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Chapter 200

My personal training and practice routines had settled down, allowing me to pay attention to other matters such as Airi’s issue, the new business of the Rotary Club, and even facilitating the growth of the main story characters.

I had to continue to work independently on myself while ensuring that other matters moved forward. I hadn’t fully decided if it would be the Magic Research Club, Magic Research Society, or Magic Research Study Group, but since I had to talk to the kids from Class B about it, I planned to visit them one by one as soon as classes ended, striking while the iron was hot.

***

It was dawn the next day, Wednesday.

I exercised early in the morning with Adriana. Although I was still behind in absolute ability when compared to Adriana, I no longer lagged behind her.

I hadn’t gone out for early morning exercises for two days because of the Tiamata issue, and Adriana had done her morning exercises alone during that time. When she asked if anything had happened, I made an excuse, saying I’d had too much sleep and couldn’t wake up.

I was curious about how Adriana would react if she found out I had become the master of the Holy Sword Tiamata. After all, it was the sacred relic of Ouen, the deity she served.

She would surely be surprised, but of course, I had no intention of telling her. Adriana’s heart was precious, after all.

“Whew...”

After completing a round of our routine, Adriana and I sat on a bench on the hillside to rest.

“Summer is almost over,” she said.

“Yes, it is.”

By the time October arrived, the heat would subside, and autumn would arrive. Then, after a short period, winter would follow. Adriana gazed at the view of the Temple spread out below us.

“The scenery here is fantastic when it snows.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes.”

Since Adriana had lived in the Temple for a year longer than I had, she had to have seen how the place looked in winter. Indeed, it would be amazing to see it when it snowed.

“... But do you mean we can still do morning exercises even when it snows? What if we slip and get hurt?”

Adriana conjured a stream of Divine Power that flowed through her hand and smiled. “This is why.”

She would continue with her training regardless of whether it snowed or not, as long as she could heal herself when she got hurt. This person was really something else.

“By the way, have you ever had any conflicts with the Orbis Class seniors?”

Given what had happened the day before, I was suddenly curious. The incident involving Orbis Class and Ludwig was scheduled to happen during the school festival, but we were already becoming entangled with Orbis Class over various small matters.

I wondered if Adriana, who had been here a year longer than I had, had ever fought with students from the Orbis Class before.

“Orbis Class? Why? Did you fight with some Orbis Class kids?” Adriana asked with a somewhat exasperated expression, as if such news was unsurprising given my troublesome nature.

‘Seriously! I understand that I have a certain reputation, but why does every little thing I say get linked to me being a troublemaker?’

“No, I didn’t. I’ve never had any conflicts with them. I just had a few proper practice duels,” I replied.

Of course, I had run my big mouth a bit too much, but I knew that mentioning that would only disappoint Adriana, so I opted not to bring it up.

‘Wait a minute.’

Now that I thought about it, hadn’t I tried to provoke some trouble, even though I didn\'t end up getting into any? Technically, it was true I had caused some issues. The only reason there hadn’t been any repercussions was that I’d won.

Adriana tilted her head slightly at my question. “Hmm, the Orbis Class kids don’t like us, and there are many here who dislike them too. Ard, for instance, has had a few scuffles with them.”

Ard de Gritis, Number 3 from Class A’s second year, was the guy whom I’d challenged to a duel before, although it was the third-year Mayaton that I’d actually ended up fighting.

I hadn’t encountered Mayaton since the duel. All I knew was that attempting to discipline a first-year kid via a duel had completely ruined his image within the Royal Class.

Anyway, it seemed true that the second-year students, who had been at the Temple longer, had various run-ins with the Orbis Class.

“How did the fights go? Did anyone win?”

“Hmm, they were pretty similar in skill. The Orbis Class kids really put in a lot of effort. Of course, the fights were often stopped before they got too intense,” Adriana said.

I wasn’t sure about Ard de Gritis’s true skill level, but it seemed that when he clashed with others from the Orbis Class, it was hard to determine a clear winner. Adriana took a sip of water from her canteen and sighed.

“I get it, though. We have natural talent, and many in the Orbis Class think we grow strong without any effort,” she explained.

While there were those that simply relied on their talent and fooled around, there were also those like Adriana who consistently trained early in the morning. Thus, the Orbis Class’s resentment toward the Royal Class was not based on the whole truth.

“The real problem is that the culture surrounding the Orbis Class enforces this hatred towards the Royal Class. Both the teachers and the seniors do it. It’s constantly drilled into them that ‘If you don’t want to lose to those kids, you have to work hard,’ or something like that.”

