Healing at the Academy convenience store

The following day,

I took a break due to muscle soreness.

Certainly,

The day after that, I rested again because of the muscle soreness.

***

The day after that, Aila came to visit.

Inside the back office of the convenience store, I lay sprawled out after tidying up the counter. She playfully poked me with her finger and smirked.

“Are you alright?”

“…I’m fine.”

“I heard about it. You caused quite a commotion in the freshman dorm, didn’t you?”

“Hmph. Just idle gossip from those who don’t know anything.”

“Is that so? Word has it that you won over a grad student, and the freshmen were able to sleep peacefully.”

“…Such a rumor exists?”

“Yes.”

Aila chuckled and got up from her seat.

“Not only a grad student but also winning over freshmen. Classic Wolfram. Your political skills never cease to amaze me.”

“…What?”

“The easiest way to gain allies is by showing goodwill to those who are neutral or uninformed. Neither the freshmen nor the grad students know about your wrongdoings. Smart move.”

“…It’s not like that.”

“Alright. Your rebellion is just beginning. I want to watch it unfold from the sidelines.”

No.

That’s not it, really.

“Feeling exhausted? Should I prepare a meal?”

“…What?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll whip up something delicious.”

“…”

Saying so, Aila briskly left the office.

Wait, what is she making? Does she even know how to cook?

Maybe it’s the taste of rebellion. She might even force-feed me a concoction made from an energy drink. Or what if she’s boiling porridge with an energy drink, claiming it’s good?

I couldn’t even begin to imagine the myriad of concoctions she could make.

But in my weakened state, I couldn’t resist.

I am weak.

It was frustrating.

“Here.”

“…”

“Why are you staring at it? It should be fine.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I stared at the dish Aila brought.

Is it porridge? No, it’s soup.

Chicken soup with only the tender parts of the chicken.

A Western remedy consumed for nourishment and during colds.

“Really, you made this?”

“Yes. Believe it or not, I have cooking skills. I chose cooking at level 10. I’m around level 4 now, so it should be safe to eat.”

“I see.”

Surprisingly, Aila had cooking in her skill tree.

Taking a sip, I felt its warmth spread throughout my body.

“You’ve worked hard, Wolfram. Need anything else?”

“I’m good. …Thank you.”

“Oh my. Pure gratitude from Wolfram? It never gets old. Always refreshing.”

Chuckling, Aila waited for me to finish eating, then quietly cleaned up and left the convenience store.

“Goodnight, Wolfram. I’ll visit again.”

“…”

And the next day, my muscle pain was completely gone.

***

Student Council Office.

“Sigh.”

Every time Eve von Roengreen, the pinnacle of the 100,000 Jephryn students and the chosen talent of the heavens, sighed, the entire student council would tense up.

For the past few days, Eve’s mood had been peculiar. She was engrossed in deep thought, then sighed before returning to work, and then suddenly sighed again. It was unpredictable.

A descendant of the royal family and a staunch enforcer of justice, Student Council President Eve exhibited this behavior, leaving the members, or rather, her subordinates, on edge.

Of course, there were suspicions about the cause.

The ghost commotion reported in the freshman dorm.

Although it was known to be safely resolved through Eve’s intervention, there was a rumor that former Student Council President Wolfram von Roengreen was involved.

Whether it’s just a baseless rumor, whether Wolfram truly intervened, and if he did, how he did so would be good to know. However, Wolfram is also a royal.

Even considering his strained relations and lack of political grounding, the title of a prince is beyond the law. If he decided to leave Jephryn and return to the royal family, there’s a risk that he might use whatever means necessary to retaliate against those who crossed him.

When they heard that Rudika, from the assassin lineage of the Knight Academy, came into contact with him, it’s not just about climbing the social ladder but possibly even leaving this world.

In the end, the student council members, caught between the student president’s inexplicable sighs and the former student president suspected behind it, didn’t know what to do and simply trembled in fear.

Except for one person, Silvia, the guardian knight of Eve.

