Free Web Novel"When people said Professor Banhilda 'speaks so gently that she wouldn't even hurt a baby'... they meant that literally..."
During breakfast, after finishing today's basic physical training class—which was thirty minutes shorter than yesterday at only an hour and a half—
Helga, who had experienced Banhilda's instruction for the first time, sounded utterly astonished.
At that—
"Aha! See? I never lie!"
Pret chimed in cheerfully.
Coming from someone using a fake surname while disguising the Information Guild as a traveling circus...
The shamelessness of that statement was honestly impressive.
For the record, as Pret's interruption just demonstrated, the freshmen had ended up joining us for breakfast.
Pret sat beside Yor.
Sveinn sat beside Ríolíkin.
I suspected that was because I'd previously told Sveinn that openly avoiding Ríolíkin was rude, and that if he insisted on acting that way, he should simply eat elsewhere.
"By the way... about Professor Banhilda..."
Reisir lowered his voice.
"When she accepted the energy bar earlier... didn't her reaction seem a little unusual?"
At the moment, I was the only one who knew Pret was a liar.
Reisir ignored Pret's remark as though it had never been made and quietly changed the subject.
The caution in his tone made it obvious that he wasn't treating Banhilda's reaction as a joke.
He's probably worried she has some kind of painful past.
As expected of a web novel protagonist.
His inability to mind his own business knew no bounds.
I knew the real reason.
I simply couldn't tell anyone.
So I focused on my breakfast instead.
"Doesn't Professor Banhilda treat all of us like babies?" Ríolíkin said. "Maybe seeing a baby offer her food made her emotional."
"That's completely ridiculous..."
Helga blinked.
"...And yet somehow it sounds believable."
Ríolíkin's guess was surprisingly close to the truth.
Just slightly off.
The concern immediately disappeared from Reisir's face.
It was replaced with reluctant acceptance instead.
"But if she really thinks of us as babies... doesn't today's training seem a little too merciless?"
Helga raised her spoon as she spoke.
Her hand was trembling so badly that the spoon rattled.
Although we'd already returned to the dormitory after dawn training, washed off the sweat, changed into clean uniforms...
And another thirty minutes had passed since then...
Her arms still hadn't recovered.
That alone showed how brutal the session had been.
My own condition wasn't much different.
I could only sympathize.
Honestly...
When Banhilda first appeared this morning, I'd let my guard down.
I assumed the class would be easier than last semester's Basic Physical Training.
Instead...
It turned out to be something entirely different.
So it's actually possible to speak to students as though they're infants... while simultaneously driving them to their physical limits?
Even the Martial Arts class hadn't been this exhausting.
When practicing on the sandbags, I could always step back for a moment whenever I got tired.
Catch my breath.
Then continue.
Basic Physical Training was different.
Rest breaks existed entirely at the instructor's discretion.
Which meant I was forced to push myself to my absolute limit over and over again.
And perhaps because the class had been shortened to ninety minutes...
Even the few breaks we received were incredibly brief.
It had truly been hell.
"I thought it was just right."
Ríolíkin smiled.
"My whole body is trembling. It feels like I finally got a proper workout."
Despite wearing weights that added several dozen kilograms to his limbs...
Despite training at a significantly higher intensity than everyone else...
He genuinely seemed to enjoy Banhilda's class.
Come to think of it...
He hadn't been embarrassed by her baby-talk at all.
If anything, he'd looked delighted every time she praised him.
"Wow, Senior Ríolíkin, you're amazing."
Pret looked genuinely impressed.
"My arms are completely dead. I'm honestly worried about how I'm supposed to survive the next class."
His comment felt perfectly natural.
No one found it strange.
"Ah!"
Vigdís suddenly remembered something.
"Our next class is that required combat course, isn't it? Practical Combat Preparedness Skill..."
According to the syllabus...
The class focused primarily on sparring.
Not simple sparring, either.
It required students to fight while simultaneously using both Ether abilities and weapon techniques.
Naturally, Vigdís asked,
"But didn't Helga and Senior Lissy only just decide on their weapons? You haven't even started learning how to use them yet."
"That's right."
Helga nodded.
"So Senior Lissy and I won't attend that class until next week. During that time, we'll learn weapon techniques from the professor in charge."
Even as she answered...
Her expression remained gloomy.
Mastering an unfamiliar weapon in only two weeks was impossible.
And after that, she'd be expected to spar while simultaneously controlling Fire Attribute Ether.
No wonder she looked miserable.
Especially since...
Her chosen weapon was wire.
Arguably even more difficult to master than a whip.
"I thought Helga's weapon was wire," Ríolíkin said.
"But... does this academy even have a professor who knows how to use something like that?"
"They told me Professor Skati—the one who teaches Dagger Techniques—will be instructing me. She'll also supervise my practice outside normal class hours."
The moment Helga answered—
"Huh...? Isn't Professor Skati the one teaching Kar whip techniques?"
"Wait a second."
Pret looked thoroughly confused.
"My primary weapon is a dagger. Naturally, I assumed I'd be learning from °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° her too. So what's going on?"
The reason I say Pret only pretended to be surprised...
...was because there was absolutely no way he didn't already know I'd learned whip techniques from Skati last semester.
