"As you can see, mana is..."
While the lesson was going on, I lowered my head slightly and glanced at the Raven’s Crest dangling from my left hand, a smile creeping onto my face.
This really is reassuring.
It’s practically a free pass to acquire information, items, or whatever I need from the underworld at a fraction of the usual cost.
Even though the necklace from the Burrow family turned out to be worthless, getting this makes up for it.
However, my heart felt a bit heavy because of something Kurtz Newman said at the end.
‘What do you think of my son? He’s quite handsome, isn’t he?’
At first, I didn’t understand what he meant.
I just thought he was another proud father, like Benedict, wanting to show off his son.
So I went along with it, because whether I liked it or not, Chester Newman is quite pretty.
"Child, do you know what he meant by that?"
‘He just wanted to brag about his son, right?’
"Sigh, I expected as much."
It wasn’t until later, when Grandpa explained it to me, that I realized the true meaning behind Kurtz Newman’s words. He told me that noblemen’s words often have a hidden meaning.
Kurtz was asking if I had any interest in his son.
How was I supposed to know that?! I’m from the modern world, not some fantasy land!
By the time I understood what he meant, it was too late to correct myself. Kurtz Newman had already ensnared me with his sly words.
That damn old man. He planned this from the start, didn’t he?
I wondered why he was so eager to give me the Raven’s Crest, and it turns out he wanted to bind me to his family by blood?!
Weren’t you supposed to be a loving father?
Why would a father like you consider selling his son to a Mesugaki like me?
Do you really want to see your son being called a weakling♡ and a wimp♡ by his future daughter-in-law?
Do you actually want a daughter-in-law who calls you a pathetic balding head of the household♡?
What kind of value did you see in me to make you pull such a stunt?!
Ugh, Kurtz Newman, you sly, perverted old man.
When a person has such a twisted heart, their forehead starts to widen.
Even your hair can’t stand your wickedness and is running away.
Do you get that?!
What’s even more frustrating is that after that, Kurtz Newman didn’t show the slightest hint of his ulterior motives.
If he had given me a chance to object, I would’ve argued, but he kept our conversation strictly about business, like a cold-hearted merchant, leaving me no opening.
‘I will indeed give you the Raven’s Crest, but for now, please make your requests through Alsatian. Our infrastructure is lacking at the moment. However, it won’t be long before I send someone from our family there.’
I swallowed my words and left the mansion, feeling like a child who lost an argument, replaying the scene in my mind, wondering what I should have said instead.
Even now, I’m dumbfounded.
Regardless of our business relationship, I should have used my Mesugaki skills to provoke him.
"Lady Allen?"
While I was inwardly fuming, a voice calling my name made me lift my head.
The professor of Mana Studies was staring at me.
Why doesn’t he know when to give up?
No matter what trials or tribulations you throw at me, I have Grandpa by my side.
Every time you ask a question, I’ve always given the best answer, and yet you still doubt me.
You just don’t like me, right? Isn’t that it?
"Could you summarize the explanation I just gave?"
‘Grandpa.’
"I refuse."
‘Huh?’
Grandpa? Why the sudden change?
We’ve always been an unbeatable team.
We’re supposed to be in sync, knowing exactly what the other needs.
What’s gotten into you today? Why are you throwing a tantrum?
‘Why are you doing this?!’
"I think I’ve indulged you too much. To help you grow, I need to push you off a cliff every now and then."
What did I do wrong?!
Is it because I ignored your morning lecture?
I do that all the time!
Or is it because I didn’t clean you up this morning?
Weapons can get a little dirty, you know!
Desperate, I pleaded for help, promising to do better, but Grandpa remained silent.
"Lady Allen?"
Grandpa! Lucy Allen will never forget this!
Just remember that!
What do I do now?
How do I get out of this?
Frantically, I recalled the feature the useless god had given me yesterday.
The log!
Yes, if I use that, I should be able to see what the Mana Studies professor said.
I hurriedly opened the log window and scrolled up to find the professor’s words.
"What exactly are you doing?"
Found it.
So, it goes like this...
‘Mana is...’
"As the esteemed professor mentioned, mana is..."
Why, you ask? To get revenge on Grandpa.
If he wanted to give advice, he should’ve done it earlier, not waited until the trial was right in front of me and then pushed me off a cliff.
If you shove a bird off a cliff before it learns to spread its wings, it’s not going to fly.
It’s going to fall and crack its head open.
It’s a good thing I managed to spread my wings before hitting the ground, or I would’ve been humiliated.
So now it’s time for revenge.
He who tries to crack another’s head should be prepared to have his own head cracked in return.
"Child! You know I’m doing this for your own good!"
