The moment I hurried outside after finishing my unpleasant meeting with Professor Oliver,
I found the junior who seemed to have been waiting for me in front of the main entrance to the faculty building.
“Senior Conrad Ferdalos.”
“Lady Arwen, were you waiting for me?”
“You may simply call me Stella.”
“Then you should call me Senior Conrad from now on. There’s no need to add my family name every time.”
“Understood, Senior Conrad.”
We had only met half a day ago, but that did not erase the many years I had spent with Stella in my previous life.
I felt no small amount of joy that she was the first to show a sense of closeness toward me.
In the original timeline, I did not think we had become this close until around the end of the first semester of the following year.
Fortunately, Stella seemed to regard me as a senior she could trust.
“The person who just spoke with you.... Was he perhaps a professor from the Department of Swordsmanship?”
“Yeah. His name is Oliver Finn. He’s a foul-tempered opportunist.”
“I-Is that so?”
“If I had to give you advice, it’d be best not to take his classes. They probably won’t be of much help to you.
More importantly, he stands in direct opposition to Professor McDowell, so there’s no chance he’ll look kindly upon you.”
“Understood. Since it is your advice, Senior Conrad, I will be certain to keep it in mind.”
Even if I had said nothing, her father had probably already given her the same advice.
Still, there was no harm in telling her once more.
“More importantly, are you all right, Senior Conrad?”
“What do you mean?”
“Judging by the expression Professor Oliver wore when he called you away, I do not believe he summoned you to say anything pleasant.
I was worried that you might be disciplined because you became involved in the dispute while trying to save me.”
It was a question fitting Stella’s personality, as someone who valued justice and detested unfairness.
She seemed worried that I might be treated unjustly after doing what was right.
“There’s nothing to worry about. That man doesn’t have the authority to discipline me.”
“Ah, then I am relieved!”
“And even if I were disciplined, it’d be my problem. It isn’t something you need to worry about.”
“B-But this happened because you were helping me. Surely I must bear some responsibility as well!”
“You’re free to think that, but nothing really happened this time. I’ll accept the sentiment.”
“Understood, Senior Conrad.”
Stella nodded in relief at my answer.
Meeting my eyes with her clear gaze, she spoke.
“I am truly fortunate that the first connection I made after entering the Academy was with you, Senior Conrad.”
“Really?”
“If it would not be presumptuous of me, may I continue building a friendship with you from now on?”
“I was actually going to ask you first. Let’s get along from now on, Stella.”
“Yes, Senior Conrad!”
I had not expected such a dramatic incident to occur during our very first meeting.
Still, I had somehow achieved my original goal of becoming close to Stella.
It was not a bad beginning to our relationship.
***
The month changed, and Stella, who had been an incoming first-year student, became a true Academy freshman.
In my previous life, I had never been particularly interested in new students.
Other than when I had been a first-year myself, the entrance ceremony was not an event I normally attended.
This year, however, someone I knew was officially enrolling, so I quietly attended as well.
Even without Stella’s enrollment, I also needed to confirm whether the present was unfolding similarly to the past.
There had been quite a few exceptionally talented students among those who attended the Academy around the same time as Stella.
Naturally, not every one of them was as important as Stella or the other members of the Kardia Subjugation Party.
Still, having many capable students meant there would also be many people capable of resisting the Dark Cult.
I had no particular intention of becoming acquainted with anyone other than Stella.
After confirming that several promising students had properly enrolled at the Academy,
I greeted Stella as she emerged from the auditorium after the entrance ceremony.
“Is the ceremony over?”
“Senior Conrad? What brings you to the auditorium?”
“I heard someone I knew was enrolling as a freshman this year. I came to meet her and say hello.”
“Ah, I-I see. I nearly came to a strange misunderstanding.”
“Come to think of it, where’s Professor McDowell?”
“My master... Ah, my father said he had plans with the students under his supervision today, so unfortunately, he could not attend.”
That was about what I had expected.
He was passionate about his work in many ways and did not show his face at events where he believed his presence was unnecessary.
It was not that he discriminated against Stella because she was his adopted daughter.
He was simply a workaholic by nature.
Even if Stella had truly been his biological daughter, he probably still would not have attended the entrance ceremony.
“The ceremony’s over, right? Do you have any plans afterward?”
“I do not, but.... Did you not say you came to greet someone you knew?”
“There’s no way I’d know any freshman other than you, Stella.”
“Y-You mean me?”
“Let’s go eat. I’ll treat you to celebrate your enrollment.”
This year’s entrance ceremony ended with me taking Stella, who had no other plans, out for lunch.
For a while afterward, neither of us saw the other because we were both busy.
Stella spent her days dealing with the various tasks required of a newly enrolled freshman.
I also needed to spend time finishing my assignments in advance so that I could have a little more freedom during the semester.
I already remembered exactly which professors assigned which work from my previous life.
My plan was to recall those memories and finish everything ahead of time.
Several busy days passed in that manner.
Then, one day, about a week after the new semester began,
I was running along an Academy path on my own two legs, the cold dawn air striking me squarely in the face.
“Haah, haah, haah.”
I had started running at six in the morning.
For an hour, I had alternated between walking and running without taking a break.
The still-cold dawn air stabbed into my lungs, but I could not stop breathing because of it.
I paused briefly to catch my breath and used water magic to replenish only the bare minimum of fluids.
Then I moved my legs again and resumed running before my body could cool down.
