Sword, Magic and Academic Society

Vol. 1 - Ch. 56 - If it isn't love, then what? (1)

The class the following day after Allen cleared Godorfun’s assignment.

Like any other day, Jeuri Levarance hopped into the Levarance family's magic car parked beside the main gate. It looked like a sleek sedan car, and a bit smaller than the open car-type magic car she had ridden on when she visited the arms store along with her friends.

"Sebas. Bring out today's schedule."

"Yes, right away."

Jeu was a very busy person. No, it wasn't some hyperbole or something, but she truly was someone swamped with a lot of things to do. The biggest reason for that was, of course, studying to keep up with the high-level classes of the Royal Academy.

Levarance family— one of the nine Marquis houses in this kingdom.

As a direct descendant of such a distinguished family who managed to get into Class A of the Royal Academy after 120 years, the weight of expectation falling on her shoulders was extraordinary, to say the least— By the way, the last A-class qualifier from the Levarance family was four generations ago, going back to Jeu's great-great-grandmother. After that, more than 20 individuals from four generations, including Jeu's siblings, attempted the Royal Academy entrance exam, but only three, including Jue, passed.

It may not sound impressive, but this result was truly extraordinary, showcasing the exceptional passing rate of the prestigious Marquis family when the passing rate of the exam is literally over 100 times worse just based on the number of candidates coming to take it.

Academic ability, practical skills, and the mana amount— the combination of three was the true gatekeeper of the exam, and fulfilling all three criteria was easier said than done.

Moreover, a family as influential as the Levarance family naturally had numerous vassal households. The Levarance family’s main branch alone couldn’t manage the operations of countless cities, private knight orders, noble schools, and many other facilities within their territory. Of course, in addition to this, they had over a thousand noble families as dependents, and beneath them, a vast number of educated commoners who had received a certain level of education.

Each and everyone threw in their well wishes upon hearing that Jeu got into Class A. The significance of producing a Class A qualifier from the main Levarance family, the leader of all those influential forces, was truly one of a kind in the Yuglia Kingdom.

It went without saying that dropping down from her current class rank during her stay in the Royal Academy was absolutely out of the question. Her academic and practical skills were rigorously honed and tested by the Levarance family's comprehensive team of private tutors.

Jeu's current performance was enough for her to keep the status quo, but even a bit of a drop in her performance would result in the little amount of freedom she had been granted after her studies being severely regulated. So, despite a plethora of things to do, she couldn't let her grades drop at all.

"The first task at hand is to attend the meeting of the Youth Society of the Levarance family in the capital for a greeting then you can excuse yourself after that. The next task is to attend the completion ceremony of the 7th bridge construction project hosted by Duke Glaster.

Aside from that, there is a request for an interview from a group of retainers who showed their desire to learn about the situation of this year's Academy, especially the situation of Class A. We have been declining so far on the pretext of a busy schedule, but there's a limit to this. We have to finish their management after having a meeting with them.

Today's dinner is scheduled to be with three count families and one influential viscount family. While belated, Master has plans to join in as well, so the instructions are to talk to 'him' after his arrival. It is up to your discretion what to say and what not to say. All the attendees are family heads whom the young lady has met before, however, a list has been compiled just in case."

Jeu went over the bulky documents.

According to the documents, for the next three months about three times a week, her dinners with over 100 noble families had already been scheduled. Even Jeu herself was fed up with all that, but considering the hard work Sebas had put into formulating the schedule, she swallowed her complaints.

This schedule, having taken into account every information possible — from the sequence, the group’s faction, the dinner location, and many more — was like a jigsaw puzzle put together beautifully, leaving no room for complaint. Jeu didn't even want to consider the extent of adjustments made to create it.

If Sebas were to ever see a Japanese couple racking their brains to come up with the seating arrangement for a wedding ceremony, he would surely laugh at them in mockery.

"Great work. Nevertheless, this phase, right after the entrance exam of the Royal Academy, is truly the best time to exchange information. In addition, they all are frantically trying to gather even the smallest piece of information about Allen-san."

Recalling her mysterious classmate whose appearance caused the predictions of many people to fail, Jeu chuckled. Even she wondered why she was so curious about that commoner-faced young boy. She had to admit that a part of him was just as lame as it could be— like the other day, the casual clothes he wore on the shopping trip practically screamed 'I’m a country bumpkin', lacking any sort of fashion sense.

Moreover, he also left the deputy branch manager dumbfounded with his actions as he left the group with a triumphant expression, seemingly taking pride in himself on 'how he tricked him' with the alias of 'Pork (Pig)'.

She had met her fair share of handsome boys so far, but she never felt a romantic spark with them. At best, the only thing she considered, as a member of the distinguished Marquis Levarance Family, was if they had any utility value. And if so, then how should she interact with them?

Of course, the interest she had in him wasn't the same as an interest with the opposite gender. Considering the title of Marquis Leverance that she carried, love was something out of the equation.

But she probably would have thought of him more as a talented classmate if she didn't have her position as a direct descendant of the Levarance family. Just like Fey-san had said, 'It's as if he's living in his own world' with his somewhat aloof perspective which intrigued her.

"The intelligence department of the Levarance family, who should have thoroughly investigated all the potential individuals who may become the lady's classmates, didn't get even a single hint about this. It's truly embarrassing."

A sour expression appeared on Sebas’ face.

