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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
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A-Class Training Ground.
Night had long fallen, and it was past 8 PM.
Even though it was time for students to finish dinner and return to their dorms, quite a few remained in the training ground.
And among them, there was one area students particularly avoided.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Fierce gales struck the scarecrow, carving countless marks into it.
Swish!
A woman with blue hair, her locks wildly swirling, retrieved the sword she'd just swung and then swung it again.
Glecia was wielding her sword almost frantically, manifesting her unique ability.
This had been going on for hours. As her ability strongly manifested through her actions, powerful gusts of wind, impossible to ignore, continuously raged through the training ground.
All the students who had been near Glecia had long since moved to other spots or distanced themselves significantly.
The strong winds were disruptive to training, but knowing Glecia's ability was wind, everyone understood and gave her a wide berth.
And now.
Despite this, someone was approaching her.
Thud.
"Glecia. Why don't you take a short break? You've been swinging that sword for hours without stopping."
It was Leonhardt himself.
Swish.
At his words, Glecia, who had been swinging her sword, slowly lowered it and turned her head.
Her blurred gaze gradually found focus, and her blue eyes regained their vitality.
"I'll handle it."
With a curt tone, she uttered just one indifferent sentence, then began swinging her sword again.
At her actions, Leonhardt let out a deep sigh and spoke again.
"...Right. Training is something everyone handles themselves. But even if I wanted to leave you to it, Glecia, your body isn't in a normal state right now."
As Leonhardt added, sounding frustrated, Glecia finally looked down at her own body.
Her student uniform was already a mess, and even the hand holding the sword was trembling slightly.
Her stamina had reached its limit.
Even knowing this, Glecia was stubbornly, forcefully, continuing to swing her sword.
"Glecia. Leonhardt is worried, and I'm a bit worried too. Why don't you stop and rest? If you keep this up, you might collapse."
As Yumia, who was clinging to Leonhardt's side, spoke, Glecia let out a small sigh.
"Why are you so interested in other people's training?"
Another curt reply.
As Glecia ignored her, as if talking to a wall, Yumia let out a hollow laugh, momentarily exasperated.
"Even after we bother to care, you act like this... No wonder you're always alone in class."
Even though Yumia spoke as if openly mocking her, Glecia remained silent.
Instead, even fiercer winds than before arose, continuously striking the steel scarecrow.
At this sight, Leonhardt sighed and looked at Yumia, who was still clinging to him.
"Yumia. How many times have I told you not to speak like that? Why do you say things without considering how the other person feels?"
"...No, I know that. But Glecia is a bit much, isn't she? She doesn't understand even when you speak nicely. So, you have to give her some harsh words."
"That depends on the listener. No one understands when you're mean to them. Those who *will* understand will do so even when you speak nicely."
"Really? But Leonhardt, Glecia always maintains that attitude. Is what you're saying truly correct? I don't think so."
"...Yumia."
As Yumia continuously took a confrontational stance, Leonhardt called her name coldly and met her gaze.
After their gazes crossed for a moment, Yumia finally averted Leonhardt's eyes.
Her cheeks were faintly flushed.
"Alright. Glecia... Look, what I said was a bit... harsh."
Even as Yumia offered her apology, Glecia was still swinging her sword, her eyes unfocused.
She was so immersed in her training that she was no longer aware of her surroundings.
Leonhardt, watching her silently, felt a pang of regret.
Even setting aside any personal feelings, it was agonizing to simply watch someone destroy their own body.
"..."
Then, Leonhardt let out a soft breath and slowly drew his sword.
Shing.
It had already been several days since he reached Level 3 of the Sky-Piercing Sword.
Leonhardt, having achieved dazzling progress, could now naturally wield the Sky-Piercing Sword's energy with complete freedom.
The moment a brilliant blue light instantly imbued his sword, Leonhardt swung it like a flash of light.
Clang!!
