Starting with Karl and Marco, Frog Class students joined us one by one.
By this point, the Frog Class students’ pride had been hurt too.
“Watching this go on, they are going too far.”
“We did not say anything, and now they are treating us like a joke.”
“You Eagle Class bastards should keep it in moderation, all right?”
In the end, it became Eagle Class versus Frog Class.
Karl stepped forward and put an arm around Obern.
“Obern, there is no need for anyone to get upset, right? Why are friends acting like this?”
He was smiling as he spoke, but his voice was lower than usual.
Marco joined in as well.
“Let us let this go peacefully, Obern.”
Surprisingly, when Marco stepped forward, the commoner students of Eagle Class moved back.
Obern clenched his teeth.
“Who are you to decide that this is over……?”
Just as the atmosphere was about to turn even uglier—
“You there! What are you doing?”
A sharp voice rang out.
Upperclassmen with blue epaulettes were passing the First Training Ground.
“You are fighting already?”
“Wow, I heard this year had a lot of troublemakers, but it is true.”
“Is it not too early for a group fight?”
They looked at Obern’s and my faces and whistled.
“Those two have already properly gone at it.”
“Do you think the teachers will not know that you are doing this? This is the Ivory Tower.”
The Ivory Tower was the finest educational institution in the entire Empire.
It would naturally be aware of incidents occurring on Ivory Island.
An upperclassman with short brown hair stepped onto the training ground.
“Disperse. Anyone who does not leave will be formally reported.”
Obern, who had been glaring at me, slowly opened his mouth.
“Understood.”
He answered through clenched teeth, gave me a murderous look, then turned around.
I spoke to his retreating back.
“Do not touch Chepin again.”
Obern’s shoulders flinched, but he did not turn back.
Chepin would not be bullied like this again.
The other Frog Class students would not simply stand by and watch anymore either.
“Wow……”
Karl slung an arm around my shoulders.
“Armand, you are amazing after all. I knew it from the moment you shattered the crystal ball!”
Marco smirked as well.
“Armand, that was cool. The friendship between Armand and Chepin will become a legend of Frog Class.”
He was definitely making fun of me.
Even the group following Marco gave me thumbs-up.
“Armand, you are pretty good. You have guts.”
“You said you are not a noble in the Empire, right? Want to hang around with us?”
“You are a real man despite how you look.”
“I cannot believe you kicked him there.”
“If those guys pick a fight again, tell us!”
Then Chepin, covered in sand from rolling across the ground, approached me.
“Armand, thank you.”
I had not done it because I liked him. I had done it because Aurelius ordered me to.
But I could not answer like that, so I simply nodded.
“If you are grateful, do well from now on.”
“I will.”
Chepin gave a faint smile.
The short-haired upperclassman who had stepped forward seemed to be watching me, but I ignored him.
In any case, Aurelius’s errand was resolved now.
Obern seemed to have developed a grudge against me, but……
Who cared?
Suddenly, blood began streaming down from my split forehead.
Karl made a fuss.
“A-Armand! Blood! Blood!”
“I know.”
“We need to stop the bleeding!”
“Stop.”
“I will block it!”
“You are making it worse!”
***
When I went to the infirmary, numerous upperclassmen already filled the beds.
Was this the true state of the Ivory Tower?
As though this sort of thing was common, the school nurse used healing magic without asking any questions.
“Does it hurt?”
“I am fine.”
“A freshman coming to the infirmary already is unusual. I think I will see you often in the future.”
I smiled bitterly.
I did not want that, but I had a feeling it really would happen.
Not long afterward, Obern came to the infirmary as well.
He tried to pass by without a word even after seeing me, so I spoke first.
“Hey, Obern.”
Obern stopped walking and looked at me.
“Do you still have something to say?”
“Is your body all right?”
“There is nothing wrong with me. You are the one who does not seem to have a single uninjured spot.”
“I am fine. I won.”
“No, what you won was……”
“I won.”
“You kicked me there. That was cheating.”
“You told me to think of it as a battlefield.”
