Chapter 2: The Day-to-Day Life Falls into Chaos
“Ah, damn it all… Why is this happening to me…”
After skillfully coaxing Harry, who had stormed into the room and challenged him to a duel, to calm down, Glen also managed to clear up the misunderstanding regarding Riel (or so he thought).
The series of feuds had caused an inordinate waste of time, which meant that the lectures for today had fallen far behind schedule.
Without much choice, Glen decided to change the plans for today and began the practical lesson immediately.
Although the decision was made in a hurry, Glen had also considered that moving the class outdoors and having Riel work together with the other students would allow her integrate into the class better. If Riel could quickly get used to the class, then it would also make her bodyguard duties easier.
With that in mind, Glen brought the class to the magic-practice field.
Luckily for him, no other class was it during this class period.
Here, they could fire off their magic without restraint.
“<Oh the thunder spirits’ lightning>–!”
Sistina’s clear voice spread through the vast field.
With vigor, she pointed the index finger of her outstretched left arm forward, and a trail of lightning shot forth.
The bolt flew two-hundred meters through the air and directly struck the human-shaped bronze golem.
These golem each had six circular targets on them. One on the head and chest, two on the legs and arms respectively.
Sistina had struck the Golem’s head dead center, leaving a small coin-shaped hole in the target.
“I did it!”
Sistina reflexively struck a small victory pose.
Cheers could be heard from the spectating students, amazed at Sistina’s skills.
“Amazing… You can’t really expect anything less of Sistina…”
“Man, noble ladies from prestigious households really are different…”
With gazes of admiration stuck to her back, Sistina returned to Lumia’s side.
“That was amazing Sisti! You hit all six of your shots!”
Lumia was overjoyed as if she had been the one to do it instead.
On another note, Lumia had hit three out of six. She had managed to hit the chest and the right hand, hitting the left leg by accident when she had missed another target.
“Oh? Not bad white cat. It really is pretty impressive that you got all six from all the way over here.”
Glen, impressed, marked down the results on the board.
Sistina appeared to be delighted when Glen had praised her, but her mood seemed to swing in the other direction immediately after as she turned her face away. Despite that, her cheeks were tinted slightly red.
“Mmmpf… D-, don’t flatter yourself into thinking that you’ve won, Sistina!”
Wendy frustratedly bit on her handkerchief as she sent a stern glare towards Sistina.
Wendy had hit five out of six. She had smoothly struck down the targets one after another, but sneezed when she fired her last shot.“
“I can’t accept it! Not when I was made to miss in such a fashion! Sensei, let me have one more chance! If I’m able to bring out my true abilities, I’m sure I won’t lose to Sistina!”
“Yeah yeah, I got it I got it… Everyone’s waiting for their turn so line up in the back okay miss clumsy?”
“MMMMMmmpf—!”
After smoothly pacifying Wendy’s hysterics, Glen moved the program forward.
“Alright, next up is Cashew.”
“Yup! That’s me!”
It seemed that the relationship between Glen and Riel no longer weighed on the student’s minds.
Since they were currently competing against one another, such thoughts were secondary at best. Everyone was focused on how they would demonstrate their skills at magic sniping.
“Erm… Zero out of Six… That said, you just barely missed every time… Hey Cashew, aren’t you a tad unfocused…?”
“H-, Huh…? That’s weird…?”
Cashew, having been unable to convert his abilities to results, dejectedly returned to the crowd of students.
“Well, if you missed by so little, it means you have talent. The rest just depends on practice really.”
Glen didn’t forget to follow up as he marked down the result on his board.
“Mm… I’ll work hard…”
The fortuitous large-figured boy who had performed magnificently at the Magic Games Festival was now uncharacteristically dispirited. A sneer and chuckle escaped the mouth of a certain member of the class.
“Perhaps the delicate application of magic really is too much for someone with a personality as crude as yours?”
“S-, Shut up! If you have nothing useful to say then just leave me alone! Or are you looking for a fight you asshole!?”
Cashew, seemingly disgruntled by the provocation, angrily shouted at Gibel, who showed a condescending smile as he pushed his glasses upward.
“C-, Calm down Cashew! And Gibel, watch your words would you…”
The lady-faced boy, Cecil, flusteredly butted between the two in an attempt to defuse the situation.
On one side was the lone-wolf Gibel. On the other was the sociable Cashew. Given their opposing personalities, arguments between the two were commonplace.
Despite Gibel’s attitude towards Cashew, it didn’t seem like Cashew actually hated him deep down. No one could grasp whether the two truly got along well or not.
“…Man, what about you then, Gibel? Hm? Are you really that confident in yourself?”
“Hmpf. Just shut up and watch.”
“Oi, you’re up next Gibel. Come over here.”
Upon hearing Glen’s timely call, Gibel calmly stepped up to the designated sniping position.
…..
…Then—
“Damn, he really did get six out of six… His skills are as detestably good as always.”
“He’s still behind Sistina, but his grades really aren’t just for show…”
Cashew sulkily complained, while Cecil spoke out in admiration.
Shouldn’t my performance be a given?
an expression that laid that feeling bare, Gibel’s test ended without further ado.
“Hmm…”
After marking Gibel’s result on the board in his hand, he looked over the student’s scores once over.
Sistina and Gibel are performing great as usual.
Wendy missed one shot, but she definitely has the skills. As with today’s result though, she doesn’t seem to be able to carry it through when it matters. I don’t really understand why, but if she performs like she usually does she wouldn’t lose out to those two.
Amongst Glen’s class, the performance of these three were particularly outstanding.
As for the rest, they’re more or less the same. As a whole, the class averages about three out of six; Lumia performance is also around that. She’s good at white magic, especially healing spells. The rest of her skills are also good enough to not be a problem.
That said, Cecil’s performance is pretty surprising. He’s the kind of student that does well in lecture, but has trouble putting that performance into practice. Ever since the Magic Games Festival though, his performance in magic sniping has improved by leaps and bound. His ability to focus on his studies is probably helping him out on this end.
The real worry is Rin, who has the same problem as Cecil. One out of six huh… She has a habit of closing her eyes just as she fires. Even if she’s capable of hitting the target, it’ll be hard to bring those skills out with this habit of hers. As for Cashew, his skills just need a little bit more polish. His sense for this is pretty good, so I don’t think I needed to be worried about him. Rin will probably need a bit of guidance.
“Well then…”
After marking that down and summarizing his thoughts, Glen turned his eyes to the next student.
As if following his lead, the other student’s gazes focused on the next student.
Finally, it was time for the star of this event to take the stage
The student who was given the task of switching the target golems raised a hand to signal that everything was in place.
Seeing that, Glen called out to the last student.
“Alright Riel, it’s your turn. Do it.”
“…Mm”
“Listen up. Don’t hit the same target over and over again okay? You can only attack each target once. This is a rule for this test. Do you understand?”
“Mm, okay. I just have to destroy the targets with assault spells, right?”
“Mhm, that’s right.”
“Leave it to me then.”
On Glen’s prompt, Riel walked up the designated position.
“Now then… let’s see what you can do.”
“I wonder how many Riel-chan will hit…?”
“I think she’ll be good at this. She seems really cool-headed and focused all the time…”
“Oh, that reminds me, she said that her goal was to join the imperial army…”
The class paid close attention to Riel’s every movement.
Their reaction was given. Just what kind of skills did this newcomer have…? Everyone was curious.
Despite being the focal point of the class, Riel looked at the golem two-hundred meters away in a drowsy fashion—
“<Oh thunder spirits · With a shockwave of Lightning · Strike it down>”
Riel murmured through the chant and raised a finger in a deadpan manner—
The bolt of lightning flew two-hundred meters through the air.
However, the bolt fired past the golem, far off to the right.
““““………””””
Silence quickly overcame the class.
My… now that I think about it I’ve never seen her use black magic during my time in the army… But I never thought that she would be this bad…
Shocked, Glen’s mind went blank. Sweat began to trickle down his forehead.
It was already obvious by the first shot. Riel was the worst at magic sniping in the class by a long shot.
“<Oh thunder spirits · With a shockwave of Lightning · Strike it down>”
Unable to read the mood in the slightest, Riel indifferently chanted the spell again.
This time, the bolt went wide to the left.
Needless to say, the bolt did not scratch the golem. Rather, it didn’t even seem like it was going in its general direction.
Moments ago, the student’s gazes were busy critiquing Riel, but now it was as if they were looking after a small child with great care.
“Riel-chan, relax! Relax!”
“Your stance is far too rigid. Relax your arms and stretch them out…”
“Don’t give up! You still have four more shots!”
“Haha, isn’t this great Cashew? It seems like you will have someone joining you after all.”
“…Hey, do you really hate me that much Gibel…?”
Riel continued the challenge.
However, the result was still the same.
One it was fired to the sky. The next struck the ground… Despite the advice of her classmates, it didn’t seem like Riel’s [Shock · Bolt] would scratch the golem’s anytime soon.
Then, of the six shots allowed, she was down to her last.
“…Oi Riel. I really have to give it to you. How have you managed to survive to this day like that…?” Glen murmured, amused at the fiasco.
It was then that Glen noticed.
“Hm?”
Riel tilted her head slightly. It was only a little bit, but it seemed like Riel was dissatisfied by her performance.
“What’s up, Riel?”
“Mm, I have a little question…”
Riel turned to face Glen and asked flatly.
“Hey Glen. Do we have to use [Shock · Bolt] for this?”
“I won’t say you have to… but there aren’t really any other assault spells that would reach the golem from all the way over here.”
Glen looked at Riel doubtfully, having been asked such an odd question.
“So rather than having to use [Shock · Bolt] for this test, there aren’t really other spells that students can use that are actually effective at this range.”
“Basically, it doesn’t matter what spell I use?”
“Well, I guess so…”
“I got it. Then I will use my forte.”
“…Huh? Oi, I don’t think I have to remind you, but military-grade magic is forbidden okay/”
“Okay, no problem.”
Riel turned to face the golem two-hundred meters away.
“Do your best! This is your last shot!”
“Don’t give up!”
The class gave their warm encouragement as Riel chanted her spell.
“<I beseech all creation · thusly upon my hands · shall be a cruciform sword>”
Whack. Riel bent down and touched the floor, which erupted into a flash of lightning.
The next moment—
““““W-, WHHAAAAAT—!?””””
A long cross-claymore appeared in Riel’s hands. A cross shaped cavity could be seen in the ground beneath her.
Using high-speed synthesis from the field of alchemy, she created a steel greatsword from the earth of the practice field in an instant.
“O-, Oi… Riel, what are you…?”
Glen managed to voice his unease, but it was all for naught—
Riel raised the sword above her head and—
“HAAAAIIIIIIYAAAA—!”
Giving it her all, she slammed her foot down—
Using her body as a charged spring, Riel flung the sword that exceeded herself in height.
The sword cut through the air with a sharp thunderous noise. With the spin of a gathering storm, it flew two-hundred meters in what seems like a instant—
BOOM! The sword crushed through the golem’s chest with intense cacophony.
Of course, nothing was left of six targets on the golem.
““““…………””””
The class stood there with eyes wide and gaping mouths…
“Mm. Six out of six.”
Although her drowsy expression remained unchanged, Riel murmured to herself with a hint of pride.
“…Um-, Hey Riel… I did say you have to use assault spells right…”
“Mhm, it was an assault spell… I used a sword I made from alchemy no?”
“Wrong… Your explanation is wrong on so many levels…”
Glen, stupefied, could only look to the heavens for advice.
As one would expect, the students now looked towards Riel with fear.
Even though Glen had gone through the trouble of setting this up, it was all in vain.
Thus—
Riel’s debut to class two ended just like that.
Riel had made quite an explosive entrance.
In the end, the first impression the students of class two had of Riel were ‘she’s a weirdo’, ‘she’s a freak’, ‘she’s dangerous’, and other similar comments. As a transfer student, her assimilation was undoubtedly an absolute failure.
To begin, Riel was extremely inexpressive, so it was hard to read how she was feeling. Furthermore, her half-open drowsy eyes made it seem like she was somewhat angry or displeased all the time, so it was hard to approach her. Finally, Riel herself would obviously not approach others for conversation.
Thus, after witnessing that scene of raw destruction that caused the hairs to jump off their skin, none of the students dared to even approach her.
…That being said.
“…………”
The afternoon break period.
Riel remained in her own seat, isolated from the rest of the class as if it were normal.
She didn’t do anything, not even move her body in the slightest. She absentmindedly sat in her seat, and nothing more.
“Oi… Why don’t you go say something to Riel-chan…”
“B-, But I mean… isn’t she kinda scary?”
“Either way… Isn’t she kind of weird? That strength of hers can’t possibly be human…”
It wasn’t that the students wanted to ignore her. It was just that her doll-like expressions made it intimidating to approach. Combined with the monstrous strength she had demonstrated earlier, it was easy to see why it was hard to talk to her. No one was able to grasp the opportunity to start a discussion either.
“…That idiot.”
Seeing Riel isolated from the rest of the class, Glen released a long sigh.
There wasn’t much that Glen could do about the situation. Riel grew up in a rather special environment, so her ability to socialize with others was below a child’s. She had caused a lot of trouble… but she was unable to grasp that fact.