Actually, Silvia didn’t want to intervene, but under the silent pressure of others, she had no choice but to ask about Eve’s mood.

“Eve, are you worried about something?”

“Huh? Oh, Silvia. Thank you. Worried, you say? It’s nothing.”

“But your sigh was so deep that we’re all concerned.”

“Huh!”

“Uh!”

‘Don’t say ‘we,’ say ‘you.’ Don’t drag everyone into this!’ one executive said with a look, and ‘If I go down, you all go with me,’ Silvia replied with a gaze. It was indeed a heartwarming student council.

“Hm? Oh, I see. I’ve been sighing a lot lately. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. If you have something bothering you, please rely on us.”

“Well… Okay, I have something to ask. It’s not about me, but about a friend…”

“I see, it’s about your friend.”

Everyone present realized that this was about Eve.

“My friend has someone she’s not on good terms with. And she feels like she owes that person emotionally.”

“I see.”

“But she doesn’t know how to repay that emotional debt. Their relationship is awkward, and she doesn’t know how to settle this ’emotional debt’.”

“I see. It’s unfortunate for your friend…”

All of the student council members realized that during the ghost incident in the first-year common dorm, Wolfram had played a significant role.

Silvia, at the heart of it all, coughed a few times before carefully answering.

“Can’t she just ignore it and move on? It’s mostly the other person’s fault, isn’t it? Eve, you don’t need to worry.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Ah, right. It was about your friend. Let’s see… It’s best to settle an emotional debt as quickly as possible. Ignoring it would be the best, but you can just throw some money, maybe a few thousand rin, and call it settled?”

“Paying with money… You mean to equate feelings with money.”

“Yes.”

Eve nodded at Silvia’s suggestion.

“I’ll try.”

“Yes, Eve.”

The entire student council noticed that Eve had subtly changed her wording from talking about a friend to herself making an effort, yet no one pointed it out.

They were all considerate of Eve.

******

Eve walked toward the convenience store, sorting out her thoughts.

Silvia had suggested equating emotional debt with money and just throwing a few thousand rin to settle it, but that wasn’t feasible. It meant she only considered the debt to be worth a few thousand rin.

Furthermore, in resolving the ghost incident, Wolfram had made a significant contribution and attributed the resolution of the incident to Eve.

-…Nobody would say anything if I credit this to you. I will only speak the truth in front of the royal honor, and Nephtarian will testify too.

Wolfram had chuckled at this suggestion.

-Suppose I stepped in and resolved it, would my reputation improve? Your leadership would be in jeopardy, Eve. This time, I’d just become a phantom. Credit it as your doing.

“…”

He appeared indifferent to power, handling it as if he had in the past.

“Now…”

Taking a few deep breaths, she clenched her fist.

‘If it can be resolved with money, then emotional debt can be settled with money.’

If she could wash away feelings with money, she’d become a money demon. From a young age, Eve von Loengreen had saved money. She had a considerable amount of assets, received a good allowance, and although she mostly let it sit in the bank and had some expenses from running the student council, she wasn’t exactly short of cash.

“Yeah, that’s it. With money. Just throw money at it.”

Wolfram von Loengreen.

‘How much heartfelt debt is appropriate for a man who forcibly removed himself from the student council president’s seat?’

Eve still couldn’t put an exact value on it.

***

“Anything you want?”

“Nothing.”

“…Really? Absolutely nothing?”

Recap of the conversation:

While I was considering changing my morning routine due to muscle soreness, Eve suddenly burst in and said she wanted to repay a debt. She then asked how much.

What’s this about? What is she trying to do?

“Really, there’s nothing.”

“…Sigh. There has to be something.”

Why? Why does there have to be something?

“I said there’s nothing.”

“If I’m trying to repay a debt and you don’t want anything in return, what should I do? Think about it!”

“…”

I might be mistaken, but it seems I’ve made an error.

Material compensation I currently need?

None, really. And even if there was, I wouldn’t expect it from Eve.

I realized from the episode Act 1 Scene 1 that because of my intervention, many things changed. Especially with Kelters, and Eve.