After Stella graduated from the Academy and was recognized as the Hero by the Holy Church, I joined the Kardia Subjugation Party at her request and remained with them for five years.
One of the weaknesses I felt most keenly during that time was my severe lack of stamina.
It was not because I was particularly pathetic.
If I had to make an excuse, it was something like an occupational illness common among mages.
Mages fought with their minds rather than their bodies.
Most of them naturally spent more time opening Magic Circles or increasing their mana sensitivity than improving their physical stamina.
In extreme cases, some even reduced their meals and sleep, shutting themselves inside cramped rooms for years to research their own unique magic.
I had still had work to do near the imperial capital for some time after graduating from the Academy.
Because of that, I had not suffered from such an extreme lack of exercise.
Even so, I had merely possessed slightly better stamina than most mages.
Compared to an ordinary person, my physical endurance was still considerably worse.
In the Kardia Subjugation Party, the Saintess and I had practically competed for the two lowest places when it came to tiring quickly.
That alone said everything.
That was why I was deliberately investing time into training my body.
The knowledge I needed and the methods for opening Magic Circles were already inside my head.
I could use the time I would otherwise have invested in those things.
Putting everything else aside, I would also need basic stamina and strength for the Midterm Evaluation Match at the end of April.
The evaluation matches compared each student’s abilities against those of another student.
Except in highly unusual circumstances, students were paired against someone else from the same department.
Since I belonged to the Department of Magic, my opponent would naturally be another student from the Department of Magic.
In a battle between mages, stamina would likely determine victory or defeat in the end.
Mages had no reason to engage in close combat, nor did either side usually have enough freedom to close the distance first.
For some time after a battle began, both sides would use quick-cast spells to disrupt the opponent’s more powerful magic.
Usually, the mage who completed a stronger spell first and landed a decisive blow would win.
Generally, if spells were of the same level, offensive magic could break through defensive magic.
A difference of at least two classes might be enough to completely negate an attack,
But I currently lacked the conditions necessary to create that great a gap.
If I were fortunate enough to be paired against a Second-Circle mage, the match would be somewhat easier.
Even so, a Third-Circle Magic Barrier could not completely absorb the damage of a Second-Circle offensive spell.
Even taking only half of such an attack’s power would count as a serious injury in a battle between mages.
Therefore, stamina would be the most important factor in the upcoming evaluation match.
The best outcome would be to improve my athletic ability enough to evade my opponent’s finishing move using nothing but my physical capabilities.
Even if I were struck, reducing it to a glancing blow would be enough to lead me to victory.
In the long term, increasing stamina inevitably required a great deal of time.
Magic Circles beyond the Fourth Circle could be opened whenever the proper conditions were met.
Mana sensitivity could also be increased explosively if certain conditions were fulfilled.
However, the only way to improve basic stamina and physical strength was to exercise diligently over a long period.
If I wanted to make this rotten body properly functional as quickly as possible, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and run.
I could almost hear the words Lulu had repeated until my ears had nearly developed calluses during our time in the Kardia Subjugation Party.
Why do you always tire so quickly and collapse? Even for your own sake, should you not build at least a minimum amount of stamina?
Everything she said had been correct.
The best I could do each time was nod without arguing.
Even the kindhearted Stella had occasionally advised me about my stamina.
This problem, at least, had to be resolved through steady training beginning now.
“Senior Conrad? That is you, is it not?”
Thinking about Stella made me feel as though I could hear her voice this time.
Although during our days in the Kardia Subjugation Party, Stella had called me Mr. Conrad rather than Senior Conrad.
“Huh?”
“I knew it was you, Senior Conrad.”
“Stella?”
Sensing something strange, I raised my head toward the source of the voice.
Stella was standing opposite me, looking at me with her sky-blue eyes.
“Are you also doing morning physical training, Senior Conrad?”
“By ‘also,’ do you mean you’re training too?”
“Ah, yes! Physical training is a fundamental requirement for a swordsman!”
Stella answered energetically, as though she were simply doing what was expected of her.
Come to think of it, even during our days in the Kardia Subjugation Party, she had never missed her morning and evening physical training.
Seeing her train while wearing heavy plate armor over her entire body,
I was reminded that Stella’s abilities had certainly not been completed through talent alone.
“I was under the impression that most mages had no interest in building their stamina. As expected, you are different from ordinary people, Mr. Conrad!”
“...Well, I suppose so.”
It had only been two days since I started exercising after regressing.
Still, there was no reason to deliberately ruin the good impression she had of me.
“Since we happened to meet, let us train together!”
“Are you sure? If you match my pace, you probably won’t get any exercise at all.”
“You do not need to worry about that!”
Stella slightly loosened one of the greaves she was wearing and showed me the sandbag strapped inside it.
“I normally add extra weight while training. It will be no problem for me to move at your pace, Senior Conrad!”
“Right. I see.”
The plate armor she wore already had to weigh close to twenty kilograms.
I had never imagined she had added even more weight before running.
It was a diligent yet reckless training method perfectly suited to Stella.
“Then keep me company for about another hour.”
“Yes!”
After that, we continued our morning physical training by running along the path together until dawn broke.
I moved while receiving advice from an expert runner.
Naturally, my own pace gradually improved to match hers.
By the time the workout ended an hour later, sweat was pouring off me like rain.
Still, thanks to Stella’s praise, it felt as though I had managed to run longer than usual that day.