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No matter how much summer is approaching, the chill of dawn is still quite cold.

Comparing it to the biting winds experienced in the north, it’s merely a drop in the bucket, yet it was enough to cool down my body, which had become warm from movement. I didn’t sweat a single drop, but this breeze felt rather pleasant.

The distant morning glow signals the end of the night. In sync, Reinhardt and I, who were sitting on the training grounds, stood up together.

With dawn breaking, soon the other kids would start coming out for their morning training. Unlike before, the distance the children kept from Reinhardt and me had lessened significantly. If we lingered here any longer, I could easily picture the future where we would be held up by the kids, letting us train them.

It’s not that I couldn’t do it, but having moved my body unexpectedly early in the morning, perhaps it was that, or the effect of breaking my usual sleep pattern, I felt a stronger urge to return to my room, even though my eyelids weren’t heavy.

Reinhardt always wore an expressionless face, so it was hard to tell if he was sleepy or not, but I sensed he was just following me as I decided to head back to the dormitory. Both of us had similar training ambitions, so maybe we were both simply satisfied with the early morning practice.

“Are you going to keep coming out at this hour?”

On the way back to the dormitory, Reinhardt asked me. It seemed he was pretty pleased with the sparring we had this morning. Maybe it was the effect of the early hour; both we were wielding our swords in a rather emotional manner, giving it a slightly different feel than usual.

I shook my head and replied.

“No, today was an exception. I think it’s better for me to sleep at that time.”

“Sleep patterns are not something that can be changed so easily. Got it.”

He seemed to understand my reasoning well since he sensed that the cause of the early training was something other than the time. It felt like he realized something had changed within me, but he didn’t mention it.

All he said was that the morning training was fun.

It seemed I liked this morning’s sparring more than the ones from before. Maybe it was because one of the century’s geniuses, Reinhardt, acknowledged it. My worries didn’t seem wrong, and I felt lighter as if I had received a compliment.

We walked discussing what to eat for breakfast. Not long into the conversation, we quickly agreed on a menu: given that both of us had faced the cold wind since dawn, we decided on stew.

“Hey, wake up.”

“No, what time is it…”

“It’s seven. Let’s go eat breakfast.”

Back at the dormitory, we woke up Richard, who was still asleep. At first, he pulled the blankets over his head, expressing reluctance, but after a short while, he got up to prepare himself. He knew if he didn’t wake up, we’d leave him behind and go eat first.

Normally, when someone else wakes you up, you just want to sleep more. So, Richard’s initial refusal was always a common occurrence. After that, every time Reinhardt and I washed up and came out, he was ready to go outside.

It had already been over two months since we moved into the dormitory, but there was no reason we wouldn’t have become close.

Richard had a naturally friendly demeanor, and it didn’t take long for him to blend in with us. At first, he was shy and formal with the other kids, but after spending a month with us, much of that quiet demeanor had faded away.

“Like attracts like,” they say. The purer you are, the easier it is to be influenced.

“So, is everyone having stew today? Was it quite cold outside? I did hear a lot of wind at the window last night.”

“Probably? It is a bit chilly.”

“Still, it’s better not to wear outerwear. The wind is strong, but the sun will be hot. If you prepare too much, it will become cumbersome, and you’ll just sweat.”

“Hmm… still, I want to take some. If it gets too hot, I can take it off. If it’s cumbersome, I can just put it in my storage space.”

We ate our stew and chatted as usual. Listening to our conversation, it became clear that Richard wasn’t the only one who had changed. Reinhardt had changed too, and so had I.

This shouldn’t be surprising, but I always find myself astonished by the fact.

Before long, Richard, who had emptied his bowl, said, “By the way, are you all prepared? The Sacred Festival is coming soon. They say everyone can participate in this tournament regardless of grade, so there’s no way you guys would miss it.”

“I’m always preparing.”

Reinhardt nodded in agreement with my words. It meant that just by training regularly, it was sufficient.

The other kids would be busy preparing potions or gearing up with new weapons for the tournament, but that didn’t apply to us. As for weapons, we had our family heirlooms, and for potions, it was pointless for us to bother with anything outside the usual.

Being from a prestigious family means that our preparation focuses more on ourselves rather than external factors. This probably applied to Richard as well. He likely knew that but just said that for the sake of it.

That being said, about the Sacred Festival…

The Sacred Festival is one of the founding day ceremonies held in Estelia. Technically, it shouldn’t be something I’d worry about at this point, but as Richard said, since I would be participating this time, it became something I couldn’t ignore.

