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It hadn’t even been a week since I became an instructor, but already a few tasks had piled up aside from classes.

Night patrol with Osnia.

Dinner sparring with Gwen.

And lastly, the advisory role for the Student Council.

Students at Philion Academy attend classes during the week and mostly spend their weekends freely.

On weekends, students sometimes go home or engage in self-study as needed, but most choose to enjoy club activities within the academy.

Today marked the first weekend since the semester began.

It should have been a day full of leisure, with birds chirping and flowers blooming; unfortunately, my morning wasn’t quite that leisurely.

Marian had suddenly come to see me.

“Instructor Ion, I have something to discuss.”

Seeing her boldly barge into my room early in the morning, it seemed she was less relaxed than I was.

I asked, in my usual blunt tone, “What is it?”

“We have a minor issue in the Student Council.”

“A minor issue?”

“You know today is the first day of Student Council activities, right? We have to start everything afresh, but the only ones who can handle this are Elizabeth and me. And both of us are overwhelmed with work.”

Marian wore a haggard smile.

“Do you know how much paperwork is needed to form a new Student Council? Do you know how many times I’ve had to go to the administrative district these past few days, and how many reports I have to write in a day? Heh… I feel like I could use a second body.”

This didn’t sound like a minor issue at all.

“Hmm…”

I was aware that Marian had been extremely busy lately.

A Student Council isn’t just an ordinary club; it’s an organization with its own rules and authority, and you can’t just create one haphazardly. It requires clear procedures and administrative processing.

I, too, well understood this from the faculty meeting I attended regarding the Opal Black Class’s Student Council agenda.

The problem was that I couldn’t help her with any of this. I had no talent for paperwork and didn’t know the details about the process of forming a Student Council.

Maybe Instructor Rilya would know, but even so, asking her for help seemed a bit much.

Fortunately, Marian and Elizabeth, as members of high nobility and royalty, were skilled with paperwork, and Marian had shown confidence that she could manage such tasks on her own.

Thanks to that, I had believed I could leave it to her, but it seemed she had reached her limit.

Even though the advisory position was one I had somewhat been coerced into taking, an advisor is still an advisor. I couldn’t pretend not to see when the students were struggling.

I nodded and said, “What can I do to help?”

“Huh? You’re really going to help!?”

“It seemed like you needed help. Was I wrong?”

Marian’s eyes went wide, and then she spoke with an earnest expression.

“That’s right! I desperately need your help. Can you take Oz and Tanya with you to buy some necessary items in District 8? I’m too anxious to send them alone. If you do that, it will save me a lot of time.”

Oz and Tanya? Who are they?

Could she be talking about Osnia and Titania?

With that wording, there was no one else I could think of. It seemed those two had become close enough to use nicknames already after starting the Student Council together.

Or maybe Marian was just particularly sociable.

“What about Gwen?”

“I just visited him, and he’s in no condition to get up.”

Marian spoke cautiously, as if checking my reaction.

“He probably overworked himself during training yesterday. I thought I’d let him rest today.”

“Oh, I see.”

Marian didn’t know I had spoken with Gwen yesterday. She might think he had passed out while swinging his sword alone after class.

Instead of explaining that, I just nodded lightly.

“Alright. I’ll go.”

Marian’s expression brightened as if she had met her savior.

“Really? Thank you, Instructor Ion!”

I could feel Marian’s sincere gratitude. When we first met, she had a cold attitude toward me for reasons unknown, but now she seemed to have forgotten all that due to desperation.

I found that quite surprising.

“You’re working hard.”

“Well, it’s something I decided to do, so of course, I need to work hard. If I do it half-heartedly, I’ll just lose face.”

“Right. You’re doing well.”

“…Huh?”

Marian was startled by my simple words, her eyes widening.

With that, I left to get Osnia and Titania. Behind me, I could hear Marian’s puzzled voice trailing after me.

“Wait? Did the Instructor just praise me? Does this mean the Honor Student Operation Plan B is effective? Huh? Really…?”

I had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

*

I took the two who remained in the dormitory to District 8, Free Market Street.

Free Market Street is a commercial area where merchants from all over the continent, including the Empire, gather to sell their goods. From massive storefronts to tiny stalls, it was packed with a variety of products from across the continent, and naturally, it was also the headquarters of the Merchant Guild.

