Chapter 7: Mars vs. Glenn
"Hey, man. I heard Johann and Josef from S-Class went missing. You got any idea where they went?"
As I was eating breakfast in the dorm dining hall, Gon and Carl pulled up chairs across from me.
"Not the slightest," I replied. "We came back together after the Freshmen Tournament, but by the next day, they were already gone."
Neither of them had shown their faces even after morning homeroom wrapped up.
Lorenz had found it suspicious and checked the dorms, which was when their disappearance came to light.
For the past three days, over a thousand people—including the instructors and the Regan Knights—searched for them, but their whereabouts remained completely unknown.
With that many people searching without finding so much as a single strand of hair, they were likely no longer on campus.
I'd even tried looking for them with Search, but I couldn't turn up a single clue.
Because they were S-Class students, they had been free to head out into Academic City Regan whenever they pleased, leaving two main possibilities: either they had run away on their own, or they'd gotten caught up in some incident in town. However, the knight order constantly patrolled the city.
Deeming it virtually impossible for someone to be kidnapped in an environment like that, the academy administration concluded that they had left of their own free will.
It felt like a bit of a forced conclusion, but there were two main reasons behind that official judgment.
First, there were no traces of daily life left in their rooms.
When Lorenz stepped inside, nothing remained behind, as if the two of them had never existed in the first place.
Erasing every trace of your presence and slipping away unnoticed from the sixth floor of the Lister National academy dorms would be practically impossible for anyone other than the occupants themselves.
Second, Dominic had overheard a cryptic conversation between Johann and Josef.
It had apparently taken place inside the carriage on the way back from the Freshmen Tournament.
The content of their chat—that the person they were looking for wasn't there, nor at any of the other academies, so there was no longer any need to stay—became the deciding factor for Duchess Regan to make her ruling.
The academy attempted to reach out to Johann and Josef's relatives to explain the situation, but because the relief home—essentially an orphanage—they hailed from had already ceased to exist, all means of contact were cut off.
"Still, ditching out on their own is just plain stupid," Gon said. "Stay in S-Class and your future's set. Plus, we're gonna get a front-row view of all the girls' bare skin real soon! Man, what am I gonna do if Clarice asks me to rub sun oil on her?"
Having completely forgotten about Johann and Josef, Gon wore a goofy grin, indulging in wild delusions of an impossible future.
"Gon has been like this constantly as of late," Carl said, sighing.
Carl shook his head in exasperation.
However, this wasn't unique to Gon. The other students... actually, it felt like the other students were looking forward to it even more.
Even among fellow first-years, most of them were older than us. Quite a few students in E-Class were already legal adults.
Well, seeing them so overjoyed, I felt glad that I'd chosen the ocean as our destination.
Once homeroom wrapped up, it was time for martial arts class.
We moved out to the academy grounds, where class began under Lorenz's instruction.
While the others received swordsmanship lessons from Lorenz or challenged him to mock battles, I spent the time practicing my swings alone.
Cyrus could use magic too, but he was undeniably a specialized swordsman.
By contrast, Lorenz was an all-rounder magic swordsman, meaning his swordsmanship skill level was lower than mine. He'd even asked me to focus on solo practice or help instruct the other students until a new martial arts teacher arrived.
To preserve Lorenz's honor, I should add that he graduated from Lister National academy in A-Class before joining the Regan Knights. When he was due for a promotion to full knight, an important opening appeared at Lister National academy. Offered his choice between the two paths, he chose teaching—making him an elite through and through.
Amidst our practice, Dominic stepped up in front of me.
"Mars, I want you to teach me swordsmanship," Dominic said.
Dominic's right arm had fully healed, allowing him to swing a sword just as he used to. Furthermore, he had stopped bothering Clarice entirely since then, devoting himself single-mindedly to his sword training.
"Sure! Let me at it!" I agreed.
As I began practical spar training with Dominic, Baron called out to us.
"Mars, mind if I team up with Dominic and fight you together?" Baron asked. "We're forming a party together, so I want to test our coordination."
I nodded at Baron's request. It was true that without proper coordination, no matter how strong individual fighters were, they wouldn't be able to unleash their true potential.
In real combat, team synergy often dictated victory or defeat far more than individual strength.
Even when securing a two-on-one advantage, improper positioning or terrible timing on joint strikes carried massive risks. That was precisely why routine drills like this were so vital.
"Alright, Baron, Dominic! Let's do this!" I declared.
