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Chapter 137

—What are you going to do during the summer break?

—Shouldn’t you worry about the final exams before that?

Connor Lint was excited for the approaching summer break, while Erhi scolded him for not thinking about the finals first.

How had it already become time for final exams?

Nevertheless, there would be a month-long summer break after the finals.

Ludwig planned to go to Talfarad, Delphine’s hometown, during his first summer break to receive Ranger training. There, he was supposed to have an encounter that involved some bandits.

According to the original story, in Class B, Delphine, Ludwig, and Lanion got along well, so I expected the events that were supposed to play out during the summer break to proceed without a hitch, unless Charlotte suddenly decided to do something unexpected that involved all the Class B kids.

Even if the Ranger training event was canceled, it wouldn’t be a big deal, although the skills Ludwig would pick up from the training—familiarity with mountainous terrains and tracking and hunting skills—would be missing from the plot.

Since this was supposed to be part of the slice-of-life genre, big incidents weren’t really a thing, so deviating from the original plot wouldn’t make much of a difference.

I didn’t make much effort to study for the final exams. The system did provide an updated challenge for the finals, but it was similar to the last one. Since I failed the last time, I didn’t expect to be successful this time either.

So, this time, rather than studying hard, I planned to take it easy.

After all, I had only studied the last time in hopes of earning achievement points, and not actually to get good grades.

‘Anyway, what should I do during the summer break?’

I had no intention of playing around during my break. I could continue with my training as usual, but since it was a good opportunity to spend some time away from the Temple, I wanted to do something more productive, something I wouldn’t normally be able to do.

Unlike Connor Lint, who only thought about playing and hanging out, my deliberations on what to do during the break went in a completely different direction.

It was Wednesday, and since all the classes had ended, I was back at the dormitory.

“Hey, Reinhart,” someone called

When I turned around, I saw the four girls from Class A gathered together. The one who had called me was Riana de Granz.

“Yeah?”

‘What does she want?’

Riana gestured with her chin towards the window.

“We’re going to have dessert. Want to come with us?”

“What? Why him?!” Harriet said.

Harriet’s face turned red, as if the remark was unexpected.

Of course, Riana shrugged indifferently. “Just because.”

She genuinely seemed to have no special reason for inviting me.

In an instant, Connor Lint and Erhi, who had been excitedly talking about plans for the summer break, turned their attention to me,

“Ugh, why is that douchebag so popular? I want to get rid of him!” said their expressions clearly.

Ellen seemed to be trying to blend in with the group for the moment. Timid Adelia looked somewhat anxious. She always seems afraid of me.

Harriet was clearly flustered that Riana was suddenly pulling me in.

Even though the kidnapping incident had changed Ellen’s and Harriet’s attitudes toward me a little, Harriet still had her usual demeanor.

‘Hmm. What should I do...’

I could feel Erhi and Kaier looking at me as if they wanted to kill me.

“I’ll go if you guys are buying.”

“I was going to pay anyway.”

Riana had taken for granted the fact that she was going to be paying. The brows of the two guys watching us furrowed even more.

“Alright, then I’m going.”

I had no particular thoughts either way, but just to annoy those who were glaring at me mockingly, I got up from my seat.

“U-Uh t-then let’s invite others too!” cried Harriet, clearly not liking the idea of bringing just me along.

The eyes of the two onlookers lit up. “Does that mean we can go as well?”

“Do you guys want to come?” Riana asked Erhi and Connor Lint, who were watching from a distance, as if there was no reason not to bring them along.

Buying desserts for seven people was going to cost a pretty penny, but indeed, the daughter of the Duke’s household was of a different class.

“H-Huh? Us?”

“O-Oh... R-Really?”

The two of them began to stammer as soon as they were actually invited, and their faces grew flushed. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a brief moment, and Riana took the lead.

“If you don’t want to, then fine. Let’s go guys.”

I felt pity for the two of them, who could not get their shit together even when everything was laid out for them.

