The once-new students at the Rodren Academy had now become respectable students as November approached, leaving only the final exams at the end of the month. Despite the cold weather, they continued to move energetically around the academy.
"Louis!"
After class, Serena touched Louis, who was lost in thought.
Louis finally refocused his eyes and turned to look at her.
"Class is over. What are you daydreaming about?"
"Huh? Um..."
Just a few days ago, he was in a similar state after the duel, and it continued until now. Serena couldn't hide her frustration and stopped Chris, who was passing by them.
"Chris, say something to Louis. He's been daydreaming like this."
"Hmm?"
When Serena suddenly grabbed him, Chris narrowed his eyes and glanced at Louis before turning his head.
"I don't know anything about it, and..."
Chris spoke one word and left.
"Sometimes it's better to just leave it."
Chris's words seemed to be aimed at Louis, and Serena glared at the back of his head. However, Chris had already disappeared into the distance.
"Serena, thanks for caring. But I've been thinking a lot lately."
Louis awkwardly smiled at Serena.
"Have you been thinking that much? You must be dwelling on the duel from the other day."
"Haha, you're right. Reflecting on it has been occupying my mind."
"That child, Benjamin, right? He's at the Monas Academy."
"Yes."
"Senior Adrias recommended and sent him."
"Yeah, but if it weren't for Senior Adrias' name, I would have ignored it. Suddenly challenging me to a duel like that..."
Louis smiled, feeling good about it.
"I honestly thought Senior Adrias had no interest in me. When I first applied for a duel, I was just ignored."
Louis raised his hand as if he were holding a sword and then opened his eyes wide.
"And so, it suddenly came to mind."
He then squatted down, squeezing his hand tight.
Then, with wide-open eyes, he told Serena,
"That child, Benjamin, right? I was shocked."
"Shocked? Benjamin? Well, it's natural to be surprised that a Monas Academy student lasted that long against the great Louis Artmann."
Louis seemed a little embarrassed to make such a frank statement.
"It's not what you think. He's on another level as a person. He's unbelievable. There's no question. If I had to choose between me and Benjamin Ankius, then Benjamin is the real genius."
"...Is that so?"
"Of course, I won't be losing to Benjamin. I'll keep standing in front of Benjamin in the future. But if I hadn't dueled Benjamin, who knows, he might have caught up to me someday."
Louis' daring praise made Serena feel some indescribable anger.
She had been with Louis for a long time and was finally hearing him praise someone below him.
"And more amazing than that is Senior Adrias."
"Why?"
"It's fascinating. How did Adrias know about Benjamin and plan to send him to me, helping each other?"
The two of them pondered the mystery for a while. Recently, during their year at the academy, they had felt Adrias' invisible influence throughout the academy, even though he didn't show himself.
Louis eventually exclaimed in admiration, "He's really amazing."
"Yeah, let's just dedicate this time to praising Senior Adrias."
"Okay. Let's stop talking about it now. Let's go eat lunch."
Serena playfully suggested that it was incredible how they had such a coincidence with so many people gathered there.
Louis, still looking tense, nodded.
'Just a matter of skill...'
He thought that maybe it was because he didn't have such a benchmark that he came to admire Adrias even more.
"I don't believe this! What's brought him all the way here?"
Serena was taken aback by the unusually large number of people gathered in the cafeteria.
Louis, lost in thought for a while, finally noticed the scene and asked, "What's going on?"
"What's going on? Can't you see that?"
Louis followed Serena's finger and saw that someone who had been eating a moment ago was walking towards the Knight Department's cafeteria.
Louis wondered if he had been mistaken, but it was indeed happening.
"Why are you staring like that? After all the praise, shouldn't you go and thank him?"
"Yeah, you're right."
Seeing Louis' nervous demeanor, Serena couldn't help but smile.
"You've been acting strange. Are you half-asleep right now?"
"It's not that..."
Just then, Adrias, approaching them, shifted his gaze toward them.
Surprised by the unexpected appearance of Adrias, Louis and Serena just stood there in a daze.
"It's been a while."
In front of them, Adrias greeted them, and Louis and Serena nodded in response.
"Hello, senior."
"Nice to see you, senior."
To their surprise, Adrias' previously cold expression softened as he heard their responses.
Serena, who had just managed to exhale a breath, continued to greet him.
"Thank you for helping me the other day."
"What do you mean?"
"Huh? Oh, right! I heard from Senior Vivianne that you asked senior for a favor..."
"Oh, that."
Adrias nodded, understanding what she meant.
Adrias nodded with a smile as if he had almost forgotten.
"Did my help work?"
"Yes? Yes, it was a tremendous help!"
"Then I'm glad. I was worried you might be feeling conflicted because of what I said."
"Oh, no! I'm always grateful to Senior Adrias!"
Louis, who had been quietly listening, finally chimed in.
"Senior, I met an individual named Benjamin Ankius two days ago."
"Is that so? How did it go?"
"Before I ask anything else, may I inquire about one thing?"
Louis, with a somewhat challenging demeanor, caught Adrias' calm gaze. Watching this exchange with an uncertain heart, Serena observed.
"Go ahead."
"Is Benjamin Ankius a student you've personally taught?"
Adrias couldn't help but let out a laugh at Louis' words, as if it were an unexpected amusement.
Louis contemplated his words, wondering if he had made a mistake.
"Oh, no, there's no need to be so flustered. I just laughed because you overestimated me. To answer your question, no, I haven't personally taught Benjamin. I never had the skills to teach him, to begin with."
Adrias then turned and said, "You should meet him in person; you'll understand. That kid is a genius. He's someone I couldn't have taught even if I had the ability."
"Oh, Senior! Where are you going?"
"I came to look for Vivianne. Do you happen to know where she is?"
"I'll check for you."
