Chapter 23: Time to Work

Via gathered the borrowed books from the desk, ready to return them and leave the library.

She had barely taken a few steps outside when she spotted the girls who had been following Lucy.

The moment their eyes met hers, their expressions turned openly hostile.

“Via, please stay away from Lucy from now on. You are absolutely not allowed to cling to her!”

The same girl who’d warned Lucy earlier stepped toward Via, adopting a stern tone as she delivered the warning.

“Huh?”

Via didn’t understand. What was the point of all this?

“There’s no place for you by her side. If you have any sense, you’ll disappear from Lucy’s sight as soon as possible. Getting close to her will only cause her trouble, understand?”

“……”

Via frowned. It felt like she was surrounded by a pack of food-guarding pups.

She didn’t bother replying. Hugging her books, she ignored them and simply walked away.

“You…!”

The girls were clearly angered by her reaction, but they didn’t chase after her. Instead, they headed back inside to find Lucy.

At that moment, Lucy was sitting alone at a desk, surrounded by an aura of barely contained rage.

“She actually refused me?”

Lucy clenched her lip.

As a young lady of the Favi family, she was rarely ever rejected.

Her companions were typically easy to win over, especially with her tailored approach.

But someone who looked as easy to handle as Via had pushed her away instead.

“Just wait. Soon you’ll understand that without me, you won’t be able to survive in this academy.”

…

…

I’m short on money.

Via stepped out of the library under the bright sunlight, but her face was full of worry.

Only after that whole exchange with Lucy did she realize her most pressing issue—

No money!

Without money, she couldn’t build her workshop. Without money, she couldn’t buy tools. Without money, she couldn’t brew potions…

Without accomplishing these things, she could forget about getting stronger.

She also had to spend money to obtain the thing she wanted next.

In short, she needed money!

Currently, she had two legitimate ways to obtain it:

First, the monthly allowance from the Holy Land—but the amount was determined by Belon.

Even with her excellent performance, she doubted the Archbishop who wanted her gone would suddenly change his mind and start handing her piles of allowance.

Second, the scholarship at Avalon Academy.

The academy had a scholarship system. Any student who performed well during assessments could be evaluated as an elite student and receive scholarship money as encouragement.

Perhaps the likes of Lucy or Owen didn’t care about it, but for those from ordinary families, it was a substantial sum.

Via did get an Excellent on the last assessment, so she could apply for the scholarship.

But there was a problem: the scholarship was only handed out at the end of the year. Even if she applied now, she wouldn’t see a coin until then.

Not exactly helpful for her immediate needs.

Those two official routes were blocked. She had to think of something else.

I didn’t think I’d one day be fretting over money.

Via felt depressed.

When she was the Demon King, she never had to worry about finances.

Her current situation really was a little tragic.

She tried recalling ways people earned money in the human world.

Was she really going to have to… get a part-time job?

That was so un-Demon-King-like.

…

…

“Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild, miss! Our aim is to reach for the stars! Would you like to submit a quest?”

In Doff City, the closest city to Avalon Academy, the receptionist of the Adventurer’s Guild was busy greeting visitors.

It wasn’t too crowded today. She had been planning to take a nap, but as soon as someone walked in, she snapped back to full attention, putting on her professional smile.

After all, complaints of laziness would mean a dock in wages.

“I’m not here to submit a quest.”

“You’re not?”

The receptionist looked up in surprise at the hat-wearing girl in front of her. She was dressed in the Avalon Academy uniform.

Students from Avalon usually visited the guild to post request tasks—like gathering materials or defeating monsters to complete class assignments.

“I want to register as an adventurer,” said the pink-haired girl.

“You’re serious?” the receptionist asked, startled.

“Of course.”

“If I may ask—are you not sponsored by a noble family?”

The question wasn’t unusual. Avalon Academy did have some financially struggling students, but they often got sponsorships from noble houses to help with tuition, in exchange for future service.

Under that system, students generally didn’t need to worry about fees.

Becoming an adventurer to earn money would eat up too much time—leaving less for studying. That would lead to poor performance and early expulsion.

Might as well accept sponsorship.

“I haven’t taken sponsorship from any noble family—and given my situation, I can’t.”

Via lifted her head, speaking firmly.

“Ah? You’re… you’re serious?!”

The receptionist was truly stunned.

She hadn’t expected Via Shirleyford to come register as an adventurer.

The daughter of Sylvia—among the most infamous people in the entire Saint Luo Empire.

Technically, anyone in the empire or its allied nations could register as an adventurer.

But with someone of Via’s stature, she would surely need approval from the Holy Land first.

And even then—why wasn’t she just focusing on her studies?

This was bad. She’d just wanted to relax, but instead, a big problem had walked through the door.

“Apologies, Miss Via, but you aren’t allowed to register as an adventurer.”