“You guys are destined to live like this forever, you idiots,” I signaled to them with my eyes.

***

I thought Ellen and Riana had somewhat similar personalities, but seeing them like this made me realize how different they actually were.

Ellen was just bland.

But Riana was on the cool side.

The subtle difference between cool and bland was illustrated clearly.

“...”

Omnomnom.

Ellen showed barely any reaction to what she was eating.

“This is delicious. Too much cream, though.”

Riana had reactions, but they were brief and direct. She was taciturn, without spitting it out directly.

“Yum! This is so good! Try this, Adelia.”

And then there was Harriet, who was rich in reactions.

Her expressions were most vivid when she was teased, but she was inherently very expressive. Previously, she had a slightly unpleasant vibe to her, but that seemed to have changed as well.

Perhaps it was due to the tease-immunity boost I had given her.

“It’s delicious, right? I told you it’s good!”

“Y-Yeah, it’s good...”

And there was Adelia, who could be summed up in one word: cowardly.

“Aren’t you eating?” Riana asked me, noticing that I hadn’t touched the dessert.

“Reinhart doesn’t like sweets.”

Ellen, who should have remained silent given her bland nature, spoke up for me. I remembered mentioning I didn’t like sweets while having dessert with her and Rudina once before, she seemed to have remembered that.

The girls stared at Ellen.

Disregarding them, Ellen continued to devour her parfait without a care.

“Oh... you don’t like sweets?” Harriet asked, hearing this for the first time, and I nodded.

“I don’t hate them terribly, but I don’t go out of my way to have them.”

I realized then that the only classmates who knew I didn’t like sweets were Ellen and Charlotte.

Riana looked at me as if the idea was preposterous.

“... Did you come here thinking there would be desserts that aren’t sweet?”

“I didn’t come here for the dessert. I came because you said you’d treat me.”

Riana clicked her tongue at the absurdity of me coming even though I wasn’t going to eat anything, just because it was free.

“Hey, you should at least eat what you’ve ordered,” Harriet said.

I had indeed ordered a piece of cake, but hadn’t touched it yet. At Harriet’s comment, I gestured towards Ellen with my chin.

“It doesn’t matter anyway, since she’ll end up eating it all.”

Omnomnom.

‘If there were leftovers, they’d just end up in that one’s stomach anyway.’

Ellen, who was being treated like a garbage can, didn’t mind at all, and continued eating her own share. My comment once again caused the expressions of the other three to turn bizarre.

They probably all knew by now that Ellen ate well.

“You two are really close, huh.”

That was the look that they were giving the two of us.

Of course, it wasn’t as if I was having nothing at all; I was drinking black tea.

Riana looked at me with slightly narrowed eyes.

“You always have to make things sound weird. ‘She’d up eating it all.’ How does one become as twisted as you, I wonder?”

“It takes effort.”

“Pfft!”

Adelia, who had been quietly drinking her iced tea, burst out laughing at my odd remark, spraying her drink everywhere.

“Oh! I-I’m so sorry about that, I didn’t mean to... S-Sorry!”

Fortunately, Adelia hadn’t splattered anyone, but she hurriedly wiped away the liquid she’d spit out with a tissue. Her fear that I would be angry at her for laughing at my comment and her embarrassment both worked to turn her ears red.

“B-But I’m so envious of Ellen... to be able to eat so much without gaining weight,” Adelia said, hastily shifting the topic as if trying to divert the conversation away from herself.

“Adelia, if you moved around all day as she does, you wouldn’t be able to gain weight even if you wanted to.”

At Riana’s words, Adelia’s face turned even redder.

“But... but Ellen has combat talent... and I’m majoring in magic...”

Adelia seemed uncertain, worried that she’d fall into an irreversible pit of weight gain if she indulged in desserts like she wanted to. She truly seemed envious of Ellen’s ability to eat freely.

Omnomnom.

‘Ugh, really, this woman...’

Seeing her this way in front of everyone else kind of ticked me off.

‘Why does such a flawless person have to eat in such an unattractive manner? It’s upsetting, damn it!’

