Conditions

The day after saving Destin Village and returning to the Academy.

As Roel had said, the Imperial Investigation Team came to the Academy.

Fortunately, it was just a formality, and we all skipped the morning classes. The investigation, which consisted of giving statements about what happened that day, ended more anticlimactically than I had feared, after a sleepless night of worry.

There were no casualties except for the guards, and they had already investigated Destin Village and understood the situation based on the orc corpses and the villagers’ testimonies.

The investigation team listened to our statements without much suspicion and even gave us well wishes, saying that there might be compensation from the Imperial Family.

Whether it was the appearance of the Imperial Investigation Team that caught the students’ attention, rumors were already circulating in the Academy with detailed accounts of Roel and Ellie defeating the orcs who attacked the village.

I wasn’t included in the rumors. Or rather, I was added later.

Funnily enough, when the rumor first spread that Roel and Ellie had dealt with the orcs alone.

The love-struck gossips all over, wondering, ‘Why were those two together?’ started blabbing. Rumors quickly spread throughout the Academy that Ellie and Roel were dating.

A romance between a freshman and the top student of the second year. The rumors spread like wildfire throughout the Academy, and Roel’s woman couldn’t let that stand.

Flavia hurriedly poured cold water on the burning rumors, saying, ‘They were accidentally caught up in it because of Roel’s younger brother, Ross. They’re just neighborhood seniors and juniors.’ The rumors about their relationship disappeared, but.

There was still a negative perception of me, that the two of them were caught up in the incident and put in danger because of me.

Even if it was a misunderstanding, it was half true. Whatever the rumors were, my mind was filled with only one question right now.

===

[Ring of Covenant]

-A ring imbued with the power of the covenant ‘Geas’.

It is a magical constraint and a curse, but an airtight Geas grants powerful strength.

◆ Current Oaths

– Promised ‘Witch Splin’ to find a way to eliminate the Thornbush Disease in exchange for her keepsake. / Additional 3P upon fulfillment of the oath.

– To repay Ellie’s faith.

◇ Current Restrictions

– Witch’s Curse / Death if a way to eliminate the Thornbush Disease is not found within 3 years.

■ Currently 1 Oath.

– Witch Splin’s Oath 1P.

===

That night when I joined forces with Ellie to attack the black magician. The oath was triggered on its own.

The situation was so urgent, and I didn’t have time to look into it, so I could only check it now….

The oath ‘To repay Ellie’s faith’ had been added. But for some reason, the points and current oaths haven’t been updated yet, except for the witch’s curse.

Is there a special condition to earn points? I don’t even know for sure how the oath was triggered in the first place.

As I was thinking about how I needed to learn more about Geas and eating alone, the way people around me were glancing at me and talking amongst themselves after hearing the rumors started to get on my nerves.

I hope this doesn’t affect my neurasthenia. I quickly finished my meal and headed to the library.

When I briefly stopped by the library to learn about the mutant orc attack, I also briefly looked into Geas, but there were so many books related to mythology that I couldn’t properly confirm anything.

Perhaps because it was a massive library that anyone in the capital could use, except for certain areas, in exchange for the Imperial Family’s full support. There were so many books related to mythology that there was a separate section for them.

Lost in thought about Geas, I headed towards the section with books on mythology and artifacts. I didn’t see the person coming out from between the bookshelves and bumped into their shoulder.

Whether that person didn’t see me either. The small girl seemed to have been greatly shocked by the sudden collision and fell to the floor with her books.

,Are you, are you okay?

I hurriedly regained my senses and picked up the books that had fallen to the floor. I briefly met eyes with eyes the color of the blue sea.

The blonde woman with blue eyes looked at me with a gaze full of embarrassment and shyness, then lowered her gaze. Following her gaze unconsciously, I saw that she was clenching her left fist so tightly that it was trembling visibly.

Is she feeling resentful? Or is she scared of me?

Feeling awkward, I scratched the back of my head. The nameless girl, who had gotten up, took the books from me and disappeared as if running away with a small greeting of ‘Thank you,’ without even making eye contact.

Scratching the back of my head at that sight, I reminded myself of the purpose of my visit to the library and moved to check out the books.

After the lunch break, I attended the afternoon classes and then went back to the library, speed-reading until night to see if anything related to Geas would come up. I checked several books, but there were no results yet.