It was said that if you couldn’t find something here, then it simply didn’t exist in the Capital City, so District 8 was truly a gigantic marketplace selling all kinds of items.

As we left the academy’s main gate and boarded the tram, Osnia maintained her usual calm demeanor. However, Titania couldn’t hide her excitement, her expression like that of a child.

“Wow, look at those shops over there!”

Upon entering the bustling market of District 8, Titania exclaimed with wide eyes, as if everything was new to her.

“Oz! Do you see that? I’ve never seen so many shops in one place!”

“It’s just a market.”

“A market? This is a market? Oh my goodness! I’m in a human market!”

“Haa…”

Osnia seemed too drained to bother with retorts and kept her mouth shut.

Titania, being from the Linia Great Forest, had never left the woods, so it made sense that all these little things felt so amazing to her.

In contrast, Osnia looked weary already, seemingly uncomfortable in such a crowded place.

I calmly asked Titania, who was gleefully exploring the market like a little child, “Is this your first time in a place like this?”

“Ah! Instructor Ion! I-I’m embarrassed…”

Titania shyly twisted the ends of her leaf-like green hair, blushing.

“When I first came to the Capital, the clan elders were so strict that I couldn’t wander around alone. Everything I see is so fascinating. I always wanted to see a human city… but, but today isn’t exactly a sightseeing trip, so I should probably hold back a bit, right?”

It seemed she felt awkward about being the only one excited while Osnia and I were indifferent.

After a moment of thought, I shook my head and replied, “As long as it’s just a light look around, it should be fine. Just don’t stray too far from me.”

“Wow! Thank you!”

Titania, who usually acted like an older sister toward Oz and other students in the classroom, was showing a naively innocent side that suited her age now that we were outside.

Her age?

Wait. How old is Titania, actually?

It’s obvious, but elves are long-lived, outliving humans by several dozens of times.

Since she entered as a freshman, she should be around eighteen like other students; however, I wasn’t sure whether that referred to her actual age or if it was a numerical equivalent of her age in human terms.

“……”

I didn’t know. Still, it wouldn’t be right to judge elves by human standards.

While I was lost in thought, it seemed Titania had already forgotten my earlier warning not to stray from my side and had walked ahead of me.

Titania pointed at the colorful accessories displayed at a stall, her voice filled with excitement.

“Oz! This is so cute! Can I get this as a present for the others?”

“Sure, go ahead…”

Oz showed no interest in the accessories, not even glancing at them, responding absentmindedly. He seemed more eager to just return to the room.

Seeing Oz’s indifferent reaction, Titania grabbed a flowery dress adorned with ruffles displayed at a nearby shop and twirled around.

“How about this? Do you think it would suit me?”

“Um…”

I swallowed my words in silence.

The outfit Titania chose didn’t look good even to someone like me, who knew little about clothing. The cheap-looking material and excess flowers made it feel very old-fashioned, and it didn’t suit her at all, even as a compliment.

Oz, instead of me, stated matter-of-factly, “No. Not at all. It’s completely strange.”

“Really? Strange? It looked pretty to me.”

Titania put the dress down with a disappointed look.

It seemed Titania’s sense of aesthetics was quite different from that of humans.

While the two wandered around the market, I purchased the items Marian had requested. Office supplies like writing tools and notebooks, along with peculiar magical items with names I couldn’t decipher.

Of course, I didn’t spend my own money. It was all from the Student Council activity budget Marion had given me.

I stuffed the last item I purchased into the space-expanding backpack that Marian had said would be needed, and went to find the two.

They were now in front of an ice cream shop, each ordering what they wanted.

“What flavor are you having, Oz?”

“I’ll have strawberry.”

“Then I’ll have mint chocolate!”

“……”

If that’s the case, I could have just come alone.

With a short sigh, as I was about to walk toward the two, my sharp hearing picked up a loud voice from afar.

It was different from the ordinary bustling noise of the market; it had a more ominous and dangerous atmosphere.

“Immigrants, get out!”

“Execute the non-humans!”

“The Empire belongs to the Empire’s citizens!”

The sound of many footsteps continued, marching down the market street.

Countless people were chanting the same slogans filled with anger and resentment.

They were drawing closer to Titania.

 

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