I Realized It Was an Academy Game After 10 Years

“Hmm.”

I picked up the sword handed to me by Renny and examined it closely.

A long sword made of high-quality Damascus steel, about 120 cm in total length.

The weapon commonly referred to as a longsword.

Here, it is the most commonly used sword by knights. Of course, those who wield shields tend to prefer the arming sword more, but… since knights are inherently specialized in combat, it wasn’t unusual to see a human holding a longsword along with a shield.

Of course, there were also swordsmen in this game world using unrealistically gigantic weapons that made me wonder if this was right.

However, Renny, despite having terrifying strength, didn’t prefer to use a large sword.

To be precise, it might be said that she couldn’t due to her job as a knight protector.

Since she had to escort Karina, a weapon that guaranteed a certain level of portability was advantageous.

I ran my fingers along the sword and felt the texture of the well-maintained longsword. It looked to be made by a craftsman, with decent density, and the sound it made when I flicked it with my finger was clear.

…Should I start coating it soon?

I stared at the liquid mithril melting next to the furnace. Coating mithril required a complicated process. You had to raise the temperature as high as possible with expensive firewood, sprinkle special chemicals to make it easier to melt, and, crucially, use costly magical adhesives to ensure the mithril coats well.

…If I were a dwarf artisan, I could probably coat it directly, but at my current level, I could only attempt coating it after making it easier with all these different chemicals.

Whether it was my lack of skill or because it was mithril, my attempts at the skill didn’t seem to work properly.

“…Guess I need to go earn some money.”

“Here’s a towel!”

“Thanks, Millia.”

It’s nice to have someone looking out for you. I wiped the sweat off my upper body with the towel while inspecting the state of the longsword that was finished coating in mithril. Since it hasn’t really stuck yet, I would have to wait for a while. I quickly handed the damp towel back to Millia and sat down on a chair to rest.

“Johann, what are you going to do now?”

“Well…”

Millia, pretending not to be, was swinging her legs in anticipation next to me. I wondered why she was in such a good mood. My gaze absentmindedly followed Millia’s calves swinging, then shifted to her head that had rolled off onto my lap.

“Let’s go on a picnic! I’ve always wanted to have a picnic! We can pack a lunchbox and go see flowers…”

Millia began to list all the things she wanted to do. It was something that happened every time this red-headed dullahan felt bored. What’s so enticing about all those things? I let Millia’s voice wash over me as I checked the tasks I needed to accomplish.

1. Prepare for the incident that will happen during the final exam.

2. Gather funds to strengthen combat power.

3. Secure the holy relic needed to completely heal Karina.

4. Find Elena’s earrings.

These four were my top priority goals. The final exam, which had about a month left, was closest in time, but what was most urgent was securing the holy relic and finding Elena’s earrings.

It would be easiest to embezzle the funds from somewhere, but for now, I should gather some loot from dungeons while searching for the relic. If only I could get about 1 ton of mithril. I could coat everything with mithril.

Mithril armor, mithril underwear, mithril hats—if I made everything out of mithril and dressed Karina in it, I could at least ensure some minimum safety. Of course, the items Karina currently had were all precious magical items as well…

“…Huh? Johann!”

“…Ah, sorry. I just had a lot on my mind.”

“Is that so?”

As I swept her words aside, Millia, seeming to sulk, puffed her cheeks and glared at me like a child. It wasn’t scary at all, just cute. To appease her, I patted Millia’s head as usual.

Her silken smooth hair slipped through my fingers. Is this how all girls’ hair feels? I think Elisa’s hair felt similar.

“Johann, you’re thinking about someone else right now, aren’t you?”

“…I was thinking about Elisa.”

“Why Elisa? Is that the type of person you like?”

Millia’s face showed genuine curiosity. I stroked her hair as I gave an adequate response.

“I’m just a bit worried.”

Even though I took care of her to a tiny extent, her shocking level of awkwardness—no, her outsider vibe—still remained, so how could I not worry? It was like a parent’s feelings when they saw a child left by the water. Thinking like that made me feel like I was taking on the role of a parent.

Imagining being called “Dad” by someone of the same age would be quite the sight.

Thinking about being called “Dad” by Elisa sent chills down my spine.

Isn’t this a case of irresponsible pleasure, or rather, pleasure-less responsibility? I didn’t want such a development without dreams or hopes. I’m not a monk; I just want to date normally and get married.

