I Became The Academy’s Narrow-Eyes - Chapter 67: A Token of Friendship (2)

From this incident, I gained three realizations.

First,

Hero-grade artifacts possess a value that far exceeds my expectations.

Long-nailed Edony didn’t wear this Courage-Filled Necklace around his neck, keeping it instead in his pouch, not merely because of the necklace’s cute design.

Treasures contained with mana.

They blind people’s eyes with mana and trap them in greed, turning them into monsters.

Adonis was wary of becoming the target of people who recognized the necklace’s value and being attacked by those turned into monsters by its power.

Now, I’ve come to a clear understanding.

In the future, I must be exceedingly careful with handling artifacts of hero grade or higher.

Second,

This world is full of dangers, contrary to what I feel and desire.

I pondered.

What if Miss Adryn and Miss Mizu had gone to appraise the necklace without me?

I don’t even want to imagine.

Unthinkable horrors would have occurred.

Fortunately, since I was there this time, nothing happened to the two ladies, but—

Demons, black magicians, Harashin, monsters, criminals, and so forth.

This world is full of all kinds of dangers.

And the characters around me are at the center of this peril-filled world.

I had no idea when they might encounter danger again in my absence.

I felt like a mother who had left her child by the water’s edge.

And it’s not even a wrong comparison.

The average age of entry to the Academy is twenty.

Miss Drin, Miss Adryn, and Miss Mizu are also twenty—according to societal norms, they’re considered adults.

But what about the standards of a world governed by power?

To them, they’re still just children.

In this world, qualities related to mana are said to manifest once the growth of the body, which is the container for mana, has stabilized.

Meaning,

In terms of the world of power, the Academy’s freshmen might be seen as toddlers just beginning to walk.

Miss Drin, Miss Adryn, and Miss Mizu, all three are characters of a main or supporting role in the game.

They have the potential to become powerful figures who will not be overshadowed by anyone in the future.

But right now?

Even if the three joined forces, they would struggle to contend with long-nailed Adonis.

If this were a game, it’d be a worry I wouldn’t have to bother with.

At the game’s early stage, facing long-nailed Adonis, who you typically wouldn’t encounter until much later in the game—such danger doesn’t usually occur.

However,

This isn’t a game, but reality.

I never know when the discrepancy between the game and reality will arise again.

That way, those heroes, including the three of them, might face crises they cannot handle.

What if heroes suffer grievous injuries that incapacitate them or cause death?

My fragile and sensitive mentality would take insurmountable damage, that’s for sure.

Perhaps it might even affect the quest completion, hindering a happy ending—

In the worst-case scenario, it could lead directly to a bad ending.

So I thought,

Let’s nurture the heroes.

I will employ every means at my disposal to assist their growth.

To ensure they can withstand any hardship or adversity.

The immediate solution that came to mind was to farm all kinds of elixirs and artifacts to bestow upon the heroes.

Starting with,

I intended to gift the Courage-Filled Necklace to Miss Adryn.

In doing so,

I faced the third realization.

A woman’s heart is complex.

Beyond the understanding of a gaming nerd like me.

I just wanted to give the necklace to Miss Adryn.

Yet when the string of events surrounding the necklace concluded.

“Ceylon, I’m really grateful, but right now, I just can’t accept or buy the necklace. Please, first rectify the mistake you made with Miss Drin.”

Miss Adryn said this and adamantly refused my necklace gift.

“Idiot, I’m genuinely thankful, but right now, I just can’t accept the necklace. Though, if you give it, I’ll take it anyway.”

Who is this person?

Regardless, Miss Mizu said that while also strongly suggesting I correct the mistake I made with Miss Drin.

Ultimately, unable to pass the Courage-Filled Necklace to anyone, I returned to my room—more precisely, to the guest room in the Lebringer mansion—and lay on my bed, lost in thought.

‘What did I do wrong to our Miss Drin?’

To pinpoint the cause of the wrongdoing, I recalled what had just transpired.

‘Is she upset because I only prepared a gift for Miss Adryn…?’

It seemed likely.

Therefore, the way to heal the emotional wounds inflicted on our Miss Drin was clear.

Prepare a gift for Miss Drin.

‘It worked out well, I can give that necklace to Miss Drin—’

I initially thought so but then corrected myself.

A voice came from deep within me.

-Is that really the best you can do? You narrow-eyed fool~ (echo)

Indeed.

Upon rethinking, that didn’t seem right.

The necklace was meant as a gift for Miss Adryn.

