Tap. Tap. Tap.
Martina carefully observed the girl lost in the woes of love as she tapped her fingers on the table. Mysterious violet hair. A doll-like face. The shyness and fear radiating from her face. Each detail contributed to an appearance that could shake the hearts of boys just by meeting their gaze.
Yet, she merely sighed, staring at the garden as if her looks had no meaning at all.
Martina genuinely wondered who the boy Elisa was in love with.
‘Elisa-chan’s crush… probably a boy, right?’
While some might enjoy love between the same gender, Martina didn’t think Elisa would fall into that category. Those who liked the same sex inevitably gave off clear signals.
‘I wonder what kind of boy it is?’
At least, it was not someone from the Magic Department. If a boy from the Magic Department was the object of her affection, she would have known by now. Slowly, Martina fished out some useful information from the swamp of her thoughts.
‘At the very least, it’s not someone from the Magic Department, and it must be someone she can contact without any problems… It wouldn’t be someone from the Knight Department either. Elisa-chan wouldn’t actively make a move.’
She didn’t think Elisa would be attracted to a sweaty Knight Department student.
With the nature of the Knight Department, aside from the regular dueling with the Magic Department, they had little contact, and the two departments weren’t on very friendly terms.
The three major departments of Kalon Academy—Knight, Magic, and Theology—were practically rivals.
While the Theology Department was generally mild-mannered, the Knight and Magic Departments were fiercely competitive, so much so that injuries occurred every year.
Given this situation, it was hard to imagine Elisa had a crush on someone from the Knight Department.
‘If it’s not the Knight or Magic Departments, then it must be the Alchemy or Theology Departments…?’
But wouldn’t that mean they’d have no contact at all?
Martina gave a playful smile to Elisa, who was keeping quiet, and imagined who Elisa’s crush could be. Luckily, she had a pretty solid clue.
An obvious clue.
“Elisa-chan.”
“Y-Yes?!”
‘So cute.‘
Elisa, who had previously exuded a gloomy atmosphere, now scattered a shy girl vibe that made her heart flutter, at least in Martina’s eyes. With the gloom vanished, all that remained was a beautiful girl, and her timid personality might even be considered a charm by some.
‘I don’t know how the one who stole Elisa’s heart would feel about it, though…’
People’s preferences could vary widely; some might like girls who are easygoing, while others prefer innocent and sweet ones. What was the taste of the boy Elisa liked?
After a moment of contemplation, Martina thought of one particular guy.
‘Could it be that guy…?’
It wasn’t really much of a dilemma. Given Elisa’s excessively timid personality, there were few contenders, and in this case, there was only one.
“Elisa-chan’s crush… is it the Saint’s escort knight?”
“A-A-A-A-Anooo…!”
‘Got it right.‘
With such an obvious reaction, there was no way it couldn’t be true. Martina smiled gently at the adorable girl whose face had turned bright red. Now that she had confirmed it, there was no holding back.
“So, what does Elisa-chan want to do about it?”
“Uh, um, even if you say that…”
Elisa’s pupils were shaking with panic. After spending nearly a few months in the same building, her conclusion was that even confessing outright wouldn’t be easy.
Right in front of her were competitors who were far too capable.
Millia, who charges in at any given moment, and Renny, her colleague who openly shows her interest. Not to mention Karina, who towers over her in both status and beauty.
Elisa wondered if she could even be recognized as a rival among those competitors.
Although she had some decent magic skills, one was a Saint and the other was a knight renowned throughout the continent.
At least Millia, who could be considered the most manageable competitor, was relatively ordinary, but in reality, she was someone who even slept with Johann.
‘There’s almost no chance I have to win…!’
Suddenly overwhelmed by despair, Elisa buried her face in her hands. Seeing her, Martina offered an understanding smile. It wasn’t unusual to encounter such feelings during love advice sessions. She gracefully approached Elisa and patted her back.
“There’s no need to panic beforehand. A contest isn’t over until it’s over. From what I can see, it seems like no one is dating anyone yet, so don’t give up. What’s important is an undaunted heart.”
“Martina-chan…”
Elisa gazed at Martina with a face filled with emotion. Martina smiled warmly and took Elisa’s hand. The soft and warm touch made Elisa’s eyes glisten with tears.
