Chapter 199
The parking lot of Yggdrasil.
Unlike usual, there was a particularly eye-catching large truck parked there.
It belonged to none other than the popular songstress, MacGrim.
And inside it……
There was MacGrim’s manager, an elderly gentleman with a black beard.
“Urgh!”
Raising himself from the sofa, he went into the small restroom attached to the truck and washed his face.
The elderly gentleman with the impressive mustache was named Opel Wisdom.
After coming out of the restroom, he looked at the calendar.
Today was the final day of MacGrim’s examinations.
In time for her return, he had been cleaning the inside of the truck so thoroughly that not even a speck of dust remained.
……That tiny child had become a popular songstress, and now she was taking the cadet examination at the Academy, the symbol of world peace…….
He could not help but feel proud.
Then, suddenly, the past surfaced in his mind.
His former self, commanding soldiers in a burning refugee village.
And…… the voices crying out for help.
Only after hearing those cries had belated realization and regret come to him.
……As he was sinking into that self-loathing, a faint song drifted from somewhere.
Drawn as if bewitched, Wisdom approached the sound—and there, miraculously alive, was a single young child.
He embraced the child and fled.
Helmet, sword, cloak, horse—he cast them all aside and resolved to devote the rest of his life to that child.
Until the day he died.
Only for MacGrim.
“Hm.”
“……Is that not possible?”
MacGrim recommended a resident.
None other than her manager.
It was an unexpected request, so I fell into thought for a moment.
‘I hadn’t even considered allowing someone who isn’t a cadet to live there.’
Her manager was an outsider to the Academy, after all.
But seeing the earnest look in MacGrim’s eyes, I could not refuse outright.
“My manager is like a father to me. Making him live in the truck for four whole years until I graduate from Yggdrasil…… I just can’t do that. I’d feel too sorry.”
“Why not just have him stay somewhere else?”
“I said that too, but he refused……. I think he’s worried about me.”
There were no separate lodgings near Yggdrasil. There wasn’t even a commercial district around the Academy—it was far removed from the established system.
‘A manager…….’
Of course I knew who MacGrim’s manager was.
He was occasionally mentioned among users.
If a player attacked MacGrim in the game, her manager would appear from somewhere and obliterate the player in a single blow.
No matter how high the player’s level or how good their equipment was, defeating the manager was impossible.
It had merely been a half-joking Easter egg made by the developers, who were fond of the character “MacGrim.”
‘But because they gave him proper narrative background for that Easter egg, he was, by setting, one of the strongest figures in the world.’
His name was Opel Wisdom.
He had once been the Commander of the Empire’s First Knight Order.
Though he now worked as MacGrim’s manager, he carried a dark past.
Under orders from the Empire, he had attacked a village of the Hetarion Lineage that had supposedly gone berserk as a group.
However, during the assault, he realized that the lineage had not actually rampaged—and that the Empire’s command had been mistaken.
In the end, he understood it had been nothing more than a massacre.
Though he stopped the attack, most of the villagers were already dead.
While drowning in regret, he happened upon a young MacGrim singing alone. He picked her up, cast aside his title as Knight Commander, and raised her as though atoning for his sins.
‘So MacGrim sees him as her guardian…… without even knowing that he was the one who made her an orphan.’
In any case.
I could roughly guess why he insisted on staying by her side even at the Academy.
Those of Hetarion descent—while not all of them—were often ill-tempered. Not because they were evil at heart, but because the magical energy raging uncontrollably within their bodies caused it.
If that magical energy was stabilized, their volatile personalities tended to calm considerably.
So he must be staying nearby to stabilize MacGrim’s magical energy.
Considering he could steadily control the magical energy of someone from the Hetarion Lineage…… it seemed his skills as the former Commander of the Empire’s First Knight Order had not rusted at all.
‘He may be living quietly in repentance, but he’s still among the ranks of the strong.’
Forming a friendly relationship with someone like him would not harm me.
According to the game’s setting, he was a man who valued virtue and never forgot a debt. He was not the type to betray, nor was he malicious.
Yes. Having someone like him at my residence would be a great help.
‘I’ll be expanding the Livestock Shed further, and there’s plenty to manage on the island and other farms. I did need someone to look after things when I’m away.’
If he were to act as a guard, I could simply provide meals and a room.
After organizing my thoughts, I answered MacGrim.
“I’ll consider it positively.”
“……!”
MacGrim’s face brightened instantly.
“Thank you so much, Villed! That’s a huge weight off my mind.”
“But.”
Thwack!
I lightly flicked her forehead.
“Ow.”
“Aren’t you counting your chickens before they hatch? Get accepted first, then we’ll talk.”
“Ugh…… I will. I definitely will.”
Even while rubbing her forehead, MacGrim smiled faintly.
Knock knock knock.
“I’m coming in?”
“……What.”
When I opened the door to the Treehouse, I saw Shia sitting curled up as usual.
However, her gaze was subtly different from before.
At first, whenever she looked at me, she made no effort to hide her blatant disgust—as if she were staring at food waste.
But now…….
Her eyes trembled ever so slightly.
Rather than caution, it looked closer to anticipation.
And her gaze soon flicked toward the hand holding my dish.
Like Pavlov’s dog lifting its head at the sound of a bell.
It seemed I was no longer an unpleasant existence, but someone who brought something.
“If you’re going to barge in, don’t just stand there. Say what you want.”
