By Zephyria 
If this war of nerves between the two dragged on any longer, I decided I would just let them fight it out and go down to the cafeteria with only Zeon and Tom.
Just as I was thinking that.
The two of them turned to look at me as if by prior agreement. Wondering why, I met their gaze for a moment, and Herman, who had been hesitating, finally opened his mouth with a sigh.
“It would be better if you decided. Who you want to share a room with.”
Ardian also nodded as if in agreement.
It was utterly incomprehensible why they were passing this troublesome decision-making authority to me, when they were the ones who started this fight on their own.
Frankly, for me, since either one would equally hinder my autonomous actions… I didn’t care who I shared a room with. I felt like I had been burdened with an unnecessary hassle.
But if I didn’t decide who would share the room, it seemed like they would just keep having a death glare contest here.
I quietly glanced at the two of them and sighed.
“I don’t particularly want to change roommates right now.”
Well, if I had to choose one of the two, it was much better to have the servant I had permitted in my room rather than some guy whose intentions, whether he’s an enemy or not, I still don’t know.
Who knows if that bastard Ardian might try to stab me with a knife while I’m sleeping, looking for an opening?
Upon hearing my decision, Ardian stiffened his expression for the first time, as if he were the one who had been hurt. In contrast, Herman’s expression relaxed abruptly, like someone who had just been relieved of tension.
The moment of joy and sorrow was so blatant, it was almost unbelievable.
It was just a childish argument over whether to share a room or not… yet their reactions were truly perplexing.
After watching the now silent pair for a moment, I remembered something and turned to Ardian to ask.
“However, I do have a wish from our bet…. What do you plan to do about it?”
Ardian, who had been rigid, slowly turned to look at me. He remained silent for a little longer, but then shook his head.
“I’ll use that another time. It’s too precious to use now. Unfortunately, I’ll give up on being Ray’s roommate ‘this time’.”
With that said, it seemed this fight was resolved.
“Then, let’s go get something to eat.”
“Yeah! Great!”
As if he had been waiting for this very situation, Tom nodded vigorously, his eyes shining. As I started walking first, the other servant bastards also began following without complaint.
Ardian, acting as if nothing had happened, stuck close to my side as always, chattering away, while Herman, contrary to his usual self, didn’t seem to pay much attention to such behavior from Ardian.
Had some psychological change occurred in him?
I didn’t know, but since I had decided not to pay much attention to human emotional changes, I didn’t think about it more deeply and moved on.
After finishing lunch satisfactorily, it was already just before the afternoon assigned subject,
“Today, as mentioned in the previous class, I will demonstrate ‘Composite Physical Arts with Practicality’. And this is the Magic Arts instructor who will assist with today’s demonstration.”
“Nice to meet you, students. My name is Cecil.”
“Instructor Cecil is currently active as a working hunter and possesses considerable skill in Magic Arts, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask anytime.”
The man who had come as an instructor smiled softly.
Unlike the rugged Letron, he was a man without a particularly large build, so the fact that someone like him was as proficient in Magic Arts as Letron… was quite unexpected. Therefore, he could be considered a figure who shattered prejudices just by that alone.
“Oh, and one more thing. We plan to proceed in pairs like yesterday… but I’ll add one condition. Today, find a partner ‘other than the one you paired with yesterday’. It would be boring to keep partnering with the same person, you see.”
At that, Ardian made a disappointed expression, while Zeon’s eyes sparkled brightly as he looked back at me. If they had told us this in advance, we wouldn’t have had to go through the trouble of competing and exhausting ourselves yesterday. Judging by the fact that he was even grinning at us, it was clear that Letron was a man with a bad personality. Of course, it had nothing to do with me.
“Then, I’ll start the demonstration now. Pay attention.”
Letron first took a stance, and the man who had come as today’s instructor designated who would attack and defend first, then showed the first demonstration move.
Thwack!
Right after Letron rushed in, grabbed Cecil’s neck, twisted it, and took him down, Cecil twisted his body, pushed Letron’s thigh, and got up.
Next, as Letron swung his fist a few times and launched a knee kick, Cecil, who defended with his elbow raised, did the same as Letron had initially: grabbed his neck, twisted it, took him down, and then struck a vital point with his elbow. Of course, these were all consecutive motions performed as if attacking.
“…That concludes the first demonstration move.”
Letron stood up, brushing off his clothes.
It was certainly on a different level from the basic moves we learned yesterday.
It was a form that allowed for both attack and defense simultaneously, a martial art that could be used in actual combat if mastered and applied.
Moreover, the fluidly connected movements were quite agile, so without being nimble oneself, it would be difficult to capture the detailed motions precisely.
Perhaps because of that, quite a few of the smaller humans complained, saying it had suddenly become too difficult.
