58. I Want to Become Stronger
58. I Want to Become Stronger
Lucia joined the morning training session.
She had been testing the waters little by little ever since Amy and Riber were hospitalized, and it seemed she had gotten their permission.
Lately, Riber and Lucia had been sparring a lot together.
Riber had asked Lucia why she didn't spar with Atlas...
"I don't want to... point a sword at Atlas..."
She said she found it hard to swing a sword at me, so she refused.
It was probably because I was small—a problem caused by my size—but she genuinely seemed afraid, so I let it slide.
Because of that, Lucia's sparring partner became Riber, who had wolfed down a bunch of elixirs while hospitalized and had his skills shot up to the intermediate level in one go... and he lost every match.
The defeats weren't overwhelming, so he seemed to keep his pride intact.
And just now, Riber, having lost another match, was talking with Lucia about the sparring session they'd just had.
"So... how did it go..?"
"So..."
Hmm?
Was something different about the topic...?
Listening closely, I realized Lucia was hearing from Riber about what had happened yesterday.
"What are you two whispering about?"
"Wah?! Atlas??"
"Were you talking shit about me?"
"Th-there's no way...!!"
She said she'd seen me going with the head of the Swordsmanship Research Club that day, but she hadn't seen what happened after that.
My face flushed as I listened to the two of them recount the embellished stories of what had happened in the club president's office.
"I hadn't heard that you had family at school... I want to know too..."
"What are you going to do by knowing?"
"...I want to know you better."
I answered Lucia's words instead of Riber.
.
.
.
.
Once I completely changed my way of thinking, we became incredibly comfortable with each other.
Hera thought of me like a real younger brother, and I thought of her as a real older sister.
No, it was more accurate to call her my real older sister.
After all, we were cousins who shared blood.
In my past life, I had memories of getting along with cousins without any formality, so I was able to treat her comfortably.
Of course, because of the memories of my mother that occasionally flickered across her face, a sense of distance would arise somewhere even when I tried to get close.
Hera, who had been talking with me, suddenly changed the look in her eyes.
"Little brother... any thoughts on joining the Swordsmanship Research Club?"
"Absolutely not."
Why on earth would I join the Swordsmanship Research Club?
At best, it was only at a student level here, and the only thing I could gain from it was connections.
If I wanted connections, I'd join the Student Council or the Newspaper Club; there was no reason to join this place.
"I didn't see your first duel, but I saw the next one. Your swordsmanship suits our Swordsmanship Research Club the best."
Judging by what she said, it seemed she hadn't seen my first duel after all.
It was only natural.
Both of my duels happened during class time, and the weird ones were the kids who skipped class to watch them.
Being recommended after seeing my swordsmanship was a pleasant thing, but there was one more reason I couldn't join the Swordsmanship Research Club besides that.
"I don't exactly have good relationships with the members here..."
I had already built up way too much bad blood with the members here.
I had flipped out at the Newspaper Club, beat up the guys who came for revenge afterwards, and then beat up the guys who came this time too.
Even if I had no bad blood with the club president Hera, how could I be in the same club as the other members when my image with them was already so bad?
"Bad relationships... is that it?"
But Hera furrowed her brow and then jumped up, opening the door to the club president's office.
Outside the door, a bunch of club members were crowded around.
Some of their faces were familiar.
I saw the very people who had been beaten up by me.
Hera shouted loudly at them.
"Does anyone here have a problem with him!!"
""""No, ma'am..!!!""""
"See, that's what they say?"
Hera grinned after hearing the members' answers.
If you asked them right in front of her, of course they'd say no..!
'They all look like they have a problem though...'
"Hmm... if you're really uncomfortable, I won't push it anymore."
Seeing that my expression really wasn't good, Hera became dejected again.
I really liked how incredibly honest and easygoing she was.
If only she didn't resemble Asia, it would have been even better.
Perhaps she liked physical contact, as she would occasionally try to stroke my head. Being cousins, skinship was fine, but every time she touched me, it made me think of Asia, and I would flinch and avoid it.
Even at times like that, the way she became a little dejected was cute.
"If you're like that, there's going to be an exchange meeting with the Clover Academy from the Western Kingdom next time, so at least come and observe."
"Watching something like that won't change anything for me."
An exchange meeting with an academy from another country?
'...This never happened in the original story...?'
There was no episode in Academy's Devil Slayer about exchanging with another academy.
But after realizing what the difference was, I understood.
In the original story, around this time, the descent of a Great Demon that I had prevented occurred, and the whole world was in an uproar.
Now, since hardly anyone even knew that such a thing had descended, it seemed to be proceeding.
'If this is the case, everything that happens from now on will be completely unpredictable... Since it means it's peaceful, let's think positively.'
I was seriously lost in thought by myself when Hera tapped me on the shoulder. Tak tak.
"Hoho, you might change your mind once you see this unni's wonderful skills, you know? Your arms are too thin, little brother! Eat a lot of nutritious food and swing your sword a lot more, and you'll grow quickly. There, there."
