NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41
There are quite a few buildings on the academy grounds, but the most noticeable are definitely the main building, Frunt Hall, and the special building, Signia Hall.
They’re not just fancy; they’re spacious as well. Both the main building and the special building are very large.
With only about twenty students in a grade, the total number of students, including those who have failed a grade, is less than 100 in Signia Hall, making it slightly smaller than Frunt Hall.
For that number of students, the area is ridiculously spacious.
And considering the small student body, there are a lot of professors.
Just looking at where the professors work, there are more professors than the first-year student cap.
Do we really need this many?
What do the professors who don’t get selected for classes do?
There are so many of them, it makes you wonder.
So, Adelia brought me to her personal office.
“Isn’t it nice and quiet here?”
“…Yeah, sure.”
It’s uncomfortable to be alone with Adelia, but when I think about the stares gathered when we entered the faculty office earlier, it’s actually less awkward here.
She probably wanted to show me that on purpose by taking me to the faculty office.
Shivers.
“Now, please sit over there. We have coffee, juice, and milk, which one do you want?”
“I’m fine without anything.”
“Milk sounds good.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Just out of courtesy.”
With a cute chuckle, Adelia didn’t use any magic and brought the refreshments herself.
Did she read my mind wondering why she’s doing it this way? With a chuckle, Adelia handed me chocolate milk and said,
“I decided not to use magic on purpose. Sometimes, bringing it out myself feels more heartfelt and nice, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Besides, since I mainly use illusion magic, if I don’t do it myself, people get scared of me. Hehe.”
I shrugged and popped a white, smooth mint candy into my mouth.
The richer mint scent filled my mouth. It tasted a bit sweet and refreshingly perfect, must be high-quality stuff.
“Tasty, right? It’s made from crushed mint that grows at the edge of the west. It’s different from store-bought.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Want more? You can take everything over there if you want.”
“Eustetia is rich.”
“Oh my… Haha. Right.”
With a light smile, Adelia sipped her coffee for a moment, enjoying the aroma before speaking up.
I, sitting across from her, held the mint candy in my mouth, simultaneously sipping the chocolate milk, creating a mint chocolate milk blend… um, Mint Chocolate Milk.
Not bad, actually. The café at the academy sells Mint Chocolate Lattes; maybe I should try that sometime.
“I called you about the class timetable.”
Timetable?
I hurriedly swallowed the milk and looked at Adelia.
“Hmm, rather than me explaining—”
At that moment.
Bang—!
The door to the personal office burst open dramatically.
“Elliaarnes!!!”
A bright voice rang out loudly.
“…Hah.”
A sigh escaped involuntarily.
Seeing me, Adelia chuckled and snapped her fingers. At that sound, a sofa came thud! falling from thin air.
The owner of the voice, unfazed by this, threw herself onto the sofa and called my name again with enthusiasm.
“ELI!!AARNES!!”
I wiped my face in despair, slowly turning my head.
As expected.
The Vice Headmaster, Leona, was beaming and sitting there.
“Vice Headmaster. I just wanted to ask if possibly—”
“Of course! You’re taking my class! Well, not every day, but at least once a week! And you have to attend after school too!”
I turned my gaze to Adelia.
She shrugged, as if saying it wasn’t her place to intervene, and sipped her coffee.
“…Vice Headmaster, don’t you have classes of your own?”
“Hmm? No?”
“Then, is it okay for you to provide such convenience to me without any issues?”
“Why would there be?”
“Well, I am Eustetia, you know. Rumors might spread about such preferential treatment based on my family name.”
Leona shook her head vigorously as if she hadn’t even processed that.
“It’s fine! Classes will be conducted in a place with no one else around, and the other kids won’t care what you’re doing.”
“…That may be true.”
“Yep! The center of this world is not you!”
“I wasn’t… thinking that way.”
As her bright voice began to unsettle my mood, I rolled the mint candy in my mouth.
“Anyway! Since that’s settled, clear your schedule after Friday lunch!”