But now that plans have gone awry, to present it to Miss Drin just so?

This wasn’t a stopgap solution.

It would be disrespectful to both Miss Adryn and Miss Drin.

‘Let’s find a new friend—no, a gift.’

A gift for Miss Drin.

‘What would be good?’

The first option to come to mind amid my ponderings was ‘food.’

Our Miss Drin has a distinct passion for—no, not gluttony, but gourmet delights.

The problem is,

These days my daily ritual is cooking meals, and I’ve been serving those dishes to Miss Drin for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

To serve a menu prepared with even more care and say with a wink, ‘This is the gift I’ve prepared for Miss Drin?’

‘That would only stir up a fire.’

If she saw that I intended to present a Grade 2 artifact to Miss Adryn but tried to make do with cooking for her?

Even our Miss Drin, unbothered by material wealth, wouldn’t be able to suppress rising annoyance.

‘Is that all you’ve got…’

In the end, the remaining option was another Grade 2 artifact.

Procure a Grade 2 artifact and gift it to Miss Drin.

Since my initial intention had been to help Miss Drin grow by bestowing upon her all kinds of artifacts and elixirs, this task was nothing out of the ordinary for me.

‘Let’s see…’

With that, I opened my inventory first.

The reward for accidentally defeating Dalleye in a quest lay there, prepared and waiting.

“Phew…”

[Random Box (Maximum Reward Grade: Hero)]

To use the jargon, it was a ‘perfect match’ situation.

An occasion when I needed a hero-grade artifact and, lo and behold, would a hero-grade artifact appear?

This was almost divine intervention.

“Lucky me.”

Activate after input.

I spoke the line first before opening the box.

Then, the scenario unfolded differently from previous box openings.

-Burp~

Instead of a radiant glow, the box emitted an unpleasant sound resembling intestinal gas and disappeared into nothingness.

‘What just happened?’

And in my hand was—

[Item: Flower]

[Grade: Common]

Description: A flower

In my hand was a flower imbued with vivid gold.

‘Is this for real?’

A common-grade item from a maximum hero-grade random box?

And at this time?

‘Don’t you get the situation?’

Even a cursory glance would tell you that now was the time for a hero-grade artifact with an impressive appearance and decent ability to present to Miss Drin, right?

‘Typical.’

As if a sinister mask felt angelic to behold.

What should have been my easiest and quickest Plan A to procure a hero-grade artifact turned into a flower.

‘…Well, it is pretty.’

Its vibrant golden color brought Miss Drin to mind, so I found no reason to fault the flower itself.

With that, I set aside the sigh that came reflexively and began to contemplate Plan B.

‘The Academy.’

It was the location that came to mind when formulating Plan B.

As a central stage in the game, the Academy housed various hidden artifacts.

Though I, still rather a newbie, was aware of only a fraction of these artifacts.

Thankfully, within that limited knowledge, there was an artifact suitable for a gift for Miss Drin.

The difficulty of acquiring it wasn’t too high, at least not by my current standards.

If I could just gain entry to the Academy grounds as a student, it shouldn’t be too difficult to acquire it, I suppose.

Coincidentally, in a few days, I was due to undergo the academy’s entrance ceremony, evolving into a freshman.

Realistically speaking, a hero-grade artifact would be like low-hanging fruit ready to be plucked.

‘Okay.’

All clear.

With a lighter heart, I rose from the bed and headed towards the door.

Off to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

“Huh?”

“…!”

On my way, I unexpectedly bumped into Miss Drin.

Miss Drin, upon seeing me, gave a sour smile and said,

“Oh, Ceylon… I’m not feeling like eating tonight, so you don’t have to prepare my dinner.”

“Gasp…!”

Miss Drin is skipping a meal?

The situation, and the emotional wounds Miss Drin had suffered, seemed far more severe than I had thought.

‘What to do? Should I immediately go and turn the Back Alleys upside down?’

Even extreme options began surfacing in my mind when suddenly.

“What’s that?”

Miss Drin’s gaze fell on what was in my hand.

“Uh? Oh, this.”

A flower.

That’s what it is.

‘Item name and description both simply state “flower.” Impressive, right?’

Anyhow, I was glad for the timely convenience.

If there is a most valuable utilization for a common item, a flower that became a dud from a random hero-grade box — What could it be?

I was confident in saying,

“It’s a flower, as you can see— but if you don’t mind, would you accept it?”

“Just out of the blue. What is this about?”

