Today I'm the Protagonist of a Morning Drama (1)
I'll be going now. To check on that child.
— Reply Written by the Hero —
After the day's routine ended and evening arrived, Ian dashed toward the plaza. He began recounting everything that had happened.
"It worked exactly like you said, Master! The instructor couldn't lay a finger on me!"
"Though he did look a little pitiful... Well, that's a good thing for me."
"Oh, and I made my first friend today, but he seems kind of weird."
"Even though he feels stronger than me, he hugged me and said he was glad to see me. And it was a male student, too."
"No, isn't that seriously strange?"
Ian's face flushed bright red as he launched into a passionate defense that he did not have that kind of preference.
"Master, please stop teasing me..."
"Master?"
Ian listened with sparkling eyes full of anticipation.
"Master, I already know Samjae Swordsmanship! I passed the academy's bare minimum requirements with it!"
Samjae Swordsmanship was an extremely basic technique consisting of only three moves: horizontal cut, vertical cut, and thrust. I never knew Master was the one who created it... But Samjae is the sword art I'm most confident in! I practiced it every chance I got. Time to show you my Samjae Swordsmanship!
Swish—swish—stab—
With every swing of the blade, mana took form and generated sword energy. Ian executed Samjae Swordsmanship with perfectly steady, unshakable sword energy.
"Master! Did you see? My unwavering sword energy!"
"It's all thanks to you, Master!"
Though the words were cold, the tone carried clear affection. Is this what they call tsundere? If I called Master a tsundere to her face she'd probably get sulky immediately. I should just keep that thought to myself. Absolutely do not say it out loud.
Gasp. As expected of an angel—she noticed instantly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Please teach me the next technique quickly!"
"Yes, Master. Should I mix them in a one-to-one ratio again??"
Ugh... The ratio seems correct, but why won't it materialize? It feels unstable somehow... What did I do wrong? I definitely mixed them one-to-one.
The night grew chilly, yet Ian continued struggling to achieve unity. How much time had passed? By the time complete darkness gave way to a starry dawn, Ian finally succeeded.
"Haa... Master... Is this unity? Whew..."
"Haa... It's so tiring..."
"Ah... It's already too late. I'll just wait here until classes start."
"Besides, first period today is sparring. It's basically a test where we bet our rankings!"
"Ehh... I'm already exhausted... Can we take it slow?"
"...! Recovery magic??? I thought that art had died out...? Master, you know recovery magic too??"
Ian suddenly dropped into a perfect dogeza in front of the statue.
"I will remain like this until you agree to teach me recovery magic. Hnnngh!!"
Ian held the dogeza for a full five minutes. Raphael, momentarily speechless, finally told him she would teach the technique. The instant she did, Ian flopped onto his back.
"Huff... huff... Master! I held a dogeza for five whole minutes and you have nothing to say? Not even 'well done'?"
"...? Why does going insane mean becoming a hero! This is my sincerity!"
Raphael briefly wondered if she might be teaching him wrong, but quickly concluded, 'There's no way I could teach incorrectly,' and stopped worrying. If future Raphael saw this, she would have grabbed the current her by the hair and given her a thorough character education. But that was a story for the future. The present Raphael did not yet feel the need for character education in her curriculum. Just what kind of person would Ian grow up to be...?
"Master? Doesn't granting attributes to chakra belong to Change Swordsmanship...?"
"...Pardon? I must have misheard."
The instructor's image overlapped with Master's voice. I wish this were a dream... It's too hard...
"Yes!"
Raphael looked at the perfectly disciplined Ian with satisfaction and continued.
"Ooh! Then I want to learn the death attribute!"
"....? Pardon? I must have misheard."
"...Then what attribute is recovery magic?"
"Whoa, Master!! My chakra turned green! Is this regeneration magic?"
"Heh, Master. It's because it's 'me'!"
"Yes! With what I learned today, I'll take first place!"
"Yes, Master! I'll see you this evening!"
"Yes! I will definitely win!"
By seven in the morning the training grounds were already packed with students who had come for morning training. Among them, the most eye-catching were Ian, Eiron, and one other female student. She was a girl whose name Ian didn't quite remember, but she looked like both a hero and a devout believer of the Goddess. Wearing the Goddess Church's pendant and with red hair, the girl approached Eiron and Ian and suddenly began saying strange things.
"Ah... I finally... found you...!"
After the bizarre statement directed at him, she said something even more unimaginable.
"My hero! Please marry me! I'll take responsibility for you!"
Hearing those words, Eiron suddenly snapped and spoke to the girl.
"Hey, this guy is mine. Who the hell are you to try to steal him?"
The girl pretended not to hear for a moment, then replied to Eiron.
"Aren't you a man...?"
"...Eiron? How are you here...?"
"Are you perhaps gay too?"
Ian couldn't understand the words, but Eiron clearly did; his expression hardened.
"...Ha, I didn't expect to meet you here...?"
"I really didn't want to see you, but it's been a while. Sein."
The two of them glared at each other over Ian's head, arguing fiercely. Ian, caught in the middle, could only stand there watching. Just what was the relationship between these two?