Chapter 44 – The Peaceful Midterm Week (1)

In Farencia, May brought clear skies and a cool breeze, painting the entire city in vivid, vibrant hues, like a masterful oil painting.

In the commercial district, filled with salons and clothing shops, the noblemen in their black and white suits, carrying red roses, mingled with the yellow peonies lining the streets, inspiring the artists to create.

Just a short carriage ride outside the city gates, one would find vast fields where the grass swayed gently in the breeze. It was a perfect place for a light picnic or to close one’s eyes and feel the seasons change in the air.

These were relaxed, peaceful days, perfect for enjoying the happiest moments of life. Yet, this time also marked a period when the expressions of the students at Farencia Academy started to darken little by little.

“Hey, Liv. How’s your study prep going?”

Liv’s friend, Karen, spoke to her. Liv, as usual, was sitting at her desk, staring only at her books. Karen’s eyes were fixed at the level of Liv’s waist, where the curves of her breasts rose beautifully under her black shirt.

“Not much. Just the usual.”

“Oh, r-right… Haha. Uh, Baroness Liv, do you happen to have a copy of the report we submitted for Professor Glathos’s class last time?”

Her voice was slightly pleading. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for her, as she dropped to her knees. A male student sitting next to her in the library was startled by the sight.

“If I fail the midterms, my allowance will be cut off…! Can’t you help me, just this once?”

“…”

Indeed, May was the time for midterms to begin.

It was an important test, assessing what the students had learned so far. The problem was that the level required by the academy for a mage wasn’t just about answering a few test questions.

For freshmen, this being their first assessment, it would simply be a written test, but from the second year on, things weren’t so simple.

Massive amounts of reports and rigorous practical evaluations. Some professors even demanded thesis-level reports or substituted exams with tasks requiring students to apply spells they’d learned to create original derivative magic.

Many students underestimated the difficulty, only to fail all their courses and end up hospitalized at the temple. The academy’s brutal education level was so extreme that even apprentices from the Towers of Magic were left speechless.

“A report? Didn’t you submit one too?”

“I can’t use mine to study! I copied it all in secret!!”

“Hmm…”

What should I do?—Liv pondered, and that alone moved Karen. No one at the academy would readily share their precious research results or assignments like this.

In fact, as exams approached, more and more of her peers sought her out. Even the high-nosed great nobles, who had subtly avoided her due to her lack of title or wealth, were no exception.

Because the exam results didn’t just affect graduation.

Every organization in the kingdom would look at student grades to select participants for upcoming off-campus training, field trips, and various festivals.

The Seven Towers, each specializing in different fields of magic, required students to excel in their studies to qualify for internships and seminars held in their desired areas.

“Alright. Just return it by tomorrow.”

“Thank you! Thank you, Baroness Liv!!”

“Hey, wait! Don’t hug me!!”

“I love you, Liv~!”

“You there! Keep it down!!”

“Ah.”

Liv was eventually kicked out of the library for causing a disturbance. After parting ways with Karen, she let out a small sigh.

Recently, she’d been feeling troubled. This wasn’t just because of the stress of midterms, but more so because she had lost her job.

I wonder if the boss is doing okay…

The store wasn’t open for business at the moment. She had heard that they were not only fixing the damaged parts but also remodeling in various ways, which meant that all the losses from not being able to run the store would accumulate for Louis.

Liv herself couldn’t earn money while the store was closed, but it wasn’t enough to affect her livelihood immediately.

More than that, she worried that Louis, who cherished his store, might be feeling deeply saddened.

Should I stop by for a bit?

With a thick book held to her chest, she made her way to the center of the academy. A pleasant breeze gently teased her hair.

She was busy preparing for the exam, but on a day like this, couldn’t they at least have a cup of tea together and catch up?

As an employee, it wouldn’t hurt to check in on him.

As Liv walked the path leading to the store, her mind began organizing the conversations she hadn’t been able to have with Louis while he was away from Farencia.

