Chapter 31

Chapter 31

“Haahhm.”

A lot had happened in the short time since I had come to this world.

I had learned Aura, dealt with a hellhound, gotten on Sara’s bad side… in short, I had been through a lot.

But time still kept flowing.

And as time passed, the list of things to do had only grown.

I had to look after Siri, train the Aura I had just learned, and on top of that….

“Gideon, you’ve looked tired lately.”

“Yes. I had a lot to do these days, so I was a little tired.”

It was nearing two weeks since I had transmigrated into this world.

This morning, too, I had come to class early and was talking alone with Layla.

“Mm. You did look like it. Also, wasn’t there lamp-post installation work starting yesterday?”

“Yes. We installed five yesterday, and we planned to put up twenty more within the week.”

Streetlights made from a magic tool called a Light Orb.

Installing them themselves hadn’t been hard, but moving those large, heavy streetlights from Daigon Village to the Academy had been a struggle.

“I’d only seen those along the streets sometimes, I never thought the Academy would have them. They made it really bright at night once they were installed.”

“Do you think they’re alright?”

“Yes, they were great. Much brighter than torches, so it was easy to walk around at night. I wasn’t the only one who thought so — our club members said it was a good installation.”

“I’m glad they were useful.”

“Yeah, yeah. Oh, by the way — how do you maintain them? I don’t know anything about magic tools, so I’m curious.”

Layla asked with a curious expression.

“Maintenance is nothing special. You only needed to replace the mana stone inside the Light Orb once every six months.”

Maintenance was easy.

The problem was that the replacement mana stones weren’t cheap… but Lisa had said she would handle that.

If the streetlights proved effective, the Academy would get the budget for maintaining them.

‘Everyone really did react well to the streetlights I installed.’

Continuing to do things for the students like this was good from my point of view.

I’d earn Lisa’s trust, make contacts among nobles who thought well of me….

‘By the end of this semester we’d be chosen Best Club and get an award.’

I had thought I’d live my life as a shut-in, but I hadn’t expected to be working this hard again.

Given the situation, though, I didn’t really have much choice.

“Uhm, uhhhmm.”

“Layla?”

While I was thinking that, Layla suddenly brought her face closer.

I flinched, pulled my head back, and showed my confusion, but Layla stared straight into my eyes.

“…Oh, look at your bloodshot eyes. Didn’t you get any sleep last night?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. I had been on patrol a little late last night and came in late.”

“Is that why you’ve been coming in a little late in the morning lately?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I used to be the one to arrive at class first every morning.

But today I had arrived later than Layla.

A group of students had snuck out of the Academy last night.

‘That had happened twice in the past week — once over the weekend, and again last night.’

Last night it had been a group of third-years who hadn’t gone back to the dorms but went to a tavern in Daigon Village.

Lisa and I had had a tough time bringing those third-years back.

“Layla.”

“Hm? Why?”

“I don’t think you’d do this, but if you ever couldn’t get back to the dorm before curfew, I would appreciate it if you’d submit a leave-of-absence request to the dormitory office beforehand.”

“Oh, so you can request to stay out?”

“Yes, it’s allowed by the rules.”

Students who had permission and didn’t go back to the dorm weren’t chased down.

Only students who didn’t have permission or who went to suspicious places were brought back.

“Ohhh, really? Then Gideon.”

“Yes?”

“Would you want to request a leave in May and go to the festival with me?”

“In May? If you mean the festival in May….”

“The town nearby holds a strawberry festival every year.”

“Oh, right. The Strawberry Festival.”

I knew that festival.

I had even been to a date there once to raise a certain character’s affection in the game.

“Are you interested in that festival?”

“Yes. I heard one of the town’s specialties was a huge strawberry they did things with — they cooked with it and held many events at night. I’d only heard about it; I had never seen it in person, so I really wanted to go. But if we were going to play until late at night, we’d need permission to stay out, right?”

“You probably wouldn’t need that.”

The Strawberry Festival in Daigon Village.

I had seen it several times through the game.

Because of that, I even knew the Academy’s rules related to the festival.

“During festival periods there was no curfew at the dorms. So you could play and return at will.”

