Chapter 32: The Occupation of Ophelis Hall (2)

Among all her senses, Lortel was most confident with her sense of smell.

After all, merchants survive in business by relying on it. The same was true for her.

Someone with the business acumen to smell trends that others have yet to notice would enable them to act faster.

And the opportunity to make quick and easy money usually came from that half-step difference. The way out of a tight situation also depended on that step.

‘Proposal for Assistance of Ophelis Hall Students Returning to School’

Lortel folded the handwritten proposal in half as she sat at her desk in her room. She then put the letter inside an envelope and sealed it with some wax.

“As expected, it’s been raining quite a bit.”

Raindrops splashed on her window. The gloomy sky only served to look like it agreed with how regrettable it was that vacation was coming to an end.

More than half of the rooms in Ophelis Hall were still empty. The deadline for returning back to the academy was not until this weekend, which was when the dormitory would spring back up to life like usual. But before then, it would continue to be a lonely and quiet place.

Lortel felt gloomy walking the dark corridors alone, the rain whipping against the windows as she passed. Though, like a paradox, the gloomy and dreary atmosphere was rather comforting at the same time.

This land of learning had too many sources of light for her.

There were the students, all of whom were full of hopes and dreams that a beautiful future was waiting for them. They devoted themselves to studying and were always so dazzlingly bright.

Was this the light of adolescence?

The term had always felt a bit awkward to her. But that was only natural as it was a completely unknown world to Lortel.

A bright light would only reveal all the dirt on one’s body.

When she looked down at her desk, all she could see were papers full of depressing intentions.

She was in contact with the representative of the lower-ranked students, Willain.

With his teeth clenched, he was looking for an opportunity to get at the academy but also at the students living in Ophelis Hall. This ongoing heavy rain as everyone returned to school was a sure opportunity for him.

If they were to create a random cause that the lower-ranked to average-ranked students could rally behind, the complaints would surely start piling up. The Willam would come in, a master instigator who was also a master orator. He would then use that incident as a trigger to finish up everything else.

The head maid in charge of Ophelis Hall was already on Lortel’s side, part of the academy’s Administrative Proposal Review Department as well. They would enthusiastically support Lortel’s proposal for sure. It was a proposal to adjust when the Ophelis Hall students would need to come back to the academy.

It was a completely different treatment compared to an ordinary student who had to tough it out and return back to school in this heavy downpour.

But it didn’t matter if the school would accept Lortel’s proposal or not. Just the fact alone that they would seriously consider such a plan would be enough to infuriate the other students.

“This peaceful atmosphere will soon be gone.”

This incident needed to be as big and grand as possible, The more property damage there was, the better.

No.

If possible, it would be for the best if the whole of Ophelis Hall itself was completely destroyed.

On top of the ledger was the academy’s flow of money. This was completely Lortel’s territory. The flow of funds and the structure of finances were things she could clearly deduce just by playing around with the academy a few times.

Silvenia’s finances were already in a crisis. The repair work of Nail and Glockt Hall due to the Glasskan incident already required funds from the Elte Company.

The academy’s chronic cash shortage would be easier than taking candy from a baby at this point. There wouldn’t even be a need to open the school’s financial records.

Lortel had been able to clearly assess the situation with her own two eyes just by attending the academy for a semester. Estimating the school’s quarterly cash flow would be easy to calculate with just a piece of paper, a quill, and some ink to write the formulas down.

Headmaster Obel’s perpetual external activities outside of school grounds also became clear.

He had been trying to solve the cash bottleneck that had only gone worse this semester. The VIPs he had met were all extremely wealthy and influential people. He had been constantly running around on his own two feet with his sleeves rolled up, in search of a financier.

The academy’s financial structure itself was not that bad. But having a payment due date would be a disaster, and could destroy even the most sturdy asset structures at once. ‘Assets’ and ‘Cash’ were completely different concepts, after all.

Bankruptcy caused by poor management was a reality that one needed to calmly accept. However, bankruptcies caused by a temporary cash bottleneck felt too unfair, to the point it could make blood flow from one’s eyes.

The academy’s management would do their best to stop that from happening.

Lortel pushed her creaky chair back and leaned against the window.

Ophelis Hall was the most luxurious and magnificent among all the buildings in the academy.

The dormitory was full of valuables and expensive pieces of art. The stained glass that was embroidered on the wall was handcrafted by a famous artisan whose name remained in history. The wallpaper, the carpet, and even the wooden furniture–all were handmade by famous craftsmen.

There were things that shouldn’t even be in an academy. Noble families and other influential people had donated many pieces of art to inflate their egos.

A bombastic incident right now would become a fatal blow to the school’s finances since they were already in a tight spot.