The Orbis Class deliberately perpetuated this culture of inferiority when it came to the Royal Class to drive the students to work harder. They were told things like, “Do you think you can afford to rest without talent?” and “How do you plan to compete with the Royal Class without effort?” I heard it was almost like the military.

While Adriana was aware that there were classmates in the Royal Class who disliked the Orbis Class, she herself didn’t have strong feelings about them. Instead, she seemed to consider the issue more from a structural point of view.

“So, you neither like them nor dislike them?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. It’s not like we never had any trouble with them, though,” Adriana said, offering a slightly troubled smile.

“Did something happen?”

“Oh? Uh... yeah. But it wasn’t a fight. It was more like a... troublesome incident.”

“What kind of incident?” I asked.

Adriana scratched her cheek with a slightly bewildered expression.

“Well... one of the Orbis Class students... followed me around for a while...”

“Followed you? For what... Oh, wait. Is it what I think it is?”

From her slightly embarrassed expression, I could guess what kind of situation it had been.

“Did that person fall for you at first sight or something?” I asked.

“... Uh, mhm...”

Adriana nodded slightly, her face turning red.

Considering who she was, it wasn’t exactly surprising or strange that such a thing had happened to her.

“I kept telling him that I would become a holy knight of Ouen and that I couldn’t return his feelings no matter how much he liked me... but he just wouldn’t give up, and it was quite troublesome.”

It seemed her explanations that she would not be able to return his feelings had constantly fallen on deaf ears.

Adriana wasn’t the type to get into conflicts; she had accumulated these sorts of problematic encounters instead.

“It has to be troublesome for you when such things happen,” I said.

Adriana couldn’t reciprocate anyone’s feelings—not just someone from the Orbis Class, but anyone who happened to have a crush on her.

“Yeah... it is, a little. So... I tend to be careful, since I might consider someone a friend, but they might think differently,” she said.

Adriana tried her best to interact casually with those of the opposite sex, but sometimes, without realizing it, she might give someone the wrong impression, unintentionally hurting them. A small shadow of sadness passed across her face.

Adriana stretched.

“Ugh... That’s why I’m comfortable with you, junior. It’s obvious you have absolutely no interest in me.”

“... You can tell?”

“Of course, I can.”

Adriana looked at me and smiled.

My impression of her was someone who was kind and approachable to anyone, but this was the first time I realized that Adriana was actually cautious about these things.

She probably felt at ease around me because she could tell I had no intention of advancing things beyond our current relationship.

Adriana fiddled with her canteen and gave a lonely smile.

“If someone I consider a precious friend wants to be more than just a friend... what should I do?”

Though she couldn’t reciprocate their feelings, she wanted to remain friends. But the other person didn’t want things to remain just that, and she had only just realized their true feelings.

It seemed Adriana was in such a situation at the moment.

“Pretending not to know... that would be a bad thing, right?” she asked.

It seemed like she was talking about something other than the Orbis Class now.

Someone liked her, but that person was a precious friend to Adriana. She couldn’t and didn’t want to become anything more than that. However, she couldn’t decide whether pretending not to know about those feelings was the right thing to do.

“It would be a bad thing, I suppose,” I said, taking a sip from my canteen.

Was that really advice for Adriana, or was I saying it to myself? Even I couldn’t tell.

***

There’s a saying that even having ten bodies would not be enough for someone who was incredibly busy.

Honestly, I didn’t need ten. Just three would be perfect—not more, not less.

I wished I could have one body to handle matters with the Rotary Club, one that did training at the Temple, and one to sort out things related to my personal life. Having a body for my personal life was necessary since relationships within the Temple were very important and couldn’t be neglected. It wasn’t enough to just get stronger on my own, as that wouldn’t solve everything.

Of course, creating three separate bodies wasn’t possible, even with additional settings; so I had to do everything myself, working tirelessly without being told to do so by anyone.

Truth be told, I probably wouldn’t have worked this hard if someone else was making me do it.

I entered the Class B dormitory on the matter relating to the Magic Research Club. In Class A, only Harriet and Adelia majored in magic. Since Adelia could be persuaded into it by Harriet, she wasn’t my responsibility.

I was in charge of the two Class B students majoring in magic and Class B’s Number 2, Louis Ankton. Louis had helped me prepare for the midterm exams in the first semester, although it had more or less been forced on him.

“Hey, long time no see.”

“Oh, uh... yeah. Hey Reinhart...”

Louis Ankton, the nerdy bookworm, still acted stiffly around me. Honestly, I hadn’t done much to him and just asked him to study with me; I hadn’t bullied him or extorted him, nor had I said anything harsh to him.

“I have a good proposal for you.”

“... What?”

“Call Anna and Cristina and bring them to the Magic Research Lab.”

