Ch.47EP.14 – Berserk? (2)

…A strange silence hung over the Swordsmanship Department’s training grounds.

“Ahem…”

“Hmm.”

“Wh-what’s this?”

Even though they wanted to say something, right now they could barely recall even a simple greeting.

These were classmates returning after a full 29 days.

Among the Swordsmanship Department cadets, who were all essentially competitors, camaraderie was only a faint emotion, but still, seeing each other after so long, they couldn’t help feeling somewhat glad.

They wanted to offer congratulations or at least ask how the others had been, but looking at them now made even that difficult.

And for good reason.

‘Why, why bear pelts?’

‘Those look like they hunted them themselves…’

‘Their bodies have grown enormously. What on earth did they do? Hmm.’

Eighteen people wearing bear pelts.

They used to be the weak ones called “sprout cadets.”

Just 29 days ago, they were ordinary cadets like any other, but now they were extraordinarily different.

The most noticeable change was their demeanor.

They had become sharp.

There was no trace of their former frailty, and they now exuded a cutting aura that seemed ready to slice at any moment.

But even more eye-catching than their demeanor were their bodies, which had grown at least three times more robust.

Riiip!

The Academy cadet uniforms were about to tear.

Not because they had gained weight, but because their muscles and frames had grown larger overall.

Yet rather than having indiscriminately bulked up, they seemed to have developed only the necessary parts, maintaining agility alongside strength—an admirable level of physical perfection.

Their aura, physique, and flawless posture…

They resembled warriors, no—fighters ready for immediate battle.

Just then.

“L-Levi Polte? Is that really Lady Polte?”

“Yes, Lady Runo. I hope you’ve been well.”

“I-I’ve been fine, but y-you’ve changed so much, Lady Polte.”

The noble lady called Runo, with wide-open eyes, scanned Levi Polte from head to toe.

A rude discourtesy.

For a noble who valued etiquette, this was unacceptable behavior, but right now it couldn’t be helped.

It was hard to believe someone could change so much in less than a month.

And the other noble ladies felt the same way.

“M-my goodness, haven’t your hands become too rough?”

“S-scars! You must get treatment immediately!”

“But why is the skin on your face and elsewhere so moist and beautiful? Lady Irene too…”

Levi Polte had been a petite girl compared to the other noble ladies.

That’s not to say she was fragile—she was just thinner than others.

But now that wasn’t the case.

She was still slim, but compared to before, her body was visibly more toned, making it impossible to describe her as frail.

Yet she wasn’t bulky either—she radiated a healthy beauty.

She had grown taller too.

Her height of 150cm now seemed to be about 160cm.

She had grown a full 10cm taller…

Even during a growth spurt, could someone really grow this much in less than 30 days?

‘H-how did a chick suddenly turn into a swan?’

To use the instructor’s metaphor, the girl who had been merely a chick had transformed into a swan.

She exuded a unique aura, and with her newfound maturity, the watching noble ladies found themselves observing Levi Polte with slightly flushed glances.

After all, an attractive woman could inspire admiration even from other women.

“…The staring is a bit uncomfortable.”

Embarrassed by the burdensome attention, the girl showed her shyness.

This confirmed she was indeed Levi Polte.

However, the timid, fragile girl with the meek voice was gone.

A firm resolve to clearly express her opinions now resided within her.

“Compared to my senior disciples, I’m nothing special.”

“Senior disciples…?”

“We formed a master-disciple relationship four days ago. Since I’m the youngest and least experienced, I became the junior.”

“I-I see.”

“…B-but Lady Polte, if I may ask, why are those people wearing such hideous things?”

“You mean those.”

Levi Polte gave a wry smile, as if she had expected this question.

As the young lords and chicks who had found it difficult to approach the others quietly focused on their conversation, Levi Polte answered as if to satisfy their curiosity.

“Hmm, they’re the pelts of magical beasts we encountered during our return march.”

“M-magical beasts?!”

“Yes, they seemed to be mutants. You know how it happens sometimes, right? When animals eat the flesh of magical beasts and undergo mutation.”

“My goodness…”

They all knew well.

For humans or animals to consume unrefined flesh or blood of magical beasts was akin to ingesting poison.

Usually, it meant instant death.

But occasionally, animals with strong vitality survived the poison, only to transform into magical beasts themselves, filled with violence and cruelty.

This process led to magical beast infestations, the most feared disaster for domain residents.

And yet, such magical beasts…

“They seemed headed toward a village, so the instructor ordered the senior disciples to catch all the magical beasts.”

“…The instructor and others didn’t step in?”

“No. You know how strict he is. He had Roen and the other skilled ones stand by.”

“……”

So, this meant that those transformed bears were caught by them—the weak commoner cadets who had been mocked as sprouts?

…Without help from the instructor or other skilled individuals?

“There were exactly eighteen of them, and since there are eighteen senior disciples, the numbers matched perfectly. The fight tore up all their clothes and belongings, so they had no choice but to wear the bear pelts on the way back. They’re not trying to intimidate anyone.”

“…Why are they still wearing them now that they have cadet uniforms?”

“Their armor was destroyed too. Those bear pelts are quite thick and sturdy, making them good substitutes for armor.”

“……”

“What’s wrong? Is there something else you’re curious about…?”

“N-no, nothing.”

…This girl seems to have changed too.

I mean, if they lost their armor, they could just request new ones from the Academy. Why continue wearing bear pelts?

‘Not only are those people’s thinking strange, but Lady Polte has changed too.’

Their common sense seemed altered.

They had become unconventional.

“-Don’t misunderstand. Those pelts are truly extremely durable. Twice as strong as the armor provided by the Academy. Even at the Craftsmen’s Guild, it’s difficult to obtain armor that sturdy.”

