The Academy’s Deceased Ate It All

With a steady crunch-crunch, Belluna kept grabbing snacks and shoving them into her mouth.

The rustle of the snack bag, the gulp of swallowing, then the crunching all over again.

The various sounds blended together and rang out so loudly it grated on the ears.

But Belluna paid it no mind at all, tipping even the last crumbs into her mouth as if reluctant to waste them, and then she picked up a chocolate bar.

She just bit off a big mouthful, chewed it down, and ate away with a blissful look on her face.

"Mm?"

In the middle of it, she blinked and looked off to one side.

There, someone was still watching her with eyes brimming with wariness and hostility.

Belluna nodded at that gaze as if she understood.

"Want some? They say you've got to eat well to get better when you're hurt."

"…."

"Hmm, what a shame."

There was no answer, but that itself became the answer.

Without looking the least bit disappointed, Belluna cracked open a soda and gulped it down in one go.

With the fizz and pop of the bubbles, Belluna let out a satisfied "Pwahh—" and mumbled,

"So good…."

"One thing."

"Hm?"

At the voice she was hearing for the first time, Belluna tilted her head.

From one side of the cave, Nam Hyun-hwa—slumped against the wall in a worn-out state—forced the words out, gritting through the pain.

"There's one thing I'd like to ask."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Why didn't you kill me? No…."

Nam Hyun-hwa closed her eyes, her face pallid, and pressed a hand against her wound.

The injuries she'd taken were not the kind that would mend just from grinding up healing herbs and medicinal ingredients, smearing them on, and wrapping a bandage.

Normally, with treatment this crude, recovery would have been out of the question—she wouldn't even have been able to hold herself upright.

It was only because Nam Hyun-hwa's willpower and recovery were of an entirely different order from ordinary people's that she'd managed to claw back even this much strength.

"Why did you save me? Aren't you one of Milited's Children?"

Nam Hyun-hwa pressed her palm lightly against the hilt of the sword she'd set down beside her and straightened her posture.

"And a spirit, no less. That someone like you would rescue me—I can't make sense of it."

"Hmm… let's see."

At first she'd assumed she was being kept alive for some purpose.

But before long she'd realized that wasn't it.

"If you'd meant to take me prisoner, you'd have cut off my limbs or crippled them, or at the very least stripped me of my sword and clamped shackles on me to suppress my mana."

Pausing as if even talking was a strain, Nam Hyun-hwa blinked.

"May I ask the reason?"

"Hmm…."

Belluna swung her legs back and forth, then nodded as if she'd made up her mind.

"All right, I'll answer a few things."

"…I'm listening."

"First, I'm not one of Milited's Children. I left them long ago. That day… I just met up with them again for a reason."

After her index finger, Belluna unfolded her middle finger as she spoke.

"Second, there's nothing much to why I saved you. It was just a simple whim, that's all."

"A whim, you say…."

In truth, that was exactly it.

Belluna's reason for saving Nam Hyun-hwa really had been nothing more than chance combined with a passing whim.

Finding her—wounded, swept downstream, and collapsed on the lower bank—had been pure chance.

Killing and driving off the wild beasts and the grubby monsters like goblins and orcs that had been closing in to prey on her had been nothing but a whim.

Carrying her, unconscious and looking like she might die at any second, to the cave; remembering that a sick human needs warmth and lighting a fire; recalling how she'd nursed her husband Brix Hunt back when he'd been hurt; hauling in armfuls of medicine, bandages, and food so she could heal and recover her strength; and even dropping by now and then like this to check whether she'd died—all of it.

All of it amounted to nothing more than a fleeting whim.

"Oh, right. And there's the connection of having fought under the same sky during the battle with Minerva."

Belluna answered that and let out a drowsy sigh.

"And besides, if you died, your disciples would grieve, wouldn't they?"

"…They would."

At Belluna's out-of-nowhere mention of Choi Hyun-woo and Han Su-yeong, Nam Hyun-hwa answered without letting down her guard.

At that, Belluna abruptly burst into a peal of laughter.

"Your form's young, but your eyes are still old. How strange—why didn't the humans catch on? And is it really worth being that desperate just to take on a form like that?"

"…Becoming young again is something that ordinarily can't happen. Even I think it's an ability beyond my due."

"Right, and that's probably why your comrade rammed a sword into your chest."

"…."

"Well, anyway, it's nothing important."

Belluna brushed off the dust and rose to her feet.

An unpleasant memory had surfaced, and her expression went and froze over, cold.

