n

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nTwenty-five days had passed since the first gathering of the student alliance and only twenty-five days to go until the Foundation Anniversary where the meeting to get the establishment of a student alliance approved would be held. Fifteen days until they headed for Jarazack. Five days until Claude started his practice matches with Professor Mikhail. Considering all this, they didn’t have much time left.

n「Hmm. The tea you make is simply the best.」

n「Really? I’m glad to hear that.」

nHikaru and Lavia were at their apartment in Scholarzard. The tea after breakfast was one of Hikaru’s pleasures. Lavia tended to be very particular with her tea leaves. She went around different stores to buy some and compare them. She seemed to have figured out Hikaru’s taste; the tea was getting more and more delicious every day.

n「So this means we have Kirihal and Kotobi’s vote, right?」

n「I think so, yes. I received a letter yesterday from Silvester who’s back in Zubura.」

nA lone letter lay on the table. The first part read “Please tell League too”. Silvester wouldn’t send a letter directly to League. People watched the latter’s every move. So Silvester sent it to Hikaru instead.

n“I convinced my father last night. I’ll see you at the Foundation Anniversary”.

nThat was all. It would seem Silvester chose to stay in Zubura

n「That’s three votes. All that’s left is Jarazack.」

n「How’s Claude doing?」

n「It should be about time.」

nLavia knew immediately what Hikaru meant. It was time to use the Soul Board.

n「Claude, Ivan.」

n「Hey there, Hikaru.」

n「Come on, man. You gotta show up more often.」

nHikaru arrived at the short sword class which had become training session for Claude and Ivan. Professor Mille wasn’t around, only the two guys and the other Jarazack students.

nHikaru hadn’t seen Roy these past few days. Apparently more ladies followed League around now, so Roy was sent to keep them company. As such, Hikaru couldn’t talk to League about the student alliance. The young heir had an important role during the anniversary. As such it was best if he didn’t draw unnecessary attention at the moment.

n「A practice match, huh? How’s Claude doing, Ivan?」

n「Like you said, ever since he learned to use a shield, he’s moved better. Right now he can win against me three out of ten.」

n「I see.」

n「By the way, I got a message from the boss yesterday. I told him there’s someone who wants to fight him and he was overjoyed. There hasn’t been anyone young to challenge him recently.」

n「Th-That’s great.」

nDamn maniac… Hikaru’s cheeks twitched.

n「………」

nHe shot a glance at Claude who looked dispirited.

n「Claude, do you have a minute?」

n「What’s up?」

n「I need to talk to you.」

nThey moved away from Ivan and the others. The sunlight was strong as always, but the nights were chilly – a sign that the peak of summer had passed.

n「Why the long face?」Hikaru asked.

n「Can I really win the way I am right now?」

nWhile he knew he was improving from his training with Ivan, Claude knew it wasn’t enough. His opponent was much stronger than Ivan.

n「Do you have a Soul Card?」Hikaru asked.

n「Ah, you did mention keeping it with me at all times even during training.」

nUnlike the Guild Card, Soul Cards were issued by temples. Mostly owned by nobles and wealthy people, the card itself was made with expensive metals. As such, not a lot of people carried theirs around. But Hikaru advised Claude to keep his with him.

nClaude took out his Soul Card.

n「Your job class was Ordinary One-handed Sword Ritual God: Swordsman of Honor6, correct?」

n「Yeah.」

n「I want you to check if more was added.」

n「More job classes appearing is rare. It doesn’t happen that often.」

n「Just check.」

nClaude reluctantly took out his Soul Card.

n「…What?」

nHe froze.

n「What did you get?」

n「Huh? Ah, sorry, what?」

n「Tell me.」

n「Ah, yes. Ordinary One-handed Sword Warrior God: Sword and Shield, and one that has five characters! One-Handed Sword Technique God: Technical Swordsman5!」

n「Ahuh.」

nHikaru finished tweaking Claude’s Soul Board.

n【Soul Board】Claude Zahad Kirihal

nAge: 18 Rank: 7

n9

n【Vitality】

n..【Stamina】1

n【Magical Power】

n..【Spirit Affinity】

n….【Air】1

n【Physical Strength】

n..【Strength】1

n..【Weapon Mastery】

n….【Sword】3

n….【Shield】1

n【Agility】

n..【Power Burst】1

n【Willpower】

n..【Mental Strength】1

n..【Charisma】1

nHikaru put one point on both Sword and Shield. He was considering adding points to Strength and Power Burst a later time. Getting Sword to four points would be his last resort.

n「You know that by changing job classes, your abilities change as well, right?」

n「B-But this is something from the gods…」

n「Some people change when they grow stronger. Just like me.」

n「Really? What kind of job class do you have? Don’t tell me you have something with less than five characters?」

nHikaru couldn’t tell him he had a two-character class.

n「Forget about me. Try changing your job class.」

n「O-Okay.」

nAfter setting it to Technical Swordsman, they headed back to the other guys.

n「What’s going on? What did you say to Claude? He looked down in the dumps earlier, but now he’s looking confident.」

n「I wasn’t down in the dumps.」

n「Yeah, right. You got drunk every day and complained. You even made Lukamad.」

n「I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, Ivan. You’re getting too close to Luka!」

n「What’s wrong with that? We’re members of the same alliance!」

nIt looks like they’ve all been getting along while I was gone.

nHikaru felt like he was left alone.

n「Right. You should come with us to Three Cheers for Booze too, Hikaru.」Ivan said.

n「Wait, you’re drinking there?」

n「It’s safe. Professor Mille’s also there.」

n「That actually worries me… Wait, I told her not to drink.」

n「She said it’s fine since you weren’t around anyway. You only allowed her to drink during the day.」

n「Eh, I guess it’s okay.」

n「You should come too. We’ll have some boys’ talk!」

n「………」

nThe men from Jarazack looked like they were ten years older than their actual age. It felt a bit weird calling it “boys” talk…

nI guess being invited isn’t so bad…

nThere was something refreshing about talking to someone like Ivan who said whatever was on his mind.

n「I’ll think about it. Anyway, try fighting Claude again.」

n「Sure. Let’s see why he looks so confident.」Ivan said, grinning.

n「I’ll have you know, I cast a powerful spell on him.」

nHikaru smiled back.

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