Chapter 103. The Academy Spring Festival (5)

He should have done this sooner.

Armandy muttered inwardly as he watched Radel diligently making cotton candy next to him.

He had said he would go look around the booths and hadn't come back for a while, so he thought he was really going to lose it.

“One cotton candy, please.”

“Yes, please wait just a moment.”

However, seeing Radel working his hands quickly while responding to customers with a bright smile, that complaint soon disappeared.

Right. It was good that he had at least come back to work like this.

While Radel was attending to customers, Armandy caught his breath and opened another magic power recovery potion.

He no longer had the energy to move without this.

‘This is how one gets addicted to potions.’

The task of making cotton candy by appropriately adjusting heat and wind magic was by no means easy.

At first, Armandy had thought it was easy, thinking of it as simple elemental magic, but the story changed when the people started flooding in.

After being overworked for about six hours without a break, even Armandy's magic power was bound to run out.

Still, it was only because the 8th Prince had returned that he had time to drink a potion like this.

As Armandy was catching his breath like that, someone caught his eye.

‘Th-that is?’

The figure that arrived in front of Radel was a man with a gentle impression.

There was nothing unusual about him, except that he was wearing the robes of a Supreme Deity Order priest.

However, Armandy knew his identity.

If you were a member of a secret organization, you couldn't not know him.

A man so relentless that he was counted among the top Inquisitors.

‘Kirio Tites!’

The number of heretics he had captured was countless.

On top of that, his instincts were so good that he found hidden spies as if by magic and tortured them, making him the number one person all secret organizations avoided.

“It has been a while, Your Highness.”

“Oh? Kirio!”

Radel smiled warmly upon seeing Kirio, who had come to greet him.

Wasn't he the one who had first shown him the world of 50 affinity?

Looking back, his connection with Armandy and his meeting with Gusto were all thanks to him.

“What brings you here? To come all the way to the academy.”

“We opened a Supreme Deity Order booth at the Academy Spring Festival. I said I would come here.”

“I see. Ah, we shouldn't talk here, let's talk over there.”

Radel took off his apron and asked Armandy for his understanding.

“I’ll be back after a quick chat!”

“Pardon?”

Armandy was horrified, but Radel disappeared like the wind.

It was good that he took that unpleasant Inquisitor with him, but…… didn't this mean he had to handle this place alone again?

“Two cotton candies!”

“I've been waiting for a while, isn't it ready yet?!”

Armandy apologized to the incoming customers and clenched his teeth.

When the festival is over, he will never even look at cotton candy again!

* * *

Radel and Kirio sat on a suitable bench and talked.

“The Supreme Deity Order's booth is also important, but apart from that, it was necessary for me to come to the academy.”

Kirio slowly began to speak to Radel.

“Your Highness must have heard as well. The Archbishop's dreams are unusual. I came to see if there are any disquieting movements within the academy.”

“I see.”

Kirio gave a gentle smile to the nodding Radel.

“Of course, there was also the matter of seeing Your Highness after a long time……. I am happy to see you in good health.”

Is this the effect of 50 affinity?

Radel, feeling the power of the Affinity System once again, expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you. It's good to see you looking healthy too, Kirio.”

“Haha, well, it's not like I had to clear an undead dungeon by myself like Your Highness.”

Kirio added that he had already received a report from Gusto about the ‘House of the Undead’ that Radel was operating.

“It is still under discussion, but a delegation sent from the Order will visit soon. If there are no particular problems, it may become a holy site.”

“……A holy site?”

As far as Radel knew, only places where the Supreme Deity had directly manifested or places deeply related to the saints became holy sites with the Archbishop's permission.

When a place became a holy site, the footsteps of the numerous followers of the Supreme Deity Order would follow, so that area would become a kind of tourist destination.

‘My house is becoming a holy site of the Supreme Deity Order?’

Radel was flustered.

It doesn't feel that sacred, does it……?

“Of course. Is it not an undead dungeon that Your Highness, who has not learned divine magic, cleared by yourself? This in itself can be called a place where a miracle has manifested.”

Kirio said as if it were natural and then took something out from his bosom.

“But please be careful from next time. This is an item that the Archbishop asked me to deliver.”

What Kirio took out was holy water.

The holy water he had received from the consecration of Lambrado Altante, the bishop of Marcellent, was amazing, but this was said to be holy water consecrated by the Archbishop himself.

He couldn't even guess what an amazing effect the holy water of the Archbishop, who had the strongest divine power in the Empire, would have.

Kirio added a request and handed the holy water to Radel.

“You never know, so you should always have it with you. I could definitely feel an unusual energy at the academy.”

As expected of an Inquisitor, he seemed to have sensed something.

Kirio's voice lowered.

“If possible, I would like you to take Gusto with you. I won't stop Your Highness from trying to find out about the situation, but…….”

Although Kirio was speaking with a gentle expression, a sense of concern could be felt at the end of his words.

Radel nodded and answered.

“Don't worry too much. I've changed a lot too.”

Radel was someone who could clear a dungeon by himself even before he started learning magic in earnest.

