Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
The first day of school for Third was quite uneventful.
Having visited once already for the admission procedures, finding the faculty office again was not a difficult task.
After arriving in the classroom following the teacher’s guidance, everything went even more smoothly.
“I’m Third, nice to meet you.”
After a brief self-introduction and sitting down, a heavy awkward silence began to weigh down the entire class.
Not sensing anything particularly special was about to happen, Third crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
This was a habit formed from taking naps whenever he had the chance.
The time to relax wasn’t long, and he knew he had to rest as much as possible when he could.
After a while, the other kids started whispering, realizing that Third was asleep.
“Is that new student really the same age as us? Did he get held back or something?”
“Why does his face look like that? Did he get into a fight or something?”
“He looks kind of scary…”
“Did you see him smile earlier? It gave me chills.”
“…Let’s try to avoid him as much as possible.”
Thus, the kids avoided Third for a while.
But Third didn’t dislike this treatment.
After all, nobody was bothering him, making it extremely comfortable.
However, since his teacher had explicitly said to make a lot of ‘friends,’ he ultimately needed to integrate into this class.
It would be best to assess the situation and decide how to approach the kids.
Third thought he had a pretty good sense of such things, so he believed it wouldn’t be a problem.
However, the class content was still incomprehensible.
Since Third hadn’t studied the existing curriculum at all, catching up to the learning pace was impossible.
As a result, he wasn’t particularly interested, and he ended up sleeping through the entire class.
This behavior was enough to plant a ‘delinquent’ image in the kids’ minds.
Consequently, the number of children paying attention to Third decreased even further.
But eventually, an incident occurred.
During break time, some children, unable to contain their energy, enjoyed playing ball in the narrow space at the back of the classroom.
There were no specific rules or rewards; they simply tossed the ball back and forth in an unstructured game they called ‘ball play.’ Some kids simply loved kicking the ball so much that they couldn’t help it.
While the boys knew that playing ball in the classroom wasn’t looked upon favorably by teachers, perhaps that very fact made the little act of rebellion feel even more exciting.
Normally, this would pass without incident, but this time their energy became problematic.
“Catch this, spinning—whirlwind—shot!”
“What kind of shot is that supposed to be?”
– Bang!
With an exaggerated and ridiculous motion, one boy kicked the ball.
At that moment, the kid who was supposed to catch it burst into laughter, causing him to misstep.
“……!”
In that split second, a boy who read the trajectory of the ball was taken aback.
The soccer ball was heading straight for Third, who was sitting with his eyes closed.
If it continued on its path, the ball would surely smash into the back of Third’s head, and the boy who kicked it would find himself in a dire situation.
But at that moment, Third’s Dragon Heart detected the impending threat.
It was a sense honed through long experience, functioning perfectly even while he was asleep.
Trusting that sense of ‘danger detection’ more than any other, Third instinctively began to move.
Even though the soccer ball wasn’t necessarily a significant threat.
Third turned his head to avoid the soccer ball and relaxed his arms, preparing to strike back with a fist.
His body instinctively reacted in defense.
– Bang—!
However, the soccer ball was too weak to withstand Third’s ‘counterattack.’
– Thud.
With a sound akin to an explosion, the deflated soccer ball lost its shape and fell limp, no longer able to bounce.
The loud noise drew the attention of every kid in the classroom, and they were astonished at the sight.
How could someone who was ‘asleep’ do something like that?
Was he really asleep? What if he had heard what they were saying?
As the terrifying silence settled in the classroom, Third’s mind finally caught up.
Though his body moved reflexively to counter, it wasn’t a conscious action.
Third looked around for a moment before standing up.
The scene laid out before him allowed for a straightforward deduction of the situation.
So Third slowly approached the boy, who had collapsed weakly on the ground.
“Uh, um… Over there… I-I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional…!”
To the boy, trembling with excessive tension and making a sorrowful face, Third extended his hand.
“It’s okay; everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Right?”
With the smile his teacher had told him to wear.
“Y-yes! I’m sorry!”
————
Luke suddenly wondered how Third was adjusting to school among the other kids.
“How was your first time at school? Was it okay?”
“It was great. Just as you said, everyone was very friendly.”
“Is that so? Then how about laughter? Did everyone seem okay?”
“Yes, there didn’t seem to be any issues.”
“That’s a relief.”
