Ch.49I Like Childhood Friend Romance Stories

The meeting with Frider ended with rather ambiguous results.

In the end, I concluded that most regular students couldn’t be relied upon, and the only useful countermeasure might be silver plating…

And until I had definitive evidence, even Frider wouldn’t take action.

Besides, without evidence, it would be difficult to convince others to prepare.

Even if I forced preparations, there would be problems afterward.

After the attack, they would certainly demand to know how I discovered the attack plan, and I’d have no good answer.

It would be disastrous if they suspected I was somehow involved with the attackers.

Such suspicions tend to grow endlessly and reproduce themselves.

Even if I successfully fended off the werebeasts.

Once suspicion takes root, they would endlessly inflate doubts, wondering if even my success was part of some hidden agenda.

That’s how confirmation bias works.

A flimsy excuse about smelling beast scent would only go so far.

Even Frider seemed half-convinced, so it would be difficult to persuade skeptics with such claims.

At least once the attack was proven real, Frider would likely take my side.

Northerners consider anyone who kills werebeasts to be on their side.

Probably.

So I needed to prepare the students for the werebeast attack while hiding the fact that I knew about it…

Even the first step wouldn’t be easy. Really.

My position was still unstable, with many people viewing me with suspicion.

As long as I carried the shackles of being the “Villainess of Ka’har,” everything I did would be like swimming across a river with bound hands and feet.

If I could resolve this incident without arousing suspicion… things might improve afterward.

I chewed my lip anxiously.

For now, all I could do was help improve the skills of those capable of fighting werebeasts.

Even then, I’d be limited to helping them gain experience through practice duels.

Regular students had tight schedules, leaving no free time outside of combat classes.

The people who could help against werebeasts would be Demian, Ophelia, Edgar, and… Millia.

Realistically, I could only train Demian and Millia.

Lena and Hans would probably listen to me, but dueling wouldn’t benefit Lena, and Hans… would likely refuse dueling outright.

…At least I no longer needed to moderately hide my skills during duels.

Though I still couldn’t show myself going all out.

—-

I returned to my room, lost in thought.

Nigel was sitting in a chair, writing something on a piece of paper on the table.

“Ah, you’re back. Was your conversation with Lord Frider helpful?”

“It was ambiguous. Not entirely unhelpful, but… anyway, what are you writing? A letter?”

Nigel put down his pen and picked up the paper.

“It’s an activity report for the Lord. Would you like to read it?”

“A report? Sure. Let me see.”

So he was reporting my activities to the Lord after all.

I’d expected this, so I didn’t feel particularly betrayed or regretful.

While Nigel provided faithful assistance to me, he was essentially Ludwig Wilhelm von Landenburg’s knight.

And from a sponsor’s perspective, it wasn’t strange for Lord Landenburg to receive reports about the person he was supporting.

Ultimately, I shouldn’t do anything that might make the Lord suspicious when Nigel was around.

I was rather grateful that he didn’t try to hide the fact that he was writing reports.

He wouldn’t show me so openly if the contents were unfavorable to me.

I took the letter Nigel offered and skimmed through it.

It was written in quite a formal tone, probably to keep it concise on a single page.

—-

< Current Status >

Good relationship with special admission students.

Excellent understanding and learning speed of Imperial swordsmanship.

Skill level fluctuates but growing rapidly.

< Concerns >

Currently poor reputation within the Academy.

Mostly prejudice regarding background, past history, and disposition.

*Deemed surmountable issue. Subject shows strong will to improve.

< Special Notes >

Dane crusader infiltrated. Male named Knut. Dealt with through ambush.

No anticipated future issues.

P.S.

Expenses exceed expectations. May I request relaxation of activity fund restrictions?

The mana herbs recommended by the Lord have become more problematic than anticipated.

—-

It was certainly an innocuous report.

Except for the postscript that seemed to subtly criticize the two mana herb addicts.

“Well, it seems fine. Are you sending this to Ludwig Wilhelm von Landenburg as is?”

“Yes. It would be fortunate if the Lord loosened the activity fund restrictions… but I wouldn’t recommend getting your hopes up.”

Nigel shook his head. He had the expression of someone who habitually buys lottery tickets every weekend.

Not really expecting to win, but still harboring that complex mixture of feelings if he did happen to win.

…Having extra money would certainly help.

I could visit the Adventurer Guild for extermination requests, but that would take considerable time.

And fighting trolls or ogres wouldn’t help improve my skills much anymore, unlike fighting magical beasts.

I returned the letter and prepared for bed.

Lying on the soft bed, I closed my eyes and contemplated my next steps.

First, attend the dueling class to train Demian and Millia…

Think of an excuse to ask Asha for silver for plating…

And come up with a plausible reason to revisit the underground waterways later.

There was so much to do.

—-

I attended the combat class.