This would give the Elte Company an edge in the planned negotiations to purchase the ‘Sage’s Seal.’

The magic book was the heart of Silvenia, but for an academy that was truly on its last legs, putting its heart out on the negotiating table was inevitable.

“When will the rain stop?”

The rain continued its heavy downpour as Lortel looked out the window.

No light could be seen under the gloomy sky. It looked like the sky she used to look up at from her shabby house in the ghettos. It gave her a sense of comfort.

Whenever rainwater would drip into her shabby house in the ghettos, all the cockroaches that had been hiding in the corners would come out to find new cracks of darkness to hide into, avoiding the light. Lortel remembered the memory with a sense of kinship with the critters.

This land of learning that was full of romanticism… had too many sources of light for Lortel.

She, who had been living in darkness, her entire body that had been covered in dirt was clearer to see.

The traces of a scheme lying on her desk were proof.

The traces of a person who had always stabbed others in the back, doubted their own innermost thoughts, and lived a life devoid of sincerity. Her life had already become like this when she came to her senses after struggling to survive for so long. But none of that changed the fact that she was dirty all along.

And so she became obsessed, wandering around, finding others who were just like her.

Even in Silvenia, full of sparkling bright students, just maybe… maybe there was someone here who could sympathize with the life of a dirty gutter rat?

Leaning on such fleeting hopes, Lortel looked up at the dark clouds in the sky and quietly said,

“I’m lonely.”

No matter how hard she tried, her nature would never change. Her stance on how to survive in this miserable reality would always be the same.

She was the man behind the curtain, as the audience called it.

* * *

Translator – Plumper

Proofreader – kianianian

* * *

[Life Skills Details]

Grade: Intermediate Craftsmen

Specialized Fields: Woodworking

܀ Handicraft Level 13

܀ Design Level 8

܀ Foraging Level 11

܀ Woodworking Level 12

܀ Hunting Level 8

܀ Fishing Level 6

܀ Cooking Level 6

܀ Repair Level 5

《 Advanced Production Technique Slot: Empty 》

《 Advanced Production Technique Slot: Empty 》

Shwaaaaaaa…

It was a heavy downpour.

There had been times before when it rained a little bit, but this was the first long and ongoing heavy rain since I lived out here, surviving in the wild.

Thankfully, I was able to set up a simple tent over the bricks I had been drying, but it was inevitable they would still retain some moisture from the air. If I had just a bit more time, maybe even just a week, then I could have used magic to finish drying them off and stored them separately… what awful timing.

I would have no choice but to delay any outdoor work if it kept on raining like this. Well, of course, I would need to go out and hunt in the rain if I ran out of food. But I’m not exactly short on food right now, at least.

I sat by the fire under a tent, quietly listening to the sound of the rain falling on top of me as I read up on the upcoming second-semester Elemental Studies textbook.

Rainwater kept on leaking inside my cabin so I couldn’t relax inside at all. It seemed the mud I roughly applied by itself did not make it completely waterproof. Just as I thought, I needed to think of how I was going to solve my flooring and inner wall issues.

I was completely focused on my studies even on such a rainy day like this. The most important thing I needed to concentrate on was Intermediate Magic Theory.

Knowing how to do Intermediate Magic was a criterion for determining one’s position as a professional magician. Knowing three or four different types of intermediate magic before the end of your third year in the academy meant you were a magician who had already achieved a lot. I needed to work even harder.

School would resume in three days. The occupation of Ophelis Hall would take place on the last day of vacation.

The time was near.

The Ophelis Hall Occupation incident was a stepping-stone event.

Lortel used this event to put the academy’s finances in a tight spot before the main event of Act 2 began, which was the battle over the ‘Sage’s Seal’ between the academy and the Elte Company.

It was an event that strengthened Lortel’s position as the man behind the black curtain, someone who was manipulating things behind the scenes.

For the players playing at that time, this was when the gap between Lortel and who she really was was at its widest.

Either way, I already knew what Lortel was planning, what her goal was, and what would happen. I didn’t have any reason to intervene in Lortel’s scheme.

She was someone who needed to create a power able to rival Princess Penia’s student council. She would form ‘The Top,’ an independent interest group within the academy.

From my experience when playing the game, I thought the balance of power between the two camps should be about the same.

Princess Penia’s idealism and tolerance have the power to unite the two groups. However, her high ideals were far from being realistic, thus creating contradictions and discrepancies in the academic policy.

On the other hand, Lortel’s realism and drive had the power to efficiently lead the groups, but her cruel and by-the-book judgment based on values and numbers made the members of her camp too cruel and cold-hearted.

Ultimately, the important thing was which side Taylee would choose. Whichever side he would join would end up winning in the end. This meant I had to keep my eye on them to make sure I stick to the side that was most likely to win.

