Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 228 Companion
In front of Cortrinet's dormitory, a blond young man dressed in a black crew-neck suit was arguing with Cortrinet.

The young man had long hair, which he tied back into a small, thin strand. Even so, no one would mistake him for a woman. This was because, even from behind, the young man displayed remarkably broad and square shoulders.

The blond youth was clearly in a relatively weaker position compared to Cortrinet. He hunched his back slightly, and his profile was mostly plastered with a fawning smile. As for his gesture of half-stretching his hands in front of him, it seemed both to soothe the somewhat agitated Cortrinet and to silently say, "Lady Cortrinet, please don't hit me."

Even so, the blond youth who had been standing in front of Cortelene never backed down despite being driven away.

Overall, Ritas believed that Cortriene wasn't facing any major problems. Therefore, not wanting to get involved in any trouble, Ritas planned to return to the mansion to retrieve his belongings as originally scheduled.

But as usual, it is things called "trouble" that come looking for Ritas.

Already feeling irritable, Cortriene noticed Ritas tiptoeing into the dormitory mansion and her eyes lit up as she approached. The blond youth followed closely behind her.

"Nice to meet you, young master Ritas."

In front of Ritas's dormitory mansion, the blond youth bowed with exceptional respect as he introduced himself.

“I am Fernandez Elson, who has only recently become a student of Professor Roland.”

Only when he got closer did Ritas truly appreciate Fernandez's imposing stature.

Among women, Cortrienne is relatively tall. However, she appears exceptionally petite next to Fernandez.

"Nice to meet you, Fernandez."

Ritas was no stranger to the name Fernandez Elsen.

Fernandez and Ritas are similar in age and are both adopted sons of the Elson family. However, Fernandez was not adopted by Roland, the head of the Elson family, but by a member who was on the fringes of the family.

Legend has it that Fernandez was raised by wild beasts in the forest and was initially found by a patrol stationed in the "Dark Forest" in the West. After spending several years with the patrol, his wild nature was mellowed, and Fernandez gradually integrated into human society, quickly demonstrating outstanding talents in all aspects.

So, Fernandez was adopted by his current adoptive father, and after Ritas went to the magic academy, Fernandez officially became a student of "Sword Saint" Roland.

In other words, Ritas frequently heard Fernandez's name, whether from Roland's words, letters, or rumors.

So, when Fernandez said "nice to meet you," Ritas was momentarily surprised. Then he realized that he hadn't actually met him in a real sense.

Although Ritas has rarely returned to the West since arriving at Erles Academy, he has made dozens of trips over the past decade.

In this situation, he had never seen someone as close to him as Fernandez. He didn't know if it was just a coincidence or if there were other factors involved.

In any case, this was the day he officially met Fernandez.

"In the academy, the title 'young master' is not appropriate."

"I'm very sorry, from now on I will use a title appropriate to the academy, Professor Ritas."

"Continue to bow," Fernandez said very politely.

Although many members of the large Elson family, bearing the surname "Elson," could only serve as attendants or servants of the main branch throughout their lives, there were not many "Elsons" who would treat Ritas with such respect because of the delicate position he held within the family.

Moreover, Fernandez was trained by that Roland.
Although Fernandez wasn't like Cortriene, someone who could be called a "disciple" or even a "successor" of the Sword Saint, judging from the information Ritas had gathered in the past, Fernandez had received considerable personal guidance from Roland.

"If it's convenient, may I ask what you were arguing about earlier?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries with Fernandez, Ritas noticed that Cortriene's gaze was growing increasingly dangerous. Realizing that if he didn't ask a question, she would soon come after him, he reluctantly spoke up to ask.

“I wasn’t arguing with Miss Cortelne before.”

"Am I being unreasonable?"

Cortrienne raised an eyebrow and stared at Fernandez as she asked.

Since Cortriene arrived at the Bayano Academy almost two years after Ritas left the Western Regions, she studied with Fernandez under Roland for a period of time.

