I woke up at the same time the bell rang. Today starts the second week of our life in the academy.
Yesterday, Crestia and I decided to stay in our dorms and only go out to eat at the cafeteria so Alad won't find a chance to come to us. But today, that tactic won't work because we have classes.
I wake my three friends who are still sleeping even though the bell already rang.
"Hey! Wake up everyone! There are classes today!" I said loudly, hoping they would wake up.
"Will? It's unusual for you to be so eager. Normally you would not stand up unless someone forced you to. Did something happen?" Tork asked.
"No, I just got a good night's sleep, that's all" I said, then continued to force them to stand up.
After that, the four of us headed to the cafeteria. Raiden is still sleepy, so he's walking sluggishly. Did he stay up late yesterday?
After a few minutes of walking, we finally entered the cafeteria. I can see Chris' group sitting at their usual table.
I gave a look to Tork, and he nodded at me.
"Go greet them, we'll find a table for us," Tork said.
"Thanks," I said, then headed towards Chris' group.
"Good morning everyone!" I greeted them, and the four of them looked at me.
"Will! Good morning!" Chris said cheerfully.
"Good morning Will!"
"Good morning too, Will!" Lana and Lucia said at the same time, and then they both giggled.
"Good morning," Crestia said in a reserved tone.
Everyone got surprised because this is the first time Crestia returned my greetings, and moreover, she doesn't look upset today.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Crestia asked, noticing everyone's gazes focused on her.
"No, but you... returned Will's greeting normally," Lana said.
"Did something happen between you two that we don't know?" Lucia asked.
"Huh? Nothing happened at all!" Crestia said, then took a bite of her bread.
"Stop saying nonsense things and just finish your food before the bell rings," she added.
"Yeah, that's the Crestia we know," Lucia said.
"Huh?!" She said, then scowled at Lucia.
"No, nothing," Lucia said, then continued eating.
"Maybe Crestia wants to be friends with Will now," Chris said out of nowhere.
She hasn't said anything since earlier, so she must be thinking about the reason why Crestia returned my greetings.
"Huh? What are you saying? I said stop saying nonsense things and just finish your food," Crestia said to Chris.
"And you? How long are you going to stay here?" She asked me.
"Ah! That's right, then I'll take my leave. See you guys," I said, then walked away from their table.
"You didn't deny it," Chris said.
"Huh?" Crestia said, then looked at Chris.
"You didn't deny that you want to be friends with Will," Chris said, then smiled at Crestia.
"Shut up," Crestia whispered, then continued eating.
I can hear them talking about something, but I'm too far away to understand, and it's really noisy here in the cafeteria.
Crestia and I decided not to let Chris and the others know about our circumstances because we don't want them to get involved too. That's why everyone was surprised when Crestia suddenly returned my greetings.
After we finished eating, the three of us headed towards the training field. Tork left a bit earlier, saying that there's something he needs to discuss with his classmates, leaving us behind.
Just a minute after we arrived at the training field, Instructor Gord also arrived. The 16 of us now brace ourselves to run 50 laps again today, but we didn't expect what Instructor Gord said.
"Everyone, your task for this morning is to run 20 laps," he said, leaving all 16 of us surprised.
"Did I hear it right, sir? 20 laps?" Famir asked, unable to believe what he just heard, like the rest of us.
"Yes, 20 laps. Is there a problem?" Instructor Gord asked.
"No, nothing, sir," Famir said.
With that exchange, all 16 of us became overjoyed. All of us are thinking the same thing: "This is easy."
"Now start!" Instructor Gord said, and the 16 of us started running around the training field.
While running, I can see other grade levels practicing their swordsmanship skills, while others are having matches.
I reach the part where fifth-year students are practicing, and I saw Hans the Joker and Leonardo the Ace having a match. Both of their movements are clearly above average, no, even better than that. Maybe they can even beat Ruel without having a hard time.
As I continue running, I feel a gaze directed at me. I look in the direction it's coming from and get surprised. The one who's staring at me is none other than Crestia's bully, Alad.
He noticed that I'm looking at him, then he smiles at me. It can be considered a normal exchange, but I feel the hatred directed towards me in his eyes, as if saying "you'll pay for what you did."
The face he's making right now is the face of someone who's planning something. I got chills on my body. I can't leave Crestia alone. I underestimated him. I know that he would hate us for what I did, but not to that extent.
That face he's making is saying that he would do anything just so he can take his revenge against us.
"Will, why did you stop running?" Tyiyn asked me, wondering why I stopped.
"Ah! Nothing, I just saw their match and got captivated by their moves," I answered, pointing at Hans and Leonardo's match.
"You're right. Even with my eyes, I can tell they're on a different level than us," he said, looking at the match.
"Watching their match was fun, and you can learn a lot, but if we don't move right now, we'll get left behind," Tyiyn added.
"You're right. Let's go now," I said, then continued running.
All of us finished our 20 laps and are now taking a break.
While running, I'm thinking of a way to keep Crestia safe from Alad. I can see it in his face that he's planning something, so I need to stay with Crestia as long as possible, so I can respond to whatever he's planning anytime.
After thinking about it, the best possible answer I've reached is to change classes from swordsmanship to magic classes. But Water magic class, which Crestia is in, is on the basics of basics, so I won't learn much from it.
By process of elimination, for anyone not to doubt me, I chose the most difficult element to learn since I don't have experience with it. No one would doubt my performance, and additionally, Crestia's room is next to it, so it's more convenient.
After deciding that, I talked to Instructor Gord, and I got surprised by his answer.
"Are you really sure? The 11th swordsmanship tournament is coming, and you're one of those who I'm considering to choose to participate," he said.
"Swordsmanship tournament?" I asked him.
"You haven't heard about it yet? Next month, the school will have its 11th swordsmanship tournament, and the winner would get 10 gold coins along with a sword made by the head of Tranche blacksmith company," he explained.
"And you're considering me to take part in it?" I asked, feeling a mix of surprise and excitement.
"Don't get ahead of yourself; we'll also hold a tournament in this class, and the winner would be the one participating since there's only one slot for the first years," he said.
I wanted to take part in it since that chance wouldn't always come, but I have a more important issue at hand right now.
"Then how about this? In the morning, you'll take swordsmanship classes, and in the afternoon, you're free to take your magic lesson. How about that?" he made a proposal.
Why is he going to such lengths just so I would stay in his class? Nevertheless, I really appreciate it.
"Then I'll do that. Thank you, Instructor Gord," I said.
So, my schedule for tomorrow morning is to take swordsmanship class, and in the afternoon, I'll take earth magic class.
I'm going to become busier, but I won't mind that as long as I can keep my promise which is to protect Crestia.