HSTAV 27

Chapter 27

In a wide, old-fashioned garden sat two beautiful young girls.

One had dazzling golden hair, while the other had deep gray hair.

The girl with gray hair soon moved her hand with elegant grace, tilting the teapot she was holding.

Trickle—

With a pleasant sound, warm yellow tea poured into a cup.

“Thank you, Lady Cecilia.”

“Fortunately, tea leaves of Pils Rosemary from the Forton region have just arrived. The aroma is delightful, so please enjoy it slowly.”

Just after the exams ended, Princess Francia found herself quietly drinking tea in the garden of Lady Cecilia—her only rival, and practically her political adversary.

“So, how was this semester for you, Your Highness?”

“The same as usual. Nothing special, everything passed without issue.”

“Ah, I see. Oh, I heard you passed the Dungeon Studies practical exam. Congratulations.”

At Cecilia’s soft words and faint smile, Francia paused with her teacup in hand.

She barely managed to keep her lips from twitching downward and forced out a response.

“Ah, yes. That’s right. Thank you.”

“I took that course last year too, and I remember it being quite difficult. You must have gotten a good score, though?”

“I was lucky to have good teammates.”

As Lady Cecilia stroked her gray hair and spoke with a lilting voice, Princess Francia answered as defensively as she could.

Then came Cecilia’s voice again.

“Did you happen to work with that commoner again this time?”

“……”

At the sudden probing, Francia’s brow twitched slightly. She sipped the so-called Pils Rosemary tea.

And then—

“Yes. I could only pass the practical because of Kyle. And he’s no longer a commoner—he’s a squire now.”

“Ah, right. I heard he was granted the title of squire after that incident.”

Nodding, Cecilia continued without losing her smile.

“But I heard it wasn’t the highest score…?”

“Yes. The highest went to Chelsea’s group.”

“Chelsea? Chelsea Artin, the one ranked first in the year?”

“Yes. Anyway, this tea smells wonderful.”

“Really? Then I’ll send some to you later, Your Highness.”

It was Francia’s indirect way of saying she didn’t want to discuss this further, but Cecilia clearly had no intention of stopping.

“I also heard Camon Bade—no, I suppose just ‘Camon’ now—was in that group too. Is that right?”

“……”

Clink!

At the mention of Camon Bade, Francia set her teacup down, no longer savoring it.

“Wasn’t he on the verge of being expelled? But to score the highest instead…”

“Well, it’s fortunate, isn’t it?”

“…What?”

“No one wants to see a fellow student expelled.”

“Ah… is that so?”

“Lady Cecilia, I believe Camon has already paid the price for what he did.”

“Well, that’s true. To be demoted from a great noble house to commoner in an instant…”

Nodding as she murmured, Cecilia then looked at Francia with a radiant smile.

“Our princess is truly angelic, isn’t she?”

…You’ve got some nerve.

It was bad enough that Camon Bade hadn’t been expelled, but now Cecilia was openly mocking her too. Naturally, Francia’s insides twisted with rage.

But on the surface—

“This tea really is excellent.”

—she could show nothing.

“What? Angelic? Hah. Don’t make me laugh.”

After leaving Cecilia’s garden and returning to her dorm, Princess Francia bit her lower lip hard.

This is all Camon Bade’s fault.

If he’d been expelled as expected, she wouldn’t have had to suffer such humiliation.

Like some sort of cockroach, his useless survival skills just kept him lingering.

“Haa… forget it. No need to bother. He’ll…”

If she knew Camon Bade at all, he’d eventually cause trouble and be expelled on his own.

Just then—

Knock knock!

“Yes? Who is it?”

A maid entered politely and bowed.

“Your Highness, you have a visitor.”

“A visitor? Who?”

“He introduced himself as Sol, the son of Baron Crensh.”

“Sol?”

“Yes.”

Tilting her head at the unfamiliar name, Francia gave a curt reply.

“I’m tired today. Tell him I won’t be able to meet him.”

“Understood, Your Highness. I’ll deliver the message—”

As the maid bowed again to leave, Francia stopped her.

“Wait. Did he say why he came?”

“Well…”

“Hm? What’s with that look?”

“He… said it was something related to Camon Bade.”