That said… Seeing Riel all alone in such a lively classroom was a cause for sorrow for others. They couldn’t help but think that she was rather pitiable.
Riel likely felt nothing about her current situation… but leaving her all alone wouldn’t sit well with Glen.
“…I guess I have to.”
Despite the current situation, we were comrades some time ago.
It’s not like my reputation at the academy can get any worse either way. One or two more rumors about me won’t hurt.
Glen moved to invite Riel to lunch…
“Oh?”
Someone else moved to Riel’s side before Glen.
“Nice to meet you, Riel.”
It was Lumia. Sistina followed shortly behind her.
“…?”
Riel glanced at Lumia.
She didn’t move her body at all, merely turning her eyes upwards to meet Lumia’s gaze. The intensity of Riel’s stare was rather frightening.
However, Lumia calmly matched her gaze, and showed a smile.
“It’s the afternoon break period right now…. What are you planning to do about lunch?”
“…Lunch?”
Riel turned her eyes away, and fell silent for a short moment.
Then she turned her eyes up to face Lumia again, and said:
“There’s no need. I’ll be fine even if I don’t eat for three days.”
“Eh? Y-, You shouldn’t do that… It’s bad for your body okay?”
Lumia wryly smiled.
“You have to eat well. I mean, it’ll get in the way of your work won’t it, Riel?”
“…You’re not wrong.”
Rather than just her eyes, Riel abruptly turned her head upward to face Lumia in a more upright fashion.
“But I don’t know what to eat. I wasn’t assigned any rations for this mission. I ate the rations I saved up from my other missions on the way here.”
…She really does have a serious problem, thought Glen as he looked on from faraway.
The rations Riel referred to were undoubtedly the portable foodstuffs that the army used for field operations – a mix of beans, barley, potato and various grains that knead and cooked into hard blocks.
Heck, just what kind of idiot organization would have full-time bodyguards eat nothing but field rations anyway? More importantly, what was Riel planning to do about food then?
Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen her eat anything other than those shitty tasting rations… Don’t tell me… did she eat nothing but that all this time?
“Ah, if you don’t know what to eat… then why don’t you come with us to the cafeteria? We were just about to head there.””
“…Cafeteria? …What’s that.”
“Mm… somewhere you go to eat… I guess? So, do you want to go?”
“………”
Riel fell silent.
It was hard to tell, but it seemed like her eyes were blinking faster. It seemed like she couldn’t quite come to a decision, perhaps due to her inexperience with eating meals with girls of the same age.
“Hey Riel, you don’t have to force yourself… alright?”
Sistina spoke out, unable to stand the silence.
“It’s just that we’ll be together for a long time from now onwards, so wouldn’t it be better to get to know each other more? Not to mention, meals are more enjoyable with others.”
“…Enjoy? … I don’t really understand…”
Riel ruminated on the thought for a while, before glancing towards Glen.
Glen raised his chin, gestured for Riel to go.
Seeing that, Riel nodded and stood from her seat.
“Mm. Okay. I’ll go.”
“Fufu, great. Let’s go going then, shall we?”
Riel followed Lumia and Sistina’s lead, as murmurs started to shoot around the classroom.
The students that remained in the room watched as the group gestured to leave.
“L-, Lumia is really brave…”
“Will they be alright…? Inviting that girl to lunch…”
Ignoring the discussion going on in the classroom, Lumia and Sistina moved towards the door to the hallway, passing by Glen in the process.
“…Riel’s all yours.”
Glen whispered as Lumia passed by.
“Yes.” Replied Lumia with a sweet smile.
“…Geez louise.”
After seeing the three of them off, Glen scratched his head and sighed.
Man, I really can’t tell what’ll happen from here. As a bodyguard, Riel should’ve found some reason to approach Lumia first, but here it turned out to be the other way around. Even for crappy bodyguard this should’ve been common practice. I really think the people who chose her for this mission are nuts.
But…
“…On second thought, this might be a good chance.”
Despite the hardships the situation wrought, Glen had to admit that.
Riel’s never had a normal upbringing. Even at her age she’s serving as a battlemage of the Imperial Court Magicians. Of course, there are a lot of complicated issues that force her to be involved with them… but it can’t be denied that it has hindered her growth as a person. Although her personality wouldn’t make it impossible to keep on living like this, there’s definitely something missing.
However—
If her mission forces her to associate with a lot of people, then it might be good for her in the long run. This might be a good chance for her to grow, spiritually and mentally.
If she could get along well with Lumia and Sistina, then in the future… Glen carried such hopes.
Hmm, thinking about it that way, this mission might be most suited for Riel in terms of her needs, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the people who decided on this have a screw loose. If I ever see those people I would want to slap them a few hundred times.
“Now that I think about it, it’s almost time for the ‘Field Study’ isn’t it…”
This will probably be the first time Riel will go out to play with people her age. I just hope that something will come out of this for her… thought Glen.
“Well, I should also go get something to eat.”
After the three left, Glen also prepared to head to the student cafeteria.
He could’ve just gone to the canteen to get something simple to fill his stomach, but he felt like going to the cafeteria today.
…It’s not like I’m really worried about them.
With a fleeting thought, Glen excused his behavior to no one in particular.
Glen quietly hurried to the cafeteria.
“This is Alzano Imperial Magic Academy’s cafeteria.”
As planned, Lumia and Sistina led Riel to the academy’s cafeteria.
“How is it? Isn’t it big? Were you surprised?”
Riel blinked blankly as Lumia introduced the cafeteria with a delightful smile.
The wide cafeteria was lined with long tables covered in white cloth. The tables were also decorated with candle stands, which gave the cafeteria a classy feel.
A large group of students crowded the kitchen counter, where they waited for their orders to be served. After retrieving their food, they would find a seat and engage in friendly conversation with their peers.
Today too, the cafeteria was filled with energy unique to lunchtime.
“There are a lot of people… and something smells good…”
“The food here is cheap and delicious. It’s quite popular amongst the students here.” Sistina explained as she brushed her loose hairs aside.
“People who come from wealthier backgrounds… such as the sons and daughters of conglomerates and high nobles, tend to choose to eat outside the academy in more luxurious restaurants. On the other hand, there are those who come from more humble backgrounds that prepare their own meals instead. That said, more than half the students of the academy use the cafeteria on a regular basis.”
On that note, as someone who came from a famous family of magicians and belonged in the upper-echelons of society, Sistina would have no monetary troubles eating luxurious meals outside the academy on a regular basis. However, having grown-up eating her mother’s handmade meals, she bore a commoners palate that preferred simpler tastes. Although a rarity amongst nobles, she would mostly go to the cafeteria for lunch.
Returning to the topic, it appeared that Riel had not paid attention to Sistina’s explanation.
In Riel’s mind, food was merely rations of energy to be taken in the midst of a bloody battlefield; a necessary chore for bodily maintenance.
So the appetizing scent and harmonious scenery during meals was a first for her.
Riel seemed overwhelmed by this unknown landscape.
“Why don’t we go make our order, Riel?”
Lumia pulled Riel by the hand through the crowd of people and headed towards the counter.
On the other side of the counter, they could see the large number of chefs preparing meals as if it were a battle.
“Mm, it seems like there’s a lot of good food today… What should I get?”
Lumia looked at the menu written on a board set up next to the counter.
“I’ll have the usual.” Said Sistina with disinterest.
She didn’t even bat an eye at the board.
“Two scones again? You’ve only been having that for lunch recently Sisti… It’s not good for your body if you don’t eat well okay?”
“Y-, You don’t have to tell me that… I’m fine with eating just that!”
“You’re not even close to fat though, Sisti… You might even be too skinny…”
“T-, T-, That’s not the problem! It’s not that I’m worried about getting fat, I just don’t want to feel sleepy during afternoon lecture okay…-!”
Sistina vehemently tried to explain herself as Lumia received it with a wry smile.
“By the way Riel, what are you getting?” Lumia turned to ask Riel.
However, she didn’t get a reply.
“………”
On closer inspection, it seemed like Riel’s eyes were glued to a nearby table. More precisely, what a certain girl was eating.
In the girl’s hands was a strawberry tart. Whilst talking to her friends, the girl happily munched down on the strawberry tart.
“………”
Riel’s appeared to be captivated by the glamorous appearance of the tart.
Although her drowsy expression remained, her eyes seemed to shine with curiosity.
“Riel… Would you like to eat that?”
Lumia took the opportunity and asked Riel.
Riel turned her eyes to look at Lumia.
“Can… I eat that?”
“Yup, if you order it you can have it. Let’s go order okay?”
Riel seemed to be thinking deeply about it and fell silent for a brief moment…
Finally, she nodded her head.
…After a while.
“How does it taste?”
“………”
Near a corner of the cafeteria, Riel nibbled on a strawberry tart with great focus.
She carried the strawberry tart in two hands, treating it with great care and ignoring Lumia’s question. She silently partook in the strawberry tart, which, rather than greedily devouring, she gnawed it little by little like a small animal eating a berry…
“It looks like she likes it…”
Sistina shrugged her shoulders slightly, before delicately cutting a scone with a knife and feeding it into her mouth with a fork.
After that, she took another glance at Riel.
Actually, this was already Riel’s sixth tart.
She had been hesitant to bite into her first, but she hadn’t stopped eating since, as if she had been possessed by the tart. The first was gone in a blink of an eye. After that, she asked for more and more.
“…I-, I’m jealous.”
Sistina couldn’t help but murmur that as she compared the scones on her plate and the tart in Riel’s hands.
“Hm? What the problem, Sisti?”
“Ugh… No matter how much you won’t get fat, rather, all those calories effectively become ‘growth’ for you, so I’m sure you won’t understand what I mean, Lumia…”
Sistina enviously compared the compared Lumia’s chest and Lumia’s meal.
Lumia’s meal consisted of a small piece of bread, roast beef, cheese salad, and corn soup.
It must have something to do with our metabolisms. No matter how much Lumia eats, she never gets fat at all. Not only that, the ‘parts’ that I’m jealous of grow steadily as a result.
Chances are I can’t eat as much as her without having to worry.
If I did eat that much, I’ll probably grow in the places where I want it the least, like my waist or my arms.
God really is unfair.
“Hah…”
Sistina glanced at Riel and sighed.
I want to stuff myself with sweets without having to worry about gaining weight like Riel. I want to eat until I’m full like Lumia.
Eating at the same table as the two gluttons grinded down on Sistina’s mental fortitude.
“Even so…”
Sistina, resting her chin in the palm of her propped up hand, took a second look at Riel.
Riel was still dreamily nibbling away at a tart.
…She’s just an innocent girl after all.
Such a thought crossed Sistina’s mind.
To be honest, she had been afraid of Riel.
She had suddenly swung a sword at Glen, and there was also the incident at the practice field earlier today. Although she only knew a little bit of magic, there was nothing that Sistina could do about her brute force that seemed like a calamity in and of itself. After that showing earlier, Sistina wondered how Lumia could approach Riel as if nothing was wrong.
But after seeing her innocently nibble on the tart… Sistina thought that she was dumb for having been so afraid and cautious of Riel this entire time.
“…Do you want one?”
Then, noticing Sistina’s gaze, Riel raised her head to face Sistina.
“…Ah, well, not really, but…”
“I can give you some if you’d like.”
Saying that, Riel split the tart she was eating in half…
“………”
Then, she reflexively stopped her hand. She stared at the tart in one hand with her drowsy eyes; the hesitation could be felt in her eyes. Her forehead seemed to be a bit scrunched as well.
Sistina showed a knowing smile to Riel’s obvious reaction.
“Ah—, you don’t have to force yourself. You want to eat all of it right?”
“…Can I?”
“It’s okay. If I really wanted to I can just go buy it myself.”
Riel seemed to calm down after that and returned to nibbling on the tart.
She’s certainly not a bad person… She’s just kind of weird, that’s all
Although Riel was a bit… cold, so to speak, she didn’t explicitly do anything to gain other’s enmity. Rather, she seemed like the sort of person whose actions would bring a smile to others faces given enough time.
“Geez Riel… You have cream all over your face… Pay attention when you’re eating…”
With a sigh, Sistina took her handkerchief out and reached her hand across the table towards Riel’s face. Lumia happily observed the two.
“Don’t move okay? … There, that’s better.”
“Mm… thanks.”
If I had a little sister, maybe she’d be someone like her?
Sistina mind idly drifted towards such a possibility.
“There aren’t many empty seats at the cafeteria today…. What shall we do?”
“Ah… Wendy… There’s some seats over there.”
“Oh my, I see it. Let’s go there then.”
Familiar voices approached Sistina’s table.
Sistina turned around to look…
“My? Sistina?”
“Wendy…. and Rin.”
Wendy and Rin each carried a tray in their hand.
“It’s rare to see you here, Wendy. I didn’t think that you of all people would use the cafeteria.”
Sistina, as if seeing the unexpected, blinked her eyes a few times.
“Aren’t you the standard for those who go outside the academy to eat at luxurious restaurants? And for Rin to be with you… What’s come over you today?”
“Hmpf, occasionally inspecting the commoner’s dining situation is the duty of nobles.”
“I-, I, uhm… happened to meet Wendy at the entrance to the cafeteria, so…”
Wendy boastfully raised her chest whilst Rin nervously explained the circumstances.
