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“Oz, what classes are you going to take?”

“This and this one.”

“Is that so? You didn’t include Spirit Magic. Still, you could take Mana Manipulation together, right?”

“Why?”

“Huh? Well, it’s nice to have someone to take the classes with.”

“…Yeah.”

The students filled in their schedules freely in the classroom after the instructor left.

Some exchanged opinions with peers like Oz and Titania, who had the same or overlapping majors, while others didn’t care and filled in their schedules alone.

In Marian’s case, she belonged to the latter. Having planned everything she wanted to learn in the first semester even before entering the academy, she was the first to complete her schedule among the classes. She then quickly left the classroom and headed to the Teacher’s Office.

Since the orientation for the other classes hadn’t finished yet, only Ion was in the first-year Teacher’s Office. Marian looked around the office, feeling relieved.

“Instructor Ion.”

“Marian? Do you need to consult about something?”

“No. I’ve come to submit my completed schedule.”

To be honest, that wasn’t all there was to it. Marian wanted to talk to Ion alone. But she came to the office as quickly as possible to avoid showing this to her classmates.

Marian held a slight grudge against Ion. Although she might have been a bit angry at the time, reflecting on it now, there was really no reason to be that upset.

She had put in some effort to get ready, but hadn’t suffered any losses, and there might have been a genuine reason he couldn’t come. And since they were going to see each other continuously, holding onto any resentment wouldn’t do her any good.

So, um, if there was a valid reason? Wasn’t it better to just let bygones be bygones? She thought to herself.

Her initial impression was that he was surprisingly handsome, and seeing him stepping up during the incident in the dorm yesterday made her think he might be somewhat reliable. But that was completely unrelated. Not at all.

Ion nodded as he checked Marian’s schedule.

“Meditation, Mana Sensitivity, Mana Control and Manipulation… all related to mana. Have you decided to focus on increasing your mana in the first semester?”

“Yes. I don’t really like moving my body.”

To be precise, she disliked using her body in front of others. She didn’t want to show anyone her messy appearance, sweating profusely.

Since it seemed Marian’s choice was just that, Ion thought it was not his place to meddle and placed her schedule on his desk.

“Got it. I’ll submit your schedule as it is. Do you have anything else?”

Marian pondered for a moment.

Should she ask?

Would it be okay to just bring it up?

Yeah. What’s the big deal about it?

“Instructor Ion, did your grandfather give you any message?”

“A message? If you say it like that, I’m not sure.”

“Like asking you to visit our mansion upon arriving in the Capital City, or perhaps giving our home address… haven’t you heard anything like that?”

“Aah, that?”

Ion nodded slightly, as if recalling something.

“He did tell me the address of the mansion.”

“Were there any difficulties in visiting? Did you get caught up in some incident or something…?”

At Marian’s question, Ion raised an eyebrow, as if wondering what she meant by that.

“Why would I need to go?”

“…Huh?”

“I was told to come visit if needed, but it wasn’t necessary.”

“I had prepared to welcome you, thinking you would visit….”

“…Really?”

“Yes…”

Ion’s expression suddenly stiffened. He looked somewhat awkward.

“I didn’t know.”

“…”

“Are we done here?”

Huh?

So, are you saying there’s really no reason you couldn’t come or were too busy…?

Just because you didn’t want to come, you made me, Marian von Kalstein, spend five whole hours getting ready? Waiting indefinitely until late at night?

I didn’t know it would end like this. Really?

Even if I generously acknowledged that you didn’t know, shouldn’t you say something like ‘It wasn’t my intention’ or ‘Sorry for making you wait’? Isn’t that the normal reaction of a man? I’m Marian von Kalstein! No one in the social scene has ever treated me like this!

This guy… seriously!

How infuriating!

Marian crumpled her face as she grabbed her schedule. She took out a pen and crossed out one of the classes, filling the empty spot with Combat Practice. She then slammed it down on the desk prominently.

“Combat Practice? Why suddenly this?”

Didn’t she decide to focus on increasing her mana in the first semester? That’s the implication in her gaze.

Marian smirked with a haughty laugh and said, “It’s my choice!”

