CH 23

Supplementary Class

No matter how much she disliked it, she intended to study hard.

In fact, she could now read, write, and understand difficult phrases. She could even do math, as long as the numbers weren’t too large. Compared to the person she was a month ago, she was much different now. She worked hard to learn history, ancient languages, and Faril’s divine teachings. She was going to….!

“Hoshuu….[1]”

Sheila’s head stubbornly refused to understand. Collection. Repair. Captivity. No. It’s impossible.

“Sheila…. poor thing, but you have to do your best. I heard that if your grades are too low, you may have to repeat a year.”

Cody patted her shoulder sympathetically. Repeating a year…. Her head rejected that word again.

Zechs poked Sheila on the cheek with a goofy grin.

“Oi, is this guy blacking out?”

“No, of course not. That’s rude, Zechs.”

“I mean, I’m amazed that he got in here.”

Unable to even muster the energy to escape Zechs’s fingers, Sheila let out a faint noise as she was poked and prodded.

“When the director came to explain about the school, he took a look at some of my practical skills, but there was no written exam….”

“Even so, Sheila can manage if he works hard. His grades are steadily improving.”

Cody seemed to have faith in his useless friend, who might have to repeat a year. Supported by his kindness, Sheila finally decided to accept reality.

“Supplementary class…. If I don’t do my best, I’m going to have to repeat a year….”

“Aren’t you burning out even before you take the test?”

“That’s why you’re being rude. You saw that competency test, didn’t you? Sheila is not a weak man who would succumb to this level of difficulty.”

It was a complete overestimation, but Sheila was determined to live up to her friend’s trust.

As she stared at the back of the teacher as he left with the heartless pronouncement that all subjects would have supplementary classes, she voiced her doubts.

“He said he asked for a teacher who would teach all the subjects together, but…. who is he talking about?”

“You’ll find that out after school. If you have time to think about it, you’d better learn as many ancient words as possible.”

Sheila’s question was easily brushed off by Zechs. Her lips twitched in defiance at the very least.

◇　◆　◇

Since then, she had been called in several times to do odd chores.

But Sheila hadn’t told Claushezade that she had researched the political changes.

They had a bland conversation as usual and parted without her telling him about it.

Like that, she couldn’t even concentrate on her classes because she was thinking about Claushezade all the time.

In the first place, Sheila couldn’t even read or write properly. It was true that she had grown remarkably fast in such a short period of time, but she was still not up to par with her peers.

‘If I have time to be distracted, I should definitely learn the ancient languages.’

Sheila changed her mind and decided to take the supplementary class. Alone in the classroom after school, she waited for the special instructor to visit.

Soon, she felt the sound of unhurried footsteps approaching the classroom. Elegant and aristocratic. It was the kind of footsteps she had heard somewhere before.

As she was thinking about it, the footsteps suddenly stopped in front of the classroom. Why did she have a bad feeling about this peculiar presence?

The door to the classroom rattled open.

“――It’s been a long time, Sheila Danau.”

It was someone she met at the bathhouse just a week ago, so it didn’t feel like it had been a long time. In addition, he was a person whom she would like to avoid encountering as much as possible.

Sheila’s cheeks twitched.

“J-Jornwerner-sensei….”

When she had encountered him before, she remembered that he had mentioned the unnaturalness of her match with Leidyrune.

‘When I met with Clauschezade-sensei, I was going to ask him for advice, but…. it awkwardly slipped out of my mind…..’

Even if she had consulted with him, this supplementary class might have been unavoidable.

“I was honestly fed up with having to deal with the hassle of supplementary classes. But when I found out it was you, I couldn’t sleep at night because I was so excited.”

Jornwerner smiled sweetly.

“Alone in a locked room, just the two of us. We’re going to have a lot of fun, aren’t we, Sheila-kun?”

Sheila simply kept quiet.

However, once supplementary lessons began, she couldn’t remain silent.

“I’ve seen what you can do, but your geography, history, and ancient language skills are all bad. It’s refreshing to see that you’re this flawed.”

“….. I’m sorry.”

She tried the quiz that Jornwerner had prepared in advance, but the results were disastrous. Even Jornwerner, who was basically a goofy guy, gave her a troubled look.

“Especially in ancient languages, you only manage to understand the basics. Well, it’s not something that a commoner would learn, so it’s enough if you, who entered the school midway, can do this far. No matter how hard you try, it is inevitable that you will fall behind in your progress.”

Jornwerner put his hand on his chin as he looked at the answers. He looked a little worried, then handed another booklet to Sheila. It was very thick and heavy.

“I’ve prepared a book of ancient language problems for you, just in case. For now, let’s finish this in a week.”

“Aaahhh….”

“Hey. Don’t make such an improper flirtatious noise.”

“….”

Sheila was at a loss for words when she was prompted. She thought it was a scream, not a dirty noise.

“Anyway, learn the ancient language by getting used to writing it. Today’s lesson is geography. Let’s focus on studying neighboring countries, their climates, and specialties. Do you have any questions so far?”

Sheila raised her hand vigorously.

“Why does Jornwerner-sensei like to use obscene words?”

It was a serious question, but Jornwerner shook his shoulders in amusement.

“Because it’s interesting to see their reactions. People’s disapproving faces, that’s what I like.”

“…. I see. I don’t sympathize, but I understand your point.”

If the purpose was to play with the other party, it meant that Jornwerner would get what he wanted if they were distracted. In a sense, it was tantamount to giving in to a provocation. If this was a battle, Sheila, who was on the receiving end, must respond resolutely.

Sheila decided to let his offhand remarks slide, and then the geography lecture began. Jornwerner unfolded a map centered on the Kingdom of Steitz.

“To the west of the Kingdom of Steitz lies the Great Sea. To the north is the country of Norland across the sea. Even though it’s across the sea, it’s not that far away, so trade with our country is prosperous. To the south are Mayberry, Sulifes, and Manawa. Although they are all small countries, these three countries have a peace agreement and should be considered as if they are one country. And to the east is the Faril Divine Kingdom.”

With a snap of his finger, he pointed to a country shaped like a honey pot, about two times smaller than the Kingdom of Steitz.

“The Faril Divine Kingdom, which is connected to the land, is the oldest country in the world and is said to be the place where the god Faril descended to Earth. Most of the people believe in the Faril religion, which is the state religion. They are very pious people, and many of them work in the service of God. Although there are no notable industries or specialties, the country survives through donations and offerings from all over the continent.”

Even deep in the mountains, she had heard of a country called Faril. But she didn’t know what kind of country it was.

“Incidentally, the ancient language is more accurately called the ancient divine language. It is a language that is said to have been used by the gods. If you ever go to the Faril Divine Kingdom, you must learn it. It is said to be widely used even in the daily conversation of commoners.”

“Hee…”

Would a geography teacher have such a captivating explanation? Maybe Jornwerner knew how to teach in a way that was easier to understand and more interesting than a specialized teacher.

Just as she was a little impressed, his azure eyes sparkled mischievously.

“If you’re interested, we can go on a love escapade together?”

“No, thank you. I mean, I don’t understand what we need to escape from.”

When Sheila accurately answered his question, Jornwerner shrugged his shoulders and resumed the lesson.

Translator Notes:

1. In the Kanji form, “Hoshuu” can mean a lot of things, such as the ones listed below the sentence, but it’s also the title of the chapter. I think she was refusing to accept that she had to take a supplementary class. ↵