Chapter 138: Durability

“Though the main aim of the academy is to train you in combat, it’s also necessary to have adequate knowledge of theory. So complete your assignments on time and submit them without fail, or else…”

Elsa didn’t complete her sentence, but the message was clear.

As the time for the lecture ended, packing her stuff, Elsa left the class, leaving us waiting for the next instructor.

I desperately hoped for the classes to end sooner.

I thought I could manage it somehow, but sitting in such a cramped space was testing my patience to its utmost limits.

And adding to that was the person sitting next to me.

For the entirety of the class, Alicia kept wiggling, making it difficult for me to focus.

And not only that, but Diana too, even after being the one to invite me, kept mirroring Alicia.

If she couldn’t sit in such a space, then was there any need to invite me?

I didn’t think so.

Silence.

Even after the class had ended and the students began to chat amongst themselves, it was only our bench that was awfully quiet.

And maybe, the problem was my presence.

Here, Diana was the only one who was on talking terms with me, but even she found it difficult to start any sort of conversation out of nowhere, seeing the mood of her other friends.

Though I could have stood up from the seat and relieved all of them of the awkward atmosphere, I chose not to do it.

I mean, why should I?

I wasn’t obliged to ensure their quality time, and Diana was the one who had invited me.

“Why do you think they had asked us to change the classroom?”

Diana tried to fill the silence with a not-so-creative question.

“Huh? Does it matter, though? This room is pretty spacious.”

All heads except mine turned towards Noah.

“What?”

“You think this is spacious?”

It was Kevin who questioned on behalf of the others.

“Yes.”

“…”

“I mean, in the orphanage that I was in, we had around fifteen to twenty guys staying in a space of around… Umm… six benches. Yes, I guess that could be a fair measure.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Yeah.

The typical protagonist way of demanding sympathy.

’I was poor.’

’I had suffered.’

’Pity me.’

These were the most basic emotions they expected of the people around them.

And true to the hero vibes, everyone’s mood turned solemn on hearing Noah’s statement.

Alicia, who was the most uncomfortable sitting next to me, had her face etched with worry and pity.

She might have been the most saddened by the typical hero backstory sentences.

“Why are you all so serious? Hahaha… It wasn’t that bad. I mean, we could still get a night’s sleep.”

Noah muttered the words in his usual cheerful voice.

If it was that good, then what was the need of mentioning it?

“That was cool, man! I mean, even I want to sleep in such places.”

Kevin was the first one to cheer Noah.

“Yeah, me too.”

Alicia spoke up, while Diana just nodded her head.

If they were so interested in such things, why not sleep in the stables?

Even the air conditioning would be quite the awesome thing to enjoy… as an experience that they wanted so badly.

“Kael, you have enough place to sit, right? Or I could just adjust on the benches behind.”

Noah turned to look at me, as his face displayed concern for my well-being.

“Why do you have to adjust? It’s not like we were given a choice.”

Though I heard Alicia’s sarcastic remark, I chose to ignore it.

Or that was what I wanted to do—

“That’s fair. If you are not comfortable here, there’s a nice floor below.”

Pointing towards the ground, I looked at Alicia, who had frozen in place.

“He meant that the floor is better than these stupid benches, right, Kael?”

Diana quickly interrupted before Alicia could process the words.

As she looked in my direction, hoping for me to agree, I looked away.

Diana’s desperately cheerful expression turned into one of defeat.

“If you like it too much, why don’t you sit down?”

Now, it was Kevin who raised his voice, trying to defend his little sister.

His eyes had narrowed, and the tone of his voice was a giveaway of his intentions to confront me.

“…”

I just stared at Kevin without speaking a word.

Internally, I was debating the choice to put him in his place without raising unnecessary commotion.

Should I kill him?

Hm…

That would be too violent an act to ignore on academic grounds.

Maybe breaking a bone or two will suffice—

For now.

Silence.

As I was engrossed in my thoughts, my eyes fixed on Kevin, the surroundings had turned awfully silent.

Though that didn’t stop me from shifting my focus from Kevin, who now felt like a cornered animal.

“K-Kevin, it’s alright. I am comfortable here. Kevin?”

Alicia’s wavering voice reached my ears, as I saw her hand trying to reach Kevin, who looked like he was ready to fight till death.

All thoughts about breaking him disappeared from my mind, as I found Kevin’s state oddly unusual.

I mean, he was the one looking for a fight, so why was he… shivering?

“Ah! There’s the instructor. He’s always on time, isn’t he?”

Diana’s voice too felt a little shaky as she pointed towards the door.

Shifting my gaze away from Kevin, I looked at the instructor—or more precisely, the bald guy before me.

“Is everyone good?”

The instructor, though looking a little fierce, had a surprisingly soft voice.

The students answered by nodding their heads, though it was far from their original emotions.

“We will be having a short endurance training session before your real combat training begins. I know you all have just returned from your first practical, but you will just have to start from today. I was thinking of letting you enjoy for a few days, but your instructor, Miss Elsa, had vouched for your durability among all the other divisions.”

Durability?

The instructor smiled as he tried to uplift our spirits.

Everyone’s mood had soared, thinking about training.

Though I personally found it amusing. If not learning combat, then why did they even come to the academy?

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