She used to hate even speaking to me, yet now she sometimes opened her mouth first.
“Nothing much. I made too much, so I brought some to share.”
I held out a plate with cake and a fork.
It was a whipped cream cake made solely from ingredients produced in the Livestock Shed.
“Not sure if it’ll suit your taste.”
“Hmph.”
Shia snorted and reluctantly picked up the fork.
Then she stared at me. Her eyes seemed to say, ‘Aren’t you leaving yet?’ But I curved my lips.
“I want your evaluation. Take a bite.”
“…….”
With a sigh, she cut a piece and brought it to her mouth.
“……!”
It was brief, but I heard a small gasp of admiration.
She clamped her mouth shut desperately, glancing at me. An incomprehensible ‘ngh’ sound escaped her.
She clearly did not want to show any change in expression. Shooting me a glare, she abruptly turned her face away.
“Well? It’s my ambitious piece. Give me your evaluation.”
“……Hmph, it’s average.”
—Pyaaaak!
The parakeet perched on my shoulder shrieked.
As expected.
I smirked slightly and spoke.
“If it doesn’t suit your taste, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just discard it next time.”
“That’s……!”
Shia hurriedly spoke up.
“You jerk. Don’t you know food is precious? It’d be a waste to throw it away. If you’re going to do that, just give it to me instead.”
That’s more like it.
“Fine. I’ll include cake for dessert every day from now on.”
Her pupils wavered.
“D-Do as you like.”
“In return, there’s something you’ll do for me.”
She blinked, then glared at me, clearly displeased at the thought of being assigned work again.
“Don’t want to hear it? Then forget it.”
“Say it.”
She answered flatly, and I raised the corner of my mouth.
“Help me build a house near the Livestock Shed.”
However, she frowned in confusion.
“……The Livestock Shed? The Academy’s Livestock Shed?”
“Yeah. It’s a bit far, right?”
“Not just a bit.”
With her brows knitted, she stared at me strangely, so I had no choice but to explain.
That the Livestock Shed and this island were connected like a teleportation link.
But she looked unconvinced.
“Seeing is believing. I’ll show you.”
We moved to the tree where the teleportation was installed.
“Follow me.”
I stepped inside the tree.
……My vision went dark, and we returned to my Livestock Shed Storage.
I climbed out of the drum first, and shortly after, Shia stumbled out of it.
“Uh……?”
Her eyes widened as she looked around.
“Where is this?”
“As I said, my Livestock Shed. You knew, right? I’ve been living here since I was punished.”
She looked slightly surprised, perhaps not knowing the rumors about me living in the Livestock Shed were true.
“Anyway, you can go to the island anytime using this drum. Though entry and exit are only possible with my permission. You have to believe me now.”
“…….”
Shia slowly nodded.
“And I’ve been thinking. You haven’t caused any trouble on the island. You’ve even gotten along well with the animals.”
“Hmph. Mind your own business.”
“So.”
At my next words, her eyes widened.
“After the semester starts, I’ll grant you permission to access the island. Then you won’t have to be separated from that deer.”
“Lotti…… I can see her every day?”
She murmured to herself before lifting her head to look at me.
There was no trace of wariness left in her eyes.
“Yeah. That’s my offer. So? Will you help?”
In the end, she nodded reluctantly.
“……I’ll do it. I just have to do what you tell me, right?”
The professors’ conference room at Yggdrasil Academy.
Around fifty professors were seated.
However, attendance did not seem particularly high.
Professor Ruber, especially renowned among the faculty, was absent, and several other seats were empty.
Moreover, President Tote, who should have been sitting at the head seat, was not present either.
“Ah…… Thank you for taking the time despite your busy schedules, Professors.”
With long green hair in disarray and dark circles beneath her eyes, Professor Feria was serving as temporary chair of the meeting.
“Then…… we shall begin.”
The meeting proceeded with formal procedures.
Review of last semester’s operations, summary of incident records, budget allocation and facility maintenance, faculty placement. And adjustments to next semester’s examination schedule.
On the surface, they appeared to be ordinary agenda items…….
“And next…….”
Professor Feria turned a page.
“These are proposals submitted anonymously by professors and passed through voting.”
A senior-junior mentoring system, additional high-intensity curriculum for top students, early department experience, division of first-year top students into separate classes, further subdivision of the Schuler curriculum, and more.
A long list of transformative proposals beyond the existing framework was presented.
“We will now discuss the placement examination plan for first-year students following the announcement of admission results.”
Feria looked up at one person.
“This proposal will be explained directly by its proposer, Professor Hilda.”
“Yes!”
Hilda stood up.
After taking a short breath, she spread out her prepared materials.
“Each year, the level of top incoming students rises noticeably. With the existing curriculum alone, it’s difficult to fully draw out their potential. So what I propose is…… Opposing Force Training.”
As Professor Hilda explained Opposing Force Training in detail, the other professors nodded in understanding.
After she finished, another professor asked a question.
“Shall we organize the opposing force facing the freshmen using assistant instructors?”
“No. Assistant instructors are too high-level. It would only become one-sided pressure, and the educational meaning would diminish. The purpose of this training isn’t victory or defeat—it’s experience. Not only the first-years, but those playing the role of the opposing force must also learn.”
Smiling faintly, Hilda continued.
“So we’ll entrust it to the Schulers.”