I'm an Ordinary Returning Student at the Academy

HELHEIM SCANS

[Translator - Angel Dust]

[Proofreader - Prototype]

Side Story 10

On a day filled with chilly winter winds.

“Hmm. Hmmmm!!”

"This is quite difficult."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

Eloise, Lavrenti, and Lefia were gathered at a cafe, deep in discussion.

In front of them was a piece of paper with something written on it, starting with the word ‘grad.’

"It would be a bit underwhelming to do the same thing as always, wouldn't it?"

"You're stating the obvious, Eloise. We can't do that to Master... I mean, orabeoni."

"Even the student council believes this graduation ceremony should be special, especially for him."

The reason why they were brainstorming and struggling to come up with ideas...

That's right. That time of year had come. Autumn had passed, and winter had arrived.

Following winter break, another graduation ceremony was just around the corner!

Entrance and graduation ceremonies were not unusual events as long as the academy existed.

But this graduation ceremony was different. It was more important than any other before.

This wasn't just the opinion of the women but other students agreed as well.

Among the graduates was a recipient of the Empire's Medal of Honor, an undeniable war hero.

The Church already treated him as a saint, and he had already made his mark in history.

And most importantly, the man who would soon become their husband was among the graduates!

So, could they have an ordinary graduation ceremony?

That would be an insult not only to Karl but to the entire academy.

Those who didn't prepare would be rightfully criticized.

"But we need to be careful. Orabeoni doesn't like things that are too flashy."

"Exactly how flashy does he dislike?"

"I'm not sure, Lefia?"

"Ah, I don't know the specifics either..."

That left Selena, but she was busy with her thesis presentation.

Although her degree was almost guaranteed, she couldn't let her guard down until the end.

Therefore, the three of them had to come up with a plan on their own.

It's difficult. It's hard. It's tough. The three women struggled for a while.

But nothing brilliant came to mind.

Finally, at the last moment, Eloise came up with a decent idea.

"Instead of just us, let's get advice from others."

"From whom?"

"Besides Selena and us, who else was close to Karl?"

Ah. No way.

Lavrenti and Lefia's eyes sparkled.

They had even been gifted a magical communication device by those people, saying, 'Sisters-in-law, contact us if you ever need anything!'

"This is what you call foresight, right?"

"Hurry up and contact them, Eloise."

"I know, stop nagging, Lavrenti."

“You two, please stop bickering."

If Karl were here, he might have shouted, 'Don't take advice from those guys!'

Unfortunately, he was also busy preparing for graduation.

Naturally, there was no way to stop these three women.

And a little while later.

[ What's this, sisters-in-law? ]

[ What's going on? Calling the four of us all at once. ]

[ Is it that Karl is short on scores and has to repeat his fifth year?! ]

[ No way, Alexander. That's probably not it, right? ]

A scene unfolded through the communication device that would have made Karl cover his ears.

"It's been a while. How have you all been?"

[ We've been well. ]

"I heard you'll officially become the head of the family next year. Congratulations."

[ Haha! Thank you, Lav! ]

"We're so grateful for the gift you sent last time! Brothers!"

[ Gah! I wish I had a little sister like that!! ]

[ Stop it. She's someone else's future wife before she's your sister. ]

Enough with the banter.

Everyone had things to do, so they got straight to the point.

The three women informed the four men that the graduation ceremony would be right after the break.

The four reacted with, 'Oh! Really?!' and 'That's right! The graduation!'

[ So, you're saying a regular graduation ceremony won't do, right? ]

"Exactly. It doesn't suit our Karl at all."

[ Are you sure? Karl might actually prefer a simple ceremony. ]

"Of course, but we have to think about the academy too."

[ Lav's point is valid. Considering who Karl is, it makes sense to differentiate this graduation from the previous ones. ]

“I'm glad you all think so!”

[ Well, I'd prefer to stay neutral for now. ]

The seven of them put their heads together to think, but nothing substantial comes up.

Instead, with more people, the ideas become even more scattered.

“How about gathering everyone related to Karl and having them applaud to congratulate him?”

[ I guarantee if you do that, Eloise, you'll be the last to get married. ]

“I like that. Let's do it.”

