Chapter 55
. Midterm Exam (6)
“How long was I asleep?”
“It’s Saturday now, so about five days.”
“Five days?!”
That meant all the midterm exams for every class were already over. Was I going to fail all of them…?
Seeing my expression, Maria smiled gently.
“If you’re worried about midterms, don’t be. The Academy is mostly at fault for this incident, so Hazen and Castro agreed to handle the adjustments.”
“That’s a relief.”
“And Hazen left a message for you.”
She cleared her throat and mimicked Hazen’s voice.
“‘I regret that you were caught up in this matter again. It is entirely my fault for failing to conduct the exam properly. If there is anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.’ That’s what he said.”
“I see.”
The most shocking thing about this incident was that Hazen had been nearby the whole time, yet hadn’t sensed a thing.
The only ones in Lost Paradise who could match Hazen in ability were the top-level executives—the Delegates. Could it be that they had already made a move?
No, if that were the case, the Academy would’ve been in ruins by now. And those guys weren’t in a position to declare all-out war just yet.
As I pondered this, Maria clapped her hands to change the atmosphere.
“Oh, right! Quite a few people came to visit you.”
“Who came?”
“Someone from Serenia, a direct line of the Lightzers, two others, and of course the Laplace direct line who’s still sitting on your lap right now.”
So basically, everyone I fought alongside had come.
“Seren came too, and even the Lightzers’ prodigy showed up.”
Seren was to be expected, but Lesta showing up was a bit surprising.
“Contrary to rumors, I was relieved to see you were doing well. Your friends all seemed nice and cheerful, too. It was quite lively.”
Did they all end up meeting because of me?
Since that kind of scene was rare, it felt a little regretful that I had been unconscious through it. But there was still something I was worried about.
“They didn’t… fight or cause trouble, did they?”
“Not really. Well, only Seren a little. She kept crying and demanding you be saved, even though I told her you’d be fine. She even insisted on staying here with Laplace, so it was quite a commotion…”
“I apologize on behalf of my sister….”
Just imagining the scene made my head ache, but Maria laughed brightly.
“No need to apologize. Spade dragged her away pretty quickly.”
Looks like Camilla had cleaned up Seren’s mess again.
Maria laughed, then gave me a meaningful look.
“Worrying about others before yourself… is that why you’re surrounded by so many girls?”
“Of course not.”
“Oh! So you’re in a love rivalry?”
“No, I’m not!”
“But really, just calling them friends doesn’t quite fit. Serenia was relieved the moment she heard you were okay, Lightzers cried, and Laplace still refuses to leave your side.”
“Well… it does sound that way if you put it like that…”
“Deny it all you want, but I’ve read plenty of romance novels with this exact setup.”
At that, Ceres’ eyes lit up.
“Are you talking about Flower of Tirvetia?”
“Oh? You know it too? I love that one!”
Maria grabbed Ceres’ hands and shook them excitedly.
What even was that?
Ceres must’ve noticed my confusion and explained.
“That novel I mentioned before—it’s about several men competing to win over one woman.”
That was a very… condensed summary.
Maria gave a wry smile.
“You make it sound so cheap. Flower of Tirvetia is about a girl named Aile, who rose from the very bottom to become the district leader in the commercial city Tirvetia. Several admirable men, each captivated by her, fiercely compete to win her heart. It’s so popular you can find it in every bookstore across the Empire.”
Ceres nodded enthusiastically.
Maria asked her, “I like Lionel the most, since he’s so energetic and hardworking. Who’s your favorite?”
“I like Ser.”
“So you like the stoic but quirky type!”
For some reason, the names and settings felt oddly familiar.
“So, so! Are you two in a love rivalry like that?”
“No. Not yet.”
“What? Not yet?! Kyaa~!”
To steer them away from this romance topic, I quickly said,
“Novels are fiction, reality is nonfiction. Please don’t confuse the two.”
“But novels are based on real experiences. So it’s not impossible, you know.”
Ceres chimed in, “There’s an old saying—‘Life is more dramatic than drama.’”
Why were they agreeing with each other on this of all things…
I had no choice but to use my trump card.
“Maybe you’re still single because you only learn about love from books…”
“…What?”
