* * *
After Chester left, the classroom fell silent, and Ruite finished changing his clothes.
The stinging sensation on the back of his hand where Chester had struck it had long since faded.
“Don’t smile, don’t touch… hmm, there are quite a few rules to keep.”
Ruite stroked his chin, recalling the behaviors Chester had forbidden, and stepped out of the classroom.
When he arrived at the familiar training grounds, Dylan had already finished his preparations and was warming up.
“Why are you so late?”
“I was changing.”
“Hi, Ruite.”
However, there was an unexpected person in the training room as well.
Rhea, who had been warming up beside Dylan, approached and greeted him.
“Rhea?”
“Oh, we ran into each other by chance in the dormitory lobby.”
“Dylan said he was going to train, so I asked if I could join in. Is that okay?”
Since he had already agreed to help, Ruite didn’t mind if it was one person or two, so he nodded readily.
Since there was an extra person, he decided to let Rhea and Dylan duel while he watched and provided feedback.
The two, having warmed up in their own way, took up a spot on one side of the training ground and stood facing each other.
As Ruite gave a light signal to start, the two, holding training swords, kicked off the ground and rushed at each other simultaneously.
Even though the swords used in the Swordsmanship Department were for training and had no sharp edges, it felt as if sparks were flying when their blades collided with full sincerity.
In the Magic Department, swords are not the primary weapon.
To begin with, mages decide for themselves what kind of weapon they will mainly use based on their personal taste or combat style.
Swords, bows, and spears were the most common, and some mages even crafted and used special weapons.
There were also mages who fought using only their pure skills without using weapons at all.
However, since the practice sessions within this academy were mainly conducted with wooden swords for magic power, the movements of those who had learned professional swordsmanship were certainly helpful.
A total of three rounds of dueling followed.
After each round, Ruite gave honest and unreserved feedback, and they took time to share opinions.
By the time the last round ended, the two, who had been full of energy at first, were quite exhausted and sat down on the floor, panting heavily.
Ruite approached them and handed them water.
“By the way, Rhea, you’re really strong.”
At Ruite’s words, Rhea gave a shy smile.
It was such a stark contrast to her appearance earlier—overwhelming Dylan with sharp eyes and heavy strikes—that Ruite couldn’t help but laugh.
“I told you, right? She’s not at the top of the Swordsmanship Department for nothing.”
“Come to think of it, I heard you two went to the Velour Smithy today?”
“Yeah, Dylan dragged me there, so I had no choice.”
“Oh, Rhea. We met Chester there too. We even came back to the academy together.”
When Dylan suddenly brought up Chester, Ruite muttered to himself that the idiot really lacked tact.
To bring up that name in front of someone who had just been rejected by Chester…
“Is that so? Ah, right, he’s in the same class as Ruite.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Surprisingly, Rhea seemed unfazed.
It appeared Dylan’s words about things being settled well weren’t just empty talk.
“But Chester seems to really hate Ruite.”
Dylan gulped down water while his light mouth continued to chatter incessantly.
“Eh? Really? I thought they were somewhat close since he delivered my letter last time.”
“No way. Every time I mention Ruite, he scowls like this…”
Watching Dylan distort his face as if imitating Chester, Ruite burst out laughing.
Of course, only the expression was the same; their looks were worlds apart, so he didn’t think they looked similar at all.
“I’ve only heard about Chester’s personality through rumors, but it’s exactly as I thought.”
“But he was surprisingly kind to me. He personally told me that he received the letter well and that I didn’t need to feel sorry. He was a bit different from usual.”
“Huh? Really?”
Dylan asked, sounding surprised.
Ruite leaned against the training ground wall and tried to imagine Chester making a kind face.
However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t picture it in his head, so he gave up.
“I think it might be something like this: he changes depending on the person he’s dealing with?”
“Ah, I think I get what you mean.”
Dylan nodded as if he understood the personality type.
Rhea had liked Chester sincerely and confessed her feelings purely.
Later, considering that her confession might have affected Chester, she even offered an apology, so it was clear that even Chester had seen through Rhea’s character.
“Then… Ruite.”
“Yeah?”
“It must be true that Chester really hates you.”
