Chapter 46
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 46
Step. Step…
Inside the pitch-black building, where not a single lantern or candle was lit, the sound of cautious footsteps echoed.
The silence was as heavy as the thick darkness, making each step sound exceptionally loud.
Marie glanced down the hallway, first to her left, then to her right. There was only an abyss of darkness, a dead space devoid of life. Forget a guide; there wasn't a soul in sight.
However, she could clearly hear the faint sound of breathing coming from somewhere nearby. She walked toward it.
Step. Step…
When she reached a certain door, she could hear breathing from the other side. It sounded like several people sleeping, not just one. But was it alright to open the door? Should she knock?
Marie didn't have the confidence to shatter the icy silence. All she could do was stand there, frozen.
Leaning her back against the wall, she set her luggage down and lowered her head. For the first time, a wave of weariness washed over her.
After some time had passed, a door to another room opened, and someone in pajamas stepped out. A single candle on a small plate in her hand cast a faint, flickering light.
Marie snapped her head up.
"Oh? Excuse me…"
It was the first person she had met since arriving at the girls' dormitory. But just as she was about to ask for help, the female student holding the candle simply stared at Marie for a moment before walking right past her. Huh?
Dumbfounded, Marie blinked. A moment later, the sound of trickling water echoed from what seemed to be a restroom. The student in pajamas emerged once more.
This time, she didn't even spare Marie a glance, showing no curiosity toward the stranger in the hall.
Click.
The door closed, and silence descended again. Marie felt it with stark clarity: I'm not welcome here. A sense of helplessness weighed heavily on her chest.
And so, she spent the night in the hallway.
*
As time passed, dawn broke. Marie was crouching against the wall, half-asleep, when the door directly in front of her suddenly swung open.
A crowd of female students wearing stained aprons poured out, and almost simultaneously, others flooded out from different rooms. Startled, Marie scrambled to her feet, her legs stiff and numb.
Yet, the students in aprons only stole glances at Marie; not a single one spoke to her.
They were far too busy, fetching water, gathering laundry, sweeping, and mopping the floors—fully occupied with menial chores. It was like watching a group of maids.
The squeak, squeak of the water pump and the shhh, shhh of laundry being scrubbed filled the air. The sounds of fires being lit, cauldrons being set to boil, and frantic footsteps were everywhere.
The oppressive silence of the previous night felt like a lie as the everyday noises of life filled the girls' dormitory. Yet, in the midst of it all, Marie remained utterly isolated.
She could only stand blankly in the middle of the hallway, watching the girls bustle around. Even when she tried to speak to them, they ignored her as if she were invisible.
It wasn't until late morning that the bustling noise subsided. The students who had slept in began to toss and turn, finally waking up.
One of them stretched lazily, scratching her stomach with a half-asleep expression as she stepped out of her room.
Spotting Marie, she said, "Are you new? There should be an empty spot in that room over there."
She then let out a massive yawn and shuffled toward the restroom, dragging her half-worn shoes.
Marie knew instinctively. Only after receiving that girl's permission could she finally enter a room.
Though invisible, it was clearly palpable: the students here were not equal. An unspoken hierarchy unique to this place governed their lives, entirely distinct from the outside world.
Dragging her exhausted body, Marie entered the room the student had pointed out. Four girls were still asleep, while the other beds were neatly made without a single wrinkle.
Beside each bed was a small dresser for personal belongings. She spotted one bed that had absolutely nothing on or around it. That seemed to be her spot.
Marie unpacked her things, folded her clothes into a drawer, and leaned the Famed Sword Ricky against the wall.
Outside the window, she could see the academy's courtyard, where boys were washing themselves shirtless at the well. Even though the building had indoor plumbing, the students who didn't want to wait in line simply came outside to wash.
Marie sat cautiously on her bed and looked around the room. Around that time, the students who had been acting like maids since morning entered carrying trays.
On the trays were freshly picked raspberries, plums, roasted sweet potatoes, cheese, and ham. They carried them over to the sleeping students and gently called out to wake them.
"Rhea. Rhea, I brought breakfast."
"Kaylee, I brought your food."
"Mmm… thanks."
The girls groggily sat up, but the one named Kaylee refused to budge. Strangely, even though they could have shaken her awake, they didn't lay a finger on her, choosing to wake her only with quiet words.