“Wow, really? That’s great. Then Jason, Sara, Lisa, you, and I could all go together, right?”

That combination was fit for a royal banquet.

Everyone but me.

“I and Lisa probably wouldn’t be able to go together.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because we were on disciplinary duty and had to patrol the festival grounds.”

“Ah…….”

Layla genuinely looked disappointed.

I continued as if there was nothing I could do.

“Still, Lisa might be able to come if things worked out. I could handle the patrol alone.”

“No, I don’t like that. If we go, we should all go together. It’s kind of bad if you’re the only one who skips out.”

“It would be appropriate for me to skip. With the Princess and the duke’s children going around, I couldn’t dare to join in….”

“No, it’s fine. I really don’t mind. Couldn’t both you and Lisa come?”

“…I’ll think of a way.”

“Thanks. Hehe.”

Layla smiled brightly, and I couldn’t help but snort a laugh.

I had wanted to keep a reasonable distance from this innocent princess, but as time passed that was getting difficult.

It hadn’t been long, but because we had been talking every morning, I had grown fond of her without realizing it.

‘But why was she trying so hard to include me?’

It wouldn’t be bad, but it seemed like a risky tightrope.

I had to be friendly with Layla while not making too many enemies among other nobles.

In that sense, I needed to start winning some nobles to my side.

But I didn’t know who to target first….

“Ah, right. That reminds me, there’s something else I wanted to tell you. You know Roy, right?”

“Roy? If you mean Roy… you mean Roy Varbellos from our class?”

“Yeah, that’s him. Did you know? Roy goes to the library every day after class. If you go to the same place at the same time every day, you’ll find him there reading.”

“Ah… really?”

That was news to me as well.

From the start, Roy Varbellos had been an NPC with almost no presence in the game.

So all I knew about him and his family were just a few background details.

“Last Friday, I got so curious that I went up and talked to him. Turns out, Roy’s actually a really nice and fun guy. So I spent the entire weekend talking with him in the library. I’m planning to drop by again today around the same time.”

“Is that so? Honestly, that’s a bit surprising. I’ve never even seen Roy speak before…”

“Right? He’s quiet. Really quiet… but when you talk to him, you can just feel that he’s a good person. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Yes, that is a bit amazing.”

Layla had a good eye for people.

If someone like her spoke well of Roy, then…

‘…I don’t know. Roy’s a character I really don’t know anything about.’

He was a character whose name and background I only knew in passing.

Even after transmigrating into this world, though we were in the same class, I had never once heard him speak.

So I didn’t even know what his voice sounded like.

‘Still, he’s someone worth befriending. The Varbellos Family is known for its expertise in magic — it might help me later. Hm… but magic, huh….’

Magic.

Right, it was about time I started thinking about that too.

Considering my future, I needed to learn at least a little about magic.

‘Hmm… for now, let’s postpone getting close to Roy. No — let’s put off getting close to any nobles and focus on magic first.’

My goal was to become a knight with a defensive swordsman concept, but you never knew what might happen.

To prepare for the unknown, I was thinking of learning a bit of magic.

You might think, “Don’t you already have Aura?” but normal Aura at the level of an average Ora User wasn’t nearly enough.

Unless I reached at least the level of an Ora Expert, I definitely needed to find another method to grow.

Besides, I didn’t have good equipment right now either.

The problem was whether I had any talent for magic… but that didn’t really matter.

Even without innate talent, there were ways to learn magic.

‘There aren’t many people at the Academy related to magic. But there’s only one person who can teach me even if I don’t have talent for it.’

I quickly made plans to meet that person during lunch.

But it felt wrong to go empty-handed. I needed at least one negotiation card prepared.

‘Come to think of it, that magician was said to be very interested in other races, right?’

I glanced at the crystal sphere in my pocket.

During the break, I would have to learn a bit more about my body’s homeland — the Serenus Region, the sanctuary for other races.

The reason I wanted to learn even a little bit of magic.

It was to increase my chances of surviving in this world, even just slightly.

‘It’s hard to become a knight with swordsmanship alone.’

Knights in this world usually had at least one special ability.

