Chapter 229 – Academy Arc (3) – Opening Of The Semester
230. Academy Arc (3) – Opening of the Semester
A young student, sweating and glaring at me. They didn’t look taller than 160cm, and when I got closer, the height difference was quite significant. They were the kind of size I wanted to hold close to my chest.
I seemed to have touched a nerve by suddenly asking about their gender, but there was no need to poke at it further. This was a point where I should naturally become friendly.
“Sorry for the misunderstanding. And for making you introduce yourself like that. I’m Raul, the new transfer student. What’s your name?”
“Huh? Oh, okay? My name is Lewin. Just call me that. So, you’re a transfer student… Raul, are you perhaps a noble?”
“No, I’m just a commoner.”
That’s how I got to know Lewin, having a simple conversation. When I asked why they were training alone so early when no one else was around, they said they were trying to get a feel for things so they wouldn’t fall behind.
Lewin seemed quite passionate.
‘Cute.’
From the way they were clumsy from the start, to the way they tried to act tough by calling themselves a ‘girl’, I don’t know what they think of themselves, but they’re definitely quite naive, which I like. It would be good to suggest a spar or chat and build a relationship here… but if I want to get closer, there was some groundwork to do beforehand. Besides, I was interrupting someone who was already working hard from the start of the semester.
I gave a brief greeting and headed to the dormitory.
The dormitories were naturally separated by gender, with the buildings diagonally opposite each other. They weren’t that close.
Entering the dormitory I would be staying in, there was a lobby with sofas and tables scattered around. Looking up, a large staircase connecting each floor to the fifth floor was in the center, and the wooden style and shape of the railings had a rather antique feel. It truly felt like a dormitory in a fantasy world.
I immediately found a man who seemed to be in charge in the lobby, and after confirming that no one else was around, I clapped softly to put him in a hypnotic state. Then I asked about Lewin’s room. Most dorm rooms were supposed to be double rooms… If they already had a roommate, I would have to take action.
But he said that Lewin was using an old-fashioned double room on the third floor all by themselves. There were plenty of other rooms without roommates, so they didn’t want students to stay in such rooms if they didn’t have to. It seemed they had naturally been pushed to the back of the line.
Looks like there’s something uncomfortable if I get caught.
Living comfortably alone?
Absolutely not.
……………
“You… you…?! Why are you here??”
“Oh, Lewin. Welcome. It seems we’re roommates.”
About 30 minutes later, Lewin, having finished their training, came in and pointed at me dumbly on the bed. When the flustered Lewin asked me what was going on, I told them that the proctor had assigned me here.
“What, what? This room isn’t even that good…”
Then they went back down to complain to the proctor, but they came back to the room with a sulky face after five minutes, as if it hadn’t worked.
“…If you dislike it so openly, I’ll get hurt.”
“N-no, it’s not that!! It’s just that the bed in this room isn’t new, and the desk… I was just worried you’d be bothered by it.”
“I don’t really care about that. This is enough for me.”
“………Ugh. Okay.”
In the end, Lewin couldn’t find another way and awkwardly sat on their bed.
I’ve created an environment to enjoy, but there’s no need to dig in obsessively from now. I’ve had plenty of fun times, so I can enjoy this awkward situation and proceed leisurely. Even when my neck is on the line, I can’t resist this kind of build-up.
I had dinner with Stella and Ellie at the academy’s dining hall. Like at the Nam family estate, these two wanted to be lovey-dovey with me, but the environment wasn’t good, so they were holding back. If we got caught, it would be the end. So, we agreed to meet and satisfy our desires when we went back to the main house or occasionally went out.
“…Welcome back.”
“Yeah.”
When I returned to my room, Lewin’s hair was still damp, as if they had just showered again. Lewin, now with nothing else to do, sat on the bed and started reading a swordsmanship book. But they kept glancing at me, as if they were still bothered by the new roommate. And when I looked like I was about to turn their way, they quickly turned their head away.
I kept talking to them, saying they didn’t know much. Lewin’s personality was also simple, so they listened to my stories earnestly.
“So, be nice to your seniors. They sometimes give you good tips.”
“Okay. But why hasn’t everyone else arrived yet?”
“…Well. Most people usually come on the day the department head arrives. Since you can only study by yourself anyway, maybe I was overdoing it…”
“No way. Your mindset is half the battle. Honestly, it’s amazing.”
“………Really? T-thank you. …Hey, wanna spar together tomorrow?”
“Huh? I’d love to. But what are you doing, are you seriously going to sleep in your uniform?”
“Ugh…!”
I had already changed into my pajamas (they consciously didn’t even look at me), while Lewin was still in their uniform. It would be weird if they suddenly asked me to go outside. They seemed to be wondering how to deal with this like a man, scratching their gray-brown bobbed hair, and then, as if they had made up their mind, they brought out their pajamas.
Then, they turned their back to me on the bed and started taking off their uniform.
Lewin’s smooth back was fully exposed to me.
Their muscles were well-balanced, but their small frame and biologically delicate features couldn’t be hidden.
“…………….”
As I pretended to be asleep on the bed, they swallowed hard and quickly changed into their men’s pajamas.
……………
From the next day, we trained together at the outdoor training ground behind the building.
