Perhaps because he found it uncomfortable to face me, Kyle never came looking for me in person after that.
However, his malice toward Lucia grew worse by the day.
Blocking her way and tripping her had become commonplace. They hid her books and splashed water on her, too.
At first, only the Department of Martial Arts students had made a fuss, but now a few students from the Department of Magic who had stood by and watched began taking part in the bullying directly.
“Idiots so consumed by inferiority that they can’t tell enemy from ally.”
The Department of Martial Arts boys were one thing, but there was no other way to describe the Department of Magic students’ disgraceful behavior but stupid.
If they wanted to gain an edge in the coming competition against the Department of Martial Arts, they would have to rely on Lucia.
They clearly knew the Academy’s operating methods in writing but had not truly grasped them.
It was something they would only understand after experiencing it themselves.
No matter what anyone said now, they would not change their minds.
And if the words came from me, they would not even pretend to listen.
Lucia ignored every act of bullying.
The more she reacted, the more the bullies would enjoy it. She seemed to have decided to wait for them to grow tired and give up on their own.
Only during the first few days did even the slightest shift in her emotions show.
Now, no matter what happened to her, she carried on with what she needed to do without changing her expression at all.
“Amateurish.”
I quietly watched Lucia attend class with her water-dripping robe laid aside.
She did not seem to have ever been properly bullied, or to have bullied anyone herself.
If those boys were merely running wild for entertainment, Lucia’s response might have worked.
It would be far more entertaining for them to bully someone who gave a better reaction than to fixate on Lucia.
But this time was different.
This had happened solely because Kyle hated Lucia.
Even if they got no reaction out of Lucia, those idiots would keep it up if Kyle threw them even one word of praise.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, Lucia looked back. I asked once more with a glance whether she had changed her mind, but Lucia’s answer was to turn away.
“So stubborn.”
She neither started a fight nor asked the faculty for help.
It was not that I could not understand her desire not to make things worse.
Was she planning to endure this until graduation?
That would be quite an achievement as well, but I could not help thinking that the reward was too small for the effort required.
“......That will be all for today’s class.”
The teacher said this after filling the board with dense writing.
Today’s class had felt unusually short, so I checked the clock. It truly was not yet time for class to end.
Well, teachers were people too. They should be allowed to dismiss us early once in a while.
In any case, it was good news that we had gained even a little time to catch our breath amid the grueling Academy schedule.
“Already?”
One student seated in the very front asked without reading the room.
There had been a guy like that at my high school too.
The kind of guy who asked a difficult question right before class ended and made everyone lose their break.
What happened to that guy again? I remembered him being dragged off somewhere the instant recess began.
“A Mock Battle is scheduled for this afternoon. Since it is your first one, you will be short on time to prepare.”
The teacher replied evenly.
The Mock Battle was one of the reasons Beaumont Academy had divided students into the Department of Magic and the Department of Martial Arts.
Beaumont Academy held interdepartmental Mock Battles at regular intervals.
The stated purpose was to evaluate students in situations close to real combat.
Since the outcome of the Mock Battle and each student’s performance were included in their grades, it was quite an important event for Beaumont Academy’s students.
And today was the day. I remembered it clearly.
Still, I had not expected Beaumont Academy, which was so rigid in every other respect, to take such circumstances into consideration.
“As the teacher in charge of the Department of Magic, I wish you all victory.”
Leaving those simple words of encouragement behind, the teacher left the classroom.
The classroom became noisy immediately afterward.
For all practical purposes, this was their first examination since enrolling.
Everyone must have been thinking about it, whether consciously or not, and some degree of tension was only natural.
In that state, the words Mock Battle from the teacher’s mouth were like a fuse that triggered a massive explosion.
“Do you think we can win?”
“Let’s show them clearly that mages are better than knights.”
“Ugh, we’re not going to get hurt, are we?”
Each of them grabbed a close friend and rattled off their thoughts.
The only ones who could not join that atmosphere were Lucia and me.
I could have gone to Lucia and kept her company. Shared misery and all that. But I had something more important to do right now.
“All right, listen up.”
I confidently climbed onto the platform and tapped the teacher’s desk.
Maybe my voice had been too soft.
Only a few reacted. Even they merely glanced my way before returning to their chatter.
They would not listen if I only used words.
“Listen up, you bastards.”
Bang.
With a light kick, the hollow teacher’s desk boomed through the room.
The classmates who had all been talking instinctively shut their mouths and looked at me.
They really only listened when I got rough like this. They were no better than animals.
“Like the teacher just said, there’s a Mock Battle this afternoon. You’re all probably excited to settle who is superior to those Department of Martial Arts fools.”
The Department of Magic and the Department of Martial Arts.
They had entered the Academy together, but the way they looked at each other was close to contempt.
To the Department of Magic, the Department of Martial Arts students were idiots with empty heads who had only gotten into the Academy because they were somewhat sturdy.
To the Department of Martial Arts, the Department of Magic students were lucky bastards who had entered after comfortably reading books at desks.
Each side believed the other had gained the same reward more easily.
Naturally, they wanted to prove that they, who had worked hard to enter the Academy, were superior.
“I’m sorry to throw cold water on your excitement, but if we go in like this, we will absolutely lose.”
I told them the harsh reality.
The Mock Battle’s results would be included in our grades. If I wanted to continue my Academy life comfortably, I had to win while dragging these idiots along.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden.......”
“What is wrong with him?”
“Is he picking a fight?”
As expected, objections flew at me.
“Think for a moment. The Department of Martial Arts has a clear focal point in Kyle. In the Mock Battle, they will move in perfect order according to his commands. What about us?”
Normally, we had Reincarnators on our side as well, so we could have united around either Lucia or me.
But I had not earned my classmates’ recognition in the first place, and Lucia was currently being treated like she was invisible in this department.
There was no way we could move in coordination like this.
“Then.......”
“Do we have no chance?”
“Still, we have two Reincarnators.”
They were capable of thinking, at least, so they understood quickly.
They had apparently been complacent, thinking that things would somehow work out if each person simply did their best. Now that they recognized the problem, they looked shocked.
“Someone has to take command.”
It was common knowledge that knights had the advantage in small-scale battles, while mages had the advantage in large-scale battles.
But in a many-against-many engagement, the absence of a command structure was more than enough to erase any advantage granted by that matchup.
“So, you’re saying we should follow your command?”
A girl suddenly asked.
“You insolent little brat. How old do you think I am, talking to me so casually....... No. Let’s let that go.”
If I started counting my age from my previous life, it would not make sense for me to have enrolled in the Academy in the first place.
I was a first-year just like them. I could endure a little informal speech from my classmates.
“Then who else is there to lead us?”
As I spoke, I swept my gaze across my classmates’ faces.
They were all much the same.
None had the talent to lead their classmates after enrolling, and none had a mind that worked exceptionally quickly for their age.
“.......”
For some reason, all my classmates turned their heads in the same direction.
“......?”
Startled by the sudden flood of attention, Lucia blinked.
“Hah.......”
Lucia had continued living the life of a model student despite every hardship.
Yes. Even though we were both Reincarnators, she was far more reliable than me.
Still, it was amusing that the same people who had delighted in watching Lucia suffer were now trying to rely on her because they needed her.
They had no conscience. No conscience at all.
These were supposed to be the talented people who would lead the Kingdom. The country’s future was deeply concerning.
“......Lucia. You should become our department’s representative.”
Lucia would not issue idiotic orders.
It was better to leave it to her than for me to forcefully seize command, run into resistance, and lose control.
It meant one more burden would be added to Lucia’s already difficult Academy life, but work naturally gravitated toward capable people as surely as gravity itself. It could not be helped.
“......Okay.”
Without a word of complaint, Lucia nodded with a resolute expression.
***
The assembly point for the Mock Battle was a clearing in the forest attached to the Academy.
As though an invisible boundary ran through the center of the clearing, the Department of Martial Arts and the Department of Magic stood apart and glared at one another.
“I’ll repay the debt from last time. Prepare yourself.”
Kyle, in particular, was filled with venomous hostility.
“What are you going to repay when you don’t even have money? Just keep it tucked away.”
“Who says I don’t have money......!”
Provoked by my words, Kyle gripped the hilt of his sword as if he might draw it at once.
“What? So you had money, and you sold your pride for barely twenty silver coins?”
“You....... I’ll definitely kill you.”
Kyle growled.
“Sorry, but how about you try setting a slightly more realistic future goal?”
Kill me? He was dreaming an impossible dream.
“You......!!”
“Shh. Quiet. The teacher is here.”
I waved Kyle off.
In the distance, I could see a teacher approaching with light steps.
To prevent biased rulings, the teacher serving as referee for a Mock Battle had to teach a subject shared by both the Department of Magic and the Department of Martial Arts.
This time, it appeared that the middle-aged female teacher who taught the Kingdom’s history had been chosen.
“......”
Since the Mock Battle would begin soon, Kyle gritted his teeth and returned to his own group.
When would that fool realize he couldn’t beat me in an argument?
“Ohoho. It has been the first time since the entrance ceremony that all of you freshmen have gathered in one place, has it not? You all look quite suited to our Academy now.”
Reaching the center of the clearing, the teacher spoke in a coquettish voice.
“I will explain the rules of this Mock Battle. One monster has been prepared in the center of this forest. The side that defeats the monster first will be the winner.”
I had heard from the seniors that Mock Battles were conducted under a variety of settings.
This time, they seemed to be simulating a competition for a single objective.
At the word monster, people here and there sucked in breaths.
They were all barely ten years old, and every one of them was the child of a fine family.
There was no way they had experience fighting monsters directly. Being suddenly told to hunt one could only weigh on them.
“Th-then, what kind of monster is it?”
A Department of Magic student with a timid-looking face raised his hand and asked.
It was an absolutely necessary question.
Monsters were incredibly diverse. The weakest were no more dangerous than ordinary rats, but powerful ones could easily bring down an entire country.
“An Orc. At your level, it will probably be difficult to face alone. Except for a few of you, of course.”
The teacher answered with a smile.
There was no one who did not understand whom those few referred to.
The Department of Magic students looked toward Lucia, while the Department of Martial Arts students looked toward Kyle.
What about me? I was a Reincarnator too. These damn bastards.......
“That is why cooperation and strategy are so important. Work together and claim victory. I will give you maps, so please move to each of your marked starting points.”
The teacher took a bundle of maps from her robes and handed them out one by one. Only then did it truly feel as though we were beginning.
Before long, the students began to move.
I stepped back and watched the scene unfold.
Kyle gathered his closest associates and began giving them instructions.
He seemed to have settled on a strategy as soon as he heard the Mock Battle’s rules. The faces of those listening to Kyle were remarkably serious.
By contrast, the Department of Magic.......
“Everyone, gather up! This way!”
Lucia was shouting as hard as she could, but only a few people promptly followed her directions.
Most of them were strolling along at a leisurely pace, as if they were sightseeing.
At this rate, victory still looked very far away.
It seemed the situation was forcing me to act after all.