Chapter 72: Chapter 70 – First Meeting with the Hopeless Professor

「What did you do just now? Magic? No, it was too subtle, and I don’t feel anything either. But it feels like you scanned me or something.」

She noticed Hikaru checking her Soul Board.

It must be the two points on her Instinct. What a pain.

「I can’t use magic.」

「Then a magic item?」

「No.」

「What do you hope to achieve by feeling my body?」

「You’re making it sound like I’m doing something awful. Why isn’t there an “I’m not doing anything” option, Miss Drunkard? Like I said before, I came here to attend short sword classes.」

「What? You’re serious? I suggest you don’t.」

「It’s the student’s right to take lectures.」

「And the professor has a right to refuse.」

「No, you don’t.」

「Really?」

「Yup.」

「Eeh...」

He didn’t have any basis for that claim, of course. Mille hung her head low. Her make-up made her look older, but her mannerisms were reminiscent of a twenty-two-year old.

「Why are you so against teaching? If you hate it so much, you shouldn’t have taken up the profession.」

「I heard it was an easy job since there were no students.」

Man, she’s really hopeless, Hikaru thought.

「Then again my salary’s decreasing since there aren’t a lot of students. I can barely buy a glass of beer. What to do? No one would lend me money anymore.」

She’s so hopeless, it’s almost tragic, Hikaru thought.

「But you’re good with short swords, right?」

「Not at all.」

「Of course you are.」

「No, I’m not.」

「You’re just saying that cause you don’t want to teach.」

「Do you have proof?」

It’s written on your Soul Board. Three points on Short Sword.

「You being hired by the academy is proof enough. I don’t know how to use short swords. I don’t even know the basics. There are lots of things I wanna learn about, like how to maneuver in fights. I won’t demand for practical training. So please teach me!」

「Hmm... Nuh-uh!」

After being humble and asking nicely, all he got was a “Nuh-uh”. Hikaru was understandably pissed.

「Okay. Have it your way. I don’t mind filing a report to the principal and the prime minister.」

「...What? Are you serious? There’s no way a mere student can make contact with the prime minister!」

「Zofira van Houtens. Judging from her name, she’s from the same place as you. I wonder what she would think if I told her about this.」

「P-P-Please don’t!」

「I just hope the new instructor is passionate about teaching...」

「No! Please! If I get fired, the collectors will come for me! The academy walls are keeping them at bay for now!」

She’s really hopeless to the core, Hikaru thought. For her, the academy was an evacuation shelter.

「Okay, fine! I’ll teach you! You happy? Sheesh... Is this how kids behave these days?」she muttered as she got on her feet.

「All right, get your short sword out. You brought one, right?」

「Will this do?」

Hikaru showed a lone dagger he hung on his waist – his Dagger of Strength. Daggers belonged to the short sword category under “single-edged short swords”. Mille nodded and sat down, hands around her knees. Incidentally, she was wearing a mini skirt, exposing her panties.

It’s rare to see underwear and not feel anything, Hikaru thought as he held his dagger. He lowered his hips, the point of his dagger turned downwards.

「Not like that.」

He was off to a bad start.

「That was bad, huh?」

「Absolutely terrible. You look like a complete amateur. Why would you even point your sword downwards?」

「So it’s easy to throw.」

「Why would you throw your only weapon?!」

「What’s the right way to do it?」

「The right way to do it is to hide your sword along with the sheath. Don’t draw it.」

「Ohh...」

「You know what makes the short sword superior to other weapons, right?」

「Its portability. The biggest advantage of a short sword is that you can lower your opponent’s guard by making him think you’re unarmed. Am I right? As for actual capabilities, short swords can never best long swords or halberds.」

Hikaru was genuinely impressed. She easily negated the idea that weapons should be drawn at all times. Practical and logical, it fit Hikaru’s stealthy fighting style.

「So you already know. We can call it a day, then.」

「Ah, yes. It’s time. It was more like you sulking the whole time, though, Professor Mille Crepes.」

「Call me that again and I’ll send you flying.」

「How about you use a short sword then? Anyway, I’d like to train alone. Can you teach me some forms and regimens I can follow?」

「Go run laps.」

「Okay.」

Hikaru bowed before leaving. He was in a great mood, thinking Mille’s lecture might actually prove useful.

「What’s his deal? I think I got roped into something weird.」Mille grumbled. Yawning, she entered the building to take another nap.

After the lecture, Hikaru went back to the apartment to change clothes and went jogging. Once he started running, he noticed the activity was draining. He thought he’d gained stamina ever since he came to this world. Now he realized walking for hours and jogging were two completely different things.

「Haa... ha... haa... This is rough.」

There he was, in the academy sports ground – or rather what seemed to be a parade ground. He took a break after a few laps. Next he tried a hundred-meter dash. He was fast with his two points on Power Burst, but his muscles were screaming immediately after.

It was necessary to actually build muscles to combat the recoil. He could put more points into his Strength, but muscle strength differed from muscle flexibility. By performing calisthenics to loosen his muscles, he should be able to make good use of his Power Burst.

「Running laps... that drunkard sure has some good ideas.」

Students watched him from afar with puzzled expressions.

「What’s he doing?」

「He’s doing some kind of a strange pose... What a riot.」

「What does he hope to achieve by just running around without even swinging his sword?」

While this world had proper sword training regimens, they didn’t have sports science – basic bodily exercises. And so a rumor was born of a “crazy student”.

「Wow... It’s unusual for you to give someone recognition.」

It was evening. Hikaru and Lavia were making dinner. The menu was stir-fried vegetables, meat, and bread with cheese.

「It’s not purely academics. It’s fun and I’m going back tomorrow.」

「If it’s that fun, maybe I’ll attend the lecture as well.」

「...I suggest you don’t.」

「Why not?」

Hikaru felt reluctant to let Lavia meet that mess of a woman.

「The lecture is worthless to those who don’t use short swords. By the way, what were you up to?」

「I was surrounded by books...」

Lavia sighed absentmindedly. She stayed in the library all day. With over 20,000 books, one could say it was almost a complete collection.

「That’s a lot... What kind of books do they have?」

「There are lots of research thesis. No stories whatsoever, but there were compilations of folklores from other regions. And some statistics.」

「Statistics?」

「Public documents from the establishment of the allied nations. Back then, Rumania had the largest population with 900,000. The smallest was Zubura with 20,000.」

「That’s a huge difference. I’m surprised they were able to be part of the alliance and live on equal terms.」

「Apparently there’s a reason for that. Rumania, Kirihal, and Ludancia were known as the Three Powers of the North. Yet individually, they were nothing compared to Ponsonia.」

Ponsonia’s population was over four million.

「Euroba, a small nation like Zubura, excelled in magic research, while Kotobi excelled in metal engraving. That’s how they built a strong presence. As for Zubura, they produced artifacts from the ruins.」

「Artifacts?」

「A product from an ancient civilization. The manufacturing process is unknown. But they possessed extremely powerful weapons, apparently.」

「.........」

「Hikaru, are you thinking what I’m thinking?」

「Probably. Revolvers.」

Something clearly not of this world, produced from the ruins in Zubura.

Someone from another world might’ve been in Zubura at one point, Hikaru thought.

「Wait a sec... If they had such a thing, why didn’t Silvester have one when hunting the Lesser Wyvern?」

「When Forestia was founded, they decided the weapons should be common property. Although it seems defensive artifacts were left in Zubura.」

「I see.」

We’ll be on equal terms if you hand over your weapons. That was probably how it went.

「I’d love to see these artifacts from Zubura.」

There should be researchers around as well. They might be able to explain the mechanisms of the revolver.