Becoming Reina’s direct subordinate… or rather, her teaching assistant, didn’t really change much.
Even though people said I didn’t seem like a student or whatever, she must have thought it was too much to have a freshman handle things like lecture preparations. Most of the time, she just told me to live like any other regular student.
In the end, I still attended lectures like everyone else, only stepping in to assist when specifically called upon.
But… is it really okay to receive such a huge amount of money for doing just that?
I couldn’t help but question it, so I asked her, and she responded nonchalantly:
“How can you be so sure that’s all you’ll be doing? Who knows what tasks await you? I think I’ve paid a fair price.”
What on earth is she planning to make me do? A sudden wave of unease washed over me.
Still, it was too late to back out—my wallet had already grown satisfyingly thick. Resigning myself to whatever would come, I decided to just let things play out.
What’s the worst that could happen? I mean, this is Professor Reina from the esteemed Trier family. Nothing major, surely.
And if something does come up… I’ll deal with it then.
After that, the day’s lectures ended without any notable incidents.
For my next appointment, training with Lilith, I packed my stuff and headed out of the lecture hall. Following me were Seria and Lilith.
“…Wait a minute, Seria. Why are you coming along?”
Ah, come to think of it, I forgot to mention to Lilith that Seria would be joining us. Lilith, puzzled, turned her gaze to Seria, who answered first:
“From today, I’ll be assisting Lilith as well.”
“Wait, what? Why? Rudion, what’s this about? Why is she suddenly tagging along?”
It wasn’t something I intended to keep secret, so I explained the situation. Then, without warning, Lilith leaned in close to Seria and whispered conspiratorially.
“Seria.”
“Yes?”
“You just wanted to hang out with him, didn’t you?”
“…No, I didn’t.”
“Don’t lie to me! It’s obvious! Oh boy, you’re just itching to show your feelings, aren’t you?”
“W-Wait! Your voice is too loud! Keep it down a little…!”
I couldn’t catch everything they were saying, but they seemed to be getting along. That was a relief, especially since they were so frosty yesterday.
It was comforting to know Lilis had made another friend besides me.
When we arrived at the training arena, we did a light warm-up before starting. Surprisingly, Lilith’s movements had improved significantly in just a single day.
It was as if she had gone from a newbie button-masher in a fighting game to someone who now understood concepts like frame timing and reach.
Though still a bit stiff overall, likely due to inexperience, her natural physical abilities allowed her to engage in combat quite effectively.
Did she really improve this much on her own? At this rate, I might be able to make a “graduation joke” way sooner than expected.
Thinking this, I passed the baton to Seria.
But then…
“Hold on. If you channel your magic like that, it delays the activation time. Try this instead.”
“L-Like this?”
“No, that’s wrong. Look, Lilith, you’re doing it like this right now, right? That causes a momentary stall just before manifestation. Don’t you feel it?”
“I… don’t feel it.”
To my surprise, Seria was way more serious about this than I had expected.
Lilith, who had been sweating bullets during her sparring with me, was now struggling in an entirely different way.
“Holy energy is different? Don’t give me that nonsense. I just analyzed it, and the structure is exactly the same as magic. Stop making excuses and follow what I’m telling you.”
…Was bringing Seria the right decision? No, it was. But somehow, I felt a pang of guilt.
Sorry, Lilith. I didn’t think Seria would be this intense.
“How long does this training have to last…?” Lilith, who had been so full of enthusiasm, now muttered in resignation.
If even she was saying that, it seemed Seria might have a knack for being a relentless taskmaster.
Still, I couldn’t tell her to give up. I had to encourage her somehow.
“You just need to push a little more. You’re growing fast.”
“…Save me.”
Come on, you’ll be fine. You’re improving incredibly quickly.
I thought that, but I didn’t say it out loud. This hardship would serve as motivation for her.
Get stronger, Lilith. Strong enough to bring this training to an end.
“Ah, wait a second, Lilith. Could you use that spell you showed earlier one more time?”
“…Wasn’t it over already?”
“If you’re going to do it tomorrow anyway, might as well get it out of the way now. Hurry up and cast it.”
“Can’t you just give me a break….”
“Sure, I’ll give you a break after you show me the spell.”
“That’s not the kind of break I meant… haah, fine, I’ll do it.”
Hang in there, Lilith!
Thanks to Seria’s unexpectedly intense zeal for teaching, Lilith’s training didn’t end until evening.
“It’s later than I thought. I’ll have to do my campus service after dinner.”
“Maybe it’s because you spent too much time tormenting Lilith.”
“I wasn’t tormenting her; I was teaching her.”
To say that while standing next to a zombie-like Lilith—how shameless could she get? Looks like Lilith will have a rough time for a while.
Still, it’s all for her benefit in the end, so I guess it’s a good thing.
We headed to the student cafeteria for dinner. The ceiling was still damaged, and since there didn’t seem to be any students capable of using light-element magic at the moment, the place was quite dim.
