The Academy’s Barbarian

Chapter 73: Cramming (1)

In the aftermath of the Abyss Worshippers attack

the investigation team tasked with finding out the truth worked tirelessly to uncover who was behind the attacks.

However, this was virtually an impossible task.

The primary perpetrators of the attack, the Abyss Worshipers, had all met their demise, leaving no targets to pursue for the investigation.

A week later, the investigative team declared that the attack was a heinous act committed by fanatical mages and announced the discontinuation of the investigation; the families of the fallen special force members were given substantial compensation money and the students who were kidnapped were promised medical treatment and compensation.

And now, on the tenth day after the incident

most of the students affected by the attack were discharged from the hospital and were back to their normal routines.

The commotion caused by the Abyss Worshipers' incident at the academy had finally come to an end.

'But it's not completely over.'

There was still a real crisis waiting to happen.

According to the original story's main scenario, the Abyss Worshippers would later lead monsters to attack the Arsene Academy. However, Noah wasn't concerned.

It's because by that time, I'll have already

.she would have long graduated from the Academy.

So, to be frank, Noah had no real connection to the story. As she was finishing her thoughts and attempting to detach from the matter, she suddenly heard a sigh from across the room.

"Haah."

A heavy sigh, as if the ground itself was exhaling It was Ibella.

At the moment, Noah and Ibella had found themselves an empty classroom to study for their respective exams. But it didn't take long for her to let out a series of sighs.

Ugh, I don't understand anything.

She buried her face in her desk and made a series of whimpering noises, as if the words of the book were not sinking in.

At that time, Noah spoke up in a whisper, "Do you want me to help you?"

"Really? You can teach me?!"

"Sure, as long as it's not too hard."

In fact, it didn't matter if it was difficult. With one of Noah's attributes Inquiry she could understand anything, even the most complex things.

Meanwhile, as soon Noah answered , Ibella shot up from her seat as if she had been waiting. After quickly taking a seat beside Noah, she pointed to the part of the book that had been confusing her, "Then, explain this to me."

"Alright, let me take a look first."

Noah glanced at the book that Ibella had been studying. It was a way for her to preview the content and understand it before explaining. After a while, she understood the content that Ibella pointed to perfectly.

"Good, that's something I know."

"Wow, really?"

"Yep. If you do it here like this......."

Thanks to Noah's detailed explanation, Ibella finally seemed to be starting to understand the contents of the book bit by bit. However, there were still some things that she didn't understand, even with Noah's explanation.

'Of course, that's understandable.'

Though not as much as Ulan, Ibella also had a penalty related to academia.

Noah blinked surreptitiously; to see Ibella's status window.

[Name]: Ibella Elearde.

[Age]: 17 years old

[Grade]: S

[Trait]: Grace of the Sword

[Attributes]: Sword Genius, Valor, Perseverance, Purity, Passion, Camaraderie, Muscle Fetishism, Jealousy, Lack of Understanding.

Having gotten to know Ibella quite well recently, Noah was able to access her attributes from three days ago.

Ibella has two penalties.

Jealousy and Lack of Understanding. Jealousy wasn't as big of a penalty here, though, because the original Sword Maiden never fell in love or interacted with the opposite sex.

Of course, jealousy doesn't necessarily have to target romantic relationships

Still, there were no major issues.

It seemed that Ibella's Camaraderie attribute played a significant role in suppressing the effects of jealousy. Therefore, the penalty was rarely activated, even among the seven warriors.

Thus, as long as she refrains from engaging in romantic relationships, Ibella essentially had only one penalty: 'Lack of Understanding.'

This penalty was usually triggered when learning new information, knowledge, or discipline; the effect was that her comprehension was reduced to less than half the average. As such, this penalty made it impossible to comprehend the knowledge unless it was explained in a way that was simple enough for anyone to understand.

Of course, swordsmanship is an exception.

S-Grade trait, Grace of the Sword. Coupled with the talent for swordsmanship, the penalty for lack of understanding does not occur in academic subjects related to swordsmanship.

If you look at it this way.......

it was almost as if the penalty didn't exist for her.

