episode_0072

He suggested to the other special class students that they all go around together and tease the other students, but no one accepted the offer.

“Looks like Lucas and I will have to go around and tease other students by ourselves.”

“I was just planning to wander around normally, you know.”

Lucas and I, having stepped out of the classroom, first left the basement and headed towards where the first-year classrooms were.

“There’s no one here.”

“Right?”

Probably because it was class time, there was no one in the hallway.

‘This isn’t fun.’

I looked at a classroom from which the sound of a lecture could be heard.

“Lucas.”

“What is it?”

“It wouldn’t be okay to go into a classroom where a lesson is currently in progress and tease the students, would it?”

“You know whether it’s okay or not, don’t you?”

“It’s just that I’m the type to try things first before thinking if it’s okay or not.”

“What if Professor Alicia proceeds with the class as usual?”

“To observe a class, we’d have to go outside, right? Come on, let’s go out quickly!”

Realizing that we couldn’t observe students currently in class, Lucas and I went outside.

“Well, we’re out now, but…”

The problem was where to go.

There were many outdoor classes, and consequently, all the class locations were different.

“How about we go there?”

“By ‘there’, you mean?”

“That forest where Professor Idra conducted her class last time.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea.”

We didn’t know if a class was being held there, but it would be better than just standing still.

Lucas and I headed towards the forest where Professor Idra conducted the exam last time.

Fortunately, Professor Idra was there.

“Loki, Lucas, shouldn’t you be in class right now?”

“Well…”

I told Professor Idra that Professor Alicia had said we could rest freely until lunchtime, and that we came here to observe other students attending class.

Professor Idra said, “You’ve come at a good time.”

“Remember the exam Loki won last time? It’s still ongoing.”

“May we sit beside you and watch?”

“Of course. I was just getting bored anyway.”

Professor Idra looked at Lucas and me, who were sitting nearby, and opened her mouth.

“It’s quite enviable to wander around freely like that. I used to skip classes and roam around too, back in the day…”

We were wandering around with permission, but back then, Professor Idra probably skipped classes without permission.

“It was incredibly fun wandering around, avoiding Professor Gedra.”

Lucas and I sat down and continued listening to Professor Idra’s stories from her student days.

“Professor Idra, would you like a candy?”

I took out a candy from my spatial storage and handed it to Professor Idra, speaking.

“Oh! How did you know I like candy!”

Professor Idra immediately put the candy I handed her into her mouth.

“Lucas, you have one too.”

“Thanks.”

Just as the three of us were enjoying our candies,

a student emerged from the forest.

“Your, Your Imperial Highness?”

Following that student, other students also emerged from the forest, and all reacted with surprise upon seeing Lucas.

“What brings His Imperial Highness here?”

Originally, I had planned to watch other students struggle and eat candy, but while listening to Professor Idra’s stories from her student days, the exam had already ended, so I couldn’t do that.

“Lucas, let’s move. There doesn’t seem to be anyone worth teasing here.”

.

.

.

So, after wandering around with Lucas here and there,

Lucas paused, having found something.

“Did you find something?”

“It’s nothing. Sorry, but I’ll be back in a bit. See you at lunchtime.”

Lucas left those words and hastily ran off somewhere.

Left alone in an instant, I thought.

‘Should I just go to the dormitory and sleep?’

I had originally intended to observe students attending class, but it was impossible to enter a class that was already in session.

Nor was it easy to find a class being held outdoors.

As I was walking through the academy grounds, pondering what to do,

“What are you doing here?”

Someone grabbed me and spoke.

It was an elderly Swordsman. Professor Gedra.

“My professor said we could be free until lunchtime, so I was just wandering around.”

“That’s not a lie, is it?”

“There’s no reason for me to tell a lie that would be found out simply by asking the professor, is there?”

“That’s true. If you have nothing to do, how about taking a brief tour?”

To think that Professor Gedra would suggest it first.

“I’d love that.”

“Follow me.”

* * *

– Footsteps.

Loki walked, following Gedra.

Their footsteps stopped upon reaching the outdoor training ground.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In the training ground, the students’ battle cries and the sound of swords clashing echoed loudly.

The students in the training ground were second-years, not first-years.

The students were so focused on their opponents that they didn’t notice Loki and Gedra entering.

The students were paired up, holding weapons and sparring.

Among them, Loki spotted a familiar face.

