episode_0022

“Were you also a white brooch?”

“White. I don’t know what significance this color holds, but there’s no room for boredom intertwined with you.”

A girl holding a book in one hand and touching her head with the other, unlike the three other dormitories, the dormitory assigned to those with white colors gives off a different vibe from the very path.

“But, it feels like we’ve been walking for quite some time. How much farther do we have to go?”

“True. It’s taking longer than expected. This might even cause problems when we need to commute in the morning.”

Indeed, despite having departed from the academy’s classroom area about 30 minutes ago, the dormitory building with its white exterior was still nowhere in sight. If she had been alone, she would have been bored to death, but…

“Hey there, are you also in white? Over here! You were cool at the duel earlier, want to be friends?”

“Oh, um. Me?”

At this moment, having two companions was truly fortunate.

***

“Oh, I see a building over there. Is that it?”

“Yes. But, something seems off…”

“What’s off! It looked perfectly fine a moment ago!”

“No, it’s getting further away!”

“Ah!!”

As the girl said, the quaintly colored wooden structure seemed to be moving further away as if it had grown legs. No, it wasn’t just the building. Everything except us was rapidly distancing itself from us.

“There!”

“Wait, Miss Saint! Let’s go together!”

“I don’t feel like running anymore… really!”

As the two who were far from being physically active gave up on running first, everything that had been moving away only barely stopped, never coming any closer. It felt like witnessing the effect of the Red Queen from “Through the Looking-Glass” seen in childhood.

“I… can’t run anymore!”

“Me neither…”

As they started running at full speed, carrying the two who were already tired, everything began to move away again in an instant. Unable to do anything, they could only watch helplessly.

“Hey! They’re coming back from behind?”

“Really. The building is rushing towards us at the front.”

“Yahoo! We don’t have to run!”

“No, that’s not it. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop. It’s flying straight towards us!”

Realizing this fact, they immediately started running at full speed with two of them on their shoulders. Even then, objects stuck faithfully close, maintaining a distance of about 10 meters.

“Yahoo! Kidney, let’s run!”

“No. If you keep shaking your body like that…”

Amidst the already challenging situation, there was a troll constantly disturbing their balance, gradually closing the gap.

“Wait. How much longer can you run?”

“Pant, pant. Well, at this rate… I doubt I can last even 5 minutes…”

“That should be enough.”

Saying so, the girl, after discussing something with the saint, unfolded a book and began to cast a spell. Something descended from the magic circle drawn in the air, similar to the training ground.

“A cotton ball…?”

“No! It’s a Bofallebit!”

“Wow, it’s really fluffy!”

“Miss Saint, now’s not the time for that! Please cast a growth spell quickly!”

Feeling warmth on her right shoulder, the saint’s body began to glow brightly. Eventually, the light was transferred to the rabbit, which instantly grew to the size of a small house. Wait, a house?

“You wouldn’t happen to…”

“Go now!”

“Kraaaah!!!”

“What kind of rabbit scream is that!”

“Slow down until it comes back!”

“If it crashes into our house, what will we do!”

“It won’t happen, so slow down!”

The girl, almost pleading, clung to my back, trying desperately to slow down somehow. Intrigued by her actions, the saint seemed amused and simply hung on.

As the girl suggested, gradually slowing down the speed at which they were running, the rabbit dashed forward in a dazzling manner towards the front. In contrast, behind them, various debris including buildings were approaching.

“8 meters ahead, 6 meters, 5 meters!”

“Wait, I still can’t see the rabbit!?”

“Surely, we should see it by now…”

“There it is!”

From behind the building, cries of some monstrous creature could be heard, and regardless of size, gravel, stones, and wood were flying one by one.

“Hey, it’s really going to catch up to us now!!”

“Not yet, just a little more!”

“Yahoo! This is so thrilling!”

The bewildered girl and the girl who was concentrating on maintaining the magic turned around, each holding one person with one arm, and squeezed out the remaining strength as they ran.

“Just a little more, just a little bit longer you have to hold on!!”

“Well, anyway, it means I have to maintain it. Can two people run?”

“If we have to run, we’ll run somehow… What do you think?”

“It was more comfortable like this!”

They prepared to throw the two they were holding by exerting force on their arms. The girl, feeling the fun of the situation, seemed to be preparing for a landing, while the saint, feeling the squirming sensation on her thighs and buttocks, urged for another round.

“Alright then! Somehow, let’s land and jump with all the remaining strength!!”

“Wait, I’m not ready yet!!”

“Awesome!!”

As I stood still, trying to propel the two forward, the house was approaching from behind at arm’s length.

“What, are you surpassing the professor and taking on the house!!”

‘Kraaaah!!’

