Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: A Week Later
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***
—Time flows onward.
It's an obvious statement, but the past week flew by for me.
“It's really nothing special, but I can't help feeling glad to be back.”
A chuckle escaped me as I took in the familiar space.
A space of a suitable size for one person, furnished with various pieces of furniture—a place all too familiar to me.
My dormitory room.
Waking up in my dorm instead of the infirmary, where I'd spent the last ten days, felt strangely novel.
It was nothing, really... yet the sense of liberation was so strong it made me laugh.
*Swish.*
I sat up, brushing back my messy hair.
Then I found myself blankly reflecting on the past week.
I'd taken a break so long, I wondered if I'd ever rested this much since falling into this world.
Despite that, so much had happened over the past week. Alongside physical therapy to regain my senses, I'd spent a great deal of time thinking about Anastasia.
*Swish.*
As I stood up and stretched my arms overhead, my heart felt light.
“First, I'll have to convince Glacia.”
To allow Anastasia to come to the academy. Persuading Glacia was the logical conclusion I'd reached after a week of deliberation.
Today marked the start of the fifth week at the academy. The next episode, the incident involving Leonhardt, was now only about three weeks away.
Even so, the matter concerning Anastasia felt far more significant than the upcoming episode.
*Grab.*
As I picked up a towel and some underwear, I realized I wasn't actually that worried about Leonhardt.
Compared to the first episode, the "Condition of the Sacrifice," where Karite's death was set in stone, I had more faith in the second episode: Leonhardt's first encounter with an Apostle.
Above all, he is... the protagonist of this world.
“Right, it's Leonhardt. I don't need to worry so much.”
I nodded to myself as I spoke.
Moreover, when Leonhardt visited me last Friday, seeing him put my mind at ease even more.
He was showing an even steeper growth curve than in the original story. His presence was as refined as a well-honed blade. Even while I was forced to rest, he had achieved incredible growth.
It was as if he was trying to show me just how far one could go when brilliant talent was combined with a strong will.
*Click.*
*Whoosh—*
Standing under the warm stream of water pouring from the magic crystal, I steeled my resolve.
“So, I have to work harder too.”
I didn't see Leonhardt often, but every time I did, it was motivating.
Although I believed I was currently ahead of Leonhardt, having grasped the concept of skills, he was growing stronger by the day, enough to make that thought meaningless.
At this rate, it felt like a foregone conclusion that he would not only catch up to me but surpass me.
And starting today.
I can finally attend lectures and resume my training.
I couldn't afford to stand still either.
…
Some time later, in the C-Class lecture hall.
“To avoid physical strain, it's crucial to use an appropriate level of power. In other words, you must regulate your strength so as not to overload your body. To do that, you need to be self-aware of how much you can control your power, and you must know precisely how much you can manifest…”
As Kalli's calm voice filled the lecture hall, my hand moved busily.
*Scratch, scratch.*
While diligently taking notes on the lecture, my mind was more at ease than ever.
Attending a lecture for the first time in nearly two weeks, I felt a sense of excitement.
Because I knew that learning something new would soon become my strength. Listening to a lecture felt several times better than just resting in the infirmary.
I'd have to get help from David later for the lectures I'd missed, but even so, I felt relieved.
“...”
Then, Kalli's gaze suddenly met mine, and I held it calmly.
Perhaps because it was the first time she'd seen me in the lecture hall in a while, it felt like Kalli's eyes were on me more than usual today.
“Alright. Let's take a short break before we continue.”
When Kalli announced the break, most of the cadets immediately rose from their seats.
And as Kalli averted her gaze, my own shifted to the person beside me.
“*Yaaawn.*”
Seeing David let out a huge yawn, I let out a small laugh.
“You'll tear your mouth open if you keep yawning like that.”
“Han Cheon-seong. A mouth is already a slit, isn't it?”
As he retorted with a joke, I felt a sense of warmth seeing David for the first time in a while.
And... now that I thought about it, it was a bit strange.
‘Even Yumia came to visit me with Leonhardt.’
How was it that David, who I'd call my closest friend in class, hadn't visited me even once? I wasn't hurt, just found it a little odd.
“So, Han Cheon-seong, you must've gotten plenty of rest in the infirmary. Are you adjusting to the lectures okay?”
“What's there to adjust to? You just listen to a lecture.”
“...Man, this is why top students are impossible. Anyway, was it comfortable staying in the infirmary?”
“It was. Why do you ask?”
