Academy Life Begins
After eating the meal the young miss had brought for me, I left the infirmary feeling refreshed. The wound hadn't been that deep to begin with—it was just my mana that had run dry. Later, a medical sorcerer came by and cast a spell called Overchannel, which rapidly restored the target's mana, and just like that, I was back to full strength, ready to jump around.
"Aren, are you really okay? I could walk you all the way to your dorm..."
When we reached the fork in the road leading to our respective dorms, the young miss looked worried as she spoke up. Kaldir Dorm, used by Class C, was a bit farther from here, while Iferia Dorm for Class A was right next door. And yet, she was offering to escort me there anyway.
She really worries too much, our young miss.
"You're overdoing it. Don't worry—just head back, wash up, and get some good sleep. You just ate, so make sure to brush your teeth thoroughly, got it?"
"Tch, I'm not a kid..."
I teased her as I turned her around, and she pouted but still waved goodbye. I waved back with a grin before heading toward Kaldir Dorm.
"Ugh..."
As I climbed the stairs and reached the dorm entrance, a sigh escaped me immediately. To the left was Kaldir Hall 1 for women, and to the right, Kaldir Hall 2 for men. Even at a glance, it was worlds apart from the pristine Iferia Dorm I'd just passed—mostly in a bad way.
"Welcome. You must be Aren."
"Professor Eldom. What brings you here?"
Stepping into the aged building, a familiar face greeted me. It was Rudin Eldom, the male professor who'd stood at the front during the spirit and summoning class earlier. His frail-looking face had stuck in my memory vividly.
"Well, I'm the dorm supervisor for Kaldir Hall. You're back sooner than I expected, though. Everything okay with your injuries?"
"Yes, no issues. Once my mana recovered, I was good as new."
"That's a relief. I wasn't thrilled hearing that one of our department's students got caught up in something unfortunate on the first day of enrollment."
He let out a sigh, patting his chest, and I could sense his sincerity. He had this kind, motherly vibe to him.
"It's late—go on up, wash up, and get ready for bed."
"Which room is mine?"
"You'll be in 204. Get along well with your roommate."
"Will do."
Having dorm experience from back in the day, I wanted to get along with my roommate as much as possible—as long as he wasn't the type to grind his teeth all night, skip showers for days, and half-ass cleaning.
Thud. Thud.
Climbing the stairs to the second floor, I was greeted by an unexpectedly quiet hallway. Back when I was in an all-boys school, there was always at least one lunatic prowling the halls. The difference was jarring.
I wonder who my roommate will be.
Bang!
The unoiled door creaked as I kicked it open forcefully. On a rickety bed sat my roommate, who turned and lit up when he saw me.
"Oh? Aren! You're safe!"
"What? You're my roommate?"
With neatly trimmed brown hair fluttering, he jumped off the bed and rushed over. It was none other than Theo.
"Thanks so much for saving me earlier. I passed out like an idiot and ended up being a burden... I wanted to visit you in the infirmary, but others were already there."
He bowed deeply at the waist in gratitude. The guy really seemed kind-hearted and diligent to a fault.
"No need for that. Plenty of people already visited."
"Still, you're the one who saved my life—feels bad. And now we're roommates too? Must be fate!"
Clasping his hands together, he beamed at me. Honestly, I wasn't sure about the "fate" part, but seeing how thrilled he was made me smile despite myself. At least it was someone I knew.
"Seeing you here... does that mean you're in Class C too?"
"Yeah. The exam got halted when I only had one gem left."
Figures. So I'd be seeing this guy—this protagonist—every class with the C-listers from now on. Might be more comfortable keeping him in sight, actually.
After chatting, we got ready for bed and hit our respective bunks.
"Yawwwn..."
It was six in the morning, everyone still asleep. I stretched my mouth wide in a yawn and got out of bed. Theo on the opposite bunk was still deep in dreamland.
"Ugh..."
The aftereffects of yesterday's fight hadn't fully worn off. My back and body felt oddly stiff as I loosened up and left the room.
"Brr, cold."
March was still gripped by flower-thaw chills, and the dawn air bit deep. Why drag students out at this ungodly hour for class anyway?
Reaching the clearing a short walk from where I'd parted with the young miss, I saw knight department girls already gathered. Late? I hurried over, drawing glances from the crowd.
"Why the hell are we meeting at dawn?"
"Right?"
"This isn't the army..."
"Should've stayed home."