Noticing this, Lilith instinctively cast a light spell to brighten the surroundings.
It was commendable of her to use magic for others, but…
“Lilith, didn’t I just tell you earlier not to use your light magic like that?”
Apparently, Seria couldn’t see it as anything other than another mistake.
And with yet another lecture, Lilith’s long day of training finally ended.
…I think I saw tears welling up in her eyes as she ate her meal, but maybe I imagined it.
After finishing dinner, we left the cafeteria. Lilith quickly slipped away, leaving me alone with Seria.
We still had campus service to do, but with the sun already set, it felt absurd to start now.
“It’s fine. Rudion, you’ll stay with me, right?”
Seria smiled brightly as if nothing was wrong.
What difference does it make if I’m with her? She doesn’t seem like the type to be scared of ghosts or anything, so the darkness shouldn’t bother her.
Maybe she just didn’t want to be alone?
I wasn’t sure, but it seemed better to finish quickly and head back before it got any darker.
“So, what’s the task for campus service?”
“There’s no specific task. Professor Reina just assigns something new each day.”
“And what’s today’s assignment?”
“Cleaning the staff area.”
But that area must’ve already been cleaned by the academy’s janitors.
So, it’s basically busywork to keep us occupied.
The staff area wouldn’t have many students around to notice even if something were out of place. The real message was probably, “Just pretend to do something and go back.”
When we arrived, the staff area was spotless. There wasn’t even a scrap of trash to pick up.
“It’s like we just came out for a stroll.”
“Not having to do anything is great. Let’s just wander around for a bit and then head back.”
“Sounds good. Oh, right, Rudion. By the way, in the dorms yesterday….”
In the end, we called it a day for campus service, walking around while listening to Seria chatter.
Since professors lived in private housing rather than dormitories, it felt more like strolling through a residential area.
“This kept happening every day, so when other people’s complaints didn’t change anything, I just froze their window shut so they couldn’t open it.”
Listening to her talk, I realized Seria was more of a troublemaker than I thought.
Or maybe not a troublemaker—a dark hero, dealing with villains in her own way?
Some people just think about it, but she actually does it. That’s what sets apart someone with no inhibitions.
As we continued our conversation and walked on, the sky turned completely dark, and the lights around us began flickering on one by one.
“Should we head back?”
“Sounds good. Thanks for helping out today, Rudion.”
“I didn’t do anything, though.”
If anything, you worked harder training Lilith. And Lilith suffered even more for it.
“Just tagging along was enough. I appreciate it.”
Seria’s gratitude seemed entirely genuine.
Well, if she says so, I won’t argue. There’s no need to go out of my way to refute a thank-you.
“This feels just like yesterday. Let’s work well again tomorrow, Rudion.”
“Sure. Get home safe.”
We parted ways in the same spot as the day before.
‘Today was surprisingly peaceful.’
I thought that as I returned to my dorm room, only to be greeted by the sight of a crumbled wall.
Right, the wall broke this morning… I take back the “peaceful” comment.
With a weary sigh, I glanced past the broken wall and made eye contact with Fran, who was busily packing his belongings.
“Ah, Rudion, you’re back. I’m organizing my things to move them to my lab.”
I’m not really interested in your personal affairs. Could you maybe start with fixing the wall?
After that, life settled into a routine.
I attended lectures daily, helped Lilith with her training, and followed Seria during her campus service.
Occasionally, I exchanged a few words with the upper-class students, but I didn’t grow particularly close to any of them. There seemed to be a sense of distance, as if they found me intimidating.
Well, I am Reina’s direct assistant. Even though we’re in the same lectures, I suppose they’d find me unapproachable from a regular student’s perspective. I didn’t go out of my way to engage with them either. There’s plenty of time, and I’m sure there will be opportunities to interact in the future.
Oh, and… the dormitory wall remained wide open.
Fran stopped coming back to the dorm since the day he moved his things to his lab. So now, it felt like I had a larger room to myself.
When I ran into him in the student cafeteria and asked, he said he had no intention of returning and told me to just treat it as my own room.
But living alone in a larger space only meant more area to clean, so I didn’t really make use of it.
The weekend passed, and a new week began.
On the day the student cafeteria’s ceiling repairs were finally completed, Seria’s campus service also came to an end.
At the same time, the student council’s break period concluded… and that’s when things started to go awry.
[Alkine: If you see this message, please come to the student council immediately. A new rift has appeared.]
I wasn’t particularly surprised. A rift appearing before the end of the first semester wasn’t unexpected. This wasn’t the first time the timeline had diverged from the original story.
Considering the altered difficulty, it was within expectations that dangerous situations would arise more frequently.
“What’s going on with that thing?” asked Grain.
“…President, I think we’re screwed.”
“What?”
Crack—
“That thing is about to blow any second now.”
But I hadn’t expected the rift to end up in such a state.
What the hell is going on with it?