“Ugh…”
“Ah…”
In the interior of a dilapidated building, painful groans emerged.
“How pathetic.”
The Third lightly adjusted his disheveled clothing.
How many were there in total? Ten? Twelve? Something around that number?
Looking down, they were all collapsed, grabbing a part of their bodies, only emitting moans of pain.
It wasn’t even a fight.
It was enough with just himself.
Naturally.
There was an insurmountable gap between those kids and himself, a chasm that couldn’t be crossed.
The Third muttered provocatively.
“With this, I won’t even be able to get in a pre-meal workout.”
“G-Gah…! Y-You…!”
After a while of groaning, they began to lift their bodies one by one, perhaps feeling a bit better where they were hit.
But the Third showed no signs of panic at all.
Of course, they could only get up because he had controlled his strength and struck them lightly.
They had never truly intended to kill someone, nor had they ever done it.
They had no experience of fighting for survival every single day.
Against amateurs who didn’t even know how to fight properly, there was no need to show his real effort.
He simply needed to display a hint of killing intent and watch.
“Hi-Hiik!”
“R-Run away!”
“Help me!”
And that was quite effective against kids who had already been beaten severely once.
They showed no sign of wanting to charge forward and simply fled.
Soon, other students, who had been watching blankly from behind, began to approach.
“Wow… This is crazy! Amazing!”
“Y-You’re really good at fighting!”
Perhaps because of the overwhelmingly impressive display, the scene was firmly etched in the kids’ minds.
Every punch and kick was evaded as if flowing water, and those struck by nonchalant blows simply lost their strength and collapsed or fell.
Twelve kids had truly been unable to do anything and had suffered!
Carlos shouted in excitement.
“This isn’t just being a little good at fighting! Where on earth did you learn that kind of fighting?”
He had never really learned it. He just figured it out by struggling to survive.
The Third answered Carlos’s stares calmly.
“I didn’t learn it. I came to know it.”
“…What?”
While Carlos was taking care of the kid he had subdued, the Third shrugged once and began to walk out of the building.
“Let’s go eat as planned.”
Carlos thought as he watched the Third’s back.
‘So cool…’
“Hey! Third! L-Let’s go together!”
——–
Helena was watching as Luke ate cake.
As always, Luke’s action of eating cake was quite elegant.
But…
Luke felt Helena’s gaze and briefly paused his eating to ask.
“Hmm? Helena, why aren’t you eating any cake? Do you not like the taste of it?”
“Oh, that’s…”
Helena hesitated and looked down at the piece of cake that had been assigned to her.
‘This isn’t sweet at all…’
Isn’t cake supposed to be eaten for its sweetness?
A cake that isn’t sweet at all… This was absurd.
Considering his previous skill in baking, he couldn’t be incapable of making it, so why did he make it like this?
A new form of bullying?
However, in contrast to her thoughts, Luke continued to eat the cake with a happy smile, seemingly enjoying it.
Seeing him eat a not-so-sweet cake so deliciously suggested that it wasn’t made with a bullying intent.
Perhaps he really thought it was genuinely tasty.
Moreover, this snack was not sweet at all, which was odd.
‘Strange taste…’
Is all food supposed to be this bland?
Or just snacks?
She appreciated the effort, but if it was like this, she couldn’t like it.
Helena sighed internally as she lifted her teacup.
At least, the tea was quite good.
By the way, it occurred to her that this was the first time she was eating something with Luke.
Even if they occasionally ran into each other at school, Helena had never had the opportunity to see him during meal times.
Their dining areas were separate, and outside of meal times, Luke hadn’t shown any sign of snacking.
But now, watching him eat cake almost non-stop, she thought Luke was a girl with a surprisingly good appetite.
Was he always this much of an eater?
He seemed poised to devour everything except the piece he had given her.
Yet, he managed to maintain his decorum, which was truly remarkable.
However, somehow it also seemed somewhat unpleasant to her.
Helena pushed the piece of cake that had been reserved for her towards Luke and said.
“No, you. You’re eating more than expected. You look hungry, so just eat mine as well.”
“Ahem, did it look like that? Thank you.”
