Theo, along with Seria, headed to the study room.
The expression on Isabella's face when they were leaving was not good.
She was as pale as a ghost.
'It must be hard.'
I do not know what kind of pain accompanies that day.
Because I am a man.
It would not have been appropriate to offer pointless words of comfort......
Theo and Seria arrived at the study room.
Creak─
As soon as they opened the door and entered, orcs got up from their seats, screaming.
"You said you'd come quickly, so come quickly! The woman who was helping us suddenly disappeared, it was so hard!"
"Sniff, sniff, sniff...... What's this smell anyway? There's a different smell on Theo."
"It smells like a human woman. Hmm...... It smells like perfume?"
"It's not the smell of the woman who was helping us!"
"Theo, you wicked guy, making us study until our heads break while you went to meet a woman!"
An orc's sense of smell was several times better than that of humans.
Each race of the Kyren Zena Continent has a particularly developed sense.
For example, orcs have a sense of smell, elves have hearing, and humans have taste.
'......There's no beating that nose.'
"I just went to receive a collaboration proposal. I told you to note down what you don't know and ask. Noctar, you ask first."
To avoid getting caught up in the orcs' flow, Theo smoothly changed the topic.
And the stupid orcs were immediately caught up in Theo's strategy.
Noctar pointed to a spot in the textbook with his thick fingers and answered.
"I don't get this. It says we should treat prisoners humanely...... What's the standard for that? Isn't it just enough not to kill them? Just provide food and water before their life is in danger."
"That's the thing, Noctar......"
And so, Theo began teaching Noctar and the orcs again.
Next week, Monday.
The first day of the final exams at Elinia Academy dawned.
The start and end times of the exams varied by department, but the fact that they included both written and practical tests was the same.
4:30 PM.
The first day of the final exams for the Knight Department ended.
Students came out of the lecture hall, sighing.
"Think you did well?"
"Look at my face. What do you think?"
"......Mm. Yeah. Let's quickly go grab a seat in the library."
"Ha, why is there a written exam on the first day? It's not a good flow."
"Suddenly talking about flow?"
"You don't understand. I'm the practical type. Starting with practical exams on the first day increases energy and doing well on the written exams too. I read it in a science magazine."
"Look at you. A scientist. Stop talking nonsense and let's go to the library."
Most students headed to the library.
Meanwhile, Irene immediately walked towards the dormitory.
'A letter... should be that one, right?'
A letter had arrived from her family home last week.
It contained the news that they had found someone who could decipher the scribbled letters.
As soon as Irene arrived at the dormitory, she rummaged through the mailbox.
"There it is!"
Inside the mailbox was a neatly sealed letter addressed to her.
"It shouldn't be anything serious."
With trembling hands, Irene grabbed the letter and entered her room.
"Phew."
Why was she feeling so anxious?
After taking a deep breath, she unsealed the letter and read it.
Her anxiety turned into reality.
"What the..."
To summarize the contents of the letter:
─Although it's incomplete and can't be said with 100% certainty, from a macroscopic view, the characters are highly likely to be a summoning ritual for a low-level demon.
Irene's hands trembled as she held the letter.
Staggering, Irene muttered.
"Ah, ahaha... Surely not. It can't be. It even says here. It's incomplete, so it can't be said with 100% certainty."
But she knew better than anyone that she was in denial, unable to accept the reality.
Her family, the Aslan family, has a long history of noble deeds, helping the weak without expecting anything in return.
Therefore, they have many people bound by more than just simple interests, but by deep gratitude.
The letter in her hand was practically an expert opinion sought after by even the elders of her family.
If an expert used the term "high probability," it likely means over 90%.
"Ah, ahahaha..."
Her head spun.
She didn't want to acknowledge it, didn't want to think about it, but it kept coming back.
─The only thing I have left... is you. Help me.
Were all the kind words Theo had said truly from him?
Or were they spoken by the demon possessing him?
"Ah, uh, uhh..."
It was a mess.
The worst situation.
It felt like the blood in her veins was rapidly rotting.
What should she do now?
She had no idea.
How should she face him?
Pretend nothing was wrong, act as if she doesn't know anything, just bear it as usual?
Or should she cry, scream, asking why he lied to her?
It was confusing.
Her fingers instinctively moved to her mouth.
The nails she had always kept short since childhood for sword handling.
She couldn't think at all.
Click, click, click, click.
She bit her short nails.
Blood flowed from between the nails and the flesh.
But she didn't care and kept on biting.
"It can't be, it can't be, it can't be, it can't..."
Irene cried and laughed until dawn, eventually passing out.
Friday arrived.
The final exams for all departments at Elinia Academy had ended. This meant the second semester was completely over.
Students from the Hero Department streamed out of the classrooms.
While some students exclaimed in despair, "I screwed up the exam, what do I do~", they were in the minority.
Most students were just happy to have freed themselves from the academic pressure that had weighed on them throughout the semester.
"Whoohoo~ Let's go, go, go! Let's tear into some meat today!"
"Want to try that new place near the Exploration Department? Heard it's got good reviews."
"Anywhere's fine. Let's just get out of here as fast as we can!"
"Eshild, let's go play a game of football! Made a plan with those guys from the Knight Department. Just bring yourself."
"Ah, that's annoying. I already made plans to eat with my aides."
"Ah, come on~ As much as you like girls, you skipped last time and the time before that. Help us out today. We need to get our revenge. Our offense is crap without you."
"Ugh... Fine, f*ck it. I'll hard carry today. What time are we playing?"
Theo was walking with Aisha.
Seeing Aisha smiling, Theo said,
"Looks like you did well on your exams."
"The written part was a breeze~ How about you, Theo?"
"Think I got all the multiple-choice questions right. As for the essays, it's up to the professors' discretion, so not sure."
"Ugh, that's annoying. You can look forward to this time. I'll pay you back for the humiliation of the midterms."
During the midterms, Theo had ranked first and Aisha second.
Aisha pouted her lips.
Even though she had expected Theo to rank first, it still hurt her pride quite a bit.
Well, it doesn't matter now. She was planning on taking a break from studying for a while.
Most importantly, today was supposed to be a date with Theo.
Just the two of them.
It was goodbye to all the girls clinging to Theo.
Especially since the date location was the far-off Polaris!
Then, Theo pulled out a communication crystal from his pocket.
Buzz, buzz──
The vibrating communication crystal.
Seeing this, Aisha's pupils dilated, a wave of anxiety washing over her.
"Who, who is it?"
"Have to answer it to know. Wait a moment."
Theo stepped away.
"......"
Aisha watched his retreating back with wide, fixed eyes.
'Who could it be?'
I reached a quiet spot at the back of the classroom and answered the call.
─This is Theo Lyn Waldeurk.
─......
There was no response from the other side of the crystal.
After waiting a moment, I spoke again.
─This is Theo Lyn Waldeurk. The communication signal might be poor...
─It's me, Theo.
It was Irene.
─Long time no talk. I thought you were busy preparing for your exams since we hadn't talked all week. How did your exams go?
─......No.
Irene sounded unusually frustrated.
Normally, she would have smoothly continued the conversation. Her voice also sounded as if her spirit was gone, which was odd.
─Is something wrong?
─......Yes.
Irene continued.
-You...
The weak voice broke off.
By this point, a fool would realize something was seriously wrong.
I quickly responded.
"Where are you now? I'll come to you right away."
Theo said to Aisha,
"Aisha, something urgent has come up, and I need to go to the Knight Department. I'm sorry, but could you start dinner without me?"
And then he disappeared like a gun shot.
"Uh..."
Left alone again, Aisha muttered,
"At least tell me where we should meet again before you go..."
