Chapter 123

About a month had passed since the day Ethan suddenly asked if he could touch my chest.

Nothing particularly special happened during that month. Ethan didn’t seem to be demanding anything more after touching my chest once.

Rather, it seemed like he had built up some mental fortitude from that request, as he had already managed to win two matches against Harold during the following month of classes.

The Top 4 students have a chance to duel with Harold once a week during class. This means he won two out of four duels. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Of course, Harold isn’t in his best condition as he’s dueling not just Ethan but other students as well, but the same goes for Ethan, who’s crossing swords with other top students.

I decided to acknowledge Ethan’s two wins without nitpicking. There was no point in creating complicated exceptions that would only tire us both out.

…The problem was that the next time Ethan won another match, his sword-wielding hands would once again grasp my chest.

Well, by now, I didn’t find it particularly shameful for Ethan to touch my body. Since I had decided not to hide my reactions to a man’s touch, there was no need to feel embarrassed either!

Other than that, the only notable events were the commotion caused by Harold’s temporary appointment as a professor, and the protagonist uncovering the corruption of one of the professors in the Technical Department, “saving” one of the heroines – changing the hot topic of the academy at least twice. 

Thanks to these high-profile rumors, the incident of Ethan and I getting involved in a duel in front of the auditorium on the first day of school had more or less died down.

While I couldn’t say we were close, I had somewhat become acquainted with the freshmen of the Magic Department. At most, we were just grouping together for joint classes.

“Goodbye, Lilith!”

“See you tomorrow, Lilith!”

“Yes, please be careful on your way home, everyone.”

…Well, since it was the Magic Department, the connections I made there meant they were all noble young ladies. All of my fellow students in the department had a peculiarly ladylike way of speaking.

Of course, there weren’t many high-ranking noble ladies like duchesses or margraves even in this academy, so most of the students I associated with were daughters of viscounts or barons.

Dealing with real noble ladies was tiring in many ways, so it was better for me to associate with people of this level. After all, the higher the rank of nobility, the higher their pride and vanity tend to be.

…And recently, one such real noble lady had been consistently sticking to me.

Moreover, it was a character who shouldn’t have even appeared in the main story, let alone enrolled in the academy in the original work.

“Ah, Lilith~! Over here, over here~!”

“……”

The young lady of the August family drew attention by calling my name loudly at the Central Plaza.

Naturally, my face heated up as she called my name so loudly in a place already crowded with people.

‘…Drawing attention with her voice in crowded places, she’s just like her younger brother.’

I couldn’t understand with my meager intellect why the eldest daughter of a Margrave family had taken an interest in me and started sticking around. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Of course, just because she called me by a familiar name didn’t actually change the hierarchy of our social status, so I still maintained proper etiquette when dealing with Lizzy.

“You don’t need to call out to me so loudly, Lady August. I can hear you.”

“I told you, you can call me Lizzy, Lilith.”

“…No, as a mere honorary viscount’s daughter, I can’t address the young lady of the August Margrave family by her first name.”

“I don’t mind, though?”

I do. I DO mind. 

This perceptive woman probably knew I was deliberately using honorifics to keep my distance and was likely trying to get me to use informal terms to find some weakness.

Considering how she had tried to pick a fight with me, thinking I was a low-ranking noble lady, only to end up prostrating herself when Ethan appeared, she was undoubtedly a woman with incredibly sharp instincts.

Even now, she was probably pretending to be friendly with me while secretly trying to create a connection with Ethan.

‘If I actually brought her in front of Ethan, the atmosphere would probably turn quite sour.’

After all, they had openly caused trouble for each other in an official setting, so there was no way they would view each other favorably.

At least Caraham, who was also in the Swordsmanship Department, seemed to be building a friendship with Ethan through them crossing swords with similar skills. …But his sister, Lizzy, was in the Pharmacy Department, so there was no way for Lizzy to interact with Ethan at all.

Our relationship consisted only of meeting and talking for an hour or two when I had free time like this.

To say we “met” was putting it nicely; it was more like Lizzy summoning me.

“What did you call me for today, Lady August?”

“Hmm, well. Do you happen to have any other plans from now, Lilith?”

“…I was originally planning to read in the Swordsmanship Department’s lounge with the book you gifted me last time, Lady August.”

“Hmm, so you’re saying you don’t have any other plans, right?”

I just said I was planning to read.

From the perspective of a noble lady like Lizzy, reading might just be a hobby to pass the time, but for me, it was a stat-raising event that I had to go through for various reasons.

At least, until the midterms, I needed to finish reading this book to somehow get through the first semester safely with good grades

Of course, it was quite difficult to throw away an appointment called by the young lady of the August family just because I wanted to read, and I already owed Lizzy something since she handed me this book. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Recently, meeting her once or twice a week and spending some time together had become part of my routine.

