I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

Ivel Adford.

A character who had almost no significance in the original story.  

So, I didn’t know her.  

When I first met her, if she hadn’t acted like she knew me, I would have just passed her by, thinking she was some academic worker.  

But thanks to Ivel saying something along the lines of ‘You’re no longer my brother!’ I could guess that we were related by blood.  

Until now, I hadn’t paid much attention to her. The relationship between us didn’t seem good, and I was in a fallen position anyway.  

We didn’t have any real connection.  

But now, she was my mentor.  

As I thought more about the Adford family, the only thing I remembered was its fate.  

The Adford family played a small role in one of the episodes, and that’s why I didn’t recognize her.  

Act 2, Scene 3, The school Trip

Although this event happened after summer vacation, that’s when the story connected to the Adford family unfolded.  

The Adford family had committed evil deeds for years, and only a fragment of that was revealed.  

The player gets involved with Duke Lodran’s family, which was tied to the Adford family and Lien.  

During the resolution of this, one person took on the blame for the crimes of the Adford family.  

That person was Ivel Adford.  

She was a member of the villainous group that disappeared early on. 

In the original story, she didn’t even show her face, and there was just a phrase which mentioned that she met her end off-screen.  

That’s how much of an extra she was.  

The Adford family itself was used as a device to highlight the player, and she couldn’t escape the fate of being an extra.  

Just like the original Kyle, who got harshly defeated by the protagonist in the entrance exam for Artena Academy and ended up living as a beggar until his death.  

Her life was designed according to the author’s intention…  

———

I met Ivel the next day.  

She was standing in front of the classroom right after our major lecture ended. 

It wasn’t just Ivel, but all the other second-year students were gathered there as well.  

It was 11 a.m. and from now until 2 p.m., there was a mentor-mentee class scheduled. 

This class would last until the day of the Mentor-Mentee Magic Duel, and it was a basic course that everyone had to attend.  

As I was leaving the classroom, Ivel spotted me and walked over briskly. Her eyelids were raised, and her cheeks were puffed out.  

“You, why didn’t you come find me?”

She looked annoyed.  

She started speaking quickly.

“Do you know how embarrassed I was yesterday? Why didn’t you come to greet me? It’s a tradition for juniors to greet their seniors. I waited in the academic hall until 6 o’clock like an idiot. My friends all came to greet their mentors…”  

Her expression darkened as she recalled yesterday. It appeared like she had been teased. 

I felt a little sorry.  

I thought a greeting wasn’t necessary since we already knew each other. Besides, we were going to meet today anyway.  

As I hesitated over what to say, Ivel waved her hand dismissively.  

“Never mind. Now that we’re mentor and mentee, I don’t know what kind of crazy joke from the gods this is. Anyway, what are you doing? Let’s go.”  

“Yeah. Uh, sorry about that.”  

“Whatever—whether you like it or not, you know we have to work together, right? I don’t care, but if you slack off, I’ll really make you pay. If you’re doing this, you better do it properly. My grades are on the line too, you know.”  

We took the elevator down from the Mage Tower. I followed her wherever she was going.  

‘Where is she heading?’

After a while, I tilted my head at Ivel’s strange behavior.  

For now, mentor-mentee class was essentially free time. Students were moving to places where they could interact with their mentors, such as training rooms, libraries, or cafes.  

Since it was the first day, the mentor’s choice of location would determine what we’d do for class.  

But Ivel wasn’t heading toward any of those places.  

Curious, I stayed silent. After all, I had made a mistake, and as a mentee, I didn’t have the right to speak up.  

I waited, and soon, the mystery was naturally resolved. It was an utterly unexpected location.

“Hm~ What should I eat today? The meat stew at the cafeteria is really good, but I had it yesterday, so I’m not really craving it… Bacon potatoes! Is that a new item? Hmm… I’m torn. Ah, whatever. Here! I’ll have the bacon potatoes! And strawberry juice too, please!”  

“…”  

I could see Ivel choosing from the menu at the student cafeteria.  

As I stared at her in disbelief, she seemed a bit embarrassed and pointed to the menu.  

“You don’t like cafeteria food?”  

‘Why do you like it?’  