Then, a good idea seemed to flash in Lumia’s mind, and she clapped her hands together with a smile.
“Right! Would you two like to join us for lunch? You can also get to know Riel better.”
“Eh?”
“I’m sure it’ll be more fun and enjoyable to eat with more people.”
“T-, That’s…”
“…Uhm…”
However, the two seemed hesitant to accept Lumia’s invitation. The two snuck glances at Riel, who sat across from Lumia.
The scene of Riel’s display of superhuman strength and the following destruction was probably playing through their minds.
Wendy’s usual composed expression that befit a noble seemed to crumble a little and sweat could be seem forming on her forehead. Rin, who was more timid, seemed to hide behind Wendy.
In the end, the two couldn’t choose between ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and remained silent…
“…You can’t?”
Lumia showed a slightly sad smile. It was then that—
“Yo, cuties! If you don’t mind, I’ll be joining in as well!”
A cheerful voice came from behind, which, although out-of-place, blew away the tension in the air.
“It’s rare for the pretty girls from our class to be gathered together in one place! How could I let this chance go!?”
“Ahaha, geez Cashew. Would you all mind if I joined as well? I have something I want to talk to Riel about.”
The big-statured Cashew and female-faced Cecil arrived on scene.
“My, I don’t see you two here very often. Cecil aside, I didn’t know that you used the cafeteria, Cashew.”
Sistina looked on in puzzlement as her classmates, who didn’t frequent the cafeteria, showed up one after another.
“I got a payday from my part-time at the transcription store yesterday, so I thought I might splurge a little today.”
Cashew and Cecil’s hands were completely occupied with filled plates. Ignoring Wendy and Rin, Cashew dropped his plates next to Lumia, directly across from Riel. Cecil followed suit by sitting down next to Cashew.
“Yo, Riel-chan!”
Perhaps startled by Cashew’s vigor, Riel turned her eyes away from the tart and blinked her eyes blankly at him.
“In class just now, you made that crazy sword and sent in flying through the air… That was pretty amazing! Just how did you do it?”
“Amazing? Me?”
“Mhm. I’ve never seen magic like that before.”
“I’m sure that you used body enhancement magic along with raw physical strength to send the sword flying… but you used alchemy to make the sword didn’t you? The speed at which you synthesized it was super fast. Where did you learn to do that?”
Cashew and Cecil fired off questions one after another.
“Hey, could you teach me how to do that!? If I could learn to synthesize stuff that quickly, I might be able to use it for other things!”
“I’m more curious about what kind of synthesis form you use.”
“………”
Riel, as if pondering something, fell silent for a brief moment…
“…Mm. I’ll teach you two if I have time.”
“Ooh! Alright! Thanks a ton!”
Cashew then turned around to look at Wendy and Rin, who remained frozen in place.
“Hey Wendy, Rin, do you guys want to learn it too? I’m sure that learning this will help us rise through the magician ranks.”
The two glanced at each other for a brief moment before nodding their heads, and asked…
“It’s true that your synthesis speed is frightening, Riel… but how do you explain your ability with [Shock · Bolt]?”
“A-, Ahaha… It’s not like I did any better though…”
Wendy and Rin sat down around Riel.
“I never really learned black magic.”
“Oh dear…. [Shock · Bolt] is the very basic of black magic assault spells is it not? If you don’t practice it thoroughly, how do you expect to raise your magician rank?”
“Ugh… oh, it hurts…!”
“Well, if you would like, I wouldn’t mind teaching you, Riel.”
“………”
Hearing Wendy’s suggestion, Riel turned to glance at Lumia.
Lumia replied with a delightful smile.
“It’s alright Riel. I think it would be great if she teaches you.”
“…Okay. Teach me.”
Although Riel would never initiate a conversation, her replies to others were generally clear. Although her attitude was a bit cold, she was unexpectedly able to hold a normal conversation.
“Thanks, Cashew-kun.”
As Riel became the center of conversation, Lumia voiced her thanks to Cashew.
“Well, she’s a bit weird, but if I seem a new classmate getting ostracized like that I don’t think I’ll be able to live it down if I ignore it… so there’s really nothing to thank me for.”
Then, with a know-it-all smile—
“If you’d like to thank me, would you mind going on a date…”
“Ah, I’ll have to politely decline. Sorry, Cashew-kun.” Lumia declined with an angelic smile.
Having been ruthlessly rejected, Cashew placed his head face first into the table with a thud.
“Ahaha, you just got rejected didn’t you, Cashew… what a shame.”
“Shush~ Just leave me alone…”
Cashew replied sulkily to Cecil’s consolation.
“Even so, I’m happy that other people are willing to approach Riel.”
“W-, Well… to be honest, I was actually scared of her…” Cashew uneasily admitted.
“But I saw you guys talking to each other… and even though it was a bit weird, she didn’t seem like a bad person either… I mean, just look at her.”
Riel continued to silently gnaw at a tart whilst listening to Wendy and Sistina’s petty arguments.
“…Cute isn’t it?”
“Yup, it’s pretty cute.”
Lumia couldn’t help but smile. Cashew quickly agreed with her.
“Why was I ever scared of such a cute girl I wonder… Not to mention, if Sistina could accept her, that means she’s definitely not a bad person. The rest of the class were all scared of her, but I’m sure they’ll be able to understand in time.”
“Cashew-kun…”
“The ‘Field Study’ is starting in a bit isn’t it? I’m sure it’ll be more interesting with more people.”
“Yup, that’s right. I hope that everyone can have fun.”
The two said with a smile.
“Man… it doesn’t seem like I need to do anything huh.”
In the cafeteria, Glen released a relieved sigh as he observed Lumia’s group from out of view.
Although the passing students looked at Glen with disdain, he didn’t really mind at all.
“How should I say this… My students are all really good people at heart…! Mm… I’m truly blessed to have students like them…-!”
Glen covered his eyes as if overcome with emotion.
“Alrighty, now that that’s settled, Glen-sensei shall coolly slip away…”
Immediately after, Glen remembered something very important.
“Wait, I haven’t eaten lunch yet haven’t I!? Shit, I was so busy observing them that I totally forgot! O-, Oh shit!? How much time do I have until break en—”
Glen was immediately interrupted by the loud growl of his stomach—
At the same time, the academy’s bell, which announced the end of afternoon break, cruelly rung.
“WH-, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT—!?”
Glen’s cries of despair and the bell formed a loud ensemble…
………
—I saw – a dream.
It was a fragment of my childhood days. It was during the time where I was trapped by the Wisdom of the Heavens Research Society.
“Sniff… Hick…uugh…”
“What is it, □□□□? Did something happen?”
My brother tried to comfort me as I cried, curled up into a ball hugging my knees.
“I… I… killed… her…. Lida… The organization…ordered me to…-!”
“What did you say!?”
“Fuck! What the hell is this!?”
My brother’s close friend, □□□□, who stood beside him, loudly struck the wall.
“The organization is probably holding those shitty □□□□ practices aren’t they!? For high speed synthesis of weapons and their secret assassination blade techniques… Shit! I didn’t think they’d force comrades to kill one another…!? Are we really just throwaway tools to them…! Goddamnit!”
“Calm down, □□□□.”
“□□□-!? But…-!”
“Without the organization’s support, orphans like us would have nowhere to go… That much is true.”
With a sorrowful expression, my brother turned towards his close friend □□□□ and shook his head. Then, he looked me in the eye.
“It must’ve been hard for you, □□□□. While I’m sorry about what happened to Lida… As my only blood relative left, I’m glad you were the one who lived in the end… So…”
“B-, Brother… I-, I’m scared….”
Back then, I could only remain sane by telling my brother all about the swelling anxieties I had.
“I feel like… my heart… is dying, little by little… I feel like with each passing day, I’m becoming more and more like a doll… Recently, even that feeling… is starting to fade…”
“It’ll be okay… Everything will be okay…”
However, my brother always encouraged me and supported me.
“One day, we’ll leave this organization for good. I will do whatever it takes. Then, we’ll be free to live our lives. Until then… Until that day… Please, □□□□. Work hard… do whatever it takes…”
“Brother… □□□…”
Yes. The reason I managed to keep living back then… was due to my brother.
Because my brother is here… I can keep on living.
“Hey □□□□. If, you… are able to escape this organization, what do you want to do?”
However, what I remember is all ‘white’. Maybe it was too long ago, the backgrounds were white, and dialogues were white. Everything was a blank slate of white.
Even my brother’s face seemed to be hidden behind a white fog. I can’t quite tell.
Everything was already vague and fuzzy, I can’t quite remember. It was a vestige of a time long past—
—A white memory.
………
“Hey Riel. I know I don’t have the right to say anything since I fell asleep on my first day here… but would you mind acting a bit more like a student…?”
“……?”
My mind which was visiting the past returned to the present.
After waking up, I slowly raised my head.
It seems like I fell asleep on the desk. I rubbed my eyes whilst looking at my surroundings.
This was a classroom in Alzano Imperial Magic Academy.
It seemed like the lecture had ended some time ago and we were now in a break period. There was a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom. Some students were busily chatting with one another, while others left the room. Overall, it was noisy.
Glen stood next to me with an amused expression as he released a sigh. He looked down at me.
I stared at Glen’s face.
“…What is it? Is there something on my face?”
…This might be the reason I saw that nostalgic dream.
Somehow, Glen seemed very similar to my brother, whose face had been hidden by some sort of fog.
“…Geez”
Glen released a long sigh as Riel rubbed her eyes.
It had been a week since Riel arrived at the magic academy.
With her actions on the first day, Riel had splendidly formed a mental barrier that distanced herself from the other students of the class. Just what would Riel pull off in her following days as a student…? This was a question that weighed heavily on Glen’s mind at the beginning.
After all, given Riel’s reckless and headlong tendencies, which were closely followed by episodes of heroism, she had undoubtedly made a name for herself at Imperial Court Magicians, for better or for worse. Not to mention, these episodes were too many to count. For example…
One: If the enemy is more numerous than oneself’s, then cut them all down through spirit.
Two: If the enemy’s defenses cannot be crushed by one’s blade, then destroy the defense through spirit, and then cut them down.
Three: If the enemy is faster than oneself, the make yourself go faster than the enemy through spirit, and then cut them down.
Four: If the enemy has placed a trap, then cut down the trap along with the enemy through spirit.
…And such. That was one of numerous trusted and traditional examples from Riel’s art of war.
Yet, the worst part of her disposition was the fact that she had the unparalleled power and dexterity to carry out her unintelligible brute force strategies. Thus, she left a clear-cut combat record.
The heretical magicians that Riel had defeated in the past, were probably scratching their heads in hell wondering why they had lost to such a girl. Yet, the only conclusion there appeared to be was that they had been Riel’s opponent.
In any case, Riel was abnormal in various ways. To make matters worse, her mind was estranged from the common sense of the world. It wasn’t exactly strange for any sort of trouble to occur when she was around.
However — in the end, these were all needless anxieties.
“Riel, it’s afternoon break now. Would you to come to the cafeteria with us again?”
“…Lumia? Sistina? …Okay. I’ll comme.”
“Hey Riel. Are you going to eat strawberry tarts again? Don’t you get tired of it? I’m hardly one to talk, but your diet isn’t balanced if you eat like that. You’ve been eating nothing but strawberry tarts since you came haven’t you?”
“It’s okay, Sistina, because… strawberry tarts… taste good.”
“Hah… That’s not a reason. You can’t be this picky with your food.”
“Ahaha, ever since I recommended the tarts to her, she’s become its captive, hasn’t she?”
“……”
Like every day, Glen saw the three off as they left for the cafeteria.
The reason Riel hadn’t encountered any great trouble yet… was most likely due to Lumia and Sistina.
Regardless of whether it was in or out of the academy’s grounds, the two would follow Riel (who, as a result, fails as a bodyguard) and cover for her when problems arose due to her lack of common sense.
“Hey Riel, Why don’t you try to eat something else today? I’m sure there are tasty dishes other than strawberry tarts.”
“But… I want to eat strawberry tarts.”
For Lumia, Riel was a benefactor who (sort of) protected her. On top of that, given Lumia’s personality, she couldn’t bring herself to ignore Riel, who wasn’t able to get used to life as a student.
“You really are a stubborn girl aren’t you…? Listen Riel, you can’t be so picky with your food at such a young age okay? If you don’t eat a healthy and balanced diet, your body will suffer as a result.”
“Yup… that said though, Sisti, you can’t really lecture someone else on that…”
“I-, I’m fine as I am! Don’t mind me!”
Sistina didn’t really bear any goodwill towards Riel at the beginning, but after having approached Riel with Lumia, she seemed to think of her as a troublesome little sister of sorts.
At some point, the three of them being together became the norm.
“Oh, you guys are together again? You sure get along well!”
“My my. By the way, Sistina, we’ll be tending the medicinal gardens for our next lecture period. Try not to be so involved in your chatting that you arrive to lecture late like you have previously.”
Cashew and Wendy’s acceptance of Riel also contributed greatly to Riel’s transition into school. The other students began to open up to Riel more under the lead of the class’ central figures.
