Tsk.

“Raaaargh!!”

Latello Den charged with a fierce roar.

As his massive body created a storm with its terrifying speed, Waden took a breath and twisted his body in place.

‘No choice, even if the damage increases, I’ll have to go all out too!’

As the massive body passed by his side, the mana concentrated at Waden’s fingertips began to violently fluctuate.

-Zzzzt!

He gathered enough mana in his hand to form a circle.

And swung it towards the massive body that had rapidly opened up, without any application.

“Sleep for a while.”

-Boom!

A thunderous sound that couldn’t be thought of as a fist colliding.

The impact was enough to reach the surrounding Disciplinary Committee members, but Waden’s expression was far from good.

“Wh-What…”

Clearly, it was a punch with more power than when he had fought earlier.

Naturally, considering the previous struggle, even this massive body should have been pushed back, but in reality, that body was standing still in place.

Despite infusing enough magical power to form a circle, he couldn’t push it back.

The recoil made his bones ache, and blood was flowing from the torn skin of his hand.

‘It’s become harder than before… No, that’s wrong.’

If it had just become harder, it should at least be pushed back.

The fact that it’s impossible means the opponent has put his weight into not being blown away.

But a boy who has lost his reason shouldn’t be able to use such a technique.

-Creak!

Yes, it’s simply that the weight has purely increased.

Just by looking at the swelling body at this moment, he could immediately sense this fact.

‘Mana… He’s turned the physical force of mana into mass.’

The moment he saw the heat haze rising around him, Waden’s face instantly turned to bewilderment.

Absorbing the surrounding mana to grow the body.

Is this what barbarian-born have evolved to be capable of?

“Grr, grrr…”

No, the principle behind it doesn’t matter.

The already grown body has become more than twice his size.

The front facing him was shrouded in darkness with the sunlight at its back, but he could clearly see that those two distinctly open eyes were directed at him.

Those are not the eyes of a human looking at another human.

The eyes of a beast…

The eyes of prey looking at its hunting target.

“Captain!! It’s dangerous!!”

The screams of the Disciplinary Committee members could be heard from afar.

Nevertheless, Waden couldn’t bring himself to leave this place.

Even though he knew he should stay calm, for a moment his reason turned completely white.

‘My, my body won’t move.’

In that moment when his body froze like prey facing a predator.

Latello Den, facing Waden, raised his tightly clenched fist high into the sky.

“Graaaah!!!”

With a fierce roar and clearly visible eyes filled with madness.

As the swung fist pushed the air, creating wind pressure.

“Tsk.”

A small voice resounded, wedging into that gap.

-Boom!!!

Something that rushed in along with it struck the rampaging boy’s head, slamming that huge body into the ground.

A monster that couldn’t be thought of as the same human.

With just one light punch from a woman who flew in with her white gown fluttering.

-Thud.

Only then did Waden collapse to the ground.

Perhaps because the tension was released in an instant, his fallen body couldn’t stand up right away and just trembled, but the landed woman nonchalantly closed the distance with Waden.

“Are you alright?”

The woman whispered kindly while matching eye level with him.

Waden knew her.

“Te-Teacher Seine…?”

Seine Velvet.

The one employed as the health teacher of this academy, and someone he never thought would set foot in this dangerous scene.

“Oh my, your knuckles are all scraped.”

Then she grabbed Waden’s hand lying on the ground and began to examine its surface carefully.

Blood flowing from the scraped skin.

Even at this moment, he could feel the stinging, but Waden couldn’t help but be more interested in the accessory hanging around Seine’s neck than the pain in his own hand.

‘A red cross-shaped rosary.’

It was a symbol representing a certain order, and an accessory mainly worn by members of a certain unit that used to roam the battlefield.

Was it a coincidence that she was wearing it, or…

‘Really?’

Really.

Is the hero he admires right in front of him?

“Grrrr…”

As he felt his heart pounding, the fallen barbarian boy slowly began to raise his body.

