95. No, I Have Friends Too!
95. No, I Have Friends Too!
It was that time of the week when everyone scattered in all directions.
In History of the Different Races, the elective I took separately, students from various non-human races all attended the same class.
The academy sent many students abroad to study, after all.
Before the lecture began, someone approached my seat.
He was a man of similar height to mine, but his bulging muscles, which looked ready to burst, made him seem far shorter.
The most peculiar feature was, of course, his well-trimmed beard, long enough to reach his stomach.
The beard, woven in a complex braid, had several golden ornaments attached to it.
It was Hal Baud, a dwarf from Class 2.
"Hey, sword-slinger, have you finished next week's assignment yet?"
He came over casually and asked.
I had somehow ended up getting to know a few familiar faces in this class as well.
In the first week, so many bad rumors surrounded me that everyone was reluctant to approach, but after a few duels and such, the non-human races—who cared nothing for human political squabbles—were the first to step forward.
The dwarf Hal Baud never called me by my name, always referring to me as the sword-slinger.
He said he'd seen me brawling with Class 1 in the hallway during the first week.
"No, not yet."
"Oh, so you haven't finished either?"
"I always finish the day before, so I haven't even touched it yet."
"Always looking so confident, huh... I envy that about humans."
"I'm just throwing things together, and you call it confidence..."
"Kreuk! I haven't laid a hand on it myself...! Isn't this assignment just too vicious?!"
Hal Baud clenched his fist in frustration.
But I knew the truth.
This dwarf's attitude definitely wasn't just because the assignment was hard.
"Isn't it just because you don't want to write about elven history?"
"That's right...! If it were an assignment on our dwarven political system like last time, I could write all about it!
I could write plenty about the Empire's history too... but an assignment on elven tribal society structures...!! Isn't that too much?!
Aren't elves just savages living in crude huts in the forest, going ooh ooh?!"
"Who's spouting that bullshit! You dwarf shitbag!!"
Someone yelled from behind Hal Baud.
It was an elf with short green hair that gave off a refreshing vibe, and strikingly long ears.
She wore human clothes like the other students, but draped over her shoulders was a piece of white cloth that looked highly exotic.
Sindi Reu Ga, wearing the pure white silk that signified elven nobility, snapped angrily at Hal Baud.
"What?! Elves are savages?? Then what does that make you, digging around in the dirt and burrowing in dust like moles??"
"What?! You damn pointy-eared wench...!! Hey, come outside and duel!!"
"You think I can't?!"
The two bristled at each other as if they were about to fight at any moment, but they never went as far as a duel.
Up until about the second week, people would get nervous thinking they really would duel, but by now everyone was so used to it they didn't even glance over.
As adults representing their races and sent to the academy, they were well aware that actually fighting here would only cause an uproar.
"Keke... ah, I'm really glad I left my tribe. Every single day is entertaining."
The humans were only sneaking glances, but there was one who was laughing openly.
He was a beastman with vivid orange fur splotched with black stripes and round ears.
He was Bolte Jin, a tiger beastman counted among the strongest even among beastmen.
This guy was always thrilled watching those two argue.
"You didn't do the assignment either, right?"
"Do I look like I did?"
"Absolutely not."
Those who came to the academy with a recommendation letter were all precious assets.
They were also eccentrics who came from distant lands, thinking they'd try living among other races.
"Now then, let's begin the lecture."
The lecture hall, which had seemed like it would stay noisy, fell eerily silent the moment the professor walked in.
As I expected, those two were probably just pretending to argue.
.
...
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...
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...
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...
When the lecture ended and I came out, Amy was waiting for me.
"What's the matter?"
"We have a big problem!"
The story Amy told me was absurd.
"Casey hit someone?"
"Yes. Instructor Andy told me to tell Atlas."
The story was that Casey, who hadn't been a transfer student for long, had fought two classmates, and Andy had to stop them.
Since Andy had specifically asked me to come, I rushed over.
'At this rate, it's like I'm going to the police station to pick up a kid as her guardian.'
I was indeed still Casey's guardian.
Casey was inside Andy's private office.
I had heard that three people fought, but only Casey was inside.
Casey was completely unharmed.
She stood upright with a stoic expression, her gaze fixed on the floor, fidgeting with her hands.
Standing like that, she looked exactly like a child.
"Casey..!"
"..!"
As I entered the office, Casey's shoulders flinched.
I couldn't detect a change in her expression, but her actions were exactly like a child caught in the act.
When I went inside, Andy smoothly rose to his feet.
"How serious was it that you called me?"
"They got into an argument and three of them fought. One got hospitalized... I gave the other a stern talking-to and sent him off. She's not really something I can handle... you talk to her."
"It won't blow up into a bigger issue, right?"
"The one who lost a tooth will probably make a fuss, so you handle that somehow. The other used magic in the hallway, so he broke the rules too, and we agreed not to escalate."
"Magic in the hallway?"
"Yeah, it startled me..."
There was a reason why people only used fists or cold weapons when fighting in the hallways.
No matter how chaotic and sloppy the academy rules were, a certain line existed.
The core principle was that you never, ever used magic or Aura Blades inside a building, no matter what.
Because if someone got emotional and fired off large-scale magic in a cramped indoor space, the expensive building would be wrecked and casualties would be far worse.
