The Swordsmanship Class Begins Late
In the solemn atmosphere of the principal's office, Mira murmured while gazing at the body of a demon sealed in a bag before her.
Yeonha, in the form of Aria, along with Kana and Arin, had been quietly standing behind her, waiting to learn the reason for the current situation.
After some time, Mira finally turned her gaze toward Yeonha, who had dealt the final blows to the demons.
“Yeonha, I knew of your involvement through Aria's account, but I must say this is my first time meeting you in person. If things were normal, I would have offered tea and slowly shared the details with you. However, given the current situation, I will only discuss what must be said. First and foremost, I am truly grateful that you took the time to eliminate the demons who infiltrated our academy.”
“It's nothing much. It wasn't particularly difficult, and there was no real problem, so it's all good.”
Mira bowed her head excessively as she expressed her gratitude, but beneath that gesture, one could sense a sincere emotion of relief. I responded appropriately and nodded.
Once I accepted her thanks, Mira then turned her attention to Arin and Kana, who stood beside her.
Gently taking their hands, she lowered her head in embarrassment and spoke. “I have a request I must ask of you two. Can you promise to keep today's incident completely confidential?”
“Of course! I'll keep it secret…”
“Just a moment, Kana. Principal Mira, may I ask why we are not allowed to tell anyone about what happened today?”
Mira's request for us to keep the day's events to ourselves was met by Kana, who quickly understood and prepared to reply. However, Arin interrupted her and asked Mira for the reason behind the secrecy.
The question held sufficient justification. Since Arin and Kana had unintentionally become entangled in this incident, it was only natural that they wanted to know at least the minimal reason behind it.
“…”
Mira remained silent for a moment in response to Arin's inquiry.
Even if Mira refused to provide the reason here, Arin would likely keep the incident secret from everyone regardless. That was simply who Arin was—someone who would trust and follow without knowing the details, no matter how suspicious it might seem.
However, Mira was not so brazen as to simply demand secrecy without offering any justification.
“If you must know why… Well, it is embarrassing to admit, but I do not wish to spread word of this event throughout the academy, which would tarnish its reputation. Moreover, the demon's movements suggest a national issue. If the king hears about it before the demon invasion of the Fhara Kingdom becomes public knowledge, it would be disastrous.”
“Ah, I see…”
Mira honestly revealed the personal and public reasons behind the secrecy. Arin nodded her head in understanding of the inescapable logic.
After all, the mere fact that demons had entered the human kingdom was an enormous problem. If the rumor spread unchecked in the current state of affairs, the kingdom would face dire consequences for some time.
This was also the approach taken in the game, secretly concealing details to avoid escalation.
And because of this, Mira lowered her head to us with an expression devoid of her usual playful mischief, urging us to continue as usual.
“Then, I must hurry to handle these demons. Please continue with your usual activities, everyone.”
“Yes, goodbye.”
“T-take care.”
“Goodbye…”
With a loud click, the door to the principal's office closed behind me. I stood there staring at Arin and Kana, who still looked half-dazed beside me.
Earlier, confusion had prevented us from fully processing the situation. Now, however, a torrent of thoughts overwhelmed me, leaving us in a state of bewilderment.
But since we would soon sort everything out and return to our normal routines, I took the first step forward and addressed the two who remained motionless.
“You two. I probably won't see you until lunch time. If you want to learn anything from me, come find me then. I'll be heading out first.”
“Yes, please go ahead!”
“Yes! See you later, sensei!”
Without waiting for my response, Arin and Kana called out their farewells to my retreating back. I immediately descended the stairs, out of their sight, and broke into a run.
Huh? Why?
Well, it's because I was three minutes late for the swordsmanship class. Hah, damn it.
* * *
Swordsmanship class was at two o'clock. Checking the clock, I realized the time was now 2:03. It was only four minutes until the start of real class.
How could I have been late on the very first class, right after proudly announcing my presence during the entrance ceremony and class roll call?
If such a catastrophe were to occur, I would have to kill myself out of shame.
“Uwaaaah! Why is the practical training ground so far away?!”
But it was already too late to change the fact that I was late. Given the diligent nature of all the students at Lu'a Academy, they were surely all gathered at the training ground. So, my only option was to come up with a plausible excuse.
Tap tap tap tap—!
“Avatar!”
[Skill Check – Would you like to select Aria?]
“Select!”
As I ran toward the practical training ground, I could not continue in Yeonha's body. So, I ran to a secluded area and switched to Aria's form.
The lack of filtering indicated that no one was around. Upon transforming into Aria, I accelerated even further toward the training ground. At the same time, I forced my stubborn mind to roll and thought, ‘Is it okay to be late? Reason… reason…’
Various thoughts raced through my head as I tried to find the optimal method. But as the training ground drew nearer and no suitable excuse came to mind, I bit down hard on my teeth. Just as I was about to enter, a brilliant idea flashed in my mind.
I wasn't the only one late. Arin and Kana from the main building were also late, right?
Then…
Squeak—
I opened the door to the practical training ground. As expected, all the students in my class were gathered there, except for Arin and Kana.
“““……”””
As I entered, the students' gazes turned toward me, sharp enough to sting. I ignored them and scanned the group, letting out a long sigh.
“Haa… I was thoughtful enough to arrive three minutes late just in case some of the guys who ate lunch were still full. But two seats are still empty.”
At my words, the students finally looked away from me and began counting their own numbers.
Total enrollment: 53 students. But here, excluding Arin and Kana, there were 51.
So, I inwardly apologized to Arin and Kana, who were running their hardest to catch up, while forcing a stern expression and lowering my voice.
“Please hold off on the class until those two empty seats are filled. And as for you all in my class, I expect you to know what happens to students who are late in my subject. I will demonstrate it through those fools over there.”
Sorry about this, guys. I mean it as an apology by lightly punishing you with physical correction.
* * *
In the corridor in front of the quiet principal's office, Arin and Kana stared at each other, trembling with fear.
Was it the cold? No. Even if it were, the reason for their trembling had nothing to do with the temperature.
What they were staring at was, of course, a single clock. And it read 2:05.
“Um, Kana… When was our class supposed to start?”
“As far as I remember, it was supposed to start on the hour at two o'clock…”
Five minutes late.
Late, late… late… The word echoed in their minds like a phantom as they recalled Aria-sensei's words from yesterday's class.
“—I won't say anything else. As long as you three don't cause problems in my class, there's no chance of conflict with me. First, don't be late…”
There were more words afterward, but what mattered most right now was that one. So, without needing to say a word, both Arin and Kana rose from their seats at the same time.
Legs fueled by determination. Running at full speed. The finish line: arriving at the practical training ground.
“Kana, run faster!!”
“It's late!!”
To reach the destination one second earlier than the other. They began to run with all their might.