Obern glared at me with murderous eyes, then snickered and twisted his lips.
“Fine. I understand what kind of person you are now. I will not touch Chepin anymore, so do not worry.”
“You made the right choice.”
As Obern turned around, he added, “But do not think this is over. If we meet again, at least greet me, Armand Draco.”
He must have investigated me already.
I shrugged, and Obern went to a nearby bed to have the nurse treat his wounds.
When he received healing magic on his groin, he squeezed his eyes shut.
How embarrassing.
Then Karl and Lumin came to visit.
“A-Armand! A-Are you okay?”
“I am fine.”
“Y-You are completely fine?”
“Are you disappointed?”
“W-What are you talking about? I heard about it. Some guy cowardly made you spar without magic! Can a Knightly Path major do that? Ah, he is a terrible guy!”
That terrible guy was right behind you.
Lumin had been angrily waving his fists, but when he checked where I was looking, his face turned pale.
“W-Well……”
Lumin fumbled with his words, then spoke again.
“O-Of course, there must have been circumstances. Children grow up while fighting, after all.”
What was he talking about?
“A-Anyway, are you okay? Should I cast healing magic on you?”
“I already received it. You were just disappointed that I was fine.”
“What are you talking about? And Karl!”
Lumin even got angry at Karl, who had come with him.
“You said you were good at fighting!”
“Hmm?”
“Then why did you only watch!”
“Well……”
“Pay back everything you took from beneath my bed!”
“You knew?”
“I know everything!”
Surprisingly, Lumin listed every snack Karl had stolen until now.
Karl and I had been mistaken in thinking we had stolen them in secret.
He might present us with a bill at some critical moment someday.
He was not someone to take lightly.
“That is enough, Lumin.”
I calmed Lumin down.
“Karl did nothing wrong. It was only a spar.”
“B-But……”
“I told you I am fine.”
“I-I am not fine. I am out of chocolate. I-It was expensive.”
“You can get that from Karl later.”
“Yeah.”
“Wait! Armand, you ate some too!”
“What are you talking about?”
Since Karl was trying to drag me into it, I hurriedly changed the subject.
“Lumin, after dinner, let us practice for the Performance Assessment in the Magic Practice Chamber.”
“A-Are you sure you are okay?”
“I told you I am all better.”
“Yeah…… I will tell Lulusha too.”
“Okay.”
Karl protested.
“What? Why am I excluded?”
“Y-You are a Knightly Path major.”
“I want to go too! I want to see the Magic Practice Chamber! I can practice swordsmanship beside you!”
“N-No. Lulusha is going too, so th-three people is exactly right.”
“The rule is that there must be three or more people, not exactly three people.”
“H-How did you know?”
“I have eyes too! I read the rules!”
“I-I suppose there is no choice. How troublesome.”
“Do not mutter to yourself loud enough for everyone to hear!”
And so, Karl joined us as well.
But there was another applicant.
“I am coming too.”
Chepin had come to the infirmary late.
Sitting on the bed directly beside mine and receiving healing magic, he said, “I can come to the Magic Practice Chamber too, right?”
“Chepin, why you too?”
“I want to see the Magic Practice Chamber.”
I did not want to be cold to someone who had suffered, so Chepin ended up joining us too.
***
“The number has already increased. Make sure you come out before the operating hours end. Understood?”
“Yes!”
When we entered the Magic Practice Chamber, there were quite a few students training.
I tried to find a spot near the entrance, but Chepin shook his head.
“Let us go a little farther.”
“I-It could be dangerous if we go too far from the entrance.”
“I am not saying we should go far away. We can still see the pillar of light.”
Chepin led the way so insistently that we had no choice but to follow.
Just as the other students were beginning to fade from sight, Chepin suddenly opened his backpack.
“What?”
Everyone’s eyes widened when they saw what Chepin took out.
It was none other than……
“Alcohol?”
It was alcohol that looked incredibly expensive even at a glance.
“My family has run a brewery for generations. My grandfather was an incredible master brewer in particular. We became nobles because of the whiskey he developed. So it is practically the same as buying a noble title with alcohol.”