If she stays away from the opposite sex and only trains in swordsmanship, both penalties will not be triggered.

Is that why? In the original work, Ibella was also a famous named character with the highest preference among the Seven Heroes.

But why am I like this?

Frailty and Low Stamina these were devastating penalties, not only in battle, but also in everyday life. Feeling somewhat disheartened, Noah sighed deeply.

Just as the two girls were sighing away their troubles

Drrrrr!

suddenly, the classroom door swung open.

Ibella's eyes widened slightly. As if she'd just spotted a familiar face.

"Ah, Ulan!"

It was Ulan, who had been studying with them.

He had just come from the restroom, and his face was drenched, as if he had just washed his face. Ibella quickly pulled out a handkerchief.

"Here, use this to wipe yourself."

"Thank you."

Taking the handkerchief, Ulan wiped his face. By now, the handkerchief was damp. After carefully wiping it dry, Ulan bowed his head slightly.

"Thank you. I'll wash it and give it back to you."

"Ahh, no, you can just give it to me.

"But if you borrow a handkerchief from someone, it's polite to wash it and give it back......."

It was written in the etiquette brochure and it would be gross to give it back like this.

But Ibella shook her head, "It's fine, just give it to me." As if there was no need to do that. She snatched the handkerchief from his hand and carefully placed it inside her bag; as if it were a precious object.

As they settled back into their seats, Noah suddenly turned his gaze toward Ulan, "Why does your nose bleed so often?"

The reason Ulan went to the bathroom. This was because, during his study session, he suddenly had a nosebleed for the third time. That's when Ulan's answer came back, "Overloaded."

"Overload?"

What kind of explanation was that? Noah furrowed her brow in confusion. Just as she was about to ask further, Ibella's words jumped ahead, "Oh, right. By the way, Ulan." She asked a question as if she had suddenly remembered something she had forgotten, "Did you read the letter I gave you last time?"

"Hmmm? A letter?"

"The letter from my house."

"Oh, that one. Yeah, I read it all," Ulan nodded.

Ibella was referring to the letter from Count Deorg, which he had started reading ten days ago and had only just finished yesterday.

"Really? Then......." Slurring her words, Ibella looked around; then she lowered her voice and repeated, "Can I ask what ...... was about?"

"Sure, it's not that complicated."

It wasn't as if there were any secrets, so Ulan readily nodded.

So, as the two girls eagerly listened, Ulan recalled the contents of the seven-page letter.

It was more of a report.

The letters began shortly after Istan left the academy and returned to the county.

After arriving at the Count's estate, Istan began to mete out punishment. The targets included not only the servants who had tormented Ibella and her mother but also the Countess and her vassals who had persecuted them.

The investigation lasted over a week and in the process, another crime was uncovered.

Specifically, it was revealed that while Istan was at the frontlines, the Countess secretly engaged in an affair with another vassal.

And as a result, the servants were sent to prison on charges of noble humiliation, while the vassals had their lands and properties confiscated, and their titles revoked.

The Countess herself did not escape unscathed. She was immediately expelled from the estate and returned to her family. It was mentioned that she would face various charges in the upcoming trial.

'Next.......'

.Ibella's mother.

It also contained the unexpected news that Edeline Elearde had been added to the Deorg family.

It was said that she would be formally welcomed into the family as the Countess once the divorce with her original wife was finalized and completed.

Finally, there was news of Himmel.

Himmel, who had left with Istan, had been sent to the front lines of the Southern Front, not to the county; he would never return to the Empire until he became a human being.

That was all that was written in the letter.

As Ulan rummaged through his memory, he summarized it all in one sentence.

"It was just a simple greeting."

"Really? Just a greeting?" Ibella asked in surprise.

As I nodded, a memory suddenly flashed through Ulan's mind.

"Oh, there was something I didn't understand."

"Yes? What part?"

"The words at the end."

Coincidentally, he had the letter in his pocket. Ulan unfolded the neatly folded letter.