Baron and Dominic moved into position, and the three of us formed a triangle.
"Mars! Here we come!" Baron yelled.
At Baron's signal, our battle commenced.
Their team coordination couldn't be called good even out of flattery. Both were headstrong and completely failed to grasp what the other was trying to do... or rather, neither was even making an effort to understand.
"Dominic, flank right! Baron, fall back for a second to cover him!" I shouted.
I barked out instructions to help improve their teamwork, but their movements just wouldn't mesh.
When the two of them fought Cyrus together in a previous class, Cyrus had probably been focusing on building their individual strength rather than improving their teamwork.
After fighting for about ten minutes, the two of them were heaving heavily and began hashing out what went wrong.
"If Dominic had started moving just a bit faster..." Baron grumbled.
"No way. If Baron had just eased up on his attack tempo..." Dominic countered.
Passing the blame off on each other showed they still had a long way to go.
Guess I ought to show them how it's done.
"Clarice, Ellie. You two fight me together," I called out. "Ellie, I'm sure you already know, but no kicks or ground grapples, okay? In exchange, I won't drop my speed, but I'll pull the force behind my sword strikes."
Flashing underwear during class was a strict no-go, after all.
"Understood," Clarice replied with a smile. "Take care of us, Instructor."
"...Do my best..."
Clarice and Ellie took up positions flanking me. Synchronizing their rhythm, they exchanged a quiet glance.
"Here I come!"
With my signal, the combat commenced.
Ellie charged in as the vanguard while Clarice pressed the offense with support from the rear.
Neither girl looked at the other even once, nor did they utter a word. Yet they moved fluidly through the narrow space, their timing in absolute sync.
Faced with an assault so seamless they seemed like a single entity, I was forced entirely onto the defensive.
Although I was holding back the force of my strikes, I was putting far more effort into this than against Baron and Dominic. The two boys looked on, thoroughly mesmerized by their spectacular teamwork.
In the end, even after sparring for over ten minutes, my match against the Clarice-Ellie duo ended in a draw without a clear victor.
Once the spar ended, Baron asked Clarice and Ellie for the secret behind their teamwork.
"How do you pull off such flawless coordination?" Baron asked. "How can you communicate without even saying a word? Is there some secret signal we missed?"
Prompted by his question, the two offered him some advice.
"Hmm... Wouldn't it be uniting your hearts as one?" Clarice pondered. "Ellie and I are always together, after all."
"...Meals... training... dungeons... baths... bed... always together..."
Hearing Ellie's list,
"Now that you mention it, you two did say you share a room!" Baron realized.
"You share baths and beds too!?"
Baron and Dominic exchanged astonished looks.
"I see..." Baron mused. "Dominic, maybe we should start by moving in together."
"Right. Let's give that serious consideration," Dominic agreed.
Hearing their exchange, a dumbfounded "Huh?" slipped from my lips.
"Uh, I think you should start with basic drills before jumping straight to cohabitation, right Clarice?" I offered.
"Y-Yes..." Clarice agreed. "I think starting with simple steps is best. If that still doesn't work, you could gradually increase the time you spend together..."
Clarice threw us a lifeline.
Reconsidering after hearing our advice, the two resumed their training drills.
"Whew... Thanks for helping advise those two, Clarice," I sighed.
Taking a break, I lay back on the neatly manicured green carpet of grass.
"No problem," Clarice replied. "Though they're so dead set on getting stronger, they might end up moving in together eventually anyway."
She sat down right next to me with a chuckle.
Just then, a shadow fell over my head.
Wondering who it could be, I started to look up toward the source—
"Don't look!"
Suddenly, Clarice's soft hands covered my eyes, blocking my view.
While I was left wondering what was happening, a woman's voice rang out.
"Good morning, Mars, Clarice."
The voice belonged to our bespectacled upperclassman.
"Good morning, Edine," Clarice said. "If you stand right there, things that shouldn't be seen will come into view, so please take a seat next to me."
So that was why Clarice had covered my eyes.
"I wouldn't really mind if it was Mars, though," Edine teased. "Anyway, hand this over to him. That's all I came for. See you later, Mars, Clarice."
Without me getting a single glimpse of the bespectacled beauty's face, she departed.
After a moment, the warm sensation receded from my face.
"What did she give you?" I asked.
Clarice wore a suspicious look on her face as I questioned her.
