Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 355 Dusk
In the increasingly chaotic memories, Ritas appears more and more often.

"Don't worry, no one will throw mud at you anymore."

With this assurance, Cortrienne dragged Ritas outside.

If it were anyone else, this would probably be a story of a sunny girl redeeming a gloomy boy from darkness. But because one of them is Ritas, neither the goddess of the bath nor Millie can tell whether Cortelne is meddling.

Putting everything else aside, Ritas himself must have been extremely unwilling. However, he clearly couldn't resist.

So, even though he always had a sour face, Ritas started appearing outside the courtyard more and more often.

It's unclear whether Ritas gradually mastered the use of magic, or simply because he wasn't a vampire and not only wouldn't melt away in sunlight but actually needed it. At least, to onlookers, Ritas's complexion began to visibly improve.

Moreover, since she hadn't injured anyone in the Cross Hall for a while, her reputation gradually improved, and she could also serve as a "bridge" to help Ritas integrate into the Elson family.

Although these images seem to lack a central axis, there is no doubt that they are memories deep within Cortrienne's heart that bring her peace.

Until, in the memory, Xia Luoluo reappeared.

One day at an unknown time, Cortriene, who was probably looking for Ritas to kill time, saw Ritas covered in blood from afar.

Cortrienne, her anger seemingly rising instantly, ran up quickly. Then, she saw Charlotte looking somewhat bewildered after turning the corner.

A slightly deflated Cortriene, after assessing the situation, discovered that Ritas was unharmed. Charlotte had simply thrown the berries she had been holding at Ritas's face.

After Ritas left looking dejected, Cortriene asked Charlotte seriously what had happened.

Why are they targeting Ritas now?

It was originally a one-sided misunderstanding, and hasn't it all been cleared up now?

When Cortrienne asked her question, Charlotte shook her head and waved her hands repeatedly. She explained that she didn't mean to hurt Ritas; she had just grown a batch of berries and wanted Ritas to try them. But... she didn't know why things turned out that way.

""

So what exactly happened during this process?
Rather, if Xia Luoluo had been more accurate before the misunderstanding was cleared up, she wouldn't be in this situation now, having to take care of a large, fat bird that only eats, drinks, and relieves itself and can no longer fly.

"So, why did you suddenly start growing berries again? I was wondering why you've been holed up in your yard all this time; it's not easy to see you."

"It's not just berries! I also grow a lot of vegetables and spices!"

Charlotte emphasized.

"That's not the issue."

This silly young lady from the noble family, what on earth is she doing all day long?
Could these strange abilities be used in normal situations?

While Cortrienne remained silent, Charlotte, seemingly understanding what the other was asking, began to explain.

"I went to see Aunt Vinette before and asked her what it takes to be a good wife. She recommended that I plant these, and she even taught me how to till the land herself!"

"Don't you think you should at least ask someone who's been married?"

Vinette Elson. If we use Roland as the reference point, she is Roland's younger sister, and one of the younger women in the family.

"That makes sense! I'll go ask Aunt Mint then. Ah, Aunt Mint isn't married either. Uh... wait?"

Charlotte scratched her head in confusion.

Thinking about it carefully, are any of these "aunties" in the family married out?
Is there something wrong with the surname Elson?

Just as Charlotte felt she had discovered something extraordinary, Corténe, who was standing next to her, also seemed to suddenly recall something.

The person who dragged Ritas out of his house was Cortrinet. And the person who pulled Cortrinet out of her loneliness before was Charlotte.

Although Cortellen knew that many of her previous words to Charlotte were unintentional, casual remarks made without any real understanding, and therefore unreliable.

However, now that Xia Luoluo is particularly prone to getting stuck on things because of her naivety, she has already made up her mind about many things because of her words.

Then
Cortrienne's furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

Deep down, she seemed to have made a decision. She looked at Xia Luoluo in front of her, who was holding her head in distress, wondering who to ask for advice.

