How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 99

Student president election (12)

Tap the horse head-shaped chess piece with the tip of your index finger. It was a chess piece that symbolized a knight.

If you press the tip of the head of the chess piece erected like a sawtooth, and push it with force, it tilts slightly diagonally.

The fingers, which had tilted the chess pieces from the point of not falling as if they were about to fall, rolled across the chessboard floor with a crackling sound the moment they were pushed to the point where the balance of power collapsed.

So the knight died. It was discarded water for bartering.

Princess Penia, who was sitting by the window alone and moving the chess pieces around, sighed softly.

He quickly tied up his flowing platinum hair, untied it again, and let out another sigh.

she was in a depressed mood.

Just now, the news I heard from the escort captain Claire. It was the news of Ed Rosteyler’s death.

Although the exact story has not yet been properly grasped, according to the primary investigation by the bachelor, it seems that he was assassinated by the forces of the Ross Taylor family.

“How come… when things turn out like this…”

Is it the most appropriate expression to say that he had a love-hate relationship with Ed Roth Taylor? That wasn’t an accurate representation either.

In fact, it might be more accurate to say that Princess Fenia has a deep debt to Ed Roth Taylor.

After hearing about his death, I couldn’t help but look back on my meetings with him.

In the first place, the first button was not so good, and it feels like the time when we were troublesome to each other was much longer.

If you were to raise the dead Ed Rosteeler and ask him what he thought of Princess Penia, he would recall that he was a terribly mismatched human being.

To that extent, there was a high possibility that Princess Penia was a thorn in the eye of Ed Roth Taylor.

However, Princess Fenia is the supreme third princess of the Chloe family.

If you want to compare the difference in status with Ed Rosteeler, who was excommunicated and became a commoner, the metaphor of heaven and earth is not enough.

It is also strange that such Princess Fenia falls into grief at the news of Ed Roth Taylor’s death. How special was the relationship that made me so depressed?

Still, for Princess Penia, who lived with constant doubts about the Roth Taylor family… Ed’s existence, which had come out of the fence, was meaningful enough. At least she wasn’t a good person to die in vain.

That’s why, in order to somehow unravel this twisted and twisted relationship… I tried to arrange time to have a proper conversation with him, even canceling most of the schedules that had been pushed back and moving forward the uncancelled ones.

The schedule was already approaching the next day, but the Ross Taylor family did not wait for Princess Penia.

– Pudeuk.

Suddenly, there was a grinding sound.

Realizing that those were the words from her own mouth, Princess Penia was taken aback.

Without doing anything, sitting quietly at the table by the window and touching the chess board… I look like a defeated guru dog.

What does it mean to be called the princess of mercy and to be loved by the people?

Whenever Princess Penia did something as a monarch, nothing ever went completely according to her will.

The reason she was able to receive the love of the public was because she did not dare to wield power. The two older sisters who were actively seeking the throne did not persevere in doing what they thought was right, even if they sometimes went against the will of the public.

By nature, political decisions are mostly double-edged swords. If you gain something, you often have to lose something else.

In the process, there must be countless cases where someone has to be sacrificed.

The figure of Ed Roth Taylor rises over the knight rolling over the chess board.

The first evaluation completely hit the floor, but Ed Roth Taylor, who showed his true worth as he went on… If he was alive, he might have really become a person who could do anything without borrowing the prestige of his family.

However, it is more likely that this death will be infinitely meaningless.

Princess Penia had a chance.

There were numerous possibilities of taking a little more time to listen to his opinions, clearing up the emotional trough, and letting go of pride to continue the relationship with him more deeply.

Hectic schedules, petty egos, and confidence drained from repeated failures… prevented him from doing so.

Realizing that fact belatedly, she rushed through all of her overdue work to schedule a meeting with him… but the blade of miserable fate was a little faster than her.

It is a huge failure with no excuses. Princess Penia herself could never be free from that guilt.

“…”

When I turn my head and look at my desk… It’s full of various materials I’ve been collecting to become the student council president.

Students of Sylvania Academy from many countries. Fenia became the representative among them and tried to wield the power of the bachelor.

Compared to the power of the Chloe Imperial Family, it is a weak power, but at least in this Sylvania, it should allow them to exert their own power in their own realm.

To be able to demonstrate her own position as the student council president of this Sylvania Academy, rather than simply being the third princess relying on the protection of the imperial family. Her own standing, not her imperial family as her background.

Although that was the first direction Princess Penia was looking for.

