Lesser nobles, like barons, are often compelled to walk with constrained strides, believing that wider steps diminish their dignity.
While many students affiliated with the order mostly hail from commoner origins, there is a substantial presence of nobility-born students at Elinia Academy, who are well aware of this fact.
Yet.
Thud, thud, thud.
Theo walked with long, confident strides.
But to those observing from the order, his gait seemed as refined, if not more, than any noble they could compare him to.
In his walk, there was an unmistakable air of arrogance, a sense that he epitomized nobility itself.
“…Huh.”
However, no one seemed to take issue with that.
On the contrary, Theo's silent approach seemed to command the space, his presence felt even without a word.
Unconcerned with the stares around him, he scanned the order's students at the front of the stage intently, as if searching for someone.
“…”
Apparently not finding the person he was looking for, his brows knitted into a frown.
Approaching a student from the order at the front, he stood before them.
'...His presence is intimidating.'
The student, who had just been jostling with another from the Hero Department and wore a colorful face of makeup, thought to herself.
Theo glanced at her indifferently.
“Where is Alphs?”
"······Uh, well..."
He acted as if he were her superior, a demeanor she accepted quite naturally.
The girl quickly looked around.
“He, where is she? Haha… She’s usually in a corner somewhere.”
"Forget it."
Seemingly unsatisfied with her answer, he raised an eyebrow and moved on to the representative at the end of the line of students.
“Please pass this on to Alphs.”
He took a pouch from within his cloak and handed it to the representative.
The slightly open mouth of the pouch revealed the gleam of gold coins.
'This... It's not an amount an ordinary student would part with so easily.’
The representative's eyes widened as they looked down at the pouch.
By its weight, it seemed that all the donations collected from the order students combined might not equal the amount Theo had just offered.
The representative looked at Theo with a skeptical glance.
"Ah, I understand. You are Theo Lyn Waldeurk from the Hero Department, correct? Is there a message you wish to leave?"
"Please tell them to come to the Hero Department's training ground at 5 PM on Friday. However, if it is inconvenient for them, let them know there is no obligation to attend."
"Ah, I understand. Is there any additional message to convey, or is that all?"
"That's all."
With those words, Theo turned and left immediately.
"Ha... He's really something. Even his way of speaking is different."
The representative murmured as they watched Theo's retreating figure.
I frowned and stepped out of the hall.
Alphs seemed to be in a more dangerous state than I had anticipated.
In the game, she had been standing in front of the stage after the event, somewhat disheveled, but to think she would run away right after.
The keyword permeating Alphs's existence in the game is 'self-esteem.'
However, currently, she appears not just to be suffering from low self-esteem but might even be burdened with a severe mental disorder, such as depression.
The game is unnecessarily detailed in certain aspects.
Naturally, the mental disorders that appear are also detailed, ranging from depressive to neurodevelopmental and anxiety disorders.
Patients suffering from severe mental illnesses, whether in reality or in the game, often attach great significance to even the minor actions of others.
For example, a third party might simply offer a smile and a greeting, yet the patients cannot just overlook it.
They might ponder seriously what expectations the greeter has of them, or they may even take offense, nurturing animosity.
Therefore, after the event, I conveyed only a simple message to her.
The future of the game has already changed so much that it's difficult to guess her current state.
She requires delicate handling.
Abrupt moves are out of the question.
From what I saw in the [Night of Light], the miracles of Renimidism that first-year students affiliated with the [Order of Light] can perform are limited to just a part of the third miracle at most.
But once she regains stability, she can perform the entirety of the third miracle.
I know the method to restore her stability all too well.
It's simple: be there for her in every way possible until she can stand on her own.
But just because the method is simple doesn't mean it's not difficult.
The biggest problem we face is time.
Time that's already scarce for training must be generously allocated to her.
But what choice do I have?
She is irreplaceable, a winning lottery ticket confirmed.
In tasks where failure is not an option, setting side goals in addition to the ultimate one is more advantageous.