Luke smiled awkwardly.
If his eating appearance looked like that, he had nothing to say to that.
He could eat gratefully.
As Luke picked up his fork for the cake, Helena took a sip from her teacup and cast her gaze aside.
It was in the direction where Shirud was sitting.
He appeared to be conversing with kids he seemed to be friendly with, and it seemed the alcohol had worn off considerably.
However, seeing that sight, Luke’s previous whisper kept gnawing at her.
‘Maybe there’s a boy you like?’
…And yet, having said that, she was already dating Shirud!
After all, how could Luke have known who her favorite boy was? Even so, why did she feel a sense of betrayal?
The feeling came stronger because she had thought of Luke as a ‘real friend’ for a brief moment.
As she gazed blankly at Luke, he asked with great concern.
“Um, Helena. Are you feeling unwell? Are you too tired? Is your body not good?”
Seeing Helena’s expression, which seemed to be somewhat worn out, Luke couldn’t help but worry.
After meeting Shirud, she seemed even more exhausted.
-Clink.
“No. I’m not particularly tired. By the way, is it okay to leave Shirud by himself like that?”
Helena lightly placed her teacup down and stared piercingly at Luke’s face while asking.
She was attempting to closely observe his expression.
Helena hadn’t told Luke about her feelings for Shirud, and asking Luke after hearing it directly from Shirud would only make her feel more miserable.
However, Luke countered as if it were not a problem at all.
“Shirud? Why, isn’t he doing fine on his own?”
“Those girls are bothering him a lot. Aren’t you mad?”
“Mad? Why would I be mad about that? It’s good if he gets along with his friends.”
Luke looked rather taken aback.
Helena couldn’t relate at all to that expression.
If there was someone she liked, seeing them talk so friendly with another girl would honestly not feel good.
“You know, you could end up in big trouble. A man’s heart is inherently unpredictable. What if Shirud ends up liking another girl and doesn’t talk to you anymore?”
“Haha… Um, what?”
Luke thought it was quite a heavy statement to come from an 11-year-old.
In fact, it wasn’t that unusual either.
In the past, there were plenty of cases where people fell into decadence due to women or gambling, losing control of themselves.
However, Shirud didn’t seem like that kind of kid.
She wanted to believe he wasn’t.
Because he was her student, whom she had taught about magic theory and the mindset one should have as a mage.
“Shirud is not that kind of kid. I trust him.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
Helena listened to Luke’s answer and thought.
That was indeed a rather troubling thought.
Isn’t there a saying ‘wind’ for a reason in the world?
Suddenly struck by that thought, Helena smiled and said to Luke.
“Oh, right. Luke. How about we go to the swimming pool after our exams are over? Just you and me, and Shirud as well.”
“T-The swimming pool? Why there all of a sudden?”
Luke’s reaction to the mention of a swimming pool was quite intense, whether it was true that he couldn’t swim or not.
If he couldn’t swim, he probably wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself properly, but she was different.
Among kids her age, she was quite good at swimming.
Then Shirud would naturally have to join in and play with her.
Could Luke remain so carefree if he saw that?
Whether Shirud would accept the invitation was a concern, but if she used Luke as an excuse, Shirud wouldn’t be able to refuse!
Besides, she would get to see Shirud in a swimsuit…
Thinking it was quite a clever plan, Helena secretly smiled with satisfaction as she replied.
“It’s a birthday present coinciding with the celebration after the exams. The weather is still quite hot, right? My house has a water park membership. What do you think?”
“Membership…?”
It was hard for Luke to decline when he saw Helena’s bright expression, despite her eagerness.
How could he say ‘no’ when a child wanted to go to the swimming pool with him?
The emotions of joy that surfaced in her words were quite clear.
Moreover, a birthday present…
Luke quickly checked his schedule.
After the exams, if there was a short gap, it wouldn’t conflict with the International Magic Competition schedule…
“…Hmm, okay, I think it would be fun.”
Yes, it might not be bad to get used to swimming at the pool this time.
Being able to do something he couldn’t do before could be tremendously helpful…
Though he felt a bit uneasy about wearing a swimsuit again.
