Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 309 A turn of attack

After they sat down again, the Goddess of Bath and Millie systematically exchanged information with Little Ritas once more.

Although it was called an exchange, it was actually just the two of them telling Ritas about their situations.

Now free of any reservations, the two not only reiterated and supplemented the previously discussed matters related to the "future," but also revealed without reservation that they would be reincarnated continuously through the Golden Apple.

Because Little Ritas's death leads to reincarnation, they have a duty to speak even if the person before them isn't Ritas. Moreover...
After hearing the already unbelievable "setting" of the two people expand to twice its original size, Little Ritas simply fell into a deep silence.

"As expected. Is it really that hard to accept in a short time?"

Seeing Little Ritas's furrowed brows, Millie asked softly in a voice that wouldn't upset him.

"If I accept it easily, it's you who can't accept it, right?"

"What kind of tongue twister is this?!"

Lying on the hospital bed, the goddess of the bath suddenly thought of something.

"Speaking of which, it seems you created a language that only you can understand in your spare time. Has it been created yet?"

Hearing the words of the goddess of bathing, Little Ritas couldn't help but show a surprised expression. It was as if he was silently saying, "You know that?"

"Then write a few sentences so we can remember them. That way, it will be easier in the next cycle of reincarnation, and we can explain a lot of things at once."

"What do we do this time?"

After saying this, Little Ritas probably realized that although there were still many things to discuss, he had basically accepted the identities of the two incredible girls.

Little Ritas sighed softly, rubbed his forehead, and as if to conclude the conversation, repeated the words that the Goddess of Bath and Millie had heard.

"In short, no matter what your identity is or what your goal is, I have no reason to help you."

"Hey, hey, that's not how it works, is it? Even putting aside the complicated stuff, we still saved you. And we're important contributors to the case, aren't we? You're not going to say you're going to kick us out since we can't even get out of bed, are you?"

Sensing the shift in the topic, the Bathing Goddess immediately shouted.

"It wouldn't be that excessive."

Because his own death is the condition for the so-called "reincarnation" to begin, Little Ritas can foresee that the goddess of bathing and Millie will try every means to stay by his side.

Although his position within the family was somewhat delicate, the Elson family was certainly not one to mistreat those who had shown them kindness. Therefore, it wouldn't be difficult for them to arrange for two girls, whose identities were unclear but who needed to be supported by the family, to be by Little Ritas's side.

But that's all.

Millie sensed something was amiss when she saw the goddess of bathing arguing with Little Ritas.

Little Ritas seems to genuinely not want to get too involved in anything related to them.

But even setting aside things like curiosity, their story and the monster that attacked Little Ritas should be inextricably linked, shouldn't they?
Seeing Little Ritas's unusually determined posture, Millie suddenly felt that she needed to do something.

Little Ritas kept saying there was no reason to help them.

If there is a reason, wouldn't the result be different?
Little Ritas seems to particularly need a "contract," or rather, a more concrete and practical connection than the vague and ever-changing emotional factors.

However, to this world, she and the Goddess of Bath were practically "outsiders" who had suddenly sprung from a crack in the rock. Aside from the Golden Apple—something whose effectiveness was unknown even to those outside of them—they possessed virtually nothing in this unfamiliar world. They had absolutely nothing to offer in order to enter into a "contract" with Little Ritas.

and many more!

"Since the young professor insists on needing a reason, then I'll be that 'reason'."

Millie, having thought of something wonderful, stared intently at Little Ritas.

Indeed, they were practically nothing in this world. Besides, even some of their memories had been taken from them. Yet even in this state, there were things deeply etched into their bodies that wouldn't be easily forgotten.

That was something that suited Little Ritas perfectly, both in terms of style and practicality.

It was something Millie had initially dismissed, but Professor Ritas had forcibly instilled in her.

"In exchange for your help in getting out of this situation, I will teach you how to use magic!"

Know how.