“Today, we’re going to a dessert café operated by the August family! Do you like sweet foods, Lilith?”

“…I don’t dislike them.”

“That’s perfect! There’s still about two hours until Caraham and Young Master Ethan’s swordsmanship class ends, so shall we enjoy some light refreshments at the family’s café in the meantime?”

“As long as you allow me to continue my reading while enjoying the refreshments… I don’t mind.”

“Of course, I won’t disturb you!”

…Ah, this is really burdensome.

I formally began interacting with Lizzy about three weeks ago.

Of course, it wasn’t because I wanted to approach her first, and initially, it was just a chance encounter.

At that time, Lizzy Lynn August, a margrave’s daughter, helped me when I was in a difficult situation for another reason.

It all started when we ran into each other while I was browsing the underground general store in the central plaza during Ethan’s free period.

“Understanding Mana Flow, Understanding Mana Flow…”

As I mentioned before, once you enter Luminor Academy, it’s possible to improve Lilith’s cursed Luck stat in one way or another.

You could do so either by taking lecture classes that focus on improving hit rate and accuracy or by using books or special equipment that can be obtained from various places in the academy.

The book, entitled “Understanding Mana Flow,” which could only be obtained from the underground general store on campus, was also a major item that could increase my Luck. So, I visited the bookstore to acquire it once my academy life had somewhat settled into a routine.

“…Ah, found it.”

Fortunately, since I already knew the book’s design well, it wasn’t too difficult to find.

In a medieval fantasy bookstore shelf filled mostly with dark and dull-colored books, a cover that shone green was impossible to miss.

I managed to get my hands on the book I wanted from the dusty shelves filled with various kinds of ancient books.

‘Just reading this one book can increase my Luck by 2.’

You might say, what good is an increase of 2? Probably, when playing as the protagonist, I would have skipped over these trivial items from about the third playthrough.

There was no need to bother visiting the academy’s underground general store, searching through bookshelves, and spending an additional 2 gold coins just to raise my Luck by 2.

However, for the current Lilith, even this +2 was something she desperately needed. After all, once I finish reading this, Lilith’s current Luck of 2 would double.

My current hit rate of 4-5% would also jump to 9-10%, more than doubling the original.

…Of course, it was still pathetic that even after increasing, it would barely reach double digits.

‘If I can just endure this semester somehow, it should be manageable from the next semester.’ Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

After taking all the Luck-related courses I’m enrolled in this semester, I should be able to raise it to about 10, and by then, I could somehow increase the hit rate of my offensive magic to 25%.

If I incorporated triple casting, it would be possible to disguise it as a 50% hit rate, at least on the surface. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

It was painful to spend 2 gold coins, which was more than half of my monthly salary, on one book, but in my current situation, I would be fortunate if I could buy +1 Luck for 1 gold coin.

‘It’s actually cheaper to raise it now. If I try to buy it after leveling up more, it won’t be as cost-effective then.’

With that thought, I confidently walked towards the counter of the underground general store, but…

…the words that came out of the shopkeeper’s mouth after looking over my face and body once made me feel dizzy for a moment.

“Ten gold coins.”

“…Pardon?”

“Did you mishear? I said ten gold coins.”

“……”

No, damn it. There’s a limit to ripping people off.

I came knowing full well it was worth two gold coins, and you inflate it five times?

I was on the verge of spitting out the same words, but fortunately, my reason barely suppressed the curse that was about to burst out.

Anyway, I was the one who needed this book, so I had to try to negotiate with the shopkeeper who had proposed ten gold coins.

“Is, is this book really that expensive…? It doesn’t look that expensive from the outside…”

“If you think so, you don’t have to buy it. There are plenty of people who buy from our store besides you anyway.”

“Could, could you lower the price a little…? I don’t have much money on hand…”

“Twenty.”

“…Pardon?”

“You’re not even a man; where do you get off acting cute? I won’t sell it to you for less than twenty, so if you have complaints, don’t buy it and leave.”

“……”

No, damn it. Fuck this crazy woman, really.

Just as I was conflicted over what to do with the shopkeeper who seemed ready to punch me in the face just for speaking a few words, suddenly, a familiar-looking pair entered the underground general store. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

As soon as I heard their voices and the content of their conversation, I could immediately identify who the pair was.

“Sister, why are we coming to this underground general store? Isn’t there a general store for academy students on the first floor of the Student Center?”

“Obviously, we’re here to get something we can’t find there, right? Use your brain a little, Caraham.”

“Then why did you bring me along…”

“It’s easier to negotiate prices when you’re here. Now stop talking and just follow me… Huh?”

The siblings of the August family came down the stairs from the ground floor to the underground.

Running into these two familiar faces by chance was the starting point of how I came to associate with Lizzy.