‘He changes depending on the person.’
That was the conclusion Dylan reached after dwelling on those words.
While Chester was usually just cold, he was overtly blunt and grumpy in front of Ruite.
“Well, I suppose?”
Dylan was right.
However, since confirming it would surely lead to more questions, Ruite had no choice but to give a vague, non-committal answer.
“Why does he hate Ruite? He’s like a little old man, so he’s quite fun in his own way.”
“Dylan, is that a compliment?”
“Exactly. I don’t get it either. Ruite has a nice personality. And he’s popular because he’s pretty, you know?”
At the completely unexpected words, Ruite spat out the water he was drinking.
Fortunately, his aim was true, and the water splashed onto Dylan instead of Rhea.
“Ah, Ruite!”
“Sorry. But Rhea… what do you mean by that?”
“Huh? You haven’t heard? You know, there’s a saying in Whitmore. All the great looks in our grade are gathered in the Magic Department. Just listing the famous ones, there’s Chester, Colin, and… oh, Harrison too. Anyway, the kids often group you with them when they talk. Among them, there’s a lot of talk about Ruite being pretty.”
Rhea smiled brightly. Dylan, sitting next to her, grumbled that evaluating everything based on looks was unfair, not forgetting to send Ruite looks of resentment and envy.
But those words didn’t feel particularly good.
He was a man, yet he was called pretty.
He had never once thought that while looking at his own face in the mirror.
Chester and Colin were famous, and so was Harrison from Class 1 of the Magic Department.
But to be included among them… he wasn’t particularly happy.
“Maybe it’s just because my hair color stands out?”
Ruite touched his hair, smiling awkwardly.
He had never seen anyone else with silver hair like his in Whitmore.
“Well, Ruite’s hair color is unique.”
Dylan playfully ruffled Ruite’s hair again.
Seeing Ruite flailing his arms in the air telling him to stop, Rhea laughed as if it were entertaining.
“Shall we wrap it up now?”
“Let’s do that.”
He couldn’t shake the feeling that they had mostly just gossiped at the end.
Ruite stood up with the two of them to help clean up.
At that moment, something that had been precariously hanging in his pocket fell out.
“Ruite, you dropped something.”
Thanks to Rhea’s words, he noticed a medicine bag lying at his feet. It was the stabilizer and fever reducer he had received from Professor Philia during the accident at the practical test.
She had said it would be good to take a few stabilizer pills, but he had forgotten about it, thinking nothing would happen.
Ruite picked up the medicine bag and put it back into his gym suit pocket.
Just then, boisterous voices were heard from the group using another part of the training ground.
Looking closely, they were fourth-year seniors.
Since they were in their graduating year, they seemed to be gathered because they had to do mandatory self-practice even during this season when they only had morning lectures.
Usually, professors would patrol occasionally to monitor such fourth-years, and they were clearly taking advantage of a gap to slack off.
“Anyway, juniors these days aren’t like juniors at all. I told you before, right? What that rude brat Chester did.”
When Chester’s name came up, Ruite as well as the other two froze.
“Hey, but is it okay to mention his name like that? He’s from the Callaway family. Let’s be careful. You never know.”
“Isn’t he a cast-off child anyway?”
“Really?”
“I heard it vaguely from my parents, but his older brother is incredibly talented. Maybe because the eldest son was born with everything, the family doesn’t even spare a glance for the second son.”
Rhea and Dylan awkwardly exchanged glances.
They didn’t seem to want to get involved in such unverified gossip, so they hurriedly started packing to leave the training ground.
“Ruite, we’re all packed. Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Following behind the two, Ruite’s steps as he crossed the threshold of the training ground slowly narrowed.
“Guys, wait a second.”
After asking for their understanding, Ruite swung the training ground door wide open again.
He glanced toward the group where Chester’s name was still occasionally heard and shouted loudly.
“Hello, Professor Neo!”
At that, the fourth-years who were sitting and slacking off jumped in surprise and began to scramble.
Seeing them hurriedly taking their stances while saying, “Hey, the professor’s here!” Ruite quietly closed the door.
“What did you do?”
When Dylan asked with a tilted head, Ruite just shrugged and replied, “Nothing.”
* * *
