Spirit Academy Voltimir Territory.Alvheim Hall, Room 1001.Three girls had come to stand before the office of Professor Isley, head of the Spirit Studies Department and its chief lecturer.“Whew, whew.”Kiriel steadied her breathing as she stared at the nameplate on the door.“……”Beside her, her two aides, Rina and Silpi, wore equally troubled expressions.Because the reason these three had come to the professor’s office was both absurd and, at the same time, something that could be considered a grave insult to Isley.'The conspiracy theory that Professor Isley—and the entire Union—had fallen under Loen’s demonic influence and were being manipulated at his whim.'Kiriel had come all the way to Professor Isley’s office in search of clues related to that suspicion, and the other two had accompanied her just in case of potential disaster.“Come on, you can do it, Kiriel.”She referred to herself in the third person to bolster her own resolve.Just as she gathered her courage and was about to knock on the door with trembling hands—Clack-.The door suddenly opened, and the bespectacled deer appeared.“Kyaa!”Kiriel jumped as if she had just seen a ghost, then awkwardly landed back where she stood.Isley, stepping out through the doorway, smiled at the sight.“Hehe, what a refreshing reaction.”He gestured toward the three female students standing before the door.“I felt a presence outside and wondered who it might be. Turns out it’s my adorable students. Please, come in.”“Y-yes, sir!”The three girls shuffled timidly into Isley’s office.It was a warm, wooden room.The walls, as if the grain itself were breathing, were wrapped with lively green vines, and bright light streamed in through the round window.The bookshelves and display cases were neatly arranged with various texts and artifacts useful for spirit arts.“Please, have a seat.”At his invitation, the three settled onto an old sofa set before an antique wooden table.After a moment, a teapot and cups floated through the air and landed softly on the table.Drip-drip—“Wow.”While the three girls stared in fascination at the teapot that tilted itself to pour the tea, Isley began to speak.“What brings you to my office, Miss Kiriel, Miss Rina, Miss Silpi?”“Ah, um…”Kiriel couldn’t bring herself to speak right away and hesitated.She had made it all the way to the professor’s office, yet her lips refused to move easily.How was she supposed to ask him to his face whether he was being controlled by Loen?She fidgeted with the warm teacup in her hands for a moment, then finally gathered her courage.“Um… Professor, what do you think of Loen?”“?”At Kiriel’s sudden outburst, both Rina, Silpi, and Professor Isley tilted their heads.“Hmm. What do I think of Loen, you say.”After pondering for a moment, Professor Isley sat down at his desk and replied in a calm tone.“For now, I believe he’s quite a diligent student. His grades have improved significantly, and I’ve heard about his actions during the recent Territorial War. He accomplished something rather admirable.”“……”“And during the dangerous incident in the practical exam, he and Miss Freya rescued several students together, didn’t they? Though his reputation isn’t great at the moment, if he keeps on this path, that infamy will surely fade with time.”It was an entirely proper, textbook answer, leaving nothing to fault—but not at all the one Kiriel wanted.“But why do you ask me that? Don’t tell me you have feelings for him? What a good time to bring it up. Haha.”When Isley smiled warmly while voicing such a strange assumption, Kiriel’s face scrunched up.“No, Professor, it’s nothing like that. It’s more like… animosity.”“Animosity, hmm? Why is that?”Kiriel drooped her ears and answered quietly.“...Because of all those bad rumors. And everything he’s done so far.”Isley’s tone turned firm.“Miss Kiriel, it’s not good to dislike a classmate based only on rumors. …Of course, upon my own inquiry, I did confirm that some of those rumors about Loen are partially true. But isn’t it enough that he’s trying to change from now on?”“That doesn’t erase the sins he committed in the past.”“True enough. But at the very least, I have neither the right nor the authority to condemn or judge his past. If he’s truly repented, then as an educator I ought to congratulate him for that. Nothing more, nothing less.”Slide—Isley adjusted his glasses and sighed softly.“Well… anyway, I think I understand roughly why you came to see me today, Miss Kiriel. Miss Rina, Miss Silpi.”“Yes, Professor.”“Stay close to Miss Kiriel and help her study properly so she won’t indulge in such strange delusions again.”It was as if he had seen straight through her and prescribed the perfect remedy.Kiriel jumped to her feet in protest.“S-strange delusions? That’s not it! And you don’t even know exactly why I came here, Professor! Please don’t jump to conclusions!”“Hmm…”Isley paused, then spoke.