Chapter 199: Pre and Post-processing – Part 2 (3)

It wasn’t always the case that Dorothy received a reward for her good deeds. If the reward was something she could take or leave, she often just left it and moved on coolly.

However, no matter what, she had never been betrayed by someone she helped.

In her whole life, she had never once experienced a situation where helping someone led to a penalty.
That was true—until this very moment.

“Ex–expelled? Me?”

“Well… to put it simply, yes.”

Dorothy blinked in shock.

She couldn’t understand what was happening.

I have to leave the school? Why? For what reason?

“Explain yourself! What’s the reason I can’t stay here?!”

“Well… Miss Dorothy, even if we consider it generously, your age is close to 500, isn’t it? You’ve been alive since the time of the Great Invasion.”

“So what?!”

At Dorothy’s unabashed reply, Sally let out a sigh.

“Anatolia Academy’s admissions policy, Article 3: [The age for admission is between 15 and 21 years old.]
Unfortunately, you are far, far outside that range. From the beginning, your admission was invalid.”

“That can’t be…!”

Dorothy collapsed to the ground, her face full of despair.

“C–can’t you just let it slide? Just once? Please, just this once…! I saved this school! And you can’t even repay me that much?!”

“I’m afraid not. If we allow an exception now, others will cite this case to demand special treatment later.
Besides, it also creates a sense of disharmony in the learning environment.

This is a place for studying, but if someone who already knows all the subjects is just sitting there playing with a pen, it… doesn’t look good.”

“That girl’s the same!!”

Dorothy pointed accusingly at Sion and protested.

“That girl didn’t come here to learn anything new either! She already knew everything from the start!
Why are you only kicking me out and not saying anything to her? This is discrimination!”

“Miss Sion is 15 years old. It’s a different situation from yours.”

Sally glossed over the fact that she knew Sion was actually much older. It wasn’t public knowledge, after all.

And anyway, Sion’s body was indeed physically 15 years old.

On the other hand, unfortunately for Dorothy, both her body and mind were truly 500 years old.

There was no wiggle room for interpretation.

“F–fine! If I can’t be a student, what about a teacher? That should be okay, right?
I’m confident I can teach combat skills better than anyone else! I can even prove it with a real fight if you want!”

“That’s… well, besides brute strength–no, even aside from that, all teaching positions are already full.
We don’t have the budget to hire new staff.”

“I’ll work for free! How about that!? If it’s free, then–!”

“I said we have no open classes available for you to teach…”

Sally narrowed her eyes like she was dealing with a stubborn child.

“Why are you so desperate to stay at this school anyway? It’s not like there’s anything for you to gain here.
If you just picked some random kingdom and declared yourself its guardian dragon, you could live in luxury for the rest of your life. So why?”

“Urgh…”

Dorothy flinched as if hit right in a sore spot.

Sally’s point was valid.

There was no tangible benefit Dorothy could gain from staying here.

She had already suffered enough humiliation.

The male students had started looking at her with more lust than respect.

To make matters worse, she was now working as a servant for that damn vampire girl who openly looked down on her.

Even if she stayed, her reputation would probably only get worse, not better.

But—

“Kuh!“

Dorothy bit her lip and looked over at Sion.

The humiliation she had suffered the night before flashed vividly through her mind.

The moment Sion had exerted a mysterious pressure on her, she had crumbled and handed over Raizein.

It overlapped with a nightmare she had once experienced 500 years ago.

And she instinctively knew:

If she accepted expulsion now, it would be the end for her.

It wasn’t about reputation or being laughed at.

It was about whether she could continue to be herself.

If I run away now, I’ll spend the rest of my life trapped by the trauma that monstrous swordmaster left behind…!

“I can’t let that happen… I will overcome this! If I back down now, I’ll lose that chance forever…!”

Muttering to herself, Dorothy gritted her teeth and stood up.

It wasn’t over yet.

There was still one way left.

Hadn’t Raizein already hinted at it?

The one and only sure way to stay at this academy.

All she had to do was follow through!

“You—wait right there! I’m going to go talk it out with the headmaster right now!”

Dorothy pointed a finger at Sally and shouted.

And then, the next day.

“Hello! My name is Philia, and I’ve just enrolled to replace Lady—no, Miss Dorothy, who was expelled due to the age limit.
I look forward to spending the next three years with you all.”

“…”

Everyone gathered at the scene stood with their mouths agape, unable to say a word.

