Fortunately, time flows on its own, so I didn’t have to rush it. If I just left it alone, it would pass quickly and now summer break was just around the corner.
Nothing much had happened during that time.
First of all, my exam results came out surprisingly decent, better than I had expected. Did you know? At the Academy, there are no midterms or finals. Without a specific exam period, the teachers randomly give pop quizzes— your scores are determined by the quizzes and practical activities conducted in class.
While I could accept the practical scores, the reason they don’t have a separate exam period despite following South Korea’s second-semester system is… that’s right. I forgot while writing the novel.
I’ve mentioned it several times already, but the part I had written was that the protagonist Lee Ji-An, along with his friends, had defeated the suspicious witch and in the process, Lina had died. After that, I wrote a bit of daily life and then just abandoned it. The problem was I realized too late that I had completely skipped the exam period.
Well… later, I ended up fitting it in by saying, “Actually, at the Academy, grades are determined by surprise pop quizzes!” It sounds like what kind of hellish school is this, but thankfully, the Academy was indeed a school that people attended.
It turns out, not many students were prepared for surprise quizzes even at the Academy.
Of course, the kids who passed the rigorous entrance exam were generally smart, but most, like me, just sat there zoning out, received the exam paper, and wrote down whatever they vaguely remembered.
So ultimately, my overall grade for the semester came out slightly below average.
Considering all sorts of reasons, like skipping school a lot and not studying separately, I thought it was decent enough—
“……”
Um, but it seemed my classmates didn’t think so at all.
Take Lina, for example.
“Hmm?”
Lina, snatching my report card, made a strange sound while looking at it.
“…What’s wrong?”
I knew why Lina was making that face without needing to ask, but just in case, I asked anyway—
“Here.”
She confidently handed me her report card.
And of course, it showed Lina’s grades, which were solidly in the upper-middle range.
Lina’s grades were close to the very top within that range.
Well, her fighting skills were among the best in school, but theory was a completely different matter.
“……”
Seeing her report card, I felt a surge of emotion rising up.
If it were in my past life, I wouldn’t have thought much of it. I had thought that as long as I could graduate from college with the necessary qualifications, it would be fine. In reality, I attended school without motivation and ended up getting the relevant certificates and licenses, but my grades were a mess.
Well, as long as I could make a living, I thought there wouldn’t be any big issues.
But that thought was only possible because I didn’t have any real competition!
Unless Lina and I competed in combat, this was perfectly my defeat.
…Which is accurate to say.
However, I didn’t feel too worked up about it. If I had won, I would’ve teased her endlessly.
“Your grades are pretty good.”
As soon as I said that, Lina’s expression, which had been full of confidence, deflated like a swoosh.
“Good job. Congratulations.”
“Uh? Ah, uh. Thanks?”
As I handed back my report card with a light smile, Lina accepted it with a dazed expression. As she turned to head back to her seat, she suddenly turned around and rushed at me.
And I was so sure that would happen that I wasn’t surprised at all.
“Hey, what’s with that calm demeanor!? I won, right? You lost! Then you should be a bit upset, trembling with anger, or at least fake a congratulatory smile while grinding your teeth! If you act like this, I look like an idiot!”
Lina shook my shoulders fiercely as I smiled nonchalantly.
“Well, you are an idiot.”
“Your exam scores are lower than mine, you moron!”
Even though Lina screamed in despair, it was no use.
The reason I could be this nonchalant was very simple.
Thinking back to how Lina and I got at odds, it all started when I told her that even demons can live kindly, and she took issue with that and started arguing with me.
Then, I had kicked her with a dropkick, sending her spinning in the air—that was the beginning.
Since then, Lina had been trying to beat me in whatever way possible.
Yes, if there was a curse between us, it was entirely dependent on the results of our physical duels!
And that duel still hadn’t been decided!
I never fought if I thought I would lose. Even if I did, I’d just think I hadn’t fought. I would think that anything I felt I couldn’t win against didn’t even count as a competition!
I’d separate the competition from the opponent, thoroughly leaving only what was advantageous to me, while disregarding the rest as not even a proper rivalry!
Ah— That’s right. This is known as the psychology of mental victory!
A method of victory one inevitably learns as one grows up.
Smiling with a expression that felt almost transcendent, Lina’s face grew even more furious.
“……Can I strangle you this way?”
When Lina asked in a serious voice,
“Hmm, then you might be chased by all of humanity for attempting to assassinate the saintess.”
“Is running away even a possibility?”
Once again, solid advice was thrown my way.
Lina ground her teeth before letting out a deep sigh.
“Ah, okay, well… Either way, even if I win this, I still haven’t beaten you in a duel…”
For the first time in a long time, Lina had a tremendously dejected expression on her face. It was quite similar to the one she had when she blacked out after taking my dropkick and woke up in the infirmary. Of course, the adorably flushed face that followed was absent.
“Indeed, Sister Lina. This is all pointless squabbling between sisters.”
