The day after I found soy sauce.
El, Marl, Faristea, Yuri, Noel, and I were walking to the academy first thing in the morning.
Instructor Anna was still a teacher, after all, so she’d left about thirty minutes before us.
“Faristea. We’re second-years starting today.”
“Yes. I’m looking forward to it.”
Faristea’s human language was almost perfect, but she still couldn’t entirely rid herself of something resembling an accent.
My Elvish and Beastfolk languages were probably the same. As long as people could understand one another, that was good enough.
We soon arrived at the academy and parted ways with our guards, Noel and Yuri, at the school gate.
The paperwork for Marl’s transfer into the commerce department was not finished yet, so she would continue attending the magic department for a while.
She would need time to say goodbye to her friends as well, so I thought there was no reason to rush.
When we entered the magic department building, the first event of the new school year awaited us: the class assignments had been posted.
I’d already been told that I would be in Class D, so I began looking there.
Why was I in Class D? It had to do with that report to the king.
Instructor Sweit had been plotting to promote me to Class S, arguing that it was strange for the representative of the magic department to belong to Class D.
My grades during the second term had been questionable enough to keep the matter from being discussed openly, but he intended to slip my promotion into the confusion surrounding the new school year.
Unexpectedly, it was the royal family who stopped him.
During the recent meeting with Grandpa, they’d been considering having us act as the Royal Shadows during emergencies. Allowing us to stand out in our everyday lives would defeat the entire purpose.
El had been top of his year, so they couldn’t suddenly drop him into Class D. He stayed where he was.
In the end, nothing changed: I remained in Class D, and El remained in Class S.
However, we’d been forbidden from entering the competitions this year or next.
That was only natural, and to be honest, I didn’t have many pleasant memories of the competitions anyway.
Even if I entered a match, I’d have to hold back, which would be unfair to my opponent and frustrating for me.
From now on, I’d either watch the competitions or participate in one of the recreational events without using physical enhancement.
The moment I entered the Class D classroom, Nero called out to me.
“Morning, Aldo!”
“Morning, Nero. Have you been doing well?”
“I’m fine, but Grandpa…”
“Is something wrong with the priest?”
“He’s been in bed with the sickness that’s going around…”
“Is he alright?”
According to Nero, the priest had come down with the epidemic some time ago and had been bedridden ever since.
The man himself insisted that it was nothing serious, and he still had an appetite, so it truly didn’t sound dangerous.
Still, if it dragged on, I should probably visit him.
There wasn’t much I could do, but after what happened with Luche, I didn’t want to regret doing nothing later.
I was fond of that shrewd old priest, after all.
As Nero and I spoke, Louis called to us from behind.
“Morning, Aldo, Nero.”
“We only saw each other yesterday, but good morning, Louis.”
“Morning, Louis!”
As Louis, Nero, Faristea, several of our classmates, and I talked, I noticed two unfamiliar people.
When I kept glancing their way, Nero and Louis noticed them too.
“Looks like they dropped down from another class…”
“Ah. So students can be promoted or demoted depending on their grades.”
While Louis and I were talking, Nero suddenly stood and walked over to the pair.
“I’m Nero. Nice to meet you!”
He greeted them in a loud voice.
Come to think of it, one year ago… my own life at the academy had begun when Nero was the first person to speak to me.
I watched them with nostalgia. I couldn’t hear their conversation from here, but all three were smiling.
Once again, I was reminded of the size of Nero’s heart.
Though perhaps he simply wasn’t thinking about anything…
I hoped Nero would continue growing just as he was.
While everyone chatted as they pleased, Instructor Anna arrived.
She looked around the class, glanced at the two new students, and began speaking loudly.
“Everyone, I’m Anna, and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for the next year. It’s nice to meet you.”
Everyone except those two should already have known her. She was deliberately keeping a little distance in the way she introduced herself so that they wouldn’t feel left out.
After Nero, I was once again reminded of Instructor Anna’s kindness.
She could be a little hopeless at times, but she was a kind and wonderful teacher. I truly couldn’t understand why she couldn’t find a boyfriend…
Instructor Anna explained the things we needed to know as second-years.
She covered a wide range of subjects: how to purchase our textbooks, the mock battles that would begin in the second year, the increase in elective classes, and much more.
Once she finished explaining everything, it appeared we were moving to the practice field.
The second-year field had fewer targets than the one we’d used as first-years, and the entire area was one size larger.
That was probably because mock battles would now become the main focus instead of simply firing magic at targets as we had during our first year.
“Now then, perhaps someone could demonstrate a mock battle for the class.”
At Instructor Anna’s words, everyone turned to look at me.
“Aldo isn’t allowed. I’d feel sorry for whichever student had to face him.”
Everyone nodded.
What was this comedy routine? Had they done that just to tease me? Hadn’t they? Hey?
“Then… Louisbell and Nero, would you two do it?”
Louis and Nero looked at one another in surprise before smiles appeared on their faces.
Ordinarily, a mock battle was more educational when fought between people of similar ability.
Against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, you couldn’t understand what you’d done wrong or even what had been done to you. All that remained was the feeling of defeat.
Against someone close to your own strength, however, you could trade wins and losses and improve together through the competition.
Rather than joining forces against me, Louis and Nero should have been facing each other all along.
Instructor Anna’s selection had apparently made them realize it as well.
Although a mild bloodlust passed between them, both looked as though they were enjoying themselves.
