SRS 9

“Yohan.”

“Huh?”

“Take this.”

“Eh…?”

Mikael, having earned ownership of the mandrake from Melek in recognition of his efforts to keep it quiet, abruptly handed the herb to Yohan.

Before he could even speak, the herb was tucked into his arms, and Yohan found himself accepting it in a daze. While it had been squirming and twisting in Mikael’s hands, now that it was in his own arms, it scowled arrogantly and acted irritable, making Yohan feel burdened and avert his gaze.

“…Why are you giving it to me?”

“Because you seemed to need it the most.”

He was right, among the students, Yohan was the only one still panting heavily from the hike. Having already felt his lack of fitness compared to the others, Yohan looked at Mikael with a hint of gratitude.

He knew he wasn’t a bad guy.

He was unpredictable and often mischievous, but deep down, he was a good person. No wonder the divine beasts liked him.

“Thanks.”

If he’d had the leisure, he might have refused once for the sake of pride, but Yohan desperately needed the mandrake root to attend the next class. Seeing his sincere gratitude, Mikael gave a relaxed smile.

“Do you want to share?”

“I appreciate the offer, but sharing won’t work. You should just eat the whole root yourself.”

“…Yes.”

With that justification, there was no reason to hesitate further. Yohan carefully brushed the dirt off the mandrake root and popped it into his mouth. An absurdly bitter taste instantly spread over his tongue, making him flinch, but it was quickly overtaken by a sweetness that pleasantly filled his mouth. Thanks to that, it was edible. As he chewed it thoroughly, Suhyeok jabbed him in the side with his elbow.

“How is it?”

Yohan chewed and swallowed all the mandrake in his mouth before answering.

“It’s delicious.”

“Oh. Looks like the professor wasn’t lying about the taste after all. I should look for some too.”

Relieved, Suhyeok pulled out a mandrake root shortly after. He brutally shattered the screaming creature’s barrier, covered its mouth with his hand, and subdued the spirit plant with willpower alone. Yohan, impressed by the sight that reminded him of Suhyeok’s former profession as a monster hunter, tilted his head at a sudden thought.

If it was that easy to find, then why…

For a moment, Suhyeok’s words flashed through Yohan’s mind.

Hmm. Looks like I’ve become an experimental subject.

Realizing why Suhyeok had been so unproductive in finding the mandrake all this time, Yohan decided to accept his friend’s brazen attitude.

In a space where the professors all seemed to be suffering from mental abnormalities, Suhyeok’s caution was actually a wise approach.

Munch munch. Suhyeok swallowed a whole mandrake root and gave a thumbs up, saying it tasted good. Soon after, Kylus also succeeded in finding a mandrake.

-Uryaryaryarya!

As the creature screamed without fail, Kylus abruptly sliced off one of the mandrake’s leaves with his knife.

-Uryaryaryarya!…. Hic!

The mandrake, which had been screaming fiercely as the blade grazed its forehead, hiccupped.

“Keep making noise, and I’ll tear you apart.”

-…….

The mandrake fell silent.

Yohan was embarrassed by how his friends had been silencing the mandrake by intimidating it.

He understood why Mikael had used a silencing spell on the mandrake. But maybe it was because it was a sentient herb. Seeing it tremble in fear at the threats and avert its gaze was quite pitiful.

“Aren’t you going to look for it?”

After handing over the mandrake, Mikael watched the students milling about with a somewhat bored expression. When asked if he had no intention of finding a second mandrake, the young man nodded.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t really think I need it.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

When asked with apparent surprise, the Mikael started at Yohan.

“Do I look tired?”

“…Um. Not really?”

“Right? So there’s no need to look for it.”

Indeed.

Yohan, convinced, marveled that second-year freshmen really were different in some way.

When the 30 or so students had found their mandrakes and each successfully soothed theirs in their own way, Professor Will signaled the end of class.

“Alright, the scheduled class time is over. Everyone, please raise your hands above your heads.”

“Ah! I just picked mine!”

“Professor….”

Students who had just found their mandrake, or who had found theirs long ago but only now managed to calm it, looked at Professor Will with wide, pleading eyes. But the professor confiscated every single herb without exception, stowing them into a basket that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“Well done, everyone. The herbs you found will be useful for future lessons. Let’s come up to the mountain often and gather herbs together.”

“……”

Now that he thinks about it, this feels like making the students do the work for him?

Though everyone shared similar thoughts at the professor’s cheerful words, no student wanted to speak out of turn on the first day of class and risk his displeasure.

Though their thoughts and stances differed, every student kept silent as they descended the mountain. The climb up had taken an hour and a half, so the descent took an hour.

Thanks to that, once again, the students had to rush off to their next class without a single minute of personal time.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

《Returning from business trip. Class delayed by about 10 minutes.》

The students cheered at the sign planted on the training ground floor. Everyone desperately needed a brief respite.

Without anyone leading the way, students spread their clothes on the floor and collapsed, exclaiming in relief.

“Whew… I’m alive.”

“Ugh, my calves hurt like hell.”

“The sword instructor can’t be that weird, right?”