There were almost no knights who had become one purely through swordsmanship and Aura.

Of course, if someone could use Aura at the level of an Ora Expert or higher — like Luke — Aura alone would be enough.

But reaching Ora Expert level required immense talent, effort, and time.

In other words, it was unrealistic for me.

‘I’ll just use Aura for basic physical enhancement and find another way to strengthen my swordsmanship.’

One of those ways was to search for runes later on.

However, the runes I planned to acquire were more for defense than offense.

Meaning, I needed at least one method for attacking as well.

‘I could strengthen Mistcatcher, but its skill has a cooldown, so that wouldn’t be enough. Unlocking a weapon skill takes a long time, too.’

In the end, I needed something I could use constantly.

When I had played the game, I had endured everything through endless retries, patience, and perseverance — but this wasn’t a game anymore.

In this one-coin reality, fighting with nothing but endurance could get me killed in an instant.

That was an experience I didn’t want to have.

‘If I remember right, it should be around here.’

It was lunchtime, but I didn’t go to the cafeteria.

I left the main gate of Lysquare Academy and headed toward the forest behind the castle.

It was a dark forest where tall, dense trees blocked out most of the sunlight even at noon.

‘If I keep going straight this way, I should reach it.’

After walking for a few minutes, I arrived at a pond in the center of the forest.

There were no trees around the pond, so sunlight poured in brightly.

The sunlight, the pond, and the surrounding trees and plants together created a beautiful, harmonious scenery.

“Hmm? What’s this? Why is a student here at this hour?”

And on the other side of the pond —

A woman was sitting there.

A woman surrounded by numerous monsters.

Grrr—

Uuuugh—

At my appearance, the monsters showed hostility and tried to approach me.

But as soon as the woman waved her hand, they stopped where they stood.

“I’ll handle this. You all go back inside for now.”

As she spoke, she activated a spell, and the monsters around her disappeared all at once.

A huge magic circle appeared beneath their feet and swallowed them whole.

Once the monsters vanished, the woman cast another spell… and began walking toward me — on the surface of the water.

“What brings a student here at this hour? You don’t seem lost.”

“I came because I wanted to meet you, Professor.”

“Hmm, but who are you? If you were from the magic department, I would’ve seen you at least once… Ah, you’re not from the magic department, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

The woman tilted her head curiously.

“Then why did you come to find me? Wait — you do know who I am, right?”

“You’re Professor Kara Barha, aren’t you? I heard you teach summoning at the Academy.”

Kara Barha.

The summoner Luke had invited last week.

The female instructor who had summoned various monsters for class.

And before being a summoner, she was also an exceptional magician.

That was why I wanted to learn magic from her.

“Ah, that white hair… I thought I’d seen you somewhere before. You’re that kid who blocked all of Quadra Arms’ attacks, right?”

“Yes, I saw you once during Professor Luke’s class.”

“If you’re one of Luke’s students, you’re from the swordsmanship side, right? Then why would a swordsmanship student come all the way— Ohhh! What’s this?! So this pond had one of these living in it too?”

Reaching the middle of the pond, Kara suddenly exclaimed in awe and reached into the water.

“I can’t believe such a precious creature lives here! Ohhh, this is worth studying!”

Kara pulled out a creature that looked like a cross between a crayfish and a scorpion.

I had never seen such a life form before, so I had no idea what it was — but that wasn’t the problem right now.

“…Huh?”

Perhaps because she was too excited and surprised by the discovery, Kara seemed to have canceled the spell she was maintaining.

And standing right in the middle of the pond, Kara—

“Kyaaaah! Help! I-I can’t swim!”

—fell straight into the water.

The pond must have been quite deep in the center, as she began flailing desperately to stay afloat.

“Uwaaa! H-Help me!”

Kara Barha.

I had known she was this kind of character, but actually seeing it in person… made me a little dizzy.

“H-hey, student! Don’t just stand there — help me!”

“Yes, I’m coming now.”

Still, she was a highly skilled magician. If I was going to learn magic, it would definitely be best to learn from Kara.

With a faint, helpless smile, I stepped into the pond to rescue the flailing Kara.