Apparently, the liquor produced by Chepin’s family was so exceptional that it was offered to the Imperial Household.
The Emperor was so impressed by its flavor that he granted them a title and even made their surname Whiskey.
Lumin asked how much the alcohol cost, but Chepin only grinned.
“If you knew, you would not be able to drink it comfortably.”
Chepin even took glasses from his backpack and handed one to each of us.
Lulusha tilted her head as she accepted her glass.
“Drinking alcohol is prohibited within the Ivory Tower.”
“It is fine. No one knows we are here.”
“That is why you wanted to come here?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I will only have a little.”
Chepin poured the alcohol for each person one at a time.
Lumin’s shoulders bounced with happiness.
“A-Alcohol. It has been a long time since I drank.”
This guy was unexpectedly a heavy drinker.
Karl stared at his glass with nostalgic eyes.
“I remember secretly drinking alcohol as a child and getting scolded.”
After sharing the alcohol with everyone, Chepin approached me last.
“Armand.”
Holding the bottle with both hands, Chepin tucked one hand beneath his elbow, bowed at the waist, and poured me a drink.
I did not know much about it, but it seemed to be the Whiskey family’s etiquette for pouring alcohol.
Five glasses were filled with golden liquid.
Chepin explained with a proud expression.
“To explain our family’s liquor, it has a high alcohol content, but it is so smooth that you do not feel it at all. Smell it first. You can detect the scents of fruit and sweet honey, right? Drink it slowly. With the first sip, a soft and delicate flavor spreads, then you gradually notice the woody scent of oak barrels. After that, subtle flavors of pepper and ginger unfold. Finally, an elegant and delicate lavender fragrance finishes it.”
Karl and Lumin were already drinking and marveling at it.
Looking down at his glass, Chepin spoke.
“My parents are ashamed that we are a family that makes alcohol. That is why they sent me to the Ivory Tower. They told me to marry a mage. They say we must become a mage family to be true nobles.”
“D-Do you have someone in mind?”
“Not exactly……”
“Lumin, why are you asking that?”
“S-Sorry.”
“That is a problem for later. For now, I need to do well at the Ivory Tower.”
Chepin looked at me.
“When the weekend comes, I will send my parents a letter telling them that I became class president. Thank you, Armand.”
“You are welcome.”
I snickered and let the whiskey flow into my mouth.
As Chepin said, despite its high alcohol content, it did not feel harsh at all.
Along with a sweet fragrance came the taste of various fruits.
It could not be compared with the poor-quality alcohol I had put in my mouth while wandering.
“Chepin, your grandfather developed this alcohol?”
“Yeah.”
“He was remarkable.”
I was sincerely impressed.
“Chepin, I think this alcohol is far more amazing than magic. If you can make alcohol like this, what else could that be but magic?”
“Uh……”
Chepin blinked with a surprised expression before smiling brightly.
“Thank you, Armand.”
Lumin begged Chepin for more.
Karl savored the alcohol as though he knew a great deal about it.
Lulusha, her face slightly red, tilted her head.
Chepin poured Lumin more alcohol.
When a few drops ran down the glass, Lumin hurriedly licked them up.
“Lumin, what are you doing?”
“I-It is precious.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Watching that scene, I sipped the whiskey again.
The harmonized flavors continued, then suddenly, a fragrance passed my nose.
My eyelids lowered.
......
A dry wilderness stretched beneath a gray sky.
I was inside my mental image.
The flock of ravens drifting above my head disappeared into the distant sky.
Standing blankly, I suddenly noticed something below me.
There was something that truly did not belong in that dry wilderness.
I crouched down and looked at it.
Small purple flowers were blooming as though supporting one another.
A wind from somewhere unknown shook the flowers.
Their fragrance spread.
With my eyes closed, I brought my nose closer and enjoyed the scent.
I did not know much about flowers.
What kind of flower was this?
As I wondered that, something Chepin had said suddenly passed through my mind.
—Finally, an elegant and delicate lavender fragrance finishes it.
I ended up laughing.