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Morning jog, training with Aisha afterward.

Morning: combat and lecture, teasing Isabel a bit.

After lunch: paperwork with Nikita at the student council.

Afternoon: joint class, focusing on the lecture instead of Card.

Before dinner: preparations and information gathering for mock battles.

Sometimes, additional student council duties with Nikita.

After dinner: reviewing lessons, assignments, and training.

Bedtime at night.

This has been my daily routine recently.

In the past, if it were the old me, I’d have been grumbling in every color of the rainbow and passed out the next day.

But Vikamon's stamina is beyond imagination.

From what I can tell, this body could stay up for three nights straight and still be fine the next day.

That’s how extraordinary Vikamon’s stamina and recovery rate are.

‘Vikamon should have trained his body instead of messing around with useless magic.’

I can’t understand why he stubbornly insisted on learning magic.

Of course, I’m not completely clueless about Vikamon’s story.

Vikamon's family, Niflheim, is originally a family of mages.

Vikamon learned magic as if to spite his highly talented elder brother.

However, Vikamon lacked any natural aptitude for magic.

To make matters worse, even his younger sister mastered the "Ancestor's Magic," displaying the prowess of a great mage's return.

Vikamon felt humiliated and became even more obsessed with magic.

‘Blinded by envy and jealousy, he failed to develop his strengths.’

It's unfortunate, but it is what it is.

At any rate, his strengths are now proving very useful.

Physical strength is national strength.

I’ve come to realize the truth in this saying as my stamina has been increasing rapidly.

“Senior, I've added a training routine today that works on both arms and chest!”

Maybe that’s why Aisha’s training routines have been getting crazier lately.

Aisha, with her steel-like stamina, seems thrilled to have a training partner.

Every morning, she arrives even earlier than me and sets up the training equipment with a bright smile.

It seems she felt quite lonely training by herself until now.

“Senior, today is leg day. Let’s wear this before jogging and run together!”

Despite Aisha's cheerful face, the equipment she brings gets more intense by the day.

But seeing her so happy isn’t a bad feeling.

And more importantly, Aisha’s training is genuinely helpful.

“Training together is fun!”

After finishing today’s training, Aisha flashed a refreshing, healthy smile, like something out of a sports drink commercial, as she looked down at me, sprawled out on the ground.

I wonder what kind of monstrous stamina Aisha has, considering she never seems to tire out.

No wonder she swings around a giant sword like it’s nothing.

She used to have a somewhat cold image, but now I realize how innocent and full of energy she is.

Thanks to her, I managed to get myself up, albeit wobbling.

Watching Aisha, who has even more stamina than I do, sparked my competitive spirit.

I’ll build my endurance until I can swing a giant sword around for fun, just like her.

“Senior, it seems the training is paying off. Your body is getting stronger lately!”

“...You can actually see it?”

“No, the muscles are telling me.”

Hey, that’s a scary thing to say!

But Aisha is right.

Thanks to the training, I could tell I was getting stronger even with the bandages covering my body.

The way my body is improving so quickly shows that I’ve got a different kind of muscle fiber.

Vikamon really should have focused on combat.

“All thanks to you.”

“Oh, no, it’s more because you’ve been working hard, senior.”

Aisha gave an embarrassed smile, then swung her giant sword even harder to shake off the embarrassment.

It seemed like she might send it flying any second, so I wished she’d stop.

“By the way, Aisha, I’d like to do a practice match with the mock battle coming up soon.”

I spoke up before Aisha could accidentally send me flying.

“With you, if possible.”

“With me?”

Aisha widened her eyes in surprise.

Then she slowly put down her sword and gave me a bright grin.

“I won’t go easy on you just because you’re my senior. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course, that’s what I want. Go as rough as you want.”

“I can’t wait to see you struggling to get out of bed the next day with wobbly legs, senior.”

“Are you sure it won’t be you ending up like that, Aisha? Don’t even think about getting out of bed crying the next day.”

“What on earth are you two talking about!?”

Suddenly, an unexpected voice cut through our conversation.

When Aisha and I turned our heads, there stood a girl with a striking head of short, bright red hair glinting in the sunlight.

It was Isabel Luna.

She’s the main heroine of the "Flame Butterfly" route, the one I’m working hard to prevent from going down a tragic path.

Isabel stood there, her face flushed bright red from ear to ear, glaring at me and Aisha.

Did seeing my face first thing in the morning make her this angry?

Perfect, we’re well on our way to becoming sworn enemies. I’m satisfied.

“Isabel Luna, what brings you here this early?”

When I called her by her full name, Isabel took a deep breath and shot me a fierce look.

“...You and I are on morning duty today.”

Ah, right, I almost forgot because I got carried away training with Aisha.

“Aisha, we’ll continue this conversation later.”

“Yes, senior, thank you for your hard work today.”

After receiving Aisha’s polite farewell, I walked over to Isabel.