As if he had endured without hesitation the punch infused with enough mana to form a circle that hit him directly.

“…I was a bit uneasy hearing he came from across that magical realm.”

Nevertheless, the woman facing him still had composure on her face.

A chuckle escaped her lips as she faced the boy who had now fully stood up.

“Now that I look closely, he’s still just a baby.”

“Ba-Baby?”

Bewilderment began to paint the faces of all the Disciplinary Committee members who heard those words.

Baby…

How could such an expression be appropriate for that being who is twice their size and even now is absorbing mana to grow larger?

“Disciplinary Committee Head.”

Despite this atmosphere, she quietly asked Waden, who was behind her.

“How should I treat this child?”

“…Pardon?”

“Should I treat him as a student? Or as an uncontrollable dangerous element?”

A question that’s obvious if it’s obvious.

At that question, the gazes of all the students, including Waden, turned to the front.

“Grr, grrr…”

A strange physique that turns mana itself into mass and volume.

Seeing the size resulting from that, anyone would consider the current question obvious.

That’s something Waden, who had been targeted by that boy, acutely realized.

“…He’s a student.”

Nevertheless, Waden composed himself and spoke a fact that was by no means obvious.

“Whatever the reason, that boy also came to this academy as a student. We shouldn’t make exceptions in how we treat him.”

Although he had failed to control him and was exposed to danger, that was only because of his own inadequacy.

It doesn’t change the status with which that being came to this academy.

“…A textbook answer.”

But despite considering that answer correct, her expression wasn’t very good.

“But that’s only within the limits of what you can handle. How can someone who can’t even protect their own life protect others?”

“What…”

“I’ll finish the lecture after calming this child down.”

Saying so, Seine turned her attention away from Waden and put both hands in her pockets.

Even so, her clearly open gaze was directed precisely forward.

“Graaaaaah!!!”

A fierce roar burst from his mouth.

Along with it, as he kicked off the ground and charged, the mountain shook violently, and everything around began to vibrate.

A power that makes nature tremble just by existing.

The killing intent, incomparable to when he first faced the Disciplinary Committee members, was aimed solely at the one woman who had attacked him.

“…Does a little brat whose blood hasn’t even dried behind his ears think it’s okay to yell in front of a teacher?”

Yet the person in question still hadn’t taken her hands out of her gown pockets.

As everyone watched anxiously, she finally opened her mouth and shouted towards the boy as the distance closed.

“Tsk!!!!!!”

A shout burst out along with flashing eyes.

-Bang!!!!

Along with it, mana exploded with a stomp of her foot, and a fierce wind pressure burst out from her as the center.

The forest leaves fluttered in an instant, and the instinct that raised alertness at the pressure made two legs plant firmly on the ground.

Even that aftereffect spread its power as if about to flip the earth, but she still only faced the boy in front of her.

“Grr, grrr…”

The barbarian boy still growling despite stopping his movement.

But even facing that, she showed no hostility or fear.

Of course.

When everyone else read madness and anger from that barbarian boy, only she read the emotion of ‘fear’ from the boy.

“Well, it’s understandable to be anxious in an unfamiliar environment.”

Even a beast from the jungle would be frightened if it came to the city, wouldn’t it?

She chuckled and said while slowly stroking the lowered head in front of her.

“It’s okay, little one. No one will hurt you. If you just sleep a little, you’ll feel better soon.”

“…”

The boy no longer lashed out even as her hand touched his head.

Rather, as the pain from where he was hit faded and peace came to his mind.

-Thud.

Finally, his body, relieved of tension, collapsed to the ground, and as the unconscious boy’s will dissipated, the physical force of mana embedded in his body began to release.

At the moment when the body that had grown due to his constitution gradually began to shrink.

All the Disciplinary Committee members around were watching this entire scene without missing a detail.

‘This is… a hero from the front lines.’

The head of the Disciplinary Committee, sitting behind her, also.

---

Latello Den.