Since they had managed to accept a maverick like Glen as well, it demonstrated that the class as a whole was fairly bighearted. Although Riel would occasionally make some outrageous announcements regarding Glen, she was meshing together with the class slowly but surely.
R-, Riel of all people… might actually have a fairly normal school life…
Glen was surprised, but at the same time he was also moved.
However, of course, not everything went so smoothly.
An anomaly like Riel leading a normal life would surely have some negative influences.
“So then… it becomes this… Then, you perform Markious’ operation on the elemental array here… like this… After that, you do this to calculate the origin’s elemental values for Flamea, Aques, Soilre, Airel, and Etherio and return those values individually… Then here… You can do this to reorder the origins… and then restructure the physical material….”
<TL Note: Read as ‘Flamea, Aques, Soilre, Airel, and Etherio’, written as ‘Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Spirit.’ in Japanese>
Afterschool—
Several students were huddled around Riel’s table. Under their intense gaze, Riel pushed a feather pen across a sheet of paper. Written on the numerous sheets of paper was a set of extremely complicated synthetic formulas used to switch the order of elements as well as the magic formula used to control the synthesis.
It was Riel’s alchemy – a magic formula for high speed weapon synthesis.
After today’s final lecture, alchemy, the students that stuck around gathered together to chitchat. Eventually, they moved onto Riel’s alchemy technique that she had displayed on the first day. Finally, after a series of events, they had her attempt to explain it to everyone present.
“…Understood?”
Riel lowered her feather-pen.
“Yeah, I didn’t get it at all.” Cashew, who had given up halfway through, cheerfully said.
“Amazing Riel, I lost track of what you were saying at some point…” Lumia agreed with a wry smile.
The students present more or less bore the same thoughts as Cashew and Lumia.
“It’s incredible…”
“What is this… Just who made this formula…?”
Cecil, who was excellent in theory classes, and Sistina, who stood at the top of her class year, could understand Riel’s explanation to a certain extent, but they were still at a loss for words.
Magic formulation and functions were not the focus of the general curriculum at the academy, so were it not for Glen’s maniacal lectures on how to create formulas and functions using rune-language from scratch, the two would likely have not been able to understand Riel’s explanation in the slightest.
“What can I say…? No matter how hard I thought about how to create a Damascus steel sword in such a short amount of time, I couldn’t figure it out… but who would’ve thought that a bug in rune-language could be utilized in such a fashion…”
Sweat trickled from Cecil’s forehead as he voiced his admiration.
Damascus steel was created by adding layers of carbon in a cyclic fashion throughout the composition of ordinary steel elements. It was far more rigid and sturdy compared normal steel.
In the empire, those who possessed the forging skills to manufacture Damascus steel were far and few between, which led to annually production being equally low. Ongoing research attempted to manufacture large quantities Damascus steel through alchemical means.
However, that it was extremely difficult to achieve permanence in a synthesized product. Even if the synthesis was successful, the composition could only be maintained temporarily. With the added difficulty and complexity of the elemental array, it would probably take an extreme amount of time to properly synthesize the product… This was the common knowledge that had been publicized by the Imperial Magic Academic Society regarding the research of Damascus steel.
Although Riel’s formula did not resolve the issue of impermanence, its speed was in a different league of its own. It was nothing less than shocking.
Even if the formula was submitted to the Academy Society, it would probably be seen as an impossible, bogus theory, and quickly be brushed off with a laugh— unless Riel were to demonstrate the usage and control mechanisms firsthand. That was the extent to which the alchemical sequence appeared to be formed on baseless assumptions.
“I can see why this wouldn’t be used in the Imperial army either…”
Cecil exasperatedly exhaled.
“Riel… Do you use this all the time?”
Sistina looked at with great concern.
“If you mess up even a single step, your brain’s processing capacity will overload and you’ll probably become a vegetable you know?”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes!”
“…I didn’t know.”
Despite Sistina’s stern warning, Riel didn’t seemed fazed in the slightest. She maintained her usual drowsy expression immaculately.
“Gosh… That said, just what is this nonsensical way of utilizing the user’s deeper consciousness!? Aren’t there zero considerations for the user’s safety!? It’s obvious that whoever made this formula views the users of this as nothing more than disposable objects!”
Voicing her anger, Sistina vigorously turned towards Wendy.
“Hey, don’t you think so too!? Wendy!”
“……Eh?”
Wendy, who had been dazed by Riel’s explanations, came to when Sistina called her out.
“O-, Of course! Sistina is completely correct in that matter! A formula with no considerations for its user is unbefitting of a noble… I realized all this in the beginning!”
For some reason, sweat could be seen forming on Wendy’s forehead and her articulation was also unclear.
“Now now.”
Lumia interrupted the conversation and attempted to calm Sistina down.
“Anyway, it’s impressive that Riel is able to use such a complicated formula.”
“It’s because I practiced a lot.”
“I-, I’m amazed you’re still alive.”
Sistina’s cheeks stiffened upon Riel’s indifference.
There’s a question that needs to be answered.
I heard from Glen-sensei that Riel had been a part of the Imperial Court Magicians, but does that mean that the army is forcing their soldiers to carry out life-endangering practices? There’s something wrong with this. To start with, Cecil said that Riel’s formula wasn’t used anywhere in the Imperial army.
So where did Riel learn this magic?
“Don’t try to mimic this magic alright everyone? Using this would require an incredible talent and sense with alchemy. For Riel to be able to utilize this magic to her extent means that this is practically her Original Magic.”
Sistina sensed that it would be foolish to pursue the matter any further. Thus, she tried to direct the conversation away from such a question.
“There’s no way I can even try to do that…”
“I don’t think anyone other can Riel can do it…”
“W-, Well, I have faith that I would be able to do it if I try, but… Fu, fuun, I suppose it is a formula that is lacking in grace required for a noble… Therefore, it is unsuitable for someone of my like!”
Then—
Baam! Someone roughly exited their seat. The loud noise echoed throughout the room.
“…Gibel?”
The origin of that noise was none other than Gibel, who sat a short distance away from Riel and had not contributed to the conversation.
“O-, Oi Gibel, what’s up with you, why did you suddenly…”
“…I’m going home. Rather than waste time messing around with you people, would it not be better to go home and strive to make an effort to study magic?”
With great irritation, Gibel shoved his textbooks, notes, and other belongings into his bag.
“Huh? You don’t have to say it like that…”
Cashew, who was used to Gibel’s abrasive attitude, amusedly scratched his head.
“Hmpf.”
However, Gibell ignored Cashew, turned around, and headed for the exit. Then—
Tug, Gibel’s sleeve was pulled from behind.
“Wha… Y-, You…!?”
The one who pulled on his sleeve was Riel, who had approached him without him noticing.
No one felt her movement nor her presence, it was as if she had teleported right behind him. Everyone blinked their eyes blankly as if bewitched.
“…Here.”
In Riel’s hand was a feathered pen.
“You dropped this.”
“~~~~-!”
Gibel’s face flushed red with hostility as he swiped the pen from Riel’s hand. He then rushed out of the room with great strides.
“…?”
Riel’s hand remained outstretched as she stood still like a statue.
The remaining students had their mouths open wide in surprise.
“What’s with him recently?”
Sistina was half-confused, half irritated.
“Well, I suppose that he has been rather irritated ever since Riel joined our class…”
“Haha… Isn’t he just jealous of Riel-chan’s amazing alchemy skills?”
“D-, Don’t say that Cashew. You might unexpectedly turn out right. Gibel has always held absolute confidence in his alchemy… He’d even say that he won’t lose to Sistina.”
In the deserted hallway just outside the classroom—
Glen leaned against a wall with his arm crossed and lightly sighed as he saw Gibel, who hadn’t noticed his presence, run off.
“Well, can’t really blame him. Not everyone can so readily accept someone as weird as Riel…”
Thanks to Lumia and Sistina, Riel’s integration into the class has been going pretty smoothly, but there are people like Gibel as well.
Anyhow, it’s because Riel’s abilities exceed common sense. Even in the Imperial Court Magicians, her unmatched kill-count of heretics makes her the pride and ace of the special operations sect. Such power isn’t something that can be easily hidden. Someone like Riel would naturally make many of the other students afraid.
Glen had been afraid of this, so he hadn’t allowed his class to partake in magic battles… but if it ever came down to it, no one in his class would be able to win against Riel.
Furthermore, the one who would have crushed them in that instance would have been an irregular than was incapable of even using elementary magic. Surely, the difference between Riel and the rest had been made clear when she had smashed the golem into dust with the greatsword during the first lecture. Someone in their hearts, everyone should have understood that they were not Riel’s equal in a true magic battle. As magicians it would be a blow to their pride, even more so for those as young as the students.
“Well… there’s not much I can do but let it resolve itself in time I guess…”
Suddenly, Glen noticed Riel preparing to leave the classroom.
Everyone must’ve been preparing to go home together.
Glen scratched his head, and quickly left the hallway.
Problems like this did not solely exist due to the hidden discord in the class.
Of course, they existed in Riel as well.
This is a tale of a certain time.
“………”
Riel carried a stack of books and papers in her hands as she walked down a hallway of the magic academy.
Hiding behind her in a corner of the hallway ten meters behind—
Riel… I know you can do it if you try… Sensei is proud of you…-!?
After tasking Riel with delivering some documents, Glen stealthily followed behind her to observe her progress. Although there was no real meaning in following her, Glen could feel the corner of his eyes heat up.
The passing students all sent dubious gazes towards Glen as he looked at Riel down the hall with a strange sense of warmth…
“Glen Ryders! I’ve heard it all! During your black magic lecture, you slandered the spell I improvised as ‘impractical and inefficient’ did you not—!?”
Harry suddenly approached Glen and threw a glove at him in anger.
“In my life you are the only one to disrespect to this extent and take me for such a damned fool! I can’t turn a blind on you any longer Glen Ryders! Let us settle this in combat!”
Glen’s face turned pale in anxiety and turn his neck as far as he could to face Harry.
“U-, Uhm…. Now’s… a bad time… Due to some very… special and complicated circumstances, challenging me to a duel may turn out very very badly for all of us… So uh… forgive me…?”
“Hmpf, you scared punk!? It’s too late to ask for my forgiveness! Hurry up and pick up the gloves! Allow me to witness what you call ‘practical magic’ would you!? And don’t worry, I’ll be sure to not accidentally take your life!”
“Ah—, No—, Uhhhhhhh—, oh, it’s not my life… but yours, senpai… It’s veeeeeerry much like a candle in the wind I guess…Uhh… If you don’t hurry up and take back your challenge… Our very peaceful academy might be the stage for a gruesome tragedy or something like that—”
Glen tried his best to avoid in the imminent tragedy, but it was already too late.
“…Hm? Glen, is he… an enemy?”
“S-, She’s heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeereeeeeee—!”
Riel suddenly appeared beside Glen, who immediately hugged his head in fright.
“Ha-, Ha-something senpai-!? Please run! Pretty pleaseeeeeeeeeee-!?”
“What are you here for, girl. Are you the rumored transfer student? Listen, I won’t take your attitude—”
As Harry entered his arrogant airs and began to scold Riel—
Pssht. The air was cut by the flash of a fiendish greatsword that quickly approached Harry.
The pressure behind the blow not only shattered the surrounding glass windows, but also left a fissure on the stone walls.
Fortunately, Glen had managed to kick Harry’s legs to upset his balance so that only his hair had been displaced. If he had been even a moment late, it would have been his head instead.
“W-, W-, What—!?”
After Harry, whose head now shined like polished glass, recovered from his fall, he looked up in terror at Riel, who carried the gigantic sword with a single hand.
Riel, as usual, carried a drowsy, emotionless expression as the aftershock of her swing collapsed the walls around her.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!? Despite Harry-sensei’s young age, he’s already encountered the great strife of balding. Now his hair is all gone—!”
“W-, What the!? The wall! What happened to the wall!? What the heck happened just now—!?”
The students in the hallway entered a panicked frenzy.
“Shut up! And keep my hair out of this while you’re at it! More importantly, y-, y-, you!? W-, What kind of magic did you use just now!? D-, don’t tell me that sword… No damned way!? Going by common sense, no sword could generate such force!”
“Common sense just doesn’t apply to her! Like I said already, just hurry and run!”
Ignoring Harry and Glen’s fright, Riel entered her specialty greatsword stance.
“It’s okay. I won’t run away… Just leave it to me Glen. I will… destroy your enemies.”
“Hey Riel, waaaiiiiitttttttt! Calm down pleaseeeee!”
“HIEEEEEEEEEEE!? S-, Save meeeeeeee—!”
“Let me go Glen. I can’t destroy him like this.”
“Shush you! Don’t go around making murder incident in the middle of school would you!? Aghh! Where is Lumia and the White Cat when you need them!? Come and help me out pleaaseeeeeeeeee!”
…Riel would more than occasionally do things like that, which were lacking in common sense or fine sensibilities. Thus, the days during which Glen could not relax would continue.
Yet, despite everything, if one were to ask whether those flurried days had a positive or negative influence on Riel, the answer was obvious…
Everything she saw and heard during this time were all full of fresh experiences.
During some fleeting moments, Glen would see an expression that he had never seen her have before… For him personally, these times were surely not as bad as he would have others believe.
