"Yuril! I became the class representative of the knight department!"
When Trine shouted from outside the manor, Yuril showed her face at the window.
"Congratulations. Your hard work paid off."
When Yuril gave Trine a bright smile, Trine smiled back awkwardly.
"Just wait a little longer. At this rate, I'll definitely be able to save you."
"Really? How exactly are you going to save me?"
"Well..."
Suddenly, Trine's right hand throbbed.
Yuril's expression changed, and she looked down on Trine as if he were worthless.
"What changes just because you became class representative? Can you hold a sword? Can you use magic properly?"
"N-No..."
"When you're just a coward who ran away? It's all just an excuse so you can be the only one who becomes happy anyway, isn't it?"
Wolves that had appeared from somewhere without warning pounced on Trine.
Trine fumbled for his sword and drove it into a wolf's chest.
But it was not a wolf.
It was Yuril.
Yuril spat blood.
She smiled gently.
And she murmured,
"I'm sorry."
***
"Aaagh!"
Trine screamed and sat up.
When he frantically looked around, he found himself sitting in front of the desk in his dormitory room.
Judging by how pitch-black it was outside the window, it still seemed to be night.
His body was damp with cold sweat from the nightmare he had had for the first time in a while.
It seemed he had fallen asleep from exhaustion while reading the grimoire.
Trine closed the book, then let out a sigh deep enough to sink the ground beneath him.
"If even a grimoire doesn't help, then why did I even come to the Academy?"
An inexplicable sense of despair and helplessness swept over his entire body.
For reference, Trine knew absolutely nothing about the poison he had been afflicted with.
That was why, whenever this happened, he simply thought it was because he was weak.
"It's already been a week, but I haven't found a single clue... and now I'm even going to some tea party..."
With his head tilted back, he stared blankly into space for a while.
Then he murmured without realizing it.
"Maybe I really can't save Yuril after all."
...He slapped his own cheek.
"No. I decided I'd never think about this kind of crap."
He sprang up from his seat.
"At times like this, swinging a sword is best."
Trine took a wooden sword and went behind the dormitory, then assumed his stance.
Outside, lit only by the faint moonlight, it was extremely dark.
But that made it all the better for swinging a sword alone.
"Hoo..."
He began swinging the sword so slowly that it looked more like a dance than swordsmanship.
In truth, Trine had not let go of the sword even after being bitten by the wolf.
Even when he had been receiving treatment at Yuril's manor, he had secretly slipped out at night like this and swung his sword.
After coming to the Academy, he had even trained alone like this almost every day.
At least while he was swinging a sword, his mind felt extremely calm.
...But that ordinary peace was soon shattered.
"Ugh!"
In the end, he dropped the sword from the tearing pain in his right hand.
But he immediately picked it back up and took his stance again.
"I'll never give up."
Just then, someone's voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Training swordsmanship alone again today?"
When Trine jumped in surprise and dropped the sword again, Lizbette appeared from the darkness and said with a smile,
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Ah, yeah... But what do you mean, 'again today'? Did you know I've been training here every day?"
"It probably isn't just me. Almost everyone in class knows."
At those words, Trine murmured in despair,
"Damn it! I didn't want anyone to see me like this."
At that, Lizbette's expression hardened as she replied,
"Why?"
"No, because it looks stupid if other people see it-"
"Everyone knows your hand is injured."
"Even so-"
"Did someone laugh at you?"
"That's not it. I'm just embarrassed-"
"Why is that something to be embarrassed about? If anything, isn't it something worth being proud of?"
...In the end, Trine sighed in resignation.
"Fine. You're right about everything. I was thinking about it the wrong way."
Only then did Lizbette smile again.
She stood beside Trine and drew her own greatsword.
"Do you mind if I join you for a bit?"
"Suit yourself."
Trine began swinging his sword again.
Matching his rhythm, Lizbette swung her sword as well.
Beneath the moonlight, without a sound.
For a while, the two of them simply swung their swords slowly.