When I left the library to go to the cafeteria for a late dinner. Rosalyn was sitting on a bench in front of the cafeteria with a bored expression, as if she had been waiting for me. When she found me, she rushed at me like a beast finding its prey.

,Why are you so late! You have to eat on time!

,…Mom?

Rosalyn frowned at my joke, then suddenly looked around and slyly raised the corners of her lips.

If she had been born in modern times with how quickly her expressions changed, she would have definitely been suited to be an actress. She was pretty like an actress too.

For some reason, I felt good along with Rosalyn’s strangely happy appearance. The smile that made the person looking at her feel good was one of Rosalyn’s many charms.

,I heard from Roel. That you helped Roel with my potion~? Roel was so grateful, saying that he was able to defeat the orcs thanks to the potion~,

,It definitely would have been difficult because of the injuries if it wasn’t for the potion.

I said that thoughtlessly, because Rosalyn’s potion had been a great help. Suddenly, Rosalyn grabbed my arm and dragged me to the bench where she had been sitting.

Praise makes Rosalyn dance too. From how amazing the potion she made was, to how Roel entrusted her with the mutant orc’s core, Rosalyn was telling me even the emotions she felt as if I were her diary.

I just listened to her story, feeling a strange feeling that I seemed to have a conversation partner at the Academy for the first time.

Actually, I felt hungry and bored in the middle and tried to sneak away. But Rosalyn had a scary look in her eyes, telling me to hold my arm and listen to her story until the end.

,…Here, I’ve prepared potions this time just in case. The red bottle is the same as before, and the blue bottle will heal your injured back. Oh, if there’s a chance to use my potion for Roel again, tell me. I’ll pack Roel’s separately for him!

In the end, it seemed that the purpose of Rosalyn waiting for me was to give me potions again. It was an unexpected gift, so I accepted it gratefully. Rosalyn looked satisfied and tried to get up from her seat.

I wanted to hear other people’s opinions about Geas. Excluding the busy Ellie, I realized that this was my last chance since I had no one to talk to.

I hurriedly stopped Rosalyn, who was about to get up from her seat.

,Do you happen to know what an oath means?

Rosalyn, who had been getting up from her seat, sat down hurriedly after hearing my words and twisted her body shyly.

,O, Oath~?

Her voice had also changed a little sweetly. I wondered if she was the same person as Rosalyn, who had been talking, no. The same person as Rosalyn, who had been excitedly chattering away until just now.

,Why~? Does Roel want to make some kind of oath to me~? Well…like promising me a future together, or only using my potions…?

I thought so. It was strange to think that I could get a good opinion from Rosalyn, who was a Roel-obsessed person.

She had been talking about Roel for dozens of minutes again today, and the main topic, the potion, hadn’t even lasted a minute.

I sighed inwardly and was looking at Rosalyn, who was lost in her delusions in front of me, with a slightly pathetic look.

Suddenly, she shook her head so hard that her pink hair fluttered and raised her hands to cover her bright red cheeks.

,Did Roel say anything to me? Spill it!

,…It’s not like that.

Was it because I answered as if I was a little pathetic? Rosalyn pouted and looked at me with a face that seemed to say, ,Then why did you ask?

I wondered if she had learned the skill of speaking with her face, not just her mouth. As for Roel, I wouldn’t hesitate to give her the title of ‘gossipmonger’.

,I was wondering what it would be like if there was an oath condition in magic.

I couldn’t reveal anything about Geas, so I turned the topic slightly. Then Rosalyn thought it was a conversation related to magic. She pondered with a serious face, then quickly made a blank expression and scratched her head like a fool.

,Hehe, wouldn’t it be an oath if it contained the sincerity of wanting to keep it no matter what? Like swearing at a wedding. Ah, you said you’d bless me if I married Roel last time….

Rosalyn continued to chatter on her own after that, but I couldn’t hear her as I was lost in thought.

I realized one thing from Rosalyn’s words. The sincerity of wanting to keep it no matter what.

The day I faced the black magician. I was sincerely grateful to Ellie, who had believed in me without a doubt, unlike I had expected, and I felt that I wanted to repay her faith no matter what.

Then the oath was triggered…. If it was really like Rosalyn said, and the condition for triggering the Geas oath was to make a sincere vow…?

