Huff Huff Huff
In the spacious training ground, there was only one sound to be heard. The rugged, rough, and heavy breathing of the students became an orchestra as it resounded towards the vast blue sky. They were collapsed to the ground, barely able to move a single muscle.
If there was something they were thankful for even in their miserable states, it was that the sun's rays weren't harsh, but rather gentle and warm, healing their exhausted bodies little by little.
There weren't any more monsters in sight, not because the students exterminated all of them, but because of the opposite. The students fell like flies as the summoned monsters charged at them. The summoning was canceled the moment all of them collapsed. Some were even unconscious.
"Yo～ Are you just gonna lay down there all day?" ［Grey］
"Shut up. Don't talk about standing, I can't even lift my fingers. That was too much, Greyー Ah!" ［Julius］
Out of the blue, Julius suddenly halted on his words for unknown reasons. Soon after, he looked at Grey with a somewhat terrified expression, making the latter arch one of his brows in confusion.
"Y... You're not gonna flick my forehead?" ［Julius］
"For what?" ［Grey］
"For calling you casually during class time?" ［Julius］
"Ah, that... Well, I'll let you off the hook this time. You can't even move anyway. It would be too cruel if I were to punish you in that state." ［Grey］
"I see... So you still have some humanity in you, huhー Ow!" ［Julius］
The sound of a flick resounded all over the training ground as Grey's fingers hit Julius' forehead. He initially wanted to let things slide, but after hearing Julius' words, his finger moved before he even noticed it.
"What was that for?!" ［Julius］
"Think over your words before you speak, Cadet Julius, or... is it that you want to receive another one?" ［Grey］
"N-No... Sorry..." ［Julius］
Julius, the second prince of the kingdom, groveled before Grey as she relived the memories of pain he received from Grey's forehead flicks. Though it felt unfair for him, he couldn't do anything about it. Grey was just too much for him to handle.
One might see it as bullying or abuse of power, and that's totally right. Though since they were friends, it was more like teasing than bullying. Grey wouldn't have done it if they weren't close enough.
The other students also became silent as they saw Grey flick Julius' forehead. The 2nd years were especially terrified not because it was their first time witnessing it, but because of how it sounded. They could easily imagine a skull fracture after hearing it.
"Alright, that's enough lazing around. ⟨⟨Heal⟩⟩ ⟨⟨Recuperate⟩⟩." ［Grey］
As the light of Grey's spells melted to their bodies, the students slowly started to get up one after another. They had already gotten used to such a routine after being with Grey and Yuna for two weeks.
Even though the alpha classes of years 2 and 3 weren't as close as one another, the distance between them quickly grew shorter after experiencing the same difficulties. They have become comrades in just a short amount of time.
"Everyone～! Line up here and receive your share～!" ［Yuna］
""""Yes!""""
The students' eyes were quickly painted with color as soon as they all looked at Yuna's direction, or rather than Yuna, they looked at the servings of sweets which Yuna had prepared as they trained.
After the second day, Grey and Yuna had been using sweets to reward the students for their hard work. It is the only thing that kept the students striving even with how difficult their training was.
Of course, the money spent in making those sweets were from the academy's funds. As Grey and Yuna barely use any resources, they use the funds allocated for their classes into buying ingredients for sweets the students looked forward to.
While it was a peculiar method, the Headmaster did not object to their idea as it worked out well in the end. It also made the Headmaster reconsider their current methods after seeing how effective Grey and Yuna's carrot and stick strategy was.
"Huh? What's thisー" ［Julius］
"Waah～! It's ice cream!" ［Elise］
"I've always wanted to have some again!" ［Elaine］
Julius' question was cut short as two young ladies expressed their happiness upon seeing the cold dessert. They were very happy that they totally forgot about the hardships they just experienced.
It was the first time Grey and Yuna served ice cream to their classes, and as one would expect, the students looked at them with curious gazes. After all, ice cream was originally from Earth, not Merusia.
"Oh? Had Lady Elise and Lady Elaine had this already?" ［Amelia］
"Ah, y-yes. We've had them back several days ago. They're absolutely sweet and delicious!" ［Elise］
"Lady Amelia, you should try it. I'm sure you'll like it!" ［Elaine］
"Fufu, then I'll also have some, Miss Yuna." ［Amelia］
"Un! Sure!" ［Yuna］
Driven by Elise and Elaine's remarks, Amelia took a cup of ice cream from the bench. Following her, the other students also took a share for their own, leaving only two cups behind, for Grey and Yuna to enjoy.
