Oujin, as if shaking off the previous topic, started talking about the curriculum.

“First, we need to talk to Instructor Ituka about Eremia's proposal.”

“Yeah. If the class ends up acting separately in different teams, then our third team will have to split up as well. We'll need Lili's permission for that.”

Failing a year due to breaking the rules would be no laughing matter.

“Alright, let's assume we get permission and move forward with the discussion.”

Oujin raised one hand, extending his fingers and folding them one by one as he explained.

“There are five teams in total. If we exclude the third team, that leaves four. In the worst case, each of us will have to act separately.”

Riona nodded repeatedly.

“Yeah. Ah, but I’m not really good at direct combat, you know? I’ll handle scouting and support, so it’d be great if I could join a team that’s strong in offense and defense.”

Right. We also need to consider compatibility.

I recalled the faces and names of my classmates in my head and spoke.

“Hmm…? Oujin wouldn’t fit in team Five with Seneca. Having two commanders would be a waste, and if it causes confusion, that defeats the purpose.”

Oujin nodded.

“That’s true. Even in a panic, she excels at making precise judgments. In that regard, she surpasses me by far.”

Void chimed in with a teasing remark.

“If chicks weren’t involved, you wouldn’t lose so bad either. Kuk.”

“D-Don’t bring that up…”

Don’t sound so pathetic.

Now then…

“Since Riona wants a combat-oriented team, the options outside of the third team would be team One, which has Ilga Freiges, or if we prioritize safety, team Four, which has Fix Ougus and his healing magic.”

“Ilga-kun's team sounds exhausting… I’m not good at taking care of people like that. Just following him around would wear me out. If he charges in recklessly like he did with the homunculus, my scouting would be completely useless.”

Riona looked displeased. Honestly, I agreed with her.

The personalities of those who die young tend to be the same.

Needlessly brave. They either fail to recognize their limits or simply don’t care, charging fearlessly into any enemy.

And they are the first to die.

Seeing that, morale plummets, and eventually, the battlefield is lost. I witnessed that countless times in my past life.

No, even in this life.

Ilga was the first to rush the homunculus and got swatted down immediately, throwing his entire team into chaos.

“Yeah. But putting Void or Oujin in that team would be a waste of firepower.”

“I don’t mind. As long as I can punch that guy to keep him in check. Kukuku.”

Yeah, I can picture that. Strangely, the image is vivid—Void and Ilga clashing in front of a dungeon monster.

This… seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

“Of course not. If anyone gets scolded by Lili later, it’s going to be me.”

I couldn’t help but grumble.

“Ilga may not be weak for a student. He doesn’t use noble swordsmanship but rather knight swordsmanship. But his personality… That’s a problem.”

“I hope he learned from his last failure.”

Oujin gave a wry smile.

“Yeah. But let’s not rely on wishful thinking.”

Against an overwhelmingly powerful homunculus, students wouldn’t even be able to gauge its strength. Ilga getting crushed was inevitable. Calling it a lack of skill would be unfair. The only reason our third team held our own was because we were… unique.

Riona murmured as if recalling something.

“Hey, hey. There was a big guy in team Two, right? The one with a pole weapon. I don’t remember his name, but I’d rather go with him.”

“I don’t know much about him either, but just being big doesn’t mean he’s strong. Size is an advantage in unarmed combat, but when it comes to weapon-based fights, it’s not that simple.”

“Ohh, true~. El-tan, you’re strong too. You break knight instructors’ ribs for fun.”

“I’m not small! I’m ten, so I’m normal! If I were your age, I’d be twice Void’s size!”

Damn it. I need to stop reacting like an actual child.

“And stop making it sound bad. I wasn’t playing around with Lawrence. I just hit him once, and somehow, five ribs broke at the same time.”

Everyone stared at me, completely serious.

“…What’s with those looks? I was just as surprised! That loudmouth instructor…”

No, I wasn’t playing. I was teaching him a lesson.

“Honestly, I’m still wondering if he broke them himself. Some people break bones from sneezing, you know?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“What?! You guys don’t believe me? You think I’d actually do that on purpose?!”

Void looked away and mumbled.

“So, either me or Oujin will go with Fix Ougus' team, huh? His healing magic is impressive, but their combat ability is a little lacking.”

Why are they ignoring me? Is this bullying? Whatever.

There’s not much time before the afternoon classes. I should switch gears.

“Alright, so what’s left…?”

“El-tan, we haven’t decided on a single team yet.”

…Oh. Really? Strange. We’ve been thinking so hard.

I scratched my head in frustration.

“Ughh, this is such a pain!”

I gave up thinking. Then, putting on a serious face, I tossed the problem aside.

“Let’s just decide on the day.”

It’ll be fine. I don’t care about rules anyway. They’re just guidelines to be broken.

Oujin smiled wryly.

“Yeah. We might end up splitting into two teams instead of four. That might be better.”

“Same~. Too much thinking is annoying.”

“Kuk, after all this, we’re just throwing it away? What was the point of this whole discussion?”

Yeah…

The four of us exchanged glances and laughed at the same time.

For some reason, it felt good.

After laughing for a while, Riona collected everyone’s bread wrappers and stuffed them into an empty paper bag. It seemed she was going to throw them away. Maybe it was her way of thanking Void for sharing his bread. Not that they’d ever admit it.

Oujin murmured.

“It’s about time for the warning bell. Let’s head back to the classroom.”

Void lay down with his hands behind his head.

Looks like he’s planning to skip the afternoon classes too. He waved lazily.

“Well, I don’t care. Just toss me in wherever there’s space.”

Will this really be okay? It feels like we wasted our valuable lunch break. Maybe I should have practiced with my wooden sword instead.

…No, not really. It was actually a pretty useful time to sort out my thoughts on my classmates. Plus, I got to see Void and Riona getting along better and learned a bit more about Oujin.

“Huh? El-tan, why are you still smiling?”

“Huh? I don’t know!”

…More than anything, I think I actually had fun.