Chapter 29

Ms. Karen appeared in the auditorium about half a quarter (about fifteen minutes) later than scheduled.

She was a composed woman of middle age with long black hair, but today she seemed flustered.

"S-Sorry, I'm a bit late. There might be many of you who don't know me. Actually, around this time of year, ice starts to be sold from the northern part of the empire. The confectionery shops in Rodnea use it to make... "

Ms. Karen then spoke for another half a quarter, explaining the general idea of Rodnea's famous ice desserts, how difficult it was to buy products from the old-established confectionery shops, and how much trouble she had in getting one. The class started about a quarter later than scheduled.

"Today, I will explain about curses, which are a rather special field within dark attribute magic. The famous ones are..."

Ms. Karen's lecture was quite interesting.

Curses in this world are broadly classified into two categories.

One is to cast a spell on swords, armor, or ornaments to harm the user. These are known as cursed items.

The other is to directly curse someone. A curse mark appears on the target's body, and it usually has a powerful effect.

...To be honest, both seem incredibly difficult to handle.

Cursed items existed in my previous life, but most of them were accidental products. What would be the point of deliberately making them? To give them to someone you want to curse?

The latter seems powerful, but apparently, you have to get close to cast a curse. In that case, wouldn't a bow or a sword be better? You can kill them physically.

It made sense why curses were a minor field in this world.

Indeed, even Ms. Karen, who was a dark attribute magic practice instructor, seemed to specialize in something else.

The four-element magic seemed to be too specialized for fighting monsters, and the concept was quite different from the magic in my previous life.

In my previous life, curses were one of the mainstays of magic.

You could cast a spell that would kill someone from a great distance, disguised as a disease.

There were some drawbacks, but in terms of human targets, there was no more powerful magic.

The magic differs because the culture is different.

"Time is almost up. I think we'll end here today."

The class ended at a convenient point, but I don't think it went according to schedule.

As everyone started to pack up their writing tools to head to the next class, Ms. Karen suddenly said:

"Also, I have an announcement for everyone. All classes will be canceled ten days from now. Every year, on that day, the school's founding ceremony is held, so you will have a day off."

The auditorium buzzed.

Some people cheered.

A ceremony, huh? It's probably for important people like nobles and officials.

"However, I need two students to help. Ami and Iefa."

"Eh, m-me?"

A surprised voice came from beside me.

Ms. Karen continued with a smile.

"The top and second-ranked students will be asked to place a parchment with the names of this year's new students in a shrine in the Rodnea Forest before the celebration."

A shrine in the forest?

"As you all know, the rise of this academy city, Rodnea, began with the Rodnea Forest, a treasure trove of rare herbs, and the great sage and his disciples who lived nearby. It is said that deep in the forest, there are ruins of a temple where the ancient inhabitants of this land once lived, and that the various herbs were not artificially gathered, but rather nurtured by some kind of magical source left in the ruins..."

Ms. Karen continued.

"It's a dubious story, but the great sage and his disciples paid the utmost respect to the temple. This idea was inherited even after the academy was founded, and to this day, the top-performing new students are sent to the temple every year during the ceremony."

"What exactly do we have to do for the worship?"

Ami spoke up, resting her cheek on her hand.

"As I mentioned earlier, you just need to place a parchment with the names of the new students in the shrine at the temple ruins. It's just a formal ritual. After that, you bring back last year's parchment and that's it."

"Where exactly is the temple in the forest?"

"It will take some time, but it's a walkable distance. Don't worry too much, Ami. It's an annual event."

"Okay, that's good."

Ami closed her eyes and said.

Is she more cautious than I thought?

But... I can understand her.

Forests are inherently dangerous places.

The managed Rodnea Forest is probably one of the few exceptions.

However, there was just a recent attack by the demon race. Entering that forest, where Galleos' base was, at this timing gives me a bad feeling.

And there's something else I'm concerned about.

That's right. This is...

"But it's a traditional event and a great honor. On the day..."

"Ms. Karen."

I raised my hand to interrupt her.

"Ah, yes. What is it, Mr. Lamproug?"

"If one of them declines, will the other have to go alone?"

"No... In that case, we would ask the third-ranked student to take their place. There are weak monsters in the Rodnea Forest, so going alone is..."

"I see. Thank you."

I turned to Iefa and said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Iefa, decline."

The auditorium buzzed.

Iefa was momentarily stunned, then after a moment's thought, she said in a sad voice:

"Eh, b-but, Seika-sama. I, I can..."

"Didn't you hear? I said to decline."

"...I understand."

Iefa stood up and bowed to Ms. Karen.

"Ms. Karen, I'm sorry. For that reason, I can't accept."

"...What's that?" "Who wants to go to a ceremony anyway?" "He's probably just upset about losing to a slave." "A disgrace to the nobility." "A powerless bastard..."

The murmurs grew louder.

Ms. Karen frowned.

"Mr. Lamproug, I don't think that kind of behavior is commendable."

"It's a traditional event, right? Then it shouldn't be done by a slave. I, the third-ranked student, will take their place, Ms. Karen."

I stood up and left the auditorium.

Iefa hurriedly followed behind me.

****

"I'm sorry, Iefa. Did you want to go to the ceremony?"

As we walked down the path outside, I asked Iefa, and she shook her head as usual.

"No, not really."

"It seemed like Seika was standing out in a bad way, so I just went along with it."

"Ah, so you were trying to help me out."

I've thought this since I started teaching her, but this girl is really smart.

"Hey, why did you do that? I thought you didn't care about the ceremony at all."

"Was that the image you had of me? You're right, though."

"Was it... for Ami's sake?"

Iefa said hesitantly.

"Did you deliberately stand out to prevent Ami from being talked about more?"

"Well, that's one reason, I guess."

"..."

Iefa was silent for a moment, then asked softly:

"Does Seika like that kind of girl?"

"Huh?"

"You've been fixated on Ami... She's beautiful, tall, and has beautiful hair..."

I was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

"No, no. I just want to be friends."

"Why? She's not a great noble, and she can be really mean..."

"That's..."

I hesitated for a moment, then decided to be honest.

"Because she's strong."

"..."

"Iefa, you saw it, right? How she defeated the Lesser Demon. That kind of talent is probably rare in this world. I want to be her friend. Really."

"..."

"Am I not good enough?"

"Huh?"

Iefa said with a determined look.

"I can become strong too! I have a feeling about it. Spirits are starting to gather, and they're listening to my requests. I think I can do something amazing someday. I won't lose to Ami..."

I stopped walking and smiled at Iefa.

"I'm sorry, but I think Iefa is not strong enough."

"..."

"Can you imagine being praised, feared, and sought after for your strength? That's what will happen to her. She has that much talent."

"..."

Iefa whispered softly and smiled as usual.

"...Okay, I'll help. We're in the same girls' dorm, so there might be a chance."

"Thanks."

"But... I don't want you to do something like that again. It hurts to hear people say bad things about you..."

"Ah... I understand. It affects your reputation too."

I said, gently stroking her soft blonde hair.

I actually don't mind standing out, but it's a bad habit of mine.

"By the way, what was the other reason?"

"Ah. To prevent Iefa from being criticized if she declined, and to wrap up the conversation there. And..."

I said:

"I have a feeling something will happen again."