"Mmm! It really is sweet and delicious!" ［Amelia］
"Right? Instructor Grey and Yuna really make amazing stuff!" ［Elaine］
"I couldn't agree more! Even the food they cook are delicious!" ［Elise］
"Oh my, you're also eaten their cooking?!" ［Amelia］
It didn't take long for the girls to engage in a conversation about food and sweets, and it being the topic, Yuna also joined in soon after. The four of them talked like they usually would during lunch breaks.
The other students also enjoyed their cups of ice cream with delightful faces. Their mental fatigue melted along with the ice cream in their mouths. Some even had tears trickling down their faces as they remembered what they had just gone through.
If there was one person who had totally different actions than the rest, it would be Julius who was looking back and forth between Grey and Yuna as he slowly ate his ice cream.
"Instructor, I have a question." ［Julius］
"Hm? What is it?" ［Grey］
"Between you and Instructor Yuna, who's stronger?" ［Julius］
Julius' question not only surprised Grey a little bit, but also Yuna and the other students who happened to overhear their conversation. All of them also wanted to know the answer.
Grey didn't answer Julius' question immediately, and took his time to think. Although the answer was already obvious, it would be different if one considers their abilities, especially with Yuna's "Nihility" which allows attacks to pass through her.
"It's Grey. He's stronger than me." ［Yuna］
The silence was only broken when Yuna opened her mouth. All eyes and ears were focused on her when she said those words nonchalantly, slowly feeding herself ice cream after she answered.
"Well, actually, if we were to fight, Yuna has the ability to put it to a stalemate. It's a tricky question." ［Grey］
"Oh, a stalemate, huh... I kind of want to see that..." ［Julius］
An idea quickly sprouted inside Grey's mind as Julius mumbled away his thoughts. It had occurred to him that haven't had the chance to spar with Yuna ever since they left the forest.
Before they entered Galderia, every once in a while, Grey and Yuna would always spar against one another to test their growth against human opponents. It was something they haven't been able to do since there wasn't any place they could.
They have grown so much from the last time they sparred that Grey wanted to see how they would fare against each other. Especially now that Yuna had reached S-rank and unlocked the final effect of her ability. He wanted to spar with her once again for old time's sake.
"Hm? Then how about we show you?" ［Grey］
"Eh?" ［Julius］
"Yuna, you're also fine with it, right? A spar, that is." ［Grey］
"A spar...? Un, sure! It's been a while as well." ［Yuna］
Julius still confused about what was happening, an agreement had already been formed with both Grey and Yuna. It didn't take long for both their classes to take interest in their spar.
With everything settled, everyone quickly finished their ice creams and headed out of the shade. Grey and Yuna headed towards the center of the training ground while the students stayed at the sidelines.
The rules of the match were similar to that of Elise and Eliza's a few days ago. The only difference was that Grey and Yuna were restricted to only using the strength of D-rankers and could only use magic up to the intermediate level.
It was also agreed that neither Grey nor Yuna are allowed to use their abilities. After all, Yuna's abilities would render the students from seeing her. It would defeat the whole purpose of the match.
⟨⟨Barrier⟩⟩ ［Grey and Yuna］
For the safety of the students spectating the match, Grey and Yuna quickly erected a barrier covering all of the training ground. It was enchanted so that the spectators would still see it even if dust scattered all over the place.
As for the referee of the match, Julius would be taking up that position. He had the ability "Sharp Sense", a 2☆ ability which Gaston also possessed. It was an ability like what its name suggests, increases the person's senses a couple folds.
"Are you both ready?!" ［Julius］
"Yeah!" ［Grey］ "Un!" ［Yuna］
"Then... Begin!" ［Julius］
⟨⟨Icicle Shotgun!⟩⟩ ［Yuna］ ⟨⟨Gale Waltz!⟩⟩ ［Grey］
Not even a second after Julius announced the start of the match, two intermediate-level spells quickly came flying towards the opponent's direction, creating a burst of cold wind as the two attacks clashed.
