Chapter 119: Special Training 9
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 119: Special Training 9
"Who are you calling 'brother'?! Stop using me as a shield and fight your own battles! You're the one who broke the door and pissed off the professor in the first place!"
"Didn't you call me 'little brother' earlier? Come on, for the sake of your handsome little brother, please take down the professor with ease."
"That was obviously a joke!"
"Was I the only one being sincere again?"
"What kind of bullsh—"
The students of the Special Class watched Loki and Lucas’s little comedy routine with bewildered eyes.
When they first met him, Lucas definitely didn't seem to have this kind of personality...
The students recalled their first impressions of the prince. It wasn't as if Lucas had gone around saying things like, 'I am royalty and you are mere nobles, so kneel before me.' Still, as a member of the Imperial Family, there had always been a slight wall between him and the other students.
But the person they were seeing now looked like any other ordinary student bickering with a friend.
"Class is in session."
The atmosphere surrounding Loki and Lucas shifted instantly at Elicia’s words.
Lucas gripped the spear on his back, watching Elicia warily, while Loki didn't hesitate to pull a dagger from his Pocket Dimension and hurl it.
When Elicia said 'class,' she meant the first period. And for the Special Class, the first period consisted entirely of trying to survive her.
"Abgo, Tabra, Tsunoso, Barao, Niorani."
The Special Class's sorcerer, Frederick Nicholas, chanted an incantation to cast a curse on Elicia.
When he had first fought her, Frederick had been too terrified to even complete a spell, but now he didn't show even a hint of a tremor. Having cast curses on Elicia every single day, he had finally grown accustomed to the pressure.
"The incantation is com—"
Ash-gray hair fluttered in front of Frederick just as he was about to finish the curse.
"How long did you think I would just stand there and let you hit me with those?"
Elicia, who until now had taken the curses head-on without dodging, suddenly appeared before him. Frederick, however, did not stop his incantation.
Elicia reached out to grab him, but her hand caught nothing but thin air.
"I guess villains who wait for a transformation only exist in cartoons. Hmm, I'll have to think of a new method starting tomorrow! But Professor Elicia? Please just bear with it for today."
Elicia turned her head toward the cheeky voice.
Frederick was already standing next to Loki, preparing an even more powerful curse.
An ordinary human wouldn't have seen it, but it was visible to Elicia’s non-human eyes: transparent threads were wrapped around Frederick’s body.
He used the threads to pull him out of harm's way.
While Elicia was wondering exactly when he had managed to attach those threads, the curse struck her.
Even though her physical abilities were dampened by the spell, Elicia let out a smirk.
* * *
If this had been a classroom for ordinary students, one would hear the sound of a professor lecturing, the scratching of pens as students took notes, or perhaps the sharp reprimand of a teacher scolding a student who couldn't stay awake.
It should have been filled with peaceful, academic sounds.
K-Boom! Whoosh, thud!
But today, as usual, the Special Class was filled with the roar of exploding flames, fists smashing through desks, and spears piercing walls—sounds that didn't suit a classroom at all.
Loki, Lucas, Kuran, and Gashurin were all swinging weapons or throwing punches at Elicia in a frantic melee.
"Wow, Mr. Kuran! Your muscles are looking extra big today! Whoops, watch out!"
"....Haa.... Hmph!"
"Brother, you're handling your mana much more skillfully than before."
"Huff, huff......"
"Mr. Gashurin, I see you've already started developing your own swordsmanship style."
"Hmph! Haa....."
"And also..."
"""""Oh, shut up already!"""""
"Hmph, you guys are so mean."
A few students were providing support from a distance. There were three long-range attackers:
The sorcerer, Frederick Nicholas.
The mage, Clara Adelian.
And finally, the spiritist, Sepia Rivayden.
'Now!'
Sepia used a wind spirit to shove Kuran aside.
To an outsider, it might have looked like Sepia was sabotaging her teammate. However, the moment Kuran was pushed, Elicia’s fist slammed into the exact spot where he had been standing a split second before.
'This actually works?'
Using wind spirits to knock the Special Class students out of the way of incoming attacks—this was the tactic Loki had devised.
"In a boss raid, the most important thing is not getting hit even once, you know?"
He had mixed in some incomprehensible jargon, but she understood the gist of it.
