I Became an Extra Without Growth in the Academy

After lunch break, the next practical exam, the duel, began.

Honestly, I hadn’t given much thought to the previous tests, but the duel was even less of a concern. It basically turned out the same way as the entrance exam.

Dodge every attack and, if I parry, they get thrown back. Within the realm of the duel, my abilities were absurdly powerful.

I did try out the magic tools that Frank had given me, but they clearly didn’t stand a chance against the upper-class students.

Since they were throwing what they considered trivial attacks, it felt like they were just teasing me, which only made me angrier.

On top of that, Seria had reached such an overwhelming level that there was hardly any meaning or fun in participating or watching anymore.

The only thing worth watching was Lilith’s duel, which gave me the same thrill as watching a well-developed character shine in a cutscene.

Her quick movements and attacks exploited every opening. SWISH!

The other upper-class students had grown significantly as well, but they were no match for Lilith.

So, it seemed that Lilith would finish her duel without any issues, but an unexpected variable popped up.

“Let’s have a final bout, you and me!”

The future swordmaster, Lowell Soulriver.

He had good skills but was the kind of reclusive master character who didn’t stand out much.

His lack of presence meant he didn’t have much weight in the story either. If you searched for his contributions, he had done plenty, but he was mostly tangential to the main storyline. If you followed the standard plot, he was the kind of guy you rarely saw.

It was quite rare for him to step forward like this, but I had somewhat expected it. He probably thought this was a reasonable way to close the gap he felt with Lilith.

Of course, he acted this way because he had some confidence in his skills. So, he was probably thinking he could challenge Lilith, ignoring me and Seria.

And the result, unsurprisingly…

“Damn it!”

“Professor! Someone heal me!”

“Wait, Lilith. I need to heal the one whose ribs are broken first.”

It was an overwhelming victory for Lilith.

At first, it seemed like Lowell was getting pushed back by her swift sword strikes, but at some point, he was hit by shallow attacks while trying to get closer, and then she finished him off with a Holy Punch.

Even with the healing professor waiting in the back, that took some guts.

“You just wait, I’ll catch up to you!”

Maybe it was because of his display, but it seemed like Lilith had been designated as his rival… though that wasn’t really my concern.

After that, the exam finished without any major incidents.

While some gaps were revealed, that was just because Seria and Lilith were special cases right now; it was clear that everyone else was also growing rapidly.

Especially Harold, who I hadn’t paid any attention to since the entrance exam.

He was already having fun crafting equipment, changing out the weapons he made one by one during the duel.

He wasn’t yet at the level of switching weapons mid-battle, but it was impressive that he could already handle several weapons skillfully.

In the end, he also fell to my evasion and parrying… but saying that sounds like I’m the newbie bullying him.

Don’t get me wrong. Harold’s overall ability is definitely higher now. I was just acting in self-defense!

“Right, Seria?”

“What about?”

“Just go along with it.”

“Fine. That’s right.”

Seria also acknowledged it. Not guilty! BANG BANG BANG!

///

After the midterms, I went with Seria to see Professor Reina and got an outing permit.

The permission had already been pre-arranged by Seria, so we just had to collect the proof of it and could leave right away.

After midterms, we had a holiday to celebrate surviving, which, even though it was only three days, coincided with the weekend, making it a decent amount of rest.

And during that time, I needed to go to the Royal Palace. That was the reason I received the outing permit.

I had gotten it in advance since I’d be leaving tomorrow morning, but receiving it made me pretty anxious.

“Phew, finally tomorrow.”

Seria seemed overly cheerful. Must be nice to be so carefree.

After getting the outing permit, with quite a bit of time left, I was dragged around by Seria as usual, ending up at the academy’s café.

To be honest, I didn’t go to cafés very often, but after being pulled by Seria, my visits increased dramatically. Thanks to that, I became more or less a regular.

Coffee and desserts were all expensive, but I didn’t really lack money, so it wasn’t a burden.

Since Seria is a princess, a bit of money disappearing isn’t a big deal for her.

“Rudion, you really need to clean up your hair.”

After we placed our orders and sat down, Seria said while staring at me.

Upon touching my hair after hearing that, I realized it was indeed quite scruffy.

Since coming to this place, I hadn’t paid attention to it at all, but if Seria was saying that, I really should tidy it up soon.

But thinking about it, Seria didn’t seem to have changed much.

Her hair was strikingly blonde—bright even.

Her face was so beautifully sculpted that even a little extra hair would be easily noticeable, yet it gave off no such impression at all.

It didn’t seem any longer either… In a game, it would go without saying, but considering my hair was growing like crazy, Seria staying exactly the same seemed odd.

