I could only be freed once Cattleya and Emily’s relationship was finally resolved.
Honestly, it’s more accurate to say I endured Cattleya’s one-sided verbal abuse.
Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I ended up being treated like the worst piece of trash.
To be honest, Emily saying she liked me felt more like familiarity than romantic feelings.
Emily probably doesn’t even understand what things like love are in the first place.
The fact that she puts family and me on the same level says it all.
In any case, now that the two of them have confirmed each other’s existence, I trust they’ll manage on their own from here on.
So it’s probably best for me to quietly slip away.
Actually, more than that, I need to start preparing for the exams.
Even if I don’t care much about grades, I still need to avoid failing.
“That’s enough for the written part.”
I caught up on the parts I missed while dozing off in the library.
I do have a decent head on my shoulders, so this should be enough.
I’m not aiming for top ranks like I used to. As long as I settle somewhere in the middle, this should be fine.
Anyway, among the PTSD-ridden freaks at the Cradle, there weren’t many who studied seriously outside of combat training.
There was a saying that the pen was mightier than the sword, but those guys had survived on a battlefield where swords were exchanged instead of pens, so it was obvious which one they prioritized.
Sparring training… Unlike before, there was now a student whose skill level was close to mine.
“Come at me, Raven.”
“Alright, but today won’t be like last time, Johan.”
They were students who had skipped grades from the first year or transferred in midway from outside.
Among them, Raven was someone who matched me well in various ways.
The first-year kids were still a bit soft, but this guy was different.
Raven was probably thinking the same thing.
We were people who had danced on the edge of life and death. We were on a whole different level from the ordinary ones.
Clang!
Our swords clashed.
Through the exchange of a few moves, I found myself gaining small realizations.
Ah, how long had it been since I felt this sensation?
I had always been struggling against opponents stronger than me, flailing just to keep up….but it had been a long time since I fought such an evenly matched battle.
“Not bad, Raven.”
“You’re pretty good yourself, Johan.”
As expected, a seasoned mercenary.
On top of that, he was someone Loki trusted, so he wasn’t easy to deal with.
“What are those two doing? Playing house?”
“Hey! They’re being serious, in their own way. Apologize to Johan and Raven.”
“Oh, I see. Sorry.”
Mental attacks coming in from the sidelines.
Seriously, what was I supposed to do with these monster bastards? I had gotten stronger too, but did that mean I still wasn’t on their level?
Even Ollie, who had been watching our sparring with sparkling eyes, looked completely defeated now.
It seemed she had fallen into despair once again, feeling the clear gap in ability.
Haah, look at that fragile mentality. She still had a long way to go.
“…Should we stop?”
“Stop what? Keep going. Pick up your sword.”
“Johan, you’re a lot more incredible than I thought…”
“It’s nothing much.”
Raven, you’ll have to get used to this if you’re going to live at the Cradle from now on.
***
The day of the exam.
As expected, I was able to solve exactly as much of the written test as I had anticipated.
I answered about half of it, and the other half… I basically guessed.
Still, since I was confident about the problems I did solve, I should score at least 50 points.
Not that the written test really mattered anyway.
“Let’s see… who was I assigned to for the sparring match?”
Though I had made quite a bit of progress recently, it was still hard for me to beat other Cradle students in a straightforward fight.
Unless I caught them off guard or used some unpredictable method, which was unlikely since the opponent would be a fellow student, making it hard for any kind of secret weapon to exist.
They probably already knew that my trump card was a high-level illusion spell that distorted the senses, so they wouldn’t fall for it.
That meant I’d be limited to showing only the skills I normally displayed during sparring.
Which, to begin with, matched the nature of the exam itself.
So, there was a high chance I’d be matched against a transfer student or one of the students who had skipped a grade.
Either that, or I’d be paired with one of the weakest second-years, aside from myself.
Even if my loss was a foregone conclusion, it could still be a good match. I had grown in my own way, after all.
And on the other hand, the current Cradle students were getting weaker.
For the past half year, the Cradle had remained relatively peaceful, so it was only natural that the students had started to let their guard down a bit.
