Mmm.
So in the end, because of that guy Richard tripping me up, Keti had no choice but to lead the students away from the training area first.
After circling around the greenhouse fortress once, Keti was still hoping that Ebert was just spouting nonsense and was planning to find another empty training ground.
But as it turned out, things were not looking good at all.
Keti and her group searched for a long time and couldn’t find a single free training venue—every single one was occupied by the elite classes participating in the freshman competition, along with some upper-year classes.
When asked, all of them had applications with responses.
Now, the silver-haired beautiful girl was truly out of options. She had originally thought to wait until some class left, so she and her group could use the place.
But in the end, they just sat there doing nothing, and ended up sitting inside until midnight, when some classes finally started leaving the greenhouse fortress.
Ugh… This, this is way too late!
As for Ximon Kutar and the others, Keti had already told them to go home and rest early, so only Layla and Sylvia were left behind.
Actually, Keti had wanted them to head back to the base too, but the two of them chose to stay on their own, which was why things dragged on so late.
“Well… It’s really tough. Those people look like they’re going to be training here all day, every day. They’re so intense. Compared to them, Keti, you only let those three boys train a little at night, you’re honestly way too gentle.”
Watching as the training grounds were finally starting to empty, Layla let out a helpless sigh, and then spoke with such feeling. Keti also sighed, then said gloomily:
“I didn’t expect the venue problem to be this tricky. They’re even training here during class hours. What about their other classmates? Ugh… Ah, right, they all have teaching assistants.”
Keti gloomily twirled a strand of hair—one that had just fallen out in her anxiety—around her finger. Layla, watching from the side, felt a little worried, and after a while finally spoke up again:
“So… basically, there are no training rooms available during normal hours, right? Uh… then, since they leave at this hour anyway, why don’t we all adjust our schedules?”
“As soon as school’s out, we rush home and sleep, then wake up at two or three in the morning to come train here? Wouldn’t that work?”
“It’s no use. After midnight, this place seems to stop supplying mana. Without mana, none of the equipment will work. It only comes back on at eight in the morning, and by then, the place is full of people again. In other words… there’s just no chance to use this place at all.”
Sylvia calmly analyzed from the side. But such a calm analysis only made Keti even more troubled.
Layla, worried that Keti might get annoyed with her, didn’t even dare to call herself “Mom” anymore. Fearing Keti would be fed up, she hurriedly waved her hands and tried to patch things up:
“Don’t be so pessimistic, Sylvia-chan. Maybe there’s still a way! Like, maybe we can talk with teachers from other classes. Surely there’s a class that can’t keep up and will give up half a day. Or maybe we could smooth things over with a little money or something…”
“Mm. Actually, what I wanted to say was, Keti, do you need my help? If you do, maybe I can talk to that Director Richard.”
The green-haired elf blinked, and asked Keti seriously. The silver-haired beauty was stunned for a moment, wanting to speak, but hesitated.
Ah, the main thing is, that Richard really doesn’t seem like a good person. Besides, Keti had no idea what this so-called “talking” meant, and she was a bit worried about Sylvia’s safety.
And there’s no way she could trust that Richard would do her any favors. Besides, she still had to teach her students during the day, so there was no time for training anyway, so—
“I’ll think of another way. No need to trouble you, Sylvia, at least for now. Sigh… Damn it, it’s all that bastard’s fault for tripping me up on the first day—ended up doing nothing and wasting all that time. Watching Ebert’s class train there all night nearly drove me mad.”
Keti shook her head, turning down Sylvia’s suggestion, making the green-haired elf’s expression instantly drop, and she fell silent.
The purple-haired, jellyfish-headed big sister reached out to rub Keti’s head, then smiled comfortingly:
“Hahaha, well… don’t put too much pressure on yourself, Keti. Don’t stress. A day or two isn’t going to make that much of a difference.”
“There’s no way those punk boys will ever beat the two of us! As for the training ground, just take your time sorting it out.”
“Mm, I’ll try to find a solution as soon as possible. Sigh… Alright, well, mana will stop being supplied soon. Let’s hurry up and go. If we wait too long and the lift stops running, we’ll be stuck here till morning. Come on, let’s go.”
There was no time to keep dawdling here. In any case, the first night’s training ended in total failure.
The lift platform slowly started up and returned to the surface. Just before leaving, Keti turned to Layla and Sylvia and said, “How are you two getting back? Want me to see you home? It’s really late.”
“Ah~ Keti, you’re really so yasashii today~ becoming more and more like you used to be, hehehe~”
The priestess covered her face, embarrassed and delighted. Maybe her motherly-girlfriend plan was really working~
“But don’t worry~ Mama and Sylvia can just use teleportation magic to go home together. No need to walk, it’ll be quick…”
“Plus, if Keti came with us right now, we’d probably stand out even more, cough cough… Anyway, hurry up and change back, okay?”
“Becoming a member and official instructor of the Magic Tower doesn’t conflict with you changing back, right?”
Layla looked at Keti expectantly, blinking her eyes. The silver-haired beauty froze for a moment, then after a while nodded and stammered a bit awkwardly:
“Oh, right, right, of course. I’ll definitely change back, that’s for sure. Well, since it’s so late, let’s all head home and rest. Bye-bye~”
After saying goodbye, the silver-haired beauty headed back to her dormitory the same way she came. The priestess watched Keti’s retreating figure, still smiling gently.
After a long moment, she finally snapped out of her sweet daydream, then tugged gently on Sylvia’s hand and said:
“Hey, Sylvia, let’s hurry to the teleportation point and go home, okay?”
“Uh… What’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything? And your face is so gloomy… um… Sylvia-chan?”
The purple-haired, jellyfish-headed big sister gulped nervously, then, after a moment, spoke up with a guilty tone, “Cough, cough… You’re not jealous of me and Keti, are you? Ah… haha, but, fair competition, right? Isn’t that how it goes?”
“You still have time to act silly here? Hmph… you big-chested, brainless idiot nympho!”
After a while, the eyepatch girl turned her head, gritting her teeth in exasperation as she scolded Layla.
“Eh?!”