Highly Developed Muscles (2)
Silence hung over the Introduction to Elementalism training grounds.
Thud. Thud— A massive boulder that Instructor Angelina had set down herself. Not a single cadet had managed so much as a scratch on it. And now one student was walking straight toward it.
Not every cadet kept quiet out of respect. They stayed silent because the identity of the one stepping up was so completely unexpected.
"…Has he lost his mind?"
Someone muttered it under their breath. As if on cue, mockery began to fill the entire training ground.
"Did that bastard completely lose his fear? Why the hell is he going for that?"
"He's a total lunatic. What does a guy who can't even use magic think he's gonna do?"
"Hey, hey. Leave him. Looks like he wants to try something."
"I'll give him credit if he moves even a speck of mana."
No one expected Heracle to pull anything off. They all knew the reputation he carried among the second-years of the Mage Department.
The reserve.
A talentless nobody who never should have gotten into Olympia in the first place. If the headmaster hadn't personally recommended him for special admission, they never would have had to look at his face. Even after enrolling, he couldn't cast a single spell to save his life, clinging on only through the privilege of being exempt from practical scores.
Some even suspected he had Magic Insensitivity. And if that were true, it would be laughable. A mage who couldn't sense mana? That was no different from a knight without arms or legs.
"And he has the nerve, when he's the shame of the Mage Department."
That was why Heracle was hated by his peers. Because a guy who couldn't use magic still stood on equal footing with them. Because his special admission had become a punchline the Knight Department threw in their faces. There wasn't a single thing about him they liked, so they looked down on him—
"…Haa."
Berry's brow furrowed as she read the room. The scornful looks her classmates were throwing around were nothing short of cruel. If those stares had been aimed at her, she would have been too mortified to sleep.
And yet.
"I have no idea what he's thinking…"
Her teammate. Heracle had walked straight into the fire pit himself. He stood tall before the boulder that every pair of eyes was currently shredding with contempt. His sheer nerve was almost enough to impress her.
Can he actually do it?
The way he'd stepped up so confidently suggested he had some kind of plan. No—if he didn't, they were in trouble.
"…"
Heracle said nothing at all.
He simply stood straight before the boulder and recreated the exact motion Instructor Angelina had used. He raised his arm. Extended it toward the rock. Folded three fingers. Then locked his index finger and thumb together and drew them taut. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than striking the same pose.
But.
"…What is that?"
Berry suddenly noticed.
From Heracle's hand, up through his arm, all the way to his shoulder—his muscles were writhing. Muscle fibers convulsed and screamed, bearing every last ounce of force he could produce. His eyes were locked on the boulder with such extreme focus they refused to leave it. A bead of sweat sliding down his cheek somehow carried a distinctly masculine edge.
The moment she saw him like that, Penelope sprang to mind. She turned to look—and sure enough, Penelope's eyes were already sparkling.
"Haa. That idiot."
Of course.
Berry knew full well that Penelope had her eye on Heracle. Precisely because she knew, she was trying all the harder to keep them from getting involved.
Love at first sight, she said…
Penelope had confided in her privately that his looks were her type. The truth was, most of the male cadets in the Mage Department looked more or less the same—scrawny, muscle-free frames befitting mages. Meaning she had fallen for him purely on the strength of his face.
And then.
"Gulp."
After a swallow of unknown origin—
Heracle flicked his fingers.
In that instant, the boulder exploded.
BOOOOM—!!!
"…?!"
Berry's eyes flew wide open.
Wh-what?
A sight she couldn't believe even with both eyes open. The moment Heracle flicked his fingers, the boulder lost its shape entirely. That enormous, unyielding mass that hadn't taken so much as a scratch—now it had shed every trace of its form, shattered to pieces and scattered across the ground.
Clatter…
The delayed sound of rubble raining down. Then the acrid air filling the training ground. Cadets scrambled backward, only now reacting.
"What the fuck. Cough!"
"He broke it? He actually broke it? Is that even possible?"
"D-did he use magic…? That bastard?"
"The boulder got pulverized…?! Fuck, that wasn't a scratch—he obliterated it!"
The incomprehensible always brought raised voices with it. Each cadet tried to pin some conclusion on what Heracle had just done. Shock, denial, jealousy—every reaction came mixed with a different emotion. But there was one fact none of them could refuse to accept.
"…He broke it. That bastard."
He had completed the assignment Instructor Angelina had given them.
"My arm hurts."
I pressed my throbbing arm muscles with my other hand, working the pressure points. It loosened them a little, but this wasn't the kind of muscle pain that would fade easily. I'd poured far too much power into it.
I overdid it trying to smash that rock.
Even at a glance, it looked tough enough that scratching it would have been a struggle. I'd figured even my Ultimate Physique wouldn't handle it casually, so I'd gone all out. I shattered the boulder—but my arm felt like it had shattered right along with it.
"…Oh my."
As I stood there kneading my arm in front of the collapsed rock, Angelina finally appeared from wherever she'd gone. Tap, tap. She drew up beside me, and her reaction was simple.
"What is this?"
Pure curiosity.
"I did say I'd give a reward to anyone who finished within the day, but I never imagined a cadet would actually manage it."