If you just called me a complete opportunist, then you were absolutely right.

It’s better than being foolish, not knowing what was going on and then wasting precious once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

I also needed to eat to survive, you know?

“Ahhh… I should head back to the dorm now. I thought it would stop raining today for sure.”

It was only a little bit past noon, and yet the sky was gloomy and dark, as if it was already early evening.

Yennekar squeezed her drenched skirt and went by the fire.

“You must be having quite a hard time, Ed. Since I have a place I go back to, it feels like I’m just out camping when I visit but… but you need to stay out here even when it rains like this.”

“It will get better as time goes by.”

Perhaps it was because she had always enjoyed being in the northern forest in the first place, but Yennekar would often visit the camp and use the campfire to cook, or sit under a tree and read a book.

Since the new semester hadn’t started yet, Yennekar seemed to be using all her time for her own healing. Here, she didn’t have to be conscious of other people’s opinions and she could spend her entire days with the spirits she loved.

Of course, this camp was where I desperately struggle to survive.

In a way, it was kind of rude of her to keep coming here and treating it like some resthouse. But considering all the tools and food she had been bringing, I thought it was a fair trade.

“Come to think of it, it’s almost time for me to leave my room at Ophelis Hall.”

“Ah, I guess it’s almost time for that.”

“That’s why I have to start throwing away a lot of my excess junk. Dex Hall is a lot smaller than I thought.”

Students were expected to move into their dormitories a week before and after a new semester started.

However, once classes started, students become busy and many ended up staying at Ophelis Hall for a few more days. They used the extra week to bring their luggage in or move it out.

I wasn’t sure when Yennekar would move out of her room but the fact that she had already started to pack up now meant she would only be staying at Ophelis Hall for a few more days.

“So Ed, if you need anything, let me know. Don’t you have a lot of things that you need?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I have extra blankets, cushions, watches, lanterns, and such. Apart from those, I also have some daily necessities and consumables. It would be a waste to throw them all away, not to mention it would be quite a hassle to do so. Although if you need something like furniture… since that would originally be the dorm’s property, I don’t think I would be able to bring those out.”

I could make most pieces of furniture and other daily necessities as long as I had the materials. Plus it would be great for raising my proficiency level but… it wouldn’t be a bad idea to receive whatever I could get.

After all, it would be hard to solve everything through production alone.

“That would be great.”

“Alright then. I’ll be kicked out when the semester starts so I’ll bring everything then.”

Yennekar laughed as she warmed her hands by the fire.

“But… does Lucy do that often?”

“…sometimes.”

Yennekar mentioned Lucy suddenly, as if that had been her main point from the beginning.

Lucy was currently standing still on the roof of my cabin.

Heavy rain was pouring down. The rain that had fallen on my skin wasn’t particularly cold but I was currently drenched in rainwater, an awful feeling.

Lucy, on the other hand, had her silverish white hair tied neatly. It looked like it had been done by an Ophelis Hall maid. However, one side had already gotten wet and fallen loose. Her expensive school uniform was no longer properly doing its job of covering her.

But Lucy paid no attention to all of that as she continued to stare up at the sky.

She looked lazy, as she usually does. Like she had a few screws loose. Her clothes were all messed up and her big witch hat was crooked. However, she looked strangely different today. That could be because… she was currently reminded of an archmage she had met on a rainy day just like this.

The great power that was beyond common sense that Lucy had was not something she was given for free.

A chain called fate had wrapped itself around her.

Although she had been living her life trying to escape from it, using her laziness as an excuse.

She lived her life not complicating things, ignoring her promised fate. But after a while of living as such, she finally came to her senses only to realize that so many years had already passed.

On a rainy day like this, even that girl with a few screws loose would think back on her life.

“She seems to have a lot on her mind. How should I say this… Lucy has always been… free-spirited? Something like that.”

“It’s fine. Just say she’s a person who doesn’t use her brain.”

“Ergh! That’s a bit… that’s too much.”

It couldn’t be helped. I was just stating a fact.

“She sometimes acts like that when it rains. Don’t worry about it too much. I tend to just ignore her.”

“I see… Ed, you seem quite indifferent towards Lucy…!”

Yennekar exclaimed as if she had found out something amazing.

“By the way, Yennekar.”

There was something I needed to check before she headed back to the dorm.

Just like I had mentioned, the occupation of Ophelis Hall was not a big event.

The scale of the incident itself was quite large but there weren’t many variables in play.

The incident would start when the head maid Elris invoked a large-scale spatial defensive magic circle on the roof of Ophelis Hall. That magic circle made by the Assistant Headmaster Rachel was only accessible to the head maid and the general manager of Ophelis Hall.

