Chapter 60
Hans Oldenburg.
The eldest son of the Oldenburg family, a venerable and prestigious noble house in the northern part of the Empire, and the kind, simple guy who had been the best friend of the real me, Evan Prizna.
“Rene, what kind of food do you like? What do you usually do on your days off? What are your hobbies?”
That guy was now hitting on “me,” disguised as a woman, with all his might.
Like a sexually inexperienced man frantic to make a good impression on a cute girl he'd just met.
‘Hans, please…!’
I shut my eyes tight and opened them again while screaming desperately inside.
Amid the strange mixture of embarrassment, disgust, and a hint of betrayal, I gave the most awkward and uncomfortable smile in the world and answered as concisely as possible.
“I-I’m not particularly picky about food. As for hobbies… I just get together with friends and chat.”
Of course, Hans had always been this sort of guy.
To put it nicely, he was extremely sociable; put less nicely, he was a frivolous guy with an unmistakable ‘girl-chasing’ streak. That was the Hans Oldenburg I knew.
But this time, the person he was hitting on was me! His best friend, whom he had seen face-to-face every day for the past three years, practically like family!
I managed only an awkward smile, then immediately approached Big Sis Erica and hid behind her.
“Hans, you didn't bring much luggage, did you?”
Big Sis Erica asked.
“I didn't think I'd need to prepare much.”
Only then did his gaze finally leave me completely.
As I let out a short sigh of relief, a familiar and welcome voice I'd been waiting and waiting for finally reached me from far away.
“Oh, Hans Oppa?”
Elli was making her way toward us through the crowd.
Hans turned toward her with a gentle smile.
“Elli, it's been a while since I've seen you too.”
“Were you one of the participants, Oppa?”
“Huh? Big Sis Erica didn't tell you in advance?”
“Ahaha, I guess I never got the chance to tell you.”
Big Sis Erica scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
She soon cleared her throat lightly and changed the subject.
“All right, all right, let's head out now. The others will be waiting too.”
“Are we traveling to the workshop venue by carriage?”
“Yeah, I've had a large carriage prepared.”
With that, Big Sis Erica started walking ahead toward the exit leading outside the station.
“So you said you're a first-year too, right, Rene?”
As though he'd been waiting for it, that bastard Hans came back over to my side.
I bit my lip tightly and looked at Elli desperately. Fortunately, she understood what I meant and immediately slipped naturally between us.
“How have you been lately, Oppa?”
“Uh… lately?”
Hans turned toward her, tilting his head.
“S-Secretary! I have something to tell you for a moment…!”
I took advantage of the opening and quickly moved over beside Big Sis Erica too.
After that, thanks to Elli's timely and perceptive interventions, Hans didn't get another chance to hit on me.
‘Something feels ominous from the very start….’
But the ominous feeling already stirring in my heart somehow made me worried and uneasy about the four-day, three-night stretch ahead as well.
※※
After riding in the carriage for about twenty minutes, we finally arrived at the enormous building owned by the Ministry of Magic.
“Haa, I'm exhausted….”
Since the students coming from the other regions had not all arrived yet, Elli and I first headed to our assigned accommodations and unpacked our respective luggage.
I tossed the small bag I'd been carrying over my shoulder onto the floor, then threw myself onto the bed.
Watching me, Elli gave an awkward smile and said,
“I never thought Hans Oppa would come.”
“Tell me about it….”
Of course, I was glad to see Hans again after so long. For the past four months, I'd been completely out of touch with him, to the point that I didn't even know whether he was alive or dead.
But being treated like a woman in this way by someone who knew me far too well—especially by the guy who had been my best friend—felt thousands of times stranger than simply being confessed to by Kairos.
Just thinking that I'd have to spend the next three days sharing a space with that guy already made the future seem pitch-black.
“Still, don't worry too much. I'll stick right by your side the whole time, Oppa.”
“What if we get split into different groups because there's some kind of group assignment?”
“Th-then I'll somehow tell Big Sis Erica….”
Elli mumbled, trailing off.
I waved a hand as if to say it was fine and sighed.
“Haa, forget it. If he hits on me again, I'll just make it perfectly clear that he's crossing a line.”
Hans could be a little pushy, but he wasn't the sort of shameless idiot who'd force himself on someone who said they disliked him.
I rubbed my face, trying to force away the worry showing on it, then got back to my feet.
“We still don't know who the other participants are, right?”
“No. It's a private workshop, after all.”
Elli glanced toward the door.
“Should I go ask Big Sis Erica even now?”
“……No, forget it. We'll find out soon enough anyway.”
I slowly looked around the assigned accommodation.
There were three large beds in the room, each of them seemingly double-sized.
“I guess the participant ratio is roughly half and half between boys and girls.”
In other words, there were four more guys I didn't even know.
I scratched my head and turned toward Elli.
“Elli.”
“Yes, Oppa.”
“Objectively speaking, is Rene really that pretty?”
“Rene?”
Elli stared straight at me.
“What do you think, Oppa?”
She soon asked me in return.
“I don't really know… I guess I can't quite tell myself.”
“Then between me and Rene, who do you think is prettier?”
“Obviously you, Elli.”
There wasn't even a second's hesitation in that answer.
Elli's shoulders flinched for a moment, then she covered her mouth with a fist and cleared her throat several times, looking awkward.
“Ahem, anyway, I think someone like Rene would be considered quite pretty.”
“I knew it….”
It's not your fault, Hans. You were merely acting according to your instincts.
“Either way, I guess I'll have to be more careful over the next few days.”
I swept back my bangs and nodded weakly.
Just then, a commotion arose outside the entrance, and the door swung open with the bright laughter of several girls.
“Hello! Sorry we're late!”
Fortunately, all three girls who had just come in were new faces to me.
