The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

“How annoying.”

Selene grumbled like that and glared at Asel.

Not only was she caught reading a book she had ‘accidentally’ found, but she was also mocked for it.

It seemed she had clearly been misunderstood unreasonably, so she tried to explain, but she was met with a sly attitude as if consoling a child. Although it was absurd to make similar explanations today as well as yesterday, Selene still tried to correct Asel’s misunderstanding.

So she persistently followed him, only to be told that he understood and they should just read books together. It was a proposal Asel made to build a friendship with Selene, who belonged to a magic tower, but from Selene’s perspective, unaware of this intention, it seemed like an out-of-the-blue suggestion.

But there was no particular reason to refuse, so she nodded with a disgruntled expression. She was also quite interested in a reading club with a magician from the Witch Association.

“So what are you studying? Magical power academic theory, fusion, dual attributes, dual manifestation… Are you reading all these unusual books?”

Selene asked, tapping Asel’s leg with her toes. Asel answered while opening a new book.

“I’m researching something recently. I’m looking into things related to that.”
“Hmm, is that so?”

In the society of magicians, asking what others are researching is taboo. So Selene forcibly suppressed her curiosity and opened a book on pure magic to read. Before long, her mind sank deep into the book. Asel glanced at her briefly, then fixed his gaze on the magic book.

Time passed like that. People gradually filled the library, then emptied out like the tide when lunchtime came. The noise that occurred during this process broke Selene’s concentration as she was engrossed in reading. She stretched her stiff body while watching the backs of students leaving the library.

“Ugh… Haa.”

Stretching made her mind feel a bit clearer. Selene propped her chin on both hands and tapped Asel’s toes with her shoe.

“Hey, Asel.”
“……”
“Heyyy, don’t ignore me. I know you can hear me.”
“What.”

Asel sighed deeply and closed the book he was reading. Selene looked at his face and pouted her lips.

“I’m hungry. Let’s go eat lunch.”
“Go by yourself. I’m not that hungry.”
“Are you going to be like this? If you lured me once, take responsibility till the end. Don’t abandon me.”
“…Is it because you read strange books? Your expressions are really weird.”
“W-what are you saying?”

Selene blushed for no reason and lightly kicked Asel’s leg. Asel chuckled and returned all the books he had brought to their places. The magic books flew through the air on their own, finding their places.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

Asel asked as he got up from his seat. Selene answered readily.

“Let’s go to the cafeteria. I heard they have pretty much everything there. I went yesterday too.”
“We haven’t even started school yet, is it okay to use it?”
“The Academy cafeteria opens a week before school starts. They say it’s for students who’ve moved into the dorms and returning students who are staying.”

Asel nodded. As soon as Selene got his agreement, she immediately left the library and started heading towards the cafeteria. The reason was that they needed to go quickly before all the seats disappeared. However, with her miserable physical abilities, she couldn’t even walk for long properly.

“Hah… Hah…”

Selene was panting heavily even though they hadn’t gone far. Asel looked down at her with a laugh.

“Do some exercise.”
“What exercise… Huff… does a magician need…? I just need to use my head well.”
“I think it will definitely be a hindrance in actual combat.”
“Stop, stop. Stop with the old-fashioned remarks and let’s go quickly.”
“Haah… Stand still.”

Asel muttered like that and placed his hand on Selene’s shoulder as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. At the sudden touch, Selene tilted her head, then opened her mouth in an ‘ah’ as she felt her body become much lighter than before.

“What’s this? Physical enhancement magic?”
“It’s magic that shortens the duration but increases the effect accordingly. If you’re going to run, do it in that state.”
“Oh… So you can handle pure magic too? I heard it’s difficult to use pure magic from the 6th rank onwards because changes in magical power properties occur fundamentally.”

Instead of answering, Asel ran slightly ahead of Selene. Selene smiled at her body that was much easier to move and ran after him.

But even with the enhancement, her basic physical abilities were terrible, so Selene started panting and grabbed Asel’s sleeve not long after she started running.

“Hah… Let’s go together…”
“……”

Asel looked down at Selene with cold eyes. Selene desperately avoided that gaze.

Despite hurrying, there were plenty of seats in the cafeteria. Empty spaces everywhere, and even among the students present, hardly any new students were visible. Only returning students who hadn’t left the dormitory or had returned early could be seen sparsely.

If they had known this, there would have been no need to run.

Asel thought this as he looked at Selene, and Selene cleared her throat and entered the cafeteria. He followed behind her.

Ordering in the cafeteria was done by writing the desired food on paper and handing it over at the window.

Selene ordered a set meal with appropriate bread and soup. Asel thought for a moment, then ordered steak and waited.

The food came out not long after. The two brought their ordered food and sat by the window. Just as they were about to eat, someone approached Asel and called out in a friendly voice.

“Oh, Asel!”

It was a familiar voice. Asel put down the knife he was about to use to cut the meat and turned his head to look at the owner of the voice. A girl with snow-white hair, red eyes, and impressively long ears growing sideways was smiling, showing her sharp canine teeth. Asel smiled at the face he hadn’t seen in a long time and called her name.

“Elena.”
“It’s been a while!”

Elena sat down next to Asel with a bright smile. Asel frowned at the unexpectedly close distance, but she didn’t care and gently leaned her upper body on Asel’s shoulder. It wasn’t with any other intention, just a simple show of familiarity.