The woman’s platinum blonde hair, tied up for ease of movement, swayed back and forth whenever she swung her sword.

Even if you brought a small child who knew nothing about swords, they would be able to tell that the woman’s swordsmanship was overwhelmingly superior to that of the other students.

The woman was Johanna.

Johanna was sparring with her best friend, Jena.

“Huh? You?”

A student, whose sparring session had just ended, spotted Loki and Gedra.

They weren’t surprised to see Gedra, but they were surprised to see Loki next to him.

When one person recognized Loki, that student’s partner looked at Loki, and then the student next to them also spotted Loki.

“Isn’t that a first-year? Why are they here?”

“Maybe Professor Gedra brought them?”

The students chattered loudly about Loki.

The training ground, where only the sound of clashing swords had echoed, suddenly became noisy.

Clang! Clang! Clang clank!

However, their voices didn’t reach Johanna, who was focused on her sword.

For Johanna right now, only her sword and her opponent, Jena, were visible.

As a Swordsman who had already achieved mastery, her concentration wouldn’t be broken by mere ambient noise.

That is, if she were the Johanna from before she fell for Loki.

“What was their name again?”

“You don’t know? It’s Loki.”

“…!”

It was instinct. One that Johanna neither realized nor controlled.

Upon hearing Loki’s name, Johanna’s instinct lowered her sword and she surveyed her surroundings.

It was a grave mistake Johanna wouldn’t normally make, and above all, the timing was terrible.

Swish!

“Ack?!”

Jena’s sword, swung from top to bottom, headed for Johanna’s unprotected head.

Jena, startled by Johanna lowering her sword, tried to change the sword’s trajectory, but it was beyond her strength.

“Ah.”

Johanna also realized her grave mistake and squeezed her eyes shut.

It was impossible to dodge, or to raise her sword again to block.

Thump.

But for some reason, the sword didn’t make contact. Johanna cautiously opened her eyes and realized why.

“Senior, no matter how happy you are to see me, you shouldn’t be distracted during a spar. You could have been seriously hurt, couldn’t you?”

There stood Loki, holding Jena’s sword with his hand.

“…… How?”

Loki had moved immediately when Johanna, who was sparring well, suddenly flinched.

That’s why he was able to reach Johanna faster than Gedra.

There wasn’t time to grab Johanna and dodge, and as a result, blocking the sword with his bare hand was the best option.

But because he blocked the rapidly descending sword with his bare hand, blood dripped from Loki’s hand.

Seeing blood flowing from Loki’s hand, Johanna felt as if her mind was snapping.

Loki was hurt.

Because of me…

Because of my mistake, Loki’s hand is bleeding.

What if Loki is seriously hurt?

What if Loki hates me?

What if Loki tells me he dislikes me…?

No, Loki wouldn’t say something like that to me…

But he got hurt because of me, didn’t he?

“I’ll take you to the infirmary…”

“I’ll take him.”

Johanna interrupted Gerda and said urgently.

After carefully taking Loki’s hand, she walked to the infirmary.

Johanna said nothing on the way to the infirmary, but Loki could tell from the hand she was holding that Johanna was trembling.

“Senior, I’m not that badly hurt, so…”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Please don’t hate me.”

Loki tried to tell Johanna he was fine, but Johanna kept muttering so softly it was almost inaudible.

The medic bandaged Loki’s hand and explained the precautions.

Fortunately, Loki wasn’t seriously hurt.

So much so that it would disappear with just one day of good rest.

Even though the medic in the infirmary said it was fine, Johanna was still muttering in a small voice.

“Senior, should we sit down there for a bit and rest before we go?”

Loki pointed at a bench in the academy grounds, and Johanna nodded weakly.

“Senior, you really don’t need to apologize so much. It’s not even a serious injury.”

“But!”

“Senior, if something dangerous were to happen to me, would you help me?”

“Yes. I would.”

Johanna answered Loki’s question without a moment’s hesitation.

“I just acted with the same thoughts as you, Senior. If it bothers you, you can just help me out once, just like I helped you.”

“I’ll definitely help you. But why were you there?”

Loki told Johanna everything, from having a mission tomorrow to encountering Gedra.

“You mustn’t get hurt on your mission.”

“Like this?”

Loki playfully pointed at his bandaged hand with his uninjured hand, but.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Johanna hung her head low and spoke in a choked voice.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, as if tears would fall at any moment.

“It’s a joke. A joke! I’ll come back without a single scratch.”