"If you die, your disciples will grieve, and then my son, who's friends with your disciples, will grieve too, won't he? I didn't want to see that, so there it is."

"…Do you mean to tell me you feel something like kinship? No—a spirit, feeling emotions like a human?"

"Because that boy is now the only trace left of me and Brix. How could he not be precious?"

She murmured it quietly.

Nam Hyun-hwa, nearly killed in a betrayal by her comrades.

Brix Hunt, killed in a betrayal by his comrades.

Recalling that fact, Belluna found herself wearing a chilly smile before she knew it.

"So I suppose even I came to feel a sliver of emotion. Enough, unlike before, to pity one dying human and lend a hand."

She gave Nam Hyun-hwa a bright smile.

But Nam Hyun-hwa couldn't smile.

"…."

It was because she'd met Belluna's eyes head-on.

"Well, anyway, wouldn't it be best to rest easy for now and let your wounds heal?"

In an instant Belluna changed her expression and flashed a bright smile.

"After I went to all the trouble of saving you, I'd honestly be a little sad if you went and died for nothing…."

She tossed a stick into the campfire and murmured,

"More than that, if you don't recover quickly, it'll end up being too late for all sorts of things."

"Ji-hyeok, that reminds me—you hear about that?"

"About what?"

For the first time in a while, Choi Hyun-woo and I were walking down the hallway, just the two of us.

We'd decided to train together as part of my rehab exercises.

That said, since having other people watching me spar with someone still felt like too much pressure, I'd settled on just beating up a wooden dummy on my own.

And at that, Choi Hyun-woo had said if that was the plan, he'd do the same alongside me, and tagged along.

"You know, that girl. Yoon Seul-hye."

"Ah, what about her?"

"I heard she's doing some kind of concert or recital?"

Word had already gotten around, it seemed.

I nodded with an indifferent look.

"She's got some nerve. A mess like that breaks out and she wants to put on a concert?"

"No kidding. She's even bringing in other singers… and apparently she's having students take part too? From what I hear, it's shaping up to be pretty big."

I nodded at that and glanced over at him.

"What, you thinking of entering?"

"Oh, come on. Why would I take part in something like that?"

Choi Hyun-woo waved a hand to dismiss it, but once I thought about it, it actually seemed like it could work.

"Why not give it a shot? I've heard you sing before—you're good. And honestly, with a face like yours, you could just stand up there smiling and still walk away with the popularity prize."

"Hahahaha."

Choi Hyun-woo cracked up like it was hilarious, then suddenly cut his laughter short and said,

"It'd be better to have Su-yeong and Ye-seul go up as a duo and sing."

"That… that's true."

Both of them were incredible singers, after all.

Jin Ye-seul especially was so good it'd startled me—good enough that I figured she could debut right now and it wouldn't be out of place.

And to be honest, both of them were pretty girls on a level where Yoon Seul-hye and most everyone else didn't even come close.

"Mm."

Right then, Choi Hyun-woo suddenly broke into a mischievous grin.

"Or how about you go up with me?"

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Okay, then the four of us… no, let's rope in Ivan and Yu-na and go up as a six-person group."

"Hyun-woo, you really got a death wish?"

He snickered and burst out laughing at my answer.

Then, all of a sudden, he started clearing his throat with an "ahem, ahem."

I tried to stop him from that thoroughly alarming behavior, but it was already too late.

"O-oh my belove—ed~"

"You little—!"

I spat out a curse and drove a fist into Choi Hyun-woo's side, but he dodged it with a fluid motion and burst out laughing.

As we chased each other like that on the way to the sparring hall, we ran into Ahn Do-hun, who was likewise heading toward it, carrying a long pole.

"Oh, it's Do-hun."

"Mm."

Choi Hyun-woo and Ahn Do-hun exchanged greetings like they were used to each other—friendly, in a way.

Then Ahn Do-hun, spotting me, frowned slightly and said,

"What, you all healed up now?"

"Yeah, more or less. Oh, thanks for that thing you gave me before. It really worked great."

At that, Ahn Do-hun gave a small nod.

Just as I was thinking he'd grown a lot more mature in the time I hadn't seen him, Choi Hyun-woo looked at the pole he was holding and asked,

"What's this, practicing the spear today? But it looks pretty different from what I usually see you with."

"Ah, no. This is, uh…."

Ahn Do-hun showed a rare flash of fluster, then collected himself and answered in a quiet voice.

"It's a flag, this."

"A flag?"

"Yeah, a flag."

Ahn Do-hun coughed, "ahem."

"It's just, somebody I got to know recently taught me a bunch of things. And turns out I'm a similar type to that person, so one of the things they recommended was a flag."