This was a training facility intended for mock battles, so naturally it had a full supply of protective equipment.
Louis and Nero put on the familiar brigandines and searched for weapons that fit comfortably in their hands.
Louis chose a two-handed sword. Nero wielded a one-handed axe in his left hand and a one-handed sword in his right.
Once ready, they faced each other from about ten medes apart.
“Aldo, please act as referee. Stop them if it becomes dangerous.”
Apparently surprised by how tense the atmosphere had become, Instructor Anna pushed the responsibility of refereeing onto me.
I looked at the two of them and slowly walked forward.
“Are you both ready?”
“Yeah. I’m ready.”
“No problem!”
“Then begin!”
At my signal, each of them summoned one nonlethal Wind Bullet and left it hovering nearby.
I’d expected them both to charge immediately, but they probably wanted to show the results of their winter training.
They exchanged wry smiles while keeping their Wind Bullets suspended beside them.
“Looks like you trained quite a bit.”
“Louis wasn’t playing around either.”
“I’ll be the one who wins.”
“My physical ability is higher!”
“My mana reserves are larger.”
“Then I’ll end this quickly!”
With that, Nero rushed at Louis.
Louis countered by sweeping his two-handed sword horizontally, trying to cut Nero down.
Nero used the one-handed axe in his left hand like a shield and skillfully deflected the greatsword’s path.
Once inside Louis’s guard, Nero was about to swing his sword when Louis fired the waiting Wind Bullet directly at him.
Nero immediately sprang backward and dodged it. Even as he evaded, he launched his own Wind Bullet at Louis in return.
Louis turned the flat of his two-handed sword toward the Wind Bullet, used it as a shield, and weathered the attack.
Both returned to their starting positions, resetting the fight.
Only one minute had passed.
From there, they continued their mock battle while keeping Wind Bullets hovering beside them.
To an outside observer, Nero appeared to be pressing Louis from beginning to end with the greater number of attacks afforded by his two weapons. Yet the color gradually drained from Nero’s face.
There was a flaw in his strategy.
Of all the races, beastfolk possessed the greatest physical abilities.
They also possessed the smallest mana reserves.
Individual differences existed, of course, and Nero’s mana reserves were outstanding by beastfolk standards.
Even so, he couldn’t match Louis, who belonged to the demon race.
If Nero wanted to use magic, he needed to force a quick conclusion.
Alternatively, if he’d fought like an ordinary beastman, using no magic and spending his mana only on physical enhancement, perhaps…
This was one harmful consequence of watching my fighting style at close range and using me as a model.
From this point onward, Nero would begin searching for a fighting style of his own.
I was currently enjoying a mock battle with Nero while Aldo acted as referee.
Honestly, this fight was nothing like facing Aldo. Every swing of Nero’s sword and every movement contained a new discovery.
That was probably possible precisely because our abilities were so evenly matched.
Nero was tired, but he was smiling. It seemed he felt the same way I did.
Then the mock battle suddenly reached its end.
I swung downward, and Nero tried to catch the strike with his one-handed axe. At that moment, he must have run out of mana, because he lost consciousness.
It may have lasted only an instant, but the timing couldn’t have been worse.
At this rate, even though it was only a wooden sword, I was going to bring the two-handed blade straight down on Nero’s head.
I tried desperately to stop my sword, but there was no way to halt a full-power downward swing…
Just as I thought it would hit, the wind blew.
The next instant, half of my wooden sword was gone.
Nero, who had been falling after exhausting his mana, had vanished as well.
I didn’t understand.
Everyone around me was staring at a single point in stunned silence.
I followed their gazes.
Aldo stood there with a spare knife in his right hand and Nero draped over his left shoulder.
Then I understood…
In that single instant, he’d cut my two-handed wooden sword in half, scooped up Nero, and escaped.
All in that tiny instant…
The true strength of a Dragon Slayer sent a chill through me from the bottom of my heart.
He’d moved so quickly that my eyes couldn’t follow him… That hadn’t been a spatial kick.
He’d probably invented yet another technique.
I was taller than he was, yet his back looked unimaginably vast.
I felt a little frustrated by the difference in our abilities, but more than that, I wanted to shout my gratitude for the good fortune of being taught by such a man.
“Aldo, thank you. I nearly injured Nero.”
“That was Nero’s fault. When he wakes up, I’ll have to teach him how to bring a mock battle to an end.”
“You’re right… I got too worked up as well. Sorry.”
“Winning and losing come second. What matters is improving your technique… It doesn’t matter if you get beaten black and blue… even if you get beaten black and blue…”
“Hey, is that because Ashera beat you black and—”
Killing intent erupted from Aldo.
Apparently, going any further would be dangerous.
I sealed my mouth like a clam.
Watching Louis and Nero’s mock battle, I could tell they’d practiced mana control seriously throughout the winter holiday.
The precision of their physical enhancement had risen by an entire level.
It seemed that physical enhancement alone would soon stop being enough for me to defeat them.
Then again, with spatial kicks, magic weapons, magic shields, and Vernier, I still wouldn’t lose.
Perhaps the two of them were reaching the point where I had nothing left to teach them.
Nero had lost this time because he’d imitated my fighting style too closely.
It was probably time for him to begin searching for a style that suited him.
Of course, if there was any technique of mine they wanted to learn, I would gladly teach it.
Was this how a teacher felt when his students set out on their own?
Feeling a little lonely and far more delighted, I looked at Nero and Louis one more time.
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