Off to See the List of Relics
Lavia started attending the short sword clases as well.
「I can"t believe there"s someone even more nitpicky than Hikaru.」Mille said, disappointed.
「How dare you go all the way here to make out! We"ll teach you a lesson!」the great sword students said.
They showed up from time to time. As always they ran out of stamina without even landing a blow on Hikaru.
「…It looks… like… you"re actually… attending… the cla.s.ses…」
Lavia, on the other hand, lay sprawled on the ground, and out of breath. For two hours, she copied Hikaru"s basic training regimen.
「Lavia. I think it was a bad idea for you to attend when you don"t have much of a stamina.」
「I-I have… stamina…」
Technically she had one point of Stamina in her Soul Board, but that was it. This was different from all the walking and running they did on their journey. The training required constant power bursts. She was completely exhausted.
「Can you walk? You should go home and rest. 」
「…I can"t.」
She tried to get up, but she could barely move her arms. She couldn"t even roll over. Without much of a choice, Hikaru picked her up and carried her in his arms.
「Wh-What are you doing?」
「Let"s get you home.」
「H-Hikaru, I-I uhh…」
「I"m not letting you down even if you say it"s embarra.s.sing. I can"t let you lie down outside. Our place is close so just hang in there.」
「But you must be exhausted too.」
「You"re not that heavy.」
「Uh…」
Lavia buried her face in Hikaru"s chest from embarra.s.sment. The other students who were on the ground too saw them.
「d.a.m.n it! Why? Why did you come here to act all lovey-dovey?!」
「They"re trying to end us for good!」
「I know now… I will never beat Hikaru…」
Hikaru ignored them and turned his attention to Mille.
「We"re leaving, then.」
「Okay. Looking forward to lunch!」
「You mean looking forward to booze.」
「Both. You gotta have food with booze, you know. Ahh, is there a man out there who would carry me like a princess too?」
「There"s none for someone who treats an actual meal like an appetizer.」Hikaru said.
「I"ll have you know there are plenty of men who want a blunt woman like me. You need to get your eyes checked.」
「The people from Jarazack seem to find you attractive at least.」
The other students slowly got on their feet.
「Professor! You may jump into my arms!」
「No, me!」
「Me!」
「If you land a hit on Hikaru, sure.」she said.
Hikaru and Lavia left.
「…Hikaru?」
「Yes?」
「How do you have so much stamina? Did you… put points on your Soul Board?」
「Nope. I have zero points on Stamina.」
「Really?」
「I"ve been doing some self-training and learning techniques that minimizes the use of stamina.」
At first, Hikaru put all he got in dodging great sword attacks. With two points on Power Burst, he was quite fast. But it drained too much stamina.
Now he was learning to dodge attacks with minimal movement and performing attacks to break the opponent"s balance. That was how he"d been playing around with the other great sword students.
「Can I do it too?」
「I don"t think you have to learn these techniques. You just run as fast you can when it"s time to escape. You"re a Spirit Magic user, so I want you to focus on hiding. Just like me, I guess. Maybe I should teach you how to fight with your Stealth. Hmm? Lavia?」
She was already fast asleep.
「Can"t really blame her. After staying indoors for so long, that must"ve been too much for her.」
Hikaru smiled broadly as he watched her sleep. He lay her in bed and left a gla.s.s of water by the bedside table. If the short sword cla.s.ses would help her be more fit, then it was worth it.
「League didn"t show up today.」
Lavia was fast asleep, so Hikaru headed to the tavern for lunch. The guys were present as well, although worn-out.
「Where"s League?」Hikaru asked Roy.
「He"s from the Green Ogre clan. I don"t know everything about him.」Roy answered. There was a hint of inferiority complex in his voice.
The red-haired guy with them in the Adventurers Guild went back home apparently. It seemed Roy wasn"t particularly close with the other Rumanian students.
「What? Are you worried about him?」Roy asked.
「I saw him with six women the other day.」
The guys quickly stood up except Roy.
「Well he"s from the most powerful clan in Rumania. Women would flock him.」
Downhearted, they went back to their seats, Hikaru included.
「Why are you feeling down too, Hikaru?! You"re already a winner!」
「Yeah! Introduce us to some ladies too!」
「A few wouldn"t hurt. Actually you should"ve done that a long time ago! You monster!」
「Monster!」
「Yeah! You monster!」
After lunch, Hikaru went to check on Lavia, but seeing as she was still asleep, he made his way to the library. He originally wanted Lavia to guide him since she visited every day, but there was nothing he could do about it.
I"ll just ask her next time, he thought.
Students could enter the library freely. Bookrests stood aside each other in a huge circular hall. Shelves lined the walls, and in the second floor was a complex maze of bookshelves.
「Wow… How do they sort these books? Can I even find the one I"m looking for?」Hikaru mumbled.
「Which book are you looking for?」
An aging librarian came over to him. There were quite a few of them roaming about, tidying up the shelves or removing damaged books.
「I"m looking for anything about the legacy of Zubura.」
「Come this way.」
He followed the butler-looking librarian. They climbed to the second floor and entered the maze of shelves. Magic lamps were installed where light couldn"t reach. Different kinds of books lined up the shelves - old ones that used parchment, others that used paper made from plant fiber. Everything was protected by a leather cover.
「These books here are about the Zuburan relics.」
「Wow.」
A shelf ten rows high loomed before Hikaru. "A Study on the Metal Box Artifact", "Where the Relics were Discovered", A Rough Blueprint of the Ca.n.a.lhand Ruins". The contents were all over the place, clearly unsorted.
「Um…」
「Yes?」
「I heard there"s this sort of catalogue that lists the relics discovered in Zubura. Where can I find it?」
「Can you please show me your soul or guild card?」
「Why?」
「We have what you"re looking for here, but browsing is restricted.」
「A restriction? But a student from Rumania was able to see it.」
He could understand if he was from Zubura, but Roy was from Rumania.
「Perhaps that student was from a prestigious family.」
「I don"t know about that, but he"s from the Yellow Tiger clan.」
「Ah, one of the major clans then.」
It would seem that Roy was from a high-ranking clan.
「I"m not actually from Forestia.」
「Is that so? Unfortunately, I can"t show the catalog to you.」
「Is there something you can do about it?」
「None, I"m afraid. It"s just the rules.」
「Where is it located?」
「I can"t tell you that.」
Tsk. If he knew where it was, he could use his Stealth to sneak in.
「Hmm…」
「Unfortunately, I cannot guide you any further. If you don"t have any more questions, I"ll…」
「Wait a minute.」a voice said.
Surprised, the librarian turned around.
「What are you doing here, Ma"am?」
Hikaru was astonished as well.
「Show the boy the list. I"m giving him permission.」the academy princ.i.p.al ordered.