Chapter 559: The Secret Garden

The first mock battle class had ended.

The tattered students then lined up with dejected looks on their faces. There also seemed to be a hint of regret on their faces.

I wonder how they could still make such faces after being beaten so badly… It seemed they had more guts than I had imagined.

「Good job, today’s mock battle class is over! Make sure to properly take care of your equipment!」

「「「Yes!」」」

「And you, Charon」

「Yes, do you need something from me?」

「Guide Fran-dono to the student changing room」

「Understood」

I’m glad that Charon was in this class. If it were any other student, they would have been scared of her for sure.

But it seemed, even Charon was a little scared of her. After all, she had punched her in the stomach just like the other students and had beaten her up with sword techniques.

However, it was probably because she had had some conversations with her before and knew that she was someone she could talk to if she was not in battle.

「Well then, let me be your guide」

「Nn. Thanks」

Fran then began to walk with Charon as her guide.

But there was no conversation between them, just silence. Well, Fran was just like her usual self, but Charon seemed to be a little nervous.

But, it was Charon who broke the silence between them.

「Umm…」

「Nn? What is it?」

「Well, what did you think about us today?」

What a vague question to ask. Perhaps she had asked that as she couldn’t bear the silence and said that without thinking. Fran looked confused in response to her question.

「What do I think?」

「I know that we are not as good as Fran-sama, but―」

「Hey」

「Y-yes?」

「Doesn’t need the honorific」

「Eh?」

「Just Fran is fine」

Charon looked worried when Fran interrupted her, but she soon felt relieved. But she was a little confused.

「B-but, Fran-sama is―」

「We’re in the same class, so we’re equals. That’s what Weena Rhyn said. Nobles and exiles, strong and weak, it doesn’t matter if they’re in the same class」

That was what Weena Rhyn said to her when she briefly explained the academy to us.

This academy was a very special place. Regardless of their status or honor on the outside, the students were equal under the spirits here. There was no room for nobles to act arrogantly with their power, or for the strong to threaten others with violence.

On the other hand though, the weak wouldn’t be tolerated to slack off because of their positions or weakness, or for commoners to vent their daily frustrations on the nobility.

This also meant that Fran and Charon were now equals regardless of each other’s strength or positions.

For Fran, it was fine for her to call her that while she was being an instructor. But when she was just a student, they were in the same position as students. I guess that was how she saw it.

「O-okay then, Fran?」

「Nn」

「Do you think we’re weak?」

That was quite a difficult question. From Fran’s point of view, they were quite weak. But in the eyes of the world, I’d say that they were reasonably strong. Each of them was as good as an E-ranked adventurer, and they were able to work together as a party quite well.

If their opponent had been an ogre, they would have won without any problem. But their opponent this time was too tough for them.

However, Charon didn’t seem to think so. It was just as if the confidence she had in herself had been shattered into pieces.

「I aspire to become an adventurer, so we applied for the Special Battle class with the goal of making a living by fighting as an adventurer」

「Nn」

「But we were completely outmatched in this mock battle. I didn’t expect us to win, but still, we couldn’t even return a single blow in the end… Can we really become an adventurer like this…?」

It seemed that she was no longer confident with her abilities. When Charon was looking down anxiously, Fran then spoke to her.

「Nn. You guys are weak」

「I-is that so…? Of course, that’s true…」

「You guys took too long to activate your magic and were quite slow to make decisions. Your level was still low too」

「Yes…」

「Even though Charon was a magician, you went too far forward」

「Yes…」

「You may be confident in your martial arts, but you can only kill a goblin with that much strength. You need to train harder」

「I see…」

Oioi, you’re making Charon cry, you know? But it was the truth. However, Fran hadn’t finished speaking yet.

「You won’t even be able to escape from a strong magic beast with only that much strength」

「…Ugh. You’re right. We are… weak, aren’t we?」

「Nn」

「Just like what I thought, we are―」

「But everyone is weak at first. So, Charon and the others can get stronger from now on」

Charon then stopped in her tracks and stared at Fran’s face.

「Nn?」

「…Even we, can be strong too?」

「Of course, you’ll get stronger if you train. It’s the same for everyone」

「You think so…?」

「Nn」

She must have understood that Fran’s words were not meant to comfort her, as I could see a strong determined light in Charon’s eyes.

「I-I’ll do my best! I’ll train harder and harder from now on!」

「Nn. Do your best」

「Yes!」

Fran also smiled at Charon, who finally smiled, albeit a bit awkwardly.

After that, the conversation had surprisingly become livelier. I guess it meant that they had grown closer. All they talked about was how delicate the food in the school cafeteria was, and which cafeteria was the best though.

They were chatting happily and in no time, they arrived at the changing rooms. There was a sign saying “Girl’s changing room”.

Yes, it must be the Girls’ changing room.

『F-Fran! Th-this is bad! You can leave me here!』

(What’s wrong)

『Aa-aah you see~…』

We-we’ve entered it! An old man has gone into the Secret Garden!

I-I’m not looking though! I don’t have eyes after all, but I’ll meditate! I’m a harmless, gentlemanly Gentle Weapon after all!

「Oh yikes, I have a bruise on my butt」

「Hey, aren’t your breasts getting bigger again?」

「H-hey, don’t touch it~」

I-I see nothing! I swear! But, you see, I can’t do anything about the sound! I can’t block my hearing after all!

There was a way to use magic to block it, but if I did that here, it might make me look suspicious. So, I had no choice! Yes, I have no choice but to listen to the voices.

「I didn’t know you had a mole in such a place. It somehow looks so naughty, doesn’t it~」

「Iyaahn! Don’t look at it!」

『…』

(Master? Why are you shaking so much?)

『Do-don’t mind me, just get dressed quickly and get out of here, okay!』

(??)

To all the boys in the country, I am so sorry.