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'There shouldn't have been any students recently permitted to enter the forest alone.'
Harun mused, racking his memory.
If someone possessed skill to this degree, they would surely have garnered attention long ago.
He found it quite strange and addressed the students.
"We'll proceed to the center of the forest for now."
The students nodded with tense expressions, as stronger Monsters tended to appear closer to the forest's center.
However, the journey proved unexpectedly smooth, as someone had already completed the subjugation ahead of them.
Before long, Harun, having reached the forest's center, widened his eyes.
"T-This is……."
Before them lay the corpse of a massive Superior Magical Creature.
"It's a Drake!"
The students exclaimed excitedly.
"After damaging the hide, they pierced the vital point with a single strike."
Amidst the murmurs, Harun also examined the corpse intently.
'To defeat a Superior Magical Creature alone, they must be at least a Sword Expert-level knight.'
He tilted his head, both surprised and puzzled.
'But there's no way someone of that caliber would be at the academy…….'
The other students began to murmur as well.
"Could someone have reached the realm of Sword Expert?"
"There's no one like that in our senior class, is there?"
"Maybe it's an outsider. The Kistar Knights stayed here last time."
Harun shook his head, listening to their words.
The cut surface of the Monster was exceedingly rough.
It bore the marks of the iron sword that the academy provided to students as a basic tool.
No knight with skilled swordsmanship would use such a crude weapon.
'What reason could there be to conceal skill of this level?'
The fastidious Harun muttered in admiration.
"I don't know who it is…… but they're amazing."
Whatever else, one thing was certain.
The moment this skilled individual revealed themselves, the entire academy would be abuzz.
Ayla looked down at the Antidote in her arms and smiled brightly.
'I'm glad it was prepared without any issues within the deadline. The kids have been such a nuisance lately.'
Freya's group had been relentlessly harassing her, unable to give up despite their previous failure.
Tripping her as she passed, wetting her chair, stealing her textbooks or supplies, and so on.
Of course, none of it worked on Ayla, who was prepared for all of it.
As she skillfully evaded their harassment with the Magical potion she had prepared each time, Freya's group seemed to grow even more impatient.
The sight of them whispering resentfully behind her back was quite amusing.
'Still, the losses are considerable. I used quite a few expensive Magical potions, and it cost a fair amount to prepare extra textbooks and supplies.'
Ayla sighed softly as she tallied the losses she had incurred.
'I need to win over the princess before my finances collapse.'
Since the money she had brought from the Duke's estate wasn't that much, she needed to take action quickly.
It just so happened that today was the day the princess was returning to the academy after a long absence.
Just as she was about to sit down, the students in the lecture hall suddenly began to stir noisily.
"Isn't that the princess?"
"It is. She's back at the academy after a long time."
The students' gazes all turned to one person.
The sight of a girl with platinum blonde hair fluttering elegantly as she walked in was striking enough to make anyone stop and stare.
But soon, awkward whispers followed among the students.
"But isn't this Magical potion class?"
"We have to experiment in pairs of two today."
"There is someone who's alone, but……."
The students glanced sideways at Ayla.
"We can't pair the princess with Ayla, can we?"
Everyone whispered worriedly, but no one stepped forward to partner with the princess.
Most of them already had assigned lab partners, and according to the empire's etiquette, it was not permissible to speak carelessly to someone of such high status as the princess.
At that moment, Professor Jacy, who was in charge of the Magical potion class, entered the lecture hall.
She was the one who had taken over the lectures after the retired former professor, and she was famous in the Magic Tower as an authority on Magical potion making.
The students' noisy atmosphere quickly subsided.
Professor Jacy, who was crossing the lecture hall, stopped when she spotted a girl.
Sapphire-studded blue eyes made it clear to anyone that she was royalty.
But Jacy coldly turned her head as if she had no interest in that fact.
Then she slowly moved her steps and stood in front of the podium.
Soon, she opened her mouth in her usual stiff tone.
"Now, everyone, pair up and stand in front of the experiment table. We'll start right away."
The empire's princess, Peony Celestia.
Contrary to her seemingly cold exterior, she was an extremely timid person.
Moreover, she was physically weak and often missed the academy, so she couldn't even dream of making friends.
'Everyone seems to be close except me.'
Peony watched the students pairing up as if she were watching a spectacle, aware of herself being left alone.
Classes that required group work like this were nothing short of torture for her.
Because of her status as a princess, most students couldn't even dare to speak to her first.
'If someone were to talk to me, they'd have to be at least from a Duke's family.'
If she wanted to team up with someone, Peony would have to make the first move.
However, her timid personality held her back as always.
At that moment, Professor Jacy's sharp voice echoed through the lecture hall.
"You, the student standing alone over there, what are you doing standing still? Hurry up and form a group."
Peony's heart froze as she realized that the professor's gaze was directed at her.
She hurriedly looked around, but she didn't have the courage to approach anyone.
'What should I do? Maybe it would be better to do it alone…….'
Her fingertips trembled, and her mouth felt parched.
At that moment, when she wanted to disappear into the ground as if everyone was looking at her.
A familiar voice came from behind her.
"Peony, would you like to experiment with me?"
Peony flinched and turned around.
There stood a girl with light pink hair shining lovely.
'Ayla Blanche.'
Although Peony didn't come to the academy often, she knew how popular a student she was.
She wondered why Ayla was alone today.
'What's going on?'
She didn't know why, but it was like a stroke of good luck for Peony.
Ayla was from a Duke's family, so her status was similar to hers.
Moreover, they had exchanged light greetings at a banquet in the past and had become acquainted.
Peony nodded with flushed cheeks. She felt grateful to Ayla for taking care of her.
"Okay. Let's do it together."
After hesitating for a moment, she asked cautiously.
"But I often miss Magical potion classes, so my skills aren't very good. Is that okay?"
Academy students usually had a great desire for grades, so they tended to team up with people who were skilled.
On the other hand, Peony studied hard on her own, but she knew that her Magical potion skills were inferior to others.
If she were in the same group as her, Ayla would definitely be harmed.
Yet Ayla didn't seem to care about that fact at all.
"Yeah, it's okay."
Ayla's answer was firm and confident.
Peony tilted her head as she looked at Ayla.
Soon, the professor's voice echoed through the lecture hall.
"Has everyone formed groups? Then start the experiment. Today's task is to create a Magical potion that makes objects glow. The more successfully it is completed, the darker the gold color the Magical potion will be."
No sooner had Jacy finished speaking than the students began to pick up the ingredients placed on the experiment table.
Ayla was the same.
Peony admired Ayla's skillful handling of the Magical potion ingredients.
'She's quite skilled, isn't she?'
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