In university, regardless of how good or bad the facilities are, it’s a rule of thumb to look down on cafeteria food.  

I ate anything without much fuss and thought the cafeteria food was decent, but most students felt otherwise.  

After living at Artena Academy for a month, I’d  noticed that many students were dissatisfied with the cafeteria food. 

Rather than eating there, they often go to restaurants within the academy’s district.  

Especially the aristocrats—they rarely come to the cafeteria. I remember the reaction when Ciel, a high-ranking noble, came to the cafeteria last time.  

Nobles like Ciel, who had mansions within the academy district and personal chefs, could enjoy luxurious meals at home.  

‘And as far as I know…’  

The Adford family was of similar stature.  

Despite being a villainous group, the Adford family controlled vast lands and was known for its famous tourist city.  

They made a fortune.  

So, there was no reason for Ivel to eat at the cafeteria. She was wealthy enough to hire a chef or occasionally dine at fine restaurants.  

Even from her uniform and accessories, which were adorned with gold trim, you can tell she’s well-off.  

I asked Ivel.

“Ivel, as far as I know, the Adfords aren’t poor enough to rely on cafeteria food…”  

“S-shut up! I-I just like eating here, okay! So are you going to eat or not? Ugh, never mind. Excuse me! One more bacon potato and strawberry juice, please!”  

“Got it. That’ll be 20 coins~”  

A kind-looking lady, who used to be a royal chef, responded.  

I fumbled in my pocket for the remaining coins. Ever since I bought the disguise clothes, I was practically broke.  

Though it felt wasteful to spend my emergency money here, I needed to get along with Ivel.  

“Here’s 20 coins—”  

“Stop right there. I’ll pay, so just sit tight. How much lower are you trying to drag my dignity? Do you want to give me the shame of being a noble who was treated to a meal by a commoner junior? If you want to eat something, just tell me. I’ll buy it for you.”  

“Thanks…”  

I was touched by her generosity. To a noble like her, this was nothing more than pocket change.  

But the idea of her being treated by a commoner?  

‘That would indeed be humiliating.’  

I sat down with Ivel at any random spot. An awkward silence followed until the food arrived.  

Our relationship being what it was, there wasn’t much to talk about.  

In a way, our positions had completely reversed after the fall of the original Kyle.  

A fallen noble and a great aristocrat.  

There wasn’t much reason for the two of us to be together.  

Eventually, Ivel broke the silence first.  

“You know, earlier… What we talked about.”  

“What do you mean?”  

“You asked why, even though I have money, I still eat at the student cafeteria.”  

Was there some backstory behind it?  

I nodded, listening attentively.  

“That, my other friends always ask me the same thing. ‘Why don’t you go to a restaurant?’ or ‘A new fancy restaurant just opened, let’s go there!’ But they don’t get it! How exhausting it is to be a student worker!”  

‘Ah…’

“When would I ever have the time to go all the way there, eat, and then head back to work? I need to quickly fill my stomach and get back to work. I’m already exhausted as it is, and the commercial district is almost 30 minutes away! The mansion is even an hour away. Going there to eat and then coming back? My legs would be killing me! And yet, those arrogant nobles—ugh. Do you even know? That person is ranked first in the year.”  

The frustration that Ivel, a student worker, had been holding in finally erupted. Indeed, it was usually the student workers who ended up being the innocent victims of the chaos at Artena Academy.  

So far, there had been three incidents related to demons.  

Since the player’s admission, it was no surprise things were especially hectic.  

“Ugh. And that glasses-wearing jerk. Professor Mason is really…! Ugh, I just—ugh!”  

“Y-yeah. That does sound like they’re overworking you. Shouldn’t they split the tasks more evenly?”  

During lunch, I listened to Ivel vent. Perhaps it was because she didn’t have anyone else to confide in about this.  

I ended up hearing all sorts of stories.  

After lunch, we walked together to the training room.  

“Please, just forget everything… I’ll buy you another meal. Okay…?”  

Ivel appeared to regret spilling her thoughts.  

Well, I got a free meal out of it. 

Sweet!  

———

{Third POV}

‘Why did I even say all that?’  

In the wide space of the private training room, Ivel regretted sharing her story with Kyle.  

