Senior And Boy

It happened after the second term had ended and the long vacation had begun. Normally, Rudel would have returned home, but following Basil’s instructions, he informed his family that he would not be coming back and remained at the academy. His younger sister Lena sent him a letter full of complaints, though…

“So? What are we supposed to do from here?”

Izumi, who never returned home during the yearly vacations, had told Basil that she wanted to participate as well, forming a party of three. In the academy dining hall, Basil answered Izumi’s question as though it were obvious.

“I’m going to have you gain real combat experience. And not in a forest like the sort the academy uses, but somewhere considerably more dangerous.”

As she spoke, she spread a map across the dining table. The marked location was not terribly far away, but it could hardly be called close either. It was a moderately sized mountain known as “Mount Avales.”

“Monsters from this mountain cause damage to nearby villages every year. Apparently the damage has been especially severe this year.”

“Wait, so what you’re saying is… you want Rudel and me to work? How is that training!?”

Izumi pressed Basil for an answer. Basil was indeed planning to accept the job and collect payment for it. However, without letting any of that show on her face,

“Nothing surpasses real combat experience. And snow accumulates heavily around this area, making the footing poor as well. Fighting there will be dangerous… Would you rather give up, Rudel-sama?”

At Basil’s question,

“No, that’s exactly what I want. Anything less would leave me uneasy about fighting Aleist, Luecke, and Unias.”

“The training period will be two weeks. During that time, you’ll fight while protecting the village from the monsters attacking it.”

Rudel and Izumi listened to the explanation. …Izumi felt somewhat irritated that this sounded exactly like accepting a job, but since Rudel was satisfied, she decided there was no point complaining further.

“…And one last thing.”

“Hm?”

“Why don’t we invite one more person? It would make things more efficient.”

Izumi became absolutely certain Basil was disguising paid work as training. Thanks to Basil’s convenience, one student who had remained at the academy became the next victim. …Bargas.

Bargas had planned to spend this year’s vacation at the academy instead of going home, only to be caught by Rudel. He was reluctant at first, but the moment he learned Basil would be participating, he suddenly became enthusiastic. Now a fourth-year student, Bargas was more than adequate as a combatant. Basil was equally delighted by his participation.

“Hey! Hey, Rudel!”

The four entered a village that looked as though it might disappear beneath the snow, and day after day they stood watch and hunted monsters to protect it. Of course, they weren’t fighting monsters every waking moment. So whenever they had spare time, they shoveled snow to keep the village from being buried.

“What is it, Bargas?”

Wearing a thick coat over his equipment, Rudel stopped shoveling and turned toward Bargas.

“This is weird, right? It’s definitely weird! We’re supposed to be guarding this village, but we’re shoveling snow and escorting people into the mountains… There’s absolutely something wrong with this!”

Bargas stopped shoveling as he shivered and complained to Rudel. To Rudel, this wasn’t a job. But in reality, it was exactly a job Basil had accepted, and they were carrying out all sorts of odd tasks while working in a village nestled against the mountain.

“Really? It strengthens your legs and lower body, and the old people here tell some interesting stories. Things about sensing presences, or how the mountain is alive…”

“Why are you enjoying this!? That’s not the point! I’m asking whether doing this is actually making us stronger! Forget about me—you can’t afford to lose, can you!?”

Rudel burst out laughing at Bargas’s words.

“W-What are you laughing at!?”

“Sorry, sorry… I was just happy, I guess? Besides, I think I’m starting to grasp something, so it’ll be fine.”

Rudel resumed shoveling with a smile. He believed Basil must have had some deeper reason for choosing this place. In truth, Basil had simply intended to give him real combat experience… and nothing beyond that.

But Rudel searched for meaning in it. Just as a person determined to learn could learn from anything, Rudel learned all sorts of things from the people who lived alongside the mountain. Even from the monsters they fought… he learned what it meant to survive.

“Don’t resist overwhelming force. Use its flow instead. Focus strength into a single point. Keep the body’s center of gravity always…”

As Rudel began muttering to himself, Bargas asked what he was talking about.

“What’s all that?”

“The people in this village told me. I’m sure it’s some kind of secret principle.”

To be perfectly clear, it wasn’t a secret principle at all. The villagers had merely been talking about things they did in daily life, such as how to move heavy objects, and Rudel had read far too deeply into it. From there, Rudel drew upon the knowledge already inside him and continued thinking about it. He thought and thought… until he realized something.

It happened on the final day of their second week. Several large ape-shaped monsters appeared outside the village. Covered in white fur, they were vicious carnivorous monsters capable of moving swiftly even across the snow. They were about the size of a person, but no human could keep up with their speed on snowy ground… When those monsters appeared,

Rudel walked outside the village alone. It was as though he couldn’t even hear Basil and Izumi shouting for him to stop. And when Bargas hurriedly rushed outside to drag Rudel back… one of the monsters lunged at him.