Whether they did or not, Letron, who had continued showing up to the third demonstration move, instructed us to pair up and practice the moves learned today.
“Raymond. I look forward to working with you today.”
Zeon was staring at me like a dog resisting a treat placed before its eyes. As you can see, my partner today was Zeon.
There was the rule about excluding yesterday’s partner, and besides, Ardian had been snatched away by Letron, who said he would partner with him. For reference, it seemed Herman and Tom were to be paired with Melicsa and the freckled male student.
I nodded generously and then said.
“Then, I’ll take the role of the first attacker.”
“Yes!”
Zeon took his stance. I charged without hesitation, and Zeon naturally continued the movements.
There was no blockage.
Both Zeon and I had already memorized all the physical arts moves from earlier.
Soon, having successfully taken Zeon down, I stopped at pretending to thrust my elbow into his neck. Zeon gently grabbed my elbow and grinned broadly.
Looking at his eyes narrowed into crescents, I realized anew that this bastard’s face was also quite handsome.
“Excellent.”
But… why was it?
Meeting his gaze felt strange.
The look in his eyes as he stared at me was deeper than usual.
For a moment, it felt similar to how Ardian looked at me… but it couldn’t be. I immediately dismissed that thought.
It must be purely my misconception.
Suddenly, Zeon whispered in a small voice.
“Doing this reminds me of the old days.”
“Hmm?”
“Back then, I often served as your sparring partner.”
Ah. That time.
“You always lost to me, though.”
“But now is very different from back then.”
“Getting ambitious, are we?”
As I stood up first and extended my hand, Zeon reached out with a warm smile.
“Someday, you’ll stand before me again, right?”
“Why? Do you really dislike the idea of standing ahead of me?”
“Yes, that seems to be the case. I think I prefer watching you from behind your back rather than standing in front of you.”
At that, I also let out a soft chuckle.
“Alright. I’ll surpass you soon, so wait for it.”
Zeon smiled brightly once more, as if he had heard the answer he wanted.
And so, as we continued practicing the three moves alternately for a while… Letron, who had checked the time, clapped his hands to gather our attention. It seemed it was already time to finish.
“That’s enough! Today’s class ends here. Most of your movements are still clumsy. Next class, we will have ‘self-directed time’ to practice the moves learned today. The moves learned today will be included in the midterm exam, so don’t be lazy and practice diligently.”
The students groaned and complained.
Letron laughed, as if he enjoyed that reaction.
The class, which had made us sweat quite a bit, was over.
It was time to return to the dormitory. Today as well, Ardian only left after seeing me off to the front of my dorm room.
‘Sticky bastard….’
I had no idea how long that guy would keep this up, but I was sure it wouldn’t end in a day or two.
Around the time Ardian disappeared down the hallway, I also tapped my student ID on the reader and entered the room that opened.
Herman, who had been silent the whole time, also followed me in quietly and suddenly spoke to my back.
“Ray. That… about what happened the day before yesterday, I’m sorry.”
I took off my school uniform cloak and quietly turned to look.
What was he suddenly apologizing for?
The fact that a mere servant bastard dared to question his master’s contradictions?
Or the fact that he doubted whether I was really that Ray?
Whichever it was, since I was the one who gave him the reason to pick a fight, I didn’t think it was something he needed to apologize for.
So I was pondering how to respond when Herman continued speaking first.
“About me questioning whether you were the Ray I knew. You must be confused too, with no memory…. I ended up saying something really bad. Because you were acting like it was nothing on the outside, I think I unconsciously forgot that fact.”
Hmm. So it was an apology for the latter.
It wasn’t that I was acting completely unfazed, but it didn’t seem like the right atmosphere to point that out, so I pretended not to know and let it pass.
“I… I didn’t mean to pressure you. I was afraid… afraid that you might suddenly disappear from in front of me one day… that you might become something I don’t know. That kind of thing suddenly scared me…. I don’t know. Why I felt such unease.”
Herman, with a confused, dark expression, held his forehead and then shook his head vigorously.
“Ray. I’m sorry. My apology… will you accept it?”
Well. There was no reason not to accept it.
When I nodded generously and accepted his apology, his face brightened instantly, as if dark clouds had parted and sunlight was streaming through.
“Thank you.”
Herman laughed as if sighing and then ruffled my hair. I swatted his hand away and warned him about his rudeness, but he just chuckled and laughed even more. I couldn’t understand what was so funny about it.
I raised one eyebrow quizzically, and Herman spoke.
“I hope you can regain all your memories soon. I’m a little scared of how you’ll look at me when that happens, though.”
I didn’t give any response to that.
Because there were no memories that ‘I’ needed to regain.
“…….”
Why was it?
Since the incident the day before yesterday, the stifling lump embedded in one side of my chest only dug deeper inward… showing no sign of coming out.