Chapter 63: Sweet Dreams

Despite the major incident during the midterm exams, things seemed to be settling down without any further issues.

It was an incident caused by a single student.

And more importantly, there were no fatalities, which seemed to have played a significant role.

After the incident, Clarice was taken somewhere.

While some ridiculous rumors circulated among the students who were caught off guard by Clarice, there didn’t seem to be any further problems.

And so, the midterm exams seemed to pass without incident.

Until Lisa came to me.

“…What? You failed?”

“W-Well, not yet. But I will if I don’t do well on the supplementary exam….”

I stared at Lisa, scratching her head sheepishly, with a dumbfounded look.

I thought it was strange that I’d never seen her study.

But I didn’t think she actually hadn’t studied at all.

She should have at least studied enough to pass the exam.

…Well, I wasn’t one to talk, having used a shortcut.

“You didn’t study?”

“I did, but…. How should I put it? I didn’t really understand it.”

Lisa, who fell asleep 100 years ago.

Her common sense also remained in that time.

100 years ago, the current mana theory wasn’t even properly established.

It seemed she had difficulty understanding most of what was taught at the academy.

“…Your Magic Eyes?”

I whispered to Lisa.

“Well…. The professor is, you know….”

It seemed she managed to pass the other exams.

But she couldn’t use her tricks on Lumine’s exam.

Lisa definitely didn’t know Lumine was a dragon.

But seeing her teleport students somewhere in an instant, she must have realized Lumine was someone she couldn’t use her abilities on.

It was a good choice in the end.

Even if it resulted in her failing Lumine’s exam.

Since the academy system immediately issued a warning if you failed even one subject, Lisa was at risk of expulsion.

“So, how can I help you?”

Knowing that her dream was to attend the academy, I wanted to help her as much as possible.

“Tutor me!”

Lisa’s eyes sparkled as she asked me to help her study.

But.

“Uh…. I can’t do that.”

“Why??”

I immediately refused her request.

Now that the results of the midterm written exams were out, the rumor that Louis was unexpectedly good at studying had spread throughout our class.

That was why Lisa asked me to tutor her.

But she overlooked one fact.

‘I didn’t really study either….’

The reason I got a high score on the exam was simply because I used a shortcut.

My actual knowledge level wasn’t that high.

It was clear that tutoring Lisa wouldn’t yield any significant results.

Of course, there was the option of using the Sage’s Bookmark to get the answers, but unfortunately, I couldn’t use that method.

Unlike regular exams, the supplementary exam was conducted with the proctor right in front of you.

If I just wrote down the answers without any solutions, it would be an obvious case of cheating.

So for now, the only option was to study properly.

“Let’s ask Elena.”

Elena also got good grades, ranking among the top students.

I thought she could definitely help Lisa.

But.

“I’m sorry, Lisa. I don’t think I can help you.”

“Eh….”

Lisa’s face fell at Elena’s rejection.

“Are you busy?”

“Yes. Due to the incident during the practical exam, the student council has a lot to deal with, so they called me in to help.”

The student council, which had been quiet for a while after the Clarice incident, became busy again.

The accident happened just when things were starting to calm down.

They had to contact the parents of the affected students and deal with the aftermath of the incident, so they were short-handed.

Of course, I, as the vice president, also received a request for help.

But I was shamelessly ignoring their requests.

Since I played a decisive role in Clarice’s arrest, it wasn’t a problem to ignore them.

They wouldn’t be able to say anything to my excuse that I was still suffering from the aftereffects of the battle.

Elena also fought Clarice with me at the scene, but with her strong sense of responsibility, she couldn’t ignore their request.

“Then you’ll be busy for a while.”

“Yes. So I don’t think I can study with you. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no! It’s okay. Then we’ll be going now.”

Seeing the pile of papers on Elena’s desk, Lisa didn’t want to bother her any further and took me outside.

“Sigh…”

A quiet park with few people.

Lisa sat on a bench and sighed softly.

“At this rate, I’ll really be expelled from the academy.”

As she said, it was quite a dangerous situation.

Three days. I couldn’t think of a way for her to study the entire exam range by herself in that time.

Then the only option was to get help from someone else.

Someone smart.

And with excellent grades.

There was only one person I knew.

“So, what you’re asking me is….”

At the library with Lisa.

I met Viola and spoke to her.

“This friend of mine failed the exam. So I was wondering if you could help her.”

As I spoke, pointing at Lisa, who was scratching her head awkwardly, Viola’s gaze shifted to her.

“If it’s Louis’ request, I’ll do it.”

After observing Lisa for a moment, Viola finally nodded.

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief at Viola’s acceptance.

“Then you two work hard. I’ll be going.”

This had nothing to do with me anymore.

Just as I was about to return to the dormitory, leaving the two behind.

“Wait…!!”

I turned around at Lisa’s call.

“Why?”

“Um…, could you stay with us?”

Glancing at Viola, I could roughly guess why Lisa stopped me.

She seemed a little intimidated by Viola, who rarely expressed her emotions.

“No way.”

But I had no reason to stay here and study with them.

Just as I coldly brushed off Lisa’s hand and turned around.

“I’ll grant you a wish later…!!”

I stopped at Lisa’s words from behind.

“A wish…?”

“Yes! I’ll grant you any wish. So let’s study together.”

Her words reminded me of the recent incident. The ability called demonic power that I used in the fight against Clarice.

It was definitely a powerful ability.

If I had that ability, it would be incredibly useful when going to dungeons to collect items.

After a quick calculation, I sat down at the table.

“Alright. Let’s start studying.”

“…You’re so mercenary, Louis.”

I wasn’t mercenary.

I was just making a rational choice.

Lisa opened her book, bickering with me.

Viola, who was quietly watching us, spoke.

“You two are speaking informally.”

“Because we’re friends…?”

“So you’re acquainted with Louis.”

“W-Well, yes? But we’re the same age, so we can drop the formalities….”

“No. I’m comfortable with this.”

“I-Is that so? Then….”

“You can speak informally to me, Lisa. It’s just that I’m not used to it.”

“Then I’ll drop the formalities….”

A slightly awkward atmosphere settled, and their conversation ended there.

Following Viola, who quietly opened her book, Lisa also opened hers.

I swallowed hard as the sound of pages turning filled the air.

The atmosphere was stiflingly awkward.

But fortunately, the silence didn’t last long.

“This equation can be solved like this.”

“Ah, I see. Then, what do I do here?”

“This goes here….”

And so began the study session, which continued until late at night.

Lisa, rubbing her sleepy eyes, looked around.

Viola, having fallen asleep at some point, was lying on the desk, fast asleep.

She had fallen asleep just 10 minutes after saying she would take a short break.

Since Lisa was grateful to her, she didn’t wake her up.

And next to her.

Louis was dozing off in an uncomfortable position.

Louis, who willingly stayed with her despite her bothersome request.

Although it came with the condition of a wish.

She was always grateful to him, as she owed him a lot.

After all, Louis was her savior.

“I would do anything Louis asks, even without a wish.”

But she knew he wasn’t the type to ask for favors without something in return.

The favor she received from Louis was worth more than her life.

She gently adjusted Louis’ position so he could lie down on the desk.

And after a brief moment of thought, Lisa activated her Magic Eyes.

Louis told her not to use her abilities on him, but this much should be fine.

Lisa used her ability just a little to help Louis sleep comfortably.

Hoping he would have sweet dreams.

“Good night, Louis.”

But she didn’t know.

That her actions would bring about a nightmarish experience for Louis.