Rustle.
The air was refreshingly chilly at dawn.
As the sun gradually rose, it began to brighten the sky and illuminate the dark mountains below.
If one were to behold it, it would be a spectacle, a treasure that one discovers upon waking in the early morning.
However, regrettably, there are few diligent souls who wake early enough to appreciate such a marvelous sight.
Especially.
[Aren! Get up! If you don’t start getting ready now, you’ll be late!]
“Just give me 5 more minutes….”
[You always say that and end up snoozing for another 50 minutes. Wake up already.]
This relentless pursuit of rest was common among students.
“Ugh…!”
Despite the ghost girl’s nagging, she barely seemed phased.
She was throwing a fit, clearly reluctant to leave her dream state.
Seeing this, the ghost girl furrowed her delicate brow and decided to play her trump card.
[Aren, if you keep this up, you might end up repeating a year!]
Suddenly!
“R-Repeating!!?”
With a start, she bolted up as if awakening from a deep slumber.
Her pale complexion, usually a result of low blood pressure in the morning, flushed crimson at the mere mention of repeating a year.
For her, the word had tantalizing gravity, stirring her into action.
[Hehe, foolish Aren.]
“You, you!!”
Only after shaking off the remnants of sleep did she register reality, pointing an accusing finger at the ghost girl.
There are things one can say and things one simply cannot!
How could one casually mention ‘repeating’ to a student preparing for exams!?
‘What a wicked girl!’
[Aren, I can hear you! But what is it about repeating that scares you so much? I don’t get it.]
“…What do you know, you worthless little girl?”
Snap.
How could a ghost possibly understand the fears of a student?
With a sigh, Irene Windler flicked her fingers.
With a whoosh, a surge of blue energy flowed and suddenly, a miraculous phenomenon occurred.
The curtains that blocked the sunlight parted, and the window swung open, allowing the stagnant air and dust accumulated overnight to rush outside.
Gradually, her room filled with fresh air and morning sunlight, and she inhaled deeply, stretching as if to greet the day.
“Ahh, magic is so convenient.”
[If anyone else saw, they’d say you’re wasting magic.]
“That’s just old-fashioned nonsense! Ugh, thinking about it makes me mad!”
[Hmm, I must concede that!]
Hearing the words of the sorcerers at the academy and the magic professors could indeed be stifling.
Expressing magical talent as something chosen, or claiming that magic is a wisdom beyond the understanding of ignorant humans, and so forth…
It’s enough to make anyone feel sick to their stomach.
‘It’s no wonder that sorcerers are looked down upon in this world. They all seem like lunatics.’
Except for me, of course.
[Aren, it’s nice to be lost in one’s thoughts, but shouldn’t you start getting ready?]
“…Sigh, I don’t want to go.”
Twelve years of schooling felt like enough, but thinking about waking up early for another three years filled her with a sense of impending depression.
A sigh slipped from Irene’s lips.
At that moment.
[Oh! It’s the instructor!]
“How diligent of him… *sigh!*”
[…What a feast for the eyes.]
They spotted the instructor running.
She must have been running for quite some time before she got up; the instructor was drenched in sweat.
As the sunlight hit his body, the droplets of sweat glistened like dew, which was quite impressive considering how diligently he was running.
‘How can a person run like that every day?’
This was the view she saw every morning since moving here.
It was somewhat admirable.
However, her moment of respect was short-lived; what caught her attention even more than the diligent instructor’s routine was his bare torso.
She was scrutinizing him so thoroughly that anyone passing by would likely give her a suspicious look.
“…He can’t know we’re watching, right?”
[He wouldn’t. Anyway, Aren, get a picture of that, quick!]
“Taking candid shots is a crime….”
[If you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime.]
“…Is that really true?”
A logically sound statement, and Irene reluctantly reached for ‘that’ which was none other than a prized magic item crafted by a water mage, worth more than the building itself.
It had the grandiose name of [Shape Copying Camera], but to Irene, it was just a camera—a rather unsettling gift from an overbearing duke.
But at this moment, it was:
“Ah, got it!”
She had successfully taken the candid shot and for the first time, she was glad for the duke’s gift.
Maybe that old man isn’t all that bad after all?
“Since when did we have a camera? I didn’t know about that.”
Given that she thought her actions and voice were undetectable, it was unfortunate that the instructor had incredibly sharp hearing.
Of course, due to the distance, he didn’t catch all of her words; he merely noticed she was taking a picture and didn’t particularly care about her actions.