Wow. Instant effect.
Her cheerful face from earlier froze as cold as a blizzard.
Come to think of it, in this era it really was strange for someone not to be married. History books said marriage back in the Middle Ages—whether for men or women—was practically forced for politics and power.
Even with the Azereum Empire being led by a succession of female emperors and magic existing, it shouldn’t have been much different.
That she could remain unmarried meant her influence was so overwhelming that no one could dare pressure her.
As I struggled to explain myself, Ceres suddenly asked,
“So… if you learn love from books, you can’t get married?”
Ceres, no—that’s a self-destruct button!
Caught off guard, I stammered, “N-no, I didn’t mean it like that…”
Maria gave a soft smile and asked me,
“Then? Are you saying I have other reasons for not marrying?”
But her eyes weren’t smiling at all.
If this went on, I was going to get hit. So I quickly diverted.
“A-anyway, I’m the Empire’s number one troublemaker. If anything, people would be fighting to get rid of me, not fighting over me.”
Ceres nodded.
“Hmm… you’ve got a point.”
“True.”
“…I didn’t mean for you two to agree with me…”
“At least deny it politely, even if it’s a lie…”
“Well, the scale of your disasters is too big to deny. Blowing a hole in the ballroom ceiling at your first party, setting part of the Magic Tower on fire… when I heard that, I nearly fainted.”
“Ha ha…”
I really had nothing to say.
“Still, Maria, you’re not scolding me?”
“Oh, I want to. But as a priestess of the Lumen faith, I’m bound to accept all desires and treat everyone equally.”
She smiled benevolently, like a famous statue.
Lumen Church. Maybe it was a better place than I thought.
“But you scold your nephew quite a lot.”
“He needs it. He has so much potential, but wastes his time—it drives me mad.”
Her words only showed that she truly cared for Castro. She was a kind person.
“Anyway, be honest with me. Do you have someone you like among them?”
“Well, they’re all good people…”
“Oh~. A playboy, are we?”
“No! I mean as friends!”
“Sure, sure. But come on—pick just one you like the most.”
Unsure how to dodge this, I looked at Ceres for help.
“Don’t mind me—just answer Maria’s question.”
…Guess the message didn’t get through. Still, that gave me an idea.
I beckoned Maria closer and whispered in her ear.
“It’s hard to say in front of Ceres.”
Her lips curled into a wide smile as she whispered back,
“Then I’ll let it slide. But you’d better tell me the result later.”
If a result ever comes… though probably never.
Looking satisfied, Maria patted Ceres on the shoulder.
“Good luck.”
“…?!”
Startled, Ceres tried to grab her, but Maria gracefully avoided and stood.
“Well, I’ll get going. You can be discharged anytime, so rest as much as you want.”
After she left, Ceres looked at me, eyes trembling.
“What did she mean? Why did she pat my shoulder?!”
“I dunno. I have no idea.”
Well, I knew what she was hinting at… but the exact reason? Who knew.
Ceres furrowed her brows angrily and lightly thumped my chest. But with her weakest-of-the-weak strength stat, it was softer than a kitten’s paw.
Deciding that wasn’t enough, she started to cast magic.
“W-wait! Magic is cheating!”
“Then tell me.”
“She didn’t say anything! I just told her I couldn’t say it!”
“Liar.”
“I’m not lying!”
I’d only been joking, but I thought I was about to die for real. Thankfully, Ceres calmed down quickly.
Still, she crossed her arms and turned her back to me, clearly still sulking. Smiling wryly, I pulled a comb from my subspace pouch and began brushing her hair.
Her voice softened.
“Feels… familiar.”
“See? I’m good at this.”
“Was it Seren who did this for you?”
“Maybe.”
“Your mother?”
“I’m not that good of a son.”
A strangely mismatched but fitting conversation followed. Then I asked,
“By the way, why were you sleeping on top of me?”
“I stayed because I was worried about you.”
“To take care of me?”
She shook her head.
“Then why?”
She smirked playfully.
“Secret. I’m not telling.”
This girl…
Looking triumphant, she even hummed a little tune. Well, it didn’t matter.
I continued combing her hair, and since it was long, I got carried away and styled it into a half-tied braid.
