Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 4

Vanessa jumped out of bed with a thud.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

To Miss Vanessa Rose,

I chuckled for a while after reading about you imagining me.

Unfortunately, I have neither a beard nor white hair. I’m considering growing a beard to meet your expectations.

As Miss Rose mentioned, the weather is lovely these days; it’s perfect for a walk.

Sometimes, just imagining the Bamberg Academy as you described brings back the scent of trees and grass from that time.

The academy is a place where young people hone their skills and knowledge before entering society.

You absolutely don’t need to worry about money, so I hope you try everything you want to do before you graduate. It’s best to gain experiences while you can.

I’m glad that you seem to be adjusting well to the academy.

As I always say, please feel free to tell me if you need anything or are having a hard time.

I hope you have a pleasant start to your morning.

From your teacher.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Vanessa folded the letter and grinned. A morning that starts with a reply from her teacher couldn’t be better.

Vanessa stored the letter in a pretty box in her drawer and then ran to the bathroom to wash up.

“Lina, wake up!”

“This is the worst…. When does vacation finally come….”

“What are you talking about? It’s only the second week of the semester.”

Vanessa woke up Lina, who was half-asleep, helped her get ready, and then ran out ahead of her.

The morning class wasn’t a general course but rather , so Vanessa’s class was different from Lina’s.

This class was notoriously difficult, probably because talent was more important than effort.

“Cevati, you’re excellent as always.”

Professor Erin praised the girl with the short black hair with a gentle smile. The girl had just perfectly solved a problem the professor had put on the board.

“Thank you, Professor.”

The girl with the large glasses came in without a smile and sat down. Vanessa didn’t know Cevati at all, but she couldn’t hide her admiration.

‘She’s a sophomore? And only 14 years old!’

If Vanessa had to pick a subject where she would receive a below-average score regardless of her efforts, she would choose this one without hesitation.

Vanessa couldn’t help but admire her, and she wanted to express her amazement to the small girl.

“Um, that’s really amazing.”

When Vanessa whispered in a very small voice to Cevati, who was sitting nearby, Cevati’s face briefly turned towards Vanessa. But soon, her gaze returned to the blackboard.

“That’s surprising.”

“What is?”

“Usually, they say I’m obnoxious.”

The corners of Cevati’s lips turned up slightly. Vanessa barely suppressed a laugh.

“My goal for this subject is just to get an average score.”

“Getting an average shouldn’t be too difficult. Although, getting first place would be impossible.”

Even that arrogance was cool because it was backed by skill.

‘I should have at least one subject where I can say something like that!’ Vanessa smiled and focused on taking notes again.

Professor Erin’s long lecture ended as time passed.

Vanessa copied the writing on the board as much as possible but only understood about half of it. Some of the students around her also stared blankly at the board with a dazed expression before getting up gloomily.

But Vanessa had some free time until the next class, so she decided to organize her notes a bit before leaving. She wouldn’t remember even half of it if she didn’t review it right away.

“Ahem.”

At that moment, she heard a clearing of the throat from beside her, so she turned her head and saw Cevati, who had been sitting nearby, not leaving and glancing at Vanessa’s notes.

“Oh, is there something wrong with it? Do you want me to show you?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Cevati hesitated and then pointed to Vanessa’s notes.

“There’s a mistake in this mathematical formula. A symbol is reversed on either side.”

“What’s wrong with this…?”

Cevati, seeing her clear and detached eyes, picked up her pen and began to explain.

Of course, Vanessa only understood about half of it. Countless mathematical formulas passed through her left ear and out her right ear.

Vanessa was really frustrated. How hard she had worked every night!

“…Did you understand?”

“…Yeah.”

Cevati eventually gave up and packed up her pen. Vanessa roughly packed her things and stood up.

Now that she thought about it, it was lunchtime. She was wondering if she should eat alone in the corner of the cafeteria again today, but she decided to be brave.

“I know this is sudden, but I’m Vanessa Rose. Please call me Vanessa.”

