Bet Interlude
It seed like todays events were vividly etched in my mory.
While feeling tense, I had difficulty understanding Alice Carrolls intentions. It was quite exhausting.
I parted with Alice without any issues. She didnt seem to have any tricks up her sleeve for , nor did she subtly interrogate .
Is it build-up?
Could it be a process of building a foundation to corner ?
For now I knew too little about Alice.
Perhaps because she was an enemy to fight against the player, it felt like her portrayal in the ga was restrained.
Dorothy, who sacrificed herself using the 9-star spell [Last Light of a Dying Star] in Magic Knight of Mrchen.
At least from the beginning, she gave hints of Im going to die, allowing us to glimpse fragnts of her mind.
For example,
Dorothys empty room It indirectly allowed the player to understand her gradual acceptance of death.
On the other hand,
There was no implication that Alice would commit suicide.
Alice, unlike Dorothy, was a character who never exposed her heart at all.
Because of that, I had no clue how to approach her.
I couldnt fathom what was truly in Alices heart, from start to finish.
Does she also want to travel to beautiful places?
Does she want to experience love?
Does she have dreams?
I shook my head.
Such thoughts were a luxury.
Anyway, Alice desired the death of Ian Fairytale, the being who posed the greatest threat to the Evil God.
Regardless of her circumstances, that fact remained unchanged.
As for ,
In order to defeat the Evil God in my third year, I just needed to extract whatever benefits I could from her.
In that context, it was necessary to delve into Alices personal affairs, as they could also be beneficial to . Of course, I was also genuinely curious.
The sky was glowing with the hue of sunset. It was evening.
In a corner of the Hydrangea Garden.
While I was sitting on a stump, lost in thought, Princess Snow White and her escort knight, rlin Astrea, arrived.
I stood up to greet them.
Hello, Whi-
Senior Isaac!!
Hmm?
Whats this all of a sudden? Why the sudden shouting?
White ca running over with a surprised face.
Puhah!
Then, White fell forcefully in front of , collapsing to the ground.
That must have hurt.
Princess White!
Ugh
rlin rushed over, and White groaned in pain as she slowly raised her upper body.
I bent over and reached out my hand to White.
Are you okay? Are you hurt?
Im okay sniffle.
I helped White up and brushed off the dirt on her pure white hair and uniform.
She tried to act okay, but tears welled up in Whites eyes.
She seed to be in a lot of pain.
rlin scolded, Please be careful! Youll hurt yourself! but
White just apologized, saying, Im sorry
Her voice was faltering due to her sniffles.
More importantly, Senior Isaac! I heard that you joined the student council?!
The rumor had even reached the first years.
That makes sense.
Erin called out too noticeably in the middle of the corridor of Orphin Hall.
And since I was seen walking around academy grounds with Alice Carroll It would have been odd if rumors didnt spread.
Moreover, through the mouths of the students, the news of being summoned by the Student Council President turned into false information that Isaac joined the student council.
Also, an elite mber of the Black Tiger? I heard such a strong person ca looking for you, Senior Isaac!
An elite mber of the Black Tiger?
The only Black Tiger I was involved with was Verga Rayphelt. Did he co looking for ?
That person was shouting in Orphin Hall, calling for you, Senior Isaac, to co out for a duel! Then, I heard he got defeated by a second-year senior! I wonder what happened?
?
Theres nothing like this in the ga.
However, that didnt surprise .
The content of the ga I knew was rely for reference.
With the variable involved, it was not strange for unexpected situations to occur and for things to go awry.
But, Verga was defeated?
This is the first Ive heard of it. Explain in detail.
I dont know the details either. I only heard bits and pieces. I didnt expect you, Senior Isaac, to not know about it either
Alright. Ill ask soone I know later.
It was a waste of ti to pry for details from soone who didnt know much.
I decided to ask a friend later. Since the situation seed to have been resolved without my knowledge, there was no need to dwell on it too much.
And no, I didnt join the student council. I was just called by the Student Council President.
Ah. Then why were you called?
I briefly explained to White that I was proposed to beco an Honorary Student Council mber.
Honorary Student Council mber I didnt know that existed. But Senior Isaac, you totally deserve such an offer. You are really capable!
White seed relieved after hearing my story.
I was worried when I heard that you joined the student council I wondered what would happen.
Why?
If you beco busy, we wont be able to see each other as often
I was Whites ideal ntor. It made sense that she didnt want to lose .
Of course, it was not just about calculating benefits. White was attached to . She considered the most trustworthy person in this academy.
Well, hearing her say that made feel good.
Is that so.
When I smiled broadly, White also smiled faintly.
Thats it for now.
I quickly shifted my expression as I lifted my round glasses, a dramatic change based on my acting skills.
By the way, about the assignnt I gave you before? The five types of [Wind Sword] magic circles you were supposed to morize.
Uh heh heh
An awkward laugh.
Lacking confidence, White avoided my gaze and broke into a cold sweat.
Lets see it.
White hesitated, then began to display light green magic circles one by one in the air.
Three of them were quite decent, but the construction of the remaining two took a long ti, and their lines were a ss.
Haa.
White withdrew the magic circles and hung her head in apparent sha.
You didnt morize them all. I thought I gave you enough ti.
I narrowed my eyes and glared at White.
White.
Yes, yes, Senior Isaac!
Ive told you ti and ti again how important it is to know how to add and adjust lines on basic magic circles, as it expands the range of tactics. Among them, [Wind Sword] is one of the most versatile, and its closely related to the 5-star magic, [Gale Fang]. morizing the shapes of magic circles is a fundantal skill. The application of them cos later. Thats why I asked you to morize the five most useful primary shapes first
I-Im so sorry!
