How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 68

winter break (1)

If human life is like the four seasons, the life of a spirit must be a long winter.

Watching everything perish, the giant wind wolf guarded the forest like that.

*

“It’s a problem because you’re too good, Yenika.”

Laplace Bakery, located at the entrance of the living quarters, is a historic teahouse that shares history with the Sylvania Academy.

A large-looking location on the road leading to Professor Building, a taste of refreshments managed by a former imperial patissier, and a terrace full of flower scents.

The appearance that seems to have embodied the romance of a girl as it is is the secret to maintaining its realm even in the realm of daily life that is being encroached on one by one by Elte.

Yenica was also a girl of that age, so when Clara offered to take a bite at Laplace Bakery, she had no choice but to follow her.

Dessert trays stacked in three layers are filled with cakes of all kinds of dazzling hues. He was about to take a cup of tea with his eyes shining brightly.

“It’s good to work hard, but it’s hard when you’re too good. You know what I mean, Yenika?”

“Yes?”

“You have to know how to open up if necessary.”

Jenika’s best friends, Clara and Anise, looked the same as usual, but today they look oddly more solemn.

It was the exact opposite of the bachelor’s atmosphere that was gradually becoming looser ahead of the winter break.

“Wh-what’s going on… Clara? With such a hard face.”

“Clara goes back to her parents’ house this vacation~. She’s worried while she’s away~”

Anis dipped the tea with a cheeky expression.

“Really? Well, last year, I went back to my parents’ house every vacation to help with work… I don’t feel anxious when I’m away from the school. I know what it feels like.”

“It’s not like that, Yenika! What I’m worried about is not my school schedule, it’s your love story!”

There is no hesitation in Clara’s tone as she stabs straight in.

As if Yenika, who was suffocating and holding her breath at those words, asked what was wrong, Clara pushed further.

“To put it bluntly, you’re crazy about that Ed Roth Taylor.”

“Clara. Your expression is too direct.”

“I’ve come with a firm resolve today, Anise. Don’t you know why I sizzled over Laplace Bakery’s top-notch refreshments? I’ll have to use this bait to get Jenika, who seems too busy these days.”

“Mi-bait… It’s as if I’ve been caught.”

Strictly speaking, the expression “caught” was the most accurate, but Anis didn’t dare express it explicitly.

“That, and… my love story, what the hell is that…”

“Yenika, if you’ve come this far, let’s not take it out. I think you’ve reached the danger line.”

You would think that Yenica Tanye had been hiding her love psychology completely and well, but it meant nothing to her best friends, Clara and Anis. Jenika’s inner thoughts were no different from a transparent glass window.

“Above, the danger line?”

“Yes. Yenika. To put it bluntly, you’re a good ‘friend’.”

Clara was talking nakedly with her arms crossed, while elegant Anise was sipping tea while sipping tea.

“Suddenly giving me such a compliment… It’s embarrassing…”

“It’s a nice word… but it’s not a compliment, Yenika.”

Clara shot Jenika with a serious face.

“When Yenica first fell in love with a human like Ed, she felt like she had lost her country… But as time passed and the evaluation of that person changed quite a bit, she was accepted. “

“Oh, Clara…”

“It’s meaningless to blush and shake your head now, Yenika. I think it’s okay to get out of here if you’re here. I’ve been patient enough.”

It was only then that Yenica realized that all of this was a trap for Clara and Anis.

The reason for booking the private terrace, which is said to be the most expensive in Laplace Bakery, was also to induce Yenika into a closed space in case anyone would eavesdrop on it.

“Yenika, you’re following the golden pattern of a loser in a relationship… as a good ‘friend’ that’s coming to an end…”

There was an auditory hallucination that sounded like a thunderbolt.

“What do you mean, Clara?”

“You, recently, while you were with him, did you ever say that your heart was beating so fast that you couldn’t speak, or that you couldn’t face him because your heart was pounding?”

“Why are you saying that all of a sudden?!”

