As everyone returned to their ranks, Kunan cleared his throat, his face as stern as ever.
“Did you all see that just now?”
The students: “… …”
“Twenty kilograms—no one else complained it was too heavy, and yet you’re whining about fifteen?! Not to mention, that person even ran two extra laps compared to you!”
“So listen up! From now on, if anyone dares to complain about the weight again, I’ll add five more kilos each time you whine. Understood?”
“Understood… …”
“Did you understand?!”
“Understood!”
“Good! Dismissed—!”
“Oh, and those of you who fell behind and didn’t finish all five laps, don’t think about leaving!”
“Eh——!!?”
“Eh what?! Got a problem? If you do, I’ll make it ten laps!”
“… …”
“Ah, it hurts! My whole body aches!”
Day of Enlightenment.
The Heyeral Family.
Fran lay sprawled lazily on the sofa, moaning in pain.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Watching her friend like this, Hulim couldn’t help but ask curiously.
“It’s all because of that Devil Instructor. He really is a devil! Yesterday, I was just a bit behind in the run and tripped. That guy came over with the scariest face and barked, ‘What, are you trying to imitate a worm? Want to crawl along the ground?’ Then he punished me with five extra laps carrying weights!”
“… …”
Hulim wanted to comfort her, since every class Kunan always found all sorts of reasons to punish half the group. But Fran’s physical ability was the worst in class, and she was almost always among those punished, so Hulim didn’t even know what to say anymore.
Pinch~ Pinch~.
“?”
“Fran, what are you doing… …”
Watching Fran repeatedly pinching her arm, Hulim asked.
“Hmm… …”
Fran pinched Hulim’s arm, then pinched her own.
“There’s really no difference, huh?”
Both their arms were equally delicate. “Hey, Hulim, how do you train? Why are you so strong, and your magic, too? Others might not notice, but your magic is amazing, isn’t it?”
“Um… I just train really hard, I guess? Before I knew it, I was like this?”
“Hard training?! So impressive, just how hard? I’ve been working hard, too, but I can’t catch up at all. And I keep getting punished by that Devil Instructor. Ah, come to think of it, Hulim, you’ve never once been punished by the Devil Instructor! And you never even look tired after physical training.”
“… …Have I?”
“Of course!”
Fran nodded vigorously.
“After all, I’m always watching you, Hulim~!”
Hulim: “… …”
There was nothing Hulim could say to that. After all, the hellish Devil Training everyone else complained about no longer affected her at all. Her normal training was much more intense, so she never felt tired.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know any magic that could make her look exhausted.
Luckily, apart from Fran, everyone else was always too tired to notice her condition anyway.
“Oh right, about the Combat Squad—what do you think, Hulim?”
At that moment, Fran brought up another topic.
“Combat Squad… isn’t it supposed to be fair, so they’ll draw lots for the teams?”
The practical course had two assessment components. One was the individual combat test, which needed no explanation. The other was the group Combat Squad, focusing mainly on teamwork and organizational ability. These two results would count toward the final practical course grade and be recorded in the archives.
According to Instructor Kunan, students’ physical fitness was still too poor, so there was no point forming teams yet. Better to work on fitness first.
This was also the start of his three-month-long Devil Training.
“Ugh, but that’s exactly the problem!”
Fran clung to Hulim’s arm.
“I want to be in a team with you, Hulim~! Isn’t there something we can do?”
“Well, even if you say that, I’m not the one drawing the lots. I can’t help you.”
“Eh——”
“But if we draw lots, there’s a good chance we won’t end up in the same group. And if I get teamed up with Ander, it’ll be even worse!”
The mere mention of Ander made Fran fume.
Because the Instructor recognized his ability, Ander was always picked to demonstrate for the class. He constantly performed above everyone else, so most people naturally saw Ander as the strongest in the class. Every day, a crowd of boys and girls alike flocked to him, hoping to be in his team.
This infuriated Fran. In her opinion, Ander was nothing—Hulim was the undisputed best. But others only believed what they saw. Sure, Hulim’s magic results were obviously number one, but most thought that didn’t translate to real combat. So even when Fran argued with them, they still believed Ander was the strongest.
Which made Fran even more dissatisfied with Ander.
“That guy, acting so smug! And that Devil Instructor, too—are his eyes blind? Clearly, Hulim’s the strongest! Hmph! It makes me so mad! Hulim, when the team matches start, let’s give Ander a lesson and embarrass him, okay?”
Seeing her friend seriously considering this, Hulim replied quietly:
“… …Fran, I really don’t care about any of that. And even if you want to get back at Ander, what if you end up in his team?”
“Ugh, Hulim, you’re so unambitious! None of those guys can compare to you… …”
Fran sighed, then fell into thoughtful silence.
“You’re right. I can’t let that happen… …”
“Looks like I’ll have to do something about the teachers!”
Hulim: “?”
“… …Fran, don’t do anything shady with your connections, okay?”
Worried her friend would take a wrong path, Hulim quickly interjected.
“What are you talking about? Not like that! I just want to have a talk with the teachers to see if the grouping method can be changed. I mean, come on—if it’s about teamwork, then people who know each other well should be together, right?”
Oh, surprisingly, that was quite a reasonable argument.
Though Fran seemed to forget that in real battle, you don’t get to choose your teammates…
Still, Hulim didn’t want to discourage Fran. There was no harm in trying.
“By the way… Fran, how long are you going to keep pinching?”
“Eh—? Hehe~!”
“… …”
Dealing with her shameless friend, Hulim had her own ways.
She extended a finger and poked Fran’s bare thigh exposed on the sofa—the one still sore and aching from muscle pain, so tender that the slightest touch would cause cramps.
“Ow, that hurts——!!!”
… …
… …