Chapter 63 – Two Sides (1)

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Chapter 63 – Two Sides (1)

"Well done. Now, next question. What are the three elements of a spell?"

"What? That's too easy… Subject, trigger, incantation..! Right? Right?!"

"That's right. You're getting pretty good at these now. So, next…"

"He… hee-yat?!"

"Ah…I'm sorry."

"Ugh… no, it's nothing."

One night, in the secluded mountains within the academy grounds, under a large beautiful cedar tree, I was teaching Eugenia.

A faint sphere of light illuminated by mana hung on a tree branch and softly illuminated us.

Everything was fine, but there was one problem: Eugenia would flinch every time she touched me. No matter how much light I cast, the surroundings were still dark at night. To properly check the textbook, I have no choice but to get closer.

However, I didn't feel particularly bad or uncomfortable about her actions. Even I think this was the normal distance to keep…

It made me realize how close I was to Ellie. Or maybe it means Ellie was that comfortable with me. That's a good thing, though.

"…Are you deliberately teasing me…? Well, with a noble face like yours… Still, you're definitely a good person… I really….don't know…"

"Huh?"

"Oh, oh? No…! I wasn't thinking anything… really…"

Eugenia fanned her face with her hands to cool down. It was night, but the season had already passed spring and was approaching the beginning of summer.

Since last time, Eugenia and I have been meeting every night like this, as promised. And every time she meets me, Eugenia always pours out everything that happened that day. As a result, I spend a considerable amount of time each day listening to her stories.

On one hand, she had so much to say, but on the other hand, she was so timid. I don't know the exact circumstances, but it seems clear that she has been quite depressed at the Academy.

Fortunately, contrary to my initial concerns, Eugenia's emotions have been relatively stable lately. Her expressions were also much brighter than when I first met her.

And as if to prove the effect, the number of spirits she could control have recently increased to four.

This seems to be almost the same level as the original story, or even slightly ahead; if this trend continues, it seems like she can achieve the growth I aimed for.

These days, in addition to just chatting, she's also been studying a bit with me.

Although Eugenia was a very bright child, she seemed to have been unable to focus properly on her studies due to her depression.

At first, she was barely able to get out of Class-F, but fortunately she absorbed the knowledge I taught her very quickly.

She said that she is now paying attention in class again, and with the addition of this tutoring, her knowledge is growing day by day. Like Eugene, she had plenty of talent but lacked basic knowledge. With a little push, she could definitely rise higher.

In the original, Eugene was promoted to Class-C, barely meeting the minimum requirement for joining the student council. But I think he can go even higher this time. It may be a stretch to say Class-A, but I think he can definitely reach Class-B.

So, according to that, it doesn't seem bad for Eugenia to move up a bit as well. After all, she was assigned to the same class in the original story, and if she feels like she's falling too far behind, it's impossible to know how her emotions will fluctuate.

"Let's stop here for today. You've worked hard."

"No… you worked harder teaching me… thank you, Hi…"

"If you keep up this pace, you might even be able to aim for the upper classes. You might even be able to go higher than me."

"Heehee… is that all? But it would be better if we were in the same class… I can't talk to you, but I can at least see you…"

Eugenia's regret arose after I informed her that after much deliberation, I had decided to skip this promotion exam. I told her that I wanted to take it slow, but the real reason was different.

Of course, I could easily be promoted with my current level, but I didn't want to be assigned to the same class as Eugene. It was Class-C in the original, but it could be Class-B now, and there's no way to be sure.

There was literally no need to intentionally do this. 

I'll skip this exam and avoid that guy's class and take the promotion exam at the beginning of the second semester. I'll get some complaints from my cousin Estelle, but it doesn't matter if I join that club a little late.

"…So the professor said earlier…"

—KYUUU! 

Just as we were finishing our studies and having a light conversation with Eugenia, a spirit appeared above my head. It was about the size of an egg and had the same dull gray color as my pupils.

The spirit fluttered down to my lap and squeezed itself between me and Eugenia.

"Hello, Kkamang. How have you been?"

At Eugenia's greeting, the spirit responded as if it understood her words. It emitted squeaky sounds, bouncing in place.

Kkamang was purely a name Eugenia made up. Even though it's clearly gray, I wonder why she named it Kkamang. I thought she might be colorblind, but it could be a sensitive question, so I decided to leave it be.

While I managed to control the spirits for a while that day, it was only temporary. To fully control spirits, it requires effort many times greater than that. Providing raw mana seems to be the way, but according to Eugenia, the amount and time vary greatly depending on the spirit.

She always felt sorry for not directly helping with the spirits while learning etiquette and culture from me. The ability requires much more self-realization than relying on others' help.

Anyway, after several days of hard work, I managed to have one spirit under my control.

Meanwhile, Eugenia effortlessly managed to control a total of four spirits during the same period. It's a glimpse of her amazing talent. I wonder why she was not the protagonist of the original story.

