“Mr. Kunon, will you really teach us real skills so we can have the power to defeat monsters?!”
A boy stood up, asking excitedly.
“Add one more rule. From now on, you are to call me Instructor!”
“Yes, Instructor!”
“Good, not bad!”
Kunon nodded at the boy with satisfaction, then said, “To answer your question—as your Instructor, I would never deceive you. If I wasn’t going to teach you real skills, what would be the point of offering this combat training course at all?”
Hearing Kunon’s firm reply, the students became even more excited.
But just then, a student asked weakly.
“Instructor Kunon, will we all have to go to the battlefield and face the Demon King’s Army in the future… …”
As soon as these words were spoken, the classroom fell deathly silent, as if all the air had been sucked away. Fear clouded almost every face.
Yes, no matter how glorious it might sound to defeat monsters, it could never outweigh the deep fear that boys and girls had of the Demon King’s Army—a calamity capable of destroying the world.
“… …”
Kunon’s expression grew even more serious. He sighed, then said,
“Unfortunately, even if you want to go to the front lines, you may not be qualified to do so. The reason I’m teaching you these things now is so that, on the day when those who are protecting you can no longer do so, you’ll have the power to protect yourselves.”
Kunon’s words let the students breathe a little easier, but their spirits grew somewhat heavier. It was a conflicted feeling. They feared the Demon King’s Army, but if they couldn’t even earn the right to confront them head-on, it left them feeling indignant… …
“Instructor Kunon!”
At that moment, a boy stood up, his voice firm and steady.
“In the future, I will definitely become a member of the Allied Force to subjugate the Demon King!”
Everyone stared in shock at the boy who had just declared his resolve. Kunon was inwardly delighted. As expected, this was a fine seedling—seems his own eye for talent hadn’t dulled that much.
“Very good! Boy, what’s your name!”
“Reporting, Instructor! My name is Ander!”
“Ander, is it? I’ll remember you. Sit down. I hope, in the future, we can fight side by side on the front lines.”
“Yes, Instructor!”
Ander sat back down as ordered, but now, countless eyes were drawn to him—some with envy, some with admiration, and some with shame… …
Regardless of what thoughts they harbored about the combat training course or the enemies who would surely appear in the near future, the Preparatory Academy’s practical course proceeded with blazing intensity.
“Fweee——!!!”
“Fweee——!!!”
Shrill whistles rang out endlessly from the edge of the training field.
“Those in the back, faster! Faster! What do you have those two legs for?!”
“… …Three more laps! Pick up the pace!”
“… …The last three to cross the finish line will run three extra laps!”
“Ah, noooo——!”
“You still have energy to shout? Then make it five extra laps!”
“… …”
“Fweee——!”
As the final whistle blew, dozens of boys and girls collapsed on the ground, exhausted, gulping down breaths of air.
And the one responsible for turning them into this state, Kunon, was at that moment chewing a stalk of grass, hands behind his back, watching them with an air of calm, before scolding them mercilessly, “Look at yourselves—what kind of state is this!? Moving so slow, even slimes could crawl faster than you! Are you hoping to become slime fertilizer?”
“But Instructor, fifteen kilograms is too heavy!”
Someone protested.
“Heavy?”
Kunon’s eyes widened.
“Pah——!”
He spat out the crushed bit of grass from his mouth onto the ground.
“Who said that just now? Step forward!”
A boy stepped out reluctantly.
“Reporting, Instructor… it was me…”
Kunon walked toward him step by step, his chest nearly pressing into the boy’s face. Towering over him, Kunon stared down and said, word by word, “Only fifteen kilograms of weight. Is that really so heavy——?”
“… …”
Facing the Instructor’s overwhelming presence, the boy broke out in a cold sweat and didn’t dare utter a word of protest.
“Fifteen kilograms——!”
The Instructor slowly walked away from the boy, pacing back and forth before the group, then pointed at everyone, looking as though he could not be more disappointed.
“Just fifteen kilos and you can’t handle it?! What if you had to carry a sword, hold a magic staff, wear armor—would you just give up on walking entirely?!”
“… …”
The boys and girls remained silent, not daring to speak, especially since the one who had dared talk back was still standing at the front. Kunon was quite satisfied with their attitude, and his gaze swept back and forth among them.
But as his gaze landed on one particular person, that satisfaction seemed to smash right into a wall.
… …This kid—she’s run ten laps carrying fifteen kilos and hasn’t even broken a sweat.
The one Kunon was looking at was Huliem. Unlike the others, who were drenched and gasping for air, she didn’t even have a trace of sweat, and her breathing was completely steady.
But because everyone else was utterly exhausted, no one was in any state to notice how those around them were faring.
“… …Ahem, ahem, that—Ander——!”
“Yes, Instructor!”
Hearing the Instructor suddenly call his name, Ander immediately replied and stepped forward.
Everyone naturally made way for him, since this kind of situation had occurred often since the sudden start of their physical training.
Because Ander had often trained with his parents, his fitness was far above the rest. At the moment, his breathing was only slightly labored, and he was just lightly sweating.
“Put on twenty kilograms of weights and run two laps. Show everyone if fifteen kilograms is really all that heavy!”
“Yes, Instructor!”
Without hesitation, Ander went to the side to fetch the weight bags, adding five more kilos to make it twenty, then began to run.
“Look at all of you, you’re the same age as him—if he can do it, why can’t you?”
As Ander started his demonstration, Kunon didn’t hesitate to launch into his high-blood-pressure-style brainwashing.
“You’re just too lazy, not working hard enough! What do you think you are, dragons? Think you can get stronger by sleeping and eating all day? You’re human… …”
“… …If you put in just a little more effort and moved forward a tiny bit each day, you’d make great strides in a year! But because you don’t work hard enough, you’re still standing still!”
“Instructor, I’ve finished.”
Just as Kunon was in the midst of his passionate lecture, Ander finished his two laps carrying twenty kilograms.
“Hm, not bad!”
Kunon noted that Ander’s breathing was a little heavier, sweat beading on his brow, and gave a word of encouragement before continuing,
“Come, tell everyone—is twenty kilograms heavy?”
Ander paused, glancing at his classmates’ eager eyes, thought for a moment, then answered,
“… …Instructor, I think it varies from person to person. For me, it’s not heavy, but for—” “You all heard that, right? He said it’s not heavy——!”
Ander: “… …”
The students: “… …”
“Ander, get back in line.”
“Yes… …”
“And you—get back to your place!”
The boy who had been standing at the front for so long hurried back into the ranks, as if granted a pardon, head down, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes.