Chapter 49: Outdoor Class
“Creak—”
Just as Vivian was about to knock on the door again, the dormitory door opened with a creak.
“Sorry, Vivian, I overslept today.”
Loose pajamas, a plain and clean face, and long, smooth black hair that wasn’t at all messy.
Seeing Janna in such a rarely seen homely appearance, the words that had been on the tip of Vivian’s tongue suddenly slipped from her mind.
“Come in first. Let me tidy up a bit, then we’ll head out together.”
“Mm... okay.”
Every Monday from eight to eleven in the morning was a fixed class for all first-year apprentices—Defense Against Dark Magic.
Today’s lesson had been arranged by Grace Eva to be conducted outdoors.
Since the chosen outdoor site was some distance from the dorms, Vivian had already agreed with Janna last Friday to meet at 6:40 in the morning at the cafeteria entrance.
However, after waiting for over ten minutes without seeing any sign of Janna, Vivian had no choice but to go to her dorm herself.
“Cleaning Spell—”
After skillfully casting the Cleaning Spell and quickly freshening up, Janna changed into a shirt, long pants, and her newly bought wizard robe.
In less than five minutes, she was standing composedly in front of Vivian.
“Oh? You actually had money for a new wizard robe? I thought you'd spent it all on exchanging for apprentice courses.”
Vivian's eyes lit up slightly at the sight of the robe on Janna—simple and elegant in style, embroidered with light green thorny vine patterns.
“This looks like a new model from ‘Raccoon Cat’s New Attire,’ right? Nice taste. You even chose the same one as me.”
“Hurry up, let’s go. If we don’t leave now, all the breakfast at the cafeteria will be sold out.”
Janna merely tucked her long hair back helplessly in response to Vivian’s teasing gaze.
“I already got yours too.”
With a flick of her right hand, Vivian took out a blueberry jam bun in a brown paper bag and two steaming cups of black coffee from her Interdimensional Storage Pouch.
“Thanks. I’ll bring breakfast for you next time.”
“No need. As long as you keep letting me copy your notes for Ancient Magic History and don’t lend them to anyone else, that’s enough.”
Janna smiled silently as she took the bun, and the two sat down next to a lab bench.
“By the way, the magical plants in your dorm look really healthy... did you use alchemical fertilizer?”
“No, maybe it’s just that the sunlight in my room is more abundant.”
“Is that so?”
...
Defense Against Dark Magic classes included outdoor sessions from time to time, and this one focused on weapon handling.
Grace Eva had reminded everyone in the last class to prepare a wand in advance.
For a wand—even the most ordinary one—it was a significant expense for resource-less commoner witches like Janna.
So last week, since most of her Gold Surrel and academic credits had already been used elsewhere, Janna had mentally prepared herself to audit the class from the sidelines.
“Professor Grace picked quite a secluded spot for this session.”
After breakfast, the two of them walked for about twenty minutes before finding the designated outdoor site described by Grace Eva—a circular clearing beside the artificial hill at the back left of the library.
“Good morning, Miss Janna.”
“Miss Janna, over here!”
As soon as they stepped in, several enthusiastic male apprentices greeted Janna.
One of them had even saved her a spot in the shaded part behind the hill, just to prevent her from getting sunburned.
“Thank you, Mr. John.”
“Ah... don’t mention it. It was no trouble at all.”
Thanks to Jack Myer’s public confession to Janna—which resulted in him being shoved into a washroom and losing a front tooth—and repeated visits from third-year student Soro Flare, Janna’s surroundings had been relatively peaceful lately.
Of course, it also had to do with Janna reducing her social appearances and declining unproductive social connections after joining the White Ballet Shoes Club, which left many secret admirers without a chance to approach her.
“If it’s possible, I wonder if Miss Janna would do me the honor of attending...”
“Shh, Professor Grace is here. Quiet down.”
Just as John was mustering the courage to invite Janna to his family banquet, Vivian—already accustomed to these situations—mercilessly interrupted him.
“Ah, sorry, sorry...”
Seeing it was a member of the prestigious Rose family who cut him off, John, who came from a small family in Turin, could only swallow his words and step aside dejectedly.
At that moment, Grace Eva glided swiftly through the air with wide bat-like wings, landing calmly before the group amid a dense, blood-red aura.
“This session is weapon practice. I hope you all brought your wands. Otherwise, those without a wand can only stand and observe today...”
At her words, Vivian lightly nudged Janna with her elbow and then pulled out a black wand topped with a clear gem from her wide, ice-blue wizard robe.
“This is a spare I used before—just a loan for today.”
Seeing the wand offered by Vivian, Janna pulled out her own Verdant Wand from the inner pocket of her robe.
“I won’t take advantage of you this time. I bought a new wand myself.”
Vivian’s expression suddenly turned unusually serious when she saw the vine-wood-shaped wand in Janna’s hand.
“Where did you get the money? Don’t tell me you accepted sponsorship from some family behind my back?”
“No, I just found a part-time job recently and managed to save up some money.”
“Really? You better not be lying to me.”
Seeing Janna’s earnest expression, Vivian gave a skeptical nod, then put away her wand and took out another one from her Interdimensional Storage Pouch.
This wand had a body as clear as crystal and a snowflake-shaped, ice-blue gem at the top—an extravagant design.
“I had this wand custom-made by Master Raccoon Cat a while ago. Cost me over three hundred Gold Surrel. Nice, isn’t it?”
“Mm... suits you well.”
Hearing the price—nearly triple that of her own wand—Janna, already familiar with Vivian’s lavish spending habits, didn’t even flinch.
“Without magical gear buffs, I should be able to suppress Vivian with my current strength, but...”
Looking at Vivian’s fully enchanted gear, even her boots adorned with magic runes, Janna silently dismissed the idea of defeating her easily if Vivian used her full arsenal of magic tools.
“No wonder Professor Mary Margaret accepted the Rose family’s invitation back then. With the Rose family’s wealth, few people could resist such temptation...”
Even Janna herself—if she didn’t have the “Daily Quest System” as her cheat—might have already accepted Vivian’s offer too...