He had been secretly worried about whether Third would find it hard to adjust to school, but it seemed like he was managing well enough.
It was a comforting thought.
Before going to school, Third had never experienced such an abundance of friendly attention.
Everyone approached him without any violent means or threats.
Instead, everyone treated him like a ‘normal’ person, smiling.
For Third, someone who had never enjoyed a ‘normal’ life before, it was fascinating how a group could operate like that.
However, Third’s expression wasn’t particularly bright.
“Hmm, but why do you still look like that? Did something happen?”
“It’s just strange; why was everyone so nice to me?”
This was a problem.
Why were they so friendly towards him? Were they offering kindness with some ulterior motive? These questions gnawed at him.
In the past, in the back alleys, there was never any kindness without reason.
The only thing gained from acquaintances was merely awareness and resilience.
In a world where speaking a mere slip of the tongue could lead to a flurry of kicks.
He couldn’t suddenly accept the goodwill of others at face value.
Thinking back to what had happened at school, Third spoke.
“It’s strange. Just smiling and reaching out a hand made them suddenly buy me food or ask if I was uncomfortable… It’s filled with things I can’t understand.”
Luke thought the kids at that school were exceptionally kind to the new student.
But there was nothing particularly strange about it.
Wasn’t he also receiving unexplainable kindnesses in his life?
In the past, most people approached based on power and ability, but now a society with truly ‘unconditional goodwill’ was prevalent.
Third couldn’t grasp something so natural because he hadn’t experienced it himself.
Just like he had at the very beginning.
“Don’t think too deeply about it; the Academy is simpler than you think. There’s no need for such worries. Kindness should be accepted as kindness. After all, the kids there are all around your age too.”
“I see… I guess that’s true?”
Third nodded as if he understood.
How could those kids, no matter how they lived, have experienced lives fiercer than his?
Having been surrounded for so long by snakes who were different on the surface and inside, he had grown so accustomed to suspicion that it had become second nature.
“Indeed, that’s the case.”
A little later, Luke arrived at Third’s hideout.
It wasn’t too messy, as if Third had organized it to some extent, though it couldn’t be called clean.
However, since Third was satisfied with that environment, Luke had no place to criticize.
“It’s a little messy, but please come in.”
“Then I’ll intrude.”
Stepping inside, Luke put down his bag in a corner and recalled his original purpose.
To check if the recipe for the soul healing potion was effective and how well it worked.
This was an essential task when creating a new recipe.
“Now, let’s take a look at your condition. Can you take off your upper clothes for a moment?”
Seeing that his upper body was covered with the traces of melting flesh, this was only normal.
Third nodded and replied.
“Yes, please wait a moment while I sit down.”
“Alright.”
As Luke sat on the sofa, he remarked casually.
“Oh, the sofa is actually quite comfy. Lying down would feel just like a bed.”
“You can lie down if you like. Please make yourself comfortable, Teacher.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll take the liberty. Just continue to undress.”
“Yes.”
As Third lay down to take a break, loosening his tie and removing his vest while unwrapping the bandages around his torso, Luke suddenly felt a strange flow of mana.
‘Something is influencing him.’
Were those Third’s ‘bad friends’ again?
Luke quietly called out to Third so that the intruder wouldn’t overhear.
At that, Third stopped unbuttoning his shirt and brought his ear closer to Luke’s mouth.
“Lower your voice, and be careful. There’s an intruder. Given that I couldn’t notice until now… it seems they’re quite a skilled mage.”
“W-what? Really?”
‘……!’
The moment Third became aware of the intruder, danger signals surged through him.
Without hesitation, Third moved his body.
“Get down!”
– Bang-!
Third could have dodged, but he raised his arm to protect Luke from the threat.
An unexpected explosion of flames engulfed Third’s arm.
“Ugh!”
Ignoring the burning pain, Third quickly turned and summoned a shock from the circle while shouting towards the direction where he sensed the danger.
“Intruder! What is your purpose? How did you find this place?”
Exposed, the intruder appeared quickly, hands filled with blazing fire.
Upon seeing that sight, Third couldn’t help but feel tense.
A smaller frame than expected and a surprisingly high level of magic.
Certainly not a push-over…
“Stay away from Luke, you perverted bastard!”
However, upon seeing the intruder, Luke shot to his feet from the sofa, panic surging through him.
“No, Shirud? Why are you here…?”
