国产午夜亚洲精品AⅤ

Chapter 282 [Illustration]

So, she wanted to do something for me. Since she was already staying at the Royal Class dormitory under the guise of a dorm supervisor, she seemed to believe that overseeing my training would be beneficial for me. However, it would be odd to teach only me, which was why she had allowed the others to come as well, pretending to teach them while focusing on me.

All of that was fine. It was good, actually.

However, in the end, it just made me look like the odd one out again.

“Um, you should also look after the other students as well...” I murmured.

“... Ah.”

Tana, who had been focused on me for a substantial amount of time, finally seemed to come to her senses and turned her gaze to the other students who were staring at us.

‘Ah. I completely forgot!’

I hoped I was the only one in the world who could read the subtle thoughts behind her cold and blank expression.

“Hmm, yes. It seems you’re good for now. Alright, let’s take another look at everyone.”

At my request, Tana went around and observed everyone’s swordsmanship once more. Although she didn’t put in as much effort as she did with me, it was still sufficient for our level.

In the end, even Erhi and Delphine also received some advice. Sabioleen Tana’s teaching was certainly helpful, but her praise had felt excessively flattering. It was embarrassing to be called excellent when I was clearly not as good as Scarlett. She clearly didn’t understand that excessive praise could actually be more humiliating.

“Hmm, I believe that’s enough for everyone.”

After going one more round and teaching me a few more things, Sabioleen Tana announced the end of the late-night extra lesson. Everyone seemed satisfied, perhaps more amazed that they had seen a legendary figure up close rather than by the lesson itself.

Of course, she wasn’t actually a legendary figure.

“Winter break is approaching, but I plan to hold such lessons occasionally. If you’re interested, I’ll notify you in advance, so you can come to the training grounds at the designated time. That’s all.”

The lesson ended, and I left the training grounds to rest.

“Reinhart, that was amazing. You were the only one who received such high praise from Dame Tana!” Ludwig exclaimed as he patted my shoulder enthusiastically, as excited as if he had been praised himself. He was genuinely happy for others’ achievements, which made me realize how flawed I was for feeling envious.

“She was just being nice.”

“No, Reinhart. You were really impressive,” Scarlett said with sparkling eyes, which was a rare sight to see.

‘No, you know objectively that you’re better than me, so how can you say that? Maybe she thinks Dame Tana knows something she doesn’t... Or something like that.’

Erhi looked utterly dejected. He hadn’t been harshly criticized or scolded for being incompetent. Sabioleen Tana had simply said that she wouldn’t assess him. It was a form of consideration on her part, to avoid embarrassing him in front of the other students.

She couldn’t have said he did well when he didn’t. Erhi trudged back towards the Class A dormitory, looking dejected. Scarlett watched him quietly. The excellent student who had once been labeled a witch, and Erhi, who hadn’t even been assessed. It had to have made him feel miserable.

There was no sense of satisfaction in Scarlett’s gaze as she watched Erhi go. It was a perfectly neutral look, neither positive nor negative. She was simply observing another person. That look in Scarlett’s eyes was enough to make me certain. Scarlett had completely moved past the dark emotions that had once weighed her down, emotions that stemmed from Erhi and his actions.

It was better to move on from such things rather than wallow in them. Scarlett had undergone a positive change.

“When will the next lesson be? I can’t wait to have another one.”

“... You should really take into consideration that it’s exam period right now,” I said, and Ludwig scratched his head.

“I guess I’m really not cut out for studying. I prefer physical activities like this.”

This guy seemed like a musclehead through and through. I slowed my pace, feeling that staying around him any longer might make me catch his strange energy. As I watched Ludwig, Scarlett, and Delphine headed back to the dormitory, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Ah... Hello, Dame Tana.”

“Call me teacher.” Sabioleen Tana corrected me. She seemed very particular about how she was addressed. Previously, she had insisted on being called Dame Tana, and now, as a teacher, she wanted to be addressed as “teacher”.

“Yes, teacher.”

She glanced around to make sure no one was watching.

“I have some additional things to discuss about today’s lesson.”

It was clearly an excuse.

“Let’s take a walk,” she suggested.

“Alright.”

She led the way, and I followed.

***

Sabioleen Tana and I exited the dormitory and continued walking. It was night, and the weather was getting colder, which was why the already quiet area around the Royal Class dormitory had become even more deserted.

“The Royal Class is still an interesting place.”

“... Still?”

“Yes.”

She walked with her hands in her coat pockets, her breath visible in the cold air. She was Effenhauser’s senior at the Temple—a very distant senior, in fact. Naturally, she was also a graduate of the Temple’s Royal Class.

