I somehow managed to retain my sanity.
I had no idea what would happen if I closed my eyes here.
I didn’t want to wake up after sleeping the whole day only to find all the students in Battle Magic class dead.
*Ugh…*
“Lay down, teacher.”
As I tried to lift my upper body while still half-conscious, Trie pressed down on my chest.
Is this my room?
It seemed like no one else was here except for Trie and me.
“You really slept like a dead mouse.”
“Did I sleep?”
“Yep.”
“…”
What the heck.
It seems that the fact I hadn’t lost my sanity was just a delusion after all.
“Ugh… How long did I sleep?”
“It’s still dawn. Don’t worry. You’ve only slept around 8 hours.”
That’s a relief.
It looked like the second day hadn’t even started yet.
But I should start preparing early.
Today is going to be pretty tough.
One mistake could cost the life of a student.
“I told you to lay down…”
“I can’t lie down. I feel like I’ve recovered quite a bit.”
I forced myself to sit up.
Suddenly the world went dark, and my head spun.
I nearly collapsed again.
I should avoid sudden movements for a while.
Still, it seems the Recovery Potion did a great job while I was sleeping; the strain on my body was significantly lessened.
At least the pain of my entrails twisting is gone now.
“Is that illness… serious?”
“…”
Last night, I vaguely called it a chronic illness.
The fact that I have a serious illness would quickly become a rumor.
It was one thing if only Trie or Sergey saw it, but all the students did.
Someone might already have written a letter to the Imperial University or their home in the capital.
‘Actually, this is good.’
But this is an opportunity.
The nobles would probably think this is my weakness.
They would likely trip over themselves trying to figure out what illness I have.
If they underestimate my physical abilities because of the illness, then that’s great for me.
If they decide to heed me, thinking I’m a dead man walking, then even better.
“It’s not serious. It doesn’t happen often.”
“No matter how rare, if there’s no one around when it happens, you could die!”
“It’s fine. I carry Recovery Potions too.”
To be honest, I don’t carry them, but I can buy them at the shop anytime, so it’s not much different.
“Is it an incurable disease?”
“I don’t know.”
“What does the hospital say?”
“The hospital hasn’t found anything wrong.”
That’s not a lie.
I don’t have any illness.
Well, Trie might interpret it as an incurable disease that current medicine can’t detect.
“Am I going to die…?”
“You won’t die.”
Trie’s voice began to quiver slightly.
What’s wrong with her?
I need to lighten the mood with a joke or something.
“Instead, you might lose your eyes or ears. Maybe both.”
“What?! Really?”
*…*
Trie grabbed my shoulder and asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
Oh… I didn’t expect such a strong reaction.
And honestly, if we’re talking eyes and ears, I’ve already lost them a long time ago.
“No way. That can’t happen. You have to teach me magic, right?”
“If it’s magic, I can teach you just fine without eyes and ears. We can communicate through spells.”
“Still, no! You need to teach me swordsmanship. There’s still so much I need to show you. At least until I become the Empire’s best sword!”
“Are you saying I should endure for a lifetime? How can a magician reach the peak of swordsmanship?”
“You can do it, Schlus. You could be the Magic Knight… not me, but you!”
That’s absurd.
If being a Magic Knight were that easy, I would have done it long ago.
I guess if Hertlocker consumes all the opportunities coming his way like a pig, it might not be entirely impossible.
Even then, it’s a problem due to Schlus’s physical limits.
“I’ll happily concede the position of Magic Knight to you.”
I hastily threw on some clothes and noticed the drawer was slightly ajar.
I must have left it that way.
Now, it’s completely closed.
Someone’s been fiddling with it.
*Creek* I opened it to find several glass vials containing a blue liquid.
It was a massive batch of Mana Energy Antidote that I had made by staying up all night before the practical class.
Extracting from the Phelan Flowers that Madam Lichtenburg had given me was quite a hassle.
I was practically losing my mind after looking through related books and repeating the same experiment dozens, if not hundreds, of times.
But someone had broken into my room and looked through this drawer.
“Trie, did you touch my drawer?”
“Huh? No?”
Trie shook her head with a goofy expression.
I doubt it was Trie.
Trie has a setting that she can’t lie.