Kirio felt proud of Radel's appearance, who seemed to have grown stronger than when they first met.

* * *

The last day of the festival.

After all the outsiders had left the academy, the first-year students of the academy cleaned up their booths and gathered in the dormitory common room.

“Oh, my aching body.”

“So many people came for three days straight that I didn't even have time to sit down.”

All the first-years were exhausted.

Inette and Tunia were also buried in the sofa.

“Still, it's better than studying. Isn't it?”

When Inette asked Tunia, Tunia shook her head weakly.

“I prefer attending lectures.”

“What? No way!”

Inette jumped up, but Gusto also agreed with Tunia's opinion.

“It certainly seems that attending lectures is better. It was tougher than a temple event.”

“Are you all serious?”

Radel, who saw Inette's incredulous expression, said a word.

“I enjoyed the festival. It was a worthwhile experience.”

“……You should have some conscience.”

The friends who were sprawled on the floor, too tired to even sit, were all Radel's team members.

They had been so overworked that even Inette felt sorry for them.

Just then, Professor Marianne entered the common room.

“Everyone worked hard during the Spring Festival. It was your first festival, and you all did well.”

Behind Professor Marianne, round earth spirits followed, each carrying a box.

The boxes were filled with bottles containing potions, and everyone who saw it jumped to their feet.

It must be the charm potion, the prize for winning the festival.

“It is finally time to announce the most outstanding booth of this festival.”

Professor Marianne began. And she explained that to select the best booth, not only the sales but also the number of booth users were counted, and a popularity poll was also conducted among the festival participants.

‘I was only paying attention to sales, so this might be dangerous.’

Radel had thought that his booth would naturally be number one in sales, but he was worried that winning would not be easy if the popularity poll was also reflected.

Inette's noble-concept teahouse was also quite popular, and Leon's solo performance booth also received great praise from the magic supremacists.

“Now, the winning first-year booth of this Academy Spring Festival is…… Radel's booth, which created the Supreme Deity 3-ride amusement rides.”

As the winning booth was announced from Professor Marianne's mouth, a sudden thunderous cheer erupted.

“Waaaaah! We did it!”

“Our suffering was not in vain!”

“Sob! Marco, you were a really great guy!”

“You too!”

The owners of the cheers were Radel's team members, who had suffered throughout the festival.

As they staggered up, threw their fists in the air, and shed tears, the other first-years who were watching them slowly clapped.

Seeing Radel's team members, who looked like they had come back from the dead, the applause came out naturally.

Although the charm potion was tempting…… strangely, they didn't feel envious of those guys.

Clap, clap, clap!

“Thank you!”

“Thank you all for congratulating us!”

Radel's team members were now even tearing up as they greeted the other teams.

And they hugged each other and shared their emotions.

Radel's heart also warmed as he watched his team members.

“To think they're this happy. I should try making a 5-ride one next time.”

Radel smiled contentedly.

Inette, who heard that from the side, was disgusted, as a bonus.

“Are you really crazy?”

And so the Spring Festival came to a close.

* * *

Mana Training time.

Radel cast his fishing rod and then erased his presence.

Splash.

The sensation of becoming one with mana.

Radel closed his eyes, enveloping his whole body in a momentary sensation of utter tranquility.

Professor Bronson, who saw Radel concentrating, twitched an eyebrow.

‘For a moment, his presence completely disappeared.’

Not only Professor Bronson, but Radel also noticed the change in himself.

‘Is this the sensation? The feeling that I never existed in this world from the beginning.’

If he could maintain this sensation, he felt he could gradually start using it in real battles.

He didn't know if it would work on the golems wandering around the academy, but he was confident he could at least deceive the guards.

Radel recalled the reason he had wanted to take Mana Training.

It was to confirm the academy dungeon map left by his ancestor Hayden, by going in and out of the secret passages within the academy.

Radel, who judged that he had grown to a certain extent, asked Professor Bronson.

“Professor, do you happen to know how many dungeons there are inside the academy?”

“Well, I’ve been to a few places, but I don’t know all of them.”

Professor Bronson answered indifferently.

“Even the professors would have a hard time knowing everything about the academy. Because it's a place with a long history. There are many spaces expanded by the magic of past magicians and places that haven't been revealed yet.”

Professor Bronson, who saw Radel's expression of listening to his words with interest, felt he had a rough idea of what he was thinking.

“……Just don't get caught by the principal. It'll be a hassle.”

“Haha, I don't know what you're talking about.”

Radel played dumb and checked his status window.

Name: Radel Silvert Cretian

Age: 17

Position: 8th Prince of the Cretian Empire

Stats: Health 53, Magic Power 40, Strength 52, Agility 47, Intelligence 48

Overall Ability: C+

Skills: Basic Swordsmanship (B), Hayden's Normal Mana Training Method (C), Superhuman Intuition (D)

Traits: Troll's Heart (C), Status Effect Nullification (S)

His health and magic power had increased a lot, and his Troll's Heart trait and skills had also grown quite a bit.

He had even cleared an undead dungeon by himself not long ago, so it seemed it would be fine to go to the dungeons inside the academy now.

‘I should prepare a bit before that.’