I Became an Extra Without Growth in the Academy

After enduring quite a beating from Seria’s fists for a while, I finally managed to escape her assault.

She swung her fists with such fervor that I could swear she seemed a bit out of breath.

Exercising this late at night? How diligent.

Well, to be honest, she probably wasn’t planning to express herself so boldly.

Given the late hour, I was in a sleepy daze, and the sudden sight of her injuries probably made my mouth move before my brain could catch up.

Yet, the truth I spat out was nothing short of a serious offense.

“Well, is there a problem? The princess wants to roam around the royal palace, and you object?”

I tried to act casual, but it was already too late.

I was ready to tease her.

“Seria, that’s a crime, you know? Have you heard of stalking?”

“That’s not it!! I… I just cast tracking magic for the first time today…!”

“Even first-time offenses are still offenses.”

“I’m telling you, it’s really not like that…”

Seria continued to insist with all the indignation of someone wronged.

In the end, I let her off the hook. With the condition that she wouldn’t cast tracking magic on me in the future.

“By the way, I really didn’t plan to use it again, just so you know.”

“Everything is hard at first. It gets easier the second or third time.”

“What do you think of me, Rudion?”

“A stalking criminal?”

“You said you’d let it go!”

What a shameless creature. Did she really think her crimes would just wash away that easily?

…Maybe it was time to stop teasing her. She seemed to be more concerned about the wounds on my body.

Now, how do I explain this?

I thought about it, but no perfect excuse came to mind.

“Why are you hesitating? I won’t ask any more questions, so just give me your arm. Let’s get you treated.”

But Seria was the one to bring it up first.

I was momentarily confused, not understanding what she meant, so she continued apathetically.

“I’ve known for a while that you have many secrets. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Who do you think I am…?”

…Well, she had a point. I’d done plenty of weird things, and if she hadn’t figured it out, that would’ve been more bizarre.

But to openly overlook such a suspicious situation? Why would she do that?

I didn’t particularly mind sharing details, but whether she believed me or not was the issue.

“Just give me your arm already.”

I could tell she had many questions, but she was pretending not to care.

How could she not notice until now? What the heck is my perception like?

More importantly, when did she come prepared with medicine and bandages? Did she conjure them up while we were tussling a moment ago?

Following her instructions, I held out my arm, and she earnestly started applying ointment and wrapping a bandage.

But… the way she was tying it wasn’t quite right.

“You’re doing this for the first time, aren’t you?”

“Of course! Usually, I heal right after getting injured…”

Truly, it’s just like a royal family that maintains close ties with the recovery-specialized Trier household.

They probably never let injuries go untreated.

If I said I wanted treatment, I could probably get it right away.

However, Seria sensed that I didn’t want that, so she was acting this way.

“I was wondering why you had spare bandages lying around, but I guess this is the day they come in handy.”

But if you’re going to tie it like that, I’d rather you just didn’t bother at all.

Princess? Bandages aren’t ribbons.

“Done! How does it look?”

“Thanks, but you’re a bit clumsy.”

“…I’ll loosen it so you can do it yourself.”

She couldn’t even do it properly and was making a fuss about it.

In the end, I had to rewrap the bandage myself.

Once I finished the patch job, Seria hurriedly made to leave.

“Well then, I’ll be going. Good night, Rudion.”

She seemed a bit embarrassed. Though she often behaved so boldly.

What can I say? I felt wide awake all of a sudden.

Maybe I’ll read the book I borrowed before hitting the sack.

It would be a shame to have it lying around, untouched, after going through the trouble to borrow it.

So I opened the book… and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

Books are the ultimate sleep aids, no need for any other medicine.

///

“Princess, what brings you here at this hour?”

“It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry about it. I’m just heading back to my room.”

Click!

By the time I returned to my room, it was already well past my bedtime.

I lay down on the bed, and the events from earlier surged to my mind, causing my face to heat up.

‘Why did I say that back there…’

Thwack! Thwack!

I vented my frustration on the blankets, but the heat on my face refused to dissipate.

Of course, it was true that I had used tracking magic.

It was true, but…

“Why did Mom have to tell me that…”

To be honest, I didn’t fully intend to, so I found myself resenting the person who caused the incident for no reason.

That’s right. Everything that happened was my mother’s fault.

After dinner, I was supposed to guide Rudion to the guest room.

But suddenly being called by my mother changed that.

In the end, I left the guiding to a servant and answered my mother’s summons.

“Mom, why did you call for me?”

“Ah, you’ve come? Sit down for a bit.”

When I opened the door to the room, she was already seated at the table, waiting.

On the table were piles of desserts that I liked.

There was no reason or need to refuse, so I followed my mother’s lead and sat down.

“So? How much do you like them?”

“…Huh?”

It was a trap.

I somewhat expected this kind of conversation, but…

The moment I sat down, before I even had the chance to pop a dessert into my mouth, that direct hit came out of nowhere.

“Rudion, well, I still don’t want to give away my daughter, but I have this little desire to have a romance consultation with her.”

I couldn’t respond right away, so she added a bit more explanation, but I still couldn’t answer.

How much do I like them, huh?

[Current Affection Level: 39/100]

I couldn’t exactly show her this, and saying “a lot” would have been awkward in many ways… what a tricky question.

But did that silence count as an answer? My mother’s lips curled up just a tad.

“Let me give you a piece of advice. For Seria, she needs to take the lead in matters like this. Someone like that must surely have someone who could be called a rival in love, no?”

…Thinking about it, one face suddenly popped into my mind.

