Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 294 Reward
There is nothing worse than getting used to this situation.

In his ward at the academy's treatment center, Ritas sighed inwardly as he straightened up.

Compared to before, Ritas felt much better physically this time. After all, waking up didn't mean his body was fully recovered. So, when he woke up, the first thing that hit him was a feeling of his body falling apart.

"Yay! Little Li, you're awake!"

The voice of the goddess of bathing rang out as scheduled from the low cabinet beside the hospital bed.

Although Ritas still can't figure out why the Goddess of Bath can always capture the moment he wakes up so accurately, it has to be said that even in the midst of a chaotic and confused state of mind, hearing the Goddess of Bath's voice brings a strange sense of peace.

"You might be a little annoyed by now, but the routine is still necessary. Cough cough. Don't get too excited when you hear what's coming next. You must hold on! You might not believe it, but it's been eighty years since you fell into a coma—"

"So why has this become a routine?"

Equally enigmatic is the ever-expanding number of years.

In short, after confirming the time with the goddess of bathing again, Ritas realized that it was only two days after the incident.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing I'm asking very seriously. So, you need to think carefully. Do you remember 'An'?"

of course I remember.

Ritas almost blurted out the answer. Wasn't Ann the name of a maid who served Adeline? If it weren't for his good memory, he probably wouldn't have remembered that maid who had such a low profile and whom he rarely interacted with.

However, the goddess of bathing had told him to recall carefully. So, Ritas frowned and thought about it intently.

Then, his expression froze slightly, gradually revealing a hint of astonishment.

"I never imagined that such an extraordinary existence as 'Primordial' existed in this world."

After leaving a letter to express his gratitude to the tree doctor at the treatment center, Ritasto walked into the academy with the white disc.

Everywhere you look, the entire Erles Academy and the World Tree space remain integrated.

The World Tree space is like a mirage or a projected image without any substance. Even though it clearly exists there, it has no physical contact with anything in Ers Academy.

What exactly happened at Earls College that day?
This is how "Tree Witch" Livis and "Pioneer" Susola announced it to the public.

A group calling itself the "Beast Empire," which controls a large number of monsters, colluded with the "Holy King Church" to attack Ers Academy.

Thanks to the valiant resistance of the two sages and the faculty and staff of the academy, they paid a heavy price, including the massive airship "Ideal Core" and the "Treehouse." They successfully repelled the attackers, minimizing casualties.

In addition to the attacks by these two organizations, the criminal organization "Darkborn" hijacked the "Mograine Art Appraisal Meeting" that year and orchestrated the assassination of the princess.

Fortunately, the third princess of the Holy Kingdom of Libera was unharmed. However, she was accompanied by a close attendant.
"'Sacrificed'? The power to distort others' perceptions and memories is truly terrifying."

Ritas had virtually no recollection of anything the goddess of bathing had said. However, through some subtle details, he could discern that some of these things had indeed occurred.

Although it hasn't been confirmed yet, so I can't make a judgment, Ritas vaguely felt that "An's" method of concealment was basically flawless.

Those who can remain unaffected would at least be of the same level as Livis, or even an exceptional being like the Goddess of Bathing.

Ritas was both surprised and able to understand the power that the "Primordial" had displayed.

This is understandable because only when power reaches such levels can the strongest "primordial" entity perish, leaving behind theoretically omnipotent and endless magical particles.

Moreover, with the legacy left by her mother and the energy support of the magnitude that Livis intended to use to create a new world, Ann became the "Primordial." If she couldn't even perfectly disappear from the world, then she would be far too incompetent.

As for the unexpected event, it was the hunters who existed above the "Primordial" group. And...
"What's wrong, Xiao Li? Why do you suddenly look so serious?"

"I may have been involved in the forgetting abilities possessed by the 'Primordial' before this."

Rather than a terrifying fear, Ritas's face at this moment showed more of a sense of relief that a problem that had troubled him for a long time had finally been solved.

"Huh—? When? What happened? And what color were you encountering?"

"Since I was affected by this power, I naturally forgot. As for the time frame, there is a general range, which is a certain period of time when I was still studying at the academy. As for the Goddess of Bath, I asked that Primordial Miss whether she could use this power of forgetting anytime and anywhere, or only during the window period when she first became a Primordial?"

"Well"

Okay, it seems they didn't ask.

Seeing that Ritas's expression was somewhat subtle, the goddess of bathing immediately launched into her classic "It's not my fault."

Looking at the white disc that seemed to have gained a bit of vitality, Ritas thought to himself that it was about time he could trust clocks again.

After all, he has to hold this white disc all the time. Carrying a metronome on top of that would just take up too much space.

"Speaking of which, you really did something quite extraordinary this time. Before the exchange started—no, until two days before this incident—I never imagined you could pull off something so big and get away unscathed. So, confess! Confess now, what else are you hiding from me!"

"Really, there isn't any. Just like I said before, I've never hidden anything; it's just that the Goddess of Bathing hasn't asked me."

Ultimately, if he couldn't hide the fact that he was bathing the goddess, was there any need to abide by that condition?
Ritas was somewhat confused.

Moreover, if we had to pinpoint exactly what he used this time, the Goddess of Bath knew about almost everything. It's just that she hadn't paid much attention to it when he mentioned it before.

"Hmm... Never mind! Speaking of which, I have some good news. Ta-da! My church system has been upgraded again!"

"Oh."

"What kind of attitude is this? Isn't this good news?"

"Well, that's definitely good news."

Although it's good news, it's somewhat insignificant compared to the various things that have happened recently.