Sepia glanced at Loki, who was attacking Elicia while chattering away noisily.
'The more I think about it, the madder I get.'
She remembered Loki staring intently at that woman in the revealing clothes earlier.
'Ha! I bet he was grinning like an idiot under that mask!'
Loki had actually been mentally organizing a shopping list for after class, but to Sepia, who had no way of knowing that, it looked like he had been captivated by the woman's chest.
Just as her mother said, men were clearly fools who lost their minds the moment they saw a woman's breasts. If she hadn't been there, he probably would have fallen for that woman's invitation to tea instantly.
'...But what does that have to do with me?'
In the midst of her annoyance, a question suddenly occurred to her.
Come to think of it, whether that woman dressed provocatively to hit on the pushover, or whether the pushover stared at her body with a silly grin, it had nothing to do with her. Even if the two of them hit it off, it shouldn't matter at all.
And yet...
It really shouldn't matter, but...
Just imagining it made her chest ache.
'Anyone would think I'm jealous because I like that pushover...'
No, that couldn't be it. What on earth was she thinking?
'Get it together, Sepia Rivayden!'
Think about the things that pushover usually does. He jokes around all the time, teases her, puts his hand on her head without permission, and thinks stroking her hair fixes everything!
When she thought about those things, of course she hated...
'I don't hate it, though...'
No, I mean!
Sepia began making excuses to an unknown audience in her head.
It was embarrassing and annoying, but his jokes never crossed the line. And as for him putting his hand on her head and stroking her hair... she could tolerate it because the pushover seemed to like doing it.
'It's definitely not because I like it that I'm letting him do it.'
Besides, he said he would help her with her revenge when she couldn't see a way forward, and he even went before the Disciplinary Board for hitting Darun, whom she had always despised. Naturally, she felt she owed him...
'A debt!'
A perfect excuse finally presented itself to the rationalizing Sepia.
'Right! This is about repaying a debt. Since some strange woman might try to seduce the pushover, I have to keep a close eye on him.'
The corners of Sepia’s mouth curled up without her even realizing it.
Besides, students should focus on their studies! What was all this about romance? Moreover, that woman from earlier was a third-year. Since they were in different grades, dating would only cause stress and make him lose focus in class. If he couldn't focus, he'd be kicked out of the Academy, and if he was kicked out, he might starve to death!
'It's a... tiny... bit... extreme, but it's a possibility!'
If he absolutely had to date someone, he should find someone in the same grade so he wouldn't get stressed. And since being in different classes could be inconvenient, it would be best if she were in the same class...
There were two girls in the Special Class.
Sepia shifted her gaze to Clara, who was standing next to her.
The red eyes focused on Professor Elicia were enchanting, and her black hair, flowing down to her waist, brought to mind the night sky. Her voice as she chanted incantations was alluring, and...
And...
Above all else.
Sepia was overwhelmed by the massive mounds beneath Clara’s neck.
Is that size even realistically possible? It feels like they've grown even larger since the first time I saw them...
Sepia looked down to check her own chest.
'It's not like I'm small.'
Sepia’s chest wasn't small. In fact, it was on the larger side of average. It was just that Clara was simply overwhelming.
'Does the pushover like big ones better too?'
Should she start looking for ways to... even now?
Until a moment ago, Sepia’s head had been filled with all sorts of thoughts and delusions, but outwardly, she had been using her spirits to save the Special Class students from danger.
However, just now, she had momentarily spaced out while staring at Clara’s... greatness.
"Huh?"
A dumbfounded sound escaped Sepia’s lips. Elicia had vanished from her sight in an instant.
"You're distracted."
The voice came from directly behind her. Sepia spun around in a panic.
It was too late.
Just as Sepia squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact—
Clang!
The sound of weapon clashing against weapon rang out. Sepia opened her eyes a crack and looked ahead.
"Professor, if you have a conscience, shouldn't your hand get cut when you're hit by a blade? How can it make a 'clang' sound?"
There stood Loki, who had been elsewhere just a moment ago, blocking Elicia’s fist with his weapon.
"You actually managed to keep up with my speed. No... did you predict I would come this way?"
"Ding-dong! Correct. As a reward, I'll give you a special coupon that entitles you to get hit by me once. So, would you like to use that coupon right now?"