“Yes! Answer me!”

Isn’t it too direct a prescription for Yenika who has no immunity?

Anise, who was sitting quietly next to her and listening to the story, was very worried, but did not intervene right away.

“That, that’s…!”

Jenika swallowed in vain.

Yes. Certainly, it’s probably because we’ve shared a lot of time compared to when we first met Ed Rosteyler… Now, when I sit next to him, I feel comfortable and warm rather than thrilled and nervous. Considering the first time she hooked up with him, it’s safe to say she was cataclysmic.

It wasn’t a particularly negative emotion, so I didn’t think it was that dangerous. Rather, I thought it was an improvement.

“Do you know what such a comfortable and trustworthy relationship is called? Family, or best friends. It’s just a relationship where you help Jenika as you please!”

“Well, then… can’t it…?”

“Oh hey, Hwasang! What does it mean when emotional exchanges only go one way? You have to make him think of you anxiously! If only he likes you and follows you around, is that a romantic relationship? It’s a follow-up relationship!”

A dagger-like blow flies into Jenika’s chest and pierces it.

Suddenly, the faint sound of applause and the cheers of animals resound. Clara couldn’t hear it at all, but it was vaguely heard in Anis’s ears, who were hiding the spirit’s response to some extent.

It must have been that the low-level spirits who signed a master-servant contract with Yenica were the ones that they couldn’t bear to say. I just wanted to be cool.

“I’ve been thinking about my approach a little wrong, Yenika. As your charm is that you’re always mild-mannered, bright and kind, I’m sure trying to be pushy and trying to be bad is to undermine your charm. Certainly… in this part, Mr. Bell. seems to have made more sense.”

“What kind of exchange of opinions happened without me…?”

“That’s okay, Yenika. Anyway, it’s winter vacation. I’m going to open my eyes and cut my nose. Anyway, that guy has a smooth face and has a lot of strange clothes, so you can’t procrastinate any longer. You have to get tired soon. I have to go back to my parents’ house at some point, won’t I be anxious, huh?”

In front of the raging Clara, Jenika had no choice but to sit still and listen.

He didn’t know why he was in a scolding atmosphere, but the atmosphere seemed like a criminal, so he stayed still.

Above all else, Jenika trusts Clara.

“Because Clara is well-educated. And because she is good at this type of human relationship… I guess that’s right…?”

“Yes, Yenika! Listen to me!”

Clara’s worries ahead of her return home gradually reached their limit.

“Anyway… that’s what I felt while taking a look at Yenika recently… Yenika, you’re hopelessly incompetent when it comes to push and pull. No matter how you look at it, you need to adjust your strategy.”

“Eww…”

It wasn’t that there wasn’t anything to point out, so Yenica was speechless.

The skill of using love as bait to provoke, tickle, and annoy others… From the image, it seems that Lortel is much more proficient than Yenika. She is a girl who has made it her profession to play with people’s minds from the beginning.

I knew very well that even if I tried to imitate it, I would not be able to find it.

“In that sense, I have to change direction… As I said at the beginning, it’s a problem because you’re too good, Yenika.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Listen, Yenika. You need to be a little mean.”

When I first look at Yenika, I often think that she will look youthful and lively on the inside. She actually has that part of her. She’s a terrible guinea pig, or she’s timid in the weird part.

However, when it comes to the important part, it is surprisingly sound and tight.

Despite this, he is sure of his self-management, works hard in everything, is altruistic, and is quite tolerant. He has a popular cutie-like appearance, is the top of his grade, and has strong arms.

He’s such a perfect person that he’s proud to be his best friend… But now, that doesn’t just work as an advantage!

“Listen carefully and follow me, Yenika.”

Clara maintained a serious atmosphere and pronounced each letter while making direct eye contact with Yenika.

“The protective instinct.”

“Bo… protect…?”

“The protective instinct.”

Yenika swallowed her saliva with difficulty.