“Shut up, Lav.”

Eloise and Lavrenti glare and growl at each other, while Joachim, looking at them with pity, softly speaks up.

[ We can't just do it normally, can we? ]

“Absolutely not! Do you know who my orabeoni is?!”

[ Right, right. If we do it the same way for Karl's graduation, it would be a disgrace to the academy. ]

[ Hey, are you sure you don't just want to mess with Karl? ]

[ Shut up, Shulifen. ]

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Various ideas continued to pour out from the seven people.

It's tough to gather everyone involved, but let's invite key figures.

Or how about inviting priests from the church to create a solemn atmosphere?

Or maybe invite a military band, or some reservists who served with him.

“…Um, I think this conversation is getting off track.”

Eventually, Lefia, unable to bear it any longer, carefully voiced her opinion, and everyone froze.

[ Indeed, it's a bit odd. ]

[ Maybe a regular graduation ceremony would be better? ]

[ Hold on. ]

Joachim, raising his hand through the magical communication device, continues.

[ How about we think about it differently? Instead of the graduation ceremony we want for Karl, let's think about the ceremony Karl would want for himself. ]

“That sounds good, but do you know what that might be?”

[ Not exactly, but... hmm. How should I put it? Karl once mentioned that he didn't return to the academy because he loved it, but because it represented the normal life he always dreamed of. So, leaving that place should mark the beginning of another normal life for him. ]

At this, everyone turns to Joachim with an ‘ohhh.’ The loudest reactions come from the other three among the four friends.

[ What the heck, Joachim? Turns out you had a lot on your mind, huh? ]

[ You all be quiet. You've been making Karl's life miserable, what would you know? ]

[ Seriously? You're making it sound like you haven't been causing trouble too. ]

[ If it weren't for you guys, it wouldn't have been that bad! ] fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

“Hey, let's stop there. So, what kind of new life are you talking about?”

Lavrenti's question makes Eloise and Lefia nod vigorously.

[ A proposal. I mean, Karl and Selena are going to get married, but he hasn't actually said, 'Will you marry me?' It's something everyone else does, but Karl has been too busy with everything else. ]

* * *

Damn it. This is seriously chaotic.

As if the graduation ceremony wasn’t enough. My head is pounding.

After the Kanfra Cleanup War, I thought I'd have nothing left to do. But apparently, the higher-ups wanted to put my name on the other side as well.

The Empire versus Lasker and Avileshti dynamic is no more.

Now, it’s the Empire and Lasker versus Avileshti. It seems they even used our reservists for the final push.

In the end, Avileshti gave up resisting. The anti-Empire faction was purged, and they were all expelled from the Mage Tower.

Of course, being a country of wizards, they didn’t dirty their hands with blood.

Instead, our Imperial Special Task Force agents were kept very busy.

Some died in unexpected accidents. Others lost their ability to gather mana. Some simply vanished from the world like smoke. In one way or another, those who supported terrorism against the Empire paid the price.

‘I thought that would be the end, but then I had to attend the new negotiations between the Empire and Lasker.’

It probably helped that I was close to Lefia. I was the only one who had seen both the current and former rulers of Lasker.

In the end, I was semi-forced into the post-war discussions, and a few months later, before I even knew it, it was graduation. My academy life was over...!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. It feels like everything flew by too quickly. But I had somewhat prepared for this.

I may want normalcy, but that doesn’t mean I am normal.

“…Even so.”

On the first day of winter break, I could only sigh as I looked at the four guys gathered in front of me.

“You want me to propose at the graduation ceremony…?”

“Oh, come on! You confessed publicly a few years ago!”

“And I ended up enlisting because of that. Don’t you remember?”

“Back then, Selena wasn’t in a good state, and you were too reckless, Karl.”

“But it’s different now! Everything’s already settled! How awesome would it be to say you’re starting your life as a husband right after graduating from the academy?!”

I rubbed my forehead as I watched these guys constantly chanting, ‘Try it, try it!’

Thinking back to the public confession, I couldn't help but sigh...

Hmmm.

‘This might actually be a good idea?’

HELHEIM SCANS

[Translator - Angel Dust]

[Proofreader - Prototype]