The Mana Energy Deluge (1)
Somehow, I hadn't lost consciousness. I couldn't afford to close my eyes here—who knew what might happen? Waking up after sleeping through an entire day only to find every combat magic student dead was not a scenario I wanted to face.
"Ungh······."
"Lie down, Teacher."
As I tried to push myself upright in a half-dazed state, Trie pressed down on my chest. This appeared to be my room. No one else seemed to be present besides Trie and me.
"You were sleeping like you were dead."
"I slept?"
"Yeah."
"······."
This was insane. My assumption that I hadn't lost consciousness had apparently been an illusion.
"Ugh······. How long did I sleep?"
"It's still dawn. Don't worry. You only slept about eight hours."
That was a relief. It seemed the second day hadn't even started yet. Still, I needed to prepare early. Today was going to be brutal. One mistake could cost a student's life.
"Lie down······."
"I can't stay lying down—I'm too stiff. My body feels like it's recovered quite a bit, too."
I forced myself upright. For a moment my vision darkened and my head spun. I nearly collapsed again. Sudden movements were off-limits for now. Still, the recovery potion had done its work while I slept; the strain on my body had eased considerably. At least the twisting pain in my insides was gone.
"That illness······ is it serious?"
"······."
Last night I'd vaguely claimed it was a chronic condition to cover things up. Word that I had a serious illness would spread quickly. After all, every student had witnessed it, not just Trie or Sergei. Someone might already have written letters to the Imperial Academy or their homes in the capital.
'Rather convenient, actually.'
This was beneficial. The nobles would see it as my weakness. They'd waste time trying to uncover what illness I had. If they underestimated my physical abilities because of it, all the better. And if they decided not to bother monitoring someone they thought was already dying, that would be ideal.
"It's not serious. It doesn't happen often."
"Even if it's rare, you'll die if no one's around when it strikes!"
"It's fine. I carry recovery potions with me as well."
I didn't actually carry them, but since I could buy them from the shop anytime, it made no difference.
"Is it incurable?"
"I don't know."
"What did the hospital say?"
"They couldn't find any illness at all."
It wasn't a lie. I didn't have any illness. Though Trie might interpret it as an incurable disease beyond the reach of current medicine.
"Are you going to die······?"
"I won't die."
Trie's voice began to waver slightly. Why was she reacting like this? It was unsettling. To shift the mood, I decided to tease her.
"I might lose my eyes or ears instead. Possibly both."
"What?! Really?"
"······."
Trie grabbed my shoulders tightly, tears welling in her eyes. I hadn't expected such a strong reaction. In truth, I'd already lost both long ago.
"No. You can't. You still have to teach me magic, right?"
"I could teach magic well enough without eyes or ears. We'd simply communicate through incantations."
"Still, no! You have to learn swordsmanship from me. There's still so much left to teach. At least until you become the Imperial First Sword."
"Then you're asking me to endure for a lifetime. How could a mage's body reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship as well?"
"If it's you, you can do it, Schluss. A magic knight······ It could be you instead of me."
What nonsense. If becoming a magic knight were that simple, I would have done it already. Though if I devoured every opportunity meant for Hurtlocker like a glutton, it might not be entirely impossible. Even then, Schluss's physical limits would cause problems.
"I'll yield the magic knight position to you."
After throwing on my outer clothes and preparing to leave, a drawer caught my eye. I'd left it slightly ajar, but now it was fully closed. Someone had touched it. When I slid it open, dozens of glass bottles containing blue liquid came into view. They were mana energy antidotes I'd mass-produced by staying up all night before the practical training. Extracting and refining the Failen flowers from Lady Lichtenburg had been exhausting. I'd repeated the same experiments dozens, even hundreds of times while poring over related texts, nearly losing my mind in the process. Yet someone had entered my room and opened this drawer.
"Trie. Did you touch my drawer?"
"Huh? No?"