The Vorpal Blade was rushing at a terrifying speed, but it was an unreachable distance without blocking the house. It was ridiculous even to me, but I needed at least 10 seconds to deal with the house.

I drew the sword obtained from the bet with the professor. And I aimed it towards the house. The opponent looked larger and tougher than any opponent before. Ironically, it seemed to have no weaknesses compared to anything else.

“Come at me! What kind of nonsense is it to challenge a house. Seriously!!”

I slowly unsheathed the sword in mid-air. Connecting dot to dot, the sword eventually became a line.

With just one line, it would never be able to block a ‘house’ the size of that house. Therefore, I piled up numerous lines. By overlapping lines upon lines, I eventually created a surface.

Countless sword lines piled up to create a single surface. Like the barrage Professor Rose had unleashed, many sword marks were overlapping on that single surface. If it had been any other opponent until now, that would have been enough. But the opponent was the type who wouldn’t give any quarter.

Swinging the sword until my arm ached, I created five more surfaces, forming a large cube-shaped barrage. Now, with no space left to swing the sword, the house, which had rushed right up to my nose, finally collided with the cube.

Crash!!

The entire house, as if a car hitting a guardrail, slowed down with a great vibration and eventually came to a stop.

Kraaaaa!!

“Oh, this carrot launcher is useless! It’s not helping at all!!”

Yes, if only the Vorpal Blade had had a way to identify it. As the stopped house was pushed back with all its might by the Vorpal Blade, it began to move forward again. Blocked by the barrage in front and pushed back by the Vorpal Blade from behind, the house was starting to flatten.

“Okay, here!”

Suddenly, everything came to a halt. It wasn’t me who started running again. Truly, what was coming towards me had stopped. And in front of my eyes, there was a girl with yellow cotton candy-like hair.

“Forget about the freshman welcome party, if we keep going like this, there won’t be a good place left today! So, surprised?”

“If you get surprised twice, you’ll die, seriously.”

“Alright, gather the two in front!”

The girl introduced herself as Crea, the dormitory supervisor of the White Brooch Dormitory, also known as Luton Dormitory.

“No way! I’m smaller than you!”

“Miss Saint, that’s rude..!”

“So, what is this freshman welcome party? Is there anyone to kill?”

“I understand your surprise. But this is our Lyu dormitory tradition. Those of you who received the white brooch are being tested for qualification.”

“If, during the test, someone fails and someone gets seriously injured, what then?”

The girl replied with a sinister smile that didn’t match her appearance.

“Well, unfortunately, they just weren’t up to par. As I said, it’s about assessing ‘qualification.’”

“I don’t get it.”

“Right, you who passed the test don’t need to understand those kinds of people. Now, you must be tired, let’s go home quickly!”

Despite being dissatisfied with Kreya’s lack of proper explanation until the end, they followed without a word, knowing there was no point in asking for further clarification.

“Hey, are we the only ones using this place?”

“No way! Even though the number of people assigned to Lyu dormitory is small, one or two new residents come in every year. This year, there are quite a few!”

“Then where are the others?”

“Well… Hey, everyone! Receive the newcomers!”

Soon, one by one started coming out of the room. With about six people, they seemed older than us, appearing as seniors who had enrolled earlier.

“You guys are freshmen? You all look so cute! Welcome!!”

“Oh, um…”

A man twice my size, incongruous in stature and appearance, with hair slicked back and a scar running across his face, grabbed my arm and shook it vigorously.

“Ugh. There are three of them this time. It’s going to be quite lively, isn’t it?”

A woman wearing a typical witch hat and only a swimsuit under her robe, covering herself like a robe, greeted us maturely.

The other seniors also welcomed us warmly, but each had something off about them. No, “two things off.”

“You thought so?”

Kreya laughed as she asked. Just as she said, these people seemed quite peculiar.

“But aren’t you guys the same since you came here? That’s why you were assigned to Lyuton Dormitory. Do you know where our dormitory’s name comes from?”

“No, not yet…”

“A legendary adventurer who literally descended from legends. It’s derived from Lyton. He was actually born as the first prince of the Stelly Kingdom. However, he gave up all his status and rights to embark on adventures.”

“Now, do you understand why you received the white brooch and were assigned to Lyton Dormitory?”

“White can be any color. It’s a color freer than any other. Just like Lyton, who departed from the predetermined royal color and chose the path of adventure, the Imperial Academy chose to watch what color you would choose.”

Looking around now, even the seniors and Kreya had white brooches. However, while white was the base color for each, slightly different colors were visible.

“We’re curious about what color you, who possess the most liberated color, will choose.”

“Once again, welcome to Lyton Dormitory.”

On Kreya’s brooch as she spoke, an unmatching black color was visible alongside her smile.