“Instructor…”

The instructor appeared midway through.

He had just returned from being summoned by the headmaster again because of the bear pelt situation.

“Nobles should know, right? How much top-quality armor costs.”

“…Quite expensive, indeed.”

“Right, even you admit it’s expensive. Do you think it’s easy for people of their status to obtain good armor?”

“Ah…”

“Good, as long as you understand.”

It was a straightforward explanation, and they now realized with amazement that those pelts were such high-quality items.

…At the same time.

‘So, they defeated bear magical beasts with defensive capabilities equal to top-tier armor?’

‘Even if it was one-on-one, how?’

‘That level must be at least a mid-high grade magical beast…’

The impressive part was that “they” had defeated such magical beasts.

It was clear from their outlines that they had grown stronger, but the fact that they had reached a level where they could fight and win against mid-high grade magical beasts one-on-one was astonishing.

Intensive reinforcement training.

It wasn’t just called reinforcement training—they had clearly achieved tremendous results.

And in such a short time!

‘Should I have gone with them despite everything?’

‘What a shame.’

The cadets who had remained at the Academy for unavoidable reasons felt envy, regret, and jealousy.

They envied those who had grown so rapidly.

However.

“Ah, but don’t keep wearing that armor until class time. You’ve returned now, why are you still dressed like that?”

“…It-it’s fine. We’re comfortable like this.”

“It makes the instructor and others uncomfortable. Take them off quickly.”

“……”

“-Are you defying me?”

“Ah, ack! W-we’ll take them off!”

Education is frightening.

As soon as Ihan lowered his voice, all their defiance vanished, and they immediately threw off the bear pelts.

And then…

“…Bald?”

“Huh? Why are their heads…?”

“Were they always hairless…?”

-……

The sprouts, no, the bald ones, had tears welling in their eyes.

They never wanted to show this appearance to others…

Especially not to the girls.

Their eyes grew moist, and Ihan continued as if making an excuse.

“Ahem, it’s just a minor side effect. Those who learned the fighting technique were fine, but those who didn’t lost their hair after learning the discipline. Well, it’s not a permanent disability. It will grow back later.”

“Th-then what about Lady Polte…?”

“I taught her more kindly, so she’s fine. The ones I taught ‘radically’ ended up like that. Just a small mistake—I won’t make it next time, haha…”

“……”

“…I’m sorry. That was thoughtless.”

“…Please don’t apologize, so we can at least hate you properly.”

The bald ones whimpered sadly, while the others gave them sympathetic looks.

Also.

‘Thank goodness I didn’t go.’

They felt relieved that they had stayed behind.

* * *

The Swordsmanship Department dismissed early.

Classes aside, tomorrow was finally the War Game.

Conditioning was important, and they needed to recover from their tiring journey, so free time was given.

There was some concern about whether some might exhaust themselves doing “that.”

‘Well, I forced young males into a month of abstinence.’

He had treated them more harshly than a temple stay, inflicting pain daily, so he could understand if they went to relieve their urges.

…But if they showed up tomorrow exhausted rather than just refreshed, he wouldn’t let it slide.

He would roll them around repeatedly as punishment!

‘It’s absolutely not because I’m jealous.’

Others can do what I can’t do.

He wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t acting out of such vulgar jealousy.

…Though he couldn’t deny that 1% of his motivation might be envy.

“Lucky bastards…”

Ihan secretly gritted his teeth.

As if to say he wouldn’t let them off easy if they lost tomorrow.

He had somehow developed an unreasonable anger toward the cadets, and just as he was thinking of going to harass the assistant instructor who had been handling teaching duties for a month:

“Sir Knight!”

“…Lady Attendant?”

Leira Winter.

She came running with her characteristic energetic, nasal voice.

‘Oh, here she goes.’

Thud!

…As expected.

The Lady Attendant didn’t disappoint, showing an impressive slapstick performance.

A fall that inspired admiration.

The impact seemed strong enough to break her nose.

Well.

“Are you alright?”

“Hehe, yes. It doesn’t hurt.”

“…It has to hurt.”

“Huh?”

“…Nothing, never mind.”

Our Lady Attendant without a scratch.

Amazing.

Truly remarkable resilience.

‘What is she, really?’

Despite having spent considerable time together, she remained an incomprehensible mystery.

Actually more fascinating than regressors or possessors.

Ihan carefully concealed these thoughts and asked why she had sought him so urgently when they would meet at home anyway.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing else, but the Princess is coming!”

“I already know.”

“Really?!”

“I heard it when I was called to the headmaster’s office.”

News he heard while being scolded by the headmaster.

Isis, that older sister, was visiting the Academy and would be observing the War Game.

Ihan couldn’t help feeling disrespectful toward the royal who seemed to have nothing better to do, but since it wasn’t the first time she acted on her own whims, he just accepted it.

‘If she comes, she comes. Why should I care?’

For the Academy faculty and cadets, it would be like a three-star general visiting their unit.

But for Ihan, it was just a somewhat annoying acquaintance coming over.

Others would handle the work anyway.

‘I’ll just hide somewhere.’

The cadets would be the ones fighting; what would he have to do?

“It’s not such a big deal. We should just do our jobs…”

“But the Duke is coming too!”

“…?”

“Duke Galahad! I heard he’s coming to watch too!”

“…What?”

He seemed to have heard something strange.

Was his hearing failing him?

Ihan was about to say something when…

“Oh, and besides the Duke, Grand Duke Lionel is coming too! I heard it clearly at the royal palace today!”

“…What?”

“With such important people coming, they say even the King might attend! Hehe, looks like we’ll have lots of guests!”

“…Whaat?”

He continued to ask again with a dumbfounded expression.