“It was no different in my time. There were those who relied solely on their talent and did nothing, those who had less talent but worked hard, those who were in a hurry and struggled forward with gritted teeth...”

She exhaled, her breath misting in front of her. “And then, there were those who were born with everything.”

Ellen hadn’t been at the training session. Was she referring to me as the one born with everything? Had I reached a point where I could be described in such terms?

A lot had changed, and I was no longer the incompetent Reinhart of the past, so I couldn’t really deny that I was someone who had been born with everything. Not someone born with everything, but someone who kept acquiring more. That would be a more accurate description.

“Which side were you on, teacher?”

Sabioleen Tana smiled at me. “Can’t you tell just by looking?”

I hadn’t defined everything about her. I didn’t know what her time at the Temple was like, or her past.

What had Sabioleen Tana been like during her Temple days, her Royal Class days? It was easy to guess. She must have been like Ellen.

“Ellen Artorius. She didn’t come today,” Tana said.

“Yes, she has some matters to attend to...”

She knew Ellen’s true identity as well. If she knew Ellen was focusing on the Miss Temple competition instead of her training, what would she think? Would she find it pathetic?

We walked through the dimly lit park around the dormitory.

“Honestly, I don’t remember much about my time at the Temple.”

“...”

“I spent six years here, but I lived only in the training grounds. From the training grounds to the practice rooms. I spent all my time there. I had friends, but I don’t even remember what I did with them.”

Tana’s eyes looked empty.

She had spent countless hours here, but she had no memories of any particular place. She must have been a fool who knew nothing but the sword. Those hours had translated into her skill, but she had made no meaningful memories.

The places that should have been filled with memories were empty for her.

“After graduation, I joined Shanapell and stayed there. As time passed, people started calling me the continent’s greatest swordsman. Then, more time passed, and some guy named Ragan Artorius took that title. Now, it’s come back to me again,” she said as she walked aimlessly. “You can’t fill your life with just titles.”

She looked at me. “Reinhart, don’t live too hard of a life.”

“...”

Someone born with everything... Or rather, someone living as if he was being chased by something. Was that how she saw me? She placed her hand on one of the park’s trees, stroking its bark.

“If you live too hard of a life, you’ll end up missing out on too many things.”

What was she thinking?

For once, I couldn’t discern her thoughts from her expression.

“What did you miss out on, teacher?”

At my question, she opened her coat and pointed to the scabbard on her left hip.

The Tempest Sword, Tempesta. No—she was referring to just the “sword” itself.

“Everything except this.”

She had lived for the sword and had nothing else. Her life was empty except for the sword. Sabioleen Tana was that kind of person. Seeing her wistful and sad expression, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Can’t you start filling it up now?”

“... What?”

“Why are you talking like an old lady who’s about to kick the bucket? Honestly, you look like you could enroll as my junior and no one would bat an eye.”

She looked at me with the same puzzled expression.

“I mean, there’s not much point to you getting stronger from here on out. So, isn’t it okay to have some fun now? Don’t you have any vacation time?”

Sabioleen Tana nodded absentmindedly. “I do... have some.”

“Then it’s not like you have no time at all. Go on a date, eat some good food, and travel a bit. What’s the point of earning all this if not to spend it?”

Sabioleen Tana looked startled.

Here I was, giving life advice to someone much older than me. In reality, she was much older than my original self.

‘So what? I’ve already gone through a lot myself.’

I clicked my tongue. “Well, if you’ve never had fun, you won’t know how to start.”

Tana seemed utterly baffled, as if she’d never heard anything like this before.

“What kind of answer am I supposed to give you...?”

Telling the strongest person in the world to go on a date if life was boring—yeah, I was definitely a strange one.

She seemed too stunned to even get angry. Hearing something this outlandish was enough to leave one so baffled and bewildered that there was no way to get mad.

“You told me not to live too hard of a life.”

“...”

“So, I’m saying that you should take your own advice.”

Superhumans not only aged more slowly, but once they reached a certain level, they stopped aging altogether and even began to look younger. No matter her actual age, if she wore the Temple uniform, people would believe she was in our grade.

‘Why act like you’ve lived your whole life already?’ I thought.

Sabioleen Tana finally let out a chuckle, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Good grief. Honestly, I don’t know if you’re the future of the empire, Reinhart,” she said as she patted my shoulder, “But you’re definitely the strangest person in the empire.”

A strange person... That was one of the things I heard most often.

But she hadn’t asked me to follow her just to chat.

“Soon, His Majesty the Emperor will want to meet you.”

The emperor... So it was finally happening.

“I’m telling you this in advance so you won’t be surprised when it suddenly happens.”

Was it to thank me for saving Charlotte, to reward me, or to give me a task?

I didn’t know.

But this was another thing I would have to face eventually.