Bang!
A strange figure suddenly jumped into the middle of the vast training ground.
Then, dust began to rise.
Irina’s gaze was drawn to the shadow of the man who suddenly appeared among the students in the training ground.
Evan, another instructor who was still at the training ground, and the other students were equally surprised.
“What… what is that?”
Cough, cough!
No student had yet recognized the man hidden by the thick dust.
However, as the dust gradually cleared, a bright magic circle was drawn in the air, and soon, another person appeared beyond it.
“…Sorry I’m late.”
“Professor?”
Irina immediately recognized that the person who had just appeared was Letter, and her steps quickly turned back toward the training ground.
Soon, her pace began to quicken.
“Professor!”
“Ah, Your Highness. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“Ah, no… it’s fine…”
“Are you okay?”
The words that Irina had failed to say out of concern for her condition lingered in her mouth, as she finally noticed the gazes of the students around them.
Still, the atmosphere around them had gone quiet in an instant.
It was only natural.
Everyone knew that Letter had been injured while fighting an unknown man.
Some students had even witnessed her spitting blood, and so everyone was worried about Letter’s condition.
There were certainly students who were worried if they should return to Primus right away.
However.
“I know well that you all have a lot of questions and things you want to ask.”
Letter’s calm voice, as always, echoed from her youthful face.
“But hearing my explanation can be done in Primus. I think it’s more efficient to do something now that can only be done here in the North.”
Her words seemed a little disconnected from her current condition.
Right after that, Letter’s mana swirled around, creating translucent illusions.
“Today’s lecture is about how to deal with the Demon Army when you actually face them.”
“Everything in front of you is just an illusion, but please be aware that they possess strength very similar to the actual Demon Army.”
Most of the students, including Irina, were taken aback by the sudden start of Letter’s lecture.
After all, the illusions around them all had the appearance of Demon Army soldiers.
Only Letter and the large warrior standing beside her, Atar, remained unfazed.
‘What on earth is that man planning…??’
‘I don’t even know what his relationship with Letter is, or why he’s here.’
Atar, the northern warrior, finally slammed his massive axe down.
Then, he spoke to the gazes now focused on him.
“First, fight. You won’t die anyway.”
He began to take the lead in this practical training, which was supposed to be under Letter’s supervision.
This became the turning point, making today far more difficult than yesterday.
***
“Good work, everyone.”
It was late afternoon, when the sky had already turned a deep red from the setting sun.
Letter’s calm voice echoed through the training ground, where the students were collapsing from exhaustion.
“Today’s lecture is over. I hope it was a productive time, and with that, I’ll end it.”
After the tough battle with the illusions was declared over by Letter, Irina, Evan, and the other students were left in shock when they heard the unexpected news.
“You will stay at the northern stronghold until we return to Primus. Of course, students who don’t want to can continue staying in tents…”
Not a single hand raised.
“They say dinner is ready, so you can look forward to that.”
The students, who had been blinking in confusion, now had their gazes turn toward Letter.
After a moment of thought, Letter officially introduced Atar, who had caused them so much trouble in many ways.
It was Atar who would be hosting the students, not Letter.
“He’s a friend of mine. He’s the next head of the White Lion family… but you can treat him casually.”
Then, there was a suggestion to talk as they headed to the northern stronghold.
How Letter knew the next head of the White Lion family remained a mystery, but as instructed, the students moved toward the stronghold.
“What kind of person do you think the professor is?”
“I have no idea.”
“Ah, I’m hungry…”
Among the casual chatter between the students heading to the northern stronghold, these were the kinds of things they said.
That is, until they faced the northern banquet, and all conversation ceased.
Instead of the cold tents, they were led to warm guest rooms.
***
Around two hours later, the students found themselves resting on soft beds.
“Wow, this bed is amazing…”
“…My eyes are closing… by themselves…”
The students, who had never imagined such luxury before, now found themselves enjoying the unexpected treatment.
However, two people, Irina and Evan, the teaching assistants for the Mana Design class, were headed not to the provided accommodations, but to Letter’s room.
They intended to discuss what would happen after returning to Primus.
Having been at Primus for quite some time, both of them could easily predict what was to come.
“Do you want Professor Letter to stay at Primus?”
“Professor Letter isn’t bad as a teacher… if it weren’t for these field trips, that is.”
Thus, Irina and Evan walked toward Letter’s room.
However, as soon as they entered the room, they were greeted with an incredibly strange scene.
“Get out…! What are you doing, trying to sleep with me when you’re already so big!”
“I’m just worried you might hide again while I’m not looking.”
“I’m not hiding, I’m not hiding!!”
Letter, with her short arms, was struggling to push Atar’s back, while Atar stood calmly, not showing any signs of being bothered.
Irina and Evan were left speechless at the sight of Letter shaking in an attempt to push Atar away.
Then, Atar’s carefree smile and laughter made them even more speechless.
“…What are you two doing?”
“Ah.”
“My, my! Your Highness, it’s not polite to visit someone’s room this late.”
‘She ate something wrong.’
‘Or maybe, she didn’t eat what she was supposed to.’
The judgment Letter made from watching Atar, who had been smiling since morning, was roughly this.