“He’s a martial artist. The guy who teaches swordsmanship couldn’t possibly be crazy.”

The kids who had become friends over the past two days—mostly those sharing rooms—gathered and chatted. One of them called out to Mikael.

“Mikael! What’s the sword instructor like?”

The students’s eyes turned to the first-year with experience. The young man , who had been tidying and tying his hair for class preparation, cleared his throat.

“Hmm… He’s not exactly ordinary.”

“Hmph.”

“…Hey, why do I have goosebumps on my arms?”

“Um, Mikael. Which way is ‘not ordinary’? The good way?”

The students, looking nervous, tried to think positively as they waited for Mikael’s answer. Mikael walked to one side of the training ground and picked up a wooden sword hanging there.

“Hmm. Probably both? He’s a good person, but he’s strict about training. So you’d better all be prepared. He’s the type to get angry if we’re not ready for class when he arrives.”

Mikael smiled as he spoke, then drew another wooden sword and tossed it into the air.

Whoosh!

Yohan instinctively caught the wooden sword flying toward him.

“Haven’t you been strangely looking out for only Yohan since earlier? What about me and Kylus?”

Suhyeok slung his arm around Yohan’s shoulder to assert his presence, and wooden swords flew their way one after another.

“Oh, thanks.”

Suhyeok caught the sword skillfully and replied cheerfully. Yohan opened his mouth to say Mikael probably wasn’t just looking out for him, but closed it again. Judging by Suhyeok’s expression, he seemed less genuinely hurt and more like he was just looking for an excuse to avoid fetching the wooden swords and finish preparing for class.

“Ah, this is such a hassle…”

The students, who had been looking forward to finally resting, reluctantly rose from their seats and dragged their tired feet to grab the wooden swords.

“Yohan, do you know how to handle a sword?”

Yohan shook his head at Suhyeok’s question. He had carried a dagger for self-defense when he was a High Priest, but he had never properly learned how to use it.

“Well, I guess you were a Priest, so you never had a reason to learn swordsmanship.”

“Yes.”

“Then if you find anything difficult during class, just say so. Me or Kylus will help you.”

“Why are you dragging me into this?”

“Huh? Don’t want help then?”

“……”

“Wow, Kylus, is that all you’ve got? The great noble you always brag about… ugh!”

Kylus thrust his wooden sword at Suhyeok’s throat with an annoyed expression. Yohan’s eyes widened in shock. Even if it was a wooden sword, swinging it like that seemed dangerous, yet Suhyeok just chuckled nonchalantly, completely unfazed.

“…If you seem hopeless, I’ll help you. Having a lagging classmate is a blow to my honor, after all.”

Kylus turned his gaze to Yohan and added.

“Yes, thanks.”

“Honestly, he’s so dishonest. Is that how the high-and-mighty talk?”

Suhyeok, who hadn’t died but returned alive, whispered in Yohan’s ear before getting hit again by Kylus’s wooden sword. Watching his friends bicker, Yohan noticed Mikael had returned from the weapon rack beside him and checked his hand.

Mikael’s hands were different from Kylus’s or Suhyeok’s. If anything, they resembled Yohan’s.

Hands that seemed to have never wielded a sword, without a single callus. Though Mikael’s frame was more solid than Yohan’s, judging by his hands alone, his swordsmanship skills appeared no different from Yohan’s.

Mikael might struggle a bit in this lesson too.

Yohan, who had never seen Mikael struggle all day, felt a strange sense of kinship.

“You handle swords well?”

Just in case, he asked tentatively. Mikael only smiled without answering. Thanks to that, Yohan quickly realized the extent of the young man’s swordsmanship skill, which had left him utterly baffled, as soon as the lesson began.

Crash!

A deafening sound echoed as a deep gash carved into the massive stone wall. Judging by the depth alone, it was his third strike.

“Mikael. Passing score out of 50. Your strength has increased since last year.”

“Thank you.”

Mikael, not a single drop of sweat on him, sheathed his sword back at his waist and strolled back leisurely. Yohan watched him with a look tinged with betrayal.

So he wasn’t one of us after all…

As he felt bitter, the professor who introduced himself not by name but by the alias “Phantom Sword Master” called out to Yohan.

“Yohan, give it your all!”

“You can do this!”

Amidst the cheers of his friends, Yohan stood before the stone wall with a look of uncertainty.

Of all times, right after Mikael?

Yohan, who had already been feeling troubled since the Phantom Sword Master arrived, brought some enormous stone wall, and announced a pop quiz to check everyone’s swordsmanship skills before class, felt his heart sink even heavier and let out a sigh.

“Yohan Herse. Swing your sword.”

At the professor’s urging, Yohan awkwardly gripped his longsword and swallowed. Though he had struggled even with a dagger, he had watched the test and observed the draw stances of quite a few students. Among them were skilled students like Kylus and Mikael, so he recalled how they had done it and steadied his breathing.

Let’s do this.

Steeling himself, Yohan held his breath and drew the sword with all his might, swinging it.

“……”

The strike left no sword mark, not even a flutter of wind. The professor raised an eyebrow.

“Yohan Herse. Stop fooling around and swing properly.”