The festival primarily features duels among students, gathered from the Empire’s finest talents at the Academy. Originally, I believed that first-years like myself would not be allowed to compete, but it seems with the Sword Saint taking over as headmaster, they have relaxed the standards to allow participation from all grades.

Thanks to that, I found myself to be fighting in an event that was originally for second years.

Since several events had occurred previously, it seems like a precautionary measure to consider the first years, often referred to as the golden generation, who could be the protagonists of these incidents. Naturally, the children from the four great families wouldn’t miss the festival either. Well, the better the results, the greater the benefits, so it’s not like it’s a bad deal.

I looked at Richard and Reinhardt. While Reinhardt was the same as ever, Richard’s eyes were aflame with the fire of competition.

Heh heh heh… look at that?

The usually quiet guy was looking at me with fiery eyes, and it felt rather strange. I knew Richard wasn’t the type to enjoy fighting, so I couldn’t help but wonder what motivated him. But I didn’t ask him about it.

Like Reinhardt, there was no need to dwell on such trivial reasons.

When we met at the tournament, we would just have to do our best.

“Well, if I happen to run into Elena in between, it can’t be helped.”

With our bowls cleared, we stood up.

*

After class, I went to Elteman’s research lab as promised the night before.

I wasn’t alone, but since I didn’t know the structure of the Department of Magic and Elena was with me when Elteman invited me, it was natural that I was walking to the lab with her. We hadn’t arranged to meet beforehand; upon entering the main building of the Department of Magic, I found Elena waiting for me.

Initially, I intended for just Elteman and me to talk today, but it wasn’t our only meeting, and with Elena’s guidance, I could explore the various parts of the Department of Magic.

Nothing particularly eye-catching stood out. The fascinating objects I had seen on Clock Tower Street were much more interesting. There was none of that here. In a teaching space for students, they only required the essentials, which was somewhat to be expected.

Instead of the presence of interesting artifacts, I saw more magic being performed by people. The scene of professors demonstrating magic in front of students reminded me of clips from old movies and drew my attention.

I wondered what the sorcerers’ lessons were like. Peeking into another classroom out of curiosity, Elena chuckled lightly at my expression.

I awkwardly smiled as I couldn’t easily divert my gaze. I wasn’t a magician, nor was I part of that realm, so naturally, I was envious of something out of my reach.

“Sometimes, I think Damon wanted to be a magician,” Elena said.

“Really? To be honest, I would love to be a magician if I could. But if I were a magician, I might have reacted differently to martial arts. Why is there no way to do both in this world? Magic swordsman. Isn’t that cool?”

Elena burst into laughter at that and poked me in the side while saying, “It’s better to dig one well properly. Let’s think about that after we become masters.”

“You’re teasing me, aren’t you…?”

Instead of responding, Elena stuck her tongue out playfully. This banter reminded me of my father and Duke Joachim, but we were the opposite. While I recognized Elena was mimicking my father’s teasing, it strangely didn’t irritate me. Maybe my crush was blinding me; she just looked adorable.

“Indeed, I should focus on the path before me first.”

I readily agreed with Elena’s words and reached out to her side, wiggling my fingers. It was a small act of revenge. Elena was quite ticklish, and even that little provocation made her jump.

She managed to hold back her laughter, but it seemed she hadn’t expected me to rebound like that.

“Hey, that’s sneaky… You can’t just ambush someone like that…”

I feigned innocence at Elena’s complaint and held her hand. Although I’d been joking around, she didn’t seem to mind holding hands, even if she looked slightly indignant. I smiled at her, but she turned her head away, feeling shy.

After a brief look around, we approached Elteman’s research lab. The surroundings seemed quieter than I had anticipated. It felt like there was very little presence around, perhaps because the Imperial Army hadn’t finished settling the situation yet.

Now that I think about it, I realized I hadn’t seen Orcus today. I can only cautiously speculate that it might be related.

Even before entering, I began to feel a bit empty inside. I stood at the door of the lab, knocking a couple of times.

“Ah, yes. Come in.”

The response came back quickly. It was Elteman’s voice. His lively tone indicated that the Imperial Army hadn’t shown up yet. When granted permission, I opened the door wide.

It felt empty, indeed, as there were only three individuals inside the lab. I had no idea where the others had gone. I knew that Elteman had confiscated one of the professors here, but I was clueless about the other two.

Speaking of which, I recognized the other two individuals. I had no idea why they were here, and Elena paused, her expression changing at the sight of them.

 

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