Bargas cursed their bad luck that neither Izumi nor Basil was nearby.

But Rudel, still holding his sword in one hand, gave it a casual swing… and split the monster cleanly in two.

“What? Whaaaaat!?”

Bargas couldn’t help screaming at the sight. It had only been two weeks! Could someone really become this much stronger simply by guarding a village? No! Absolutely not!!! Yet Rudel had produced undeniable results.

Shocked by his strength, the other monsters attacked as though seeking revenge for their companion. As the ape monsters rushed him simultaneously, Rudel didn’t move from where he stood. Fire magic gathered in his left hand, while his sword remained in his right… and he met them both at once. A tiny fireball flew from his left hand toward one monster.

Judging from its small size, the monster charged without the slightest hesitation, but the moment the fireball struck, it exploded. The creature was blasted backward and continued burning until it became nothing more than a blackened mass. …By then, the other monster had already been cut down from beyond the normal reach of the sword in Rudel’s right hand.

It was an abnormal sight. So abnormal that Bargas had no idea what to say. The tiny fireball had actually been magic compressed to its absolute limit, while Rudel had channeled magical power into his sword and launched the slash itself through the air. Frankly, it was absurd.

“There’s still too much waste. Before the tournament, I need to get close to Aleist… no, I need to become strong enough to surpass him…”

Rudel sheathed his sword… Looking at him standing calmly on the pristine snow without the slightest air of someone who had just fought dangerous monsters, Bargas thought,

“You’ve already surpassed him!”

The words escaped Bargas before he could stop himself. That level of strength would work even against upperclassmen, and Bargas thought Rudel might even rank among the best of them. He had already grown stronger than Bargas himself… Yet Rudel replied,

“No, not yet. I still want to become stronger. Not just in strength and technique—I want my heart to become stronger too.”

“You’re strong enough already! At this rate, you could become a Dragoon!”

Rudel looked somewhat embarrassed by Bargas’s words, but still answered.

“I think the moment I’m satisfied, I’ll stop moving forward… So it’s better for me to keep aiming higher. Besides, the world is vast. There are plenty of people stronger than me, so if I don’t keep striving forward, I’ll be left behind.”

Bargas suddenly felt as though Rudel were speaking directly about him. The words seemed aimed at the part of him that had just thought he could never compete with Rudel.

“I really can’t beat you… You’re always looking forward and never give up. I’m jealous.”

Bargas said this with a sad expression.

“Don’t you have a dream, Bargas? A goal?”

“M-My dream!? …Well, sure, I’d like to make things easier for my family, or become an older brother my younger brothers and sisters can be proud of… but I don’t have some grand dream like yours.”

Rudel walked up to Bargas and placed both hands firmly on his shoulders.

“That’s a wonderful dream! I once mocked my younger brother’s dream. I regretted it while I was hospitalized, and I even thought about apologizing to him. There’s nothing wrong with working toward a dream. And besides… even looking at you right now, I’m sure your brothers and sisters would already say you’re an older brother they’re proud of!”

Rudel knew how hard Bargas worked. He woke early every morning to train. They had seen each other day after day. Faced with Rudel speaking so earnestly, Bargas was the one who became embarrassed this time. He was happy, but villagers inside the settlement were watching the two of them with warm smiles.

“Y-Yeah. This is kind of embarrassing… Anyway, let’s clean this up.”

Bargas pointed toward the monsters’ corpses. The conversation ended as they began cleaning up, but Bargas still looked slightly pleased despite his embarrassment.

Basil watched the heartwarming scene between Rudel and Bargas from inside the village.

“Aren’t you going to help them?”

At Izumi’s question, Basil shrugged. Her usual light clothing would have been far too cold here, so she wore a thick coat, though the shape of her body was still faintly visible beneath it.

“It’d be cruel to go out there now. Show them a little consideration.”

“You just don’t want to work… Still, when did Rudel learn techniques like those?”

Both of them knew that the swordsmanship and magic Rudel had just displayed were on an entirely different level from before, leaving them somewhat perplexed. Basil, however,

“Well, I can’t complain if this means I don’t have to find a new employer. I never imagined he’d become this strong.”

Basil smiled as she watched Rudel and Bargas. Izumi found herself understanding Basil less and less. Why had she gone this far for him? In the first place, Rudel could no longer become Grand Duke, so from Basil’s perspective, he should have lost his value. Izumi’s thoughts must have shown on her face, because Basil said,

“Rudel-sama is interesting, isn’t he…? I’m sure he won’t let me get bored from here on either.”

Giving only that vague answer, Basil returned to the village inn. …She ran away from the question again. That was Izumi’s conclusion.