In the postscript of the seventh letter, there was a message. The content was as follows:

PS. I heard the details from my daughter. I prepared a small gift for the two of you, so I hope you will have good memories.

Then, please take care of my daughter.

That was all the message at the end of the postscript.

Ibella tilted her head, "A small gift?"

"Its this."

As if he had been waiting for it, Ulan pulled something out of his pocket. It was an object that looked like a ticket.

What was it?

Ibella squinted and Noah, who was beside her, suddenly revealed the identity, "It's a hotel room ticket."

"For......a hotel?"

"Yes. It's written here, you know. From April 30th to half a year, you can use the Imperial Hotel suite for free for two days on any date you want."

"If April 30 is......."

It was the end of the midterms exam period; and the weekend immediately following.

Ibella was going to use her Leave permit. After that, she was planning to spend some time with Ulan in the capital of the empire.

The moment she thought of this

"......!?"

all the puzzles came together and Ibella's face flushed bright red. With a flash of her hand, she snatched the ticket from Noah's hand, "I, I'll send this back!"

"You're sending it back?"

"Father, no! I think it's something that De, Deorg Count sent by mistake! Yes!" Ibella gibbered.

It was strange to see her so flustered, but Ulan didn't care. If it was a mistake, it was only right to send it back.

"Alright, then, please."

"L-leave it to me!"

After a forced smile, Ibella clutched the ticket tightly.

'What on earth are you thinking?!'

Her face was still red. Ibella was stunned and tried to calm her pounding heart. She realized that she had to send the letter as soon as she got back to her room.

As she was trying to cool down her heated face, Noah looked at Ibella quietly.

'She's definitely improved compared to the original.'

In the original, the Sword Maiden, Ibella, was always known for her expressionless face and cold personality. But now she was completely different. She was much more emotional and expressive than she was in the original.

'It's all thanks to Ulan.'

If Ulan hadn't turned Himmel into a mess during the preliminary rounds, Count Deorg wouldn't have visited the academy. The misunderstandings might not have been resolved, and Ibella might have suffered from Himmel's harassment until she dropped out in the second semester, just like in the original.

If it hadn't been for that, I wouldn't have become close to Ibella like I am now.

Although the story had diverged greatly from the original, she still preferred this one; even if it was different from the original story, it was much better to see Ibella have a happy future than a sad one.

There's no turning back now.

First Ulan, and now Ibella as well.

Already two named characters had deviated from the original character stories. So Noah decided to change her goals and direction for the future.

I'll ignore the character stories from now on.

It was out of Noah's hands anyway. Instead of stressing about it, she decided to focus on events, hidden pieces, and rewards that were unlikely to change.

I don't want to monopolize them, but

As much as possible, let's get the rewards that will be helpful for the future development. Noah vowed so.

While contemplating, the clock tower chimed.

Ding! Dong!

It was the sound announcing noon.

"Oh, it's already lunchtime."

"Why don't we eat first and then continue?"

"That's a good idea."

Maybe because he had been bleeding from his nose since morning, Ulan was hungry at the moment. Ulan and the two girls got up from their seats without waiting for each other.

As they headed to the cafeteria

another named character suddenly came to her mind.

Wait a minute, come to think of it

She hadn't seen Dilia lately. She thought Dilia would have something to say about it now that the prophecy had come true. Or maybe she was still in the hospital?

As soon as the thought occurred to her, she asked, "Umm, Ulan."

"Yes?"

"Is Dilia still in the hospital?"

"Yeah. She's supposed to be discharged from the hospital this evening," Ulan nodded.

No wonder Noah didn't see her.

So she's been in the hospital all this time. With a concerned expression, Noah immediately asked, "That's longer than I expected. Did she get hurt that badly?"

"Apparently not. But she lost a lot of her strength after experiencing a mana shock. So it's taking a fair amount of time to recover."

At least she was much better now.

Her voice was back to normal, and she seemed to have regained some of her strength. Ulan replied with a faint smile, and Noah also smiled as if relieved.

Except for one.

There was one who wasn't smiling.

The blonde girl walking by Ulan's side.

It was Ibella Elearde.

(End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . . )

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