episode_0271

『Lilith has reached level 18!』

『Lilith has reached level 19!』

『Lilith has reached level 20!』

***

The morning after finishing the goblin raid near the Witch’s Forest campsite.

Feeling unusually refreshed today, I got up in the morning with a happy heart and immediately started tidying up the tent.

No matter how hard I tried to hide my feelings, it was impossible to conceal the fact that I had achieved three levels of leveling up in one go from the battle last night, reaching level 20.

The experience points gained from cutting down a few goblins that had come close, the experience points received from distributing buffs to the other three except Agnes, and almost all the experience points from subjugating the boss monster, Goblin Lord.

In the end, I tracked down and hunted down a few remaining goblins after losing the boss, gathering all the experience points that could be collected meticulously.

Thanks to that, it was the first level up since the start of summer vacation. It was a delightful feeling to level up solidly before the main event.

“You look happy, Lilith.”

“Hmm, do I look like it, Ed~?”

“Did something good happen?”

“Hmm~. Well~. If it’s something good, wouldn’t just traveling to faraway places with Ed be a good thing in itself?”

“Is that so? Of course, I enjoy traveling and being with you, Lilith.”

“……Ugh.”

Agnes, who was folding the tent next to me, blatantly stuck out her tongue and made a disgusted expression, but I just ignored her.

I couldn’t use the excuse of feeling good because of the level up in the first place, so it was an inevitable choice. It was better to be a complaining woman than a crazy woman who talks nonsense.

“I wish we could just wander around hunting for experience points like this.”

Ignoring the Academy and the Hero Party, just traveling around with these three was the most efficient party.

Edan at the front as the vanguard, Agnes for handling the small fries, and me for delivering the final blow to the boss, Grand Magus Lilith.

…Well, the best magic I could use was limited to the 3rd circle, but my mana capacity had already exceeded 4,000. I couldn’t actually use high-level magic, but Mana Blast was equivalent to the maximum output of a 2nd circle magic, so it was almost the same as high-level magic, right?

Of course, it was just wishful thinking, and in reality, forming a party of three like this was impossible. Agnes was already part of the prestigious party, and Edan was the illegitimate son of the Blackwood family, so he wouldn’t have time to adventure with me after graduating from the Academy.

After roughly tidying up the tent and preparing a simple breakfast, Prince Antonio cautiously spoke up during the meal.

“You did well yesterday, Master Edan. And Lady Rosewood. I already knew of Lady Agnes’s skills, but after seeing the battle yesterday, it’s clear that you two are also students of the Academy.”

It was a quiet compliment from the prince, who didn’t have much of a solo performance in yesterday’s battle. Despite his words, his expression seemed a bit bitter.

It must have been unsettling in many ways, as he probably wanted to show off in front of Agnes, but ended up proving that he was the weakest among the five. It was somewhat helpful, but better than nothing.

“Your skills are outstanding compared to your peers, Your Highness. Among the first-year students of the Academy, there are students who can’t even catch a Sand Beetle, let alone a goblin.”

“Hmm, is that so? But Agnes Youngae from two years ago didn’t hesitate to use fire magic even against the Lake Serpent group, but comparing her back then to me now…”

“If it was two years ago, I would have already been a level 3 fire mage. Do you know how many years it took me to get there? And now, you think you can catch up in just 2 years? Are you kidding me?”

“Oh, no, Agnes Youngae! I didn’t mean it in that way…”

It’s amazing how every word she says seems to step on Agnes’s pride.

Well, if you really think about it, Agnes had a lot of issues with her personality, so maybe Antonio is relatively normal.

The term ‘reverse scale’ refers to the one scale on a dragon’s body that is facing the opposite direction, but if Agnes were a dragon, about half of her scales would be facing the wrong way. That would mean that even dragons with many reverse scales had their own problems.

Well, with that kind of personality, if it’s not a hero, the relationship would probably end in a solo ending. There seems to be no man who can handle that kind of personality other than those wicked Agnes-like guys who have reincarnated as heroes.