Yet he acted as though he were hearing this for the first time.
If nothing else...
His acting talent was remarkable.
"Maybe the three of us will train together."
Helga considered it.
"Or maybe she'll divide us across different days. I'm meeting Professor Skati soon anyway, so I'll ask about her plans and tell everyone during lunch."
After that...
The conversation naturally died down.
Even though dawn training had been shortened by thirty minutes...
Breakfast still wasn't leisurely.
And our next class involved intense physical activity as well.
The sooner I finish eating...
...the more time my stomach has to digest before class.
That would be healthier for both my digestive system and my heart.
By then, I'd already finished my meal.
So I quietly stroked Yor's back while waiting for everyone else to finish.
Once they did...
We all stood up together.
Since today's lecture was also held in one of the academy's specially modified small auditoriums—
Everyone except Helga headed there immediately.
...
In case any of my dear readers are concerned about our dental hygiene...
Allow me one small piece of unnecessary information.
The academy cafeteria had a separate washing area where students could brush their teeth after meals.
Although hygiene during the real medieval and early modern eras had been incomparably worse...
Korean fantasy novels borrowed only the absolute monarchy and aristocratic elegance of those periods.
The nobles in this world were remarkably clean and placed great importance on hygiene.
Facilities like this probably existed because of that.
Now then.
Enough digression.
Back to the story.
By the time we returned...
The small auditorium had been completely emptied.
At dawn it had been filled with every imaginable piece of training equipment.
Now all of it had disappeared.
The room had even been cleaned.
I checked the clock.
Five minutes remained before class.
A short while later...
The instructor entered.
"Since this is our first meeting, let's begin with introductions."
"I am Kaldrun Isvald."
"Most people know me as Marquis Isvald... but here at the academy, I imagine you'll simply call me Professor Kaldrun."
Before the remake...
Kaldrun had been one of Reisir's strongest allies.
The two became acquainted after joining forces to defeat a boss monster that appeared within the Isvald Marquisate.
He filled the role of the powerful supporting character.
Admiring Reisir's extraordinary martial talent—and developing a friendly rivalry with him—
He offered unconditional support.
Whenever the opportunity arose...
He would invite Reisir to spar.
After each match, he'd casually hand over whatever Reisir happened to need, treating it as payment for indulging him.
Because he was responsible for governing an entire marquisate...
He never officially joined the protagonist's party.
Instead, he'd periodically contact Reisir.
"Something's happened in my territory. I need your help."
"I'll reward you afterward."
"And since you're already here... how about a spar before you leave?"
In practice...
He functioned almost exactly like an NPC handing out quests in a game.
Maybe because he appeared relatively infrequently...
And because his role was useful in so many different situations...
Kaldrun survived unusually long for a character in NaSE.
But perhaps the author eventually decided his position overlapped too much with Fjodora's.
Or perhaps readers had begun asking, When is Kaldrun finally going to die?
Whatever the reason...
He eventually met the same fate as almost everyone else.
After Reisir reclaimed his territory...
Kaldrun invited him to the Isvald Marquisate.
He generously advised him on territorial development.
Introduced him to influential merchants.
Even provided investment capital.
Then...
He died.
Despite being described as one of the Empire's greatest martial artists...
His death was astonishingly futile.
Worse still...
Reisir never even witnessed it.
At the time...
He had been overseas, clearing a Demon Realm after answering another request for aid.
While he was away...
A new Demon Realm appeared in the Daudabiner Territory, which had only recently begun recovering.
Kaldrun rushed there to minimize the casualties.
And lost his life.
"As the Marquis of my territory, I have family matters and administrative duties to oversee."
Kaldrun folded his arms.
"That means I'm only at the academy on Wednesdays. Keep that in mind."
Djúpr governed a territory as well.
But there was an enormous difference between administering a barony...
And managing an entire marquisate.
The workload wasn't even comparable.
On top of that...
Unlike Djúpr, who barely involved himself in commerce...
The Isvald family had operated several successful businesses for generations.
I'd actually wondered whether someone as busy as a marquis could realistically serve as a professor.
Apparently...
He didn't teach ordinary academy courses.
He had been specially appointed solely for the Special Class for Awakened Ones.
"First, I'd like to assess everyone's abilities."
He looked across the room.
"Come forward one at a time."
Then, true to his role as one of the novel's supporting characters—
He completely ignored the attendance list.
"Let's begin with Reisir."
Reisir stepped into the center of the auditorium.
The rest of us, myself included, sat on the benches lining the wall.
"I've heard quite a bit about you."
Kaldrun smiled.
"They say you won the most recent martial arts tournament by an overwhelming margin."
"You also defeated the boss monster that appeared at the end of last year."
"And more recently..."
"I've heard you eliminated the boss monster that appeared during the graduation ceremony with a single attack."
"Is that true?"
"It is."
Reisir nodded.
"But it wasn't something I accomplished through my own strength alone."
"It was only possible because many people helped me."
"Karvaldr included."
"Oh?"
Kaldrun's smile widened with satisfaction.
"I'd expected your success to have gone to your head by now. I was prepared to knock that arrogance out of you."
"It seems..."
"...that won't be necessary after all."