Sebas was a member of the Levarance House's branch family and was a capable individual working in the Intelligence department prior to taking the post of her butler. Although he held an essential position before in the Levarance Marquis family, he was chosen as a butler to support Jeu when her mana organ had fully grown and everyone believed she would qualify for Class A.

"Now, please don't beat yourself over it… If anything, even the Dragoon family, whom the Rovenne family is under, barely labeled him as a Class E candidate. Well, there is solace in the fact that all the titled royalties and nobility have been hurriedly gathering information about him ever since the result announcement day."

Jeu said while grinning, as Sebas, too, put on a wry smile.

"He sure has become the bane of all Intelligence departments... There are two pieces of information about him that I would like to report today.

The first is about his activities as an explorer. The 'Apple House', a puny mutual aid society he had joined as informed beforehand, seems to be gaining a reputation recently. The information suggests that a newcomer from the countryside who recently joined 'Apple House’ — possessing significant skills that contradict his seemingly modest demeanor — has been engaging in a show of force with the juvenile delinquents, based on the rumors circling among the other mutual aid societies of the Royal Capital's Eastern Branch, gaining the nickname of Mad Hound Ren. The reason is believed to be for building influence.

Although it hasn't been confirmed that he is the same as 'Mad Hound Ren', bringing together the various pieces of information such as the name 'Ren' and the time of joining makes it almost certain."

Hearing the report, Jeu tilted her head in curiosity.

"Mad Hound… is it? It really feels out of place compared to Allen-san's usual impression. I wonder if it's another one of his whims."

"The intelligence department isn't sure about it as well. As for the other piece of information, even I found it hard to believe. Apparently, <Godorfun the Buddha> had initially failed him on a long-term and difficult assignment he gave Allen, but he got into an argument over this, and not only did he completely talk Godorfun down, but he also elicited an apology from the <Godorfun the Buddha> who revised his result to a pass. Such dubious rumors have been floating around recently. Does the young lady have any guesses about the assignment?"

Jeu put up a bitter smile when she listened to the report.

"......No, your guess is as good as mine. However, don't you think the truth is truly hard to believe? The erratic details aside, it's also puzzling how such information didn't leak out during a time when everything is highly scrutinized and only suddenly surfaced now."

Recently, a lot of embellished information about Allen had been going around, and there had been plenty that were just plain lies. This was also one of the factors that had left the Intelligence departments of the noble families exhausted.

"At first, I didn’t believe it… However, tracing the information caused the names of several Academy teachers to pop up. Considering this, my judgment says the credibility of this rumor is high. My guess is that Sir Godorfun had put a gag order until the assignment was over, but now that the result was out, he deliberately leaked the information. The person in question is <Godorfun the Budhha> after all, it's hard to believe this information outbreak was a product of his carelessness. Do you really have no idea?"

Jeu was dumbfounded. She could see in Sebas' eyes that he considered the information to be true.

Speaking of the truth, Godorfun actually hadn't passed a gag order. While Allen thought ‘It doesn't feel right to put pressure on my classmates just because of my assignment~' and kept quiet about it.

The teachers of the distinguished Royal Academy were aware enough to not divulge the details about their students’ assignments to anyone outside of the Academy. If you had to put it another way, while they kept the details to themselves, they couldn't keep quiet about the shocking result.

Jeu swiftly consolidated all the information in her mind.

"...I can only say it might be related to the Hill Road Club… However, each student joined the club of their own accord so I don't have any idea why this is linked to the result of the assignment…

All I believed it to be was a club with an odd name which Allen-san created on a whim. However, the way it perfectly resembled a talent-fostering organization was truly an eye-opener. I presume there is a significant reason behind the diverse training plan from the three vice presidents of the club and all sorts of erratic trials that we, the managers, found amusing."

Jeu gleefully recounted the details. She just felt an outburst of joy within herself at how Allen effortlessly surpassed her imagination as usual.

"If it is indeed true, then there's no way to imagine how much his value will skyrocket. Everyone's opinion of him, based on the intel so far, was that of a genius in body-strengthening magic whom they had overlooked. But with his organizational skills, the talent-fostering skill instilled in him by Master Schord, and the courage and intelligence to argue against Sir Godorfun added into the equation, even the higher nobilities who had been watching the situation unfold from the sideline would have to finally move. If I may so, the idea of royalties getting into this matter doesn't seem so far-fetched to me."

As Sebas stated his opinion, Jeu felt a myriad of emotions swirling within herself.

While she was truly delighted to see Allen — the person she had noticed at a glance, thinking 'this person might be it...' — gaining the recognition of others at an unthinkable pace, she also felt a dread that he might venture into places beyond her reach. The urge to hide him away in a secluded mountain castle that only she knew of— Jeu suddenly put on a bitter smile when she thought of that. This unexpected possessiveness of mine… It's as if I'm in love with him, isn't it?

Sebas grinned subtly as he looked at the rapidly changing expression of his master which was so unlike her, and continued.

"Ahem. After the dinner, you are scheduled to train in holy magic at the Cathedral. Archbishop Dolittle, as usual, will be your instructor today."

All the emotions within Jeu were replaced with a sinking feeling when she heard of it.

T/N - A stalker and a yandere in making…MC better run away lol.

EN - Honestly, I prefer Jeu over Fey. Go Jeu! You can do it~