By Zephyria 
Ivan handed me a plate, having sliced thick chunks of ham, cooked until the skin sizzled with grease, using a large, dedicated knife.
Demian also brought the Shierran traditional drink I had tasted once before when I won a sparring match against Kiadris, and poured me a cup overflowing.
Even as I quickly brought it to my lips, the thick liquid flowed coolly between my fingers.
The sweet grape juice was infused with the scent of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, which met my tongue with a grainy texture.
Sitting before the flickering campfire, enjoying the savory, hot meat and the icy drink, the summer evening was utterly enchanting.
I generously served Professor Cedric a plate when he came to peek, but there was still plenty of meat left.
Later, when other students, drawn by the smell of the meat, asked for some, I picked out the well-cooked parts from the large pork hind leg, turning it this way and that, and placed them on their plates. In return, they offered desserts like pumpkin tart and chocolate fudge, saying they would repay the favor.
We accepted them all without refusal.
We sat in a circle, chatting about this and that.
Marianne kept prying into the love lives of the children, seeming like she had something she wanted to say, so I prompted her to tell her own story, which was amusingly timid.
“Ah, but I’m embarrassed. It feels like talking about it in front of a campfire like this will make me miss him even more, so I don’t want to. I won’t tell you.”
“You miss him?”
“Wow, you miss him so much you can’t stand it right now?”
“Why aren’t you wearing a ribbon in your hair today? Is it because Senior Tenor isn’t here?”
“You guys are terrible!”
Even Ivan, usually quiet, joined in with one heart and one mind, teasing me in unison, which was amusing.
I laughed out loud, and Marianne patted my shoulder a few times, but it didn’t hurt, just like before, so I let her be.
Washing the dishes and tidying up was quick with so many people helping.
Demian and Marianne went to wash the dishes, and I was in charge of the things that could be left out in the open.
This was thanks to Professor Cedric’s prior advice that leaving meat-covered bones near the campsite could attract wild dogs or beasts.
When Ivan offered to come with me, I refused, saying he was too slow, and he asked if five years would be enough. Perplexed, I vaguely recalled that Ivan had wanted to learn Light Footwork from me last semester and pondered for a long time.
Seeing me ponder, Ivan sighed and withdrew his offer, so I also decided to let it go.
After disposing of the bones far away, everything was ready when I returned.
We decided to take turns keeping watch with the other students in our group and lay down.
Sleeping in a sleeping bag without a roof was a strange experience.
It was a warm and comfortable sleeping bag, just as Professor Cedric had boasted last semester. The sleeping bag had an opening for the face and closed with a zipper that interlocked perfectly.
As I lay down as if I were inside a silkworm cocoon, it was so warm that I wasn’t cold at all, despite the cool surrounding temperature.
Lying on the vast meadow and looking up at the night sky, it was filled with unfamiliar stars.
Seeing so many stars here at Shierun brought back memories. In the Central Plains, I had traveled long distances day and night, so I often looked up at the night sky. Having learned constellations early, I had never gotten lost.
However, now, looking at the stars here and trying to determine direction, I felt completely unsure.
The brilliant river of light stretching across the sky, the large stars flashing red and yellow, and the two moons floating roundly between them were unfamiliar no matter how many times I looked.
No, this too was something I had to learn now.
I knew that if my past self could do it, my current self could do it even better. This was the most important and grandest thing I had learned since coming to the Academy.
Forgetting the fear of learning.
I made a firm resolution in my heart and drifted off to sleep.
From afar, the night birds cried out in a steady rhythm.
The chirping of insects, the voices of children chatting, and the crackling sound of the campfire burning on its own lulled me to sleep.
I woke up at dawn and sat up.
Demian, who had reached out to wake me, whispered good morning with a smiling face. I returned the greeting with a smile.
Watching Demian, still sleepy-eyed, crawl back into his sleeping bag, I stirred the campfire with the tinder stick I had been using, fanning the embers.
It was because I had refused the last watch duty, given to me as the youngest, not wanting to be singled out.
After a good sleep, I looked up at the grass blades glistening with morning dew and the sky, which was turning pale in the distance as dawn broke. It felt wonderful, as if the vital energy of nature was seeping deep into my lungs.
I stood up, sword in hand, and positioned myself away from where the children were sleeping.
I immediately performed the first stance of the Changcheon Muae Sword Art. Suddenly, Mage Boulder’s question lingered in my mind. When I first heard him ask if one couldn’t embrace the earth’s energy while embracing the sky’s, I was taken aback, but now it felt like a valid question.
