Joint Training (2)
The friend named Conan had green permed hair. Judging by the absence of a middle name, he appeared to be a commoner. But that wasn't the real issue.
"Hello, Felice."
"……Yeah, hello, Silvia."
Helena was one thing, but seeing Silvia in the same group as well made it obvious to anyone that this was divine meddling. Or perhaps a hint that something was about to happen.
The moment I greeted Silvia, sharp gazes poured in from both sides. One belonged to Helena, the other to Leonhardt. Neither of them had chosen the groups, so I couldn't understand why they were glaring at me, but since I couldn't say anything about it, I simply tried to ignore them.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Conan."
"Right, I'm Felice."
"I'm Helena."
The male student named Conan seemed like a perfectly ordinary boy. His appearance was ordinary too, and when he looked at Silvia and Helena, his face flushed as he offered a trembling greeting. Fortunately, unlike his name that sounded like it would drag around incidents, he appeared to have a very timid personality.
"Now that your groups are formed, move to the training hall."
Selenda, who had been watching the students gather in their assigned groups and exchange greetings, began to organize things before the atmosphere grew any more chaotic. Amid the stream of students heading toward the training ground in their groups, we also started walking.
"I'm glad. I was worried I'd end up with people I don't know."
"We can just get to know each other now."
"Still… it seemed like it would be a bit difficult."
I answered calmly to Silvia, who smiled at me as if relieved. After all, most of the boys had either confessed to Silvia or harbored feelings for her, so from her perspective, it might indeed feel a little awkward. Though still rare, quite a few girls openly disliked Silvia as well.
"I suppose that's true."
As I walked along, vaguely agreeing with Silvia, Helena—who hadn't said a word since Silvia appeared—shot me a displeased glare. Sensing her gaze, I lightly patted her head, and Helena simply let out a small sigh. Once again, I hadn't been involved in forming the groups, so I wished she wouldn't take it out on me.
Thud.
"Ah……."
While we were chatting, we arrived at the training ground and took our positions. Watching the still-chaotic entrance for a moment, I felt someone bump into my shoulder. After being shoulder-checked and staggering slightly, I frowned and looked up.
"Hah, what a nobody."
"……Huh?"
A student I didn't recognize was giving me a crooked smile. Wondering who would show such open hostility, I quickly realized he was one of Leonhardt's followers and let out a long breath. ……Just endure it. Since he hadn't done it openly and the nearby students didn't seem to have noticed, I shook my head once and calmed myself. Until now, I'd responded too easily to Leonhardt's provocations, which was probably why they were attempting such petty ones, but it wasn't even funny. It was the typical provocation of a boy blinded by jealousy, and I already knew who was behind it.
"Felice, what's wrong?"
Helena, who had been looking elsewhere, turned to me standing awkwardly and asked curiously. I forced an awkward smile and brushed off my clothes as if nothing had happened, straightening up.
"I slipped for a second. The floor's slippery."
"……It doesn't seem slippery."
"Just pretend it is, if you would."
"You're doing that because you're embarrassed, aren't you?"
Since Helena didn't know the situation, she seemed to think I'd slipped on my own. I didn't bother correcting her either.
"……Are you okay?"
"Huh? It's nothing. I didn't even fall."
Silvia bit her lower lip for some reason, glanced toward the other students, then belatedly asked me. At the end of her gaze wasn't the student who had shoved me, so I nodded and put on an unconcerned expression.
"Focus……!"
At Selenda's voice, all the students' attention snapped forward. Amid the crowd, I felt a pair of eyes watching me and deliberately ignored the gaze. Let's not fight for no reason—this was clearly a cliché setup for an incident. I kept repeating that resolve to myself.
@
Anti-Magic Beast Combat. There were endless reasons for the existence of such a class, but to put it simply, the continent was currently struggling with the remnants of the Demon King's army—the magic beasts. It was said that the moment you stepped beyond the walls of the Empire and other nations, you entered lands swarming with them. Students who came to the Academy all trained to fight such beasts. Therefore, Anti-Magic Beast Combat was a class specialized for real-field situations.
Of course, in the original novel, it wasn't described in detail. After all, it was a romance fantasy. Combat elements were minimized as much as possible, and anything related to the magic beasts was glossed over with just two or three lines of simple description.
"Each group consists of two vanguards, one rear guard, and one recovery-type member."
That much was obvious, but rear guards—meaning magic and recovery types—required more talent than other roles. Archers also had fewer applicants, so when ratios were considered, vanguards outnumbered other classes by about two to one. Thanks to that, in a four-person group, two spots were taken by vanguards.
"The test will be held in this training ground. During Joint Training class hours, all students will train inside this facility."
Even within the Academy, there were various types of training grounds. From the basic training ground where I did my daily drills, to the scarecrow-hitting ground straight out of old game fantasy novels, the mana training ground, and the anti-magic beast training ground where we would be conducting joint training from today onward—there were even more varieties than that.
"It's not just one group entering at a time. To simulate real situations, we'll divide all groups into three teams and rotate them through the training."
Selenda looked around at everyone and continued calmly.
"The test won't be scored solely on how many magic beasts you defeat. It will also evaluate how efficiently your group hunts them, how little damage you sustain while doing so, and even the coordination between members."
Tsk, just hearing about it made it sound like a difficult exam.
"Discord between group members is naturally a deduction. Conflict with other teams is also a deduction. That's all. Any questions?"
No one raised their hand at Selenda's words. It wasn't that they had no questions—rather, since no one had experienced it yet, no one raised their hand. Selenda seemed to understand this and nodded before speaking again.
"It'll be better to experience it firsthand. Groups A through C, grab the weapons at the front and gather at the training ground entrance."
Since we were Group C, we stepped forward at Selenda's instruction. I picked up the practice iron sword I'd grown accustomed to from daily training and took my place at the front of the training ground.
"Huu……."
"Nervous?"
Even though they were talented students, most of them still lacked real combat experience. A few had already been in actual fights, but the majority hadn't. When I asked Helena, who let out a small breath, she gave an awkward smile and nodded.
"What about you, Felice?"
"Uh, me too, a little?"
Honestly, I wasn't that nervous. I'd trained every single day, but since I'd never experienced real combat, I hadn't had a chance to accurately gauge my skills. Thinking of this as an opportunity to properly test my abilities, I actually felt more anticipation than anxiety. Cooling my slightly heated body, I spoke to Helena.
"Everyone knows the basic positions, right?"
Before entering the training ground, our group began chatting to ease the tension. Conan, perhaps because he was nervous as well, spoke without his usual trembling.
"Yeah."
Helena and Silvia only nodded, while I was the only one who answered aloud. Silvia had been burned by even small acts of kindness many times, and Helena also possessed looks that didn't lose to Silvia's, so it felt like she was trying not to leave any room for misunderstanding.
"Groups A through C, enter the training ground."
Using the basic formation taught at the Academy as our default positions and agreeing to move flexibly depending on the situation, we listened to Selenda's voice and slowly headed toward the training ground entrance. I hoped nothing would happen, but the one thing that bothered me was that Leonhardt was in Group A. Though separated from his followers, his gaze toward us was unsettling.
'Even someone as reckless as him would separate public and private matters, right…….'
Suppressing my uneasy feelings, I stepped into the training ground. Until we had all entered, Leonhardt continued to stare at us.