By Zephyria 
Shayden answered cheekily.
“Marianne? Why Marianne?”
Shayden had a habit of pausing for a moment to consider, even if it was something he could answer easily, before speaking when I asked him something. It didn’t feel like he was asking because he genuinely didn’t know.
I didn’t reply and just looked at the child. Shayden, who had been avoiding my gaze for a moment, shrugged his shoulders and then let them drop.
“…How much did you hear?”
“Not at all. It’s just that I don’t have classes with her twice a week this semester.”
“That’s right.”
“She’s been bragging less about Glotin. She’s just trying to study hard.”
“…What’s wrong with studying hard?”
“You didn’t used to be like that.”
“Well, …that’s true.”
“…”
“…”
Shayden ran a hand through his hair as if he were troubled.
He hadn’t done this before, but at some point after he started spending time with me, he developed a habit of pulling his bangs up from his forehead and lightly shaking them near the crown of his head. It was exactly like the habit I had when I tidied my hair.
As I waited patiently, the child let out a small laugh and looked at me with clear eyes.
“Actually, I spoke easily about Walter’s story because it wasn’t about someone close to me. Walter Orgen isn’t someone around me, but someone around you, and I thought it was right for you to know, not me.”
“I see.”
“But Marianne is close to me too. I don’t want to tell you something that Marianne hasn’t told you herself.”
I was surprised for a moment and understood deeply. He was indeed a wise child.
He knew that I relied on Shayden for many things because I was clumsy in dealing with people.
From the time I first entered the Academy until now, most of my relationships have been formed under Shayden’s advice and guidance. This was even more so after I learned that all my classmates who studied Alchemy with me were also friends with Shayden.
But it shouldn’t be like this. Shayden was right. I tried to answer calmly.
“You’re right. I almost made a mistake.”
“Yes, thank you for understanding. Anyway, she’ll manage on her own. She’s a very smart kid.”
“She is.”
“If Marianne suddenly ends up in prison, let’s go visit her together.”
I was startled. The teacup I set down made a clinking sound.
“…What? No, I really need to know what’s going on.”
“I told you it’s a secret.”
Seeing him chuckle, I knew he was joking, but I wasn’t reassured and asked several more times.
He laughed when I said I would tell him if there was something I needed to know. After exchanging a few more jokes, Shayden got up, saying he was going to bed.
“Good night, Mika. Sweet dreams.”
“Thank you.”
“Huh? For what?”
“Just because.”
The child looked at me for a moment and then smiled. His hand patted my shoulder familiarly. Our eye levels were suitably close. A bright flower bloomed on that foxy face.
“We’re friends.”
It was a kind word.
Lying in bed, I thought of my classmates’ faces.
Beyond the short children I had befriended in Sierren, the faces of my taller, older classmates came to mind with unusual clarity. I fell into a comfortable sleep.
❖ ❖ ❖
Time flew like an arrow shot from a bowstring. In the blink of an eye, days had passed.
Despite resolving to speak with him, to make time for him, I couldn’t secure a one-on-one meeting with Professor Calypse until February was completely over and March arrived.
The Alchemy class’s grades were tied to all my classmates, so naturally, I had to put in my full effort.
In World Geography, I couldn’t take my eyes off the lesson as we began to learn about terrain and landmarks.
In Introduction to Monsters, I had to memorize not only the names and characteristics of monsters but also their internal organs. For me, who was weak in written exams, there was nothing more difficult.
After finishing the throwing knife technique class, Wilton and I secretly practiced walking and hiding.
Professor Wilton Roberts had incredibly sharp observation skills and was very good at imitating others. He would learn breathing techniques and footwork just by glancing at them and then immediately offer improvements, which was truly impressive.
It was while working with Professor Wilton Roberts that I learned there were two types of walking in Sierren that were similar to footwork.
The first was a method that didn’t circulate internal energy through acupoints but instead used aura to lightly lift the body.
It was a way to cover long distances explosively in an instant, as if being thrown by the arm of a giant bound by mana and aura.
There was nothing better for charging at a distant, massive monster or evading one.
The second was melting into shadows.
This was what Wilton excelled at. Professor Wilton Roberts taught me how to stealthily slip between darknesses and become invisible while still being present.