Today’s lesson was outdoor dueling again.

In the morning, we had to duel opponents assigned by Professor Carlain, and free dueling was scheduled for the afternoon.

As usual, I approached Demian and Millia.

The two greeted me warmly.

“Ah, Haschal.”

“Nice to see you. You’ve been attending classes often lately?”

“It just turned out that way.”

The three of us watched the students’ duels while chatting about various things.

Someone getting bitten by a horse in the mounted combat class, Demian setting a new freshman record in physical training class, and other trivial matters.

Demian smiled awkwardly, saying it wasn’t that impressive.

While glancing at my arms occasionally.

Well, being the top human freshman is something to be proud of.

My body is beyond human level, so it’s an exception.

The morning duels seemed to match students with opponents of similar skill levels, as everyone fought quite evenly.

Everyone had become quite disciplined, wielding their weapons with impressive intensity.

Millia’s opponent was Edgar… and surprisingly, Millia won.

Edgar kept pushing forward while healing all the small penetrating wounds, but when Millia’s strike caught his nape in a moment of carelessness, he finally admitted defeat.

In a real battle, he would have died from a pierced neck.

Even with healing blessings, instant death would render them meaningless.

Millia beamed at us, waving her three swords triumphantly.

Though she got scolded by Professor Carlain before returning.

Demian’s opponent was Ophelia.

It could have been a spectacular duel if they fought properly, but that was unlikely.

Ophelia had been smoking a long mana herb in the corner, and when her turn came, she just walked out and forfeited.

The professor’s face contorted with anger, but Ophelia leisurely blew out smoke and returned to her seat.

Demian lowered his greatsword dejectedly.

Eventually, Professor Carlain assigned another student as Demian’s opponent.

It was a young man from the magic department who was originally supposed to fight me.

The top scorer on the magic department entrance exam, I believe.

The young man, who had been sickly pale at the prospect of fighting me, walked out with a brightened face when his opponent changed to Demian, which was quite amusing.

It was a decent duel to watch.

Demian’s swordsmanship, centered around leaps, charges, and rotations, remained magnificent, while the young man fired off flashy spells.

Continuous explosions echoed as parts of the training ground were torn up, scattering debris.

While Demian was dueling, I decided to talk to Millia.

Her swordsmanship had improved somewhat, but I still wanted to recommend archery to her.

“Millia. I wanted to ask you something. Is that okay?”

“Hm? Do you have something you’re curious about? Go ahead.”

Millia turned to me and nodded.

“Why did you decide to become a knight?”

I already knew the answer.

It was because she admired Demian, according to the setting.

Still, it was the perfect question to break the ice before getting to the main point.

Millia tilted her head thoughtfully before smiling gently.

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story.”

She turned her head back toward Demian and continued.

“Demian and I lived in the same village since we were young. When Demian was ten, his parents passed away, so he came to live with us.”

Her eyes seemed to gaze at something distant, as if reminiscing about the past.

“At first, I was a bit wary of him. He never spoke or smiled, so I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. But at some point, he started smiling more. He began helping with household chores too.”

He seems to have been a rather gloomy child in the past.

Looking at his refreshing appearance now, it’s hard to imagine.

Was it because of the shock of losing his parents?

“Then when I was twelve, a bad person came to our house. He was a thief running from knights who had come to hunt him down. He came to our house looking for a place to hide. Our house was isolated on the outskirts of the village. At that time, only Demian and I were home.”

Millia shuddered slightly.

“I was scared. He tried to do very bad things to me. I just cried and screamed for help.”

Her complexion darkened slightly, perhaps recalling the fear she felt then.

“That’s when Demian saved me. He fought that man with a farming tool from our house. Even though he’d never been in a fight before. Without trembling. He protected me.”

Millia’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Demian.

At the boy who wielded a greatsword, dodging, blocking, and striking back against magic, pushing his opponent back.

“In the end, Demian defeated that man. Demian was badly injured too. He might have died if a knight tracking the thief hadn’t helped.”

Demian approached the magic student, raising his greatsword.

“I just cried my eyes out seeing Demian covered in blood. But Demian smiled. He asked me if I was okay. Said he was glad I wasn’t hurt.”

Millia whispered softly.

Demian’s greatsword broke through the magic barrier.

“That’s when it started. When I thought I wanted to be someone like Demian… No, that’s not it. I didn’t want to be someone like Demian. I wanted to stay by Demian’s side, always. I wanted to walk alongside him.”

“So that’s why you followed him here?”

The magic student fell to his knees helplessly.

Demian lowered his greatsword and straightened up.

The sun high in the sky brightly illuminated the figure of the boy who would someday become a hero.

“Yes. Because Demian was my hero.”

That’s why I decided to become a knight.

Millia smiled warmly.

…I felt a bit awkward.