Chapter 39. 19. What Did You Just Say?
At an hour so early it could barely be called dawn, Lumian opened his eyes.
Since reaching the realm of Sword Expert, he had not slept more than two hours. And the time saved thus was invested in aura cultivation.
This was partly thanks to diligent habits carried over from his previous life, but his fierce desire to maintain his aura image for longer periods was also a major reason.
Assuming a proper posture, he began his aura cultivation with measured breathing.
Wooooong—
'Lately, it feels like there's even more energy flowing.'
This was his last thought before sinking into a trance-like state.
And this was no delusion. In truth, his aura was in a state overflowing with vitality compared to before.
It had started precisely after the co-championship at the Sword Arts Festival.
The fact that he had competed against Kal Krone in a popularity contest without losing ground, and the fact that he had closed the gap in talent through painstaking effort—these things had gifted him tremendous confidence.
Through this, Lumian was able to have much more confidence in himself compared to his previous life, and as a result, he was living each day full of vitality.
It was merely a small change in his daily life, but sword and aura were disciplines that had aspects connected to cultivating the mind. Influenced by this, Lumian's aura was gradually transforming.
Rustle—!
More sprouts grew from the soil that had been as barren as a rock surface. The more Lumian devoted himself to aura cultivation, the more this deepened.
However, he was still unaware of this change.
He simply strove to train each day, to become a more perfect man.
Having finished his cultivation, Lumian stood before a full-length mirror.
He tried a few poses and murmured.
"Phew, time to go exercise."
In the early morning, Lumian's rewarding day was beginning.
***
"Look over there, it's Lumian Kallad."
"The Sword Arts Festival winner!"
"I heard that person tied with Kal Krone?"
"Really? To that extent?"
'Good reactions.'
Lumian, who had been enhancing his hearing, withdrew his aura.
To maintain an atmosphere as pure and beautiful as wildflowers, he needed to conserve his aura. Unfortunately, instead of women's voices, he had to be satisfied with their gazes for now.
Smiling brightly, Lumian picked up a wooden sword. He could feel people's attention focusing on him.
He pretended not to notice and swung his sword diligently. Just as usual.
Some female students watching him exclaimed in admiration.
"That's cool, him training."
"Right? A knight cadet swinging a sword isn't anything special, so why does it look especially cool?"
"They say he trains for hours every single day without fail? That's really amazing. I mean, that's how he won the Sword Arts Festival, right?"
"But still, a knight cadet is a knight cadet after all. His face looks gentle but his body is..."
Lumian smiled inwardly.
Since he wasn't in a hearing-enhanced state, he couldn't know exactly what they were saying.
But he could certainly tell that the way women looked at him was completely different from the beginning of the semester.
This was why he came out to the training grounds more often and swung his sword more earnestly.
He thought he could understand why Kal Krone enjoyed people's gazes. Lumian was seized by the impulse to elicit an even greater reaction.
Of course, this was not difficult.
Having made up his mind, Lumian leaped high with a spirited shout.
Thump!
Swish, whew, swish—!
Tap!
Two backflips in mid-air. And simultaneously, his sword swept through multiple angles. Then a perfect landing.
It was a movement with far less practicality than a basic diagonal slash, but the women watching Lumian did not know that.
High-pitched exclamations flowed from the female students' mouths.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Wow, so he can do movements like that too!"
"So cool!"
Watching this, a sigh escaped Theoro's lips.
However, Boomer's reaction was different.
His eyes shone as if he had gained some great insight from Lumian's actions, and he nodded once.
Then, with a "Tahat!" shout, he kicked off the ground.
Boooom—
Sweeek, sweeeeek!
Though not as fluid as Lumian, his large frame gave it a hearty, satisfying quality. His aerial combination was also sufficiently impressive to an outside observer.
But the women's reaction was cold.
"What is that..."
"Why is he doing that?"
"He must be crazy. He just copied Lord Lumian, right?"
"Doesn't he know his place? He didn't even place, so why is he showing off like that?"
"..."
Thanks to pouring all his aura into his ears, Boomer could hear the female students' words very clearly.
He wore a dejected expression, and Theoro, who approached beside him, patted his shoulder.
He was an annoying fellow, but in such a miserable situation, his disposition wasn't cold enough to just stand by and watch.
Theoro offered quiet comfort.
"For a 4th placer, it's still too early."
"Shut up, you bastard."
Just then, the women gathered at the training grounds simultaneously let out surprised voices.
Lumian, who had been focusing on his training, and Theoro and Boomer, who had been bickering, all narrowed their eyes and surveyed their surroundings. And they quickly grasped the situation.
The co-winner of the Sword Arts Festival and owner of Tarajan Academy's greatest talent, Kal Krone.
He had revealed himself at the public training grounds.
"It's Lord Kal Krone!"
"Why has he come here? Didn't he always train at the scholarship student-exclusive training grounds?"
"Why else! He must have come to see Lord Lumian! They're rivals!"
That was correct. After the Sword Arts Festival, the rivalry between the two had become an established fact. To the extent that even third parties spoke of it.
Kal Krone also knew this fact. And he did not deny it.
'Because it's true.'
The only existence that had awakened him from his laziness, Lumian Kallad.
He was a man he could not help but acknowledge.
The reason he had stopped by here before going to the scholarship student-exclusive training grounds was to see his face and renew his determination.
He looked at Lumian Kallad and spoke.