,…I thought Roel would like that~

,Thank you. You’ve been a really big help.

,Huh? Y, Yeah! I’m glad I was helpful.

Rosalyn, who was smiling brightly with a face that didn’t understand, got up from her seat, saying that she was going to trade next time, as if she had finished what she had to say.

Satisfied that I had figured out the conditions for the oath, I felt hungry and headed to the cafeteria.

,Ah.

The cafeteria had closed while I was being held back by Rosalyn and listening to her story.

***

The next day.

I erased the scars on my back with the potion Rosalyn gave me, and after getting a good night’s sleep for the first time in a while, I was having breakfast with a more complicated mind than yesterday.

After figuring out the conditions for triggering the oath, one question followed.

What happens if I don’t repay Ellie’s faith? Do I die like the witch’s curse?

But, unlike the witch’s curse, there were no restrictions attached to the oath, so I wouldn’t die, right? As I was thinking that and crushing potatoes with a fork. One thought suddenly popped into my head.

Geas is a double-edged sword.

The more powerful the oaths and restrictions you place, the more you can gain.

The reason why the oath related to Ellie’s faith hasn’t been triggered yet is because there’s only an oath, but no restrictions have been placed, right?

The hypothesis that popped into my head made me think even more deeply.

*

After the boring morning classes, I headed straight to the library without even having lunch. Geas was the most important thing to me right now.

Looking at the countless books, I sighed without realizing it. Something related to Geas must exist in here, right…?

I was staring intently at the titles of the books, trying to select the ones that seemed most related to Geas. Someone came up to me and greeted me.

,H, Hello….

I turned my head to the owner of the voice without thinking, and I almost dropped the book I was holding.

Because the owner of the voice was definitely not someone with the personality to greet me first.

Golden hair that radiated a more brilliant light in the warm sunlight, and emerald green eyes that shone brightly like emeralds.

Her appearance, like a work of art created by God, and her milky white skin without a single flaw were the reasons why many people treated Flavia as Roel’s legal wife.

At first, she was just a sassy heroine, but after realizing that she was a tsundere! She gained great popularity with the build-up she had diligently built up later.

However, she was only a tsundere to Roel. As the setting dictates, she was just sassy to people who weren’t the ‘Roel’ she liked, and she was a character who created enemies on her own.

It was quite unexpected that Flavia, of all people, would greet me first, and it made me wary, so I made a slightly unpleasant expression.

Whether she was quick to notice. She narrowed her brows and was about to get angry, but suddenly bit her lip as if she was holding something back and gave me a bright smile that made me feel goosebumps for some reason.

,Y, You must like books~?

I felt burdened by Flavia’s efforts to break the awkward atmosphere by struggling to speak. Why is this person acting like this, so out of character?

,There’s something I want to find….

,I, Is that so? What is it?

,Something related to mythology…. There are so many books that it’s not easy to find. I’m looking through them one by one to see if there’s anything related.

,Hah, you can just look it up in the librarian’s book, you dum… you’re so innocent that you didn’t know~? I guess that can happen….

She must have been about to say that I was stupid because her true nature came out…. Why is she pretending in front of me? I was suspicious, but I was curious about the unfamiliar word librarian’s book.

,What’s a librarian’s book…?

,Huh?! You really don’t know? No, you’re using the library without even knowing that…. I guess you can. The library is a place to come and learn things you don’t know~

She was distorting her face, but she didn’t seem to want to get angry at me. I ended up asking because I thought I would be tossing and turning in bed because I was so bothered by Flavia’s pretentious behavior, who was biting her lip and changing her words.

,Why are you suddenly acting so out of character? It’s a little scary.

,Wh, What~? I’ve always been like this.

I looked at Flavia with a pathetic look, as if saying she was talking nonsense in response to Flavia’s answer. I lowered my gaze slightly after seeing the veins popping out on her forehead.

,Anyway, since you don’t know how to use the librarian’s book. I’ll help you. I’m originally a kind person who helps others well!

There’s no way that’s true. If it was the Flavia I knew, she would have cursed at me if she saw me tripping over a stone and falling. She wasn’t the type of character to reach out and help me up.

Filled with wariness and a sense of burden, I had no choice but to follow Flavia.