Chapter 30
Effort is always rewarded.
This simple and clichéd proposition was the very core of the novel <The Academy's Tenacious Mage>.
Kyle's efforts were always rewarded in one form or another.
In my previous life, I watched that and felt a kind of vicarious satisfaction.
Right, it was hard for now, but someday my time in the spotlight would come too.
Holding on to that vague hope gave me the strength to get through each day.
Well, in the end, it was just an overwork-death ending.
Still, I had been reborn with more ability than I deserved, and I was catching up on all the sleep I never got in my previous life. In a way, I had gotten my reward too.
The reward for Kyle's efforts wasn't limited to magical achievement.
He even gained valuable artifacts, and his standing at the academy rose as well.
But if you asked what reward readers felt most directly, it was probably the acknowledgment of the people around him.
Honestly, that's the real emotional payoff.
Watching the people who had first looked down on Kyle and bullied him gradually reconsider him as they saw his unyielding grit and his obvious growth.
Just watching that made you oddly moved, like our lousy little protagonist had somehow grown so much already.
Especially the way the main heroines' attitudes toward Kyle changed was one of the most dramatic elements.
The classmate who happened to sit beside Kyle on entrance ceremony day first bossed around the bumbling-looking guy as she pleased, but
his unwavering diligence slowly rubbed off on her, and in the end she became his lifelong companion, as well as a candidate for the losing heroine role.
The princess, who had initially approached him out of interest in Kyle's 'unique magic,' gradually began taking an interest in Kyle himself.
Some sword-obsessed fool who knew nothing but swords had, before long, become a girl in love, with only Kyle in her eyes.
Even the student council president, who had treated Kyle like he didn't exist, eventually opened her heart at the sight of Kyle following after her in admiration.
Man—when that high-and-mighty student council president, on graduation day, said, 'I wish I'd realized your worth a little earlier,' I got choked up for no reason.
In this way, Kyle's Aquarium was full of countless women thrashing about, but
if I had to pick one heroine whose attitude toward Kyle changed the most dramatically...
it would probably be Miriel Adrian, the sucker of Elterion, no, the 'villainess of Elterion.'
She first appeared the moment Kyle began creating more contact with the princess, and at first she was nothing more than the archetypal villain blocking the protagonist's path.
A haughty noble lady who relied on her standing at the academy and her family's power, openly looking down on Kyle after he joined the princess's faction. That was Miriel.
Then, once Kyle began to truly stand out at the academy, Miriel's attitude did a complete 180.
She started pestering him with all kinds of gifts in an attempt to pry Kyle away from the princess.
After she, who had approached him purely for practical gain, received decisive help from Kyle over a problem in her family...
she went completely off the rails and became a pushover noble lady, giving away both body and heart, basically.
Miriel's dramatic transformation, something unimaginable from her early appearance, was the clearest sign of Kyle's changed status.
Of course, when I thought about how much Kyle had to suffer for Miriel to go from villainess to pushover, it was a little horrifying.
It wasn't just 'he had a rough time' or 'he worked hard'—he had crossed death's door countless times.
The episodes where the 'Ashen Witch' was forced to show up and clean up after him happened twice, and that says it all.
And you want me to go through that?
...Wow. Just imagining it is horrifying.
“I also want to find out what kind of person Miss Lunaris is.”
In short, Miriel is the kind of person who becomes exhausting the moment you get entangled with her.
“So, could you spare me a little time?”
In the original novel, Edwin only appears as a senior with decent magic skills, and the extras lumped together under the label 'Mages of the Magic Tower' are on a completely different level.
The person sitting in front of me is the worst possible trap, someone I absolutely have to avoid if I want to protect my lazy life.
*
“We need something to discuss between the top students of our respective years.”
A gentle curve appeared on Senior Miriel's lips.
“Could you step away for a moment?”
Even while addressing Claire, her gaze stayed fixed on me.
“Y-Yes! O-of course... Huh? Lunaris?”
“This is the Ghost Story Research Club room.”
I snatched Claire's wrist as she hurriedly tried to get up.
“I'm not sure it's right for non-members to be coming in here.”
“My, my.”
Senior Miriel smiled brightly and leaned slightly toward me.
“I just want to talk for a minute.”
“I don't really have anything to say, though.”
I deliberately let out a long yawn and spoke in a flat voice.
“Or what, are you hoping to join the club? If so, you'd probably be better off talking to Claire here than me.”
Senior Miriel let out a quiet chuckle at my words.
Then she turned to the group standing behind her like a backdrop.
“What do you think, you guys? A Ghost Story Research Club. Doesn't it sound fun?”
At her one remark, a flood of fake reactions poured out—'Sounds exciting,' 'That's creepy,' and the like.
