Chapter 175

(4)

7.

The Sports Festival at Arsen Academy.

Even though the Hidden Piece doesn’t exist, it’s still a pretty significant event. Why? Because it’s a great chance to boost the characters’ likability.

‘But it’s meaningless for Ulan.’

Just looking at Ivella or Delia, who are right next to Ulan, it’s clear their affection for him is already off the charts.

So there isn’t really any benefit for him at this sports festival. Noah shrugged with an indifferent face.

‘Guess I’ll just treat it as a day off.’

Just as I was shaking off my thoughts, the gazes of the students heading toward Ulan turned back to the podium. Professor Miel’s explanation kept rolling on.

“To add a bit more, the sports festival isn’t solely for freshmen. All grades will participate, competing in team battles.”

For example, 1st Year Class 3 will team up with 2nd Year Class 3, and 3rd Year Class 3.

“And just to add, 4th Year will not participate.”

The reason was obvious without asking.

It was the busy time of graduation preparations.

As a result, eight teams will be born, competing in a tournament format.

“Next, we need to pick candidates for each team’s representative, so if anyone wants to run or recommend someone, feel free to speak up.”

The process of electing representatives is like this.

First, candidates are chosen by grade, and then the three representatives will come to an agreement to decide who will lead the team.

Just after Professor Miel finished speaking, the students shifted their attention back to the back window. It was directed at Ulan.

“What’s up now?”

“…Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

“I won’t know if you don’t say it.”

Truly, a person who misses the hints entirely.

As Noah let out a sigh, someone raised their hand abruptly. It was Ivella Elea’ad sitting next to Ulan.

“I would like to recommend Ulan.”

“What’s your reason for this recommendation?”

“Well, it’s Ulan.”

“Hmm, a valid reason.”

Professor Miel nodded.

After that, he asked if there were any opposing opinions or anyone else who wanted to run, but not a single student opened their mouth.

“Then, I declare Ulan as the representative candidate for 1st Year Class 3.”

Just like that, the representative candidate was decided in an instant.

Next, Professor Miel brought up a topic everyone would find interesting. It was about the rewards obtainable from winning the competition.

Of course, the rewards mostly consisted of scholarships and outing permissions. And one more thing, a new type of reward.

“Just so you know, the winning team will receive various rewards along with an Exemption Right.”

“Exemption Right?”

“It’s a right to nullify disciplinary actions of level two or lower.”

After finishing his words, he glanced at Ulan.

Then he continued speaking.

“Lastly, the sports festival is meant to purely test strength and stamina, so the use of any magic power and magic tools will be restricted.”

Pure strength and stamina.

Noah burst into laughter.

“I just saw the future.”

“The future?”

“Yeah, the future of us winning.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“At the sports festival. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is; we absolutely have to win.”

With that confident remark, all the students nodded in agreement as if syncing with Noah’s words. Even Professor Miel at the podium.

“Anyway, that’s all for the announcements.”

After three days of course registration, the second semester will officially start next Monday.

“Then, you’re dismissed.”

After that, the students began leaving the classroom one by one.

It was to prepare for course registration.

Just as Ulan was about to rise from his seat, he suddenly heard a voice holding onto his leg.

“Ah, Ulan, stay for a moment.”

It was Professor Miel.

He looked like he had something to say. Having an inkling of what was coming, Ulan nodded his head.

As he sat back down, Ivella, who was packing her things, lightly tapped his shoulder and whispered.

“I’ll wait outside.”

“Got it.”

As Ulan replied, Noah and Ivella stepped out of the classroom. Once the door closed, Ulan and Professor Miel were left inside.

A brief silence filled the air.

Then, Professor Miel approached him.

“Don’t you want to say something to me?”

“I’m sorry.”

Ulan silently lowered his head.

Not taking the re-exam was essentially ignoring him. But Professor Miel didn’t seem particularly angry.

“I’ve heard the story. You went out for an outing and accidentally crossed the border.”

Although he didn’t know exactly what happened, he wasn’t particularly curious about it, so Professor Miel continued.

“Nonetheless, it’s clear you violated school rules, and disciplinary actions are going to come down.”

“I’m prepared for that.”

“No need to be so serious. Chances are it’ll just end with a light punishment.”

Or perhaps because of a favorable backing, he might not face any discipline at all. As he finished his thought, his reptilian eyes gleamed.