“I… am not supposed to hold power…”

With her head lowered for a moment and a low chant, Princess Fenia covered her dull eyes.

– smart.

At that time, a knock was heard from the door.

Upon permission to enter, the door opens slowly with a squeal, and Claire, his escort knight, appears.

Beside him… was Tanya Rosteyler, gasping for breath, wearing a robe completely covered in rain and mud.

*

The place was the central entrance of Ophelis Hall.

The rain has almost stopped and the stars are visible through the clouds. The situation has settled down to some extent.

The people who were hardened like statues due to Lucy’s time prison magic were left alone. It was because people who knew whether Ed was alive or not needed time to match the story.

The Ophelis coffin, which had already been evacuated, was still in silence. There might be a few students left, but none were immediately visible.

All the lower-level maids who were evacuating the students seemed to have risen from their seats.

It happened in an instant. Even though they had little time to respond, they were definitely like elite personnel. Even in the state where the leadership was completely attacked, they quickly divided the areas in charge of each other and evacuated all the students in about 15 minutes. It was most likely that he had moved to the faculty building and reported the situation this way.

“Yeah… they’re all gathered…”

Ophelis Hall, located on the outskirts of the Living Building, is not that close to the Professor Building.

If you had just received a report on the Ophelis tube, it would take 10 minutes no matter how hurried you were to get here.

I didn’t have much time, so I tried to convey only the core quickly… but the condition of the people gathered was not normal.

First of all, Clevius has lost his mind. He and Elvira struggled to support it and propped it against a pole.

After that, Elvira sat on her knees next to Clevius and just stared at the group. He was exhausted, and there must have been a lot of questions about how the situation came to be like this.

Besides that, Ziggs… was in a corner of the central porch, bowing his head to Yenika apologizing. Jenika was blushing all the way to his head, and he could guess that, unlike Ziggs, he had said something disrespectful to Jenika.

And as for Lortel… He was holding his face in the palms of his hands in the opposite corner.

It seemed that the heat was rising on this side.

“What are you doing, Lortel?”

“…”

Lortel pulled on the overcoat that wrapped around her shoulders, straightened her clothes, and smiled at Ed’s face.

“As expected, you are safe, Ed-senpai.”

“Yes. I’m sorry for worrying you for nothing.”

“No. I’m not worried. If you think about it slowly with common sense, you can see that Ed is not the kind of person who would die so easily. Come to think of it, the Delheim Hourglass that is definitely helpful for my life There was a mix of the same thing.”

Lortel smiled and added,

“It’s important for merchants to keep their composure and sanity at all times. Shocking news, but don’t lose your temper and waver before you even check the facts. Right, Ziggs?”

“…”

Ziggs, who had been sweating profusely next to Yenika, wrung his chin for a moment in thought.

“Right, Ziggs?”

“…uh, hmm…”

“Right, Ziggs?”

“Ah… that’s right… Lortel was unmoved…”

Did you feel any unspoken pressure? Jiggs wiped his face and said that.

“But… it was true that Miss Tanya was very suspicious when looking at the circumstantial evidence. So I put some pressure on Miss Tanya, and if it was true, I only tried to induce her to turn herself in. In the process, there was a very slight threat. I used to come and go, but I didn’t cause any physical harm.”

“Yeah… I did…”

Ziggs continued to twitch his chin, staring at Lortel with fearful eyes, as if something was grabbing him.

“I see… Is this the merchant’s way of living… I really can’t decide which way…”

As if Ziggs’ reaction was unreasonable, Lortel smiled and spoke calmly.

“Do you think I would have thought that senior Ed would die because of just this much?

Lortel stood up, strode closer, lifted her tiptoe, and yanked the collar down around Ed’s neck. Then she sticks her head out to check Ed’s face up close.

“Because rational judgment doesn’t always work out the way you think.”

As it is, he lowers his head and smiles.

“Seeing that I felt relieved seeing him face to face like this… Actually, I think he was a little worried.”

The feeling that old worries are being pushed down through the chest. Lortel was clearly breathing a sigh of relief.

“Now that it’s happened, I think you’re right that you made me worry, senior Ed. As nothing is free in the world, it’s only right that you pay for my worries even though I’m worried like this.”

“what?”

After saying that, it was the moment when Lortel was about to embrace her.

The moment the tip-toe lifted foot went down and put her face into Ed’s chest, there was a girl who squeezed in between them.

It’s very rare to see Lortel genuinely surprised. It’s her who always keeps her composure, so most of it is just her face pretending to be surprised.

