Chapter 110: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 110
After lunch, I went up to the rooftop and found Leonor leaning against the railing, smoking a magic cigarette.
I had a feeling she might be here.
Approaching her as she smoked and stared beyond the railing, she handed me a magic cigarette without even turning her head.
Lighting the magic cigarette she handed me, I took a drag and stood next to her, mimicking her posture. Soon, the view beyond the railing came into focus.
The sky was an icy blue, with drifting clouds and the midday sun high above.
This view was probably quite familiar to her.
Sharing the scenery and the sounds of students chatting as they wandered the campus after lunch, I slowly muttered to her through the smoke.
“The view from here hasn’t changed at all in the past month.”
“...That’s true. It’s been a month, but nothing’s different. It feels like I was just here yesterday.”
Leonor responded and then silently resumed smoking her magic cigarette.
Watching her profile, I pulled out a bread roll I bought from the store before coming up and held it out to her.
Leonor looked blankly at the bread roll and asked,
“...What’s this for?”
“It’s for magic cigarettes. Consider it a thank you for always giving me one.”
“Hey, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m fine, you eat it.”
Leonor pushed the bread back towards me.
Sighing at her refusal, I said,
“You must be hungry. You didn’t have lunch, right?”
Leonor’s shoulders flinched.
I turned my gaze beyond the railing.
Maybe because we were sharing the same scenery, I felt like I could understand the emotions she felt while looking at it. I murmured softly,
“The view from here hasn’t changed, but some things have.”
“...”
“The food in the cafeteria. It definitely tasted better a month ago.”
Through the magic cigarette smoke, I saw something glistening in Leonor’s eyes.
She tilted her head up, muttering as if overwhelmed.
“...You’re really perceptive.”
Taking a deep breath, she rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.
After waiting silently, she seemed to calm down and spoke with her head lowered.
“...Still, you’re considerate. You’re the only junior who worries about me like this.”
“So don’t make your considerate junior worry and make sure you eat lunch properly from now on.”
“...I should.”
I held out the bread roll to the muttering Leonor again.
She looked at the bread for a moment, then patted my head with a chuckle and took it this time.
Leonor said,
“Thanks for the bread, I’ll eat it well.”
She smiled gently as she spoke.
Though the city had returned to its original state after a month, I knew that a month was too short a time to heal the wounds in her heart.
But hoping she would overcome her pain well, I smiled back at her.
*
After lunch, the first-year students gathered in the gymnasium for practical class.
Usually, we sat divided into Class A and Class B, but perhaps thinking we had become friends after eating together in the cafeteria, Marin and Florene naturally sat near us.
Then Mei, who was sitting next to me, asked Marin,
“By the way, I heard we have a special class today. Do you know what it’s about?”
“Hmmm, I haven’t heard anything specific either......”
Marin shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.
I cautiously told the curious girls,
“I heard there’s a special guest instructor......”
I had learned this information through Leonor when I met her on the rooftop. She had mentioned it during a phone call with her father, Leon Lionelle.
Since it was difficult to find time, he arranged for me to train alongside other students, and the academy had prepared special instructors for this purpose.
When I said that, Marin showed interest and asked,
“Really, Scarlet? Did you hear who the special instructor is?”
“I didn’t hear that much. They just said we’d know when we saw them......”
“If they’re being called a special instructor, they must be more outstanding than the academy’s faculty...... Who could it be?”
Marin tilted her head in confusion.
I was curious too.
Considering how Leonor’s father had spoken about it, the instructors must be extraordinary people......
While I was pondering, I heard the voice of our teacher, Eve.
“It seems everyone is curious about the special class. Today’s class will be conducted with a special instructor. Everyone, please welcome them with a big round of applause!”
Eve shouted, looking towards the entrance of the gymnasium.
The students all turned their eyes to the entrance, and the gymnasium erupted in commotion when they saw the person entering.
“Wow... Wow...! Really? I’m a huge fan!”
“Oh my God, it’s really her... I wonder if I can get an autograph......”
Seeing the person who had entered, I understood why the students were buzzing with excitement.
Certainly, seeing a famous hero in person, whom they’d only seen on broadcasts, would elicit such a reaction.
Of course, the reactions of those who hadn’t only seen her on TV were different.
“Aah! It’s Auntie!!”
“No way... Why didn’t anyone tell me about this in advance......”
The woman who entered the gymnasium had blue hair, just like Marin.
To be precise, Marin resembled her.
Marin groaned, rubbing her temples as if she had a headache.
Anyone dreaming of becoming a hero couldn’t not know her.
She was the leader of the 3rd division of Astrape and was considered the most outstanding psychic of this generation.
“Hello, everyone. From today, I’ll occasionally be conducting classes with you. I’m your senior and Marin’s mother, Natalia Eloise. Nice to meet you all.”
Natalia Eloise, also Marin’s mother, greeted with a bright smile and a wave.
With a deep sigh from Marin, applause and cheers erupted from the surrounding students.
*
Natalia Eloise looked at her mentor, Eve, reminiscing.
“It’s been a long time, Natalia. I think the last time we met outside of events was at your child’s first birthday.”