‘Ah! Those are thoughts I’ve never told anyone before…!’  

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the memory of herself passionately ranting to Kyle.  

It was something she intended to keep a secret for the rest of her life.  

But Kyle had listened at the right moments, nodded along, and oddly seemed to understand the position of a student worker, which made her spill everything.  

It made a big difference that he genuinely empathized with Ivel.  

Most of the time, when she explained her situation to others, all she got in return were empty words of comfort, and her friends would quickly shift the conversation to something else.  

New restaurants, luxury goods, premium shops at the Loren Trading Company—topics that held no interest for Ivel.  

But Kyle not only empathized, he also gave her practical advice on how to handle things.  

His suggestions on how to navigate the social side of being a worker made sense in a surprising way.  

For the first time at Artena Academy, she felt like she had found someone she could really talk to.  

‘This is strange.’  

She hadn’t particularly liked him, but now she thought he wasn’t a bad conversation partner.  

Was this what they call a love-hate relationship?  

Before meeting Kyle, she had blindly disliked him, but now, she didn’t feel any real aversion.  

Ironically, when she had been in trouble, it was Kyle who had helped her, despite her animosity towards him at the time.  

Since then, she had found herself thinking about him more often. She grew curious about how he lived and his way of handling things.  

Even though they hadn’t had many chances to meet since then, running into him again like this left a strong impression on Ivel. 

Now, she saw him as a colleague she could communicate with.  

The magical studies department where Ivel worked was filled with commoners, so she rarely had meaningful conversations with anyone.  

Whenever they saw her, they would tremble and try to avoid talking as much as possible.  

Even though she didn’t put any pressure on them…  

It was just disappointing that they viewed her through the lens of preconceived notions tied to her status.  

Considering the kind of work life she led, it wasn’t entirely her fault that she ended up confiding in Kyle. 

It felt inevitable.  

‘No! Snap out of it!’  

Even though Kyle was someone she could talk to, if he failed their upcoming mentor-mentee magic duel, it would only strengthen their bad ties.  

On top of that, she had heard that Kyle was admitted as the lowest-ranked student in the Magic Department.  

Ranked 350 out of 350.  

It was unbelievable. 

When she was first assigned as his mentor, she couldn’t describe how hopeless she felt.

After Cathlyn Phaylon, who currently held the top rank in the Magic Department, told Ivel to ‘make the most out of their bottom-tier partnership,’ Ivel’s mental state took another hit. 

Cathlyn and Ivel had always been rivals, battling for the top two spots in the Magic Department. Losing to Cathlyn was simply out of the question. 

It was all the more frustrating that Kyle was her mentee. Since he was ranked 350th in the Magic Department—could he even perform basic magic properly? 

It appeared like he used a long rifle, but that wouldn’t be enough, especially since magic could block it.

“Ivel, do I just need to show you whatever I can do?”  

Ivel looked over at Kyle, who was warming up in front of a human-shaped dummy, his long rifle strapped to his back. His movements didn’t inspire much confidence.  

“Just go all out. I’ll assess once you’ve shown me what you can do.”

But how much could he really show? 

The dummy was a special one, equipped with a magical shield. It was created by the magic department students specifically for practice. 

No matter how much magic was thrown at it, it wouldn’t break.  

Only a genius among geniuses, like Ciel, could manage that.  

With the mindset that she’d humor him, Ivel focused her attention, and after finishing his warm-up, Kyle retrieved something from the armory.

Then, he charged toward the dummy.

Swoosh—!

Before she could even register it, Kyle began striking the dummy at a speed that was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye. 

As geometric patterns formed in mid-air, signaling his rapid movements, suddenly—

Clang—!

The shield shattered. Kyle immediately leaped back and raised his sniper rifle. Suspended in mid-air, he fired off a round.

Pew—! Boom—!

The dummy was blown to pieces, scattered everywhere. 

After landing perfectly, Kyle turned to Ivel and asked.

“So, will that be enough for the magic duel?”

Was that… Magic?  

Magic…?  

“???”  

Ivel couldn’t comprehend what she had just witnessed. 

Even though she saw it with her own eyes, it didn’t make sense to her.