The instant the blue light left a trace in the air, Glecia's body swayed violently, and the sword she had been holding floated effortlessly in mid-air.
—In a single move.
The trajectory of Leonhardt's sword was already on a completely different level from what he had shown during his sparring match with Han Cheon-seong.
"...Leonhardt!?"
Just then, Yumia was greatly startled by his unexpected action.
Glecia's expression hardened completely as she turned to Leonhardt.
"Leonhardt. Don't you know that intentionally disrupting a student's training is a violation of academy regulations?"
"I know."
"And yet you're going to disrupt my training right now?"
Even with Glecia's voice clearly indicating anger, a stark contrast to her previous indifferent tone, Leonhardt did not avert her gaze.
"Yes. So, I'll accept the corresponding disciplinary action. Therefore, Glecia, stop your training now and let's go to the instructor together."
Instead, he smiled faintly, speaking as if he would willingly accept the disciplinary action, and Glecia paused, staring at Leonhardt.
Even Yumia looked at Leonhardt, dumbfounded, but Leonhardt, instead, urged Glecia on.
"Why? If you want me to be disciplined, that's fine. I admit I interfered with you. That's why I swung my sword just now."
At his apparent indifference to receiving discipline, Glecia let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
"...Fine. I'll stop training."
Then, retrieving her sword, she left the spot, and Leonhardt simply chuckled, watching Glecia without saying a word.
'Was this enough?'
Such a thought crossed his mind inadvertently.
If she had truly been a malicious person, she would have gone to the instructor and requested disciplinary action against him. But while Glecia was blunt and strong-willed, she was by no means malicious.
"Leonhardt! What was that just now...? What would you have done if you really got disciplined?"
A faint smile lingered on his lips even as he watched Yumia speak, clearly startled.
"Indeed. Fortunately, it seems Glecia didn't want me to get disciplined."
"No, seriously! Do you want to ruin your grades right from the start? Do you know how much disciplinary action negatively affects future evaluations?"
"...I know. Still, I just felt like I had to step in."
Even as he replied, he was grateful for Yumia's concern.
It was just a pity that her kindness and gentle demeanor were directed only at him...
"Haa. Honestly, Leonhardt. Sometimes, when I look at you, I just don't understand you at all. Why are you so kind? You should treat others according to how they treat you. Why are you acting foolishly kind? Even with Glecia just now. If she wants to ruin her own body, should we really have to stop her? Is Glecia some seven or eight-year-old child? Do we have to worry about everything like that?"
...At Yumia's raised voice, seemingly genuinely angry, he gave no reply.
He simply accepted her concern and anger calmly.
As he silently met her gaze, Yumia let out a deep sigh and looked at him, frustrated.
"You, seriously. Every time I see you like that, you just seem so foolish."
"...Sorry."
"If you're sorry, then please don't act like that next time. Do you know how much it pains me to see you?"
...At Yumia's voice, heard at the end, he slowly nodded.
Honestly, it wasn't an action he had thought through.
In that moment, he had simply believed it was better to stop Glecia's training, even if it meant receiving disciplinary action himself.
"I'm sorry, Yumia. I have nothing to say."
"Haa. Seriously, what are you going to do without me? I'm just needlessly anxious that someone might take advantage of you."
"...Then, Yumia. You can just stay by my side."
As he replied with a light chuckle, his words gentle, Yumia instantly fell silent.
"..."
Even after that, when Yumia remained silent, he found himself inexplicably pleased by her reaction.
As he left the training ground and gazed softly at the darkening night sky, he felt a very peculiar emotion.
The thought that several days had already passed.
And as much as he had achieved dazzling growth, someone came to mind.
The only student who had managed a draw against him in a sparring match.
'Han Cheon-seong.'
That guy must have progressed too.
How much stronger could he have gotten in these past few days?
He suddenly wondered.
That guy, who undoubtedly possessed talent exceeding his own when it came to natural ability...
***
Click.
Click.