“Since punishment is being discussed, you won’t have to take the re-exam. But you need to make sure to prepare properly next semester so you can pass.”

“I will remember that.”

Ulan kept his head low in silence.

Professor Miel patted his shoulder in encouragement. Then he pulled out a note from his pocket and handed it to Ulan.

“Next, take this.”

“This is…?”

“As I mentioned earlier, representatives are decided through discussions among candidates chosen by grade.”

And the note Professor Miel just handed had the names of the representative candidates for 2nd Year Class 3 and 3rd Year Class 3.

Seeing this, Ulan’s eyes widened.

He recognized those names, indeed.

【2nd Year Class 3】

『Representative: Irist Senior』

【3rd Year Class 3】

『Representative: Kamila Tanesia』

These two girls had belonged to the same side during the friendly mock battle against the students of Eloden Academy last semester.

Moreover, they had also asked Ulan to join the newly starting Student Council.

“The final representative will be decided three days before the sports festival starts. Likely, the upperclassmen will come to find you first, so you don’t need to worry about meeting them.”

After finishing all the explanations.

Professor Miel waved his hand.

Which meant he could leave. Ulan again nodded his head and stood up.

Shortly after, he left the classroom to find everyone waiting outside. But it wasn’t just Noah and Ivella waiting for him.

“Oh! We meet again.”

With her white hair and bright red eyes, Fertisha beamed at him.

Alongside her was Delia, who looked like she had some invisible weight on her shoulders.

“…Ulan.”

With a drained voice.

Delia sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry, but I need some help.”

“Help?”

“Well, actually…”

Drooping her shoulders, she explained her situation, clearly looking exhausted.

An hour ago.

After the opening ceremony, rather than returning to the classroom, Delia headed straight for the dormitory.

She was already well aware of the academic schedule and, more importantly, needed to catch up on sleep due to waking up early.

“And then I ran into someone.”

“Fertisha?”

“No, the professor in charge of Class 2.”

More precisely, it was the professor of Class 2 walking through the grounds accompanied by Fertisha.

She had asked Delia to take over the guiding of Fertisha as she suddenly had an urgent matter to attend.

「I’ll just need two hours, please! I’ll definitely repay you later!」

With a desperate look.

It was a bothersome request, but Delia readily accepted it. She had some curiosity and an ulterior motive behind it.

Delia had two main objectives.

One was to find out what exactly Fertisha was about and how she knew Ulan, and the second was to gauge if she could potentially be a romantic rival.

“So the guiding began.”

At first, there was no issue.

But as they talked, the topic of course registration came up, and Delia had told her she could ask any questions if she was unsure about something.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Because right after Delia finished speaking, an avalanche of questions poured out.

「Do you have to register for classes?」

「What are credits?」

「Why is there a limit on class sizes?」

「What are midterms and finals?」

At first, Delia thought she was being intentionally annoying.

But it was no act.

The Fertisha reflected in Delia’s eyes was continuously shrouded in pure white light.

Meaning she was genuinely asking because she didn’t know.

After chatting a bit more, Delia finally realized that Fertisha almost had no basic common sense.

“So that’s why I’m asking for help.”

As the reason for her exhaustion became clear, Noah silently nodded. Meanwhile, he remembered the original Fertisha.

‘A bird in a cage.’

For her, the only world that existed until the fall of her sixteenth year was the Imperial Castle of the Rubens Empire.

There would be limits to the knowledge she could gain from books, and naturally, she must’ve had countless curiosities.

‘Looking at the present situation…’

She likely knew even less than Ulan.

Not that it meant she was stupid.

Fertisha had an exceptionally good learning ability, observation, and understanding. Given an appropriate environment for learning, she could surpass Ulan in no time.

Just as I was breaking free from my thoughts.

Delia, who had explained the background, looked up at Ulan. Then she sparkled her large golden eyes and carefully asked.

“So, can you help?”

“Of course. I’ll cooperate.”

Ulan nodded readily.

This was not only helping Delia but also helping Fertisha.

“Thank you. You really saved me.”

Delia’s demeanor brightened considerably.

It seemed dealing with Fertisha alone was quite the challenge for her.

“I’ll make sure to repay this.”

“Repay?”

“Yes! If an outing comes up, let’s go to the duchy together. I’ll treat you to something delicious.”

Delia’s eyes sparkled like stars.

