After officially becoming the first-year class representative, everyone returned to the classroom, where Professor White began distributing the academy's textbooks.
Alicia flipped through them and saw five different subjects: Magic, Mathematics, Alchemy, Mysticism, and History. Seeing so many, she felt a headache coming on.
The truth was, Alicia didn't particularly enjoy studying. She might be happy reading storybooks, but textbooks packed with dense knowledge bored her to death. The only one she found remotely interesting was the History volume.
Still, with Yuui watching her closely, the little girl had no choice except to pay attention in class and take careful notes.
And so, the days passed as everyone earnestly studied, each student gradually learning more about spirits related to their own affinities.
During this time, Alicia fulfilled her duties as class representative with great responsibility. Though her classmates were still reluctant to talk to her, none dared confront her directly; her strength alone commanded respect.
However, that same strength also isolated her. She hadn't managed to make a single real friend.
Well… except for Chuck, who had recently taken to chatting with her out of nowhere.
Albeit while Chuck's dueling ability was decent, his conversation skills were... lacking. So Alicia didn't find much enjoyment in those talks.
Aside from her daily lessons and class duties, most of Alicia's remaining time was spent in the academy's library.
Of course, that wasn't by choice. It was Yuui who forced her to go.
Saint Fusion Academy's library was said to be second only to the Royal Kingdom Archives in scale—a vast repository of knowledge containing nearly all of the continent's recorded history.
Yuui wanted to uncover what had happened to the world after he was sealed away, so he made the girl search for relevant information there.
At first, her only friend, Alice, was willing to accompany her. Even though, after some time, even Alice found herself overwhelmed by Alicia's relentless diligence.
In the end, Alice left her with a cheerful comment: "Maybe I'm not cut out for the literary-girl life, but you go for it, Ali!"
And so, Alicia continued to study alone in quiet misery, buried in books day after day.
As a result, each time she finished studying in the library and went to eat at the dining hall, her appetite seemed to grow a little bigger than usual.
Then, after nearly two weeks of solitary study, Alicia unexpectedly ran into someone familiar.
"Yuui-san, what's so interesting about this Book of Nature anyway?" Alicia muttered, eyes glazed as she flipped through the pages. The Book of Nature was an old fairytale collection about an ancient tribe called the "Naturia."
Yuui had explained that the author likely didn't truly understand the Naturia race, and much of the content was pure imagination. Still, some unrelated stories seemed to hold credible historical details, which was why he'd insisted Alicia read it.
Watching her slump in exhaustion, Yuui sighed and was about to tell her they could stop for the day—when a familiar woman approached.
"Oh my, The Book of Nature, hmm? I didn't expect you, Miss Alicia, to be interested in such an obscure book!"
Alicia looked up. The woman was beautiful in a mature, intellectual way—tall, slender, with an elegant figure. She wore a researcher's white coat and silver-framed glasses, giving her a graceful yet scholarly air.
"Um... you are?" Alicia's brows furrowed slightly. She felt she'd seen this woman somewhere before, though she couldn't recall where.
"Claire. That's Instructor Claire… the one who the Three Sacred Beasts controlled!" Yuui reminded her.
Alicia stared blankly, then recognition dawned. Looking carefully again, she realized it was indeed the researcher from that day—Claire Catherine.
"Instructor Claire!!" Alicia quickly stood up. Claire smiled and motioned for her to sit down before taking the seat across from her.
Alicia nervously sat back down, glancing at the young researcher. "Instructor Claire, I heard you were badly injured from that incident. Are you all right now?"
Claire instinctively touched her chest, then smiled. "Ah, it was a terrifying experience, but after some rest and thanks to Lady Sandrillon's healing magic, we researchers not only recovered but even grew stronger because of it.
"Still... if we could, I'd rather not have to gain strength in that way."
"I... I see." Alicia didn't quite know how to respond. Indeed, as Claire said, gaining power through near-death experiences wasn't something anyone would want. They had barely survived.
Feeling the mood grow heavy, Alicia right away changed the topic. "Instructor Claire, did you come here to find me?"
"Yes, I did," Claire said with a gentle smile before her expression turned solemn. She bowed deeply. "Thank you, Alicia. If not for you discovering the Three Sacred Beasts' presence ahead of time, I would still be their puppet… an empty shell with no hope of returning to myself. I truly, deeply thank you."
"Ah, um, th-that's..." Alicia stammered, caught off guard by such sincere gratitude.
Yuui sighed. "Don't get flustered. It's just a proper thank-you. You can handle that much, can't you?"
Alicia shot him a pouty glare, but without a protest, accepted Claire's thanks.
Then Claire looked up apologetically. "Though I feel bad saying this, Alicia, I have nothing material to offer you in return. Although my researcher's salary is high, I spend nearly all of it on materials for my experiments. So even if I wanted to repay you in gold, I couldn't.
"That said, I can promise you one thing. I'll grant you a request—any request—so long as it lies within my power."
...
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