Interlude: A Girl’s Reminiscence
With the members for the Great Spirit Martial Arts Festival officially decided, everyone was training toward the actual event—addressing weaknesses, checking coordination among the representatives, and improving basic skills like spiritual arts and physical abilities.
The students who unfortunately didn’t make the cut stayed behind, continuing to participate as support roles. The students of Eutrea Academy were united in their efforts for the training camp.
“The descending calamity—Gugh, haa, haa……”
A chant cut short, a formula collapsing before her eyes. Leia, out of breath, fell to her knees, only to notice a hand reached out to her.
“Maybe because of your impatience, your spiritual power is leaking a bit. Sharpen your focus and try to feel the flow of blood throughout your entire body.”
“Y-Yes!”
Leia nodded, took Roark’s hand, and let him pull her up.
“There’s no need to rush the chant. It’s only natural that a high-tier spiritual art takes time to cast.”
“But……”
“It’s certainly better to be able to release spiritual arts quickly, but this is a team battle. For now, you should rely on your comrades and prioritize making sure the art activates, no matter how long it takes.”
“……Yes, I understand.”
“Alright, let’s try one more time—”
Lily watched Roark and Leia training their spiritual arts in the lively atmosphere, her mind drifting back to the past.
“Here, read this too.”
Lily said as she placed a thick book next to Roark, who was reading with dead eyes.
“Eh, this one too?”
“Yes.”
When Roark asked in a voice full of despair at the sight of the growing pile of books, Lily nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“If you want to get good grades, you have to read at least this much.”
“Hey, couldn’t Olaria-san summarize these books for me in an easy-to-understand way……?”
“No.”
“I figured as much.”
Ignoring the slumped Roark, Lily sat in her chair and opened the book she had brought to read. From her perspective, he had suddenly begged her to teach him while bowing his head to the floor, so she had agreed, but she felt no obligation to baby him.
“Aaaahhh~ I’m beat.”
After a while, Roark, who had somehow finished one book, slumped onto the table.
“Break time! Let’s take a break!”
“Fine.”
To Roark’s shout echoing through the library, Lily muttered, “Do as you wish,” thinking he was being noisy. Just as she was about to turn her attention back to her book…
“Olaria-san, let’s take a break together.”
“Eh?”
Roark forced a stunned Lily to accompany him to the Great Market.
“Since you’re helping me out, I’ll treat you to whatever you want to eat.”
“…………”
Roark pulled out his wallet, but Lily was staring at the bustling main street as if she couldn’t hear him.
“Is this your first time coming here?”
When Roark asked in surprise, Lily nodded. Lily, who spent her free time either sleeping at home or reading in the library, had never visited the Great Market since coming to Galadea.
“That’s a waste. The Great Market is one of the famous tourist spots in the Kingdom.”
“I’m not really interested……”
Lily replied coldly to Roark’s comment.
“Now, now, don’t say that. There are all sorts of things here.”
“………”
Thus, Lily reluctantly went around the market with Roark leading the way, seeing various sights.
“Personally, I like these Galadea Burgers in the market.”
“…………”
“You just have to bite into it like this.”
Lily, who wanted to eat the burger since it was a treat but didn’t know how and froze, was given a lecture by Roark. In the end, she couldn’t eat it well and got her mouth completely messy.
“Hahaha, here, wipe it with this.”
“…………”
Lily wiped her mouth with the paper she was given, glaring at the laughing Roark. Noticing her gaze, Roark apologized.
“You failed just like a sheltered daughter. Is Olaria-san actually from a high-class family?”
“……From an orphanage.”
Lily muttered at Roark’s question, then bit into the burger again, getting her mouth messy as she spoke.
“My parents died when I was little.”
“………Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”
Lily said to the apologizing Roark and took another bite. Indeed, she felt that the feelings of sadness and loneliness had already faded considerably.
“…………”
Roark watched Lily in silence as she spoke, an air of loneliness surrounding her. After a moment, he seemed to have thought of something.
“Then, should I become a substitute for Olaria-san’s family?”
“……Huh?”
To a confused Lily, Roark pulled out another napkin and wiped her mouth like an older brother.
“You’ll be teaching me for a while longer, anyway. I can’t exactly be a parent…… but I should be able to do ‘big brother’ things.”
“……Are you still planning to learn from me?”
“Of course. I’m going to stick to you until I can get grades I’m satisfied with.”
“…………”
Currently, Roark was learning the sword from Gareth and techniques for simple contracts and spiritual arts from Owen, but it was still difficult to overcome the difference of not having a contract spirit, and he wasn’t getting good grades in practical skills, including the degree matches.
Therefore, for Roark, who needed to get good grades in academic subjects at the very least, Lily’s intellect—which allowed her to take first place in academics—was indispensable.
“You can think of me as your big brother.”
To Roark, who said such a thing with a serious face, Lily gave a look of exasperation, but her lips curled into a tiny smile.
“……If anything, I’m the older sister.”
“What!?”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
“…………”
Returning from her memories, Lily watched the interaction between Leia and Roark for a moment. Then, she hurried over to Roark’s side and pulled on his sleeve.
“Roark, I can’t use spiritual arts well……”
“You were doing it just fine when I taught you earlier.”
“I forgot already. Teach me again.”
“You’re totally lying. Besides, you’re smarter than me anyway.”
“That’s not true. Roark is misunderstood.”
Watching the two bicker playfully, Leia thought they looked like a sister trying to get her brother’s attention, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit restless.
“P-Please teach me more too!!”
Before she knew it, Leia was shouting, trying to squeeze herself between the two.
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