However.
“I should ask to see how I ended up in there.”
It intrigued him to know how he appeared in the shot, and he thought about asking her for a look at it sometime.
…In the future, he would regret that spontaneous decision to seek out the candid shot.
* * *
Lee Han was the same.
He had heard from Jack about some angelic yet reckless prince, but nothing about Lee Han’s routine changed.
He didn’t actively seek to find anything, nor did he have the desire to ask for advice.
Why?
‘It’ll show up eventually, I guess.’
To put it simply, the existence of the reckless prince to Lee Han was equivalent to spotting a rare animal.
A rare animal that was often referred to as an albino.
Like a white deer or a white squirrel; it was curious to see, but not seeing it wouldn’t pose any real problem.
‘It’s fine to see it or not, really.’
Not seeing it wouldn’t lead to death.
He wasn’t bothered by it.
Thus, Lee Han just waited for it to appear naturally.
‘With companions around, it should show up naturally, right?’
After all, there were already two ‘rare animals’ gathered together, so he figured it would pick up on the presence of a companion.
Lee Han trusted in the logic of it all.
Thus, what he was supposed to do was not to search for the last invisible rare animal, but rather to fulfill his duty.
“I will now begin the double unders. Everyone take the rope that the instructor prepared.”
-…….
He had a responsibility to fulfill as an instructor.
“Oh, and for those who have learned tactical techniques, take the rope marked with a red tag, and even if you haven’t learned tactical techniques, if you’ve learned some swordsmanship, take the rope marked with a green tag. And for those who haven’t learned anything in either, please take the yellow-tagged rope.”
“Begin!”
-… Begin…
The trainees, looking puzzled, went to grab the ropes suited for each of them.
Double unders—sounds grand but let’s put it simply:
“Alright, let’s start with ‘jump rope’. For the red rope, aim for 10,000 jumps; for the green, it’s 5,000; and for the yellow, just 2,000 reps each!”
-???
“Goodness, these brats don’t listen at all.”
With a sly smile, Lee Han pulled out his iron club.
Swinging it lightly in the air, producing a menacing whoosh, he declared, “Anyone who fails to follow the instructor’s orders will have a ‘discussion’ with me until class ends. I assure you, it will be a nourishing dialogue, so look forward to it.”
“…How many did you say again?”
They didn’t want to “discuss” anything with that iron club, and immediately set to work.
The sound of ropes whipping against the training ground filled the air, one after another.
* * *
…Surprisingly, no one had given up on Lee Han’s lesson.
It was odd.
While that could be expected from the commoners, it was unexpected to see nobility sticking around.
What motive they had, or if they were up to some flimsy scheme, was beyond him; nonetheless, the class continued.
What he was interested in was none of that.
The first topic of this class was none other than:
“Jump rope sounds fun! I used to do it a lot when I was little, heh heh.”
“It probably isn’t as easy as it looks.”
“Really?”
“…Well, for a maid like you, it might be easier?”
She was, after all, the one with extraordinary strength who had carried all those jump ropes.
Meanwhile, that useless assistant had hurt his back carrying jump ropes and was now being wheeled off to the recovery room, while this lively lady was far superior to those nobles boasting about their knightly lineage.
“What a pathetic fool.”
“Eh?”
“I’m not talking to you, maid. More importantly, feel free to rest if you’re bored!”
“No, I’ll help wherever I can! I’m the knight’s maid, albeit temporary, heh.”
“…Thank you for that.”
It was a sudden thought, but despite the lack of common sense, she was quite a sweet girl.
After dealing with mostly vile aristocrats and royals, being in the presence of such a pure soul was like cleansing his tarnished heart.
‘…Wait a minute. The fact that my heart needs cleansing means I’m in the same boat as those despicable types, right?’
That thought crossed his mind momentarily, but Lee Han hastily dismissed it.
He certainly didn’t want to be associated with that kind of lot.
And so he continued with this involuntary self-revelation…
Thud….
Unfortunately, he felt a signal emerging.
“Oh, just in time—there’s a task for you, maid.”
“Eh?”
“Please go sprinkle some water on those sprawled out over there.”
“Oh!”
“…Weaklings.”
Watching the trainees faint after barely enduring a simple 10kg jump rope, Lee Han clicked his tongue.
These kids nowadays…
‘What kind of weakling can’t even handle that?’
It was utterly embarrassing.
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