Beside me, Eugenia was playing with the spirits. With a faint smile on her lips, she alternated between rubbing Kkamang and her own emerald-green fluff against her cheek. Her grass-colored hair swayed beautifully in the moonlight once again.

As I watched her like that, a curious question suddenly popped into my mind.

"Hey, there's something I want to ask you."

"Huh? What is it…?"

"The rumors about me. You know about them, right? You even fought with your friend over them. Even if you didn't have any friends, why did you want to be friends with me so badly, even to the point of fighting like that?"

"Oh. I, um…"

To my question, Eugenia hesitated in her response.

"To be honest… I don't really know."

"…You don't know…?"

"Yeah. No matter how much I think about it, I really don't know… You did something wrong, and you had a serious fight with Eugene, and it was clearly Walter who was the cause at that time… right? Walter also tried to harm you but then left the academy. Seeing that, it doesn't seem like only one side was at fault… I don't know…"

Eugenia twisted the ends of her hair around her finger, a habit of hers whenever she was pondering.

"And the way I saw you was so different from the rumors… You were actually nice to that girl named Ellie… And you're always kind to me… Of course, I might be disappointed if something like that happens again, but you're trying to live as quietly as possible right now, aren't you…? Right…?"

"That's true, but aren't you thinking too highly of me? What if I'm just pretending to be nice to you? What if I'm secretly plotting revenge against your friend?"

If you see a man with one painted fingernail, here's what it meansIf you spot a man with one painted fingernail, here's the powerful message behind it...More

"What? Would someone who thinks like that even ask this kind of question…? And Edwin, you really don't know anything about spirits, do you…?"

After hearing my question, Eugenia stopped playing with her hands and laughed. 

"Do you know that spirits can see through people's hearts?"

"What?" 

"No matter how saintly a person is, if his insides are like charcoal soot, the spirits will never give him their heart. Lady Evangeline said that among all the spirits recorded in history, not a single one was evil."

"…I didn't know that…" 

"If you have committed a mistake, of course you should be punished, but you have already been punished and chosen by the spirits. Doesn't that mean you are sincerely regretting your past mistakes…?".

"Don't worry, I'll be right by your side to make sure nothing like that happens again! That's what friends are for, right..? Heehee…"

With a sincere and innocent smile, Eugenia smiled at me.

* * * * *

—KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!! 

"Professor? It's Edwin Reed. I heard you were looking for me."

—The door is open, come in.

I opened the door and entered the office. Professor Fletcher was sitting at his desk, wearing his signature monocle and reading through some papers. He seemed to be in a good mood today. I wondered why Professor Fletcher had summoned me.

As I stepped inside, Fletcher pushed aside the documents he was working on and gestured towards the couch, indicating for me to sit.

"Have a seat. Would you like some tea? We received a Royal Oak-Tea as a gift recently, and it has a delightful aroma."

"I have no reason to decline. Thank you for your kindness, Professor."

When I expressed my acceptance, Fletcher made a restrained yet elegant gesture. As he did, the teaspoon in the teacup danced clockwise, in tune with his movements.

"For teas where aroma is important, sometimes, a restrained hand using the teaspoon like this, rather than stirring directly, can enhance the flavor. Can you do something like this?"

"It's a shame, but I haven't mastered it to that level yet." 

"That's alright. I just asked out of curiosity. Once you reach the upper grades and learn intermediate telekinesis, you'll be able to do it easily. It's not a particularly difficult spell. When you do, be sure to try it with this tea. You'll notice a definite difference in the aroma."

Professor Fletcher spoke passionately about tea for a long time. Surprisingly, was tea-making his hobby? He savored the taste of tea slowly, and as I grew weary of waiting, my patience began to wear thin.

"Professor. Excuse me, but may I ask why you called me? I can't think of any reason why you would need to see me."

"Ah, yes. I apologize for that. I got carried away enjoying the tea and forgot about the important matter at hand."

Professor Fletcher let out a hollow laugh, then put down his teacup and asked me a question in a more serious manner.

"Edwin, is it true that you didn't apply for this year's promotion exam? I couldn't find your name on the list, no matter how much I looked. I thought it might have been an oversight, but I decided it would be better to ask you directly."

—— End of chapter —–

Author's Note :-

Thank you to the patron who donated 50 coins!

I will try to address the feedback that I have received. There seem to be a lot of questions about who the heroine is. While I do have some characters in mind, I haven't made a final decision yet.

However, I can say for sure that the following four characters are not the heroine:

– Laurel: The captain of the Edwin family's knights

– Evangeline: The headmistress of the academy

– Isana: The demon king's subordinate

– Irene: The guide at the trade union

These four characters will only play supporting roles in the story.

I apologize for any confusion that my illustrations may have caused. I wanted to have illustrations for all of the female characters, but I think that may have led to some misunderstandings.

Thank you for reading today!

If you want to read the first 25 chapters for free and read up to the final chapter for a cheap price patreon.com/Makima02