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It seemed that it should be difficult to surpass July in terms of the intensity of events, but NAILS did not disappoint. There was already a commotion at the beauty contest and related events, and now the reigning monarch of Sakuramor, himself, appeared at the academy, confirming the suspicions that some students had that this was not exactly an academy whose purpose was to develop useful skills in students. At least, that wasn't the main goal. The main goal was a technomagical experiment, the details of which, unfortunately, remained off-screen. And it was closed at the request of the same Futaba, at least officially. Perhaps even Futaba herself sincerely believed so. It was difficult not to doubt the honesty of His Majesty's words, after everything that had happened. And the experiment could have been shut down for a completely different reason – the death of Carvia, who was undoubtedly the curator of this project. Be that as it may, although the experiment was brutal, and Leila herself was one of the test subjects, she was curious about the details of this initiative. After all, if a similar story were behind some useful magical technique that was not inherently unethical, the time mage would not refuse to study it. She might complain about human cruelty, but she would reason that there was nothing to be done about it, and refusing a useful tool would be foolish. And now, all that remained was to guess what fruits His Majesty's suffering of the students had brought, and what use they would find for them in the future. Of course, if Futaba did not force her husband to not only shut down the project, but also get rid of all records related to it, so that no one would be tempted in the future. It would be very wasteful of her, but not entirely unexpected. But sooner or later, someone will still come up with the same idea that occurred to His Majesty.
It was difficult not to notice that even the monarch's solemn visit to the academy was not without the absurdity inherent in any events taking place on the territory of NAILS. Here is Moecchi Castiglione Starlight, sitting importantly, smiling contentedly, and cooing with his overly young wife. Here is the same wife, sitting importantly on his lap, giving instructions to her peers. And here are the peers, all dressed up, bowing their heads before the royal couple... only to add to the absurdity of the situation with their rather unusual requests. Perhaps only Futaba herself prevented this ceremony from turning completely into a circus performance, and from her pupils demanding too much from the royal budget, transforming their requests into something more acceptable when necessary. After all, not every student at NAILS made such brazen or simply strange demands regarding compensation. Iksora, as always, not prone to extravagance, only expressed a desire to serve her queen faithfully. It is very likely that their August conversation, in which the ingredient was interested in Futaba, played a role in this decision. If so, then all that remained was to hope that she would not be disappointed in her ruler. And that Leila herself would not be too lonely without her now close neighbor.
As for Leila's own ideas regarding compensation, her first thought was to somehow ease the burden on her father. However, no clear idea came to her. Various honors and promotions were akin to cheating, which Lionel would not approve of. A comfortable and safe position would not suit the sailor either, who served, among other things, to protect his daughter from all sorts of external threats. Material compensation was also superfluous – they were doing well without it. The officer's only dream was the happiness of his own daughter, which the time mage perfectly understood. Leila's second thought was about information regarding the experiment, but she abandoned these ideas almost immediately. First, such a request would immediately result in sidelong glances. Secondly, Futaba would hardly appreciate such an initiative. So, the third option remained, associated with magic. Something that, in contrast to wealth, land, or even an abundance of lovers, implying the existence of such aspirations, cannot be obtained just like that. Magical knowledge, the sources of which in Sakuramor were not so many. And His Majesty, who created his own direction of magic, a powerful sorcerer, was probably one of the main, if not the main, ones. It would be a sin not to take advantage of this opportunity. Moreover, especially against the background of many other requests, it should not hit the kingdom's budget. However, before Leila had time to come forward with her request, Toad did.
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