"Well, it looks like a letter," Clarice replied. "And it's addressed to you, Mars."
She handed me a single envelope.
"Mind if I read it too?" Clarice asked.
Naturally, I had intended to let her from the start.
Sitting up, I opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, whereupon a rich floral scent drifted into the air.
Clarice leaned close against me so we could read it together.
"Let's see..." Clarice read aloud. "'Dearest Mars, I'll be waiting in front of the arena after academy tomorrow.' Wait, could this be...?"
I was equally shocked reading the letter. Was this that legendary classic I'd never experienced in my past life—the "Meet me behind the gym after academy" love note!?
When my cheeks involuntarily relaxed into a grin, Clarice fixed me with a sharp, half-lidded stare.
Just then, a voice called out to me from a distance.
Turning around, I saw Ike jogging over to us.
Seeing him, Clarice hurriedly hid the letter behind her back.
She probably wanted to spare Ike any unnecessary worry.
However, her effort proved futile.
"Ede came by with a letter just now, didn't she?" Ike asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "Clarice, hand me the letter for a second."
After all, I couldn't lie to Ike.
However, Ike responded with something entirely unexpected.
"Nah, I already know what it says, so you don't have to," Ike said. "Just make sure you come to the front of the arena tomorrow."
"Huh?"
Clarice and I blurted out in unison.
"Huh? Did she forget to hand over the note explaining the details?" Ike scratched his head. "I kept talking about you, Mars, and then Edie—who watched the Freshmen Tournament—started hyping you up too. Soon enough, the rest of our party members were clamoring to spar with you at least once. We've got a nominated quest coming up, and you guys are heading to San Marina, right? If we don't fight now, it'll be a long while before we get another chance."
While I certainly felt relieved, I was also hit by a strange, hollow sense of disappointment.
"If that's the case, we'd love to!" Clarice agreed, beaming. "Right, Mars?"
Reassured by our bespectacled senior's true intentions, Clarice offered a bright smile.
"I have one more favor to ask, though. Could you take on all four of them at once?" Ike asked. "I want to watch my teammates fight from the sidelines and spot their flaws. Besides, you're pretty much the only one who can take on members of Crimson Lotus single-handed, Mars."
One against four, huh... Depending on their stats, relying on Vision might turn it into a decent match.
"Sure thing. I've actually wanted to spar with them at least once myself," I said. "I have one condition, though. Please limit spectators to just the members of Crimson Lotus or fourth-year S-Class students. On my end, I'll only notify the first-year S-Class."
"I see... Fair enough," Ike agreed. "Ede and the others were planning to turn it into a big event, but if that's what you want, we'll keep it restricted."
"Thank you," I said. "I'll ask Instructor Sasha if she can keep other students away from the arena during that time as well."
This would be a great opportunity for our party, as well as for Baron and Dominic, who were preparing to form theirs.
Even without Ike, simply getting to observe how Crimson Lotus—hailed as the strongest party in Lister National academy—coordinated their combat would be a valuable experience.
As for me, getting to clash with them directly meant I wanted to burn every detail into my memory.
Still, despite class being in session, Ike and our bespectacled upperclassman certainly enjoyed a lot of freedom.
Perhaps the instructors had little left to teach students strong enough to join Crimson Lotus.
――The next day, after academy.
The members of Crimson Lotus were already gathered in front of the arena.
However, the only ones I recognized were Ike and our bespectacled upperclassman.
The other three were complete strangers to me.
One of them—a burly, squat guy standing only around a hundred and twenty centimeters tall—stroked his bushy beard as he stepped forward.
"So ye're Ike's little brother, Mars, eh?" he grunted, stroking his beard. "I've heard the rumors, but both of ye brothers havin' such pretty faces ticks me off!"
Having someone tell me to my face that I ticked them off so bluntly was a first for me, even counting my past life.
"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you," I replied politely. "Pardon my asking, but... are you a Dwarf?"
"Aye, that I am. Name's Gar, ranked second in the fourth-year S-Class."
Gar swatted away the hand I extended for a handshake. Guess that meant no friendly chatter before a match.
Still, to think he was ranked second... I had fully assumed our bespectacled upperclassman held that spot.
Just as I was thinking that, our bespectacled senior teased him.
"Gar is such a sore loser that he gets furious whenever I beat him," Edine teased. "So I just let him keep second place."
"That ain't it at all!" Gar barked. "I just hate losin' to anyone taller than me!"
