A Fall in Broad Daylight
I gave Lionel a brief rundown of the predicament I was in.
"I see. I understand the situation Freshman Tiss finds herself in."
Fortunately, Lionel understood.
Thank goodness. This bought us time to talk the Legion around.
Yeah.
I'd been half-skeptical given how rigid Lionel usually was, but he showed a surprising degree of flexibility on this point.
"Wanting instruction even before enrollment. An admirable attitude."
"...Excuse me?"
"Was it not Freshman Tiss herself who said she wanted special training at my invitation?"
"That's right. But I was hoping you'd just play along as an excuse. You don't actually have to teach me."
"Freshman Tiss."
"Yes."
"As a student about to enter the Academy, allow this instructor to offer one piece of advice."
The sharpness in his eyes suggested I'd touched a nerve. And so Lionel's lecture began.
"I sincerely intend to repay the debt I owe. That is why I plan to actually grant your request. This is no boast, but I would have you understand that teaching the techniques that made me who I am today does not come from a light heart."
"Th-thank you?"
"Second. As a student entering the Academy, treating it as a mere excuse! That is most undesirable."
Thud.
The mere act of Lionel resting his massive, fur-thick hand on the table instantly overwhelmed the atmosphere.
"Your answer?"
"I-I'm sorry."
Huh? Did class just start all of a sudden?
What? Why was I getting scolded right now?
"What Freshman Tiss said is no different from declaring she will slack off even when given the opportunity to learn. And one must not speak so casually of wanting special training."
"And why is that?"
"It seems you do not realize how much it thrills the hearts of instructors who wish to pass on their teachings when they see a student hungering for knowledge, saying they want special training."
"Eh...?"
Lionel told me to listen well and tossed the rest of his tea into his mouth.
"Every last person who teaches at the Academy instead of remaining active in the field is an eccentric. They are all people who genuinely find fulfillment in teaching others. So if you speak carelessly in front of another instructor, you might be kidnapped as an assistant on the spot. Worked to the bone until they make you their personal disciple."
Wasn't that just Baba Yaga?
The image of Baba Yaga cackling as she cheerfully blasted magic at me under the moonlight flashed through my mind. I'd nearly volunteered for the fast track to becoming a graduate student. Cold sweat ran down my back.
"But I really did need the... time and the reason."
"Very well. Let us assume you used me only as an excuse and never learned the techniques. When the time comes that you must verify the special training, what excuse will you give then? That Instructor Lionel's special training was so poor it was of no help? Or did you summon me without thinking that far?"
That was, in fact, the case. I'd been so focused on solving the immediate problem that I hadn't thought that far.
Oof, that hit home...
He'd completely seen through me.
"For that reason, I intend to actually train Freshman Tiss."
"Eh?"
"Rest assured. I will give you the reason to keep you occupied for the full three days as you wished. And at the same time, we will proceed with the special training."
Lionel's remark that it was two birds with one stone left me speechless.
"I am reasonably skilled at teaching others, so do not worry. I will see that you take something away from it."
"Heheh, well now, little lady. Things just got interesting."
Emily laughed as if the situation had become far more entertaining.
"Emily, look after Dorothy."
"Leave it to me. And you, little lady, work hard at your special training."
And so, against my original intentions, I ended up actually receiving special training from Lionel.
There was, however, one more matter that had gone spectacularly off the rails from my original plan.
"Comrade, comrade, why the long face?"
"It's nothing."
A pink-haired girl licking an ice cream in her hand was looking my way. That's right. It was Katie herself—the Legion I'd met yesterday.
The time was one hour ago.
After finishing the conversation with Lionel and parting with Emily, we were on our way not to the Academy but to the private training hall at Lionel's estate.
And then—
Huh? Tiss, Tiss.
Shan called me urgently.
What's wrong?
T-Tiss, Katie called. She says she wants to see you.
I hadn't expected a call first thing in the morning.
Tell her we'll meet a little later.
Uh...? Uh? R-really?
What's going on?
She says she's right in front of us right now?
What?
At those words I hurriedly turned my head and scanned the surroundings, but I couldn't sense Katie's presence at all.
"Tiss, comrade-comrade!"
At the voice echoing from far away, I looked up.
"Katie...?"
Katie was sitting on the railing of a high-rise building's rooftop. Beside her, a man in ordinary office-worker clothes was trying to stop her. She was looking down with a bright smile, waving.
What do I do? At this timing? It was way too soon.
She ran over because she wanted to see you the moment she opened her eyes?
I'm going to lose my mind.
Without any common sense like contacting in advance or setting a time, the moment she felt like seeing me she tracked me down to my vicinity and only then delivered the message she'd forgotten. That was Katie.
And then—
"Heave-ho!"
Katie jumped straight off the rooftop.
"Leave this to me."
At the sight of Katie conducting a free-fall gravity experiment from the rooftop, Lionel leaped into the air and caught the falling girl.
"Wow! Big Cat Comrade is fast!"
My mind went completely blank.
"Uwaah?"
T-Tiss, you have to pull yourself together! Hurry up and think of an excuse...
No, I didn't even do anything. Katie just decided to fall on her own. What was I supposed to do about that? This was too much.
"Freshman Tiss?"
"Ah?"
"Are you all right, Freshman Tiss? Your face has gone quite pale. You seem badly startled."
"Hehe, Tiss comrade-comrade! I came right away because I wanted to see you."
"Do not worry. I caught your friend safely."
