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The scent of lavender brushing against my nose signaled Elena’s presence nearby. Although the scent wasn’t exclusively hers, I knew it to be hers.

In truth, ever since she made her presence known, Elena has been resonating within my senses, but this was merely a superficial awareness, not enough to satisfy me. The same applied to the second instance as well.

Humans fundamentally have five senses.

I had passed through the sixth sense, known as Qi sensation, and my sense of smell, but the remaining four senses were still waiting. The absence of her presence from these majority senses felt more like a thirst, which is why I moved quickly.

A little voice of reason in my head questioned whether I was acting a bit excessively, but my mind brushed that doubt away just as swiftly.

“I couldn’t meet her this morning.”

Just a single thought was enough to bury any remaining reason in my mind.

It hadn’t even been a full day since I started attending the Academy. Conversely, this also meant that it had only been a few hours since I had been without Elena by my side.

While my encounters with Elena weren’t set in stone as part of my routine, a mere day was far too short for me to not feel the void of something I had come to take for granted. Of course, the flipside of having only been a day also made me feel a bit overzealous about my actions, but rationalization works in such ways. If I thought so, then it must be true.

Trying to quit smoking feels like a challenge; I developed withdrawal symptoms over the mere presence of Elena. Describing it as an addiction could certainly fit, but it was a harmless form of addiction, so there was really no harm in it.

However, I only showed hints of such emotions when Elena wasn’t around.

“Phew… Calm down. Just count to ten.”

As I ascended the stairs leading to her seat, I tried to settle my fluttering heart like pouring cold water on it. Paradoxically, the closer I got to her, the more my overheated mind began to return to its usual state.

I still felt like a hot potato on the inside, but I couldn’t let her see that.

‘That would be embarrassing.’

Of course, Elena would probably prefer to see me like that, but…

If the embarrassment was merely about showing this side of myself to Elena, I wouldn’t be trying so hard to cool my head. There was another reason.

As time passed, just as I had gotten used to her, Elena was becoming more familiar with me as well.

Although she was still quite shy, she wasn’t just being passive anymore. She would occasionally come at me in playful ways. If that were the case, joining in the rising tension of the moment without any preparation would likely backfire—I could easily picture how a beaming Elena would react.

I didn’t dislike her teasing.

On the contrary, I enjoyed seeing her various sides and hoped she’d have the courage to show more of them. However, if I were to exhibit a reaction like I did just now and she added teasing on top of that, I wouldn’t know how to respond.

Naturally, if I were in a clear-headed state and could control my body, that would be one thing, but in a situation like just now, where my emotions overwhelmed my reason, I couldn’t be sure that I’d merely play along with her trivial banter. Like a balloon popped by a pin, I might lose all self-control.

Normally, one would worry the most about uncontrolled urges, but in my case, it was a bit different.

If that were to happen, the calm from earlier could awaken the madness sleeping inside me again. Sure, that was a hypothetical situation, but if it led to me acting like the original Damian, how Elena would react would be the least of my concerns. I would first be consumed by self-loathing.

Though I hadn’t experienced it in months, I knew how my mind would shift when that madness resurfaced, so I felt the need to be cautious.

Embarrassingly, I still didn’t have 100% faith in myself.

With a sense of normalcy restored to my reasoning, I began to feel a sense of certainty and relief in handling myself. I contemplated pinching my thigh or even grabbing my cheeks like I used to, but as I approached the top of the stairs, I decided against it.

Upon reaching the auditorium, I made immediate eye contact with Elena. She must have been waiting for me since she had been staring at the entrance.

Elena was the first to move.

Standing before me, she slowly scanned my body, confirmed there were no issues, and then nestled her body against mine with a satisfied look. It was a gesture she always performed after sparring at home, so I naturally embraced her.

“Isn’t it class time?”

“Well, what about Damian? He’s also supposed to be in class, yet here he is.”

“I was sent out early by the professor.”

“I’m in the same boat as you.”

As I smiled at Elena’s reply, I turned to see if Orcus was nearby.

As anticipated, Orcus was nowhere to be found, nor could I sense anyone else. When I tilted my head in confusion, Elena answered my curiosity.

“The second period was an exam. The professor said we could leave early once we completed the questions, so that’s how I got to come out so soon.”

While saying this, Elena extended her index finger, announcing that she had come out first in the exam.

Quickly answering questions and getting them right were two different matters, but I couldn’t imagine a scenario where Elena got the answers wrong. She probably thought the same, considering she probably hadn’t missed a single question.

Though she hadn’t verbally mentioned it, her eyes clearly spoke, “Praise me!” It was like waiting for a pat on the head from a puppy, making it impossible for me to miss.