Hera said that with a beaming smile, but I felt incredibly bitter.
Unfortunately, I had tried doing exactly that for over ten years, and it didn't work.
It was definitely said with very good intentions, but it cut me to the bone.
After that, we chatted a bit more before parting ways.
.
.
.
.
.
After hearing the rough summary, Lucia spoke seriously.
"....If you're not going to do other club activities anyway, isn't the Swordsmanship Research Club fine? It's one of the strongest clubs in the academy."
"Who am I going to learn from, that's so beneath me."
"Wow, look at that confidence..."
"Athletic clubs have a certain atmosphere. That kind of atmosphere makes me sick."
I couldn't stand the unique atmosphere of athletic clubs that try to haze new members to uphold an authoritarian top-down hierarchy.
If I... joined that place and got stressed by that kind of atmosphere again, a bloodbath might blow through the Swordsmanship Research Club this time too.
Not joining was a good thing for both sides.
"Come to think of it, is there some kind of exchange meeting with an academy from the Western Kingdom soon?"
"Ah... I heard about that too, they said something like that is happening."
Lucia seemed to have heard it somewhere as well.
Even just staying still, she had sparrows around her who would bring her information, so unlike her atmosphere, she surprisingly knew a lot.
"....At exchange meetings, the Imperial Academy always wins overwhelmingly, so everyone tries not to do them... it seems like this year, a proposal came from the Western Kingdom to hold one."
"Did a monster of a freshman like Atlas get admitted there too?"
At Lucia's words, Amy laughed and said.
"....?"
At that moment, I saw it.
Since they said people were coming from the Western Kingdom, Riber's shoulders flinched and trembled.
Riber's condition remained strange until the moment we parted ways after the morning training ended.
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After class ended, Riber came to find me separately.
"Atlas, I have something to say, do you have time?"
"What is it?"
Riber came with a somewhat hesitant posture.
The way he couldn't make proper eye contact and fidgeted with his fingers was cute.
"I was wondering if you could spar with me in the evening too."
"You want to train in the evening as well?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm....."
What was this sudden proposal... I wondered, but it wasn't a bad thing.
Because even though Amy was supposedly inheriting most of Hayden's destiny, I had decided to make Riber stronger too.
He had taken the elixir and gotten stronger last time, but he was still far short compared to the minimum target level.
If he wanted to increase the training time on his own like this, that was good for me.
"If that's what you want, I can do it."
"Thanks, as always."
When I readily agreed, Riber smiled brightly.
"But why the sudden change?"
".....Lately, I've been feeling a bit shabby..."
Riber had hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Everyone around me is strong. You too, and Miss Russell too... Amy doesn't try to spar or fight, but I know she's stronger than me."
The connection between Riber and Amy started when Riber stopped Amy from almost being bullied by a noble.
Up until then, Riber had thought Amy was weaker than himself, but lately, it seemed he had changed his mind.
To avoid becoming a demon's target, Amy usually hid a lot of her strength, but living together this long, you could at least confirm the minimum level of her skill.
What did Riber think when he realized that?
It probably wasn't a very optimistic thought. That must be why he asked to train together in the evening like this.
"I'm really in a lukewarm position, you know. It's not that I'm super weak, but I'm not super strong either, and since everyone around me is stronger than me, I started thinking that way."
"That's a good mindset. Then shall we start today?"
It was good that Riber had firmly made up his mind to become stronger on his own.
"Alright, I'll get ready..!"
Watching Riber smile brightly as he returned to the dormitory, I felt that if I expanded my aura a bit more, it would soon be necessary to start training his 'mindscape' as well.
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The Clover Kingdom, commonly known as the Western Kingdom, was located to the west of the Empire.
It was truly a nothing country, but there was only one reason it could border the Empire and endure.
It was a country where a Master, one of the very few on the entire continent, resided.
"So, what has become of the 'exchange meeting'?"
"The Imperial Academy has agreed, and we are currently discussing the schedule."
"It was mentioned that I would be accompanying them as an advisor for our Clover Academy, correct?"
"Of course it was."
In the royal castle of the Clover Kingdom, someone was receiving a report about the exchange meeting to be held between the Imperial Academy and the Clover Kingdom's academy.
A middle-aged man, arrogantly perched on the throne with his chin resting on his hand, smiled wide enough to tear his mouth as he listened to the report from the man bowing before him.
At first glance, it looked like the man sitting arrogantly on the throne was the king and the one bowing below was a subordinate, but the scene was somehow strange.
The person bowing had the crown and scepter that symbolized royal authority, and the middle-aged man perched on the throne merely held a single ornate sword.
"Sword Saint-nim, I will have everything prepared so you can depart next week."
"Yes, you should."
The one sitting on the throne was the master of the Clover Kingdom and the Sword Saint, 'Adolph Roang.'
And the one bowing his head before him was the true owner of the throne, the king of the Clover Kingdom, 'Arnouveau III.'
The Sword Saint, who had occupied the throne, stroked his chin beard.
"To sneak away into the academy as soon as she came of age, she really is a troublesome fiancée..."