Chapter 2: The Day-to-Day Life Falls into Chaos
“Ah, damn it all… Why is this happening to me…”
After skillfully coaxing Harry, who had stormed into the room and challenged him to a duel, to calm down, Glen also managed to clear up the misunderstanding regarding Riel (or so he thought).
The series of feuds had caused an inordinate waste of time, which meant that the lectures for today had fallen far behind schedule.
Without much choice, Glen decided to change the plans for today and began the practical lesson immediately.
Although the decision was made in a hurry, Glen had also considered that moving the class outdoors and having Riel work together with the other students would allow her integrate into the class better. If Riel could quickly get used to the class, then it would also make her bodyguard duties easier.
With that in mind, Glen brought the class to the magic-practice field.
Luckily for him, no other class was it during this class period.
Here, they could fire off their magic without restraint.
“<Oh the thunder spirits’ lightning>–!”
Sistina’s clear voice spread through the vast field.
With vigor, she pointed the index finger of her outstretched left arm forward, and a trail of lightning shot forth.
The bolt flew two-hundred meters through the air and directly struck the human-shaped bronze golem.
These golem each had six circular targets on them. One on the head and chest, two on the legs and arms respectively.
Sistina had struck the Golem’s head dead center, leaving a small coin-shaped hole in the target.
“I did it!”
Sistina reflexively struck a small victory pose.
Cheers could be heard from the spectating students, amazed at Sistina’s skills.
“Amazing… You can’t really expect anything less of Sistina…”
“Man, noble ladies from prestigious households really are different…”
With gazes of admiration stuck to her back, Sistina returned to Lumia’s side.
“That was amazing Sisti! You hit all six of your shots!”
Lumia was overjoyed as if she had been the one to do it instead.
On another note, Lumia had hit three out of six. She had managed to hit the chest and the right hand, hitting the left leg by accident when she had missed another target.
“Oh? Not bad white cat. It really is pretty impressive that you got all six from all the way over here.”
Glen, impressed, marked down the results on the board.
Sistina appeared to be delighted when Glen had praised her, but her mood seemed to swing in the other direction immediately after as she turned her face away. Despite that, her cheeks were tinted slightly red.
“Mmmpf… D-, don’t flatter yourself into thinking that you’ve won, Sistina!”
Wendy frustratedly bit on her handkerchief as she sent a stern glare towards Sistina.
Wendy had hit five out of six. She had smoothly struck down the targets one after another, but sneezed when she fired her last shot.“
“I can’t accept it! Not when I was made to miss in such a fashion! Sensei, let me have one more chance! If I’m able to bring out my true abilities, I’m sure I won’t lose to Sistina!”
“Yeah yeah, I got it I got it… Everyone’s waiting for their turn so line up in the back okay miss clumsy?”
“MMMMMmmpf—!”
After smoothly pacifying Wendy’s hysterics, Glen moved the program forward.
“Alright, next up is Cashew.”
“Yup! That’s me!”
It seemed that the relationship between Glen and Riel no longer weighed on the student’s minds.
Since they were currently competing against one another, such thoughts were secondary at best. Everyone was focused on how they would demonstrate their skills at magic sniping.
“Erm… Zero out of Six… That said, you just barely missed every time… Hey Cashew, aren’t you a tad unfocused…?”
“H-, Huh…? That’s weird…?”
Cashew, having been unable to convert his abilities to results, dejectedly returned to the crowd of students.
“Well, if you missed by so little, it means you have talent. The rest just depends on practice really.”
Glen didn’t forget to follow up as he marked down the result on his board.
“Mm… I’ll work hard…”
The fortuitous large-figured boy who had performed magnificently at the Magic Games Festival was now uncharacteristically dispirited. A sneer and chuckle escaped the mouth of a certain member of the class.
“Perhaps the delicate application of magic really is too much for someone with a personality as crude as yours?”
“S-, Shut up! If you have nothing useful to say then just leave me alone! Or are you looking for a fight you asshole!?”
Cashew, seemingly disgruntled by the provocation, angrily shouted at Gibel, who showed a condescending smile as he pushed his glasses upward.
“C-, Calm down Cashew! And Gibel, watch your words would you…”
The lady-faced boy, Cecil, flusteredly butted between the two in an attempt to defuse the situation.
On one side was the lone-wolf Gibel. On the other was the sociable Cashew. Given their opposing personalities, arguments between the two were commonplace.
Despite Gibel’s attitude towards Cashew, it didn’t seem like Cashew actually hated him deep down. No one could grasp whether the two truly got along well or not.
“…Man, what about you then, Gibel? Hm? Are you really that confident in yourself?”
“Hmpf. Just shut up and watch.”
“Oi, you’re up next Gibel. Come over here.”
Upon hearing Glen’s timely call, Gibel calmly stepped up to the designated sniping position.
…..
…Then—
“Damn, he really did get six out of six… His skills are as detestably good as always.”
“He’s still behind Sistina, but his grades really aren’t just for show…”
Cashew sulkily complained, while Cecil spoke out in admiration.
Shouldn’t my performance be a given?
an expression that laid that feeling bare, Gibel’s test ended without further ado.
“Hmm…”
After marking Gibel’s result on the board in his hand, he looked over the student’s scores once over.
Sistina and Gibel are performing great as usual.
Wendy missed one shot, but she definitely has the skills. As with today’s result though, she doesn’t seem to be able to carry it through when it matters. I don’t really understand why, but if she performs like she usually does she wouldn’t lose out to those two.
Amongst Glen’s class, the performance of these three were particularly outstanding.
As for the rest, they’re more or less the same. As a whole, the class averages about three out of six; Lumia performance is also around that. She’s good at white magic, especially healing spells. The rest of her skills are also good enough to not be a problem.
That said, Cecil’s performance is pretty surprising. He’s the kind of student that does well in lecture, but has trouble putting that performance into practice. Ever since the Magic Games Festival though, his performance in magic sniping has improved by leaps and bound. His ability to focus on his studies is probably helping him out on this end.
The real worry is Rin, who has the same problem as Cecil. One out of six huh… She has a habit of closing her eyes just as she fires. Even if she’s capable of hitting the target, it’ll be hard to bring those skills out with this habit of hers. As for Cashew, his skills just need a little bit more polish. His sense for this is pretty good, so I don’t think I needed to be worried about him. Rin will probably need a bit of guidance.
“Well then…”
After marking that down and summarizing his thoughts, Glen turned his eyes to the next student.
As if following his lead, the other student’s gazes focused on the next student.
Finally, it was time for the star of this event to take the stage
The student who was given the task of switching the target golems raised a hand to signal that everything was in place.
Seeing that, Glen called out to the last student.
“Alright Riel, it’s your turn. Do it.”
“…Mm”
“Listen up. Don’t hit the same target over and over again okay? You can only attack each target once. This is a rule for this test. Do you understand?”
“Mm, okay. I just have to destroy the targets with assault spells, right?”
“Mhm, that’s right.”
“Leave it to me then.”
On Glen’s prompt, Riel walked up the designated position.
“Now then… let’s see what you can do.”
“I wonder how many Riel-chan will hit…?”
“I think she’ll be good at this. She seems really cool-headed and focused all the time…”
“Oh, that reminds me, she said that her goal was to join the imperial army…”
The class paid close attention to Riel’s every movement.
Their reaction was given. Just what kind of skills did this newcomer have…? Everyone was curious.
Despite being the focal point of the class, Riel looked at the golem two-hundred meters away in a drowsy fashion—
“<Oh thunder spirits · With a shockwave of Lightning · Strike it down>”
Riel murmured through the chant and raised a finger in a deadpan manner—
The bolt of lightning flew two-hundred meters through the air.
However, the bolt fired past the golem, far off to the right.
““““………””””
Silence quickly overcame the class.
My… now that I think about it I’ve never seen her use black magic during my time in the army… But I never thought that she would be this bad…
Shocked, Glen’s mind went blank. Sweat began to trickle down his forehead.
It was already obvious by the first shot. Riel was the worst at magic sniping in the class by a long shot.
“<Oh thunder spirits · With a shockwave of Lightning · Strike it down>”
Unable to read the mood in the slightest, Riel indifferently chanted the spell again.
This time, the bolt went wide to the left.
Needless to say, the bolt did not scratch the golem. Rather, it didn’t even seem like it was going in its general direction.
Moments ago, the student’s gazes were busy critiquing Riel, but now it was as if they were looking after a small child with great care.
“Riel-chan, relax! Relax!”
“Your stance is far too rigid. Relax your arms and stretch them out…”
“Don’t give up! You still have four more shots!”
“Haha, isn’t this great Cashew? It seems like you will have someone joining you after all.”
“…Hey, do you really hate me that much Gibel…?”
Riel continued the challenge.
However, the result was still the same.
One it was fired to the sky. The next struck the ground… Despite the advice of her classmates, it didn’t seem like Riel’s [Shock · Bolt] would scratch the golem’s anytime soon.
Then, of the six shots allowed, she was down to her last.
“…Oi Riel. I really have to give it to you. How have you managed to survive to this day like that…?” Glen murmured, amused at the fiasco.
It was then that Glen noticed.
“Hm?”
Riel tilted her head slightly. It was only a little bit, but it seemed like Riel was dissatisfied by her performance.
“What’s up, Riel?”
“Mm, I have a little question…”
Riel turned to face Glen and asked flatly.
“Hey Glen. Do we have to use [Shock · Bolt] for this?”
“I won’t say you have to… but there aren’t really any other assault spells that would reach the golem from all the way over here.”
Glen looked at Riel doubtfully, having been asked such an odd question.
“So rather than having to use [Shock · Bolt] for this test, there aren’t really other spells that students can use that are actually effective at this range.”
“Basically, it doesn’t matter what spell I use?”
“Well, I guess so…”
“I got it. Then I will use my forte.”
“…Huh? Oi, I don’t think I have to remind you, but military-grade magic is forbidden okay/”
“Okay, no problem.”
Riel turned to face the golem two-hundred meters away.
“Do your best! This is your last shot!”
“Don’t give up!”
The class gave their warm encouragement as Riel chanted her spell.
“<I beseech all creation · thusly upon my hands · shall be a cruciform sword>”
Whack. Riel bent down and touched the floor, which erupted into a flash of lightning.
The next moment—
““““W-, WHHAAAAAT—!?””””
A long cross-claymore appeared in Riel’s hands. A cross shaped cavity could be seen in the ground beneath her.
Using high-speed synthesis from the field of alchemy, she created a steel greatsword from the earth of the practice field in an instant.
“O-, Oi… Riel, what are you…?”
Glen managed to voice his unease, but it was all for naught—
Riel raised the sword above her head and—
“HAAAAIIIIIIYAAAA—!”
Giving it her all, she slammed her foot down—
Using her body as a charged spring, Riel flung the sword that exceeded herself in height.
The sword cut through the air with a sharp thunderous noise. With the spin of a gathering storm, it flew two-hundred meters in what seems like a instant—
BOOM! The sword crushed through the golem’s chest with intense cacophony.
Of course, nothing was left of six targets on the golem.
““““…………””””
The class stood there with eyes wide and gaping mouths…
“Mm. Six out of six.”
Although her drowsy expression remained unchanged, Riel murmured to herself with a hint of pride.
“…Um-, Hey Riel… I did say you have to use assault spells right…”
“Mhm, it was an assault spell… I used a sword I made from alchemy no?”
“Wrong… Your explanation is wrong on so many levels…”
Glen, stupefied, could only look to the heavens for advice.
As one would expect, the students now looked towards Riel with fear.
Even though Glen had gone through the trouble of setting this up, it was all in vain.
Thus—
Riel’s debut to class two ended just like that.
Riel had made quite an explosive entrance.
In the end, the first impression the students of class two had of Riel were ‘she’s a weirdo’, ‘she’s a freak’, ‘she’s dangerous’, and other similar comments. As a transfer student, her assimilation was undoubtedly an absolute failure.
To begin, Riel was extremely inexpressive, so it was hard to read how she was feeling. Furthermore, her half-open drowsy eyes made it seem like she was somewhat angry or displeased all the time, so it was hard to approach her. Finally, Riel herself would obviously not approach others for conversation.
Thus, after witnessing that scene of raw destruction that caused the hairs to jump off their skin, none of the students dared to even approach her.
…That being said.
“…………”
The afternoon break period.
Riel remained in her own seat, isolated from the rest of the class as if it were normal.
She didn’t do anything, not even move her body in the slightest. She absentmindedly sat in her seat, and nothing more.
“Oi… Why don’t you go say something to Riel-chan…”
“B-, But I mean… isn’t she kinda scary?”
“Either way… Isn’t she kind of weird? That strength of hers can’t possibly be human…”
It wasn’t that the students wanted to ignore her. It was just that her doll-like expressions made it intimidating to approach. Combined with the monstrous strength she had demonstrated earlier, it was easy to see why it was hard to talk to her. No one was able to grasp the opportunity to start a discussion either.
“…That idiot.”
Seeing Riel isolated from the rest of the class, Glen released a long sigh.
There wasn’t much that Glen could do about the situation. Riel grew up in a rather special environment, so her ability to socialize with others was below a child’s. She had caused a lot of trouble… but she was unable to grasp that fact.
