After safely spending the winter break of the second year—an event where Ethan and Harold were originally supposed to die—Ethan and I successfully advanced to the third year without incident.

To be honest, I was a bit uneasy even up until the last day we stayed at the Blackwood estate. I kept imagining a scenario where there might be some kind of force in this world that compelled events to follow the original storyline, and that villain would suddenly show up to kill Ethan.

I had similar dreams probably a dozen times while staying at the Blackwood estate. In these dreams, as per the original story, the hero’s party attacks the Blackwood estate during the second-year winter break, and Ethan and I team up to fight against the invader.

Luckily, neither Ethan nor I ever lost to that cursed hero in my dreams. After all, no matter how strong that hero is, there’s no way he could take on Ethan, especially when enhanced by my support magic buffs.

Of course, it was all just in my dreams, so whether we won or lost didn’t really matter. But still, winning feels a lot better, doesn’t it?

After spending about a month and a half at the Blackwood estate, Ethan and I returned to the academy dorms two weeks before the new semester started. We immediately started drafting our schedules for the upcoming third year, planning which classes to take together.

"Are you going to take your father’s class again this semester?"

"I think I should. If I don't attend the Sword Master’s class this semester, he would probably find it strange."

"You don’t need to feel pressured. If the swordsmanship class is too difficult, you can take a break this semester. I’ll explain it to Father."

"No, it's fine. Even students in the Swordsmanship Club who are less skilled than me are taking the class, aren’t they? As a non-major, I’m still keeping up, so I think I’ll gain more from it than they will."

Thanks to the constant swordsmanship training from Harold, I had already benefited greatly. The sword techniques I’d learned had been invaluable during encounters with bandits, monster hunts, and even the battle at MacHart. So, I have no regrets about the classes I’ve taken so far.

And now that I’ve started down the path of swordsmanship, I want to push myself to my limits, if possible. Even if I can’t reach the level of Sword Master, I’d at least like to achieve Sword Expert.

After all, the opportunity to take on such a challenge is limited to my time at Luminar Academy. Once outside the academy, finding a teacher better than Harold would probably be more difficult than plucking a star from the sky.

So, just like the past two years, Ethan and I will take the magic swordsmanship class again this year.

But the rest of the classes are where things really shift. The new curriculum for the third year marks a significant departure from the first and second years at Luminar Academy.

"What subjects are you going to take for the third-year field studies, Lilith? I heard we can take up to five."

"What classes are you planning to take, Ethan?"

"Don’t ask for my opinion. First, tell me what you want to take. I’ll consider it."

The "field study subjects" Ethan was talking about might sound like general education courses at first glance, but in reality, they were practical training classes designed to apply what we’d learned so far.

Starting from the third year, there are fewer theory classes and more practical training sessions. Unlike the first and second years, where theoretical lectures took up more than half of the curriculum, the third year’s focus is entirely different.

Luminar Academy doesn’t just raise pretty flowers in a greenhouse to sell to the outside world. Once the students have learned enough, the academy’s policy is to throw them into real-world scenarios where they have to slay monsters and bandits while gaining as much practical experience as possible, without losing their lives in the process.

This applies to the Swordsmanship, Spearmanship, Archery, Martial Arts, and Magic Departments, as well as even the Theology Department. Priests of the Aurelia faith must go through a mandatory apprentice priest training period, during which they gain practical experience before they are eligible to be assigned to a church.

Of course, the Engineering and Pharmacology Departments are excluded, as they don’t possess combat abilities.

If you play as the protagonist, you could force yourself to participate in the practical training from these departments, but for Ethan and me, it doesn’t really matter.

"As the protagonist, by this point, you usually complete your Hero Party, don’t you?"

There are still some playable characters among the first-year students, but since you can’t participate in the joint third- and fourth-year event with them, it’s rare to bring them into the Hero Party.

Even though Lyria is a heroine, in the original story, she’s still less useful than Thomas because of these events. The two-year period plays a significant role in preparing for the Demon Lord's subjugation.

At least with someone like Lyria, who is one year below us, there’s still a chance to train her for a year. But for the heroines who are two years younger, there’s really no hope. By the time they start their practical training, the protagonist is already in their graduation year, so there’s no option but to force them into external activities.

But since the original game’s growth system doesn’t concern me, all I have to worry about is what classes Ethan and I will take.

"What about 'Natural Studies,' 'Geology Studies,' and 'Humanities Studies'?"

Translated, those are basically 'Monster Hunting in the Forest,' 'Monster Hunting in the Underground Dungeon,' and 'Bandit Hunting.'

"Humanities? Are you sure, Lilith?"

"It’s not like I’m completely inexperienced, is it? Have you forgotten when we took down those bandits together, Young Master Ethan?"

