Etyna stepped close to Ersak.
She crouched down right in front of the teenager, asking softly, “Are you tired?
Want to take a quick break?” She raised her hand, forming a small orb of water.
The boy froze, staring up at her.
…
“Haaa…” Ersak buried his face into the large floating sphere of water before pulling back.
He closed his wet eyes, exhaling deeply in pure exhaustion.
“You’re up next, Enmie,” Hawen said, resting his chin on his hand from where he sat on the ground.
Lusia and Enmie stood behind Etyna, giggling quietly as they muttered, “This guy keeps making more and more excuses!…” Breaking out in beads of cold sweat, Hawen lay down and closed his eyes, stammering, “I-I’ll take care of his studies…
uh…
yeah…” Enmie turned around and walked over to Ersak, casting a long shadow over his body.
She lightly kicked his leg, prodding him.
“Hey, hey, wake up, get up.” “Say- what?!” Ersak croaked out in complete shock.
The girl turned away.
“Hurry up, hurry up.” Dragging his exhausted body up, the teenager took a few heavy steps toward Enmie.
“What do you want me to do?” Enmie crossed her arms, looking at him.
“Lusia already trained you in swordsmanship.
Now, I’m going to handle your physical conditioning.” “What exactly is it?” Hearing his question, Enmie pointed a finger.
“See that tree trunk over there?” Ersak narrowed his gaze toward her hand.
A lone tree stood out against the vast green field.
He stared at it intently, answering, “Yeah, I see it.
What about it?” With a totally blank face, Enmie jabbed her finger toward the tree again.
“Well, your first exercise is endurance training.
Just run over there, touch the tree, and run right back here.” Ersak snapped his gaze to her, muttering under his breath, “Are you out of your mind?…” Enmie slouched her shoulders, lowering her head slightly.
“Well, it’s my first time training someone else…
I don’t really know what else to do…” Watching the two from behind, Etyna let out a soft laugh.
Lusia stood behind her, her expression softening into a gentle smile as she watched her friend giggle.
A heavy sigh escaped Ersak’s lips as his feet began to move into a run.
The wind rushed into his face, making his hair flutter.
Inside his head, the boy complained, “She’s insane…
forcing me to run a thousand laps from now until sunset…
is she joking?” Enmie walked back to Etyna, looking confused.
“Oh, by the way, where is your class?
Why did you come out here?” Etyna pointed toward an open area right next to them.
“My class went outside to practice, so I happened to have some free time before magic class starts.” Enmie tracked her gaze over.
“Oh.” Etyna cupped a hand near her mouth, leaning forward to whisper, “Hey, what did you actually make him do?” Enmie laughed, waving her hand dismissively.
“Ah, just a little jogging.
I noticed his stamina is terrible, so about a thousand laps.
He should be finished right around sunset.” Etyna broke out in a worried sweat.
“What?…
Then how am I supposed to have time to teach him?” Enmie gestured wildly, laughing.
“Come on, it’s fine.
Today is just for him to get used to it.
Tomorrow is the teacher’s turn, nobody’s gonna take him from you.” Etyna puffed her cheeks out in a pout.
“Hmph…!” Hawen called out from behind them, “We can teach him magic tomorrow.
Let’s just let him get used to things today.” Lusia sat down on the grass, her hand gently brushing against the nearby flowers.
“Our teacher seems quite responsible despite how she looks, huh?” Etyna let out a sigh, looking at Lusia.
“I just want to do my job well.” Out of nowhere, some boys from the class walked over.
A blonde teenager approached them, making Etyna look up in confusion.
“Quiness?
Why aren’t you practicing with everyone else?” Quiness looked at Enmie, then flicked his gaze toward Ersak, who was still running.
“I think things went a bit too far earlier.
I wanna apologize to him.” The fat boy and the skinny boy behind him gasped at his words, shouting loudly, “Hey, hey, Quiness!
What’re you saying?
We’re nobles!
We can’t lower ourselves like that!” “Shut up, both of you!
What do you even know?!” Quiness snapped, his voice rising in irritation.
He faced Etyna and bowed his head, a long strand of his hair falling across his face.
“Could you let me go over and apologize to him, Sir?