At this point, it was impossible to force herself to get annoyed, and instead, she reached a rather scary point.
‘No matter how weird she is, she wasn’t this strange before.’
Even when she had just been served a simple breakfast, and even when she finished eating and had a cup of tea, Atar had been watching her from the side.
The only good thing was that Atar wasn’t alone.
“Sharne. What’s wrong with your young master?”
“You’re well aware that she’s someone hard for others to understand.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Thanks to Sharne staying beside Letter, it was bearable.
‘If Sharne had not been there, wouldn’t she have escaped the castle using teleportation magic?’
However, Sharne was also quietly watching Letter in the same way.
This was because, a few minutes earlier, Atar had revealed Letter’s true identity to Sharne when she brought Letter’s meal.
Without Letter’s consent.
‘The person who said it and the one who believed it…?
Honestly, even if Sharne found out about Letter’s identity, it wouldn’t have been a huge problem.
After all, Sharne was someone who had ties to Letter when she was a sage.
She wasn’t the type to spread rumors, so she didn’t deny Atar’s words.
In fact, it was surprising how much Sharne believed Atar’s words.
‘Was it really that trustworthy to say that the adult man they met long ago was now a young girl?’
“Compared to the things I’ve seen next to my young master, this isn’t really something to be surprised about.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
After that, Sharne slowly scanned Letter from head to toe.
Then, with her usual blank expression, Sharne spoke to Letter.
“Call me ‘older sister.’ You look younger than me now.”
“…You’re starting to look like your young master.”
“Older sister.”
“Fine.”
Letter’s body got up right after that.
Soon, after putting on a coat that was hanging on the wall, Letter said she had to go see the students.
“The professor has been away for a while, which isn’t good. They must be worried.”
By now, Irina had probably brought the students to the northern training ground.
So, for the rest of the experience class, she wanted to fulfill her duties as a professor.
She wasn’t confident about what would happen after returning to the academy, though.
Right now, her priority was teaching the students at the northern training ground.
Letter’s steps toward the door were because of this.
“Where do you think you’re going, patient?”
“…Atar.”
“Stop glaring at me like that. It’s cute, unlike you.”
Atar blocked Letter once again.
Letter, who was slightly serious, told Atar to move aside, but he replied, “I won’t let you go alone. Whether it’s the training ground or Primus.”
“What?”
“I’m also responsible for the northern region. It was me who fought the Dreamer. If you had some recognition, wouldn’t it make things a little easier for you?”
Everything Atar said was unexpected, so instead of getting angry at him for blocking his path, Letter blinked in confusion.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’ll be your backing, just like the Great Dragon.”
“You? My backing?”
“Why are you so surprised? I’m the Grand Duke’s heir, you know.”
Then, Atar started explaining his logic about helping with the aftermath of the Dreamer attack.
He promised to relieve some of the responsibility for letting the students and the Dreamer meet.
In the end, there were no casualties.
Not a single person died, even after encountering the Dreamer.
This was something that should be praised, not criticized.
‘If you insist on responsibility, I’ll make the northern scouts and guards who failed to spot the Dreamer the target instead.’
“…Everyone knows you’re a troublemaker. Do you think they’ll listen to you?”
“On paper, there’s no problem. If things don’t go well, we can always do things the way we usually do.”
“So you’re openly saying you’re going to cause trouble at the academy, even in front of a professor?”
“I don’t know how to pretend to be polite.”
“Ha… Yeah, that’s you…”
“I appreciate you acknowledging it.”
Letter chuckled lightly at Atar’s attempt to cover for her.
She never thought she would end up hiding behind this guy.
Her current feelings were strange and mixed—something both funny and complex.
“Alright, let’s leave Primus for now. Why do you say I can’t go to the training ground alone?”
“Well, those students are all my juniors, aren’t they? As a senior, I’d like to give them some lessons.”
“I never thought I’d hear about ‘duty’ from you, Atar.”
“Patient, please sit quietly and watch. I’ll teach them the same way as your old teacher did.”
***
The place was the northern training ground.
It was just around noon.
The people present were Irina, the teaching assistant for the Mana Design course, and all the students from Primus.
Irina, who had gathered the students in the training ground as requested by Letter, fell silent for a moment.
No matter how long she waited, Letter hadn’t shown up yet.
‘I hope nothing happened last night…’
Irina recalled the scene she had witnessed the previous evening.
Letter’s shirt had been roughly torn off by Atar Lionheart, and the scars on her young body had been revealed.
Letter had reassured Irina, saying it was nothing, but objectively, those scars were not something to be taken lightly.
‘…Should I go check again?’
Irina hesitated.
‘Should she head back to the northern castle and check on Letter’s condition?’
‘Or should she continue waiting for Letter to show up?’
For now, only Irina, who was a princess, had the ability to move.
The other students would only receive a response saying it was impossible to meet Letter.
In the end, Irina made up her mind.
“I’ll go check and be back.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Irina turned toward the northern castle once again, her mind filled with endless thoughts.
The regret that she hadn’t persuaded Letter more strongly back then was still clear in Irina’s mind.
However, before Irina could take a few more steps…