Chapter 3: The Klain Twins

After the swordsmanship class ended, one by one, my classmates glanced at each other before approaching me to strike up a conversation.

Typically, after exchanging a greeting or two and sharing names, they returned to their own places, but not everyone was like that.

“Hey, hey, you’re really strong, right?”

The girl standing in front of me was one of them.

She had red hair and a very small frame. I, too, had become shorter as a girl, and Celian was slightly shorter than me, but the girl before me was at least a hand’s breadth smaller than both of us.

If seen outside, one might mistake her for a younger child, not someone of the same age.

“Ah, thank you.”

I expressed my gratitude, being mindful of my polite demeanor.

The girl then let out a cheerful laugh and playfully slapped my shoulder.

“Oh? Why the formalities between friends? Just speak casually! It’s so cringey, you know?”

“Okay, um… sure.”

In fact, I was uncomfortable because I wasn’t used to speaking like a noble lady. Having someone with whom I could speak so freely was a welcome change.

But I wished she would stop slapping my shoulder. My sensitivity had already heightened, and with each slap, my skin was protesting in pain. I was sure it was turning red.

“This violent girl! I told you to fix those habits!”

The one who stopped the girl’s violence by grabbing her hand was another boy standing nearby.

He had the same red hair as the girl, but his build was entirely different. Unlike the girl, who was smaller than average, the boy was slightly taller than me when I was a man and bigger than other boys his age.

I definitely remembered these two.

Recalling their movements from our earlier sparring made it seem strange not to remember them.

Despite her small stature, the weapon she wielded looked to be about her height or even larger—a great sword.

The red-haired girl swung the massive sword with great skill, driving her opponents back, leaving me to wonder how such strength could come from her small frame.

In contrast, the red-haired boy wielded a bastard sword. Although it was usually a two-handed weapon, he used it one-handed, thanks to his large build.

Using one hand, he could exert as much force as others with two hands, which was surely bewildering for his opponents.

They were among the few whom I couldn’t provide feedback to.

I imagined a scenario in my head—facing the two of them.

If I were still in a man’s body, it might be different, but in my current state, I couldn’t confidently say I would win.

Still, I believed I could win eight or nine times out of ten with this body.

This time, I envisioned a scenario where Celian faced the two of them.

There was no need to say more; it would definitely be Celian’s victory.

It wasn’t that the two were weak, but rather that Celian was overwhelmingly strong.

Her swordsmanship wasn’t just excellent; she possessed an experience that was unmatched for her age.

Truly, she was a candidate for the Hero.

“You can’t say that to my sister, you jerk!”

The girl raised her free right hand and punched the boy in the stomach instead of using her captured left hand.

Thud!

A perfect straight punch.

“Ugh… this little brat… it’s only a one-minute difference…”

“Little brat? You totally lost to me today!”

While I was busy mentally rehearsing a sparring match, I noticed that a fight was about to break out between the two.

If I left it alone, I was sure it would lead to a tiring situation, so I quickly reached out to separate them.

Fortunately, they seemed to remember I was there and halted their impending fight, turning their gazes back toward me.

“Um… so…”

“Ian Klain.”

I was hesitating about what to call him when, fortunately, the boy revealed his name first.

Turning my head, instead of calling him a little brat, I…

Looking at the girl with red hair, she opened her mouth with a surprised expression.

“I’m Anne Klain! As you can see, this is my brother. We’re twins, but we don’t really look alike, do we?”

Honestly, would it upset her if I said Anne looked more like the younger sibling?

But since there’s no reason to walk down a thorny path, I kept that thought to myself.

“I’m… no, I am Elysia. Call me Elysia.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re already a celebrity.”

?

“You’re the troublemaker who snuck out of the dorm on the first day of school. Everyone who knows it knows.”

“What?! How do you…?”

I snuck out through the window without anyone noticing, and I didn’t remember getting caught by anyone.

“But if you plan to sneak out of the dorm again, I’d recommend doing it after the roll call is over!”

Now that I think about it, there seemed to be a rule in the dorm about that. No, I didn’t know such a thing existed.

Wait a minute? Wouldn’t that interfere with my scholarship plans?

