The Beginning of the Academy’s New Term (6)

If a rumor spread about a girl sneaking into the boys' dormitory late at night, it would likely cause a fuss. However, Edna and Baek Yu-Seol weren't the type to care about such things.

"What's up?"

With a weary face, Baek Yu-Seol asked as Edna squeezed into his dorm room.

Plop!

"Ahhh~"

Edna sprawled out on his bed, flailing her arms and legs.

"Is this the Class S bed?"

"You're in Class S too."

"I share a dorm with the Class F kids. Didn't you know that?"

"How would I know?"

"Well. I've occasionally crashed in the Class A or Class D dorms, but this is the best. I've never used a Class S bed before."

Baek Yu-Seol glanced at the porridge brought by Edna.

Many students had come to visit him, and while some girls had brought homemade dishes, Edna had brought cheap instant porridge from a convenience store.

"... Why?"

"I don't get many chances to visit the Class S dorms. The girls here all have horrible personalities, and if I went to the boys' dorm, I'd get in trouble. Plus, Class A has two-person rooms, but Class S has single rooms, right?"

"Isn't it a big deal?"

He had no appetite and wasn't particularly drawn to any food, but he figured porridge might be manageable, so he put it in the dorm's microwave.

… However, he didn't know how to use it.

Unlike the microwaves of the 21st century, the machines in Aether World had buttons replaced with magic circles and runes, making the controls quite complicated.

While Aether residents were familiar with using magic circles as simply as pressing buttons, Baek Yu-Seol was not.

Having never used the dorm's kitchen appliances, he didn't know how they worked.

'My Sentient Spec...'

As he fumbled around in his pockets, Edna approached and pressed the magic circles with her fingers, operating the microwave for him.

"So are you sick, Ahjussi?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I've been going through a tough time lately."

"Hmm~ Does it have anything to do with the Star Cloud Merchant Guild issue?"

After returning to Stella, Edna saw the article about the Star Cloud Merchant Guild's chairman, who had gone missing and then dramatically returned.

Baek Yu-Seol's involvement was prominently mentioned, so she couldn't help but notice.

"Not quite. It's something else."

"... Really?"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The microwave beeped.

Baek Yu-Seol took out the porridge and started eating it slowly with a plastic spoon.

Lying with her legs crossed, Edna saw the bread and snacks piled on the table and nudged them with her foot.

"Aren't you going to eat the cotton cookies?"

"You can have them."

"Thanks!"

As Edna picked up the candy box with her toes and brought it to her, Baek Yu-Seol looked at her incredulously.

Then he shrugged, realizing that's just how she was, and continued eating his porridge.

"But you know."

Edna popped a candy into her mouth and spoke softly to Baek Yu-Seol, who was quietly eating.

"Aren't you pushing yourself too hard lately?"

"... What do you mean?"

"I mean, you haven't rested once in Stella throughout the entire summer break."

As soon as the summer break started, he went somewhere, then immediately returned to resolve the ghost story incident at the Seventh Main Tower, and then went straight to Adolveit.

He got involved in the royal succession battle, stopped a disaster at the Levian Coast, and then ran to the Hawol Plain to solve the Star Cloud Merchant Guild chairman's disappearance.

A normal student would be busy juggling homework and studying, but he was involved in significant events around the world.

How could he not be exhausted?

Also...

'I probably don't know everything...'

Even the time travel incident was like that.

If she hadn't gotten the chance to interfere with the past along with Eisel, she would never have known what Baek Yu-Seol was doing.

He must have experienced many more incidents worldwide that she didn't know about.

"If you keep burning yourself out like this, you might really collapse one day."

Feeling awkward to speak seriously, Edna tossed out a light-hearted joke and laughed awkwardly. It caused Baek Yu-Seol to pause his spoon mid-air.

"... What? Why?"

When Edna responded out of embarrassment, Baek Yu-Seol burst into laughter.

"Nothing... That wasn't what you were supposed to say."

"Huh?"

Baek Yu-Seol had played Aether World Online and knew the character Edna.

In the game, countless male protagonists had surrounded her, leading to numerous incidents, but Edna always tried to handle everything on her own without anyone's help.

The lines the male protagonists used to tell the character Edna were eerily similar to what the real Edna had just said, making it feel a bit strange.

'Come to think of it, I have been living quite a busy life.'

In his life on Earth, he never worked hard at anything and thought of himself as a lazy, average person.

If Baek Yu-Seol from back then saw his current self, striving desperately for something, what would he think?

"You're right."

