#39 Altered Days #1

The Monday morning of the new week had erupted into utter chaos right from the moment I stepped onto the academy grounds.

As if the miracle of my victory over the thug Povos hadn’t already been enough, the result of last Saturday’s duel had set the entire place buzzing like an anthill kicked by a careless boot.

“Hey there, Mr. Literary Division’s pride—Lucian von Deodore!”

“Please, spare me. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“How many times do I have to say it? At least a month of this should be enough. No, maybe several months?”

“I hope it ends with just a month.”

Even while hurrying to magic class, my fellow Literary Division classmates were chatting so loudly that from a distance their voices carried clear enough to make out: “I won!” and “Povos lost!”

Thankfully, the first-years who had already heard the news were keeping it somewhat tamer.

“What is this… I lost? Completely trounced by a Literary Division student?”

“Ugh… when has it ever been this embarrassing?”

Other students—especially the first-year Martial Division ones—looked like they’d been struck by lightning.

Still, even among Martial Division students, there was always that little swagger when they gripped a sword.

And now that rumor had spread that the so-called “sword genius” had beaten them all.

Talent and raw skill weren’t everything. Effort could patch any hole in the end, and Martial Division students weren’t doomed to lose to Literary Division types just because of their bodies.

That was the lesson now spreading through the entire academy like wildfire.

Especially the second-year Martial Division seniors looked stunned.

Beaten by a junior—let alone a Literary Division student, not even another Martial Division one.

It was a severe crack in their pride and their seniors’ pride, but what could they do?

Even the professor had observed the match and confirmed Povos’s defeat without a shred of doubt.

Avenging themselves or proving their pride? That was just plain stupid.

And then it came out that I hadn’t swung the sword alone—I’d done it with Rie.

That she had poured in every ounce of effort, just as I had asked her to, and only then reached the level she had.

And that her rival she had always spoken of was, in truth, me.

Another wave of scandal rolled across the entire academy.

“Rie Arche von Haniel is a prodigy worthy of being called a future Sword Master, after all.”

“What did you say? Why does she call that Lucian von Deodore, who’s called a battle-hardened genius, her rival?”

“She even said last time that she wanted to beat him. Doesn’t that mean she doesn’t yet consider herself the winner? Not some ordinary student—Rie Arche von Haniel?”

Curiosity and questions sprang up everywhere, tails chasing tails.

Was there something going on between them that none of us knew?

Why not explain it at least a little?

When I thought I couldn’t bear it alone, Rie quietly stepped forward.

“I didn’t mean just his swordsmanship as a competition,” she had said. “I wanted to see the person himself as my rival. If someone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lacks talent, others tend to give up. I reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this point because I thought, ‘This is where I’ll stop. I’ve given my best.’ But Lucian… he kept pushing until he shattered his own limits. Only a handful of people can do that.”

In truth, it had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been my desperate hunger for chocolate that drove the success, not pure effort.

Still, no matter what, I had thrown everything into it because of that chocolate and somehow—somehow—made it happen.

Even with my body still full of flaws, the way I appeared to other academy students must have looked like someone who refused to quit and reached his goal through sheer persistence.

Thanks to that, the words came naturally: with that kind of tenacity, effort, and mindset, it wasn’t strange at all that Rie would want to surpass everything I represented and see me as her rival.

They weren’t just competing in strength or skill.

They admired the quiet determination to keep moving forward and called it something she should learn from.

Everyone was busy praising Rie.

‘It was convenient, too. I stayed relatively hidden and enjoyed that for a while.’

Whether she had calculated it deliberately or it had just happened to fit, most students now focused more on Rie than on me, praising her attitude.

At the same time, they began wondering how far I could actually go.

Thanks to that, I no longer dared to slack off even a little.

Right now, beating Povos was already a miracle, and my body following through was another miracle.

But the people were looking at me with eyes full of expectation, convinced I would show them something even more astounding.

Because I was Rie’s rival, and even she expected greatness from me.

They had thought I was just an intellectual genius, but here I was training my bones to the marrow and pouring out effort, and now the fruits of that labor were finally blooming.

“Damn it! I’m going insane!”

I swung the sword exactly as I had when I had struck Povos’s body, again and again.

My stance was still a bit awkward and strange, but at least the shape was there now.

Using a fixed wooden post like this was one thing; facing a moving opponent was entirely different, but I kept practicing anyway, as if reviewing a memory.

Yet it wasn’t satisfying at all.

The exact moment from that split second—the gap I had aimed for—still burned in my memory.

Even with my eyes closed, it felt as vivid as if it had happened just seconds ago.

But I couldn’t recreate it in my body, and the frustration was driving me to the edge of madness.

Swung. Swung again. Swung until my arms screamed.

