Dagger Instructor
They were wearing deep blue jackets, the uniform of the academy. Lavia went around a few stores to buy second-hand blouses that matched the jacket. Ordering a new one would take too much time so they decided to do that later.
Wearing a beige-colored blouse, she looked like a neatly dressed young lady. It didn"t take long for them to reach the academy.
Maybe I should"ve picked a place much farther away. I"m not really getting the whole "walking to school" vibe, Hikaru thought.
Ever since he told Lavia everything, it felt like a weight was taken off his shoulders. He was actually enjoying going to school.
The admins of the academy, save for one person who was tasked to accommodate Hikaru, always kept their distance. Even then, that one person moved about three meters away as soon as she handed them the papers containing the rules and regulations of the academy.
「Excuse me.」Hikaru said.
「Y-Yes?」
「Are there reservations for cla.s.ses?」
They"d be attending the academy for a while. There had been some misunderstanding at first, and Hikaru wanted to be more civilized, but it appeared the other party didn"t have the same idea.
「I-It"s fine. You can attend cla.s.ses freely. To use the research laboratory, you need to submit a research plan first. Everything should be in those papers.」
「I see…」
The moment they stepped out of the admin building, Hikaru spotted students arriving in groups.
「Feels like there"s too much freedom…」
「Yeah… Maybe the research side of the academy is more prominent.」
They sat down at a bench and read the papers they were handed. It would take an hour to go over them, but the contents were surprisingly easy to understand.
「I"m gonna attend the cla.s.ses on short sword. There"s one in about thirty minutes. What about you?」Hikaru said.
「I"ll check the library first. Then I"ll decide.」
「Sounds good.」
「I know, right?」
If there were enough books in there, Lavia might just even get absorbed in reading and not attend any cla.s.ses at all.
They parted ways, with Hikaru heading to the lecture building where short sword cla.s.s was being held. Young students and adventurers were about, but none really paid him any attention. There were much younger boys and girls, after all. Carrying laboratory apparatus, they appeared to be researchers or a.s.sistants.
「Lecture building C… The map says it"s right here.」
He had walked quite the distance. Before him was a bungalow which appeared to be like one of those prefabricated buildings back in j.a.pan. A cozy little cabin. Half-withered ivy crawled on the outer walls. The flower bed had been neglected.
Hikaru knocked at the door to no response. The door plate said Building C. As the door was not locked, he was able to get in easily.
「Ugh…」
The strong smell of alcohol hung thick in the air. The place looked like a refurbished equipment room, only a hundred square meters with no part.i.tions. Desks and chairs piled up in one corner. Shelves and blackboard were gathering dust in another. A carpet lay in the center of the room.
A boot was lying around by his foot, the other pair just a few feet away. And then a cardigan further ahead. A pair of tights. Skirt. Shirt.
Lying down asleep under a number of carpets was a woman in her underwear.
Hikaru left the building at once, double-checking the words on the plate. Although a bit blurry, it clearly said Building C.
He examined the paper he had. "Short Sword Cla.s.s - Building C" was written on it. Upon closer inspection, this was the only place where the cla.s.s was conducted, which did nothing to ease his worries.
He entered the building once more. The door was left open and the room was too dark with only one magic lamp burning.
The woman was lying face down, sleeping like a log, but Hikaru could still see a bit of her face from the side. Wearing makeup, she gave off quite the strong impression. She looked to be in her late twenties. Her long, reddish gray hair was wrapped around at the back in an upswept hairstyle. Perhaps she couldn"t sleep face up because of it.
She wore purple bra and panties, had a standard body build, her waist quite fine. If not for her current state, Hikaru"s s.e.xual urges might"ve been stirred. Unfortunately she was dead drunk and fast asleep.
「Where are the students and professor anyway? Don"t tell me she"s a student as well.」
Hikaru was filled with a sense of foreboding. I gotta move her. We can"t have cla.s.s with her on the floor. It felt like someone had been living in the building which bothered him a bit.
「Hey, wake up. Please wake up!」
Not wanting to cause a misunderstanding, he called out to her from afar. There was no sign of her waking up, though.
Hikaru stepped outside. The professor and students hadn"t arrived yet. In fact, not one soul pa.s.sed by, perhaps because the place was hidden by the other buildings. Hikaru picked up two bean-sized stones.
「If you don"t wake up, I"ll just do this.」
Standing at the entrance, he placed the stones between his fingers.
「Taste the power of ten points on Throwing.」
With a splendid form, the stones went straight for the holes on the woman"s nose, as if being sucked in.
She jumped awake.
「Wh-What"s going on? Something"s wrong with my nose! I can"t breathe! Wait, what"s this?! Something"s stuck in my nose!」
Hikaru was already outside. He didn"t want to see a woman pulling stones out of her nose. After about five minutes, he knocked at the door before going in.
The woman was asleep. Something wrapped in tissue paper lay by her side.
「Oh… still haven"t tasted enough of my Throwing, eh?」
Once again, Hikaru picked up some stones.
They repeated the routine three more times. When Hikaru knocked at the door…
「Yes…」
A lifeless voice greeted him. A woman with a dejected look on her face was staring at him as he stepped in. She removed one of the carpets off her, at least.
「Who are you?」
「I came for the short sword cla.s.s.」
「There"s no such thing here.」
「I don"t think so. It"s written here.」
「Cancelled.」
「…What?」
「I cancelled it… Oh, c.r.a.p. Can you please bring a bucket—」
Hikaru ran out of the building, closed the door, and plugged his ears. One of her boots had been sacrificed.
「That woman is the short sword instructor?」
Finally recognizing that he had made a mistake - he had already suspected something was off, but he just refused to believe the possibility - Hikaru returned to the admin building.
When he asked an admin, they said "That drunkard is the short sword instructor. Her name is Mille Crepes van Quad."
The admin wouldn"t lie, but they refused to tell him more and insisted that he should just talk to her. Hikaru reluctantly returned to the C building. Although he didn"t want to get close to her, he had to so he could check her Soul Board and find out about her name.
「Oh, you"re the one who left me and ran.」
Mille Crepes stood in front of the building with a test tube in her mouth, this time wearing clothes and sandals instead of boots.
「I think that was the best course of action I could take.」
「Please don"t talk. My head hurts. Oh, it"s working. The hangover killer made by the medical guys really is the best.」
A by-product of manufacturing antidotes, it was medicine used for boosting metabolism, but she didn"t particularly care.
「Can I ask you a question now?」
「Oh, sure. Shoot, Mr. Heartless.」
「Are you the short sword instructor Mille Crepes van Quad?」
「I hate that name.」
「What?」
「Mille Crepes sounds awfully sweet. It only works when you"re five. Call me Mille.」
「Okay…」
「So what about my being the short sword instructor? Are you here to make fun of me for not having any students? You don"t have to. Ever since I took the position two years ago, I never had one, okay?! You happy?!」
「I"m sorry to hear that, but I"m actually here to study the ways of the short sword.」
「…What?」
It was Mille who stared blankly this time around.
【Soul Board】Mille Crepes van Quad
Age: 22 Rank: 25
24
【Vitality】
..【Immunity】
….【Toxic Immunity】1
..【Perception】
….【Hearing】1
【Physical Strength】
..【Weapon Mastery】
….【Short Sword】3
….【Throwing】1
【Agility】
..【Stealth】
….【Life Obfuscation】1
….【Imperceptibility】2
【Dexterity】
..【Dexterity】3
【Intuition】
..【Instinct】2
He didn"t want to believe it, but she was indeed the real Mille Crepes van Quad.