For some reason, it felt far more reassuring than swinging alone.
'No, something about this is weird!'
Trine shouted inwardly.
From a distance, this would just look like a pair of idiot lovebirds flirting.
Trine smiled awkwardly and said to Lizbette,
"Why don't you do it like you usually do? You don't have to match me."
"Don't worry about it. Swinging slowly helps with strength training too."
Trine tried to retort against that absurd excuse, but he had already realized he could not win an argument with her.
So he decided to change the subject instead.
"I was invited to a tea party by some noble senior."
"I heard."
"Is there really a chance I might get forced into an engagement or something like that?"
"It isn't common, but I can't say for certain that it won't happen."
"Is there any good way to deal with it?"
At that question, Lizbette lowered her arms for a moment and sank into thought.
"Let's see... Simply putting up an iron wall would be rude to the other party."
"Exactly."
"Then why not make Prince Sirean, or what was his name, Jize, stand out instead?"
At those words, Trine also lowered his arms and opened his eyes wide.
"There was that method! That's pretty good."
"I'm glad it helped."
"Yeah, thanks."
For some reason, Lizbette stared at Trine intently and murmured,
"I'm jealous."
"What? You wanted to go to the tea party too?"
"Not of you. Of that girl you care about so terribly."
At that, Trine laughed self-mockingly.
"She probably only thinks of me as some clingy, obsessive guy."
Lizbette opened her mouth as if to reply.
Then, after a brief pause, she smiled bitterly and said,
"I hope you manage to save her."
"Yeah... Thanks."
***.
The next day after school.
As Prince Sirean left the classroom with Trine, he asked,
"Where is it?"
"That Senior Servia's dormitory room."
"If possible, only pretend to eat the tea and snacks they give you."
At that, Jize chased after them and cut in.
"She's calling you directly to her room? Trine, she must be pretty serious about you."
"Shut up."
Just then, a group of male seniors blocked Trine and his companions' path.
It was the senior who had deliberately bumped shoulders with Trine yesterday.
Trine wondered if he was trying to pick another fight, but for some reason, the senior approached him with a broad smile.
"Juniors, are you going to the tea party?"
"What? Ah, yes..."
"Have fun."
After placing a hand on Trine's shoulder once and removing it, he passed right by him.
Prince Sirean eyed them suspiciously and murmured,
"What the hell was that?"
"Beats me."
In any case, nothing had particularly happened to them.
So Trine and his companions ignored them and started walking again.
***
When they arrived at Senior Servia's room, the other side also happened to have three people waiting.
Thanks to that, it somehow turned into the atmosphere of a three-on-three group date.
"As expected, the ladies of the magic department are the prettiest! You aren't using illusion magic by any chance, are you?"
When Jize said that with a glib smile, the female seniors burst into laughter.
"Hey! You're too obvious!"
"Of course a demonkin would have a silver tongue."
"Still, the knight department boys really do have good manners."
After entertaining Jize's smooth talk for a while, the seniors soon began showing interest in Prince Sirean.
"Prince Sirean, why did you go out of your way to enter the Academy?"
Prince Sirean replied indifferently,
"I only came to find useful allies."
"That means you came to find people who would help you in the royal succession struggle, right?"
"I have no interest in something as trivial as the throne."
At that cold answer, the seniors instead reacted with excitement.
"Prince Sirean really is so refreshing!"
"Honestly, I want to see Prince Sirean lead the country."
"Me too, me too."
During that time, Trine quietly sat there while only pretending to sip his tea.
In the end, the female senior Servia asked Trine,
"Trine, your classmates aren't bullying you because a commoner became class representative, are they?"
Trine replied with a deliberately blunt expression.
"Thanks to Prince Sirean and Jize, nothing like that has happened, quack."
...Everyone's expressions froze for a moment.
About three seconds later, Trine realized what he had just said and hurriedly opened his mouth again.
"Ah, I'm sorry! I must have been thinking about something else for a moment, quack."
Trine clamped a hand over his own mouth.