After dryly stating this, Baek Yu-Seol resumed eating his porridge, while Edna licked her candy-stained lips and spoke casually.

"You really should take it easy sometimes."

"Next time, if anything happens, I'll help out a bit. Okay? Stop trying to do everything by yourself."

Baek Yu-Seol just smiled at her words.

Whether it was a positive or negative smile, Edna couldn't tell, and it frustrated her.

Seeing that he didn't give a clear affirmation, it was probably closer to a refusal.

But why?

Was there a reason he couldn't accept her help?

'Is it because of our relationship before the regression?'

In another timeline that she didn't know about, Baek Yu-Seol must have gone through countless incidents with another Edna.

Although she didn't want to think about it, maybe during that time... She got severely hurt or even died?

Or perhaps her involvement in an incident led to a catastrophic outcome.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to refuse all help and handle everything alone.

… That must be it.

Edna wanted to believe that.

———

A week had passed since the start of the school term.

It was time for practical training to begin in earnest.

Baek Yu-Seol, who had spent the first week lying in his dormitory bed, finally had to start attending classes.

'This is exhausting...'

Even after resting for a week, the fatigue didn't go away. It wasn't just because of engraving the dimensional pocket in his soul but also due to the many hardships he endured throughout the summer vacation.

As the tension finally released after running non-stop, the accumulated fatigue was hitting him all at once.

"From now on, you will train to find the 'hiding places of dark mages.'"

Instructor Lee Han-wol explained to the Class S students gathered in the transformed Stella Dome. It was now a dense forest.

"Dark mages hide all over the world, creating lairs that are difficult for us mages to find. If they hide, we must train to find them."

Among the mandatory subjects in the first semester was 'Dark Mage Psychology.'

Why do dark mages act the way they do?

How should we fight them?

Where do they hide?

After studying these countless theories for half a year, it was time to put them to use.

There were many factions among the mages. Among them were those who, rejected by the magical world, walked the path of dark magic...

Notable examples included dark mages, necromancers, witches, and curse mages.

Unlike typical dark mages who made direct contracts with the otherworld, those individuals accepted dark mana but had no direct connection to the otherworld.

Because of this, they were irregular beings rejected by both the magical world and the dark mages.

"Currently, witches are known to be completely extinct, and most necromancers have also hidden and vanished, so there's no need to train for them. However, twelve years ago, a witch's lair thought to be completely gone was discovered, causing a commotion."

Though it happened when the students were only five years old, the incident was so famous that everyone nodded in acknowledgment.

Despite their small numbers, witches were extremely dangerous.

Ordinary mages couldn't even hope to face them, leading to the formation of special hunting teams just for witch hunts.

Witches had disappeared from the world several decades ago, and it was thought to be safe now... Until a witch's lair was suddenly discovered.

"Thus, the magical community concluded that a very few witches must still be hiding somewhere in the world."

Therefore, magical academies continued to include stories about witches in their curriculum.

No one knew when or where someone might encounter a witch.

"While classes from F to A will form their own teams, you will work individually. Moreover, you will aim for the lairs of special dark mages, not the usual ones."

Lee Han-wol didn't mention witches for no reason. As expected for the Class S, they would be tasked with finding the lairs of special dark mages.

"The results of this practical training will be reflected in your performance evaluations, so do your best. That's all."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lee Han-wol's figure became blurry and then disappeared.

Silence quickly fell over the forest.

The Class S students glanced at each other, and without a word, began to scatter in all directions.

Mayuseong looked at the forest with interest before following Haewonryang, who had started first.

Upon meeting each other's gaze, Eisel and Hong Bi-Yeon were startled and quickly turned away, heading into the forest in opposite directions.

Poong Ha-rang stayed behind until the end, observing the students' movements.

There was no benefit to overlapping routes, and he planned to remember the positions of the fastest students to decide his own search line.

He glanced in the direction where Edna was standing.

"Hmm..."

She seemed to be deep in thought and just stared at the forest.

Then, she hurriedly ran over to Baek Yu-Seol, who was standing there yawning, and whispered something in his ear.

Poong Ha-rang tried not to pay attention.

He focused on surveying the terrain, sensed mana, guessed the most likely hiding spots for dark mages, and analyzed the positions and movements of the Class S students.

He needed to find the dark mage's lair faster than anyone else...

"... Really?"

Baek Yu-Seol's voice drifted around.

"Yes. I'm telling you!"

Along with Edna's excited voice.

Soon, the two disappeared into the forest together.

Poong Ha-rang, who had been focused on them, couldn't resist and started walking in the direction they had gone.