"No, let's meet later."
As Adrias shook hands and left, Louis relaxed, releasing the tension he had been holding.
Serena, too, heaved a sigh of relief, scratching her head absentmindedly.
"He's a really unique senior."
"And strong, as expected."
"You're already checking that too? Ugh, it's so tiresome."
Regardless of what Serena said, Louis clenched his fist, looking at the spot where Adrianne had disappeared.
"I really want to catch up to him. To stand side by side."
.
.
.
.
I came to the Knight Department to meet Vivianne and, luckily, I also met Louis and Serena.
Right now, going to see Vivianne is not entirely unrelated to expressing gratitude for helping Serena.
'If she's not in the restaurant, should I go to the training area?'
Apart from my Galakshur hanging on my hip, I had another sword attached.
It was a gift for Vivianne from Trauler.
Trauler eventually agreed to make equipment for my undead, but it took quite some time.
In the end, I had to place an order and return to the academy, but I could obtain one of the pre-made swords.
'I could give it to Nickel, but since I can get a better one anyway, I think I'll keep it.'
The sword I received from Trauler was good enough, but it wasn't a named grade.
The only named sword he made was 'Star Hunter,' so it was a natural story.
Still, the quality of the equipment he made at the his forge was much better than 'My blacksmithing is the best in the world', excluding named-grade items. In fact, it was the best-grade equipment.
'I hope Viviannne likes it.'
I had known since the time she showed interest in my Galakshur, but Vivian seemed quite interested in swords as well.
'Vivianne's current sword is nothing more than a mass-produced item.'
I could understand that as someone who roughly knew her background.
She probably wasn't living a very affluent life.
"Wow, it's Senior Adrias."
"What's going on here?"
I had already attracted attention, but since meeting Maximin, I received a level of attention that was almost overwhelming.
As those who use swords, it's only natural to meet the strongest swordswoman once in a while and have a conversation.
I considered it fortunate and asked those around me.
"Do you happen to know where Vivianne Velocan is?"
"Senior Vivianne? Well, she went towards the restaurant earlier."
My guess was correct.
I stopped my steps and headed toward the restaurant.
When I arrived at the restaurant and scanned the surroundings, I spotted distinctive green hair.
And that green hair, noticing the commotion caused by my arrival, turned to look in my direction.
"Adrias?"
She blinked her large pupils and remained in a daze.
As I approached her, Vivianne finally seemed to figure out what to do and offered me a seat.
"Vivianne, how have you been?"
"Yeah, I was surprised when you suddenly showed up."
I immediately unfastened the sword from my waist and handed it to her.
Upon receiving it, Vivianne looked puzzled and tilted her head, asking, "What is this?"
"I wanted to say thank you for always helping me and this is something I happened to come across this time. I brought it as a gift."
"I've already received earrings," she said, showing her white earrings.
"Those are gifts, and so is this. Besides, I'd really like it if you accepted this new sword since it already has Vivianne's name on it," I replied.
Vivianne finally picked up the sword and slowly drew it out.
The color of the blade was unique.
The pale yellowish tint of the blade showed that it wasn't made from ordinary ore.
"I heard it's a sword made of Resurrection Iron, a rare ore mainly used in magical research. I didn't even know they could make a sword with this. Its special feature is that it maintains its sharpness without needing much maintenance."
It wasn't a named-grade item, but with its unique properties, it was an excellent weapon.
The sharpness and mana conductivity were guaranteed, and thanks to being made of Resurrection Iron, it boasted near-permanent sharpness.
"This won't do. I can't accept it," Vivianne said, holding the sword and offering it back, her face unusually determined.
However, I declined to take the sword and shook my head. "The sword already has an owner. The blacksmith said that the name should be chosen by the one who will become its owner."
"But..."
"If Vivianne doesn't accept it, the sword will be ownerless. I have a sword I received from the Martial Master before, so I won't need this one."
Vivianne, who had been contemplating my words for a moment, slowly nodded her head. "Alright, thank you. I'll keep it as a keepsake."
"It's not a sword good enough to be a keepsake. I'll give you a real keepsake sword later."
"No! This is more than enough." She hugged the sword tightly to her chest and shook her head.
Then, she partially drew the sword again and said, "I'll name this sword 'Eternal Oath.'"
"It's a great name. I hope you use it well."
She probably didn't know that Trauler was the one who made this sword. If she did, she might not have accepted it. Trauler's reputation was that widespread.
"Um... Have you had lunch?"
"No, not yet."
"Shall we have lunch together?"
"Would that be alright?"
Ding!
At that moment, I received a notification on my tablet, indicating a message had arrived. Excusing myself for a moment, I checked the message.
'A letter has arrived for Adrian Cromwell in the Administration Building.'
A letter? The only letter that could be coming to me was from Amy. Letters from gatherings or suspicious places didn't get sent to the Administration Building; they were delivered directly to me.
"What's going on?"
Since my tablet had a feature that allowed me to check the content of the letter immediately, I decided to take a quick look.
'The visitor looking for you has arrived. As soon as you confirm, you should return home right away!'
"What does this mean?" I muttered to myself. I couldn't make sense of the message. However, upon closer thought, a sense of unease crept over me.
There were no ordinary visitors seeking me. Such people didn't come to my house right now.
And to say that such a person was currently at my house with my younger sister?
"Vivianne, I'm sorry, but I have urgent business to attend to, so I need to go right away."
"Sure, that's fine. We'll meet again next time."
She seemed a bit puzzled, but Vivianne nodded and waved her hand, letting me go.
I left the restaurant and thought, "Who could it be? Luna? Hegel? Or perhaps someone related to the gathering? No, it can't be Truler's equipment; it couldn't have been made that quickly."
With a sense of unease in my heart, I immediately headed to the Welton Territory by train.