Was it because the girl who had been a mere attendant until yesterday was suddenly wearing a school uniform? No, that wasn’t the real reason.

There was something even more shocking right behind her.

“And I’m Dorothy, who will now stay here as Philia’s ‘attendant’!
Heh heh heh, how’s that! No problem at all, right? Every student is allowed to bring along one attendant of their choice!”

Behind her, Dorothy stood proudly with her arms crossed, beaming triumphantly in a maid outfit.

Indeed, under the regulations, there was no issue with this arrangement. Philia would be filling Dorothy’s former spot, so the enrollment numbers would stay the same, and attendants could be brought regardless of age—meaning even if their age reached three digits, it wouldn’t matter.

So purely by the book, this was a perfect solution.

It was a perfect solution, but…

“Ahaha! What do you think of my genius idea?! You’re all so impressed you can’t even speak, right?
Go ahead and admire my brilliance even more! Wahahaha!!!”

Dorothy threw out her chest and laughed loudly.

It was unclear what she found so worthy of pride, but at least she herself genuinely seemed to believe this was a brilliant idea.

And if judged solely on the point of bending the rules to stay at school, it was indeed an inventive solution.

Of course, no one could really say why she felt she had to go to such lengths.

As Dorothy basked in self-satisfaction, Philia bowed politely in her place.

“Although I am inexperienced, I look forward to working with you.”

“Ah, y-yeah… Looking forward to it…”

Sion bowed back stiffly, a complicated expression on her face.

So… was it all settled after all?

Could you even call this “settled”?

Sion wasn’t sure. But if Dorothy herself was satisfied, then maybe that was good enough. She decided to just leave it at that.

“Anyway, now that my real identity is revealed, there’s no need to hide my goal anymore, right?
Come at me, Hero Sion! You seem fully recovered, so let’s duel—”

“Master, that’s all well and good, but I’m feeling a bit thirsty. Could you fetch me some water?”

“Huh?”

Dorothy, who had been about to declare war on Sion, tilted her head in confusion at Philia’s words.

“What are you talking about? Get you water?”

“Exactly as I said. I’m just feeling a little parched today. Maybe it’s the heat. Could you bring me a glass?”

“??? Are you crazy? Why should I get water for you? Go get it yourself!”

“Huh?”

Philia tilted her head.

“But Master, you’re my attendant now, right? Our roles have switched, haven’t they? In that case, isn’t it only natural that you follow my orders?”

“?? No, that’s just in name only—”

“Ah, if you refuse, I’ll have no choice but to replace you with a different, more obedient attendant.”

“!?!?!?”

Dorothy’s face went pale with shock.

She realized the implications immediately.

Dorothy was only allowed to stay at this school under the pretense of being “Philia’s attendant.”

If she lost that status, she would be expelled immediately.

Whether she could continue as an attendant was now entirely up to Philia’s discretion.

In other words…

Right now, in this very moment, the one with the power was Philia!

“You… you! Do you think you’ll get away with this?! If we fought, I could crush you with one hand—”

“Can’t remember, can you?”

“No, it doesn’t make sense! I’m the real master here, so why should I—”

“Can’t remember, can you?”

“…N-no, you’re just kidding, right? You are, right? I’ve treated you so well until now!
Sure, I was a little hysterical sometimes, but that was just cute, affectionate teasing—”

“Can’t remember, can you?”

“……….”

In the end, Dorothy drooped her shoulders and trudged off to get water, her face thoroughly defeated.

Meanwhile, Raizein, who had been watching all this from the side, clutched her stomach in laughter.

“Aha, ahahahaha! Serves you right! Acting all high and mighty, only to end up getting bossed around by your own servant!
Really, a mutt like you is better off wagging your tail for someone else—”

“Oh, now that you mention it, my shoulder’s been aching too. I wonder if it’s because I lost an arm back then… The joint is throbbing.
It sure would be nice if someone nearby could give me a massage…”

“! Ah, s-sorry! Right away, ma’am!”

Raizein immediately sprang into action, massaging Philia’s shoulders with eager devotion.

All traces of her previous arrogance had completely vanished from her movements.

A dragon and a vampire—beings who once ruled the continent—now reduced to serving an ordinary girl.

…Was this really okay?

“Are you really sure about this, Lady Philia? Aren’t you worried about the backlash later?”

“I only live for today, Hero.”

“…”

Faced with Philia’s utterly shameless response, Sion was left speechless.

If nothing else, this girl’s sheer guts were absolutely world-class.