After the incident with Teresa, Helmut and Alea returned to the dormitory.
School was about to start again soon. Unexpectedly, Instructor Alan treated them to a meal, so they decided not to set a specific date for the next one.
"We'll see when the next time will be, but let's not make a firm promise."
"Take care."
Helmut couldn't ask anything as Alea waved her hand as if nothing had happened and disappeared.
In truth, there weren't any specific questions to ask. There were doubts, but nothing significant.
"I should head to the training grounds."
That evening, after visiting the personal training grounds, Helmut encountered Sian and Asuka.
True to Sian's reputation for being well-informed, it seemed he had already picked up on Helmut's story. Asuka waved her hand with a sulky expression.
"Hey, traitor. Does food taste better when you eat with Alea?"
"I told you, it was a promise."
"Why does it sound so suspicious when two guys make a promise?"
"It's my business. Besides, Alea doesn't like either of you."
Sian grumbled at Helmut's blunt response.
"…You say such hurtful things so casually?"
Helmut raised an eyebrow, unable to see how his words were hurtful, as Sian sighed and continued.
"Anyway, I heard you fought with a senior girl at some fancy shaved ice shop. It caused quite a stir?"
The rumors had gotten into quite the detail.
"Alea fighting a girl? That must have been something to see."
Asuka focused on a different point.
"Yeah, Alea's popularity isn't what it used to be. The upperclassmen say her magic has the power to charm the opposite sex, but it seems to have weakened."
"So, her skills have declined?"
"No, she must have gotten better at controlling her magic, to the point where she can even hide her inherent attributes."
"That's unfortunate news. But why the fight?"
All eyes turned to Helmut, who remained silent, finding it difficult to explain.
"It's routine for you, and if Alea raised her voice... Did that senior girl like you? Is that why she interfered with your plans?"
Sian's accurate guess made Helmut flinch.
"Was that senior pretty?"
Asuka asked, eyes gleaming, while Sian nudged her lightly.
"Trust this guy to ask that. She must have been confident to approach him."
"Rejecting a pretty senior... Alea's no help, huh."
Asuka nodded, adding,
"That girl is a bit dangerous, you know."
"In what way?"
At Sian's question, Asuka spoke knowingly.
"She doesn't have friends. Meaning, she might become obsessed with her only friend."
Asuka herself only had two people she could call friends: Sian and Helmut.
"So, you're saying you're half as obsessed with each of us?"
"Looking for a fight?"
As usual, the two bickered. Helmut thought for a moment.
"Obsession."
Even if it were true, it didn't seem like a big deal to him. There was no conflict between him and Alea, after all.
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The new semester began. It didn't start with any grand event, just classes as usual.
Helmut arrived on time at the swordsmanship department for second-year students, a place he hadn't been during the vacation. He glanced over his classmates.
"Everyone seems to have made progress."
No one appeared to have slackened off during the break. At Greta Academy, where even geniuses could become ordinary, falling behind wasn't an option.
Greetings came his way from all around. Being the top student in the swordsmanship department meant he couldn't avoid attracting attention.
"Hey, Helmut. Long time no see."
"Did you have a good break? You weren't just lazing around, were you?"
"Did you get a tan? Have you been training under the sun?"
"I heard Senior Teresa from the magic department likes you?"
"And that you rejected her spectacularly? Why'd you do it?"
He had no memory of confessing or being rejected, but it seemed like a similar situation had occurred.
If asked why, he couldn't explain it well, but he felt that even if Teresa hadn't been so forward, he would have rejected her anyway.
Why should accepting someone's confession be taken for granted?
"Because it's bothersome...?"
"Wow, this guy. So cool."
"That's how the top student of the swordsmanship department should be."
"But she was pretty, they say."
"I wouldn't have rejected her."
The chatter suddenly stopped as Helmut noticed Asuka approaching from the opposite direction.
Asuka's arrival made everyone suddenly fall silent, a scene no different from the previous semester.
"Hey, why do you always walk alone? You could've woken me up if I overslept."
Asuka grumbled. It was one minute before class started. He had narrowly avoided being late. Helmut simply responded,
"Wake up on your own."
He wasn't kind enough to wake others, plus he didn't even know where Asuka's room was.
Just as Asuka was about to retort,
"Attention, everyone!"
It was Instructor Alan. His appearance made the swordsmanship students line up.
Instructor Alan glanced awkwardly towards Helmut before speaking.
"Is everyone well? I hope you haven't neglected your training over the break."
"Yes, Instructor!"
The response was loud and clear.
