Why would they do this to themselves~?

The orphanage in the West part of Jade City ceased to exist, and the pupils were divided and sent to the facilities run by the church of Goddess Perseverance in the North and South.

The person in charge of the closed orphanage getting abducted by someone assumed to be an inquisitor from the Church of the goddess Perseverance and then going missing came with its own set of problems for Melinda, of all people.

In her anger, she didn't properly take care of the most important thing for her: the report card.

It turned out that Mister Jude had in on him when she entrusted him in the capable hands of a rather shady individual, meaning that there was nothing that she could bring back to the Academy.

Of course, upon learning about the problem, some maid tried to intervene, sneaking the falsified report card in, but that was not acknowledged at all.

Melinda couldn't even bring that to the attention of the others without being suspicious, which seriously damaged her mood.

With that, her two weeks' worth of effort ended up being wasted as her on-the-job training course was left to be completed and, therefore, ungraded.

The gold-haired girl was annoyed, to put it lightly.

She had no trouble catching up to the curriculum—truth be told, she was so ahead of everyone else that she could take the third-year final exam right there on the spot and ace it despite still being a first-year student.

In truth, there was no reason for her to be bothered about it that much. Even if that one specific course ended up being marked as failed for her, with her grades, it was impossible for her to fail the year with just that.

EVEN SO.

Leaving it like that would mean that she gave up on the perfect score, which would be a thorn in the side of the Jade Academy staff.

That thought annoyed Melinda.

If something was well within her grasp, why would she choose to let go of it?

If anything, a pushback like that only made her want to put in extra effort.

But then what should she do to make the people who didn't want her to best other students feel like complete idiots? Defeated at their own game played exactly by their own rules?

"Hello! I would like the Academy to help me find a place where I could complete the on-the-job training course~!"

"Good morning, student Fenrioette, you've already been informed about the problems with… umm… could… could you repeat yourself?"

The gold-haired girl entered the faculty room of the Jade's Academy with a cheer and was greeted by a stern-faced teacher who ended up flinching and leaning back with a troubled expression when Melinda's words sunk in fully.

"I would like the Academy to help me with finding a place where I could complete the on-the-job training course~!"

The smiling girl said again without batting an eye.

"B-but… you already put in the documents…"

"That is correct. Unfortunately, as you know, the facility where I was completing the course ceased to exist, and the person in charge went missing, voiding the whole thing. At least according to the headmaster Vendro'in."

The teacher hesitated while the girl nodded with an immediate follow-up at the ready.

"With the course being a new addition to the Academy's program, there are no rules regarding a situation such as this. I would like to propose a solution. In cases such as mine, to prevent any sort of underhanded tricks, the Academy should provide the students with a new place where the involved students would complete the course properly. Doing it that way would deter any potential trouble, including but not limited to pressure from the outside."

Melinda explained, glancing to the side at a singular piece of paper where previously was a stack of forms filled in with the data of the business that volunteered to take in the students who didn't have recommendations on their own.

"I see that I came in just in time~! Or perhaps I am the very last student who needed to apply~?"

"...!"

The gold-haired girl exclaimed cheerfully, reaching out to the document, which caused the teacher's eyes to widen as he experienced a brief moment of panic.

"Student Fenrioette! Wait a moment!"

"...?"

The man gasped, reaching out his hand to block Melinda from the paper.

"As your teacher, I am impressed by your eagerness to study. The thing is, this particular form is from a business that is regarded as morally damning in your country and even in the Empire is something within the gray zone of the law…!"

"..."

The strict-faced teacher gulped down his saliva and explained nervously under the judgemental gaze of Mleinda's golden eyes.

"It was left here more as an encouragement for the students to get their own recommendations than anything else…"

"Teacher, the Jade Academy worked with the Emeraldios Empire's royal family. There is absolutely no way that any business they consciously agreed to work with would be a shameful one, especially not when there was a chance that an exchange student like myself would attend. Thank you for your concerns, but I put my trust in the headmaster. It is his signature I see over there after all…"

"!!!"

Melinda pointed out, motioning at the document with her chin, causing the teacher to grit his teeth, undoubtedly cursing the fact that headmaster Vendro'in decided to pre-sign all forms to save himself the hassle.

The gold-haired girl used the chance and snatched the form from under the teacher's arm.

"Student Fenrioette, please return that!"

The teacher demanded, but the girl ignored him, studying the paper while keeping it out of his reach.

"Pffft. Interesting. Do you realize that when making the course obligatory, you should have never taken a business such as this into consideration? Oh dear, what should a serious student like yours truly do? This is deeply offensive, forcing someone with a status similar to that of an ambassador to participate in a practice illegal in their own country~! Alas, this young lady has an obligation as a student that she will fulfill despite her personal beliefs and morals~ All for the good of the relationship between our two nations~"

"...!"

Melinda's shoulders trembled as she barely held back amused laughter. Although she was not familiar with the business's address, to her own surprise, she recognized the owner's signature. She even ended up slipping out of her prime and proper act, showing off her delight in seeing someone else mess up in an area she was so careful about.

Things ended up turning out even more amusing than she ever expected!

So she used her status to ensure that the strict teacher would not try to force her to take back the document. She simply laid it down on the desk and signed it, checking whether there was a copy of it and, upon discovering it, signing it, too.