After letting out a soft sigh, she simply smiled faintly.

Judging from the memories, even after the night of the meteor shower, for a long time afterward, Cortrienne would often come at night and drag Ritas to the roof to look up at the stars.

"My purpose was simply to verify some knowledge recorded in the book. So, once it was confirmed that the comet does indeed pass by every seventy-seven years, there was no need for me to go again."

"Mmm! I know, I know—by the way, since so many stars fell that day, have all the stars or constellations we identified disappeared?"

"No. Stars and shooting stars are completely different concepts. The stars we can see are extremely far away from us. The probability of the sun falling is probably higher than that of them. As for shooting stars..."

"Hey~"

After listening quietly to Ritas's entire story, he pointed to the sky.
"The stars that were so bright a few days ago, why aren't they shining today? Did they fall during the last meteor shower?"

"."

Similar scenes always appear in the images of memory.

Going to stargaze with Ritas seems to have become an important spice in Cortrienne's monotonous life.

Meanwhile, telescopes and other instruments, brought in by either Ritas or Cortriñe, piled up on the roof. The place, which was not supposed to serve as a venue, suddenly looked rather "lively."

But such scenes came to an abrupt end in Cortrienne's memory on a certain day.

That day, it was Cortriñe who took the initiative to make a promise with Ritas to continue chasing a "suspicious" star at night, as always.

However, Cortriñe did not keep her appointment that night as usual.

After methodically moving all the instruments to the roof, Ritas simply sat there motionless for a long time.

"This is completely baffling."

After waiting for several hours, Ritas sighed and returned to his residence.

The reason why such a scene appeared in Cortrienne's memory is that...

That night, Cortrienne was actually nearby in Ritas's courtyard, watching from afar.

After Ritas returned to his house, Cortriene also returned to her courtyard.

I lightly climbed onto the roof of the small courtyard, a rooftop that, due to its somewhat unusual construction, wasn't really suitable for lying down and gazing at the stars.

With her head raised, Cortrienne gazed at the still-brilliant starry sky for a long time.

At one point, she suddenly pointed excitedly at a star that only she knew where it was, and only she knew that it had flashed very clearly before.

But when she turned her head, all she saw was a quiet, dark, and empty rooftop.

"."

The joy on her face quickly faded. Cortrienne pursed her lips and continued to gaze at the starry sky for a long time, hugging her knees.

In the end, it all turned into a faint sigh.

"As expected, it's still not very interesting."

As the screen went dark, Cortrienne's memories of the starry sky disappeared forever.

"." "."

As the memories resurfaced and reassembled, the Bathing Goddess and Millie looked at each other in bewilderment.

Although nothing terrible had happened, the two of them still felt particularly uneasy.

Especially when viewed from Cortrienne's perspective, these past events made them feel particularly uneasy.

Why did it turn out like this?

"All I can say is that Kurt is quite an awkward guy."

In reality, these are just the awkward memories of adolescence. Even if the story unfolds in a different way, it's not certain that anything will happen afterward.

However, the goddess of the bath still sensed that Cortriene, who appeared "bold and unrestrained" in every way, possessed a delicate, sensitive, and vulnerable side that had existed within her since childhood.

In addition, Cortriñe was older and more precocious than the other two.

Ultimately, this resulted in her seemingly bearing the brunt of almost all the emotional entanglements.

However, even with these emotional entanglements that could be made into a soap opera and dragged on for five or six seasons, the goddess of the bath still felt that they had not yet touched the "core" part of Cortrienne's heart.

"Or rather, does Xiao Li himself know that he's being passed around like a passerby?"

"They probably don't know."

Millie was unsure again halfway through her sentence.

The reconstructed memories briefly continued the previous scene.

Judging from the timeline, not long after that very complicated night, Ritas went to the magic academy to begin his career as a mage.

Therefore, Cortrienne impulsively chose a rather poor way to sever ties with Ritas. Even when she later tried to find an excuse or explanation for her actions, she couldn't find the opportunity.