It was magic that was similar to that of a durable fire shutter.

It was a high-ranking magic circle that covered every door, every window, every hallway, and every crack in Ophelis Hall. Of course, it was not something that could easily be broken.

Late into the night before the first day of classes was set to resume, the students would all be busy cleaning up their rooms, and getting ready to leave early the next day for the opening ceremony.

This spatial defensive magic circle was created to use against terrorism or if a disaster were to strike. Ironically, it ended up caging the Ophelis Hall students into their rooms like a barbed wire.

All the maids would be oblivious to the situation since they were on their way to an emergency meeting in the staff room but… they also ended up getting locked in there.

This would make the hallways of Ophelis Hall completely isolated.

Those who would have access to these halls would be the students taking over Ophelis Hall or the maids who had teamed up with Elris.

Other than them, only a few students would be lucky enough to be outside of their room when it happened, although the only two characters emphasized in the story were Clevius and Elvira.

Of course, there were students who boast a ridiculous amount of strength, so they could have broken through the walls, or there were those who could have used all their magic power to escape from the spatial-type magic.

However, it was impossible for them to know exactly what the situation was like outside of their rooms. It was difficult to guess whether it was a temporary accident or a major disaster, and whether or not it would be resolved soon. Therefore, it was not an easy decision for the trapped students if they should use all their magic power or all their strength just before school started.

The occupation of Ophelis Hall was planned around that, taking advantage of such thoughts. It was that complacency that would lead to the destruction of Ophelis Hall.

“Hm? What is it, Ed?

I had called out to Yennekar just as she was about to head back to her dorm. I thought quietly to myself. Yennekar smiled innocently at my hesitation as she tilted her head.

Either way, there wasn’t much I needed to do that night.

All I had to do was open the door at the right time, then check to make sure the magic circle was working until the lower-ranked students had occupied the fourth floor of Ophelis Hall.

Taylee wouldn’t have a choice but to enter Ophelis Hall because Elvira would have forgotten her precious medicinals in her room.

Once Taylee and Elvira were inside, I could buy up a decent amount of their time before losing and then sending them upstairs. They would then enter Phase 2 where they had to capture Clevious who had been running away in fear.

There wasn’t really much to it. Even if I tried, an unforeseen variable couldn’t possibly happen.

But I couldn’t let my guard down.

Didn’t I already learn my lesson during the Glasskan Subjugation? That the timeline could get twisted just because of one measly absurd reason.

That’s why I needed some insurance.

A plan B.

There was no harm in keeping some backup on standby to respond appropriately in case of possible emergencies.

Yennekar was valuable manpower that no longer had any influence on the main story. She was perfect for the role.

Besides, wasn’t she the kind of person who would listen to her friend’s request? To be honest, weren’t we pretty close at this point?

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Yennekar smiled widely as she waited for my response. I thought about it for a moment.

How many students would be out late at night the day before school started? Most of the students would be resting in their rooms. Same for Yennekar if she hadn’t left her room by then.

If she was resting in her room, then she would be trapped by the magic circle summoned by the head maid.

But if I were to keep Yennekar as my backup, then I should make sure she was waiting outside of Ophelis Hall.

Though having her wait outside on a day when the heavy rain would be pouring down was a bit… but I couldn’t have her too far away from the dormitory.

“Can you come out to the Rose Garden pavilion in front of Ophelis Hall at around 9 o’clock in the evening the day before the opening ceremony?”

“…huh?”

I would give her a detailed explanation then. It would be impolite to keep her here any longer when she was already trying to head back.

“I have something I want to tell you.”

Yennekar swallowed her breath in complete shock at my words. She looked around, as if making sure nobody else was there. She then lowered her eyes and held the hem of her skirt tightly.

“…s-sure.”

She agreed with a somewhat soft-spoken voice. And then quickly said,

“Alright! I’ll get going then! Bye!”

And then disappeared into the woods.

I wondered what was so urgent that she didn’t even properly put on the hood of her robe which she had been using in place of a raincoat.

“……”

I sat by the fire and slammed my book shut. I stared blankly at my cabin, my chin resting on my hand. Lucy was still blankly staring up at the sky.

It continued to rain heavily. The sound of the raindrops falling on the tent calmed me down somehow.

The forest after the rain smelled different than usual. The soggy smell of grass was thicker.

The rain would stop on the morning of the first day of school. I would then be able to see the dazzling sky which I haven’t seen for quite a while now.

After that, the forest would start to smell like fall.

I hoped this event would finish up quickly so I could start thinking about honing my advanced production skills.

I thought about it some more as I sat down and threw a couple more pieces of firewood into the campfire as I listened to the falling rain.

The long vacation was finally coming to an end.