even if they couldn’t use magic.

The problem was the sheer number of pots, covering an area the size of a sports field.

“…It looked smaller from a distance.”

The sense of scale was completely off. It felt like the perspective was distorted. Was this another mystery of the magic school?

“How many merit points will you give us?”

When Riley asked, the professor tapped her cheek and pondered.

“How about 30 points?”

“Leave it to us!”

Sugar answered cheerfully and stepped into the sea of pots. There was still time before the morning class, so she thought they could at least get started.

And so, the labor to avoid the disciplinary committee began. Riley handled the large pots, while Sugar took care of the smaller ones.

Sugar had initially insisted on carrying the large pots too but Riley effortlessly picked her up and placed her next to the smaller pots. Sugar, dangling in the air, obediently settled for the smaller pots.

“By the way, where’s Ian?”

She asked Riley as they passed each other in the greenhouse. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen him today. Since they were both in the male dormitory, they should’ve come together, but she hadn’t spotted him.

“He got called by the dorm supervisor earlier. There’s some issue with the single rooms, so it’s probably about that. He told me to go ahead.”

“An issue? What happened?”

“The spatial structure of the single-room floor got tangled. They’re evacuating temporarily because they don’t know when it might collapse.”

“The spatial structure got tangled? That can happen?”

‘Did something like that happen in the original story? Probably not. Well, strange things happen.’

As Sugar marveled at the situation, Riley opened his mouth to speak but then closed it.

“What’s wrong? Did you want to say something?”

“It’s nothing. Probably better not to say it.”

“Why? What were you going to say?”

“The definition of spatial entanglement. When the direction of force in a multi-dimensional overlapping space is misaligned, a specific dimension reacts—”

“Riley. Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

Sugar smoothly brushed past the explanation and worriedly looked around Riley as if the previous conversation hadn’t happened.

“I’m fine. No one got hurt. We just moved to double rooms, and that’s it.”

“…Double rooms?”

Riley thought the conversation was flowing smoothly, just a normal school conversation. Checking on a friend or explaining a slightly difficult theory.

However suddenly, a chilling voice came out of nowhere. The eerie atmosphere made Riley’s back tingle, and he glanced behind him.

Why does she look like that again?!

“Who are you sharing with?”

Sugar’s eyes were wide open. Not in a cute way, but with a clear sense of unease.

“It’s the male dormitory, so I’m sharing with a guy… Don’t think weird things.”

“Yeah… that makes sense. But, you know, there’s always a chance. Right?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

Sugar put down the pot and slowly approached. She gently placed her hand on Riley’s rolled-up sleeve.

His arm, much thicker than hers. She lightly gripped it.

“What if… you’re sharing with Ian? Are you two sharing? You’re sharing, right? Probably, right?”

Her persistent questioning. The hand gripping his arm tightened.

Seeing this, Riley quickly spoke up.

“I’m not sharing with him.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m sharing with another freshman. What are you imagining?”

“…”

Sugar’s eyes darted around at the unexpected answer.

Ah, um, well.

She silently rubbed Riley’s arm. She poked at the protruding veins with her fingers, playing around. Hehe—she even laughed.

So, she’s feeling embarrassed now. She’s ashamed of jumping to conclusions and almost going into obsession mode. She feels bad for having ill thoughts about Ian.

Ian is a girl. It would be more comfortable for her to share with someone who knows her secret, so of course, she should understand, she should… understand, no, understand, ah. She’ll think about it later.

“Y-your arm is so sturdy, Riley.”

As she tried to change the subject, Riley leaned his face close to hers.

His breath near her ear.

The memory from the other day.

Sugar flinched and quickly stepped back. She clutched her chest, looking both guarded and embarrassed.

Even if she seemed calm, the memory of “that time” was deeply etched in her mind. The day Riley whispered sweet words to her; the day she realized how sensitive her ears were. Since then, whenever he got close to her ear like that, she would startle.

Riley gave her a smug look. The kind Sugar often made, he raised the corner of his mouth and narrowed his eyes.

A clearly mocking smile. A sense of superiority, as if to say, “This settles the hierarchy between us.”

It also seemed to carry a hint of, “What am I supposed to do if you like me this much?” It felt like a reprimand for being so jealous.

Sugar’s eyebrows shot up.

Looking at that expression, her dormant pride seemed to awaken.

‘This… are you challenging me now?’