Miss Drin turned her head away indifferently as if uninterested.

“Many others would appreciate the flower more than me.”

Yet, her sidelong glance persisted at the flower.

“But specific to this flower. Doesn’t it remind you of Miss Drin?”

“Excuse me?”

“The moment I saw this magnificent golden hue, it made me think of Miss Drin.”

I held the flower next to Miss Drin’s head to compare the color.

“But, now that I look at it—oh, my mistake. Your golden hair is much more vivid and beautiful.”

I offered the flower to Miss Drin with a silly laugh.

“Still, would you kindly accept it? If Miss Drin would take this flower, it would brighten up my mood right now.”

If you accept it, I can happily convince myself that I’ve put the reward from the random box to good use.

“…”

Miss Drin carefully took the flower in both hands.

She brought it to her nose to smell the fragrance, and a soft smile spread across her composed expression.

Soon after, Miss Drin bowed to me and opened her mouth cautiously.

“My apologies, Ceylon. It’s unbecoming of me to cause worry with immature behavior. Thank you for your consideration.”

“What? Ha ha, I’m not sure what you’re talking about~ It almost seems as if I had an ulterior motive in gifting this flower to Miss Drin~”

“Hehe, is that so?”

That day.

Miss Drin reversed her previous statement and joined us for dinner.

At Miss Drin’s place setting was a vase holding the flower I had given her.

For reasons unknown, Miss Drin’s mood seemed to have improved somewhat.

‘Hopefully, that should hold until I can bring back an artifact.’

It was indeed a relief.

***

In the grand auditorium of the Academy, where the entrance ceremony was in full swing.

There were those looking down from the balcony railing.

Their academy uniforms festooned with badges colored differently from the standard white.

They were upperclassmen of the academy.

“Hanahan?”

“What brings Hanahan here…?”

Among the academy’s upperclassmen, one garnered particular attention.

“Meloine, why are you attending an entrance ceremony?”

As one of the Eight Great Houses representing the continent’s magical lineages and owner of the Blue Magic Tower, the esteemed Hanahan household.

Meloine Hanahan, the second son of the Hanahan family, was there.

Her long hair that trickled down to her waist held a cold cerulean hue matching her chilly appearance.

Meloine chose not to respond, simply gazing down at the freshmen with an icy look.

This prompted a light-hearted man who had asked her the question to ponder, covering his mouth as if he had an epiphany, recalling a piece of information.

“Oh?”

“Looks like it’s starting.”

A robust man with a face too pretty for his sturdy body stepped onto the podium.

– I am Herion Dederer, representative of the swordmanship department entrance exam.

Herion, as the representative of the swordmanship department’s entrance exam, spoke of the exam and the candidates for a while.

– And now, I will announce the swordmanship department entrance exam top scorer.

At that moment, the previously bustling balcony fell silent.

The swordmanship department upperclassmen began to engage in lively discussions around a common topic.

“Who do you think will be the top scorer?”

“It must be Lebringer, right?”

“I’ve heard in the first round, the mana sensitivity test gave him four stars.”

“Really? Four stars at that age?”

“What, some fledgling who just hit 20 has the same level as me?”

“That’s monstrous.”

Most of them were conjecturing that Drin Lebringer would be the top scorer and eagerly awaited the appearance of their proud junior on stage.

– For the swordmanship department entrance exam top scorer, congratulations to Ceylon. Please come up to the stage.

“?”

“?”

“?”

As a different name was announced, question marks appeared above their heads.

“Ceylon…?”

Even Meloine Hanahan, who had been ready to leave immediately if the name ‘Hanahan’ was not called, now repeated the name with suspicion on her face.

Then, the man coming onto the stage to speak.

– Wow~, sorry for the delay! Top scorer? I was wondering if Instructor Herion mistakenly called the wrong name! Hahaha.

The man, who had defeated the monstrously talented genius Drin Lebringer for the top spot, was too —

Casual.

His sleepy-eyed demeanor carried such lightheartedness as if he could be blown away with just a gust of wind.

Listening to the junior’s speech, another upper-classman from the swordmanship department muttered.

“That dimwit is the representative of our new swordmanship department students…?”

Instead of a junior that could inspire pride, they got one who could only bring embarrassment.

One of the swordmanship seniors peered down at the freshmen wondering if something had gone awry.

“…”

On the freshmen’s faces lingered the sentiment of resignation.

“What in the world happened during the entrance exam…”

The soft murmur from one of the seniors echoed the sentiment of everyone present.