“Originally, all men have the same psychology. Do you think they’ll like it if you’re reliable, supportive, and positive like Yenika? You’re dependent on me. You’re emotionally leaning on me. Constantly confirm this to build your self-esteem and stimulate your protective instincts.”

Anis exclaimed inwardly.

Clara doesn’t have much love experience, but the story is unexpectedly poking at the core…!

Is this the intuition of a person who has ‘learned’ about love… who has read shady backstory and all sorts of romance novels…!

“This suits Yenica more than the flirtatious push-and-pull.”

“That… that’s a bit vague…”

Uncharacteristically for Yenika, she expresses an opposing opinion. When Clara asks what that means, Yenica narrows her eyes and fiddles with his fingers, trying to talk.

“At that… time… actually… I’m already emotionally leaning on…?”

The reason why I can feel like I’m getting healed after a bachelor’s life walking on thin ice or a life in the DEX building… is because when I go to camp, Ed always greets me with the same look by the bonfire.

Even when Ed withdrew the fact that he was coming to Dex, it was regrettable on one side, but on the other hand, it’s still okay… It’s also the reason why I thought.

“But Ed Rosteyler doesn’t know that at all…?”

“I-I wonder if that’s the case… It sure seems that Ed is struggling just to live at the camp and maintain his bachelor life at the same time…”

This was also one of the fundamental problems.

He has no time to turn his attention to dating because he is living a life like an iron man. What Bell Maia pointed out was exactly right.

To break through this area, you really have no choice but to grab and shake a man named Ed.

“Then it’s just a lack of stimulation. Reveal your inner self and be comforted! Don’t you have any spectacular worries, Yenika? Wow, this would be really hard if I didn’t help… I’m worried!”

“There’s no way such troubles can arise overnight…! Most of them have been resolved to some extent!”

“Then create a worry…! If you create a worry that didn’t exist, it will come to you!”

“I’m so sorry if I bought you worries with a lie!”

There is a history of acting tough and then when Ed sincerely apologized, he couldn’t win and hung his head.

Yenika’s conscience can’t stand a lie that doesn’t make sense. However, if there is a sincere concern, most of them solve it on their own because they are competent.

“Well, if you still have concerns…”

“If you say yes?”

Yenika thinks, “Umm…” and then confesses it.

“Lately, Ed has been planning to make a contract with a high-ranking spirit by using some expedient method…”

“…”

“I too lay in bed sick for several days after signing the contract with Tarkan, but wouldn’t Ed, who is still lacking in sensitivity, ruin his body if he made a contract by using an expedient method…? But Ed is greedy for self-development… Again, it could work out… Once you’ve made a decision, it’s sometimes right to push forward boldly… I wonder if opinions like this are just getting in the way… Anyway, I’m a bit worried about that…”

It was a serious conversation, but Clara leaned against the backrest, tapping her forehead with both hands.

Anis also let out a deep sigh and brought the teacup to her mouth. In the end, even if the story goes this far, this girl is like this. Heaven is like this, what should I do?

That innocent girl looking at Clara and Anise with a tilt of her head. Rather, she liked that side of her, so when I thought about the fact that she became best friends with Jenika, in fact, she didn’t hate her again.

“I think sooner or later.”

After leaving Jenika with a satisfied face after eating a lot of high-quality snacks from Laplace Bakery… Clara and Anise walked side by side in the living room.

Clara didn’t think it was out of the blue at Anis’s words. It was because Clara had some intuition.

However, the fact that Anis didn’t say a word properly during the conversation with Yenika was very unnatural.

When the three of them got together, they would always talk chattyly… Today, Anise was quietly drinking black tea.

Anise, unlike Clara, has an understanding of male-female relationships, but she was the last to realize that Ed was the person Yenika was interested in.

It was because he was busy with teaching assistant work and his grades were mediocre, so he was distracted.

Clara, who has freckles and spiky hair, seems to be full of vitality, but surprisingly, her family is affluent.

