The Stairway to Adulthood
The academy students clashed in utter chaos at the end of the tactical training, yet no one was eliminated. The session concluded successfully.
Cesset had been mimicked so faithfully by Rai that the spectators who took his lines at face value later condemned him for ruthlessly abandoning his allies mid-battle.
But outside of calling him “cold,” every comment was glowing with praise. Despite the overwhelming disparity in numbers, he toyed with the students, slipped free from the encirclement with effortless grace, and employed a feint-and-counter ambush using his own decoy squads. The tactics left the entire academy in stunned admiration.
The final phase—students clashing against one another—especially thrilled anyone who had never witnessed a real large-scale battle.
Amid the fierce fighting, the students’ passionate leadership, the soldiers executing every order with flawless discipline, the thunder of weapons meeting shields, and the roar of battle cries across the field created a spectacle far more exhilarating than any grand formation charge.
Everyone who had visited the academy departed satisfied, and the instructors and students alike praised the training with boundless enthusiasm. For the next few days, anyone who had taken part would be known throughout the city as a legendary figure.
Philia, who had served as Rai’s aide during the exercise, had absorbed an enormous amount of knowledge. She would outperform everyone in the next session.
She had single-handedly dismantled four squads and scored a perfect 120 points purely by eliminating commanders. Normally that score would have been generous praise for any team; Philia had exceeded 100 points through sheer tactical command.
Of course, the generous score also came from encountering the soldiers Rai himself had led. Since witnessing his command from the sidelines, she had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Among the participants in the current tactical training, Philia was the only one to earn a perfect score. Yet she looked anything but pleased.
In the library, Philia closed the book she had been reading in frustration and shifted it to the growing pile of volumes beside her. She had already searched through more than ten books, but nothing useful had surfaced.
The abduction incident had already made her doubt Rai’s true identity. The tactical training had only deepened her curiosity.
A legendary warrior. Masterful tactics. Abundant experience commanding units.
No matter how many conditions she listed, no matching record appeared. Whether she adjusted his age upward or downward, the result was always the same. Even raising his age to the level of Imperial Commander Edelian—someone Philia had actually spoken with on multiple occasions—yielded nothing. If he were an obscure figure deliberately omitted from history, how could he possibly possess the skill to command a large force?
The more she investigated, the deeper the mystery surrounding Rai became. Philia finally closed the book with a sigh.
If the records were silent, the best course was to ask the living.
Fortunately, several instructors at the academy had fought on the front lines. Philia approached them one by one, asking about Rai.
No one had any information.
“Rai-sensei?” Paul swung his heavy sword as he answered. “He’s a remarkable man.”
“You know him well?” Philia asked, matching his sword-swinging rhythm.
When inquiring of an instructor, the best method was to train alongside them. Despite his advanced age, Paul’s youthful passion made sparring the ideal way to learn.
“I’ve only seen him since he arrived at the academy,” Paul replied. “He fought on the Northern Front.”
That single question had now reached every front: North, South, Central (formerly Eastern), and the newly renamed Central Front that had conquered Keilen Kingdom.
Every instructor gave the same answer: they knew nothing.
The Central Front had been active until the very end of the Era of Strife, after which most veterans either retired or— like Edelian—still remained active. Few instructors from that theater remained at the academy.
Philia had been quietly pondering whether the sparse records from the Central Front might contain the answer when Paul spoke up.
“I do know a little about the Redford name.”
“Redford.” Philia’s eyes sharpened with interest.
“The noble house that once reigned there fell. The family was full of strange people—different personalities, all of them eccentric.”
“Rai-sensei seems like the type who would understand.”
“Rai? He is indeed peculiar.” Paul chuckled. “But the Redford family was truly… well, the family itself was mad. Gamblers who sold off heirlooms, madmen, even people who must have been cursed—every single one of them had a deep flaw in character.”
“…Rai-sensei grew up the most proper of them all.”