That said… Seeing Riel all alone in such a lively classroom was a cause for sorrow for others. They couldn’t help but think that she was rather pitiable.
Riel likely felt nothing about her current situation… but leaving her all alone wouldn’t sit well with Glen.
“…I guess I have to.”
Despite the current situation, we were comrades some time ago.
It’s not like my reputation at the academy can get any worse either way. One or two more rumors about me won’t hurt.
Glen moved to invite Riel to lunch…
“Oh?”
Someone else moved to Riel’s side before Glen.
“Nice to meet you, Riel.”
It was Lumia. Sistina followed shortly behind her.
“…?”
Riel glanced at Lumia.
She didn’t move her body at all, merely turning her eyes upwards to meet Lumia’s gaze. The intensity of Riel’s stare was rather frightening.
However, Lumia calmly matched her gaze, and showed a smile.
“It’s the afternoon break period right now…. What are you planning to do about lunch?”
“…Lunch?”
Riel turned her eyes away, and fell silent for a short moment.
Then she turned her eyes up to face Lumia again, and said:
“There’s no need. I’ll be fine even if I don’t eat for three days.”
“Eh? Y-, You shouldn’t do that… It’s bad for your body okay?”
Lumia wryly smiled.
“You have to eat well. I mean, it’ll get in the way of your work won’t it, Riel?”
“…You’re not wrong.”
Rather than just her eyes, Riel abruptly turned her head upward to face Lumia in a more upright fashion.
“But I don’t know what to eat. I wasn’t assigned any rations for this mission. I ate the rations I saved up from my other missions on the way here.”
…She really does have a serious problem, thought Glen as he looked on from faraway.
The rations Riel referred to were undoubtedly the portable foodstuffs that the army used for field operations – a mix of beans, barley, potato and various grains that knead and cooked into hard blocks.
Heck, just what kind of idiot organization would have full-time bodyguards eat nothing but field rations anyway? More importantly, what was Riel planning to do about food then?
Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen her eat anything other than those shitty tasting rations… Don’t tell me… did she eat nothing but that all this time?
“Ah, if you don’t know what to eat… then why don’t you come with us to the cafeteria? We were just about to head there.””
“…Cafeteria? …What’s that.”
“Mm… somewhere you go to eat… I guess? So, do you want to go?”
“………”
Riel fell silent.
It was hard to tell, but it seemed like her eyes were blinking faster. It seemed like she couldn’t quite come to a decision, perhaps due to her inexperience with eating meals with girls of the same age.
“Hey Riel, you don’t have to force yourself… alright?”
Sistina spoke out, unable to stand the silence.
“It’s just that we’ll be together for a long time from now onwards, so wouldn’t it be better to get to know each other more? Not to mention, meals are more enjoyable with others.”
“…Enjoy? … I don’t really understand…”
Riel ruminated on the thought for a while, before glancing towards Glen.
Glen raised his chin, gestured for Riel to go.
Seeing that, Riel nodded and stood from her seat.
“Mm. Okay. I’ll go.”
“Fufu, great. Let’s go going then, shall we?”
Riel followed Lumia and Sistina’s lead, as murmurs started to shoot around the classroom.
The students that remained in the room watched as the group gestured to leave.
“L-, Lumia is really brave…”
“Will they be alright…? Inviting that girl to lunch…”
Ignoring the discussion going on in the classroom, Lumia and Sistina moved towards the door to the hallway, passing by Glen in the process.
“…Riel’s all yours.”
Glen whispered as Lumia passed by.
“Yes.” Replied Lumia with a sweet smile.
“…Geez louise.”
After seeing the three of them off, Glen scratched his head and sighed.
Man, I really can’t tell what’ll happen from here. As a bodyguard, Riel should’ve found some reason to approach Lumia first, but here it turned out to be the other way around. Even for crappy bodyguard this should’ve been common practice. I really think the people who chose her for this mission are nuts.
But…
“…On second thought, this might be a good chance.”
Despite the hardships the situation wrought, Glen had to admit that.
Riel’s never had a normal upbringing. Even at her age she’s serving as a battlemage of the Imperial Court Magicians. Of course, there are a lot of complicated issues that force her to be involved with them… but it can’t be denied that it has hindered her growth as a person. Although her personality wouldn’t make it impossible to keep on living like this, there’s definitely something missing.
However—
If her mission forces her to associate with a lot of people, then it might be good for her in the long run. This might be a good chance for her to grow, spiritually and mentally.
If she could get along well with Lumia and Sistina, then in the future… Glen carried such hopes.
Hmm, thinking about it that way, this mission might be most suited for Riel in terms of her needs, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the people who decided on this have a screw loose. If I ever see those people I would want to slap them a few hundred times.
“Now that I think about it, it’s almost time for the ‘Field Study’ isn’t it…”
This will probably be the first time Riel will go out to play with people her age. I just hope that something will come out of this for her… thought Glen.
“Well, I should also go get something to eat.”
After the three left, Glen also prepared to head to the student cafeteria.
He could’ve just gone to the canteen to get something simple to fill his stomach, but he felt like going to the cafeteria today.
…It’s not like I’m really worried about them.
With a fleeting thought, Glen excused his behavior to no one in particular.
Glen quietly hurried to the cafeteria.
“This is Alzano Imperial Magic Academy’s cafeteria.”
As planned, Lumia and Sistina led Riel to the academy’s cafeteria.
“How is it? Isn’t it big? Were you surprised?”
Riel blinked blankly as Lumia introduced the cafeteria with a delightful smile.
The wide cafeteria was lined with long tables covered in white cloth. The tables were also decorated with candle stands, which gave the cafeteria a classy feel.
A large group of students crowded the kitchen counter, where they waited for their orders to be served. After retrieving their food, they would find a seat and engage in friendly conversation with their peers.
Today too, the cafeteria was filled with energy unique to lunchtime.
“There are a lot of people… and something smells good…”
“The food here is cheap and delicious. It’s quite popular amongst the students here.” Sistina explained as she brushed her loose hairs aside.
“People who come from wealthier backgrounds… such as the sons and daughters of conglomerates and high nobles, tend to choose to eat outside the academy in more luxurious restaurants. On the other hand, there are those who come from more humble backgrounds that prepare their own meals instead. That said, more than half the students of the academy use the cafeteria on a regular basis.”
On that note, as someone who came from a famous family of magicians and belonged in the upper-echelons of society, Sistina would have no monetary troubles eating luxurious meals outside the academy on a regular basis. However, having grown-up eating her mother’s handmade meals, she bore a commoners palate that preferred simpler tastes. Although a rarity amongst nobles, she would mostly go to the cafeteria for lunch.
Returning to the topic, it appeared that Riel had not paid attention to Sistina’s explanation.
In Riel’s mind, food was merely rations of energy to be taken in the midst of a bloody battlefield; a necessary chore for bodily maintenance.
So the appetizing scent and harmonious scenery during meals was a first for her.
Riel seemed overwhelmed by this unknown landscape.
“Why don’t we go make our order, Riel?”
Lumia pulled Riel by the hand through the crowd of people and headed towards the counter.
On the other side of the counter, they could see the large number of chefs preparing meals as if it were a battle.
“Mm, it seems like there’s a lot of good food today… What should I get?”
Lumia looked at the menu written on a board set up next to the counter.
“I’ll have the usual.” Said Sistina with disinterest.
She didn’t even bat an eye at the board.
“Two scones again? You’ve only been having that for lunch recently Sisti… It’s not good for your body if you don’t eat well okay?”
“Y-, You don’t have to tell me that… I’m fine with eating just that!”
“You’re not even close to fat though, Sisti… You might even be too skinny…”
“T-, T-, That’s not the problem! It’s not that I’m worried about getting fat, I just don’t want to feel sleepy during afternoon lecture okay…-!”
Sistina vehemently tried to explain herself as Lumia received it with a wry smile.
“By the way Riel, what are you getting?” Lumia turned to ask Riel.
However, she didn’t get a reply.
“………”
On closer inspection, it seemed like Riel’s eyes were glued to a nearby table. More precisely, what a certain girl was eating.
In the girl’s hands was a strawberry tart. Whilst talking to her friends, the girl happily munched down on the strawberry tart.
“………”
Riel’s appeared to be captivated by the glamorous appearance of the tart.
Although her drowsy expression remained, her eyes seemed to shine with curiosity.
“Riel… Would you like to eat that?”
Lumia took the opportunity and asked Riel.
Riel turned her eyes to look at Lumia.
“Can… I eat that?”
“Yup, if you order it you can have it. Let’s go order okay?”
Riel seemed to be thinking deeply about it and fell silent for a brief moment…
Finally, she nodded her head.
…After a while.
“How does it taste?”
“………”
Near a corner of the cafeteria, Riel nibbled on a strawberry tart with great focus.
She carried the strawberry tart in two hands, treating it with great care and ignoring Lumia’s question. She silently partook in the strawberry tart, which, rather than greedily devouring, she gnawed it little by little like a small animal eating a berry…
“It looks like she likes it…”
Sistina shrugged her shoulders slightly, before delicately cutting a scone with a knife and feeding it into her mouth with a fork.
After that, she took another glance at Riel.
Actually, this was already Riel’s sixth tart.
She had been hesitant to bite into her first, but she hadn’t stopped eating since, as if she had been possessed by the tart. The first was gone in a blink of an eye. After that, she asked for more and more.
“…I-, I’m jealous.”
Sistina couldn’t help but murmur that as she compared the scones on her plate and the tart in Riel’s hands.
“Hm? What the problem, Sisti?”
“Ugh… No matter how much you won’t get fat, rather, all those calories effectively become ‘growth’ for you, so I’m sure you won’t understand what I mean, Lumia…”
Sistina enviously compared the compared Lumia’s chest and Lumia’s meal.
Lumia’s meal consisted of a small piece of bread, roast beef, cheese salad, and corn soup.
It must have something to do with our metabolisms. No matter how much Lumia eats, she never gets fat at all. Not only that, the ‘parts’ that I’m jealous of grow steadily as a result.
Chances are I can’t eat as much as her without having to worry.
If I did eat that much, I’ll probably grow in the places where I want it the least, like my waist or my arms.
God really is unfair.
“Hah…”
Sistina glanced at Riel and sighed.
I want to stuff myself with sweets without having to worry about gaining weight like Riel. I want to eat until I’m full like Lumia.
Eating at the same table as the two gluttons grinded down on Sistina’s mental fortitude.
“Even so…”
Sistina, resting her chin in the palm of her propped up hand, took a second look at Riel.
Riel was still dreamily nibbling away at a tart.
…She’s just an innocent girl after all.
Such a thought crossed Sistina’s mind.
To be honest, she had been afraid of Riel.
She had suddenly swung a sword at Glen, and there was also the incident at the practice field earlier today. Although she only knew a little bit of magic, there was nothing that Sistina could do about her brute force that seemed like a calamity in and of itself. After that showing earlier, Sistina wondered how Lumia could approach Riel as if nothing was wrong.
But after seeing her innocently nibble on the tart… Sistina thought that she was dumb for having been so afraid and cautious of Riel this entire time.
“…Do you want one?”
Then, noticing Sistina’s gaze, Riel raised her head to face Sistina.
“…Ah, well, not really, but…”
“I can give you some if you’d like.”
Saying that, Riel split the tart she was eating in half…
“………”
Then, she reflexively stopped her hand. She stared at the tart in one hand with her drowsy eyes; the hesitation could be felt in her eyes. Her forehead seemed to be a bit scrunched as well.
Sistina showed a knowing smile to Riel’s obvious reaction.
“Ah—, you don’t have to force yourself. You want to eat all of it right?”
“…Can I?”
“It’s okay. If I really wanted to I can just go buy it myself.”
Riel seemed to calm down after that and returned to nibbling on the tart.
She’s certainly not a bad person… She’s just kind of weird, that’s all
Although Riel was a bit… cold, so to speak, she didn’t explicitly do anything to gain other’s enmity. Rather, she seemed like the sort of person whose actions would bring a smile to others faces given enough time.
“Geez Riel… You have cream all over your face… Pay attention when you’re eating…”
With a sigh, Sistina took her handkerchief out and reached her hand across the table towards Riel’s face. Lumia happily observed the two.
“Don’t move okay? … There, that’s better.”
“Mm… thanks.”
If I had a little sister, maybe she’d be someone like her?
Sistina mind idly drifted towards such a possibility.
“There aren’t many empty seats at the cafeteria today…. What shall we do?”
“Ah… Wendy… There’s some seats over there.”
“Oh my, I see it. Let’s go there then.”
Familiar voices approached Sistina’s table.
Sistina turned around to look…
“My? Sistina?”
“Wendy…. and Rin.”
Wendy and Rin each carried a tray in their hand.
“It’s rare to see you here, Wendy. I didn’t think that you of all people would use the cafeteria.”
Sistina, as if seeing the unexpected, blinked her eyes a few times.
“Aren’t you the standard for those who go outside the academy to eat at luxurious restaurants? And for Rin to be with you… What’s come over you today?”
“Hmpf, occasionally inspecting the commoner’s dining situation is the duty of nobles.”
“I-, I, uhm… happened to meet Wendy at the entrance to the cafeteria, so…”
Wendy boastfully raised her chest whilst Rin nervously explained the circumstances.