Originally, she hadn’t planned to take Combat Practice. In her lower years, she had intended to focus solely on theory classes and self-training, as that class screamed “hands-on practice” the moment you heard its name.

But her thoughts changed.

I shouldn’t be treated like this… that guy still doesn’t realize how amazing I am. Then I’ll just have to show him.

What would happen if I got the highest score in all his classes and showed a much better performance than the other students?

“Marian. You’re really amazing.”

“Marian. You’re the best.”

“Marian. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize such an excellent student. I’m truly sorry.”

Just imagining that kind of praise coming from that grumpy guy makes me feel delighted even at the thought of it.

Being a teacher, he can’t help but pay attention to an outstanding student, after all. It doesn’t even matter if that interest isn’t romantic. As long as he starts noticing, it’s a natural progression.

Why? Because the student catching his eye is none other than me, Marian von Kalstein!

With confident steps, Marian left the Teacher’s Office.

Ion stared at her retreating figure in disbelief.

*

I’ve never had formal training.

I don’t know the most efficient ways to enhance muscles or systematic martial arts to overwhelm an opponent. Everything I have is just what I’ve picked up rolling around in real situations.

But Headmaster Heinkel said to teach what I do best.

So, I decided to follow that advice.

“Gah, huff…!”

“Hah… huff…!”

Right now, it’s basic physical training time.

The only method of physical training I know is hiking.

So all the students in the Opal Black Class were climbing a mountain.

There is a mountain, not too steep and not too mild, near the Opal Black Dormitory that I discovered after casually looking around due to the surrounding dense trees—now I just call it the back mountain for convenience.

Today, we decided to make twenty round trips to the back mountain at an easy pace.

“Huff, huff! How many do you have left?”

“Uh, five…! And, h-how about you? Huff!”

Schurz was sweating profusely while asking, and Saladin grimaced in response. As Schurz, who was walking alongside Saladin, irritated him, Saladin sped up a bit but soon couldn’t go much farther before slowing down again.

No matter how mild the mountain is, I know it’s not easy to make twenty round trips. I’ve experienced it firsthand, so I know that mindlessly pushing one’s body can actually have adverse effects.

But it’s necessary. There’s no better way to test individual stamina and mental strength.

Even with the same hiking, some ascend easily while others struggle. Some have stamina left but walk as if they’re half-giving up, while others push through their limits, gritting their teeth.

Most of the students climbing the mountain had expressions that looked like death. But if I see someone in serious danger, I can halt them right away. By closely observing the climbing students, I could assess each one’s level.

First, the top three: Gwen, Batar, and Elizabeth.

The three had already finished the twenty round trips and were resting beside me. I suspected Gwen and Batar would do well as they’re combat majors, but honestly, I was surprised by Elizabeth.

She was sweating slightly on her forehead and her breath was somewhat ragged, but she didn’t seem completely drained. So she didn’t grow up like a greenhouse flower in the royal family, huh.

Next, the mid-ranking trio: Schurz, Saladin, and Titania.

Schurz and Saladin were still climbing the mountain but were close to completing the count. If they kept at this pace, making twenty round trips would be achievable.

Titania, being an elf, showed confidence in hiking. And fittingly, she was the first to charge ahead when the class began, climbing the mountain even faster than the top three.

The problem is that this isn’t a race; it’s physical training. Titania completed exactly eleven round trips before running out of stamina. Now she was crawling up as though relying solely on pure willpower.

Lastly, the bottom two: Osnia and Marian.

At first, Osnia was loaded with a bunch of supplementary magic to strengthen her body while running.

Naturally, using magic made the training meaningless, so she was excluded, and before even returning a round, she collapsed, having to be carried down by me. Now she lays there, practically unconscious.

Marian was better than the average female stamina but still just decent. Having barely covered half the rounds, she seemed to be on the brink of exhaustion, barely crawling up the mountain. At this rate, completing twenty would be tough.

I stopped to catch my breath and shouted at her.

“Marian. Are you going to give up?”

“Nooo…!!”

Marian squeezed her voice out, responding with tears in her eyes as she hurried to keep going.

 

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