Senior Miriel nodded with satisfaction and jerked her chin toward Claire.
“I hear this junior here has set up an orientation session for new members. Why don't you all go listen in?”
My brow furrowed on its own.
Her intent to somehow get Claire out of here and create a private meeting for two was blatant.
Claire, quick on the uptake, read the situation and stood up with an awkward smile.
“Ah, haha. It's a little cramped in here, so shall we move to the next room?”
With Claire and the other students gone, only Senior Miriel and I remained in the clubroom.
“Aren't you going too, senior?”
“Well, there are rather too many for that junior to handle alone, aren't there? If you're club members too, wouldn't it be proper for you to take on at least one as a fellow member?”
A strange pressure was hidden inside that gentle smile.
I folded my arms on the table, slumped forward, and muttered in a bored voice.
“Well, nothing special. It's a club where we light a single candle and talk about ghost stories. Sometimes we even go to places with ghosts and do courage tests.”
I was making it blatantly clear that I didn't want to talk much.
I couldn't shake off someone like Senior Miriel unless I was this blunt.
“As expected, you don't like beating around the bush.”
But Senior Miriel ignored that too and kept smiling as she spoke.
“So I'll speak plainly.”
“...?”
“Lunaris, I was thinking I could cut down on some of your hassles.”
At the unexpected offer, I slowly lifted my eyes.
“I think I can handle the morning squabbles you have with the maids at Rinea Hall.”
“Oh—”
An involuntary gasp escaped me.
That alone would definitely send my quality of life skyrocketing.
“And it looks like you've got a lot of people following you around these days. I'll clear all of that up too.”
I scratched my head and cocked it to the side.
“Wouldn't that be difficult?”
Leaving the maids aside, though.
“The people following me around are all magic-obsessed lunatics.”
“The method is my problem, not yours, isn't it?”
Senior Miriel smiled confidently.
“And I'm far more capable than you think.”
“Aren't you being too good to me?”
So, what do you want from me?
“Oh, I don't really have any other purpose. I just want to get closer to you.”
Senior Miriel rested her chin on her hand and quietly looked into my eyes.
“If I can get close to you, the top freshman, this much is nothing.”
Her soft, persuasive voice had the power to enchant people.
“So... yes. I just want to be friends.”
Wow, honestly, that was a little tempting.
If I hadn't known any better, I might have gotten a little flustered.
And forgotten that I was a woman, too.
But I already know.
How Senior Miriel draws people over to her side.
At first she'd approach by saying she wanted to be friends, shower you with all kinds of favors, and make you feel indebted.
Then she'd gradually reel you in, from trivial little things to annoying, troublesome ones.
Just look at the other students who came here with Miriel right now. You can tell what kind of scale we're talking about, can't you?
And no matter how much I tried to keep my distance later, she would surely use any means necessary to keep making me uncomfortable.
So it's better not to form the relationship at all from the start.
I stared quietly at Senior Miriel, then abruptly changed the subject.
“Come to think of it... Her Highness the princess said something similar.”
For a moment, Senior Miriel's face stiffened ever so slightly.
Just as expected.
It felt a little guilty to sell out someone I'd never even seen, not to mention a royal, but whatever.
There wasn't any other method I could think of right now.
“Could I ask what kind of proposal Her Highness made?”
“She said she'd do nothing.”
“...”
I yawned and added in a languid voice.
“Exactly. She wouldn't especially ask for anything, and she wouldn't bother me either.”
“Just exchange greetings now and then if we happen to run into each other.”
“And on some leisurely day, when I'm not especially busy and don't have anything scheduled, if I happen to think of you, we can casually share a meal.”
“That kind of relationship is ideal for me.”
An awkward silence settled.
Senior Miriel said nothing, only her lips moving faintly.
A complicated emotion seemed to flicker through her eyes.
Just then.
With a creak, the clubroom door opened, and Claire and Club President Sylvia came inside.
“Well, well, look who's here? It's the top second-year student, isn't it?”
Her brightly smiling voice was laced with mischief.
“I didn't know you were interested in our Ghost Story Research Club~ What, are you all planning to join together? Hmm?”
Our do-what-I-want club president, who isn't interested in much beyond ghosts and club members, is one of the natural enemies of Elterion's villainess.
“...Weren't you in the middle of an orientation?”
Senior Miriel picked on the easier target, Claire, instead of going after President Sylvia.
Claire hid behind the president, poked her head out a little, and said with a bashful smile.
“As for the orientation, I asked Vice President Thomas to handle it. He'd probably explain it much better than an ordinary club member like me.”
Claire slipped a glance at me and gave me a sly wink.
At that, a chuckle slipped out of me before I knew it.
Yeah. For me, a friend is someone with exactly that much distance and that much lightness. That's enough.