Trying to perform the sword technique in reverse, as if plunging from the sky to the earth, was not easy.
Gripping the sword firmly, I swept it horizontally from left to right and then assumed my stance again. Trying not to wake the children, each movement of the swordplay was slow and quiet.
The sword wind, shot out from a distant swing, rustled the lying grass blades without harming them.
How much time had passed?
As I heard the sounds of people waking up one by one behind me, I stopped my practice. Seeing some of the children clap after I subtly released internal energy to cool myself down, I chuckled, knowing they were just playing.
Everyone woke up, had a simple breakfast, and we packed our belongings to return to the Academy.
It was a journey that would have taken no more than three hours by carriage, but it was no easy feat for the young children to march at a running pace.
Professor Cedric, assessing their condition, allowed those who were struggling to ride in the carriage, but the children knew that this running march was also included in their attitude score, so they stubbornly chose to keep walking.
Ultimately, I ended up carrying the children’s luggage again this time. When I saw Shayden in the distance, similarly laden with bags, a laugh escaped me.
“Why are you laughing so much, Mikael?”
“Because all the other Swordsmanship Department students have become porters too.”
“Oh, really.”
“Among them, Mikael looks the least tired…”
“It’s because I’m not tired.”
Having learned the knack, I successfully packed everything into two survival backpacks. As I slung one bag over each shoulder and held the herb box in front, Marianne, sticking close again, tilted her head.
“So, why are you really okay? This needs research.”
“You should exercise regularly.”
“Mmm. I’ll walk quietly.”
However, the path to the Academy was far from quiet.
The children’s antics were so endearing that I laughed several times in a row. By the time we arrived at the Academy, my cheeks ached from so much laughter.
❖ ❖ ❖
Sunday. I woke up early, did my usual brief training, circulated my Qi, and then headed to the library.
Today, that child Rubel was not waiting at the door.
Thinking he might be inside, I headed towards the area with the large tables, but he wasn’t there either.
It’s a terrible thing to search for someone while they’re studying, so I sat down.
After turning about five pages of a book, I felt the presence of someone rushing in and looked up.
Rubel, his face flushed red as if he had run from afar, stood there.
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
“No, huff, sorry. I overslept… I overslept.”
“It’s alright.”
As he apologized repeatedly, I gestured for him to sit beside me.
After all, he and I were students at the same Academy. It would take only thirty minutes at a leisurely pace to walk from the library to the dormitory. Moreover, I had already been studying, so no time was wasted.
Because of this, I comforted the child, saying I hadn’t waited long, but I couldn’t understand why he immediately looked dejected again.
A somber expression clouded his handsome face. Instead of trying to console him, I chose to change the subject and opened my book to a section I was curious about.
“By the way, I marked something I wanted to ask you when you arrived…”
“Ah, yes. I’ll take a look. What is it?”
“It’s about the Heir of Iron Grimsbane.”
“Ah, um. This. Where should I even begin explaining… I told you before about how the five ducal families rebuilt Shierun, right? Back then, Grimsvein…”
As expected, the child’s fair, clear face quickly took on a serious expression as he compared my notes with the handouts and explained for a long time.
As I nodded, listening, I thought Rubel’s eyes, now closer, were beautifully dark and lustrous.
He said he overslept. The tips of his ears and a part of the back of his head were damp. It was obvious he had rushed out, tidying only the front of his face, which was visible from the front.
Feeling amused, I lightly poked his damp nape with my index finger.
“H-huh. Why, …why?”
“You should have dried your hair before coming out. You’ll catch a cold.”
“Ah, ah. Ahhh… I see. I see… It’s not dry?”
“Yes.”
Although it was midsummer, the Shierun Academy library was always slightly cool.
Whether it was for preserving books or for the students studying, I wasn’t sure, but I suddenly worried about leaving this delicate, fragile child sitting there with his hair wet, so I got up.
“Shall we go out for a bit and walk until your hair dries?”
“…Huh? Yeah, …yeah. Okay. Let’s do that.”
I gathered the handouts and notes back into my bag and picked it up with one hand.
Rubel, who had been sitting down hastily, also grabbed his bag, which he had carelessly set aside.
Glancing over, I saw Rubel’s fair face flushed bright red again, and I felt pleased that I had suggested getting some sun before he got any hotter.