Knowing that this world could collapse at any time, I had to run frantically. I had survived for ten years on a deserted island, and now it was unacceptable to die.

So right now, it was time to worry about how to reach the true ending instead of romance.

“Worried?”

“Yeah. You’ve seen it a few times, so you know.”

“That’s true. She always freaks out and runs away when you approach her.”

…She wouldn’t have an inkling about Millia being a dullahan, would she? I felt slightly uneasy.

Or it could be that she was freaked out by Millia’s terrifying social prowess. While I was around, things could be mediated, but it seems like one-on-one conversations were still tough.

“I’d like to change that timid personality a bit.”

Now that a magically talented individual has come along, I need to figure out how to nurture her. After all, it’s tough to recruit a capable wizard since they tend to be snobbish. It would be far easier to use all the knowledge I know to turn her into a great mage.

Although it might take a few years.

“Why?”

So this is why one shouldn’t talk about other women in front of girls. I poked Millia’s cheek, which was now giving me a more uncomfortable look than before.

“…Do you have a place you want to go for our picnic?”

“The market is opening tomorrow! Let’s go see the market!”

“The market isn’t a place for a picnic.”

“That’s that! This is this! The picnic can wait!”

Ah, she meant to go separately.

I nodded quickly before Millia could sulk.

“Yay!”

Just look at how her expression changes immediately. Was this her goal all along?

I hadn’t seen it before, but it seems Millia had a crafty side.

“Hee hee hee hee…”

I was caught up in complicated feelings while gazing at the headless torso clinging to my arm.

So this is how a human’s throat moves when they laugh, huh.

——————–

“Ah, h-hello…”

“Did you do well in class?”

“T-thank you…”

Was it the experience from the dungeon that helped? Elisa blushed a bit as she replied to me. Maybe it was just my feeling, but her reaction was quite different from before. I sensed a strangely pink atmosphere surrounding us. Fortunately, Millia was studying with Karina, so she wasn’t around.

I had a feeling that if Millia were here, it’d be a battleground.

“Looks like the results were good.”

“Thanks to you, I got an A+… thank you…”

An A+ must mean the professor was delighted. Well, that’s good for me too. It means that hellish effort bore excellent fruit. It also means my Elisa growth plan is going smoothly.

“Are you heading straight to the office?”

“A, no. I’m going to stop by my room first…”

“Got it. Then—”

Just as I was about to send Elisa off, I felt a tug at my sleeve. I looked down to see Elisa gazing up at me with a face as red as a tomato.

“C-could you come with me…?”

“Don’t you know the way to your room?”

“W-well…”

“…Fine, don’t start sniffling.”

With the feelings of being a mother duck leading her duckling, I took her to her room. Not a word was exchanged until we reached the room, but Elisa had a strangely satisfied expression.

“Um, could you… go to the office with me…?”

“Alright, just change first.”

I sighed as I looked at the closed door. Why does it feel like another puppy has joined the mansion? A timid one that can’t say it openly but will whine if I don’t take care of it.

But if I keep gaining puppies like this, will I get crushed by them before I save the world? Of course, I don’t think it will grow much more than this.

As I passed time with such idle thoughts, the door opened and Elisa appeared. True to being a witch’s descendant, she was dressed all in black. Looking at the pitch-black blouse that seemed to be dyed in ink, I was mesmerized when Elisa wrapped her arms around her chest and blushed.

“P-please don’t stare like that…”

“I was just fascinated by the blouse.”

Really.

It was the first time I’d seen such a heavily dyed black blouse here.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m… sorry…”

Oh, I can hear the sound of her self-esteem plummeting like a stock market crash. I quickly patted Elisa’s head to calm her down. It felt like I was forming a second Millia after seeing her mimic the head patting.

Now I’ve got my hands full.

After patting her head for a while, Elisa grabbed my sleeve and asked.

“C-could you take me to the office?”

My answer was already determined.

“Of course.”

“I want to go too!”

What? When did you get here?

I turned to see Millia, who had naturally grabbed my hand from the other side.

“Aren’t you supposed to be studying?”

“I was just in the restroom!”

“Oh, right…”

Isn’t saying you went to the restroom usually said quite boldly? I glanced at Elisa, who was looking at me instead of Millia.

“Hee hee. Johann, take me too!”

Millia, where did you learn that smirk capable of making even the gods of the new world gasp?

With a sigh, I watched Millia smirk as soon as I turned away from her.

I hope the two of them get along.

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