"You said you weren't a siscon, damn it!!"
I lay on the floor of Yolina's room with a throbbing head. Still not fully awake, I shook my head and touched my hot left cheek. I had just been slapped. And that while I was sleeping. The hard slap pulled my consciousness from the dream world.
Opening my eyes fully, I could see Yolina, who was angry and covering herself with a blanket. She didn't need to, though, as she was wearing a nightgown to sleep. Well, I guess it was a reflex.
(Good morning, Master.)
Anetta's feminine voice greeted me alongside Yolina's devilish voice.
'Good morning. What happened?' I asked Anetta in my mind.
(You were slapped.)
'Hmmm, yes, that's obvious. I know that.'
Anetta's answer wasn't helpful at all. Of course, I knew I was slapped. Fully awake, I stood up and approached Yolina.
"Don't come any closer! You… you… last night?" Yolina continued, her voice gradually lowering in volume.
I then sat back down next to her bed and looked at Yolina.
'Anetta? How is her soul's recovery?'
(Individual Yolina's soul condition is quite good. No damage. It will take two days to fully recover. Suggestion: reduce the use of soul skills during recovery.)
I nodded inwardly. It seems Arkium works on others too. I might use it in emergencies. Then I responded to Yolina to clear up the misunderstanding.
"Of course not. You just panicked. Calm down." I replied flatly, sighing.
With that, Yolina finally calmed down a bit and sat on the bed relaxed, looking at me with a strange expression. She then looked at her right hand, which I held all night.
"What happened? Why did you stay over? And why were you… holding my hand while sleeping?" Yolina asked calmly, though there was a bit of contemplation when she asked about her hand.
"You lost consciousness, so I had to take care of you and stayed over. Don't you remember?" I asked.
Yolina immediately tried to recall what happened yesterday. It was evident from her body language; her gaze directed upward, sometimes closing her eyes. I was worried about her. Is there something wrong with her memory?
'Anetta? Is she okay?'
(No issues at all, Master. No neural problems causing memory loss. However…)
"Oh, I remember. When we did the deeper soul connection, I… I—" Yolina's voice became faint, and her eyes grew weary.
At that moment, Yolina's body weakened again. While listening to Anetta in my mind, I quickly got on the bed and caught Yolina's body. Although it wouldn't be a problem to let her fall on the bed, it was my reflex.
Yolina, in my arms, said, "Edward… my body is so… tired."
"Her body temperature…" I murmured while laying Yolina down gently.
(Yes, Master. Individual Yolina has a fever. This is a mild side effect when Arkium is continuously flowed for a long time. The mana core in Yolina's body automatically activates a defense mechanism like the immune system and works harder to limit foreign energy entering. Even though her mana recognizes Arkium as non-threatening, her mana core has been working all night to 'monitor' the Arkium flow.)
Anetta explained at length. What I understood was that Yolina's fever was a side effect of the prolonged Arkium transfer.
"You have a fever, you're exhausted from yesterday." I said, getting off her bed and touching her forehead.
Yolina didn't respond. She just looked at me for a long time with her flushed face. Maybe it was because of the fever. Her expression was sad. It reminded me of yesterday when the soul connection accident happened. Perhaps she was sad remembering the backlash. She might think I refused the deeper soul connection because I didn't trust her.
"Edward… I—" Yolina spoke weakly.
I interrupted and closed her eyes, "Trust me, I trust you. Yesterday was just an accident; my skill acted up. I'm sorry." I replied with a gentle gaze.
Yolina shook her head and pushed my hand away weakly.
"I felt like my soul would disappear at any moment yesterday. Why do I feel my soul is fine today?" Yolina looked at me.
I smiled and stood up.
"I'll explain it later. I have to go to the academy. You, don't go to the academy today. For breakfast, eat some ice cream first. And for lunch, I'll contact Alfred to buy something." I said.
Yolina stayed silent and didn't respond. She just looked at me for a long time with her flushed face.
Shortly after, she replied, "But you're also tired."
'Yes, thanks to you, my Arkium hasn't fully recovered.' I thought.
I walked out of her room, opened the door, and paused. I remembered today was Friday. We had to wear sports attire. And I didn't bring mine. If I go back to the dorm first, I'll be late. So…
I turned back and looked at Yolina, "Do you have Hero Department sportswear?"
"Yes. Why?" Yolina asked.
Then I replied, "Can I borrow it?"
...
That's what happened yesterday. I borrowed Yolina's sportswear. Honestly, the process of borrowing it was a bit awkward. She allowed me to open her wardrobe, but when I did, she didn't permit it. But it was too late. I opened it and… well… I just realized.
I felt awkward, and Yolina's face turned even redder with embarrassment. A woman's wardrobe, even if it's your sister's, is still private. So, when I opened it, I could only avoid looking at the 'private' parts of her wardrobe.
The unfortunate part was, Yolina's sports set was too small for me. So I left Yolina's dorm without taking what I borrowed. But I saw and applied it. You're wondering how? It's all thanks to my versatile Quantumorph Artisan skill; I could create a set of sportswear on my body.
And so, here I am, listening to the explanations of two professors in front with no enthusiasm. Once again, I was very tired from yesterday's Arkium transfer.