It wasn’t an easy task, but with Professor Wilton Roberts pointing out subtle details and explaining what needed correction, I was able to make progress step by step.
Weekends were no less busy.
After waking up and doing a brief dawn training session, I would go to the library, where Rubel would be waiting.
If we were just idly chatting, I could have left early, but he showed me his notes, brought delicious food, and was enthusiastic about studying together, so I couldn’t bring myself to leave him alone.
If I were to tell him I was going to meet a professor, what could I possibly say if he stopped me and asked what I was going to do?
“Going to ask Professor Calypse if he’s living without being beaten by his lover?” What a terrible thing to say.
It was the first Tuesday of March, around the time I had grown accustomed to Ray Gibson’s booming voice.
Today, I expected to hear the exam scope first, but we were unexpectedly handed tubes. I was simply puzzled.
Rolling them around, I saw they were reeds broken from the riverside. I wondered what on earth we were going to do with them, when five work-study students dragged a large glass tank into the classroom. I was so dumbfounded I lost my senses.
Ray Gibson, standing beside a tank large enough for eight people to fit in, laughed heartily, showing his uvula.
“When you encounter a predator with a keen sense of smell, and your strength is depleted, you can erase your scent by going into the water. So today, we will practice surviving in the water with a tube in your mouth!”
Was this what they expected us to learn to become swimmers?
However, it was a student’s duty to crawl through mud if the professor ordered it, so I lined up with the other children and entered the tank as instructed.
The student who could hold their breath the longest would receive extra points on the midterm exam, so refusal was impossible.
I was skilled in martial arts and good at controlling my breathing, so I could endure being underwater for a long time, but most of the other children couldn’t.
From all directions, students floated on the surface, their backs visible, or hesitated in fear of the water and ended up swallowing it through their noses.
To avoid being kicked by a flailing child, I grabbed their shoulder and helped them straighten themselves. The child went back to the surface without even being able to say thank you.
The last one remaining was Marianne.
I had held my breath for a long time, but I had no confidence that I could beat Marianne, who had covered her face with a thin membrane using mana, so I gave up.
As I walked out of the tank, a few children suddenly clutched their noses.
Ray Gibson seized the opportunity and taught them how to quickly stop a nosebleed. It was trivial, so I didn’t pay much attention.
After the children returned to normal using drying magic, the professor opened the textbook and announced the exam scope.
“Everything we’ve learned up to today is the scope for the midterm exam. Next week is a holiday, and the exam will be held in this very classroom at this time the week after next! The midterm exam questions will be fill-in-the-blanks.”
I received the handouts. The eleven-page handout contained everything we had learned so far, with blank spaces between words.
For example, regarding what we learned today, it was written like, “The reason for going into the water to avoid a predator is to erase the blank.”
What was this now? As I squinted at it, Ray Gibson chuckled.
“Fill in the blanks on the handout you just received and memorize it! Memorizing in order is useless! I will randomly select 50 questions from this list! They’re all easy, so there should be no problem, right?”
I looked at the last page of the handout. It stated that 50 questions would be drawn from a total of 500.
When choosing classes for the next semester, I firmly resolved to ask Rubel beforehand which classes would be good and then register.
Marianne, who had been giggling with a clear face just moments ago, let out a deep sigh, which amused me and slightly improved my mood.
After class, as always, I walked Marianne to the entrance of the women’s dormitory.
At first, I started walking with her to listen to the talkative child’s words, but it had become a habit. She suggested we compare answers once we’d filled in all the blanks, so I nodded in agreement.
On my way back to the second-year men’s dormitory, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
In the distance, someone was running at high speed in the opposite direction.
What was resting on their shoulder was clearly a person. Perplexed, I looked in the direction the figure had come from, but the Academy was vast. I couldn’t tell where they had come from.
My hesitation was brief. I started running after them.
I didn’t know why someone was doing this or what their circumstances were, but kidnapping someone under the cover of night couldn’t be a good thing.
It was incredibly fortunate that I had learned how to walk stealthily and hide from Professor Wilton Roberts beforehand. I never imagined such a situation would arise so quickly.
I followed the unfamiliar martial artist and leaped over a wall.
The thought of receiving demerits for going out without permission briefly crossed my mind, but I soon forgot it.