“…Yes.”
“Hehe.”
Leona, chuckling merrily, grabbed a handful of cookies from a tray and got up.
“See you later. I’ll come fetch you.”
“No, I think it’d be better if you just tell me a time, and I’ll be there.”
“Hmm? That’s no good.”
“…Why not?”
“I can’t know when I will feel like it! I have your number, so I’ll contact you! Bye!”
Bang! Without a glance at Adelia, Leona left and slammed the door behind her.
“I can’t know when I’ll feel like it… tsk.”
I pondered her words and sighed, sinking back into the sofa.
“Elliaarnes, you’re quite popular. I envy you.”
“It’s tiring to have too many.”
“Hahaha! I expected you to look a bit shy or pressured, but you just look like a middle-aged man.”
“…Middle-aged man?”
“Yep. That expression! You always have such a stiff face, and when you look flustered like this, it’s just too cute!”
A voice that felt like it was licking every corner of my body sent chills down my spine.
“Just to say, do you really enjoy female company?”
“I, Adelia Baros, am an honest homeroom professor who never tells lies.”
Her expression, filled with sincerity.
I barely managed to hold back the curse rising in my throat.
Is this what it feels like when a cockroach confesses to you?
I scrunched my face and stood up from my seat.
“…I think our business is done, so I’ll be going.”
“You could stay a bit longer.”
Ignoring Adelia’s words, I reached for the door—clunk—
Clunk—clunk—
“The door is locked.”
“Oh my? That can’t be!”
“…I’ll just open it and leave.”
What kind of childish prank is this?
Grinding my teeth, I spread my mana.
Clunk—!
Not enough. A bit more.
“Sigh…”
With a hot breath, cherry blossom-colored mana drifted around my body.
At the same time.
Tap-tap—tap-tap—
The sound of heels echoed behind me.
I didn’t even sense the presence getting closer.
“I’ll open it for you.”
A gentle voice. Strands of black hair cascaded like curtains at the edge of my vision. Then came the enchanting fragrance of perfume and a soft something touching the back of my head.
Suddenly.
Crackle— An unusual sound came from the doorframe.
Creek—
The door swung open.
I inhaled the breath I’d been holding and stepped out.
“Elliaarnes, I can’t tell if you’ll believe me, but someone seems to have been playing pranks on my personal office door.”
I turned to see Adelia looking embarrassed.
“…That seems to be the case.”
“Oh my. You believe me?”
“…Not really. It’s just that I saw it for myself.”
It’s not about believing, it’s because I directly witnessed it.
The magic surrounding the door just before it opened.
The remnants of mana left behind as that magic broke apart.
It looked entirely different from Adelia’s mana I had seen earlier in the classroom.
I rolled the mint candy in my mouth while questioning what had come to mind.
Is she being bullied among her fellow professors?
“I’m not being bullied.”
“I didn’t say anything. I’m leaving now.”
“You can visit anytime if you have any questions. Feel free to contact me with a device. My number should be saved.”
I merely nodded and left.
Adelia stood there for a while, staring at the door.
*
“I’m going to start a club.”
I took Stella, who was awkwardly fidgeting in front of our class, to the café.
And the first thing she said as soon as we sat down was that.
“Hmm? We can create a club?”
Slurp, slurp— While I vigorously enjoyed my Mint Chocolate Latte, Yurasia replied instead.
It’s way tastier than what I made in my mouth.
From now on, I’ll have to stick to Mint Chocolate instead of just chocolate.
“Yeah. My sister, I, and Elliaarnes are…”
Stella looked around cautiously and lowered her voice.
“We’re special admission students, right? So we’re given the privilege to establish a club.”
“Oh, I see… So what kind of club will you create?”
“The Gebihenum Exploration Club.”
“…Huh?”
Glug— I gulped down my Mint Chocolate and stared at Stella.
“I’m going to create a Demon Realm Exploration Club.”
“…Ah, haha. Do you think that would actually get approved?”