"It must have been Misri who incorporated the members of the 'Star People' into the church. Now the church has more than a hundred members. Hmm, it's supposed to be my church, but I don't know most of the people in it. It's a bit of a mixed feeling."

"Nearly a hundred people? That's a rather odd number." Ritas pondered for a moment.

If the nearly one hundred members, led by Misri, represent the entirety of the "Star People," then this mysterious organization seems rather small compared to its long history. Conversely, if these hundred are merely relatively high-ranking members, Misri's confidants or similar figures, then the "Star People" are far too large.

Although, because the goddess of bathing looks like this, he rarely interferes in church affairs. Therefore, even if the power balance within the church is disrupted, there is no such thing as the guest taking over or power being lost.

However, considering the future, it's best to take some countermeasures in this situation.

"Speaking of which, when exactly did Misri decide to join us? If only it had been sooner, the church system could have been upgraded sooner, and I might have been able to help more in this incident."

The goddess of bathing said with some regret.

While Ritas didn't believe that the "new functions" of the church system, which might not be discovered for another six months or even years, could play a decisive role in the events, the increasing desire of the Goddess of Bath to intervene and join in was somewhat concerning to him.

"Perhaps, it was the moment she truly obtained the 'star mark'."

"Eh? Until that moment? Hmm, although I think Misri is also a potential wife. But isn't she being a bit too materialistic, too much like she's holding out for the highest bidder?"

"I think such caution is perfectly understandable. Moreover, since she has effectively completed her work, there's no need to get caught up in a temporary issue of stance. Rather, if it were me, deciding the future of the entire organization I lead, I would only be more cautious. So, even if my actions match her image of a 'Star Priest,' her decision, in a positive light, is decisive and resolute. In a negative light, it's impulsive and childish."

"You're not allowed to talk about my wife candidate like that!"

"."

"Just kidding, just kidding~ Speaking of which, now that my church system has been upgraded, can Mary's gacha module also be used for gacha pulls now?"

When this topic came up, the goddess of bathing seemed quite excited.

"Yes, that's true. I didn't expect the Goddess of Bath to remember it."

Ritas was somewhat surprised.

Since there had been no source of "draws," Ritas had almost forgotten that Mary's long white plate actually had a function.

"Tch tch, that's because you don't understand. I can forget everything else, but I'll never forget drawing cards!"

Listening to the words of the Bath Goddess, Ritas became curious. What would the Bath Goddess's reaction be if he encouraged Mary to sneak up and use up all her card draw chances first?

"However, even if we add up all these 'rewards' that we've painstakingly extracted from various corners, we still feel that our gains this time are a bit small. Xiao Li, you took such a big risk and did such a thing."

As if it were quite natural, she became Ritas's ally, and together they "joined forces" to kill two sages' bathing goddesses, grumbling somewhat dissatisfiedly.

"Since the mission rewards won't be listed out like in a game, the Goddess of Bath might not realize that our gains this time are actually much greater than expected."

Ritas, recalling the "Ann" he could no longer remember, added the words conveyed to him by the goddess of bathing,
"Some of these would be considered 'top-tier' rewards even if they were placed in the game world."

At noon, Ritas, who had been chatting with the goddess of bathing about related matters, arrived at his destination.

Originally, Ritas thought that he had "ignited" all the problems within the academy this time, and after a certain degree of restructuring, those "minor problems" would no longer bother him.

However, after hearing that Miriam, Melcy, and Charlotte had all encountered things that he had to pay attention to that day.

Ritas started to get a headache.

If this semester is going to be like this, will the college be the same next semester?
Since the pseudo-World Tree has become a star in the sky along with the treehouse mansion, wouldn't it be better for Erles Academy, which no longer has any symbolic meaning, to simply relocate?

Even Professor Ritas felt a surge of superstition about feng shui at that moment.

With a soft sigh, Ritas raised his head.

The place he has arrived at is a temporary mage tower built by the "Obsidian Magic Tower" during its stay at Erles Academy.

He wasn't looking for business with this academy that had close ties to the "Holy King Church," but rather because the mage tower had been requisitioned by someone.

Shaking his head, he walked into the mage tower, making his way to the top floor and knocking on the door.
"Oh dear, how are you feeling today?"

That figure, always so oblivious to everyone else, was already waiting for him.

Since the headmaster's office building was reduced to ashes (Livis blew it up herself), and the treehouse mansion was also destroyed (also by Livis), the tree witch, now homeless and without an office, started stealing other people's things again.

Facing Livis, Ritas lowered his head slightly and remained silent for a moment before raising his head again.
"Oh, teacher. How are you feeling today?"

For a moment, Livis, whose conversation had been disrupted, was at a loss for how to respond.

Ritas, on the other hand, found a chair in the room and sat down.

"I thought that with so many things happening, my teacher, as the dean of the academy, would be very busy right now."

Scandal? Shocking news?

What happened at Earls College two days ago is difficult to summarize in simple words.

Therefore, facing inquiries and pressure from all sides, Livis, as the highest-ranking person in charge of the academy, should be surrounded by people and have her desk piled high with documents.

But obviously.
"Hmm... that's how it is, my dear disciple. Logically speaking, even the king of a great nation like Libera, if faced with a minor dispute like two people spitting at each other or having a quarrel, would need to handle it personally. However..."

Livis spun around in her swivel chair, then shrugged.

“Those kinds of trivial matters would never appear on his desk.”

"Is it a small matter?"

Ritas felt that he both understood and didn't understand Livis's analogy.

It's amazing!
"That's perfect. Since the teacher has time, let's talk occasionally."

(End of this chapter)