Chapter 21. 11. Our Lumian Has Changed
"That's all for today's class."
"Th-thank you very much..."
"Your voice is too quiet. Do you want additional classes?"
"......!"
"Haha, just a joke. Of course, if you want to stay and train more, I won't stop you."
Swordsmanship Professor Karen disappeared with a hearty laugh. Only then did the E-class students expressions relax as they collapsed onto the floor.
"Whew, that was seriously intense."
"Right? It was always tough, but since becoming sophomores, it feels way worse."
"I hate Professor Karen's classes more than Professor Arnold's now."
"Same here. He has no sense of moderation."
The students grumbled for a while.
Most had been training since childhood and possessed stamina incomparable to ordinary people, but Professor Karen's classes were grueling enough to exhaust even them.
It wasn't just physically demanding. It was mentally draining as well.
Karen didn't tolerate mindlessly swinging swords.
Students had to stay focused every moment, doing their best to show improvement. It was a class that inevitably exhausted both body and mind.
"Hey, you doing more?"
"Are you crazy? Let's wash up and rest. I'm dying."
"True, if you keep going here, that's just being a monster."
After class ended, most E-class students immediately returned to their dormitories.
It was only natural. Doing such intensive training and then additional practice on top of that? They were still too young for such madness. They lacked the stamina, the will, and the motivation.
Of course, there were always exceptions.
Teoro Shutegarn, who had been E-class's top student until last year.
And the rising star who had knocked him down to second place, Lumian Calade.
Only these two remained in their spots even after the grueling class ended, swinging wooden swords while dripping with sweat.
Lena Willington, an ordinary female student in E-class, found them incredibly fascinating.
'How are they still perfectly fine after Professor Karen's class?'
Were they really kids her age?
Lena Willington watched them for a long time, filled with rising questions, slight feelings of inferiority, and admiration.
Between the two, her eyes were particularly drawn to Lumian Calade.
Teoro had always shown exceptional talent, but Lumian hadn't.
'Until last year, he was much weaker than me.'
He wasn't just weak. He lacked both will and confidence.
He always walked with his head down, avoided making eye contact with others. Classes were always an afterthought for him.
In her eyes, Lumian had seemed like nothing more than a coward who just wanted to hurry back to his dormitory.
But not anymore.
A year had passed, and now in the second semester of sophomore year, he had become a completely different person in every way.
'What on earth happened to him?'
Actually, she still didn't quite understand.
How a failing student who couldn't even straighten his shoulders until last year had changed his mindset, how he could have grown so quickly.
It was impossible to comprehend with Lena Willington's common sense. She couldn't accept it.
However, there was one thing even she could acknowledge.
That was Lumian's 'effort.'
"Hup, haap!"
One breath, one swing. Two breaths, one thrust.
Lumian repeated this endlessly. Ever since Professor Karen disappeared, all this time.
And it wasn't just today.
Since the semester started, he had been training harder than anyone else in E-class.
He woke up earlier than anyone to train his body, participated in classes more diligently than anyone. Even after the day's schedule ended and everyone returned to their dormitories exhausted, he stayed behind swinging his sword.
Even later than Teoro Shutegarn.
Of course, his growth rate was undeniably fast compared to even that tremendous effort, but Lena Willington no longer felt envious of Lumian.
'It'd be too shameful to be jealous when I'm not even putting in half of Lumian's effort.'
Lena Willington wasn't that petty of a woman.
Rather, she felt ashamed of herself for not working hard until now. She felt like this couldn't continue.
That was why she remained at the training grounds.
After finishing her rest, she stood up from her spot again.
'He's really amazing.'
Looking at Lumian, still immersed in his sword training, she smiled slightly.
The boy she used to only feel pity for now looked quite impressive.
'...Let me work hard too.'
Just as Lumian had grown impressively, she too would become a finer knight student and move toward her dreams.
Lena Willington steeled her resolve and focused her eyes. Then, like Lumian and Teoro, she began swinging her sword earnestly.
But unfortunately, she wasn't Teoro. She wasn't Lumian either.
Her talent was far inferior to theirs, and her stamina and mental strength depleted much faster.
Her sword not extending properly contrary to her thoughts, the constantly shaking sword tip made her feel depressed. It lowered her confidence.
Within 30 minutes, she lost motivation and hung her head.
She didn't feel good.
Eventually, holding her messed-up feelings, she walked away dejectedly.
Toward where her belongings were. Because she no longer had confidence to continue training.
But then, someone called her name.
"Lena."
"...Lumian?"
"If you don't mind, would you like to spar?"
"Huh, what?"
Lena responded with a flustered voice.
She was surprised first that Lumian, whom she had almost no interaction with, had spoken to her, and surprised again that he had asked for a spar.
Actually, someone of his skill level had no need to spar with her.
Because there was nothing to gain.
Yet he asked for a spar, which meant either he wanted to brutally defeat her to boost his ego, or he was extending a helping hand.
She spoke with slight suspicion.
"No, I mean, sparring with me wouldn't help you at all... Wouldn't it be better to do it with Teoro instead?"
"Teoro said he'd practice alone. And it wouldn't help? It's actually a big help."
