Chapter 8
A day at the academy was always the same.
Except on weekends, parts of the schedule were mandatory according to the timetable. At an academy where failing meant expulsion, there was no student who could afford not to care about their lecture grades.
Even I had attended every lecture except for the day I was injured in my spar with Seria last week. No matter how officially excused an absence due to illness might be, missing a lecture could only harm my grades.
That was why most academy students tended to arrange their daily schedules around their lectures.
For example, students taking the same lecture might go out to eat together after class. Or, if they had time before their next lecture, they might conduct their own training at a nearby practice ground.
I was no exception. It had already been a week since my spar with Seria, and my daily life was gradually returning to normal.
My daily routine was simple. I attended lectures, spent time with Selin or Leto, and began the training that brought each day to a close around evening.
It was a predictable schedule, like a wheel endlessly turning in place, but I liked the ordinariness of it. To be honest, the incidents I had experienced last week had caused far too great a crack in my daily life.
While I had been missing a week of memories, the crazy things I had done were still being talked about. Apparently, the ‘Yurdina’s brat beaten half to death’ incident had become so famous that it had overshadowed the other strange things I had done.
Apparently, I had suddenly gone to see the saintess and stared at her without saying a word, and I had also asked Selin whether she had no intention of using any weapon other than a sword.
I probably needed to apologize to the saintess separately later. Apparently, even that gentle saintess had been so flustered that she asked me several times if something was wrong.
And I had apparently walked away without even answering her question. No matter how I thought about it, it was incomprehensible behavior.
Why had I been so rude and ill-mannered when I lost my memory?
At this rate, the advice I had given Seria last week—‘Try to mind your manners’—was becoming embarrassing. Whenever I heard such rumors, a sigh seemed to linger on my lips.
Today was no different. I was walking down the road, wondering when I should go visit the saintess, when I suddenly felt someone poke me in the side.
It was Selin. Her tawny eyes were filled with delight, and she smiled brightly.
“Hi, Senior Ian!”
“……Yeah, hi.”
At my sighing reply, Selin covered her mouth and giggled. It was as though she had known what was troubling me the moment she saw me.
We had been friends for more than ten years. Since we had begun spending time together when we were around eight, she could probably see right through me just by looking at my face.
“You’re thinking about what happened when you lost your memory?”
I had suspected as much, and sure enough, I was right. It was not the first time she had seen through my thoughts, so I merely nodded without looking surprised.
It had been a fairly unfortunate history for me, but apparently not for Selin. Instead, she puffed out her chest proudly and placed a hand over it.
With a smack, the soft sensation somehow seemed to take audible form. I cleared my throat and subtly looked away.
“Why? I was cool, wasn’t I? Have we been looked down on all this time? Those high nobles swagger around and call us ‘rejects’…….”
“Not everyone is like that, and discrimination based on status is prohibited within the academy.”
“That’s nothing but words printed in an outdated rulebook.”
Selin cut off my principled reply in a firm tone. I glanced around. There was nothing good that could come from words like these reaching the wrong ears.
Fortunately, the people around us did not seem particularly interested in Selin. There were still occasional whispers about me whenever people passed by, though.
That was because my fame had only grown stronger after I drew with Seria last week.
The first time is a coincidence, but the second time is inevitable. Besides, the second rumor was more credible than the first.
No matter that I was her senior by a year, it was impossible for a middle-to-lower-ranking swordsman to overwhelm the top student in her year. A gap in talent was not something so soft and gentle.
By comparison, how exemplary and beautiful was the rumor that I had exploited the top student’s opening and caught her off guard?
Even the weak can defeat the strong if they have enough will. It was an inspiring tale full of lessons, offering hope to those at the bottom and caution to those at the top.
Moreover, it seemed that some students who had previously looked down on me for being a low-ranking noble had changed their opinions in the process. That was probably what Selin was trying to talk about.
“Do you know how many people used to flaunt how well-born their parents were? One of them hit on me and said, ‘Hmm, you might make a decent concubine.’ Ugh…….”
“Tell me that bastard’s name. I’ll go punch him.”
When Selin shuddered in disgust, rough words sprang from my mouth before I could stop them.
He was a man with a talent for making people’s insides churn, from his tone to the content of his words. I could not help wanting to punch him.
Of course, I was not stupid enough to go punch a high noble.
Wait. I had beaten up Yurdina’s brat too, so maybe I could now?
When I fell into serious thought, Selin burst into a series of little laughs. She looked at me with even greater smugness.
“Hmm, so I guess you really do get angry when someone hits on me?”
She was looking at me as though something displeased her. It was the sort of gaze that seemed to say, ‘So you are a man after all.’
I gave a hollow laugh as though I could not believe her. I was not about to give her the answer she wanted so readily.
“No? I’m just worried that one of His Majesty’s loyal subject families might end up in ruins…… Aaagh!”
Selin’s retaliation for my sarcasm was immediate. She stomped on the top of my foot, and I instantly let out a scream and had no choice but to hop around on one foot.