I couldn't tell how serious he was, but I gathered that he had immense pride and might be a bit of a handful.
In stark contrast to Gar, the remaining two seemed far more pleasant.
"I'm East, ranked fourth," the spearman said calmly. "As you can see, I use a spear. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Yuri, ranked fifth," the woman offered politely. "I specialize in Water Magic. It's a pleasure."
After shaking hands with both of them, we all headed inside the arena.
"Mars? I know how everyone in Crimson Lotus fights," Karen offered thoughtfully. "Do you want some advice?"
Karen was being thoughtful, but spoiling the surprise ahead of time felt like a waste.
"Thanks, but I'll take a raincheck," I replied. "I want to gather intel while fighting. We might encounter unknown enemies down the line, so this will serve as good training for that."
Thanking her once more, I stepped into the ring.
"Mars, we'll get right to it," Ike called out. "You'll be using wooden practice gear, and please stick strictly to defensive magic. If you use offensive spells, no one here will be able to stand up to you."
"Understood!" I called back.
I stood in the center of the ring, facing off against the four members of Crimson Lotus.
"Alright then, neither side go overboard! Begin!" Ike announced.
With Ike's signal, Gar was the first to charge.
Charging straight forward like a wild boar, he hoisted his wooden axe high into the air.
Behind him, East followed closely, leveling a wooden staff acting as his spear.
First, I needed to evade Gar's strike.
To prepare, I began by inspecting Gar with Appraisal.
【 Name 】 Galar Gadget
【 Title 】 ――
【 Status 】 Dwarf • Commoner
【 Condition 】 Healthy
【 Age 】 15
【 Level 】 34
【 HP 】 288/288
【 MP 】 74/74
【 Strength 】 81 【 Agility 】 74
【 Magic 】 47 【 Dexterity 】 22
【 Endurance 】 88 【 Luck 】 1
【 Skills 】 Axe Technique C (Lvl 10/15)
【 Skills 】 Earth Magic D (Lvl 7/13)
Gar possessed the stats of a reliable tank who could anchor the front line with ease.
He was equipped with defensive gear as well, but none of it was worth dwelling on during this match, so I skipped it.
Activating Vision, I took a swift side-step, easily evading Gar's axe stroke.
Having committed all his weight to the swing, Gar appeared full of openings.
However, assuming so and jumping straight to a counterattack was a sure path to defeat.
Gar himself likely didn't care if that blow was dodged—in fact, he probably welcomed a counterattack.
Because the instant his axe came down, without even waiting to confirm my counter, he was already invoking Earth Fortress.
That was the precise moment East targeted me.
He had likely aimed to impale me with his staff the moment I struck out at Gar.
Furthermore, from behind them, the water mage launched Ice Arrows high into the air, targeting me from above.
If I allowed myself to get distracted by the Ice Arrows, Gar would drop Earth Fortress, and East would instantly exploit the opening.
Up to this point, they hadn't exchanged a single glance or hand signal. This entire sequence might well be a rehearsed combo play.
If so, how would they handle this?
Deflecting the incoming Ice Arrows with Wind, I pressed forward toward Yuri in the rear guard, only for our bespectacled upperclassman to make her move next.
"Stone Wall!" she chanted.
As a wall of stone erupted between me and Crimson Lotus's rear guard, Yuri's Ice Arrows slipped around the edge of the Stone Wall, aiming straight for me.
Right as I knocked those aside with Wind as well, our bespectacled upperclassman's voice echoed from the far side of the Stone Wall.
"Activate!"
What? A spell? As I scanned my surroundings on high alert, Vision revealed an astonishing sight.
To my shock, the very Stone Wall she'd just summoned was morphing into a humanoid figure, raising its foot to crush me!
As I scrambled to leap backward and open up space, Gar and East closed in from behind.
At this rate, I'd be caught in a pincer attack. Realizing I couldn't afford to stay passive any longer, I dodged Gar's strike and knocked down East's incoming staff thrust with my wooden sword.
Because a staff used like a spear had considerable reach, taking a blow delivered with heavy force would prove troublesome.
I immediately pressed my wooden sword against East's neck, taking him out of the fight.
With that, Gar was the only vanguard left, making things considerably easier. The stone golem was merely taking up a stance to protect the rear guard.
Still, this giant construct... was our bespectacled senior controlling it directly? Or was something possessing it?
Even inspecting our bespectacled upperclassman and the hulk with my Magic Eye of Magic Power, I didn't get the impression she was puppeteering it.
