Is this the second time I've come here?
　He didn't want to come if he could, but he couldn't not come when he was called. Suppressing the urge to leave, Wraith looks up and catches the figure sitting in a chair in front of him in his field of vision.

　Wills smiled a smile that was no longer familiar to him, as if to say he was waiting for her.

'Excuse me?'

　After hearing from Leesha, I feel much more uncomfortable than before. If your inner feelings are exposed anyway, you don't want to even try to hide them with care, but there is a minimum level of decorum. It's also hard to be an employer.

　While feeling a strange sense of worldliness, the thought searches for the reason why I was called to this place. I don't remember doing anything in particular, and the practice should be going well. It didn't seem like there was a problem with his work performance.

　The fact that I don't have any idea of what's going on makes me feel uneasy.

'You look like you don't know why you've been called out.
...well, yeah.
'Don't be so defensive. I just need to ask you for a little favor.
Are you asking me to do something for you?

　I don't have a very good feeling about it.
　It was only recently that I hoped it wouldn't be too much trouble.

"I want you to make sure the academy is equipped for the task.
Maintenance...?
Just the way it is. For example, the grounds that have recently been ruined by alchemy practice.

　Wraith thought back to the scene of magic flying around and remembered that part of the ground had indeed been gouged out. With Wraith's alchemy, it would be possible to repair something of that magnitude.

　It's possible, but that wasn't a task originally left to the Wraith. The only thing that Wraith does is to support the alchemy class. It doesn't feel good to be assigned any other tasks. It doesn't matter if there was an advance notice when I came here last time, it's just troubling to be told as if it's an afterthought.

　I naturally get a reluctant look on my face.

　If they tell you to do something, you'll do it, but the truth is that you don't want to start getting other jobs assigned to you because of it. At the same time the thought of turning it down crosses my mind.

Oh, don't worry, we'll pay you reasonably well.
I'll do it.

　It was an immediate answer.

　The thoughts that had been running through my head in a vain attempt disappeared in an instant, and the four letters of reward danced separately in my brain. The anxiety I had felt a while ago seems to be a lie. It would be easy for the Wraiths now to give the virus a big smile.

　No matter what they say, the power of money is amazing.

''Haha, you're a very quick decision maker.
That's another reason why we want our students to feel comfortable here.

　It's not a total lie, but 80% of it is just talking out of my mouth. Lace is not a teacher by profession, so she doesn't think about her students that thoroughly. Of course, since it's his job, he's willing to do his best.

　Conclusion.

　The power of money is amazing!



　*****



Okay.

　After the practice session is over, you move your body with a moderate sense of fatigue. From today, they would begin the maintenance of the academy's equipment that Wills had asked them to do. For the time being, Wraith had visited the ground that had been used as an example.

　Every time he repeated the exercise, the ground was in disrepair and now the whole area was noticeably uneven. It doesn't take time to repair one thing, but if it's the whole ground, it will take quite a bit of time.

"This is not going to end today.

　However, I have not been told to finish everything today, so there should be no problem if I proceed at a moderate pace.

　Under the blue sky, I worked silently by myself.
　The sun peeking through the clouds occasionally burns my skin, but the heat of summer had already come to an end.

　The moderate weather gives Wraith a refreshing feeling.

　The same process of plugging and flattening the hole, then plugging and flattening it - the same process is repeated indifferently. Originally, making potions in alchemy is also a repetition of the same process, so I didn't dislike this kind of drudgery that much.

　I even have a feeling that this kind of leisurely time is not so bad sometimes.

''Hmm....

　I let out one breath and work my tired body. Considering that the students in the school are taking classes right now, I feel like I'm getting something out of it.

　Now let's continue, and as I was about to step forward, I suddenly realized.

'....After all, can't I get gutted again in the next exercise?

　I hadn't really thought about it, but when I thought about it, I would use this place again in the next exercise. There's no harm in repairing it, but it would be a hassle to repeat it over and over again. As for the ground, it seems to me that it would be more efficient to start right before the test takes place.