On the contrary, Anise has an antique and elegant appearance, but is environmentally poor. That’s why he can’t neglect his teaching assistant work.

“I know Clara well, but…”

“Yeah. Yenika seems to have a lot of emotions.”

Is life in the Dex building a problem? Or is there some other reason?

Once in a while, there are times when Yenika feels that she is overdoing it. Considering that it was the Glass Khan incident that caused her to explode, it is highly likely that Yenica’s troubles have not yet been resolved.

It’s a very subtle difference that most people don’t notice, but Anise and Clara could feel it.

The feeling that if there is an opportunity, I may reach the limit of my mind again… A feeling that some fundamental worries are not resolved…

Still, I feel as if I am periodically healed or relieved of my psychological weight.

That opponent must be Ed Roth Taylor.

It is shameful that he confided his concerns to his closest friends and did not expect them mentally. If she didn’t reveal her concerns to the end even though she caught me and sneaked up on me like this… that’s Ye Nika’s choice. I can’t say anything about it.

However, Anis’s opinion was slightly different from Clara’s.

“Clara noticed Jenika’s love affair first, and it seems that she changed her opinion about him a little while contacting Mr. Bell and the staff at the bachelor’s office… but my opinion is different again.”

Clara seemed to know what Anis was thinking.

The reason why she didn’t say anything while drinking black tea while Yenica and Clara were arguing.

“I’m still not sure if I can fully trust him.”

“Really…? Well, the fact that my reputation is getting better is enough to make me anxious.”

“That’s true, but… the decisive reason is…”

Anise raised the thumb and forefinger of both hands and interlocked them to form a square. And put the faces of passers-by in it.

“Contemplation.”

“…”

“At first glance, it’s a contemplation of a flirt. If you have to expect emotionally from a man who cheats on women, in the end, only Yenika will be hurt.”

Wouldn’t it be a little too much to make a conclusion just by looking at the coronation… I’m tempted to say, but it’s hard to refute when I think of Ed Roth Taylor’s appearance. facts are facts

“Still, it’s a bit too much to make a conclusion based on the observation alone…”

As if she had read Clara’s mind, Anise immediately said so.

“I wonder if I need to do my own verification work. At least I should confirm that I’m not a sl*t.”

“how?”

“Is there any way?”

Anis untied the ribbon that was tying the back of her hair and brushed her grayish-brown straight hair to the side of her shoulder. She blinks her moderately long eyelashes and smiles naturally once with a face full of condescension.

“Wow. Really? Are you overdoing it? Your face isn’t that thick.”

“Well, how much skill do you need? If you’re really a sl*t, you’ll come over even if you flirt in moderation, right?”

“What if you really get over it and you’re convinced that you’re a sl*t?”

Anise spoke naturally with her characteristic aristocratic smile.

“If that’s the case, I’ll have to take responsibility and tear it up with Jenika.”

…scary.

Clara and Anis’ opinions weren’t always right, but I didn’t expect them to come out this strong. The mindset of thinking about Jenika has always been the same, but the difference in method is another law.

“Anise doesn’t have much contact with that guy. I heard that he’s a newcomer because he doesn’t even live in a dormitory…”

“Well, there’s no law saying you can’t flirt just because you can’t see each other often… But if you share a lot of time, flirting is also comfortable. Don’t worry, Clara. Everyone has their own thoughts.”

When Anise has such a certainty, she is most anxious.

Just looking at his appearance, don’t mistake him for always being a decent and elegant human being.

“You know my advisor, right?”

“Assistant Professor Claire?”

“Yes. Due to the heavy workload this time, I decided to receive a lot of support for undergraduate scholarship students. Certainly, the lab itself was not enough, so I was very busy.”

Anis is Claire’s chief assistant. Because they had been together since the first semester of the first year, assistant professor Claire had a lot of trust in Anis.

“I heard that the man also applied for the bachelor’s scholarship. If I recommend it to the professor, he will be able to go to our lab. These days, we tend to give more people to our side.”