“Have you been well? I’ve been doing well! I got assigned to Wiesel dormitory, and my body is fine now!”
“…That’s good. But could you move away a little?”
“Ah, okay!”

Elena moved her upper body away slightly as Asel said. It was still close, but Asel was satisfied with this much. He continued cutting his meat as he spoke.

“You came to eat lunch, right?”
“Yes! I came with Ellen!”
“Ellen? Where is she?”
“Over there!”

Elena pointed her hand towards the food serving window. Following her gaze, Asel saw Ellen wearing the Academy uniform. She met Asel’s eyes, smiled softly, and waved her hand. Not long after, she came back with food for herself and Elena.

“It’s been a while, Asel. I thought you hadn’t moved in yet since I couldn’t see you when I went to the dormitory, but it seems that wasn’t the case.”
“I’m always out except when sleeping.”
“Is that so?”

Ellen answered like that, then rolled her eyes to look at Selene. Selene, who was eating bread dipped in soup without much thought, felt her gaze and met Ellen’s eyes.

Ellen spoke first.

“It’s a face I’ve seen at the entrance exam site. Your name was certainly…”
“Selene from Aurora Magic Tower. I don’t have a surname, Lady Hargelin.”
“I see. You can speak comfortably. We’re both new students after all.”
“Then I’ll do that.”

Selene dropped formalities without any hesitation.

An attitude befitting a magician showing no reverence or loyalty towards nobility. Only a magician confident in their own skills can act like that. Ellen liked her attitude and smiled as she put the food she was holding on the table.

“Then Selene, is it alright if we join you?”
“I’d be happy to make acquaintance with the second-place of the knight department.”

She muttered as she sat down in the empty seat next to Selene. Selene glanced at Ellen with a chuckle.

“Who else could be second place besides you? That Grace guy probably took first place, and you’re the only one left.”
“To be honest, I wasn’t that satisfied with the entrance exam. Strictly speaking, I was just carried on Asel’s back. I didn’t do enough to deserve second place.”
“Is that so? Well, I don’t know the details anyway.”

Selene answered like that, then looked at Elena who was munching on bread and propped her chin.

“Then are you going to give up on second place?”
“I said it’s not confirmed yet. But if I do get second place… I have no intention of giving it up. I’m quite greedy by nature. Even if it came into my hands by chance, I won’t let it go.”
“Then you’ll have to work hard not to lose the second place position in the future.”
“That’s not it. I’ll give up second place and aim for first.”

Ellen cut her steak with a grin.

“As I said, I’m quite greedy. Once I set my eyes on something, I have to get it to be satisfied, no matter what.”
“That’s a tiring personality.”
“I agree. But I don’t dislike it.”

Ellen said that and rolled her eyes towards Selene.

“What about you? Aren’t you aiming for first place in the magical studies department?”
“First place?”

Selene let out a laugh as if she had heard something absurd. She pointed at Asel with her chin.

“First place against that?”
“…You’re right about that.”

Ellen nodded, recalling the magic Asel had shown during the entrance exam. Asel chewed his steak while receiving strange gazes from the two.

The meal ended quickly.

Asel and Ellen ate all the food they brought, but Selene and Elena left some. Selene usually ate small portions, and Elena didn’t need to consume much food as the energy she could get from food was less than what she could get from blood-drinking. It was enough if she could get the minimum nutrients.

After finishing the meal, they took a short walk around the Academy grounds. Then they sat on a suitable bench to catch their breath. As soon as she sat down, Elena took out a blood pack from her chest and sipped it while swinging her legs back and forth.

“Phew! Lepid Magic Tower’s blood packs are the tastiest after all! But it’s not as delicious as Asel’s blood!”
“…Lepid Magic Tower sells blood packs too? I thought they only dealt with scrolls and magical tools, but it seems they’re even more money-crazy than I thought.”

Selene shook her head with a disgusted expression. To think they would even extract and sell blood beyond selling magical tools. No wonder they were the richest among magic towers. It was the first time she had heard of them doing blood business targeting vampires.

She had no intention of criticizing. The blood and flesh of magicians have long been considered excellent ingredients for elixirs, and there were quite a few magicians who sold their own blood. Lepid Magic just expanded that as part of their business.

“Come to think of it, have you seen the academic calendar? There’s a midterm exam not long after school starts.”

Ellen suddenly said, looking at the three of them. Selene sighed deeply and nodded.

“It was about 6 weeks later, I think. It starts quite early. There’s also a first assignment before that.”
“What kind of assignment?”
“I don’t know. I heard it’s given as a group project.”

Group project.

Asel frowned deeply at those words.

It was because memories from his past life surfaced. He couldn’t know exactly what had happened in his past life, but he could clearly tell that he had experienced extreme stress from group projects. He sighed deeply and leaned back against the backrest.

“Do you know how the groups are selected?”
“From what I heard from a graduated knight, they decide by drawing lots.”

In the end, it meant leaving it entirely to luck. Asel closed his eyes tightly, feeling as if he could already see the future. The darkened vision seemed like how it would be when solving the assignment.

Ellen looked strangely at Asel, who was sitting quietly with his eyes closed, and spoke.

“If any of us end up in the same group, let’s try our best to get the highest grade possible, and if we end up in different teams…”

She trailed off. Naturally, the eyes of the three turned towards Asel. Asel felt their gazes and opened his eyes.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…I hope you’ll go easy on us. I’d prefer if we end up in the same group.”

The other two nodded at Ellen’s words.