"Kaylee, I brought your food. Kaylee."
To Marie, this was bizarre. Even her own nanny used to whip the blankets off to wake her up.
Since there was no sign of her waking, the student trying to rouse Kaylee looked miserable. But then—
"Kaylee. Kaylee. Kay—"
"Ah, fuck! I said I got it!"
Kaylee irritably flung her blanket aside and sat up. The other girls flinched.
"Hey, do you think I'm deaf? Know when to stop. You're like a damn mosquito! Why are you being so annoying?!"
"...I'm sorry..."
Surprisingly, it was the maid-like student who apologized, gently placing the tray on the bedside table.
"Hey, watch your temper. What did she even do wrong?" one of the other girls who had woken up late chided.
"Ugh, that bitch kept nagging me."
"Sigh… Tsk, tsk, tsk."
The girl shook her head and clicked her tongue. It seemed this wasn't a one-time occurrence; she had half-given up.
As Marie watched this unfold, the girls eating on their beds began to stare at her. They looked at her, then at the sword leaning against the wall. Their gazes swept up and down her body, clearly looking down on her.
Anyone could tell she was a newcomer, yet none of them spoke to her either.
After finishing their breakfast, the girls leisurely got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to wash. The maid-like students had already warmed the water for them. After washing, the girls returned to the room, dressed, and began grooming themselves in front of bronze mirrors.
They chattered away, mostly about the city and the male students—who liked whom, who confessed and got rejected, how so-and-so was kind of a loser.
Around noon, they had another meal. Only in the afternoon did they finally head outside. The leftovers they left behind were eaten and cleared away by the students who had served them.
Marie was tired and hungry, but she couldn't sleep while the sun was still up. She got up and went outside.
As she strolled around the academy grounds, she noticed a group of the maid-like students gathered in the backyard of the girls' dormitory. Intriguingly, Boribori was at the center of the group, fiddling with something.
"You do it like this. Yeah. Just tie it like this, see?"
He seemed to be teaching them how to weave something out of plant stems. The other girls watched in fascination, chatting among themselves.
"Boribori," Marie called out.
At her voice, all the students turned to look. The girls gasped as if they had seen a ghost, then quickly scattered.
"..."
"Oh? Marie! Did you sleep well? How is it?"
"Oh? Uh… I'm not sure yet. But what are you doing here, Boribori?"
"Me? When I'm not with Ricky, I mostly hang out with the girls. I get called girlish all the time anyway. Besides, I'm not good at holding back during sparring, so I've broken other kids' bones a few times."
"I don't think liking flowers and grass makes you girlish," Marie said. "It's just something you like."
"Is that so? Well, whatever. It doesn't matter anymore."
Boribori just smiled brightly. Seeing his cheerful face made Marie's bleak mood lift slightly.
"Where's Ricky?"
"He said he's establishing discipline."
"Huh?"
"I don't know. He said he needed to whip the kids into shape. I don't really get that kind of stuff."
"Ah, right. He's rank number one…"
"The number one rank doesn't necessarily have to do that, but since Volka isn't here, I guess Ricky is stepping up. And since he's a noble, it's probably better if Ricky does the beating. Yesterday, one guy almost died but barely survived."
Marie had heard about Volka on her way here with Rickert and Boribori, so she understood to some extent. But why was it better for Ricky to do the beating because he was a noble? That didn't make much sense.
"It's better if Ricky beats them?"
"Huh? Oh, well, there's… a reason for that."
"You're just as bad at lying as I am. Alright, I won't ask."
"Thanks. By the way, have you eaten?"
"No."
"Then let's go eat."
Boribori dusted himself off, stood up, and led Marie away. He held a bundle of flowers in his hand, as if he had received them as a gift.
"Wait here for a second. I'll be right back."
Boribori left Marie outside for a moment and slipped into the Inner Keep. Marie peered inside cautiously, wondering if she might spot Ricky. However, she quickly looked away as several boys walked through the building. Every single one who passed turned to look at her.
Just then, a voice called out, instantly clearing her sleep-deprived, groggy mind.
"Marie?"
Marie flinched and turned around. It was Rickert, walking down the hallway.
"Oh?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Ah, I was waiting for Boribori. We're going to eat together."
