By Zephyria 
As I stood up to clear my tray, Tom, who was talking, hurriedly put the remaining bite of bread into his mouth and stood up.
“I’m not going to be a swordsman, so why do I have to learn physical training? I know that there are guys among you who have this question. It’s been like that every year.”
A man who had gathered the students of Class A in one place showed off his burly muscles and cocked his chin in a somewhat delinquent manner.
Retron Gloria.
He was the professor in charge of this class.
Tom, who was standing in the front row, shrank his shoulders as if his inner thoughts had been exposed. Retron didn’t miss Tom’s reaction and glanced at him sharply, but he continued without saying anything.
It was a serious and low tone of voice.
“I hope you don’t misunderstand. Merzel Academy is not a place to select court mages who only do office work, but a place to train and produce hunters who can fight against Fiends.”
Unlike his fierce appearance, as if he would grab someone by the collar at any moment due to his hot temper, he seemed to have a surprisingly calm personality.
“The battlefield is harsh. Fiends aren’t kind enough to wait until you memorize all the Magic Phrases. It would be best if it were possible to do all practical Magic with Instant Cast, but realistically, that’s impossible. That’s why you’re learning physical training. In order for a mage to ‘survive’ even in situations where they can’t use Magic.”
Retron, who added, “This is the same for Swordsmanship Department students, where they also learn Magic that can be used simply,” continued.
“There may be people who came here just to get a class certificate because their goal is to become a court mage even before entering the Academy. I won’t stop that will. But even those students, once they’ve entered Merzel Academy, I hope they will enthusiastically participate in the classes. That’s all I wanted to say before the class.”
At that, the children who had been listening nervously were seen slightly loosening their stiff shoulders. Retron glanced over the students and gestured.
“First, before I start teaching physical training in earnest… um. It’s an odd number, but shall we pair up in twos? I’ll take care of the remaining one myself. It’s easier to learn these things with a partner. I’ll give you about 5 minutes.”
“I want to do it with Professor Retron!”
“Haha. Was your name Melicsa? Thank you, but I don’t like you. If possible, choose a partner among your classmates who are at a similar level to you.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the children immediately started walking around, looking for a partner.
I was most curious about Retron’s skills, so I wanted to remain alone and have a sparring match with Retron, but I saw Melicsa coming straight this way.
That’s the face of someone who’s gone crazy for a fight again.
It seemed she had changed her target to me because Retron said he didn’t like her. Just as I was about to avoid her gaze slightly because it was burdensome, there was a voice calling me before her.
To be exact, ‘voices’.
“Raymond.”
“Raymond!”
Ardian and Zeon called my name at the same time. Then, they looked at each other, seemingly embarrassed. As I saw Zeon awkwardly looking at me, Herman also approached from the opposite side.
“Ray. If you’re okay with it, let’s do it….”
He realized the situation and his words quickly trailed off.
Retron, who had been watching the situation with his arms crossed, smirked and pointed this way. Judging from his expression, it seemed that situations like this, where they were competing for one person, happened often.
“There. It seems there’s one popular guy here.”
“…What should we do in this case?”
Ardian, who sighed softly, turned to Retron and asked for mediation. That was unexpected. He wasn’t a childish prince who would insist on his own way even in this situation.
‘…Shouldn’t I just pair up with Retron?’
Thinking that, I looked at Retron. If the answer ‘You decide’ came out, I was going to use this situation as an excuse to say that I would do it with Retron.
But he didn’t easily give me the answer I wanted.
“From now on, try to take this from me.”
He smiled meaningfully and took something out of the pocket on his chest. It was a handkerchief with pink polka dots.
As the atmosphere became unusual, the children who had already decided on a partner or were looking for one were also watching the situation with curious faces. Retron, who cocked his chin, continued.
“You can all attack at once. But the rule is, no Magic. You can only use physical skills to take this handkerchief from me. What do you say?”
The guys standing in three directions around me glanced at each other. There was a subtle tension in the air. It seemed like it would turn into a three-way battle, but Melicsa, who cheerfully jumped in, also expressed her intention to participate, so it could become a four-way battle.
“He’s just trying to mess with them, that old man….”
Hawkrun, who was watching nearby, sighed softly.
