Mistaken for a Masked Munchkin

After class, I was overseeing Class E's training.

"We'll go again!"

"All right, start slowly!"

"Move! Move!"

The kids repeated their drills without hesitation.

With final exams approaching, they all looked fired up.

They burned with determination to show everything they'd achieved over the past half year.

Every one of them held a custom-made textbook I'd prepared.

A textbook detailing the most efficient way for each of them to grow.

Maybe all those late nights spent making them had been worth it.

Even I thought they were well made.

The Class E kids had marveled at them more than once.

"My god... You wrote something this thick by hand, all by yourself..."

"And each one is different! Big Bro went this far for us..."

"Sniff... Boss! I'll definitely repay this kindness by making something of myself!"

"Are you all going to slack off even after seeing this?! Work hard so we can repay Boss!"

"We'll do our best!"

Fuck. I wished they'd stop that.

They were all crying their eyes out while training, which looked pretty bizarre from the sidelines.

Well... it was still a form of class unity, so I didn't do much to stop them.

At least they were working hard, one way or another.

Ding!

[Sub Quest]

-Details: Raise every Class E student to B-rank or higher.

-Quest Deadline: Before graduation

-Penalty upon Failure: None

-Reward: Character-exclusive item, ‘Black Tuner’s Scales (S-)’

[Progress: 47%]

Grow up nice and strong, everyone.

You needed to grow quickly so I could reap the benefits.

I also went around to each student and gave them advice.

"Palanon? Your magic chant is a little rushed. Try exhaling more fully, and imagine you're gently painting a picture."

"Exhaling, like painting a picture... Ah! I think the connection between my chants is becoming smoother!"

"Right? Rapid chanting is good, of course, but you also need moments where you leave room to breathe."

"I've had a profound realization. So this is the beauty of the womb!"

"Of leaving room to breathe, perhaps? The womb is where I got mine."

"Aha!"

The students beamed with delight.

Maybe they were so talented that they grasped the idea after only a few words of advice.

"How is it? Mixing swordsmanship with curse arts makes it much stronger, doesn't it?"

"My god... I never thought I could make up for my flaws this way."

"When you're impatient, your field of vision narrows. Going forward, you'll need ritual armaments, Miss Parin."

"I can't believe I only learned this now! I've been so ignorant all this time! I'm angry at my foolish self! My anger feels like it's rising all the way to the top of my head!"

"Miss Parin, how tall are you again?"

"My height? I'm 145 centimeters!"

So she wasn't that angry.

'They're all following along well.'

At this rate, it looked like I could finish the quest before their first year even ended.

A pleased smile spread across my face.

The kids were growing by the day.

Among them, Alice stood out the most.

"Are you ready?"

"Y-yes...!"

The black-haired girl nodded timidly.

A pitch-black crown floated above Alice's head.

Soldiers born from dreams stood in formation beside the girl wrapped in darkness.

Clack, clack, clack!

Playing cards and chess pieces.

The soldiers moved in time with Alice's commands.

Even while controlling them, her expression remained calm.

'Is this easy for her now?'

There were around fifty of them.

It was an enormous improvement.

'Just a few months ago, she couldn't even summon a single soldier properly...'

Now, she had proper control over her dreams.

Of course, it didn't end there.

Alice gently closed her eyes.

Blackness whirled around her, and the dreamscape covered one side of the forest.

Whoooosh!

The Queen softly parted her lips.

Her fantasy was spoken aloud, woven into hundreds of feathers.

"Fly."

Shwaaaak!

A giant wing unfolded in midair.

Beyond it appeared an eagle the size of a dinosaur.

'Jabberwock.'

One of the dream servants Alice commanded.

It was also a named monster.

'Its nightmare form was really horrifying...'

Seeing it in its normal form made it seem quite dependable.

The creature landed quietly and lowered its head toward Alice.

A gesture of submission.

The Queen stroked the flying beast.

Seeing her like this made it easy to grasp just how much potential she had.

"Hoo..."

Alice released her dream with a deep breath.

Her jet-black crown scattered like smoke.

There wasn't the slightest sign of strain on the girl.

I quietly applauded from where I supervised.

Clap, clap, clap.

"You've improved so much."

"Th-thank you!"

"You've worked hard."

"Hehe..."

The girl shyly averted her gaze.

Her fidgeting fingers looked oddly uncertain.

"But... I still think I'm lacking a lot. No matter how many times I try, I can't c-control the Queens..."

Queens (Heart, Red, White).

They were the strongest cards Alice could command.

On the last school trip, the Queen of Hearts alone had slaughtered thousands of Chimeras.

"They're certainly powerful beings. It'll take a little more time to tame them."

"I thought so. I want to become useful to you soon, V-Viktor..."

"You're already more than useful."

"I'll... I'll work even harder!"

"You may not seem like it, Alice, but you're surprisingly stubborn."

"Ah... I-I mean, it's not that I don't w-want to listen to you..."

"Hehe, I know. Thank you, always."

Alice looked purely delighted.

After I finished coaching them, I took a moment to catch my breath.

Then a thought occurred to me.

'Come to think of it, I haven't seen Rin...'

I looked around the training grounds for no particular reason.