However, this time it was real. She was clearly bewildered for a moment.

Lucy, who swung Lortel away, put her arms forward and took a defensive posture.

With a disgruntled face, ‘Don’t come any closer!’ Seeing him shouting… Lortel was stunned for a moment.

Who is Lucy Mayrill? Wasn’t he the kind of person who would always yawn no matter what other people were doing with a half-asleep, dazed look?

Seeing such a girl desperately blocking Ed’s approach, Lortel felt the uneasiness that had been dormant in a corner of her heart awaken.

The sight of her puffing out her cheeks with her arms swishing… Anyone can see that she is a girl who jumps out of her body first because she doesn’t know what to do with jealousy.

Lucy is glaring at Lortel as if she’s going to eat her like that… But when her butt, which she pulled back while taking a defensive posture, touches Ed’s body, she suddenly pulls her body out in reverse, as if a thrilling electricity is running through her body.

Wasn’t it the girl who clung to Ed and chewed jerky whenever he had a chance, or even fell asleep on Ed’s stomach once in a while? With her cheeks blushing with just this amount of skinship, the way she walks backwards is unnatural for anyone to see.

“…”

The sight came with the same feeling, not only to Lortel, but also to Jenika, who was receiving continuous apologies from Ziggs.

The reason why Lucy Meiril was able to avoid being treated differently by Yenika and Lortel was because she was always aloof from the Separ… somehow like a person living in a higher level… such a strange, fresh atmosphere flowed through her. am.

He exerts overwhelming magical power and receives everyone’s awe, but he has no pride to speak of, and he has no motivation to do so… He feels more like a background character than a real person.

Could a girl like this ever exist to give affection to someone, to have a crush on someone, and to notice something? Since that doesn’t seem very realistic, either Jennie Carr or Lortel had to let go of her awareness of Lucy to some degree.

Lortel, who had the habit of dealing with even the tiniest possibility, was conscious of the possibility itself… but did not expect it to suddenly become a reality.

“Lu… Lucy… you…”

The moment Yenika was about to say something, Ed put his chin on Lucy’s head and put his hand on it.

Then, casually, as usual, I pulled Lucy and held her by my side, and calmly pressed her with my hand on her shoulder.

It couldn’t even be called skinship to Ed anymore.

In fact, Ed was already in a position where he and Lucy were together, so even though he pulled his shoulders a little and attached them to his side, he didn’t perceive it as special skinship.

He had become accustomed to Lucy, who always clings to him.

However, for Lucy of the present day, it is a disaster-like surprise.

Unfortunately, Lucy has just gone through a turning point in all perceptions of Ed Rosteyler.

Her consciousness of Ed had been completely rebuilt, and now she had no choice but to think about her position as a man and a woman.

However, that was thoroughly Lucy’s circumstances.

It was so natural for Ed to treat Lucy as usual, casually.

“—!”

Without being able to say anything, with her mouth tightly closed, heat surged up in Lucy’s face as if it would explode.

Now that I think about it, it’s absurd. Even when we were doing all kinds of things and living together, the girl who was still with a casual face, now that she is conscious of each and every movement like this, who in the world could not shed a laugh?

However, if the position and perception change, the reaction will inevitably change. That’s what being a person is.

“Why are you doing this, Lucy. Lortel is saying this because she’s worried in her own way, so there’s no need to be too suspicious.

That’s how Ed doesn’t care about Lucy’s feelings, he just pays attention to Lucy’s behavior of being wary of Lortel…

Lucy didn’t even hear the words. I just held on to his heart again, wearing my big witch hat.

– Touk.

It was Jenika who pulled Lucy away from Ed.

“You’re too close…!”

In fact, this reaction was absurd.

Yenica goes to Ed’s camp whenever she has a chance and sees Lucy and Ed sitting close to the fire several times.

Nevertheless, Jenika did not feel any sense of danger because of Lucy’s calm attitude, but now Lucy Meiril is strange to anyone.

That’s why, as a girl, her intuition moved her body.

Lucy, who had fallen out of Yenica’s arms… only then came to her senses with a swish.

Then, with a sharp cackle, he escaped from Jenika’s arms and confronted her head-on. Lortel’s gaze, who was watching it, also cooled.

“…”

Silence spreads for a while between Yenika, Lortel, and the central porch where Lucy is standing.

“This…!”

Ziggs, who was watching them with his arms crossed, swallowed dryly. It’s much more interesting than the gladiator fights we all went to watch once when we lived in Islan’s mansion.