He was unexpectedly knowledgeable in languages and history, so it might be a good idea to talk to him about the exams.

When she finally reached the store, marked with a [Under Construction] sign, and was about to ring the bell at the door—

“Hehe, teacher. Why don’t we go somewhere fun together?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be studying for your exams?”

A voice from inside caught her ear.

***

Spending a night with Adela hadn’t brought any significant changes to my daily life.

The Rochear family, who had tried to kidnap her, seemed to have half-given up as there were no further movements, and the academy had also regained stability.

When I visited the Headmaster just in case, she nonchalantly replied, “Oh, you brought her back again? That’s a relief~,” as if it didn’t concern her. The Demon King War, reflected in her crystal ball, seemed far more important to her.

I swear, if Lehel bothers me with her gambling one more time, I’ll chop her fingers off.

Anyway, Adela had apologized to me for the store’s destruction, but as time passed, she began to use the fact that there were no customers to hang around the place even more than usual.

Her attitude towards me hadn’t changed much, to the point where I wondered if the enchanting side she showed that night had been just a dream.

But it wasn’t, surely.

“Teacher?”

Her innocent expression looked at me with wide eyes, a water-colored jewel sparkling in her right ear.

And despite the fact that there were plenty of other places to sit, she’d brought a folding stool inside the counter and was sticking right next to me, her shirt buttons undone by a couple more than usual. There were subtle changes.

Even during our conversations, her hips would wiggle, and when she lost her balance and I had to steady her by the waist, she’d blush and sit demurely with her knees together. It was starting to bother me.

Still, aside from these small changes, she hadn’t shown any remarkable development. If anything, she seemed even more clueless than before.

“Don’t you have a lecture next?”

“Dunno.”

“Aren’t you going to study for the exams?”

“Dunno.”

“Have you been practicing to awaken your <Unique Magic> like I told you?”

“Dunno.”

Then, what does she know at all?

I was starting to worry she might actually get expelled from the academy. If she got kicked out of the dormitory, she wouldn’t have anywhere to go.

I decided I needed to do something and was about to tell her to leave when someone suddenly walked in.

“Baroness?”

“Hello, sir.”

Seeing her stern expression, I tensed up, wondering if I had forgotten to pay her salary.

Liv glanced at Adela briefly, then spoke in an even colder, more emotionless tone than usual.

“You’re here with the lady from the Rochear family who destroyed your ‘precious’ store?”

“Yes? Well, I suppose so…”

Even students who didn’t know that Rochear’s goal had been to kidnap Adela were aware of the commotion they caused at the academy.

But there was something awkward in the air between the two.

Liv worked at the store, and Adela at the café. I thought they knew each other, having worked in the same space, but they seemed to have no familiarity.

“She probably didn’t mean to. No one knew those guys were coming to Farencia until they arrived.”

“Still, you should be careful. Who knows what else she might have up her sleeve.”

She was clearly talking about the Rochear family, but her gaze remained fixed on Adela.

“She could be pretending to be innocent.”

“Oh, come on, I doubt that.”

Even though I couldn’t fully understand this girl’s inner thoughts while she sat there listening to our conversation, it was absurd to think Adela was hiding some unexpected intelligence or secret side to herself.

Right now, she was staring blankly into space, chasing a fly.

“Adela, is there something you’re hiding from me?”

“…Hm?”

She turned her head towards me at my question.

After a moment of what seemed like her mind working slowly, she glanced between Liv, who was standing beyond the counter, and my hand holding her waist.

Then—

“I dunno~.”

She nestled into my arms, rubbing her cheek against me. See? Hiding something? If Adela had that kind of intellect, she wouldn’t have been caught stealing bread.

As the stool wobbled, my arm around her waist tightened. Baroness Liv’s expression grew even more rigid.

“You’re overly concerned. It’s fine, Baroness.”

“Even so…”

“I doubt those guys will be coming back here anytime soon.”

Because I’ve already dealt with them.