As grumbled complaints erupted here and there, a woman descended the stairs—the last to arrive at the clearing. It was Azela, the chief proctor from yesterday's class placement exam.
"Greetings, cadets! I'm Azela, your new Class C homeroom professor starting today. You know my name already, I trust?"
"Yes!"
Her booming response at 6 AM—when normal throats would be hoarse—was unbelievable.
"Unfortunately, you all landed in Class C after yesterday's placement exam! To climb higher from here, you need to build foundations stronger than swordsmanship or mana control. And that's physical fitness!"
"Physical... fitness?"
"Exactly! Fitness is national power! With that in mind, everyone—put one of these on!"
With her lengthy preamble done, she kicked a basket forward.
"What's that?"
"Ankle weights?"
"Looks like it."
Not knowing what they were, we each grabbed one and strapped it to our ankles.
"...?!"
Suddenly, my body felt crushingly heavy. I widened my eyes in shock.
"Wh-what is this?"
"Felt like my body just got heavier..."
The other students murmured in unison. Azela smirked triumphantly, as if we'd fallen right into her trap.
"These are mana-suppressing restraints! From today, you'll run laps every dawn wearing them. This is the shortcut to a healthy body! Understood?!"
"Eek...!"
"Run without using mana?!"
"What kind of outdated crap..."
Groans burst out everywhere at the unilateral order. But I was on board. The Roze Tail family had similar training.
Smart. It's about building real muscle instead of relying solely on mana.
Lady Camilla had said something like that too—modern knights leaned too hard on mana for their swords, neglecting the body. This was a brute-force way to fix it.
"Then, company—forward march!"
"Gaaah!"
"Save us!"
Azela's command unleashed wails from the nearly thirty students.
After sweating through the morning run and showering, I arrived at class feeling invigorated. That jog was nothing compared to sparring with Lady Camilla.
"Hmm, hm-hmm."
Even humming a tune drew stunned looks from my classmates.
"How's that guy got such stamina?"
"Seriously. And we're dying."
"Humming through this..."
Tsk, fools. Should've built your bodies sooner. Not like mages—as knight hopefuls, you wasted time blasting mana instead of training.
You lot are in for it.
Lady Camilla, thank you.
I sent a quick prayer of worship to my farsighted mentor.
Oh right, first period was club recruitment or something—no class. That's why the room was so rowdy. Hallways were packed earlier too.
Should I check it out? Nothing to prepare, probably.
"Hey, mind if I ask something?"
"Uh? Ack, um... Huuuh?!"
I tapped one of the three girls behind me, and she reacted weirdly. What, broken puppet? Modern puppets mimic speech now?
"Nothing big—just heard about club recruitment today. How do you join?"
"Oh, just wander the booths. Seniors are promoting. You can follow them."
"Got it, college club fair vibe."
"Thanks."
"Um, wait!"
I turned to leave after getting the info, but she stopped me—then fidgeted without speaking.
"That terrorist yesterday... you took him down, right?"
"Nah, just helped Lady Bronheim."
Telling it straight, their eyes sparkled in unison.
"That's huge...! Heard he was Sword Expert level?"
"Yeah, something like that."
I gave a wry smile at their excitement, like boys hearing hero tales.
"Gulp."
"Hah..."
I waved to their dazed faces and left. Nice kids.
"Hey, Aren, right?"
"Huh?"
Crossing the hall, an unfamiliar voice stopped me. Turning, I saw the girl from my morning run formation.
"Sorry to call out suddenly. Interested in the Swordsmanship Club by any chance?"
"Swordsmanship Club?"
"Yeah. My sister's the club president."
"Hm..."
Sounds like she had a senior sister there. Straight-up sword research club, tempting—but I shook my head.
"Sorry. Need to think it over. Still got more to see."
"Fair enough. If nothing clicks, tell me."
"Sure."
As I walked off with a smile, a short sigh followed.
Wow, total chaos. Freshman halls and even outside the main building overflowed with flyer-handers and sign-wavers.
Nothing really grabs me, though. No rule saying I have to join—could just skip.
"Aren! There you are!"
"...Theo? What're you doing here?"
As I thought that, Theo—whom I'd run into way too often, like he was tailing me—pushed through the crowd.
"I wanna start a club, but need five members for approval. Wanna join if you're free?"
"What club?"
I asked, and he beamed, unfurling his application form.
"The Baking Club!"
"...Baking Club?"
It felt about ten billion light-years from my world.