Chapter 34
Time passed quickly.
It had already been nearly three weeks since I transmigrated, and I had just about finished adapting to life in this world.
But there were still many things left to do.
No—rather, there were even more things to do than I had originally expected.
‘Magic. Me, using magic...’
A few days had passed since I met Kara, but I still had a lot of thoughts about this matter.
To be honest, when I played the game, I rarely raised magician-type characters.
And the defensive swordsman I had focused on over the past few months was a character quite distant from magic.
‘In fact, I never learned any magic at all, only focused on the physical side.’
Impenetrable defense, weapon skills, and runes.
With those three things, I somehow managed to reach the end boss meant only for veteran players.
And—
Having done it once before, I knew all too well that it was not something I ever wanted to do again.
This world was now my reality, and I couldn’t just treat it like a game.
‘It was fine to play hardcore in a game, but I have no intention of living that way in reality.’
I had looked into magic just to make this world a little easier to live in—but coincidentally, I had discovered a talent within myself.
A talent that had caught the attention of the genius magician, Kara.
‘I’ll be learning magic starting next month, but... what am I supposed to do with it?’
First of all, the problem was using magic in actual combat.
As for defensive swordsmanship, I had been able to manage somehow thanks to the skills I gained upon transmigrating.
But since I had no magic-related skills, I would have to learn and master them entirely on my own.
Even then, I’d need to figure out how to harmonize those spells with my swordsmanship.
‘Should I just give up being a knight and become a magician instead? My mana formation—that was supposed to be something unique, right? Maybe I could make a name for myself with that?’
For a moment, I considered switching from swordsman to magician, but I discarded the idea immediately.
The odds of succeeding as a magician seemed far lower than succeeding with the defensive swordsmanship skills I already had.
Besides, Kara had told me this before:
‘If other magicians have a potential of ten, yours is about five.’
Versatile, but with a low ceiling... That was roughly the kind of magical talent I possessed.
So magic, for me, would be a secondary tool.
My main focus would still be swordsmanship.
‘Still, I really have no idea how to mix swordsmanship and magic together.’
Many swordsmen in this world combined their special abilities with swordsmanship.
Even the three ducal families of the Arium Empire each infused their own unique powers into their sword styles.
If I wanted to aim higher, I too needed to blend magic into my swordsmanship.
‘Since I’m a defensive swordsman... maybe Earth? Or Water? If I eventually get a Water Rune... Besides, I think Kara said I had a bit more affinity for water anyway...’
While I was deep in thought—
“You came early again today.”
“Hmm? Ah, you’re here, Lady Lisa.”
Lisa sat down beside me, holding her meal tray.
For reference, it was lunchtime.
As usual, I had taken a seat alone in the cafeteria and was waiting for her to arrive.
“May I ask what you were thinking about so seriously?”
“It’s nothing much. I was just thinking about how to improve my swordsmanship.”
“Your swordsmanship... does it really need improvement? Your defense looks flawless.”
“It’s perfect defensively, yes—but I’m still lacking in offense.”
“Well, true. A swordsman can’t just defend forever.”
Lisa quietly nodded at my words.
Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she spoke again.
“Now that I think about it, I heard from Luke recently—you copied my swordsmanship, didn’t you?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Luke said you used our family’s sword style during a class where you fought monsters.”
“Ah. Yes, I tried it once.”
It took me a moment to recall—it had been a few days ago.
During the fight against that four-armed monster, the Quadra Arms, I had mimicked Lisa’s swordsmanship.
“Of course, I only copied the form of it.”
“I figured as much. Our family’s swordsmanship is completed through the power in our blood, after all.”
The swordsmanship of the House Balmuth—otherwise known as the swordsmanship of vampires.
A sword style that drew on blood as a medium to push one’s physical strength to its utmost limit.
Only with that overwhelming strength could one even begin to imitate the Balmuth family’s technique.
“Gideon, are you perhaps interested in our family’s swordsmanship?”
“As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to improve my own swordsmanship. So lately, I’ve been studying various sword styles.”
“I see. Then, Gideon—would you like to learn the Balmuth family’s swordsmanship?”
“Is that... even possible?”
“Yes. I can teach you. Wouldn’t it be better to learn from me directly rather than just copying what you saw?”
“That’s true, but... am I even capable of learning it?”
I tilted my head in doubt.
From what I knew...
“To learn that swordsmanship, you need the power of a vampire...”
“If I bite you once, it’ll be possible.”
“...Excuse me?”
“If I bite you once, you’ll be able to use a portion of our family’s power.”
“Uh...”
I stared at Lisa.
She turned her head toward me, expression as unreadable as ever.
Was she joking... or serious...?
“I’m kidding. I just wanted to tease you a bit.”
“Ah... hah, I see.”
“Sorry. Not very funny, was it? I’m not really used to joking like that.”
Lisa’s face remained expressionless, but her eyes seemed a bit more playful than before.
“When Jason makes these kinds of jokes, everyone laughs, but when I do it...”
“Um, I think it might be a matter of expression.”
“My expression?”
“Yes, if you’re making a joke... maybe try smiling a little.”
“Like this?”
Lisa gave me a wide smile.
But because there was no emotion in her eyes, it was clearly a forced smile.
Even so...
“...Wow.”
It was beautiful.
So beautiful that I found myself momentarily dazed just looking at her.
I’d seen many beautiful people before, but Lisa’s smile was on an entirely different level.
“Why? Is my smile strange?”
“N–No, not at all. That’s not it.”
“Then what was that reaction just now?”