Retron, who definitely heard it, didn’t deny it much. Everyone knew that the Merzel Academy faculty consisted of individuals with at least 6-Star strength, so they didn’t think the handkerchief would end up in anyone else’s hands.
But….
“Alright.”
Ardian readily accepted the offer as if it wasn’t difficult. Zeon, who seemed more eager than usual to be paired with me, also nodded.
After confirming the two’s intention to participate, Retron turned to Herman and Melicsa.
Melicsa nodded vigorously, saying it was fine, and Herman frowned, glanced at me, and eventually stepped back with a sigh. So, the remaining three stood facing Retron.
“It’s better this way. You guys can watch for a while.”
Retron said that to the children openly. It seemed he was planning to proceed as a demonstration lesson. Come to think of it, professors couldn’t probe the students’ achievements, right?
Just as I was thinking that they would be in big trouble if they underestimated him, Retron opened his mouth.
“I’m ready, so you can attack anytime.”
Then, he smirked, giving a smile close to derision. He didn’t even take a stance, just crossed his arms as usual.
At first glance, it looked full of loopholes. But there were no loopholes.
He was acting like he was ignoring them, but he was facing the three of them more sincerely than anyone else.
“Me first!”
Melicsa, who shouted cheerfully, rushed in first. It seemed her head was full of nothing but the fact that she could compete with Retron, regardless of being paired up or not.
Retron easily turned away from Melicsa, who was obviously reaching out. Zeon succeeded in grabbing Retron’s back, aiming for the blind spot, but Retron kicked him away, as if he had expected it.
Since they had to fight only with physical skills, it seemed that even Zeon, who had a higher achievement than Retron, was not finding it easy to deal with him.
6-Star and 7-Star were worlds apart, and there was a wall between 7-Star and 8-Star that was hard to overcome in a lifetime, but ‘physical strength according to achievement’ didn’t differ much, so the one who trained more was bound to be more advantageous.
“You! Your name is Zeon, right? You move a bit more than I thought. Hmm, you’re well-trained. Rare skill.”
At Retron’s compliment, Zeon, who had raised his arm to block the kick, slightly frowned in the spot where he had been pushed back. He didn’t look happy even after receiving a compliment.
That was understandable.
A human brat who was lower in achievement and hundreds of years younger than him was praising him as if he was admirable.
Retron, who didn’t know such circumstances, smiled mischievously and was about to tease them by waving the handkerchief when.
“All we have to do is take the handkerchief, right?”
Everyone turned to Ardian at his calm voice. The pink polka-dot handkerchief. Somehow, the handkerchief was already in Ardian’s hand.
“……?!”
Retron hurriedly checked his hand and looked back at Ardian with wide eyes. No one in this place knew what had happened.
For a moment, the noise stopped and the air cooled down.
“How did you….”
“I just swiped it since you were holding it out so obviously.”
Ardian said with a sly expression. I could feel the surprise and embarrassment of the children watching. Narrowing my eyes, I quietly wet my lower lip.
‘I couldn’t even follow it with my eyes, let alone my senses.’
There was too much of a difference in skill between him and me now.
I couldn’t see where his bottom and limit were.
“I can take Raymond, right?”
Ardian, who lightly shook the handkerchief, smiled with his eyes. Something about the nuance was a bit strange, but when I thought about it, it wasn’t wrong, so I just glared at him.
Retron, who had been lost in thought for a moment, touched his chin and said.
“At this rate, it won’t be a demonstration…. Alright, you win. Scary guy. Did the Imperial Family have such a ‘monster’?”
The last sentence was almost a soliloquy.
Soon, he clapped twice to change the atmosphere.
“It’s become ambiguous, so I’ll show you the demonstration separately. Did everyone find a partner? Ah, right! And Zeon. You’ll be my demonstration sparring partner. Since I missed the opponent I wanted anyway, you don’t have any objections, right?”
Zeon, who looked a bit sullen, nodded. Melicsa left, greatly disappointed, to find another opponent, and Herman seemed to have decided to do it with Tom.
“Take care of me, Raymond.”
Ardian, who had taken my partner, came to my side and made a pretty smile.
“…….”
I don’t know why, but he looked quite happy and cheerful.