“Huh?”

Well, even if I didn’t bully him, who would like someone speaking to them in such a commanding tone?

Honestly, though, it was much more convenient to just give orders and have them followed immediately rather than painstakingly offering explanations while asking for favors. Just saying “Hey! Give that to me!” and having things handed over to me, or “Hey! Do this!” and others carry out my demands.

It was just incredibly convenient...

I had already crossed the point of no return a long time ago.

There was no way back now...

***

The two magic majors from Class B were:

Class B’s Number 5, Cristina, who had talents in alchemy and enchanting; and

Class B’s Number 6, Anna de Gerna, who had talent in dark magic.

And, although not a magic talent, there was Class B’s Number 2, Louis Ankton, who studied magic.

Enchanting, according to what I’d learned from Harriet, was a very expensive form of magic. It wasn’t taught to just anyone, and its secrets were closely guarded.

However, while the magic itself was rare, it didn’t necessarily make it a higher-tier magic system.

Class A’s Number 7, Adelia, had talents in summoning magic and magic crafting. If enchanting imbued objects with magic, magic crafting created machines that operated using mana. Examples include magic trains and warp gates.

Magic crafting was a much higher-tier form of magic compared to enchanting.

Of course, Harriet, whose talent was for all of magic itself, was naturally at the top of all magic talents.

Class B’s Number 6, Anna de Gerna, was unique, as her talent lay in dark magic.

Even though dark magic was a sinister and evil school of magic, there were dark mages in the Temple who served as teachers. Not all practitioners of dark magic were cursed or evil. It was just another system of magic, and an academic discipline that could be studied.

“Uh, well... I brought them.”

“Oh, well done. Good job.”

“...”

Anyway, Louis Ankton followed my instructions and brought the other two students with him to the Class B Magic Research Lab. I noticed Louis’s expression stiffen slightly at my words of appreciation. He was probably annoyed at being treated like a subordinate, but really, I was just thanking him for his effort.

I had seen both Cristina and Anna around, but had never spoken to them before. They both seemed puzzled and curious about why I had asked for them.

Still, the fact that they’d come even when someone they weren’t really close to had called them spoke volumes about the importance of first impressions. Since my wild outbursts in the first semester, I hadn’t really acted out much.

In the second semester, apart from the minor altercation with the Orbis Class during the Swordsmanship Practical class, I had been keeping a relatively low profile, although there were rumors floating around that I had resolved some unusual incident in the Dark Land.

In any case, they had both come because I’d asked for them. Perhaps they thought it was better not to find out what might happen if they hadn’t.

Cristina was wearing glasses, and her orange hair was tied up in a braid. She wore a white robe-like garment, which resembled a doctor’s coat, covered in various stains—presumably from chemicals and what looked like dirt. Since she dealt with alchemical reagents and often handled plants and herbs, her clothes were always in that state.

Anna de Gerna didn’t look as perpetually gloomy as Dettomorian, but she always seemed somewhat gaunt. She had black hair, black eyes and somewhat pale skin, and wore a black robe.

If Dettomorian looked like a skeleton, Anna gave off more of a vampire vibe, the kind that made you want to hand her a blood pack. Even Eleris didn’t look this unhealthy.

Anna had a slightly ghostly, sickly appearance, almost as if she was an emo girl from a gothic novel.

Both of them were staring at me intently.

“I’m not here to say anything threatening. This is your dormitory, after all. Take a seat, everyone.”

I tried to speak in a comforting tone, but it still came across as a command.

What was this? Had I become too accustomed to this? Had the persona of Reinhart, a master at playing tough when needed, adhered to me so well?

They all cautiously took seats, complying with the request while looking slightly confused.

Each of these characters had distinct personalities. Since Class B had been well-documented in the original story, I knew each character’s personality pretty well. Of course, by now, I had gotten to know the Class A students even better.

Louis Ankton was a guy who lived in a state of superiority, quietly belittling and looking down on those he considered dumber than himself—a pretty annoying character.

Cristina was bright, cheerful, and curious.

Anna de Gerna, though she projected a dark and gloomy vibe, wasn’t actually a bad person.

Despite their vastly different personalities, all three of them were acting like mice in front of a cat while in the presence of a supervillain like me.

Well, that worked to my advantage.

If they were scared, it would be easier to talk to them.

“Would you guys be interested in joining a magic research club?”

“A... magic research club?”

They were clearly all taken aback by something they’d never expected to come out of my mouth. It was possible that they saw me as a supervillain, but I wasn’t doing this out of villainy. It was all for their own good in the long run.

Listening to an elder’s wisdom never led to regret, right?

Someday, they’d be thankful for this.

Whenever that might be.