Needless Worry

It took three days to gather all the materials without missing a single one to ensure that the mana bullet gun wouldn’t break down in the Tower’s various extraordinary natural environments.

It took two days to meticulously process the mana stones inside the mana bullet gun so that it would remain intact even after hundreds of uses.

It took another four days after that to add the functions needed to defeat the Tower’s various monsters.

…I didn’t expect to do this grind again.

Although I didn’t need to wander around looking for the best equipment combination formula like in my first playthrough when I didn’t know anything.

And I also avoided having to create everything from scratch thanks to Adrian’s creation skill…

Honestly, it was the second hardest thing I’d done so far.

It’s somewhat sad that it was relatively doable compared to Ord’s hardcore class, which was the first hardest thing for some reason.

Maybe because I didn’t have to roll around among hologram monsters with ferocious appearances.

Anyway, I finally completed the dedicated weapon for Adrian to use.

Now that I’ve confirmed the magic applied to the mana bullet gun works properly, all that remains is shooting practice in preparation for the real thing.

“…Isn’t that too far?”

“It’s fine. I’m sure you can hit it.”

After that, I continued to spend time on exercises simulating various situations in the Tower so that Adrian could fulfill his role as a sniper.

Adrian, who wasn’t very enthusiastic at first, started to try things I hadn’t even taught him yet after seeing that the mana bullet gun he had made himself worked much better than expected.

Thanks to this, one of the Academy’s many training grounds continued to be exclusively Adrian’s, but since it was directly reserved with the president’s authority, no one could object.

“Lua, you really deserve a hundred bows from me.”

“…I think two bows would be enough.”

“What did you say?”

“Ah, I didn’t say anything.”

Right after that, I awkwardly smiled at the person who was glaring at me with suspicious eyes.

Perhaps the saying “you can’t spit on a smiling face” applied to the Academy president as well, as he didn’t question me further.

It must be just my imagination that the frequency of errands he asks me to run seems to be increasing.

“What’s strange about sending a secretary on errands?”

“Even so, calling me every 3 minutes seems a bit too much. I’m not your only secretary, Rayner.”

“Kaira is busy right now. And Kaira doesn’t do these things well.”

This meant he was going to have me do only trivial tasks throughout my stay at the Academy.

He did let me go easily when it was time to see my party members, but he practically imprisoned me in the president’s office the rest of the time and used me as an errand runner.

Even when there was nothing particular to do, he would ask me to rearrange the bookshelf that was already neatly organized, showing he was really determined.

“My, where did the person who said they would never forget the favor until they die go~?”

“…I’m doing this because I haven’t forgotten the favor yet!”

“Hmm, that purple book is slightly crooked. Pull it out and insert it properly again.”

“Ugggh…!!”

Grinding my teeth slightly at the face that was the epitome of annoyance, I seriously considered whether to make a mess of the president’s office once more.

Seeing how quickly it was restored to its original state despite the mess I made last time, perhaps it wouldn’t matter if I turned it into ashes?

“I can hear your strange thoughts all the way over here~.”

“I-I wasn’t thinking anything strange!”

“But you were thinking something bad.”

“…Is it that obvious?”

“Extremely.”

As always, the extremely light voice then informed me of the fact that protective magic had already been laid in double and triple layers.

It seemed that the feeling of being played in the palm of Rayner’s hand since being forcibly employed as the president’s secretary was not just my imagination.

In addition, because rumors about me started to spread throughout the Academy from some point.

Knock knock

“I’ve brought the recommendation letter you requested~.”

“You came to see Lua, right?”

“It’s purely coincidental, purely coincidental.”

“Just in case, let me ask you, Dike. Which part is coincidental?”

“Of course, the part about the president.”

“I knew it.”

The frequency of Academy teachers visiting the president’s office was increasing as time went by.

On top of that, every time a knock was heard, the malicious errand from the evil employer to fetch tea.

Still, it was fortunate that students hadn’t invaded the president’s office yet… though I wonder if this is really something to be grateful for.

Since rumors can’t be undone once they spread, there was nothing I could do about it now.

I didn’t even know where or how the half-incorrect rumor that Rayner was temporarily taking care of me, a child of his acquaintance, had initially spread.

Therefore, in the end.

“Would you like to join Professor Dike’s magic class later? You’re always welcome, Lua.”

“No, warrior. Such structured habits need to be formed from an early age to ensure that when they become adults—”

“Both of you are wrong. A child like Lua should walk the path of a healer. I don’t understand why you keep trying to persuade a child who brings peace to mind and body just by looking at them to be anything other than a healer.”

I had to sit quietly on the sofa in the president’s office, crushed by the power struggle between teachers who each taught different subjects.

It was truly a case of the shrimp getting crushed in a fight between whales.

It would be nice if Rayner, who knows well what my abilities are, would step in and sort out these chaotic love calls, but he keeps his mouth shut especially at times like this.

Whether he had made some kind of promise with Asha without my knowledge, he refrained from speaking out about information regarding me.

In the end, I just repeatedly said that I would think about it for now, without accepting or rejecting any of their proposals.

After what felt like a long time, the teachers finally left the president’s office.

But for some reason, this time Rayner caught me, saying he wanted to talk for a moment.

As expected, another errand to fetch tea was added.

So, with half curiosity and half boredom, I dropped the tea bag into the teacup, which was already the fourth time today.

Finally sitting face to face with Rayner, wondering what annoying errand he would ask me to do this time.

“How are the preparations going?”

“So far… no problems.”

Unlike what I had expected, relatively normal conversations were exchanged at first.

For example, stories about Adrian who was focused on showing off his shooting skills in the training ground, or about Iris and Rea whom I hadn’t particularly intervened with yet.

While it might be understandable for Iris since she had always done well, the question followed whether I shouldn’t be giving some direction to someone like Rea, as I had done with Adrian.

In response, I gave a brief answer that Rea would realize something on her own soon.

If I remember correctly, I should intervene from the point when Rea’s staff breaks down due to some reason to avoid problems later.

I was still puzzled about the exact cause, but if I started to intervene before that, Rea’s magic would occasionally fail to function properly.

Therefore, for now, I could only watch Rea experiment with various dangerous magic in the forest near the Academy dormitory, as she had always done.

Still, as time passed, the power and scale of her magic kept increasing. So it wouldn’t be long before the durability of her staff would reach its limit.

And so, once the staff finally breaks down, unable to withstand Rea’s powerful magic.

“I’ll start searching for a staff that can sufficiently withstand Rea’s magic. Together with Rea.”

“Is it really necessary to go that far? It seems a bit inefficient to me.”

“The less risk, the better. I need to follow the exact same sequence as when I succeeded once before to avoid problems.”

In a world where snowballs roll from all directions, it seemed that if I started to walk a different path from one I had already walked once in order to go faster, it would be irreversible.

In truth, no one knows what will happen… but I thought there was no need to take unnecessary adventures or gambles.

So, I got up from the sofa to go check on Rea soon.

When I had just reached the door of the president’s office, the same light voice as always asked a solemn question that didn’t match its tone.

“Either way, they’re my students. You won’t make me regret introducing you to them, right?”

“There will be nothing to regret. No matter when.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I asserted that the concern Rayner had would not come to pass.

After all, it was a needless worry.

And as a result, it had to be a needless worry.

“You just focus on preparing the welcoming ceremony for the students, President.”

“Well, I’ll consider it.”

And so, thud.

After closing the door of the president’s office, I turned my steps toward Rea, who would be turning the forest ecosystem into a mess again today.

I felt a bit sorry for the forest animals who would have been living normally, but what could I do?

The sacrifice of the small for the greater good is inevitable, now as before.