A Regressor's Guide to Hunting in the Academy

Chapter 27

They say a person needs three days off.

One day to organize your surroundings.

One day to rest.

One day to play.

That doesn't change even for students facing written exams.

The plaza streets of Lemarnus.

For students living in the dormitories, this massive commercial district was responsible for their weekends.

And for Amecitia, it was a street straight out of a dream.

For one adult, the cost of living comfortably and enjoying everything without lacking anything was 7 gold coins.

For Amecitia, who survived an entire month on just 20 silver coins, this was like a dream.

But today was different.

She had stepped onto this street, one she'd thought she'd have no connection to until graduation.

In one hand, 2 gold coins.

In the other, a shopping basket.

How long had it been since she'd indulged in such luxury? Her family had collapsed completely when she was eight, and she'd lived in poverty for nearly ten years since-meaning it had been close to a decade since she'd even seen gold coins.

She was genuinely grateful to Carmen from the bottom of her heart.

Honestly, she doubted her notes were worth that much, but what could she do?

If someone's offering, you take it.

Her finances had been particularly tight lately with her food expenses rising.

She'd started skipping meals every other day, and sometimes she even had to ask Henrik for help.

Each time, he would silently press a few coins into her hand, but he never gave them for free.

Every time he lent her money, he made her do extra training in return.

Getting the money wasn't bad, but extra training? It was backwards.

Her food expenses had increased because of the training, yet he kept adding more training, so Amecitia's hunger was never satisfied.

In that situation, the gold coins Carmen offered were rain in a drought, the hand of a savior.

"Fresh meat! One chunk of meat for 3 silver coins! Premium meat shipped from the North!"

"How about vegetables? Selling fresh vegetables just arrived from the southern regions!"

The market street formed in one corner of the commercial district bustled with Academy students and city residents.

Amecitia trembled.

Was it okay to enjoy such luxury alone, without her family? She had doubts, but what did it matter?

She resolved to eat her fill today and strolled through the market street with light steps.

"......."

"Carmen, is there anything you like?"

However, Carmen was walking beside her.

Since he was the one who'd given her the gold coins, she thought she should treat him.

"Anything's fine."

"Really? You eat anything?"

"Yeah."

He let out a deep sigh and nodded.

With one hand holding the lecture notes Amecitia had written, he walked behind her, reading them intently.

His expression was full of annoyance, but Amecitia paid no mind and dragged him around the market.

"Stew? Should I load it with meat and make stew? No... I have money today, so I should buy oil and fry something... Schnitzel? Not bad. Fried fish would be good too..."

Amecitia muttered to herself.

Carmen watched her and smirked.

She was overjoyed over a mere 2 gold coins.

Though the MacClane family was an assassin clan, they still held the rank of Baron, so he'd heard plenty about Amecitia's main house, the Flammeur family, a fellow noble house.

The clan head had been swindled and squandered their fortune.

A new business venture failed and they sold the mansion.

Unable to handle their debts, they sold all their possessions.

But Carmen didn't care.

Whether her family was ruined or poor, Carmen simply needed the lecture notes she'd written.

Carmen looked at the notes he'd borrowed from her.

Surprisingly, her notes were incredibly easy to understand.

Not only could he grasp the lecture content, but she'd simplified and written down the difficult parts.

For someone forced to major in demonology after losing a duel, she seemed to be working pretty hard.

He even thought she might be the student who followed Henrik most diligently.

With notes this good, a perfect score on the written exam looked easy.

They were definitely worth 2 gold coins.

"Carmen! Let's call Grimory later and all have dinner together. I'm really good at cooking."

"......."

The only daughter of a Count family knows how to cook?

Carmen glanced at her. She didn't look like she was lying.

"What? Don't tell me you doubt my skills?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Let's go."

Whoosh! When Carmen strode past Amecitia, she huffed and chased after him.

'How good could a kid's cooking be? At best, it'll be playing house.'

Carmen, who'd grown up eating the fine cuisine prepared by the butler William, wasn't particularly pleased by Amecitia's proposal.

He just wanted to quickly memorize the lecture notes and get a perfect score on the exam.

"Geez..."

Amecitia chased after Carmen as he left the market street alone, but ultimately lost him.

"I was at least going to make it worth the 2 gold coins..."

Even if it was payment for borrowing the notes, the gold coins were far too generous. But her wallet situation was too dire to refuse them, so she'd at least wanted to treat him to a meal.

When Carmen showed no interest and vanished completely, she shook her head and loaded groceries into her shopping basket.