“…”

“Even so, I still have to deal with the conference papers, and I didn’t have enough manpower to take care of the job during the freshman class placement test during the vacation… Well done. Kill two birds with one stone.”

Saying that, Anise nodded with a firm face.

Clara looked at Anis with a worried face.

Was it really a good thing that I decided to go back to my parents’ house this vacation? It’s not like there’s a cataclysm in human relationships when you come back from vacation.

Was it a good thing to bring Ed Rosteyler into assistant professor Claire’s lab for such a trivial reason?

I couldn’t shake that thought.

* [ New finished product ]

Timber wall After making a groove in the wooden plywood, interlocking and fixing it, it was tied with a rope once more to make it stand upright.

It prevents wild animals from approaching the camp and blocks drafts to some extent.

Crafting Difficulty: ●●◐○○ [ Crafting skill has increased. ]

Winter has come.

The snow, which looked cozy, was also piled up, and it was a disaster.

After waking up in the morning, clearing all the snow from the camp line, and putting up a wall to block drafts, the sun was already in the middle of the day.

It’s been a while since I made a policy that I shouldn’t work too hard just because I have a lot to do.

Until late in the afternoon, I turned off the heating and lay down in the cabin with the intention of lying down and resting.

It will be too cold at night… Let’s get up around sundown and finish the firewood and food work. Still, it is good news that the preservation of food itself has improved thanks to the cold weather.

In addition, tomorrow I have to go out to work as an undergraduate scholarship student. Did you say that there is no physically demanding job and that you entrust the work to a line that does not take up too much time?

He said that he could take things like paperwork back to the dormitory and take care of them… Well, anyway, it’s fine as long as he can live with survival in moderation.

There was a lot to do.

I have to go to the Elte store in the living area to find out how the engineering supplies are handled, and I have to go check the grades for the final exam.

There is no problem with living on the camp side right now… but just cleaning the snow periodically is hard work.

Apart from the roof of the hut, shelter tents or simple facilities set up outside could collapse under the weight of snow. You need to constantly check the status.

Still… I was exempted from a certain amount of tuition through a bachelor’s scholarship, and the rest of the amount that was not exempted was negotiated with receiving tuition benefits instead of giving up the right to move into a dormitory. Somehow, the tuition issue has been settled by next semester.

With that alone, I felt like I was liberated in many parts of my mind, so my shoulders have become very light these days.

To some extent, I spent a little money to replenish supplies. Right now, I even have the time to lead a leisurely camp life. It’s really not to the extent that I have to live like a crazy person by splitting the day like I did in the early days.

I stopped breaking my day into hours. Divide it into 5 parts: morning, lunch, afternoon, evening, and night. I was still busy though… It’s up to people to adapt. Compared to before, she looks like a fairy.

When I opened my eyes in the late afternoon, Lucy was lying on the futon.

It was in the middle of sleeping with me lying down and spread out in the form of a cross. I have no intention of waking up when I hear the sound of my quick exhaling.

“…”

I was going to pick up Lucy as it was and throw it back to the designated wooden shelter… but I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to throw it outside in such a cold winter.

The cold wouldn’t be a big problem for Lucy, who was wearing all sorts of protective magic anyway… but it was a matter of mood.

I just threw Lucy on the bed in the cabin, opened the door, and woke up to the cold air.

When you take a deep breath, steam comes out of your mouth. The refreshing winter forest air awakened my consciousness at once.

“…Should I do it soon?”

No matter what, you have to take the risk.

If you hesitate and miss the timing, it becomes more ambiguous.

There could never be a better time than right now.

I thought to myself, and took out a golden phoenix-engraved ring from my chest.

He held it up to his chest with his fists clenched tightly.

“Are you listening?”

I don’t know if there will be or not. Still, I dare to call out that name.

“…Meryl.”

The wind blew.

Despite the cold winter wind, it felt strangely cozy.