I offered her a few pats on the head as a substitute for praise as she had requested. Though I said nothing, she appeared satisfied with the attention.

“Hehe…”

Ah, this is happiness.

*

“Did you meet with grandfather?”

When I shared the experience of heading to meet Elena with Reinhardt, he looked surprised and asked me. I certainly hadn’t expected to see the Sword Saint pop up like that, considering he has reached a transcendent level known as the Empire’s Greatest Sword. Right now, I couldn’t even sense his presence.

I was confident in my ability to read presences, yet facing the Sword Saint felt like confronting a lifeless object. To be precise, it was as though he had become one with nature. Blending effortlessly into the surroundings, it was hard to perceive him as a separate, living being.

It felt slightly different from my father, yet somewhat the same. Perhaps, given more time, I’d become familiar with it too.

“He appeared out of nowhere and then vanished just as quickly. Is he always that way?”

“He wasn’t always like that; it seems he’s become that way after retiring. I think he finds amusement in our surprised reactions, but if it was uncomfortable, I can apologize on his behalf.”

So that’s how it was. He turned out to be more interesting than I expected.

Reinhardt and I were currently in my dorm room. As it stood, the only students who had returned to the dormitory were first-year students from the Department of Knights, making for an overall quiet atmosphere. My room was no different.

Initially, I had called Reinhardt over to meet Richard as discussed that morning, but upon realizing the classes in the Department of Magic were still ongoing, it led to the current situation.

Classes in the Department of Knights mostly resembled the sparring sessions I attended in the Swordsmanship Department.

Regardless of the change in department, it remained a requirement to engage in sparring at the Training Grounds. This is merely my personal opinion, but aside from the weapon changes, there wasn’t much difference from before. I had grown accustomed to handling various types of weapons, so perhaps that was the reason.

Of course, unlike me, some kids displayed variation in their skills corresponding to the change in their weapon classes. Reinhardt was a prime example; while he excelled with a sword, he didn’t show the same overwhelming capability when wielding a spear.

Judged against my standards, he still stood out among peers, but it was true he was not as formidable.

But, being known as a genius is still nothing to scoff at. After just a brief sparring session, he quickly improved, and after a little time had passed, these thoughts would surely fade.

In any case, due to the traditions of this department, the class schedule simply felt like a day of continuous sparring, albeit with a different name.

Given the first-day orientation, it was relatively relaxed, but while this might not be a fair comparison between vigorous sparring and sitting in a chair for a presentation, this schedule had an advantage of tiring the body while allowing classes to end early.

As a result, classes in the Department of Knights ended earlier compared to other departments.

“I feel like I have excess time.”

Even if I followed the original schedule, it felt significantly more relaxed in comparison to my time at home. Back then, I was juggling duties as a member of the Lesser House, so the gap between being a student now and back then was substantial. There was indeed a schedule I drafted ahead of school, but since classes finished so rapidly, I had already completed everything on it.

“Hmm, I see.”

Reinhardt acknowledged my musings.

He, too, was in the same boat, staring blankly at the ceiling as if unsure of what to do.

While we occasionally exchanged thoughts on certain topics, it wasn’t as though we conversed for long. Reinhardt was not particularly verbose, nor was I the sort to force topics into conversation.

With the sound heavily muted, the atmosphere was not awkward, perhaps because both Reinhardt and I were enjoying the silence.

Knock, knock—

Perhaps because we were relaxed in the silence, neither of us had noticed someone approaching until we heard a knock on the door. I was lying on the bed, and since Reinhardt was closer to the door, we briefly exchanged glances, but Reinhardt blinked first and went to open the door.

“Damian, can I talk for a moment?… Whoa! You startled me!”

“Your Highness, how do you do?”

“Ah, uh. Right. But isn’t this Damian’s room?”

“Yep, that’s me right here.”

When Orcus stepped into the room and saw me sprawled out on the bed, he looked as though he’d seen something he shouldn’t have. What’s with that look? Is seeing someone lounging around new to you or something?

“What are you doing…?”

“What does it look like? Just chilling. Is there something going on? Did you come because you were bored?”

“…Let’s go with that.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Orcus hesitantly paused, but I didn’t push further. Clearly, he had a reason for coming, but he seemed cautious probably because of Reinhardt’s presence. But was he bored, too? Instead of heading out immediately, Orcus looked around the room a few times before sitting in a chair.

The room fell silent once more.

On the surface, it appeared nothing had changed since earlier, yet with Orcus there, the mood between just me and Reinhardt felt different.

Earlier, it seemed like silence was acceptable, but now there was a palpable urge to say something? It felt like remaining silent would be awkward. It was likely due to Orcus and Reinhardt being present, but Orcus seemed aware of that and took the initiative to speak up first.

“Wanna play a game?”

 

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