"Good. If there were shortcomings last semester, work hard to catch up. If you did well last semester, work hard to maintain your lead. Today is the first class."
The first class usually involved explaining the exam schedule and course outline. This time was no different.
"I'll briefly go over the course schedule. You all know there's a summer festival coming up, right?"
Cheers erupted. No one dislikes fun. The festival is one of the few pleasures in the competitive life at the academy. If there was a picnic in the first semester, the second semester brings the summer festival.
"After the three-day summer festival, midterms will approach. After midterms, there will be a week-long practical assignment. Details will be announced later."
The mention of a practical assignment caused a stir.
'Are we going to do something outside the academy?'
Helmut was as curious as anyone. Instructor Alan continued,
"Additionally, towards the end of the second semester, there will be a final exam and a selection competition. The results of the selection competition will be reflected in the practical scores. Two students will be selected from the first, second, and third years, and two from the fourth, fifth, and sixth years, making a total of four.
The competition will be held among the lower grades separately from the upper grades. Then, the top-ranked students from each grade will compete in another selection competition without grade division."
Someone murmured,
"Helmut will surely be among the two, even if he faces a third-year senior."
"Most likely."
"But what's the point of the selection? What are they selected for?"
"What's after the second semester?"
The answer came from Instructor Alan.
"After the selection competition, there will be an academy-wide swordsmanship tournament in Baden. We, the instructors, expect Greta Academy to perform well."
The students buzzed with excitement. Even the usually quiet ones couldn't keep silent.
"A comprehensive swordsmanship tournament? Wasn't that usually held without Baden's academies?"
"Would the temple allow that?"
"It must be fine if they're doing it."
Although Baden is known as the city of academies, it's not the only place with them. There are several other prestigious academies in empires and kingdoms.
These academies had always interacted, holding tournaments or sending exchange students among themselves.
Baden's academies were excluded because the city is friendly to mages.
Above all, there were no places that could rival the three magic academies in Baden. Few cities were as free in magic research as Baden.
The temple was particularly hostile to magic. The temple in Lumen hadn't even allowed its influence to spread in Baden.
Naturally, the academies under pressure from the temple were hesitant to interact with Baden's academies.
But even bound by the name of "prestigious," it was undeniable that Baden's academies were top-notch.
Despite the temple's pressure on high-ranking officials from various countries not to send their students to Baden, few complied.
Many were worried about falling behind educationally compared to other families if they didn't send their children to Baden.
As a result, Baden hosted students from key noble and royal families from various countries. Even the temple couldn't pressure them too much.
Recently, due to some incident, the temple's activities had decreased, leading to the new initiative.
How many academies would participate was unknown, but at least three had agreed to join.
The second-year swordsmanship students chatted excitedly.
"Fighting against students from other academies sounds fun."
"Greta must prove it's not only the best in magic but in swordsmanship too!"
"First, we need to pass the selection. But do you think you'll make it?"
"What? You wanna start something?"
Amid the noise, Helmut pondered.
'A swordsmanship tournament.'
He had made it to the finals in the Basor martial arts tournament.
If he had fought Luke Yeager, he believed he would have won, so despite the finals being unresolved, he considered himself the winner.
The Basor martial arts tournament was on a different level from an academy swordsmanship tournament.
The prize money alone was enormous, and even a first-class platinum badge holder might not be a contender for the championship.
In contrast, in an academy swordsmanship tournament, a platinum badge holder would be among the top contenders.
Having won in Basor, Helmut figured winning the academy tournament would be relatively easy, even if he were ill or had a stomachache. It seemed he had a knack for getting involved in tournaments.
'The academies in Baden are wealthy, so the prize money should be substantial.'
With Darien's inheritance and the martial arts tournament prize money, Helmut had become wealthy. But he wouldn't pass up the chance to earn more.
"Alright, two from the first, second, and third years, that's it."
Asuka confidently stated, expecting both Helmut and himself to be selected.
The level of students from other academies was unknown, but given their achievements, Asuka was confident of a good performance.
"Honor and prize money are at stake, so don't think it's unrelated to you. I hope everyone gives their best. That's all!"
Instructor Alan concluded. With the summer festival, practical assignments, and the swordsmanship tournament ahead, it was going to be a busy semester.
The closest event was the summer festival.
For Helmut, the festival was a novel and unfamiliar concept.
He had seen the word written on paper but had never experienced one himself.
"The festival sounds fun."
Asuka, now with friends to enjoy the festival with, grinned.
Helmut nodded politely in response.
"Yes."
He felt a slight sense of anticipation.