“No reason, just... I'm kind of jealous. Instructor Adelia, the infirmary instructor, is a total beauty. I noticed it last time I saw her.”
A small laugh escaped me at David's sly remark.
Adelia was certainly a beauty by anyone's standards.
But more than her appearance, I'd gotten a much different impression of her during my nearly ten days in the infirmary.
“Instructor Adelia is definitely pretty, but more than that, I could really feel how much she cares for the cadets.”
The strongest impression from my time in the infirmary.
Was that she was warm and kind.
The kindness I received from Adelia was a debt too great to be expressed in simple words. Right now, I was just filled with gratitude for her.
“...Cares for the cadets, huh. What on earth did Instructor Adelia do for you to say that?”
Looking at David, who asked as if he found it strange, I lightly shook my head.
“What did she do? She just treated me well.”
As I answered, my gaze drifted unconsciously to the window.
On the spacious academy grounds, an outdoor class seemed to be in session, and I could see cadets dressed in the distinctive white uniforms of A-Class.
And among those cadets, I immediately spotted the conspicuous figure of Glacia.
‘...How should I approach her?’
It wouldn't be right to just blurt out that I want to see Anastasia, but I needed to have a proper conversation with Glacia.
***
At the same time.
In the western part of the Empire, far from the capital.
*Click. Clomp. Trudge...*
The footsteps of countless people created a cacophony of different sounds. People in various attires boarded the magitech train.
[The magitech train bound for the Imperial Capital, Edelpian, will depart in five minutes. Five minutes remaining.]
As the announcement echoed from within the train, people began to fill their seats one by one. Among them was a particularly eye-catching figure.
*Click.*
A woman with piercingly cold blue hair and an even colder gaze walked through the train car.
What stood out most wasn't just her beauty, but the black officer's uniform adorned with countless medals.
*Swish.*
As Anastasia took her seat in the first-class car of the magitech train, those around her cast involuntary glances of respect and admiration.
They naturally understood.
Just how immense her contributions on the battlefield must have been to earn that many medals...
After lightly arranging her luggage, Anastasia was gazing impassively out the window when hurried footsteps echoed through the car.
*Clomp! Clomp!*
A man in his late twenties with white hair, having found the right car, let out a hollow laugh of relief upon seeing Anastasia already seated.
“*Hah...*”
The man, wearing an officer's uniform with fewer medals than Anastasia's but still a significant number, slowly sat down across from her.
*Swish.*
“Major Anastasia. Were you really planning to leave by yourself? I mean, who takes an earlier train than the one we agreed on?”
Anastasia glanced at him as he spoke, his voice filled with a sense of grievance, and let out a faint sigh.
“Captain Medelpen. I am returning to the Imperial Capital for a long-awaited rest, not for work. Did I not make that clear?”
At her stiff tone, the man called Medelpen's expression clouded over.
“I have no intention of disturbing your rest, Major Anastasia. Nor do I expect you to assist with my duties. It's just... didn't we agree to travel back to the capital together? You don't have to exclude me like this...”
“That's enough. Let's drop it. I'll say this in case you've misunderstood, Captain Medelpen, but I have no intention of excluding anyone. It's just that traveling with you, whose purpose for heading to the academy is so clear, would have filled my mind with complicated thoughts. That is the only reason I intended to go separately.”
As Anastasia cut him off so coldly, Medelpen hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding his head.
“...If that's how you felt, then I apologize. It's just that I remember you agreeing a few days ago to return together, so I was genuinely hurt, Major.”
At Medelpen's candid words, Anastasia gave a slight nod.
It was true she had tried to leave alone by changing the agreed-upon time, so she had nothing more to say on the matter.
“...”
Seeing Anastasia remain silent, Medelpen organized his luggage and steadily caught his breath.
Despite the abrupt end to their conversation, ironically, neither of them found it the least bit strange.
For them, conversations like this were always the same. Just another common occurrence.
[The magitech train for Edelpian will be departing shortly.]
Along with the softly echoing announcement, the magitech train began to move.
*Whirrrr!*
With the characteristic sound of the magitech engine powering up, the scenery outside the window began to change rapidly.
"..."
Resting her chin on her hand, Anastasia stared blankly at the scenery outside the train.
Leaving behind the battlefield where she had spent years, she was now heading to the Imperial Capital, Edelpian. A small flutter of excitement stirred in her heart.
‘Glacia.’
How many years has it been since I last saw my sister?
A reunion with the sister she hadn't seen in so long. That thought alone was enough to send ripples through Anastasia's worn-out heart.