I clasped my hands in my lap and straightened my back while saying that, causing Lina to hold the back of her neck.
So, tell me. Who’s the real demon here?
While I asked myself this inwardly, I enjoyed a satisfying laugh, and then I saw someone smoothly take my report card.
When I looked up, it was Selena.
“……”
Uh…..
Seeing Selena looking expressionless as she examined my report card gave me an inexplicable chill down my spine.
Come to think of it, Selena was depicted as an honor student in the original story. Like a typical tsundere protagonist, she would use the protagonist’s grades as an excuse to barge into the protagonist’s house and offer to tutor him, planning an event similar to coaching.
No way.
“……Your engineering grades are almost at rock bottom.”
That’s right. I had effectively given up on math back in high school. I barely managed to keep up in college, and during the entrance exam, I had a history of filling in answers blindly and then falling into a deep sleep during the math portion.
Here, magic becomes more and more like engineering as you delve into the theory.
I only learned it was called engineering after I transitioned to this world.
“Clara, don’t you usually use Holy Power as your main strength?”
Selena gazed down at me while sitting in her chair. The report card in her hand brushed against the air pathetically.
“Uh… but Holy Power is different from magic.”
“Holy Power is a power based on mana. Naturally, knowing how to use it effectively would be better, right?”
Well, that made sense.
However, because the output was overwhelmingly good, I never bothered to care about efficiency. Is there even a need to think about it?
The way I used Holy Power had already proven its usefulness in practice. I could wipe out most beasts and demons just by unleashing it. And dealing with witches was also possible thanks to its miraculous power.
……But that and my school grades were two completely different matters.
No matter how efficiently I thought about it, in any case, both Selena and I were students at the Academy. And since Selena was an honor student, she was quite rigid about this subject. If there were a student council at the Academy, I could assume she would be a part of it.
Ah, right.
So while I was trying to evade her gaze, a great idea sprang to mind.
Originally, the concern surrounding my grades wasn’t directed at me but at Jian. Because he was a genius in swordsmanship, he didn’t believe he needed to learn magic and ended up getting lower scores in that field as well.
Originally, this event was supposed to have Selena stepping up to tutor Jian—
“But he still scored better than you! Look at this, let’s be honest here. Clara, weren’t you not planning on answering even a single question during the exam?”
But it was no use!
Selena swiftly caught sight of my gaze wandering towards Jian and leaned down, shooting me an intense glare. Even when she lifted her brows in annoyance, I first thought of how pretty she looked rather than being scared, which is quite the characteristic of a main heroine.
The problem was my score was still lower than Jian’s, and on top of that, I was someone who utilized the subject in question.
Apparently, the attention that should’ve been on Jian had shifted entirely to me due to this.
……Ah, so am I truly going down because of my grades?
Of course, I hadn’t properly described my inner thoughts!
No, that, and I hadn’t written anything about actually going into the same room after the suggestion!
I could feel the sweat trickling down my temples.
This is bad. If this continues, I would be stuck with Selena, crammed full of engineering formulas!
“B-but up until now, I’ve managed to overcome everything without knowing any formulas—”
“Hmm? What does this saintess mean by that?”
As Selena held my report card up in front of me, she spoke. And even though I had automatically retained the language-related sections of knowledge upon coming to this world and had tried to learn about things I found interesting through my own research, my scores relating to magical engineering had tanked my overall grades to slightly below average.
“If it weren’t for this subject, your average score would be much higher. What on earth made you just let it go? Hmm? If you don’t need to learn, then why even bother attending the Academy?”
That was right. What Selena mainly wanted to say was this.
That as a student, I should uphold the duties of a student. It really didn’t have much to do with whether or not I utilized these skills.
……Jian was so exceptional with practice that he could afford a bit of a slip in theory.
“Uh, I, um, that is…”
As I sweated profusely, casting my gaze about and sending signals for help—
“Yes, even so, this score is far too low. Sister Clara, it would be better for you to work a bit harder during the second semester.”
Linea, looking very serious, stared at the report card that Selena was shaking in front of me.
“True, magical engineering isn’t really that hard of a subject! Once you grasp the principles, the rest is just application!”
……Aurora recited the line that a high school math teacher would say.
And several steps away, I could see Lina who was grinning ear to ear and Satsuki, nodding earnestly…
And Jian, looking at me with a troubled expression.
Uh, what’s up with that?
Why does Jian look even angrier than Lina when she looked at me?
*
……In the end, I ended up being caught and mercilessly crammed with information.
In my head, there were an astonishing number of magical formulas.
“Not even during exam periods….”
As I let out a long sigh,
“This school doesn’t even have an exam period. So you should’ve studied consistently all along, right?”
Lina, wearing a sly smile, stated that common sense.
……That was a frustrating truth I couldn’t deny.
After all, this wasn’t the kind of thing a saintess should be saying to a demon!
“……I oppose this kind of rote learning. The world has many kinds of people, and each one has different educational needs! The Academy should implement more segmented teachings!”