Then, a good idea seemed to flash in Lumia’s mind, and she clapped her hands together with a smile.
“Right! Would you two like to join us for lunch? You can also get to know Riel better.”
“Eh?”
“I’m sure it’ll be more fun and enjoyable to eat with more people.”
“T-, That’s…”
“…Uhm…”
However, the two seemed hesitant to accept Lumia’s invitation. The two snuck glances at Riel, who sat across from Lumia.
The scene of Riel’s display of superhuman strength and the following destruction was probably playing through their minds.
Wendy’s usual composed expression that befit a noble seemed to crumble a little and sweat could be seem forming on her forehead. Rin, who was more timid, seemed to hide behind Wendy.
In the end, the two couldn’t choose between ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and remained silent…
“…You can’t?”
Lumia showed a slightly sad smile. It was then that—
“Yo, cuties! If you don’t mind, I’ll be joining in as well!”
A cheerful voice came from behind, which, although out-of-place, blew away the tension in the air.
“It’s rare for the pretty girls from our class to be gathered together in one place! How could I let this chance go!?”
“Ahaha, geez Cashew. Would you all mind if I joined as well? I have something I want to talk to Riel about.”
The big-statured Cashew and female-faced Cecil arrived on scene.
“My, I don’t see you two here very often. Cecil aside, I didn’t know that you used the cafeteria, Cashew.”
Sistina looked on in puzzlement as her classmates, who didn’t frequent the cafeteria, showed up one after another.
“I got a payday from my part-time at the transcription store yesterday, so I thought I might splurge a little today.”
Cashew and Cecil’s hands were completely occupied with filled plates. Ignoring Wendy and Rin, Cashew dropped his plates next to Lumia, directly across from Riel. Cecil followed suit by sitting down next to Cashew.
“Yo, Riel-chan!”
Perhaps startled by Cashew’s vigor, Riel turned her eyes away from the tart and blinked her eyes blankly at him.
“In class just now, you made that crazy sword and sent in flying through the air… That was pretty amazing! Just how did you do it?”
“Amazing? Me?”
“Mhm. I’ve never seen magic like that before.”
“I’m sure that you used body enhancement magic along with raw physical strength to send the sword flying… but you used alchemy to make the sword didn’t you? The speed at which you synthesized it was super fast. Where did you learn to do that?”
Cashew and Cecil fired off questions one after another.
“Hey, could you teach me how to do that!? If I could learn to synthesize stuff that quickly, I might be able to use it for other things!”
“I’m more curious about what kind of synthesis form you use.”
“………”
Riel, as if pondering something, fell silent for a brief moment…
“…Mm. I’ll teach you two if I have time.”
“Ooh! Alright! Thanks a ton!”
Cashew then turned around to look at Wendy and Rin, who remained frozen in place.
“Hey Wendy, Rin, do you guys want to learn it too? I’m sure that learning this will help us rise through the magician ranks.”
The two glanced at each other for a brief moment before nodding their heads, and asked…
“It’s true that your synthesis speed is frightening, Riel… but how do you explain your ability with [Shock · Bolt]?”
“A-, Ahaha… It’s not like I did any better though…”
Wendy and Rin sat down around Riel.
“I never really learned black magic.”
“Oh dear…. [Shock · Bolt] is the very basic of black magic assault spells is it not? If you don’t practice it thoroughly, how do you expect to raise your magician rank?”
“Ugh… oh, it hurts…!”
“Well, if you would like, I wouldn’t mind teaching you, Riel.”
“………”
Hearing Wendy’s suggestion, Riel turned to glance at Lumia.
Lumia replied with a delightful smile.
“It’s alright Riel. I think it would be great if she teaches you.”
“…Okay. Teach me.”
Although Riel would never initiate a conversation, her replies to others were generally clear. Although her attitude was a bit cold, she was unexpectedly able to hold a normal conversation.
“Thanks, Cashew-kun.”
As Riel became the center of conversation, Lumia voiced her thanks to Cashew.
“Well, she’s a bit weird, but if I seem a new classmate getting ostracized like that I don’t think I’ll be able to live it down if I ignore it… so there’s really nothing to thank me for.”
Then, with a know-it-all smile—
“If you’d like to thank me, would you mind going on a date…”
“Ah, I’ll have to politely decline. Sorry, Cashew-kun.” Lumia declined with an angelic smile.
Having been ruthlessly rejected, Cashew placed his head face first into the table with a thud.
“Ahaha, you just got rejected didn’t you, Cashew… what a shame.”
“Shush~ Just leave me alone…”
Cashew replied sulkily to Cecil’s consolation.
“Even so, I’m happy that other people are willing to approach Riel.”
“W-, Well… to be honest, I was actually scared of her…” Cashew uneasily admitted.
“But I saw you guys talking to each other… and even though it was a bit weird, she didn’t seem like a bad person either… I mean, just look at her.”
Riel continued to silently gnaw at a tart whilst listening to Wendy and Sistina’s petty arguments.
“…Cute isn’t it?”
“Yup, it’s pretty cute.”
Lumia couldn’t help but smile. Cashew quickly agreed with her.
“Why was I ever scared of such a cute girl I wonder… Not to mention, if Sistina could accept her, that means she’s definitely not a bad person. The rest of the class were all scared of her, but I’m sure they’ll be able to understand in time.”
“Cashew-kun…”
“The ‘Field Study’ is starting in a bit isn’t it? I’m sure it’ll be more interesting with more people.”
“Yup, that’s right. I hope that everyone can have fun.”
The two said with a smile.
“Man… it doesn’t seem like I need to do anything huh.”
In the cafeteria, Glen released a relieved sigh as he observed Lumia’s group from out of view.
Although the passing students looked at Glen with disdain, he didn’t really mind at all.
“How should I say this… My students are all really good people at heart…! Mm… I’m truly blessed to have students like them…-!”
Glen covered his eyes as if overcome with emotion.
“Alrighty, now that that’s settled, Glen-sensei shall coolly slip away…”
Immediately after, Glen remembered something very important.
“Wait, I haven’t eaten lunch yet haven’t I!? Shit, I was so busy observing them that I totally forgot! O-, Oh shit!? How much time do I have until break en—”
Glen was immediately interrupted by the loud growl of his stomach—
At the same time, the academy’s bell, which announced the end of afternoon break, cruelly rung.
“WH-, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT—!?”
Glen’s cries of despair and the bell formed a loud ensemble…
………
—I saw – a dream.
It was a fragment of my childhood days. It was during the time where I was trapped by the Wisdom of the Heavens Research Society.
“Sniff… Hick…uugh…”
“What is it, □□□□? Did something happen?”
My brother tried to comfort me as I cried, curled up into a ball hugging my knees.
“I… I… killed… her…. Lida… The organization…ordered me to…-!”
“What did you say!?”
“Fuck! What the hell is this!?”
My brother’s close friend, □□□□, who stood beside him, loudly struck the wall.
“The organization is probably holding those shitty □□□□ practices aren’t they!? For high speed synthesis of weapons and their secret assassination blade techniques… Shit! I didn’t think they’d force comrades to kill one another…!? Are we really just throwaway tools to them…! Goddamnit!”
“Calm down, □□□□.”
“□□□-!? But…-!”
“Without the organization’s support, orphans like us would have nowhere to go… That much is true.”
With a sorrowful expression, my brother turned towards his close friend □□□□ and shook his head. Then, he looked me in the eye.
“It must’ve been hard for you, □□□□. While I’m sorry about what happened to Lida… As my only blood relative left, I’m glad you were the one who lived in the end… So…”
“B-, Brother… I-, I’m scared….”
Back then, I could only remain sane by telling my brother all about the swelling anxieties I had.
“I feel like… my heart… is dying, little by little… I feel like with each passing day, I’m becoming more and more like a doll… Recently, even that feeling… is starting to fade…”
“It’ll be okay… Everything will be okay…”
However, my brother always encouraged me and supported me.
“One day, we’ll leave this organization for good. I will do whatever it takes. Then, we’ll be free to live our lives. Until then… Until that day… Please, □□□□. Work hard… do whatever it takes…”
“Brother… □□□…”
Yes. The reason I managed to keep living back then… was due to my brother.
Because my brother is here… I can keep on living.
“Hey □□□□. If, you… are able to escape this organization, what do you want to do?”
However, what I remember is all ‘white’. Maybe it was too long ago, the backgrounds were white, and dialogues were white. Everything was a blank slate of white.
Even my brother’s face seemed to be hidden behind a white fog. I can’t quite tell.
Everything was already vague and fuzzy, I can’t quite remember. It was a vestige of a time long past—
—A white memory.
………
“Hey Riel. I know I don’t have the right to say anything since I fell asleep on my first day here… but would you mind acting a bit more like a student…?”
“……?”
My mind which was visiting the past returned to the present.
After waking up, I slowly raised my head.
It seems like I fell asleep on the desk. I rubbed my eyes whilst looking at my surroundings.
This was a classroom in Alzano Imperial Magic Academy.
It seemed like the lecture had ended some time ago and we were now in a break period. There was a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom. Some students were busily chatting with one another, while others left the room. Overall, it was noisy.
Glen stood next to me with an amused expression as he released a sigh. He looked down at me.
I stared at Glen’s face.
“…What is it? Is there something on my face?”
…This might be the reason I saw that nostalgic dream.
Somehow, Glen seemed very similar to my brother, whose face had been hidden by some sort of fog.
“…Geez”
Glen released a long sigh as Riel rubbed her eyes.
It had been a week since Riel arrived at the magic academy.
With her actions on the first day, Riel had splendidly formed a mental barrier that distanced herself from the other students of the class. Just what would Riel pull off in her following days as a student…? This was a question that weighed heavily on Glen’s mind at the beginning.
After all, given Riel’s reckless and headlong tendencies, which were closely followed by episodes of heroism, she had undoubtedly made a name for herself at Imperial Court Magicians, for better or for worse. Not to mention, these episodes were too many to count. For example…
One: If the enemy is more numerous than oneself’s, then cut them all down through spirit.
Two: If the enemy’s defenses cannot be crushed by one’s blade, then destroy the defense through spirit, and then cut them down.
Three: If the enemy is faster than oneself, the make yourself go faster than the enemy through spirit, and then cut them down.
Four: If the enemy has placed a trap, then cut down the trap along with the enemy through spirit.
…And such. That was one of numerous trusted and traditional examples from Riel’s art of war.
Yet, the worst part of her disposition was the fact that she had the unparalleled power and dexterity to carry out her unintelligible brute force strategies. Thus, she left a clear-cut combat record.
The heretical magicians that Riel had defeated in the past, were probably scratching their heads in hell wondering why they had lost to such a girl. Yet, the only conclusion there appeared to be was that they had been Riel’s opponent.
In any case, Riel was abnormal in various ways. To make matters worse, her mind was estranged from the common sense of the world. It wasn’t exactly strange for any sort of trouble to occur when she was around.
However — in the end, these were all needless anxieties.
“Riel, it’s afternoon break now. Would you to come to the cafeteria with us again?”
“…Lumia? Sistina? …Okay. I’ll comme.”
“Hey Riel. Are you going to eat strawberry tarts again? Don’t you get tired of it? I’m hardly one to talk, but your diet isn’t balanced if you eat like that. You’ve been eating nothing but strawberry tarts since you came haven’t you?”
“It’s okay, Sistina, because… strawberry tarts… taste good.”
“Hah… That’s not a reason. You can’t be this picky with your food.”
“Ahaha, ever since I recommended the tarts to her, she’s become its captive, hasn’t she?”
“……”
Like every day, Glen saw the three off as they left for the cafeteria.
The reason Riel hadn’t encountered any great trouble yet… was most likely due to Lumia and Sistina.
Regardless of whether it was in or out of the academy’s grounds, the two would follow Riel (who, as a result, fails as a bodyguard) and cover for her when problems arose due to her lack of common sense.
“Hey Riel, Why don’t you try to eat something else today? I’m sure there are tasty dishes other than strawberry tarts.”
“But… I want to eat strawberry tarts.”
For Lumia, Riel was a benefactor who (sort of) protected her. On top of that, given Lumia’s personality, she couldn’t bring herself to ignore Riel, who wasn’t able to get used to life as a student.
“You really are a stubborn girl aren’t you…? Listen Riel, you can’t be so picky with your food at such a young age okay? If you don’t eat a healthy and balanced diet, your body will suffer as a result.”
“Yup… that said though, Sisti, you can’t really lecture someone else on that…”
“I-, I’m fine as I am! Don’t mind me!”
Sistina didn’t really bear any goodwill towards Riel at the beginning, but after having approached Riel with Lumia, she seemed to think of her as a troublesome little sister of sorts.
At some point, the three of them being together became the norm.
“Oh, you guys are together again? You sure get along well!”
“My my. By the way, Sistina, we’ll be tending the medicinal gardens for our next lecture period. Try not to be so involved in your chatting that you arrive to lecture late like you have previously.”
Cashew and Wendy’s acceptance of Riel also contributed greatly to Riel’s transition into school. The other students began to open up to Riel more under the lead of the class’ central figures.
