The next morning.
“Hello, hello! Did everyone sleep well? How was the dormitory? It wasn’t too bad compared to ho, right? Be jealous! Even the professors can’t get such spacious accommodation! …Although they do get a lab, so maybe it’s not that different? Ahahaha!”
Bouncing energetically into the classroom for the first lecture of the day was Professor Iona. Her youthful energy contrasted with her mature physique, making her chest quite the spectacle as it freely swayed with her movents.
Indeed, several of the male students in Class A seed hypnotized, their eyes fixated on Professor Iona.
But don’t mistake her carefree deanor for a lack of seriousness.
Iona was a vampire of near-Lord rank and a veritable monster who participated in the Gods’ war 300 years ago.
Moreover, the subject she taught was ‘Combat Magic.’
Who would dare to take her lightly?
“Today! Today! As I ntioned yesterday, we will have a sparring session to select the class representative and test your skills! I’ll be casting protective spells, so no need to worry about getting hurt! If anything does happen, there’s a cleric on standby in the infirmary. So unless you die, you’ll be fine! Yup!”
Professor Iona made this alarming statent with an innocent smile.
Well, it was unlikely that anyone would get severely injured. After all, the freshn wouldn’t be able to break through Iona’s protective magic in the first place.
“Now, co follow ! Follow ! Normally, freshn aren’t allowed, but I reserved a sparring arena under my na!”
With that, she bounced out of the classroom just as she had bounced in.
Before anyone could even ask a question, she rushed out, leaving everyone with wide eyes and open mouths.
Peek.
Her face peeked back through the door gap, urging us to hurry.
“Co on! You have other professors’ classes today, too, you know? If you dawdle, you’ll be late on the first day! That would be troubleso. Yes, very troubleso!”
And then she disappeared again.
Glancing out the window, I saw her alone in the corridor, amusing herself by scuffing the floor with her toes.
She even gestured for us to co over when our eyes t.
To think soone like her was considered one of the strongest figures in the academy…?
Seeing her in person rather than on a monitor was surprisingly different.
As I chuckled and stood up, the other students who were just glancing at each other also began to rise one by one.
The attendants also started to move along with us.
“Is everyone here? The freshn this year are so obedient! So adorable! Adorable little chicks! Then let’s set off right away!”
Iona said with a giggly smile. Iona took the lead, the Class A students followed her, and the attendants were tailing behind us in a strange procession.
It was only a fleeting mont where I inwardly chuckled, thinking we looked like a family of ducks crossing the street in a line.
“You.”
Elisha, who was a bit far away from earlier, had suddenly moved next to and asked quietly,
“What is it, Elisha?”
“Hmph! Didn’t I tell you yesterday? I won’t forget what happened in the dining hall.”
“Ah.”
I then rembered how Carla had cunningly tricked Elisha.
“Prepare yourself. Through this duel, you’ll painfully realize the gap between you and .”
“Really? What are you saying? You’re going to utterly destroy through this duel? Why? I’ve only done as you asked… Uh!”
Elisha suddenly covered my mouth with her hand, startled by my loud proclamation.
I wondered if elves had a lower body temperature than humans. Or maybe it was just that Elisha’s hand was cold. A bit of chilliness spread from the soft palm covering my lips, which felt oddly pleasant.
Elisha’s face, however, turned a fiery red. In her desperation, she even cast a Silence spell centered around herself.
“Shh! Shh! Are you crazy?! Why do you keep defaming , Yandel?!”
“Ugh, yuck.”
“Ack!”
Elisha quickly removed her hand as if she’d been shocked, right after lightly slapping it onto her palm.
Rubbing her saliva-coated hand with a handkerchief that she’d pulled from sowhere, I gave her a nonchalant shrug.
“Defamation? Everything I said was true.”
The claim that Elisha would thoroughly beat in this competition and the fact that she had Carla act like a slave for an entire day yesterday–I didn’t make any of them up.
Elisha seed to agree as she awkwardly nodded her head.
“Well… Yes, that’s true. But how should I say this… The way you said it was… Could it be that in your eyes, Yandel, I appeared that way? Considering the difference in our statuses, maybe that’s accurate…”
The more Elisha talked to herself, the more confused she appeared to beco.
Finally coming to so conclusion, Elisha shook her head vehently with a pale expression.