As I burst out passionately, Lina picked at her fingernail with her pinky.
“Uh-huh, is that so?”
She replied with a completely disinterested tone.
Ah, I see.
This is how it felt when Lina dealt with me earlier.
Indeed, the feelings I’m experiencing now are a direct reflection of what I did to Lina before.
Confucius said, “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire,” which harmonizes with the principle of empathy—
But what a joke!
I grabbed Lina’s shoulders and began to shake her.
“Listen when I talk! Or at least pretend to listen, will you?”
“Uh-huh, is that so?”
But Lina merely continued with her nonchalant demeanor.
“Sigh. Maybe I shouldn’t have even tried to talk.”
“No, you were exactly like this in the daytime.”
Seeing Lina’s counter, which she heard with one ear and let pass through the other, Linea and Aurora laughed.
Jian and Selena were heading in the same direction. Satsuki and Ramihi were surprisingly on the same route too. Although Ramihi peeled off first, Satsuki headed home a little later. It seemed there was an irreparable gulf between pureblood Elves and half-Elves.
……I’m not sure what Ramihi thinks, but at least I could sympathize with Satsuki. However, since Ramihi was outside or due to her personality, she didn’t engage in any fierce opposition to Satsuki—of course, if being yielded means in comparison to other Elves, then regular humans would seem like saints. Anyway, they just pretended they existed in each other’s space.
Though they didn’t completely ignore one another, neither made the effort to speak first. Well, while Satsuki would initiate conversations, Ramihi rarely did. She spoke well and maintained a conversation, but that’s all. It was hard to tell if we were friends or not.
But for now, let’s focus on what lies ahead. The two of us journeyed together until they split apart just slightly later. After all, there’s a Cathedral fairly close by, which is why Lina and I ended up parting ways last.
“By the way, I heard something about the Cardinal changing. Your name came up in that context. When did you visit the Central Church?”
“Surprisingly, you seem interested in current affairs.”
As I stared at Lina, who looked genuinely surprised, her brows slightly furrowed.
“No, it’s just that our Cathedral’s leader is a fan of yours. Since you visited last time, he’s been fed up with me and has been informing me about every little thing without me even asking.”
“Oh, really….”
Well, last time I visited, I had been excessively moved, to say the least.
To be fair, I’d been acquiring quite a bit of uninvited knowledge as well.
After the recent incident, the Church had surprisingly left me alone. Perhaps they think that further annoying me could lead to my escape from both the region and the saintess position.
Ah, of course, I do plan to escape and loaf around in five years, but that’s a story for five years later.
The problem was that someone assumed that I had been curious about their Church’s reform process and kept leaving newspapers at our dining table every day after our meals.
Of course, I didn’t specifically read them, gently pushing them aside and focusing on dinner, but that didn’t mean the glaringly large headlines escaped my notice.
[Seven Cardinals Face Inquiry Over Abuse of Power]
Or,
[Comprehensive Investigation into Those Charged by the Inquisition Commences]
Or,
[Debate Over Scriptural and Doctrinal Interpretations. Will the Saintess Participate?]
Like, why would I participate in that?
Most of all, I honestly didn’t need this kind of consideration. If I wanted information, I could have searched for it on my smartphone instead of relying on the morning paper. I had my suspicions about who was leaving those behind, but I hoped they would stop. And I can’t just outright say that to their faces. What a hassle.
……In any case, it’s definitely certain that there are some intense movements happening within the Church.
But of course, I had no interest in that at all. I figured if I showed any curiosity, they’d drag me right into the center of the debate. Then all my words would be taken at face value without consideration of whether they were misunderstandings.
Just thinking about it made me want to retch.
As I shivered at the thought, Lina gave me a somewhat ambiguous expression. Did she think I was going to get scolded?
In contrast, it was a colossal problem on the opposite end of the spectrum, whatever was happening.
“Well… summer break is just around the corner. Hang in there.”
“……But during summer break, I might end up being stuck with Selena.”
“Ah, right.”
She was aiming for me!
I quickly turned around and reached out towards her, but Lina was already sprinting away at full speed.
“Sigh.”
True to form, she left without even a minuscule farewell, which was just like her.
Even if I were to chase after her, I… well, I felt it would be pointless.
“Still, what Hiks said is true. Summer break is just around the corner, right? There’ll be training camp too!”
Aurora, who was standing next to me, said while her eyes sparkled.
That’s certainly the case. Whether I ended up receiving supplemental lessons from Selena or not, summer break was still summer break. Plus, I had received prior approval for the training camp.
Ah, right. Whatever the Church decides to do has nothing to do with me.
For the time being, I decided to concentrate on the immediate tasks ahead.
First things first was escaping Selena’s grasp somehow, even if it meant doing some basic studying.
And then enjoying myself to the fullest during the training camp.
That would be all that mattered for me right now. Yes, that’s definitely it.
Surely nothing bizarre would happen at the private beach I owned, right?
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