After finishing lunch, I climbed up to the roof and found Leonor leaning against the railing, smoking a mana cigarette.

I had a feeling she’d be here.

As I approached her, she didn’t even turn her head and silently handed me a mana cigarette.

I lit the one she gave me and, mimicking her posture, smoked alongside her for a while, and soon the view beyond the railing caught my attention.

The sky was a chilly blue, with clouds drifting and the noon sun high above.

This view must be quite familiar to her.

Sharing the scenery and the background noise of students chattering in the courtyard after lunch, I slowly murmured through the smoke.

“The view from here hasn’t changed, whether it’s a month ago or now.”

“…That’s true. It’s been a month, yet nothing seems different. I feel like I was just here yesterday.”

Leonor replied and went back to silently smoking her mana cigarette.

While gazing at her profile, I took out a piece of bread I had bought from the snack bar before I came up and held it out in front of her.

Leonor stared at the bread blankly and asked,

“…What’s this for?”

“It’s for the mana cigarettes. Since I’ve been getting them from you all this time, consider it my thanks.”

“Hey, why are you worrying about something like that? I’m fine, so just eat it yourself.”

Leonor pushed the bread back towards me.

Sighing at her refusal, I said,

“You must be hungry. You didn’t eat lunch, did you?”

At that, Leonor’s shoulders flinched and trembled slightly.

I shifted my gaze beyond the railing.

Maybe because we were sharing the same scenery, I felt like I understood the emotions she might be feeling while looking at it, and I murmured softly.

“While the view from here hasn’t changed, some things have.”

“…”

“The food at the cafeteria. Honestly, it was better a month ago.”

I caught a glimmer in the corner of Leonor’s eye through the smoke of the mana cigarette.

She seemed to get a little choked up as she lifted her head and murmured,

“…Seriously, you catch on way too fast.”

Taking a deep breath, she rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.

After I silently waited, she seemed to calm down a bit and spoke with her head down.

“…But it’s thoughtful of you. You’re the only junior who worries about me like this.”

“So don’t make your thoughtful junior worry and make sure to eat lunch properly starting tomorrow.”

“…I guess I should.”

Murmuring that, I once again held out the piece of bread I was holding.

She looked at the bread for a moment, then patted my head with a slight smile and accepted the bread this time without refusing.

Leonor said,

“Thanks for the bread, I’ll enjoy it.”

She had a gentle smile as she said this.

Although the city had regained its original appearance after a month, I knew that a month was far too short a time to heal the wounds in her heart.

But hoping she can overcome that pain well, I smiled back at her.

*

After lunch, the first-year students gathered in the gym for the practical class.

Usually, we would sit separated into Class A and Class B, but perhaps because they felt we had become friends after eating together, Marin and Florene naturally sat down near us.

Then Mei, who had been sitting next to me, asked Marin,

“By the way, I heard there’s a special class today. Do you know what the class is about?”

“Hmm, our class hasn’t heard anything about it…”

Marin shook her head, indicating she didn’t really know.

I cautiously said to the curious girls,

“I heard that a special instructor will be coming…”

This was information I had learned from Leonor when I met her on the roof. She mentioned it during a call with her father, Leon Lionelle.

Since it was hard for each other to find the time, he had arranged for me to train with other students, and the academy had prepared special instructors for that.

When I said this, Marin showed interest and asked,

“Oh, Scarlett, have you heard who the special instructor is?”

“I didn’t hear that part. They just said we’d find out when we see them…”

“If they’re called a special instructor, that means they must be someone extraordinary compared to the academy’s faculty… Who in the world could it be?”

Marin tilted her head, looking puzzled.

I was also curious.

Since Leonor’s father talked about them that way, they must be quite extraordinary…

Just as I was deep in thought, I heard the voice of our teacher, Eve.

“It looks like everyone is very curious about the special class. Today’s lesson will be conducted with a special instructor. Now, please give a big round of applause to welcome our special instructor!”

Eve shouted while looking towards the entrance of the gym.

The students’ gazes all turned to that direction, and when they saw the person entering, a commotion broke out in the gym.

“Wow… wow…! Really? I’m such a huge fan!”

“Oh my gosh, it’s really her… I wonder if I can get an autograph…”

Upon confirming who entered, I understood why the kids were so excited.

Seeing a famous hero in person, whom they had only ever seen on broadcasts, naturally warranted such a reaction.

Of course, it was clear their reactions were different from those who had only seen her on TV.

“Ahh! It’s my aunt!!!”

“No… Can’t you give us a heads-up next time…?”

The woman who entered the gym had blue hair just like Marin.

Technically, Marin resembled her.

Marin groaned and frowned, possibly feeling a headache.

Anyone dreaming of becoming a hero would know her.

She was the squad leader of the 3rd division of Astrape and was renowned as the greatest psychic of this generation.

“Haha, nice to meet you all. Starting today, I will occasionally be teaching you guys. I’m your senior, as well as Marin’s mother, Natalia Eloïse. I’m looking forward to working with you all.”

Natalia Eloïse, who was also Marin’s mother, said that with a bright smile while waving her hand.

With a deep sigh from Marin, applause and cheers erupted from the surrounding kids.

*

Natalia Eloïse gazed at her mentor, Eve, lost in admiration.

“It’s been a while, Natalia. I think this is the first time I’ve seen you outside of events since your kid’s first birthday party, right?”