If anything, it appeared to move of its own will. If a spirit was possessing it, destroying the construct might leave lasting side effects on her.
Well, either way, taking out the master would stop it in its tracks.
Fixing my sights on our bespectacled senior, I made incapacitating her my next goal.
Noticing my focus, Gar charged once more with raised axe, but I parried the blow with my wooden sword.
As he lost his balance, I planted a kick on his back to send him tumbling, then swiftly held my wooden sword to his spine, eliminating Gar as well.
With their vanguard wiped out, the remaining two offered a final stand.
While our bespectacled senior fortified her defenses with another Stone Wall alongside the stone golem, Yuri unleashed a rapid barrage of Ice Arrows.
However, it was a futile struggle. Deflecting the Ice Arrows with Wind, I closed the distance to Yuri.
She tried to construct cover with Ice Wall, but before she could, the tip of my wooden sword touched her cheek, knocking Yuri out as well.
Only our bespectacled senior remained—or so I thought, but the moment my wooden blade touched Yuri's cheek, she raised both hands in surrender.
"There's no way I could win a one-on-one fight against someone immune to my Binding Eye like you, Mars," Edine said smoothly. "Besides, Ike only wanted to observe our teamwork anyway. As expected of Ike's little brother."
While the other three wore frustrated expressions, our bespectacled upperclassman showed not the slightest trace of annoyance.
"Fair enough," I said. "Would you mind if I appraised your stats before we finish?"
"Go right ahead," Edine purred. "If you can use Appraisal, that means you possess a Magic Eye too, Mars. Now I'm even more intrigued."
Our bespectacled upperclassman offered a sweet, teasing smile.
【 Name 】 Edine Alitas
【 Title 】 ――
【 Status 】 Eldest Daughter of Count Mesarius
【 Condition 】 Healthy
【 Age 】 15
【 Level 】 34
【 HP 】 176/176
【 MP 】 274/304
【 Strength 】 37 【 Agility 】 45
【 Magic 】 120 【 Dexterity 】 77
【 Endurance 】 38 【 Luck 】 5
【 Skills 】 Binding Eye
【 Skills 】 Dagger Technique G (Lvl 1/5)
【 Skills 】 Archery E (Lvl 3/9)
【 Skills 】 Earth Magic B (Lvl 10/17)
【 Equipment 】 Stone Golem Staff
【 Equipment 】 Magic Robe
【 Equipment 】 Ring of Protection
She was formidable. For a moment I had wondered what she would do if an enemy closed in, but against such opponents, her Binding Eye would be devastatingly effective.
With the match over, Ike, Clarice, and the others gathered around us.
"Mars, how was it fighting Crimson Lotus?" Ike asked. "If there's anything you noticed or think we should fix, please let us know."
Asked for my thoughts, I gave my honest feedback.
"Everyone was very strong," I said. "However, after East was eliminated, the support from Yuri fell off. Was that because Gar lost the leeway to cast Earth Fortress?"
Gar nodded in agreement at my question.
"Aye, ye hit the nail on the head," Gar grunted. "If I used Earth Fortress, Edie and the rear would get targeted directly. Normally, Edie's Binding Eye secures our win condition, but this time we were up against someone immune to it..."
Unlike his earlier bluster, Gar spoke humbly now, and Ike nodded along with him.
"That's true. Even though I'm usually out there as well, our vanguard-rearguard coordination might need work," Ike mused. "Plus, we need a plan for when our front line is reduced to a single person."
Ike sought input not just from me and the Crimson Lotus crew, but from Clarice and the others too, thoroughly identifying their weak points.
"Hey, why don't we train together until we leave for our nominated quest?" Ike suggested. "It'll be great motivation for everyone, and we can keep exchanging feedback like this."
Misha was the first to jump on Ike's proposal.
"Yeah!" Misha cheered. "It'll be super fun if we all do it together!"
"Please let us join too!" Baron begged earnestly. "We're planning to form a party ourselves, so there's so much we'd love to get advice on!"
Baron's eyes sparkled like a young boy's. Naturally, I was thrilled to get the chance to train alongside Ike as well.
For the next few days until Crimson Lotus departed for their nominated quest, we trained together after academy every day. After working up a sweat in the arena, we'd head out into Academic City Regan for dinner, holding review sessions to reflect on our progress.
And then came June first—the day of our departure for San Marina.
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