If she hadn’t grown, I wouldn’t know how Eve would have turned out. She should live her life, and I should go my own way. Isn’t it best for siblings to maintain a certain distance? You should grow up and break through the main story.

“Okay. I’ve come up with a few suggestions. Firstly, the royal family is positively considering the rights of graduate students.”

“Really?”

“Thus, to mentally stabilize these students, we can potentially sell mock graduation certificates and rings.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Since you convinced Zolf and reported to the royal family. Now that its effectiveness has been proven, a proposal has been made to sell these mock graduation rings and certificates to graduate students to provide them some peace of mind. And you have the exclusive rights to do so.”

Eve scoffed. Was this supposed to be her way of being considerate?

“If it’s sold at a high price, it will sell.”

“I don’t plan on selling the graduation rings and certificates for a high price. In practical terms, I’ll sell them at cost.”

“Why?”

“Why exploit graduate students? If it gives them peace of mind, even as a toy, it’s enough.”

“… Tsk. Always saying the right thing, Wolfram.”

Eve muttered and then sighed deeply, staring at me.

“Wolfram. Wolfram von Roengreen.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll be blunt. I feel indebted to you.”

That was unexpected.

“And?”

“I was useless in resolving this issue. I only did the follow-up. Yet, you gave me all the credit. That goes against Eve von Roengreen’s principles. So, I want to repay this debt.”

“I see.”

“Lastly, isn’t there really something I can do?”

If she had just started like that.

It’s a bit assertive, but this is so like Eve.

A brother and sister should take advantage of every chance to help each other, as I’ve learned.

If I’m to be a good older brother, I can’t reject Eve’s goodwill.

Let’s see. If there’s something that could be helpful…

Ah. I’ve got it.

“This store.”

“The grocery store?”

“That’s the issue. It’s a convenience store, not a grocery store.”

“… A convenience store? I’ve never heard of that.”

“A convenience store is a convenience-centered shop set up in populated areas. It sells food, stationary, toys, freshly baked bread, even fruits, vegetables, fried foods, and books.”

“So, a multipurpose store?”

“Exactly.”

“It has potential. But Wolfram.”

“Yes?”

“There are no customers here. Isn’t that a fundamental problem?”

Are you mocking me?

“…Ahem. Anyway. I envisioned this store as the first of its kind, vowing to be at the pinnacle in this industry. But like you, no one recognizes it as a convenience store. They all just see it as a grocery store.”

“Well, it’s a concept no one knows. …So you thought of that, huh. What now?”

“I plan to make a sign.”

“Aha.”

“So, I need some good metal or wood.”

“Really? That’s great. I’ll contact Yggdrasil or Maestro. What materials do you need?”

I have a list of materials in mind.

The material had come in handy in the main story too, and there was no particular need to enter a dungeon.

Not metal plates but wood.

It’s something you can get within the Academy district.

“I’d like to make it with Spiritwood Elwood. Is that possible?”

“…What? Wha, what? Spi, Spiritwood?”

“Isn’t it available in the Yggdrasil district? I know it’s for sale if you pay for it.”

“Um, yeah, about that… Do you know how much it costs?”

“I have no idea. Weren’t you the one who said you’d repay the debt?”

At that, Eve groaned, clutching her chest and murmuring as she turned away.

“He’s really going to bleed me dry, huh? Hmm. When weighing the debt of gratitude, does this roughly balance out? From what I remember, last year’s auction price was 80 million… If I break the savings account I’ve been building since I was 4… There will be a hole in the Academy’s operating costs. Ah, agh.”

What’s she mumbling about?

“Can you get it? If you can’t, that’s fine.”

“I, I got it. I’ll get it, okay? I’ll get it! Yes! I’ll definitely bring the wood you’ll use for the sign!”

Eve, looking crestfallen, turned and left.

I’m not sure how much it is, but if my younger sister declares it as a gift, the older brother should accept the favor even if it’s a bit expensive, right?

It felt like the bond between the siblings, both students of the Jephryn family, had deepened, bringing tears of joy to my eyes.