Calling someone childlike “proper” might seem ironic, but Philia realized Paul was describing Rai’s actual upbringing.
“Anyway, he now only wears the noble title. The rest of the family has vanished without a trace; no one knows their current whereabouts. When I first met Rai I thought the Redford curse had returned and stood on guard. Of course, he turned out to be an excellent man.”
The words came from someone who clearly liked Rai. Philia nodded, unsure whether to feel relieved or unsettled.
As they continued talking, the swords in their hands never faltered. Philia’s stance remained perfect, her swings smooth and flawless. Even while her mind wandered, the tip of her blade never lost its edge. Paul watched her with a small, satisfied smile.
“Philia no longer needs me for training.”
“Eh?”
The only thing Philia ever heard from him was “let’s train together.” Students usually fled the moment he opened his mouth. Now he was saying training was unnecessary. She opened her eyes wide in surprise.
“Your fundamentals are nearly complete. You’ve trained diligently so far. You no longer need me to guide you; continued practice will perfect them. What you truly need now is advanced swordsmanship.”
“Thank you.”
Philia assumed he was praising her. He kept speaking.
“You seem close to Rai-sensei.”
“N-not quite that close…”
The awkwardness was already enough for Philia; she shook her head. The misunderstanding had already caused her enough trouble.
“How about requesting personal lessons from him?”
“Personal… lessons?”
“You’ve already proven it during tactical training. The things you learned by his side—managing soldiers, completing tactics, the countless small but vital pieces of knowledge that no book could teach—were invaluable. If you train with him, you’ll gain not only personal strength but a path to becoming a general.”
Philia’s question came next. “What do you think of Rai-sensei’s tactics, Instructor Paul? How much frontline experience does he have?”
Paul stopped his sword swing, stroked his chin, and pondered.
“At least a hundred battles. As an adjutant, not just a commander or staff officer…”
“…!”
Paul’s answer completely surpassed Philia’s imagination.
A hundred battles as a commander or staff officer? A name like that would be legendary across the entire continent.
“To become a commander, one must win countless victories. Very few commanders have fought over a hundred battles afterward. Most either retire in defeat or lose their lives long before that milestone.”
Such a commander would be well known. Yet no one seemed to know him.
“Why doesn’t anyone know about him?” Philia asked. “If his record is that exceptional, wouldn’t everyone have heard of it?”
“Look at the world as a whole. The Empire is merely one country on the western edge of a vast continent. There are many truly great figures out there.”
“…But Rai-sensei is from the Empire.”
“There is no rule that all experience must be gained within the Empire. Many careers go unrecorded.”
Paul spoke gently, the way a senior might advise a junior. He continued while Philia listened quietly.
“For example, there are mercenaries. Do you know any famous mercenary bands?”
“Moura’s band, Black Dragon’s Breath… those two are well-known.”
“They’re all Imperial-affiliated, right?”
Paul pointed out her mistake and began packing away the training swords.
“So Rai-sensei fought as a mercenary?”
“Only he would know for sure. Since no one else is aware…” Paul paused. “The headmistress probably knows. Either way, the fact that he is an extraordinary commander and warrior remains unchanged. Think about what I said earlier.”
After suggesting Philia ask for personal lessons from Rai, Paul left the training grounds. It was rare for him to depart first during practice.
Left alone, Philia walked home lost in thought.
If he really was a mercenary, his behavior made perfect sense—light conversation, easy camaraderie with soldiers, an adventurous atmosphere that fit perfectly with a mercenary or adventurer. Philia imagined a mercenary Rai laughing while capturing an enemy general and shuddered.
If he truly had been a mercenary, his reputation would be fearsome. She was chuckling at the thought when a group of students nearby raised their voices and she unconsciously ducked behind a wall.
“So who do you most want to be friends with? I’ll announce the popularity poll results.”
“That’s not how polls work. I’ve never voted.”
“People with loose tongues have no voting rights.”