‘And I’m doing this for your own good. You need to take a shower.’
"Isn’t it strange that the water for the shower is in a toilet?!"
What does it matter? There’s nothing in there.
It might even be cleaner than seawater.
Just take a deep breath and dive in.
Oh, right, you don’t need to breathe since you’re not alive.
Perfect. I replayed the recent events in my mind, using Grandpa’s cries of protest from the toilet as background music.
Back when this was just a game, the log function was pretty useless.
It was just there to show character dialogue, items you acquired, or how much experience you gained.
If you weren’t familiar with the game, I suppose it might have been helpful, but as a veteran of Soul Academy, it was a button I never touched.
When I was playing the game, I could control all the variables myself, so why would I bother checking the log?
Character dialogue?
I’ve heard it thousands, if not tens of thousands of times, so replaying it was pointless.
When you’ve memorized exactly what someone is going to say next, what’s the point in reading it again?
But this world isn’t a game; it’s reality.
A world where I can’t control all the variables.
Here, the log function is more meaningful than I ever imagined.
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Just look at how easily I answered the professor’s question just now.
This is definitely a useful feature.
Unfortunately, there’s a limit to how far I can scroll back, so it doesn’t record everything that’s happened, but this much is enough.
"Ughhhhh..."
Grandpa’s groans, as if he were genuinely being tortured, echoed from the toilet where he had been submerged for a while.
His acting skills are no joke.
Did he think that by making me feel guilty, I’d hesitate?
‘Grandpa, tell me. Are you going to keep acting like this?’
"Do you think this will make me give up?! I won’t say a word until you’ve learned to solve your problems on your own!"
‘Oh, really?’
Grandpa, you don’t know this, but I’ve just gained a very useful ability.
Even if you don’t help me with the academy exams, I have plenty of other ways to get by.
There’s a limit to how much the log can store, but it can easily record everything that happens in a day.
As long as I skim through the material before the exam, it’ll be like taking an open-book test!
Even without Grandpa’s help, I’m practically guaranteed a perfect score!
"Are you bluffing?"
‘Bluffing? If that’s what you think, go ahead and believe it.’
"Huh? What have you obtained?"
‘Well, I’ve...’
Suddenly, the restroom door burst open while I was in the middle of talking to Grandpa.
A female student, chatting happily with her friend, walked in, only to freeze when she saw me. After a couple of seconds, she snapped back to reality.
"Oh, I’m so sorry!"
She grabbed her friend’s hand and hurried out. Once I could no longer hear their footsteps, I sighed and ran a hand over my face.
"Um, child?"
‘Shut up, Grandpa.’
"...Okay."
I wonder what kind of strange rumors will start circulating now.
While it wasn’t the first time weird rumors about me had spread, this one was a bit too much. Joy, who was clearly upset, voiced her indignation, but I couldn’t respond.
There was a bit of exaggeration, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.
I’m sure those girls never expected that I was torturing a mace in the toilet water.
"I was so angry when I heard the other noble girls talking about it."
‘...Joy, I’m fine.’
"Do you really have time to worry about me, you clueless noble? Pfft, anyone would think you’ve gotten less clueless."
"What’s wrong with being concerned?"
I teased Joy about being narrow-minded when she pouted at my comment, and she turned her head away, sulking.
Watching her, I realized how much closer we’d become since the beginning.
At this point, it wouldn’t be strange to call her a friend, right?
I’m so happy that I could become friends with my favorite character.
Seeing her like this makes all the struggles I’ve gone through feel worth it.
Ah, what if Joy comes to me for relationship advice one day?
Should I just grit my teeth for her happiness?
As I contemplated this, I began to understand how Benedict must have felt when he fretted over the idea of me getting a boyfriend.
Of course, there’s a huge difference between me and Benedict.
While my chances of dating anyone are close to zero, Joy is different.
Should I start preparing myself emotionally?
"By the way, Lady Allen, Lady Kent, have you started preparing for midterms?"
Perhaps sensing that she’d be teased endlessly, Joy hurriedly changed the subject.
Though her intention was obvious, I decided to play along.
‘Of course.’
"Worried about me? You’re the one who lost to me in the entrance exam, clueless noble."
"This time will be different."
Will it really?
Joy, I admit you’re smart, but do you think you can beat someone who’s cheating legally?
I’m invincible! The log function is godlike!
The log is going to copy my grades!
As I puffed out my chest confidently, a small voice chimed in from beside me.
"I’m leaving it to fate."
Freyr, with his usual stoic expression, made a ridiculous statement.
Coming from someone who once aimed for a special entrance to the academy, it’s not something he should be saying, but I guess it’s lucky there’s such a thing as special admissions.