"Trouble? What happened to her?" rlin asked hesitantly.
As far as she could rember, Monica had never been involved in any trouble. If anything, it had only been related to that perverted professor.
However, over the past two months, rlin could confirm that the professor had never taken any action against Monica.
So, what was really going on?
Liora gave a weak smile and explained, "You rember the knowledge exam we'll be taking in a few weeks, right? Well, Monica's struggling with it. How should I put it… she just can't grasp the lessons."
rlin furrowed his brow. He had thought it was sothing serious, but it turned out to be just a minor issue.
"Then where is she now?" rlin asked.
"Monica is in the library. You can go see her there. I'm sure she needs you by her side," Luna replied calmly.
"I understand." rlin nodded, then continued eating his lunch.
***
The academy library was located near the first-year students' building.
The area was spacious, with three floors of equal size.
Each floor was lined with hundreds of bookshelves from various places, filled with different genres and historical texts.
Because of that, students who wanted to expand their knowledge often ca to the library to read all kinds of books.
That afternoon, the library wasn't particularly crowded. Only a few dozen students occupied each floor, quietly reading, studying, and doing their own work.
At a table in the corner of the first floor, an elf girl was working on math problems with a serious expression.
A few monts later, her face grew gloomy, then sad.
"This is so hard," she complained with a long sigh, resting her arms on the table.
She stared at the calculations in despair.
The exams would begin in a few weeks, yet she still couldn't grasp the material taught by Professor Celestia.
If things continued like this, it wasn't impossible that she would fail and be forced to retake the exam.
She didn't want that to happen. After all, she had promised rlin that he would take her to the beach once the exams were over.
"What should I do? Ugh…"
Monica set down her pen and scratched her head in frustration. She wanted to ask her friends for help, but she was too embarrassed.
Catrine, Luna, Margaret, and Liora were among the smart students. Their grades were above average, while hers were below average.
She didn't want to be seen as a burden and get excluded from the circle of friends they had built.
Just as her mind was drowning in sadness and despair, a sudden chill touched her left cheek.
Startled, she quickly turned her head. Standing there was a tall, handso boy.
His beautiful violet eyes held a gentleness that could make any girl flustered and embarrassed.
"M-rlin?" Monica exclaid in surprise.
But the next mont, she realized her mistake and quickly covered her mouth.
She glanced around, relieved that no one was paying attention to her.
"Why are you here?" she asked in a low voice.
rlin smiled and placed a cup of fresh strawberry juice on the table.
"I heard you were in trouble, so I ca to help," he replied as he sat down beside her.
"Have so. You haven't had lunch yet, have you? I brought you so bread and stead potatoes with cheese sauce."
rlin snapped his fingers, and the food appeared out of thin air, landing neatly in front of Monica.
Monica's eyes widened in astonishnt. "When did you prepare that? Wait—no, not that!"
She hurriedly grabbed the food and hid it.
"Do you know there's a rule against eating in the library? If you get caught, you'll be kicked out!" she whispered fearfully.
But her hungry eyes kept drifting toward the food.
"Pfft! Don't worry about that." rlin waved his right hand. "I already asked the librarian at the front desk for permission. Rest assured, they won't kick us out. Eat first, then tell what's been troubling you."
Admiration was clearly visible in Monica's eyes. rlin was a high-achieving student, loved by all the professors at the academy.
He was not only smart, but also polite, humble, and talented.
No wonder even the library staff allowed him to bring food inside.
At the sa ti, Monica couldn't help feeling envious. If only she were as smart and talented as rlin, she surely wouldn't be struggling like this.
With a long sigh, Monica picked up a piece of bread and took a bite.
"Thank you, rlin."
Her eyes narrowed into crescent shapes.
As it happened, she hadn't gotten to eat lunch yet, so rlin's arrival with food felt perfectly tid.
"You're welco," rlin replied casually. He then handed her the strawberry juice. "Don't forget to drink it."