The Student Council President, Alkiné.

The fervent spark in her eyes whenever she looked at Rudion was certainly not just a passing fancy.

Recently, it even seemed to intensify.

‘Lilith also chats with him quite frequently, but…’

No matter how it seemed, she wouldn’t be the one. She didn’t seem interested at all, and more importantly, she was too busy teasing me using Rudion.

In the end, there was only one person who could be considered a rival in love.

“There is… one.”

“Is that so?”

Alkiné. If you were to pick someone who fits next to Rudion inside the Academy, it would definitely be her.

Her strength is quite formidable too.

Sure, I’m always by Rudion’s side now, but… if a dangerous situation were to arise?

Should anything threaten I couldn’t handle and they had to face it alone?

If that were to happen… it was highly likely those two would end up teaming up to tackle whatever challenge faced them.

That thought didn’t sit well with me. Imagining them growing closer made me feel like I was about to cry.

I had confessed my feelings and left the choice to Rudion, but once that thought crossed my mind, anxiety washed over me, and I couldn’t shake it off.

“Want me to tell you the method I used?”

“…What’s that?”

That comment felt like a ray of hope to me.

So I couldn’t refuse… but the content was so outrageous, I found myself speechless.

“First, use tracking magic and surveillance magic to find out where she is and what she’s doing. Then you can quickly figure out what she wants. You can take advantage of that, and it’ll be a breeze.”

It was called a method, but it was essentially a crime committed through magic.

“I know. But you succeeded this time, didn’t you? And your father wasn’t the Emperor back then.”

I tried to point that out, but my mother casually replied with that.

It was all the more ridiculous, making it hard for me not to argue.

“He wasn’t the Emperor, but he must have been the Crown Prince.”

“Hmm~ That’s true.”

“That’s not something you can just brush off…”

I knew, but he’s a wildly impressive person beyond my expectations.

On one hand, I respected her because it was likely her methods were possible due to a lack of opponents.

As I thought that, I suddenly wondered about my own situation.

If I, as royalty, were to use tracking magic and surveillance magic on the commoner Rudion… would anyone even have the right to say anything?

“So? You don’t want it? I was trying to teach you.”

“…”

I was definitely conflicted, but my heart had already sunk.

“Are you really sure you don’t want it?”

“…Just teach me the tracking magic. That’s enough.”

“Alrighty! I’ll teach you both, so you can figure it out yourself.”

And so I made that decision.

The reason I had hesitated to learn surveillance magic was that it remained the last fragment of my conscience.

In the end, though I was forced to learn it… I didn’t feel like I had to use it.

I might’ve already crossed the line by learning tracking magic, but the art of rationalizing was essential when committing any nefarious deeds.

Soon, I would be putting the tracking magic I learned to use.

Before bedtime, I was going to deliver the “Journey of the Stars” series I had promised him.

I worried that he might catch on because he always knew when I had used any magic, but for some reason, Rudion didn’t seem to notice anything.

It wasn’t as though he was pretending. He just wasn’t good at acting.

So, having cast the tracking magic, I returned to my room, feeling Rudion’s presence intensely.

Though he should’ve been quite far away, I felt like we were together in the same space.

‘If I keep doing this, I can stay with him forever.’

Of course, Rudion didn’t realize, but honestly, I didn’t mind if only I could feel this way.

As long as it was something that satisfied me, that was good enough.

But I had no intention of keeping tracking magic active for long.

‘Even if I get away with it now, I could get caught eventually.’

Above all, this felt too creepy.

I admit I was a little flirty, but I absolutely didn’t want to come off as a creep.

Of course, I had thought about such scenarios, but… no, I didn’t. Absolutely not.

Whatever it is, this was a no-go. I had to cancel the spell quickly…

“Eh?”

It broke off.

To be precise, it vanished.

The tracking magic target suddenly disappeared as if it never existed, leaving the magic aimlessly lost.

I had felt like we were together just a moment ago, but that feeling vanished as though it were an illusion, leaving me with an empty sensation.

This wasn’t the magic breaking; it was the magic target that had gone missing.

The moment I thought something might have happened to Rudion, my body moved on its own.

Bam!

I burst through the door and retraced my steps back to where I had just been.

Arriving in front of the guest room, I didn’t even bother knocking and just slammed the door open.

“…Rudion? Where are you?”

But the place was completely empty.

A few books I had just lent to him loomed atop a desk, standing by themselves.

I could sense no trace of Rudion anywhere.

Only the tracking magic I had placed remained, indicating where he had last stood.

…Why had he pushed the bookshelf away? He always did that, yet I still couldn’t understand him.

But I knew that he wasn’t the type to just shift furniture without a reason, nor a person who would vanish without a word.

“Please tell me you’ll be back soon?”

I murmured to myself in the empty room, waiting for Rudion to return.

Just then, a series of letters appeared before my eyes.

[Waiting in Trust. Affection Level increases by 1!]

[Achieved Affection Level 40!]

[You obtain special rewards and unique abilities!]

[As an affection reward, you gain the ‘Concept Materialization’ bonus!]

[Your unique ability ‘Time’ has increased!]

[Current Time Stat: 1]

[Checking changes to your Time Stat.]

[You catch a glimpse of upcoming futures known to the target.]

‘…Future?’

Reading through everything, I was filled with questions, but my mind started to grow hazy, making it impossible to think any further.

Feeling like I might collapse if I stayed still, I hastily pulled out a chair from the side and plopped down, losing consciousness right there.

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