Chapter 135
Chapter 135
“Welcome, Young Master, Miss Lapin!”
The first person to greet us as soon as we arrived at the livestock shed was Rupina, dressed in her work clothes.
I inspected the farm that I had entrusted to her for the past four days.
Both the livestock shed and the storage room were neatly organized.
There wasn’t a speck of dust, not only on the floor but even on the inside frames of the windows.
It was meticulous work befitting a top-class all-round staff member.
“Well done.”
I placed a small pouch in Rupina’s palm.
“……”
Rupina only stared quietly at the pouch.
“What, is it not enough?”
“N-no! Of course not! I am truly honored by your grace! Please call me again next time!”
Rupina answered in a fluster, and after some hesitation, she opened her mouth.
“Well, it’s kind of a silly question…… but, Miss Lapin and Young Master, you didn’t…… arrive late for the exam, did you?”
Hearing Rupina’s words, I recalled the first day of the exam when the tree house had been connected to the livestock shed.
Could it be that she was still holding on to that memory?
“All the examinees rode the Galfell to a distant uninhabited island. Do you think we could possibly have been late?”
“Haha! Of course not, right? Whew…… I shouldn’t badmouth people next time……”
“What was that you won’t do?”
“N-no! Nothing at all! I was just talking to myself!”
Lapin, who had been watching Rupina, shifted her gaze toward me and blinked silently, as if asking whether it was fine to tell Rupina the truth.
I slowly shook my head. If she found out that I had overheard her speaking ill of me, she might become frightened and never return to the livestock shed.
“I’ll be going now!”
After neatly folding her work clothes and changing into a suit, Rupina took a few steps before suddenly stopping and turning her head toward me.
“Oh, I have some good news for you, Young Master.”
At the end of the first year, I didn’t think there could be any good news…… but I ended up hearing something unexpected.
“I checked the recruitment notices for next semester, and starting today, they’ve opened applications for a livestock shed manager.”
“……What?”
I blinked.
That meant someone new was about to be hired to manage the shed, didn’t it?
Rupina seemed to read my expression and nodded.
“This is the only livestock shed in the Academy. There are no plans to expand it either. If they’re hiring not just an assistant but a manager, then it must mean they’re planning to appoint someone to take over here.”
“Then what about me?”
Rupina smiled faintly and answered.
“Perhaps it means your punishment is coming to an end? You’ve managed this place for over half a year, and that’s long enough, don’t you think?”
I didn’t feel humiliated personally, but for nobles in general, managing a livestock shed was considered an unbearably disgraceful punishment.
It wasn’t so much about the labor itself as it was a way to tarnish one’s honor and shame them.
But I had endured here for over half a year without a single complaint, silently fulfilling every task.
It seemed the Academy had judged that to be sufficient.
‘In the game, it wasn’t described in detail, but Villed must have managed the livestock shed until graduation.’
……Well, the original Villed would have been slacking off and causing trouble, so perhaps he received extra punishment and had it extended until graduation.
‘When I first came to this world, I only wanted to quit the shed work as quickly as possible.’
How did it come to this?
Now, I found myself treating this place like a comfortable home.
“Thank you for all your hard work!”
Rupina’s face was bright, while I simply gave her a silent nod with a complicated expression.
While handing hay and straw to the lambs, I spoke to Lapin, who was sitting on a pile of straw.
“Did you hear what Rupina said earlier?”
“Yes, I heard.”
“Even if I stop working at the shed, will you keep coming here?”
“……”
Lapin stayed silent.
She only stroked the sea otter in her arms, her eyes fixed on the ground.
After a long moment of contemplation, she finally spoke softly.
“……I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you know?”
“If Villed leaves…… I’ll be alone. Then I don’t think I’ll have a reason to stay here anymore.”
“……”
For a moment, I didn’t know what to say.
“If someone heard you, they’d think the reason you come here isn’t for the animals, but for me.”
“It is true that I come here to play with the animals. That’s true too. At first, that’s why I came.”
But at some point, her emerald eyes turned toward me.
“Now, I think I come because Villed is here.”
“Not because of the animals, but because of me?”
“Yes.”
I stopped for a moment and met Lapin’s emerald gaze.
“……Are you sure you should say something like that so easily?”
“Because it’s true.”
Hearing her answer, I let out a small, helpless laugh.
……And then, Lapin added something I hadn’t expected.
“This is the place where I first met Villed. I don’t want to lose it.”
“What are you talking about? We first met at the entrance ceremony……”
“No.”
When Lapin shook her head, I closed my mouth.
“The current Villed—I first met you here.”
“……”
Looking into her unwavering eyes, I didn’t bother to question her further. I didn’t even ask how she had figured it out.
‘……So that’s why.’
Why she had approached me without hesitation, even though I was someone with a dreadful past that no one wanted to be entangled with.
Why she had kept coming to the shed, something that never even existed in the game.
‘Is it because she’s a chimera, that her intuition is so annoyingly sharp?’
—Baa~
I stroked the head of a lamb as I thought.
I had told Lapin that I might quit the shed work……
But in truth, I had no intention of giving this place up.
No matter what, I would hold on to it.
‘I can’t just abandon them.’
Even the animals surely longed for the care of someone who truly looked after them.
‘The recruitment begins today, and two weeks later is the Winter Festival. The very next day, Winter Break starts.’
So there was at least some grace period.
‘I need to think of a way to keep this shed under my care.’
There were countless possible methods.
Even causing another incident was an option.
Though, if possible, I wanted to avoid that path.
‘Since there’s time left, I should carefully figure out the best way.’
After finishing up the last of my tasks, I moved to sit down beside Lapin on the pile of straw.