When Vanessa reached out her hand for a handshake, Cevati took it with her still small hand.

“I’m Cevati Milo Doti. Nice to meet you. Just call me Cevati.”

“Okay. Cevati, would you like to have lunch together?”

The large eyes behind the glasses blinked as they gazed into her blue eyes. Cevati mumbled and nodded, and Vanessa smiled brightly.

Vanessa was usually satisfied with the meals provided. No matter what she ate, the taste and nutrition were far superior to the meals at the orphanage. So, she usually used the nearest cafeteria.

But Cevati—of course, Vanessa admitted that she was smarter than her—was a sophomore!

Vanessa took Cevati to the cafeteria that served a wider variety of foods, making up her mind. She wanted to buy her something more delicious because she was thinking of the children in the orphanage.

“I’ll pay as a reward for your kind explanation. What do you want to eat?”

“What about you, Vanessa?”

Cevati hesitated for a moment and then chose bread with fresh cheese, butter, and ham, and onion stew, while Vanessa chose a salad and mashed potatoes with butter.

Vanessa took out a gold coin engraved with the magician who founded Bamberg Academy, ‘Bam Bandalu’.

This gold coin was given to everyone who entered the academy and was used instead of currency.

Of course, it was a system where you could charge it with currency, but Vanessa didn’t know how much was in it because the teacher had separately entrusted it to the academy’s accounting department.

But she thought she would have enough money to pay for about two meals, and she was right. The payment was easily processed.

Vanessa fiddled with the gold coin she was using for the first time and then put it back in her pocket.

The two sat at a table with good window lighting and chatted while eating.

“What? Your mother received the top honors award? And your brother too?”

Cevati answered.

“My brother is currently in the Royal Magic Technology Department. I have almost no magical power, but my brother does.”

Vanessa was very unsure about the class, so she sat in the middle seat. Then Cevati took the seat next to her on the right.

The two attracted quite a bit of attention. A junior transfer student and a very young sophomore planning to skip a grade.

But the two were too busy talking to pay attention.

“Okay, so what’s your least favorite class?”

“I’m good at everything, though.”

Vanessa smiled when Cevati hesitated.

“To be honest, my literature class with Professor Elliot is only slightly above average.”

Vanessa laughed quietly. At that moment, Lina Dellina, who was entering through the back door, spotted the two of them.

Seeing that, Lina’s eyes flashed. And she ignored all the friends calling her and approached Vanessa.

“What, Vanessa! I keep asking you to sit with me, but you keep ignoring me. Do you like the sophomore genius better?”

Lina said sulkily and threw her bag on Vanessa’s left.

“I can see your friends calling you over there.”

Vanessa whispered, glancing behind her. A girl with flowing hair and a boy with his hair swept back were staring at them intently. Lina scoffed.

“I’ll go tell them. I can’t let my roommate’s first next seat be taken away. Sophomore, Vanessa is mine.”

“I’ve never seen you sit together before?”

Sparks flew between Lina and Cevati. Of course, Vanessa was too busy preparing for class to notice the tension. Not at all.

Still, it was fun studying with friends throughout the afternoon classes. It was as if she had finally established a solid foundation in this small society.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

To Teacher,

Today’s letter is very short.

I made two friends. I wanted to brag to you right away!

Besides Lina Dellina, whom I mentioned last time, I have a new friend named Cevati Milo Doti.

She’s a grade below me, but she’s four years younger than me. But she’s preparing to skip a grade, so she has many overlapping classes with me. We’ve decided to have lunch together whenever our schedules align.

And today, for the first time, I took a class surrounded by friends. I’m so excited.

Afterwards, we all went to the library to do homework, and it was the first time I was scolded by the librarian. Be quiet!

It’s already been almost a month since I started attending the academy, and now I finally feel like I’ve been truly accepted into the school.

Thank you, Teacher. I like you so much.

Feeling excited and like I’m walking on clouds,

From Vanessa Rose.