“I’m a mess; I need to stop by the dormitory first.”

After all, I couldn’t show up looking all sweaty and covered in dust.

Then, Isabel let out a deep sigh and suddenly threw a bag at me.

I belatedly realized it was my bag.

When did she bring it?

"...Card gave it to me this morning when he was on his way. He told me you were here. Your uniform should be in there."

So that’s why she came here.

But there’s still a problem.

I looked at Aisha with a blank expression.

“I just told you. I can’t go like this.”

Just because I have my uniform doesn’t mean I can wear it when I’m all dusty and sweaty.

“I’ll take care of that.”

Then another person appeared from the bushes.

She had small star-shaped tattoos near her eyes and wore several dangling earrings.

With her languid, sleepy eyes, she looked at me.

She came with this one, huh?

One of Isabel’s close friends—Sharin Sazaris.

She’s a top student in the second-year magic department.

Not a morning person, she let out a long yawn and pulled out her wand, gesturing with it.

Beads of water emerged from my body, absorbing the sweat and dust and then disappearing.

A skilled water spell.

“You’re all clean now, right? Belle, let’s go. I want to go to the classroom and sleep.”

Clinging to Isabel and calling her by her nickname, Sharin yawned again.

Isabel nodded and shot a slightly displeased glance at me.

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Guess that means to follow along since she helped me out.

Even though a rebellious feeling flared up, I held it back.

I don’t want to be late for duty and get a demerit.

Having a reliable image with the professors can be quite advantageous, even if it doesn’t matter with the students.

So I slung my bag over my shoulder and turned around.

Then Isabel, frowning, grabbed onto my clothes.

“Where are you going? Even if you’re on duty?”

“I’m just going over there to change. What, you’re planning to watch? Got a voyeuristic hobby, do you?”

“N-No, I’m sorry for grabbing you. Go change.”

She’s actually apologizing in this situation.

Even when it comes to someone she considers an enemy, she apologizes properly—gives a glimpse into her nature.

Leaving Isabel, who was now flustered and embarrassed, I headed toward the forest.

Then, for some reason, I could feel Sharin’s gaze from afar.

Her sleepy eyes made it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Sharin is unpredictable.

Her character trait is that she’s moody by nature.

In battles, she’d suddenly go, "I’m done," and retire.

Her moodiness is like a severe debuff.

However, her skills and stats are unmatched, so sometimes I’d hire her as a mercenary and pray she’d behave.

Now that this game has become a reality, I have no idea how extreme her moodiness could get.

‘Better not get too involved for now.’

I changed my clothes quickly and came out.

Seeing me, Isabel turned around immediately as if she’d been waiting.

After exchanging a quick glance with Aisha, I followed right behind.

The three of us walked mostly in silence.

There’s no need to say anything about the tension between Isabel and me.

Sharin, not being a morning person, yawned continuously, dragging her feet as she walked.

“Sharin, walk properly.”

“Uuugh, I’m sleepy.”

Because Sharin isn’t a morning person, Isabel often forcefully wakes her up and drags her along like this.

Originally, Lucas would have been the one filling this spot.

If Lucas were here, the atmosphere would be much more lively.

We would be chatting about today’s class, recent rumors around the academy, and other light-hearted topics.

‘But since I ended up in this spot because of the morning duty…’

The atmosphere between us was tense and awkward.

The first to break this uncomfortable silence was Sharin, just as we reached the entrance of the magic department.

“Have a good class, and don’t fall asleep.”

“Mom, just five more minutes.”

“Sharin, your mom’s not here.”

Isabel gently stroked Sharin’s hair as she clung to her.

With Sharin, Isabel seemed to be in a slightly better mood.

But even Sharin couldn’t fill the void left in Isabel’s heart by Lucas’s absence.

Isabel’s extreme behavior is inevitable without Lucas.

As I was staring at this scene, Isabel glanced my way.

Oh, time for her to pick a fight.

“You’re going to be late for your morning duty.”

“...You’re one to talk, aren’t you?”

That’s true.

But I responded shamelessly.

If I’m destined to be hated, I might as well be thoroughly hated.

“Your friend, that guy named Lucas, must’ve been as laid-back as you are.”

Isabel’s face turned icy in an instant.

She bit her lip hard and then let go of Sharin.

“Soon, you won’t be able to say things like that again.”

She glared at me with a look of pure hatred before turning sharply and walking away.

The stack of her resentment is steadily piling up.

Let’s keep it going.

This morning duty is going to be quite chilly.

“Might as well get going.”

By now, I was pretty used to it and followed behind Isabel.

Thump!

But I was immediately stopped by an unexpected person.

“…Sharin Sazaris?”

“Hey, hey, listen…”

She grabbed my wrist tightly and drew out her words lazily.

Her midnight blue hair, shimmering like a galaxy, tilted to the side.

“Why are you disguised like that?”

Oh crap, seriously?

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