There was no sign of blue hair nearby.

So I headed deeper into the forest.

"Hm."

By the time I reached a secluded corner, I could smell the faint scent of winter.

The cold had turned the surrounding leaves white.

It was undoubtedly the aura released by Rin's swordsmanship.

I hid behind a tree and watched where the bitter wind originated.

"......"

As expected, the blue-haired girl stood there.

In one hand, she held a sword that looked as though it had been honed from thin ice.

Rin's eyes were closed.

A transparent blade was drawn, followed by a blizzard of frost.

Aura compressed as though it were writhing.

That white force shot toward a massive tree.

A straight line was drawn, and winter arrived in the forest like a clock hand.

-Rin Glacia Style Offensive Swordsmanship, Second Form-

'Second Hand'

Slice!

The massive tree was cut in two with a single stroke.

Brutally severed, it tilted toward the ground.

At the same time, clusters of white frost flowers bloomed across its trunk.

It froze in an instant, then shattered into pieces.

Boom, crash!

The sequence was impossibly elegant.

At the end of that graceful winter, the clock hand ticked.

Despite unleashing such a strike, the girl didn't look tired at all.

'That's definitely a ridiculous level...'

I quietly admired her.

Whether it was technique or power, she had long since surpassed the level of a student.

If we fought one-on-one without bugs, I was confident she'd beat the shit out of me within five minutes.

"......"

"......?"

Perhaps sensing my gaze, the girl turned around.

Our eyes met.

Rin tilted her head slightly, regarding me with vacant eyes.

No matter how many times I saw it, her reaction still looked completely soulless.

"......Oh."

"Young Lady."

"You were watching. I didn't notice."

"You seemed focused on your training, so I didn't make my presence known."

"I wasn't... particularly focused. Yeah. If you were being considerate, thank you."

Her eyes blinked sleepily.

Her expression was vacant.

I couldn't get any sense of what she was thinking.

I gave an awkward smile and added a few words about her swordsmanship.

"Your swordsmanship seems to improve every time I see it."

"......It's lacking."

"Lacking?"

"Yes... Father and my older brother won't acknowledge it, either..."

"They place the highest value on magic."

"That's why it's lacking. I can't use magic."

Her voice was calm, without any rise or fall.

The girl was slow, like falling snowflakes.

And cold.

Dry, yet unmistakably chilly.

I tried to lighten the mood.

"So what if you can't use magic? I think you're amazing. I respect you, too. I've fought you myself, so I know how powerful your swordsmanship is. That's why I think you should give yourself a little more credit..."

"Wait."

"Yes?"

"......Say what you just said again."

Rin suddenly cut me off.

Her blue eyes stared directly up at me.

Confused by that reaction, I retraced what I'd just said.

"What I said... Do you mean the part about giving yourself more credit?"

"No. Earlier than that."

"The part about how it doesn't matter if you can't use magic?"

"No. Not that. That, right after..."

"The part where I said I think you're amazing?"

"......"

"Or the part where I said I respect you?"

"......"

Rin didn't answer again.

What was this?

Had I misspoken?

Maybe I'd unknowingly touched on some sore point.

Just as I started feeling tense, an unexpected question came back.

The girl asked me with vacant eyes.

"......Really?"

"H-huh?"

"Am I amazing? Worthy of respect...?"

"Well, that is clearly what I said..."

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why am I amazing? Why am I worthy of respect?"

Rin stepped closer as she asked.

It was a sudden reaction.

Still flustered, I nodded for now.

Something about the mood told me I shouldn't cut this short.

"Because you're unmatched, Young Lady. I don't think anyone your age could keep up with your swordsmanship. Not just in the academy, either. Even across the whole continent, you'd be number one. If I didn't respect someone like that, who should I respect?"

"Really?"

"Really."

"Do you really think that?"

"I'd stake my parents on it."

"Why?"

"Because it was sincere, without a shred of a lie."

"But... I'm stupid. I can't use magic, and I'm foolish... I'm trash. I'm defective."

"Who says something that stupid? There are already widespread rumors that you're the best of this generation."

"The best? Does that mean I'm the most amazing? Even more than you?"

"That's what I think. You're far more exceptional than someone like me, Young Lady."

"......"

"Young Lady?"

"Am I really worthy of respect...?"

"You are. And you're amazing, too."

It was a conversation whose meaning I couldn't understand at all.

The words went in circles again and again.

Rin stood in the same spot and kept asking the same question.

Only after I gave her the thirty-seventh answer did she finally stop asking and close her mouth.

"......"

A brief silence.

Then.

"Oh, Young Lady...?"

"......"

Moisture gathered in her unfocused eyes.

Clear trails began running down her white cheeks.

The girl still wore a vacant expression.

Tears streamed down her face.

"Y-Young Lady?"

Her blue eyes grew wet as though ice were melting, until tears finally poured from them.

Without saying a word, she only let her tears fall.

Her usual sleepy eyes looked up at me.

That left me with no choice but to break into a cold sweat.

'No...'

What was this?

Why was she suddenly crying?

===

It's Alice and Rin.

I'll post the other friends' illustrations tomorrow.

Footnotes:

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!