“I’m sorry. I should have visited more often.”
“It’s okay. I know we’re both busy. It’s good to see you looking healthy.”
Even after graduating from the academy and seeing her daughter enroll, her teacher hadn't changed at all over the years.
"Natalia, make the kids cry."
"Oh? Really? If I do that, they might end up in tears."
"I’d welcome it. Shedding tears now is a hundred, no, a thousand times better than shedding blood later."
Truly, her teacher hadn’t changed one bit.
Not in appearance, nor in her rigorous teaching philosophy.
Even when her daughter graduated, the teacher would likely remain unchanged.
And that was reassuring.
If her daughter learned from this teacher, she wouldn't die easily anywhere later.
That was why she respected her teacher so much.
She had benefited greatly from the teacher’s harsh education.
Determined to rigorously train the students at her respected teacher's request, Natalia looked around at the students.
Among the eager faces, she spotted her daughter, Marin, frowning.
She had come without telling Marin as a surprise, and it seemed to have worked.
Smiling mischievously, Natalia then remembered another reason for her visit to the academy.
She wanted to see what kind of girl Yoon Si-woo liked.
As she scanned the students, she noticed Marin sitting as if trying to hide a girl from her view.
Her suspicions confirmed, Natalia gave Marin a slight nod. Marin, full of caution, mouthed a warning not to do anything stupid.
Seeing Marin’s warning, Natalia couldn’t help but smile.
She wasn’t planning on giving anyone special treatment anyway.
Everyone would be treated equally and rigorously.
Smiling brightly, Natalia began to speak.
"Alright, I'll explain the training you'll be doing with me today. I’ll be attacking you, and you need to avoid the attacks and get as close to me as possible. It's a simple drill. But since it might be hard to understand with just words, I’ll give you a demonstration. Experienced assistant, come forward!"
Clapping her hands, Natalia called out, and Marin, frowning, got up and came forward.
The drill she was about to put the students through was one Marin had often done since she was young.
Though it would be a bit tougher today with an assistant helping out.
"Teacher, if you please."
At the snap of Eve's fingers, the other students disappeared from sight, leaving only Marin visible.
The others were probably watching them through a screen from outside.
Using her powers, Natalia drew a large circle on the ground and confirmed Marin standing outside of it before speaking.
"As I said earlier, the rules are simple. Run from 100 meters away and get as close to me as possible. If you touch me, you pass. But the closer you get, the more intense the attacks will become. The passing standard is set to the level of being able to operate in the field immediately, so don't be too discouraged if you don’t pass. This is to measure how close you can get and identify your weaknesses."
As she spoke, Marin began stretching.
The last time her daughter had done this drill, she had barely passed.
Wondering how she would do this time, Natalia smiled and shouted.
"Then, start~"
At the starting signal, Marin dashed into the circle.
Simultaneously, a stream of water shot towards her from the air.
Trying to dodge it with just a slight turn of her head, Marin suddenly twisted her body and screamed.
"Eek?!"
As the water stream grazed Marin's cheek and hit the ground with a loud noise, beads of sweat appeared on her cheek.
Looking at her daughter, who had underestimated the training, Natalia warned her with a playful smile.
"Sweetie! It's a lot different from home! Today, we have insurance!"
When they trained at home, she couldn't injure her, so the water streams were just like painful water guns. But today, with Eve’s help, it was different.
In the illusion space created by Eve, no matter how much someone got hurt, their physical body remained unharmed.
They would feel the pain, though.
There's an old saying that beasts push their young off cliffs to raise them.
The quickest way to get stronger is to grow through facing danger.
With that in mind, Natalia set the attacks to be quite strong.
Strong enough that no one would come out unscathed.
Wishing for her daughter to grow stronger than anyone else, Natalia smiled and shouted.
"So if you don’t want to die, dodge well!"
"Eek!! You crazy old hag!!"
Marin screamed as she dodged the incoming water streams.
Despite her screams, she was dodging well.
It was just a matter of intensity; she was already familiar with the drill.
Dodging and using her abilities to block, she steadily advanced towards Natalia.
Watching her daughter, Natalia said,
"There are three important things in this drill. First, your senses."
Without looking back, Marin dodged an attack coming from behind by just tilting her head.
"Second, your reflexes."
Aiming at Marin, who had to jump into the air to avoid an attack, water streams shot towards her.
Marin immediately created an ice platform in the air, pushing off it to narrowly avoid the streams.
Smiling at her daughter, who was now within reach and grinning triumphantly, Natalia muttered.
"And lastly, never let your guard down."
With a pop, a water stream shot up from beneath, hitting Marin’s head.
The illusion broke, and she saw her daughter, vomiting from the shock of the simulated death.
She would need some time to recover, but seeing that she didn’t faint, Natalia was proud of her.
Smiling as she watched, Natalia addressed the students.
"Who wants to try next?"
Seeing the instructor who had just decapitated her daughter with a smile, the students turned pale.
I think it should be Astrape instead of Astrafe :)
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ReplyDeletePlease don't abandon us 🙏
Thanks for the chapter, don’t leave us 🥲
ReplyDeleteYay
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely mother and daughter relationship ❤️
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter
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