Although she may feel unjust, in the end, Prince Antonio had no choice but to match Agnes. After all, love is a fight where the one who falls in love first is bound to lose.

‘By the way, thanks to leveling up, I now have 10 skill points. Where should I invest them to make good use of them?’

If it were the old me, I would have definitely gone for the attack magic tree, but these days, I feel like it wouldn’t hurt to just follow the standard support magic tree.

Anyway, Edan will be by my side until I graduate from the academy, so I think I can comfortably operate with just buffs until then.

I’ve been picking various skills to use in the Kraken subjugation battle and the evaluation battle against Agnes, so I ended up picking more support magic than attack magic. If I start picking attack magic again in a half-hearted manner, I might become what is commonly known as a ‘jack of all trades,’ and as a ghost of the former 『Luminor Academy』, I can’t really accept that.

…Well, I’ll think about it later. I also have a plan to invest all 10 points at once, so it’s okay to save them and invest them all at once.

“Oh, speaking of which, Agnes.”

“Yes?”

“We’re planning to enter the Witch’s Forest soon, so I’m asking, did you remember to bring insect repellent perfume?”

“Of course, why are you asking?”

“If you think you might need it, I can give you one. I have one left after sharing with Ed.”

“Such unnecessary meddling.”

Well, Agnes probably knew that she was heading to the Witch’s Forest with Edan and me a week ago, so she probably took care of it herself.

“I’ve been to the Witch’s Forest before. I heard that only the witches living there make potions to enhance magic power. I struggled last time, so I made sure to bring it properly this time.”

“Are you talking about ‘Natia’s Suspicious Potion’?”

“…Wait, you took it too? No wonder you seem to have an enormous amount of magic power…”

“No way. That potion is incredibly expensive. At least ten gold coins, right?”

“When I bought it, it was five.”

“Anyway, before I entered the academy, I was a poor noble maid earning half a gold coin every six months, and even that was used to pay off the debts I owed as a maid. So, apart from the money I earned from odd jobs, I lived almost penniless.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I don’t really care.”

Anyway, I increased my magic power by eating a lot of garlic, so it was really an irrelevant story now.

I might not know for sure, but I probably ate more garlic than a vampire for a few days back then.

“Should I buy it, Lily? I think I can easily afford about five gold coins.”

“It’s okay. I have plenty of mana even without it. Besides, it’s more effective when consumed at a young age, so it wouldn’t be of much use to me now.”

Technically, it meant it’s more efficient to consume it at a lower level, but in this world, it was used in a similar context, so there was no need to differentiate.

“Uh, okay… I see….”

“Oh, by the way, after this expedition, would you like to buy some dried Mandragora roots?”

“Huh…? Why all of a sudden…?”

I heard that it’s beneficial for men in various ways. If Ethan buys it and consumes it gradually, it can improve his stats… Anyway, it’s not a bad idea for health, right?”

『Luminor Academy』, dried Mandragora roots were items that increased male characters’ maximum health, attack power, and charm stats.

While maximum health might not be noticeable, even a slight increase in attack power and charm stats would also affect the level-up adjustments.

So, it seemed like a good idea to feed it to them when their level was low, hence the suggestion, but Ethan’s gaze towards me was peculiar.

“Excuse me, Rosewood Fairy.”

“Yes? What do you want to say, Prince Antonio?”

“I heard that dried Mandragora roots are good for men because they are good for stamina during night activities…”

…Oh.

Wait, so in the game, does it mean that it increases attack power and charm…?

“I-I didn’t mean it in that way! I meant it’s good for basic male vitality… I-I mean vigor! It was meant in the sense of vitality…!! Ethan doesn’t lack that in the first place, and since it’s not readily available, it wouldn’t hurt to get some if we can find it….”

“Alright, I got it. If you have the spare time to get it, go ahead. But Lily will verify the effects, right?”

“T-That’s not what I meant…!!”

“Stop beating around the bush, Lily.”

No, this is seriously ridiculous insinuation.

I barely even recruited male party members in the first place, so how would I know if it’s a good item for stamina!

This time, I feel really unjustly accused!