Chapter 4: Provocation

Mistira Magic Academy, the premier institution on the continent of Tarola, truly lived up to its renowned reputation.

The ancient Magic Tower pierced the clouds, with bridges arching like rainbows connecting every corner. In the courtyards, rare flowers and exotic plants were meticulously maintained by magic, blooming in every season and exuding a tranquil, profound fragrance.

The air was filled with vibrant particles of magic, so invigorating that even a single breath made one feel spirited.

However, for Camilla, none of this compared to the allure of her own room’s soft, inviting bed.

She was dressed in a brand-new academy uniform, trailing listlessly behind Ophelia.

The short skirt, just barely covering her hips, revealed her slender yet shapely legs wrapped in white stockings, quivering gently with each step.

In stark contrast to Camilla’s timidity, her elder sister strode forward with confidence, her golden hair flowing.

Everywhere she went, new and old students alike cast looks filled with awe, admiration, and curiosity.

“Look, that’s Ophelia Virlette…”

“I heard she got the highest score ever recorded on every part of the entrance exam!”

“The black-haired girl behind her… is that her sister? She looks so plain.”

Exactly! I just want to be a background character!

Camilla screamed in her heart, doing her best to minimize her presence, wishing she could write “Passerby A” right on her forehead.

After all, her screen time in the original story was pitiful—she only appeared three times in total.

Once, at the start of the game, she watched her sister leave for the royal capital; then in the middle, during a Chaos Cult kidnapping incident; and, in some endings, she might show up briefly in a cg, while in other endings, she disappeared entirely.

And yet, here she was, admitted to Mistira Magic Academy—one of the game’s major early stages—and now a supporting character?

No way!

I don’t want to get dragged into the main plot! Early and mid-game might be manageable, but the late-game “Abyssal Incident” isn’t something an ordinary person could survive.

Yeah, I’ll just muddle through these four years at the academy.

After all, it’s enough if my sister saves the world—there’s so much more for a professional slacker like Camilla to consider…

As Camilla was thinking this, Ophelia suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong, sis?”

Camilla hurriedly halted, nearly bumping into her, causing the buttons on her uniform to strain under the pressure.

“Camilla, I need to head to the Headmaster’s office for a while to handle some final enrollment procedures.”

As she spoke, Ophelia led Camilla to a relatively quiet corridor in the courtyard, where public benches had been set out for students to rest.

“Wait for me here. Don’t go anywhere, understand?”

Ophelia fixed her sister with an icy blue gaze that brooked no argument.

“Yes, yes, dearest sister.”

Camilla answered feebly, practically collapsing onto an ornate wooden bench.

“I promise, I’ll stay here and grow like a mushroom until you come back.”

Ophelia seemed like she wanted to say more, but seeing Camilla’s slouching “couch potato” pose, she only pressed her lips together, turned, and strode off.

Her brisk figure soon disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Finally, she’s gone…

Camilla let out a long breath. Sunlight filtered through vines winding around the pillars, dappling the ground with warm, golden spots. Combined with the faintly hypnotic fragrance of flowers in the courtyard, her eyelids began to droop.

Just a little nap.

The academy’s so big—there’s no way I’d get in trouble just by dozing off for a bit, right…

Yet just as she was about to slip into a sweet sleep, a timid, hesitant voice spoke right beside her ear.

“U-um… Excuse me, is the classroom for Elemental Theory (Beginner) in this direction?”

Reluctantly, Camilla lifted her eyelids to see a girl in a freshman’s uniform, just like her.

The girl had messy flaxen hair tied back with a simple leather string, a delicate face tinged with a sickly pallor, and clear yet anxious eyes.

Her hands nervously twisted the hem of her shirt.

Her uniform’s fabric was clearly much plainer—somewhat faded and worn—an obvious sign of a commoner student.

But the moment Camilla saw that face, it felt as though she’d been struck by lightning.

All sleep vanished, and she sprang up from the bench!

“Emma?”

She blurted out the name.

“Eh? You… you know me?”

The commoner girl—Emma—was startled by Camilla’s reaction and instinctively took half a step back, confusion written all over her face.

She was sure she’d never met this finely dressed, pretty black-haired girl before.

How could the other possibly know her name?

No mistake!

This face, that aura, and even this reaction…

Although she looked younger and plainer than her in-game portrait, she was undoubtedly the girl from Sage Reincarnation—Emma Gattuso!

In , this seemingly frail commoner girl was also one of the protagonist’s romance targets, a genius who passed the entrance exams with a perfect score in all elements.

According to the original story, Miss Emma was supposed to appear a month after the school started, during a magic practical lesson.

After class, a group of Noble Students would try to harass her, only for Ophelia to step in and save her—their first meeting.

But in this real world, she wasn’t an NPC who only spawned at a fixed point, so running into her by chance in the academy wasn’t impossible after all!

Suddenly enlightened, Camilla quickly regained her composure and forced a friendly smile.

“Oh, it’s nothing. You just look a lot like a friend from my hometown, who’s also called Emma.”

“Eh? R-really… haha, what a coincidence.”

Emma smiled shyly, her silly and bashful expression so at odds with the image of the spell-slinging powerhouse from the game that Camilla found it hard to reconcile the two.

After all, for now, Emma was just a hardworking commoner genius who probably had to scramble to pay her tuition.

“The classroom for Elemental Theory (Beginner) is this way.”

With her thorough knowledge of the academy’s layout, Camilla pointed in the right direction.

“Go straight down this corridor, turn left at the end, then when you see a Fountain Statue, turn right—the Blue-domed Building is the one you’re looking for.”

“Th-thank you so much!”

Relieved, Emma gave a deep bow, her flaxen hair swaying with the motion.

She looked up, giving a sincere, slightly bashful smile.

“You’ve really helped me. I’ve been looking for so long…”

That smile made something in Camilla’s heart soften.

Putting the plot aside, a girl who was so earnest and a little clumsy was definitely easy to like.

“It’s nothing, really…”

Camilla waved her hand, ready to say something more to get closer—after all, there’s no harm in making friends.

But just then, a harsh voice rudely cut in.

“Well, well, who do we have here? Isn’t this the country bumpkin who sneaked into the academy with some mysterious recommendation letter?”

Camilla’s brows knitted as she followed the voice, spotting three Noble Students in lavishly tailored uniforms swaggering toward them.

Leading the pack was a brown-haired boy with his chin held absurdly high—the owner of that malicious voice.

Emma’s face went instantly pale, her body trembling, head lowered in fear like a startled rabbit.

“The Second Son of the Barton Family…”

Camilla instantly called up the info from her game memories.

A classic cannon-fodder rich kid, the sort who only existed to hand out early-game experience to the protagonist group.

Can’t believe I’m running into such a classic scene wherever I go.

Camilla rolled her eyes inwardly.