episode_0009

Carefully holding the glass bottle, which seemed to be left by Erika with her left hand, she didn’t think about trying what was inside. Suddenly, the method from a moment ago came to mind. By accepting natural mana into the body, merging it with my own mana, and then crystallizing it, I could increase the medium for magic just by using that decision. As Erika said, the basics of ice magic were about handling cold. Ice crystals were also cold.

It felt like magic was being drawn in my mind. I hadn’t really seen her magic properly yet, but I had a rough idea of what form it might take.

As I touched the glass bottle, someone entered the infirmary. Naturally turning my head, I saw the figure of a healer who treated students at the academy. Carefully getting up, the healer approached, checked me over, and smiled.

“You’re all better now. You can go back.”

“Thank you.”

After expressing gratitude to the healer and taking the glass bottle, I left the infirmary. It was already evening mealtime after the afternoon classes ended. I didn’t feel particularly good about fleeing the lecture, but I couldn’t turn back time. There were rumors that some mages could manipulate time, but that was still a distant story.

The lecture was over, but I had to go to work, so I headed to the restaurant, grabbed some food, and went down the academy stairs to head to the gate. At that moment, Cerisria was coming up the stairs. There wouldn’t be any other reason for her to be around this time except for dinner. As that thought crossed my mind, she spoke.

“I didn’t see you in the afternoon.”

“I was in the infirmary.”

“There are various rumors, one is that they tried to freeze the rest area, and another is that they clashed with the 5th graders, but that can’t be true, right?”

“Do you see me as someone who would do that?”

“I may be foolish, but I don’t do strange things.”

I sighed inwardly at her words. Suddenly standing like this, I wondered what she wanted to talk about, so I just looked at her without saying anything. She was looking at me too. Her red eyes, looking at me, felt different from usual.

“The atmosphere has changed a bit.”

“Do you think so?”

“If my feeling is right, then it must have… Well, I can’t know what happened either.”

She smiled. I thought her round crescent-shaped eye smile was beautiful. Just as I met her eyes, she handed me something. Carefully reaching out my right hand, I received a small vial she held.

“What’s this?”

“It’ll give you a little energy if you take it.”

“It’s not strange, is it?”

“Do I look like someone who would do that?”

“…Thank you, I’ll take it gratefully.”

And she looked at me, then slowly walked past me, and I hurried my steps towards the school gate.

“Take care.”

With those words, I took off the apron I was wearing, hung it on the counter, changed my clothes, and quickly moved to the academy. Even as I walked along the familiar path, I couldn’t help but be tense, wondering if she would appear again like yesterday. And as if reading my thoughts, she was standing in front of the school gate.

“Hello, junior.”

“…Good evening.”

“I didn’t mean to speak as if we were characters from such a book.”

Of course, I didn’t have the courage to speak comfortably. Was she here to teach me magic? Such curiosity flashed through my mind, but she threw something towards me. I caught the slowly flying object towards my hand, and there was a small glass bottle.

“Do you still have what I gave you?”

She nodded at his words and then bit her lip.

“Try to make it the same. If you need a different bottle, look for Leonhart.”

“The same?”

“Yeah.”

She cautiously looked at the glass bottle in her hand. There was no difference between the bottle she had been given and the one before… except that perhaps the one she had just received didn’t contain coldness, while the previous one did. She instinctively knew that without needing to use mana to confirm it. Was she supposed to put coldness into the glass bottle?

It seemed like an easier task than she had initially thought. However… since it was an assignment given by Erica-senpai, it surely wouldn’t be easy. I raised my head to ask something, but she had already disappeared from my sight a long time ago. A small sigh escaped my lips as I exhaled, and I moved my feet back to the dormitory.

When I arrived at the dorm and entered my room, a friend who shared the same room was looking at me.

“…Hey, you’re usually lost in sleep.”

“I was worried, and actually, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Alright, go ahead and ask, Zeke.”

