Twenty-five days had passed since the first gathering of the student alliance and only twenty-five days to go until the Foundation Anniversary where the meeting to get the establishment of a student alliance approved would be held. Fifteen days until they headed for Jarazack. Five days until Claude started his practice matches with Professor Mikhail. Considering all this, they didnât have much time left.
ăHmm. The tea you make is simply the best.ă
ăReally? Iâm glad to hear that.ă
Hikaru and Lavia were at their apartment in Scholarzard. The tea after breakfast was one of Hikaruâs pleasures. Lavia tended to be very particular with her tea leaves. She went around different stores to buy some and compare them. She seemed to have figured out Hikaruâs taste; the tea was getting more and more delicious every day.
ăSo this means we have Kirihal and Kotobiâs vote, right?ă
ăI think so, yes. I received a letter yesterday from Silvester whoâs back in Zubura.ă
A lone letter lay on the table. The first part read âPlease tell League tooâ. Silvester wouldnât send a letter directly to League. People watched the latterâs every move. So Silvester sent it to Hikaru instead.
âI convinced my father last night. Iâll see you at the Foundation Anniversaryâ.
That was all. It would seem Silvester chose to stay in Zubura
ăThatâs three votes. All thatâs left is Jarazack.ă
ăHowâs Claude doing?ă
ăIt should be about time.ă
Lavia knew immediately what Hikaru meant. It was time to use the Soul Board.
ăClaude, Ivan.ă
ăHey there, Hikaru.ă
ăCome on, man. You gotta show up more often.ă
Hikaru arrived at the short sword class which had become training session for Claude and Ivan. Professor Mille wasnât around, only the two guys and the other Jarazack students.
Hikaru hadnât seen Roy these past few days. Apparently more ladies followed League around now, so Roy was sent to keep them company. As such, Hikaru couldnât talk to League about the student alliance. The young heir had an important role during the anniversary. As such it was best if he didnât draw unnecessary attention at the moment.
ăA practice match, huh? Howâs Claude doing, Ivan?ă
ăLike you said, ever since he learned to use a shield, heâs moved better. Right now he can win against me three out of ten.ă
ăI see.ă
ăBy the way, I got a message from the boss yesterday. I told him thereâs someone who wants to fight him and he was overjoyed. There hasnât been anyone young to challenge him recently.ă
ăTh-Thatâs great.ă
Damn maniacâŠÂ Hikaruâs cheeks twitched.
ăâŠâŠâŠă
He shot a glance at Claude who looked dispirited.
ăClaude, do you have a minute?ă
ăWhatâs up?ă
ăI need to talk to you.ă
They moved away from Ivan and the others. The sunlight was strong as always, but the nights were chilly â a sign that the peak of summer had passed.
ăWhy the long face?ăHikaru asked.
ăCan I really win the way I am right now?ă
While he knew he was improving from his training with Ivan, Claude knew it wasnât enough. His opponent was much stronger than Ivan.
ăDo you have a Soul Card?ăHikaru asked.
ăAh, you did mention keeping it with me at all times even during training.ă
Unlike the Guild Card, Soul Cards were issued by temples. Mostly owned by nobles and wealthy people, the card itself was made with expensive metals. As such, not a lot of people carried theirs around. But Hikaru advised Claude to keep his with him.
Claude took out his Soul Card.
ăYour job class was Ordinary One-handed Sword Ritual God: Swordsman of Honor6, correct?ă
ăYeah.ă
ăI want you to check if more was added.ă
ăMore job classes appearing is rare. It doesnât happen that often.ă
ăJust check.ă
Claude reluctantly took out his Soul Card.
ăâŠWhat?ă
He froze.
ăWhat did you get?ă
ăHuh? Ah, sorry, what?ă
ăTell me.ă
ăAh, yes. Ordinary One-handed Sword Warrior God: Sword and Shield, and one that has five characters! One-Handed Sword Technique God: Technical Swordsman5!ă
ăAhuh.ă
Hikaru finished tweaking Claudeâs Soul Board.
ăSoul BoardăClaude Zahad Kirihal
Age: 18 Rank: 7
9
ăVitalityă
..ăStaminaă1
ăMagical Poweră
..ăSpirit Affinityă
âŠ.ăAiră1
ăPhysical Strengthă
..ăStrengthă1
..ăWeapon Masteryă
âŠ.ăSwordă3
âŠ.ăShieldă1
ăAgilityă
..ăPower Burstă1
ăWillpoweră
..ăMental Strengthă1
..ăCharismaă1
Hikaru put one point on both Sword and Shield. He was considering adding points to Strength and Power Burst a later time. Getting Sword to four points would be his last resort.
ăYou know that by changing job classes, your abilities change as well, right?ă
ăB-But this is something from the godsâŠă
ăSome people change when they grow stronger. Just like me.ă
ăReally? What kind of job class do you have? Donât tell me you have something with less than five characters?ă
Hikaru couldnât tell him he had a two-character class.
ăForget about me. Try changing your job class.ă
ăO-Okay.ă
After setting it to Technical Swordsman, they headed back to the other guys.
ăWhatâs going on? What did you say to Claude? He looked down in the dumps earlier, but now heâs looking confident.ă
ăI wasnât down in the dumps.ă
ăYeah, right. You got drunk every day and complained. You even made Lukamad.ă
ăIâve been thinking about this for a while now, Ivan. Youâre getting too close to Luka!ă
ăWhatâs wrong with that? Weâre members of the same alliance!ă
It looks like theyâve all been getting along while I was gone.
Hikaru felt like he was left alone.
ăRight. You should come with us to Three Cheers for Booze too, Hikaru.ăIvan said.
ăWait, youâre drinking there?ă
ăItâs safe. Professor Milleâs also there.ă
ăThat actually worries me⊠Wait, I told her not to drink.ă
ăShe said itâs fine since you werenât around anyway. You only allowed her to drink during the day.ă
ăEh, I guess itâs okay.ă
ăYou should come too. Weâll have some boysâ talk!ă
ăâŠâŠâŠă
The men from Jarazack looked like they were ten years older than their actual age. It felt a bit weird calling it âboysâ talkâŠ
I guess being invited isnât so badâŠ
There was something refreshing about talking to someone like Ivan who said whatever was on his mind.
ăIâll think about it. Anyway, try fighting Claude again.ă
ăSure. Letâs see why he looks so confident.ăIvan said, grinning.
ăIâll have you know, I cast a powerful spell on him.ă