After laying the little boy with such a name under a tree, I decided to take some time to provide light first aid to the Disciplinary Committee members before descending the mountain.

After all, going down with injuries would only make their condition worse.

“Agh!”

“Stay still. It’s not easy to check your condition if you thrash about.”

Sitting on a rock ledge near the incident site, I examined the arm of the student in front of me.

A bruise that had turned purple on the rolled-up sleeve.

Scanning the interior with mana vibrations, I could confirm that the bone was broken.

“This needs a splint. Can some of you who are uninjured break off a few branches from nearby?”

“Ah, yes!”

The Disciplinary Committee members immediately moved in unison upon hearing my words, procuring the materials.

Although young, they show discipline and skill in following instructions.

If nothing else, it shows that someone trained their subordinates well.

That someone who’s looking down at his injured fist under the shade over there.

-Crack.

I broke the branches that the Disciplinary Committee members had gathered, then brought the edge of my hand to their outer surface.

The surface was shaved off as my hand, honed with mana, swept down.

Soon, I held the neatly shaved branches and applied a splint to the arm of the Disciplinary Committee member with the broken arm, wrapping it with a bandage.

“If anyone else has fractures, speak up early. And those over there, could you collect what the teacher mentioned?”

“Huh? Collect…”

“Well… No, it might be better to draw and explain this rather than explain verbally.”

I paused the treatment for a moment and drew a picture in the notebook in my pocket to show them.

Leaves with a roughly protruding outer surface.

It’s something commonly seen not only on this mountain but anywhere on the continent.

“Teacher, we brought what you mentioned, but what is this? A medicinal herb?”

“It’s mint.”

“…Mint?”

“Mint, you mean that thing used in perfumes…”

“It’s used in perfumes, cooking, and as a medicinal ingredient.”

Well, in reality, it’s closer to being used for its analgesic effect rather than wound healing.

-Drip.

As I applied force while holding the mint leaves in my hand, refined juice slowly began to drip onto the opposite hand.

An effect created as the components present in the mint leaves were filtered by mana. Among these, what I was focusing on extracting was a component called ‘menthol’.

This is the component responsible for the cool feeling you get when applying ointments or patches.

As it increases sensory perception, it also provides a mental stabilizing effect through placebo, making it the best painkiller to use in urgent situations.

“Now, now, this might sting a little.”

I continued the treatment, applying the juice as an ointment to the wounded areas.

It only hurts at first.

Once it permeates the skin, the effect is fast and certain, so they should be able to enjoy the analgesic effect soon.

“…I didn’t know mint could be used like this.”

“Remember that mint is tough and grows quickly, so it grows well anywhere. It’s also a good method to plant mint in the front yard of a friend you don’t like.”

“Wh-What?”

“It’s from experience, so take note.”

In fact, when I was young, I once terrorized the flower bed that the bitch was growing with mint.

If I had known she was a potential mint chocolate lover, I wouldn’t have wasted my second youth on such stupid antics, damn it.

“This side has a cramp. Did you tense your leg too much because you were too surprised?”

“Ugh, ungh.”

“Stay still.”

-Bzzt!

The Disciplinary Committee member convulsed as I generated electricity in my hand.

But the shock loosened the stiffened muscles.

There’s still some numbness, but if left alone, it should loosen up soon.

“Those of you who are fine, massage this one’s leg. Alright, next!”

I repeated the process of treating the injured Disciplinary Committee members one after another. This should be enough for them to descend the mountain without problems.

It seems inevitable to use Holy Power for quick recovery as they need to continue their Disciplinary Committee duties afterward… Well, given the current situation, we’ll have to make do.

“Now then, lastly…”

As only one person remained, I tried to give the brightest smile I could to the stern-looking young man sitting in front of me.

“Oh my, our dear Disciplinary Committee head. You deliberately chose to be last~ Did you dislike getting scolded by the teacher that much?”

Waden Smith.

The head of the Disciplinary Committee, a second-year high school student with a notably tired expression under his cap.