Chapter 19

The next day.

I came to the principal's office with Sylvia and Eco.

"I request that Eco be expelled as of today, and that I be allowed to enroll in Class A as her companion."

"Understood."

When I said this, Eco also joined in with the request.

Principal Paula was taken aback.

I was aware that my request was outrageous, but I was confident it would be accepted.

That was because the "Eco covered in mud incident" from yesterday had been witnessed by many people.

"…Could I have a moment, please?"

"Of course. How long will it take?"

I took a high-handed approach.

I pushed my anger to the forefront.

"I'll hold an emergency board meeting at noon. We'll reach a conclusion afterward."

Good. My request would likely be approved.

"Then I'll look forward to the result. I'll be absent in the morning. Excuse me."

With that, we left the principal's office.

"Second, why did you do that?"

Sylvia asked.

"We are exchange students, and we are nobles from a foreign country. Right in front of us, bullying was discovered. And it was of a beastkin."

"…I see. If Jipang is a country that treats beastkin with respect—"

"They would consider it a problem. Even if not, the impression would be very bad. Moreover, it's a situation where the teachers here can't deny that they turned a blind eye to the bullying. They wouldn't want any more trouble. They would try to resolve this as smoothly as possible. Therefore, my request should be accepted."

"Second, you're smart!"

"Hehe, I'm the best in the world."

While watching Sylvia practice magic in the library, it was suddenly noon.

When I went to the cafeteria to eat, Main noticed and came over.

"Second! I heard you're going to have Eco as your companion?"

Why does she know?

Is there no compliance in this school?

"This one is an excellent healer. If you can't see that, it shows the level of this school."

I couldn't help but get irritated and say that.

Then, Main laughed, saying, "Ahaha."

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Second is as always! I really like you."

"…You really do, huh."

"Second-sama!"

Sylvia nudged me. When I asked, "What?" she said, "You were about to call me a homo again," and scolded me. Eco, who was influenced, started saying, "Homo!" and I told her, "Stop it!" I felt like a mother.

"Sylvia is as always. It's good to see that you and Eco get along well."

Main looked at us with a smile, but also with a hint of envy.

"Oh, there you are."

When I finished my beef bowl, Kevin appeared.

"Yes, how did it go?"

When I asked, Kevin nodded and replied.

"It was approved without any issues. Eco will join Class A as Second's companion starting today."

"That's great, thank you."

I smiled and replied, and Kevin also smiled and left.

He didn't ask, "Why a companion?" or "Why Class A?" He's smart. If he had asked, I could have sarcastically replied, "To prevent bullying again."

"Second, why did you put Eco in Class A?"

…Ah, right, we have a broken female knight.

"Why?"

Eco also asked.

I was at a loss for words.

To prevent bullying again. That was an easy answer, but it wasn't the truth.

At one point, I considered taking revenge on those who bullied Eco.

Alternatively, I could have shown everyone how much Eco had risen and how useful she was.

But she didn't want that.

She said, "I want to be with you." Just that.

"…Because she's a companion."

So, I muttered and stood up.

In any case, we need to go to the library.

The remaining time for our exchange program is limited. I need to teach Sylvia magic quickly, and I also need to think of a way to get the Third Form magic books.

Well, it's going to be busy.

I walked quickly to the library to cool my slightly heated face.

A week has passed.

Thanks to my thorough lectures, Sylvia finally mastered the [Attack Magic] Second Form (Fire Attribute).

When I told Main, "She learned it in just over a week," he was surprised, saying, "She's a genius!?" It usually takes at least two weeks, apparently. Incidentally, the shortest time it took Main to learn was also two weeks. He's a genius too.

Moreover, Sylvia seemed to have grasped a trick and said, "I think I can handle the Third Form too," and told the librarian.

Then, the head librarian, Silk, came over and said, "Sylvia, you have wonderful talent! I'll lend them to you!" and gave permission quite easily. I wondered what happened to the strictness I experienced. "We don't lend to those who can't learn, you fool," I guess.

Thanks to that, I also got a chance to learn. I asked Sylvia, who is favored by Silk, to borrow the books for all four attributes, and I peeked from the side. As a result, I managed to obtain the Third Form for all four attributes. It was like finding a pot of gold.

Sylvia has been working very hard lately, saying, "Just a little more, just a little more," and has been glued to her desk in the library.

Since I've already taught Sylvia everything I can, I've been quite idle.

Eco and I lazed around in the courtyard, and sometimes we played simple games or catch with Main.

Main particularly likes "Koshitori" and challenges me every chance he gets. The other day, during class, he passed me a note with "Cotton" written on it. When I wrote "Turkmenistan" and returned it, he glared at me with a "I don't know, that's cheating" look, and I gave him the middle finger and laughed. Main puffed his cheeks and turned away, saying, "Hmph," but in the next class, he passed me a note with "Tambourine" written on it. He's quite cute, but he doesn't have a shred of princely dignity, so I wonder if he'll be okay.

During a short break between classes, I noticed Main quietly reading something and peeked from behind. He was looking up words that end with "n" in a dictionary. I thought that was cheating, so at the start of the next Koshitori game, I said, "This time, the word must end with 'a.' Soccer." He was so disappointed that he fell to the ground. What are you doing, Second Prince…

Anyway, we've been spending our days like this.

It might seem like we're stagnating, but I have a purpose.

It's to get Main to like me.

It seems I've already achieved my goal… or rather, he's already attached to me without me doing anything special, but I think this is still weak.

Why do I want Main to like me? It's for the "Fourth Form" magic books.

The Fourth Form is in the palace. Main did say that.

The top-tier dungeon, "Argin" — the easiest of the top-tier dungeons. The Fourth Form magic books for all attributes drop from the boss with about a 10% chance each.

Currently, it's tough for me, Sylvia, and Eco to clear "Argin Dungeon." Even if it weren't, clearing dungeons is a hassle, so it's better not to have to do it.

After considering this, I decided to get close to Main until he would take me to the palace if I asked.

"Second, what's this?"

While I was lying in the courtyard, thinking about this, Eco showed me a flyer she had picked up.

I later realized that Eco can't read very well.

In other words, she is not fluent in the common language of this world, Japanese.

Why? I immediately understood. When I was in Mevion, the main NPCs aside, the beastkin spoke "Beastkin language."

In other words, Eco must have learned Japanese specifically to come to this school. And surprisingly, she has been diligently reading the magic books with a dictionary and has already learned the Second Form attack magic, even though she can't use it due to her low INT.

This guy might look stupid, but she could be incredibly smart.

The church should have the [Healing Magic] "Minor Healing" magic book. If she can learn it on her own, it would be best to take her there and have her learn it.

"…Huh?"

…No, this blank, open-mouthed expression doesn't look smart at all. Maybe I'm mistaken.

"Let me see it."

"Okay!"

When I said that, Eco handed me the flyer.

The flyer announced the "51st Magic Tournament" and was recruiting participants.

It seems to be held on the vast grounds of this royal magic school. The date is… the last day of our exchange program.

"There's a magic tournament. It seems to be an annual event, and there are prizes for the winner."

"Really? What do you get?"

"Hmm? Let's see… —What!?"

I couldn't believe my eyes.

The grand prize is the "Ring of Pursuit."

"…Eco, we're entering the magic tournament."

I immediately decided to participate.

Thank you for reading.