Half disbelief, half genuine admiration. Angelina's gaze slid toward me.
"Heracle, was it? You're the one who broke this?"
"Yes."
I answered flatly, without any particular expression. My arm hurt too much to bother with a reaction.
"Hmm. Impressive…"
She said it slowly as she approached the rubble, then picked up one of the fragments and examined it. That was when someone shouted from among the cadets.
"Instructor!"
"Yes. What is it?"
"You never know. That guy might have used some kind of sorcery!"
"…?"
Angelina blinked. I was just as dumbfounded.
Has he lost it?
He watched me smash it with his own two eyes and he was still denying it.
"That guy can't use magic, can he? I think he might have broken it with some other weird technique. Please take a look!"
"Th-that could be…"
At the cadet's accusation of foul play, the others quietly nodded along. None of them could bring themselves to believe it, so they climbed aboard the absurd narrative.
"Hmm."
Angelina glanced at the pile of rubble. Unswayed by the cadets' forced claims, she delivered her appraisal as an outstanding mage—
"It was magic."
"…What?"
A plain, undeniable fact.
"I can feel traces of mana on the rubble. When you mix mana into the wind and fire it off, this is what you get. It's a magical phenomenon, no question."
"Uh, uh…"
"Well, whether it was Wind Gun specifically, I couldn't say. The result is a little different from what Wind Gun produces. Even I don't know exactly what technique Heracle used, but…"
She shrugged and looked at me. Her eyes were thoroughly intrigued.
"…A pass is a pass. Heracle gets a perfect score."
A perfect score. Heracle Leonhardt, who until now had never received a single practical grade, had just earned full marks. Every mouth in the cadet body fell shut.
"And the cadet who called it sorcery? I remember you very clearly."
"U-uh, that's…"
"If you're going to slander someone, you should prove yourself first. If you fail to complete the assignment…"
The corner of Angelina's mouth curled upward. That smile alone looked like it could kill a man.
"…Look forward to it?"
"Hyeek!"
A pathetic little scream. Whatever. I had more important things to confirm.
"So I'm free now?"
"Yes. Heracle is free until the other cadets finish the assignment. Spend your time however you like."
Now that I liked. I hadn't been particularly interested—I'd only tried because of Berry—but the result had paid off. Time to wreck myself with some training.
Come to think of it, she said she felt mana.
I hadn't done that on purpose. With Magic Insensitivity, it was impossible anyway. My physical cheat must have produced a phenomenon so unrealistic it made a simple finger-flick of air look like magic.
Satisfied, I turned on my heel. Back to the spot where I'd left my rock earlier. I could pick up the dumbbell curls again from there…
Ah.
Over there, one person was staring this way with a blank look behind her glasses. Berry was boring holes through me with her eyes. It bothered me enough that I asked Angelina.
"Then what about Berry? It's a combined team score, so she gets a perfect score too, right?"
"Ah, you mean Berry. Of course she gets a perfect score. Switching teams turned out to be a good thing after all."
"Hmm."
Somehow I'd ended up doing someone else a favor.
Well. Whatever.
As long as this shut Berry up and kept her from getting in my way, that was enough.
"…"
Thud. Thud— I cut through the crowd. Every classmate standing in my path averted their eyes and stepped aside.
Tsk tsk.
They sure had plenty to say when they were tearing someone down. The second the result changed, look how quiet they got.
"Hey."
"…"
"Nothing to say?"
I finally stopped in front of Berry. She looked up at me with a dazed expression.
"Whew. Just don't mess with me anymore. I'll handle myself."
"…H-how did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"The boulder. How did you break it?"
Her voice was trembling quite a bit. Whatever happened to the girl who'd been snapping at me earlier? She'd turned into someone almost meek. Not that I needed to tell her anything. Even if I did, she wouldn't believe it.
"Skillfully."
"What?"
"Drop it. It's not something I can explain."
"…A-are you crazy? Where does that confidence even come from? Do you think saying stuff like that makes you look cool?"
Berry worked herself up all on her own, yapping away. I waved her off with a casual hand and sat down, picking up the rock I'd parted ways with a moment ago.
Time to train.
I should rest the sore hand.
Once I was done, I'd head to the temple for some healing.
While Heracle threw himself into his workout, Berry—who had already finished the assignment thanks to him—went looking for her friend.
"Congratulations, Berry. A perfect score."
"Mm."
Penelope greeted her with a bright, open smile. Normally, seeing that smile would have warmed her heart and blown her worries away—
"Heracle is really something, isn't he?"
"…"
"But how did he do it, hmm. I'm curious. Did you hear anything?"
"…No."
For some reason, this time it wasn't so easy.
"Haa."
Her head hurt. Berry sighed and pressed her fingers to her brow.
"Penelope."
"Hm?"
"I think I might understand why you're so hung up on Heracle."
"Ohoho, is that so?"
There wasn't a shred of doubt in that enchanting smile. Falling for someone was a terrifying thing. For the sharp, clever Penelope to be this thoroughly smitten…
I really do have to protect her.
She could admit Heracle had a few impressive qualities. But still—no. Penelope was her precious friend. She couldn't just leave her drifting around, lost over some guy.
That was all there was to it.