Even so, I still attended this lecture. After the two professors finished explaining, the class was divided into two large groups. Because today both Hero Department classes were combined, 250 students attended this Friday lecture.
The first group consisted of those whose physical strength still needed honing, like students whose attacks relied heavily on magic and whose bodies weren't as strong as fighters. Of course, even though there are mage types in the Hero Department, the mages here have stronger bodies than the mage students in the Magic Department. Whether you want to become a pure mage later who rarely trains physically, as long as you are a Hero Department student, a mage must know martial arts and train physically.
The first group was led by Professor Hobgoblin Alzor. Generally, Hobgoblins aren't as big or tall as Orcs, but Alzor has a physique almost resembling an Orc. He must have trained his body crazily and efficiently. So, Alzor seems suitable to guide the first group, which is weak in physicality.
The second group consists of those whose fighting style is close combat and relies heavily on physical strength. And magic is only a complement and enhancer. Ishma, Zephyr, Giselle, and I are in this group. Whereas the elf Rosaire is in the first group, even though she has a fairly strong physique. The second group has more students. This second group is led by Professor Orc Balzaq.
For this lecture, the first group focuses on improving basic physical strength and stamina. And the second group, which already knows martial arts and has stronger physiques, focuses on further improving physical strength and stamina and refining martial arts movements after performing basic martial arts movements. We trained in pairs, and I guess you don't need to wonder who my partner is. Of course, I'm with Ishma. This time, I invited Ishma first. And because Ishma knows I'm more comfortable with unarmed combat than she is, Ishma asked for my help.
The sight of me teaching Ishma drew attention.
'Yes, for now, it's good to prevent bad rumors between me and Ishma.' I thought.
Time passed quickly for the first lecture. And for the second lecture, the professors teaching were still the same two professors. This second lecture teaches how to fight as a knight. And it involves more weapon combat practice.
This lecture also passed quickly and neared the end.
"Attention students. To close today's class, would anyone like to do a combat demonstration?" Professor Alzor said, clapping his hands.
I glanced at Ishma, standing proudly with her training spear. Realizing my glance, Ishma also glanced at me.
"We can use this to show our affection." Ishma said first, with a slight smirk.
I was indeed thinking of that, so we would look like real lovers dueling with graceful movements. Then we would end it in a draw and walk out of the arena holding hands. A good idea to convince others. Although in my previous life I didn't have a wife or girlfriend, honestly, the idea in my head was too dramatic.
"Do you think so?" I replied, smiling as well.
Some male students near us had threatening looks. However, Ishma and I ignored them.
"So what? Are we going to do a demonstration together?" Ishma said, resting her spear on her right shoulder. She looked at the duel area.
"Honestly, I'm very tired today. I don't think so." I replied.
Ishma sighed and lowered her spear from her shoulder.
"Well, maybe next time then," Ishma said with her usual expressionless face.
Since I was tired, I wasn't in the mood for any physical activity. Today, I was already pushing myself while trying to recover Arkium. So, I had to decline for now. I then looked at the duel area, waiting to see if anyone would volunteer for the demonstration. On the other side, I noticed a red-haired boy looking at me strangely. Then he jumped into the duel area. I knew who he was, a first-year student ranked 9th in the Hero Department.
"Oh, so we have a volunteer. What's your name?" Professor Alzor asked.
"Lukas Ziegler, professor." Lukas replied politely, bowing slightly.
"Who's your demonstration partner? Or are you demonstrating alone?" Professor Alzor asked again.
At that moment, Lukas's expression changed, and he looked at me. It was clearly an unfriendly gaze. Ishma noticed this and glanced at me.
Lukas shifted his gaze back to the professor and answered, "I'm sorry, Professor. I don't have a demonstration partner. But…"
"So, are you demonstrating alone?" Professor Alzor raised an eyebrow.
"No, Professor. But, Can I propose a duel? Of course, it's fine if we don't use mana," Lukas said firmly.
Professors Alzor and Balzaq exchanged glances and smiled.
"Hmmm. Good spirit, young man." Professor Alzor patted Lukas on the shoulder enthusiastically.
"A duel, you say? Che… OF COURSE!" Professor Balzaq spread his arms wide and shouted loudly.
At this moment, watching the scene, I felt an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
"It seems he's going to challenge you, Edward," Ishma whispered, getting a bit closer to me.
'That's obvious,' I thought.
I glanced at Ishma and asked, "I'm sure this has something to do with you, right?"
"He's the first son of Viscount Ziegler. And yes, I've rejected him before," Ishma answered flatly.
I sighed. I had expected as much.
Then I asked, "Why did you reject him? He seems like a nice guy."
"Why should I accept him when I have no feelings and don't like him?"
I could only nod at that. A normal answer.
"Edward Kazan Vallois, I challenge you! I don't think you're worthy of Miss Bahraeel." Of course, this shout came from Lukas as he pointed his sword at me.
'Aren't you embarrassed to shout the last part?' I thought, sighing again.
"Win this for me, my dear," Ishma said with a beautiful, fake smile.
'Ugh... your dear, my ass! I'm exhausted today, damn it!'