“No, no! I am not that bad of a person! What I just said was just… Ugh.”
Looking very apologetic yet unable to say what she wanted to, Elisha hesitated.
Trusting that Elisha was not a bad person based on what I’d seen in H&A and what Carla told , I decided to step further.
“It was a joke, Glenchiel. I cleared up that misunderstanding after our conversation yesterday.”
“Why would you joke like that?”
“Well…”
I couldn’t say it was because it was amusing. That would be going too far. So to prevent her from taking it as an insult, I steeled my face.
“I want to get closer to you, Glenchiel.”
“Huh?!”
“From the few conversations we’ve had, you seem like a much better person than I originally thought. You also seem to think well of since you keep talking to , right?”
Elisha shivered a bit, seemingly caught off guard.
However, not long after, Elisha regained her composure and pointed her index finger at with a slightly fierce expression.
“You! Give it your best in the competition! I will, too! But don’t misunderstand. That’s all I wanted to say!”
Then, she blended back into the crowd and distanced herself.
As I watched her go, I unexpectedly t Carla’s eyes, who had been lurking behind .
“…!”
For so reason, she was trembling while alternately looking at Elisha and .
Ah, was it because of the tension?
I didn’t know what she was thinking, but I would have to tell her later that it was nothing serious.
The competition arena was much bigger than I had imagined.
With even more spectator seats surrounding the area, it was spacious enough to remind of a soccer field.
The flat floor tiles that were high up on the walls were engraved with indecipherable symbols. It looked like so magic was at play here.
Professor Iona, who was standing at the center of the massive arena, pointed to a corner and spoke.
“Alright! Assistants, you should stay over there! You never know if the competition might affect you, so no one should wander off. It’s easier for to keep an eye on you that way!”
At her words, the assistants respectfully nodded and scurried in the direction Iona pointed out.
Only the students remained in the arena, and finally, Professor Iona began to explain the rules for the competition.
“Ti is too short for one-on-one fights! So, we’re all going to fight at once! The rules are simple! Use whatever ans you have at this mont to incapacitate everyone except yourself!”
At that, one of the students who had been looking at each other silently raised his hand.
“Um, Professor?”
“Yes? Do you have a question? What is it? What are you curious about? Ask Professor Iona anything!”
“I left my staff with my assistant. May I go and get it?”
At the unnad student’s question, Professor Iona tilted her head for a mont and then burst out laughing as if she had heard the funniest thing.
“Hahaha! You should always carry your weapon!”
“Ha ha… I apologize. I will rember to carry it next ti. So…”
The student awkwardly smiled and turned his head towards the assistants.
“No, you can’t.”
“…Pardon?”
Professor Iona suddenly hardened her expression.
“Didn’t I say? You fight with what you have now. I inford everyone yesterday that there would be a competition. Isn’t it your responsibility if you didn’t bring your equipnt?”
“…”
That student must be skilled since he was in Class A. He probably perford well in combat during the entrance exams as well.
But this was Professor Iona’s class, which preferred combat that was even closer to real-life situations, especially in an academy already focused on practical skills.
Despite the prior notice about the competition, there was no way she would show leniency to soone who didn’t bring their weapon.
The student stiffened as he understood her intent, and then Iona returned to her usual cheerful tone.
“Well, you’ll just have to make do bare-handed! Don’t worry too much! It’s not like you’re entering a dungeon bare-handed. You’ll just lose so points! Anyway, does anyone else have questions?”
One by one, the other students silently pulled out their wands and staves from their pockets or waistbands.
I also took out the staff I had once bought for Carla from my inventory. It would have to do in a pinch.
The only one who didn’t have anything was that one student.
“So, no more questions, then? You all got the idea?”
As Iona said this, she waved her hand in the air several tis, and a massive surge of mana enveloped us.
This must be the protective magic she ntioned earlier.
One by one, she cast the protective magic, and beaming cheerfully, she declared the start of the competition.
“Alright, now go ahead and ki– fight each other!”
…Did she just almost say ‘kill’?
Taken aback, I gathered my magical energy and focused it on my staff.
Whoooom—
Instead of manifesting it as magic, I detonated it outright.
Aid squarely at the only guy who was bare-handed.
Kwaang!!
One down!
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