“Th–That’s…”
“Be honest. You know I like honesty.”
I hesitated for a moment but decided to just tell the truth.
Lisa was frighteningly good at detecting lies.
“It was too beautiful, so I lost focus for a second.”
“…That wasn’t a lie.”
Lisa replied a beat later, sounding oddly awkward.
“R–Right. I see.”
She quickly turned her head and focused back on her meal, her face expressionless as always.
But unlike her stoic expression, I could clearly see her ears slowly turning red.
“Lady Lisa? Are you all right?”
“Hmm? Why?”
“Your ears are red—did something happen...?”
“Ah.”
Lisa hurriedly used her long red hair to cover both her ears.
Her previously blank face shifted into one of visible embarrassment.
“A–Anyway, it’s nothing. Don’t mind it.”
“Understood.”
She was clearly flustered by my compliment, but I decided to leave it alone.
Even though I had grown close to Lisa lately, I didn’t yet have the nerve to tease a noble lady.
“Anyway, Gideon. About the things we have to do today…”
“Ah, I finished all of that this morning.”
“This morning?”
“Yes. I checked and sorted all the reports that came into the complaint box yesterday. Based on what I found, today we only need to investigate the narcotic substance discovered in Class 2 of the second year and report it to the teacher. After that, we should check the recent safety accident that occurred in the Potion Brewing Classroom.”
“You already reviewed and organized all that?”
“I didn’t have much to do this morning, so I finished it in advance.”
To be exact, I organized everything early this morning in the classroom while chatting with Layla.
Still, having that kind of free time in the morning made it nice to get things done ahead of schedule.
“Well done.”
“Yes, thank you… Huh?”
“Mhm, well done.”
Lisa said as she gently patted my head.
She did it with no expression, but her eyes were warm as they looked at me.
“Thanks. You just saved me a bit of work for today.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
“Yes, you really did.”
Lisa continued to pat my head softly with a faint smile.
It was a bit embarrassing, knowing that other students in the cafeteria were watching, but I couldn’t bring myself to push her hand away—so I just sat still.
“Come to think of it, you’re starting night patrol alone from today, right?”
“Yes, starting tonight, I’ll be doing it by myself.”
“If something happens, call me right away. You know where my dorm room is, right?”
“Yes, I do, but… I can’t exactly enter the girls’ dormitory…”
“It’s fine. With your Disciplinary Committee privileges, you’ll be allowed to enter.”
Lisa continued patting my head as she spoke.
“But you won’t call me anyway, will you? No matter what happens, you’ll try to handle it alone.”
“Yes, I think I probably will.”
“That’s a good attitude, but don’t overwork yourself. I don’t want to see my precious junior exhausted.”
“Thank you for your concern. But… Lady Lisa?”
“What is it?”
“When do you plan to stop patting my head…?”
“Hmm, not sure. The more I touch it, the nicer it feels.”
Lisa’s face remained blank as she continued to carefully stroke my hair.
“I don’t know why, but I just feel like touching your hair a little longer.”
“Ah, well… if that’s the case…”
“Don’t mind me. Keep eating. I’ll eat after I’m done.”
“Yes, understood.”
And so, throughout the entire lunch, Lisa continued patting my head.
If we were alone somewhere, it wouldn’t be a big deal—but doing this in a cafeteria full of students was a little uncomfortable.
To be precise, I was worried about what kind of rumors might spread about me next.
But Lisa was the type of person who didn’t care one bit about how others saw her, so she just kept stroking my hair and smiling faintly.
“Lady Lisa? Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’ll eat slowly. You take your time too.”
“…All right.”
“By the way, the streetlight installation was finished yesterday, right?”
“Yes, it’s all done.”
The installation of the Academy’s streetlights—
All twenty-five streetlights had been successfully placed in their designated locations.
“Good work. Everyone’s been giving positive feedback about them. I even ran into the Headmaster by chance yesterday, and he said he was quite satisfied.”
“If it helped the Academy, then I’m satisfied as well.”
And I truly was.
Especially since it pleased the Headmaster, Dilug.
Winning his favor would definitely help us get chosen as the top club this semester.
“And about the installation of the surveillance crystal spheres, I wanted to discuss—”
“Let’s not talk about work right now, Gideon.”
“Huh? Ah, yes, understood.”
“Mhm. Good. At least during lunch, I’d rather talk with you normally than about work.”
Lisa smiled faintly.
It was, as always, a pleasant smile to see—but I was starting to feel uneasy about all the eyes in the cafeteria on us.
“Um, Lady Lisa. The other students are staring at us…”
“So what?”
“…Nothing.”
As I mentioned before, Lisa was the type who simply didn’t care about others’ gazes.
No matter how much I explained, she wouldn’t understand the issue.
Still, I believed it wouldn’t cause any major trouble.
It wasn’t like I was doing anything weird—besides, I was sitting right next to Lady Lisa of House Balmuth.
Surely no one would dare spread strange rumors involving her… or so I believed.
That belief shattered quickly.
“Hey, hey, Gideon! Is that rumor true?”
After lunch ended, I went to the gym for Swordsmanship Class, and as soon as I entered, Jason approached me.
“I heard rumors that you’re dating Lisa! Is that true?”
“What are you talking about?”
“People said during lunch you two were hugging and being all lovey-dovey in front of everyone—and that you even made her blush!”
“T–That rumor’s been… a bit, no, greatly exaggerated.”
It didn’t matter that she was a noble lady— I learned firsthand just how fast ridiculous rumors could spread in a single day.