“Perhaps you came here thinking that I might have been blackmailed by Loen into raising his grades, or that some of the Union professors were secretly cooperating with him, or that his becoming Student Council President was somehow connected to all that. You couldn’t ask me such a thing outright, so instead you indirectly asked what I thought of him. If my guess is wrong, then I shall apologize to you, Miss Kiriel.”“...Ah.”He had pointed out the exact truth, as if he had peered directly into her mind.Kiriel wanted to deny it immediately, but having been hit right on target, she froze in place.Isley let out a small snort through his nose.“Hehe, judging by that reaction, it seems I was right. In any case, you can rest [N O V E L I G H T] easy—there’s nothing of the sort going on. Focus on your studies, Miss Kiriel.”“……”“Ah, though I will say—there is a slight mystery about how Loen came to be elected Student Council President.”“Ah!”Kiriel’s fading eyes suddenly lit up.“W-what do you mean by that!”She burst out in surprise, but Isley merely smiled mysteriously and declined to answer.“That’s as much as I can tell you. You’ll have to find out the rest on your own.”***The next day.During the Spirit Studies lecture, I could feel Kiriel’s sharp gaze on me the entire time.She would glare at me, grab her own hair in frustration, mumble to herself, and scribble something furiously in her notebook.“...What kind of trick did he use? Could it be the Chairman?”“?”I tilted my head, listening to her muttering.“No… that person’s just a figurehead. There must be someone with at least some real power. Then maybe Freya? It’s strange how he specifically appointed her as Vice President, and they just happened to be on the same team during the practical exam too. It’s no coincidence… this is definitely a conspiracy.”“……”No matter how I looked at it, she clearly wasn’t taking lecture notes.“Not going to study?”“...You vile man.”Kiriel gave me a quick glance, then sank back into her delusions.'She’s in deep.'No point trying to talk sense into her.She wouldn’t study either way.Even in the original story, Kiriel’s written exam scores almost never went up.All I needed to do was get higher grades than her and claim a wish token, as promised.Ignoring her grumbling beside me, I finished the Spirit Studies lecture and headed straight to the Monster Purification Club that Elena had invited me to join.***Saintea Territory.Cathedral District.“Hmm, this must be the place.”Garfield and I arrived at the Monster Purification Clubroom.The building, adorned with soaring spires and vibrant stained glass, was impressive—practically a cathedral in appearance.'Completely different from the Alchemy Club.'It felt almost rude to compare it to the Alchemy Club, which was just a repurposed abandoned magic-stone warehouse.I looked up at the building.“...It’s bigger than I expected.”“Have you been here before?”“No, this is my first time.”I’d only seen it a few times in the game.“?”Garfield tilted his head, puzzled, as we opened the door and stepped inside—where Elena greeted us with a radiant smile.“Ah, welcome, Loen. And… Garfield, you came too?”“Mm, indeed. I also wish to join.”“That’s wonderful. The door’s open to anyone. You just have to pass a simple test.”Flap—Elena handed Garfield an application form along with a test sheet.“The Monster Purification Club is, in essence, a group where we study various monsters, magical beasts, and demons. We learn about their ecology and behavior in order to exorcise or subjugate them. However, because many people join more for social reasons than for its real purpose, we had to start giving an entrance test.”Just as she said.The Monster Purification Club’s aim was to collect knowledge about monsters and use it to purify or eliminate them.'In the game, I used to visit here often to raise the club’s Hunt Level.'Depending on that level, members received various buffs.For example—After slaying 100 goblins, item drop rate from goblin-type monsters +10%.After slaying 1,000 goblins, additional damage to goblin-type monsters +30%.Those kinds of buffs.Pretty useful for farming items or materials.But many students joined not for that purpose, but for the perks.Some wanted connections with Elena, or just to see her face.That Holy Knight Jimmy from the previous practical exam was probably one of them.Anyway, to stop such situations, the club had implemented a test—rumored to be quite difficult.I asked Elena,“So I don’t need to take the test?”“No, you already proved your capability during the practical exam. But if you’d like, you can still take it.”Generally, there were three levels to the club’s entrance test.Lower-level for regular members, and mid- or upper-level for those eligible to join as team leaders or managers.Regular members had attendance obligations and restrictions, but higher-level members were free from those. I might as well aim for that.I extended my hand to Elena.“Give me one. The hardest one, if possible.”

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