Magical knowledge.

Things that should have been out of reach for Millie, but which Ritas taught with exceptional care.

This will soon become the strongest connection between the two, one that will remain even across time and space.

In the blink of an eye, the Bathing Goddess and Millie had actually spent half a month peacefully in this mysterious and unpredictable world.

During this period, the two, who had been recuperating from their injuries, were now largely recovered. They were also enjoying VIP treatment at the Elson mansion.

During this time, members of the Elson family whose names the Goddess of Bath didn't remember approached her in a friendly manner to inquire about the details of the two attacks involving Elson family members. Having already discussed with Little Ritas how to minimize trouble, the two handled the situation with ease.

And now, half a month later
"Even if you teach me how to control magic, I won't help you in the way you expect, much less help you at all. Besides, are you really teaching me magic?"

"I know, I know, you don't need to say it every day. Just consider it me teaching you without permission. And... instead of wasting time nagging, cut the 'Falling Bird Fruit' even finer! You won't be able to learn magic well with knife skills like that!"

In the smoky room of Ritas, Millie sternly reprimanded her "disciple".

Little Ritas, who had already lost control of his facial expressions, just stared with a bitter face as he focused on cutting the juicy fruit on the cutting board.

No matter how much he complained about this way of teaching magic, Millie would always shut him down with, "That's how you taught me in the future."

Besides habitually wondering "what will become of me in the future?", Little Ritas, who is not good at dealing with other people's initiative and can't run away from his own home, can only accept Millie's teachings.

Not only Millie, but the Goddess of Bath also became Little Ritas's "teacher".

Because Millie's abstract mind couldn't actually articulate the transformed information; she was simply teaching Little Ritas to cook in a very special way. Therefore, the part where culinary terms were converted into magical terms was done by the Goddess of Bath.

Under the tutelage of these two "renowned teachers," Little Ritas's magical skills have indeed improved. Otherwise, no matter how easily he submits to fate, Little Ritas would never have continued to indulge in their antics.

As for the Bathing Goddess and Millie, they were probably a little panicked after only a few days of this new life. They worried about what might happen if they stayed in this obviously unreal world for too long.

But as time went on, they gradually stopped caring.

Comfort can really erode a person's will, especially when it comes to the goddess of bathing.

She felt that even if nothing happened and there was no progress, it was still better than being killed in various ways every day.

Moreover, over time, the two of them increasingly felt that this seemingly incredibly free world actually restricted their range of movement to a considerable extent. If they wanted to return to the Elson mansion at dusk or before nightfall, the area they could reach was extremely limited.

The area around Elson's mansion was deserted, and despite several attempts to visit the adjacent Western Frontier Fortress and Fortress City, they had not gathered any useful information.

They had a feeling.

Since the core of this cycle is Little Ritas, the events will not continue unless he makes any significant moves.

Therefore, the two of them would sometimes try to extract information from Little Ritas.

It's unclear whether Little Ritas was genuinely tricked into revealing information, or if his "no help" statements were just empty boasting. So, he occasionally shares his thoughts and analyses.

For example, this day.

“I think if you really want to find a way to systematically solve the problems you are facing, then the ‘meaning’ of this world is worth exploring.”

While cutting fruit, Little Ritas said casually.

Like Professor Ritas in the future, Little Ritas doesn't seem to care much about whether the world he lives in is an illusion or a man-made game world.

Or rather, even if he cared, he didn't let the goddess of the bath and Millie see it.

"significance?"

"Or perhaps it's about purpose. If it truly was created by humans, then it must have a clear purpose. However, according to your account, this purpose remains completely a mystery. Suppose this world exists to kill you, then there shouldn't be a golden apple tree that allows you to be reborn and try again and again."

Neither the Bathing Goddess nor Millie could find the Golden Apple Tree at Elson's mansion. It had even disappeared from the now-damaged little garden.

This made the two of them extra cautious in their actions during this period, and they cherished the two golden apples they currently held.