With a sour look as though even speaking the name was unpleasant, the maid trailed off—only for Francia to cut her off sharply.

“Let him in immediately.”

“Pardon?”

“Hurry!”

Scratch, scratch.

At a desk, a boy was scribbling furiously, more focused than ever.

Notes filled the table, books lay open in messy stacks everywhere.

Scratch, scratch.

Lifting his head at last, the boy’s drooping eyes and gentle face gave off an impression of kindness to anyone who saw him.

Piiiii—!

The old kettle whistled shrilly. Rising, he walked over and poured steaming water into his cup.

Pour—

Soon, warm liquid filled the cup, the leaves within steeping a pale infusion.

“…There.”

As the fragrant aroma spread through the room, the tired boy managed a small smile.

“It’s almost over.”

His gaze drifted to the pile of books on his desk.

• Understanding Basic Magic

• Humans, and the Non-Human

• History of the Andrea Continent – Beginner’s Edition

• The Mysterious and Beautiful World of Pharmacology

“Just Magical Phenomena Studies left, huh?”

His name was Bren.

A first-year at Plains Imperial Academy, he was studying frantically to survive his end-of-semester exams.

“Only one subject left. I can rest a little.”

Lifting the well-steeped tea, Bren savored a brief moment of happiness.

“Ah, that’s nice.”

As he enjoyed the peace, a certain someone came to mind.

“…Ugh.”

Shaking his head as if shivering from a chill, Bren muttered:

“At least I’ll never have to see him again.”

The Academy’s most notorious troublemaker, rumored to have attacked the princess herself—just being near Camon had been torture for Bren, with his timid nature.

Taking another sip of tea to calm himself, his eyes drifted back to the desk.

“Oh? A salamander feather.”

Picking up the high-grade quill he’d gotten for free in the city of Velium, Bren chuckled.

“I really thought I was being kidnapped back then.”

In the end, after the practical exam, they’d even held a small party together.

“But he wasn’t really as scary or cruel as the rumors said… No, what am I thinking? Back to studying.”

Shaking his head, Bren forced himself to focus again.

“Everyone, put your pens down and place your hands on your heads.”

Unlike the practical-based Dungeon Studies, most other courses ended with written exams.

The subject called Species Analysis was no different.

Clack.

Setting down my pen, I glanced over the test full of random guesses and tilted my head.

Did I slack off too much?

Well, even if I failed, I wouldn’t get expelled.

Professor Dellon was unusually harsh with Dungeon Studies, but most first-year general courses didn’t give failing grades.

It was simply pass (P) or no-pass (NP).

So even half-hearted effort guaranteed a pass.

“Okay, last row, collect the papers and place them up front.”

Rustle!

At the professor’s cheerful voice, a student from the back came forward and collected my paper.

“Haa…”

Letting out a long sigh, I felt the weight lift—at last, the grueling semester was over.

Across the room, I noticed Bren’s tired face, dark circles etched under his eyes.

I shook my head sympathetically.

He probably had it twice as rough as others.

After all, I’d dragged him into my mess. He had suffered plenty, even if we did celebrate a little after the practical exam.

Well, you can always party more than once. Why not throw another one today?

As I considered holding a small celebration for the semester’s end—

“Good work this term, everyone. Final grades including today’s exam will be posted tomorrow on the notice board, so please check them. Well done!”

The professor smiled brightly.

And I recalled the academy’s strange custom.

Why aren’t grades given privately but posted for everyone to see?

Yes, at Plains Imperial Academy, all students’ grades were displayed on a giant notice board.

Which meant… everyone else could see mine too.

Whatever. Forget grades. Today is for partying!

“Bren, want to come with—huh?”

Clatter!

Before I could finish, Bren hurriedly left the classroom at surprising speed.

“…What was that?”

Really worn out, maybe?

Yeah, after running that hard, he deserves a break.

He definitely seemed like an introvert type.

Take a good rest today, Bren.

“So, what should I do now?”

The thought of exams being over made me a little excited.

Back in my old world, after finals everyone rushed to karaoke or the PC café.

What about in this fantasy world?

Maybe a magical escape room? Some fun activity?

As I looked around, those thoughts were cut short.

“….”

Most of the classroom was already empty and quiet.

And then I remembered something important.

Ah, right.

I never had any friends here to begin with.