How To Live As An Academy Extra Villain.

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Yesterday, intoxicated by the softness of the spirits and fallen leaves, I unexpectedly fell asleep in the forest. Fortunately, I woke up as dawn broke, and I rushed back to the mansion, managing to wash up and barely make it to class on time.

I didn't dream at all last night, and although it might be too early to say, if I ever become proficient in handling spirits, could I bring them to my mansion? That way, I could reduce the need for a bed altogether.

"I want you to take a look at the picture here. The fork and knife are facing each other at a 45 degree angle, right? Let's see… Grover. Can you tell us the meaning of this?"

"This is an expression of taking a break from eating for a moment, Professor."

"Correct. You've studied a bit, it seems. I was going to hit you on the head with a fork if you got it wrong again, but it's a shame."

The professor made a slightly violent joke, but the students didn't care at all and laughed out loud in response to the professor's words. Professor Mason, who teaches the first-year liberal arts class, may have a slightly rough language, but he has a way of taking care of the students without knowing it, so he is always well-liked.

"Okay. Then, shall we look at the next picture? The fork and knife are placed side by side horizontally on the plate, right? Now, Helen. Can you answer what this means?"

"It expresses that the meal was delicious."

"Very good! Alright then…"

Half of the students at the academy were commoners, and some were the children of wealthy farmers or merchants who were familiar with etiquette.

However, the criteria for obtaining admission to the academy was solely the individual's mana and martial talent, so most commoner-born students were always ignorant of such things.

Surprisingly, subjects like etiquette were challenging for these commoner students, making first-year liberal arts particularly difficult. Eugene receiving an F-Grade on the entrance exam was largely due to his lack of exposure to such education.

Among these subjects, first-year liberal arts covered a broad spectrum, including dining etiquette, tea party etiquette, ballroom etiquette, history, sexual education, and more. Professor Mason wanted to ensure students were well-rounded, even if it meant forcing them to learn subjects they found challenging.

And since noble students grew up exposed to these things to some extent from a young age, they were able to spend their liberal arts classes relatively leisurely. Of course, I'm the same.

To be honest, it was a shameful thing for me to be taking classes at this level.

But even if I say that, Ellie also showed a very familiar appearance with these liberal arts classes.

The last time I saw Ellie pouring tea, it was so graceful that I even thought she might be a noble lady from a prestigious family.

And as if Professor Mason knew it, he gave me and Ellie points just for participating in his class.

I didn't bother to ask because I thought it was pointless, but I thought that even though Ellie was a commoner, she was born into a wealthy family and learned those manners.

I hope that one day, when we get closer, Ellie will tell me those stories herself.

* * * * *

"Keluk… Junior, it's not here either? To go deeper, you need the professor's signature. What should we do?"

"…I guess this is as far as we go. Thank you for your help, Senior Efania."

Taking advantage of the free time between lectures, I went to the library. And next to me, a tall girl with a ponytail was waving her hands to chase away the floating dust.

"What's the matter with that? We're close, right? And you can call me Senior Nia…?"

"Are you alone today? Where did Senior Margaret go?"

"Tsk, you're avoiding the question again…"

In response to my deflecting, the girl gave me a playful glare while clenching her fist. Senior Efania was a second year student, and was also the vice president of the book club and the student librarian of the library. 

At least once a week, I would always stop by the library, so I had become acquaintances with her through coming and going, and sometimes I would exchange a few words like this.

"Margaret is on probation right now. You'll probably have a hard time seeing her for a while, right?"

"Probation?"

"Yeah. She was caught drinking alcohol in the middle of the night by the dorm mother. You know that alcohol is not allowed in the dormitory, right? I'm her friend, but sometimes I really don't understand…"

Efania shook her head, holding her forehead, and then suddenly walked briskly towards me. Then she came close to me and whispered in a small voice.

"But why do you look for a book about spirits?"

"Huh?" 

"Don't pretend you didn't hear."

In response to my rebuttal, she got even closer. She lightly pulled my tie with her slender fingers. As I lowered my head in response, a pair of bright purple eyes appeared in front of me.

Her whisper grew even more intense, almost to the point where I had to guess what she was saying by the movement of her lips. Her fingers held my tie lightly, and I felt her warmth, "It's not a fairy tale, and why are you looking for a book on how to tame the spirits? Are you trying to become a spirit summoner, Junior? Or are you… really a spirit summoner?"

"Haha, there's no way. I'm just curious. You know how much I like these kinds of books."

"…That's true. Always borrowing books about dragons, vampires, mermaids, fairies, walking corpses…"

Efania recited the titles of the books I had borrowed, then, seemingly convinced, she released my tie and stepped back. Once again, she muttered something inaudible to me, "…As expected, this distance… How can I…?"

"Senior?" 

"…It's nothing. Junior, I think there's someone outside waiting for you."

"Ah."

At Efania's glance, I turned my head and looked outside the library. There, Ellie was standing against the wall with her head bowed. However, even though she had her head bowed, I could clearly feel her gaze on me from behind her bangs.

"Seems like you've earned some resentment? It's been a while since I've seen such a menacing look."

Apparently, Efania also sensed Ellie's gaze. She shivered and wrapped her shoulders with both hands, pretending to tremble.

"I won't meddle, but maybe it's better to be careful? If you accumulate too much resentment, life can become tiring. Besides, it's not that kind of world nowadays…"

"I'll keep that in mind…"

"Also, come more often. Once a week doesn't seem like enough, does it? If you keep avoiding it, I might just find you in the classroom?"

"…I'll try my best. Then I'll really go."

The senior patted my shoulder and gave me advice, but for some reason, I felt like Ellie's gaze was still directed at senior Efania.

As I left the library and started walking, Ellie came close behind me. She still had her head lowered and said nothing. When we reached a deserted corridor after a while, Ellie's clear voice finally reached my ears.

"…Place?" 

"Huh?" 

Turning my head to look at Ellie, she was puffing up like a pufferfish, looking at me with her big eyes. She was probably trying to appeal that she felt bad, but whenever I saw her do that, I couldn't help but think she was just cute.

"Why are you so kind to that senior, unlike you treat the students in the class? Why are you being so nice?"

"I did something again… She's a senior. There's no reason to act that way because she's a noble, and if I act too impolite, I might get punished in social circles later. And when did I ever act kindly…"

"You were being nice… And you're sticking too close…? From what I saw, it was almost enough to be punished for indecent exposure. How can you be so lewd in a public place…"

"What? What's wrong with that? If you put it that way, everything you do to me is also indecent exposure?"

"W-what are you talking about…! That's different from this…"

After hearing my answer, Ellie suddenly screamed loudly. Her face was stained red, probably from the afternoon sunlight.

"Well, she does seem a bit mischievous. Her personality is a bit strange too. You know, last time she brought me a book with strange characters and told me to read it…"

I continued to play to Ellie's rhythm, and as time went by, her mood seemed to relax a bit. I don't know why, but Ellie sometimes has these days when she's in a bad mood. She'll get over it soon, but she never tells me why she's in a bad mood, even if I ask her.

"…That's enough…"

"That's right. And there was originally one other senior…Ellie?"

As we were talking, Ellie suddenly lowered her head. Her ability to detect the presence of people was much better than mine, and when she made these gestures, it meant that someone was approaching nearby. At her signal, I started walking again, facing forward, and after a while, I started to hear the sound of shoes clicking from the corner of the hallway.

And around the corner, a beautiful female student with long brown hair fluttering in the wind, my former fiancée, Iris Robinette, appeared.

—— End of chapter —–

If you want to read the first 25 chapters for free and read up to the final chapter for a cheap price patreon.com/Makima02