It's unclear whether the ferocity she displayed was a sign of a good or bad relationship between the two.

"How could that be? But Lord Roland has truly put a lot of effort into this banquet and has already basically made all the arrangements. So..."

Contrary to his large physique, Fernandez's voice was remarkably gentle.

So gentle that a single conversation with Cortriñe is enough for an observer to roughly determine who the "victim" is.

"Who does that old man think he is? Making such a decision on his own!"

"Uh, does that mean, Lord Roland, you're being a bit...?"

Fernandez continued speaking weakly, casting a pleading look at Ritas.

Roland was, after all, Ritas's adoptive father, so Fernandez probably hoped that Ritas would also say a few words.

But he clearly didn't know that Ritas had already heard even worse things from Cortrienne and Charlotte.
"Although I still don't quite understand what happened, if it's none of my business, can I just go about my own things?"

Having confirmed that the two were unlikely to fight, Ritas decided to take his leave.

"Please wait a moment, Professor Ritas. I have a letter here that Lord Roland asked me to give to you."

"Ritas also has it?"

Cortrienne, who had previously only shown annoyance and displeasure, now showed a look of surprise.

Ritas silently accepted the letter, glanced somewhat suspiciously at Cortriene, who seemed to want to stop him from taking it, but then gave up because she had no reason to stop him, before opening and reading the letter.

Looking at the familiar, messy handwriting on the letter, a faint smile appeared on Ritas's lips, a smile he himself probably didn't even notice.

The letter from Roland was, as always, somewhat whimsical and disjointed. This was partly because Roland was the type to say and write whatever came to mind. It was also possible that Roland was slightly drunk when he wrote the letter.

The slight water stains on the corners of the envelope, and the faint smell of fermented alcohol that lingered in the tightly sealed envelope instead of dissipating during delivery, gave a clue to the matter.

The letter began with some childlike content.

For example, during the academy exchange meeting, Corteline, Charlotte, and Ritas were able to gather at Ers Academy. How wonderful! I'm so envious! I really want to go too! and so on.

Then, they started complaining about the situation in the Western Frontier, which was still the same as before: "sometimes people die, sometimes no one dies." Lately, the area guarded by the Western Frontier fortress was already troublesome enough with monsters and random creatures stirring up trouble, and the kingdom always seemed to have a grudge against them.

Sometimes, he thought about just letting the Western Territory explode. But after careful consideration, he felt that it was better for the Western Territory to remain as it was.

Then, changing the subject, they inquired about how Ritas had been doing lately. They also casually asked about Ritas's teacher, wondering if the old witch had aged any further.

And then, they talked about all sorts of trivial things from the past.

Ritas had always believed that the length of Roland's recollections in his letters to him reflected, to some extent, Roland's aging. When he first arrived at the magic academy, Roland's memories might have consisted of only a single passage. But now they filled almost an entire page.

With mixed feelings, Roland patiently read through the letter. At the very end, he found a note that Roland seemed to have "suddenly remembered." It was probably these very things that had angered Cortriñe.

In short, Roland recently "suddenly" ran into an old friend. And this old friend's children are all very outstanding, and they "happened" to be going to Spring City.

Therefore, Roland hoped that Ritas could attend the joint dinner hosted by the Elson family and the other family in Spring City, so that Ritas could "meet" the darling of that family.

"."

Looking at this passage, whose handwriting had become much neater, Ritas could almost picture Roland sitting at a desk that seemed completely out of character for him, looking incredibly troubled.

"You should be able to understand what the letter means, right?"

As Ritas put down the letter in his hand, Cortriene, still full of displeasure, spoke up.

"Yes, 'blind date'. It's easy to understand."

Ritas folded the letter, put it into his personal bag, and said calmly.

"you"

Hearing Ritas so bluntly state the meaning of the so-called "dinner" and "getting to know each other," Cortrienne frowned. She had originally intended to join Ritas in rejecting Roland's proposal. However, Ritas's direct exposure of the "euphemism" that offered so much leeway seemed to have already revealed his stance.