The first side goal... is to make Alphs see me as someone she can trust.
The next day, Thursday.
The morning of the fourth day of the Academy Festival dawned.
Near the Knight Department, Roy sat at a table in front of a quiet sandwich food cart, eating a sandwich.
He had barely slept for four hours.
Dark circles were somewhat concealed with makeup, but his eyes were visibly tired.
“Hahahaha…”
He’d been up since dawn trying to make up for the entire afternoon work time he’d lost yesterday.
Fortunately, there was a harvest of information.
Among the findings, the most significant was that Theo had taken an interest in a student named Alphs during the [Night of Light]—a name unheard of even by Roy, who was otherwise well-versed with the academy's ongoings.
Yet, this only added to the confusion in his mind.
Roy furrowed his brow in frustration and took a big bite of his sandwich.
"I really want to crack open my head and see what's gotten into it…"
Seria and Irene were both top of their class, coveted talents by anyone's standards.
However, Alphs was a student he'd never heard of before, even ranking at the bottom of the Knight Department and with no remarkable divine energy to speak of.
"Anyway... Today should be easier than yesterday."
During the Academy Festival, dozens of competitions are held daily, but today was an exception.
Only the [Martial Arts Competition] was scheduled.
The [Martial Arts Competition] boasted overwhelming popularity among the three major competitions of the Elinia Academy Festival.
Students enjoying the festival might skip other events, but they never passed on the [Martial Arts Competition].
"There's still quite some time before it starts."
Roy glanced at his wristwatch.
It was 9 in the morning.
The [Martial Arts Competition] wouldn't begin until 1 in the afternoon.
Still, there was a mountain of tasks ahead.
He needed to further investigate Alphs, a person related to Theo.
Where could she be right now?
The thought alone was beginning to cause him a headache.
“Phew…”
Roy sighed and got up from his seat.
‘First, I’ll check out the nearby [Order of Light].’
He threw the remnants of his sandwich into the trash and began to trudge away.
At the same time, inside the Hero Department's training ground.
Theo and Neike were brandishing their long weapons.
After about thirty minutes,
Theo, wiping the sweat off with a handkerchief, glanced over at Neike.
Swish, swish...
With his eyes closed, Neike skillfully swung the practice spear in his hand.
Despite his eyes being shut, the trajectory of his spear was smooth and sharp, almost indistinguishable from when his eyes were open.
Theo let out a wry chuckle as he watched.
'That's a level of talent that's not even fair.'
He knew why Neike trained with his eyes closed—it was something he'd learned before they started.
—I practiced until midnight yesterday, and I found I can feel my breathing more distinctly with my eyes closed!
Intrigued by the idea, Theo had secretly tried it himself.
However, far from mastering the breathing technique, he had even struggled to maintain the swordsmanship he was accustomed to.
...In any case, it was mentally excruciating, but training with Neike seemed like it would pay off.
Just watching Neike's spear technique, which had incorporated the breathing technique yesterday, earned Theo a new trait.
Now, his spear technique felt different from yesterday's, as if he was accumulating invisible experience points towards a trait.
"Haa."
After a short breath, Neike put down his spear, and Theo handed him another handkerchief.
With a smile, Neike accepted it.
"Ah. Thanks, Theo."
"No need for thanks."
"Even so, I appreciate it. You know, despite appearances, you're kind-hearted. But it's a pity it's just the two of us training. It would be nice if the others joined in."
"Why didn't you bring them along? You share the same dorm with Eshild and Aisha, don't you?"
"Ha-ha-ha. They both seemed busy from the morning. Eshild went out, and Aisha left for practice for tomorrow's performance."
"I see."
Theo nodded absentmindedly.
'That reminds me, Aisha's special performance is tomorrow. I owe her one, so I should probably go cheer her on.'
Then, Neike spoke.
"Theo. Are you participating in today's [Martial Arts Competition]?"