Then I showed her with a mirror.
“How’s this, ma’am? Do you like it?”
“Is this a style you like?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
She turned, checked her reflection, and nodded.
“I like it. I’ll wear it like this forever.”
“No need to go that far…”
At that moment, Reyna and Ridipin walked in. Reyna sighed the moment she saw Ceres.
“Knew I’d find you here.”
“No one can stop me.”
Ceres puffed out her chest proudly, and Reyna pinched her cheeks.
“What do you mean no one? You disappeared and threw Iris Hall into chaos yesterday. The head maid thought something happened to you—she was crying her eyes out.”
“…Sorry.”
Ceres lowered her head. Reyna released her cheeks and patted her gently.
“I smoothed things over, so don’t worry too much.”
“Thanks.”
Meanwhile, Ridipin brought over a chair and sat in front of me.
“A-are you okay?”
“As long as I don’t push myself, I’ll be fine.”
“Th-that’s good…”
“You’re the only one truly worried about me.”
“N-no, that’s not true…”
Still, she looked happy.
Then Reyna and Ceres chimed in.
“I worried too! I just believed you’d be fine because you’re you.”
“I worried too.”
“Thanks, everyone.”
Though it felt like I was being thanked for something I didn’t quite earn.
Maybe noticing my thoughts, Reyna added,
“We really did worry. Ceres even cried in your arms…”
Ceres quickly covered her mouth.
“R-Ridipin also held Ban’s hand and cried!”
Ridipin panicked.
“T-that’s not true! And Reyna, you cried too!”
“I did not…”
Suddenly, the three of them were exposing each other. Their bickering was surprisingly heartwarming, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Still, this was a medical ward—we couldn’t keep making a racket.
“Alright, alright. Calm down. So basically, you all cried because of me, huh?”
“No, we didn’t!”
All three shouted at once, ending the quarrel for now.
After they settled down, Ceres naturally sat back down on my lap.
“…Why are you sitting there again?”
“It’s comfy.”
At her confident reply, the others just gave wry smiles and let it go.
Then Reyna asked,
“Ban. Do you remember anything?”
I gave the excuse I’d prepared.
“I was swallowed by the field boss, gave Ridipin the antidote, then tried using magic to escape… but the backlash knocked me out. I just woke up.”
“I see…”
Reyna looked disappointed.
“Actually, the person who saved me during the initiation appeared again this time. They saved you and Ridipin too. I don’t know where they came from or how, but I thought maybe you caught some clue to their identity. Guess it was just wishful thinking.”
She wouldn’t find out it was me. With the forest overrun by field bosses, the area couldn’t be investigated properly anyway.
And since no one suspected Kim Sehyun’s identity, the operation had worked perfectly.
If suspicion ever did fall on me, I believed Reyna, Drenner, Ceres, and Sonia—the ones who fought beside me—would deny it.
Then Ridipin noticed Ceres’ hair.
“Y-your hairstyle looks different.”
“Ban did it for me. Looks good, right?”
“It does…”
Reyna circled around her, admiring.
“You really did this, Ban? It’s so neat.”
“Want me to do yours too?”
“Yeah!”
Reyna hummed happily as she sat down, and I started combing her hair.
Ridipin, meanwhile, watched quietly with envious eyes.
What was there to envy about this?
I patted the seat next to me.
“Sit here. After Reyna, I’ll do yours too.”
“M-me? I-I don’t…”
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”
“N-no! I-I want to…”
So the four of us crowded together, and I carefully combed their hair. Somehow, it felt like this must be what raising daughters would be like. It made me smile.
Still, I had plenty to do.
I needed to figure out why the field boss suddenly changed, and I had to claim the reward for the second main event.
But I wasn’t in a hurry.
My body was still wrecked anyway, so taking it easy for once wasn’t bad.
“Once I finish your hair, let’s go eat. I’ve been sleeping for five days—I’m starving. Since I owe you all, it’s my treat.”
“Sounds great!”
Reyna answered cheerfully, Ridipin smiled softly, and Ceres shook her head excitedly.
A spring breeze drifted in through the window.
Spring was ending, and summer was slowly approaching—the wind carried a faint warmth with it.