As if, this had been her true motive all along.

At that, Ivella raised her eyebrows slightly, having caught on to the ploy a little late.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

Of course, Ulan had no clue about it.

After finishing his response, he turned to Fertisha. It was to fulfill Delia’s request.

“Follow me. I’ll guide you.”

“Yes! I will!”

Fertisha, beaming, started walking.

Ivella and Delia followed suit.

Since they couldn’t just send Ulan and Fertisha off alone. Noah also chased behind, and thus the sudden campus tour began.

8.

Right after leaving the Lion’s Chamber.

The first place Ulan guided Fertisha to was the New Student Library.

The reason was simple. It was nearby.

Soon, a scene filled with countless books unfolded. Facing this, Fertisha’s eyes went wide in surprise.

“Wow! There are so many books!”

She exclaimed in awe.

Fertisha excitedly roamed through the shelves, unable to hide her excitement. But then, as if a thought struck her, she tilted her head and asked.

“But how do you find the book you want among all these?”

“It’s simple. Just find a librarian.”

“What if I don’t know who the librarian is?”

A valid point.

Ulan answered nonchalantly.

“Then shout for them.”

“How do I do that?”

“Let me show you.”

He took a deep breath.

Just as the muscles in his chest bulged.

“…!”

Noah and Ivella moved like lightning.

Both of them immediately covered Ulan’s mouth, successfully preventing any loud cries from escaping.

“…I just got a bad feeling.”

“It’s a coincidence. I felt the same way.”

Both breathed sighs of relief.

Naturally. They almost had the guards instead of the librarian coming over. Narrowly escaping the crisis, the group exited the library.

“This is the 1st Year Dormitory.”

Next, they headed to the dormitory building.

With Ulan likely to cause accidents again, Noah took over the guiding duties. She pointed to the bulletin board at the entrance of the dormitory and said.

“As it says here, the time you can enter the dormitory is from 7 AM to 10 PM, and outside of those hours, you can’t use it.”

As soon as Noah finished her explanation.

Fertisha raised her hand.

“I have a question!”

“Yes? Here?”

Was there really a question to be had from what she just said?

Noah looked puzzled. Then Fertisha continued with her question.

“What if something important comes up, and I have to go out at dawn?”

Well, then you would need permission from the dormitory supervisor.

Noah was about to answer that, but someone else jumped in with a response first.

It was Ulan.

“Open the window and jump out.”

“Huh! Is that allowed?”

“Of course.”

“That’s definitely not allowed!”

Noah yelled with an incredulous look.

Fertisha suddenly widened her eyes with realization. It was as if she just figured out that Ulan’s answer was so far from common sense.

“Oh, Now that you mention it, I might get assigned to a high floor.”

“Then go through the front door.”

“Huh? But that door is locked!”

“Just open it.”

“How do I open it?”

“Like this.”

Ulan grabbed the door handle of the locked side door.

Crack! Crunch!

Something inside broke, but he ignored it. In the end, the door swung open.

“Wow! How did you do that?!”

“Opened it with strength.”

“Can I do it too?”

“If you train, maybe.”

“No, only Ulan can do it.”

Noah exhaled a heavy sigh.

Similar incidents repeated thereafter, and when around half a day passed, the campus tour finally came to an end.

“Phew, I think that’s about it.”

“Oh? Already?”

“Yeah, there aren’t that many facilities for 1st years to use.”

It was mildly surprising that it took half a day.

That meant they had tons of questions. Just as their faces appeared worn out and shoulders drooped, Fertisha looked puzzled and asked.

“But there’s still a place we haven’t been to, right?”

“Huh? Where?”

“The Source of Magic.”

Silence fell at once.

Of course, they could take her there.

Ulan and Noah had gained access to the Source of Magic through Marquis Gorphant’s contract, allowing them entry without further permission.

But at that moment.

“You can’t go there.”

A firm tone rang in their ears.

It sounded like an absolute no.

At the unfamiliar voice, the group turned in unison, and soon Noah’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You are…!”

It was a familiar face.

She wasn’t the only one.

The voice’s owner was a face in Ulan’s memory too. Meanwhile, the imposing figure that had approached them was a knight with brown hair.

She was one of the five Masters of the Empire and the Commander of the Eastern Front.

The Wild Sword, Rimer Yen Lapis.

Chapter 41. Transfer Student