Since they had managed to accept a maverick like Glen as well, it demonstrated that the class as a whole was fairly bighearted. Although Riel would occasionally make some outrageous announcements regarding Glen, she was meshing together with the class slowly but surely.
R-, Riel of all people… might actually have a fairly normal school life…
Glen was surprised, but at the same time he was also moved.
However, of course, not everything went so smoothly.
An anomaly like Riel leading a normal life would surely have some negative influences.
“So then… it becomes this… Then, you perform Markious’ operation on the elemental array here… like this… After that, you do this to calculate the origin’s elemental values for Flamea, Aques, Soilre, Airel, and Etherio and return those values individually… Then here… You can do this to reorder the origins… and then restructure the physical material….”
<TL Note: Read as ‘Flamea, Aques, Soilre, Airel, and Etherio’, written as ‘Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Spirit.’ in Japanese>
Afterschool—
Several students were huddled around Riel’s table. Under their intense gaze, Riel pushed a feather pen across a sheet of paper. Written on the numerous sheets of paper was a set of extremely complicated synthetic formulas used to switch the order of elements as well as the magic formula used to control the synthesis.
It was Riel’s alchemy – a magic formula for high speed weapon synthesis.
After today’s final lecture, alchemy, the students that stuck around gathered together to chitchat. Eventually, they moved onto Riel’s alchemy technique that she had displayed on the first day. Finally, after a series of events, they had her attempt to explain it to everyone present.
“…Understood?”
Riel lowered her feather-pen.
“Yeah, I didn’t get it at all.” Cashew, who had given up halfway through, cheerfully said.
“Amazing Riel, I lost track of what you were saying at some point…” Lumia agreed with a wry smile.
The students present more or less bore the same thoughts as Cashew and Lumia.
“It’s incredible…”
“What is this… Just who made this formula…?”
Cecil, who was excellent in theory classes, and Sistina, who stood at the top of her class year, could understand Riel’s explanation to a certain extent, but they were still at a loss for words.
Magic formulation and functions were not the focus of the general curriculum at the academy, so were it not for Glen’s maniacal lectures on how to create formulas and functions using rune-language from scratch, the two would likely have not been able to understand Riel’s explanation in the slightest.
“What can I say…? No matter how hard I thought about how to create a Damascus steel sword in such a short amount of time, I couldn’t figure it out… but who would’ve thought that a bug in rune-language could be utilized in such a fashion…”
Sweat trickled from Cecil’s forehead as he voiced his admiration.
Damascus steel was created by adding layers of carbon in a cyclic fashion throughout the composition of ordinary steel elements. It was far more rigid and sturdy compared normal steel.
In the empire, those who possessed the forging skills to manufacture Damascus steel were far and few between, which led to annually production being equally low. Ongoing research attempted to manufacture large quantities Damascus steel through alchemical means.
However, that it was extremely difficult to achieve permanence in a synthesized product. Even if the synthesis was successful, the composition could only be maintained temporarily. With the added difficulty and complexity of the elemental array, it would probably take an extreme amount of time to properly synthesize the product… This was the common knowledge that had been publicized by the Imperial Magic Academic Society regarding the research of Damascus steel.
Although Riel’s formula did not resolve the issue of impermanence, its speed was in a different league of its own. It was nothing less than shocking.
Even if the formula was submitted to the Academy Society, it would probably be seen as an impossible, bogus theory, and quickly be brushed off with a laugh— unless Riel were to demonstrate the usage and control mechanisms firsthand. That was the extent to which the alchemical sequence appeared to be formed on baseless assumptions.
“I can see why this wouldn’t be used in the Imperial army either…”
Cecil exasperatedly exhaled.
“Riel… Do you use this all the time?”
Sistina looked at with great concern.
“If you mess up even a single step, your brain’s processing capacity will overload and you’ll probably become a vegetable you know?”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes!”
“…I didn’t know.”
Despite Sistina’s stern warning, Riel didn’t seemed fazed in the slightest. She maintained her usual drowsy expression immaculately.
“Gosh… That said, just what is this nonsensical way of utilizing the user’s deeper consciousness!? Aren’t there zero considerations for the user’s safety!? It’s obvious that whoever made this formula views the users of this as nothing more than disposable objects!”
Voicing her anger, Sistina vigorously turned towards Wendy.
“Hey, don’t you think so too!? Wendy!”
“……Eh?”
Wendy, who had been dazed by Riel’s explanations, came to when Sistina called her out.
“O-, Of course! Sistina is completely correct in that matter! A formula with no considerations for its user is unbefitting of a noble… I realized all this in the beginning!”
For some reason, sweat could be seen forming on Wendy’s forehead and her articulation was also unclear.
“Now now.”
Lumia interrupted the conversation and attempted to calm Sistina down.
“Anyway, it’s impressive that Riel is able to use such a complicated formula.”
“It’s because I practiced a lot.”
“I-, I’m amazed you’re still alive.”
Sistina’s cheeks stiffened upon Riel’s indifference.
There’s a question that needs to be answered.
I heard from Glen-sensei that Riel had been a part of the Imperial Court Magicians, but does that mean that the army is forcing their soldiers to carry out life-endangering practices? There’s something wrong with this. To start with, Cecil said that Riel’s formula wasn’t used anywhere in the Imperial army.
So where did Riel learn this magic?
“Don’t try to mimic this magic alright everyone? Using this would require an incredible talent and sense with alchemy. For Riel to be able to utilize this magic to her extent means that this is practically her Original Magic.”
Sistina sensed that it would be foolish to pursue the matter any further. Thus, she tried to direct the conversation away from such a question.
“There’s no way I can even try to do that…”
“I don’t think anyone other can Riel can do it…”
“W-, Well, I have faith that I would be able to do it if I try, but… Fu, fuun, I suppose it is a formula that is lacking in grace required for a noble… Therefore, it is unsuitable for someone of my like!”
Then—
Baam! Someone roughly exited their seat. The loud noise echoed throughout the room.
“…Gibel?”
The origin of that noise was none other than Gibel, who sat a short distance away from Riel and had not contributed to the conversation.
“O-, Oi Gibel, what’s up with you, why did you suddenly…”
“…I’m going home. Rather than waste time messing around with you people, would it not be better to go home and strive to make an effort to study magic?”
With great irritation, Gibel shoved his textbooks, notes, and other belongings into his bag.
“Huh? You don’t have to say it like that…”
Cashew, who was used to Gibel’s abrasive attitude, amusedly scratched his head.
“Hmpf.”
However, Gibell ignored Cashew, turned around, and headed for the exit. Then—
Tug, Gibel’s sleeve was pulled from behind.
“Wha… Y-, You…!?”
The one who pulled on his sleeve was Riel, who had approached him without him noticing.
No one felt her movement nor her presence, it was as if she had teleported right behind him. Everyone blinked their eyes blankly as if bewitched.
“…Here.”
In Riel’s hand was a feathered pen.
“You dropped this.”
“~~~~-!”
Gibel’s face flushed red with hostility as he swiped the pen from Riel’s hand. He then rushed out of the room with great strides.
“…?”
Riel’s hand remained outstretched as she stood still like a statue.
The remaining students had their mouths open wide in surprise.
“What’s with him recently?”
Sistina was half-confused, half irritated.
“Well, I suppose that he has been rather irritated ever since Riel joined our class…”
“Haha… Isn’t he just jealous of Riel-chan’s amazing alchemy skills?”
“D-, Don’t say that Cashew. You might unexpectedly turn out right. Gibel has always held absolute confidence in his alchemy… He’d even say that he won’t lose to Sistina.”
In the deserted hallway just outside the classroom—
Glen leaned against a wall with his arm crossed and lightly sighed as he saw Gibel, who hadn’t noticed his presence, run off.
“Well, can’t really blame him. Not everyone can so readily accept someone as weird as Riel…”
Thanks to Lumia and Sistina, Riel’s integration into the class has been going pretty smoothly, but there are people like Gibel as well.
Anyhow, it’s because Riel’s abilities exceed common sense. Even in the Imperial Court Magicians, her unmatched kill-count of heretics makes her the pride and ace of the special operations sect. Such power isn’t something that can be easily hidden. Someone like Riel would naturally make many of the other students afraid.
Glen had been afraid of this, so he hadn’t allowed his class to partake in magic battles… but if it ever came down to it, no one in his class would be able to win against Riel.
Furthermore, the one who would have crushed them in that instance would have been an irregular than was incapable of even using elementary magic. Surely, the difference between Riel and the rest had been made clear when she had smashed the golem into dust with the greatsword during the first lecture. Someone in their hearts, everyone should have understood that they were not Riel’s equal in a true magic battle. As magicians it would be a blow to their pride, even more so for those as young as the students.
“Well… there’s not much I can do but let it resolve itself in time I guess…”
Suddenly, Glen noticed Riel preparing to leave the classroom.
Everyone must’ve been preparing to go home together.
Glen scratched his head, and quickly left the hallway.
Problems like this did not solely exist due to the hidden discord in the class.
Of course, they existed in Riel as well.
This is a tale of a certain time.
“………”
Riel carried a stack of books and papers in her hands as she walked down a hallway of the magic academy.
Hiding behind her in a corner of the hallway ten meters behind—
Riel… I know you can do it if you try… Sensei is proud of you…-!?
After tasking Riel with delivering some documents, Glen stealthily followed behind her to observe her progress. Although there was no real meaning in following her, Glen could feel the corner of his eyes heat up.
The passing students all sent dubious gazes towards Glen as he looked at Riel down the hall with a strange sense of warmth…
“Glen Ryders! I’ve heard it all! During your black magic lecture, you slandered the spell I improvised as ‘impractical and inefficient’ did you not—!?”
Harry suddenly approached Glen and threw a glove at him in anger.
“In my life you are the only one to disrespect to this extent and take me for such a damned fool! I can’t turn a blind on you any longer Glen Ryders! Let us settle this in combat!”
Glen’s face turned pale in anxiety and turn his neck as far as he could to face Harry.
“U-, Uhm…. Now’s… a bad time… Due to some very… special and complicated circumstances, challenging me to a duel may turn out very very badly for all of us… So uh… forgive me…?”
“Hmpf, you scared punk!? It’s too late to ask for my forgiveness! Hurry up and pick up the gloves! Allow me to witness what you call ‘practical magic’ would you!? And don’t worry, I’ll be sure to not accidentally take your life!”
“Ah—, No—, Uhhhhhhh—, oh, it’s not my life… but yours, senpai… It’s veeeeeerry much like a candle in the wind I guess…Uhh… If you don’t hurry up and take back your challenge… Our very peaceful academy might be the stage for a gruesome tragedy or something like that—”
Glen tried his best to avoid in the imminent tragedy, but it was already too late.
“…Hm? Glen, is he… an enemy?”
“S-, She’s heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeereeeeeee—!”
Riel suddenly appeared beside Glen, who immediately hugged his head in fright.
“Ha-, Ha-something senpai-!? Please run! Pretty pleaseeeeeeeeeee-!?”
“What are you here for, girl. Are you the rumored transfer student? Listen, I won’t take your attitude—”
As Harry entered his arrogant airs and began to scold Riel—
Pssht. The air was cut by the flash of a fiendish greatsword that quickly approached Harry.
The pressure behind the blow not only shattered the surrounding glass windows, but also left a fissure on the stone walls.
Fortunately, Glen had managed to kick Harry’s legs to upset his balance so that only his hair had been displaced. If he had been even a moment late, it would have been his head instead.
“W-, W-, What—!?”
After Harry, whose head now shined like polished glass, recovered from his fall, he looked up in terror at Riel, who carried the gigantic sword with a single hand.
Riel, as usual, carried a drowsy, emotionless expression as the aftershock of her swing collapsed the walls around her.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!? Despite Harry-sensei’s young age, he’s already encountered the great strife of balding. Now his hair is all gone—!”
“W-, What the!? The wall! What happened to the wall!? What the heck happened just now—!?”
The students in the hallway entered a panicked frenzy.
“Shut up! And keep my hair out of this while you’re at it! More importantly, y-, y-, you!? W-, What kind of magic did you use just now!? D-, don’t tell me that sword… No damned way!? Going by common sense, no sword could generate such force!”
“Common sense just doesn’t apply to her! Like I said already, just hurry and run!”
Ignoring Harry and Glen’s fright, Riel entered her specialty greatsword stance.
“It’s okay. I won’t run away… Just leave it to me Glen. I will… destroy your enemies.”
“Hey Riel, waaaiiiiitttttttt! Calm down pleaseeeee!”
“HIEEEEEEEEEEE!? S-, Save meeeeeeee—!”
“Let me go Glen. I can’t destroy him like this.”
“Shush you! Don’t go around making murder incident in the middle of school would you!? Aghh! Where is Lumia and the White Cat when you need them!? Come and help me out pleaaseeeeeeeeee!”
…Riel would more than occasionally do things like that, which were lacking in common sense or fine sensibilities. Thus, the days during which Glen could not relax would continue.
Yet, despite everything, if one were to ask whether those flurried days had a positive or negative influence on Riel, the answer was obvious…
Everything she saw and heard during this time were all full of fresh experiences.
During some fleeting moments, Glen would see an expression that he had never seen her have before… For him personally, these times were surely not as bad as he would have others believe.