……
After briefly introducing ourselves to the three new girls, we all moved back to the auditorium together.
“Welcome.”
Four male students who had arrived before us were already seated in two rows in the auditorium, paired off two by two.
Wink-
I did my best to ignore Hans's wink when he spotted me, and sat down with Elli. Big Sis Erica immediately stood in front of us.
“Since we're short on time, I'll quickly explain today's general schedule, and then we'll move straight on to the first program.”
With that, Big Sis Erica began a brief introduction to the schedule.
Perhaps because it was the first day, only one simple practical program was scheduled for today: forming groups and finely adjusting one another's mana.
“All right, then please form two mixed-gender groups.”
‘Mixed-gender….’
I felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding. Without thinking, I took Elli's hand and looked uneasily toward the boys.
‘……Of course.’
Hans was approaching us with a bright smile, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and Elli gave an awkward smile and whispered softly, “I'll protect you.”
“We meet again.”
“……Yes.”
Just like that, our group was formed so naturally: Hans, me, Elli, and one unfamiliar male student who had been sitting beside Hans the whole time.
“Now, as I briefly explained earlier, in this first session, you'll finely manipulate your individual mana and use it to shape the sand before you into a specific form.”
At Big Sis Erica's voice, the workshop staff brought a transparent container filled with fine-grained sand before each group.
“Elli, do you know what we're supposed to do with this?”
I asked Elli while looking down at the sand before us.
Elli pondered briefly with an “Hmm,” then answered.
“Are we supposed to shoot magic at this sand?”
It was a simple, destructive answer that was so very Elli.
I let out a small laugh despite myself and shook my head.
“Not that. We're supposed to put each person's mana into this container….”
“Infuse it with mana and delicately shape all that sand into a specific form, right?”
A voice suddenly interrupted. It was Hans, of course.
“……Yes.”
I could only nod reluctantly with a deep sigh. Right, you're so great. So great.
“Did you have a similar practical session in your first year too?”
Hans asked with a beaming smile. I just nodded roughly.
Soon, Big Sis Erica gave detailed instructions: we would take turns infusing mana into the sand and try to shape it according to the displayed image.
“It's not simply a matter of making it look identical to the displayed shape. What's truly important is cleanly withdrawing your mana without leaving any residue inside the sand for whoever goes next.”
As soon as Big Sis Erica finished explaining, Hans added further elaboration as though he'd been waiting for it.
Perhaps he wanted to make a good impression on me somehow, because he was going overboard with all sorts of unnecessary helpfulness unlike his usual self.
“Oh~ Oppa, you seem a little different today?”
Elli chimed in rather skillfully as well, doing her best to ease the awkward atmosphere.
This time, I honestly gave a single nod too, and Hans became even more excited, continuing enthusiastically.
“Then what order should we go in?”
“I'll go first.”
It was best to get this over with quickly and move on.
“All right, the first image is this symbol.”
The image Big Sis Erica manifested in the air with magic depicted a simple wave pattern resembling gentle ripples.
I immediately drew my wand and aimed it at the sand. Then, following the image that came to mind, I carefully adjusted my mana and infused it into the sand.
‘As expected, finely adjusting mana is still a little difficult.’
The line continued in fits and starts, growing slightly crooked.
I clenched my teeth, then bit my lower lip as I began concentrating with all my might.
But that was precisely when it happened.
“Eek?!”
A rough hand suddenly seized my wrist.
“Focus.”
Along with Hans's fairly serious voice, his mana began interfering through my wand.
“W-wait…!”
Of course, as a senior, there was nothing wrong with helping a junior with a practical exercise. There was nothing wrong with it, but….
‘I can't control my mana at all like this!’
Rene's body was abnormal—it had no limiter. Naturally, the way Rene controlled mana itself was different from that of an ordinary person.
Rumble-rumble-
In an instant, the sand container in front of me began trembling violently.
“Wait, Rene! I said focus?!”
The flustered Hans gripped my wrist even more tightly.
His mana flowed even more strongly into me.
“Come on….”
I wanted to shout at him to let go immediately, but if I raised my voice carelessly in this state, the mana inside me would surely run completely wild.
“Oppa…?”
Even when I looked at Elli beside me with an imploring gaze, she merely wore a bewildered expression, as though she didn't properly understand what was happening.
I barely steadied my breathing and struggled with all my might to sever Hans's mana from my body, even if I had to force it.
“Rene, please stay calm and relax.”
‘You crazy bastard, you relax first…!’
A struggle for dominance had begun out of nowhere. But Hans wasn't so easily pushed back either.
‘Ugh…!’
Against my will, the mana inside me began running wild, like a foal that had slipped its reins.
If this continued, the sand container before me surely wouldn't withstand the pressure of the mana. It would shatter and send sharp fragments flying in every direction.
‘This is driving me insane…!’
Now that things had come to this, there was only one way.
I would reverse the direction of the rampaging mana entirely and force all of it back into my body.
Naturally, doing so would make me pass out immediately, but there was no other way right now.
‘Hans, I won't let you off the hook for this!’
I made a solemn vow inwardly and glared at Hans one last time as though I would devour him.
Then, just as I was about to forcibly redirect the rampaging mana inward toward my body,
“Stay calm.”
A familiar voice whispered beside my ear. At the same time, someone's warm hand settled gently on my shoulder, and the mana that had been boiling furiously subsided as cleanly as if it had never been there.
“K-Kairos?!”
I dropped the wand in my hand onto the floor and hurriedly turned around, feeling as though I had heard a ghost's voice.
“We meet again here.”
Naturally, Kairos was standing behind me.
“Student Kairos! If you're late, you should greet everyone first!”
The anxiety that this would be the worst four-day, three-night stretch transformed into the historic realization that it had already become one: ‘It’s become the worst four-day, three-night stretch!’