Utilizing her speed as an assassin, Yuna swiftly kicked up a dust cloud and dashed towards Grey afterwards. The latter, unable to use his abilities, could only rely on his senses to detect Yuna.
Whoooshh
A large javelin made of ice came flying from the dust cloud, locking towards Grey's shoulder blade. It wasn't the only one. As soon as Grey dodged it, others came pouring towards him from all directions.
Left, Right, and even in irregular directions from below, the frenzy of icicles continued as time passed. But rather than dodging them, Grey grabbed those icicles and sent them back where they came from.
Ruummblleee
As the torrent of ice continued, the ground started to quake, and soon after, spikes came sprouting from the ground in rapid succession. Grey was left with no other choice but to move from where he was.
⟨⟨Icicle Shotgun!⟩⟩ ［Yuna］
As soon as Grey left the dust cloud, Yuna immediately came after him like a tiger stalking its prey. A multitude of ice javelins blasted towards Grey's face at speeds which easily surpassed that of a bullet.
Thuddd
With a stomp of his feet, Grey quickly erected a wall of earth, successfully blocking most of the javelins. The remaining ones which passed through were easily crushed by his hands.
Yuna tried to escape by leaping backwards, but she was met with a large obstacle. Grey didn't just erect a wall in front of him, he also made another one behind Yuna at the same time to corner her.
Grey didn't waste any time and jumped over the wall he had previously created with the help of wind magic. At the same time, he also erected a couple more walls, caging Yuna inside with nowhere left to escape but towards his direction.
⟨⟨Wind Cutter!⟩⟩ ［Grey］
A blade of wind came rushing towards Yuna as soon as she turned around and faced Grey. She was able to quickly evade it by bending her body downwards, her face facing towards the sky.
The same thing couldn't be said towards the walls Grey had created. As they bore the brunt of Grey's attack, they were perfectly cut in half, falling towards the ground with a loud thud.
With the walls cut down, Yuna quickly made use of her flexibility and twisted her body slightly to regain solid footing, but as soon as she was back on her feet, Grey had already appeared in front of her.
⟨⟨Magnum Caliber!⟩⟩ ［Grey］
Grey's punch quickly connected to Yuna as she tried to defend by crossing her arms. Her daggers were also crossed along her arms, successfully taking in the full force and impact of Grey's heavy punch.
"Ughh!" ［Yuna］
Clouds of dust came swirling again in the training ground as Yuna was pushed back several meters away from her previous location. Grey's punch was so heavy that she left large marks in the ground, making it seem like the training ground was scarred.
However, Yuna's worries were far from over. As she was pushed back, Grey also leaped towards her at the same time. She hasn't even recovered her but she received yet another strike from him.
The second strike was an uppercut which broke through Yuna's crossed arms in an instant, leaving the elven girl defenseless. To make it worse, as soon as her guard was down, Grey's other fist was ready to land another strike.
⟨⟨Barrier!⟩⟩ ［Yuna］
Yuna erected a barrier to shield her but it was futile. Grey's attack quickly broke through the barrier, however, it provided her enough time to escape the current situation and kick up another cloud dust.
Long before the match started, Yuna had already realized that she would be at a disadvantage at close quarters combat. After all, Grey's "Brawler" class was specialized in raw power while her "Assassin" class was specialized in speed and stealth. She couldn't afford having Grey close in on her again.
⟨⟨Icicle Shotgun!⟩⟩ ［Yuna］
Grey tried chasing after Yuna, but before he could, another "Icicle Shotgun" came flying towards him, forcing him to stop and defend. He erected another wall, blocking not only the projectiles but also his vision of Yuna.
By the time the wave of icicles were over, a strange sight greeted Grey as soon as he dissolved the wall. The training ground had turned completely wet, with large puddles of water everywhere as if it had just rained.
It didn't take long before Grey figured out what Yuna was trying to do. Right before his eyes, Yuna used fire magic and immediately turned the water lying down into large clouds of vapor, completely engulfing the whole training ground.
The first batch of evaporation only made a thin mist, but Yuna didn't just stop there. One after another, Yuna created more water and turned all of them into vapor. By the time the dust settled, a thick mist already reigned over the training ground.
While Grey could have just used wind magic to disperse the mist, since the training ground was enclosed in a barrier, the mist would just circulate and get filled in less than a fraction of a second. In other words, it was useless.