Even during holidays, Ritas would occasionally return to the Elson mansion. And the two seemed quite at ease with each other.

However, some cracks will only continue to spread over time.

However, since no dramatic conflict like a "breakup" occurred, Cortriñe and Ritas maintained a normal cousin relationship without any obstacles.

And it was precisely during this period that Ritas was no longer a common sight at the Elson mansion.

The things that the Goddess of Bath and Millie had heard from Charlotte were also presented in their memories.

A series of murders have occurred in the town of Priesta.

Moreover, according to some witnesses, the serial killer claimed to be "Elson's disciple" and repeatedly committed crimes using the standard longsword of the Western Frontier Army.

It was during this period that something seemed to have happened within the Elson family.

This led to Roland, who was already retired, being brought back to the forefront and starting to work again.

Since Roland simply didn't have the energy or time to personally teach Cortriene anymore, Cortriene also resumed her swordsmanship training in the Cross Hall.

At first, Cortriñe's behavior was normal.

Over the years, she has matured considerably. She is no longer the thug she once was, who would brutally injure anyone who stood before her with a sword.

Even so, the Bath Goddess and Millie, as bystanders, could still vaguely sense that something was amiss.

Most notably, Cortrienne became increasingly silent after returning to the Hall of the Cross.

It wasn't that she encountered anything in the Cross Hall. Rather, given her unparalleled strength among the younger generation, she had long been regarded as the future pillar of the Elson school and family, a school that prioritizes strength above all else.

Cortrienne, however, looked extremely troubled, as if she were suppressing something.

Gradually, Cortriene not only displayed an unusually fierce expression during training, but also in her daily life, where she was always frowning. Only when she was with Charlotte would she return to her gentle state.

From a certain day onward, she stopped going to the Cross Hall. Instead, as if possessed, she spent a great deal of time on the most basic training.

She was always pushing her physical limits to the extreme, not so much trying to find her own limits, but simply wanting to exhaust herself to the point of being unable to move.

In the town of Prista, amidst escalating rumors and the actions of a serial killer, Cortriñe experiences an unusual period.

Ultimately, they converged.

Cortrienne's memories began to be drastically distorted.

The scenes, which have mostly taken place inside Elson's mansion, have now shifted to a relatively unfamiliar small town.

On this day, Cortrienne, having simply concealed her identity, arrived in the town of Prista wearing a dark hooded cloak.

At first, seeing this scene, the goddess of bathing and Millie were somewhat nervous and worried.

Because, no matter how strong Cortriene is, she is still only a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl.

So, when she suddenly arrived in a small town where a brutal murderer was causing trouble, and with all sorts of flags almost everywhere, the two of them were very worried that something terrible was about to happen.

However, the situation turned out to be completely contrary to their concerns.

Cortrienne's encounter with the brutal criminal was not accidental; rather, she was actively searching for his traces.

And she actually managed to pinpoint the other party's location very quickly.

As for how they found each other, the two were quite clueless.

Because it had absolutely nothing to do with clues or reasoning. Cortrienne didn't even investigate. She simply "smelled" the blood in the air, finding her target with remarkable ease and fluency. She then cornered him in a secluded alley.

Once the battle began, the scene unfolded in a way that completely surprised both of them.

It's unclear whether the serial killer was merely a name, only daring to target defenseless ordinary people, or whether it was because Cortelne had already become powerful enough at this point.

Not long after it began, the serial killer was already seriously injured and collapsed on the ground.

Even so, he tried to cause trouble for Cortrienne using some vulgar methods, rogue tactics, and hidden weapons.

The only response he received was a devastating blow that shattered his arm completely.

"Someone like you, even if you were killed, wouldn't get any problems, right?"

As dusk fell in the alley, facing the serial killer who was now powerless to resist, Cortrinet raised her heavy sword high.

(End of this chapter)