After my long reprimand, White quickly bowed her upper body in a hasty apology.
Explain. Why didnt you morize them all?
I was too sleepy yesterday! I think I ate a bit too much for dinner and dessert
She was honest.
Smart. Lying in front of would be imdiately noticeable. It seems White had learned from past experiences.
Alright. Since you didnt complete the assignnt properly, as promised, Im moving up the due date of the debt.
What? Then?
You have one month left.
!
White looked up at , her face filled with shock.
Let reiterate, if you dont pay off the debt by the due date, regardless of your promise to take responsibility, I will end the ntoring. If you work hard, you can earn enough gels to pay off the debt by then. If you cant, its only because youve been negligent. Thered be no reason for to continue teaching you.
Its obviously a lie.
Whether White paid her debt or not, I intended to continue ntoring her anyway. I just wanted to prevent her from being lazy and to maintain a sense of urgency.
So, if you want to continue with , work harder
Uh Is she about to cry?
Senior Isaac
Her voice was on the verge of tears.
I was flustered.
Wait, White?
Ill pay off all the debt, so please dont leave! I like you a lot, Senior Isaac! Waaah
Ah, no I was too harsh. Sorry!
I needed to cultivate more empathy.
* * *
[Why did you make such a bet with Isaac, Alice?]
The sunset light from outside the window penetrated the student council room.
Alice Carroll sat in the Student Council Presidents chair, gazing at the distant sky, feeling the cool breeze coming through the open window. She held a teacup filled with black tea in her hands.
The plump cat magic beast with a small fedora, Phantom Cat Cheshire, sat on the sofa, looking at Alice with a smiling face.
[You wouldnt have suddenly developed an interest in romance. Could you tell what youre thinking?]
Phantom Cat Cheshire asked in a strange voice.
Indeed. Want to take a guess?
Alice replied playfully and took a sip of her tea.
Cheshire paused with a, Huh?
It then let out a strange, eerie laugh.
[A riddle! That sounds interesting!]
Caught off-guard by the unexpected riddle, Cheshire grinned broadly, lost in thought. It found the idea of guessing the answer quite entertaining.
Alice, ignoring the foolish familiar, took another sip of her tea.
[Ah!]
Eventually, Cheshire laughed as if it had an epiphany.
[So you can keep a closer eye on Isaac?]
Close enough.
[Im a genius!]
Cheshire wobbled its protruding belly, dancing with joy.
[But Alice, what if you develop affection for Isaac?]
Thats a pointless question.
[I think its an interesting question. What if you really fall for Isaac, and he turns out to be the Black Monster, and you have the perfect opportunity to kill him! What will you do? How will you kill him?]
[Will you cut his throat? Pierce his heart? Kill him with as little pain as possible? Or just leave him barely alive so he wont be a nuisance? No, you have to kill him. Yes, you should. Its right to kill him. Then will you cry? Grieve? Laugh in resignation? Will you answer , Alice?]
Alice, almost unconsciously, gently fiddled with the black choker around her neck.
Due to endlessly scratching at it, the soft choker now felt slightly rough to the touch.
Well, who knows.
Alice uttered that one sentence, mixed with her breath, and then quietly removed her hand from the choker.
* * *
I had a conversation with the subordinates of Mateo, whom I was close to.
Verga Rayphelt appeared in Orphin Hall looking for but apparently got severely beaten by Tristan Humphrey. The fight broke out because Tristan took issue with Verga ssing with his subordinates.
Unexpectedly, Tristan scored an overwhelming victory over Verga.
Was he really at that level?
Tristan was known to be a hard worker with exceptional skills, but it felt odd to hear that he could already overpower Verga.
Anyway,
Fighting outside the sparring arena was a clear violation of academy rules, but Tristan and Verga did not receive severe punishnt.
Students who witnessed the situation defended Tristan by submitting petitions.
The incident was lightly concluded with a few penalty points since Tristan and Verga reconciled and settled the matter amicably.
Of course, that reconciliation was probably not sincere on either part.
It was said that Verga was disheartened for so reason, leading to a smooth resolution.
Due to the few penalty points, Tristan looked sour all day, his face was filled with dissatisfaction and regret.
Trying to make up for the penalty points, he volunteered first when a professor needed help, driven by an obsession to achieve good grades.
Since his current goal was , he didnt want to fall behind.
Haa.
Anyway, lets set that aside.
In a corner of the Butterfly Garden, I pulled up all my mana and shot a cold pale blue blast into the sky, which blossod beautifully.
With the use of defrost, my ice magic crumbled into powder, falling like snowflakes.
In the cold breeze caused by the ice mana, my sigh turned into a white smoke-like cloud, flowing out from my mouth.
Wow!
In front of the oak tree,
Dorothy, a girl with light purple hair wearing a witchs hat, cheered.
I felt a surge of accomplishnt and excitent. I wanted to satisfy my desire to show off. Luckily, there was soone there to witness it.
I grinned and gave Dorothy a V sign with my index and middle finger, a sign of achievent.
Did you see that clearly? Now I can handle 6-star spells with ease.
Hehehe. Yes, I saw it clearly! Well done, President!
Dorothy cheered on, giving a thumbs-up.
6-star ice spell, [Frost Glitter].
6-star ice spell, [Frost Wave].
I had finally reached the level where I could properly utilize these spells.
Only two days were left until my duel with Miya.
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