"Really? I was just about to eat too. Come on in. Let's eat together."
"...Is it okay for me to go in?"
"Why not? We have classes in this building anyway. Come on, get in here."
Rickert spoke casually, but it was an unwritten rule that female students weren't supposed to enter the Inner Keep outside of class hours, just as male students couldn't enter the girls' dormitory.
Of course, if Rickert was the one bringing her in, the rules didn't apply.
However, from the windows of the girls' dormitory, eyes were watching Marie. Unfortunately, they couldn't see Rickert standing inside the Inner Keep.
Just then, Boribori returned with an armful of food, and the three of them entered the Inner Keep together.
As Marie stepped inside, boisterous shouts echoed from the hand-to-hand combat classroom.
"Pankration! Pankration!"
"Kill him!"
"Rip his head off!"
"Nice!"
Marie's eyes widened, wondering what on earth was going on. But Rickert and Boribori calmly led her up to the second floor and into an empty classroom.
They took seats by the window and began to eat. Below the cliff where the academy stood, an open field stretched out as far as the eye could see. Perhaps because the building had once functioned as a fortress, the view was incredibly vast.
A cool, gentle breeze drifted through the window.
"How is it?" Rickert asked Marie.
"Hmm? Oh, well, I'll have to adjust bit by bit."
To be honest, Marie felt a strange and uncomfortable vibe in the girls' dormitory, but she didn't want to go into detail. It felt too much like tattling. Besides, she felt genuinely comfortable with Rickert and Boribori. They were an odd pair—mature and occasionally eerie, yet pure at the same time.
Most of all, she liked that they were free of prejudice. They made occasional slips of the tongue, but there was never any malice behind their words.
"It looks like we need more new students to arrive before classes can start," Rickert said. "Do you want to go to the city tomorrow? There's a friend I want to introduce you to. His name is Molty. He used to be a student here, but now he's a blacksmith's assistant. He's married, too."
"Oh, really? Sure, let's do that."
Getting married at seventeen or eighteen wasn't particularly rare, so Marie wasn't surprised.
She chatted casually with Rickert and Boribori, and only returned to her dormitory in the late afternoon.
However, when she walked back into her room, she found the girls who had woken up late that morning rummaging through her dresser without permission. They had even drawn her sword from its scabbard and were inspecting it as they pleased.
It was so utterly absurd that Marie was too dumbfounded to even feel angry.
"Excuse me…"
"Oh? You're back? My, you have a lot of nice clothes."
"This sword looks pretty high-quality, too. Did you sell your body or something?"
Marie frowned at the blatant insult. Choosing not to react, she spoke firmly. "Excuse me, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't touch my things without permission."
The girls snorted.
"Are you putting on airs just because you have some money from selling yourself? We just looked because the clothes were pretty."
"Does it wear out if we touch it? Are you saying we're dirty or something?"
"Are you trying to seduce Boribori just because he's a bit of an idiot?"
"We have our pride, too. This is an academy, not a brothel. Got it?"
Their sharp tongues flew like daggers, piercing Marie with accusations that weren't true. She was so bewildered she didn't even know where to begin refuting them.
Her heart pounded wildly at the unprecedented hostility. Still, she tried her best to remain calm as she spoke, though she couldn't stop her breath from trembling slightly.
"That's not what I meant. Just don't touch my things. Especially the sword—don't lay a finger on it. It's dangerous."
"Fine, we won't touch it. It's filthy anyway."
The girls carelessly threw Marie's clothes onto the floor. The drawers were left open, their contents completely disheveled. To make matters worse, they roughly tossed her sword onto the floor as well.
Clang!
Then, brushing past Marie's shoulder, they returned to their spots. They sat on a shared bed, whispering and giggling amongst themselves.
Marie quietly lowered her head, staring at her belongings scattered across the floor. Suddenly, Ricky's words came back to her: You have to establish your own principles.
Yes, let's establish a principle. I'll give them a chance. Anyone can make a mistake.
Marie turned to face the girls, who were still gossiping about her, and spoke.
"Apologize."
"What?"
"Is she crazy?"
At that moment, the girl with the worst temper, Kaylee, hardened her expression.
"Hey."
She got up from the bed and approached Marie. The other girls snickered.
