Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 6, College Life

A time of spring.

In front of the gate of Earls Higher School of Magic, Merci stood for a long time, gazing at the magnificent auditorium in the distance.

It was less than ten days ago that Merci attended the opening ceremony with many new students in the auditorium, but she felt as if it was a long time ago.

For Merci, who came from a small village deep in the mountains, the experiences during this period were like a dream.

However, even the Earls' school uniforms, which were one of the few things that could prove that these "dreams" were real, were burned to ashes by the flames gushing out of Mercy's body.

Perhaps, from the very beginning, I was not suitable for such a glamorous place.
Sighing in her heart, Merci took a deep breath, bent down and picked up the backpack beside her.

Because of her huge backpack, Merci looked like a mountain climber, but as a mountain climber, she had only the way to go down the mountain.

If you ask Merci if she has any grudge against Earls College, Merci will answer "no" directly, because in fact, the loss of control of the power in her body did destroy many things in the college.

Therefore, not to mention that she was kicked out of the academy and did not have to bear a huge debt, Mercy already felt that the academy had given her a break.

However, even if I know all this in my heart, the lingering regret is unavoidable.

Among her many regrets, Merci thought that her biggest regret was that she never got to see Ritas again until the very end.

After figuring out most of the ins and outs, she knew that it was Ritas who saved her. She wanted to solemnly thank and apologize to this man who had only been her teacher for a few days but saved her at the cost of his own life because she was injured.

Merci lowered her head and unconsciously placed her hand on her chest, which would probably be slightly stinging for a while due to the application of the "Universal Solution (tentative name)". Her mind wandered as she walked down the mountain.

Until a voice sounded.

"If you don't look at the road ahead, you might bump into someone."

Hearing the voice, Merci subconsciously raised her head and straightened her back.

Then, she was dragged down to the ground by the heavy backpack behind her.

Looking ahead, Merci saw a figure standing in the shade of a tree beside the road.

Slightly covered by the shadow is a black-haired young man whose body is wrapped in bandages, with even his face wrapped so that only his facial features are exposed.

Through his impressive eyes, Merci recognized the vampire-like man who seemed unable to see the light as Ritas.

At this time, Ritas, who always stood upright, held a white disc-shaped object in his right hand.

Although she had only met Ritas a few times, Merci had already formed a stereotype that "the professor was always holding something up."

On the other hand, watching Mercy performing a fall on the ground, Ritas also formed a stereotype that "this student always seems to bump into something or fall to the ground."

Merci was delighted when she saw Ritas. But when she saw the bandages on his body, her heart sank. The last glimmer of hope also quietly faded away.

"Mercy Finn."

"Yes Yes!"

Merci quickly stood up and responded energetically.

"So why do you always have to say 'yes' twice?"

Perhaps because he no longer considered Merci as his student, Ritas directly asked out loud all the complaints in his heart.

"Ah, this could be, out of habit?"

Merci pulled her hair and replied in a question-like way. Naturally, Ritas frowned again.

".What are your plans after leaving the academy? Is there a way to return to your hometown by yourself?"

After calming down, Ritas asked calmly.

"It should be fine."

Whether she wanted to emphasize that she was fine or she was simply confused, Merce gestured with her hands and said,
"I have a sister from the same village who is an adventurer in a nearby adventurer's guild. So I plan to go find her first. It just so happens that the power in my body may also be suitable for being an adventurer. Um, I'm very sorry, Professor Ritas."

When Merci mentioned her own power, she realized that she was the victim of that power and apologized repeatedly.

"There's no need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong."

Ritas defined the whole incident categorically with his own way of thinking and logic.

"Looking back, the ones who really did something wrong were the academy that allowed you to enroll normally even though they knew you had a power hidden in your body that was at risk of getting out of control. Similarly, the source of your power going out of control was also the security measures of the academy that had problems, causing stimulation and damage to your spirit."

Ritas fell silent after saying this, and then spoke slowly after a while.
"However, even if you are not at fault, the facts that have been revealed will not disappear. I hope you can understand that the academy also needs to ensure the safety of other students and cannot continue to allow you to stay as an unstable factor."

"I understand, Professor Ritas."

Placing her hands on her chest again, Mercy took a deep breath, then mustered up the courage to raise her face.

In order to avoid being knocked down by the backpack behind her, Merci put it on the ground. Although she was a little impatient, she rarely fell in the same place twice.

Then, she bowed deeply to Ritas.
"Although it was only a short period of time, I really appreciate your care for me."

Since before, Merci had many opportunities to thank Ritas. However, she hesitated to speak. Because she knew that there was almost no connection between her and Ritas. So, after apologizing and thanking, there was nothing else to talk about between them.

That's when it really comes to say goodbye.

"I will never forget that you saved me, and I will work hard to become an outstanding person, whether as an adventurer or something else. So, if there really comes a day like that, a day when Professor Ritas needs my help, I hope you can remember me, and remember that there was such a student in your Yew Fir class."

As she finished speaking, Merci, who had set a new goal in her life, smiled without any shyness or timidity.

Perhaps she realized belatedly that she had said something shameless, so Merci put on her backpack again and, without waiting for Ritas to respond, nodded several times and turned away down the mountain as if she was escaping.

Looking at Merci's receding back, Ritas rubbed and squeezed the disc in his hand for a few times, then he sighed.

"Okay, I lose this time."

After mumbling to himself, Ritas opened his voice.

"Wait a minute! Merci. Student."

Not far away, Merci, who was called, stopped and looked back when Ritas said the word "student".

“So – hurry up and stop Merce from getting expelled! I’m not sure how to explain it, but since you’re so familiar with the dean, you can definitely do it, right?”