It’s not even a seat far away, it’s intuition right in front. The moment Ziggs groans and tries to sit properly in the crowd…

“There~.”

Elvira, who had been sitting still next to the stunned Clevius, broke the silence.

“We… don’t we have a lot of free time…?”

“…”

Yes. Actually, the group didn’t have time to waste like this.

Briefly explain the reason why the fact cannot be announced even though Ed is alive.

Apologies to Clevius and Elvira,

I have to go find Tanya who ran away,

It was a situation where he had to keep his mouth shut in case he testified to the bachelor about how the situation had come to this, and when all of that was over, Ed had to leave this place right away.

Ziggs thumped his knees in regret. Still, Elvira was right.

“Yes. First of all, I think it’s right to proceed quickly with the story. Seniors.”

*

“Oh, suck!”

When Clevius awoke, the place was near the main gate of Ophelis Hall.

As if the aftermath of being beaten by Lucy right before she died… her body was creaking.

“What, what…! What happened…”

The wounds on the body had been reduced to some extent, and the bleeding had been stopped. Rather than using drugs or emergency medical supplies, it was a treatment that directly utilized magic.

When he barely raised his upper body and looked around, he giggled in surprise when he noticed that Elvira was sitting still right behind him.

“What, what…!”

A scratch at her shoulder revealed a few strands of Elvira’s long, wavy orange hair.

Judging by the situation, it seems that she had been lying down for quite some time with the back of her head buried in Elvira’s lap.

“Why are you making such a fuss, stupid Clevius.”

“…What, what, what happened? Am I… dead…? Well, since I’ve shoveled that much, there’s nothing to say even if I die stupidly…!”

“Don’t be loud, sit around there. I’ve heard everything, so I’ll tell you.”

The rain had completely stopped. As if it had fallen like that, on a moonlit night, a large round moon occupied the sky.

Dark clouds pass by and all kinds of stars are studded like salt in the open sky. Bathed in that light, Clevius and Elvira quietly looked up at the sky from under the trees in the garden.

“The bachelor staff will arrive now. Then you can testify that you stopped Lucy.”

“What? Me? How did I stop that, that monster!”

“Don’t argue word for word, uh huh. Everyone agreed to do that. I’ll explain the reason later…”

Elvira grabbed Clevius by the hair. Clevius let out a groan and was led by Elvira’s hand, and buried her head back in her lap.

“…You, just get some rest.”

“No, what are you doing…! Oh…!”

As if the situation wasn’t very comfortable, Clevius tried to raise his injured body with a groan… but Elvira pressed his nose hard.

It was unexpected that Lucy politely bowed her head about destroying all the magical engineering supplies and beating Clevius. It was Lucy who gave Clevius first aid.

In addition, it was compensation and confidentiality money, and although it was difficult due to lack of cash right now, he also accepted a pledge from Elte Co., Ltd. that he would take care of it later. It was surprising to see Lortel even provide such a guarantee, and even Elvira was quite surprised.

The personal circumstances of Ed Rosteeler, driven by his family’s pursuit, were… not particularly incomprehensible.

Even though I wanted to explain the circumstances before and after… First of all, I thought that putting Clevius down, Elvira, was the first step.

Clevius, who had twisted his body a few times at first, eventually calmed down, unable to resist the touch of Elvira that was pressing his body any longer.

I stayed still in the silence for a while… Clevius pressed his eyes tightly with his hand.

“All over again… I’ll have to say this to think that it’s a start again, but…”

Lying on Elvira’s lap, I look up at the now refreshing sky. So, Clevius gritted his teeth and said.

“Life is… such a dog…”

Clevius already knew enough empirically.

If I had to grumble like this in front of Elvira, I would be told to stop whining and get scolded as usual.

However, Elvira smiled and just looked up at the night sky together.

Elvira’s life was not so smooth either.

As a nuisance of the Aniston family, who had been meddlesomely by her older sisters on the previous day, as a failure of the Alchemy Society, and as the head of the Pensions Department of Sylvania.

I tried to explain the hardships of life in detail, but I thought that was a very old-fashioned thing.

The girl just talks softly.

“You’re right, Clevius.”

The two of them just looked up at the starry sky for a while until the academic staff arrived.

Even the dark clouds that had been hanging over it are gone. The open sky filled my field of vision.

The far-flung sea of ​​stars was quite far away, but the dazzling light was clearly visible to both eyes.