For Roy’s current physique, a 20 kilometer run was nothing more than a light warm up.

He easily endured the entire distance without showing the slightest hint of fatigue.

“Thanks,” Roy said.

He took the cup from Stella’s hand, brought it to his lips, and slowly drank the water.

Watching Roy’s lips press against the rim of her cup, Stella’s blush deepened.

A flash of shy delight sparked in her crimson eyes, though she quickly tried to mask her expression.

After finishing, Roy handed the cup back.

Stella took a deep breath, accepting the cup back as if absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

“T-Today is the first time I’ve ever run such a long distance all at once. It was basically a marathon,” Stella’s voice was slightly unnatural.

She darted her eyes away, not daring to meet Roy’s gaze, pretending to speak casually.

“I sweated so much, I feel completely dehydrated. Even though I just had some water, I’m thirsty again,” she babbled, trying to cover her tracks.

As she spoke, there was a slight tremble in her voice, betraying the nervous joy fluttering in her chest.

Her grip on the cup tightened, as if she were afraid it might suddenly vanish.

Her eyes remained fixed on the exact spot where Roy’s lips had just touched.

Whatever she was imagining, the blush on her face grew even more vibrant.

Moving with the caution of a thief terrified of being caught, she carefully poured a little more water into the cup.

Then, acting as naturally as she could manage, she brought the cup to her mouth, making certain her lips aligned perfectly with the spot Roy had just drank from.

For a moment, her heartbeat raced faster than it had during the entire ten kilometer uphill sprint.

“I’m saved!”

Alice, completely oblivious to Stella’s internal romantic crisis, sighed in relief.

After drinking the potion Ikki had poured for him, a soothing warmth spread through his entire body, easing his ragged breathing.

“What kind of drink is this? I feel so much better,” Alice asked in disbelief.

“It’s a special potion, Roy made for me,” Ikki explained.

“Potion?” Stella’s attention was drawn away from her covert indirect kiss the moment she heard Roy’s name.

“Is there something wrong with your body, Ikki?” Stella asked suspiciously.

“You ran 20 kilometers without breaking a sweat. I’ve rarely seen anyone with your freakish level of stamina.”

“You know my mana capacity is the lowest of the low, so I had to overcompensate by training my physical fitness. Because of that, I managed to develop a Noble Art that suits me,” Ikki explained.

“However, it puts a massive, dangerous burden on my body. So, Roy specially prepared this potion to help eliminate the hidden damage.”

“The effects really are incredible. Whenever I drink it, my fatigue vanishes, and my baseline stamina even increases slightly,” Ikki added gratefully.

“It’s so cool. I feel entirely revitalized,” Alice praised, looking at Roy with sparkling eyes. “Roy, you are incredible! Not only are you an A-Rank mage knight, but you’re also a master apothecary?”

“If my heart wasn’t already set on Ikki, I might have pursued you instead!”

“Please don’t,” Roy’s mouth twitched.

He had no desire to be targeted by the maiden hearted boy.

Alice and Ikki were better off bound together.

“Ikki, how much of the potion do you have left?” Roy asked, changing the subject.

“It should last me for about another half a month,” Ikki estimated.

“When the weekend rolls around, let’s head into the city together to buy some more herbs,” Roy suggested with a smile.

“Just you and Ikki?” Stella asked hastily.

“You can come too,” Roy looked at her.

“Although it won’t give you a massive boost, the potion is entirely harmless. It can improve your baseline stamina a bit. I’ll brew a batch for you as well.”

“Okay!” Stella agreed, clearly excited by the prospect.

“A weekend date? That sounds like a wonderful idea!” Alice nodded seriously.

“I’ll have to wake up extra early to do my makeup and dress up beautifully.”

“Um… I think we’re just going to a pharmacy. Is that really necessary?” Ikki asked, his face scrunching up bitterly at the word date.

“I think Alice is right,” Stella nodded earnestly, siding with the maiden. “You boys might not care about your appearance, but we girls cannot afford to look sloppy when we go out!”

Roy rolled his eyes.

Did she seriously just group Alice in with girls?

“Exactly! Stella chan understands me so well,” Alice agreed happily.

Faced with the united front of Stella and Alice, Ikki could only nod with a defeated bitter expression.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of scandalous rumors this group date would spawn.

“Ikki, your sister should be arriving on campus today, right?” Roy asked, his gaze drifting toward the bulletin board hanging above the Hagun Academy gates.

[0 DAYS LEFT UNTIL TERM BEGINS]

“Yes. Shizuku will be arriving today,” Ikki said.

At the mention of his sister, the bitterness on his face vanished, replaced by a fond nostalgic smile.

After their morning workout, the group separated to return to their dormitories to shower and change into their fresh academy uniforms.

Following a quick breakfast at the cafeteria, they made their way to the main auditorium for the opening ceremony.

At exactly nine o’clock, the ceremony began.

Students from all three grades, totaling over two hundred Mage Knights along with dozens of faculty members, were gathered in the massive hall.

As the Chairwoman of the board, Kurono was the first to take the podium.

She delivered an impassioned speech, clearly outlining the academy’s new, brutal goals and the sweeping changes to the Hagun educational system.

Following her, Touka took the stage to deliver a warm but firm address to the student body, followed by a procession of various department heads and teachers.

In short, it was an endless stream of boring clichés: welcoming the freshmen, urging the student body to train hard, and praising the spirit of the Mage Knight league.

Roy didn’t listen to a single word of it.

Instead, he simply closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and fell asleep.

It wasn’t until almost 10:30 that the opening ceremony concluded, and the students were dismissed to report to their respective homeroom classes.

—

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