…It was clearly about Laura Hartmann.

Ahn Do-hun's combat type was an apt blend of Laura Hartmann's and Ahn Ju-hyeok's styles, after all.

On top of that, I'd heard before that Ahn Do-hun had asked Laura Hartmann to teach him.

…And more than anything, if there was a reason a guy with zero interest in sports like baseball had suddenly taken an interest in it—and in the very team Laura Hartmann was rumored to be a rabid fan of, no less—there was only one.

Well, whatever the case, he seemed to be heading in a good direction, so I was genuinely relieved.

The truth was, Ahn Do-hun had been one of the people I'd worried about most.

"What do you do with a flag? Don't tell me you fight with it."

"Command and support."

Ahn Do-hun said this and pointlessly raised the pole, tapping it against his own shoulder.

"And depending on the situation, well… I'll have to carry a greatsword or a lance, or a shield along with it."

"A flag, huh. I've never seen anyone use one as a weapon… seems like it'd be really hard to handle."

I found myself nodding at Choi Hyun-woo's words despite myself.

Even Lee Yu-na hadn't used a flag as a weapon, after all.

"That's why I have to practice."

Right then, Ahn Do-hun stopped walking.

We'd arrived in front of the sparring hall before we knew it.

"All right, take care, then. You look after yourself too."

With those words, Ahn Do-hun went into the sparring hall without a backward glance.

"Why don't you go give him a hand?"

"Huh?"

That's what I said to Choi Hyun-woo, who was wearing an itching-to-go look.

Choi Hyun-woo waved a hand as if to say it was fine, but watching his fingers twitch, I told him I really didn't mind.

"Seriously, it's okay. If you go spar a bit, it'd be a big help to Ahn Do-hun too. There's no practice like the real thing, after all."

"Uh, no. But I came to work out with you."

I gave him a little smile at that.

"Come on, I'm only going to do a bit and then head off anyway. They've even told me not to move around too vigorously yet, so if I overdo it and get hurt for nothing, it'd be a disaster. Imagine the earful I'd get from the clan head, or Ahn Ju-hyeok, or Su-yeong and Ye-seul and Yu-na."

"Hmm…."

Choi Hyun-woo's expression wavered at that.

I gave his back a light pat as if to say it was fine, and only then did he nod slightly, grateful.

"Th-thanks. I feel bad. All talk and nothing to show for it."

"What's there to thank me for? I was actually worried I might be eating into your time, so this works out perfectly. I've got someone to meet, too, so I wasn't going to be able to do much anyway."

"All right. See you later, then."

With that, he opened the door to the sparring room and went in.

After watching him for a moment, I immediately turned on my heel and headed for the training room.

It was the one I always used—a private room where outsiders couldn't see inside.

And only after shutting down every recording and audio device, the way Jin Ye-seul had taught me, could I finally breathe easy.

[What's this, planning to meet someone?]

I gave a small nod at Sbeungali's words.

It had been like this when I met Jin Ye-seul before too, so he'd more or less caught on.

[Meet whom?]

"I think you'd know that better than I would."

[…Hm?]

Leaving behind the guy playing dumb like he hadn't a clue, I carefully sat down in the chair that had been set out.

Then I let out a sigh and looked down at the floor.

On the floor was Henir's Shadow, the same as always—yet eerily unresponsive.

"Come out."

[…….]

[H-hey there. What are you talking about right now?]

Ignoring Sbeungali's flustered words, I plunged my hand straight into Henir's Shadow.

Only then could I be certain.

Henir's Shadow—something about it had changed.

And I'd experienced this kind of sensation once before.

It closely resembled the very feeling I'd had back when Sbeungali settled into my body and assimilated with the World Tree's Branch.

"I said, come out."

[……!]

As I waved my hand back and forth along with the words, Henir's Shadow flinched as if startled and spat my hand back out.

And at the same time, it began squirming and pulling far away from me.

I started to go after it right away, but quickly thought better of it and just stayed seated in the chair, staring the shadow down.

How long had it been like that.

[Haah….]

The sound of a woman's sigh drifting over.

But at the voice that was so familiar to my ears, I let out a breath in spite of myself.

[…Since when, pray tell, hast thou known?]

Along with a voice that sounded resigned, something began to reveal itself from within Henir's Shadow.

There was no way I could forget that figure.

"…Minerva."

Minerva.

It was her, of all people.

"Indeed."

And she—wearing the distinctive garb I'd seen her in last—nodded with a somehow resigned expression.

"Thy Minerva is here."

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