The boys were playing their usual dumb game. They always pretended to be gentlemen, yet behind their backs they never stopped talking about the opposite sex. Philia, who knew the girls did the same, listened quietly.
Secretly eavesdropping was wrong, and she had no desire to hear the foolish ranking. Yet she couldn’t tear herself away.
“The top spot goes to…”
“The goddess, of course.”
“You really have to shout it like that?”
Aria was simply too beautiful; the first place was hers by right. Remembering her otherworldly beauty, Philia nodded in agreement.
Unconsciously drawn into their world, she heard the next rank.
“Second place…”
“The crown princess.”
“Damn it, are you challenging me?”
“That’s what everyone expected, right? What’s the point?”
Philia could hear the two of them wrestling without seeing their faces, so she mentally urged the next rank.
“Third place, guess!”
“Diana.”
“…!”
The student who had just read the rank closed his mouth. Diana was beautiful, bright, and had an easy smile that made anyone want to be friends. She was also skilled at everything, so when difficult tasks arose everyone naturally turned to her. She could not possibly be unpopular.
“This… I can’t get this one. Fourth place.”
“Um… there are too many candidates from fourth onward… um… Sena? Luette? Violet… no, Violet is cute but too weird, so the maniacs would probably vote for her.”
Philia waited through the long pause, then spoke up.
“Fourth is me.”
“...!!”
The moment her name was called, Philia covered her mouth in shock. So many attractive people at the academy, yet she had actually ranked? It didn’t make sense.
The other students, however, nodded as if they understood.
“Indeed. I kept forgetting about Philia.”
“Her popularity has steadily increased every time she fights. It’s like an unknown poet gradually gaining fame and performing at the palace.”
‘What kind of feeling is that?’
Philia could not understand the boys’ assessment. She stared with wide eyes, holding her breath.
“I didn’t know I would say this, but I want to be protected by her.”
“Even during the march I got goosebumps. She has this pull that makes you want to follow her.”
“I want her to look down on me with contempt and criticize me.”
“The way she trains is so cool. The sweat dripping down her jawline and exploding on her battle cry… I thought it was flower petals scattering.”
As praise continued, Philia’s cheeks flushed hotter. She had always received compliments on her appearance, but this raw, situation-specific praise left her utterly flustered.
“But Rai-kang will steal her away.”
“You think so? The girls just squeal. Rai-kang probably treats them all the same.”
“You must have seen Seria’s Day. Soon the Ball is coming, and Rai-kang will ask her to dance.”
It had been too much giving him those candies on Seria’s Day.
Philia wanted to shout that this was all a misunderstanding, yet she could only stand there in silence.
“Damn it… so the day he takes me to pick out a dress…”
“That’s right. The day Philia steps onto the adult stairway.”
“…But he’s an instructor. He shouldn’t touch a student.”
“You know he’s a scoundrel, right?”
Silence fell. Then footsteps sounded—someone standing up.
“Damn it, let’s go terrorize Rai-kang’s house.”
“You sometimes say the right thing, you know.”
“How about setting the whole place on fire?”
The students each cursed Rai’s name and left.
Philia, still red-faced and hidden behind the wall, finally exhaled the breath she had been holding.
Praise alone made her blush, but the thought of stepping onto the adult stairway with Rai left her heart pounding so hard she could barely breathe.
She needed time to calm down.
“I’ve been looking for you. Why are you hiding here?”
There was no time to wait. Rai himself appeared before her.
“What’s up? Did you see something strange? Why is your face so red?”
Philia could not answer. She pressed herself against the wall and turned her face away. The strange atmosphere was only heightened when her limp hand touched the wall, yet Rai ignored it and grabbed her wrist.
“…!!”
Philia’s eyes widened in shock as Rai pulled her along, saying, “Come with me for a moment. I have somewhere to go in the city.”
Normally she would have asked where, but after hearing that strange remark she offered no resistance and simply followed his hand.
The adult stairway—those three words dominated her mind completely. She was not in her right mind at all.