—Baa~
—Moo~
Even the lazy cries of the livestock somehow felt peaceful.
Everything was calm.
I could hear the leaves rustling softly in the wind.
As thoughts of the near future passed through my mind, I found myself wanting to hold on to this tranquil moment just a little longer.
“When vacation comes, should we go on a trip somewhere?”
“Are you talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to, the sea otter?”
“……”
Lapin nodded quietly and opened her mouth.
“Yes, I’d like that. I want to learn more about this world.”
“Yeah. It’d be nice if we could go, a trip.”
Though I said that, a strange heaviness lingered in my heart.
……There were exactly two weeks left before Lapin turned into a monster.
The next day, in the large lecture hall on the third floor of Luminous Hall.
All first-year cadets had gathered here for the announcement of the Comprehensive Exam results.
「1st - Kunking 24,220 points」
「2nd - Heidel Finjer Kehellak 7,250 points」
「3rd - Elined Finjer Gram 7,070 points」
「4th - Valentine Keirin 4,930 points」
……
「9th - Arlhardt Remina Astrid 3,450 points」
「11th - Duke Ren 2,920 points」
……
「19th - Dean Curio 2,300 points」
「20th - Luga 2,290 points」
「57th - Nixie Cheps 1,160 points」
……
「165th - Eris 690 points」
「192nd - Riz Villed Dedencman Ludwig 550 points」
……
「Joint 211th - Dana Arowell 500 points」
「Joint 211th - Ruir Karin Deckus 500 points」
「Joint 211th - Lapin 500 points」
“Yes, 211th place! That’s a passing score……!”
Karin was so overwhelmed with emotion that tears welled in her eyes.
My strategy of neither attacking anyone nor being attacked had worked exactly as intended.
‘No matter what anyone says, in the end, surviving is the greatest strength.’
I had secured a rank slightly higher than the middle tier.
That should be more than enough for Karin to enroll in her desired department.
“Villed, your rank turned out higher than I expected. Where are you planning to apply? With these results, don’t you think applying to the Blue Ivory Knights as your first choice might be worth it?”
Karin was right.
A ranking around 200 wasn’t bad, so I had a chance at a relatively popular department.
The Red Hawk Knights, which valued self-enhancement abilities and physical strength.
Or the Blue Ivory Knights, who wielded both sword and magic.
Both departments led to formal knight orders after graduation.
And with excellent graduation results, there was even the chance for an interview with the Imperial Knights of the Empire.
‘If I apply with this score, I might get a favorable outcome.’
But I had already made up my mind.
“I’m going to the Common Magic Department.”
It was a lower department where most cadets ended up.
Since I had the skill <Animal Farm>, I didn’t see much meaning in learning from any professor.
I only intended to get my diploma.
“Hmm, then what about Lapin?”
“I’ll go to Common Magic too.”
“I see…… Even if we end up in different majors, we can still take common or liberal arts classes together!”
Just as Karin said, being in different departments didn’t mean complete separation.
As I looked around, a particular voice stood out in the crowd.
“I’ll be applying to Finders as well. That means we’ll be rivals!”
“Hah, rivals, you say? First place is mine anyway!”
“We’ll see about that!”
“No need to see, idiot. Just look at the score difference!”
It was Ren and Kunking.
‘So this world’s Ren is heading to Finders.’
He had started the semester as one of the lowest-ranked students, but now he had grown dazzlingly into the top ranks.
He was taking the exact opposite path from me, who was heading into a lower department.
‘Well, I’m glad he’s growing well……’
He had grown strong enough to resonate with a Wind Spirit, so he should be fine on his own.
As I sat and slowly looked around, someone suddenly blocked my view.
When I lifted my head, the first thing I saw was violet hair and a dazzling golden badge.
It was Elined.
She naturally spoke first.
“Do you have a department in mind?”
“Common Magic.”
“……I see.”
She looked a little surprised but didn’t seem too concerned.
“And you?”
“I’ll be going to Hawkeye.”
Hawkeye, the Strategy and Tactics Department, where graduates were granted an imperial title.
As expected of the 3rd-place cadet, she was heading for a prestigious department.
‘The Head of House Dedenkman…… or should I call him father in this world? Anyway, he was also a Hawkeye graduate.’
Many famous figures of the Empire had come from Hawkeye.
Elined was walking the same elite path as them.
“Good, that’s great for you.”
“……”
Elined fell silent, staring at me for a moment before speaking.
“Do you remember what you said to me?”
……Of course, I hadn’t forgotten.
The conversation I’d had with Elined on the island resurfaced vividly in my mind.
“I owed you a debt.”
When I answered, Elined finally showed a triumphant smile and retorted.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. As a member of the Finjer Family, I wouldn’t let myself be owed a debt for something so trivial.”
“……?”
That was unexpected.
Normally, Elined would never miss an opening and would always turn it into her own gain.
But now, she somehow felt different.
“Still…… if you really want to think of it as a debt, I’ll give you the chance to repay it.”
“Alright, how should I repay you?”
“Nothing grand. Since it was a small matter, something small will do. Really small.”
Elined said this with a faint, expectant look in her eyes.
“What small thing do you want?”
“No, it’s not like I want something in particular. Just…… you know. That kind of thing.”
“That kind of thing?”
Elined twisted a strand of her violet hair around her finger, avoiding my gaze.
Then, almost whispering, she murmured softly.
“Why should I have to say it? There are lots of things, aren’t there? Like…… inviting me to dinner, for example……”
Embarrassed by her own words, Elined blushed and quickly corrected herself.
“N-no, that was just an example!”
“Perfect timing then.”
I raised the corner of my lips and added.
“Come to the livestock shed this evening.”