Glecia, who had left the training ground earlier and was slowly returning to her dorm, felt her mind constantly numb.
'Ability Level 4...'
How on earth can I reach that?
How can I... reach the same level as Han Cheon-seong?
She had been engrossed in that thought for the past few days, but no answer came.
Just as Han Cheon-seong had, she too had sparred directly with Leonhardt, but she hadn't gained the slightest clue.
When they sparred with full power, she had to admit defeat herself in less than a few minutes.
...Incredibly, Leonhardt was stronger than she could have imagined.
He had grown ridiculously stronger day by day. Even as their swords clashed, she felt a strong sense that her own will might break.
Click.
"Why... can't I do it?"
In her tired voice... her heart felt a little heavy.
Han Cheon-seong, a Common-grade, was an equal match for a monster like Leonhardt. No, he even displayed an offensive beyond that, proving the worth of his own existence.
She had recalled that moment dozens, no, hundreds of times, but she still couldn't understand it at all.
...Why she, with an ability two grades higher than Han Cheon-seong, couldn't achieve the same result as him.
Even when she tried to emulate the confidence, willpower, and indomitable spirit Han Cheon-seong had shown, she couldn't reach it.
It felt woefully inadequate.
Even as she pushed her creaking body to its limits and continued to train, she felt absolutely nothing.
Because she couldn't understand how the mysterious fighting spirit Han Cheon-seong had displayed was even possible.
"Oh."
Then, her thoughts were abruptly cut short by a familiar voice.
"Glecia. Are you heading back now?"
At the voice that clearly called her name... she blinked unconsciously.
"Han Cheon-seong?"
Why was this man in front of her right now? And at such a late hour?
"You really are something else. Wow. You train incredibly hard, don't you?"
"What kind of... thing is that to say right after we meet?"
"What kind of thing? Glecia. Just take a look at yourself right now."
At Han Cheon-seong's words, she blankly lowered her head to examine herself, and a hollow laugh escaped her.
A complete mess.
She had foolishly immersed herself only in training, but looking back now, it felt like a futile effort.
Training that only abused her body and manifested her ability, with no meaning whatsoever.
"Glecia. Don't tell me you didn't know you were in this state?"
"...No. I knew."
"Then why do you train like this? You should know that overexerting your body isn't good."
As he asked, sounding puzzled, her gaze simply fell on him.
His black hair, darker than the dark night, framed a faint smile as he looked at her. He still exuded confidence.
In fact, after sparring with Leonhardt, this man seemed to have changed even more significantly.
Something... something about him felt truly different.
So much so that it felt like Han Cheon-seong had changed yet again in just a few days.
'...Why?'
While she was so stagnant, was this man already trying to climb the next step?
It was both incomprehensible and intriguing.
"...Han Cheon-seong."
"Yeah?"
Looking at the man who replied so casually, she didn't know what to say.
Even though it was just a chance encounter, she felt she couldn't let Han Cheon-seong go like this.
Han Cheon-seong clearly had something she didn't know.
Something she didn't understand in the slightest.
If so... she needed to learn more about it.
"How much would it cost...?"
"What are you suddenly talking about?"
"Han Cheon-seong. I want to buy your time."
As she calmly conveyed her words, she thought that, for now, she needed to be with Han Cheon-seong, even for a little while.
Because he had said so last time.
If so, that must be the answer. That by being together, she could naturally understand him.
"Buy my time? What kind of thing is that to say? Besides... it's already night now. It's time for us to head back to our respective dorms, isn't it?"
At Han Cheon-seong's words, she belatedly realized the reality of the situation.
However, if they parted ways like this today, she felt she would spend another fruitless day tomorrow.
That, truly, was something she detested.
Having to remain stagnant and waste time fruitlessly again...
"Please, I'm begging you. Han Cheon-seong... Stay with me. I'll pay whatever it costs."
Without even realizing it, Glecia was speaking in a desperate voice.