Reading my thoughts, Seria’s eyes narrowed playfully.

“I take care of mine daily. I was taught that self-management is important.”

“So that means I’m a loser who doesn’t take self-management seriously, right?”

“You know that’s not what I meant! You’re just trying to tease me now. It doesn’t work anymore!”

I had teased her so much that I reached a point where the usual repertoire didn’t have any effect anymore.

Realizing my intent, Seria shot a playful glare at me, which, given her naturally cool character, felt a bit intense.

While she was nice to me most of the time with a constant smile, her overall demeanor could come off as rather intimidating if you think about it.

Her refreshingly blue eyes only felt cold within her appearance, making it difficult to approach her when she was sitting there expressionless.

Of course, knowing her introverted nature and becoming accustomed to it made me not think much of it anymore.

Seria probably realized that, which is why she attempted to restrain herself from glaring at me.

Later, when the drinks and desserts we ordered arrived, for some reason, Lilith was sitting at the table.

“Who’s this?”

“It’s Lilith.”

“No… you think I’d ask because I didn’t know that? Hey! Rudion! Don’t get Seria mixed up with weird stuff!”

Lilith, not understanding the usual sarcasm Seria and I had, began to scold me.

Seria continued without paying her any attention.

“She was just stopping by for coffee and saw me, so she came to say hello.”

“Are you planning to stay?”

“No, I’m taking it to review the mistakes I made in today’s exam.”

“You’re really putting in the effort.”

But thinking of how she fumbled the theoretical exam with all that effort, I decided not to voice that thought.

I set the drinks and desserts down to sit down.

Since Lilith had taken the seat that was originally mine across from Seria, I found myself next to Seria.

This positioned me facing Lilith, and perhaps because we had just been talking about hair, I glanced over her appearance.

Her hair was silver, neither too long nor too short.

It seemed to have grown slightly longer since I first saw her, indicating that she wasn’t as manicured as Seria.

“What are you staring at? Hey, Seria, aren’t you going to manage your boyfriend?”

“A, we’re not even dating yet…!”

“Wow, still ‘yet’? So, you’re saying you’ll date him someday?”

From her actions, she seemed like a laid-back close-combat type that’s just one of the party members, but she’s still the Saintess.

Of course, she might fight like a fighter, so she could fit that description, but still, she is the Saintess.

I’d heard she sometimes showed up dressed as a Saintess for religious events, though she didn’t seem to flaunt it or brag to anyone since she was shy about it.

Naturally, I had seen several illustrations of her in the game, so I knew exactly how she looked… honestly, she looked stunning.

She wouldn’t admit it, but Lilith in Saintess attire was nothing short of a benevolent saint figure.

With her slightly round face and somewhat less lively dark eyes, they added to her air of mystery… because of this, her standing as a Saintess would only grow stronger day by day.

If her standing continues to grow, wouldn’t she barely have a chance to rest on holidays, being dragged around everywhere?

“Ah, my coffee has arrived. I’m off! Seria! Do your best!”

“Why do I need encouragement…? No, I don’t want to know, so you don’t have to tell me…”

With those last words, Lilith took her coffee and left.

These days, it felt like that was the dynamic between Lilith and Seria.

Whenever Lilith teased Seria, she would seem shy and not respond actively, while I just watched from the side.

Given I had already heard Seria’s feelings and chose to keep things as they were, this was an uncomfortably tense situation.

Knowing that, Seria let out a small sigh.

“Ha, Rudion. Please don’t feel too pressured by what Lilith says. I really don’t mind.”

She was so kind that it made me wonder if I should just go ahead and date her. But of course, that wouldn’t happen.

I then enjoyed the drinks and desserts we had brought. I stayed right next to Seria.

Lilith had left, making the seat across from us empty again, but suddenly moving felt a bit awkward.

“Lately, the rifts have been quiet. I was somewhat looking forward to following up on that.”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be; they should appear sporadically. Speaking of which, how long has it been since we visited the Student Council?”

“It was four days ago; that was the last time I stopped by briefly. It’s still not too late, so should we finish this and go?”

After chatting for a while, we decided on our next destination.

The Student Council… I should message them in advance.

[Rudion: We’re coming over!]

[Alkiné: Didn’t I clearly say the Student Council isn’t a place to come and hang out?]

Having received approval, I felt at ease to head over.

“But this is way too sweet; I can’t eat it.”

“Is that so? I prefer something even sweeter than this.”

All that syrupy-sweet dessert that would’ve been sickly sweet for someone else was all polished off by Seria.

It was quite a hefty amount, but on closer inspection, it seemed like her main food group was dessert rather than actual meals.

Yet because of that, we could leave the café without any food waste.

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