"And that's all for today, class," Stephanie tapped the whiteboard with her pen. "Remember, tomorrow is the day of the field study. Don't be late, okay!" she reminded. As Stephanie left the classroom, Wortel stretched his body, "Is class over yet?" he yawned. "Like always, the idiot sleeps anywhere anyway he can," a short, silvery-white-haired girl quipped. "This voice… You runt!" Wortel immediately jerked his body up, "I'm going to catch you this time!" Rie's lips curled into a mocking smile, "Try it if you can, moron." Wortel's veins bulged out in annoyance, "Come here, you little runt!" he shouted before chasing the fleeing Rie. "Hah, it's been almost a month, and those two are still going at it," Gilbert sighed.
"It's fine, right? It means they are close," I said with a soft smile.
"You're right, Vaan. But it's just so noisy every time," Gilbert waved his hand.
"If it's so noisy, why don't you accompany me shopping, then?" a girl's voice resounded behind Gilbert.
"Uwaa!" Gilbert yelled, startled by Eliza creeping up behind him.
"What's your excuse again this time, huh, Gilbert? I won't take no for an answer today," Eliza cracked her knuckles while her lips curled up.
Gilbert's desperate eyes darted at me, pleading for help. In prayer, I clasped my hands together, sending him a massage through our eye contact, 'Good luck, brother!'
"Vaan, save me! Vaan!" Gilbert screamed as his body was dragged outside by Eliza.
"Haha…. Now, should I go too?" I chuckled.
"You're training again, Vaan?" Dorothy, the only one remaining of my classmates, asked.
"Yup. As a swordsman, you should never let up on your training," I said.
"Make sure you don't break the equipment this time," Dorothy shot a deathly glare at me.
"Ahaha…. Sure, I'll try," I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
"Hah, just use a wooden sword this time. I have prepared a custom one for you," Dorothy sighed.
"Thanks, class rep," I sling my bag. Grabbing my sword, I nodded at Dorothy as I exited the classroom.
Walking three floors down, I was now in front of a metallic door. The underground training hall in Charles Military Academy occupied the entire basement of the building. It was surrounded by a special kind of alloy where it insulated the room, giving it warmth when it was cold and cool when it was hot. The special alloy was also strong enough to withstand high-grade military weapons. When I opened the metallic door, I was surprised to see Gloria punching a wooden dummy with her bare hands. "Oh, it's just you, Vaan," the green-haired woman with a well-toned muscle greeted after disintegrating the poor wooden dummy with her fist. "You're training, Miss Gloria?" I asked. "Of course, duh. What does it look like?" Gloria smacked her lips. "Hurry up and change. I'm itching for a good fight now," Gloria grinned.
My body shuddered as I still remembered how fierce this green-haired woman was. "What are you dozing around for? Just hurry up and change. My body can't take it any longer," Gloria said while licking her lips. Seeing that there were no other ways out, I sighed, "Fine, but don't wait for me," I pursed my lips. After changing into my training clothes, Gloria tossed a wooden sword at me.
"En garde!"