Thursday, 4:30 PM.
All the lectures in the Knight Department have finished.
I was able to observe various techniques in the practical classes and I wanted to learn them as soon as possible.
My body felt restless.
'I need to hurry to the training ground.'
I said my farewells to Irene and Mina.
"I'll be going now. Take care, Irene and Mina."
Since I didn't have any belongings with me, I felt light.
As I was about to leave the Knight Department, Irene spoke up.
"Theo, let's train together."
"Sure, I plan to go to the Hero Department's training ground for a practice session, though."
I already knew the techniques, so it would be more efficient to improve my proficiency against magic dolls.
In other words, I didn't need Irene's help.
Moreover, there was a high probability that Noctar would be at the training ground, so I wanted to build up my stamina with him as well.
"······I see."
Irene sounded somewhat sullen. Then, Mina chimed in.
"Why don't you just go to the Hero Department's training ground together? I think even first-years can bring one person with them."
Irene silently rejoiced.
'Well done, Mina!'
Although the Hero Department's training ground was exclusive to Hero Department students, students from other departments could bring one person with them.
From the second year, when the formation of aides becomes more formalized, up to four people can be brought in.
Of course, Irene knew this too. However, it was too humiliating for her to say it herself.
Irene hurriedly spoke up.
"Th-that's right. Actually, I've always wanted to experience the Hero Department's training ground. I'm curious to see how effective my swordsmanship will be against magic dolls."
She had a feeling that now was the time to push forward.
Theo nodded slightly.
"Hmm, I see. Irene, if you're okay with it, let's go together."
"O-okay. Shall we go?"
As she said that, Irene stuck close to Theo, just a hair's breadth away.
Just a little movement, and their hands would touch.
Although the elf had unabashedly hugged him in public, Irene couldn't bring herself to do the same.
"Hmm, I guess I'll go too."
Siena casually looped her arm around Theo's.
'Ah, ah, ah...!'
She should have mustered up the courage; there weren't many onlookers anyway.
Irene wished she had been more assertive.
***
Irene, Siena, and I boarded the carriage bound for the Hero Department.
The interior was quiet.
'Well, who would go to the Hero Department at this time?'
Despite the tranquility, I felt suffocated.
"Our Theo, you're so diligent. It's nice to see, you know? I'm pretty skilled with a longsword too. Want me to teach you a bit?"
"That's my role, Siena. I've been Theo's dedicated teacher for quite some time."
Ignoring the numerous empty seats, Irene and Siena sat on either side of me.
Fortunately, I had escaped from Siena's embrace, but the mere contact of our arms and shoulders was still uncomfortable.
Just by her appearance, she seems like a mere child...
Of course, I don't dislike it, but I'm not ready to open my heart to others yet.
I felt much stronger today, but I'm still a failure.
I don't know when I might die, so forming close relationships with others is frightening.
To be honest, especially with Irene. As long as I don't make any grave mistakes, I probably won't die around her. At least, she doesn't seem to dislike me.
The biggest problem is Siena.
I can't keep playing along with her indefinitely.
Of course, I'm grateful that she readily defended me and defeated the female barbarian, Julia, when I was in trouble, and her hug wasn't bad.
However, our relationship is too one-sided.
I have to figure out a way to handle this.
At least, I should prevent her from stalking me.
As I pondered various things, we arrived in front of the female dormitory.
Siena grinned and spoke to me.
"I'll head back to the dormitory now. The training ground is sweaty and not so great. Of course, Theo, even your sweat smells fragrant~."
With that said, Siena stood up from her seat.
"Today was really enjoyable, right? See you tomorrow, hehe."
She winked at me and disembarked the carriage.
"..."
Does that mean she'll come again tomorrow?
'Sigh.'
It's fine when no one is around, but I hope she doesn't hug me or feed me in crowded places.
***
Irene and I headed straight to the Hero Department's training ground.
Thud!
I opened the large door to the training ground.
To access the mock training ground where you can spar with magic dolls, you have to go through the dueling arena.
When we arrived at the dueling arena, I saw some familiar faces.
"Wow, Noctar. That was really sharp. You have great strength and stamina, so it would be good to gather a more diverse skillset."