* * *

"......."

"There you are."

After finishing her shopping, Amecitia found Carmen sitting on the large dolphin fountain in the center of the plaza.

It seemed he'd anticipated how she would move and positioned himself to wait.

"I've memorized it all."

Thwack!

Carmen handed the lecture notes to Amecitia.

While she'd been shopping, he had slipped out of the market and sat here the whole time, memorizing the notes.

'I've filled in all the gaps, so a perfect score should be easy.'

Confident in his memory, he'd managed to memorize the entire exam range in just one hour.

"This is insane, Amecitia."

"Grimory..."

And at some point, Grimory had appeared standing next to Carmen.

Grimory's jaw dropped at the sight of Amecitia's shopping basket, stuffed to the point of bursting.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, Carmen suddenly called me, so I came."

"Carmen...?"

Amecitia tilted her head.

"I heard we're all getting together to study this evening. He said if I came out today, we could all gather over a delicious dinner and build camaraderie."

"Study?"

"And if I help tutor everyone, Carmen said he'd give me what I want, so I came running."

"What you want?"

"That's a secret."

Grimory smiled brightly. But behind that smile was an expression that clearly said not to ask any further.

Having spent quite a bit of time with Grimory, Amecitia picked up on it immediately.

Given Grimory's personality, she wasn't the type to accept money.

She must have agreed to the deal in exchange for something else.

Whatever it was, Amecitia knew it had to be something significant enough to move Grimory, who rarely mingled with others.

"Carmen..."

Amecitia glared at Carmen.

Sure, she'd been the one to suggest getting everyone together, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being used, which left her slightly annoyed.

"I'll throw in one more coin."

"Hey, you should've told me earlier."

When Carmen slipped a gold coin into Amecitia's pocket, she laughed heartily and patted Carmen's back enthusiastically.

"Hey! We're best friends! If you'd told me, I would've prepared everything! Let's go quickly! Where should we go? The dorm?"

"The dorm might be difficult, right? The girls' dormitory doesn't allow male students."

While they were considering locations, Carmen quietly raised his hand and spoke.

"My place."

"...?"

"Let's go to my house."

Grimory and Amecitia suddenly grew curious.

The large pouch of gold coins he'd wagered. Carmen was definitely rich.

And since he was the son of a major trading company, they naturally wondered what his house would be like.

Would maids and butlers line up and bow when they entered?

Did he live in a massive five-story mansion with a swimming pool and garden?

Countless fantasies bloomed in their minds.

The bourgeois life!

This was a rare opportunity they wouldn't get otherwise.

"Let's go right now!"

Amecitia jumped up and shouted.

And after walking a short distance from the plaza, they arrived at Carmen's house.

When they faced his home, Grimory and Amecitia couldn't hide their disappointment.

It was a small house.

It was a detached home, but the kind you'd commonly see on any street.

"Carmen, is this really it?"

When Amecitia pointed at the house and asked, he nodded silently.

"Isn't there something more, you know, like a splendid mansion?"

"...?"

"Well... I think Amecitia was expecting a grand estate since your family has so much money."

"Ah."

At Grimory's explanation, Carmen spoke.

"I live alone, so I don't need a big mansion."

"Alone...?"

"The main house is far away."

Just as Carmen grabbed the door handle and was about to open it.

He paused and stopped for a moment.

"What? Don't tell me... you forgot your key?"

"No."

Carmen glanced around.

Since it was a residential street, there weren't many people around.

"Both of you, don't come in until I say it's okay."

"Why?"

"Don't come in."

When Carmen spoke firmly, Amecitia shrugged as if she had no choice.

"I bet the inside of the house is a total mess. Can't be helped. I'll wait."

Whoosh! Carmen quickly opened the front door and went inside, and the door closed again.

Thud!

Suddenly, a heavy sound rang out.

Crash! Bang!

When noisy sounds came from inside the house, Amecitia silently looked at Grimory.

But Grimory also shook her head, indicating she didn't know either.

"Carmen?"

Smash!

"Um... Carmen?"

-Crash! Bang!

As the commotion inside the house grew louder, Amecitia had no choice but to fling the front door open and step inside.

"Carmen! What on earth is-"

In that instant, a massive club swung toward Amecitia's head.

Was it the result of years of training? She watched the club flying toward her in what felt like slow motion and thought:

'Ah, I can't dodge this.'

-Thwack!

Struck by the club, Amecitia collapsed and lost consciousness.