Perhaps because of that rule, the 'Swordsmanship Research Club,' which specialized in indoor brawls, had maintained a consistently high status from the old days right up to now.
The combat magic generally taught was fundamentally made up of spells developed to effectively massacre large numbers of people on the battlefield.
Attempting to use something like that was nothing short of a terrifying notion.
"I'll head out now, so give her a good talking-to..."
Having said that, Andy left his office.
Andy was uncomfortable around Casey.
Putting Casey's personality aside, the reason was that Casey was far stronger than Andy.
Since I became an executive, Senior Andy hadn't had many occasions to talk with me, but he had seen me coming and going many times.
And he had seen me bring Casey in and raise her.
Seeing that small Casey had, in a short time, reached the realm of high-level Expert or above and joined the knight order, the other regular members feared her.
They said the reason they feared her was because her aura somewhat resembled mine, or something like that.
Where could you find a person who loves peace as much as I do? I hardly ever attacked first.
Once the two of us were left alone, Casey became even more sullen.
"So, did you win?"
"... Of course I won."
"Then it's fine."
"... You're not going to scold me?"
"Why would I?"
At those words, Casey bit her lip slightly.
She took a step back and then opened her mouth with difficulty.
"Right... you're not even my guardian."
"What is this girl saying..."
I seriously wondered if she'd hit puberty or something.
Every single thing she said sounded like a teenager feeling hurt by her parents.
"Because I believe in your judgment. And you didn't hit them for no reason either, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And I'm in no position to say anything to anyone about this. I beat down a lot of people as soon as I arrived too."
"... Because they deserved it..?"
"Yeah."
"But you should have done a better job... Knocking out a tooth was clumsy."
"Clumsy?"
"If it were me, I could hit someone so it only hurts. You learned that before."
"What's the point of a technique that only inflicts pain when you should be annihilating enemies..?"
"It helps break the will, not the body. This is a good opportunity. You've been avoiding me. Come on, sit."
"I wasn't..."
"Stop being stubborn. You ignored me when I told you."
"..."
I decided to have Casey sit comfortably and continue our conversation.
This was perfect timing.
She had been avoiding me, and now we even had a chance to talk alone in a space like this, which was perfect.
Casey averted her gaze and hesitated, then, realizing there was no escape, she quietly sat down.
"You didn't just come here for no reason. The one who helped you transfer... it was the Director, right?"
"... How did you know?"
"The brooch on your clothes is something only those who received a recommendation letter can get. But how would you ever get a recommendation letter... There's no one else but the Director."
"Brooch?"
Casey examined the brooch pinned to her chest.
"Aren't they all like this?"
"You weren't paying attention. Other students have them too, so you should be mindful later. Anyway, there's no way the Director sent you to the academy just to slack off, so you must have been given some sort of mission, right?"
"They said the incidents happening at the academy are unusual, so I'm to stand by."
"... That's true. It's likely to get worse in the future..."
The Director might seem laid-back, but that only applied to Shadows like me.
Even with surplus manpower, they were always shorthanded, so wasting personnel wasn't the Director's style.
Because suspicious movements had been detected continuously at the academy lately, it seemed they'd deployed one more person besides me.
"...."
"...."
For a while, no words were exchanged.
An awkward silence lingered, as if we were gauging each other, then I spoke first.
"Casey, I'm sorry for not contacting you. I was too absorbed and out of it."
"Now you say that..."
Casey lowered her head and bit her lip.
"... I'm sorry too for stabbing you."
It was something she barely managed to force out.
"... But haven't you really gotten dull..? In the knight order, you wouldn't even flinch if attacked while eating."
"Oh yeah? Want to spar for the first time in a while?"
"No, you're pathetically bad at it."
"Urgh..!! Getting all cocky just because you stabbed me once..!!"
Still, I decided to let her win this once.
Once things calmed down a bit, I'd have to firmly re-establish the hierarchy.
"Anyway, forget it. Since you're at the academy now, try at least making some friends. You've been cooped up in the knight order and have hardly seen any peers of the same gender."
"I don't need that."
"You need it, so try it."
It couldn't be helped, but the knight order was never a good environment to raise a child in.
It was a rigid organization, violent, hierarchical, and run by force.
I did my best, but I know that my best was never the absolute best.
I only taught her how to fight because she asked me to; I never wanted her to become a knight.
Was this why my sister sent me to the academy... I finally felt I understood a little.
Since we're here at the academy, I hoped Casey could be comfortable like other students her age.
"... But you, mister, have no same-sex friends your age, only the opposite sex, and plenty of them."
Casey pouted and said that.
She seemed full of complaints.
Damn, now that I thought about it, I really only had opposite-sex friends.
The male students at the academy were mostly bastards with foul personalities, making it hard to hang out.
Right now, if I approached them, most were spineless and couldn't even meet my eyes, or they were the type trying to stab me in the back.
"N-No, I have same-sex friends too..!"
"Who! I've never seen you hang out with a guy! All the male students in your class are scared of you, aren't they?"
"They're in a different class..!"
"Then show me."
Wanting to bluff, I ended up spouting random bullshit again.
I had some acquaintances I greeted in passing, but no one I could call a friend came to mind.
I had to make a friend right now.
But who should I call??