Why was he suddenly imitating a duck's cry on his own?
Thanks to that, the mood turned a little chilly.
Jize slung his arm over Trine's shoulder and said,
"This is a way of speaking that's trending among commoners these days! Quack, quack!"
Only then did the female seniors relax again and begin laughing.
"Ahahaha! What is that? Trine, you're hilarious!"
"Commoners really do know how to have fun, quack!"
"Unexpectedly, this might get addictive, quack?"
...In the end, thanks to that, the atmosphere of the tea party flowed pleasantly the whole time.
After chattering with each other while quacking for over three hours, the male students left the room after the female seniors told them to meet again.
As soon as they came out, Trine spoke with a serious expression.
"What the hell is wrong with me, quack?"
At that, Prince Sirean pressed close to Trine and placed a hand on his chest.
"What are you doing all of a sudden, quack?!"
"Hold still."
Prince Sirean touched various places on Trine's chest.
Soon, he stepped back and said with a calm face,
"You've been cursed."
"Quaaack?!"
"Hmph. It was clearly those bastard male seniors from earlier."
Trine asked in great bewilderment,
"Y-You can undo this, right, quack?"
"It is a crude curse, so it should lift after a day or two."
"Then I have to stay like this until then, quack?"
At that, Prince Sirean smiled mischievously and answered,
"Be grateful to me. I know a good spell to use in times like this."
Then he placed his hand on Trine's chest again and murmured,
"Resentment born from the hands of a foolish human, return to your master."
Light burst from his palm once, then faded.
Trine cautiously opened his mouth.
"What? Is my curse lifted?"
"To be precise, I reflected it back at the one who cursed you."
"That's amazing!"
"Serve me as your elder brother."
Trine bent his waist ninety degrees and shouted,
"Thank you, Big Brother!"
"Good."
"But it seems you know quite a lot about curses."
"...I have no choice."
For an instant, Prince Sirean's expression somehow darkened.
As Trine stared at Sirean for a moment, Jize casually placed his hands on both of their shoulders and said,
"All right! If it's solved, let's hurry back. Nothing good will come of staying here long at this hour."
And so Trine and his companions began walking toward the men's dormitory.
...On the way, they eventually ran into the male seniors from earlier again.
"You bastard, what the hell did you do to me, quack?!"
At that, Prince Sirean snorted and replied,
"Do you not know that curse magic is illegal?"
"Don't be ridiculous, quack! Do you have proof that we did it, quack?!"
"Then do you have proof that we did anything?"
"This bastard really, quack!"
In the end, the senior tried to throw a punch at Prince Sirean.
But Trine stepped in and caught his fist.
"That is enough."
"You brat, how dare you do this to a senior-"
Trine glared fiercely at the senior.
At that, the senior was crushed by the pressure and could not finish his sentence.
"If you have a complaint against me, hit me. Do not take your anger out on other people for no reason."
It was not as if Trine had said it to show off their friendship.
It was simply that his opponent was a prince, so Trine did not want the matter to grow too large.
Besides, he did not want to drag his friends into his own problems.
But perhaps Sirean and Jize had taken Trine's words differently, because each of them spoke up.
"Hmph. You are needlessly cool, aren't you?"
"Trine! I'm touched!"
Thanks to that, the senior grew even more irritated and shook off Trine's hand.
"Fine! In that case, I challenge you to a duel!"
"What? Wait, there is no need to go that far-"
But at the senior's words, Sirean and Jize stepped forward as if they had been waiting for it.
"A duel sounds good. Since there are three of you too, how about we make it three against three?"
At that, Jize cut in.
"We'll make you regret daring to challenge the strongest trio of the knight department!"
Trine glared at the two of them and snapped,
"Don't be ridiculous! Why are you two butting in on your own?!"
At that, Prince Sirean and Jize grabbed Trine's shoulders from both sides at the same time.
"If I have received something from you or from that guy, I have to return it."
"We can't let you act like you're the only man with loyalty!"