Trie shook her head blankly. It probably wasn't her. Trie was terrible at lying. Unless she'd suddenly enrolled in acting school and developed a poker face, she was innocent. Then who had come and gone during the brief moment I'd undone the barrier while half-asleep?
"What's wrong? Is something missing?"
"No. Everything's intact."
"Then that's fine."
"······."
Yes. Nothing was missing. The count of glass bottles matched exactly.
Mana Energy Antidote
Description: A drug that helps decompose mana energy and expel it from the body. Made using Failen flowers as the raw material.
The contents hadn't been swapped either. In other words, whoever opened the drawer had left without touching anything.
'Damn it.'
Unless they were completely stupid, they would have figured out what the contents were—by tasting or smelling them. They would have wondered: What the hell is Schluss Heinkel doing, bringing this much high-concentration mana energy antidote? If they questioned me directly, I could answer. I could claim I'd brought it just in case, given Wist Forest's high mana energy concentration. But the real problem was if they didn't ask. If they imagined their own explanation without giving me a chance to respond. For instance, if they concluded that the great mana energy deluge today was something I'd orchestrated······. If they imagined I'd hidden the antidote to survive alone······ I'd have created an enemy without lifting a finger.
"What? Where are you going?"
"Just stepping out for some air."
"Then how about a sparring match to loosen up?"
"There's no sword here, so how······"
When I turned my head, Trie was smiling, holding two longswords. At that bright smile, my face went pale.
"Those are real swords, aren't they."
"Yeah. I brought one for emergencies. Of course, you'll use the real one! I'll use the training sword."
"No, that's······"
"We can't skip three days of swordsmanship lessons, can we? Now you're the student. Hehe. I'll go warm up first."
"······."
Without giving me a chance to reply, Trie headed outside. I had no choice but to close my eyes and accept reality. After glancing once more into the open drawer—
"I'll track them down eventually."
I closed it.
***
It was truly hellish sparring. Perhaps because I held a real sword, Trie seemed especially serious today. I suffered my first defeat within a second of starting, then accumulated a second and third loss in quick succession. After winning a match last time, I'd thought I stood a chance, but facing her again made me realize it had all been delusion.
"Urgh······ Huff······ How about······ we stop here for today······."
"Eh? Are you serious? We haven't even done half of what we usually do."
"There are many eyes watching, Trie. It would be better if neither of us revealed too much."
Only then did Trie glance around, becoming aware of the onlookers. Swordsmanship, in extreme terms, was like rock-paper-scissors. Assuming two fighters with equal agility and reaction speed, the outcome depended on initial stances and attack postures—clear compatibility existed. Of course, there were mad exceptions capable of crushing rock with scissors regardless, but those aside. If you knew an opponent's favored stance or technique, countering it became far easier. In short, if I could lock Trie's attack posture into one pattern, even I could defeat her with ease.
"Oh······ I didn't think of that. Hiding specialties might be wise after all."
Trie exhaled regretfully and sheathed her sword. Everything I'd said had been an excuse—I'd wanted to stop because the pain was killing me. Honestly, among the students peering out the windows, only Sergei possessed the dynamic vision to follow our swordplay and the comprehension to understand it. Knowing Sergei's character, I could trust him to keep quiet.
"Phew. Can't be helped. Then when we return, I'll make up for the lessons missed during the practical training."
"Huh······?"
"Don't worry, Teacher. I won't skip any class time."
"······."
I wished she would skip some. This teacher apparently had no concept of rest days.
"Now! Everyone wake up! Wake up!"
"······?"
A loud voice suddenly echoed throughout the entire dormitory. At first I thought someone had activated a broadcast. Looking up, I realized Sergei was standing on the roof, shouting into the drainpipe. It would certainly reach every room. I worried the pipe might burst somewhere.
"It's a surprise test! Everyone gather at the entrance of Wist Forest! Bring any weapons you have!"
It had finally begun. The second day of combat magic practical training in Wist Forest. Sergei's surprise test, bound to bring plenty of trouble.