“Fortunately, for some reason, the dorm head didn’t deduct points, so you don’t have to worry. Of course, you might get some scolding.”

I can handle all the scolding I want. What matters is whether there are any point deductions.

“Phew… that’s a relief. But I don’t think I’ll be doing that again.”

“Well, just in case, you can ask me for help if you need it!”

Seeing the small girl thump her chest proudly, I found her more cute than reassuring.

But since there’s no place outside the academy related to me, there wouldn’t be a reason for me to sneak out of the dorm anyway.

Creak.

Before I could make any excuses, the door opened, and the professor entered the classroom to teach the next lesson.

“Ah! The professor is here. Let’s talk again later!”

Waving goodbye, the girl dragged Ian back to his seat.

Considering how she had swung a great sword earlier, I wondered if Ian was genuinely being dragged along or just pretending to be.

A somewhat amusing question crossed my mind.

Given Anne’s small stature, she was sitting in the front row.

However, even Ian, who was tall, could potentially disturb the kids sitting behind him by sitting in the front row, which could be considered a no-go.

Fortunately, since Ian was in the outermost row, it seemed like the kids in the back and the professor let it slide.

As I sighed, Celian, who had been sitting away, moved her desk closer again.

The professor, who entered to teach history, noticed Celian pushing the desks together alone and pointed it out, but he let it go when Celian mentioned she had forgotten her textbook.

From a glance, I thought I could see a history textbook inside Celian’s open bag, but it must have been a mistake.

Griffin Academy’s lunch hour is the same for all departments and grades.

During this relatively relaxed time of period 1, whether you eat lunch boxes, use the cafeteria, or go to the snack bar, it’s up to you to have a meal.

The cafeteria’s menu is incredibly diverse, ranging from inexpensive meals commonly eaten by commoners to high-end dishes tailored to the tastes of noblemen.

Of course, menu selection is each person’s responsibility, and the cost of meals falls on them.

Considering I have to save my budget, I obviously have to buy the cheaper meals, but the line I happened to stand in is for the second most expensive menu item, excluding course meals and special dishes.

It’s not that I have a desire for food or a tendency to waste money.

I just ended up in this line because I followed Celian.

It was just a place.

I thought about turning around and escaping the line, but I missed my chance because Celian was smiling at me and chatting.

“I heard from the graduates that this menu is really delicious.”

“Haha… I’m really looking forward to it.”

I felt sorry for myself for not being able to shout “No!” even though I didn’t mean it.

Slowly, the waiting line started to shorten, and eventually, five meal tickets slipped from my hand into the container.

With five meal tickets, I could afford the cheapest menu item, number five.

Considering the contents, five meal tickets seemed very cheap, but to me, who needed to save money, the pieces of meat and greens on the tray looked like all expenses.

This meat alone might be worth three meal tickets, right? Wouldn’t this green stuff cost at least one ticket? What about this dessert?

It was already spilled water.

With a stiff face, I forced a smile as I followed Celian, who was cheerfully leading me outdoors.

Maybe because the weather was nice with a gentle breeze, all the outdoor tables were already occupied.

As Celian and I were wandering around trying to decide where to sit, a group happened to get up, so we quickly dashed over to that spot and placed our tray on the table to secure our seats.

“Please sit here, Celian.”

Knowing how to score points in such small matters is what makes it real.

Trying to win people’s favor through flattery is the lowest of the low.

Flattery is merely a bonus. In cooking terms, it’s like seasoning. It should never become the main dish.

Celian’s smiling face was telling me that my actions were correct.

After confirming that Celian sat across from me, I also took my seat.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Hehe, you too, Elysia.”

Now, it was time to focus. This was a five-ticket menu. It was only natural to adopt a reverent attitude.

Slowly, very slowly… one bite at a time… savoring all the flavors is the polite thing to do for this menu.

Even the act of picking up the fork and knife to cut the meat is done carefully, feeling the texture of the meat as I cut it with care.

I carefully picked up the cut piece of meat with my fork, making sure not to let the juices escape, and brought it to my mouth.

“Ah! Elysia! Why are you crying?”

Ah… this is a tear-soaked piece of meat. It doesn’t need any extra salt.