"That was a bit dangerous, wasn’t it, Lilith?"

"I was simply careful not to wake Isabelle. It wasn’t particularly dangerous. And compared to then, I’m much stronger now. The same goes for you, doesn’t it, Young Master Ethan?"

"Well, that’s true, but…"

To be honest, there’s some danger involved in "Humanities Studies." It’s common sense that fighting against humans is more dangerous than fighting monsters.

But the reason I suggested "Humanities Studies" to Ethan was simple. It was one of the classes that provided the most experience points.

If I were the protagonist, I could wander around hunting monsters as I pleased. But my way of gaining experience was to faithfully attend the academy’s classes. So, it was my personal desire to take all three of these classes if possible.

"So? Are those the only three classes you’ll take? What about the other two?"

"I was hoping to hear your opinion on the remaining two, Young Master Ethan. Why don’t you decide on the other two classes?"

"I think it’d be fine if you chose all of them, Lilith."

"Don’t you think it’s necessary for you to learn how to select classes as well, Young Master?"

"Alright, fine. Hmm..."

The reason I gave Ethan the choice of the remaining two classes was simple. The rest of the field study subjects didn’t offer that much more experience.

Since I had already secured the three most rewarding classes, I didn’t really care what Ethan chose for the other two.

No matter what classes he picked, I was prepared to follow his lead.

"How about this for one of them?"

"Necromancy Studies?"

"Yeah. It seems a bit less dangerous."

Necromancy Studies. In other words, 'Hunting Ghost- and Undead-Type Monsters.'

Taking this class would mean facing banshees or zombies, and the practical training would take place in cemeteries or abandoned buildings...

"…"

"What? You don’t like it?"

"No, it’s fine. It’s a really great choice, Young Master Ethan."

Well, even though I’m a bit weak when it comes to those sorts of things, I didn’t want to dismiss a class Ethan had picked out himself.

I suppose I could think of it as an opportunity to overcome my discomfort. After all, when I eventually become an adventurer, I’ll have to face ghost- or undead-type monsters at some point.

If I’m going to get vaccinated, it’s better to do it during an academy class when Ethan is around to help.

"If you really don’t like it, we can pick something else. I just happened to notice it and thought it might be a good choice."

"No, I won’t go back on my decision to let you choose, Young Master Ethan. And it’s not like I’m scared of ghosts or zombies."

"I didn’t ask if you were scared. Are you perhaps weak against ghost-type monsters?"

"I am not. There’s no reason to be afraid of ghost-type monsters who can’t even physically intervene—"

"Lilith, what’s that in the mirror?"

"…Huh?"

"Over there… there’s something in the mirror…"

What’s he going on about now? Did he eat something strange?

Given the flow of our conversation, it’s likely Ethan was doing this just to tease me. There’s no way I’d fall for such a cheap trick, saying there’s something in the mirror or whatever.

"Please don’t joke around, Young Master Ethan."

"I’m not joking. Look, Lilith, just take a glance."

"…"

Despite knowing better, I pretended to fall for Ethan’s prank and humored him, just to play along with his ridiculous antics.

"Flip! Flip!"

"Ah, there’s nothing there, Young Master Ethan."

"You moved your head too quickly. Of course, you couldn’t see anything, Lilith."

"Enough with the jokes, Young Master Ethan. This is really not funny at all."

"No, really, just look again. There’s something dark in the mirror…"

"…"

Sliding my gaze back toward the mirror, I muttered.

"Ah, there’s nothing there, Young Master Ethan. Where exactly is this 'dark' thing you mentioned?"

"It’s right there. The most beautiful maid with jet-black hair in the world."

…Huh?

"What? The most beautiful maid in the world? Is there such a ghost?"

"I didn’t say there was a ghost in the mirror. I just happened to notice how lovely you look, and it startled me."

"…"

With that remark, Ethan smiled brightly as our eyes met.

That ridiculous grin made my blood boil, and I stood up from the table, schedule in hand.

"On second thought, I think I’ll need to redo my schedule entirely. It seems like I should focus more on magic department courses this semester."

"Lilith, please! I’m sorry! Don’t do that!"

"The advanced magic courses are looking quite appealing. Since you’re unable to use magic yet, Young Master Ethan, it seems I’ll have to take these classes with Miss Agnes."

"I’m sorry, Lilith! Please forgive me!"

-Squeeze.

"If you think this will make me forgive you, then you’re gravely mistaken, Young Master Ethan!"

-Smooch. Smooch, smooch.

"Uh… Uh… Argh…"

Unable to bear the absurdity any longer, I just pretended to forgive him while Ethan continued planting kisses on my cheek, clinging onto me.

It wasn’t because I’d forgiven him out of my heart. I was simply letting this one slide for now.