“Now then, could you tell me more about that person? The more information, the more strategies we can employ.”
The love advice was just beginning.
—————
“Johann, why the sudden question?”
“…My ears are itchy.”
Is someone talking about me behind my back? As I pushed Karina towards the Theology Department, I scratched my ear and looked around. It was to guard against any potential students or maybe even assailants.
Since I put the veil on her, the frequency of them rushing at Karina has decreased, but still, the students sneaked up to her to kneel and pray from a distance, shed tears for reasons unknown, or kiss the ground where Patrasche passed.
…Annoying little buggers.
This should scare even the cultists before the possession. I glared at the zealous students as I diligently pushed the wheelchair. There were only ten minutes left until class began, so I had to hustle.
“If you hear any ringing in your ears or feel any pain, just tell me. I can cast some basic healing magic if needed.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not that kind of problem.”
If it were that kind of issue, I would have sought treatment long ago. I didn’t want to waste Karina’s abilities unnecessarily. Karina, seemingly pleased with my answer, hummed a hymn and soaked in the sunny weather. It was one of the few moments she could spend peacefully.
I moved my feet, with Karina’s beautiful voice as a backdrop.
We were nearing the Theology Department building.
And then, while we were walking peacefully, Karina suddenly stopped humming and threw a question my way.
“Johann, do you remember the rumor about the library we heard the other day?”
“Are you talking about the rumor that there’s a secret archive in the library?”
“Is it really true?”
I didn’t expect that to come out of Karina’s mouth. I looked down at her, who suddenly brought up the library. Her pink hair peeked through the translucent veil. No matter how much the veil hid her features, it couldn’t completely conceal her pink hair.
“I didn’t think you’d be interested in such rumors.”
“I’m also 19 years old, you know.”
Her voice, almost like a whine, drifted into my ears.
Nineteen. Nineteen.
An age that is ambiguous—neither too young nor old. What was I doing when I was 19? Nineteen means I’d be in my last year of high school, so I’d have taken college entrance exams… right? I vaguely remembered my time in college, so I must have taken them. Whether I did well or not is a mystery.
But what does it matter now? I can’t go back, nor do I want to.
I’ve already become a local, after all.
“Johann, what do you think? A secret archive that holds a wish-granting object—”
“It’s not entirely unbelievable. The secret archive does exist.”
Was my answer that surprising? Karina turned her head to look at me.
Though her face was obscured by the veil, I could imagine it was one of disbelief, asking, ‘How do you know that?’ Imagining her startled face made me want to smile, and a small grin couldn’t help but form on my lips.
“Do you remember when I mentioned that I dug an emergency passage in the academy a few months ago? Of course, I also created one for the library. I confirmed the existence of the secret archive then. It’s quite large.”
What’s labeled as a secret archive is actually closer to a story event dungeon in its setup.
What was the setting again, intro or second generation… Anyway, it was a place created by the ancient headmaster hoping to find a successor. They say someone talented who enters there becomes a great mage, and that it holds a wish-granting item—such ridiculous rumors have circulated around it.
However, no student had entered the secret archive until now.
The ancient headmaster had set conditions that were way too strict.
They claimed it was a genius that appeared once every thousand years. There’s no way such a genius would just come forth easily.
Even if they got in, there was no guarantee they’d be a mage.
Due to this, the library’s secret archive lingered on as a slender thread of rumor, barely maintaining its existence.
However, recently, rumors about the library were spreading among students.
As someone who knew the original story, I found it bewildering that the rumors were spreading even more rapidly than before. The mastermind would likely be the same, but I couldn’t understand why they acted sooner than expected.
Or perhaps, the timing at which the protagonist heard the rumors was simply the issue, and the rumors had already been spreading.
If that’s the case, maybe I still have some time to spare.
“I didn’t think a secret archive would actually exist.”
“Well, it’s an old academy, so it’s full of interesting things.”
“Really? Can you tell me more about it?”
“Of course.”
Despite my casual demeanor, I had been everywhere in this academy.
At least, in-game.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Her voice, filled with anticipation, tickled my ears. It felt like ages since I’d heard a voice like that.
So what should I talk about?
I started choosing the stories to share on our way back home as we entered into the Theology Department building.
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