Selin shot me a cold glare, then folded her arms and gave a dismissive snort. I had no idea what she found so displeasing.
No matter how long I had known her—more than ten years, in fact—the heart of a girl remained impossible to understand.
When I looked at Selin with an aggrieved expression, she seemed to decide it was time to return to the main point and summarized what she wanted to say.
“Anyway, what I mean is… thanks to Senior Ian’s exploits, even the high nobles can’t treat me carelessly anymore. They’re afraid you might go crazy and beat them half to death.”
“Even so, I won’t do something that crazy twice…….”
Feeling the throbbing pain rising through my foot, I gave that sighing reply.
But rumors did not require my consent to spread. It was a fact I had learned painfully over the past week, and my voice even held a kind of resignation.
After all, no matter what I said, the me everyone remembered would be the lunatic who beat up the child of a powerful family in the north of the Empire.
Perhaps she was rather proud of that fact, because Selin sidled up close and pressed herself against my arm with a faint smile in her eyes.
I felt something soft and yielding against me. For a moment, the thought crossed my mind that Selin was an adult too, after all.
“Should I just spread a rumor that I’m Senior Ian’s woman? Then I don’t think anyone would dare touch me.”
“Are you trying to ruin your chances of getting married too?”
“Then Senior Ian can take responsibility, right?”
At Selin’s shameless remark, I shifted my gaze toward her for a moment. Her tawny eyes sparkled with mischief, and a strange smile hung around her lips.
What a joke.
I clicked my tongue and flicked her forehead. With a cute little shriek, Selin covered her forehead and moved away from me.
“Ow!”
“If you were born pretty, you should enjoy life, all right? With looks like yours, there must be plenty of prosperous noble families willing to take you as a wife.”
Selin’s expression crumpled at my words. Then she let out a shrill cry.
“D-Do you think I’m the kind of person who marries just for the conditions?!”
“Everyone says that when they’re young, but marriage is a matter of reality.”
As I spoke, clicking my tongue, Selin’s eyes filled with sullen displeasure. But much of what I said was true.
A noble carried the fate of their family from the moment they were born. Even if they did not inherit the family directly, they had to sacrifice their lives for its power and prosperity.
Marriage was no different. Selin probably wanted to marry someone she loved, like the heroine of a romance novel, but once she reached the age to choose a marriage partner, she would have no choice but to consider her family’s future as well.
So I could not stand in the way of a woman with such a promising future. That bitter reality brought a wry smile to my lips.
Selin was still grumbling as though she could not accept it.
“Hmph, all they have to be is a noble family. As long as they’re a noble family…….”
I had no idea what she was thinking, but I decided not to force an unpleasant reality on Selin. Continuing the conversation would only make me oblivious to her feelings.
Just as I was considering how best to placate her, I realized that someone was walking toward us from the opposite direction.
With brown, curly hair that had not been tidied, as though he had stayed up all night, and green eyes unable to conceal his exhaustion, he was an all-too-familiar figure. He was one of the three who made up the ‘Empire’s trio of low-ranking nobles’ alongside Selin and me.
Leto Ainston was staggering toward us.
“Leto!”
I waved at him happily, but when Selin saw Leto’s face, her expression grew even more displeased. She even pretended to gag.
They were cousins and got along well, but since they had grown up like siblings, Selin was especially cold toward Leto.
Of course, Leto was no pushover either. He cheerfully accepted my greeting, but the moment he saw Selin, his face twisted into a scowl.
“Well, well, who do we have here? Isn’t this the hero of the middle-to-lower ranks who’s been setting the academy ablaze lately? And… an ugly bitch.”
“Who are you calling ugly? You look like a boiled potato.”
“Why, you stupid little girl, you really…….”
Already exhausted, Leto looked ready to explode at Selin’s retort, but she merely stuck out her tongue with a ‘bleh’ and slipped behind my back.
Leto took a step forward, as though he meant to grab her by the hair, but then he slumped over, apparently lacking even the energy for that.
It was a characteristic of students in the Department of Magic. When their assignments or research dragged on, their energy rapidly withered away like this. That was especially true for Leto, who enjoyed drinking, singing, and dancing.
I watched him with a slightly pitying gaze, then asked about something in his words that caught my attention.
“What’s this ‘hero of the middle-to-lower ranks’ thing?”
“What else would it be? It’s what people are calling you. Those kids were always treated as hopelessly middling, but thanks to you, people seem to have started thinking, ‘Could this guy be one of them too?’”
A snort of laughter escaped me. What nonsense was he talking about?
“I don’t know what happened to me either…….”
“Still, your instincts sharpened after you lost your memory, didn’t they? Your mana increased, and your mana channels opened up too… Tsk… I’d like to study you.”
Leto still seemed interested in my condition, but since I was clearly disgusted by the idea, he soon smacked his lips and withdrew his interest.
