Chapter 28: Becoming Stronger Together

In fact, there were no remaining wounds, so there was no major problem with being discharged immediately.

I, who knew my body better than anyone, also wanted to be discharged right away.

However, the president, my friends, and the academy and city officials, who needed to investigate the demon invasion and calm the public opinion, insisted that I stay.

As a result, I was forced to stay in the hospital room for a week without being able to move.

At least I was given a single room, and thanks to the people who visited me every day, I wasn’t bored.

However, the stiffness in my body couldn’t be helped. Moreover, no matter how high quality the academy was, it seemed that bad food for patients was a common problem across the continent.

If this were in the past, I would have been satisfied with such a meal, but having already gotten used to the academy’s restaurant menu, this kind of meal now felt like torture.

So now that I was discharged, I felt freer than ever and headed to the training ground to loosen up my stiff body.

There, I originally intended to just warm up and stretch lightly by myself, but I found Celian waiting for me, somehow knowing I’d be there, and we ended up working out together.

Our exercise was a combination of light stretching, some simple strength exercises, and as usual, we continued with a sparring session. Up until that point, everything was fine, or rather, everything was fine until we began the sparring.

*Swish*

?

What just happened? It was the usual scene where we stood facing each other with our swords drawn, and the bell signaling the start of the sparring rang as always.

But as soon as the sparring began, the following events felt incredibly unfamiliar to me. The swordplay between Celian and me. My sword remained the same as always, but Celian’s sword had changed.

My neck was still targeted by the blade, but the process leading up to that moment was drastically different from usual. It was a swordplay I had never seen from Celian before.

I had felt this before.

A sparring session with the academy’s swordsmanship instructors. The sword of someone much stronger than me.

Celian’s swordsmanship had already reached the level of the instructors, who were considered masters of the sword.

This could not have happened during the week I had been hospitalized. Celian’s sword was filled with experience that could not be ignored.

Only then did I realize. Just how much Celian had been holding back during our sparring sessions.

Of course, I had already known Celian was stronger than me, and I knew she had been going easy on me up until now. But the difference in skill was far greater than I had realized.

“Alright, let’s go again. Take your sword.”

Celian withdrew the sword from my neck and walked back to her starting position, the clinking of her footsteps echoing as usual.

Unlike me, who was standing there in a daze, Celian had already assumed her stance, ready to begin again at any moment. She did not urge me. She merely waited for me to prepare.

I couldn’t stand still either, so I raised my sword again and pointed it at Celian.

With that, our sparring resumed.

This time, I was overwhelmed much more quickly than before. In just five moves, my sword was sent flying to the corner of the sparring area, and Celian’s sword was again pointed at my neck.

Once could be a coincidence. But if it repeats, it’s no longer a coincidence.

I could feel the overwhelming difference between Celian and me. And with that realization, I felt a powerful emotion.

That emotion could not be easily defined.

Without even knowing what emotion I was feeling, Celian spoke softly to me.

“El, I will always protect you. But if you’re the person I’ve known, then in the future, you’ll probably still value the lives of others over your own.”

After having once again defeated me, Celian seemed uninterested in the outcome. She simply returned to her original position.

“I can never accept that. I can’t bear to see you fall in front of me. So, become stronger, El. Make sure no one can take what’s yours. And if anyone tries to take what you want to protect, you should crush them thoroughly.”

And then, turning around to look at me,
“Don’t just try to catch up to me, surpass me. Make me your nourishment.”
She raised her sword again.
“This is the only thing I can offer you.”

The feelings I now had for Celian might be anger at how much she had looked down on me and played with me, jealousy over her overwhelming talent and skill, or perhaps frustration over the difference that seemed impossible to bridge.

“If you hate it, then put down your sword right now and leave. Leave everything to me. You can just live your life as you normally would, happily.”

But I can firmly say that the greatest part of the emotion that has taken root inside me isn’t something so petty.

It’s the anger at my own weakness, the expectation of how far I can rise, and the ambition to stand at the same level as Celian.

That’s why I answer the demanding Celian.

“Yeah. I don’t want to.”

Grabbing the sword that had fallen in the corner of the sparring area,

“Do you think I’ll accept things like using you as nourishment or leaving everything to you?”

I raised the sword and pointed it at Celian again.

“I may not be able to help you right now, but…”

This time, I charged at Celian first.

*Clang!*

Naturally, my attack was blocked. But I didn’t stop.

Just like when I faced Valikan, even though I knew every attack of mine would be blocked, I kept moving.

When Celian countered, I forced myself to dodge, and when I couldn’t, I gritted my teeth and endured with my body.

If it had been a real sword, it might have been different, but since this was a sparring session with wooden swords, I could keep going.

*Clang!*

Even though my body was bruised all over, I didn’t stop, and my sword managed to knock Celian’s sword away, pointing at her.

It was a reckless, blind act, but I didn’t care. This was my will, my sincerity.

“Becoming stronger is something we do together.”

Whether it was my reckless behavior that seemed absurd, or the unexpected counterattack that caught her off guard, or my unexpected response, she stared at me blankly for a moment, then let out a small laugh.

“Right. This is the El I know.”

Luckily, Celian seemed somewhat satisfied with my response. She then walked over to the corner of the sparring area, picked up the sword that had fallen just like I had done, and pointed it at me.

“Then, you’re prepared, right?”

“Of course.”

“I won’t go easy on you later, so don’t complain.”

Celian smiled.

…After a long while of being thoroughly beaten, I was finally able to finish my training.

Personal training is personal training, but after being discharged, I attended my first class and realized an important fact.
The week I had spent hospitalized had a huge impact on my grades.

In fact, from the outside, there didn’t seem to be any major problem.

Since it was the school’s fault that I was absent, they made sure there were no issues with my attendance, and some assignments that had to be submitted were given an extended deadline, so there was no point deduction.

Even for assignments where an extension wasn’t possible, my base grade was guaranteed.

However, the problem was that while there were no deductions, there were also no extra points.

My plan had been to maintain top grades in the first semester and earn a scholarship from the second semester.

Of course, I had already realized that due to Celian, who was an overwhelming top scholar (candidate), I wouldn’t be able to get a full scholarship, so I was aiming for partial scholarships offered to a few students below the top rank.

Naturally, I wasn’t the only one aiming for those scholarships. There were students who were simply aiming for top grades and others like me, regular students hoping for a scholarship.

And as a result of missing out on the extra points for just a week, I could no longer confidently say that I could even earn a partial scholarship.

Those who had been competing with me were now one step ahead. I even had to study separately to catch up on the lessons I had missed.

The alarm bells were starting to ring inside me.

If this goes on, I’m done.

No joke, my second semester is really going to be ruined.

The only remaining hope was how much the President, Precia, could bring in compensation, but since there was no guarantee of how much that would be, I had to set that aside for now. I couldn’t afford to pin my hopes on that.

There was no other choice. In times like this, the answer is simple.
Starting today, I need to study with all my heart.