Chapter 32: Provocation 6
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: Provocation 6
A Disciplinary Committee member’s morning begins earlier than that of any other student.
For Johanna, it tended to start even earlier than for her fellow members.
It was that liminal hour before dawn—the sun had yet to crest the horizon, and the rest of the academy remained lost in sleep. Johanna walked through the biting wind toward the training grounds.
Swinging her blade against the chill in total solitude—this was how her daily routine began.
Because no one else was around, there were no prying eyes to distract her. Whenever she trained in a crowded area, she could feel the suffocating weight of others' gazes. It wasn't the gaze of a swordsman evaluating a peer; it was the lingering, unwelcome stare of a man watching a woman.
Johanna found those looks utterly repulsive.
"Whew..."
A plume of white mist escaped her lips with every breath. Her platinum blonde hair, tied back to stay out of her way, fluttered in the wind.
As usual, Johanna didn't encounter a single soul on her way to the training grounds. It was her normal routine, so she thought nothing of it.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
However, upon arriving, she noticed something unusual. The rhythmic sound of someone running echoed from inside.
Who is it?
She had come here at this hour every day since her first year, yet she hadn't encountered another person for an entire year. She felt a flicker of curiosity that someone had beaten her here, mixed with a hint of annoyance that her solitude had been disturbed.
But the moment she identified the figure inside, her annoyance vanished.
The man was easy to recognize. He was wearing his signature mask.
"Lo—"
Johanna opened her mouth to call out to Loki but stopped herself.
Loki was sprinting across the grounds, but he looked utterly spent. Sweat poured from him with every agonizing step, and his pace had slowed to a crawl.
Just how long has he been here?
The ground was damp with his sweat. Empty water bottles were scattered nearby; judging by the sheer number of them, he must have arrived hours ago. While almost every other student was still tucked away in bed, he had been pushing himself in the dark.
Loki’s legs finally seemed to give out. He tripped over his own feet and collapsed, lying still as if he had finally reached his limit.
Johanna moved to approach him, but she froze again. Loki was forcing himself back up.
A moment later, two more Lokis materialized on the training ground. She could tell he had summoned them using his Innate Magic.
What is he doing?
Johanna’s eyes widened at the scene. The two doppelgangers began to clash.
The moment one doppelganger leveled a blade at the other’s throat, that clone would vanish. Then, a new one would appear, and the duel would begin anew. With every iteration, the doppelgangers' movements became sharper, cleaner, and more refined.
Only then did Johanna realize his intent. He was using the doppelgangers to analyze and correct his own form and technique.
Appear, fight, vanish. Appear, fight, vanish.
Loki repeated the cycle relentlessly. Eventually, his mana seemingly exhausted, he stopped summoning the clones.
Is he finished now?
But Loki was more dogged than she could have imagined. As soon as his mana ran dry, he started running again. He had recovered just enough stamina to move, and though his pace was sluggish, he continued as if he had no intention of stopping.
Time passed, and once again, he hit a wall, slumping to the ground in exhaustion. Then, he forced out more doppelgangers to resume the sparring. After a few more bouts, he tried to summon another, but failed—his mana was completely spent.
When his Innate Magic refused to activate, he went back to running.
Loki cycled through these two tasks infinitely.
Could a normal person even endure that? He was pushing his physical body to the breaking point, then doing the same to his mana pool.
Johanna had never seen anyone train like this. She doubted she ever would again. Squeezing out every last drop of stamina to run, then wringing out every last spark of mana for his magic.
This wasn't mere training; it was self-inflicted torture.
"......"
Johanna possessed talent that far outstripped her peers, but she also took immense pride in her work ethic. She prided herself on thinking about the sword longer than anyone else and swinging it more than anyone else.
But watching Loki, that pride began to wither.
Could her routine even be called "effort" compared to this? If Loki saw her training, wouldn't he find it laughable?
In the end, Johanna never drew her sword. She simply watched him in silence until Loki finally left the training grounds.
* * *
I was currently walking through the academy hallways.
After my usual morning session, I’d headed back to the dorm to rest for an hour before changing into my uniform. Fortunately, no one had interrupted me this morning. If they had, they probably would have tried to strike up a conversation, which was the last thing I wanted.
To be honest, what weighed on my mind more was the fact that I had actually fallen asleep last night without any medication. I didn't want to get my hopes up that I could finally sleep naturally.
If there was anything different about last night, it was the fact that I had talked to Yerika before bed.
Is it because of Yerika’s trait?
Just as Lucas inherited the Domination trait from the Emperor, it was possible that Yerika had inherited something from the Empress. Yerika’s mother—the Empress—had been a Saintess. She had stepped down from the position to marry the Emperor, but while she gave up the title, her Sacred Power hadn't just vanished.
I remembered the effects of the Empress's trait, but the name escaped me. The way to check if Yerika had it was simple: I just needed to call her again tonight.
If talking to Yerika really was the key to my insomnia...
Do I seriously have to call her every night?
If the Emperor ever found out, a beating would be the least of my problems.
I came to a halt as I reached the stairs. To get to the Special Class, I had to head down to the basement, but a certain Vermin was blocking the way.
Those guys are certainly diligent.
I wondered how long they had been waiting. The thought of them lurking here since the crack of dawn almost made me chuckle.
"Are you sure that bastard hasn't passed through here yet?"
"Of course, Prince."
"You idiots. If you had caught him yesterday, we wouldn't be wasting our time like this."
"We are deeply sorry!"
In the end, the Archen Kingdom students hadn't even managed to get a word in with me yesterday. Is that why the Vermin himself had decided to show up?
After the first class yesterday, I had slipped away using the excuse of asking the professor a question. After school, I had left under the protection of Professor Elicia. So, they were targeting the morning commute—the one time I wouldn't be with a faculty member.
Hmm, what should I do?
Breaking through them would be easy, but I wanted to choose the method that would piss that Vermin off the most. After weighing my options, I decided on the simplest one.
I used an illusion to create a doppelganger and sent it toward them.
"P-Prince! He's over there!"
"Eek!"
My doppelganger acted startled, let out a shout, and bolted in the opposite direction. While they were distracted by the fake, I used an illusion and Shadow Step to completely erase my presence, slipping past them and down into the basement.
They were so focused on the runner that none of them noticed me.
"Get him!"
"Don't chase him, you morons!"
The Vermin’s subordinates started to give chase, but the Prince barked an order to stop. If they had kept going, they would have realized it was an illusion soon enough.
"Prince, shouldn't we pursue?"
"No. We just need to hold this spot. That bastard has to come through here eventually."
True. Which is why I'm already downstairs. Have fun waiting there until the bell rings.
I walked through the basement corridor and reached the Special Class.
"Good morning, everyone!" I announced, swinging the door open.
Every student in the room turned to look at me.
"Loki, are you alright?" Lucas was the first to speak.
Alright? About what?
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Weren't the Archen Kingdom students waiting for you? We were worried; we were just debating if we should go get you."
It seemed they had spotted the Vermin and his lackeys on their way in. I responded with a casual shrug.
"You're not planning to keep avoiding them forever, are you? You can't run indefinitely," Clara added.
I had planned to wait a bit longer, but since the Vermin has started moving personally, I suppose there's no point in delaying.
"Well, it is getting a bit creepy how they keep stalking me."
"Do you have a plan to solve this?"
"Of course I do!"
They say you don't avoid filth because you're afraid of it, but because it's disgusting.
"I'll have it handled within a week, so don't worry."
Still, you have to clean up the filth in your own house eventually.