Internships for Academy students were not particularly numerous, given that most students attained a mentor during their time at the Academy through social connections.

  However, Magical Families and industries used them as a tool to scout interested and overlooked talents, offering students internships over the holidays.

  Simultaneously, like most magic academies, the Sorcerous Academy of Aethernalis gave students a decent amount of freedom when it came to apprenticeships.

  And Aurelius was informed, through the meeting with the headmaster that Sage Yeltz had used such… understandings to coerce him to give Aurelius and Seraphine a special exemption from the Academy curriculum for 3 months.

  “I still don’t understand why you didn’t wait until the holidays to invite us to the official internship programme at the Commission.” Seraphine commented, walking down the streets of Tlacualtzin and glancing around at the busy stalls all around her.

  “Special circumstances.” Sage Yeltz replied, narrowing her eyes at Aurelius.

  Aurelius could only shrug at her glare. He didn’t ask to get involved in this kind of madness. It found him and screwed him without consent!

  Aurelius had joined the two of them outside the Academy gates after packing up his things in the dorms over the afternoon.

  He had parted with 3 silver coins as a fee for teleporting his belongings over to his new lodging with the help of the Academy’s guardian spirits.

  His new temporary accommodation was a small flat near the Tower meant for visiting Commission employees, which Sage Yeltz had secured for Aurelius.

  This arrangement was made with the Sage’s desire to have Aurelius stay the hell away from the lich dean at the Academy, which Aurelius found to be reasonable enough.

  Of course, the rent was only subsidised, and the remaining amount would be deducted from Aurelius’s allowance while his internship was in progress.

  4 gold coins was rather cheap, and given that the Commission was paying him for what was essentially a ‘sham’ internship, Aurelius wasn’t particularly unhappy with the whole arrangement.

  “40 gold coins a month? That would do wonders for my dwindling savings~” Seraphine continued happily as she walked alongside Sage Yeltz with joy sprinkled in her steps.

  Aurelius nodded along at this comment as well, practically salivating at the idea of 40 gold coins in his hands.

  The amount was certainly an excellent salary for a student starting out in the job market, and Aurelius was now convinced that the Commission treated all its employees well.

  His new salary was basically a fifth of his savings!

  “Don’t go spending it all in one place.” Sage Yeltz said nonchalantly, walking up to a stall to purchase some skewers.

  …Isn’t she supposed to be guiding us and briefing us on our work at the Commission? Aurelius wondered, frowning slightly at the sight of the leisurely sage.

  At this thought, Sage Yeltz immediately snapped her neck around to glare at Aurelius.

  “H-Hello ma’am.” Aurelius managed, forcing a smile as he paled with the realisation that he had let some of his emotions slip out.

  That spirit contract of Sage Yeltz was certainly not good for his mental health!

  “Do you know the kind of strings I’ve pulled to get you this kind of special treatment, boy?” Sage Yeltz growled, pointing a skewer of meat at Aurelius threateningly.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Aurelius could almost taste the meat in his eyes as he shrank back nervously, nodding profusely at the irritated and bulky figure in front of him.

  “You seem to be inherently unlikable.” She said snidely, munching on her skewer with the usual scowl back on her face.

  “But if you are wondering why I’m so relaxed right now, it’s because I’ve taken out my vacation time for the next 3 months.” Sage Yeltz declared sourly, tossing one of her skewers into the air.

  With a snap of her finger, it disappeared in a line of geometric shapes.

  “A vacation?” Seraphine asked curiously, now holding her share of meat in her hands.

  “I asked for a short sabbatical, and I’ve put an underling to look after the city’s paperwork for the time being.” Sage Yeltz said.

  “That doesn’t sound like you Ms. Yeltz.” Seraphine commented.

  “Like I said, special circumstances.” The Sage replied candidly.

  “Plus, I’d like to push the guy a little bit with the work I’ve given him. If he does well, I’ll recommend him for a promotion.”

  “If he doesn’t seem up to it, I’ll just call in for a new guy from one of the other offices. And it’s not like I’ll be leaving the city anyway. I’ll be contactable, so basically nothing much has changed.” She explained, shrugging at Seraphine casually.

  Seraphine nodded along at this explanation as she digested the sage’s words. Then, she finally asked the most important question for the day.

  “What’s up with him?” she asked, pointing ‘discreetly’ as Aurelius.

  However, this discretion seemed to be misapplied, given that she didn’t adjust volume to the right degree… Aurelius could hear her.

  Aurelius, now a little offended, coughed lightly as Sage Yeltz considered her answer.

  “...Special circumstances.” The sage replied simply, glancing at Aurelius with irritation.

  ???

  Aurelius opened one of his boxes in his new accommodation happily.

  He had found the flat to be rather nice, with a small kitchen and clean bathroom included in its modest outline.

  And to Aurelius, the flat smelled something like… financial independence. A rather amusing thought in the midst of his troubles.

  He had called his parents earlier to inform them of the arrangement with a small amount of pride, given that a sage of the Commission had technically taken him under their wings.

  They had been rather surprised at this… unexpected development, but remained supportive as always, telling him to enjoy himself at work and all the stuff.

  While Aurelius expected that it would be impossible to ‘enjoy’ himself, he remained slightly hopeful at the rather decent development of the loop so far.

  “Hello, kid.” A voice rang out right next to him, causing Aurelius to stumble backwards in horror.

  Sage Yeltz stood next to him, apparently having teleported into his house in a flagrant violation of his privacy and security!

  “Why’d you pack so much stuff anyway?” Sage Yeltz asked, using magic to open some of the boxes on her own.

  “W-Wait! Stop!” Aurelius shouted in horror, jumping on the box which had his underwear.

  “It’s like 5 boxes Ms. Yeltz!” Aurelius yelled out defensively, looking back with reddened cheeks with his body shielding the flaps of his box of underwear.

  “Why have you visited me at this hour ma’am?” Aurelius asked with a forced smile on his face.

  “I’m dropping off your reading materials.” Sage Yeltz replied candidly, teleporting around 2 crates of books into the room with a snap of her fingers.

  “...What.” Aurelius asked in horror.

  “Reading materials.” Sage Yeltz replied.

  “And also, I’ve brought over an imaging crystal for your soul.” She said, tossing a glowing, glassy orb over to Aurelius.

  “Pass it back to me tomorrow after you finish.” She instructed.

  “As for your reading materials, I expect you to submit reports on your progress regarding your research.”

  “I’ve included grimoires regarding Temporal magic, talking about its theory and application. The other crate should have books on abstract applications of earth and wind magic.”

  “I’ll pass you more stuff over time. In fact, I’m sure I gave you reading materials in your previous loop.” Sage Yeltz declared, raising an eyebrow at Aurelius questioningly.

  “...” Aurelius stared, his mouth opening and closing hesitantly.

  “Which bloody titles did I give you, you twerp?” Sage Yeltz asked threateningly, narrowing her eyes at him.

  “...Nature of Mana, Depths of Basic Magic, Mana…” Aurelius replied in resignation, reciting the titles back to her tearfully.

  “Really?” Sage Yeltz asked contemplatively.

  “So it seems that you suck at magic.” She declared, snapping her fingers to summon the first grimoire that Aurelius had mentioned.

  How she had the coordinates to the book memorised, or where she took it from, Aurelius could not say…

  “Report tomorrow at the Tower lobby at 7 am.” Sage Yeltz announced, snapping her finger and disappearing in a line of geometric shapes.

  At least it’s not 6 AM… Wait… Aurelius thought, almost… happily.

  “I’ve gotten used to her schedule!” Aurelius muttered to himself, feeling a new wave of horror washing over him.