Or…
maybe you could pass along my apology to him?” Etyna froze in surprise.
Regaining her composure, she let out a soft laugh.
“Haha, if that’s the case, I’ll pass the message along for you.
You boys should head back to your training.” Quiness raised his head and smiled.
“Thank you, Sir.
I’ll take my leave now.” He turned on his heel and walked right between his two friends.
The pair stood frozen, exchanging a stunned look.
“Tch!…” Groaning under their breath, they hurried after Quiness.
Etyna watched Quiness walk away, a smile gracing her lips.
Inside her head, she thought, “I knew it.
He must have seen some serious potential in you to act like this…” Quiness turned his head, casting a glance back at Ersak, who was stumbling through his laps.
Inside his mind, he muttered, “Let’s see if you can actually pull this off.
I guess I’ll lend you a little hand.” Suddenly, Quiness stopped in his tracks, staring back toward Lusia.
The fat boy immediately asked, “Q-Quiness?
What’s wrong?” Quiness closed his eyes and kept walking.
“It’s nothing.” The boy wearing glasses thought to himself, “You’re acting so weird…
It’s one thing to apologize to that guy…” Meanwhile, the fat boy’s mind was racing, “But to actually bow before that teacher too…” From behind them, a sly grin spread across Enmie’s face, turning into a terrifying smile.
Etyna shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself in confusion.
“Why do I suddenly feel so uneasy?…” Frantic footsteps rushed up behind Etyna.
She turned around in pure terror.
Everything went black…
Then, everything brightened again.
Hawen’s gaze flicked over.
Breaking out in a helpless sweat, Hawen groaned, “Oh my god, what is this?…” Right in front of him, Enmie was hugging Etyna tightly, rubbing herself against her.
Hawen and Lusia stared at Etyna in utter despair.
Lusia spoke up, “It’s always like this, isn’t it?…
I knew it.
How could this giant lizard creature ever resist?…” Birds flew across the sky in large flocks.
The massive academy clock ticked away, tracking every passing second.
Down below, a vast open field stretched out, with a grand mansion visible in the distance.
A crisp white wall on the left shielded the estate from the bustling crowds walking along the busy street.
Wooden swords sliced through the air with loud swooshing sounds.
Quiness stood in the middle of the class.
The instructor’s rhythmic counting echoed out alongside the synchronized slashes of the entire class.
From a distance, onlookers peered toward the academy.
Young boys running down the street pointed eagerly at the school grounds.
A hand pressed against the rough wood of the tree trunk.
Dust and brittle pieces of bark crumbled off and fell to the ground.
Ersak’s eyes widened, beads of sweat dripping heavily onto the dirt.
He panted heavily, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps as if his lungs had turned to stone.
The warm golden light of the setting sun washed over Ersak’s face.
He turned around, taking heavy, agonizing steps forward until he finally reached the group.
Ersak looked up.
The other three were fast asleep, leaving only Etyna watching him.
The sound of clapping suddenly echoed through the quiet space.
Confused, Ersak opened his eyes and stared ahead.
Etyna was smiling, clapping her hands.
The clapping stopped, and Etyna spoke up, “Congratulations, you finished!…” Ersak stood frozen on the spot.
Etyna tilted her head in confusion, looking at him.
“Hm?..” Yawning deeply while rubbing her eyes, Enmie muttered groggily, “Wh-what is it?…” Ersak collapsed straight to the ground.
Horrified, Enmie and Etyna rushed over to him.
“Ersak!” Everything blurred out, like the heavy blinking of an eye, leaving nothing but pitch blackness ahead.
His eyes slowly blinked open, heavy with fatigue.
Scanning the unfamiliar room, the teenager sat up in bed.
He rubbed his head, closing his eyes tightly.
“Ow…” Thud, thud…
Footsteps echoed down the hallway, vibrating against the wooden floorboards as the oil lamp flickered unsteadily.
Shadows on the floor flickered and faded, growing sharp and then blurring along with the dancing flame.
A sweep of elegant red hair moved past the rooms, stopping right in front of a door.
The room number materialized on the wood: “Lounge, Field Agent Council,” “378.”