If they dare to return, I’ll make sure Farencia Academy’s convenience store starts selling Ice Duke Popsicles the next day.

“Well, it will take some time to reopen the store, but if you need anything, just let me know. All the goods are still in storage.”

“Alright…”

“It’s getting late. By the way, you’re heading back to the dormitory, right? Could you take her with you?”

I gestured to Liv while trying to peel Adela off me.

“You go with your senior.”

“Huh?”

“‘Huh?’ What’s with the ‘huh’? Don’t come back until the exams are over. Look at that. Baroness Liv is carrying a thick book to study, and what are you doing?”

“Noo—!?”

What are you so surprised about? I’m busy too. I have to oversee the store renovations, set up security measures, and find a new sword.

Based on my recent test with Everett, unless it’s a particularly durable blade, it’s going to be difficult for me to use it. If not a Holy Sword, I need to find a more suitable weapon…

“No, I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna!!”

As I mulled over these thoughts, I watched the two of them walking, keeping their distance from each other. Adela wailed sorrowfully, but I ignored her and locked the door.

While I wasn’t sure about Liv, having a senior who was good at magic to teach Adela could help her college life quite a bit.

She may not thank me for introducing them… Anyway, I hope they get along.

***

On the way to the dormitory, Liv and Adela didn’t exchange a word, didn’t look at each other, and even adjusted their strides so that their shadows, stretching long in the setting sun, wouldn’t overlap as they walked in the same direction.

“…”

“…”

The beautiful sight of the two women passing by captivated several students, but what flowed between them was a chill like that of an ice-cold room.

Thud.

Arriving in front of the dormitory, Liv and Adela stopped just short of saying goodbye and faced each other.

“Go study. Don’t bother the boss for no reason.”

Regardless of what Adela’s true intentions were, Liv found her revolting.

Just look at how she shamelessly smiled in front of Louis even though her family was the reason the store was wrecked.

She was using his kindness, pretending to be innocent while seeking only her benefit.

She wasn’t even smart enough to understand Louis’s vast knowledge or the experience he had accumulated over the years.

She seemed to be trying to seduce him with her indecent attire. She’d only left two buttons undone, but to Liv, it appeared that way.

“The teacher never said I was bothering him.”

Adela didn’t like Liv either.

Liv was smart, exemplary, and well-liked among her peers at the academy.

She was exactly the type of woman Louis openly mentioned as his ideal: a smart, competent woman who, even from a distance, took extraordinary care for just being a part-time worker.

Her demure outfit and appearance, with a subtly coquettish demeanor that somehow stirred a desire for control—these were traits Adela could never emulate, no matter how hard she tried.

“Wouldn’t it be more bothersome to have to take care of a broke student?”

“It’s probably more bothersome to take care of a stupid girl abandoned by her own family.”

“Who are you calling stupid?”

“Did you forget that you caused a magic explosion last time?”

“Oh, that?”

Adela pulled out her wand and drew a magic circle for <Flood>, a 2nd-tier water spell. She had only messed up because her body was filled with karma back then.

She had spent her whole life pretending to be a fool, deceiving everyone around her. There was no way she was dumb enough to botch a mere 2nd-tier spell!

“Want to see?”

She intended to pour water over that expressionless face and watch it contort. With that in mind, Adela immediately began chanting the spell.

But—

Splash!!!

“Pffft!?”

Contrary to her confident demeanor, a bucket’s worth of water poured over her head before the spell was even completed.

“What a joke. Pathetic.”

Liv calmly canceled the 3rd-tier spells she had been quietly preparing: <Elemental Explosion>, <Barrier>, <Blink>, and <Blade Storm>.

Was she pretending to be an idiot, or was she truly one?

“Instead of hanging around the boss, take care of yourself.”

In any case, the results would speak for themselves.

“If you fail more than half of the courses you’re taking this semester, you’ll be expelled.”

With that final piece of advice to her junior, Liv turned back to the dormitory.