We matched our wooden swords without using mana, and as I seriously recalled my memories and swung my sword, I was able to keep taking the initiative from Lewin. It’s a cliche, but Lewin’s basics were solid, but their application was lacking. When I took the offensive, sometimes I would briefly stop my motion and fake them out, and they would be so flustered that they would be busy taking a defensive stance.
“Ugh. That movement is so annoying…!”
“Sorry, should I go with a straightforward approach?”
“No! Do it with that, do it with that again. It feels more like a real fight… Hah!!”
But in the end, Lewin never managed to push me significantly. When they asked me with a frustrated expression, ‘You said you were a commoner,’ I replied that I was lucky enough to learn from a high-ranking paladin.
The teachings of MacCallin, who had crammed me with practical knowledge, were really useful.
When you do intense exercise, you naturally sweat.
When we returned to the department building or the dormitory, we could take a bath, but the former didn’t have the water system activated yet, so we went back to the dormitory.
It would be nice if each room had its own bathroom, but the facilities weren’t that luxurious. Instead, there were four small bathrooms lined up on each floor. It was structured so that you were washing your body with a wall between you and the next person. What was amazing was that the plumbing was quite sophisticated, like modern ones, so you could take a leisurely bath as long as you didn’t waste too much water.
‘It’s a shame we can’t shower in the room, but I can use this for an event later.’
When we were hungry, we could go to the dining hall to eat. Basic meals were provided for free, but students could order more luxurious meals depending on their wealth.
After spending a few days together, I was able to talk to Lewin quite naturally.
But they consciously avoided talking about their family or background.
Well, I thought we had become quite close.
From Thursday, students started pouring into the campus, as Friday was the day the department’s orientation would officially take place.
-Hey, is that the new kid?
-What, is he a young master from some family?
-Hmm. Not bad…
In the morning, when I entered the large lecture hall of the swordsmanship department, there was a small buzz.
Of course, since a face they had never seen before had suddenly appeared.
As the attention focused on me, Lewin, who was sitting next to me, also looked nervous.
People who use their bodies intensely are very far from being shy and unable to ask questions. As soon as they saw me, they immediately surrounded me and started asking me where I came from, how I got here, and all sorts of other things. When they found out I was a commoner, they openly asked me all sorts of things, and it was making my head spin as I answered, checking the number of stripes on their epaulets one by one.
The girls who saw me like that giggled, saying I was cute.
“Everyone, sit down.”
But the students quickly took their seats at the gruff voice from the front. Someone had already gone up to the platform, a middle-aged man with sharp eyes. His forearms were no joke. Although the atmosphere was a bit refined, he was a very macho figure.
“I don’t recognize your face. So, you’re the one with the recommendation letter… Well, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, everyone be quiet. We’ll start right away and finish quickly.”
“Yes.”
He was Sentonio, the head of the swordsmanship department, a master one level higher than MacCallin. Just from his appearance, the sword energy he emitted must be terrifying.
Before listening to his story, I needed to understand this four-year grade system. It wasn’t named anything fancy, but it was divided into first to fourth year. The number of stripes on the shoulder epaulets indicated the grade.
But it wasn’t just a four-year system. Each semester, there was an exam to advance to the next grade. This was a measure to ensure that those who didn’t have the required skills wouldn’t waste their time and could gain a social position. In other words, the number of people who advanced was small.
Of course, it was common for people to diligently attend for a year, meet the requirements, and advance to the next grade normally. Once you reached the third grade, it was quite difficult to meet the graduation requirements from the fourth grade. This was because they reflected significant achievements and grades. In fact, even these fourth-year students were already considered quasi-elite talents outside.
The content of the exams varied each time, but according to Lewin, last semester they had a league-style sparring competition. The schedule was so tight that most of them fainted in the middle.
“This exam will be held earlier. Lower-level monsters are crawling out from the west, not far from here. If we drag it out until winter, they’ll multiply and become a nuisance, right? There’s nothing better than real combat. It seems they’re having a territorial dispute among themselves right now, but as soon as the detailed schedule is set, those who want to advance will be dispatched there.”
You have to risk your life to advance.
But in fact, unless you’re an ordinary adventurer, there’s almost no reason for students taking the formal course to be afraid of lower-level monsters. It was a limited opportunity to learn the higher-grade curriculum faster, so it was obvious that there would be a lot of applicants.
“Now you get the gist, right? This advancement exam will be decided based on performance. The judgment will be made by me and the professors. Of course, the fourth-year students are an exception. If you want to graduate, you have to catch a dragon or something. Be satisfied with the extra credit.”
-Wow. I can’t graduate because there are no dragons. If there were, I’d just go and, you know?
-Right! I’d just windmill and slice up all the lizard meat.
-If you want to join the Knights, you guys should fix your frivolous way of speaking first….
The fourth-year students chuckled among themselves.
Of course, if they actually met one, they would all be roasted by its breath, but their relaxed attitude compared to the other nervous grades was impressive. Perhaps they were indeed the next generation of elites of the kingdom.
In this way, I decided to absorb all the knowledge step by step in the swordsmanship department. The department head, Sentonio, also seemed like he wouldn’t be messing around, so I felt relieved.