Instead, he gave me a sly smile, as though the timing had worked out perfectly. It was a handsome smile, as always. It was unfortunate that he usually wore it when he wanted to pry into something or ask a favor.
Leto asked me in a voice overflowing with interest. It seemed that curiosity had restored some of his energy.
“Come to think of it, is that true?”
“……What is?”
At my innocent question, Leto approached me as though asking why I was pretending not to know and tapped me on the shoulder. Then he continued.
“I heard that Yurdina’s brat has been following you around everywhere.”
“……What?”
The answer came from behind my back. Selin’s small head suddenly popped out from where she had been hiding behind me as a shield.
Her face had gone rigid. Her tawny eyes held a chilly light.
“That bitch? Why?”
Then the two cousins turned their gazes toward me. Their eyes demanded an answer. In the end, I sighed and gestured behind me with my eyes.
Street trees had been planted throughout the grounds for aesthetic purposes. One of them was particularly large, and gray hair was faintly visible behind it.
Seria Yurdina, one of my worries these days.
Leto let out a faint laugh of interest, while bright-blue flames seemed to spark from Selin’s eyes.
“Who does she think she is, following Senior Ian around? Does she not even remember beating him half to death not long ago? And she’s got no manners…….”
“Don’t you think there must be a reason? For example, maybe she’s fallen for Ian.”
Perhaps Leto’s subtle provocation made Selin lose her temper, because she even looked ready to march over and confront Seria. That was why I grabbed her by the arm.
“Enough. She isn’t harming me, so what does it matter?”
“It matters because she’s annoying! I still grind my teeth whenever I think about what happened last week……!”
Selin’s hostility toward Seria seemed to stem from last week’s spar. Of course, I had brutally beaten Seria before that, but the human brain preferred convenient interpretations.
There was a good chance that the fact I had beaten Seria half to death had already been erased from Selin’s mind. All that remained would be the moments when Seria had inflicted violence on me.
At this rate, a clash between Selin and Seria seemed inevitable. And no matter that Seria was an illegitimate daughter, she had received the Yurdina name and was a high noble. It was painfully obvious whose defeat such a clash would end in.
Last time, she had said she would pretend not to notice because we had offended the Yurdinas. What a spineless woman. Though I was grateful for that, too.
I cast a sidelong glance at the growling Selin, then turned my gaze once more toward the gray hair faintly visible behind the street tree.
Come to think of it, I had left this problem unattended for far too long. It had already been a week, so it would probably be best to talk to her.
Thinking that, I released Selin’s arm and immediately placed my hand on her shoulder instead.
“Wait here. I’ll go talk to her.”
“……You will, Senior Ian?”
Selin looked dissatisfied, but since I was the person involved and had decided to step forward, she seemed to have nothing to say. For now, the atmosphere of outrage subsided.
Leto looked fascinated, as though he was about to witness something even more entertaining. He offered some advice.
“You never know. Maybe she’s following you around because she’s fallen for you. If she confesses, accept her. She’s pretty, from a good family, and talented. Where could you find a better match…… Aaagh! Selin, you’re unbelievable!”
Naturally, he received his due punishment before he could even finish that advice.
I calmed my pounding heart, took a deep breath, and started walking.
To be honest, I could not even begin to guess why Seria Yurdina was following me.
Fallen for me? She was the woman who had beaten me so badly with a wooden sword, then trembled in fear of me last week. That was impossible.
If that was not the reason, my imagination began to branch out in all sorts of directions. Some of those possibilities were rather ominous.
For example, revenge.
It was a situation that naturally made me nervous. Seria must have sensed me approaching as well, because her hair shook with a start, but she did not leave.
Instead, she even peeked her head out to confirm that I was approaching. When I stopped in front of the street tree, Seria hesitantly stepped out from behind it.
“Seria, did you want to talk to me?”
Instead of answering, Seria lowered her head deeply. A blush appeared on her smooth, milky-white skin.
Was she still afraid of me? As I was mulling over that bitter memory, Seria seemed to gather her courage and raised her head.
Then, with eyes filled with resolve, she began to speak haltingly.
“Th-th-therefore…….”
She struggled to continue, then squeezed her eyes shut and bent at the waist. It was the posture of a formal request.
“G-guidance and… ugh… guidance and instruction! M-May I ask you for it?!”
She had bitten her tongue once again, but this was good enough.
She showed no arrogance over being a high noble, the stiffness she had displayed last time had eased somewhat, and her attitude as a junior asking her senior for instruction was admirable.
Watching her attitude rise from ‘Yurdina’s brat’ to merely ‘junior’ in the span of a single week, I felt quietly pleased and nodded.
Then I said,
“I don’t want to.”
“Th-Then, I look forward to working with you… huh?”
Perhaps my answer had been unexpected, because Seria’s expression—which had been reciting words of gratitude as though she had prepared them in advance—went blank for an instant.
Her vacant gaze turned toward me, and I smiled brightly at her before driving the point home once more.
“I said I don’t want to.”
Seria froze in place like a statue.