Date: Midweek, Two Months Since Enrollment
Location: Academy Grounds – Sword Yard, Lecture Hall, Dormitory Lounge
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Time moves strangely here.
It's only been two months since the entrance exam, but already… routines have hardened into habit. Roles are forming. Bonds — tested in fire — are beginning to settle.
This week was quieter.
No beasts. No life-threatening trials. Just… lectures, training, and life.
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Morning routines continued. David still led them. Still no leniency.
His voice cut through dawn like winter wind.
> "Again. Control your mana. Magic is a sword — not a crutch."
He had eyes like a mirror — cold, but never cruel. He never smiled, but I've started to recognize his praise in other ways.
One day, he nodded — just once — as I corrected a noble's defensive stance mid-drill. That was enough to keep me going for another week.
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Sword lessons were taken over by Mireille.
She made them hurt — but in a different way than David. She laughed, she joked, she sparred with us one-on-one. Her scar glinted every time her smile widened.
Leander lost three times in a row. Anna fell face-first. Riya set a dummy on fire.
But me?
…I didn't win. But I didn't fall behind either.
Mireille said nothing at first.
Then, on the fourth day, she muttered under her breath as she passed me:
> "You've got a swordsman's body. Shame you've got a tactician's soul."
I didn't know whether it was praise or a warning.
Maybe both.
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Afternoons were often quiet.
Classes let out. Some of us wandered to the gardens. Others, the training yard. Me?
Library. Always the library.
I found Lily there more often now. Always reading. Always alone. We don't speak every day. But when we do, it's never awkward.
Today, we sat across each other at a quiet table.
She looked up from a tome on celestial incantations.
> "Why do you always read things outside your magic field?"
I shrugged. "Tactics demand understanding. A commander doesn't get to be ignorant."
She blinked once. Closed her book.
> "You'd make a better teacher than half the staff."
I didn't know what to say to that.
Before she left, she added softly:
> "If you want to practice incantation forms… let me know."
She didn't wait for my answer.
She never does.
---
Nights came slow. Leander, Gideon, Elric — all settling into their roles. Our group wasn't just a team now. It was a unit. A rhythm.
Anna painted the dorm wall with stars.
Gideon finally laughed at a joke.
Elric started cooking stew for the whole floor.
Even Alice passed by once. Nodded. Didn't stay. But I noticed her eyes linger.
---
Some students have started copying my notes.
Others try to challenge me in mock duels — not to win, but to see how I fight. I let them. Some lose. Some draw. No one wins yet.
But the murmurs grow.
"Silent Tactician."
"David's Shadow."
"One of Morgan's picks?"
"They say he doesn't even use magic in duels…"
I ignore them all.
Because tomorrow is coming.
And when it does, I won't be measured by rumors or titles.
Only by what I can protect.
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