Two-on-Two Spar (1)

I stood there stunned, completely speechless at the reward that had just materialized before my eyes. To make sure it was real, I pulled up my status window once more.

It was on a completely different level compared to before. For starters, my level had risen by two. Well, Luden had done most of the heavy lifting, but when you factored in the Queen and all the other small fry we’d taken down, the increase made sense. The three thousand points they’d given me weren’t strange either.

What I truly never expected, though, was for Mana Application to level up.

It never went up no matter what I did before.

I figured it must have been because I’d pushed my mana to its absolute limit with that final breathing technique. Or maybe the system was just throwing me a bone for all the trouble.

While those thoughts ran through my head—

Miroel, who had been stroking the top of my head, tilted hers with a puzzled expression. Normally I would have brushed the question off with some vague excuse, but Luden was standing right there with us.

At that exact moment—

Whoa?!

Luden’s body suddenly pitched forward, exhausted beyond her limits. I condensed mana beneath my feet and kicked off the ground with full power.

“Hup.”

Using High-Speed Movement, I reached her before she could hit the floor and caught her safely.

“Are you all right?”

“Ah… yes.”

At my question she nodded, the tips of her ears turning bright red. She seemed embarrassed about collapsing in front of me.

She’s bleeding all over the place. What are you even saying?

I sighed inwardly and slowly examined Luden’s condition.

Her wounds are worse than I thought.

When I really considered it, that was only natural. She had fought wave after wave of monsters to protect me. In the end she had even faced the Queen herself. In the original story the Queen fight was difficult, but the heroine had never been pushed this hard.

Normally the professor would have stepped in midway.

The fact that he still hadn’t shown up suggested the monsters had appeared far earlier than they did in the source material.

Just to be safe, I should give her a potion.

With that thought I opened the Cash Shop. I purchased the cheapest HP potion available at the bottom of the list.

A small bottle appeared inside my subspace pouch. Without hesitation I took it out and offered it to Luden.

“Here, drink this.”

“Huh…?”

“You got hurt protecting me. Please drink it quickly.”

Her eyes trembled violently, as if an earthquake had struck them. Potions were expensive, so her reaction wasn’t strange. Still, considering what was coming, this small investment in her was nothing.

“My arm feels like it’s about to fall off. Take it already.”

“O-okay!”

When I teased her, she snatched the bottle in a panic and gulped it down. A moment later—

“Haa… Thank you.”

Somewhat recovered, she bowed her head with an awkward expression. It seemed she didn’t know how to respond to kindness. Well, her family was destroyed and she lived on the streets.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, an uncomfortable silence settled between us.

“Are the two of you all right?”

Dale had appeared behind us at some point. Luden jumped at his sudden voice.

“Kyaaaaak?!”

After showing only an expressionless face the entire battle, the girlish scream that came out of her now was surprisingly fresh. Dale gave a sly smile.

“Even Miss Luden knows how to scream like that, I see.”

“Uuuuung…”

She was so embarrassed that faint steam seemed to rise from the top of her head. She kept stealing glances at me.

It’s not something to get that embarrassed about.

I shook my head at Miroel’s words and turned my gaze to Dale. Then, in a serious tone, I pressed him.

“Professor. For someone who arrived so late, you look rather cheerful.”

“Ahem.”

His conscience must have stung, because his face stiffened instantly. He bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle.

“I apologize. My negligence has caused trouble for both of you.”

The playful smile he usually wore was gone. Only sincere regret remained on his face.

“As an apology, I will treat you both to a meal sometime.”

I smiled inwardly. As expected, pressing him had produced a reward. When Dale said he would treat us, it was essentially the same as promising decent compensation.

“Understood. I’ll look forward to it, Professor.”

With those words, the first main episode finally came to an end.

Sherry let out a deep sigh in her room after practical class ended.

“Haa…”

She had failed to take first place again. To be honest, she had been confident this time. No matter how you looked at it, this wasn’t a dungeon escape. Since Baran was blind, she had believed the advantage was clearly hers.

Yet somehow the two of them had already arrived at the waiting room and were chatting with Professor Dale.

How am I supposed to report this to Father?

While she was clutching her head in agony, the communication crystal began to vibrate.

She had a bad feeling about who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it might be. When she checked—

It was exactly as she feared. Gray, head of the Patrick family. Sherry swallowed dryly and answered the call.

“You’re late in answering.”

“I-I was using the bathroom for a moment.”

“Huu…”

“Daughter, have I not told you countless times that a noble lady must never speak such vulgar words?”

Gray’s tone was full of disappointment. Because of her position as a noble, even her choice of words had to be monitored. She had been educated this way since childhood, yet because of her original personality she was constantly scolded.

“Yes, Father. I understand.”

“Good. More importantly, what rank did you achieve in this exam?”

“That is…”

She wanted to claim first place right then and there. But her father was the head of House Patrick—one of the few ducal families on the Manchester continent. Any lie would be seen through immediately.

The moment she tried to tell the truth—

“Judging by your hesitation, it seems you did not take first.”

The very words she hadn’t wanted to hear left his mouth. Her heart sank.

“Daughter, do you know why you have failed to take first place all this time?”

“That is…”

“It is because you were not desperate enough. If you had truly longed for victory, you would not be standing there—you would already be training.”

She had nothing to say. He was right. Instead of feeling depressed, she should have been training out of frustration. Sherry remained silent.

Gray’s voice continued from the crystal.

“The academy’s next schedule involves pairing with students from the Production Department for two-on-two sparring.”

“I… I see.”

“Yes. The student you will face this time is the young lady of House Roden.”

“?!”

Sherry’s eyes widened in shock. Gray kept speaking.

“Team up with the student I have arranged for you and defeat the Roden young lady.”

“Y-yes!”

“I hope you will not disappoint me this time.”

With those final words, Gray ended the call. Even though they were family, there had been no personal conversation whatsoever. Only matters concerning the house.

This time I will win and earn Father’s recognition.

With that resolve, Sherry headed toward the training grounds as usual.

Several days had passed since the first practical lesson. Fortunately, the aftermath had been handled without much trouble. Well, since Luden and I had taken care of every single monster, it was only natural. After all, every last one of them had come straight toward us.

They said the monsters came up from the lower floors, right?

The exact reason was a little different. It turned out that among the monsters Dale had killed was an Entrian King. The Queen on the floor below had flown into a rage and climbed up after it.

Though I still don’t understand why it came after us.

There was no point thinking about it now. It was already over.

More importantly—

“You may form teams with two students from the Production Department. Your sparring opponents will be sent via message.”

I needed to find a partner.

I shook my head at Miroel’s question. She looked down at me with pitying eyes.

Ow. That fact hit like a truck.

I wanted to argue, but there were too many people around. Pretending not to hear her merciless observation, I checked the message that had arrived.

Kanya von Breed.

To put it simply, she was an extra villainess who bullied Risa, one of the sub-heroines. I had been nervous she might get entangled with the protagonist, but fortunately that never happened.

I left the classroom, wondering who I should pair with, when—

“Kyaaaaak!”

A familiar scream reached my ears. Where had I heard that voice before?

Miroel pointed toward the rear building of the academy. Students rarely went that way. Why on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠earth would a scream come from there?

Wondering what was going on, I quietly killed my presence and crept closer. A moment later—

Huh?

I froze at the sight before me. Kanya, my upcoming sparring opponent, was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leading her entire faction in bullying Risa.