“I won’t play anymore without Merci! This has serious consequences! I’ll start a new game. Do you know what this means? It means something as serious as the destruction of the world will happen!” “What are you doing? You’ve been pretending not to hear me since a while ago. No, is this a fixed plot or is this part not connected to the AI? Hey, ‘Iron Maiden’, answer me, can you hear me? Don’t scare me!”

“Ahaha! I saw it. You’re frowning the whole time. You must be able to hear it but are pretending not to hear it.”

“Okay, okay, I’m wrong for using such a threatening tone. Let’s try a different approach. You see, Merci is also a very good student, right?”

“I watched the previous replay carefully. Merci lost control of her power because she thought you, lying on the ground pretending to be dead, were real. There aren’t many people who would be sad and desperate because of a mere resemblance to you.”

"You lose. What do you mean you lost? Who are you competing with?"

“Really? Really, even if I beg you, don’t let Mercie leave. An order, well, it’s not really an order. Repay a favor, yes, consider it as you repaying me, okay?”

"Think about it, you're the only one who survived this time, even though all the routes were like the third day of school."

"It's not because of me!"

"I don't want any more, just for my sake, please don't let Merci drop out of school."

"Iron Maiden, no, what is it, what is it, my Lord!"

"."

Ritas felt that his brain was trembling.

How could such noisy creatures exist in this world?

Therefore, the person in this disc must be a goddess who does not belong to this world!

But if you must say, the fact that the goddess did not ask for anything in return was an unexpected gain for Ritas. After all, no matter what the reason was, he did escape the assassination through the goddess' prophecy.

In order to maintain a good relationship with the goddess in the future, Ritas had even prepared himself mentally to organize festival ceremonies for the goddess, establish a church, and so on.

But now, it seems that it is no longer necessary.

On the other side, Merci, who was stopped, turned around but still stood there in a daze.

So, Ritas walked over from under the shade of the tree.

The sun shone on Ritas. Naturally, nothing happened.

"Mercy, I will just call you by your first name for now. As I said before, the academy is concerned about the safety of all students. Therefore, the threat you pose is the biggest reason why you cannot continue to study at Earls Academy. But in other words, if this core conflict is resolved, the other parts will be minor issues."

Listening to Ritas' words, Merci seemed to understand but not quite.

"As for how to solve it, this problem has been solved to some extent. Because I have personally proved that even in the extreme case where the power in your body is completely out of control, I can suppress the harm and impact of the incident to the smallest scope and degree. So, if you agree to be under my supervision for the next four years, I can become a guarantor and provide a clear guarantee for the college's concerns."

At some point, the goddess' noisy voice disappeared.

Compared to the goddess's previous endless pleas, which were not quite begging, the silence at this moment made Ritas truly feel that the goddess really cared about Merci and had feelings for her.

But it was precisely because of this feeling that Ritas was even more confused about the goddess's thinking logic.

Obviously, when Mercie's power was out of control and she was in danger of death, the goddess was still frivolous and playful. But when Mercie was about to be expelled from school, the goddess was anxious and nervous, without any falsehood.

Could it be that, in the world of gods, being expelled from school is more serious than death?
"Of course, I won't serve as a guarantor unconditionally. Doing so would be a perfunctory act towards the academy, you, and myself. In exchange for being a guarantor, you need to join my research institute as a 'research subject.'"

When Ritas said this, Merci, who had been silent all this time, pursed her lips and spoke softly,
"But...I..."

"Are you concerned? I understand. After all, the word 'research subject' is sometimes associated with bad things. In this regard, we can sign a contract, stipulating that the research institute's research on you will be mainly 'observation', with the ultimate goal of helping you to better control the power in your body. In addition, we will never conduct dangerous or suspicious research similar to human experiments. Of course, if you don't want to accept this condition, we can discuss other conditions."

"That's not it! That's not it, Professor Ritas."

Mercy waved her hands, then raised her head and looked at Ritas's face.

"It's because of me... because of me, Professor Ritas was seriously injured, and left with scars that may never heal. So... I am not qualified to continue to appear in front of Professor Ritas."

Mercy's eyes dimmed.

In addition to those shocking bandages, through the gaps in the bandages one could see Ritas's frown, as if he was enduring intense pain.

"You, are actually worrying about these things?"

Ritas showed a somewhat incredible expression.

No wonder he always felt that the conversation between him and Merci was subtly mismatched.

"In fact, my injury has basically healed."

".Why?"

Under Merci's puzzled gaze, Ritas removed the bandages on his face, hands, etc., and saw that those parts that were previously covered by the bandages not only had no scars, but the skin was white and tender like a newborn baby.

"I kept the bandage just to be safe."

"."

Merci stared at Ritas' "clean" face for a long time, mist rising in her eyes and her lips trembling.

Finally, I couldn't help crying.

“Ah~ah——you, if you don’t go to the hospital soon, the wound that could have healed is wrapped up like a mummy. Look, you made me cry, didn’t you?”

In the face of the goddess's sarcastic remarks, Ritas asked again with gritted teeth.

"So, what do you think of my proposal?"

"I am willing!"

Merci leaned forward and hugged Ritas' waist tightly.

"I don't want my college life to end like this—"

It was not until this moment that Merci felt everything in front of her become bright again. She also realized that the heaviness that had been surrounding her body was not the weight of the backpack behind her.

And Ritas
"We will discuss the specific contents of the contract in detail later. Before that, how about letting go of my hand, student Merci? As a mentor and student, and as a member of the institute... So I am basically healed, but some parts still hurt! Let me go!"

He just fumbled and tried to get the excited but unexpectedly strong Merci to let him go.

(End of this chapter)