“Alright, who is it?”
With a heart full of anticipation, I searched for the name of my sparring opponent.
If it was Raven, it’d be a good match. If it was Ollie, it’d be an easy win.
Either way, it wouldn’t be a bad duel, and at least I wouldn’t be shaking in helplessness like I used to.
Before long, I found my name, and right next to it, I was able to confirm the name of my opponent as well.
Match number 12.
Johan Damus vs. Emily Robinhood.
Ah, what the hell is this?
Who the hell made this sparring chart?
Were they seriously telling me to brawl with an Ex Machina executive right now?
Was I supposed to get my limbs ripped off or something?
“Please take it easy on me, big brother Johan.”
“Uh… yeah…”
Well, of course the Cradle professors wouldn’t know anything.
Emily had been hiding her identity, so how could they possibly know what she was capable of?
Honestly, I didn’t really know either.
How strong was Emily, really? In the game or in real life, I’d only seen her researcher side. I had no clue about her fighting power.
How strong was she? Could she actually be weaker than me?
But the moment the match began, I had to abandon that line of thinking.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
In Emily’s hands was a whip made of cables and gears.
With a strange noise, a mechanical clattering rang from within, and the atmosphere instantly turned deadly.
“Emily…?”
“Yes, big brother.”
“Are you even allowed to use that thing?”
“Yes, I’m also part of the Imperial Technology Research Department. I got official approval, so this much is allowed.”
Who the hell approved that thing?
Wasn’t that obviously overtechnology to anyone with eyes? Or was it just some clueless guy who heard the name “Imperial Technology Research Department” and thought, “Yeah, I guess that makes sense”?
Zzzzzzzzhk!
Emily tapped the handle of the whip a few times with her finger, and a blade-like aura formed along the length of the whip like jagged sawteeth.
Wrrrrrrrrrr!
Then came the sound of viciously spinning blades.
That thing was definitely not officially approved.
I knew it. No doubt about it. That wasn’t aura she was generating on her own; she was using a magic engineering battery!
It was the horrifying collaboration of a whip-shaped mechanical device and one of Emily’s secret inventions.
Faced with a weapon that looked like it could rip flesh off in chunks just by grazing me, I found myself hesitating to even raise my sword.
I was supposed to fight that? That thing?
“Emily? Uh… how much combat experience do you actually have?”
“It’s okay. This’ll be my first time fighting directly, but I think I’ll do just fine.”
“…I honestly wish you had more.”
At least then, she might know how to control her strength.
Right now, she was holding something so dangerous that even a beginner swinging it casually could cause a disaster.
“I’ll do my best!”
“No, really, you don’t have to…”
That enthusiasm was going to kill me.
If I got hit by that weapon of yours even once, I’d be dead.
“Eyy.”
A half-hearted shout, drained of energy.
Fzzzzzzzt!!
A sound of pure destruction, completely at odds with her voice.
The clumsily swung whip struck the ground and then writhed like something alive.
It was the jagged aura-blades protruding from its length.
They ricocheted, flaring in the air, bursting unpredictably as they came flying toward me.
“This is…”
Familiar.
I could feel a strange sense of familiarity in those erratic movements.
Where… where had I seen this before?
“Ah.”
In that moment, a memory flashed before my eyes.
The trap Emily’s Master Coran Lekias had once prepared to strike down Judge Tillis.
I recalled the image of a machine like a gigantic centipede coiling around the entire mountain.
That was it! This whip was moving just like that mechanical centipede.
No wonder it felt familiar. It must have been a gift from Coran Lekias to Emily.
And with her own magic engineering added on top, it had been upgraded into something twice as monstrous.
“Aha!”
And then I realized.
This was my life flashing before my eyes.
The whip caught me at the end, slammed me down, and left me bleeding spectacularly.
***
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a familiar ceiling.
I tilted my head slightly and there was a familiar face as well.
“Doctor.”
“Discharge.”
“Yes.”
I had no choice but to get out of the bed immediately.
