Oujin muttered, his face bright red.

“L-Love letters… I got a lot of them… but there were so many that they blinded me, and I couldn’t see anything… at all…”

“You couldn’t see them? You mean you didn’t read any of them?”

“I couldn’t help it! When I opened my door, my entire room was practically glowing like a sphere of light! I thought it was a mage’s attack and hid until it disappeared!”

So, all the girls who sent love letters ended up using magic to teleport them right in front of Oujin’s door? And as a result, they turned into a glowing ball of light? That’s some ridiculously bad luck.

Oujin flailed his arms, desperately trying to justify himself.

“I don’t know if it’s some kind of teleportation magic trending in the royal capital, but that kind of collective mass isn’t even letters anymore! It just looks like an attack!”

His expression was so desperate that I found myself taken aback.

Stealing a glance to the side, I saw that Riona was also slightly taken aback.

“Alright, alright. Just calm down for a moment, Ryoka-chan.”

But Oujin didn’t stop.

“A-Anyway, those things need to happen naturally, you know? I mean, I don’t even know anything about those girls yet…”

“Obviously. If you didn’t read a single letter, you wouldn’t even know who sent them. That’s just unfortunate.”

“Ugh… A-Also, I’m still in training, so I shouldn’t be getting distracted by things like that yet…”

Still…

A glowing sphere… and they? Just how many girls sent him love letters? Were he and Void planning to split all the girls in the academy between them?

Riona placed her hands on her hips, exasperated.

“That’s exactly your problem, Ryoka-chan. You overthink everything too much. It’s a bad habit, you know? If you panic too much, one day it might even cost you your life. Female assassins sometimes use seduction as a tactic, after all.”

Coming from a former spy, saboteur, and assassin, those words carried extra weight. If Riona had targeted Oujin instead of Lili, he would have been dead in seconds.

“Ugh…”

“Also, you said earlier that you want to at least reach Eremia’s level if not Void’s, but El-tan is a very special case. Ryoka-chan, you really shouldn’t try to imitate him. I mean, it’s practically impossible.”

“Hey!”

Don’t drag me down just because you feel like it.

“Heh, haha…”

“You too! Don’t laugh at that!”

When I glared at him, Oujin wilted.

“I’m sorry.”

“And stop apologizing so damn seriously!”

“S-Sorry…”

For some reason, he looked like he was about to cry. Poor guy.

Anyway, that’s settled.

Right, I actually had a personal favor to ask of Oujin.

“Oujin. Could you spar with me for a bit? I’d like to experience the technique of the Karaburi Ittō-ryū. That rock-slicing move got me interested.”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s fine, but—”

Oujin raised a finger. At that exact moment, the bell signaling the start of class rang.

Damn. I completely forgot. We’re definitely late.

“Looks like we don’t have time now. Let’s do it another time?”

“I suppose there’s no helping it. But if you knew, you should have said something earlier! Now we’re both late.”

“I figured Riona-san’s predicament was more important than class, so I kept quiet.”

Riona beamed.

“Thanks! You’re a good guy!”

“N-No, I’m not, I still have a long way to—”

“That’s exactly what I mean! Learn from this, Oujin.”

“R-Right… I see now…”

Anyway, back to the issue at hand.

We exchanged weary smiles as we walked.

“Still, this is bad. How are we supposed to explain our tardiness to Instructor Ituka?”

“Aah… Lili-chan is gonna scold me…”

“What are you talking about? You should be grateful if all you get is a scolding. Especially in your case.”

At least your head and body are still attached. That alone is a mercy.

Riona made a bitter expression.

“Ugh, true… El-tan, you even crossed swords with Lili-chan to protect me…”

“Huh!?”

Oujin let out a shocked yelp.

“Eremia fought the War Maiden!?”

“Oh, right. You and Void weren’t there. Yeah, we fought. And I didn’t stand a chance.”

“Well, of course…”

If Lili’s target had been me from the start instead of Riona, she would have subdued me in an instant.

“That’s not entirely true. El-tan, you landed a solid hit on Lili-chan’s butt. She looked like she was about to cry, poor thing.”

“What!?”

“That was only because I predicted she’d dodge past me to go after Riona, so I exploited the opening and just kind of went with the momentum.”

All to awaken Blythe’s memories.

Otherwise, with my current strength, I wouldn’t be able to stop the kingdom’s strongest sword, War Maiden Lili Ituka. Even Old Man Mald probably wouldn’t have been able to block that slash in the homunculus battle.

Still so far away. The path to Sword Saint is long.

I sighed.

“Kilpus—His Majesty—stepped in to stop her, and honestly, that saved me. If we had fought seriously, I had no chance.”

For now, at least.

By graduation, I’ll definitely catch up.

“Wait a second! If what you’re saying is true, then Eremia actually landed a hit on Instructor Ituka!?”

“Yeah. Though it was just a single slap with the flat of my blade to her rear.”

Oujin covered his face with his hand and grinned.

“Ahaha… Man, what the hell. Heh… Haha… No way this guy is a normal reference point. Haha!”

Oujin kept laughing.

“Hey, what else was I supposed to do? That woman is impossible to handle.”

“I mean, Eremia… Maybe Instructor Ituka thought the same thing about you. Not in terms of swordsmanship, but personality-wise.”

Riona nodded.

“Oh yeah, that’s totally possible.”

“Right?”

“Like hell it is! Compared to Lili, I’m as docile as a little animal.”

And so, chatting all the while, we made our way toward the main building.

We were already late. There was no point in rushing now.

Sometimes, it’s nice to just enjoy moments like these.