"Care to say that again?"
"I said, apologize. Apologize for touching my things without permission and for speaking ill of my friend."
SLAP!
The moment the words left Marie's mouth, Kaylee slapped her across the face. Marie's head whipped to the side.
Yet, Marie didn't cry. She didn't even look surprised. She slowly turned her head back, her left cheek burning red.
The usual naive look in her eyes was gone. They were now as sharp and fierce as a hawk's.
Marie whispered, "Apologize."
Kaylee smirked cruelly and raised her hand to slap her again. Or rather, she tried to. Before she could, a flash crossed her vision, and she was sent sprawling to the floor.
Crack!
Thud.
Marie had struck first. Her movement was as swift as lightning, and because her blow was heavily infused with mana, Kaylee lay groveling on the floor, unable to get back up.
The giggling stopped instantly. The room fell dead silent. Students from other rooms who had been watching from the hallway gasped, covering their mouths in shock.
Marie approached the remaining girls.
"W-Wait…"
"I believe I gave you plenty of chances."
She drew her hand back and delivered a full-swing slap. The impact was so powerful it sounded as if the flesh of the girl's cheek might tear.
SMACK!
Not even a scream could escape. Terrified by the sudden turn of events, the remaining students trembled in fear. But Marie showed no mercy, slapping each and every one of them. They all went down in a single blow.
But she wasn't finished. Marie slowly raised her long-booted foot and stomped hard on one of the dressers.
CRASH!
The kick, packed with mana, shattered the furniture instantly, sending clothes and items scattering across the floor.
Step. Step. Step…
Marie walked slowly, haughtily, smashing the rest of the dressers one by one.
BAM! CRASH! BANG!
With every shattering sound, the onlookers flinched. After destroying all the dressers, Marie turned around, her voice as cold as frost.
"While I step out for a moment, you will personally put my things back in order. If you don't, I will tear out your tongues and cut off your wrists. This is your last chance."
It was good that she had established her own principles, but it did seem a bit excessive. Regardless, there were times when one person's principles became the rule for everyone—provided they had the power to back it up.
Marie walked out without looking back. The students watching from the hallway scrambled to make way for her.
From yesterday until just moments ago, not a single person had spared her a glance. Now, it was the exact opposite. Every female student stared at Marie, but she, in turn, paid them no mind.
Marie exuded a genuine noble grace, charisma, and dignity that was far from a mere imitation. The students found themselves unconsciously captivated by her presence.
By the time Marie returned after cooling her head outside, her belongings had been neatly restored to their original state.
Even without Marie giving any specific orders, the so-called "ladies" of the room had been practically evicted, forced to find space in other rooms now that the balance of power had shifted.
Though a storm had swept through, Marie remained calm. Unbothered by the atmosphere in the dormitory, she fell asleep.
The next morning, someone called out to her from outside.
"Marie! Marie!"
It was just around the time the maid-like students were waking up, and the voice belonged to a boy. For a male student to shout so openly toward the girls' dormitory, let alone call out someone's name, was almost unheard of. It required immense courage and risked making him look like a fool.
However, everyone who looked out the window gasped in surprise. It was Rickert, a boy who had never shown the slightest interest in girls.
He was the undisputed rank number one of the academy, the genius boy swordsman, the leader of the legendary group of nine at Beringen Academy, and an object of awe and envy. Yet, that very boy was cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting.
"Don't eat breakfast! Come on out! Let's go eat in the city!"
Marie smiled brightly, leaning out the window to shout back.
"Okay! Wait a second! I'll be right out!"
Marie washed up as quickly as possible, tidied her hair, dressed simply, and left the dormitory. With every step she took, the astonished gazes of the other girls followed her.
Rickert, who was waiting outside with Boribori, widened his eyes when he saw Marie's reddened left cheek.
"Did something happen?"
"No. Nothing."
"Why? What is it?" Boribori asked.
"Hmm… establishing discipline? Like you, Ricky?"
"...Huh?"
Since Rickert only had a vague idea of how things worked in the girls' dormitory, he simply let it go.
The three of them descended the cliffside stairs early in the morning and walked toward the city. As they walked, the sun rose, casting a brilliant light over the fields. It was spring.
Arc 9 – Establishing Discipline. End.