With the use of abilities forbidden, Grey didn't dare to charge recklessly in the mist-filled training ground. Instead, what Grey did was wait for Yuna to attack so that he can ascertain her location.
⟨⟨Ice Lance!⟩⟩ ［Yuna］
Grey didn't have to wait for long. A few seconds after he stopped on his tracks, a large icicle came flying towards him once again. He quickly dodged it and ran towards its origin as fast as he could.
Contrary to Grey's expectation, the moment he arrived to where he thought the source was, Yuna wasn't there nor was she nearby. There wasn't even a trace of her footsteps anywhere. He was bamboozled.
What Yuna did was not fire a spell towards Grey, rather, she fired a spell then controlled it with mana. She bent the spell's trajectory and made it seem it came from somewhere else. A very useful plan inside a misty environment.
Realizing Yuna's strategy, Grey couldn't help but smile a little. The young girl she thought a couple of years ago had already grown so much. Unfortunately, it was time to end the match,
⟨⟨Blizzard⟩⟩ ［Grey］
Using Yuna's own primary element, Grey quickly froze the training ground, covering the ground with glacial blue eyes and lowering the temperature all around the training ground. It was a temperature enough to turn water into ice in a short moment.
The spell did not harm Yuna in any way, but that wasn't Grey's goal. With the temperature dropping down like crazy, the vapor condensed back into water then into ice. Soon after, the thick mist was gone, only leaving behind a snowy field.
"There you are." ［Grey］
With the curtains of mist gone, Yuna's location was immediately revealed to Grey. The latter did not waste any time and swiftly rushed towards him, using the moment Yuna was still confused to his advantage.
Even with the slippery snowy ground, Grey did not lose balance and just continued rushing towards Yuna. By the moment Yuna noticed, he was only a few meters away from her.
⟨⟨Sickle Claw!⟩⟩ ［Yuna］
⟨⟨Magnum Caliber!⟩⟩ ［Grey］
Yuna tried to slow Grey down by launching an art towards him, but Grey just faced it head on and countered it with his own. He was like an unstoppable force which destroys everything in its path.
As soon as Yuna's art was broken through, Grey utilized wind magic once again in order to close the gap between him and her. In just a quick burst, Grey immediately arrived in Yuna's range.
"It's over. ⟨⟨Magnum Calibー" ［Grey］
『Grey, I love you.』 ［Yuna］
Before Grey could even throw his punch, Yuna's voice suddenly came ringing inside his mind without any warning. It was so sudden that Grey started stumbling and he missed the chance to land a hit.
Yuna didn't waste the opportunity and quickly docked. She then swept Grey off his feet, making him fall towards the frozen ground. By the time he noticed, Yuna's daggers were already pointing towards him.
"You're right, it is over." ［Yuna］
"That's sly..." ［Grey］
"Hehehe! All's fair in love and war, isn't it?" ［Yuna］
Yuna giggled to herself as she saw Grey look at her with a little bewilderment on his face. Grey on the other hand was not a little bit upset as it was also his fault for letting surprise get the better of him.
"Haah... I give up. It's my loss." ［Grey］
"Th-The winner is Instructor Yuna!" ［Julius］
The result of the match was quickly announced as soon as Grey raised his hands in defeat. A loud cheering then came after as both classes applauded the amazing match that had just taken place.
The barrier was quickly dispelled when the match was over and the training ground was reverted back to its original state with a quick work from Grey and Yuna. It was as if the match never happened.
"Instructor Yuna, how did you make Instructor Grey stumble at the last moment?!"
"Did you use some kind of spell?!"
"Please teach us how you did it!"
Questions came pouring down towards Yuna as soon as she and Grey returned back to where the students were. All of them were excited to hear the details of the match from their instructors themselves.
"Fufufu, that's a secret～. All I can say is that you have to make use of everything at your disposal!" ［Yuna］
Everyone's head was filled with confusion as they tried to decode what Yuna meant. The only person to understand her was Grey who is still a little taken aback from how sly his girlfriend had become.
What happened today was a secret only Grey and Yuna knew. It is something which the two of them will remember for the rest of their lives. One of their precious memories brought about by a random whim.
CHAPTER 94 END