“I’m sorry. I should have visited more often.”

“It’s fine. I know we’re both busy. I’m just glad to see you’re healthy.”

Even though it had been years since she graduated from the academy and her daughter had now entered, it seemed like Eve hadn’t changed a bit.

“Natalia, make the kids cry.”

“Oh? Really? If I do that, they might actually start sobbing?”

“That’d be welcomed. Shedding tears now is a hundred, no, a thousand times better than spilling blood later.”

Indeed, the teacher hadn’t changed one bit.

Neither in appearance, nor in her strict educational philosophy.

She would probably remain the same even when her daughter graduates.

And that brought a reassuring feeling.

If her daughter learned from that teacher, she wouldn’t easily die anywhere later on.

That was also part of the reason why she respected her teacher so much.

She had received so much help from that strict education.

Anyway, considering the request of her respected teacher, Natalia decided to thoroughly put the students to work. She looked around.

Among the bright-eyed students, she spotted her daughter, Marin, grimacing.

She’d come without telling Marin for a surprise, and it seemed to work quite well.

Grinning mischievously, Natalia suddenly remembered another reason for her visit to the academy.

Now that she thought about it, she wanted to see what kind of girl Yoon Si-woo liked.

So while observing the students, she noticed Marin sitting in a way that seemed to hide a girl from view.

Seeing that confirmed her suspicions.

That girl? Sending a light gesture, she watched as Marin displayed an extremely cautious expression and parted her lips in warning.

Seeing Marin’s warning, Natalia couldn’t help but smile.

Anyway, she had no intention of showing favoritism.

After all, no one would be treated differently; everyone would be held equally accountable.

With a big smile, Natalia opened her mouth.

“Alright, I’m going to tell you about the training you’ll do with me today. I’ll be attacking you, and you need to dodge while trying to get as close to me as possible. It’s a very simple exercise. But since it might be hard to understand just by words, I’ll show you a demonstration. Experienced aide, could you come up here?”

As she clapped her hands, sensing that Marin got the idea, she frowned and stepped forward.

The training she was about to have the students do was something she had often gone through since she was a child.

Of course, today would be a bit tougher since there would be someone to help.

“Teacher, please.”

As Eve snapped her fingers, the students except for Marin vanished from sight.

They were probably watching from outside through a screen, seeing her and Marin.

Using her powers, Natalia drew a huge circle on the ground and confirmed Marin remained outside before speaking.

“Just as I mentioned earlier, the rules are simple. You’ll start running from 100 meters away and get as close to me as possible. If you can touch me, you pass, but the closer you come, the fiercer the attacks will become. As for the passing criteria, it’ll be set at whether you can operate in the field right now, so don’t be too disheartened if you can’t pass. This exercise is to gauge how close you can get and to identify your weaknesses.”

During her speech, Marin began to warm up.

The last time her daughter did this exercise, she barely made it through.

I wonder how she’ll do this time.

With a small smile, Natalia shouted.

“Then, let’s go~”

At the start signal, Marin dashed into the drawn circle.

Simultaneously, water streams appeared in the air, shooting toward Marin.

Trying to dodge by tilting her head slightly, Marin suddenly got startled and twisted her body, screaming.

“EEK?!”

As the stream of water brushed past Marin’s cheek and crashed loudly into the ground, I could see cold sweat trickling down her face.

Looking at her daughter who had underestimated the training, Natalia warned her with a cheerful smile.

“My daughter! It’ll be much different from what we did at home! Today, we have insurance!”

When they had practiced at home, she couldn’t injure her, so the force was akin to something somewhat stinging like a water gun. But today, with Eve’s assistance, it was different.

In the illusion created by Eve, no matter how hurt someone got, their physical body remained intact.

The pain would probably feel similar, though.

There’s an old saying that beasts drop their young from cliffs to raise them.

The fastest way to grow stronger is to thrive through hardship.

Well, that’s why the intensity of the attacks had been set pretty high.

Getting hit would likely leave them worse for wear.

With a desire for her daughter to grow stronger than anyone else, Natalia smiled and shouted.

“So if you don’t want to die, dodge well!”

“YIKES!! This crazy aunt!!”

Marin screamed as she dodged the incoming streams of water.

But for someone who had just screamed in horror, she was managing to dodge quite effectively.

It was just a matter of intensity; it was a training routine she was already familiar with.

Dodging and using her powers to defend herself, she steadily approached Natalia.

Watching her daughter, Natalia said.

“There are three important things in this training. First, your senses.”

Without even looking back, Marin slightly ducked to dodge an attack from behind.

“Second, your reflexes.”

To evade the attack, Marin had to jump into the air, and the water streams targeted her.

Marin immediately created an ice platform in midair, propelling herself off it to narrowly dodge the streams.

As soon as she had run close enough to almost touch Natalia, she smiled with achievement, prompting Natalia to smile back.

“And finally, the third thing is to never let your guard down.”

With a splash, a stream of water shot up from beneath her feet, sending Marin’s head flying.

Suddenly, the illusion broke, and she watched her daughter experiencing shock and nausea from a simulated death.

She’d probably need to rest for a while to recover, but the fact that she hadn’t fainted showed she was indeed her daughter.

Filled with pride, Natalia grinned at the sight and addressed the other students.

“Now, who wants to challenge next?”

As the instructor, who had just decapitated her daughter, smiled at them, the students’ faces turned pale.