"What is the exact time, Fernandez?"

"It will be at 7 p.m. three days from now. A special invitation will be delivered in the afternoon, Professor Ritas."

"I will wait patiently."

Ritas nodded slightly, then turned and walked into his dormitory mansion.

"Hey hey hey hey hey hey!"

Not long after, at Ritas's dormitory mansion.

Seeing Ritas, who was calmly tidying up something in his room, the Goddess of Bath let out a series of sounds that she herself didn't know why she was making, but which were definitely urgent.

"What's wrong, Goddess of Bathing?"

"No, no, no, no, this isn't the time for 'What's wrong, Goddess of Bathing'? Are you really going on a blind date?"

"To be precise, it wasn't a blind date; it was just attending a dinner party to meet some people."

Do you think I'm deaf, blind, or just plain stupid?

The goddess of bathing said in disbelief.

“Okay, so it’s a blind date. But I think the attitudes of the Bath Goddess and Kurt were a bit excessive. It’s just a blind date, but your behavior is as if you’re heading to a boiling pot of oil instead of a banquet. Aren’t your reactions a bit too rude to your blind date whom you haven’t even met yet?”

"Well"

After being calmly told these words by Ritas, the goddess of bathing also calmed down a bit.

In the end, what was she so excited about before?

"Well, since it's 'whatever's fine, then it seems like it's easy to refuse, right?"

"."

Ritas somewhat regretted letting the goddess of bathing calm down.

See, once she got her head started, the questions the goddess asked became tricky.

"Then what reason do I have to refuse this blind date?"

"For example, I've been particularly busy lately? So many problems remain unresolved, and the college exchange meeting has already begun. So, at least during the time-sensitive and limited exchange meeting, I don't want to create any more trouble for myself."

"Makes sense."

Ritas agreed with the words of the goddess of the bath. But clearly, his attitude showed that his decision would not waver.

"I have a feeling the situation in the Western Regions isn't looking good. You wouldn't be thinking about that, trying to do something for the family, would you? So, instead of just going on blind dates, you're planning to get engaged or even have a marriage alliance with a woman you've never met before?"

"Even the goddess of bathing can see that something's wrong in the Western Regions?"

Ritas couldn't help but click his tongue.

That only means that the danger signs in the western region are quite obvious.

I wonder what's been going on with the Elson family in the Western Regions lately. Roland has actually gone out of his way to meddle with Cortriene's affairs. Even though he's the head of the family and Cortriene's teacher, Cortriene's parents probably wouldn't object.

However, Roland's behavior still crossed some lines.

"From the moment you came to Erls Academy, you were basically considered to have separated from the Elson family, right? So, now that things have come to this..."

"I still can't understand why the Goddess of Bath is so resistant to the 'family's arrangements.' Is she only resisting this event, or is she resisting the 'family arrangements made by Roland's' in particular?"

Ritas neither spoke of nor felt that the Bath Goddess, this otherworldly deity completely unrelated to the "Elson Family," was meddling in other people's business.
"But regardless of which side it is, I don't actually have a rebellious mentality against all the arbitrarily arranged marriages, nor do I have a so-called soul that desperately craves freedom. I don't think there's anything wrong with family-arranged marriages. Rather, I will eventually start a family. So, if I don't accept a family-arranged marriage, who can I choose as my partner?"

"this"

For a moment, the goddess of bathing was stumped by the question.

If we're talking about candidates, the goddess of bathing has a multitude of images flashing through her mind.

However, upon closer reflection, these figures are indeed far too "weak." So weak that they simply cannot overcome Ritas's obsession and affection for the "Elson family."

"Okay, I don't really have a good match right now. But putting that aside, how do you feel about this situation?"

The goddess of bathing sighed softly, and asked one last question as if she had given up.

Ritas remained silent for a moment, then looked at his reflection in the full-length mirror in the room and responded indifferently.

"I have no feeling."

(End of this chapter)