"Training hard again today, I see."
"...Kal Krone."
"Is it to settle our unfinished match? To defeat me?"
'How can he say lines like that so casually?'
Lumian thought to himself upon hearing Kal Krone's words.
It was incredibly cringeworthy.
Of course, he too had spat out words even worse than this during the Sword Arts Festival finals, but that hadn't been a normal situation, had it?
But what was also funny was that since the speaker was Kal Krone, even lines that tried too hard somehow felt cool.
The female students, shooting hearts from their eyes and whispering among themselves, proved this.
'In that case, I should play along too.'
In truth, Lumian didn't dislike the current situation. To be more honest, he quite liked it.
This was because his popularity, which could easily fade quickly, was showing signs of lasting longer by being connected to Kal Krone.
'Being in the rival position to Kal Krone is excellent, excellent.'
Rather than just the simple character of Lumian alone, the story created by two characters—Kal Krone and Lumian Kallad—would resonate much more with fans.
At least, that was Lumian's judgment.
Whoooosh—!
Having finished his thoughts, he ignited his aura image even more strongly.
To not be overshadowed by Kal Krone's intense and brilliant presence, this much was necessary.
Lumian, emanating a pure yet solemn energy, opened his mouth with a hardened expression.
"We do need to settle things eventually. Someday."
"Hahahaha, good. Let's wait for an appropriate stage."
With those words, Kal Krone left the public training grounds.
Many female students disappeared following him, but there were still many remaining around Lumian.
Smiling faintly, Lumian swung his sword even more vigorously.
At times like this, training harder would improve his image even more.
***
'You've become incredibly popular, Lumian.'
Tania Eloyse, who had been watching Lumian and Kal Krone mixed among the crowd, wore a resentful expression.
Despite recognizing Lumian's value much earlier than others, she had missed the opportunity to get closer because of her hesitation.
Probably many people besides her were targeting Lumian. Whether as a romantic interest or as a connection.
'No, why am I thinking about romance here?'
What am I thinking? Tania murmured quietly to herself and shook her head.
Then she steeled her eyes.
'Fine. I don't feel any rejection anymore.'
Thanks to several days of special training, Tania had escaped the shock of the brown envelope incident.
Boomer Simpson was still repulsive, but at least when looking at Lumian, she didn't feel uncomfortable emotions. Rather, his always sincere and exemplary appearance felt increasingly cool as the days passed.
The thought that if she missed the connection called Lumian, she would regret it for a long time constantly lingered in her head.
'Let's not delay any longer. Even if I get a little attention, let's talk now.'
It was embarrassing since it was from so long ago, but let's break the ice by asking him to buy her a meal.
Just as Tania, thinking thus, was approaching Lumian—
The whispering of two female students nearby reached her ears.
Immediately after, Tania's body froze like a stone statue.
"...!"
Like a tree rooted to the ground, Tania listened to their conversation with a rigid face.
The female students, wearing peculiar smiles as they looked at Lumian and the direction Kal Krone had disappeared, made her feel even more serious.
Whisper whisper
Rustle rustle
Even from others nearby, not just those two, similar stories could be heard. Tania maximized her hearing with aura and picked up every bit of the female students' conversation.
Just then, her eyes met Lumian's.
"Heup!"
Thump thump thump thump thump
Watching Tania fleeing far away with an appearance similar to the brown envelope incident, Lumian wore a puzzled expression.
'Why is she acting like that again? Didn't she come because she had something to say?'
She kept hovering around him but never actually spoke.
He couldn't help but be curious.
'Next time she does that, I'll have to ask before she runs away.'
His thoughts about Tania ended there.
Lumian continued his training with a serious expression again. He also paid attention to his aura image that had faded.
And so Lumian's day seemed to be coming to an end.
But no. The most important event took place in the evening after training had ended and even the female students had all returned.
Theoro, who was eating with Lumian, brought something up with an expressionless face.
"Lumian."
"Yeah."
"Your recognition has risen and popularity has accumulated, so now it's time to recall your original purpose, right?"
"Huh?"
Lumian wore a dazed expression for a moment before letting out an "Ah!"
Boomer looked at Theoro with a "What are you talking about?" expression. Before Theoro could speak, Lumian opened his mouth first.
"Is there another dance party?"
That was correct. Lumian's purpose was to have a romantic relationship with a beautiful woman, not simply to gain popularity and build fame.
Popularity was merely a tool for meeting the opposite sex.
Until now, it had only been a preparation process. From here on, this was the main game.
Excitement and anxiety spread across Lumian's face.
While tremendous desire was bubbling in his chest, his verbal blunder at the previous dance party continued to torment him.
These days, he even had nightmares about that time occasionally.
However, what came from Theoro's mouth was not talk of a dance party.
"No. A dance party would still be too difficult for you. You'd have to take initiative in doing something, and for you, that's a bit..."
"Then what...?"
"Instead, I talked to Adel and arranged a blind date. With second-year students from the Literature Club. 4-on-4."
"Huh?"
"Since it's a meeting where everyone has a purpose, it'll be much more comfortable than a dance party where you have to run around on your own. It's not meeting one-on-one either, so there's less pressure."
Fireworks exploded in Lumian's head.
A 4-on-4 meeting with students from another department!
Did such a wonderful culture exist at the academy?
Gulp, swallowing his saliva, he asked Theoro.
It was a very important question.
"Are the girls pretty?"