Unless she suddenly attended an acting school and developed a poker face, she’s innocent.
Then who could it be?
Who came in while I was half-conscious and opened this drawer?
“Why? Did something go missing?”
“No. Everything’s fine.”
“Then that’s good.”
“…”
Yeah, nothing was gone.
The number of vials was just right.
[Mana Energy Antidote]
[Description: A medication that helps break down Mana Energy and expel it externally. Made from Phelan Flowers.]
None of the contents were swapped.
So, whoever opened this drawer didn’t touch anything inside and just left.
‘Damn it.’
Unless they’re really stupid, they would have guessed what this substance is.
By tasting or smelling it or something.
They’d be wondering about me.
What kind of person is Schlus Hainkel to carry so much high-concentration Mana Energy Antidote?
If they outright asked me, I wouldn’t be unable to respond.
I could just say I brought it from Whist Forest since it’s rich in Mana Energy.
But the real problem is if they don’t ask me about it.
If they start imagining reasons on their own without giving me a chance to make excuses.
For example, they might think today’s Mana Energy outburst is something I orchestrated…
If they think that I hid the antidotes to survive on my own…
Then I’m just creating an opponent without doing anything.
“What’s up? Where are you going?”
“I’m just going out for a bit of fresh air.”
“Do you want to spar a bit to loosen up your body?”
“How can I when there’s no sword here…”
I turned my head and saw Trie smiling while holding two longswords.
Her cheerful smile turned my face pale.
“Are those… Real swords?”
“Yep. I brought one for emergency. Of course, you’ll use the real sword! I’ll use the training sword.”
“No, that’s…”
“I can’t skip three days of sword training, can I? Now you’re the student. Hehe. I’ll go warm up first.”
*…*
Without even giving me time to respond, Trie dashed out.
With my eyes tightly shut, I had no choice but to conform to reality.
I stared at the inside of the open drawer and—
“I’ll slowly figure it out.”
I closed the drawer.
*
That was truly a hellish spar.
Was it because I was using a real sword? Trie seemed especially serious today.
Right from the start, I lost, and within a second, I found myself accumulating losses: 2, 3…
I thought I was good after winning last time.
But facing off again made me realize that it was all just wishful thinking.
“Ugh… Hah… What do you say we call it a day for now…?”
“Huh? Are you serious? We haven’t even done half of what we usually do!”
“Too many eyes on us, Trie. It’s better for both of us not to reveal too much.”
Only then did Trie seem to realize the gazes around her as she turned her head.
Swordsmanship, in a nutshell, is like rock-paper-scissors.
If we assume two people have the same reflexes and reaction speed, the battle’s outcome can depend solely on their initial preparation and attack positions—it’s a matter of inherent superiority.
Of course, there are always insane beings who defy that, but let’s set those aside for now.
If you know what posture or technique your opponent frequently uses, countering becomes infinitely easier.
If I could just fix Trie’s attacking posture to one, I could probably take her down easily.
“Ah… I didn’t think of that. It might be better to hide our specialties.”
Trie sighed in disappointment and sheathed her sword.
Truthfully, that excuse was all just because I was in pain and felt like I was dying.
To be honest, among those kids looking out the window, the only one with the reaction speed to follow this swordplay while understanding it would be Sergey.
Knowing Sergey’s character, I was at ease.
“Phew. It can’t be helped. Then when we go back, I’ll supplement the class time you’ve missed during practice.”
“Um…?”
“Don’t worry, teacher. I won’t skimp on class time or anything.”
“…”
I’d actually prefer if you did skimp a bit.
It seems this teacher doesn’t have the concept of holidays.
“Alright! Everyone wake up! Wake up!”
“…?”
At that moment, a loud voice echoed throughout the entire dormitory building.
At first, I thought a broadcast was on.
Looking up, I realized that Sergey was standing on the rooftop, shouting into the drainage pipe.
Certainly, it would carry over to every room.
I worried that somewhere in the drainage could burst from his shouting.
“It’s a surprise test! Gather at the entrance of Whist Forest! It’s better to bring any weapons you have!”
Finally, it began.
Day two of the Battle Magic practical class in Whist Forest.
The much-talked-about surprise test by Sergey was about to begin.