In response to my words, the brown-haired student smiled and began to ask questions. Did you really fight with the 5th grader? Why didn’t you show up in the afternoon? How strong is the 5th grader? From those strange questions, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“I’ve never fought with the 5th grader, and I was in the infirmary in the afternoon.”

“So, you did meet the 5th grader?”

“Yeah, on my way back to the dorm after finishing work yesterday, we met. That’s how we met again today.”

“Huh, it’s different from the rumors.”

“Believing rumors is foolish.”

At my words, Zeke chuckled and patted my shoulder.

“But do you know something, friend?”

“What?”

“Rumors have already spread throughout the school that you faced off with the 5th grader.”

“…Why?”

At my words, Zeke pointed at me with his finger.

“You’ve become famous, my friend.”

A sigh escaped my lips at that moment.

“It’s a noisy morning.”

“Still, you haven’t earned the title yet.”

I cut the chicken breast with a knife in my right hand at Sharon’s words.

“I’ve thought about wanting to receive it, but I don’t want to receive it for this kind of thing.”

“I’m curious about the rumors too, but I won’t ask.”

“I’ll just tell you that there’s not a single thing true in the rumors.”

“It seems like facing the 5th graders is true.”

At Sharon’s words, I looked at Sharon, and Sharon smiled at my gaze. After smiling, if I saw her drinking tea nonchalantly, I felt like I would let out a small sigh.

“You know how many students were in the library. I said I saw a senior with the emblem of the 5th graders. Then isn’t that a true statement?”

“Everyone seems interested in others, gathering in the library to study.”

“You turned the lounge of that library into ice.”

“… That wasn’t me.”

“What do you call the fact that there was ice all around when I found you?”

At Sharon’s question, I sighed and said,

“It was done by Senior Erika.”

“Erika?”

“She’s one of the 5th graders, a beautiful senior with silver hair and blue eyes.”

“I’m grateful that you think so.”

Surprised by that voice, I looked to the side and saw the senior sitting there. I wondered when she came, but as she can teleport easily, I couldn’t expect the answer I wanted even if I asked.

“You’re not surprised.”

“Why would I ask someone who suddenly appears every time?”

“Did you make the glass bottle?”

“I’m going to meet Senior Leona today to get more glass bottles. They broke as soon as I put in the cold.”

“If you can’t handle that level of control, then there’s nothing I can ask of you, junior.”

After saying that, Erika started eating without saying anything, and I looked at Sharon and said,

“What are you doing?”

“… I won’t ask.”

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

Sharen was the kind of person who didn’t need to ask. Of course… those around wouldn’t think so. Eating with a first grader and a fifth grader was something that only happened in dreams. Surely, after this meal, strange rumors would spread again. Suppressing the feeling that a sigh was about to escape, I forced myself to eat the cookie that came as dessert.

Just as the sweet taste made me feel slightly better, I heard someone approaching. When I looked up, there was a man standing there. I don’t remember him being in our class. What does he want to say?

“Astan.”

“Yeah.”

Looking at the badge on his chest, he was a first grader. I didn’t want to be the protagonist of the first duel among the first graders. I cautiously looked at the student. Green hair, a necklace around his neck, a somewhat gentle face. He might be handsome, but standing next to Sharen, his beauty didn’t stand out.

“Can I ask why you’re doing this?”

“I want to challenge the one called the strongest first grader.”

“Then go find someone else. There’s the Princess of Flames, the Witch of Thunder, the Jester of Wind, and the Light Manifestation sitting next to you. Why me? Why do you think you can’t beat the others, but you can beat me?”

At that moment, the student’s face turned red. It was a slight hit, but it seemed to scratch my pride, making me angry. If that was his intention, he must be quite a person, but probably not.

“I refuse the duel.”

“Don’t you have any honor?”

“Honor?”

I glared at the student.

“Maybe nobles like you have it, but not for commoners like me, idiot.”