"But... hmm..."
Lena examined Lumian's face.
Still a vague impression. But not weak and fearful like before.
Rather, it was closer to a pure and innocent feeling. The slight smile on his lips made her feel more at ease.
'Doesn't seem like he's trying to bully me. Then...'
"Alright. If you don't mind me."
"Thank you."
The smile on Lumian's lips grew a bit wider.
Seeing that, Lena Willington's cheeks turned slightly red. She turned her head slightly and fanned herself with her hand to calm the heat.
In that moment, Lumian and Teoro exchanged glances. Teoro nodded, and Lumian secretly gave a thumbs up.
It worked.
The sincere appearance, the considerate and gentlemanly behavior.
And the pure-looking yet not excessive smile he practiced last night until his facial muscles cramped - all seemed effective.
'Like I said, you need a proper teacher in any field.'
Of course, there was still a long way to go. His behavior was still awkward in front of women he liked, and his voice trembled when it wasn't a practiced line or situation.
But having seen the possibility, Lumian was sufficiently satisfied.
With an even brighter smile, he crossed swords with Lena Willington.
"Haap!"
"Huaap!"
Lumian didn't unilaterally overpower his opponent.
Rather, he moved much more carefully than when facing Teoro, focusing on bringing out Lena's potential. It was a moment when his past life's know-how naturally unfolded.
Lena couldn't fully feel Lumian's subtle guidance, but at least she could tell he was being considerate of her.
After the spar ended, she caught her breath and thanked Lumian.
"Whew, haa, ha. Thank you, Lumian."
"For what. I asked for it. I should be thankful."
"No. I know you were considerate of me. Whew, it really helped a lot."
"Haha..."
Lumian laughed bashfully. Lena Willington gathered her belongings and continued speaking.
"If there's ever anything I can help with later, I'll help diligently. Well then, I'll go ahead first."
"Okay."
With those words, Lena left the training grounds.
Watching her figure disappear into the distance, Lumian thought.
'Too bad she's not my type.'
"Lumian."
"Ah, Teoro."
Teoro, who had approached at some point, spoke to him. Lumian asked with a slightly tense expression.
"How was it?"
"Not bad."
"Was it okay?"
"Yeah. Don't break this image and keep maintaining it. Can you do it?"
"Hmm... honestly, in situations where you didn't tell me, my words and expressions might become too awkward..."
"Just save your words. You can just quietly do your own thing and occasionally look after others, can't you?"
"That's true. But, was today really okay?"
"At least it was much better than at the martial arts tournament."
"Good."
Lumian clenched his fist. After closing his eyes for a moment and opening them, he bowed his head to Teoro.
"Thank you, Master."
"No, you don't need to go that far."
"No. I still lack much, so I ask for your continued guidance. Until I can date a woman who perfectly suits my heart, is pretty, cute, has a good personality, and has ability."
"...Alright."
Teoro nodded with a reluctant expression.
After a moment of silence, he continued speaking.
"Ah, about that aura application method from before. I'm having trouble flowing energy through the surrounding branch pathways instead of the main path. Do you have any methods by any chance...?"
"Ah, regarding that part..."
Upon receiving a question about aura, Lumian's expression rapidly changed.
With a serious face, calmly and deeply explaining.
Watching him, Teoro marveled. And was also dumbfounded.
He couldn't tell which of his personas was real.
***
Over approximately two weeks, Lumian built a new image under Teoro's guidance.
He was sincere and quietly did his own work, occasionally helping students. The pure-looking smile, a bonus from harsh training, was a plus.
With such appearance, E-class students gradually began showing favorable responses.
"Lumian has really changed a lot."
"Right? How can a person change like that?"
"He still seems a bit dense sometimes, but honestly, he's pretty cool when sparring."
"Being dense... well, he just has such a kind and gentle impression... I mean, he really is kind."
"Right, he really is kind. It seems like he forgave Karal and Rak after just briefly being that way at the beginning of the semester."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I saw them sparring together? It's called sparring, but he's basically teaching them."
"Wow, amazing..."
Lumian hadn't really paid much attention to the big guy family originally, but there was a reason he even gave instructional spars. He wanted to build an image of having a broad heart and kind nature.
Naturally, this too was Teoro's advice. Beyond this, he gave countless pieces of advice, successfully elevating Lumian to the position of a 'warm model student.'
It was truly an incredible journey.
'I really went through a lot.'
Teoro smirked.
A love coach.
It was something he'd done for the first time in his life. Actually, until that guy asked, he'd never even thought about such a thing.
But it was more fun than expected.
Part of it was that Lumian's personality itself had become easier to deal with than before, and watching him gradually improve was rewarding. He was also quite curious how far he could grow this love-ignorant guy.
And above all, what he liked most was receiving swordsmanship and aura lessons as tuition.
Actually, with Lumian's help, Teoro's skills had improved enough to show a clear difference from before the semester.
'I hope it works out well.'
Watching Lumian freely dispensing practiced smiles to maintain his concept, Teoro smiled again.
Thus, in a completely different atmosphere from last year, a few more days passed.
Finally, the mid-term evaluation at Tarazan Knight Academy approached.