Effort was piled on effort—more than before, never less.

Now I had to become someone who was recognized as a talent worthy of rivaling the academy’s genius, the one called Rie Arche von Haniel.

It was the only way not to tarnish my own honor or hers.

After moving my body for a long time, it suddenly swayed and pitched sideways.

Of course. I hadn’t even regulated my breathing properly and had pushed myself too hard; my limit had been reached.

I collapsed right where I stood, staring up at the blue sky while gasping for breath that felt like it would burst out at any moment.

…I guess I’ll have to change my lifestyle a little.

People close to me knew, but those who barely knew me would never understand.

How much more I had accomplished than they imagined, and how extraordinary it really was.

Right now, my improved swordsmanship was already credited to Edwin-nim, and the magic formulas were known to have been created by an acquaintance at the Magic Tower.

There were many other things besides, but I had stayed silent to keep my name from spreading too far.

After all, the achievements I had made far exceeded what I had revealed, and among those publicly known, there were more than enough to live comfortably.

I had no intention of becoming the kind of person who hid everything he possessed.

If I had, I would have kept them even more tightly sealed right now.

The reason I hid things moderately and revealed them moderately was simple.

To prevent the slightest chance that my actions might shake the Deodore family’s successor position.

The owner of that position had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been decided long ago; I had no desire to interfere with it.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

The greatest one was that I hated receiving the gaze of petty eyes.

People sometimes said they took pleasure in watching those who were doing well fall.

Anyone too outstanding always became a target of ordinary people, so I had no need to overdo it and get hit by genuine jealousy and then groan in pain.

I kept it just moderate enough—not so much that anyone could say, “Ah, I know that name.”

That had been my plan until now.

But if this was how things were going, maybe I would have to make some changes.

Ruling as Rie’s rival, as the academy’s genius’s rival, was going to be harder than I thought.

It’s difficult. So difficult…

Hiding was one thing; revealing what had been hidden just right was even harder.

If I showed my hand, it would be tiring.

If one revealed something, two others would appear, and that would be hiding no more.

The reason I had been trying to hide everything I had done was not simply because they were impressive.

It was because the people involved were all extraordinary beings themselves.

If word got out that I was tied to them, petty-minded people would swarm from every direction.

They wouldn’t even miss a single crumb and would come running like a pack of wild dogs.

I never wanted to harm my father, my family, or even my sister.

…But thinking about it now, the immediate problem wasn’t these worries.

My hidden achievements—sure, I could reveal them one by one.

But those two things that left absolutely no trace no matter what—how on earth was I supposed to handle them?

On the bright side, thanks to Rie’s training method that took chocolate hostage, I could at least see a little trace in my swordsmanship.

But in magic, even that faint trace was nowhere to be seen.

Even today, after magic class ended, Professor Raven had quietly asked whether I might be able to strengthen my magic ability with all the effort I had poured into swordsmanship.

Chocolate is truly unusable now. That would be an insult to the chocolate itself.

Right now my blood sugar was crashing and I was nearly dying of thirst.

If a chocolate ban were to fall on magic too, I might collapse right on the spot.

Thankfully, the academy students were still focused on the growth of my swordsmanship, so there was still time.

I wanted to stay lying here forever, but if I did, I would only make things even more troublesome later.

So I got up with a groan and headed back to my room.

My body was soaked in sweat, so it felt sticky, and I had to figure out how to remove the boards I had hidden until now.

When I reached my door, I suddenly noticed the tip of an envelope sticking out from underneath.

I stepped inside and picked it up.

The sender was unmistakably Deodore.

It seemed that even in this short time, news of me had already reached the family.

Of course—more than half the students here were from noble families.

Those guys would send messages home, and the messages would eventually reach my father’s ears.

Yes, my father’s response was mostly surprise and pride at my victory over Povos.

He had worried so much, but now he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

And he also wrote how grateful he was that I was always working so hard.

Originally I thought of my father as a blunt, authoritative man.

But the father I had now was incredibly gentle, and there was something that bent people to his will.

The person I had admired and taken as my role model among my friends was none other than my father.

My sister had returned? Had her border duty already ended?

I tilted my head, thinking it was too soon.

Lebechia had made mandatory border rotation for its knights to prevent them from growing lax in over-long peace.

Half a year hadn’t even passed since my sister began her border duty, and she was already coming back?

Could something have happened?

My sister was one of the few people I admired.

Beyond family, she was just an extraordinary person.

If, like Rie, some strange fellow had caused her trouble…

Yes, that was definitely my father—knowing what I was thinking even about something as insignificant as this.

But then why had she been withdrawn from the border? That was what I was wondering.

When I read the next part, I let out a deep sigh.

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