“I checked with the homeroom professor just in case, and he said as long as we find the minimum number of members and a professor to supervise, we’re good.”
Stella mentioned, holding a club application form in her hand.
Her name, Stella Behrhaigen, was written in the president section, while the member section was completely blank.
Of course, the supervising professor section was also empty.
I asked looking at it.
“What’s the minimum number of members?”
“Four.”
“You have that many friends?”
“Not friends… I’m going to find them starting now!”
With a look like a discarded kitten, Stella yelled, then cautiously glanced at me and Yurasia.
“So… um… I was wondering.”
Yurasia caught on to what Stella was after and subtly turned her gaze toward me.
In Yurasia’s eyes, the desire to help Stella was evident.
Slurp— I took a big sip of Mint Chocolate before Stella could speak.
“But, can’t you go there during vacation without making a club?”
“Um… that’s true. But if we establish a club, we might get to go to the Demon Realm once or twice a year, even when it’s not vacation.”
“That’s uncertain, huh?”
“…Yeah. Since this is the first time doing such a club, the homeroom professor has no clue what to do. So I plan to study information or geography about the Demon Realm publicly, and secretly create opportunities for expeditions.”
Stella’s face, determined with clenched fists, radiated resolve.
“So, um… would you join the club I created?”
Yurasia glanced at me again.
“I won’t bother you… really. Just… after regular classes, during club time, um… I can’t just goof off. Still… I’ll take care of all the annoying things. And if you don’t want to go to the Demon Realm… I can go alone, so… please?”
“If you and Yurasia join, then the last one would be…?”
“That… I’ll find someone somehow. We just need to apply by next Friday, so we have plenty of time.”
There’s definitely a possibility Stella could find a friend to invite to the club within a week.
Of course, this is assuming it’s a normal club.
The Gebihenum Exploration Club.
Just hearing the name makes ordinary students recoil in fear.
Plus, I doubt it will be easy to find a professor willing to supervise the club.
If Stella’s plan goes as she hopes, we’d likely visit Gebihenum at least once during our three years here, which would definitely require a supervising professor to accompany us.
From both a student’s and a professor’s perspective, there’s bound to be numerous difficulties, not to mention that it’s a lot of trouble that they would not want to deal with.
Still, I actually like the idea.
After all, I’m going to go to the Demon Realm myself one way or another.
So then.
“What about you, Yurasia?”
I turned to look at Yurasia.
“Don’t worry about me, just say what you think.”
“Um… I want to join.”
“Great, I want to join too.”
I nodded and looked at Stella.
With her face lighting up, Stella nervously covered the corners of her mouth and asked once more.
“…Really? You’re not joking?”
“Yep.”
“Whew… Heheh, you can’t change your mind later!”
Even while speaking as if she still doubted it, Stella started writing our names in the application with a pen she pulled from her pocket.
As I watched the top of Stella’s head while sipping my Mint Chocolate, I couldn’t help but smile and glanced out the window.
A clear sky and neatly manicured grass.
Many students in uniforms different from those of Signia were seen strolling around.
While some students walked with friends chatting, others strolled leisurely, looking into their devices.
I wondered if there would be anyone among them who would join Stella’s club.
Would our brat remain as a friend to earn Stella a friend?
What if I invited her to a weird club and she ended up being ostracized?
It would be nice if the club could be established without any issues, allowing us to get to Gebihenum a little sooner.
With various thoughts swirling around in my mind, I swung my legs back and forth, not touching the ground.
Among the numerous students,
I spotted an isolated student sitting alone on a bench, nibbling on rye bread.
With adorable round ears and a fluffy squirrel tail.
Seemingly accustomed to being alone, even more so, she had a relaxed expression as if it brought her peace. Her bright, sparkling eyes and the way her cheeks moved as she munched were endearing.
“Hmm…”
The sight made my mouth curl into a smile.
“Yurasia. How did you say we contact that person?”
I need to call the ‘friend’ whose number we exchanged this morning.