Monica blinked a few tis. Her face flushed with embarrassnt, but she didn't refuse.
"Mhmm…"
She took it and sipped.
"[Ding! Villainess Monica Sael'myr's affection has increased by 3 points! Current affection: 93!]"
rlin smiled contentedly. Only seven points remained before Monica's affection was maxed out.
He wanted to see what would happen next. Perhaps Monica's true body, currently hidden in the elven forest, would awaken… or perhaps sothing even more unexpected would occur.
That was why he had to be prepared for every possibility.
While Monica was eating, rlin chatted with her about various things. He deliberately avoided Monica's problems so she wouldn't feel stressed.
After ten minutes, Monica finished her al and gave him a sweet smile.
"Thanks for the food, rlin!"
"You're welco." rlin returned the smile. He then glanced at the paper on the table filled with math problems and asked, "So, what's bothering you?"
Maybe because she had eaten, Monica's mind felt clearer. She showed no frustration at all. Instead, she looked serious as she explained, "I'm struggling with math, rlin. The calculations are so complicated. No matter how hard I try to morize the formulas, I still can't understand them."
A sigh escaped her lips, and her face flushed slightly with embarrassnt.
Weakness was a sin. That was the lesson her mother had taught her.
That was why she had never cried when Tina and Tira bullied her in the past.
But for so reason, after eting rlin and the other girls, she had beco more open and no longer clung to that principle so strictly.
"Math, huh?" rlin murmured with a smile. "I can help you."
In this world, math existed as well. Michiku-sensei had added real-world elents like calculations, multiplication, and so on.
Back then, rlin had asked him about it.
"Why did you add sothing that's rarely found in fantasy novels?"
At the ti, Michiku-sensei had answered casually, "I wanted my novel to be a little different from the others. Besides, math is the language of the universe. Don't you know that?"
Although it wasn't ntioned often, there were a few scenes where the novel's main character, Abel, had to do calculations and use basic mathematical concepts.
After rlin entered the academy, he discovered that math was taught there as well. He suspected it was connected to the elents Michiku-sensei had added to The Lost Hero.
"Really?" Monica's eyes lit up.
"Of course." rlin gently patted her on the head. "I'll help you get through this. I promise you'll pass the exam. And we'll go to the beach, just like I promised."
Warmth spread through Monica's chest. She felt that only rlin truly understood her.
It was sothing she had never felt before—not even within her own family.
"Which parts don't you understand?" rlin asked.
Monica pointed to ten out of the fifteen questions.
"All of these," she whispered shyly.
rlin smiled and began explaining them one by one. The academy's math lessons were relatively easy.
Even without studying, rlin could solve them. After all, Michiku-sensei only included basic math, not truly difficult academic-level material.
Monica listened carefully to rlin's explanations. At the sa ti, she wrote everything down in her notebook.
Before they knew it, two hours had passed, and rlin had finally finished explaining all ten problems.
"Do you understand now?" rlin asked.
Monica's eyes lit up as she nodded eagerly. "I get it! Your thod is really easy to understand! It's different from how Professor Celestia explained it."
rlin simply smiled. Back in the day, he had been the second-best student at his university. Not to brag, but it was true—he really was smart.
"Is there anything else you don't understand?" rlin asked.
"Yes!" Monica picked up a few sheets of problems and placed them on the table. "It's history and other subjects too. Can you help ?"
Her eyes were brimming with hopeful tears.
rlin let out a deep sigh and whispered, 'System, haven't you issued a mission for this? It's related to Monica, you know?'
System: "…"
"[Ding! A side mission has been issued! Help Monica Sael'myr solve her study problems! Reward: 10,000 system points!]"
Seeing how stingy the system was, rlin felt disgusted. But as the saying goes, "Even a mosquito's leg is still at."
Without hesitation, he accepted it and turned back to Monica.
"Alright. Let's review everything."
"Mhmm! Let's do it!"
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