Well, it’s nothing unusual. By now, I’ve gotten used to this sort of daily routine.
Sticking around like this is probably just getting in the way of people who are actually sick or seriously injured.
Sure, I did see my life flash before my eyes, but I’m still alive, aren’t I?
“Ugh…”
My arm hurt like it was about to tear off.
Maybe it really had been torn off once and just reattached.
Considering the destructive power of Emily’s weapon that I’d witnessed at the end, the chance wasn’t zero….and that was terrifying.
I couldn’t even bring myself to look at the wound. Later, when it came time to apply ointment and change the bandages, I’d have to ask Yuna for help.
“Oh…? Oh! Johan, are you okay…?”
“Raven? As you can see, I’ve been discharged.”
“How, when you look like that?”
“What do you mean, ‘look like that’?”
“Uweeeehhhhk!”
“You okay? Ollie, if you’re feeling sick, lean on me and rest for a bit.”
“Mm, Raven… I’ll borrow your shoulder for a moment.”
I had asked Raven, but it was Ollie, who had been standing beside him, who suddenly threw up.
What the hell kind of state was I in? Just what horrific sight had I managed to present to get that sort of reaction?
What was under these bandages right now?
“…It’s better if you don’t know for the time being.”
“Yeah, probably.”
With Raven’s heartfelt advice, all I could do was nod.
When I took a shower, I’d just have to keep my eyes shut.
“Well, I’ll head back to my room then. Anything you need to pass on to me?”
“They said your sparring grade is an F. For freezing up in front of an opponent.”
“Like that’s easy not to do.”
That’s something you only understand once you’ve actually faced it.
How could anyone not freeze up when a torture device straight out of hell was flying right at their face?
“Anyway, that’s all, right? Then I’ll head off first.”
“Sure, Johan. Get plenty of rest. And don’t forget you’ve got the exploration exam in two days.”
“Yeah.”
Even after ending up in this state, I still had to take exams. Life in the cradle was brutal.
***
On the way back to the dorms, I spotted someone unexpected.
“Headmistress?”
“Student Johan?”
It was none other than headmistress Olga Hermod who I assumed would still be buried in paperwork in her office.
“What brings you out here?”
Was she out for a walk?
Well, she was human too. Even she might want a change of pace now and then.
“I was drawing a magic circle. I’m working on reconstructing the security system.”
“So you were still working. Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”
“What choice do I have? I can’t be the sole guardian of this place forever. If I install a semi-permanent magic circle, it’ll be good preparation for the day I’m not here.”
“That’s true.”
I took a moment to study the circle Olga Hermod was inscribing.
Looking closely, it was remarkably vast.
Clearly, it wasn’t something that could be made in just a day or two.
“Once it’s complete, do you think your workload will ease a little?”
“I’m aiming for a level of completion where I can eventually step away from the Cradle’s protection duties. But really, there’s no need to worry. I’m working with expert advice.”
“I see.”
Well, even an Archmage can’t do everything alone if it’s outside their specialty.
Since Olga Hermod usually doesn’t use magic circles, it made sense that she’d seek outside help this time.
Still…
“This isn’t just a simple magic circle, is it? Is that word magic?”
“Sharp eye. You’re right.”
In addition to the magic circle, a word magic had been engraved on the wall.
And when it came to word magic, one particular person came to mind.
“Is your collaborator Duke Ether?”
“That’s right. Once this magic circle is complete, it may very well be an even stronger defense than me guarding the Cradle personally.”
“.…….?”
What was that?
There was something strange in the way she said that.
Almost as if… she didn’t expect to be around to see it finished.
“Student Johan.”
“Yes?”
“No matter how comfortable you are with me, I am the headmistress. Don’t you think you’re being a bit too obvious about slacking off?”
“Ah…”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything, so hurry back to class.”
“Yes, Headmistress.”
I left Headmistress Olga Hermod who was still diligently engraving the magic circle on the wall and returned to my dorm room.
I’m sorry, Headmistress.
I did say “yes”, but I never actually said I’d go back to class.
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