"Since your initial reincarnations were extremely tragic and you suffered extraordinary pain, if we assume that the purpose of this world is to torment you, then the recent events are quite strange. My death doesn't count as tormenting you. Moreover, it happened several times without your knowledge."

“Uh-huh.”

The goddess of the bath disliked little Ritas's words somewhat. However, she understood what he meant, so she only made a slight nasal sound and did not interrupt.

"Finally, let's assume that someone wants to use you to accomplish something. But even that would be logically very strange."

Little Ritas himself may not have had such speculations, but it was only after the goddess of the bath introduced the element of "games" that related speculations arose.

"Because, in your words, the 'guidance' is too weak. The world clearly hopes you will accomplish something, even help the creator of this world accomplish something, but instead of guiding you, it provides far too much resistance. And even if you manage to complete the mission you've been forced to undertake despite all the obstacles, what then? What will you and the creator of this world gain?"

After giving the two of them a good talking point, Little Ritas concluded,

"Therefore, the most likely possibility I can think of is that this world itself exists solely to trap you. Although you have stated that you are insignificant, there are quite influential people among those attacked alongside you."

Little Ritas, whose skin isn't thick enough yet, couldn't say that the "influential person" was his future self.

"Huh—? So you mean we were just innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire when Xiaoli was attacked?"

The fish goddess complained in a drawn-out tone.

"It's just a high probability. Considering you mentioned that the number of fruits on the golden apple tree is a subtle number like seventy-something, if this world is indeed a designed, artificially created world, then it's conceivable that important numbers are imbued with special meaning. In other words, the initial number of golden apples on the tree is likely a round number like one hundred. However…"

"Are there people using those golden apples in other places that we can't see or know about?"

Millie continued, feeling somewhat uneasy about the sheer number of golden apples she had initially noticed.

In her mind, the scene of other passengers besides Ritas on the carriage reappeared.

"Of course, these are just analyses based on normal logic. If the event itself is caused by other factors, making normal thought patterns inapplicable, then the possibilities will only increase. For example, this world itself requires specific rules to operate, and all your experiences are merely a part of those rules. For example, this is not a world created by a single mastermind or a single will. Therefore, within the layers of this world, different wills are vying for power to a certain extent, with one side providing assistance and the other trying to hinder it. Furthermore, other users of the Golden Apple are constantly influencing this world itself, causing all the premises to continuously change."

As Little Ritas spoke, he gathered all the chopped ingredients from the edge of the cutting board to the center.

"Or perhaps, a complex mix of many possibilities has been created."

"." "."

For a moment, the two girls, who were focused on thinking, were unable to give any response and remained silent for a long time.

As he pondered this, he caught a glimpse of Millie's bath goddess out of the corner of his eye and began to feel somewhat dissatisfied.

"Um, Millie. You've only 'thought' about it, without taking any actual action or pointing anything in the right direction. Isn't there a significant difference in how you treat Xiaoli and how you treat me?"

Millie, her train of thought interrupted, turned to look at the goddess of the bath, her mind filled with images of "Something's wrong with this world!", "There's something strange about this world!", "There's a problem with this world, but I don't know what the problem is!"

So, with a heavy expression, she placed her hands on the shoulders of the bathing goddess.
"Do you really want me to tell you the specific reasons that led to this situation, Sister Yu?"

"Alright, let's not. I still hope you can continue to respect and love me."

The goddess of bathing, with clear eyes, met Millie's gaze and replied.

"."

Little Ritas, unaware of why the other two had suddenly started acting silly, simply continued with the cooking process without looking up.

And it was at this very moment that a figure gripping the edge of the door cautiously peeked out.

"Liritas, you actually secretly kept two women?!"

With her long, curly blonde hair, young Charlotte Elson, who had been seeking refuge in a safer place for some time, returned to the Elson mansion after a long absence.

(End of this chapter)