"Alright. Then try this, Neike!"
"...There he goes again."
In order, there were Neike, Noctar, and Piel.
Neike and Piel are training partners, but Noctar's presence is unexpected.
"Hey, Theo."
From the spectator seats of the dueling arena, our orc classmates, who had been watching Neike and Noctar's duel, greeted me.
"Did you come to train?"
"Yeah, I came for some mock training."
"Who's the girl next to you? I've never seen her before."
"She's my fiancée."
"No wonder something's different."
Then, the orc classmates lost interest in us and continued watching Neike and Noctar's duel.
As expected of orcs.
Orcs have little interest in the females of other races.
They believe a beauty must be large and muscular.
The only reason they mentioned Irene, who's next to me, is because she's with me.
They would probably only show interest for a moment if it were a muscular female barbarian like Julia.
As Irene and I were about to head to the mock training ground,
"…Hey."
Piel approached me and spoke.
"Why?"
"Your fiancée?"
"Yes, her name is Irene."
"...She's pretty."
Then Piel averted her gaze.
Why is she like that?
In any case, it would be awkward to greet Neike and Noctar since they are in the middle of a match.
Irene and I arrived at the spacious training ground, large enough for ten people to run around freely.
"What type of opponent would you like to face, Irene? We can alter the surrounding environment and set the opponent's weapons and approximate strength."
"An elf primarily using a rapier. Strength and stamina stats should be around 10. Set the terrain to resemble a dome stadium."
Irene responded without any hesitation.
'······.'
The opponent Irene described was undoubtedly Siena.
"Understood."
For my opponent, I selected a female barbarian wielding a long spear, Julia.
"Let's give it a try."
[The settings have been completed. Please say 'yes' when you're ready.]
"Yes."
***
The mock training session proved to be quite beneficial.
It was far superior to practicing through visualization.
Although the magic dolls fell short compared to real opponents, I could feel my skills and experience improving.
"Indeed, the training in the Hero Department is on another level."
Irene seemed satisfied as well, wiping her sweat and smiling. We completed our mock training and stepped outside.
A considerable amount of time had passed, and now the orcs and lizardmen were competing.
Neike, Piel, Noctar, and other orcs were observing their match from the audience seats.
I turned to Irene.
"I'm thinking of doing some physical training. What about you, Irene?"
"Since we're here, I'd like to join as well."
"Alright, let's go together for a bit."
I approached Noctar in the audience seats.
"You seem busy, Noctar."
"No, I was just about to finish up and go do some physical training."
"It's perfect timing then. How about we train together for a change?"
"I'd love that. Let's see how much you've improved. I hope you haven't been neglecting your training just because we haven't been training together recently."
With that, Noctar stood up.
"Of course, I've been gaining even more valuable experience than just physical training."
"Great, great. By the way, I haven't seen this friend before. She doesn't seem to be from the Hero Department... You really are a true warrior, Theo."
Noctar glanced at Irene, who was standing next to me.
"Why is that?"
I felt a sense of unease creeping in.
"A true warrior never turns away a woman who comes to him. The friend with the bow who used to follow you around was the same. Oh, and just so you know, I also had a line of great women back in my hometown. It seems like we are quite similar, Theo."
Noctar chuckled heartily, showing his teeth.
"···So there's another woman besides the elf."
Irene's voice was cold.
It seemed like she was misunderstanding something.
I glared at Noctar.
"Alright, alright. Anyway, I'll go ahead to the training ground. You two take your time talking."
Noctar nonchalantly laughed, then gave me a thumbs-up before leaving the arena.
Irene let out a deep sigh.
'Ah, my life is over.'
***
sorry google translators... The fix slows down the website and while it isn't slow enough to actually be noticed by readers(0.1ms), it does matter for getting verified for ads, so I'm going to wait until we get verified before I upload the fix. Sorry! don't know when that will be. Within these 2 weeks would be nice.
And with that we're going to try to have a more consistent schedule for releases tues-> fri or tues -> sat if we decided to increase to 5 a week. not sure yet.
1/4 Enjoy the chappy!