I couldn't even react to Katie waving at me, or to Lionel looking at me with concern.
"You said Katie, did you?"
"Yep! I'm Katie."
"Katie! You scared me! Even if your body's sturdy, you can't just jump down like that!"
"Tiss comrade-comrade worries too much. No need to worry. Katie doesn't get hurt from that."
"People get startled!"
Lionel, who had been about to question Katie, looked my way. At least this should have planted the idea that Katie wasn't an ordinary kid. What came after, I had no idea. I'd have to improvise.
Hahh.
"Let us move for now. Too many eyes."
Seeing that every passerby's gaze had gathered on us, Lionel swept a hand over his forehead and hurriedly led us away.
"Fascinating."
That was Lionel's reaction as he examined the ID Katie was holding. Katie's identity was listed as the daughter of a respectable mid-sized company in Area 3. Whether the Cult had pulled strings, Katie's paper identity was utterly perfect.
On top of that, unlike last time, someone had been with her this time—the office worker from the rooftop had hurried down and volunteered as her guardian. On the surface he looked like an utterly ordinary middle-aged man.
Tiss, is that one a Cult believer too?
The odds are high.
Just as Shan's believers had disguised themselves as orphanage teachers, quite a few believers had melted into the city's population and hidden their identities. He was either one of those believers, or a pawn who'd been brainwashed by one without knowing a thing.
"Employee Comrade not needed. Guard duty over."
"But, Miss Katie...!"
"I won't say it twice. Get lost."
"Understood. Please return before it gets too late."
In the end, the man driven off by Katie glanced our way, then hung his head and left. If it was acting, it was fairly convincing.
"Fascinating. For the nature of a mutant to manifest as wings, and to be able to hide them in daily life."
Katie was flying in front of Lionel. With the white wings on her back. Those were Katie's own wings, perfectly mimicking a bird's.
"That's right! Amazing, isn't it?"
"So that is why you jumped from the rooftop?"
"Because that's the fastest way?"
"I see."
"Then can I play with Tiss now?"
"About that."
After a moment's thought, Lionel explained to Katie that I would be training.
"Young Katie. Would you like to join as well?"
And he even invited Katie to participate. What was he thinking? Don't tell me he just noticed something? I grew uneasy for no reason.
"Oh! That sounds fun! I wanna join!"
"You are interested?"
"Yep! Big Cat is fast and strong! I'm interested in the training Big Cat does!"
"Fortunate, Freshman Tiss."
"Yes?"
"Have you not achieved your intended purpose at the same time?"
"Th...that's right."
Purpose? Yeah, I'd achieved it. Instead, I was so tense every single moment I was wondering if I needed to start secreting mental stabilizers.
Hahh. Calm down and think positively. Let's think of it as a good thing that the two of us can be together inside rather than outside, where we might run into Siwoo and Sia.
"Hahh, I'm ready."
"Then, upon arrival, we shall begin with a simple test."
Arriving at Lionel's training hall, Katie and I did simple physical measurements: running, long jump, hitting a sandbag, and so on. Of course we didn't go all-out, moderating our strength to prevent excessive training.
Lionel, who had watched the entire process, looked satisfied.
"Indeed, talent worthy of Baba Yaga's covetousness. You are skilled at regulating and controlling your power. I have confirmed well that there is no need to teach from the basics. What is surprising is that the young girl possesses a similar level of proficiency to Freshman Tiss."
And that evaluation applied to Katie as well.
"To have grown this excellently without even enrolling... the Academy will have to strive harder."
"Ahaha."
Whoa, caught immediately?
As expected of A+ Rank, I guess.
"Do not worry. I have no intention of forcing you to hide nothing and go all-out."
Lionel, who had changed into a martial arts uniform, stood before a training dummy. Rather than extending his claws to rake the dummy, he clenched his fist and took a stance. His fist touched the dummy as if giving it a light tap.
-KWAANG!
The dummy's abdomen crumpled, and its back burst open with a pop.
"Wooow! Big Cat is strong!"
Clap clap clap. Katie clapped as if watching a circus trick, delighted.
Whoa, what, what was that?
Some kind of martial art, maybe?
The movement of mana was completely different from Baba Yaga's.
"Freshman Tiss. What do you think martial arts are?"
I hadn't expected him to ask something like that out of nowhere. Lionel looked my way and offered something resembling a gentle smile.
"No need to overthink it. I merely wish to hear Freshman Tiss's thoughts. Speak freely."
Lionel-style jokes followed, saying that listening well and thinking would help with later lessons.
"They're techniques for fighting. An extension of the survival instinct to kill the enemy and keep yourself alive, wouldn't you say?"
"Excellent. Even if dressed up in all manner of flowery language, one could say that is the essence of martial arts."
Lionel extended his claws.
"Then I shall ask one question."
Lionel went before the dummy. This time he didn't even take a special stance like before.
"The mutated body of a mutant, and the beast's wildness flowing in its blood, are in themselves excellent weapons. That is a fact no one denies anymore."
He merely swung his hand lightly, as if shooing a fly.
-KRAK!
The training dummy Lionel's claws touched shattered into pieces in a form different from before.
"There has been talk of late that mutants have no need to train in martial arts."
"The one making such remarks is himself a mutant, and one who has accumulated sufficient achievements while still active. As a fellow mutant, Freshman Tiss, what do you think of this opinion?"
Looking at Lionel's body, with muscles hard as steel writhing, it certainly did look unnecessary.