　Looking up at the sky, the sun was still shining and blue. There would still be time before sunset.

'Let's go somewhere else.'

　I look at the floor plan of the academy given to me by Wills. The information about the facilities of the academy was posted there, and the places that need maintenance were also marked.

　Just by looking at the plan, you can see how large this academy is. It would be difficult to go around all of it. For now, I decide to go to a place close to the ground.

''Well........''

　Since I don't go outside of the designated area very often, I take turns looking at the floor plan and my surroundings.

'Here?'

　Wraith reaches the front of the classroom marked as a laboratory. When she opens the door with trepidation, she is greeted by a distinctive, nasal chemical smell. There is little light in the room, which is closed off by a black curtain, and Wraith gropes for a light.

　As he proceeded cautiously, he noticed something in front of him.

'Ooh, that's pretty amazing,'

　A large amount of medicine was stored inside the glassed-in shelves. There are a number of other things that look like magic tools on display as well. All of them must be valuable.

　I'm afraid of the consequences if I break them.

　I was about to turn around to look for light quickly, when I suddenly felt a presence behind me.

　Immediately after that, something made contact with his shoulder--

Who are you?

　Wraith struggled to hold back the scream that was about to crawl out of his throat as the person's face emerged from the nooks and crannies of darkness. Disgusting sweat began to boil over, and he opened his eyes, forgetting to breathe for a moment.

　However, I noticed that the face of the person in front of me looked familiar.

''........Nicola-san?''

　She's a girl with long golden hair and blue eyes. We haven't seen much of her, but that doesn't mean she's disappeared from my memory. The intensity of her character would rank high on the list of people Wraith knew.

　She looks at Wraith and makes a scowling expression.

''Huh, Wraith-san?　How did you end up here?
I'd like to ask you that too, but...

　Why is Nicola, an architect and magic tool maker, at the academy?

'I'm temporarily employed here for a few reasons.
'Heh, I didn't know that!　I'm here on a request, too.
Request?
Yes. Inspecting and restoring the magic tools.

　After all, he is being asked to do something similar to Wraith. It's a total coincidence that Wills couldn't possibly know that Wraith and Nicola are acquainted with each other.

''Could it be that you and Sylvia are together...?
'I'm sorry I'm looking at you with so much anticipation, but Sylvia isn't with me.
Yeah.

　Wraith laughed at Nicola's still looking the same.

'Have you finished inspecting this place yet?
No, I was just about to do it.
'Oh, I see. I'm here to help.
Okay, then, please.

　For now, we can't start without a light source, so the two of us work together to successfully turn on the lights. Then they split up and began to examine the magic tools from both ends of the shelves for any deficiencies.

''Why did you go to the academy, Wraith-san?　What's wrong with the store?
Well, there's a lot going on and now you're letting me take charge of the store and working at the institute through a friend.
Yeah.

　Nicola doesn't seem to be convinced, but she can't honestly talk about it because she doesn't have enough money to pay for compensation, etc. Or rather, Wraith's emotional state of mind doesn't want to talk about such things to someone he knows.

''How is Nicola-san doing these days?''
''Well, the request at this institute is a good job for a good percentage of the work. If I say things are going well, they might as well be going well.
Well, sure.

　As someone who has taken on the same job, I can sympathize with him. The amount of remuneration that is paid separately from the work of a teacher is quite impressive. I'm sure that's why Lace's eyes lit up so brightly when she confirmed that.

'Daisy seems to be doing well lately, too.
'Oh, I was unusually proud of her the last time I was there. Just how cute Daisy was then... haha.
Oh, yes.

　Wraith proceeds with the inspection, trying to avoid looking at Nicola as much as possible as she begins to gasp for air.

　Daisy seems to be struggling as much as ever. I wish her the best of luck by all means.
　Imagining Daisy's tired expression, Wraith secretly gave her a shout of encouragement.