There was so much to commend her for, and yet the only time she truly embarrassed herself was when she was eating.

I wanted to smack her on the back of the head to tell her to eat more elegantly, but I held back since I knew better than to bother a person while they were eating.

Well... Technically, I held back because if I actually did smack her, I might have been the one in danger.

“Anyway, what’s everyone planning to do during the break?”

The others began to ponder over Harriet’s question.

“Umm... I think I’ll stay at the Temple.”

Adelia expressed her inclination to remain at the Temple over the break. Staying at the Temple over the break wasn’t prohibited; we were part of the Royal Class, so we would receive the usual support, even during holidays.

At Adelia’s words, Harriet tilted her head quizzically.

“Really? Don’t you want to go home after such a long time away?”

Harriet’s question made Adelia’s face turn red. She seemed embarrassed.

“... I can’t conduct my magic research at home,” she said.

“Why can’t you do magic research at ho—Ah, ah. I’m sorry... Right, I see,” Harriet murmured to herself then offered a hasty apology, realizing she might have said something thoughtless.

Adelia was a commoner, while Harriet was an heiress of the Saint-Ouen Duchy.

There would not be anything like a magic research facility in a commoner’s home. Harriet, who took such amenities for granted, hadn’t even considered that one could live a life without it.

Even though they were friends in school, once they graduated from the Temple, their social statuses differed so much that they might not even be able to look each other in the eye. This interaction probably offered a momentary reminder to Adelia and Harriet of something they had mostly forgotten.

Adelia’s face was red from embarrassment, while Harriet’s face reddened as well, feeling that she had inadvertently hurt her friend with her words.

The Temple was a place where those who would never mingle in the outside world could come together.

The temple was the one place across the whole continent that a street urchin like me and a commoner like Adelia could have a meal and chat about holiday plans with a Duke’s daughter and a grand duchess.

Anyway, it seemed Adelia planned to stay at the Temple throughout the break to utilize the magic research facilities.

“Wouldn’t it be better to take some time to rest? Are you planning to study throughout the whole break?” asked Riana, and Adelia shook her head.

“Um, that’s... I don’t have much time left until graduation to perfect my magical crafting and to get an enchanter’s license.”

“An enchanter’s license?”

‘I thought her talents were in summoning magic and magical crafting...? But she wants to learn enchanting instead of summoning magic?’

Why would she want to learn something outside of her talent?

And what was this about a license?

At my skepticism, Adelia’s face turned red, and she was unable to offer an answer. She seemed continuously embarrassed.

“Enchanting makes good money,” Riana answered with an indifferent expression.

“Enchanting makes good money?”

“Think about it. Which of these two would make a lot of money: a mage who can cast a fireball spell, or a mage who can create fireball scrolls?”

“... Right. I see.”

“Additionally, for those who specialized in destruction magic to make money, they have to be constantly on the move, or find a position as a protective mage in court or with one of the noble families. Depending on whom they serve, the pay can vary greatly, and there aren’t that many positions available. Since the Great War ended, there’s less demand for it as well. And in some cases, they even have to risk their lives, right? But enchanting is safe, and it’s an easy way to make money.”

As I thought about it more, Riana’s point made a lot of sense.

Enchantment scrolls allowed anyone to use magic, so those who made them were likely raking in money. On the other hand, it was indeed tricky for those who specialized in destruction magic to earn a living.

Moreover, the Great War, which had been a draw for mages of that discipline, had ended.

“... So does that mean that all mages who specialize in destruction magic end up unemployed?”

“Hmm... Seems like it.”

With the war over and the demand for violence reduced, there would likely be a surge in unemployed mages.

“... Then why doesn’t everyone just switch to enchanting?”

If it was a safe field of magic in which they could earn a lot of money, wouldn’t it make sense for everyone to learn enchanting?

“What are you talking about?”

The one who responded to my question wasn’t Riana, but Harriet.

Her expression demanded to know why I was asking such a stupid question.